Hazel Ceej

A university president was guest speaker at g raduation rites in a neighboring school. He was fascinated by seniors in cap and gown taking their time marching to the tune of Pomp and Circumstance . When he rose to address them he recounted how they do graduations over at his university - "Our graduating students don't march. They sprint. We herd them to the stage to receive their diplomas as fast as we can like we are in a hurry to get rid of them." That was 1993. I was a member of that g raduating class who responded with a collective chuckle at that ceremony comparison. Fast forward to 2013: the memory came back when I noticed a photo background at the entrance of my playground recently - G etting ready for my next class, I g lance at g lobal warming, space tourism, export trends stuff for the day. Another batch of university kids are g oing to g raduate. God I'm old. ~0~   ABC Wednesday * Our World * Sally's Blues * Mello

I love rain . Some of my dearest moments are rainy afternoons when I get to read or just sit on the porch and watch the earth getting soaked. And I got to do that this week with a cup of hot Lady Grey . It's 'fragrant, bright and light... infused with orange, lemon and bergamot.' Tara Road by Maeve Binchy was a lovely read from all the Grishams, Crichtons and Dan Browns my nose was buried in in the past weeks. This dream of walking a tree-lined dirt road that leads to a pretty little cottage seems to have intensified in the last recent weeks. I realize it is a pipe dream, at least for now.  So I make do with a flower shop. The sight is therapeutic. Flower shop s, just like book shops are some of the happiest spots people can be in. For yesterday's brunch I ordered a salad randomly. With mind at work I just hoped it would be worth its price. It was. Some days turn so well, yummy and healthy. This has been a week filled with blessings to enjo

"Fish, not fishes?" a Thai student tries to clear up his confusion. "I know..." I wink while going through plural rules with them, "wait until the 'last leaf clings to the bough . It will get really tough .'" I love fish. It's a staple part of my diet whether at home or when dining out. But I don't know many of their names and when that is the case I identify them according to where or when I ate them. These are five of my favorite fish: Kinilaw or raw tuna chunks soaked in coconut vinegar, salt and refined sugar; and mixed with purple onion, ginger, chili and cucumber. This was during one of those summer vacations in the Philippines. Kinilaw is a native Filipino fish dish. ' Lapu-lapu escabeche or sweet and sour lapu-lapu. These are ginger, carrot and bell pepper strips. I can't find the pineapples but I think there were. The son must have eaten them already when I took this photo. Skipjack stew - co

His buddies have all taken shelter from the raging sun. But he seems worried about the wind blowing away their props. It was the University Games the next day. xxx ~0~ Our World Mellow Yellows

What a pleasure to wake up , realize it's a holiday and therefore... free time! Thailand's Queen Sirikit had her birthday on Monday. It was also Thai Mother's Day. After a little FB chat with a cousin we, her kids and two uncles headed to a place we used to avoid (pricy) but always wanted to see. Chocolate Ville is little Europe / America in Asia. Business is mainly dining with lots of photo opportunities. Some spots, particularly the Waterfront Glasshouse made me fancy another visit to England. niece What's a celebration without food? There were loads but my favorites are (upper, l-r) fried oysters and santol salad topped with peanuts; (lower, l-r) chocolate strawberry cake and mango chocolate mousse I never realized how beautiful a quiet moment could be by a pretty window like this until I did. It was like looking at a lovely book cover and walking right into it.  Over in the city center, Dasa Books is having their Blow-out sale - $.29ce

The Queen of Thailand celebrates her 81st birthday Monday, August 12th, which is also Thai Mother's Day.  The kingdom is in celebration mode.  HM Queen Sirikit Pre-birthday exhibit at Government House Flowers for her in front of a mall Many families go alfresco. Mine explores Chocolate Ville ~ 0 ~   Our World * Sally's Blues

The nephew turns 13 . Is that when kids officially become a teenager? I did think Cacoi may boycott this cake. But being the crazy aunt I could sometimes be, I went ahead and bought him what I call the Beatrix Potter Beauty; and at the same time wondered how I could make it up should he not like it. But bingo! He debuted a promising teenager smile and I exhaled happily.   At the food-laden table the birthday boy's friend said grace . His words were elegant and cute for one so young. I realized how mature this boy sounded than many adults I know including myself. We concluded the party at King's Park where we had lakeside pizza and body stretching in the park gym; explored a minor maze and walked flower-lined trails. It felt really good after long months of stilettos, drab AC hums and ear-ritating lift bells. Cacoi in blue shirt, his friend in white, and siblings Jovi and John Ralph Waldo Emerson: "Passion rebuilds the world for the youth. It makes thi

