A busy start!

Life is so unpredictable... when I thought I should be a little better this semester when my teaching duties were mostly unloaded, I actually became quite totally opposite!

Apart from studies, research kicked started, also many other projects. Most interestingly, I have many students who wanted to work 'on voluntary' basis to gain experience, even without pay, they wanted to come and help daily. It was good sign... this means, the time and efforts I have invested in the last two years are now bearing fruits.

I always believe, when you treat someone with a heart, you will receive the same too :)

This is a case proven true!

Freezing night, warm event

Sisu Sport Day at Pohjavaara School

The weather was cold, and I have lots of assignments and school projects to complete... but nothing stopped our attendance to this 'important' event - our children's sport day. It was cold, and windy evening, but the parent organizers are warm and welcoming, and they put in lots of work to plan and implement the event. Many children came, and the kids have lots of fun. It was a nice, warm event inspite of the weather.

http://youtu.be/c4zbJvBsGQ4

The beauty of simplicity....

Life is so simple but beautiful....

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151137717687505&set=a.232316762504.137393.593812504&type=1&comment_id=7421638#!/photo.php?fbid=514683181879855&set=a.122872071060970.21376.122420541106123&type=1&theater

RIP to my dearest friend

Just returned from holiday, had a very nice, short and sweet journey... however, my joyfulness was shadowed by the shocking news of a passing friend - a long lost teenage friend whom I found again early this year. We exchanged emails several times, and I saw her photos in FB, she looked pretty as always, and very joyful. However, suddenly. I found out she committed suicide this morning..... and I realized, her happy face, photo updates in FB were not showing the deeper side of her and the terrible things she had been experiencing in life. It was a pity all came too late. If we would have known her circumstances, she would have received much help and support from friends.... but not many of us knew her true situation, thus could not take any actions to help her through the difficult times. Anyway, now she is gone... may be this is the best way for her, but the challenges now fall onto her young sons who need to cope with the lost of their beloved mum, and a lifelong impact that their mum has died of unnatural causes. Now can only offer our prayers for their safe growing up, and hope all well for them. God, please give your blessing to her children....

Another excellent news!

Hups! I could not believe it! I received another result today, and was graded a 4!! I am sooooooooooo HAPPY! Hard work pays, though I have yet to think how to apply what I learned... but for now, I am happy with my own progress :) 

Excellent news!

Received result for my first course, and I was thrilled with the outcome. I had a 5, which totally blown off my mind! Nonetheless, it was a nice surprise, though I am doubtful such brilliant results will repeat for the subsequent courses. In view of the kind of schedules I have, I am extremely pleased with the outcome. More importantly, I could not have done it without hubby and family's support! THANK YOU!

Research Interview

My first research interview with some games students who have started playing games since 5 years old! It was very informative and fun sessions :)



Paternal love and care

I read an article this morning. A famous doctor in Malaysia who moans and regrets his late notice of his son's problem which has led him to leap off to his death at the age of 24. He was able to fulfill all the material request of his son, but he has lack of time for him since his young age. As a result, there were hardly substantive conversation, and also lack of understanding to his inner soul. His son seems to look cool and happy from outside, but his inner side was weak to handle challenges. This is a good reflection to my decision to give up my corporate career. A great job, with great prospect and income... but the fall side is, I never had enough time for the kids. Now, I have enough to live, and lots of time with kids and for myself. These are things money could not buy.... happiness is not equals to money, one can find happiness from simple things, with the right mentality and attitude to life.

News article from Zhongguobao:

http://www.chinapress.com.my/node/331078

Assignment completion...

After a long week of hardwork, finally, the assignment is taking shape. Not in the best form, but at least I have an assignment to submit tomorrow (the deadline). I realized after not writing for a long time I have lost my writing skills.. some how? I am not sure by reading a lot and writing a lot, I will finally get the 'skills' back.

Another challenge when doing this assignment is, I realized my 'practical mentality' has totally over ruled my 'academic mentality'. I am not sure how to 'de-learn' this to re-learn academic discourses and discursive practices. It feels like a mission impossible at the moment... I need to find ways to overcome this hurdle quickly!

