doby the green iguana August 24, 2007

the dear cousin and her hubby keep an iguana in their lovely home in china. under its dinosaurian appearance, doby is one shy companion. its daily routine – wake up, UV light-bathe, pee and poo (once a day only! if only latte’s like that too) in the bathroom, sunbathe on the rocking chair at the balcony, eat his buffet of vegetables and fruits, stone on the CPU, sleep when the sun sets. unfazed by the sultry, sizzling sun in the summer afternoons, and my excited yappings, he’s the epitome of coolness. just his signature head-bobbing, and occasional licks (lizard kisses) to kuan and andy (never me!). i think latte would love doby.

:: bad quality videos ahead ::

tianjin and beijing in fourteen days July 31, 2007

the travel journal in the mind has its pages filled, pictures coloured. but they havent found their way to this space. maybe it’s the inertia, maybe it’s just laze disguising as inertia. in playback mode, finally – days of being chinese in china.

the good
:: i cant rave enough about our hosts – kuan and dan, xiaoshu and xiaoshen (relatives of dan). incredible with a capital i.
:: two great cabbies who paused their meters in a jam and a detour. that’s integrity charged with another capital i.
:: drinking beer like drinking water. an average bottle of beer costs only SGD$1. the canned coffee costs much more.
:: two sessions of crazy karaoke singing with kuan was nostalgic, eye-opening to a certain extent. the hubby and i are clueless when it comes to chinese songs in the new millenium. kuan makes for a great karaoke crash course instructor. and we found a song called’ singapore cowboy’, with a decent tune, decent lyrics, and decent mtv!

the bad
:: determined to be travellers and not tourists, we trodded along some old hutongs, signature of old beijing lanes. and we found a stall selling dog meat. dog legs braised like pig’s trotters. possibly the worst sight ever.
:: the air is polluted polluted polluted. POLLUTED.

the ugly
:: one cabbie claimed that wangfujing is having a fire drill and would be out of bounds to all shoppers that morning. he suggested (like a million times) to drive us to longtou to witness some great event, seen only once in sixty years. we insisted on heading to wangfujing for that much needed non-squat pan toilet break, and found out as expected, that there was no such fire drill, or longtou destination in beijing.
:: we got thwacked in the arms many a time by irritating, over-aggressive vendors. and i’ve brought back a bruise in the arm by a running boy.
:: they’re everywhere. rowdy chinese tourists who are convinced that the only way to enjoy themselves is to scream and spit, even at tiananmen.

there’s a certain kind of buzz in china, but it’s probably just not for us. it’s now back to finger-licking latte boy, freshly brewed long white and simple splendour in our little home.

tianjin in four days July 14, 2007

kuan and dan have been the best of hosts. bestest bestest bestest. one business meeting over, and we might just get to be based in our little island. i had my hair done (no washing for 48 hours is yeeky yeeks), we had our songs sung (oh so cheap and oh so advanced). we went to the dog farm and it’s a cocktail of emotions. bred badly, it’s sad to look really. dvd supply in their home is twice the number in play kiosk, and we get to cocoon ourselves in front of the swivel plasma. their pet iguana doby is cute to a fault. it bobs its head for everything, and stays in the same position for the longest time. amazing. food is cheap, but we’re not exactly loving it. and i so miss my weekly channel 5 and arts central dosages of good and bad tv.

it’s off to beijing tomorrow (via the railway oh yeah!) for the zoo, forbidden city and necessary sprinkle of shopping. dan had plans to rail us to shanghai, but it’s apparently raining big cats and huge dogs in the southern area. so beijing it is for 3-4 days and back to tianjin for more biz-talking, and china-living.

“latte has been a good boy. a little crazy sometimes, but still good,” muses my sis-in-law. yes, my boy likes to run around the house suddenly, with or without cue. he looks crazy, but he’s really a sheepdog, you see. latte boy, see you in ten days.

tianjin in day one July 10, 2007

no one ever told me leaving a pet for a holiday is so darn hard. the sun was barely up when we crept outside to a sleepy-eyed latte who is always thrilled for some company. we set off on a dancy-happy morning walk, just in time to enjoy the dawn breaking. then it was many kisses drenched in hot tears. two suitcases out, door closed, knowing barks, silent goodbyes. we left the house an hour later than planned, just so the mummy in me can see the boy a little while longer. my morning was ruined. red-eyed, broken-hearted.

the boy’s in good hands, and he’s doing well, we heard. so the day became much better. very good, in fact. lovely apartment, dog-loving community, hopeful dreams. pollution’s a little bad, but nothing an excited couple cant handle. it’s funny to watch charlie’s angels in mandarin. cuteness.  so it’s now waiting for the mister to come out of the shower to watch the pursuit of happyness. a good show to end the day. a good sign for things to come.

good night latte boy, sleep tight. we love you.

so it’s back to the land of a thousand smiles tomo… December 12, 2006

so it’s back to the land of a thousand smiles tomorrow. it’s always good, that shopping, that feasting, that buzz. we are going back to a garden, wishing very much that the nice sweet lady who served us venison carving is still there in her black crisp shirt. and pinky, yes pinky, i trust our suits with him. i’m excited over everything all at once. our trip, hazel’s wedding, prison break marathon, washing the sheets tomorrow morning, and coming back to clean sun-dried fresh-smelling sheets. gen will be back from aussieland, so we can go gaga again over coffee, john stevens and pretty blooms. more cosy christmas gatherings ahead, and maybe a couple of chi chi parties too. it’s all about joy, loving, sharing, smiling and kissing this lovely season.

