Enemies Of The People

While I've stayed in Siem Reap for a couple of months doing impie things, my interest in Cambodia has never been so intense till these 2 years, somewhat wrought through work. I've been very fortunate to have been given different perspectives of the country, its people and systems.

There're events in the history of the country which have moved me, but there're also structures and processes that have disgusted me. As I move through with the impie projects in this country, it's a tedious task trying to sift out and balance between 'what can be done, what shouldn't be done, what must be done and not what we think should be done'.

Many things can't be studied from history books or be done via remote check-ins. One needs to be there on the ground to get a pulse of the going-ons. The nation hasn't completely risen above its recent history. The pain, conflicted policies and economic yearning are clearly issues that not just Cambodia faces; each country's unique circumstances will shape its new history. So for Cambodia, it's an enigma still. There's something vastly fascinating in the dichotomy of the people's psyche versus the country's history and its current wants.

I wish we have a Curzon cinema in Singapore so that I can watch this film NOW. I've been following its updates on fb and checking out the reviews here, here and here.

Not So Into Soul & Funk

Catching gigs and concerts at Esplanade inevitably means having a drink and an early dinner at Barossa. Well, the food's pretty okay. The pizzas are always fun to share. I really don't mind its fish and chips. A tiny glass of beer fits into the stomach fine.

While some people went for the premiere of Salt tonight, the rest of us went to watch Corinne Bailey Rae in concert. She's a great singer. Talented and an absolute natural on stage. Her band was solidly competent. The vocals were strong and the harmonies were really good. To many in the audience, the 80 minutes were totally enjoyable.

Honestly, I'm not so much into soul and funk. It's quite a different set of audience. Tonight, people dressed 'up' for it and many ladies carried shawls. Accordingly, very few cameras were whipped out because the majority obeyed Esplanade's 'no photography' rule. I could grab some photos. But I didn't bother to. Nobody stood up, of course. I shrank deeper and deeper into the seat till at one point, I literally fell asleep.

Ummmmm......this is really not my kind of music.

Broken Social Scene 2 Years On

The last time that I waited till the gig was over, the merch booth had run out of supplies. This time I was smarter- left the humans, pizzas and drinks to enter the venue earlier to buy the rather cute band tee and tote bag. Heh. The friends damn clever, placed their orders with me and I left the queue with an armful of tote bags with tees within. They only sauntered in much later.

The gig lasted for 140 minutes! Wieeeee! What a good long run. Most of the set was of course taken from their new album- Forgiveness Rock Record. The middle part of the gig was a tad draggy and I spaced out for a while. Okay, I sat down because my feet were tired. Heh.

I was happy that they played 'Texico Bitches'. I like that. But I miss the girls. They always don't bring the girls to Singapore. Hmmmmpfff. Okay, I admit I just want to see Leslie Feist and Emily Haines.

They concluded the set with a strong statement, by doing an extended instrumental version of 'Meet Me In The Basement'. What a scream. The evening ended with a short random jam by Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning and Andrew Whiteman. Quite a party.

Never Use Your Personal FB In A Work Capacity

See what happens when an organization allows its employees to individually reply to fb threads and comments. Even the smartest people can screw up.

What happens if I should try to be funny and post "Thank you comrade!"? I dare not even imagine the backlash.

When a department dabbles in 'new' media, it will do well to learn from the professionals, and the mistakes of others.

What personal warmth. Pfffft.

Checking Out The Cake

The dessert angel hopped over with a tray of enticing smells! She brought a banana cake with gula melaka butterscotch. The bananas smelt heavenly. The recipe has been gleaned from 2 different magazines- Bon Appétit and our new Epicure. The dessert angel liked neither recipe on its own and decided to fuse them together to form something different and distinctly unique.

I was a little suspicious of the cake because it looked like a kueh-kueh, mousse, agar-agar type of thingy. I no like kueh-kuehs and the sorts. When it was time to trot out dessert, I asked, "Ummm....scoop? Or knife?" She affirmed that I should use a knife. So I cut it like a cake. Wieeee! It was a proper banana cake! Yummy.

The texture was dense, so I sliced up smaller portions to spread around. I like the layer of bananas! The woman had obviously cut the sugar. In spite of the butterscotch, it wasn't overly sweet. The gula melaka added this oriental flavor, giving a slight twist to the usual banana cakes I'm familiar with. It was neither crumbly nor overly moist.