Although this assignment is over, but still another more challenging one ahead. Frankly, I am not even sure if I could pass this one, but I will worry about it later. I have yet to receive the results for the other one in May... I am not sure not news is good news, or bad news... again, can only wait patiently, nothing could be done at the moment...

Hay Day, Supercell!

Hay Day is a farming game with user friendl  interface, attractive graphics and addictive market orientation where players can engage in trading activities with their farm produce... just like real life. For more info: http://www.arcticstartup.com/2012/06/25/supercell-hay-day-launch-metrics-review

Happy Midsummer Festival!

Longest day is over!

The longest day has just past, and starting today... day is getting shorter. Nonetheless, today is the mid-summer Friday in Finland, one that's closest to the soltice. Well, time flies so quickly... this is our 6th mid-summer celebration in Finland. The first one, I had 'sleepless' night in Singapore where I chatted with hubby till morning on this very long 'day' :)  We have guests coming in the evening, so now... preparation time!

Pormakku homicide

This is the 8th family homicide in a year's period. This kind of news is getting sickening... Apparently, there were 8 family homicides over the last one year! How can parents murdering their own child like killing an animal!? In my opinion, when we choose to be a parent, we must be responsible for our action. We brought the child to this world, we are responsible to love them, give them the best we could, and do our best to protect them, groom them. Even when we are distress, sad or frustrated... we should not mix our life up with theirs. They are little angels from heaven, they deserve a good environment to grow into a good person for the society. I hope all couples reconsider their actions. IF they are not ready for kids, don't have them. It is best for themselves, and also their 'to-be children'. That's just my thinking... in a simplified manner. There are many other complex issues to consider, but I will keep this post simple for now. May the little angels in Pormakku rest in peace and may their mother has the necessary strength to live through this bad ordour.

Summer Soltice - Longest Day of the Year!

Time flies... when I started my study, the days were short, and we were in perpectual darkness... without knowingly, time whizz by so swiftly, and now we are on the longest day of the year again. Tomorrow onwards, days will be shorter by seconds, and soon we will be in winter soltice again. I never felt time flown past so quickly while living in Asia. However, here, I could really see how time flies... the seasons and changes in the nature are so visible, you could not stop thinking... I am running against time, I must do what I need to ensure I do not leave with regrets when I perish...


More info from YLE news:
http://yle.fi/uutiset/longest_day_of_the_year/6190466

Dad's 71st Birthday

Yesterday was Father's Day in Malaysia and today is my dad's birthday. Every year, this is the case, it is a double celebration... Last year this time, we were celebrating in Malaysia, singing karaoke.. and time flies, this year, he is in brother's place with his family celebrating in Spore. Anyway, we wish him a healthy life still ahead... with many more birthdays to come. Happy Birthday, Dad!

Another good course

Just returned from another good course. Intensive and tiring, but I have learned so much new stuff again. However, it was also a little confusing for me. I start to feel that a practitioner is really like an Alien, in the academic world. The language, discourse, practices are so different. Wonder how theories from academia can be understood by practitioners, and vice versa!? A puzzle I am eager to solve :D

A short video of the good time....

http://youtu.be/fmROFyHy6vM

Mixed feeling....

Today, there is a bit of mixed feeling for the first time after started my doctoral studies for 5 months... is this really the kind of world I would like to be? For a moment, I felt that I was in between a bunch of Aliens! We are all speaking 'English', but for some reasons, the discourse (discussion, vocabulary, meaning) are soooooo different, so much so that I started to feel that I really did not belong to that world?! If I am in a business consulting seminar, or something... I felt that I am speaking the same 'language' with the presenter, and participants... but when I am sitting in between 14 business academia, I did not even feel like I am one of them, nor speaking the right terminology. It felt really like an idiot! I now start to have doubt, if this is really a worthy journey, or would it be better I just stay in my practical world which will bring more benefits to myself than a phD which has not much practical meaning to me... ponder!?

