the Sony Experia Experience

I must admit that I use only a few features in a smartphone. I'm not really into tech gadgets per se but I do use them for convenience. So when the old Sony was struggling with memory issues (planned obsolescense - damn you, tech companies!  :-) ), it was time to change.

As usual, Dream handled the changeover with tech gadgets. As for me, my main criteria for buying a smartphone is the camera. And since the latest technology was not a priority, the Sony Experia Z1 was one I had my eye on. Lovely camera and ooohh ...... underwater photo capabilities. Limited underwater capabilities notwithstanding, I was keen to see what I could get out of it. Methinks the results have been worth it.

the kids' gear was bought with an eye to facilitate photographs 

 

I love the fact that even with all that colour, the photos can be pretty good in B&W

 this photo was the one I loved the most from our fumblings in the 1st pool photo session

inspired by snow angels 

Catriona in the float again; even though she can swim

And this last one is rather self indulgent. The only editing I do for my photographs is cropping, B&W and a rare straightening. I'm not too keen on the wonders of Photoshop; not that it's not a wonderful product but there's a thin line where a photograph is edited until it's more digital art than photograph. I choose to keep my photo editing basic for documentation purposes - but that's a personal choice.

Using a red filter effect. I thought that the original photo was okay .... but not good nor great. It looked a lot better through a red filter. Hence why I think that most anybody can make a great photo with enough PS editing. The only question is whether it's a photograph any more ? Think photoshop of stars in magazine shoots - is that what their face and body really looks like ? To each their own.

the Best way to get a Puppy is to Beg for a Baby Brother ....

Unfortunately, our apartment doesn't allow us to keep pets.

Years from now, decades even, maybe brother and sister will realize that the time they spent together was rather special. That all this playing together wasn't necessarily a given. That a five year age gap is pretty large when the younger one is not even three years of age yet.

And yet, play together they do. Getting along like a house on fire most of the time. Save for the occasional argument which doesn't last long.

The sister will bully the brother - taking advantage of the fact that she has five years more experience. While he will innocently drink more of the juice - mainly out of exuberance/greed. She's protective of him and he will imitate her words/actions. And they've learnt that collectively they have more leverage over the parents than if they were to act/ask alone.

I don't know how much longer this can go on. I'm just glad that they so obviously enjoy each other's company.

as Questions go ...

It creeps up on you, the years.

The passage of time.
The slow drip, drip of water.
The tick, tock of a grandfather clock.
The shrill ring that marks the end of another school day.

And all of a sudden it's in front of you, asking "Is it pretty ?"

What do you say to that ? What do you say when in your heart of hearts, your little girl is just exactly that ? Still your little girl.

I said "Yes".

The Luckiest

Sometimes when I wake up in the morning on a weekend or a holiday, I spend the first few minutes looking around and wonder how I ever got here. With fluffy bears and toy cars on the bed - fluffy towels and milk bottles lying around - hands and feet everywhere, just waiting for the first stirrings of life, or the first wail to break the peace of the early morn ......

With toys strewn all over the floor - and paint brushes and paintings on a table - with dishes in the kitchen sink and piles of laundry waiting to be done - with garbage waiting to be disposed of and poo in plastic bags by the front door.

And all I see is this.

And I wonder how I lucked out. With all the missteps and blind alleys and travails of the dating world and relationships, I wonder how I ever ended up with the woman who gave me these three beautiful children.



Truth is, I do feel like the geeky, dorky red-haired guy who ended up with Rachel McAdams ...

NB. Ben Folds' 'The Luckiest' explained. And Richard Curtis is the one writer whose movies we look forward to.

Postscript : This post may perhaps be ever so slightly rose tinged, but then it's early morn and I've just woken up....
Reality is disruptions, distractions and sometimes just outright distress. But the song tells what I'm feeling and .... you get the idea, don't you ?

GE13 ... the Aftermath of Malaysia's 13th General Elections

I must confess.

When the results of GE13 came out, I shed a few tears. I cried not for me. I cried not for the death of democracy - it hardly came as a surprise. I did not cry because the BN government retained their hold on power - I had suspected that gerrymandering would tilt the balance in their favour. And so it proved. I did not cry for the hope of the rakyat that had been so mercilessly crushed - by fair means and foul.

