Alive

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

Buying dish-washing liquid with Athalia kicks ass

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: But why? I like Sunlight.

Fergus: Yes, but it's like, twice the price of the other brands.

Athalia: It's not twice.

Fergus: It is. Look, it's RM5.50. That's twice the price of Labour.

Athalia: No it's not. That's 3 something.

Fergus: No. Look, RM2.60.

Athalia: But my skin is sensitive. You don't want my skin to be hurt do you?

Fergus: No, that's why, we can get Glo. See, Glo is a good brand and it's like, 4 something.

Athalia: No Glo.

Fergus: We can't walk down these aisles and pick up all the premium products.

Athalia: But we're not doing that. I gave in on the Scotch Brite.

Fergus: True. Still, why can't we just get Labour?

Athalia: Because I support the Tories.

(Silence)

Fergus: Ok, you convinced me.

(30 seconds later)

Fergus: I love that you can make these kind of jokes.

Before we marry, our books will marry

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 just a practical act of putting belongings in the same place. No, it's a quasi-union of the works that shaped our minds. It's a marriage of two families of thinkers and authors - hers, from her shelf, with mine, on mine.

The books on my shelf are divided into genres and filed alphabetically from left to right. I've got Fiction on the top shelf and General Christianity on the second shelf. The third shelf houses a mix of Philosophy, History and Christian reference while the fourth has the artier categories: Music, Films, Theater, Poetry, Travel and Football. The fifth shelf has General Reference and Language.

From among the first few of her books, I'm confronted by the need to create new categories. I had pulled out from her box a book that can only be classified as Inspirational. I swear, I've never owned an "inspirational" book in my life. Where does it go? In terms of mood, it'll find the most friends on the Christianity shelf, but it's not a Christianity book. It's just good old-fashioned Inspirational. Okay, create a new one-book category.

Next comes a bunch of fictions and suddenly I meet another pair of books for which there is no existing grouping: a book by writers about writing, and the journal of a writer's jottings. I guess I could put them with the languages but they're not really about language but about ideas and writing. Hmmm... ok, another new category. Nice - now we've increased in breadth.

But it's not just the new genres that matter. It's the enrichment of the existing ones too. My fiction shelf is all the more cultured for it. Now, somewhere between my fixations for Calvino and Eco is a Roald Dahl. One shelf below, between the church-enforced purchase of Rick Warren and a Ravi Zacharias now quaintly sits a Yancey number. (More Yanceys will follow when the other boxes arrive!)

One more shelf below, right next to my copy of Plato's Republik is ... her copy of Plato's Republik. Yes, what do we do with the repeat titles? Leave them both there? Hide one? Give one away? What if both have sentimental value? Mine's a birthday gift from Ernest. Hers, she bought with me when we had just started dating and was not presumptuous enough to imagine this day would come. Elsewhere, Jewel's anthology of poetry is also repeated, uncorroborated, as are the first two books of the Narnia series (I have the first two, she has the whole set).

Mind you, this is just the first box. There are many more boxes. I've had to move Travel and Football down to the fifth shelf to make space for the rest. Once the other boxes come in, I'll need two rows for Fiction alone and that's gonna send the Christianity books into a diaspora so extensive, they'd think the Babylonians had returned.

Of course, all of this is a good problem to have. And as I add more of her books into my shelf, the metaphor becomes clearer and clearer - marriage is gonna absolutely kickass, not because it's addition but because it's amalgamation. So, for now, books. Yes, just books. Keep it kosher.

How can you not be excited about the greatest event in the world?

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 kids next time is Argentina. Or France. Actually no. That might get them killed.

And so, here's a toast to many late nights, many roars of joy, sobs of defeat, and may this World Cup be the best one yet!

Fourth birthday of the year

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 - I swear, this thing was brewed with the spirit of the revolution itself. Castro himself would have closed his eyes just to savour its taste.

Alas, describing food can never really come near actually eating it, and as an object lesson on what gets lost in translation, I shall show you only the most austere, the most sedate photos from our reel. Anything more, my friends, will kill you.

To Tim

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.

Thank google it's Friday

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 house?

Wedding eye candy: a vintage-styled inspiration shoot. I'm liking the bride's headpiece and the bouquet much much.

Two magnificent lofts. The second one in particular really speaks to me. Incidentally there's a poll on the home page asking "What style will you embrace in 2010?" and the second option - eclectic, layered and whimsical - is so, so what I want right now.

I don’t usually dig poetry, but this one is a really good read. Go on, read it!

From Fergus:

We all know what it's like to be single. But do you know what it's like to be a single New Yorker Orthodox Jew?

Adidas is the biggest giant in football. However, I'm convinced that they've sacked all their designers and replaced them with a bunch of clueless dogs.

Welcome February

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 of hours. Cheers and stay tuned!

