deverry series

we all have these small things that (for one reason or another) we never really got to follow through on. one of my somewhat silly perennial to-dos has been with me for over a decade now...and it was not until last month that I have finally drawn it to a close.

some time after college, somewhere between plowing through the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, I bought a Katharine Kerr book... her first Deverry book entitled Daggerspell. I finished it and was so hungry for more, started looking for book two: Darkspell. I couldn't find it. I found book three: Dawnspell instead. I decided to put aside reading it until I found and read Darkspell. I even put in an order with National at that time but nothing came of it.

Fastforward five years or so, still didn't find it... actually didn't really put in enough effort to go and find it anymore. I decided to move forward and read Darkspell... but since I had forgotten a lot of the details already, I re-read Daggerspell before reading Darkspell. A very bad decision...left me utterly frustrated and hating myself for not looking hard enough for the books.
Fastforward some more to Muscat 2007, over a decade since it started... during my first visit to Borders out here. Not only do I find all four Deverry books neatly lined up... but also the other four Westlands books. I bought all four Deverry books. Re-read from Daggerspell and finished-up book 4: Dragonspell. So now...finally, I have closure.

Am now on Kerr's Act Two: Westlands... book one: Time of Exile. And am still hooked...geez, three Acts...twelve books in all.

Nizwa, the fort within, and the climb up...

last weekend, we took a drive...a very very long drive. our good friend Ayie and his family invited us to a weekend trip. The ultimate destination was Nizwa...about 150kms away from Muscat. However, we passed by a couple of other destinations before getting to the Nizwa souq (which means a group of shops with varied wares).

Al-Akdhar : We took our 4WDs up a very very steep mountain, great thing was that the roads were all paved and concrete. for about 30 minutes, we kept our gears low and our 4WDs engaged. at the top of the final rise, we stopped for about half an hour and just took in the nice cool breeze (it was about 11am that time) and the grand mountain views. for the downward trip...I went manual and it was such a luxury to have that feature.

we got down and went straight to Ruwi. after a not so quick lunch, we took some time going around the Ruwi area - going inside an abandoned military fort which was quite cool - and visited one of the local parks with several playgrounds which Vivian (and mom) enjoyed much.

Fancy Dress Party

that day we had received a letter about the fancy dress party, we were mulling over what that really meant. finally, the date gave it away...it was Halloween!!

So, in the great tradition of past Halloweens for our family....

we present to you....

the Rockstar!!!

and some of her friends....and her teacher...






The party was in one of the school playgrounds and spread around said playground were different stalls where kids could play different games and subsequently rewarded with candies and toys. Although Viv didn't seem too intent on hoarding it all out from the games, she was content with just doing a couple (gaining some candies and much appreciated marbles) of the games and just mostly playing with her friends around said playground. :0)

Eid Break

Around middle of October we had a pretty long official break, the Eid Al Fitr holidays, which was from the 11th to the 19th inclusive of the weekends. While I had to do some work at the start (somewhat in the middle and end as well), we had a pretty restful break away from the day to day hustle.

There were several vacation/leisure options such as dune bashing, sea-oriented tourist travels, visiting Dubai (which is what most expats do around here which decidedly makes Dubai crowded and jammed, more than usual that is). While we had wanted intended to go out of Muscat for a more traditional definition of a vacation, certain limitations (including funds hehe) inspired us to look for different alternatives. I booked a room at the local InterCon (thanks to Priority Club, I didnt spend a Baizal*) and just basically enjoyed the facilities particualarly the Pools and the tub.




Since Vivian had recently started their swimming lessons in school, she was a bit braver to venture into the water. She was also fortunate to see several of her class(&school)mates in the pool. so for some time, she had been just playing with her friends while we were watching from afar.



*Baizal is the local counterpart of centavos(cents) and it is used with three decimal places instead of the usual two. So, tag price for a shirt for example is 0.500 Rials or 500 Baizals equivalent to roughly about 55 Pesos.

