tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33601658492595817592012-01-04T18:47:22.186+08:00Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.comBlogger861100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-67886331441392625912011-12-05T23:28:00.001+08:002011-12-05T23:57:19.771+08:00

I think I'm going to enjoy storytelling at bedtimes. I already have an assortment of plots, characters, motifs and even antagonists. I'll just need to string them into fantastical stories where Isobel is the heroine and teach her, with each yarn, something about being brave, persistent, faithful, or obedient. Problem is, my story arcs are still too complex for her - I'll need to simplify things

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-21949098379031315822011-11-22T00:49:00.001+08:002011-11-25T14:07:29.614+08:00

We had a good thing going on here, but we let it die. For far to long. So the hubs challenged me yesterday. "You have the time. Write one paragraph posts, it's not hard."It's true. I really do have the time (babies sleep a lot), and one paragraph isn't hard. I just need to think in small chunks instead of epic ambitions. Note to self: the same applies for all those DIY/craft/sewing projects I've

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-53455260184894155622010-10-28T22:25:00.005+08:002010-10-28T23:37:28.886+08:00

I know. I know. We've been away for a long, long time. But it's not really because we've been nestling into married life and forgetting that we have a blog and that children are going hungry in first world countries turning away their dinners in exchange for "a few more minutes" of refreshing These Glorious Days because "maybe they will update something soon". No, of course not. In fact, the main

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-42885047192590959322010-09-11T19:26:00.000+08:002010-09-11T19:29:46.593+08:00

We may not have been blogging much, but we are very much ALIVE!

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-88721369492854163752010-08-24T18:56:00.003+08:002010-08-24T19:33:13.541+08:00

(Deep breath.) We are married! YES! We are married! We have survived the wedding - more than that, maybe even thrived through the wedding! And why stop there - we've even made it back from our honeymoon alive! And fat! Yes, we have been married now for a week and three days and the entire behemoth is nestling itself comfortably into our respective and shared existences. There is much to say

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-8518967466761937782010-08-10T12:17:00.001+08:002010-08-10T12:17:50.515+08:00

... we're getting married in four days.

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-85100796990255372912010-07-19T23:45:00.006+08:002010-07-20T00:34:01.406+08:00

Yes, it's high time for some wedding updates. Especially as we might get some traffic here now that our cards are going out! Plus, it's suddenly now less than a month away now. Glup!Most importantly, our cards are FINALLY done and hoo boy, what a ride that has been.The cards were only sent to print on Thursday, picked up on Friday afternoon, and we spent the weekend addressing, stamping and

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-16242583627131914912010-06-30T09:33:00.003+08:002010-07-18T10:09:11.989+08:00

The month of June came and went, and in many ways, was characterised by the World Cup. We got our living room up to scratch progressively so that by the time the knockout stages had come along, all our new lights were beaming from the ceilings. June also saw the arrival of some key appliances - some whose stories are told here, others whom we'll talk about another day. Here is our June in

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-21099728221715824132010-06-25T15:37:00.003+08:002010-06-25T15:51:18.109+08:00

This is a video I made to commemorate England's survival in the World Cup - the one where they ran directly into the warpath of age-old rivals Germany. These Hitler videos have been remixed to no end on Youtube, but it's always still a lot of fun. So here's my contribution to that scene. Hehe. Enjoy the video, and if you like it, help us send it out to all your friends!

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-23907822769736099772010-06-22T07:00:00.000+08:002010-06-22T07:00:02.395+08:00

We are sensationally late in posting these up, but late has it's charm and late is better than never. Athalia turned 27 on May 20th. We had quite a lot of fun that day, careening with abandon down the smorgasbord of Tenji's lunch buffet. I had six coconut drinks (yes, out of the coconut) and something like five slices of durian cheesecake. Athalia made the most of the sashimi, sushi, maki, more

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-77855596655026018792010-06-19T20:10:00.000+08:002010-06-21T20:29:55.100+08:00

Grocery shopping with Athalia's gonna be fun.A few nights ago, we hit Carrefour and what began as a simple stopover to pick up some cleaning products turned out more like a dress rehearsal for a lifetime of supermarket shopping. I'll drop you in just as we began bickering about what dish-washing liquid to get.Fergus: I know your mum uses Sunlight, but do we really have to buy it as well?Athalia:

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-25790798753215742072010-06-11T00:10:00.001+08:002010-06-11T12:11:45.389+08:00

