Bookclub - what are you reading?


lipingbooks

New Member
levynn i like to read books by amanda quick where most of the time the girl is plain and the guy have to choose her and fall in love ;p really a feel good fairytale for a bad day..
 

alhana

New Member
Avid

Yah, Meredith looks more haggard in GA2. Anyone I dun really like her character..find her very whiny. My favourites are Christina & Bailey (the Nazi!) Which ep are you at now? Some pretty sad episodes in there...I cried when I watched them!

Ooh, I always wanted to watch Super Nanny but end up watching TAR Asia on AXN instead. Should make it a point to watch it since I have Catelyn now. But she's still soo young..prob forget all the techniques taught by the time she hits her terrible-twos :p
 

avid_reader

New Member
Bear, thanks for your cooking tips. I guess we all have the time to cook if we make an effort
happy.gif
Take it easy in uni/at work.. how long more before you finish your masters?

Alhana, we are at the episode which ended with Cristina, George and Izzie lying down on the floor watching the Christmas tree lights. It's the episode where this black boy doesn't want a heart transplant. Yah you are right abt Meredith being whiny.. can't stand 'McDreamy' also.. I like George & Bailey! Alex can swap roles with Sawyer in LOST.. they both have that intense eyes look. Yes there are a few rather touching episodes.. there's this episode abt an old couple.. the wife is dying with only a few months to live and the husband doesn't want the doctors to let her know bcos he doesn't want her to be sad and they've a planned trip to venice. But in the end the doctors informed the wife and the wife kind of said the same thing - don't tell my husband cos I don't want him to be sad. That's just so touching...........

Ok I shall watch Supper Nanny tonite.. is it that kind of show that will discourage couples to have kids? :p
 

beldry

New Member
hey bear..

haha..yah my fingers don't seem to agree with my brain lately.. i was referring to avid.. hee..

the other day i was trying to type 'at the beginning' by donna lewis and richard marx.. i ended typing 'by carl lewis and mark richmond'..

yah..me a pri school teacher.. i totally agree with u ladies.. the kids nowadays are so diff.. more vocal.. more daring and more disrespectful.. the older they are, the worse.. the younger ones like the p 1s and 2s are ok.. p4 onwards they can get quite scary.. really had a hard time with those rasc..i mean children sometimes..

but there are also some darlings who really make your day.. i think a lot oso depends on their home environment..
 

alhana

New Member
avid

Did u watch the episode where there was this major train wreck, and this old black guy and young white girl were impaled on a long metal pole? Man, that was one very sad episode. Yes, I remember the ep with the old couple..so sweet hor.

Ugh..missed Super Nanny again. Got home too late. Missed The Office too...dang. Thank goodness cable has repeats :p

Nice weather to curl up in bed with a good book or good movie/tv show. Wish I had a good book to read! All my favourite authors are still in the midst of writing the next book..sigh.
 

man_tou_bear

New Member
Gd morning!

Traffic jams everywhere! Did u catch Super Nanny? scary hor the kids? anyway i saw the preview of next wk's episode. seems like i watch it before leh... issit just me?

Avid, my masters is based on research so it depends on how fast i finish it... shd be 2-2.5 yrs...

Ambush, ya i agree. kids are cheekier now.. sometimes the way they retort makes u wanna throttle them.... i have a couple of pri sch teacher frens and some said it totally put them off having kids.... heehee...
 

avid_reader

New Member
Good morning all!

Missed Super Nanny last nite too.. well.. must remember to watch next week.

Alhana, yes I saw that train wreck episode.. very sad indeed. We watched another 2 episodes last nite. Really love the show.. Oh, I have just changed my handphone ringing tone to the theme song! It's "Cosy in the Rocket" by Pssap. I can email to you if you want?
happy.gif


Good books are very hard to come by these days leh.. there are more good tv shows. I think it's abt time I change my nickname to tv_addict :p
 

alhana

New Member
Avid

I have the song that was featured in the last ep of season 2 (which is another tearjerker)..it's very nice. Hmm...aiyoh..i watched so many eps and I can't remember the theme song...haha.

