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February 28, 2005
Gates 3
Posted by quickness at 11:44 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 27, 2005
Gates 2
Posted by quickness at 08:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 22, 2005
Blessing
I've been kicking myself for not being able to go out much during the long weekend. I went out, today, during PRESIDENT'S DAY only to be INDOORS FOR EIGHT HOURS. Eight hours represents almost the total amount of light you get in a day at this time of year. Blessed is he who could enjoy the holiday Monday filling up compact flash cards and draining batteries in the outside cold.
In what's left of the long weekend, I did, however, manage to spend some time with the kids. I also made a few pathetic attempts distract myself of the day. And if you're wondering how the above set of pictures is related, the simple act of sneezing is considered a blessing in some cultures, in others, it's something that is in need of a blessing. Still not convinced that it's relevant? Neither am I. It's one of those thoughts that form a series of non-ideas that follow no logical sequence.
Posted by quickness at 01:42 AM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2005
The Smile That Tells You Where You Are From
I learned today that, our smiles can tell a lot about ourselves: the situation that we are in, our culture, and a few other variables. The UK Times article, from which I shamelessly copied the title from, had immediately reminded me of what happened just 5 days earlier.
It's not that hard to know what Azmina's thinking at any one time. At times you understand why, and countless other times, you wonder what you had done wrong in the previous life.
I was just examining photos I had just taken when Azmina found a bottle of lotion, and apparently squeezed the living daylights of a once healthy bottle of moisture-giving richness, into a tiny area that is her face. Most of the lotion had already been absorbed into her skin by the time I found out.
Azmina didn't say anything when I saw her guilty as that day when she grabbed a pen and proceeded to practice her graffiti tag on the couch and the coffee-table. Just that long confident grin. And what do I do after I saw her "I've done my worst and there's nothing you could do about it now" grin? I could contact the British Times to tell them of my discovery. I could assess further damages. But I figured what was broken would stay broken anyway, so I took a few shots to add to my collection of evidence that I hoped could build a case for some kind of compensation when she makes her own money.
Posted by quickness at 12:26 PM | Comments (0)
February 15, 2005
Tougher
An NYT article that confirms what we already know.
In terms of the effects of the increase in the cost of living:
"In nearly every category, people in the New York region spent more of their household dollar on essentials than other Americans between 2000 and 2003. Rental prices in the region rose 8.1 percent, while nationally, they went up 4.1 percent.""Food prices rose 9.3 percent in the New York region; nationally they increased 2.7 percent.
What residents gave up were the extras. Spending on clothing fell by 12 percent, and there were also cutbacks in buying meat, poultry, eggs, and tobacco."
Posted by quickness at 07:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 14, 2005
Year 4702
Yesterday was the big Chinese New Year Celebration in Chinatown. Arrived late and didn't get a good location to catch the parade. The mood couldn't be merrier; I think it had to be one of the best celebrations that NYC has to offer.
Posted by quickness at 11:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 13, 2005
The Gates: Day One
The great thing about The Gates is the feeling that imparts on people, and the people it attracts. Central Park is smack in the middle of the city that you find all sorts of people; but the visitors to Central Park had one thing in common - all of them had been moved in one way or another by this huge public display. Fan or not, one has to admit that Christo's and Jeanne-Claude's work made the thousands of visitors think about his work at the same time; and for many, this atmosphere he created was a welcome refuge within Gotham.
Posted by quickness at 10:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 10, 2005
Dear Internet,
This morning's commute was one of those instances that you'd want to forget. In a full bus, with around 10 people standing, there was an empty seat. With skills honed from years of commuting, I quickly deduced that it was next to a seat occupied by somekind of maniac, as in someone who has an excessive enthusiasm of a particular thing. This lady was fanatically spraying perfume on to herself till her hair was wet, and from where I was standing 2 steps away, she smelt like industrial strength toilet cleaner. It looked like she already went through half a bottle when I stood next to her. It reminded me of something in my childhood, of the overpowering scent of lavender that the family car used to smell after being cleaned of travel-sickness.
It wasn't even 9, and I was already drained.
Had a chat with PE and Dr. J later that day. It's been a while since we've talked but they were online today and were nice enough to say hello.
It turned out to be one of the high points of the day.Some friends would not have heard about this yet, but what better way to tell the world, and the Internet, than through this. Even N had not heard about it.
PE and Elma are expecting their first child in August.
From what I could gather, the DVD marathons seemed to have something to do with this. It's time for pregnancy stuff from AMAZON and time to quit immitating the wrestlers on TV. I'd tell PE to be a better person, but he already is. No habbits, no vices to quit.
To talk to them made me happy, but to know that someone, with whom I shared many trips to the kebab shop ordering a half chicken, a half-pounder and a shawarma each for lunch, is going to be a dad for the first time, made me happier person. Can't believe that was 15 years ago. It would take days if not weeks and months to get me off this plateau.
And to the perfume-maniac lady, I say, "Bring it on!!!"Here's to PE and Elma.
Posted by quickness at 12:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 09, 2005
Firecracker Ceremony
I sacrificed a cheap lunch to go out and catch the firecracker ceremony during this first day of the Chinese New Year. Evidently many people had the same idea and went to witness the event.
