Dazzled by Twilight in Phuket

Jon and I took a short break with his friends at Phuket for 2 nights.  It was a really short trip cos we only arrived there around 10pm on the first night.  His other friends had left for Phuket early that morning, but we didn't want to have to spend quite so much time away from Asher.  As it is, it was already be the longest that he'd been away from us. 

You probably won't understand, but I've been dreaming of eating cup noodles on a plane since my last KLM flight in 2007.  I have fond memories of my LON-SIN-LON flights via KLM when I got to watch movies the entire way and snack on steaming hot cups of noodles in the cold airplane in the dark while everyone else was sleeping.  It was just something that I really really enjoyed :)

My parents, aunt and grandaunt eagerly made an event of our being away cos they've always wanted to have Asher stay with them for a long stretch.  Two days isn't very long, but since it was the longest ever, they quickly took the opportunity to plan a staycation :)  Aidan came along too, so it was a ton of fun for the grandies to have both grandchildren around for the 'trip' at the same time.  And, the two boys get along spectacularly, so it's always lots of fun and very entertaining to watch them together.  They just feed off each other's antics and utterances.  Very adorable :)

They arranged a two night stay at Fairmont Hotel cos that weekend coincided nicely with the NDP rehearsals.  They managed to get a room facing the Padang so the boys got to watch the fly past, helicopters, parachutes, and of course, fireworks!  I'll have to get some of the pics that they took that weekend :)

What about Phuket?  Well, I was ill from start to finish of the trip.  In fact, I just got worse and worse.  I was also unable to enjoy all the spa treats cos of the pregnancy.  So I found myself sitting around while everyone else spent hours being kneaded and stretched.  BUT!  That was exactly how I liked it, cos I got to read to my heart's content!  I did exactly as I planned.  Read.  I brought along my cousin's copy of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.  She had lent it to be a few months after Asher was born, but I never got around to reading it.  So I thought I'd start on it during this trip.  I targeted to finish the book by the end of the two days, which for me - a slow reader - was going to be a challenge. 

But I did it!  Stayed up late at night, woke up early in the morning.  Was utterly antisocial with Jon during breakfast cos I'd just read and eat (altho he didn't mind cos he had his newspapers, and then in his words, he had "quiet"...tsk).  Didn't really get much chance to be antisocial with his friends cos most of them weren't even up that early anyway haha.  It's a hazard of parenthood I tell you.  No matter how late you sleep, you still end up waking up at 7am Singapore time and find you can't go back to sleep.  We had a good 2-3 hours before everyone was finally up, so we even had time to squeeze in a swim on the first morning before meeting them back at the breakfast hall. 

I also read through all those hours sitting at the spa waiting for everyone to be done with their massages, and was done just before we boarded the bus for the airport on the last day. 

I love the book!  I never watched the movie, and hadn't heard what the story was about.  My impression was that it was some action packed book cos the movie adverts showed vampires chasing each other.  But it was completely different!  It was not at all what I expected, and so much more compelling and engaging.   To me, it's not a book about vampires and werewolves and all that lore, it's a love story.  It's really a story about their relationship and it's development.  Ok, it's not a book to read to enjoy beautiful literature.  For that, stick to the classics.  But, somehow, despite all the cheesy lines, she manages to capture your imagination and pull you deep into the story.  Yes, there are plenty of cheesy lines.  How Edward is like a model/god/too good to be true, how he makes Bella hyperventilate/forget what she was thinking/lose her balance, etc.  And these lines are peppered throughout the book.  But, because of the way Edward is portrayed, I can believe that you would really think that of him, and you would react that way.  Oh, Edward!  ;)

Ya, I know many people think of it as a teenager's book.  But actually, the many adults I know who've read it love it too!  But admittedly, it's more of a girl's book.  To the skeptics, and especially the romantics at heart, put aside your preconceived notions and give the book a chance! 

At the end of the trip I had only done a teeny bit of shopping for 2 pieces of kids clothing, had Thai food when we could (we managed to make our way to one of the back alleys where locals eat which we discovered the last time we came), and made a discovery about crepes. 

There are plenty of street-side stalls selling crepes in Phuket, and Jon and I found that there really is a difference in quality of crepes, even though they may be located side by side.  We thought that since their menus all boasted approximately the same range of crepes, it probably didn't matter which stall you bought it from.  But on our last night there, we tried the chocolate & banana crepe.  The first one we had was made by a popular stallholder, and the queue was quite long.  I managed to study her method and found that she flipped the crepe before spreading the nutella.  She then let the chocolate bubble for a while before slicing the banana on top, folding the edges over, then pouring chocolate sauce on top.  It was a heavenly crepe.  Crispy on the outside, gooey goodness on the inside.  It was so good we decided to have another, but had walked while eating and decided to order the same crepe from a different stallholder.  Bad choice.  It was nothing like the first one, and I'm certain it has to do with the method.  This lady put blobs of nutella on the moist batter without having first flipped it.  She also cut the bananas straightaway onto the chocolate before folding the edges in and pouring the chocolate sauce over.  As a result, it was not crispy, more like man chiang kueh.  And the insides were too thick and jelak - not cos it was our second one for the night, but it was just too cloying to be enjoyable.  We didn't finish that crepe.