Hehe..we should start a TV addicts thread! But only english shows coz I dun watch mandarin programs (save for some movies). Scally end up only the 2 of us yakking there :p

Ambush

My hubby was a former primary school teacher, and yes, he can attest to the fact that kids today can be very bratty. They are def more spoilt compared to us. Maybe coz families now r smaller, w couples hving fewer children. So all of them treat their children like gold. Some of them even abuse their parents! And the parents are helpless in disciplining them. Some depend on the school to discipline their kids! V jialat. I hv great admiration for teachers. Dunno how u guys put up w it. My hubby quit not becoz of the kids tho..he quit coz his school's admin (mainly the principal and his cronies) is really terrible. Becoz of them, alot of his colleagues either quit or request to transfer.
 

beldry

New Member
hey bear..

haha.. yah i can totally understand.. tt was oso what happened to me.. i used to like children very much.. not tt i dun like them now.. just tt.. it's not quite the same ever since ive become a teacher.. sometimes when i see children misbehaving outside, i always feel the urge to discipline them..

hey alhana..

my school s turnover rate is oso quite alarming.. at least 5 teachers had quit over the past 2.5 yrs i've been there.. i used to feel really lousy about my work in the past.. last year was especially worse..coz i was given this p5 class to teach.. terrible..

marking load aside, i had to deal with a bunch of arrogant, irresponsible and spolit monkeys.. the p5s and 6s are the worst.. they are at this age where many of them suddenly decided that they are too old for primary school..everything to them is 'so lame'.. they get a kick out of irritating teachers and they find joy in challenging them.. and they are too proud to listen to us adults..

but thankfully this yr is better.. the beginning yrs were tough... i guess a lot oso depends on the class you teach and the kind of children that come to your charge..

hey alhana..what is your hb working as now? haha.. i sometimes have thoughts of leaving the profession too..
 

alhana

New Member
hey ambush

My hubby is currently doing his own biz..selling car accessories, of all things. Very diff from teaching..lol. However, since the income from that biz is not materialising yet, he's applied for a job with an educational consultancy firm. They have trainers who go ard schools training teachers on how to teach English better. My hubby was an arts grad, specialising in English. It's appalling how terrible the standard of english can be amongst pri school teachers. Hope he gets the job.

Yah, he used to complain to me abt his kids. He had to teach the last EM2 class, so their studies quite jialat. But the kids actually love him! Makes his work easier. He actually hated his HOD and principal more than anything. When his kids found out he was leaving, they told their parents and they wanted to write a petition requesting him to stay on. So sweet. He's now doing private tuition on the sideline as well, teaching his former students :p
 

man_tou_bear

New Member
Avid, cannot miss Super Nanny! it's like watching urself having the worst possible brats on earth. but luckily Super Nanny teaches u how to deal with them, so means still got hope...

Alhana and Ambush (what's with the nicks starting with 'A's?), my hb was a sec sch teacher! he also quit cos he couldn't stand the education sysm. he was sent to the worst of the worst classes, the Normal Tech, becos they were the hardest classes to teach. he saw that some of them were really bright and all they needed was a gd env to study and motivate them. But sadly they were all dumped into the 'no-hope' category becos of their P6 results. these classes were terrible cos only 30% of them seriously wanna learn but they were also scared that the rest of the class will look down on them. but in that half a yr there, he managed to increase the no. of passes to 90%. that's when he realised that he could do much more if he has more time with the students. hence the choice of starting his own tuition centre.

Alhana, my hb also majored in English too! heehee...
 

beldry

New Member
hey alhana..

ur hb must be really good with kids.. the kids love him so much.. men who are good with children are def for keeps.. male teachers are very popular in school.. esp those who are humourous.. funky.. handsome and interesting.. hehe.. ur hb must have had a combi of all the above? some male teachers even have fan clubs.. like my frd's bf and some of my male colleagues..

hey bear..

wow.. ur hb has his own tuition centre? tts great! my ex math tutor also started off his own tuition centre a few yrs back.. not sure if you have heard of Just Education.. and hes super rich now.. he was already earning loads back then when he was giving home tuition..