Now, I am familiar with firecrackers, having played with them during my childhood. The firecrackers that I am used to when I was a child were short-fused, and since during the daytime you won't be able to tell immediately if the fuse is lit or not, you tend to devise other ways of lighting them.
One of the easiest and safest way of lighting firecrackers is by putting the fuse on a piece of tissue paper and lighting it instead of the fuse. Of course, I only did this with only my brother around - big boys don't play with burning tissue paper.
I've forgotten how loud firecrackers were and since I was going to shoot them, I won't have my hands free to cover my ears. Only for good measure, I used my iPod earphones for some protection. But even then... my ears were ringing hours after the event ended.
For something that was held during a weekday, it was quite well attended; I could only imagine the crowds if the Chinese New Year was ever made a public holiday in NYC.
Posted by quickness at 08:23 PM | Comments (0)
February 07, 2005
Farizah Month 3
SH asked me
if Farizah had started turning already cos she was getting anxious that her daughter,
who is about the same age as Farizah, had not.
I told her
no, but I remember distinctly that Azmina was already twisting and turning trying
to get on her tummy at around this age.
I think
Farizah has strong musculature and coordination for her age so I don’t worry
about it at all. I have always sat her
leaning against pillows and propping her within the pillow’s / couch’s indentation. She’s already used to being put to sit on her
own, on our couch – until, that is, she gets bored, which was usually in a few
minutes. I think that’s why she has been
trying to sit by her own when she’s lying down… you know… that thing you do when
you try to do sit-up crunches. I just
laugh at the sight of her ridiculously over-ambitious attempts. I think I should put her on her tummy more often
and maybe she’d try turning on her tummy instead.
Her hair
has already grown a few millimeters since the day we shaved them off. She’ll thank us for it when she sees her
sister’s photos with uneven hair when it just started to grow properly.
Apart from “Cawww…”
and “Caaah….”, no other words had come out from her. She has a preference for N even at this very
early stage. She would see my face when
I hold her and would cry 4 out of the 5 times I do that. N had already gotten Farizah to laugh several
times during the second month. I am not
hopeful cos I know she’ll unleash her very own little hell for us and get N
running to her.
She gets
excited when Azmina talks to her, and Azmina gets excited when Farizah
responds. “Adek cakap Ina”, which
translates to “Small sister is talking to Azmina” she’d say proudly, and
smilingly.
We have let
Farizah use pacifiers cos anything is better than the cries Azmina let out when
she was 3 months old. Farizah likes to
suck on her fingers, and we let her cos Azmina grew out of it very quickly.
Sleep had
been inconsistent, sometimes Farizah would wake 3-4 times a night, and
sometimes only at 6 am. She’s a bit less
difficult to get to sleep than Azmina was, but all those are cancelled when they
answer each other’s cries at night.
Photos
above were taken when she was exactly 3 months old.
Dear
Farizah, this is more or less what your dad can remember at this time… And I am
sorry that every time you try to smile to me, you find this big thing blocking
your father’s face, sometimes with red and white flashes – it’s called a
camera. And the funny sounds between
calling your name – comes from your dad… not from the camera.
Posted by quickness at 02:20 AM | Comments (0)
February 06, 2005
Pung-pung
Azmina likes her hairbands. She calls them "Pungpungs".
N bought a whole pack earlier this week, and Azmina has been fascinated by them ever since.
She puts them in her purple handbag and a number of times she'd ask for a specific colour and we'd have to look for it if she can't find them. Two nights ago, while in bed with the lights out, she asked, "Yellow pungpung... yellow pungpung...". You need a full CSI crime scene kit to find one of those darned things in the dark.
While also in bed, add that with asking for a refill for her drink, asking for cheerios (Your kid is hungry... What can you do?), a specific doll, a specific pillow, taking turns with her sister in waking the other up, up to 3 hours can go like water through a pasta strainer in this nightly battle.
Posted by quickness at 02:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 04, 2005
Pure Disco
I have nearly 2,000 songs in my iPod and when I set it to shuffle, it sometimes gives me oldies...oldies, but definitely goodies...
The question I face today is, how do I sing out Abba's chorus line to "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme" without suspiciously "showing cheerfulness and lighthearted excitement"?
Posted by quickness at 06:10 PM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2005
General feeling of malaise
A friend asked me today how we could manage with Azmina and Farizah.
Last weekend, we managed to do some shopping chores. Put in a few entries in my blog. Had a walk in the Upper East Side Area. Bought cupcakes. That's it really. Not as much as we wanted to do. I was up Sunday and Monday night because some of us chose those weeknights to have difficulty sleeping. Read my papers, did some writing. And if I remember correctly, N and I haven't had uninterrupted sleep for weeks now.
Time, especially weekends, is very precious. That's when I can catch up with my own stuff, breathe in my own corner, even for a few minutes each time. I have around 5 books scattered around the apartment, in every possible place where I could spend more than a minute. Still, I think I've at best read 15 paragraphs from those books in the last 4 days. I haven't even watched recorded shows on the TiVo for several weeks now.
The lethargy and simply being uninspired, had become a cancer to my shrinking spare time.
I know I should get to work a few hours early tomorrow and steal some spare time during lunch to shoot some photos, but I know that I'd wake up at the regular time and that the M15 bus would be late.
Posted by quickness at 03:45 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Thinking
How can something with simple needs, require a complex response?
Posted by quickness at 02:03 AM