Political wives

A few weeks ago we saw the shameless confession of Eliot Spitzer (ex-Governor of NY) of his prostitute-hopping hobby. Then barely days into his office, the new Governor of the state of NY announced that he's had numerous affairs in the past, including one with a woman who's in his office now!

Now, the fact that these men have cheated on their wives is, unfortunately, not THAT shocking. What's more mind-boggling is that every time these men confess their infidelity, they have their wives with them (as if the presence of their wife would enhance the credibility of their repentance which in turn would save their character a little!). As I read the various accounts of such confessions, I cannot help but imagine what I would do if my husband had to make a similar public announcement. I also cannot help but conclude that one would have to drag me by my hair, dead, for me to even consent to such a sad and shameful affair. As if it's not hurtful and devastating enough to have your man cheat on you, now you have to stand by him and aid him in asking the public's forgiveness??? Unbelievable. Are these women for real and think that they are expected of such disgraceful tasks as a wife? Political wife or not, I am not sure if any woman should ever subject herself to such a humiliating role of a co-confessor of a lying adulterer.

Hence, Maggie Gallagher accounts my exact sentiments when she appeals to all cheating public-figure husbands to stop torturing their wives by making them appear empathetic as they list their illicit sexual encounters to the world.

Old friends on Facebook

While I have always associated internet-networking sites like Friendster, MySpace and the like with young teenagers posting their babble and shameless pixs of themselves online, I changed my mind recently about a site that works on a similar principle - Facebook. When I was first "invited" by a friend to join the online network, I was skeptical but decided to take the plunge after I discovered that a good number of my more sensible friends are on it, too. (And no, this is NOT a paid or sponsored posting by Facebook in case you're wondering.)

After joining the network late last year, I have found old, old friends that I would otherwise not know where to look. As I've lived on several continents in the last 15 years, my friends are spread across the globe. Again, Facebook has been wonderful to connect me with friends all over. Friends from church when I was a barely a teenager came a knocking on my Facebook door asking if I were the I'Ching they knew way back when. Today, a couple we know who are not quite the computer savvy type, added me to their friends list. How cool is that! Such applications of technology has definitely enhanced the possibilities of our social life.

However, are such platforms really helping us connect better as gregarious creatures? Have our relationships improved with the advent of such messengers? I'm not sure they have. We may think that we are connecting better but what we are doing better is just the technique - the substance of our relationships has not gotten better, I believe. While one can send hugs over Facebook, nothing will ever take the place of a real hug - the warmth, the touch and the smell of a real person. Communicating in short text sentences will never ease the pain of a broken heart as powerfully as crying to a friend over a cup of tea.

Alone time

Husband started his Thursday evening lectures two weeks ago. This means, every Thursday evening for the next three months, while husband is hard at work (and when I'm not traveling for work myself!) I get a few hours of alone time when I can do what I've been wanting/needing to do like, re-potting the overgrown plant on our balcony, check out the latest collection at Muji, etc., without having to worry about ideas for dinner or about whether husband is waiting for me to watch the next episode of 30 Rock on dvd.

I look forward to this evening which includes some form of the following: window shopping at Daiso ("everything $2 shop") at Vivo City, More magazine, Cantonese CSI-like serial on dvd, moving-countdown checklist and planning for my "private project."

Movies to look out for...

While I love John Irving as a writer, I'm not sure if I agree with some of his views about life. For example, the movie "The Cider House Rules" was made based on his book of the same title. The basic premise of the book/movie is on the work (and the good) of an abortionist - basically an effort to appeal to your emotions and sympathy towards women who are pregnant from rape and incestuous sexual abuse. While I have deep hatred for any form of sexual evil, I am also wary of any attempt to supposedly set things right that would involve the termination of another life. As Captain Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek Enterprise once said, "No being is so important that it can usurp the rights of another.”

Anyhow, movie makers in Hollywood have for a long time now been more sympathetic towards the Pro-choice movement. However, lately, there seems to be a shift in their view of the life of the unborn. So, here's a list of movies I'm looking forward to spending my evenings watching...1) Bella (http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/bella/), 2) Noelle (http://www.noellethemovie.com/),
3) Juno (http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/juno/) and (this is an older one which I've seen - a bit raunchy but very funny!)
4) Knocked Up (http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/knockedup/).

So, let's pop the corn!

Improvise!

Trend guru, Faith Popcorn, predicted that this year it's cooler not to spend. Excess is out - excess spending, excess stuff, excess clamoring for recognized brands and labels - all out! As economies gradually slow down in reaction to the US market, I think that this is more of a necessity than a fad! Coincidentally, buying less is the motto that I've adopted as a new year resolution (again, out of need rather than choice!).

However, I'm not complaining at all. In fact, I think this restraint has been very good for our growth. Limiting the number of times we eat out has been beneficial for our health (we tend to eat healthily at home - salads, sandwiches) and as well as wealth - time wise. Eating at home saves us traveling time to and fro eatery and the wasted time we would undoubtedly spend window-shopping when we are out. Not eating out as often also helps us to appreciate more the times when we do.

This simple-living principle has also extended to how we approach things that are quasi-broken. Two evenings ago, our reading lamp which I like alot broke. Well, it didn't quite break enough for us to trash it (its base broke but otherwise functioning as it should as a lamp). So, I thought of a way to salvage it. I found that I've an extra vase and some smooth stones that have fallen out of favor. So, the result is wht you see in the pix below. What do you think?
Oh, sorry if I'm still in home decor mood but when we were in Ikea, we came across this lovely way to decorate with fabric - gave me ideas on how to use those sheer saris I have tonnes of!

I need more space!!!

It's 90 days and counting down to our move. As we would be working with a much smaller space, we've been cracking our heads trying to figure out where to store what, which pieces of furniture from our current apartment should we bring along with us, where we could and should station our work area (we need a larger home office as both husband and I work from home a lot) where to place our tv, etc.

As we would be downsizing from a 1,500 sq. ft. double-story 3-bedroom apartment to a 2-bedroom 850 one, it's been challenging trying to fit in everything we deem necessary. We did have a breakthrough this evening - we managed to make some decisions with regards to the guestroom. As we often have friends and family members visiting, a guest bedroom is essential. Presently, we have the luxury of keeping one room as the guest room and another the media/book/tv room. However, this will not be the case by June. We'll have to work our books, tv and media into our guest bedroom. The major progress this evening was deciding how we would position all the elements in the second bedroom.

Meanwhile, I've started taking pictures of our current home to document the our apartment-heydays in this global city.