hey think its really no joke teaching the normal tech children.. the teaching aside, many of these kids are totally disinterested in their studies and have no motivation.. but i really pity them also.. coz many of them ended up there partly because of their home environment.. hence they ended up becoming the least, the lost and the last.. and our education ministers are so fickle-minded.. the only thing they are crystal clear about is tt there should be no capital punishment in school.. they like to leave things very open-ended and fuzzy..

hee.. i also majored in english.. but i don't think my grasp of the language is as good.. esp after ive taught then i realised how inadequate i am in it.. so tts why i need to read furiously..haha.. thank god for this thread!

hey liping..

hehe..yeah.. i was pleasantly surprised to find many teachers and lovely wifeys of ex-teachers too.. hope u've had a great weekend!
 

man_tou_bear

New Member
Hello gals!

Ambush, sad to say my hb will nv have a fan club! heehee...

U are right abt the NT kids. kinda sad cos some of them are smart.. and some of them really wanna learn.. they are just not as fast as the rest of the cohort.. my hb said he won't know wat to do if our kids go into NT.. he said he might as well send him overseas.... S'pore's edn system is so elitist... sorry to say, but i think it is already an uneven playing field.. rich ppl can afford to load their children with tuition for every subject, but not the low income families.. hence the poverty cycle continues.. but having said that there are successful cases of NT students making the odds and doing O levels...

Hahaha.. my Eng is not that gd either... i only realise this when i read the posts i write with the enormous no. of grammatical errors!
 

alhana

New Member
Hey Ambush

Err...u make my hb sound like a stud..haha. I think the kids love him coz he's fun, makes lessons interesting, and he's not a fuddy duddy like the older teachers. He always tries to think of interesting and fun ways to teach, which is esp impt if ure teaching the weaker students. Can tell he is v good w kids lah..even w my baby, he's the one pulling the night shift..getting up to change her diaper and feed her. Even when she was a newborn he already dared to carry her. Very proud of him
happy.gif


Hee..think very little pple hv a perfect grasp on grammar. It's no thanks to Singlish :p But there are def pple w v bad English teaching English, which is very worrying. My hb was telling me stories of PSLE english marking. He said one teacher was gonna mark a kid down for using the phrase 'Out of the Blue'. She turned to the other teacher and said 'where got such thing..then like dat I can write "Out of the Green..Out of the Red"...hb almost fainted! He said many of them hv a poor grasp on vocab..dun even recognise some of the words that the kids use in their compositions!
 

avid_reader

New Member
Good morning all.

The start of another work week. *sigh* How's everybody's weekend? Too short? I had another bbq on Sat nite.. bought a new bbq pit from NTUC Extra (HUGE NTUC at AMK).. only 19.90.

Alhana, we just watched the "bomb" episodes (part 1&2) of Greys' Anatomy... that 'bomb disposal unit' looks so familiar..

Yah I don't think we need to set up another TV thread. I don't think there are many TV addicts out there! I watched only English programmes too.
 

alhana

New Member
Hi avid

I remember the bomb episode...another one w a very sad ending. I knew it was gonna happen, but when the bomb exploded, it was still quite shocking.

Hee...I'm sure there are TV addicts out there..just dunno how many there are in this forum :p

My weekend was too short. Yesterday Catelyn was very cranky for most of the late afternoon and evening...kept crying
sad.gif
Luckily she quietened down when it was bedtime. She did get up at midnite and fussed for abit, but after that, she slept till 5am. Because of the rain, didn't manage to do anything fun. Was supposed to take her to the beach for a nice walk but that was rained out. Hope the weather improves this wk.

