Hazel Ceej

It has been a fun-filled week. These are my faves: Black Forest Usually I resist and often I am successful. But just this once I gave in to one slice of chocolate delight. Sometimes I wonder about the status of my workplace: is this still a university or has it turned into a party hub? Ok, it's still a university where birthday parties happen. I'll worry about the expanding waist later. Alone time Work on Wednesday made me forget to eat. By the time I came back to my apartment I was famished. I treated myself to brunch at my favorite Japanese restaurant. Isn't it also lucky that I got seated right away? Items that serve one's intended purpose This sounds to me like a shopping result that's worth the money: books that kick off stress, footwear that weaves 5-second dreams of a suit-clad 21st century Cinderella and accessories that compel you to relax. Time out with friends at an album promo tour When you've done nothing but focus on your job for a long time, it...

Musical Monday: Supermassive Black Hole Please scroll down for Monday Mayhem Stephenie Meyer's writing prowess is my weekend-with-Monday-and-Tuesday-off drug. I've never actually read anything until now. Not into much of the fan mania either. I'm using the books to soothe crazy nerves over future stuff I'm dealing with. As far as the movie goes, this has to be my fave scene and tune. Visit Amanda for more Monday music. *************************** Monday Mayhem: Top Ten Repeated Meme Questions Please scroll up for Musical Monday Today's meme is The Top Ten Repeated Meme Questions. You know, the questions that we see always popping up in memes all over the place. This is your chance to have fun answering them. Choose a cartoon character, celebrity or someone in the news to answer them as. For example, if you are a fan of Homer Simpson, answer the questions as if you are really Homer. Who are you answering these as? 1. If you were on a deserted island, what three th...

Age or science is backing up my aching heels - from 3 inches virtually 24/7 at work down to a couple of cms, tendons had to be on adjust mode while I traipsed a huge park with CJ, fulfilling my promise that I'd give him Disneyland for his 6th birthday. So I attempted a Mommy-made up version of Winnie the Pooh's Blustery Day while relaxing tired muscles. I didn't realize how much fun a day out could be... especially if you didn't have to worry about humidity. Chris hosts (Park Day) Mommy Moments .

Write From Karen For starters, I'd like some milk and whiskey.... A muscle towed my brow upward. "We are talking fine dining, people, and I want you all to go international," I announced to a group of Marketing majors last Sunday. These are what I fancied from their presentation: 1. Red mullet and skordalia (Greek) 2. Salmon sashimi with avocado (Japanese) 3. Braised halibut provencal (French) 4. Chargrilled prawns with lemongrass, tomatoes and coconut (Malaysian) 5. Lamb Steak with tequila and chilli (Mexican) 6. Veal roast with aromatic herbs and potatoes (Italian) 7. Roast mutton with red currant jelly (English) 8. Vermicilli with oyster mushrooms and king prawns (Vietnamese) 9. Somboon crab curry (Thai) 10. Chicken chow mien (Chinese American) 11. Barbecued lamb cutlets with mango and coriander salsa (African) 12. Bulalo (Filipino) 13. Paella vegetarian (Spanish) Never again will I go to work with an empty stomach . Megan and Janet host Thursday Thirteen . Click here ...

Our Weekend Memoirs: Yellow Please scroll down for Sunday Stealing The VP passed by, waving, "Mae, I got a meeting on the 12th floor..." shifting my reverie from Bonito chocolate cake to the realization that most of those I voted for in the latest national election are now in office. The convenience of absentee voting. A hanging similarity zooming into a daydreamer's line of vision. The Thai monarch and the new Philippine president have the same identity color. Visit Our Weekend Memoirs ***************************************** Sunday Stealing: Meme of Many Odd Questions, Part Two Please scroll up for Our Weekend Memoirs Today we ripped this meme off a blogger named Kuda Girl of the blog named Kuda Girl's Journal . Kuda Girl explains that she ripped it from two bloggers Slay Me Softly and Dragon Fly Lady. But, it was probably stolen there as well. So, of course, that will be as far as we go. Tracing back our theft's thieves might take some time. It has 65 questi...

