Hazel Ceej

In this post: Booking Through Thursday and Thursday Thirteen Have you ever used a book to instruct someone of something or is there anyone for whom you would like to do that? (I don’t mean a text book for a class, but a work of fiction or non-fiction that would get a certain message across either through plot or character). What is the book and what do you wish to impart? Professionally, yes but not necessarily the book in its entirety. I used Don Quixote in an English camp for the Thai teaching staff of a business institute. A drill on the parts of speech served as instrument to carry bits of idealism and realism across.  Personally I use books to instruct a young nephew and niece about life in general. The books are gifts that they are to read if they want something more later. 'More' could mean an all-expenses paid trip to the mall in exchange for learning something from the books. Yes, I could be a doting, strict, crazy aunt. I gave Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

LDP or long - distance parenting entails lengthy phone calls and expensive phone bills. The latter element of this reality changed when a cousin began selling calls to the Philippines, each lasting 49 minutes for only 110 baht. Quite a break from when I used to pay an average of 4,000 baht a month and sometimes twice that figure; which is more than enough for a low cost two-way Bangkok - Manila ticket. That is something I am greatly thankful for and happy about nowadays. The other thing is learning something new out of LDP:  Special Power of Attorney, which authorizes a guardian to process documents in behalf of a minor. My kiddo's Philippine passport (he has dual citizenship; holds two passports) needs to be renewed as the plan this summer is for him to do some traveling again. This notarial service at the Philippine embassy in Bangkok is efficient. I got the SPA and sent it by registered mail within three hours yesterday. It looks like I'm dealing with airports, air crafts,

Are you familiar with Jacquie Lawson ecards? Thom , a bloggity friend sent me an animated flash ecard by Jacquie Lawson . That was about three years ago and though he's no longer blogging regularly nowadays, these ecards keep coming. And do I like these cards? You bet! A few reasons why I like, no, love them: Following instructions and discovering what comes out is so much fun. I love what I see so much I take a shot of one scene despite knowing the result won't be as I see it live on screen. They are hand paintings! Just my kind of art.And the music works perfectly for me. Here's an example: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7V_Ya8uRmk&feature=related[/youtube] Back to fabulous Thom Robinson. Except for our blogging interaction I haven't done anything to compel him to send me cards that are costing him . So I call it pure thoughtfulness on his part. Last week I sent him a message thanking him for the Valentine ecard. He replied asking how CJ is . He even re

In this post: Booking Through Thursday and Thursday Thirteen Have you ever fallen in love with a fictional character? Who and what about them did you love? Not really in love. Infatuated, more likely. A girl friend enticed me to read the Twilight Series .  She's a medical doctor in her mid 30s; I'm a freaking university instructor in my late 30s, and we giggle over 16-y.o. Jacob Black ?! We liked Edward Cullen too but he's too pale-skinned and can never beat Jake's six pack. Oh la-la! I mean it's awesome to just feel and not think sometimes. And there's Sirius Black of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban fame. Seriously I enjoyed fantasizing over him. Rich, handsome, arrogant, bully.  A lot like my real life ex-husband. No wonder a male friend calls me gaga at regular intervals. But I am completely at peace with the world and my neurotic self about all this . Thursday Thirteen: Love - Hate The wizarding world's characters that I love and hate in simu

"They got second place in the sack race. I asked Maybelle to accompany him. They're getting ready for the mass dance now." That was my mother's SMS on February 17th.  I had forgotten that CJ was in Marbel for the Kiddie Fest, a children's activity organized by the Department of Education, participated in by both public and private school children. Reality poked me again:  I am doing long-distance parenting right now and have to live with bits and pieces of this arrangement until we snag a better option. Fortunately I can be grateful and happy for the presence of loved ones in my son's life while I am not physically around. Maybelle is my deceased cousin's youngest daughter. I took this photo of her and CJ goofing at home last summer. I am glad they get along well.  Thank you, Maybelle for being CJ's sack race partner. I imagine myself leaping about with a 7 year-old in a sack. My mind flies back to a parade of high heels and work suits in my apartment,

Julie Andrews allegedly sang a parody of the Sound of Music tune My Favorite Things at an AARP benefit to commemorate her 69th birthday. I thought it was fun and interesting, even though there was no confirmation that Julie Andrews did sing it. Thus, 'allegedly' as About.com-Urban Legends put it. I was thirty-five then, and getting conscious of the fact that in five years my life would begin. I like believing in "life begins at forty." To mark my 40th birthday last year I did my own lyrics revision. And came up with this:  If you are not familiar with my blog: CJ is my son, Mozart is my fur kid (picture on sidebar), my mother is a soprano, and I am usually her piano accompanist. My father's second wife, RIP Father , was the chess; and my mother beat him in scrabble mercilessly. I grew up watching an uncle's ballroom dances and staring in wonder at his trophies. My pet peeve is internet/computer inaccessibility. I hate a runny nose with fervor and although

How often do you get to a cafe with part of its walls like this? To be honest I had no idea what was this. But I love literature, and I am always thrilled to spot references to it in places I do not expect them to be at. A bit of skimming tells me this is from a novel called Holes by Louis Sachar .  It won the 1998 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, and was adapted into a film in 2003. What adds to my delight is finding that in 1999 Holes won the Newbery Medal for "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children." 'For Children .' As moms aren't we always on the lookout for media that we would consider sharing to our kids? This post is linked with Happiness is ... and Mommy Moments .