As the year bit by bit approaches its last few days, we are getting ready to put the curtain down on 2012, it is now time to look back and reflect on the year. With the blink of an eye, 2012 is already on its back! It seems like it was just yesterday that we ushered in 2012 and yet here we are almost ready to bid 2012 a fond farewell.
The year was surely filled with many bittersweet moments; so many that I just wish I could have the memories imprinted in my heart and it will forever linger in my mind. There were definitely some moments to cherish forever and others that we would rather forget but all in all we survived and that’s a good reason to celebrate and be grateful. Of all the moments in 2012, I wouldn’t change a thing simply because it helped me get to where I am right now.
So this will be my last blog of the year to pen down my prospect in retrospect of year 2012. So as we wind up 2012 and count the days to welcome New Year 2013, let us take this opportunity to look back and appreciate the moments of the past 12 months which has been a wonderful year. I feel very blessed to be honest.
Well, here are few of my personal favorites that 2012 has blessed me;
January changed my life forever where I was blessed with the love of my life. It was a month of euphoria for the whole family to be gathered for the wedding gala. By God’s grace the sweet celebration worked perfectly fine in our favor. The New Year brought on new hope, newly found relatives and new beginning.
February showered me with more bliss as I begin to walk in the journey as a wife. The wedding joy lingered on with our reception and honeymoon marking the celebration of love. On the other hand, February also surprised me with mixed blessings as I saw the new members in my research team and a new hope.
March was a remarkable month as I was still basking in the glory of being newlywed and also a moment that ring a bell of how amazing friends, family and even complete strangers that turned into acquaintance can be. The outpouring affection, blessings and compassion shown in many different ways during the wedding was amazing. Besides, a new hope of life was bestowed upon us as we moved on in our lives into a new neighborhood. Much generosity and heartfelt prayers made me and my family humbled beyond any measure.
April saw me making headway in my work. It was such a challenging time as I had to plan out the research work frame and take it to next level. Although challenging but it was a fulfilling experience to spearhead the research project.
May was definitely a laidback month. Nothing much to shout about but well I was mesmerized by the photography skills that my husband put forth into action. His passion overwhelmed me when I accompanied him to click away.
June was the month with a blend of mixed emotions. It began with a heightened work pressure and eventually I began to start breathing again. It was the month that I remembered the joy and serenity of finally being able to relax after a rather nerve wrecking early of June. I began to be grateful for family, friends and myself. Nothing was more rejuvenating than spending time old friends, get together and celebrate our friendship. Life was finally back on track.
July showered me with a sweet surprise as I was gifted with a career promotion. It was an opportunity for me to climb up the corporate ladder with appreciation of my work quality. I went from Scientist to Senior Scientist. It was truly blessed of how happy I was starting to feel.
August inspired me with an unbelievable salary raise that we all have been waiting for a longest time and it has to come in this year. Just in time for tired soul like us who has taken a turn for droning work culture. Everyone was suddenly awakened to their senses and ignited for a change in workforce. A good start to show appreciation for our efforts. It was also in August that I and Raj had a dreamy dinner at rooftop restaurant to evoke our early days rendezvous after marriage.
September taught me that nothing comes easy. There is a price to pay for everything good that we are gifted with. It comes as a lesson in learning for me to progress further in my career. There was anxiety, challenges, laughter, stories and the knowledge that I saw it all coming that nothing could take away it from my life. It was a big life changing month for me in my career as I am embarking on a totally new research approach, positional cloning to hunt down the gene of interest that I am in quest for. Thumbs up to me!
October made me realize one of two things. Either I am simply oblivious to the world around me and completely gullible or my family and friends can REALLY keep a secret. I was honored with a surprise birthday party for a landmark birthday. Yes folks....I turned 50. As intimidating as AARP tried to make it for me....I did come to terms with the fact that I was darn lucky to have made it to such an age in as good of condition as I am in. I had no complaints.
November indeed a sweet November for me as it was our first Diwali as newlyweds. It seems to be a rather special and memorable celebration together with my hubby and family, It brought a whole new meaning this year. A lovely get-together with kith and kin, friends and acquaintances made our festive spirit merrier. On top of it, wedding season is back with a bang. Being a part and parcel of Raj’s cousin’s wedding extravaganza brought out the beauty of family bonding. Being gifted with the recognition into a lovely family, I don’t need to scream for attention on my own. Instead, I was shining like a star amidst all. Thank God for all the love and respect I gained in this year that I became part of Raj’s family. I was beyond baffled at how it happened. It made me Happy!