As the date approaches for us to collect our rings from Sofia our jeweler, the entire narrative draws to an exciting climax. And one of the finishing touches we've had to consider has been inscriptions on the rings.Most people inscribe something on the inside of their wedding rings - usually the wedding date or a short message or the couple's initials or a combination of them. We've decided to go

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-77526569287139370492010-06-08T00:23:00.001+08:002010-06-08T12:40:44.089+08:00

Okay, so getting Athalia to move in with me two months before the wedding is about as kosher as char siew at a Passover table. But I'll tell you what can move in. Her books.And in fact, they have. A few nights ago, I lugged home one box of her books and began the task of consolidating her collection with mine. It's the kind of thing that makes me happy in the pits of my stomach.I mean, it's not

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-25158227456654896242010-06-04T17:00:00.002+08:002010-06-04T17:31:36.897+08:00

It's the first day of June. At least it was when I started writing this and left it sitting incomplete in the drafts till now. But anyway. This marks the first day of the second half of the year. Which got me thinking.1. I counted and there are exactly 10 weekends left before The Wedding Happens. Across 4 of those weekends, The World Cup Happens. Meaning, there will be less time to think about

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-19458884970403449082010-05-31T23:40:00.003+08:002010-05-31T23:52:15.538+08:00

It's June my friends. June. The month of the World Cup. And boy is the fever on!!World Cup has always meant a lot to me and now it's meaning a lot to Athalia as well. She's a fervent supporter of Germany and Spain. I support what she likes to call "the dirty Italians". Of course, there's the English and the Dutch for me too. Our rivalries are heating up, and I think the only safe ground for our

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-3767971835118621382010-05-17T12:00:00.000+08:002010-05-17T12:10:51.713+08:00

Having chosen our design and deciding to go with gold, we brought our thoughts to our friendly local jeweler Sofia and look what she turned out in one week! Mockups!I don't even know if 'mockups' is the right word because these are the actual rings that we'll be wearing, just unfinished. If you look closely, there are red lines where some trimming needs to be done, and red dots where some stones

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-66770234772781106462010-05-13T23:00:00.008+08:002010-05-14T10:35:08.489+08:00

I loooooove fabric poms. Look at the strings of frilly joy!They're real easy to make (tutorial here) and can be done while watching TV, sitting around yaking or going to cell. Hehe. Really, it's just drawing circles on fabric, cutting them out, folding them into quarters and stitching six together. Repeat 1,000 times. Piece of cake. These larger, hanging poms don't even require stitching, just

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-43818024450186484622010-05-11T19:49:00.003+08:002010-05-11T20:59:12.351+08:00

We celebrated my brother-in-law CP's birthday last Friday and to call it anything less than a gastronomic shangri-la would be to lie! Lie, I tell you! Eating started off with tapas at the cafe in the National Geographic Store and then the real dinner happened at L'Opera. The tortellini, when bit into, gave birth to sensations I had never known before. And I had a Cuban beer, this Bucanero Strong

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-52930804443589020952010-05-10T12:00:00.003+08:002010-05-10T12:12:58.912+08:00

Yes. Our rings will actually be golden in colour. It's fashionable these days to go with "silver", ie white gold or platinum, but I've always thought that a simple gold ring was the most charming and quaint thing. Fergs was initially sceptical about the idea of anything in gold looking good - tsk tsk to him letting modern marketing dictate his taste like that - but after a few "looks vintage"

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-91610978854607743082010-05-04T12:53:00.003+08:002010-05-04T13:05:17.422+08:00

Up until a few weeks ago, the word "monogram" would be for me the unloved, lonely sister of the record label Polygram. But apparently it's not. It seems that a monogram is a logo-like design that usually comprises the initials of a couple that's getting married, bridged by a plus sign or an ampersand. It's big in the wedding scene, or so I've recently discovered.Which means that I've been handed

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-67064249998034445222010-04-26T18:05:00.006+08:002010-04-26T18:34:52.678+08:00

These were taken from our apartment balcony and processed really long ago. Yes, I was trying very hard to channel Tim Burton. Yes, I recognise that it doesn't really work. No, the originals were actually very yellowy. Heh.