So anyway, back to the Twilight Saga.  When we got back to Singapore around 1am, I was still quite awake and straightaway started on New Moon.  Within a week from the time I first started Twilight, I was done with the series.  I couldn't put the book down!  I just kept wanting to go on and on, from book to book.  I was so energised!  It's been a very long time since I'd read a book that really captured my imagination, that filled my mind with images of places and settings I knew every detail about. 

I found myself digging deeper into the Twilight Saga after I'd finished the third and fourth books, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.  To my delight I discovered there was an unfinished book called Midnight Sun, which was Twilight written from Edward's perspective.  After that, I rented the videos for Twilight and New Moon and made Jon watch them with me.  He had refused to read the books but promised to humour me and watch together with me :)  However, the movies were a let down.  If I hadn't read the book I really wouldn't understand why Bella loves Edward so much and why she feels so strongly for him.  They fall in love too quickly.  I had my reservations about the movie before watching it because a lot of the important story telling parts of the book have to do with narration and internal thoughts - how do you put that into a movie?  And as expected, it was no where as good as what my own imagination had cooked up.  Told Jon that the movie probably only captures like 25% of whatever you can think up on your own. 

The the worst bit (well almost the worst...it's a toss up between the failure to live up the story and this), Robert Pattinson is so not my kind of Edward!  He seems just all wrong!  And what's with that weird hair?!  Edward's hair isn't described like that!  I saw from internet articles that he's apparently quite the acclaimed actor, and perhaps in other movies he really does do a good job, but in Twilight, he so bombed.  And it was clear, at least to me, that in the movie New Moon, Taylor Lautner who played Jacob was so much more convincing!   

The other bits that the movie was unable to capture properly were the portrayals of the other characters which I thought were quite central to the story, especially Alice. 

But I decided I liked the music from Twilight, especially after seeing the MTVs of Muse and Paramore from the DVDs, and went to get the soundtrack.  What a great buy!  I love the soundtrack!  It's one of those CDs I can put on repeat and not get tired of quickly. 

 Now, I'm waiting for VideoEzy to stock Eclipse.  I didn't catch it in theatres cos I hadn't read the books then.  Didn't want to spoil my reading experience.  And even though I know it won't live up to what's in my head, I still want to watch it anyway.

Juggling Time

Taking care of Asher alone is really training in time management and prioritization. Once there's a little bit of spare time I've gotta decide what needs to be done, and do it immediately. Should I bathe, eat breakfast, do the laundry, etc? Decision made, DO! Cos once the free time runs out, that's it, it's feed, play, then try to put him down for a nap again (not an easy task given that this boy doesn't like napping in the day. Each nap is preceded by a lot of fussing/crying/screaming.)

It's a challenge, but it's been fun juggling caring for Asher, cooking my lunches and some dinners, doing the laundry, some ironing, folding clothes, packing up the house, checking email, and when I'm really free, blogging :)

Of course there are the frustrating moments, and it can get tiring. I'm usually quite worn out by the weekend. I'm always glad when Jon comes back home cos it's an extra pair of hands to help - and he's a big help! My mum comes by occasionally to bring me lunch now and then too. But personal time is hard to find. Diary entries have become just a few lines to a few paras long instead of pages and pages like how they used to be.

Still, there are some things that are great. All the feeding time means I've plenty of time to read (albeit intermittently). Finished up 3 book so far - Sippy Cups are Not for Champagne, Momfidence, and Sense and Sensibility. The first two were lent to us along with a few other pregnancy/parenting books. Just some entertaining, brainless, reads :) The last was a book I've always wanted to read but never got round to it. I really like that era of novels cos the writers then seemed to be able to capture the psychology and emotions of their characters so well!

Besides books, I've now found a new favourite TV programme on Discovery Travel and Living! Jon & Kate plus 8! During my 11am-ish feeds I'm always at the TV watching this show. It's a reality show about the Gosselin family where Jon (30) and Kate (dunno her age) have 8 kids - two six-year-olds, and six two-year-olds. Imagine! I find it inspiring to know that Kate, with so many kids on hand, can still care for them all on her own, prepare all their meals, clean the house, and the kids are all so lovely and well-adjusted (on TV at least) :) Each episode features what would be an easy activity for an ordinary sized family to accomplish, but which requires so much planning for their family. Things like going to to zoo, taking a road trip to Disneyland in Orlando, buying beds for the children, etc. And the kids are soooooo cute!