I cried for my children. They deserved better.
I cried for the young Malaysian children who would have to suffer another 5 years of BN misrule and corruption and the crap education system that the BN has bequeathed to us. They deserve better.
I cried because, for just a fleeting moment, there was hope that we could move forward as a nation regardless of race and religion. That corruption, deliberate stupidity, racism, entitlement and arrogance were things that we could reduce for the betterment of Malaysia. That Hope proved fleeting..

I cried for Malaysia. We deserved a better Malaysia.

10,000 Reasons to be Grateful

Currently being sung by Catriona before going to sleep every night. The entire song - word for word - verse, bridge and chorus.

How to Catch a Star

Saw this yesterday with the girl. It was a wonderful performance with a great story line for kids. There were a few touches of more 'adult' humour of the clean variety. Well worth the $ and time.

With each performance, Catriona is getting closer and closer to an age where kid's theatre will no longer be an attraction. Hopefully, there's been enough thrills and spills and water and imagination and magic imparted over the years which will remain with her through her teenage years. I'd hate to see her lose her sense of wonder and awe for things natural and imaginary; the real world, so to speak, in lieu of an ipad game.

It's been doing the rounds lately - Albert Einstein : "I fear the day when technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots."

Catriona's first LRT ride ... and the wider scheme of Things

Documenting Catriona's first ride on the LRT on 6th August 2012.

Maybe it's me, but I would like her to experience as much of this world as I can. There's a lot of beauty out there - be it natural or man made. There's also a lot that she needs to learn about poverty, charity, kindness, sharing and suffering. There are the performance arts, graffiti, street acts and street art. There's also the need for her to see the love that God has for Mankind. There's Dance and Song and Drama. There's the Present and then there's the Things which are Yet to come ....

And I would like her to see all of that outside of a screen.

I do not know if I can succeed, but I sure would like to try.

Six of One and Half A Dozen of The Other ...

With the girl about to have her first rather larger size birthday party celebrating her 6th birthday with her classmates, I guess seeing this strip today makes it all rather poignant.

She's been fairly bouncing off the walls with excitement since she found out two days ago. And since it's happening during kindy hours, it's surely going to be a short party - but it's fun watching her anticipation.

In chess, we have a saying : "The threat is stronger than the execution". Sometimes I let her know about treats that are in store for her - cos the anticipation of fun sometimes lasts longer than the fun itself.

her First Trip ...

Catriona went on her first long distance trip without her parents yesterday. Coincidentally, it was also her first bus trip as she followed her Grandma back to Penang. Postmark event.

We thought that she might pine for her parents somewhat but we don't know how much that'll happen. What we didn't anticipate was her brother missing, and asking for his sister. The best laid plans of mice and men ...

Harvest Moon

Here's a surprise. The girl has started singing along to this.

Seasons in the Sun

There we were dancing as the song played. And when the song ended, there was a request that the song be replayed. And again. And again.

There were snatches where Catriona sang along. Apparently she had been taught the lyrics in preschool. So now, I'll just go "We had joy, we had fun ...", and off she goes singing the rest of the song.

Distractions of Mortality

"Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life,” Steve Jobs, Stanford in 2005.

in no way am I comparing myself to Steve Jobs, but the comment seemed appropriate 

Sometimes I get flashes in my mind. Distractions, if you will, about mortality. Oftentimes, I ask myself, ‘what would I do if so-and-so died today. How would it affect their family ? How would it affect me and my family ?’ 

Frequently it helps me to get a sense of perspective about said person. Maybe it changes the way I interact with them. It helps me to pause before I say any cutting words. It’s like that movie cliché where the last words the deceased heard were unkind ones and the husband/child/parent has this thought tormenting them for years and decades on end. 

It could lead to actions as simple as putting a child in a car seat because the thought of losing them is too much to bear.