It's a very good cake. Luckily, we've more than half left to tuck away in the fridge. We're saving it for dessert at some point during the week! *hearts

At The Movies

It has crossed my mind to watch Eclipse. I even found a girlfriend willing to suffer through the 90 minutes with me. But we haven't gotten around to watching it for those fakey wolves leaping all over the place. The trailers of those wolves promise that the movie could be mildly amusing. But since this isn't high on the priority list, I'll probably catch it in dribs and drabs somehow.

The girlfriend suggested that I should watch Despicable Me for the cute little minions. But I absolutely refuse to because I don't share the humor in the movie. I've this thing about reading up before going to the movies and knowing the spoilers. I don't like walking into a cinema blind.

We've had a good run of movies recently at the mainstream theatres. Since we've nothing the likes of Curzon, then given our limited choices here, we zealously choose what we want to watch and the rest are sorted over cable and the internet. 2 shows that I do want to make a note about are Inception and The Crazies.

Inception

While it's rather entertaining because it doesn't carry the usual Hollywood stink of brainlessness, it isn't as intriguing as I had hoped. I came out of the theatre with slight disappointment. The movie isn't shallow, but it isn't as complex as expected; not to people who stay deep in the world of fantasy epics. The premise isn't mind-blowing. The actors aren't the best. But the portrayal of the concept is characteristic of the brilliance that is Christopher Nolan. However, I very much prefer Memento for its mind-boggling-ness. Do not even mention Primer in the same paragraph. I'm of the view that Primer (2004) is the true mind-fuck sci-fi movie of the decade.

The Crazies

What I do like, is laughing my guts out at The Crazies. It's a good B-grade re-make of the 1973 film with the same name! The action-sequence is quite exciting. Of course how the events unfold is totally predictable, it's still cool to see the 2010 interpretation of what happened in 1973! I love how there isn't one mention of 'zombie' throughout. It isn't a zombie movie per se. The blood, gore, punches, screams, explosions and all are so delightful! The man was beyond tickled. He cackled non-stop in the cinema and sniggered at my preferred genre of movies. Hey, brainless flicks are cool. Watching them arms you with a great sense of humor to deal with the real crazies out there nowadays.

Making Gnocchi

The man is experimenting with making gnocchi from scratch, including the dough. Nothing is store-bought instant. So the iPad comes in handy. The laptops can't exactly be thrown around or sit in the kitchen. Too unwieldy. The iPad is smaller and shaplier. It can be propped on a shelf playing youtube cooking videos while he fusses around the kitchen.

The man waved me over with dough-stained hands. "Want to play?" While PlayDoh was marginally more interesting than Barbie Dolls, I remember a time when I wanted to build castles, trains and monsters, not make spaghetti, burgers or cakes. I shook my head, backed away and stood very still in a corner, zipping around only to take photos.

The first attempt of having gnocchi sitting in a homemade tomato sauce is pretty decent. The taste and texture seem steady. It doesn't remind you too much of potatoes and doesn't taste too much of flour. The man doesn't want to serve what he has today to the friends just yet. He states that this isn't the best that he can do. So he's going to make a second batch tomorrow and see how he can improve upon it.

Trying To Clean The Air

We don't have fabulous hygienic air circulating in the office. Even though the air-ducts are cleaned out every 2 months, it's inevitable that with so many humans sharing close proximity, viruses never really leave the building.

For years, I've considered lugging in those standing air-sanitizers for the office. But I've never actually gotten around to doing it. Now, with so many people pregnant and falling ill, maybe I should finally do that. Also, I've been spoilt by the colleague who brought in her air-sanitizer. It's the simple type we see lying around- a green-top glass container.

Every other morning when I step into the office, the fresh scent of lemongrass and ginger hits the senses, eliciting a quiet 'Ah' from me, in a good way. The container is taken out of her cubicle and left in a public spot. All these months, she doesn't say a word about it, but quietly changes the water, tops up the anti-bacterial oils and whatnots, bringing a soothing measure of aroma to frazzling days.

I don't know about the real health benefits scientifically defined by air quality. But I do know her actions make my day feel alot better, and somehow, I don't fall sick much. It's the fact that this colleague, in her own way, cares about the department which warms my heart.