In memory of a dear friend

Here I am
I haven't gone that far away
And since I am
That kind of friend you know
Would stay with you through all the pain
Never to leave you in the rain
Ready to listen to what you've been through
Your woes and blues and share each other's
Points of view
We've been there once before
And kept our points of view
It doesn't really matter if they're never quite the same
We have our rules in different ways
We play the games of different folks with different strokes
And keep our points of view
See the world seems bright again
It only darkens now and then
Most of the time there's just no telling when
Look up and see you've got me
Here we are
We may have gone our different ways
But since we are
The kind of friends who'll always stay
No matter what the pain
Learning to love that cap o rain
Ready to say we're here to stay in every way
Although we've got our different...
Points of view...

Leslie Domingo-Cruz was one of the fatalities in the Glorietta2 blast
She loves flowers
She eats only chicken
She always wears lipstick
She remembers every detail
She is a loyal friend
She is a caring mother
She is a loving wife
She is a generous aunt
She is an obedient daughter
She is a dependable sister

welcome AJ

My friend just gave birth to a healthy boy last friday.

here he is...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVQ8Atla9cg

congratulations arnold and elaine!

First School Project

Vivian's class will be discussing about cultural diversity and awareness of different beliefs and practices. parents were asked to help out and create a welcome display using a range of different languages. we need to write or paint "welcome" in a language spoken at home. also, we were asked to identify one of the most celebrated festivals in our country and we submitted "Flowers of May (Flores de Mayo).

first PE & Swimming lessons

Ready to go to school (7:10am)

Received a letter from school that reception class will have it's PE day starting october 1st and swimming lesson on the 3rd. there are four colors (red, blue, green and yellow) in a class for all levels this will serve as the school's four teams for activities involving all students. viv's house color is (crocodile) green. on swimming lesson, kids should be wearing appropriate attire but not bikini, footwear - jellyshoes, crocs or flip flops. the programme aims to develop confidence in water and focus also in developing independence in dressing and undressing. i was a bit worried (here we go again) telling my husband that i need to be there, it will take a while for her to be comfortable in water. also what about her things, can she take care of that? so the only thing i can do is teach her, a night before we practiced, i told her the importance of taking care of her things and herself. i watched and let her undress and put back her uniform and put all the stuff properly in the bag.

"PE day was fun, mom!" viv said. she enjoyed the game "simon says". swimming day of course was as fun as PE, when she got home she laid down on the bed pretending in a pool and showed us what she learned and said, "i like our teacher , with a yellow long hair and a clip, she is beautiful =) her name is ms. van!"
after school (1:15pm)

friends all over the world

Two weeks ago, while i was having my weekly groceries I bumped to one of my high school girl friend, both surprised to see each other then chitchat for a while and exchanged cel nos. and email. on that same week i had a chance to chat with my other high school friend who is now based in chicago and talked about family, work and the group we used to have twenty years ago, to get me connected, he invited me to join friendster. I started to create an account, now my friendster keeps on growing and growing with friends in grade school, high school, work, and also relatives. It's been more than twenty years and it's so nice to see familiar faces and see them with their families, successful careers and places they have been. technology makes the world smaller and smaller everyday.

the new look inside

a month ago, i rearranged the furnitures in our bedroom. switched their places, the closet is now standing the door side and the bed is on the the opposite side facing the bathroom. aside from the classy laundry basket, i added a coat hanger, for caps, belts, hat and house clothes. i also put an extra large mat between the foot side of the bed and the bathroom door, the design matches the ones inside the bathroom, it enhances the space. now, going to the bathroom from the bed, it will just lead you.

the most used furniture in our house is the dining table, i placed some artificial long stem orchids, the color floats perfectly because of the background, that's according to my husband and i totally agree!

two weeks ago, viv& i decided to rearrange the bed and the aquarium in her room to give her tinkerbell laundry basket and disney princess toy-storage a place exactly for them. also, she can freely move the curtains to let the natural light come in and pull the curtains back together at night.

a new look without a good smell is definitely boring . thanks to body shop, first, i used brandied apple fragrance oil all over the house and now i'm trying the blackberry apple, this one has a sweet smell, totally different from the first but love them both. all of these, definitely added more comfort to us everyday. i am just so happy and glad. arrangements are better... more space and... freedom.