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-73466590652161178292010-04-22T23:00:00.001+08:002010-04-23T17:31:47.585+08:00

Right. Sixteen more weeks to go. That's four months. Gulp.Anyway, it's taken a long time, but we've finally gotten around to articulating our "Wedding Manifesto", ie guiding principles and ideas we'd like to build this whole project around. Yes, I do think of it as a big, once-in-a-lifetime, oddles-of-fun project. Keeps the stress at bay :)So, here are some words we'd like to have associated with

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-61563068983544379182010-04-20T11:20:00.001+08:002010-04-23T17:33:24.414+08:00

My first stop motion sequence! I meant to just make a simple animated gif but Fergs fancied it up very nicely with opening and closing credits, plus music. Now I'm inspired to shoot a longer one to do it justice.Piggy bank's borrowed from my pastor's daughter and the Fifi lunch bag is home to my camera Iris :)

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-88077112635090193542010-04-15T17:12:00.006+08:002010-04-15T22:24:47.573+08:00

Q and I finally posted our second week of photos! Yes, I know it's late but at least it's up :)*click*

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-59387819288485450012010-04-12T22:00:00.000+08:002010-04-13T16:10:06.455+08:00

I've always been the kind of person who keeps his different groups of friends fairly separate. I don't always succeed, and most of the time, it's much better when I colossally fail. And fail I did, because this past Saturday, Athalia and I invited our bridal/groomal team over to her house for a meet and greet dinner. Soon, we'll be introducing you to our team of bridesmaids, groomsmen, family

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-91437944651282412462010-04-06T23:30:00.000+08:002010-04-07T14:31:20.920+08:00

I've started a shared photo blog with my partner-in-camera, Q; most of you would have seen her in the comments over here.We're going to post three photos we've taken from the previous week every Sunday night, so if you're interested in following the photographic progress of two girls with their d90s, do head on over to She & Iris. Yes, her camera is really called She - it started of as a joke and

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-51712596670101022122010-03-30T19:52:00.005+08:002010-03-31T12:45:20.665+08:00

Mobius. Yes, mobius because our wedding rings are going to be in the shape of a mobius strip: a band with a twist that makes it mathematically one-sided. Run your finger along the outer side of the ring and you'll end up in the inner side of it. Keep running your finger and you'll end up back on the outer side again. And we like it. No, we love it! In Athalia's own words, it's the "ultimate

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-7391128472966211032010-03-30T11:54:00.000+08:002010-03-31T12:45:10.679+08:00

March wedding flurry takes us closer to the wedding march. Here are all the highlights:Commissioner of oaths - We went to the commissioner of oaths to confirm that we were actually the same people as those in the wedding application forms. I swear, it's a bizarre but fascinating process: "Is this girl in the photo the same girl as her?" "Yes." Chop. Chop. Chop. "Is this man in the photo the same

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-60448126193683827372010-03-29T09:00:00.000+08:002010-03-31T12:44:51.728+08:00

There's an old Malay idiom that goes "Blog yang tenang jangan disangka tiada updates". And it makes perfect sense! March has been a slow month for this little nook in the internet but that's not to say that we haven't been working our crocs and socks off. In fact, it was a deliberate strategy to not post till the very end, and put everything up in one shot. Yes, now I remember. It was entirely

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-47914002085907503142010-03-11T15:10:00.005+08:002010-03-11T16:02:49.709+08:00

So, getting a wedding ring is not quite the same as buying a bag of cheezles. Ignore the fact that after a bit of shopping, all wedding rings, like cheezles, start to look the same - they're not. Nonetheless, after a bit of online browsing, we thought we'd be extra clever and get our rings custom made.We even found an amazing online jeweler based in Singapore and Thailand whose work involved

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-35585170973242774972010-03-01T18:28:00.008+08:002010-03-02T17:30:12.700+08:00

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-23268744267359665492010-02-26T23:59:00.005+08:002010-03-02T17:32:49.933+08:00

Imagine that. One decade on, he still has the same sweet smile, exuberant curiosity and zest for life over in Birmingham.Wishes from the other two.

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-62569175465885698222010-02-10T23:30:00.004+08:002010-02-11T11:41:53.622+08:00

Okay, I skipped last week's watch. Please don't sue me. There wasn't a lot to report that week, and I was lazy. But hoo boy, did pieces suddenly fall into place across the end of Wednesday and across Thursday. Lots of good, good pieces which so nicely, all begin with "P". Perfect.Pastors - we nervously approached Fergs' pastor, Ps Lee Choo, to speak at our wedding knowing chances were slim that

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-79256722392494580962010-02-05T15:24:00.011+08:002010-03-02T17:33:58.153+08:00

Welcome to a brand new column on TGD! Posted on Fridays (duh), this will be a round-up of interesting links to look at that we've collected over the week. Dive right in!From Athalia:Back in 2001, Steve Jobs defined what computing would be like in the next decade, and then he went out and did it. Now the rest of the industry has to play catch-up. Did I ever mention I want a Steve Jobs shrine in my

