ON IDOL TOP 6

The top 6

I was set to watch Idol  'live' at six  but was told  by Yona that her coach text msg her saying that there would be training tonight instead of tomorrow.
Errrrr.....
After a short nap back from the alley I finally  got to catch the rerun at midnight.

Jacob Lusk with his confidence a little  shaken after being on the bottom three last week sang "Oh No Not My Baby," .My first impression is that he has sung it so many times, he isn't thinking about the words anymore -- not like it matters, because he was totally killing it. I'm not his fan and so didn't really like it. But the judges liked it, even though Jennifer Lopez (in her nude-illusion top) pointed out a few parts where it wasn't perfect.

Lauren Alaina sang "Where You Lead". Lauren wore a pretty dress with some dumpy, old boots. But, this is a singing competition, and she did the singing part well. At the end of the song, Lauren was a bit of a wreck, and the judges tried to encourage her while telling her it wasn't totally great.

Once again, James Durbin has shown that he's the front-runner, he is the guy to beat, but I don't think anyone did that tonight.  No one else has DARED to do that much a capella. 
Randy realy does need to stop declaring winners, that's not his job.Simon did the same for Adam and look what that got him.

Haley Reinhart  sang "Beautiful." . Her voice is so great for Carole King's songs. I liked it and thought it was one of her most exciting performances. So good so that she might  even stay another week.
The judges liked it, too.Jennifer said Haley is one of the best voices in the competition (but hasn't she said that to almost everyone?). Randy didn't like the beginning, but liked the end. Sometimes I don't get you, Randy.

Scotty McCreery played it safe last week, so he's ready to go "full steam ahead" this week with "You've Got a Friend." Jimmy Iovine is ready to help him mix it up, but Scotty just can't help twangin'. There's something about Scotty, though: I just want him to succeed. Despite the way he sounds, he's just a kid.
 I love this performance. He was true to himself, but it was really soft and heartfelt. I'm glad he stayed seated on the stairs the whole time, too. The judges liked it, and Randy called it "flawless," after pointing out one flaw. Then the camera panned away from Randy, as he went off on one of his "Scotty's in it to win it!" rants.
My heart melted when Ryan said, "It's always like you're singing to one specific person," and Scotty said, "Who is it? ... I don't know. I wish I knew!" How can someone be so cheesy and so sincere all at once?

Casey Abrams And while I think he was an early favorite to win, he's slowly falling out of the voters' favor. That doesn't change how musically hip he is.  Casey did his thing tonight -- just growling and, for lack of a better word, "jamming." If I had to guess, I'd say that Casey is the band's favorite contestant to work with. The judges weren't totally excited, but seemed to like it.


DUETS :
The first duet goes to Haley Reinhart and Casey Abrams. Ryan says it like there might be something going on with them. Mmhmm! This is a good pairing, and they get to share "I Feel the Earth Move,". This was Haley's week to shine. She started out strong, and once they got balanced, the duet was really working for both of them. Well, it worked for them individually and, in certain moments, together. It was really good for me.

Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery did their third duet together. Their performance of "Up on the Roof" unlike the two before, is not my favorite Scotty/Lauren duet because the song is unfimiliar with me and the harmonies were off.

Jacob Lusk and James Durbin, sang "I'm Into Something Good."  It was kind of goofy and fun, with their white pants and yelling ( lots of yelling)  Not bad thou not amazing. It happened. The duets, in general, seemed like a throwaway .

On who's going home tomorrow?
I don't know anymore..... well...I actually don't really care anymore. Anyone of them could be the next American Idol.
A..M..E..R..I..C...A..N... get it?
I'll leave that to them to decide.

RUDE AWAKENING

Today my day starts earlier than the normal school's day. I woke up at the second missed call on my handphone.
Scrambling for it , I kind of knew that it was far too early to be five am already.
Yea..indeed I was right. The time showed 3.12am... and the calls showed my dad's number.
(My parents are currently out of town.)
I returned the call thinking something might be really wrong for him to be calling so early.
My heart was beating out so fast , not only from being rudely awaken but also for the unknow reason why he had called.
It's always 'bad' news when someone were to call at  'wierd' hours.
My dad answered but then quickly passed it to my mom. 
I knew then that it's nothing to do with both of them.
She was just informed by the neighbour ( Skn's)  that the her dogs were making much noise and there were lights in the house.
Hhmm..... I don't know about the dogs but I did switched the light on before leaving the house yesterday.
Though I felt like there was really nothing to worry about, going over there just to 'see' did crossed my mind.
I told Andrew but he too doesn't seem to think there was the urgency to find out.  Furthermore I was so darn sleepy to really want to.
I told her that I'll go and take a look first thing tomorrow morning...... of which I did even before the girls went out for school.
'All' was  good.

