Wish I was in...Rome

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city girl with a small town heart. Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome - Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

Wow, is this test result a coincidence? :) Although I don't claim to have travelled all the world cities.. but out of those that I have been to, none can match ROMA - its culture, its architecture, its lifestyle, its people -yeah men included ;) The city is amazing..had only spent two days there as part of a European tour more than a decade back but I vow to return there one day... If I can dream.. I want to live there for some time, learn Italian and singing.. ;)

p.s. its quite fun doing these quizzes on blogthings - they are short and sweet!

The Js on a Drizzly Sunday Afternoon

Again, it was a wet, wet afternoon.. Still it didn't deter me to spend time and play with Jojo and Jelly, and taking photos of them.. Yep, the three of us had some fun even in the drizzle.. and it's great to see the two Js are getting on famously in each other's company. .

Here is a so-called `pictorial essay' - well, lazy to write. After all, most people like to look at photos more than reading!


Jojo: Woof! (When do you think the rain will stop?) Jelly: Woof! (Yeah.. like I would know?)

Bored...bored....bored...

Jelly curling up...

Jojo curling up infront of the door which he can't enter.. 

looking bored and again melancholic 

Looking expectantly at mommy 

Jelly finding things to do on her own

Ok.. I'm now looking left..

Looking right 

Looking straight - err... no road to cross! 

Wet and messy looking Jelly crossing the road anyway...

Some mild shots of a 10-minute long `Fight'

The two Js as one item? - a `dog-fight' is looming!

Jojo's amorous attack on Jelly! (notice his large wound on his front leg and the stain from the blue solution!) 

And now, Jelly 's `counter-attack'!

Tired and bored after the great big fat..

Trying to get the two Js attention again

The two `KPC' (aka busy-bodies)

Waiting at the gate: the two Js just want to go out and roam... in the rain!

Standing tall to road-gaze 

Neighbour's (empty) house gazing - here Jelly has a better view!

Playing in the garden.. oops, they moved so fast. Jelly's head is hidden!

A more cheerful side of Jojo

So, at least Jojo is looking happy playing in the drizzle.. meanwhile, Jelly played too hard and needed a shower!

Flower Personality Test

You Are a Daisy

You see the world with an artist's eye. Finding beauty is easy for you - even in the dullest of moments. You notice all of the colors of the world, from fresh grass to sunsets. You are a total optimist and hedonist. You love to drink life in.

What Flower Are You?

Is This Blogger Losing Steam..?

For once I have time to blog earlier tonite. But somehow.. (not that my life is boring..) I find myself `losing steam' to post something interesting...

Hmm.. could it be that the fact that I have to write so much during my work week that now I just don't feel like writing anymore?

Anyway, maybe it's good this way. I want to catch up with some reading. Already a colleague told me the preview of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is on Monday night! And guess what? I hadn't even finished `The Magician's Nephew'!

Maybe i should watch it later... would really like to read the book again before I watch the movie.

Bought two more books today! ( to add to my `neglected books on the shelves' collection :p) The first is a (rather pricey) beautiful pictorial book with a long title: `The Chronicle of Narnia: Beyond the Wardrobe - The Official Guide to Narnia'. Second one is Sydney Sheldon's latest thriller Are You Afraid of the Dark? Yeah, here is one author which I can claim I've read all the titles.. I know, i am from that `era' - Master of the Game, Bloodline, The Other Side of Midnight etc.. must say his latter works were going down the drain a bit but once a loyal reader, still am.

Was planning to do a blog review of Snow.Wolf. Lake., which I watched to review last night. But somehow I couldn't find a proper pix of the musical online! (or just that i'm not competent at searching info on line - unlike our dear Wordsmith and Internet research pro HL)

Well, it sort of fell short of my expectation during intermission but when the whole 3-hour show finished, a couple of fellow journos and I gave a standing ovation! Lets just say the theatrical and artistic presentation - from stage setting, props, choreography etc.. was of world class standard (matching West End and Broadway productions). The problem for me is just that the plot is so cliche and predictable. And the dialogues were so 1970s Chinese romantic movies!

Oh, but of course, the music was beautiful and Jacky Cheung's singing was impeccable and moving...To know what really went on and how I felt about it, watch out for my review in the MM. Hmm..I have not started writing the review yet.. it's not an easy task unlike that of a pop concert.

Oops, I thought I would only write 2-3 paragarphs.. maybe I'm not really losing steam after all?

Books! O (My Neglected) Books!

I confess I own in excess of many things.. a victim of consummerism as a friend once commented. But I think the most `wasteful' (not that they have no value but that they've been totally underutilised) things are.... my BOOKS!

As I was looking for a particular book from the various shelves in my room just now, it suddenly hit me that I had SO MANY books that I have not read before. `So many' is an understatement. In fact I would say more than 95 per cent of them I had not even touched. Some I had started reading a chapter or two and left abandoned.


The books on my shelves, numbering close to 100 of them - are divided into two main categories - fictions and Christian books. Just to clarify that although I bought many books, the bulk of fictions especially my shelves were free, so to speak. Yeah, the perk of being a journo ( in NSTP only) - we are entitled to RM100 book allowance a month!

