I just finished this book today. And the ending really took me by surprise and I was devastated with it!!! I personally felt let down coz I expected more of the ending but there was a reason to it and while I am inclined to tell you why, it would be a major spoiler if you haven’t read the book. So I won’t mention the ending at all. This is what it says at the back cover of the book, “The mission is incredible, The consequences of failure are unimaginable, The ending is unthinkable”, I couldn’t have said it better! :/

The book is about Jack West Jr. who is a treasure hunter and on a quest to save the world by locating and placing the Six Sacred Stones in the right locations around the world, with a group of his very specially talented friends. It’s pretty much like your typical Indian Jones-Da Vinci Code kind of book so if you’re into that genre of books, then you should read this. The beginning of the book got loads of ‘humphs’ from me coz I thought some bits of the plot was silly but before I could pass another ‘humph’, it got rather interesting.

For one who isn’t into gun fight and all those action packed reading, MR really got me hooked the way he described the action-packed bits of his book! I could literally feel myself in between the gun fight, it was ‘exhausting’! *lol* More than once I found myself reading so fast and far ahead that my mind was sent into a flurry and things just kept moving so fast in my mind….it’s mind boggling! Perhaps I am not used to action packed writing coz I am not a fan of that genre but when you slip in a little into something that I had begun to enjoy, it really does give it that extra boost.

So all in all, I found it to be entertaining…and rather absorbing too. MR has actually got me interested to look up his previous book called Seven Ancient Wonders now coz apparently it is somehow related to this one. Might check the local library to see if they have it.
I’m about to start on my next book, Plea of Insanity by Jilliane Hoffman….”Some fear madness. Some choose it….” Ooo…..sounds good already!

It’s been a long time since I had one of those weekends you wished could last for ever. This one happened to be one of those.
Ted had been gone over the weekend for a camp and it was just so good to stay home, indoors and do nothing but just sew amongst other things such as looking after kids and making sure they get fed. Of course I did wash the clothes and dried them out but mainly, I did a lot of sewing too and it made me realise how much I’ve missed it since I started working. During the weekdays, I only touch my machine after the kids have gone to bed and if there’s nothing on telly I want to watch.

And on most weekends, although I am home, we still go out either to church or to my MIL’s place to spend the day and although that itself means that I don’t have to cook or anything like that, the hassle of getting the kids and myself ready to go out and then getting really tired from still having to watch the kids at someone else’s place, still takes its toll on me. I guess people with kids would understand it more than those who don’t.

While I appreciate having not to cook lunch/dinner over the weekend, I appreciate being home and not stepping foot outside my front door more. It’s just my way of resting and enjoying my personal time although it might not sound fun to some. Gosh, I wished that weekend didn’t end so fast.

Would one consider me a bad mum for not enrolling Arianna in any playgroup? She hasn’t really been exposed to a lot of kids but that said, when she is, she seems fine with them. And despite her height as a little taller than your average 2.5yr old toddler, she’s never been one to bully smaller kids. I’ve noticed that she is more of the accommodating kind and would prefer to leave a ‘messy’ situation than try to make it worst by standing her ground. I wouldn’t call her a peace maker but more like being the bigger person, giving in and walking away to find something else to do, iykwim.

One occasion where she sort of stood her ground was at the doc’s at one of their game tables that they had set up for the kids in the waiting room. I think it was like a train set there amongst other things and Arianna is just nuts about trains, especially Thomas the Train. Omg, that girl goes absolutely crazy when she sees anything related to Thomas.

Anyway, there was another playing with it and he was a slightly smaller built kid and let’s just say that if that girl wanted something, she’d make it hers no matter what. And apparently, she took if off him and he wasn’t impressed. *lol* He whinged about it and I think ran to Mum but that didn’t bother Arianna one bit, she got her Thomas.

This reminds me of the time we walked into church and sat down at this pew and right across us was this little boy who was holding his Thomas and golly, Arianna was just carrying on and on about it at the top of her voice. It was so embarrassing that we actually moved away from there and sat right in the middle of church, just so Thomas was out of her sight! I bet that poor boy, having noticed how intently Arianna was eyeing his toy, hung to it for dear life! *lol*

I guess it’s about time we did send her to some sort of playgroup but not sure when or where we will go to just yet. One thing’s for sure, she won’t be lacking playmates back in Malaysia coz my friends mostly have kids her age and my cousins are the same. I bet she will miss the company when she gets back but hopefully by then, we’d have worked something out for her.

