2005 July « End of Days

A Jack Aubrey / Stephen Maturin Special

July 25, 2005 at 3:42 pm (Books)

I thought I hear a voice, whispering my name, as I scrutinized the shelves for a book to read. I turned around and a peeping book caught my attention. I picked out the book and looked at its cover – a beautifully drawn 18th Century sailing ship in the sea and the title, “Master and Commander”.

Without any hesitation, I borrowed the book. Little did I know, my adventure with Jack and Stephen had begun, a long 20-books sea voyage.

I had many memorable moments with them. For Jack, I had shared his joy when he became the captain for his first ship as a recruit, HMS Surprise. My heart flew with him when he is finally appointed as rear admiral of the blue. I could remember his bravery as he charged onto his enemy ships like a lion with his boarding crew. I could hear his laughter at a witty joke made and his music as he play on his violin when he was sad. I could remember his talent in mathematics and astronomy and marveled at his naval expertise. I had sighed at his misfortune and downfall on land.

For Stephen, I remembered his love for Diana, how they had united and separated times and times again. How happy I was when Diana finally consented to marry him and how I had grieved for Stephen when Diana passed away in an accident. I could aslo share his joy when he dabbled in his interest as a natural philosopher – exploring mangroves, discovering animals and plants, disecting birds and fishes, Desolation Island..

The list would go on and on.

But with the death of Patrick O’Brian, their creator, my adventure with them had to end. What would their future be? I would really like to know. Will Stephen finally settle down with Christine, his hardfound sweetheart and engage his natural philosophy full time? Will Jack earn more merits in the future and rise ultimately to the First Lord of Admiralty or will he retire and live happily with his children and wife. Or will Jack set sail with Stephen in Surpise to look explore the world together?

The Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey had left so much possibility. With the book unfinished, lifes of Jack and Stephen seems to continue eternally, in their own time frame where we can only imagine their future. Sign! How I wish I share their future!

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Little Bluie Missing!

July 20, 2005 at 9:58 pm (Teddy Bears)

Fatty News Bulletin

A month ago, Little Bluie had set off to Taipei via normal post. Up to date, he had not arrived yet. Little Bluie was confirmed today as missing! He was most likely bear-napped. The news totally devastated everybody. Here are the words from the bum:

“If anyone has seen Little Bluie, kindly inform me. We are all very worried. If you are the bear-napper, please return him to me. And please, please treat him nice and good for he is my flesh and blood.”

Anyone with any information on Little Bluie, the bear in the above photo, please email to whoapa@gmail.com

Local stamp man advised the bum to send his important mail next time under register. The risk of losing the mail is lower. Grandpa advised to use courier service.

Fatty.. Off to pray for the safety of Little Bluie..

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Another Pawpad Replacement Success

July 17, 2005 at 12:06 pm (Teddy Bears)

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Fatty News Bulletin

The inevitable had happened, 11 months before the predicted date. Around 1pm yesterday, Grandma discovered a hole on Cecilia’s old paw pad. The hole was large enough for a single pellet (stuffing) to go through. A plaster was immediately administered to plug the hole.

By 2pm, the bum decided to proceed with Operation Paw Pad Replacement (OPPR) without any further delay. It had taken 1 hour 30 minutes to disassemble the arm and remove the old paw pad, another 1 hour to retrim and protect the old mohair, 2 hours of intensive sewing and finally 1 hour of stuffing and sealing the openings. The operation finally ended at 2am and the bum was totally exhausted by then. The operation declared a success.

Right now, Cecilia is resting on the bed but complained of a loose joint. When the bum was questioned about the loose joint, he replied, “It is bound to happen.” (Yah, right!)

Fatty.. checking his sausage paws for holes..

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Mittens Under Construction

July 11, 2005 at 3:59 pm (Teddy Bears)

Yup Yup! After the regulation for mittens to be issued to the teddy bears in my household was passed, the first pair of mittens, which is for me, were under construction right now! As you can see from the photos below, the mittens were actually ready for use. But the bum liked the swallow-tailed moth so much that he wanted to have embroidered lyssa zampa sewed onto it, thereby delaying the issuing process.

However the wings of the first embroidered lyssa zampa ended in a failure. Right now, the bum is now considering out-sourcing the job to grandma who is much better at embroidery than he is. It seems that I have to wait some more.

Cecilia.. Wondering when she would get her mittens..

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First Interview

July 10, 2005 at 5:54 pm (Experience)

Finally! After 2 months of job searching, the lazy bum got his first interview! Judging from his looks when he got home, the interview did not went as well as he thought should be. When I asked him, he replied that there would be 35 percent of getting the job based on his analysis of the interview on his way home! (I wonder how he got his figures.)

He said he was not assertive enough, missing at least 6 chances of expressing his thoughts to impress the interviewer. To him, the interview became an one way information exchange, from the interviewer to the interviewee. He still need to improve his communicative skills I replied. Comment noted.

Overall he said he enjoyed the experience. He was not nervous but too quiet. He would give himself a 4.5 out of 10 for the interview. Hope he would be more successful on his next interview.

Cecilia.. Searching the classified for jobs in a spa.. I want to be a massager since I got my paws repaired..