KATAJA Course in Lapland

These courses ran by the KATAJA network in Finland are absolutely well done! I just attended another course in Lapland, and had another big boost of knowledge in Practice Based Approach in Business Research. Challenging but enlightening. Got some new ideas for my research, so now must think how to implement and update my research plan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-baCXDrcfo

Midnight Sun in Lapland (Pyhätunturi, above Artic Circle)

This is majestically beautiful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h5u7eCacME

My lovely cats

 

 

Mother nature - Spring buds

   

Yummy treat

Despite of my very tight schedule, I still pulled myself out from the piles of papers to visit my ex-student who is now expecting her first child. It was nice to see her, and know that she is keeping well. As always, her husband always pampered us with very delicious food, and this time... we have prawn fritters for dinner! How blessed we are! YUMMY!!!

  

Thank you kids!

Lovely handmade gifts from my children. They really cheered me up when I am drowning under piles of papers. Thank you my love, you brighten my days!!

 

Two down, one to go!

I am so pleased with myself, quantity wise, not quality though.... I have never read and write sooooooooo much in my life! In two weeks, I read over 40 articles, wrote 60 pages of materials, and now, still 15 articles to go, and most likely another 30 pages of writing!! I hope practice makes my writing skills better, and also in 4 years time, I can write quality, scholarly articles... :D  That's the aim!

YLE News 31 May 2012

Ha ha! My photo was broadcasted in the local news last night! HAPPY!

Tips for reading academic articles

I have never read soooooooooooooooooo many articles before in my life, especially within a very concentrated period of 20 days! So far, I have covered over 50 articles. It started with much difficulties because the style of writing, structure, contents are very alien to my style from the practical background. I am used to reading corporate reports, accounting and financial statements, newspapers, magazines and to aggravate the challenges more, I read a lot of non-work materials in Chinese.

However, the process gets easier, and the speed becomes faster as I read more and more. I start to see the 'patterns' of their writing, the academia languages, vocabulary and style used.... and as I reflect, I start to apply the same logic, vocabulary and style.

So, my advice is, don't get put off by the first few attempts. It is very frustrating, and challenging. However, it will get easier, so be patient, and persistence.

Strawberry fun!

Kids and hubby preparing the ground for growing new strawberry plants. The soil was fertilized, the plastic cover was positioned, and now waiting for the baby plants to arrive!

A taste of success

Boy and his mate, snapped first prize in the agricultural quiz organized by 4H club in Hyrynsalmi yesterday! Well done!

Children's spring performance 2012

Despite my extremely heavy load to cope with all kinds of writings and assignments, children's performance is still an important part of my activities. Regardless how busy, such performance comes only once, and soon, as the girl step across the basic school, there will no longer be such 'childish' performances (so called). It is a pity, because it is so lovely to see them participating in such activities, and enjoy their talents which come naturally. It is a pity when people start stretching into adulthood, there are no longer creativity and time for such kind of activities... and we lost such skills along the way. Nonetheless, whilst there are still possibilities to be entertained, I should not miss the opportunity to do so.

1.       Puppet show http://youtu.be/V2il77LeSHw

2.       Photos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eTDmuIjWWk   

3.       Performance 1 http://youtu.be/tMh-V4Bqmb8

4.       Performance 2 http://youtu.be/KjeTh5s9Aic

Cranes crossing road!

This was a sight for me! A flock of cranes crossing the road behind our home... they are so beautiful, but noisy bunch. When they are around, they will make sure their 'presence' is felt by making loud sounds :) I used to chase them around the field for photo shoots, but now, they were just few metres away in our backyard, ha ha!

Mum and kids

A nice pic with kids... they are growing at super speed, soon, I would be sitting on their lap instead :P

More birdy visitors

Beautiful visitors from nature.... signs of Spring and summer!!

Recovered scar

Few weeks back, B had a deep long card just by the right eye lid. Thank god no major injuries to his eyes, and now, the scar is gradually healing and lightening up.