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-59733710161396537242010-02-01T08:00:00.001+08:002010-02-01T10:37:22.566+08:00

Good morning friends!Okay, our colourboards are finally done! We've spent quite a while fixating on them, tediously swapping colours around, throwing knives at each other and eventually settling on the final three. Colourboards 1 and 2 are quite similar - this is not a coincidence. Our main idea was always to do something within this family of colours. Colourboard 3 is more of a wildcard - like

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-61870113894200633412010-01-31T23:30:00.002+08:002010-02-01T00:10:15.738+08:00

Woah, where did January go? Here we are, new banner in tow, in a new month that promises to be packed with festivities, DIY antics and wedding talk. Besides that, this is supposed to be the month where Fergs finally gets to take a break after a back-breaking last few months working on his TV program. Key word here is supposed.So to start off with a bang, our colourboards are coming up in a matter

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-64677910764093892312010-01-28T22:45:00.005+08:002010-02-05T14:34:08.350+08:00

It's only just come to my attention that one of the nifty things wedding designers do is to come up with colourboards. Athalia's been talking about colourboards for weeks and so I've gone into some of these wedding blogs, picked my way through all the gown-gown posts and hunted down what these colourboards are ... and my word, they're fun!They're these little colour panels, and you typically

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-38712859875098240822010-01-27T23:30:00.013+08:002010-01-28T22:25:24.431+08:00

elcome to our Wednesday Wedding Watch!We've decided to start a weekly wedding countdown, because isn't it a great idea to make this whole project more stressful? It'll be posted on Wednesdays because I like alliterating words, and it's basically a summary of the ground we've covered in the past week.So as you can see, there are 28 more weeks to go. (Unless our application gets rejected.) And what

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-15853087948525147172010-01-26T11:19:00.013+08:002010-01-26T15:59:52.918+08:00

The stage is our future home office. The concept is all white. And the protagonists are two buckets of white paint. The one at the back is a cheap industrial-style ceiling paint with fumes that can supposedly kill household pets. That one got me into some trouble with the lady (she didn't like the idea of cheap fumey paint), but the paint in front is Nippon's stain-resistant wall paint with a

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-5224940138850046642010-01-21T22:41:00.003+08:002010-01-21T23:49:06.155+08:00

Ha! I can see from the twinkle in your eye and sentimental countenance that you've been seduced by the woman's - my future bride's - talk of all things wedding. Well, if you've wondered what happened to all the grey sand, construction dust and fit foreign workers, wonder no more, for we have but scratched its surface.Yes, for it was one of the 17th century philosophers who said "Renovation is for

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-38095210075293229312010-01-20T22:30:00.004+08:002010-01-21T00:32:33.399+08:00

So our application is in and the next step is to bite our nails until the church confirms our booking. In an effort to save our nails we'll try and distract ourselves with designing our save-the-dates and hitting this wedding gown place - the same one Liz went to. Just to take a look and get ideas.Now that concrete steps have finally been taken, I suddenly feel nervous with the realisation that

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-44895070836563323562010-01-19T23:30:00.000+08:002010-01-19T23:56:23.101+08:00

All right people, we've gotten into first gear. We filled up the application forms last night and dropped it off the church office to get the recommendation parts filled up. Yes, we really submitted that doodle. Most importantly, the date we've picked is 14 August 2010. It's a very special date for Fergus and I, didn't you know? Lemme tell you the very romantic story

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-16107300460870117442010-01-18T23:00:00.000+08:002010-01-18T23:01:33.116+08:00

The second birthday celebrated this year was the first birthday for the first grandchild in his family. That makes it a very momentous occasion yes? So we had a cosy celebration in the house over a long, late tea that went all the way past dinner. Also, there was ice-cream cake, which may just be the best kind of cake there is. Unless you don't like ice-cream.Funny bits to remember: the frenzied

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-60095981215259613552010-01-07T23:30:00.006+08:002010-01-08T16:38:09.207+08:00

(Yesterday, at The Gardens)I always enjoy his family's birthday dinners - they really, really know how to do one nicely. The routines of candle-lighting, song-singing, cake-cutting and present-opening get elevated by a fresh sense of excitement and love every single time.Here's to a whole year of birthdays ahead.