Everyone getting geared up for CNY? Slightly more than a mth to go! Have to start changing $ soon.
 

lipingbooks

New Member
Hi everyone ;p
had a busy monday but so that i can go home on time, leaving office after this reply,
i have to say i had C5 for english 'o' level and i am very happy ;p becoz i always fail my english even though i read a lot.. i think i read for the plot, all the grammer and spelling just didnt get absorbed in..wahaha..
 

beldry

New Member
hey bear..

i totally agree with you..that's why the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer.. but i really feel sorry for those children who are really keen learners but were not given the extra wiring becoz of family circumstances.. i used to teach this boy who worked really, really hard and took great pride in his work.. but he was almost always one of the last few in class becoz his foundation in both math and english were weak to begin with..

hey alhana..

wow..tts so sweet of him..haha he doesnt need any training..ur guy.. next time must make sure my hb does all these also..hehe..

haha alamak.. tt was so funny.. tts why every teacher had to bring along a trusty dictionary when they go for psle compo marking.. if not they will end up maluing themselves..

hey avid..

hmm..my weekend was ok.. went shopping with frds.. ooh.. i love shopping.. bought a big roomy bag which i had been eyeing for some time.. zarra and mango are having sales now..

hey liping..

ive got a few frds who didnt do so well for their o'level eng due but can speak very fluently.. not to mention good writers too.. hey but i think you are good.. =)
 

alhana

New Member
Hey ambush

Yeah, quite a lot of kids suffer from poor foundation in English. It's good that MOE recognises that the teaching of English needs to be revamped. And it has to start with the teachers, not the kids. Yah, ure right abt the dictionary part. My hb was known to his ex-colleagues as a walking dictionary. They'd always be asking him whether there really were such words. And of coz, it always horrifies him that they don't know those words :p He hates poor enunciations too.

Hehe..yeah, my hb is a natural w kids! Even babies! Everyone tells me I'm damn lucky..kekeke. Most of my colleagues are green w envy...they say their hbs dun even dare to carry their babies..let alone change diaper and feed them :p

Liping

It's not unusual to hear of pple who are fluent in English flunking the paper or doing badly. I had a college fren who was good in English (sucked in Mandarin) and ended up w C5 or 6 for his General Paper. Even my hb didn't do well for his GP paper. When it comes to languages, the marking can be more subjective than objective.
 

man_tou_bear

New Member
Hello gals!

Ambush, ya my hb also encountered students like this... kinda sad cos u know they got potential... shopping time hor? u guys got new clothes for CNY yet? me too broke to buy anything...

Alhana, u burst out laughing when i read ur post abt the 'out of the blue' phrase! heehee... my hb and I get a kick out of reading grammatically incorrect adverts! just the other nite we were at Parkway Parade and we walked past one of the jewellery shop! plastered all across their glass panel was this huge advert that said 'Me is romantic blah blah blah"... i couldn't stop laughing! Me is!!!

U guys are right, my cousin speaks primarily Eng at home, scored B3 for O levels but failed his GP at A levels... Eng is pretty subjective.
 

alhana

New Member
Bear,

Heh..we're the same! We always get a kick out of seeing bad english being used in ads, signs etc. I remember seeing a mistake made on an MOE signage!! That was the best man. It was one of those fences they put up ard a construction site (they were building a school), and the words read 'Moudling the future...' Moudling??? WTF? Heheheh.
 

man_tou_bear

New Member
Ya ya Alhana!

Another kick we get is to read those assessment books for Pri sch kids... its full of errors!!! some of them are really hilarious.. but for Math, some qns are fundamentally wrong hence u waste a lot of time trying to solve it! also, wat's the use of teaching P5 P6 kids how to solve sums using models and such when they will nv use it in Sec sch? there was once i tried solving a P6 qn that ended up being imaginary roots!!! i was so puzzled until someone showed me how to solve it via diagrams. STUPID!!!
 

lipingbooks

New Member
Thanks everyone for consoling me on my english ;p

not only pri sch assessment books have errors, i remember those ten year series also have error in the questions

there is a web site delicated to bad english everywhere around the world which is funny to read
http://www.engrish.com/
 

beldry

New Member
hey alhana..

haha.. my frd once said her brother dared not move an inch when he was told to carry his baby nephew.. he was so afraid every little movement he made might hurt the baby boy.. hmm.. must make sure my hb is well-trained before i give birth.. haha..

i think it really takes a lot to be a mummy.. especially a good mummy.. i'm not going to have children soon..maybe wait another 3-4 yrs.. but ive decided on the names though.. hehe..

hey bear..

yes yes! haha.. i'm always ready for shopping.. havent really bought any new yr clothes.. but had been actively shopping the past few weeks.. quite broke now oso.. gotta save up for my wedding dinner this july oso.. arghs..

hey liping..

haha.. thanks girl! you're always so resourceful.. =)
 

man_tou_bear

New Member
Gd morning!

