priorities

HOM and i plan an overnight getaway. 

here's what we pack, in decreasing volume:

food - electronics - clothes

here's the food, for one dinner and one breakfast, for two. 

if you say this is overpacking i'm not going to argue. blame the man.

new toy

we acquire an iPad 2. it's a dinky sub-compact technological marvel that responds like a magic wand. there are only two problems with it:

1. the books i want to read are not public domain free books and there are no electronic equivalents of thrift store used books going for a dime each.
2. getting the screen protector on, in alignment and flush, is only possible on youtube. us lesser mortals all carry iPads garnished with bubbles.

soft focus

sunday's storm puts paid to our hi def tv channels. the trouble is, the regular channels just don't cut it. the people look pixelated. the scenery looks watered down. the food looks wrong.

how did we tolerate tv in the days before HDTV?

4th of july

my first live, on the spot pyrotechnics show, 

if you discount the lunar new year limb-busting crackers in K.L. before they were banned.

ummm. pretty.

independence day

with J1 off serving his country and J2 gone to the beach, HOM and i find ourselves just by ourselves. we have a slow morning with a chat and a coffee and then a lunch date and then a marathon jamming session and then a dinner date.

i shouldn't say this, but one could get used to the empty nest.

brave new world

these days J1 isn't around to go with HOM to guitar center so he pulls me along instead.

but these days i don't mind, thanks to technological advance, viz. the letris game on my ipod. take your time, i tell HOM. if my battery runs out i'll start on your iPhone.

beach trip

J2 goes to the beach today.

i grill her, of course. who's she going with? whose car? when? what? but the questions run out pretty quickly, unlike when i put J1 through it last year.

what i say is, parents grow up, or they grow tired. why, if Dog wanted to go to the beach now, he could probably slope off and i wouldn't half care.

grist for the mill

it thunders and lightnings in the night. Dog, chicken that he is, seeks refuge in J1's old room and under the table and in every nook he can insinuate himself. fortunately for him, HOM is awake before the crack of dawn and keeps him company. 

Dog loves jet-lag.

and the winner is...

my friend Ai runs a 10 km race.

she faithfully reports it on facebook:

before she begins.

at the midway mark.

with 2 km to go.

on the way home.

with a photograph of the action.

clearly, a smartphone is the latest running accessory.

revenge of the nerds

3G - 4G - iPhone3 - iPhone4 - 4GB - 16GB - GSM - GPRS 

as bridget jones would say,

gah.