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-40588171346732043192010-01-05T21:15:00.002+08:002010-01-08T14:28:18.952+08:00

So it's five days into the new year and we still haven't posted. In the blogging world, that must be a sin commensurate to coveting thine neighbour's wife cattle. But here we are, back in the business of skipping down the meadowed lane, laughing with the birds and...err...We got Moleskins! Yes, as part of our annual fees to retain membership in the Klangvalley Uppity Yuppie Twentysomethings

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-86276447530380306662009-12-30T23:45:00.008+08:002010-03-02T17:33:58.153+08:00

is no easy task. For a self-professed communist, that man has a lot of stuff. Also, we've decided to not kill ourselves climbing the stairs, so we've been moving bit by bit over the three weeks, since renovations finished. Oh yeah, we forgot to post that bit up. Opps.So. People have been asking "So any updates on the house?" and all we have had to offer is "Errm, we're still moving Fergs into it.

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-45205220456598115652009-12-25T00:16:00.006+08:002010-01-08T14:35:32.573+08:00

Fergus: Merry Christmas everybody!Athalia: Yes, Merry Christmas everyone!Fergus: Thanks for reading our blog.Athalia: And leaving us all your fantastic comments.Fergus: Athalia will respond to all your comments on Boxing Day.Athalia: I will?Fergus: Of course you will.Athalia: Oh, how come me and not you? I'm always responding to comments. Fergus: Not to this post, you haven't.Athalia: -_- This

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-72723660769609891492009-12-22T15:08:00.004+08:002009-12-22T15:16:24.623+08:00

Hola Fergus,It's me, Lionel. I heard that you've been saying that blue and red don't go together? What's this, bro? I always thought you had good taste but I think maybe you've been a bit stressed, no? Well, don't be stressed - impossible is nothing and that includes painting your wall or your door or your ceiling blue and it will match with your red couch, just like FC Barcelona. Un momento...(

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-58576010286256833602009-12-21T23:30:00.000+08:002009-12-22T11:54:25.952+08:00

Dear Fergus,I heard that you said that red and blue do not go together, so I thought I'll send you pictures from my latest photoshoot with Marie Claire to show that if you pick the correct tones, they can in fact look very nice side-by-side. Don't you think so?I think the trick is to avoid the bright, primary shades and to have one colour as the dominant one and the other as an accent. I hope

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-3099823602191886122009-12-18T17:30:00.004+08:002009-12-18T18:13:59.416+08:00

The backyard of the family house leading out to the vast stretch of greenery by the side.Muar is close enough to tap Singapore TV stations with the help of tall antennas like this. Can you see it?The clock tower peeking out from behind the row of shops. The next time we go back I really want to do a proper shoot around town. Fergs' favourite stall: cui kueh. The bubbling pot of chai poh sits on a

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-51554080696900253422009-12-11T00:00:00.000+08:002009-12-11T00:00:03.275+08:00

This is the view from our kitchen window. I don't know about you, but I'm quite in love with it.Don't tell Athalia, but I can see myself doing most of the cooking next time. :)

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-37671408723223239772009-12-10T00:00:00.000+08:002009-12-10T00:00:03.399+08:00

The next lesson to learn about buying a toilet bowl is to be imaginative when you look at it. Specifically, you have to imagine your WC in all its most gory detail.Ours, so it seems, has turned out to be the poster child of horror toilet bowls from the dark side. Innocuous on the surface, this monster has a ceramic portion from the front of the bowl going some two thirds of the way towards the

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-42681310509321823162009-12-09T12:04:00.008+08:002009-12-09T12:33:53.929+08:00

I worked from home yesterday. Not just any home - the new home!Yes, I spent the morning and evening legs yesterday working from our new and newly cleaned apartment as seen above.It's actually quite comfortable. Short of having a chair and table to hammer away on, the concrete floor is extremely cool to sit on (temperature cool). With the front sliding door and the back door and window open, it

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-17346990738169957762009-12-08T14:20:00.003+08:002009-12-08T14:35:30.631+08:00

Took this on a cloudy day last week, just before it started raining. When I was young, I remember going out into the garden every time the sky looked yellow. We had a very yellow sky last Sunday evening. It reminded me of those late afternoons that end so quickly.

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-17260539102328417622009-12-07T00:01:00.000+08:002009-12-08T13:49:07.435+08:00

Among all the lessons we're learning, the one about toilet bowls may not be the hardest to learn, but it definitely stinks the worst. Here's how it goes.You can't just buy any old WC, shove it into your half-renovated bathroom and force the holes to align. Each toilet bowl comes with a certain measurement that relates to the distance between the wall and the center of the hole in your floor.

