Hazel Ceej

The Big Chili continues to behave like an oven. As I type this, I am chatting on the phone with a friend who is speeding on an Arabian expressway. She reports it's pouring around Abu Dhabi. I tell her I'm going island-hopping. In my dream, that is. For now I am grateful for faves of the week:: Life-saving AC. S ince walking around in rising temps this invention has become my best friend. And as for the board room thingy with an amusing laptop reflection that's bluer than the blue above it, that's where I was officially informed about  Remuneration . I thought it went with the normal salary but it seems the university is happy to pay researchers extra. Imagination . It does help when there is something to look forward to. Tax sorted . A colleague fixed a little problem in it for me. Until next year Mr Tax . For now I'm celebrating with some   Cold Stone delight . A yummy antidote to the notorious Bangkok heat. I may stil...

I love touring and sightseeing. I don't hesitate to visit an interesting place twice if there's a chance. But I am not visiting this place again even if you paid me to do it. Cheong Ek Genocidal Center in a distance After many whispers of wows at the splendor of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, my companions and I proceeded to Phnom Pehn. I was kicking to finally see the Killing Fields. "This is it," I mused as my 12-year old self: "those rows of 'cabbages' (skulls) in a documentary with John Lennon singing Imagine , now the Killing Fields for real." We then started exploring. At first I thought this was an old pigsty. What we saw were...     bones And that was when we fell silent - especially when we realized that much of the ground is still strewn with clothes of victims.  more clothes 'Truck Stop:' "place where trucks transporting victims to be exterminated from Toul Sleng Prison, stopped." Tru...

It's been hot hot hot in the Big Chili this week. Where I would have preferred cool breezy nights with a beaming moon, we were dealing with a raging sun. But joys and faves here we go: Spontaneous outing with family . We had fun browsing bottle art and learning which country the wines come from.   A better-idea sky.  I stare at it and think why not invite a friend to go on a Halong Bay cruise with me instead? It will turn the disappointment over changes on my trip to Vietnam into something I will surely enjoy. Spending time with winged friends in the park. Kicking off the routine high heels, wearing jeans and walking barefoot on the grass were just as great. St. Patrick's Day. I'm no Irish but why the Saint Patrick's mode? And I muse, why not? At least I once dated an Irish guy. I remember being fascinated when I witnessed glimpses of the famous Irish temper in him - stuff I only read about in books before I met him. That was something like a l...

A lovely week my friends! I give you sunrise from the world's largest religious monument - Angkor Wat and a quiet spot from the chili patches Some days this week were bittersweet. But I'm loving the joys and faves: This goodbye is not forever . Someone dear to me is away for a couple of days. On call for an important politician, he does not know when is he returning to base. Communication to the outside is quite restricted. Then out of the blue he sent word saying he was making use of what internet access was allowed 'along palace perimeter...' and then he was gone. But I'm glad he tried to reach me. Monuments Men . Those art pieces! They took my breath away. The Valley is a friend's short story which he asked me to edit for an alumni newsletter. I was hesitant; warned him I might unwittingly ruin it. My mind went back to that article I wrote 19 years ago. It was too late when I realized how unnecessarily sentimental it sounded; it was already...

Someone says good memories are for bad times; not that I'm having one. It feels good to express gratitude.  I look over my week and notice that I put in effort to turn yesterday's emotional glitch around. The attempt was successful. I am happy. So on to this life-enhancing exercise of sharing joys and faves: attending an art exhibit whose artist I have personally met from a fundraiser for Haiyan victims last year a friend I haven't seen in 25 years who now lives in the UAE rang and we chatted for two hours Pompeii and Robocop someone tells me I am her inspiration. Whatever she meant I thought knowing that was inspiring as well memories! I woke up one fine morning this week and reminisced: this spot in a splash resort, so appealing to the country girl in me  (Del Rio, June 2012) exploring a lake with young nephews and nieces (Sebu, 1 January 2014) finding myself in a lovely tea room free to dream as much as I want (Cassia Cafe and Tea Room, 2...