ever worn a Barney plaster before ?

Catriona's latest thing are stickers on her soft toys.

If pressed, she'll say that the stickers are plasters - so now we've got a bunch of sick bears and bunnies in the house.

I guess you could say that it adds colour to our lives.

the Beach

We headed for the beach yesterday as Catriona had been looking forward to it for ages. It's one of the main things that she remembers about Penang.

It was an idyllic scene as these photos will show. And we had a whale of a time.

However, there was a note of discord. That would be the discarded bottles, newspapers and styrofoam containers that littered the beach even as we were walking on the smooth sand.

Fortunately, this was not substantial enough to stop us from using the beach but it was still notably more than the last time that we had frequented this beach - which was a short 3 months ago.

Sadly, looking at the people who frequented the beach, I would have to conclude that the litter was the by-product of Malaysians. There were very few foreigners about.

Whether these litterbugs were Penangites or local tourists, it's a sad indictment of the civic consiousness of Malaysians. Let's not even get into the whole environment issue.

What makes me really sad is that I may not be able to bring Catriona to that beach any more in future if the littering continues.

Merry Christmas everyone !!

It's my favourite Christmas song - but only if Bing Crosby's singing it.

Colmar Tropicale

Some shots of our trip to Colmar Tropicale, Bukit Tinggi last week.

The resort was okay for a short 2-night trip, but nothing more than that as there really wasn't much to do or see. But the main grouse that we had for the place was that the management/service/maintenance of the resort left a lot to be desired.

Welcome to Bukit Tinggi

Breakfast

Bubbles

the Lion we found at the Japanese tea garden

the Horse we found at the front court yard

we Liked the Horse so much, we decided to keep her

Catriona met some rabbits too

One of whom was fully concentrated on doin' the poo

Catriona with the bunny she won at a games stall

Knight in shining amour

reflection

Discord on the Yellow Brick Road

Reconciliation

Merry Christmas, everyone !

Tale of the Tail

I was getting out yesterday when I saw this little girl walking in front of me.

Look carefully and you'll notice that she's got something sticking out from her shorts - her bolster.

Now, I don't know whether she thought she was a cat or a squirrel or a kangaroo but I do know that it was an amusing sight.

The Fall

In a world where music can be very formulaic, Norah Jones is doing whatever she likes in whatever field of music she wants.

After showcasing her jazz and country influences in earlier albums, she's now turned in her latest single which, I don't know how to describe it, but jazz and country it ain't. I know that there are probably some fans who are scandalized at her latest effort, but not me. Having checked some of her earlier stuff when she first burst on the scene with 'Don't Know Why', and tracked her career, I was aware that she had dabbled in electropop as well as punk rock. But never under her own name.

Not this time.



Like many of her other hit singles, this song doesn't grab you at first listen. Rather, it improves with repeated listening.

I haven't checked out the rest of the album (The Fall), but I like this song.

Leave early..... Christmas is here !

It is near the Christmas break of the school year. The students have turned in all their work and there is really nothing more to do. All the children are restless and the teacher decides to have an early dismissal.

Teacher: "Whoever answers the questions I ask, first and correctly can leave early today.
"Little Johnny says to himself "Good, I want to get outta here. I'm smart and will answer the question."

Teacher: "Who said 'Four Score and Seven Years Ago....'?"
Before Johnny can open his mouth, Susie says, "Abraham Lincoln."
Teacher: "That's right Susie, you can go home."

Johnny is mad that Susie answered the question first.
Teacher: "Who said 'I Have a Dream'?"
Before Johnny can open his mouth, Mary says, "Martin Luther King."
Teacher: "That's right Mary, you can go."

Johnny is even madder than before.
Teacher: "Who said 'Ask not, what your country can do for you'?"
Before Johnny can open his mouth, Nancy says, "John F. Kennedy."
Teacher: "That's right Nancy , you may also leave."

Johnny is boiling mad that he has not been able to answer any of the questions. When the teacher turns her back Johnny says, "I wish these bitches would keep their mouths shut!"

The teacher turns around angrily: "WHO SAID THAT?"

Johnny: "TIGER WOODS. CAN I GO NOW?"

Company Structure

I don't necessarily believe it, but it's funny.

the Apple of My Eye

I was at a dinner that my company had organized when they handed out the gifts to the birthday people - I thought that it was worth taking a photo of it.

I wish you enough ...

Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.'

They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'..

'I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

He began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone...' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.' Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

He then began to cry and walked away.

PJ28

Just last week I bumped into this familiar car number plate that used to belong to my uncle.

It felt like finding an artifact, a piece of my youth that has been lost.

It’s a number plate I remember well, it having been on my uncle’s Volkswagen Beetle for well over a decade. It’s since been sold for a pretty penny, and it was a pleasant surprise to find out where it is now.

In Remembrance

a Landmark is Reached

Just for a moment I’d forgotten about it. And then came a reminder at midnight :

And since we'd contrived to be at The Curve the following morning to check out their Christmas decorations,

we popped into Italiannies for lunch.

fried parmesan fish fillet with potato wedges - kids eat free

italian clams soup

toasted bruschetta

parmesan crusted fish

pepperoni and meatball calzone

The thing I like about Italiannies is that we've found their food to be either good or very good And pretty much we've had to tapau the food every time due to the portions..

Thanks to Facebook, pretty much everybody and their dog knew that it was my birthday two days ago. And how old I am.

There’s no hiding in this new digital Facebook world.