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-29988199702939358492009-12-03T05:00:00.000+08:002009-12-03T05:00:00.857+08:00

If you're a sane person, the kind with at least one practical bone in your body, and you are generally sensible, and you tend to make fairly solid decisions in life backed by the wisdom of those before you and your shrewdness on the day, then you're nothing like us, and you would buy yourself a normal sink.But noOOOoooOOoooOoo. We had to go and buy ourselves a lab sink. A what sink? A lab

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-76810282849021510222009-12-01T23:30:00.007+08:002010-01-08T14:26:46.591+08:00

And to mark this beginning, we've put up a new banner. I plan to do this monthly, hopefully this is not too large an ambition to handle.Festive banner aside, Christmas looks in danger of being an after-thought that's crowded right at the end of an incredibly packed month. Here's what we have lined up over the next three weekends:Moving Fergs into our new, unnamed placeDoing up said place - plenty

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-6504758620493417812009-11-30T17:30:00.004+08:002009-12-01T14:24:20.570+08:00

It's heating up. Yes, the living room has essentially been cleared. The fixtures are almost entirely affixed. The plumbing works the way plumbing ought to work and the only thing I can think of right now is hunkering down for my first big job in the bathroom. Ah, the satisfaction it will bring! I shall now leave you with more gratuitous pictures of our fixtures.

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-33913114267512998632009-11-28T23:30:00.003+08:002009-11-30T13:41:09.301+08:00

And so it isJust like you said it would beLife goes easy on meMost of the timeAnd so it isThe shorter storyNo love, no gloryNo hero in her skyI can't take my eyes off youI can't take my eyes off youI can't take my eyes off youI can't take my eyes off youI can't take my eyes off youI can't take my eyes...Okay. I'll cut to the chase. Our floors are done. We've gone in to look at them. And walked on

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-61958040779565900072009-11-26T23:59:00.005+08:002009-11-28T22:35:50.568+08:00

This is it. Five years of cold showers are about to come to an end with the purchase of this feral thermomonster. Yep, that's true. Of course, if you're anything like me, you're totally not looking at the words "Panasonic" or "Electric Home Shower" but you're wondering what on earth an "E sen" is. Is it an electronic shilling? Is it a Mandarin-speaking doctor?Is it a Ghanaian Chelsea midfielder

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-74865784924817326382009-11-25T00:16:00.001+08:002009-11-27T00:38:18.667+08:00

Rules for today.Rule #1You cannot go into the houseRule #2You cannot step on anythingRule #3You can only look from outsideRule #4You cannot talk about the floor

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-58469319753827444732009-11-24T23:45:00.001+08:002009-11-25T00:16:40.041+08:00

Okay. We've posted too many pictures of our bathrooms, so this an attempt to break from that monotony. But honestly, outside the bathrooms, nothing much has happened. Oh, other than the workers preping the living-dining-kitchen space for Our Unthinkable Act. Did I just give something away? No, no I didn't. You'll have to wait and see.In the meantime, the bottom ledge of the kitchen sink was just

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-66817452792569055312009-11-24T19:21:00.002+08:002010-01-08T14:31:57.348+08:00

Some recent eats. (I marginally prefer supper.)

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-56645951788069677542009-11-24T13:53:00.002+08:002010-01-08T14:31:03.540+08:00

Oh no!! Somebody turned Ophelia's screen transparent! Now I don't know how to turn it off!

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-53001847747049279652009-11-23T23:45:00.001+08:002009-11-24T11:53:30.972+08:00

Today, the tile contractor finished all his work - that means all the grouting for the floor tiles of both bathrooms have been done, along with that white little fixture thingy in the corner (more on that in another post).That's all. Goodnight.Blog Police: Waitaminute. What's this?Fergus: Hello Mr Blog Police.Blog Police: Don't hello me. What's this? One sentence? You call that a blog post?

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-14289288872518797272009-11-23T18:30:00.000+08:002009-11-23T18:30:00.355+08:00

Ah, yes. Athalia has officially become a yuppie herself with her recent acquisition of Iris. Me? I just happen to be the fiancee with the perks of shooting with this fierce beast. Therefore, because so much of our shared existence revolves around the rolling hills of the Savannah our Macs, here's me offering its firstfruits to the god of apple.