And here we are in December. December will always be my favorite all year long. I planned to do much more than I actually accomplished. I get to spent time with loved ones, shopping, spreading Christmas spirit all around, family gathering and short getaway despite my busy schedule. I got a bigger Christmas tree and spend time decorating it. In fact my office was filled with the festive joy as we all played Secret Santa and had gifts exchange. Something that I will never forget will be the false prediction of Mayans. They were wrong that the world is gonna end. It did not and we are here still :)
Well, 2012 was quite a year. It marked a milestone in my life and somehow there was so many lessons learnt and moments cherished than ever before. On the personal side of things, while this year has taught me more yet it has also given me a great deal of peace, self awareness and a happiness that made me appreciate life in more subtle manner. I will miss 2012 when I bid adieu to 2012, for later down the road when I find myself evoking nostalgia one fine day. There won’t be tears as we welcome 2013 which holds so much of promise and hope. It is really exciting if I start contemplating of what is ahead of us. I guess in retrospect 2012 had a little bit of everything and I have no doubt it gave us all what we need to continue on to 2013. So for all of you, my family, and friends, I wish that 2013 will be a happy and blessed one, full of love and brings you joy and is your best year! Let us all raise a glass and celebrate the end of another good year. Till next year folks, wish you all a fruitful New Year. Happy New Year y’all!
It’s already middle of December and Christmas is around the corner! In case you hadn't noticed that this year, the Christmas movies on our satellite channel, Astro are only handful. It’ such a shame that all those traditional Christmas movies that we use to watch brings out the spirit for a lovely yuletide celebration seem to be missing out of the picture. I just love watching the movie line-ups during the month of December as it cultivates hope, joy and love in our hearts. I, likewise, love to watch them to inspire the spirit of a holiday.
So what’s your favorite Christmas movie? When it comes for magical and entertaining movies that can enthrall us, Disney is always holds the zenith for the best movies. Disney movies works like magic to spread cheers and ignite thoughts for eternity especially during Christmas season. It never fails to enthuse us with a virtuous message at the end of the movie. I would love to share few of the feel good Christmas movies for the rest of you to prepare for the forthcoming Christmas celebration. A must watch Christmas movies. Here you go!
1. Home Alone
2. Home Alone 2
3. Elf
4. A Christmas Story
5. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
6. Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
7. It's a Wonderful Life
8. The Santa Clause – The story is about a man accidentally killed Santa and unknowingly become the person to replace the dead Santa.
9. The Santa Clause 2: The Mrs. Clause (2002)- This sequel , Santa finds himself a lovely Mrs. Clause
10. Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)- The 3rd series sees Santa in dilemma to stop Jack Frost from ruining Christmas
11. The Polar Express White Christmas
12. Santa Claus: The Movie
13. A Christmas Carol (2009 version)
14. Christmas Classics
Happy movie watching peeps!
Its here. Wednesday 12-12-12. So what? It could be a special numerical day on the calendar and there will not be another with so many sequential dates in another 100 years but so be it then.
Of course it is one of the century’s most significant dates. Wednesday 12.12.12, the last of the great repeating sequential dates to occur in our lifetimes not until Jan 1, 2101 (unless we are alive till then). That’s bizarre to me! Despite the excitement of this milestone date, 12.12.12 doesn’t seem to be quite a big deal at all. For some it was believed to represents luck whilst for others, it’s a day that one may not forget for a lifetime. But for most of us, it is just another day. Regardless of your beliefs, 12.12.12 comes along with rather amusing facts and superstitions.
Delving into 12s obsession was something exaggerated and people just got carried away with it. When I sat down on Wednesday morning flicking the newspaper, the news was so hyped about the triple 12s, where expectant mothers are booking themselves in for C-sections to ensure a fortuitous birth date for their offspring, and young couples around the world are tying the knot. Perhaps these triple nifty numerals were blindly hailed as a lucky number. However, to a numerologist, it’s just not an auspicious date although it can be memorable. In a mind of a frenzied person, the will definitely go all out to imprint the remarkable date into their lives for remembrance. Seemed like 12/12/12 just wasn't going to get enough respect.