we miss rayavadee. even the monsoon is quaintly b… September 22, 2006

we miss rayavadee. even the monsoon is quaintly beautiful. sometimes, there is a nice familiar smell of impending rain, and a breeze that cools, not freezes. it has this slanty kind of rain that makes a brolly pretty useless. so we walk in the rain, then run when it gets a little too heavy to be romantic. and sometimes, the sunshine just pours in, giving my cheeks that pink glow i so love. i look up, and the lazy shifting of the gigantic clouds puffed out grandly in the sky hynotises. time has that slowed down feeling. i steal peeks at him, and he’s always smiling. it’s almost three months since the honeymoon. time for another one. just you and me, boxed off from the world.

the one with the cds March 3, 2006

It’s funny to see these laws. five o’clock, no sell no sell. fine by me. i’m not a beer drinker and definitely not a fan of singha. back home, the rhythm at work has gotten faster. i need to go vivace, not andante. much done, more to go. it’s a long walk till july. hang on little tomato. this week, i’ve got chet baker to serenade me through the week. and i was seduced greatly by the musical seductions from china’s age of decadence. this saturday, the folks are meeting the folks. i’m excited. let us eat, smile, love. to the dear one, let’s do nothing. all i want is to watch the comings and goings of people, let the breeze lift my hair, dry my face, and remind me that it’s the weekend. no rush no rush.

the one with the land of a thousand smiles February 23, 2006

we had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun. and i had the sweetest birthday ever. because there was a sealed invitation to dinner at a garden handmade by his royal highness in the wee small hours of the night. then there was a long dark alley walk to the garden which turned out to be way longer than ’short’. it gave me time to hold his hands a little longer, and for him to sing his made-up songs a lot longer. it’s our garden. a garden of love, of barbequed chicken, of roast ostrich, of lamb carving, of prawns in shot glasses, of cream of salmon and mussel soup, of unfinishable pink lady. we lived lush moments. we ate like a prince and princess tucked away in the stardust land of fallen leaves and rose blossoms and year-round celebration of valentine’s. and i wanna drive that mini in the garden back home. it’s amazing how little it had taken to make such a grand moment. it just takes love.

his food poisoning from MBK food is like a big ink blob on a beautiful composition. we got suits, wedding favours, ceramics. lovely pieces for our lovely home. but he had that evil bug that threatened to ruin the trip. room service to the rescue, and we rediscovered the joy of room service and star movies. 1 sick man, 2 couches, 3 room service calls, 4 movies, 5 visits to the room loo. MBK food no more. we shall eat at the garden everyday.

a roy ca.

 

 

the one with the pics July 12, 2005

 

the one with the pix…

 

little loo lights…

the egg yolk in the morning sky…

your legs, my leg…

peach-it-to-me, blackberry blues, and a pretty hibiscus…

homemade breakfast – the foccacia monsters with the red tongues

ahhhhhhh…

the one with bintan bliss… July 5, 2005

the one with bintan bliss…

i love to pass by someone, take the time to nod a greeting, or even stand and make a little conversation, with the sun making a disc of warmth on the top of my head.

i love seeing people with their hands behind their heads and their ankles crossed, savouring the sun and its glorious moments.

i love snapping contax pictures to preserve all sights and sensations that will go down in our bintan history.

i love tucking my knees under my chin and enjoying the massage of the jaccuzi.

i love the bestest bread i have ever tasted from the cove.

i love that there is a different weight to the air, where people sit on the balcony after dinner, reading a novel or simply sitting idle.

i love waking up in the morning to a kiss planted on my forehead with the tenderest morning greeting.

i love the sun illumintating the landscape during its rise.

i love the lime green napkins on our breakfast table.

i love to tap to the jazz numbers in the shuffle, with the thumping of the raindrops as the back vocals.

i love how the lovely morning made everything right again despite midnight fogging.

i love the feel of cool sand piling on my feet.

i love the delirious piggy-backing in the gentle sea.

i love the infectious laughter ringing from him.

i love the power i have when i manage to piggy-back him to shore.

i love how anna infused thai and swedish strokes to give me that magical massage and rid me of all kinks and knots.

i love how we can fart and burp in front of each other and have a good laugh at our own stench.

i love dining under the stars with the flickering burning torches as our light.

i love swiping the flies with the menu and hearing him laugh at me endearingly.

i love the freshly baked pizza and the service with a smile.

i love conjuring up breakfast in the room and watching him eat it.

i love snuggling under the white duvet and cocooning in our warm little world.

i love propping both of my pillows so that i can lean against them and read in the luxury way.

i love to see the shimmer in his eyes and hear the deep sigh that he heaves when he reads my humble work.

i love when he tells me he has fallen deeper in love and he thinks i am amazing.

i love that i cant get enough of him and off we go for more intertwining handholding at changi village with the best nasi lemak.

i love you.