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-71273689594335286692009-11-22T23:30:00.006+08:002010-01-08T14:34:01.587+08:00

We have a habit of naming our gadgets. It started with one, just for fun, and it gradually grew out of hand and became impossible to stop. So far we've got:Poppy the MyViMakmak the Satria (okay, it's from his car plate, but it stuck and we say it with affection)Dante the ipodSalvador the vintage iBookG4Ophelia the MacBook (I thought it very apt when I found out her name means "help")Karlof the

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-36549152343228573592009-11-20T23:57:00.004+08:002009-11-23T00:28:37.605+08:00

This is where we're at. This is where we've been for half of Thursday and Friday and the weekend - stuck on tiles.I've since learned a lot about tiles, and I'll compile them in a Lesson 02 soon enough. But a pre-lesson, if you could say so, is that making mistakes cost you days of working. The tile contractor can't proceed because we're short on the right colour of tiles. Ah Yaw can't start

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-12557490773374427882009-11-19T22:43:00.009+08:002009-11-19T23:26:49.379+08:00

Do you see these two tiles? Do you see how they would have appeared identical to the mind's eye if the beholder was not clever enough to bring one piece with him to compare colour? Do you see it?Cos I see it very clearly now!Yes, indeed, I'm a fool of a took, because when Ah Yaw told me that we needed more tiles for the master bathroom, I thought that a product code was enough armour to carry

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-43501060264343646562009-11-18T23:59:00.000+08:002009-11-19T00:33:28.511+08:00

Eleven days of renovation have gone by and we're really starting to see the apartment take shape. The kitchen counter and its basins went up first, then both bathrooms' wall tiles. Then today, the balcony cement floor and this - the bathroom's second layer of waterproofing. Tomorrow, they lay the bathroom floor tiles over this waterproof layer.Some days, when I think of the look we're going for,

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-39512359664942526632009-11-17T22:32:00.004+08:002009-11-17T23:00:58.946+08:00

Grey drought? Are you kidding me? Look Athalia! More grey photos for our blog! Look! Look! What? Of course it is. It's got grey written all over it. White? That's not white. That's grey. What do you mean we picked them out together. I have no recollection of any such thing. I don't get it. It's grey. And splotchy. Oh, you mean you're talking about the spanking new white tiles with the matching

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-7904891429932090452009-11-16T23:30:00.000+08:002009-11-17T23:01:37.661+08:00

THE TILES HAVE LANDED!In gratitude, Sami Fergus offers a prayer of thanksgiving to the Great White Ceramic Tile God for finally breaking the grey drought.

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-69508346845199118752009-11-16T11:30:00.000+08:002009-11-17T23:02:52.195+08:00

[Update: since posting this, we've gone and back-posted days seven and eight which happen to come with rather colourful pictures, rendering this post somewhat useless.]Hokay. We're only into the third week of this blog's official launch and a sense of meh-ness has already set in. As you can see, I've not exactly been posting away very excitedly.Yesterday, I figured out why. It's because...THE

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-38298548584776801292009-11-15T23:30:00.004+08:002009-11-18T16:31:30.273+08:00

Why hello there.It appears that I only post once a week, during the weekends. Ha-HA! Doesn't this rare appearance make you feel excited and tingly? No? Well never mind then. For I am feeling excited and tingly myself! Wouldn't you like to know why? Oh, you are shaking your head vigorously while gagging yourself? Never mind, I will tell you anyway.Yesterday, the Furgus creature went to see our

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-88444127913945669272009-11-13T17:50:00.002+08:002009-11-16T23:59:57.025+08:00

When Athalia's mum saw these, she yelped and said "Fergus!! They are giving you good cement!!"Of course, I wouldn't have the first idea what brand of cement was good cement, or even what good cement felt like. But I do know that any cement that calls itself a fire-breathing beast of yore can't chip. Yep. I'm counting on this baby to stand even after an earthquake. If not, I'm taking it back and

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-67655613049568943632009-11-12T23:30:00.003+08:002009-11-16T23:28:28.064+08:00

You know the tundra? That vast, lonely stretch of wind-locked land? It's like a prairie with ice permanently frozen in it. It is wind and wilderness and desolate beauty.Yeah, that tundra. Well, while it would be lovely to have that in our home office - think of how it'll cool the place down! - we've opted for the cheaper, more common option. So there are four packs of white boards sitting in the

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-58605177007802005152009-11-11T11:36:00.000+08:002009-11-16T11:53:03.806+08:00

Doorknob 1: Why is Fergus taking pictures of us?Doorknob 2: Cos he's a doorknob.Doorknob 1: No, stupid. We are doorknobs. Doorknob 2: Oh. Heh. Maybe he's trying to be all arty and stuff. You know...Doorknob 1: Yeah. Such a wannabe. (raises his voice) Dude! We're doorknobs! Go take pictures of girls holding umbrellas!Doorknob 2: Ooh, not a bad idea.Doorknob 1: I know. Doorknob 2: You're