I am just a little jaded after so many numerical notables during the past decade, from 1/1/1 on up. The hullabaloo over the sequential dates doesn’t excite me at all. It’s just another date that pops up in our calendared years. So same goes for me on this 12.12.12, where I was back to work after a day off on Tuesday and ready to mingle with the bacterial cultures and date with my oodles of ‘ACGT’ data. J I am getting worked up in lieu of my scientific meeting. It’s more worthwhile doing something that I love to do rather than becoming dramatic over a mere triple date? Funny!
Certainly, another triple set of 12s won't happen again for another 100 years, in 2112. Or any more repeating digits until 2/2/22 (2022), and certainly not the same three-in-a-row style until 1/1/1 (2101), depending on, well, you know. So let’s bid adieu to the 12.12.12!
When one says that a dog is a man’s best friend, I think they had a dog like Hachiko in mind. Hachiko is based on a true story and watching the movie, it totally touched my heart. I sometimes wonder how an animal can be so faithful to its master when it is sometimes very hard for even a person to do something like that. Maybe people just need to learn the ultimate loyalty from a dog. It’s either we let go ourselves easily or we let our selfishness overcome us instead of putting ourselves in another person’s shoe and see things through their perspective, once in a while. I have a dog. He was a left astray in the park we used to work out in the evenings after the mother died mysteriously. Then the rest is his-story.
Each day as I head home after work, I will always look forward to my dog’s greet at the portico and his endeavor to amuse me with love every time I walk in the door. The calming effect of this little fella’s genuine affection as it jumps on me instantaneously brings a smile to my weary face. I am sure everyone who owns a furry pet will know that their pets are special and it brings a new hope of life. My dog has changed my life for better. After we adopted him on the even of New Year 2011, we began to see the happiness he brought to our life and a very good companion for all of us at home.
And let me tell you something, people usually believe that when you bring a new puppy to the house you need to train him and teach him stuff, I feel it’s totally the other way round… It’s the pet that teaches you treasured lessons that no one else could ever imbibe in you. A dog can really teach you unconditional love, patience, forgiveness, passion, and to never let your innocence and joy. It’s the most beautiful moments of your life when you own a dog and learn to live for him. This post is dedicated to one of the best gifts that life has endowed me with, a fury friend -Doggie!
It’s the little things that he does make a huge difference. His quirky bark when a newspaper peddler comes along, or his goofy habit of chewing the doormats in our house, we just can’t get enough of him. He can make our heart giggle in absurdity. I just can’t help but love him more when he greets me in the morning with a wet lick on my face. Whatever he does, it just melts my heart away.
There is nothing like the love of a dog. My dog would not be a celebrity dog or an expensive breed but he was a special one rescued from being starved when he was just a month old. This fella is fondly known as ‘Lucky’ since he was the only survivor among his nine siblings which died one-by-one mysteriously. The biggest despair came when he was left wandering by himself in the park when the mother was found lifeless nearby one day. My dad felt the grief of the orphaned little pup and saved him from his misery when he brought him home. The day we brought him back home, we showered him with all our affection. Since then, he trusted us with all his heart. Dogs are amazing in the sense that they are loyal, loving, protective and faithful unlike us humans. You can scold or hurt him yet he easily forgives us and put us before them. It is the most precious love in the world. A dog is truly an amazing companion.
A dog will be perfect partner to walk with you through your life, comfort you in your troubles and cheer you up when life is hard on us. Doggie’s little antics when he nudges you with a ball stuffed in his mouth calling for a play or his peculiar habit of sniffing through mom’s lovely potted plants (he loves to dig them out too!) Or even his surprising humanly behaviors, he is just too adorable for us to give him away. Everything a man has to be ideally can be learned from a dog. In a nutshell, I think dogs are the most amazing creatures that we have been blessed with.
No matter how frantic the days are, a mere woof and wag of tail will make it all go away! He loves to sit with me while gazing into my eyes that come as a huge soothing effect on any tired soul. I strongly believe it is the same loving heart that beats in every canine irrespective of the breed or pedigree. I am glad that our attention caught on this little fella roaming astray in the park even though he wasn’t an elite breed. What matters the most is the little joy he brought us. Sometimes his loyalty reminds me of Hachiko who waited for his master in front of the train station 10 years after his master had died. If only people have the same loyalty as animals, the world might be a better place. Families might not squabble over petty resentment, colleagues might not have another colleague sabotaging just to climb the corporate ladder, governments might not have opposing organizations trying to topple each other, friends might not backbite each other and the world might actually be a much friendlier, happier and serene place to live in.