Article Review #3: Introduction to the special issue on aesthetics, images and vision

Article 5: Introduction to the special issue on aesthetics, images and vision by Jonathan Schroeder

This short article raised interesting considerations of the impact of aesthetics, images and vision in the experience economy. Although they are indirectly related to the topic of my research, however they are directly related to the industry I am researching – mobile games, and placement of marketing communication in mobile environment. Some of the topics that raised my eyebrows include the legal and ethical implications of image representation to consumers (misrepresentation? ethical?), cultural influence in aesthetic values (does it matter in the virtual world or must they be cultural sensitive like in physical world?). In addition, the topic also raised other thoughts in my research area – in the virtual world, do gamers (consumers) view aesthetics, images and vision in the same way as they see / interpret in the physical world? Do these elements influence their consumption or buying behavior in the virtual and/or real world? Does the choice of aesthetic and images affect the gamers’ (i.e. consumers) perception to that firm and its brand? These may be interesting questions to be answered in the research phase where I will work with a company, its marketer and a team of game developers to experiment the impact of in-game advertisement on the gamers’ consumer behavior.

Article Review #2: Methodological challenges in using practice theory in consumption research

Article 2: Methodological challenges in using practice theory in consumption research by Bente Halkier and Iben Jensen

In this article, the authors discussed the usefulness of using moderate social constructivist practice theory to address the challenges of analytical translations between practice theory and empirical research methods in consumption research. They based their arguments on Warde (2005) and Reckwitz (2002) where practice is seen as a routinized behavior which consists of three elements – understandings, procedures and engagements, and consumption activities are seen as the result of performing practices. In their arguments, they presented two analytical affordances for empirical research in consumption using their interpretation of practice theory: a) the flows of happenings and processes of carrying out activities that are both productive and conditioned thus the consumer’s daily manoeuvring between plurality of practices can be studied (situational based practices); b) understand the relational accomplishments and interpretation of the consumer’s continuous construction of social definition (e.g. healthy food, low-fat diet) which will indirectly influence the practices of consumptions over time. At this point, I am not certain how to apply the method in this article to my own research. However, it did open up new perspective for me to ponder, if the elements of routinized behaviors should be considered when I am designing my research to study the consumer behaviors of my subjects (i.e. routine games playing, repetitive images of product brands, and gamers’ behaviors in consumption). Another aspect for reflection is regarding statistical generalization vs. analytical generalization. I will apply mixed methods (qualitative follow by quantitative), this cautioned me with my ‘generalization’ approach, and how should I triangularize the data to be collected from both approaches

Article Review #1: Videography in marketing and consumer research

Article 1: Videography in marketing and consumer research by Russell W. Belk and Robert V. Kozinets

This paper looked at the different types of videographic research methods in marketing and consumption, the problems and opportunities presented, both on data collection aspect and also distribution methods. Videograph is a more comprehensive method than audio taping because body language, proxemics, kinesics and other kinetic forms of body expression can also be captured. The article offered good food for thought about this technique which was one of my research methods. I intend to run 10 groups of focus group discussions as my preliminary study. I also intend to conduct 20-30 interviews. The articles provided some good advice regarding what should be avoided and how to overcome some of the challenges. For example, we should have fuller view of the speaker and not just the ‘talking head’, the method may be obstructive and unnatural, thus we should arrange the video camera e.g. using a tripod from a distance, and be open to the interviewee of the video arrangement to eliminate any negative emotions. Other usages such as collaborative videographic research, hidden cameras or combination self-ethnography and semi unobstrusive methods in the research are useful information, though not directly relevant at this point to my research. Also, the post production and distribution sections are informative considerations but not relevant to my approach where the videos filmed from the focus group discussions will be used in their raw form.

Helatorstai (A day off!)

A much needed break after last week's intensive course, and this week's hectic catch up. However, the day off is just a breather to organize my papers and prepare for more assignments that should be submitted over next two weeks.

So, now finally, my papers are organised.. and must start chewing up the 70 articles given before the next two courses. Hard days to come, enjoy the sunny helatorstai for now :)

Three difficult months ahead!