Ambush, u already thought of the names for ur kids?! wah!!! Alhana and I were discussing names for my kids (if I ever have one). heehee... u are right, anybody can be a parent, but what makes a gd one? i don't have that ans.. should u spare the rod? i m afraid my kids will grow up to be a hooligan etc etc.. haizzzz.. its to early in the morning to be worrying abt such things.

Oh ur wedding in July? How's ur preps? done ur PS?

I went to that webby.. some of the mistakes are hilarious... seem most of them are Japanese postings!
 

alhana

New Member
Ambush

Hehe..I'm quite amazed w my hb lah. I knew he was good w kids, but I didn't know he wld be good w babies too. I think I was more scared than him to carry my newborn daughter :p But he was like changing her diaper in the hospital like a pro...sheesh.

Wah..u've already tot of baby names? My baby's name actually came from a book character :p And we've already tot of the boy's name, shld we ever hv a baby boy.

Ooh...excited abt ure wedding?

Yah, it's well known that alot of the assessment books out there are not up to scratch. Think no one bothers to edit them for mistakes!
 

man_tou_bear

New Member
Gd morning gals!

Where's Avid? haven't seen her online recently...

I just finished the latest Alex Cross book, titled, "Crossed". not bad! he finally finds out who killed his wife Maria.. Alhana has recommended Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy.. gonna get that this wkend...

I missed Supper Nanny last nite! fell aslp right aft i came back from dinner.. wat a waste..
 

lipingbooks

New Member
Good morning everyone! Feeling great today becoz

1) the sky is so clear and blue (at least right now it is at outram)

2) its friday!!

Have a nice weekend everyone ;p
 

beldry

New Member
hey bear..

yup.. i like the names chloe..megan and yvette for girls.. for boys.. i was thinking of zachery.. can call him zac.. ian.. actually i quite like the name alphonsus.. but my hb said its too flowery for a boy.. i used to have a jc classmate named fonzarelli.. haha in the end we all called him fonzi..

hey bear.. wat names have you thought of for your children?

yah i agree.. im oso worried abt how i shld discipline and teach my kids in future.. esp after seeing so many difficult children in school.. but like you say.. its too early to start worrying abt such things now.. but i strongly believe that children should be disciplined from young.. if not its going to be really tough to keep them in check when they are older..i've seen parents who literally had to beg their children to come to school.. and parents who had totally no control over their children.. scary..

hee.. i'd done my ps.. was very fun.. now doing the invitation card and montage.. wah.. so many things to do..

hey alhana..

wat name have you tot of for ur baby boy? i like ur little girl's name! i saw another spelling for the name once.. haha one of the finalists for american next top model.. really pretty and shy girl.. spelt 'caitlin'.. i like names with very interesting spelling.. too bad i dun like my own name.. arghs..

hey yes! im very excited abt the wedding.. though there were times when i really wish to have everything over and done with.. thinking of having a retro theme wedding.. i like all things retro haha.. think im kinda stuck in the 60s..

hey liping..

thanks! same to you too! i just came home from my friend's baby shower.. the baby girl's sooo cute..

hey ladies.. does anyone of you have multiply?
 

man_tou_bear

New Member
Wah Ambush wat a looong post!

Hey u like the same name as me! i like the name Chloe but my hb said it sounded like 'clown'.. i like the name Claire/ Clare too! I saw the name Caitlin too. wondered how to pronounce it!! I named a lot of babies cos i m crazy over baby names.. heehee... the last one i named was my niece.. called her Sharisse.. for boys i like those very classic English names like Luke, Thomas etc etc.. wanted to use Luke, but my hb's surname is Lau so Luke Lau's initials is LL which can be intepreted as lan lan (hokkien swear word). Otherwise i like the name Tristan or Nathan... Alhana and I chose another boy's name tog.. Aidan.. heehee...

hahaha Fonzi!! that's the name of the muppet in Sesame St! the worrywart!! heehee...

when it comes to discipline, i m the corporal punishment type.. of cos not to the extreme of child abuse lah... and i will give warnings before i hit them.. i think the message i wanna send will be more effective.. heehee... i believe in starting young too.. dun want them to climb all over my head.