Everytime when I bought a book, I was always eager to read it - or so I thought. But ended up many best sellers and award-winning novels from years back still sat on my shelves untouched!

Meanwhile, I have become a mini library for my cousins and a couple of friends.. I am very happy to lend out the books (as I'm running out of space to store them) provided I do get them back!

Besides books, I have hundreds (maybe even thousands) of CDs and cassettes (not all are displayed on these cluttered sheives) But at least I can claim that I have listened to all the albums though some old ones I had not listened for a long long time.

Sadly, it IS books that have been neglected most. Besides a feeling of guilt, I wonder whether I've become so shallow - reading blogs seem far more entertaining.. though I can remember the satisfying feeling of burying myself in a good book.

Hmmm.. the last book that I completed from beginning to end was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. And before that I think it was Da Vincci Code and Angels and Demons - more than a year back! O dear, is my reading aptitude limited to the high profile`page-turners'?

Still I believe books are an investment.. I would continue to buy but sparingly (after all I still could claim back the money!). But I really want to be a reader again.

Sigh, it is now bit late to read The Magician's Nephew at the shelf near my bed. I began some time back. My aim is to complete The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe before I watch the movie!

p.s. I have completed the whole series of Narnia in second year Uni. That was ages ago so need to refresh memory.

Some `Highlights' Amidst the Mundane...

Monday. I seemed to be the only one working on my desk. :( a few colleagues, including my editor, are on leave while others were not much around to be seen..

Anyway, just a few `highlights' today..

1. BACK TO GYM. Finally, went to gym today (i mean Monday) after work. Have not stepped foot into my gym for more than a month (since a week and more before the China's trip) - thus wasting the RM134 monthly fees I pay! However, only managed to exercise for 40 mins or so as it was already 9pm when I started! I really marvel at fellow bloggers fatboy and lynn who religiously keep their exercise routine. Well, in a way, I did miss gym and not surprisingly, after such a long break, I found that my stamina has gone down.. :( I couldn't run (at jogging pace) for 15-20 mins without slowing down like before..

2. FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD. It's a good thing I went to gym because before that, I was stuffing myself with food. We had a sumptuous tea-party at office. Friends from the newsdesk decided to throw a party for a colleague's birthday (sports writer Ghaz turned 24! so young!) but it was also an excuse for all of us to eat. We even had food from Equatorial hotel so it was like a big feast at 5pm just for the Malay Mail. (not enough to feed the NST folks as well.. :p) I didn't even manage to try all the variety..mainly fattening stuff.

3. `O HOLY NIGHT' SOLO. Some of us are singing for our church's Christmas Cantata and we have been practising on Sunday afternoons. For the first time I'm singing soprano (always alto in choirs) - 1st soprano to be precise. We had some really high notes to reach and when we had to screech, we don't quite sound flattering (more at HL's blog) But surprisingly, I manage to reach those notes (how nice it sounds is another matter), thank to the vocal training that I have been taking.

Yesterday, the choir director was looking for female singers to `audition' for the solo/duet part of `O Holy Night'. Well, must admit I do like singing (known to hog mikes during karaoke and even entered small-scale karaoke contests but never won) and since I've learned the song with my 1st vocal teacher before, I thought would just give it a shot. But I didn't prepare at all before hand... I thought I did ok but could have been better.

Then today at Yahoo IM, I was told by HL that I was one of the three who has been selected for the solo part. There was an email informing me but didn't see it earlier. I'm suppose to go earlier on Sunday and try singing the 1st verse and then joine with my two friends.

Shortly after that, I even got a few congratulatory notes online and sms.. a bit shy.. :p

To be honest, am a little surprise that I am in. But am also quite happy that for the first time in my life, I'm singing a solo part in a production, although it is just going to be 1 or 2 verses including duet..

Just hope that I will do `O Holy Night' justice when I sing - it's such a beautiful song. In fact, we all ought to sing with our best voices for the Lord, and I believe we are going to do that, though we are no professional singers!

Updates on the two Js

Jojo is looking quite miserable these days.. well, his wound is gradually improving but no where near recovery. So for twice a day, he needs to take anti-biotics and three times a day, being sprayed the smelly blue solution..

BUT, i know what really makes him miserable. The fact that he is not allowed into the house these days. Since I got him as a pup more than two years back, he has been free to roam anywhere in the house, including my bedroom! But since the trainer has given that instruction which we agree we should set a boundary as he is so `destructive' - ie chewing and destroying all kinds of things.

Poor Jojo, looking at the photos here, he does look kinda sad and miserable, doesn't he? I think he has the melancholic look somehow.. except when he lit up when greeting me or playing with me..

Jelly meanwhile is still as `manja' and stalks me everywhere I go! She is actually so much easier to handle than Jojo even when Jojo was at her age. Different breed, different temperament, different personality I guess..

Bathed her this morning and she was always docile and cooperative until the part of washing her head! Then she goes completely wild and runs amok.. thank God we're inside a shower chamber..

Because of my trips and busy-ness, I had not been taking them for walk for a long time.. :( Then as I had some time last Saturday and Sunday evening.. it RAINED! Arghh...

Jelly playing with a towel... 

Jelly curling up to take a short nap 

Jelly waiting for food at my feet as I was eating lunch - still wet from her bath