Alphabets

eat drink man woman

i did it.

i started a food blog.  but instead of receipes and all the how-tos i am just going to ramble on about things around the food.

and have pictures of dishes prepared as side show. 

just like that super film of ang lee (before he got all famous in the USA).

http://raraavis.typepad.com/eatdrinkmanwoman/

best foot forward

SF man did some reading on the rainforest festival and found out that there is a nearby mountain to be climbed in between breakfast and the first workshop. hmmm 3 hours up, 2 hours down.

i need to get new hiking boots! the boots i used to climb machu picchu (which i thought were just the right size) proved to be 2 size bigger than my twee feet. no wonder i wasnt right in front together with those mad docs of medicins san frontier...

bug on a bag

Its 06.06.06 today which means lorra lorra luck in south east asian terms.

whilst hordes of couple queue outside registry office(s) around the country to tie the knot today and the rest queue to get their  '4 digit' tickets from the local betting hall - i have decided to give alphabets a face lift.

colour and configuration sorted out, all i have to do is amend/update the typelist bar and insert albums.

yeay to + changes.

isnt it amazing

0 how newborns communicate through their cries until they learn the art of words?

and how adults learn to suppress their cries and communicate through the incalculated art of words and spin?

pix of baby zara  3 days old.

the smell of coffee

it wasnt the most exciting of weekends.  spent a large proportion of my  waking hours in a classroom being educated on  the multiple uses of balance sheets, cash flows;  and profit and loss statements for the upcoming paper  i have to re-sit. (yes, i failed that damn test)

if ratios  werent stimulating enough, i also found out how to  calculate  present and future value of bond yields, annuity and investments.

i learned alot. apart from working out  the rationales for the formulas, i also  know now FOR SURE  that my squirrel savings deposited in my simple  bank accounts arent going to help me in the  future inflationary world baby.

xxx

had a v good conversation  on friday night with N, someone i always enjoy talking to. we normally discuss a wide range of issues ranging from whats eating rara grape to greenspan policy to  the best theatre playing  in  london west.  also concerts, music, arias and books.

this time, this talk was particularly enjoyable and most thought provoking - for it was then that  i  realised that its been some time since i've  listen to an orchestra (live and recorded), ages since i have devoured words on paper, months since i've seen any production, appreciated any art, crafted an art piece, captured an image through a lens   and grind my own coffee.

forever since i rouged my cheeks, painted my lips,  bathed in perfume and look around without frowning.

xxx

surely its time for a change.

this evening  after the  final session on price per share, i allowed myself the luxury of picking up something slightly  different (compared to  my recent fodder)  at  the bookshop.

afterwards i had a delightful time joshing with azuredec and azle rose over dinner and then we all went  to watch a comedy show, with the remaining avis sibling+partner.

i  am about to turn in for the night.
am doused in 'addict' and my bed time  reading is sontag's  volcano lover.

tomorrow morning i am having mangoes and feshly ground coffee for breakfast. and maria callas will be singing in  my car.

not written but read

i didnt use any of the dreaded office talk, however i cannot celebrate as i have not introduced the word 'socialise' either. must must must increase my bust remedy this ASAP.

drank too much caffeine.

as a result i was either richocheting across the walls into discussions i would not have pursued otherwise or just launching what i assume to be witty (and may have come across as slightly vitrolic) emails to others in my sphere.

i am blaming the caffeine when tomorrow comes.

xxx

there is an exam on the near horizon. in the form of numbers, financial statements, balance sheets, profit & loss, ledgers and margins.

i am worried. i am a legal beagle who like words not figures.

as far as i am concerned, my statements dont normally involve numbers, financial matters are often better dealt with and balanced delicately when youre not between sheets, and profiterole losses its flavour when made with margarine.

elevator buttons

forget about pressing 9 on your mobile/home phone - you know that you've been spending far too much time at work when you press the wrong elevator floor button in your condominium block to get home.