I'm riding along Mommy Moments this week; my first post in months. I miss this meme, the kids' photos and the mommy chats. Alrighty here's CJ eyeing the next ride... This was some space capsule if I remembered it right - Everytime I fasten CJ on a helicopter, I daydream of my very first experience with aircrafts. I was his age. A helicopter with a bride on board flew low over our neighborhood dropping us bunches of red bougainvillas. To this day that beautiful spectacle remains alluringly fresh in my mind. For CJ I like to think this ride symbolizes a limitless sky he could soar into. I love the sensation of holding and releasing my breath watching him take off, and hoping he will be just fine. Check out more kids' rides at The Mommy Journey .

Write From Karen Yahoo Business listed books as some of the things you shouldn't buy brand new. I don't recall ever buying a second-hand book; thought I'd explore a used book shop down Sukhumvit this weekend. It's been awhile since I read any biography and these titles piqued my interest: 1. Samuel Beckett by Deirdre Blair 2. As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Lee Laurie 3. For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming & James Bond by Ben MacIntyre 4. J.K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter by Marc Shapiro 5. Jane Austen and Leisure by David Selwyn 6. His Eye is on the Sparrow by Ethel Waters 7. Into my own: the English Years of Robert Frost by John E. Walsh 8. Ecce Homo by Friedrich Nietzsche 9. All God's Dangers by Theodore Rosengarten 10. Karl Marx: a life by Francis Wheen 11. Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel 12. Leonardo da Vinci: heights of the mind by Charles Nicholl 13. Beginner's Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize by Peter Doherty ( It do...

Our Weekend Memoirs: Little Boy White Please scroll down for Sunday Stealing Night fell fast. We hurried out of the office. As we got off the lift and into a garden, my kiddo stalled. It was the dark. I started shooting still figures in the water. A few clicks later, he urged, "one more, Mom." It was my first time to come up close to this part of the garden in twelve years. Fear was of use to me that night. We walked home. Visit Our Weekend Memoirs ***************************************** Sunday Stealing: Meme of Many Odd Questions, Part One Please scroll up for Our Weekend Memoirs Today we ripped this meme off a blogger named Kuda Girl of the blog named Kuda Girl's Journal . Kuda Girl explains that she ripped it from two bloggers Slay Me Softly and Dragon Fly Lady. But, it was probably stolen there as well. So, of course, that will be as far as we go. Tracing back our theft's thieves might take some time. It has 65 questions, so we'll do it in parts. Link back ...

A few not-so-routine stuff and a rare one in the offing, out come my week's faves: 1. "You're blooming... are you dating?" someone at work suddenly asked me that. I laughed hard and coughed out, "what? of course I'm not!" He walked away looking pleased and determined at his own conclusion, "I knew it...you're dating." Now if it were true... but well, I loved the laughter. 2. String-tying ceremony ( I forgot my cam but here's an idea ) the charm of the tradition unfailingly upholds cultural identity 3. Walking on soft earth a refreshing break from tick-tocking on concrete all the time 4. Outdoor warmth an assignment requires me to be out of the office for four hours every Friday this term. The warm morning breeze works better on me than freezing AC's. Bye-bye, shrinking skin. 5. Hard but exciting choices a weekend with colleagues in Beijing or a few days in Bangkok with someone I haven't seen in two decades? There's only o...

When I feel like passing out attacking terrene everyday-ness, I turn to classical music. These things dance in my mind as the first strain goes off: 1. film scores 2. those childhood piano lessons 3. Europe 4. killer essay exams 5. pregnancy and babies 6. orchestra 7. Math and Science 8. relaxation 9. plenary halls 10. qualitative research analysis 11. humming to self 12. appealing quaintness 13. being at peace with the world What are your associations with classical music? ~ header from Samulli / click here for more T13 ~

This Friday is just great! I had a few irritants up my back and didn't count on coming up with a set of faves, but although life sometimes looks so dim, it also has pleasant surprises so here I am -- Possibilities I'm working on publishing a couple of academic articles and found a feasible place for them. Facebook thrill It's been 22 years since high school graduation, and so wonderful to reconnect and reminisce with former classmates and teen crushes. Another sentence, clear and straight! There's something I'm fixing nowadays. It's why I was absent from the blogosphere for some time (wrote a page about it). CJ is making significant progress and I'm on cloud nine. Although he uttered "I'm the winner, you're the loser" to his friend, I'm okay with that. I mean CJ sounds like he got some of his Dad's cold and hard, competitive stock market spirit; but as long as there is improvement or anything better than the present clinical impres...