Thanks to calamari I found Dory And the lemon grass juice transported me back to  those late afternoons long ago when Ma would start preparing dinner and would send me to the backyard to get a sprig of lemon grass that she would add to her fat mackerel soup.   I like calamari ; been eating bowls and plates of the rings from time to time since falling in love with them hanging out late 90s in Planet Hollywood - a place which seems to have disappeared from view along Bangkok's Ploen Chit Road .   That's how a little hankering led me to Dory I was admiring the dainty windows and staring at the ceiling while waiting for my food. Aren't these chandeliers reminiscent of anchors?   But then of course it's seafood and Dory If I could not associate the words I might as well start imagining a trident before Ariel and Flounder come gliding by.   But what do you do when your order takes long to arrive and you're waiting in th

C acoy , a c lose friend/ c ousin's youngest son whose real name is C aesar had a birthday last week. He turned 13 but to me he is still my baby nephew thus I ought to be forgiven for buying him a c ake that does not look exactly like a teenager's c ake. Aside from an exuberance of c olor c andles, it's bursting with what resembles Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit  for c rying out loud. But unlike my son C J who c ried at seeing c herries instead of Ultraman on his c ake (couldn't blame the poor, then 5-year old though), C acoy was generally c ool around the whole thing. Anyway he was probably too busy entertaining his buddies to c are about what his c razy aunt has gotten him this year. C J's c ake issue by the way has been sorted. (I'm a working, divorced Mom; do not have time to c omb Bangkok for an Ultraman cake) I gave him Hong Kong Disneyland for his next birthday to make up for the girly cake . Boys! I have been wondering about something for some

It was a quick search for a blue liner to match the dress I wore that day. I rarely use this kind of thing on my face; they tend to get forgotten in the innermost corners of the drawer.  So I  rummaged deep. And out came something that slowed me away from the normally hyped speed of doing things at work. A thoughtful friend gave me this card when I was going through a very tough time. Memories came rushing back as the card kept me company by the rustling photocopier. Soon the serendipity put me in a trance. The world went by like always. My forehead transformed into a screen for a little panorama from 1999. Up and down the emotions went. There was stardust on 'joy and wonder yet to be explored....'  ~ 0 ~ Inspire Me * Gemma's Mellow Yellows * Sally's Blues

Thailand's Government Complex is huge enough to house several departments and ministries and to double as venue for major art and culture shows. That's exactly what I found during a recent run to the place. It was a riot of colors and style I was humming 'beautiful, beautiful!' all the way. There were paintings by local artists, Khon masks, silk-weaving and pottery demonstrations, village replicas, man-made waterfall among many other displays. Here's one of them -   Demure peacock all made up of flowers and leaves . The two flower balls on the lower right corner are encrusted with anise seeds and resemble dunkin donuts. While the ratio is normally one is to one at Government House, that is one immigration stuff takes one day to sort out, Lady Luck must have smiled on me I accomplished - Two errands in one day which saved me time, energy and money. With the re-entry permit secured I can now look forward to a holiday in Singapore I booked last mont

Here's how a bougainvilleas-in-bloom day looks like where I live and work.  ~ o ~ ~ o ~ ~ o ~ ~ o ~ ~ o ~ ~ o ~ ~ x ~ ABC Wednesday * Our World

~ Sepia Saturday ~ That line is not mine. I mean I can't take it off my head since reading [Alan's] Marilyn's "You can choose; or go with armour, helmets... pantomime, theatricals, warlike women or big sticks "  It's probably too much Nanny McPhee . I have become a fan of the unruly children-featuring film since becoming a mom to a handful. Anyway, sticks. Perhaps something like a sceptre will do? And I got this photo from a recent Golden Reign Exhibit,  with exactly just that. Known as Rama IX, Thailand's American-born King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the world's longest-serving current head of state and longest-reigning monarch in Thai history ( Wikipedia ) He is also the world's richest royal with a fortune estimated to be worth more than $30 billion ( Forbes ).  King Bhumibol (pronounced POH-mee-pahd) is shown on the photo with his wife, Queen Sirikit and son, crown prince Vajiralongkorn, holding his sceptre, which is adorned by Garuda, a mythical h

~ Sepia Saturday ~ Rain. I associate it with a weekend spent with friends frolicking with an army of tame fish in a national park. I remember it because that was when I learned that to deliberately stand in the rain just for the fun of it is sheer joy. The other reason was these delightful swish-swooshing catfish  They sense it when people approach. They come near as if they know dinner is served.  We fed them string beans. What a greedy bunch! Further up a slope as we continued to hike we found this moss-covered chedi made from laterite. It was built to commemorate King Rama and Queen Sunantha's visit to the park in 1876. Queen Sunantha drowned when the royal boat capsized in the Chao Phrya river.  A Wikipedia entry describes the drowning, "despite the presence of many onlookers they were forbidden on pain of death to touch the queen - not even to save her life."  Nearby is a sign that forbids anyone to come near if they are not properly dressed. I took this shot using