cunning plan

xxx

things are still hectic at the work place.  so much to do in so little time.  there just doesnt seem to be enough hours in the day.  the expectation is such that things will settle once we start operations proper.  i am hoping that this is true but am certainly not counting on it...

still, there are some + news in other quadrants of my life.

sunflower man who i am a -missing will be coming over for a short break in the near future. hurrah.  long distance relationships are just so impossible without these visits. we certainly have to have a plan in sorting out geographical locations thats for sure.

am hoping that the mad cyclist, roadie will be able to take sunflower man out on a bike ride. should send roadie an email pronto then shouldnt i?

sunflower man  and his mate are entering the 8 day mountain bike extravaganza - cape epic in april next year and therefore sunflower man is cycling around like a demon these days so that he's in tip top shape come Q2, 2006.

am seriously looking into getting azuredec and some mates together for a trip out to africa then.  greet the boys from their race and then venture to victoria falls for some canoeing action with the hippos.

hmmm this could well turn into a cunning plan.

no smoke without fire

So much for leading a healthy lifestyle.  how can what i consume  matter when i cant even inhale clean (not fresh, just clean) air .

the haze (oh, what a euphmism!), or rather the pollution level in this country has risen to dangerous levels.  we cant see beyond 100metres and everyone has been cautioned to try and remain indoors.

in the workplace, those in charge of health and safety are handing out surgical masks  like they do the twice daily postal delivery.

we have the fires in sumatera, indonesia to blame , not us.  we know because the  meterological department tells us: unless our neighbours sort out their open fires, the malaysians will continue to suffer.

no mention of malaysian companies embarking on production in indonesia of course.  no, none of that please, we're blameless, we're kosher. no we're even better than that, we're halal.

rain would help, but we have none. no winds either,  the forces of nature are probably spent - having exerted themselves in blowing up a hurricane for emily and flash floods in mumbai. and so for now, they remain on leave, uncontactable even via email until october.

october is a long time from now.  in the meantime, questions are being raised. is the state  doing enough, if at all anything, about this dire situation.  citizens mandate and appoint their representatives to power so that they can ensure their health and welfare concerns are being tended to. its a sad state of affairs when the air you breathe is capable of causing you damage. perhaps the appeal is galvanised on the wrong basis. press, stop talking  about it in trite health terms. lets discuss in in a more important angle, i.e. business. cost implications. the amount lost in terms of reduction in productivity,  the hours taken off in being sick or tending to those affected.  declining numbers in tourism. conferences and  meetings cancelled.  presented in a balance sheet, profit and loss columns, the issues may be seen in a different light. proper daytime light even. who is to say.

ah but  fear not,  mall rats,  building activities will continue. after all those working on the construction site are hardy, they are used to living in harsh conditions. what are minute particles, however poisonous they may be  compared to vapours from asbestos.  life in squalour. heavy concrete and 20 hour jobs. we cant live with one less shopping venue, hotel, phallic building.  how will the others know we're an emerging economy? and where would we source those LVs?

yes..why worry for them, those migrant workers. they're better off here toiling in the haze (at least its not the scorching sun) than they are in their countries where all they do is worry about the tigers and that flood that will wash away their land towards the bay of bengal.

yawn. enough about them. its all about us isnt it? yes, us who are ensconsed in our airconditioned offices, who move around in our single occupied car  towards the airconditioned home with the telly blaring, the fridges on high and the water heater on constant.

the others dont count. let us concentrate on us.  we know what we have to do. the emails circulating tells us so. avoid the outdoors. whistle blow on open burnings near you. go out  and purchase thy surgical masks and ventolins.

moral of the story:

(or in this case there are two)

1. monitor the shares of  pharmaceutical companies (this is NOT investment advice by the way)

2. pray that bill clinton does NOT visit this land for now, or at least until the end of october. things could get seriously ugly. he'd be mobbed by the malaysian population; everyone  here is dead keen desperate to learn the tricks on how not to inhale.

things that make me smile

include for example, the maple leaf shaped piece of wood stuck on the scarecrow.