The Change

Motherhood really changes women. Not just physically. But it alters their entire concept of life, humans and the universe. Women become the opposite of what they are when they have children. Sometimes, it's for the better; often, it's for the worse.

Quietly I sat, listening to some girlfriends chatter about pre-schools, competition, getting into primary schools and whatnots. They groused about the waiting lists to pre-eminent pre-schools and the humongous effort they must undertake to put their kids in elite schools for a proper start to education. These children are signed up for so many additional classes that I'm not even sure they know what's a hobby anymore. Like what these girlfriends and I went through as kids- piano, ballet, golf, abacus, calligraphy, speech and drama, art...the whole gamut, their children are going through the same mill with additions of trending activities like fencing, poetry-writing, pottery, etc.

The ears perked up when it was mentioned that the schools their children attend dictate the cars they buy and destinations chosen for the three-to-four-times-a-year vacations. Clearly, these girlfriends are very very focused on the next chapter of their lives. They embrace their new status and bill it as a 'major project' and approach it with the same energy and more passion than closing negotiations and securing multi-million dollar deals. They've always been competitive in school. One or two who're quiet achievers then have become outrightly aggressive in chalking up the 'medals' of motherhood and 'what my kid can do at this age'. I'm not sure how it rubs off on their children. I can only say that these precocious pre-schoolers are at the top of their classes. (Though how this is defined, is beyond my meagre understanding.) So the parents have full intention to have them stay brilliant and shiny for the rest of their lives. I'll decide on the merits of that in about 15 years.

Since when is motherhood a competition? I suppose it has always been. Worse now. When we're done with competing over grades, boyfriends and whatnots in school, material acquisitions and career achievements, home decor, financial investments; we compete in the matter of motherhood. For women who feel that they haven't made much of their lives, moulding the younglings' future offer another shot to re-work their dreams and pin their heavy hopes on their offspring.

I think this parallels the corporate rat race. Very painful.

Can't Be The Durians

The shock was priceless when I stared at the mirror this morning and realized I'm allergic to durians. (??!) This time, the skin and eyelids didn't just swell, the corneas hurt too! The lower portions were covered by a thin film of something which made them itchy and painful. I hustled to the doctor's for eyedrops and pills. "Allergic conjunctivitis" he pronounced.

As much as I dislike the smell of durians, I bravely ate 2 tiny seeds last night, which didn't taste as bad as expected. It was nicely bitter and rather palatable. I've not exactly taken durians for a long while. I don't recall being allergic to them. Nothing more than one seed is ingested at a time and I probably eat durians in like, once in 2 years. Okay, durians will explain the swelling, but not what's happening to the corneas. How can durians be linked to allergic conjunctivitis? So dumb dumb. That's not possible, unless there's something on the fruit or in the stall that causes it. It was raining all of yesterday, which should alleviate alot of weird stuff floating about in the air.

During a recent medical, the blood work revealed allergens in my system. The doctor said he wouldn't know what allergies could trigger them unless a specific test is done. We'll see how. I don't fancy being pricked. I did that test twice as a kid and once as a teenager. I can figure out what sort of things I shouldn't be eating or touching. As long as the allergies manifest as non-life-threatening reactions, I can live with it.

Anyway, allergic conjunctivitis means I'm not infectious, just ugly for the day. I could go to work. But you know what, I don't feel like it- not with the eyes burning up. Since there're no major issues to sort out today, I'll just stay at home. Two doses of medication and a nap reduced the swelling quite nicely. The corneas are still swollen though. Gritty, but not that painful anymore. I shall sleep some more later. What a wonderful excuse to stay in and play with my bears!

A Strand Of Pearls

There was a period when I wanted pearls to look older. But I wouldn't wear them outside of work functions. With the passing years, somehow, I begin to take a shine to pearls as an accessory for social events as well.

Don't need many variations of pearls or a statement piece. I like my jewelry simple. I'm no collector, so rare pieces don't feature on my radar. Wearable pieces do. A minimalist design is usually preferred. Boring, but it works for me. I don't wear necklaces often. It's definitely not an everyday accessory for me. I'm not fond of precious stones hanging off the neck. I find necklaces restrictive. They don't do anything fun and aren't quite me. While I put on colored natural stones as an accent piece once in a while, pearls are a welcome diversion nowadays.