MY SISTER AND I ....remembering Appy on her birthday

Seeing the message sent on her FB 's wall  told me that today was her birthday which...
I had totally forgotten about .
Birthdays are not something I think much of and so as with other's,  her's was just as ordinary as any other day.
She is a year younger than me and hence been saying all our lives that  she will forever be younger than me. I retaliated by saying what's the use of being younger but looking older :)

Thinking  about her reminds me that no matter what life holds or how many friends we made along the way, nothing will ever change those sunny sister days we shared when we were very young.
Some 'memories' were captured on  photographs which I still keep  hidden somewhere amongs my life's 'treasures' (junks!) while some are 'images' still playing on my mind.
 Images of us in those days celebrating sisterhood and of times when we used to laugh at private jokes that no one else would understand.
Or those moments we spent whispering fairy tales stories under the covers long after bedtime. When we wouldn't stop even after  mom turned off the lights. 
Or those times when being there for each other was all that matter.
 My Sister  Appy and Me celebrates a special bond of sisterhood.
Totally different from my other sisters.
Before friends and school and jobs and lives were stuffed full,  my  sister was there to share it.
Happy Birthday Sis!

Not Getting Things Done

 

Does anyone ever get so down that they just totally don't feel like doing anything? Lately I have been this way  a lot to the point where all I want to do is just sit in my room and stare off aimlessly at the wall and get lost in my thoughts. I live in what I consider to be a very boring area...there isn't much to do that I haven't already done.

There are times when we will wake up feeling energetic and feel that we can complete any amount of tasks on that day but there are also times when we will wake up feeling jaded and do feel like doing anything at all.
It will be great if I can wake up every morning and feel energetic and productive but I know that it is not really possible. There will definitely be times when I feel tired and don’t feel like doing anything.
When we are caught in an unproductive state, we tend to waste most of our time doing tasks such as watching the TV, surfing the net, sleeping or playing video games.  The problems arises when we did not limit the amount of time we are spending on time wasters and this cause us to indulge in those time wasters and waste our whole day away.

How To Do What You Have To Do When You Don’t Feel Like Doing It

March 26 by Susan Baroncini-Moe |

How often do you get that lazy feeling? You know the one. It’s that heavy feeling that weighs down your entire body so the only things you really feel like doing is watching TV, surfing the Internet, or playing your Wii. Or, maybe you just feel like doing something fun instead of working, when you know you really need to get some serious work done

If we truly want to achieve results in our life, we need to be able to take constant action which means being productive every day. There are definitely times when we feel like not doing anything but to achieve great results in your life, sometimes you need to be able to take action even when you don’t feel like doing it

 All of us live our lives not based on what we feel like doing, but rather what we sometimes just must do anyway. We aren’t small children anymore, and our feelings can’t be the deciding factor when it comes to decisions in our life. That’s just part of growing up, isn’t it?

Word Power

I often write about my belief in the power of words and their ability to connect people on an emotional level. Words do, indeed, have the power to hurt, anger, destroy and, conversely, to heal, uplift and unite.

Throughout the years, writing has been the greatest therapy I've ever known. For me, putting thought to paper  is utterly cathartic. It allows me to think aloud without actually... well... articulating out loud.
It has enabled me to explore  and express thoughts and analyze feelings and situations in ways that, when  stucked inside my head, may never really have been brought to light in any meaningful way.
It has not only opened my eyes to patterns of behavior, in myself and  few others that has been following my blogs ( for reasons I personally don't think necessary) ... it has also allowed me to weight options and make decisions in a most deliberate manner.

But then again there are people out there who uses words in a different manner.
These people seems not matured enough  to understand that every action has consequences.

I bit my lips from saying anything I don't know about....for I truly believe the saying
'if you don't have anything nice to say..... it's best not to say anything'

For a person to technically and legally slander another is totally unacceptable. Knowing the things they said   are false, and yet continued to portrayed these statement as facts?. P...leasee!

Intentionwise to hurt was there the moment these words were uttered.

So whatever regrets now is also unacceptable.
Let Consequences do the teaching.