Anyway, despite the business I've still managed to find time to try new recipes! Recently I made Spanakopita, a Greek spinach pie. Recipe courtery of Discovery Travel and Living's Food Safari show. (As you can tell, Discovery Travel and Living is my fav channel on TV). It's made with filo pastry and filled with spinach, greek feta, pecorino, and ricotta. Yum yum yum! I had made a huge pie 2 Saturdays ago, and Jon and I finished it all in one afternoon! Then a few days after that, since I had extra ingredients, I decided to do a short-cut version for lunch :)


Yesterday, Jon and I made hamburgers from scratch complete with chips and salad! We marinated the beef with all kinds of herbs and spices, then made the patties and fried them. We also had a couple of friends over to enjoy the meal. What fun! Cooking is so therapeutic! :) (Although I must admit the cleaning up after is less fun heh).

A few weeks back we also endeavoured to make potato salad for a friend's party. Jon was very supportive of this cos he loves that reciple :) I think we made it as much for ourselves as for the party haha :)

There are still several recipes I want to try! Lets see if I find the time!

Juggle, juggle, juggle!

Anyway, some not so recent pics of Asher, just cos I like them :)

Dark Materials

I actually read this series of books last November. Philip Pullman's Northern Lights , The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass make up the Dark Materials series.

I really enjoyed these books. They are engrossing reads, and I found that once I started I couldn't stop! It's been a long time since I read a book that manages to keep up the tension throughout the entire story, which makes you turn the pages faster and faster! I thought it was very imaginative - the characters, the plot, the setting were all very original. I recommend these books if you're looking for a good, adventure-filled read.

I know there are controversies regarding his apparent anti-Christian stance. But as I was reading the books, I didn't think he was criticising Christianity per se, but rather he was against institutionalised religion in general. Not that the organisation of religion is bad in and of itself, but it appears he is against the way religion can sometimes be practiced, e.g., if one has a legalistic approach. Although some reviews and commentaries, and even Pullman himself, say that his books are about killing God, the Authority who supposedly represents God, is clearly described in the books as not God himself! That seems to me an important and telling distinction! Pullman described the Authority as being an angel that has posed as God, but is not God, and that there separately does exist a Creator God! In fact, God himself doesn't really make an appearance in the book, and the issues circle around the Authority and Metatron (another angel). The whole set-up doesn't quite seem to reflect Christianity, but rather is an obviously fictional religious order.

While I can see how people may say the books are anti-Christian, I personally didn't get that feel when I read the books. I think the books are good for the storyline itself. Even if he does try to throw in some subversive ideas, it seems that overall, the books just come off as a good series of fiction. If a comparison has to be made, I think the Da Vinci Code is probably more controversial since it mixes falsehoods and truths in an indistinguishable manner.

Anyway, since reading the book it's been fun seeing Oxford, where some parts of the book are set, chasing the Northern Lights in Iceland, and seeing the boat houses in Amsterdam. Not that I intentionally chose to go to these places because of the book! I have independently always wanted to visit these places/see these things, and it was just interesting to have this story to tie them together :)

A Clockwork Orange

This is one of those books I've been wanting to read for a long long time. I heard about it when I was in uni from a course-mate, who swore it was incredible.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess doesn't disappoint and is a real horrorshow of a book. Narrated by Alex, who speaks with the Natsat slang, the initial pages you are trying to work out what the various words mean. But after a while you get the hang of it, and become real horrorshow. With his malchicks and devotchkas, droogs, moloko plus, veshches and all that cal.

The Ludovico Technique mentioned in the book bascially creates negative associations to ultra-violence, and any violence at all in fact, though conditioning. In their effort to employ aversion therapy on Alex, and make him sick with nausea to the point that he'd rather die when seeing/experiencing any violence at all, Alex becomes much like one of Pavlov's dogs, unthinkingly reacting to stimuli. This is one of the questions raised in the book - is a human still human if he has no choice. Even though Alex is now incapable of doing evil, and is thus socially acceptable and law abiding, is it morally right for the state to create a clockwork orange? To deprive him of choice?

On a larger scale, the clockwork occurs on a societal level in general. In the last chapter, Alex ruminates about his life since leaving prison, and finds that in all likelihood, even though he grows out of his enjoyment of ultra-violence, the next generation of youths, and the next and the next, will also go through that whole stage. It cannot be helped, and will go on to the end of the world - like clockwork. A rather bleak picture, but on a less extreme scale, doesn't that already happen now? The young have to still learn by making their own mistakes, even if their parents warn them and tell them the dangers. One has to go through the whole period of "growing up".