Somehow, the double-strand Chanel look isn't quite attractive to the wardrobe. Too much, methinks. I'm partial towards single strands. A bigger diameter is more dramatic, but difficult to match with the current choices of clothes. A smaller round is quite easy to slip in with alot of age-appropriate clothes. Maybe not with a dress. Too Mad Men-ish. I won't mind pairing it with tailored pants or jeans paired with a simple top.

My first set of pearls from the same jeweler is South Sea black. What else, that's my favorite color! Although technically, they're not exactly so. Those are a joy to wear. These newly acquired white pearls are a welcome addition to the jewelry box. They're very delicate. The clasp is well made and elegantly framed. Surprisingly, the strand is heavy and the pearls feel cool against the skin. Exquisite craftmanship.

Lunch Reflections

At a lunch we co-hosted for a group of guests from Guangdong, conversation went all over the place. Even though it was the first time I met them, they were rather friendly in a competitive sort of way. Everything points to the pride of a country and a growing economy versus ours. Earlier, there was a comment that almost bordered on criticism about how Singaporeans think in English and then speak it aloud in Chinese, making little sense and losing the initial flavor and meaning of a concept or expression. It's just saying that our Mandarin isn't up to par. Fair comment. Of course I had to smile and acknowledged that shortfall due many Singaporeans using English as the main language of communication even at the social and family. When one's language skills aren't quite there, whatever structure one creates, collapses.

There was this part almost at the beginning where conversation touched on the comparative beauty of 华山 (Mount Hua) versus 黄山 (Mount Huang), with almost everyone at the table expressing their opinions about it. These mountains in land-locked provinces aren't exactly near Guangdong, so it makes sense that they'd travel there for a vacation jaunt or something. Of course I kept quiet lah. What would I know about it that the table didn't? Then one suddenly turned to asked for my views and looked at me expectantly. I swore that was a test. In the prep for this lunch, there was no way I could have known they would ask this; no background brief could have covered it, and they knew it.

Luckily, I've been gone up the trails for both. Mount Hua is such an easy place to throw yourself off the steep precipice and ultra-narrow boardwalks. It's so easy to slip and die there. I was too chicken to climb the real deal up its South Peak. I went up the North. But what a trip that was. I'll never do it again though. Mount Huang was an exercise in frustration. Those stone steps were a breeze and an annoyance all at once. And the teeming mass of humans who flock to Mount Huang induced out-of-this-world vein-bursting experiences. NEVER again as well. But of course, I re-crafted all replies with great and appropriate use of euphemisms. :p

There were no more tests after that. Conversation flowed easy in both putonghua and Cantonese. The table confided in me just how many items they bought from designer labels and a whole load of assorted electronic items because those weren't made in China, i.e there isn't a point to buy goods made in their own country. o_O So on the matter of tests, it reminds me of the olden imperial examinations. How to bloody study for such a test that ranges from everything under the sun?! If you know it, you know it. If you don't, then die lor.

How Can One Use the Personal FB account for work?

I had to rant to the friends. A most suitable audience, I thought. These are PR and Comms professionals, as good as anyone can get within the industry across ad agencies, in-house, international, alternative and traditional media. They would be able to give me their objective opinions about this rant.

A foreign guest had left a comment on the organization's corporate fb page. I had very politely sidestepped MarComms' request to reply his comment from my personal facebook account and offered to set up a new team account to sort out the matter of replies. MarComms insisted on us replying from a personal account because it would sound friendlier, and had the cheek to suggest then, someone else who had seen the guest reply from his/her personal fb account. So I didn't let it go. I thought really hard and sent an email to all relevant people, demanding for clarity in this request and follow-up action.

Since when did this become a policy directive? How is it even possible to have it encouraged as a move undertaken by the Marketing and Communications department? I'm furious. As much as I understand that MarComms would like our attitude to clients to be friendly and warm, this is the wrong approach to take. It is frankly, a juvenile marketing strategy that doesn't thoroughly consider the can of worms it is opening.

What are these people in the department doing? Do they even understand what social media is before utilizing it? What happened to privacy and space? Even if we don't talk about privacy issues, is it fair to expect everyone to have personal facebook accounts? Have they considered the repercussions of such a reply from a personal account? It's very disgraceful when one takes this discussion (in context) to the professional public relations viewpoint. That avatar photo you put on your fb intro page might be completely contradictory to the organization's image. Is MarComms able to dictate and control what I say to the client from my personal fb account? Can they control what happens when I ignore the clients' 'friend' requests? What message I'm sending- that 'it's okay for me to reply you, but you can't be my friend?' What more if someone doesn't set privacy controls and opens up all sorts of political opinions and thoughts to all and sundry, and provides an ease of access to our clients? AND, when one leaves the organization, is it right that these fb contacts become one's personal liability? A bank would never allow that.

