Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Hooked

Ok, I’m now a fan. I borrowed a Jim Brickman concert DVD from my sister and watched it yesterday. I loved his song “The Gift” even before but haven’t really heard his instrumental piano pieces. And yesterday, I fell in love with his compositions. They are soooo romantic!

It’s a wonder how I’m now a big fan of three Jims who play the piano – Jim Chappell, Jim Corr and now Jim Brickman. Hmmm, is there a chance that there are more Jims out there with the same talent?

Jim Brickman also has great rapport with his audience. I like the way he tells jokes and makes the audience more comfortable. That’s a big plus in being a concert artist. A friend told me that when he watched another pianist’s concert before (wouldn’t mention the name anymore but I also like that guy’s pieces), there just wasn’t enough good audience-artist communication. So the experience was not as fun as he expected it to be.

Now I’ll be sure to look for Jim B.’s CDs when I go to the music store … *sigh* when my budget allows …

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Thank You!

To everyone who gave their support, encouragement and offered prayers for our son – our deepest and heartfelt gratitude. James underwent the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) procedure last week and is now recuperating well at home. We are very much heartened that his frequent vomiting before has lessened considerably because there’s no more tube tickling his throat. I am very hopeful that pretty soon, he will gain more weight and will be able to practice chewing and finally learn to eat orally.

My husband and I went through a lot during the hospital confinement. But I’m still thankful that despite everything that seemed to go wrong, our love for each other was strengthened as we got to spend more time together and just talk … about dreams for the future and plans for our family. Truly, that is another blessing to be grateful for.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

A Request

Dear friends and family,

We ask for your prayers as James undergoes the gastrostomy procedure tomorrow morning. Know that we are very thankful for caring souls like you who have always encouraged us throughout our son’s trials in the past. Once more, please extend your kindness in helping us pray for James’ safety during the operation and his swift recovery right after.

God bless!

Monday, June 13, 2005

Bliss

I have wanted to be an archaeologist when I was still in my elementary days. Blame it on the mystery novels that I have always been reading. I think one or two of the Nancy Drew or Dana Girls books I read sparked that kind of interest. Or was it an Agatha Christie novel? Hmmm. Anyway, since then I have been fascinated with anything related to dig sites, artifacts, mummies, ancient civilizations etc. In other words, books, movies (yep, Indiana Jones!) and television shows with themes of “lost treasures” would draw me like metal to a magnet. No wonder Wilbur Smith became one of my favorite authors because his epic sagas were almost always based in Egypt. If you are as enthralled with archaeology as I am, do read his books “River God” and its sequel “The Seventh Scroll”. They are so spellbinding, it would take great effort to put them down once you started reading. The colorful descriptions of a pharaoh’s lost tomb coupled with very intriguing plots left me breathless and replete with a suddenly heightened imagination.

Last Sunday, the National Geographic Channel (Asia) started its Pharaoh’s week shows. I think I was glued to the TV screen for several hours that first night. I tried to absorb all the motley information that mesmerized me beyond words. I am so glad that my eldest son Leland showed a lot of interest as I readily answered all his questions (they were sooo many!).

It was such a revelation learning more about King Tut and all the other famous pharaohs that lived so long ago. Do you know that there was a queen who crowned herself pharaoh? Or that one royal mummy has been displayed in a Canadian museum for over a century before they found out it was King Rameses I? Every story has its own charm and every character’s life has something we could all learn something about from. Real-life drama to the fore -- ancient perhaps, but nonetheless existed.

Nowadays, I have shelved my dream of becoming an archaeologist. To tell the truth, I have come to grips with reality that I won’t probably be able to stand all the dust and heat and might even be craving for a bath every ten minutes if I was there :p Thank goodness modern television brings us vivid images such as those that I crave to see. I’ll be enjoying the rest of the week, eagerly looking forward to NGC’s nightly shows. As for the digging part, I’ll leave that to the experts.

Friday, June 03, 2005

A Pleasant Surprise

We have a VCD of the animated movie “The Magic Sword” and my kids have been watching it often for the past two years. I got to like the song “On My Father’s Wings” the first time I heard it and even searched the net for the lyrics. I have been singing it ever since (reminds me so much of my late dad whom I was very close to).

It was a strange coincidence that the day the movie was shown in Cartoon Network sometime last week, a fellow die-hard Corrs fan (Hi Pao!) emailed me mp3s of several rare Corrs songs. One of them is titled “On My Father’s Wings”. I haven’t opened the file yet when my son Leland suddenly shouted, “Mommy! I saw on the credits that Andrea Corr is the singing voice of Kayley!” To think that we’ve been watching the movie for so long and haven’t been paying attention to the credits!

So I hurriedly played the mp3 and sure enough, it was the same song! Argh, it’s humiliating that me, a Corrs fanatic, didn’t recognize Andrea’s voice immediately! But, at least my ears perked up after hearing it for the first time so many months ago.

Oh well, as far as surprises go, this one gets a perfect ten from me!