I thoroughly enjoyed writing these memoirs which captured a significant part of my life. The memories made me smile and laugh.
Hoot Hoot…
The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is back with a bang this year. I and my colleague, Katharina got to the heart of the howl as the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale open its door for avid book readers like me. It couldn’t have been a more exciting time for a book lover as a golden opportunity to check out the wide selection of books on sale from December 7th – 23rd at the Mines Convention Centre. This year is the largest one yet as there are 3 million books will go on sale and all with discounts from 75 to 95%!
I was flabbergasted to see whole lotta books put up on sale and it has a myriad of book selection to cater people from all walks of life, I believe. Anything you ever wanted from literature genre to cooking, pets, photography, arts, gardening, biographies, fiction, children’s books and more are available here without a doubt. I was told that there are a lot more books on offer this time around compared to the year before. To mark the special celebration of this year sale, the organizers extended its opening hours for 63 hours straight for the weekend of Friday Dec 7th right up to 9pm, Sunday Dec 9th.
Though I plan to only limit myself with a couple of books since I got quite a number of books a couple of months back at MPH with a hefty price tag, yet I couldn’t resist the temptation. I end up spending almost 100 bucks for 5 books. Though my eyes and feet were tired after awhile of browsing through what is not even a quarter of it, yet I was compelled to scout further. But time was not gracious to me since I got to rush back to office (as we sneaked in during our lunch hours.
A word of advice for those planning to attack the sale, haul up a trolley basket or bad that will definitely help a lot in saving lots of your energy and paving way for you to last longer hours of book hunting around the exhibition hall. Trust me. If you are afraid of getting dehydrated or hungry from book hunting, need not to be fretful as they have food and beverage stalls to keep us refreshed.
So what are you guys waiting for? Happy Book Hunting at the Big Bad Wolf 2012!
A perfect Sunday afternoon with the girls to spend a relaxing afternoon over delicious English Tea-Time treats elegantly presented and complemented by aromatic and exclusive teas. One of my favorite things to do wind up is to have the classic English afternoon tea.
English afternoon Tea has always been an elegant tradition from England that dates back to the 1800s and it is perfected by this charming cozy ambiance with a touch of English flair. I enjoy a lovely afternoon sipping on a hot cuppa traditional English Breakfast Tea and delicious finger sandwiches, scones and strawberry jam served on a silver platter fit for the Queen and the ravishing Red Velvet Cake accompanied with two lovely girls.
Almost for the past one month, I had a busy life both on the social and work perspective. Then I thought I need a self indulgence and a girl’s day out. At last we gave it a thought to go for English Afternoon Tea which will be the perfect way to catch up with old times and at the same time indulge ourselves with the scrumptious servings of sweet treats – seemingly escape from the world. Just what we were looking for!
Delicious cozy ambiance and charming flair made me so relaxed all the way through till we called it off the day. I must concede that this experience is truly worthwhile. We girls got to choose from an assortment of afternoon tea and also the fluffy, varieties of cakes to top it off the set. When the 3 tier afternoon set arrived, we were thinking on how to finish up the whole thing as it seem to be quite a lot for three of us. Besides we order side dishes like calamari fries and fish burger.
Let’s savor the 3 tier set one at a time. Our first tier had 6 assortments of finger sandwiches and 2 Duck Confit in Filo Pastry. We had no trouble nibbling on the savory miniature sandwiches with smoked salmon as everything was very delicious and we enjoyed it wholeheartedly. The we moved on to the middle level where we were dined on the traditional English favorite of fresh home baked scones served with strawberry jam and a choice of clotted cream to sweeten our afternoon. The scones were buttery and light but not my choice as I would have preferred a pancake instead. However, the hand rolled chocolate truffles was marvelous. I could go for more of it although it was quite rich in chocolate taste. The rosemary and cheese cookies nothing much to shout about. The choice of treats could have been better with fruit tarts or so.
By the time we reach out for the top and last tier, three of us were already brimming with calorie treats! Oh gosh how much do I need to work out to get rid of of the extra calories? What’s on the top was ravishing Red Velvet Cake with macaroon and strawberry chocolate dip which was irresistible yet we allowed ourselves to digest before we munched on this. The red velvet was filled with sweet surprise. We spent hours chilling out and chatting accompanied by sweet treats and sipping on luxury afternoon tea, we just loved the heavenly moments shared and a great boost for the tired soul.
A dainty English affair indeed, ladies! Looking for more of it.
