Just passing by

Gosh, i have been crazy busy this past week as the research experiments kind of hit a crescendo!

Four more days until i leave mr jones' city. Yeah.

Mr jones liked his crystal ball, or so i presume. He also suspects that it is my experiment to see if he can be a responsible parent. You see, the ball is rather fragile. And round too, like a baby's wobbly big head, hehe.

Hmph, he is always accusing me of being baby-crazy, that mr jones. I am so not! I just love love love babies! Besides, i have had my shot at making foot-print, je pense que it's his turn.

:-)

We do joke about how our baby will be though. A cross between tall and tiny, fair and honey-skin, emerald and brown eyes, wavy and straight hair (that reminds me, i ought to write a post on mr jones and his hair, with title 'Watch the hair!' i tell you, he puts uncle jessie to shame!). And the languages of course, i speak six, including one ancient language and maths (hey i get to count math, it's so a language à mon avis! you are lucky i didn't count music even though i am quite fluent!). Mr jones is learning spanish, so yeah 1.5 for him. Hahahaha, hope he is not reading this! Mr jones thinks he will definitely make the kid learn spanish and my mother tongue. Yeah right, let him learn it first! Although, i have to admit i can't get enough of it when he tries to say some words i taught him in his super cute accent. Yumm!

Okay, hope no one is killed yet by the mush-factor of the paragraph above. Or the last post. Eek!

Well, i gotta go, i have a meeting with my collaborator, and i will somehow have to get in some exercise before that.

O-hm.

Advienne que pourra

Someone's turning 26. I believe i have found the perfect gift.

C'est une boule de cristal. :-P

Ah, if only!

Then again, having a crystal ball at your disposal may not be all that fun it is jotted out to be. Do i wish i had a crystal ball? Hmm. You see, i don't know the answer to that. It's a heck of a responsibility to carry one around.

Oh, but i do wonder.

There are things that i can predict the outcome of and there are things that i can't. Would i mind a peek? Sûrement pas! But catering to my curiosity just ain't possible without tweaking with the balance of the present-future equation.

What's a girl gotta do?

For the last two months or so, mr jones and i have been living, how shall i say this, let's see, to borrow some verbiage here, quite like man and wife. We fall asleep on the same bed, waking up to the same alarm, although i have to say sometimes i would sleep through it, however rarely. I wave him goodbye from my kitchen window as he gets into his bus, on his way to his train and another bus. In the evening we either go out to visit some landmark, or just take a lazy stroll, perhaps shop for groceries, or just stay in and watch movies. Er, we even dare do our laundries together, which happens to be the bête noir for both of us!

There are no rules. Only patterns. :-P

We mostly stay in my flat, sometimes visiting his place for a night. You see the main kitchen is here, chez moi, along with the main chef. Hehe. I didn't know this side of him, but mr jones loves to check out various exotic food, and i love to cook, so the stove-top has been quite busy. Now, even though he laments his lack of chef-ing experience, the man did cook me a great breakfast last saturday, et en plus, nursed me back to monday with some yumm chicken soup when i was feeling under the weather on sunday!

He babies me like a mother would her child, rushing to close the window at the sound of a siren blaring ambulance, lest it wakes up the fitful sleeper, moi. He watches over me like a father, on hilly steps or near approaching strangers on dark roads; holds doors and carries stuff like a caring husband would for sa femme enciente. When we banter, he pulls my leg like a annoying lil bro, but one who doesn't mind when i speak back in little punches. Then turns around and listens to all my problems like a true-blue sis. We partake in debates, be it on serious world issues or (equally serious) Seinfeld facts, disagreeing agreeably as only true friends could.

And then there's of course that part of the relationship, which i am not at liberty to span on here, all i will tell you is that we do not shy away from giving that royal headboard its proper dues. :-P

So yeah, that's us for now. It's been good. The journey. Oh, i daresay we are happy as clams at high water.

What more could i ask for?

But i wouldn't lie, there are days when i yearn to know the destination.

Now, if only i had that crystal ball.

Mark my words

There are no shallow sighs.
...
I wasn't expecting anything
And then you came
I see. And then i came.
I see.

(Do you, really?)

Why wouldn't you meet my folks?
I suppose i would, if we ever get serious.
This isn't serious?
Is it? Not to my knowledge.

(Ah! Elle le voit vraiment!)
...

Can't sleep. Two nights in a row. Thousand dreams.

Waking up to my dad's voice in the other room. He was calling me. But there is no other room. I was making a snack. Asked him if he was hungry. He said he never gets hungry any more. But he will be in the other room just in case.

No sooner than i left, my cool flat was completely re-done in an ugly green rock; mr. jones was continuously picking up things that i forgot at various places.

I put off all the fire that i caught on except the one on my back, for i couldn't reach. No one gave me a hand, but my dad who came back to help me.
...

Oh, i can interpret all of the above in a jiff! But i will only clue you in about the ugly green. Must be all that jade i saw in the museum last evening.

I don't like museums. They remind me of the zoos. Unwilling exhibits presented outside of their natural habitats.

Strategically focused track lighting shining on artifacts stolen from various countries stored and catalogued meticulously in a barren room full of hushed exclamations do nothing for me.

Well, except for giving me nightmares i suppose.

Sorry, folks!

"An assistant professor earning $6,000 per month receives promotion to associate professor, effective at the beginning of the new academic year, and is awarded a salary increase of 8%. The faculty member’s new base salary becomes $6,480. The faculty member’s actual salary during the furlough program would then be reduced by 9.18%, so that the actual monthly salary for the duration of the program would be $5,885.13..."

Tsk-tsk...

I feel sad for all my colleagues who got promoted this year and thus received the coveted and much awaited

rank promotion = financial demotion.

Un pense-bête

Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé ce week-end dernier?

Ma fille me rendait visite ici, quand m. jones est allé pour faire un plongeon en abalone avec son frère, son père et leurs amis. Il m'a rapporté un ormeau très grand et toute l'histoire de la plongée.

J'ai été heuruese le voir.

Mais ma fille me manque beaucoup et je veux retourner chez moi.

Je me suis perdue. Un petit peu.

Like you won't believe

Well, whatdya know, we are in furlough.

Mandatory holidays have been announced along with matching paycuts, student fees have been hiked, classes have been cut, and those that didn't bite the dust will now be shortened by 6 instructional days.

My dept alone cut 25 classes, most upper division classes including my vector analysis class are gone. All because some bloody incompetent fools up at the governor's office couldn't keep their math straight and some parasites otherwise known as greedy irresponsible homeowners bit more than they could chew.

Man, am i miffed!

I hate the world today! It can go to hell.

Carry me home

Today i threw out the roses, for they were tainted with glances impure.