****
A woman repeated a bit of gossip about her neighbour. Within  days the whole community knew the story. The person it concerned was deeply hurt and offended.
Later the woman responsible for spreading the rumor learned that it was completely untrue. She was very sorrowful and went to a wise old sage to find out what she could do to repair the damage.
“Go to the marketplace”, he said, “and purchase a chicken, and have it killed. Then on your way home, pluck its feathers and drop them one by one along the road”. Although, surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.
The next day the wise man said, “Now go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me.”
The woman followed the same road, but to her dismay, the wind had blown all the feathers away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand.
“You see,” said the old sage, “it’s easy to drop them, but its impossible to get them back. So it is with gossip. It doesn’t take much to spread a rumor, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong.”
***************

"Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world"- Buddha

LETTING GO

To let go does not mean to stop caring, it means I can't do it for someone else.
To let go is not to cut myself off, it's the realization I can't control another.
To let go is not to enable, but allow learning from natural consequences.
To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.
To let go is not to try to change or blame another, it's to make the most of myself.
To let go is not to care for, but to care about.
To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.
To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.
To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their destinies.
To let go is not to be protective it's to permit another to face reality.
To let go is not to deny, but to accept.
To let go is not to nag, scold or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.
To let go is not to adjust everything to my desires, but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.
To let go is not to criticize or regulate anybody  but to try to become what I dream I can be.
To let go is not to regret the past  but to grow and live for the future.

GOOD FRIDAY......BEES!!!!!!!

Friday night  I had gone to bed much earlier than the normal time I usually do. Although I didn't go out of the house the whole day (  it's good friday ) , not getting my normal 'fixes' worned me out all the same .

The 'new place' - WiFi available

ABC

Cool ice tea with grass jelly

 By the time we got back from having dinner at the Sim Sim market and dessert from one of this new place at Indah, I was infront of the tv again for the rerun of the elimination show of American Idol.
I had missed the live show at 6pm but had googled earlier for who had been voted out.
Well... no surprises there, Stefano was bound to go as with Hailey and Jacob though not in any particular order there.
I had to admit that Scotty got me worried there for a while there when he didn't get good feedbacks from the judges. But then again he has got a huge fan base to keep him in the race.


Saturday morning I woke up at six  when the alarm went off. Knowing that it wasn't a school day, I went back to bed . Andrew on the other hand went out for his morning jog at the sports complex.
Lydia was up early too but the tv kept her company till I got up again which was about an hour plus later.

Today was the maid's day off and so I had to 'deal' with all the 'urgent' chores. Mostly related to my four legged family members.
The girls had practice at twelve . Andrew wanted to go out for his 4D tickets early but I convinced him to wait so that we need not go out twice.
We had early lunch of chicken rice and soup at mile eight before sending them to the alley.

Came across this small bee hives near my orchid's stand while watering the plants.

 This is what I got....eight stings alltogether when I accidentally 'disturb' the nest

 All burned ....after I retaliated using fire

 One by one they dropped dead

Minutes after.... it's time to scratch....REALLY!~.it was that itchy

Know when to walk away

One of the biggest mistakes made in a 'dead' relationship is allowing the final 'death throes' to go on and on. And on. And on. And on.
It's one thing to finalize shared expenses or disentangle community property but it's really another thing to beat a dead horse endlessly. When discussions become circular - in other words, you just travel around and around the same points without coming to a point of resolution - stop please.
The moment to say, " leave" is here.

The ex, no matter how she feels about it, is no longer the 'other half' and has no rights concerning your life. The phase has passed  and all  'this' does not need to be a dramatic, escalating event.
You do not owe her the courtesy of  honest answers. There is no law that requires you to do so.
Why can't that be the case then?
As hard as it may be, it is time for her to move on.

Nothing to do with this song.... just that its one of my favourite and those words......" knowing when to walk away"

REFLECTIONS OF LIFE

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.

Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.

Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present .' 

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

BEAUTY OF HA LONG BAY

Ha Long City is about 170km , roughly about three hours drive from Hanoi. To see and enjoy the Ha Long scenery, you will need to board a  junk boat and cruise out to the sea.
The bay is hauntingly beautiful, and has it's share of colorful stories and myths associated with it.
It is a United Nations World Heritage listed site, and one of the most beautiful places in Vietnam. 
The bay consists of thousands of rocky islands popping up out of the bay. Many of the islands have very large limestone caverns, and we toured a couple of them.
On the two days we were there ( 5/6 April 2011) the weather wasn't quite as cooperative as one would hope, but it was still a great trip as we were able to proceed accordingly to our tour itinerary.

While waiting for our tickets and transport at the jetty.

Ferry boat that took us to the main Junk boat a bit further in the open sea.

The 'hotel' boat that we stayed for the night. Three deck, consisting of  rooms, dining hall and an open roof deck where you could enjoy the scenery....sun, moon,breeze or rain

"Kissing bears'.... a sight and angle where two islands are seen as bears kissing. They are actually miles apart. 

Ah... breath taking..so calm and peaceful

moving inside a cave

View along the cruise.  Floating village

 Outside of the dining area where we could enjoy the cool breeze and the ever breath taking scenery

The middle deck holds the dining room.

