new and old

there's ferragamo, and there's earth mother i guess.

on a side note. why are people wearing knee high BOOTS in the sweltering tropics?

another random observation

professional looking young gentlemen who travel on the public transport system should refrain from conducting official business on their cellphones whilst traveling. this is because while their conversations make for fascinating entertainment for their fellow travelers they also raise questions concerning the soundness of their professional judgment.

house hunters 2

i survive the mass of writhing humanity that seethes in the bowels of the subway at rush hour. it is my reminder that our prime pre-requisite for a home is LOCATION. a body could not do this on a regular sustained basis and not slowly go bonkers. especially if the body had a say in it.

utterly random observation

• i am seeing plenty of blue nail polish around. is this the new red?
• in any case, blue nails look pathological*. someone should tell the fashionistas that.
• *even with sparkles.

house hunters international

otherwise known as, motivated buyers, inc. what i say is, we're tired, and it's just been one day. what we are looking for, HOM and i realize, in addition to our wish list, is ONE DESPERATE SELLER. 

what we now know we need to avoid, sgp version:

• bay windows, those devious things by which the square footage of the apartment is amplified without giving you actual real estate.
• creative design, otherwise known as mirrors, those devious things by which the square footage of the apartment is amplified without giving you any real estate.
• new developments, those devious things that do not even pretend to amplify your square footage.

aaaaargh.

movie marathon

six years in the states thinking that my hearing is deteriorating because i can no longer make out what they say on the screens and now after back-to-back trans-continental comparisons i realize it's not me, it's them. it's them americans who have been swallowing up more and more of their syllables over the years so that wa-ter is now WA-dr and bu-tter is BUD-dr. string enough of these together and you get something unintelligible, through no fault of the hearer.

the brits, fortunately, are still considerately articulate. and their humor is still nice and dry. the best exotic marigold hotel takes my prize for successor to mr bean award. 

snow white & the huntsman (2012)

i catch it on the flight movie offerings. here's my rotten tomatoes take on it:

• the mix of accents absolutely defies logic. irish brogue goes poorly with rounded american vowels. ugh.
• the mix of styles is irritating. only modern anne-hathaway types of princesses say i'm sorry. i'm not sure what the others say but i'll betcha they aren't so plebeian.
• i'm not sure what snow white should look like but after a lifetime of disney consumption i'm pretty sure they don't look like the twilight girl.
• hey whose kiss is magic? are you saying it's the older damaged man trumping innocent faithfulness? puh-leeze this is a fairy tale.
• charlize theron is waaaaay more classy looking than kirsten stewart.

addendum: also, any screenwriter who inserts the Lord's prayer into an imprisoned fairy-tale princess' bedtime routine clearly has his genres mixed up, not to mention a (painfully) obviously romanticized understanding of what he is quoting.

my new hobby

is looking at what people remove from their cosmetic bags to desperately insert into the little clear baggies before they go through security at the airport. the manner of tubes bottles and pots that emerge from the depths of anonymous bland-looking pouches staggers the mind.

deep end

the house hunt begins in earnest for our next home. all i say is, it isn't fun to be at the exposed end of an over-heated housing market at the advancing edge of the conflagration. and it doesn't help that the first realtor we call sounds like we woke her from sleep. on the other hand it shouldn't be rocket science. all we need really is one desperate seller.

moving, they say, is a major life event. so is the prelude. it keeps us sane to remember that our Father above knows our need.

change of season

the heater finally kicks in. this vindicates all the shivering we've been doing.

existential question

how many plastic containers does an empty nester couple need?

growing up within the influence of ubiquitous tupperware parties

coming of age amidst the rise of disposable plastic ware

building my home upon the edifice of ziploc boxes

it occurs to me that i actually just use 3 containers on a regular basis.

on any basis in fact.

but i dare not discard them.

in case i need them.

although i have not.

but i might.

it's only with the plastic.

i am able to ruthlessly cull everything else.

even my beloved books.

why?

the expats - chris pavone (2012)

thumping good read, is what i say. sharp competent non-bungling female james bond character in a satisfyingly multi-layered whodunit. no, make that whodunwhat. satisfying to the second last page, and that's only because the last page is simply the concluding paragraph about people merging into the crowd.

final lap

the corolla goes off to its new owner.
i practically have carmax on speed dial.
our pantry enters a state of chronic deprivation.
we have people lined up to inherit the mixer and the ice-cream maker.

the terminal round of de-cluttering begins.