I just downloaded all the reading materials today for the forthcoming assignment, and precourse reading... Believe it or not, I measured after printing. It is exactly 6 inches thick (15cm)!!! I have about two weeks to at least browsed through quickly because I should finalize one article for submission to fulfil last week's course assignment (about 20 pages), then I should write reflection summary (2 pages per article) for total of 60 articles! These must be accomplished by end of May! How on earth am I going to finish with my slow reading speed (very slow because I would like to enjoy and understand what I read, and think about how the contents could be applied to my research.) It felt like a mission impossible. Tonight, I started with the first one, 20 pages.. after 1 hour, I am not even half way through. There are many good references, which I checked out in the interent, and that led to more useful and interesting references... and I can go on this way for ages! How I wish I can get some useful, effective tips from another academia who has been through this path before. Please... God send me someone who can shed some lights, and help me go through this painful process, a little painless!

Mother's Day 2012

Once a year, all three mothers will get-together to celebrate this auspicious day... Mum-in-law, sis-in-law and myself. This is the 'group pic' of the mums, and coincidentally, we are in some tones of red :)  Well, great minds think the same, ha ha.

It was a simple, but cosy and warm celebration... as always, we enjoyed each other's company to the fullest!

Heading south!

Heading south to attend my first seminar course in Helsinki. We will leave to Lahti today, and I will commute from there daily. It is not very far, approx. 50mins train ride, but the tix price is less than half of hotel price in Helsinki, so it is worth the arrangement :D Most importantly, staying in own apartment is better than in a tiny hotel, that's the double bonus for the small amount of travel time. Hope everything will work out well.

Ice Hockey World Championship

Kicks off in Helsink today and will last for two plus weeks. Last year Finland grabbed the title, this year, in Helsinki, hopefully they will be able to defend their cup. Although I have not watched ice hockey before arriving Finland, but I am thrilled by the dynamic, speed and excitement of the game. Most importantly, there is a very interesting Finnish commentator, Antero... it is so fun to hear him announcing during the match!


http://yle.fi/uutiset/ice_hockey_world_championships_kicking_off/6081649

Half way through!

It has been a challenging 4 months, but having completed 25 credits, just made me feel GREAT despite the hardwork. Now, I am all charged up to go for phase 2, another 16 credits in 2.5 months! This means sacrificins summer holidays, but it also means, I will be 3/4 way through my study requirements... thereafter, I can put full concentration in preparing and implementing my research! Though it seems like impossible to strive for a 2 years completion, but I am still going to aim this as my Mission Impossible! God, please give me strength and motivation to complete this goal!

Packing for first study seminar

Time flies, the long awaited study seminar will finally take place next week. Earlier, the plan was I will stay in a hotel in Helsinki, but some changes happened. We decided to take back our own apartment in Lahti for self-use. As a result, I can live in our own apartment from now on when travelling south. It is still 99km from Helsinki but with the advancement of transportation, the distance only require 54mins train ride which is nothing in relation to the distance. If I will rent a room in Helsinki, it is not so cosy, in addition, the price is expensive even for a simple room... now I have a 64m2 apartment to myself, so, no complains, but filled with excitement and joy. In the next trip, I could even have family along, killing two birds with one stone... holiday + study, ha ha!

Marking exam papers

Time of the year again, with bundles of handwritten exam papers to mark. This can be a painful and time consuming process. In order to be fair to the examinees, I tried to read their badly written handwriting, try to understand where they are coming from, and whether what they explained to some extend is similar to what I am expecting. In some cases, each sentence must be read at least 2 or 3 times to finally determine if the contents are worth any points.... As a result, my own study assignments and seminar preparation is now at halt until all these work obligations are cleared from my plate.

Nature's beauty!

This was amazingly beautiful... a lucky sighting! Blessing of God's grace!

 

Dinner tonight

I love Finnish sausage! We eat this during mid-summer night, when we have the bonfire, but other times, if we are warming up the fireplace, we can also grilled it there. It is not the healthiest food on earth, but hack it, life is about living to eat, and occasional pamper of sinful food is a must to make us live to the fullest :D

May Day, May Day!