A thought popped into my mind yesterday : “What would I say to my daughter if I had only 5 more minutes to live ?” It came unbidden, out of nowhere. And it applied right now – at this stage of our lives. The answer was also immediate :


“You’re my favourite girl ..."

the List

The girl gave us a list of her favourite eating places. Places which we keep going back to partly because we like those places and also because she keeps asking us to. A win-win situation if ever there was one. And since these places have been on our 'go to' list for some 2 years now, I guess it's safe to list them down.

Ho's

Ho's (formerly Mr. Ho's)
I'm guessing this one has links to Mr. Ho's in Bangsar. When they opened, this place was pretty empty. Bandar Puteri Puchong isn't exactly the right place for their concept. Subang Jaya would have been more appropriate. Still, they have been here for some 4 years by now. Not sure whether there's been a change in ownership, though.

Why the kitten likes it :
* Their play area (toys !)
* Mushroom soup - one of her favourites

home cooked fare at Taiping Lang

Taiping Lang
I like this one. They do home cooked food apparently from recipes passed down from Grandma in Taiping. It reminds me of the food that I used to have in Penang. I must admit that my aunt did better food back then. Still, Taiping Lang's food is pretty decent so you take what you can get.

Why the kitten likes it :
* Toys !

the bak kut teh stall at the food court nearest to our apartment
Their soup is more Penang-style in the sense that the emphasis is on herbs rather than the more meat-based soup usually found in Klang. I like this stall because I can get one ingredient usually difficult to find in BKT shops here. Meat balls ! And their soup's pretty good too.

Why the kitten likes it :
* Mushrooms
* and the soup. We find that she eats more than usual when we order this.

Restaurant Cheong Wah
We used to call this the restaurant with the big fish because they had two rather sizeable ones swimming in a pond/tub in their compound. When the fishes were still around, every trip there would lead to a request from the kitten to see the fishes.

Why the kitten likes it :
* Tofu - in their ham choy taufu soup

The prevailing theme for the kitten in her favourite restaurants ? Soup and toys !
I'm just glad that the likes of KFC and McDonald's didn't make the list. We must be doing something right.

Flipping the Cedric

Yesterday was a landmark day for the boy. He managed to flip himself upright for the first time.

Here, his sister is celebrating with him but what's notable is the fact that she is wearing his shirt. He's six months old and she's 5 years older so even though the shirt is a little short, she is still slim enough for the shirt to fit.

Christmas Haul for the Girl

Of those that turn up in conversation :

Lilo and Stitch, her latest craze.

One Plant vs Zombie toy, which she sticks to her cheek and asks "why is the shooter stuck on my face ?"

The brown dog and red dog which she 'borrowed' from her brother - even though she never plays with them.

Little Gray and Little White, the two cats.

The family of rats would be there too - or at least, Shiny White, the small white one - but she told me that it would freak her mom out.

And with all that, who's she got in her arms ? Baby - still the greatest gift of all her toys.

the Inherent Huggability of Baby

It's amazing how much this soft toy has been a part of our lives.

Having been a constant companion of Catriona for the 5 years, he's always in her hands come bedtime at night (even if Catriona refers to Baby as a She). So when Cedric was fretful and was having trouble falling asleep, I plonked Baby in his arms. He fell asleep within one minute.

Magic !

The sister's promised to hand over Baby to Cedric when he's 3 years old (we were teasing her ...). Somehow, I very much doubt that it will happen.

Catriona & Cedric - a Comparison

A comparison of how the brother looks compared to the sister when she was young.

9

It started off as a compromise decision on what movie to watch. Since both father and daughter wanted to watch a movie on a weekend some 2 weeks ago, I decided to pop this one in so that we could watch it together. It was one that I had been holding off for some time because it didn't look like the cuddly, huggy type of movie that my girl usually gets to watch.

With the Kung Fu Panda franchise so strong, I thought that '9' would go the way of some of the movies she's watched lately i.e. fun, but doesn't ignite the imagination come story time. So when '9' popped up at story time, there was a tinge of surprise. And now, it's #1 with a drawing.

Hiding in a Corner ...

Trying to get a child to read books in today's iphone/ipod/ipad culture isn't easy. Not to mention YouTube and cable television. Cartoons, movies and video games are so much more enticing to a child. And you have to admit that having a child sat in front of the TV/PC/iPad is so much more convenient for a parent.

And so we struggle on.