Just like any other hotel room,  clean bedsheets, towels and toiletries were provided.

 It's all the way up and into the cave

 A sight to behold...

Rock formations that leave you to your imagination

 

Sight of Cat Ba island from our ferry boat

** Ha Long means "Dragon Descending", and there are a couple of variations on the legend about the creation of the bay. The most common is that a celestial dragon and her offspring were ordered by the Jade Emperor to halt an invasion from the sea. She spewed out bits of jade that turned into wondrous island and karst formations, thereby scuppering the enemy ships. Other variations have the islands as pearls, and the dragon creating the bay by swishing her tail, thus tearing up parts of the mainland that were filled by the sea. In either case, the dragon is said to have liked the creation so much that she settled among them and lives there to this day.
The bay has been the site of several historical sea battles. It is said the caves here was used to store a bunch of bamboo spears that General Tran Hung Dao planted in Song Bach Dang to stop Kubalai Kahn's invasion after Mongolia swallowed up the rest of China.****

MY MEMIOR OF HANOI

My annual overseas trip with Jo turned out to be more memorable than I had earlier anticipated.

Though the days to the actual trip went without any pre excitments attacks for me, the actual trip was indeed far more exciting. An real eye opener for how 'alive' these people are and how the country is changing at breakneck speed. 

This is a country I won't mind coming back to visit  again in the near future.

STREETS OF HANOI

If there’s anywhere that lives life on the street, it’s Hanoi.

People around the city seem to just inch everything closer and closer to the side of the street.  Through business, food, and social life. Overall Vietnam  presents a much more acute definition of what it means to live on the street.

Truck drivers mumble with anger because of the congestion. Motor-bicyclers rush in the streets from every direction, making you feel like thousands of arrows are aiming at you, flying from their bows .I was told to just walk slowly and not wait for them to pass . It was their 'job' to avoid pedestrian.

I don't  know if it's compulsary to wear helmets but  almost everyone  have one . Not the big and heavy motorbike helmets but the kind of helmets that professional bicyclers usually wear.
Pillon riders were not restricted to one so even five people riding  one motor bike was a normal sight.
Riders lined in four or five rows..... every attempt they make to chat with each other fails completely as their merry voices fade under the roar of the vehicles in the street.


I saw women balancing shoulder poles skilfully like the artists working in the circus .

Everywhere people are buying, selling, hawking goods and offering services.

Six million people live in this former colonial metropolis; add hundreds of thousands more who jammed Hanoi as tourists. But no, it does not make Hanoi sound chaotic--a little exotic, perhaps, but very inviting, as well.

Many new buildings have been taking the place of some old blocks of houses built twenty years ago, yet many features of Hanoi remain true and modest. Still very 'Vietnamese'

Looking at it from a foreigner's eye....sidewalk vendors, people squating on  plastic stools a foot or so from the busy traffic, savoring the food , drinking green tea while exchanging gossips and watching the crush of 'lives' that goes by is their way of living here.

Throughout the day, these people seems to be enjoying their lives by doing just that.

Notable food-
The French influence is still found throughout Hanoi in a variety of places and theme but none so ovious than the ladies selling baguettes and pâté . It may not live up to the expectations of the bread loving French but you don’t have to pay much for a taste of home.
Everyone loves them and  vendors selling them were not only restricted to the sidewalk but also to the busy highways heading outwards of the city.
The only turn offs as I see it would be the way they were displayed in the open. The dust and dirt of the polluted city air...but then again nobody seems to mind .
We had ours at the hotel....but  'sigh'...who knows where they were bought from.



The one dish that defines the culinary culture of this remarkable city, I was told that it would have to be the flat noodle soup phở. This simple dish of noodles and either beef or chicken is forever popular with locals and foreigners alike and can be found throughout the city.

I tasted mine at the famed (??? I was told but really, I haven't heard of it) outlet named 24.

A small price of around 30,000 VND per small bowl .

Personally, they don't really taste any different from any other beef kue tiaw soup that we have here. Probably just the way they served it..i.e. with an additional plate of  fresh 'ulam' you can choose from to add into the soup.

Vietnam is one of the world’s top coffee exporters, and it’s known for the bitter, super-strong coffee, lightened with condensed milk.

Very aromatic but really really thick,bitter and sweet taste.

 A cup would actually mean half a cup when it is served to you.   I for one don't have a liking for strong coffee ( Im more into nescafe). I will always end up adding water to fill the cup before being able to drink it.

You may also see ads for ca phe chon, the coffee famously brewed from beans that have been digested — in one end, then out the other — by weasel-like animals known as civets. Real civet coffee is extremely expensive. Ones that we tried cost only around 15000 - 20000VND per cup.