It is a quite public holiday at home, but outside, a totally different world of celebration in Finland. Teens get dead drunk overnight on this day. They are not drinking the traditional cider, Sima, but buckets and buckets of beers!

I was out shopping with kids yesterday, there were many people in the store, and whilst queueing, I noticed, EVERY one on the Q, except us, have at least 12 to 24 cans of beers... the one with biggest load, was 2 x 24 cans!

No wonder, there were so many drunken people on the street last night to keep police busy all night!

I have been a teen before, but I wonder what is the thrill to drink so much, and get totally drunken!? I thought it was a torture and never wanted to get myself to that state, so I have been 'sober' my whole life thus far. May be one day in future, before I died, I should get myself drunk and feel how is it like to be a crazy teen... till then, I still treasure my sober mind :D

More: http://yle.fi/uutiset/drunk_teens_keep_police_busy/6077833

Simple joys

Tomorrow is public holiday, internationally it is called Labor's Day, in Finland, we called Vappu, and usually, people wish each other 'Happy May Day' (hups, like wishing people to have 'big trouble' on that day, ha ha). Anyway, the weather is forecasted to be Spring-like tomorrow, warm and sunny. Kids and I went to the shop today, and bought a simple device - bubby gun, so that tomorrow they can play outdoor all day making bubbles. It is simple stuff, but kids are really delighted and joyful... :)

You don't need expensive toys or gifts to make a kid happy, but when they are used to such luxury, you create expectation on yourself, and anything lesser will make them unhappy. So, think twice before you splurge on expensive gift, because it may bring temporary joys, and more sorrows in the future. 

  

爱你一辈子。。 感人故事

老教授帶病妻上課，他在台上講，她就坐在下面，一臉幸福的聆聽。愛，是經得起平淡的流年，是矢志不渝的相守。一輩子的愛情…

Source》
http://www.ettoday.net/news/20120427/42206.htm
http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/245398?tid=2

Spring Fun at Home!

Kids are having fun, whilst mummy sufers the aftermath!

  

Finnish hare

A Finnish hare behind the bush... lovely creature! More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_hare

Yellow Day

These T's are just regular collections from Disney Paris as gifts to my kids, but I was told, they would be disaster colour if put on today in Malaysia due to the 'Bersih Campaign'... :(  Anyway, kids love their new Ts, and we love our country.... we hope the Bersih walk will take place peacefully.

A milestone accomplished

My first ever academic article was produced today. This is a baby step forward. Earlier, when writing course assignments, I never need to think so hard, the writing came naturally in free style, just a self-expression of some kind. However, this round, the 'writing' seemed so challenging. A lot of thoughts needed for the style rather than the contents, and most importantly, I could not grasp the expectation of the target audiences, unlike writing papers for 'practical readers'. Anyway, I know the paper has significant gaps since I hardly read many scholarly papers in my life... but it is a small step to my monograph writing in 2 years time, and I guess, more practise will gradually improve my skills in producing academic papers in future, hence, I am all in for the 'learning'... it is part of the personal development I am look for.

Roti Chanai and Tandoori

When getting busy and stressful, food is my best friend. Today, I pampered myself with something I cannot get in Kajaani - roti chanai and tandoori chicken. Heavenly treat! Who says we need to be in fine dining to have great food, this little homely treat is what money nor fine dining cannot offer. My taste, my liking!

May Day May Day!

I just received an email today with 3 inches thick of reading materials! How on earth am I going to read all these in a week, and to produce simultaneously a 'scholarly' article for publication. It is MISSION IMPOSSIBLE! A little 'demotivated' at the moment, plus lack of any inspiration to pen any lines. Still struggling to recover from Spring flu, work spilt over after the travel, so these 'homework' only adds salt to wounds :( 

Guess I will go to bed now, take good rest and start fresh tomorrow... what else can I do?