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-90682867022516177222009-11-10T02:00:00.001+08:002009-11-12T02:15:37.134+08:00

Fergus had Thursday to call Ah Yaw.Fergus had Friday to call Ah Yaw.Fergus had Saturday to call Ah Yaw.Fergus had Sunday to call Ah Yaw.Fergus even met Ah Yaw on Monday.Fergus dropped by the house again on Tuesday.Fergus: ****!! ****!!Athalia: What?Fergus: Super****!!Athalia: What?Fergus: The powerpoints! The powerpoints that we decided not to do. They've done it.(silence)Fergus: ****!! What are

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-85953935778090383262009-11-09T22:45:00.000+08:002009-11-12T01:45:45.883+08:00

Ok kelas. Hari ini, kita nak belajar macam mana nak tambah, tolak dan tukar unit ukuran. Mari kita tengok soalan matematik kita.Contoh: Encik Ong diberitahu oleh kontraktornya bahawa harga untuk membina kaunter dapur berbentuk L adalah RM1,800. Beberapa minggu selepas itu, Encik Ong memberitahu kontraktornya untuk tukar bentuk kaunter dapurnya dari L kepada I. Kuotasi baru kontraktor adalah RM700

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-64227013798128224272009-11-08T22:30:00.001+08:002009-11-12T01:43:36.756+08:00

Today, we're breaking the weekend calm to bring you a rare and exclusive photo of Fergusisus ongius in its habitat, carrying a waste disposal device the only way it knows how to - supported on its hard head and sturdy neck. It was observed making several heavily-laden rounds over the course of three-quarters of an hour in the late morning yesterday, showing mild signs of distress towards the end.

Athaliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03899272687588068909noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-50157625289125919902009-11-06T12:53:00.005+08:002009-11-12T10:15:20.104+08:00

Or alternatively...Introducing, Conservative Budgeting - the budgeting attitude that will revolutionise the way you allocate your finances! Have you ever been caught out paying more for something than you originally intended? Well, fear no more. With Conservative Budgeting, get ready for a life full of paying less than what you've allocated! It's not rocket science. It's better than rocket

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-63080001925001548572009-11-05T12:08:00.000+08:002009-11-05T00:08:17.538+08:00

Do you see that? No, not the pretty circles of light. Not even the out-of-focus white foggy thing between the firmament and the grey slab. It's the grey slab. Do you see that?Do you know what it means? It's actually the first piece of construction that's taken place in the last two days. Everything else so far has been ... err ... destruction? Yeah. That's it.But this! This grey slab sits where

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-47629514225836524982009-11-04T21:43:00.011+08:002009-11-05T00:12:06.014+08:00

(type type type)It's a war zone! Our house has turned into a mid-90s Eastern European war zone! Just look at our bathroom!! There must be at least several extended families buried under all that rubble! This is a disaster! This is Sarajevo all over again!Athalia: Ooh you're blogging!Fergus: Yeaps.Athalia: Wait. What da heck is that?Fergus: I'm using a war metaphor to say how I feel about our

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-46621254363830782012009-11-03T12:22:00.007+08:002009-11-05T00:11:24.630+08:00

Our workers start proper work today, but by last night, they already looked like they'd moved in. Their clothes were strewn all over the apartment but that's always a sign that serious work is about to get done. The rooms with parquet looked like a water elemental had been through them - the floors were entirely flooded and bogged. Either that's what you do to parquet before hacking them out or

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-2490983341991711652009-11-02T12:45:00.007+08:002009-11-04T22:56:53.058+08:00

This is our house. And today, the drills go in as renovation work starts. I'm at work, and so is Athalia, but even right now, work commences at our new home. I can't wait to get back in there tonight to see the carnage that our contractor should have created. I'm expecting some hacked tiles, maybe a few disassembled bathroom fixtures, a roasting pig, a bonfire and four construction men singing

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3360165849259581759.post-51864227002592195462009-11-02T12:03:00.000+08:002009-11-02T13:29:32.729+08:00

Fergus: Hi, I'm Fergus.Athalia: And I'm Athalia.Fergus: You didn't say hi.Athalia: (gives Fergus evil squint)Fergus: This blog was her idea.Athalia: No, it wasn't.Fergus: and it was such a good idea.Athalia: Oh really? Yeah, it was my idea. (big satisfied grin)Fergus: Anyways, I like garage bands, existential movies, 60s pop culture, bad puns and fatty foods. I used to think I was angloph-Athalia

Genusfroghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13787803768343960937noreply@blogger.com1