Another interesting thing I found was the balanced point of view the book gives. That while the state was painted in the most horrible light, attempting to use inhuman techniques to rehabilitate criminals, the opposition was no better. When Alex was released from prison, and came across people who were strongly opposed to the ways of the government, they themselves were no better. They wanted to use Alex as a symbol of the state's evil, but they felt he didn't look ragged or tortured enough. They wanted to make him worse, to give their cause that extra oomph. They played on his weakness (which only came about because of the "rehab") and drove him to the point where he tried decided to commit suicide. What better headline than "Government Drives Man to Suicide"?

It is clear to see that one can go too far in fighting for a cause, and forget the person at the heart of it. Alex kept asking "what about me?", a question which was promptly ignored by all sides. After being a symbol, after the fighting, what happens to the person? I think that is a question that must seriously be grappled with.

The book is excellent in that it doesn't give you answers straight out, but really provokes you to think about polemical issues like morality, choice, power and control, etc.

A highly recommended read.

Edward Trencom's Nose

We bought this book from Borders last week at half-price. It sounded funny and interesting - about a man, his family history, and a love affair with cheese.

So I spent a whole day reading and finished it! Such a shiok feeling.

Anyway Edward Trencom's Nose by Giles Milton was an ok, and mildly entertaining read. Not quite the ha-ha funny type of comedic book as it was supposed to be. And I kind of guessed the ending halfway through the book. There were just so many clues! And the only thing that keeps it going is that the truth is just withheld to the end. For example Edward will be told by someone who knows the whole truth about the mystery of his nose that "I can't tell you now because your life is in danger", or "I can't tell you now, the timing is not right"... Ya, so its a little bit 'irritating' in that the story hinges on a truth that exists from the beginning, just that it is not revealed. It doesn't give the reader the pleasure of a developing story with new truths uncovered along the way. It doesn't keep you in suspense because of a curiosity to find out what development is going to happen next, but rather you keep reading because you just wanna know what that mysterious character was going to say all along!!

And the cheese element kind of dissipated towards the end. After a while, the cheese was kind of just a backdrop, not as integral to the storyline as you are made to think.

But anyway, couldn't resist eating cheese while reading the book haha! So had a nice helping of yummy stilton (a lovely smelly english cheese that I discovered during the roadtrip to Cornwall) :) mmm...cheeeese *wave hands in the Wallace way*

Ceci Est Ma Femme

I finished the book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks!

Yes, its one of those books that I've been reading on and off for a while. It's a highly interesting book, especially if you are interested in psychology!

Split into four parts, it looks at 'losses', 'excesses', 'transports', and 'the world of the simple'.

For 'losses' the books focuses on right-hemisphere lesions/syndromes, which generally have effects which are difficult for the so-called 'normal population' to relate to. Left brain lesions can readily be localised to specific regions in the brain, and result in effects that are easier to comprehend. For example damage to Broca's area can affect the ability to construct complex grammatical sentences. Also, patients are aware of the problem. But for right hemisphere damage, patients display remarkable anosagnosia, not realising that they have a problem at all. And it is even more difficult for us to understand what the world looks like from their point of view. For example, how is it that someone can genuinely see not see his wife's head, but see a hat instead? Lost in a world of abstractions, this man could not see a glove as a glove, he did not recognise it. Rather when examining that specimen, he described it as "a continuous surface infolded on itself with five outpouchings...a container of some sort", he couldn't even guess at what it might be a container for - he couldn't recognise the shape of the hand. And he really didn't know, didn't feel, that there was a problem!

Or how does it feel like to feel like your body does not belong to you, where if you do not look at your hand it will wander off on its own; where you can only control your movements if you look at your feet as you walk, look at your hands as you take something?

The topics on excesses and transports were equally interesting, but i think the most moving part was the last topic which looked at mentally retarded people. Often the 'normal population' sees them as being unintelligent, incapable, not being able to 'fit in'. But as the author has found, "while they may be 'mentally defective' in some ways, they may be mentally interesting, even mentally complete, in others", or even gifted in specific areas. But in the effort to make them behave in 'socially acceptable' ways, they are forced to do menial jobs, to conform to 'normal' behaviour. And in so doing, many lose their giftedness, and possibly their centre. An alternative to consider is to nurture the gifted abilities, along with an empathic relationship, to help the person develop to his/her full potential. Is it really a 'small price to pay' to sacrifice their giftedness in order to make them conform to society?