May Day Delight

I have never made Finnish doughnuts before, and today, my very first attempt with kids... and surprisingly, it turned out reaaaaaaaaally WELL! Thanks to an excellent recipe from the website.

http://www.valio.fi/reseptit/munkit/

  

 

Writing an Article

I never realized, writing an article could be so challenging! I should produce an article for one of the seminar course, and after struggling the whole day, my mind is still pretty much clueless and idealess what to write! I have some vague ideas, but the problem is... I do not have time nor the resources to find 'scholarly articles' from the library, and other sources. It is frustrating! Anyway, I have a long day tomorrow, so I guess I must prepare school work first, then think for inspiration again tomorrow. Submission deadline approaching, so getting desperate!

Intermat Highlights

The main reason to visit Paris was to attend a big fair called Intermat where we were supposed to meet our business partners from UK, and also their authorized agents from other parts of Europe. It was nice to catch up with them, and to enhance the network...

http://youtu.be/DhY1YEGmO6w  

Living hell!

After 4 days of hectic and 'romantic' trip.... now I am in living hell! I have three seminar courses coming round the corner, and I just received all the pre-course assignments upon return... they are PLENTY of materials to read and write, and I am having difficulties to figure out how to cope with all these with the kind of hectic schedules I have now!

God, help me please!

Romantic Paris

I was recently in Paris with hubby. We could not really figure out how Paris could be one of the most romantic city in the world... ha ha. There were so many people and cars, so crowded, rubbing shoulders with others all the time, rainy, windy, wet, etc... then we found some 'explanations' finally for Paris to live up to its name....

1. Always rainy - so, couples must always share an umbrella, which makes it 'romantic'

2. Always windy and cold - so, couples must always hold each other to keep warm, so, another reason for romantic

3. Large city to walk, lady gets tired easily walking with their high street fashion wear, so, must always hold the man for support, and move gracefully, slowly in their 6 inches tall heels, that's our last explanation for romantic.

Anyway, jokes aside, we did have a romantic trip there by our personal standard, and we truly enjoyed each other's companion despite it was a short, hectic trip!

Some pics to capture our wonderful moments in Paris!
http://youtu.be/ddXqbyVjhY8

Little pianist

Music helps to relax me when I am tense.... although I am not a talented musician, but when using music as relaxation, the talent part is not the most important. Anyway, nowadays, kids are also learning piano... however, I do not want to pressure them to become a musician. The very reason they are learning was to have this as an option to destress in the future, just like I do nowadays...

Boy seems to enjoy the piano more than the girl... and here is a funny video of him 'practising piano'.

http://youtu.be/WDK_tFcAjg4

A small accident!

I had a shock and heart attack this evening when B ran in to tell about a big cut by a working spade. The sister accidentally hit him when she was digging, not a lot of blood, but a 1 inch wound just couple of mm above his right eye! I almost fainted. Hubby has to take him to hospital, and they cleaned up and placed some 'magic' tape called SkinLink.. Never heard, but I hope it will do some good. God, please bless him with speedy recovery, and no infection.

Kids play

When I am down, when I am busy... watching the kids, brighten my day. Here is a video, that made me laugh, and all my tiredness will vanish away....

http://youtu.be/HDxFUrMCpNI

Busy bee....

Boy is busy digging snow around the home... making tunnel, snow man, castle, etc. It is just so funny to see how 'busy' he is with the spade and spending hours outside digging :D

Rare visitor, again!

 Leaving in the country side is like having a life safari... usually, we see lots of birds - both locals and seasonals, but occasionally, we also have rare visitors like deers, hares, fox. This family of deers, were here last evening, and this morning. Usually they are in the fields, but some times, they do come really close to our home, at the courtyard and backyard.

  

Home saloon

This is my 'new project' over the weekend... cut boy's hair, and curled girls hair. Not bad, ha ha!

  

On top of the world

Kids new playground... and also 'TV' spot - from on top of our home's stone stove. It is warm and cosy up there!

A visitor :D

We have a visitor, he is a super lively and active boy. Anyway, the kids are making so much noise that it is not possible to concentrate nor read... guess I have to find something else to do, like Spring cleaning away clothes from closet.... something I should do, but did not get around due to the assignments.