Doing all the wedding stuff is fun, but it can be rather mah fan and lei chey.. i just finished my AD last Oct..
happy.gif
ya i have multiply.. u can add me, my nick is jace lau... u can't see anything on my site cos i limit the views to certain ppl only.
 

alhana

New Member
Ambush

Heh..Bear split the beans on my name of choice for boys. Yeah, my daughter's name is pronounced the same way as Caitlin. In fact, Caitlin is the original spelling I think..but we used the spelling taken from one of our favourite books
happy.gif


Wow a retro wedding sounds cool. But u need to hv guests that are quite game to make it as fun as can be. But it wld def be more interesting than ure average run-of-the-mill chinese wedding banquet.

Bear,

My fren loved the name Tristan, but when she found out that it means 'sorrow' (or something like that), she ditched the idea of naming her son that :p As for Nathan...my cousin, whose wife is expecting their first child, wanted to choose that name for their unborn son..but his father went 'har...y u choose an indian name??' (w ref to President Nathan). Hehehe..so he ditched the idea too. If one person can pronounce the name that way, many others probably will too. Spking of LL, that's my hubby's initials! LOL. So we avoided using L for our kid's name.
 

lipingbooks

New Member
er.. not that i dun want to join in the conversation ;p i am still unmarried.. name for children is still very far off my mind but i think having christian names that sound like the chinese name is very good. I was just talking to my friend the other day that our friend Lee ying name is Lyn.. so either way we call her still sound the same.. and very nice name too.. i like Lyn.. short and sweet ;p
 

man_tou_bear

New Member
Oops i not supposed to say ah Alhana? heehee... Aiyoh i dunno wat the names means lah, but i like the short form of Nathan, Nate!! heehee... see how, when the time comes then we talk lah.. i m sure i will go through a few more names before i decide on one.. now helping a fren look for a name tat has 3 alphabets in it.. looking like siao for her.. very hard to find something unique leh...
 

beldry

New Member
hey bear..

haha..now that you mentioned..yah 'chloe' does sound a little like 'clown'.. hehe.. hmm.. but was thinking of finding a name starting with 'c' for my girl and 'z' for my son... haha.. its kinda silly lah..but coz my name starts with 'c' and my hb's name starts with a 'z'...so there you go.. my colleague did the same thing oso.. tot was quite interesting.. she named her children julius and alyssa.. after justine and amy..

hey okie thanks! i'll look for you on multiply..


hey alhana..

hehe..so you've decided to name ur little boy 'aidan' too? nice name!

any suggestions for girls' names starting with 'c' and boys' names starting with 'z'? haha..

heh my initials's CCCC.. haha.. dun quite really like my name.. i dared not tell my parents i wanted to change..else they would get angry..

hey liping..

hehe.. i noe of a friend whose name is xiaofei.. and her english name's faye.. short and sweet too..
 

alhana

New Member
liping

Yah, that's a nice idea. Chinese and English names that sound alike. My daughter has a single character chinese name, and her surname in mandarin is Lin. Rhymes with the back part of her name (Cate-Lyn) :p She has so many variations she can call herself :p Cat, Cate, Catelyn, Lyn, Lin Yi (that's her chinese name)...k lah, let her decide which way she prefers :p

Bear

Heh..it's ok lah. Dun even know if I'll have ever have a boy anyway :p U may beat me to it! I've always preferred girls tho, unlike u..hehehe. But I think one boy and one girl will be nice
happy.gif
Someone for Catelyn to bully..mwahahahahahah.