A visit that I hosted on Monday had its roots on facebook. Clients who made friends with a colleague, wrote on her wall that they would like to visit and thankfully, followed up in an email. I knew it first because I happened to be on facebook scrolling through her pages. Even if she doesn't mind work contacts talking about work on her personal account, I do. Other people would too. But do MarComms realize what this means to our department? If we set a precedent, our clients will simply use facebook as a platform to get to us because it's a communication tool. So our personal and professional spheres mesh into one.

If a reply from a name on a fb account is expected, then I want clarity from my senior management that I'm expected to set up a fb account in my name for work purposes only. Then, I want to find out what sort of personal life I'd have since this account has to be tended to 24/7 according to the service standards of the organization.

The nature of our business dictates the communication strategy and how we should maximize the potential of social media. Being friendly to clients like how social enterprises and small businesses or people-centred businesses need to be, don't quite cut it for us. Jumping on the bandwagon of the social media platform requires a modicum of brains. Obviously, this MarComms department doesn't possess that fully. PR and Comms professionals, you'll know exactly where I'm coming from. We know that this sort of a fb/twitter/plurk/tumblr account is heavily monitored and intentionally engineered by social media professionals to send out the right messages for a certain purpose.

If my organization thinks it's perfectly fine to answer clients from our personal fb accounts and sort out work issues from there, clearly, I feel that something is very wrong.

Memories A Cup Of Coffee Stirs

I was very late in meeting the girlfriends at Jones the Grocer this evening. Luckily I didn't promise to do dinner; only drinks. There is no way I could do dinners on weekdays these few months unless they begin after 8pm. I arrived just as dessert was served. I skipped that. I wasn't exactly hungry. No appetite. So I had a bite of a muffin and a swipe of the chocolate cake. That was dinner. I was a little tired and zoned out of the conversation as the girlfriends talked about jujitsu, meniscus tears, Chaumet bling and whatnots.

I stared idly at the cup of coffee. There was a presentation scheduled tomorrow morning. Clarity of mind and a good night's sleep would be ideal. I'm so going to regret having this shot of caffeine. But what the heck, I felt like it. With a little jolt, I realized that this set was the exact cup and saucer also used by Pumpernickel in Hong Kong. Ahh. That trip to Hong Kong seemed like eons ago already. Memories, vivid, how very nice.

To think I had wanted to cancel on the girlfriends because I only left the office at 8.15pm. But they told me to haul ass into a cab and get there asap, no excuses. They were absolutely right. It was a much-needed quick catch-up with the girlfriends. So happy for 2 who live in the estates next door and either one could give me a lift home in quiet comfort. Well, not really, they put the tops down and we yelled across at each other at the traffic lights. That was fun!

Now home, the taste of coffee lingers beautifully. I'm not sure if it's from tonight or from the memory of that remarkable morning at Pumpernickel. I can't tell. I remember the aroma. Trust me, that cup of coffee tasted fabulous.

Something Bright

Who could have missed the huge rainbow last evening that stretched from horizon to horizon. I was at home, and stood at the balcony in awed silence at the bright colors and its supernumerary that majestically soar over the new skyline of our city. Rainbows are magical.

Amidst the angst about the job that I need to sort out on my own, the man has been incredibly supportive. Since I married the dude, I'm kinda obligated to inform, or involve him in any major decisions I undertake. He reiterated that I should do what my heart tells me. It isn't the loss of a regular salary he's worried about. That won't make any difference to our lifestyle. My income isn't solely derived from a salary given by a job. Importantly, we have few financial commitments, little overheads, zero debts and no mortgages.

The man is more concerned that I'm giving up something that has turned out so wonderful, a job that I love and feel immense satisfaction for. He saw how sad I was for the last 2 weeks. He knows I'll be better off beginning a new chapter next year. Life after university years was fabulous- I didn't have a full time job, I did what I wanted when I wanted. Then, for a lark and to try out staying in Singapore, I took on this full-time job. It has turned out to be a good call, giving me an amazing 5 years of my life.