Newborn BB Boy

My niece gave birth this afternoon to a healthy baby boy weight 3,7 kg. He was supposed to be borned on 18 April, but he could not wait further and today, they did the C-section to bring him to the world. Can't wait to see this little dragon boy :D May both mother and son be safe, praise the Lord!

CD Ripper

I have a collection of great 80s and 90s CDs, but they are so cumbersome to play nowadays with a CD player. Surfed around to find a CD ripper so that I can ripped these files to MP3 format for personal use. I can put them to my MP3 player, listen to them when I am walking, travelling, going to work etc... Found this product from internet, cool, fast and easy. Really worth trying if you are looking for a basic CD ripper. Highly recommended!

http://www.nch.com.au/rip/index.html

American Idols

I think it is great to have such kind of competition to find new talents, and there are many fantastic, gifted talents found through this channel. However, the selection of winner in my mind is not very fair. Voters choose not by their ears, nor their heart, but by their deceptive eyes, putting more emphasis on looks, beauty, gender etc. Many voters are young girls, and they idolize young, handsome boys regardless if they sing or not. However, that's what music and entertainment business is all about today. Ability to sing, dance or act is not the key success factors becacuse young fans just go gaga blindly on other material criteria! I hope this new season will do the best contestants some good.... and I hope the Americans will vote wisely, and not let talents gone to waste.

Birthday

I made a birthday card today with our ski photo... actually, it turned out quite nice... and more importantly, something easy, unique and special :D

Kids' new playground!

Kids have a new 'playground' on top of our stone heater! (Uuni)... They enjoyed climbing up and down, and did some picnics up there with the cat :P How imaginative...

Nokia share

Anticipated bad near term performance has sent Nokia share price to a nose dip. I am not a big fan of investment, and have some small amount of Nokia shares. With the dip, it means, the value I hold is lesser, but this is also a good opportunity to buy a little more to hold as long term investment. I still have strong believe that this company is currently under valued, and in the longer term, it will rebounce. The holding period may be long to see the gain, i.e. a 3-5 years time frame, but for one with some idol money, and not keen for speculative investment, then a blue chip share with good foundation can be a consideration.

Anorexia

The price of becoming skinny and slim... is this really worthwhile? I stumbled across this blog today, it was a sad story... but I think it is a story that all young girls in this modern world go through, including myself. I went to departmental store to look for clothes, the sales girls will give me a dirty look, and say they have no size for me, not even XL! So, I must have tailor-made clothes for my first job. Although I did not go through the path of anorexia, but I could feel the pressure then that to be 'normal' I must be 'slim' and skinny. However, my 'tam-jia' behaviour, stopped me from going further... today, I am not slim nor skinny, but at least I am healthy and happy. Beauty is in the eyes of beholder, not how the world judge you based on your size or weight. Stay healthy, and that's the greatest beauty on earth!


http://ashleysblogbctc.blogspot.com/2010/03/story-of-isabelle-caro_3269.html

Last busy day!

I am so looking forward for today, the last busy teaching Wednesday... next week onwards, my courses will subside, and the load will gradually reduce. However, lots of uncertainty ahead... I won't be teaching in Autumn, and thereafter, I am not sure what will I be teaching.... we will see, and time will tell. I think it is good to break away from this routine task, take a breather and re-think, and ponder, how to make this task more exciting and beneficial for my students.

Earthquake off Acheh

A big earthquake took place some 600km from west coast at magnitude of 8,7 followed by an aftershock at magnitude 8,1. Even west coast of Malaysia can feel the quake for almost 1minute, so did the East Cost of India.... however, this round, people are more prepared for the occasion, tsunami warnings ware issued to 28 countries, and so far, praise the lord, no major catastrophy yet. Hopefully, we all learn from past experiences so that we are all wiser to deal with such natural disaster. Prayers are with those who are affected.

Elk and Lamb

My invention - Instead of lamb, I used elk fillet topped with mint sauce as seasoning, then rolled it into a loaf, then baked till 80C.... it turned out really yummy!