Wah..3 alpha name. Difficult man. Izit a boy or girl they're expecting? If it's a girl, well..I also liked the name Ava. It was a toss up between Ava and Catelyn, but I chose the latter since my hb preferred it to Ava. And Catelyn has a nicer meaning too :p Eva is a nice 3 letter girl name too. If it's a boy..hmm...harder..I always found it harder to pick a boy's name. What abt Jon (like Jon Snow :p)?

I suggested to my cousin to name his son Nathanial instead, w Nate as the short form. But I think he's decided to look at other names :p

Ambush

Wah..ure initials..hahaha. Ure parents love the letter C or wud :p Hmm..for C names, I like Catelyn (lol...naturally) and Charlotte. As for Z, I think Zachery is nice. Go for it!
 

avid_reader

New Member
Good morning all! Wow all these baby names talk (again). :p Could anyone come up with one-syllable boy's name that start with the letter M?

Have had a real busy weekend cos gotta pack the house.. got in 2 part time maids to clean up the house on sat.. plus the aircon maintenance guy.. went to Ikea and also barang barang sales.

Bear, my house has never been so clean! Now I know that my standard of cleaning is way low :p
 

alhana

New Member
Avid

Matt, Mike, Mitch, Marc/Mark, Mick..err...that's all I can think of. Hehehe.

Avid, since ure also a TV fan, I wanted to let u know that my favourite book series (the one where I took catelyn's name from) has been optioned by HBO! They're planning to turn it into a miniseries, with each season covering 1 book (the author plans to hv 7 books in the entire series, and he's already finished 4, with no 5 due for release this yr). Yay! I'm soooo happy. Hope this project really gets to see the light of day
happy.gif
 

alhana

New Member
Hi avid

The series is called 'A Song of Ice & Fire' and there are 4 books out now, w the first being 'A Game of Thrones'. The author is George R R Martin. It's a fantasy series, with heavy medieval influences. The twists and turns in the story can be mind-boggling, as is the fact that there are so many main characters. I introed this series to Bear last yr. No..my nick doesn't come from this series. It came from the Dragonlance series
happy.gif
 

man_tou_bear

New Member
Hello! busy day for me.. now i got a splitting headache...

Ambush, it was Alhana that thought of the name Aidan.. i like those very English names.. not though exotic ones.. heehee.... I have added u on multiply!

Alhana, i haven't thought of the Chinese name yet.. heehee... my chinese so jialat, think leave it to my hb.. but i like the word "rui".. see how.. my fren is expecting a gal... I told her my top choice was Isa, which means ability.. see wat she chose lor.. i like Ava too... I agree! gals' names are easier to choose.. boys ones are tough!!

Avid, hahaha.. where u got ur part time maid? can share lobang? cos i have a fren looking for one.. me thinking of getting one too, when my cashflow prob eases.. ya, u shd read the books Alhana recommended. very gd! but i m not sure if u are the fantasy type.. this one is rather medieval though... Alhana, the Phillip Pullman's book was out of stock but they will keep a copy for me when it comes.
 

alhana

New Member
Hi Bear

Missed you on MSN yesterday ;P Poor thing...got headache! Were you out in the sun all day collecting specimens?

Cat's chinese name came from my folks. My chinese oso half-past-six one, so left it up to them. My hb cannot believe I came from a SAP school, since my mandarin seems more koyak than his :p Well, I did get a D7 for my CL1..hahaha.

Oh, I tot of more 3 letter names for girls..Mya/Mia, Lya, Gia, Pam...Isa is nice too.

Ooh, the book is out of stock? U asked the Marina Parade second hand bookshop fella? Maybe news of the movie spurred renewed interest in the books.

Avid

The series is not your atypical fantasy series. Granted there are dragons, dire wolves, wights and a little bit of magic..but they don't play as big a role as the humans. And there are no elves, dwarves etc. It's like reading a historical novel w alot of political intrigue & manoevers, with sex, violence, murder etc thrown in. The author was heavily influenced by the War of the Roses (the Yorks v the Lancasters). Man, can't wait for the 5th book's release!
 

avid_reader

New Member
Good morning all!