My thoughts often wander to the homeless people especially during the cooler weather like autumn and winter. It’s not only cold and wet, some days it just windy and the chill really eats right into your bones! It’s just absolutely terrible.

Just yesterday on the train when it stopped at one of the station on the way to work, there was a homeless man at the station, talking to himself. I think most of them just go insane after sometime due to various reasons I’m sure but mostly I think it’s due to loneliness and no companionship. If there’s no one to talk to, then you just talk to yourself I guess. Anyway, seeing him made me think where he would be spending the night as it was potentially going to be a cold one. And it’s nothing new for me to think this way especially when I’m home, with a roof over my head and a bed with warm sheets. Not to mention sufficient food on the table and surrounded by people who love and care for me. What do these homeless people have? They literally have nothing and they live one day at a time. I bet they don’t know what tomorrow hold or if there’ll be another tomorrow.

It’s just so sad. I’ve heard of shelters that they can go to and the Vinnies van (St. Vincent de Paul Society, a well known group that helps the poor and needy), that provide food every now and then but nothing is certain. There is definitely more homeless people around than the help that is being given out. This is why I always remind myself that although I may not have much, I have more than enough to live a comfortable life. We may not be rich but we have more than enough to know that there will be food on the table tomorrow and a roof over our head to call our own.

These may be simple basics but when you put it into context, it certainly beats having to live out on the streets or out of a car. With the turn of economy for the worst recently, many people have been forced to sell up their homes and live out of their car. It’s times these that I hug my kids tight and thank the Lord for the many blessings that he has showered upon us.

I hope that poor man is alright and found a nice place to keep as warm as he can.

Yesterday was the first time I ever held a meeting on my own. It was an AGM for one of the societies and the turn out was rather disappointing seeing that I had gone around the whole college sticking up posters, and that included the toilets too! You’d think the students would take a LITTLE notice of the stuff that is plastered all around but nup, and then they turn up upset and angry coz “no one TOLD me about it”. I’m like what?? It’s all over the college and you expect me to tell you in person about it??? Cow….God gave you a pair of eyes for a reason, use them appropriately please!

So anyway, the turn out was pathetic. If not for a class who had turned up to observe and take notes, it would have been less than 10 people and we have hundreds of members mind you. SO yes, it was P A T H E T I C. There was even too much food left over when I thought we hadn’t ordered enough. I should have known better.

Anyway, we started a little late as I was hoping that N would come on time to help me out but she had issues with her college car and came about 20mins into the meeting. My starting was so shaky and I had barely past the welcome stage when I was told I forgot to introduce myself!! SO embarrassing!!!! From then on, I felt like a teacher and sure enough, I got caught out on something and praise the Lord that I have an excellent college manager who came to my rescue and pretty much took over from then. Lol Such a nice man he is, his wife certainly caught herself a good fish there. So he took over the whole thing and then N came along and helped out and me, I just served the food and watched from afar.

I’d say it turned out alright in the end. Just when I thought it was all over, I am now on a mission to get more nominees for the Board Members. And it’s not easy trying to persuade the students to submit their names although I have to admit that the mention that being on the board would look good in their resume normally seals the deal. Also that they are pretty much in charge a huge chunk of money as well is simply icing on the cake and so far, I’ve got me ONE recruit! *lol* I think I can rope in a couple more. Hehehe….wish me luck!

*You have to watch this. I thought it was just amazing! The vid is at the end after the explaination.*

This video from YouTube shows the winner of Ukraine’s Got Talent, Kseniya Simonova, aged 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table and showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a rare one, is mesmeric to watch.

The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears. Kseniya won the top prize in the series, about AUD130,000.

Kseniya begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated. It is replaced by a woman’s face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman’s face appears. The young woman quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.

This outdoor scene is then framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house. In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man stands outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye. The Great Patriotic War, as World War II is called in The Ukraine, resulted in one in four of the population being killed. There were eight to 11 million deaths in the Ukrainian population of 42 million.

Kseniya Simonova says she finds it difficult to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is OK. “The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there’s surely no bigger compliment.”