A good 90% of what I do earn from this job, is allocated to my charity projects. I'll have to sit down with my accountant to divert some porfolios to supplement sustained expenditure to committed projects without making too big a dent to the pocket. The man patted my head and told me not to worry over things like that. I should focus on doing all the other things in life that I've always wanted to devote more time to. I remember how he quit being a lawyer and took 2 years off work to devote his time to making music, and that made him so happy.

The man reminded me that happiness and a sense of self-worth aren't defined by a job, career achievements or pandering to social norms. It's been 5 years working in the same organization, an eternity by any standard. There's everything right about leaving. He has firmly emphasized that he doesn't believe that a woman's ultimate role is to breed babies and be a mother. To him, having an offspring doesn't even feature on his to-do list. He wants us to fulfil our larger roles within the society. If I'd like to bum, that is fine by him. He knows very well that I wouldn't be able to sit still and do nothing productive for more than 2 months! :p

I don't know what I want to do come January 2011. I don't have a new job lined up nor am I looking for one. I don't have any concrete new projects to take on because the current ones are humming along fine. I don't have a strong urge to pack up and hit a new city in the uni semester to begin a postgraduate degree. (London during last December cured that!) I don't need to run away to visit the friends immediately. I don't have a focus or a theme for this new chapter. But I'm not clueless. It's more a matter of having too many options till I just want to chill at home and hibernate for a couple of months. And really, where's my sense of adventure? It shouldn't be lost as I get older. Always, things have a way of working themselves out. On this rare evening when I could catch a rare spectacular sunset at home, I shall take this huge happy rainbow as a positive sign for come what may.

Drinks At Lunch

Too many episodes of Mad Men and I felt like channelling 60s chic at work. The clothes, not the attitude, please. After that many episodes, I declare that beyond the fashion, that is a piece of brilliant shit show which glorifies male chauvinists and everything that's wrong with the 60s. Pity I couldn't stomach the strand of pearls with the dress, so it didn't come off as groomed. FAIL.

Anyway, it was a light day at work. Or rather, I made it an easier day for myself with wine at lunch. We had a bottle, but of course, only the couple of us had a glass. There was a reason to drink as we were throwing a farewell lunch for our intern who had performed really well.

Any surprises that the lunch was held at Soprano? It's a good venue for group lunches on a budget. The food- hits and misses, the usual. But okay, I suppose. This isn't Otto Ristorante or Gunther. :p

After lunch, I even asked to take a group photo. I must be getting sentimental. You know my camera takes more photos of inanimate objects than it does of humans. Oh what the hell. I'm treasuring these last couple of months. These are the fabulous people I work with and they're worth every byte of storage space in the hard drive.

The Ring Sizes Have Dropped Too

Between last October till now, I've dropped alot of weight. So has the man. Like I said, it wasn't exactly intentional. We were feeling bloated. So we simply cut out supper and ate smaller portions at meals instead of over-doing the carbs. We didn't double the pace or intensity of our workouts. As for me, I cut out alot of meat and sugar. We are surprised at how effective the whole thing's been.

Sometime this May, our weddings bands kept falling off the fingers. Along with the weight loss, the fingers have kinda 'narrowed'. I didn't think that one could lose pounds off fingers! What used to fit snugly, is now loose. We've literally dropped 2 ring sizes. Once we straighten the fingers and keep it down, gravity and the weight of the ring combined will ensure that it falls off at some point. Mine has slipped off so many times already. Once, it kinda flew off because the hand gestures were a little too animated. Luckily that happened in the office and it didn't go hide in a corner. Of course, along with the countless times it fell off into the sink while washing my hands.

The man came home only to realize that the wedding band was not on his finger. The man is upset. I'm not too perturbed actually. I suggested that since the bands have fallen off, we could just forget about getting new ones and not wear them anymore! But the man refused. He went through the day's activities and pinpointed that a possible retrieval was at the gym when he went there at lunch. Bright and early the next day, he called the gym and by a stroke of luck, somebody picked up the small item from the bathroom floor and returned it to lost and found. The man was happy as a lark. Now, despite me giggling at his stories of how this gym's shower curtains always have holes in them, I shall credit them for having honest and kind people in there.

I know what we will be doing this weekend. We're heading off to the jewelers to get a bridge done for the bands, and all my rings, or perhaps re-size them. 2 ring sizes down are too many.