FAQ 2

how are you doing? do you miss them very much? do you have things to occupy you? 

er, i'm fine, thanks. they are doing quite happily, so i am, as well, to my great relief. ah actually, i am quite occupied sometimes. and we miss Dog too.

the house must be so empty now both of them are gone. it's a good thing i like what they left behind, i suppose. oh what did they leave behind? umm. their dad?

malibu melt

egg bacon cheese and avocado on a slice of hearty chewy springy farmer's bread from the local cafe. ambrosial. i am:

• an indifferent cook,
• desperately deprived,
• very hungry, or
• all of the above.

do you want me to mail you and your friends anything while i still can? i ask J2. food, please! we've been hankering after yakun kaya. whoa there! sweetie, i was thinking along the lines of a favorite book or jacket.

seasons

there's a definite nip in the air. yes sirree. i likee. 

cycles

we get to know General and Buddy from next door in the aftermath of Dog. General is fifteen, a totally mellowed out former alpha mutt. Buddy is his obliging nine year old yellow retriever brother. they help heal the breach left by Dog.

General will be put down tomorrow, our neighbor tells us. his eye tumor is bleeding into his sinuses. the enucleation bought him four months but he is in continuous pain now.

dogs have a way of sneaking nto your heart unawares.

disappointment

HOM and i hustle ourselves bright and early to the annual neighborhood flea market. sixty stalls in a basement car park overflowing with potential treasures, matched by the funds we arm ourselves with.

perhaps it is our recent move. perhaps it is our impending move. perhaps our tastes have improved. there is nothing in the car park that compels. it's not us, HOM says. our standards are still way down there. it's just that there's nothing good here today.

how about it?

HOM calls just as i am about to start dinner. it's friday nite, he says. it's a good time for dinner out. which is rather true, i think to myself as i cling wrap everything up. there is no need to check anyone else's schedule or preference. this empty nest thing has its advantages. 

post-modern

i'd like your comments on some of this stuff, my old teacher writes me. do you have band-width? let me know if you have band-width.

i have skype, i reply cautiously.

HOM tells me that is not what he wants to know. something is amiss, i tell myself, when both my university professor and my teenaged children draw from the urban dictionary.

FAQs

what will you do next? will you go back to work? will you be able to find a job? will you miss this life?

• well yes, i guess i have to get back to some sort of economic productivity, what with two college-age offspring to help finance.
• and yeah, i look sixteen, but we're not getting younger. time to build up some resources to retire on.
• yes, i hope to be able to find a job. i don't know yet. i know what i want though - part-time hours at an awesome pay doing something intellectually engaging that i can excel in. hey, life is about compromises.
• are you kidding? of course i will miss this. making a home, choosing my pursuits and settings, refreshing my spirit.

soli Deo gloria

fresh from church retreat, and thankful to have been part of something bigger than myself.

there is something really cool about seeing an answer to prayer materialize before one's eyes.

keeping faith

fear not. be not dismayed.

the waters will not overflow you,

the flames shall not scorch you,

as your days, so shall your strength be.

the waters come, as do the flames.

and then he says,

count it all joy.

thy command is at once awful and awesome,

my Lord and my God.

what i will miss

• the flowers the leaves the colors
• the weather and the snow
• my children's childhood
• the gentlemen who hold doors for me

it's been a great sabbatical.

what i will not miss

• electric shocks most of the year
• enthusiastically feckless telemarketers
• lack of real supper options
• the emptiness behind hihowareyou?
• shoveling snow