Second birthday of the year

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 paparazzi session that erupted before the ice-cream cake came out - Fergus has pictures of half the family kneeling with cameras/phones outstretched in front of the bemused-looking babe - and how everyone was way more excited over opening presents than the recipient. I mean, why wouldn't fully-grown humans get excited over bath toys, baby Gap shirts and cute, tiny footwear? Plus there were cats kittens a plenty. Lots of 'em. Fatin is practically conditioned to grow up loving cats.

Presents everywhere!

How many cats can you count?

Part of the paparazzo.

Gratuitous food shot.

On a personal note, I hand-made part of our gift, which is something I haven't done properly in ages, and the rush it gave me made me consider why not. I've decided I want to craft more, and when I got back I stayed up to clear out my table and some shelves to make space for inspiration and materials.

Here's to more creative endeavors this year.

First birthday of the year

(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.

Moleskins for 2010!

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 Society (KUYTS), Athalia and I went out and bought ourselves not one but two Moleskin diaries each. Yes, it promises to be a good year. A well-tracked year. A year full of entries of where we dined, what we bought and who we met as we chart the glamourous worl...

Athalia: Fergus, what's that?

Fergus: It's my Moleskin post. You like the picture? I photoshopped it so that-

Athalia: Chart the glamourous world? What glamourous world?

Fergus: Heh heh.

Athalia: We're penniless.

Fergus: You're exaggerating. I have some coins in the car.

Athalia: Look, now your post has no focus. You're supposed to be blogging about how we've resolved this year to keep devotional journals that we use to write sermon notes and quiet time doodles and how your efforts last year, albeit ultimately half-baked, have inspired us to reach greater heights in our shared dream to finish an unbroken year of journalling.

Fergus: You took the words right out of my mouth.

Athalia: -_-

Fergus: No, seriously, I was going to say exactly that in the next paragraph.

Athalia: -_-

Fergus: You're not amused right?

Athalia: I've got a fever. And you're writing nonsense. What do you think?

Fergus: I think I better write a proper post.

Athalia: A wise choice.

(clears throat)

Okay guys. We got Moleskin diaries. We're gonna be journalling this year. Awesome. Yeah. Cool. Way cool. Resplendent. Yeah.

Relocating Fergus Ong

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." After a few weeks, we just sound lazy. And slow. Please bear in mind we've been out of town a number of weekends, which is prime moving time; there's been several rounds of celebrating Jesus' birthday; and after that there was a funeral to attend. So there. We don't look so bad after all.

Anyhow, in his own words, here's what the last two moving rounds have looked like.

Moving house deadline watch: 5 days to go
9am Pack microwave, beanbag, folders and box with boxes, boxers (the sportsmen) and boxers (the shorts)
10am Pack box with boxers (the dog)
11am Unload at new place and travel back to Muar

Moving house deadline watch: 2 days to go (at this point things heat up a little as the December 31 deadline looms)

9am Pack work gear and some more boxes. Work at new house
12pm Put long work process to run and head back to old room
12.15pm Pack clothes into box and backpacker bag
12.35pm Dismount deer head from wall and pack in plastic bag
1pm Unload and return
1.15pm Pack ironing board, tiger rug and kitchenware
1.45pm Dismantle PC
1.50pm Unload and return
3pm Pack kitchen knives, swiss army knife, hunting knife, samurai sword, axe, viking hat
5.10pm Pack movie posters, music posters, propaganda posters, table lamp and books
6pm Unload
6.45pm Kill puma
7pm Dinner

At the time of writing, there is ONE day left. There's still several carloads of stuff, mostly bulky stuff like his bookcase, TV and sofa. Will we make it before this year slips away? Ooo the suspense.

Postscript: On the first night of 2010, Fergus Ong will finally sleep under his very own roof. Hoorah!

Happy Blessed Merry Super Mirthful Christmas!

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 post hasn't even gone up.

Fergus: By the time someone reads this, it would have.

Athalia: And so your point is?

Fergus: Athalia will respond to all your comments on Boxing Day, guys!

Athalia: You are a lazy blogger, Fergus Ong.

Fergus: And she will post about what we got for Christmas!

Athalia: Stupiak.

Fergus: And she will do a 1,500-word post about New Year's Day!

(Throat clears from behind Real Fergus.)

Real Athalia: Eh, don't la.

Real Fergus: Don't la what?

Real Athalia: I'm busy wrapping Christmas gifts and you're goofing around on our blog? At least write a proper Christmas post.

Real Fergus: Too late!

-Click!-

The begining of the end of the year

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 place
• Doing up said place - plenty of painting and laying floor boards and tinkering around
• Two weddings, one in Muar

Also, Fergs will have to write, shoot and edit the final three episodes of his TV program, which may eat into the weekends. Thankfully, there are plenty of public holidays that fall nicely on Friday and I'm poised to take most of the following Mondays off, giving me a four-day weekend. Such bliss.