Liping thanks for the web link! So 'Marc' means warlike... not a positive word leh. :p

Bear, my hubby was the one who arranged with the part-time maid agency.. will check with him. I know we are paying $10 per hour per maid. Last sat 2 part-time maids came for 3hrs and they did all these: scrubbed kitchen floor - and I've never seen it so clean for ages! (my kitchen floor is the rough surface type and it was a mistake that we chose light cream colour cos it gets dirty easily), clean cooking stove etc, washed all 3 toilets, vacuum and mop whole house, ironed all our work clothes. They are coming back this weekend to clean all the windows + balcony sliding doors.

Not exactly into dragons and wolves etc.. I do read fantasy though.. but it's urban fantasy so it's very different. Favourite all time urban fantasy author is Canadian Charles de Lint. Read almost all of his books.
 

alhana

New Member
Avid

That's the thing. Most pple think fantasy - oh, it's prob abt dragons, dungeons, questing etc..and it turns them off. But I must say GRRM broke the mould..his series is really good. I was sucked in right from the Prologue. And GRRM is a brutal writer..if you thought JK Rowling writing off Dumbledore and Sirius was bad, wait till u see what he does to his characters :p

I think those part time agencies all charge abt that price. I was also looking for part-time help coz my mom is tired out from looking after catelyn and juggling housework and ofc work. But we've decided to engage a full time maid instead. Sigh...i really dun like the idea of having a maid, but seems that we hv no choice now. Poor mom sprained her wrist carrying Cat
sad.gif
 

man_tou_bear

New Member
Alhana, u prob miss me today too! heehee.. yesterday was a whole day workshop back at work.. today i was back in sch for sampling.. learnt how to cast those fishing nets.. not easy man.. now my shoulder muscles ache so badly...

Hahahaha.. i flunked my AO Chinese too! D7, the only 2 persons in class to fail.. 2nd attempt then pass.. i hate chinese!!! Ya i asked the Marine Parade fella for the book.. now he knows me liao cos i go every wkend.. so he will recommend me gd books to read. I m reading this Tessa Gerritsen author again. i recommended her before.. she is a crime writer.. very disturbing her stories...

Oh dear, I hope ur mum's wrist is better! Cate put on so much weight ah? heehee...

Ya Avid, please let me know the contact ok? heehee.. i look at my house and i shudder when i think abt spring cleaning.. cos i m a neat freak hence i want it to be done properly lor... need to wipe my kitchen cabinets cos i cook, all my windows (i got too many panels!), polish my teak furnitures etc etc... i m simply too tired from work and studies to do all these..

U shd read the book. its more of war than actual fantasy.. GRRM beheads, burns, poison, his characters... very disturbing... not ur usual fantasy of gd vs evil... a bit long winded and it took me 2+ wks to read each book cos there are simply too many characters!
 

beldry

New Member
hey bear..

i loove ur pre-wedding shoots.. you are so pretty.. looks good in every shot.. i like the one with the messy hair..hehe very modelesque..

hey alhana..

hehe thanks.. yah.. i like 'caitlin'.. 'catelyn' or 'caitlin'..both are as lovely..gonna be a long while before i become a mummy.. when do you plan to have your second child?

hey avid..

pam is a lovely name.. my little sis's name.. i named her with my mum.. hehe we have an age gap of 13 years..so i really dote on her.. im still waiting for her to grow up soon..so we can go shopping (properly)..

hey liping..

thanks a lot! hehe.. great site!
 

man_tou_bear

New Member
Ambush, thanks! when will u get ur photos?

God! my arms hurt man!!! so painful! and i m so tired.. tonite still got tuition.... sian man...
 


avid_reader

New Member
Bear, I counted a total of 24 glass panels (all windows + balcony sliding doors)!

Ambush, wow 13 years' age gap is quite a lot. How old are you now? My hubby & I have already decided that for girls' name it has to start with the letter J and also have to be one-syllable. We are thinking maybe choose the name Jade.

Alhana, the last song played is Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol.. I've got the song too. We finally finished watching season 2 of Grey's Anatomy last nite. I'm quite sick of Meredith & McDreamy with their wishy washiness!
 

Top