Tuesday, September 26, 2006
It's a keeper
This is the story of a girl who was born as the perfect donor match for her leukaemia-stricken sister. She wonders what life would be like if it weren't tied to her sister's. At 13, Anna makes the decision to sue her parents over the rights to her own body...
This is the book of the month. Heck. It’s the book of the year! After weeks of intense tear-jerking action, I finally finished it. And it would have been an ultimate insult to Jodi Picoult if I don't give her due credit for such a brilliant book. Simply incredible. Wow.
The plot is well crafted, complete with ethical & moral issues that some of us would never ever encounter in our lives. Yet at the same time, these characters are so real that you will find yourself asking the same questions that they asked, and getting stuck at the same dilemmas that they are in. This is one of those books that you'll want to read again and again. Highly recommended.
I leave you with some paragraphs from the book:
'Get lost,' I said.
'F*** off,' Kate smiled at me. Then she reached one free hand under my arm and tickled me, taking me by surprise so much that I let go of her. A minute later we had wrestled off the bed, each of us trying to get the other to cry uncle. 'Anna, stop already,' Kate gasped. 'You're killing me.'
Those words, they were all it took. My hands fell of her as if I'd been burned. We lay shoulder between our beds, staring up at the ceiling and breathing hard, both of us pretending that what she'd said had not cut quite so close to the bone...
P.S - Thanks Jac, Lyn, Aaron, Matt, Rachael!
Posted by Jo at 10:24 PM
Saturday, September 23, 2006
A weekend in Santa Cruz
Posted by Jo at 11:07 AM
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
C is for cyber
This time is dedicated to doing my long-drawn assignment. Instead, I find myself straying from the pale white document of words into the C-land where I get lost in transit. From the emails, to the free download sites, to friends' blogs. I finally laid eyes on one of my favourite C-hangout spots - Mraz - which explains my sudden urge to be here, typing on unreserved time. He never fails to put me in a blog-a-licious mood, and for that, I thank him.I have been wanting to talk about the passing of a great aussie icon, the 5th anniversary of a terrorist attack, and the soon-to-be crowned idol of S'pore. Obviously, I had neither the time, nor the inspiration. Ok, mainly (the lack of) inspiration, since I am here, despite having an assignment to finish.
Hence, in a nutshell...so that I wouldn't look back 5 years later to realise that I didn't record my thoughts and feel terribly regretful of my actions:
- Crikey! I spent at least 30% of my Sunday watching the marathon of Steve Irwin documentaries on Animal Planet. It was then that it finally struck me, how he is gone forever, and all we have left of him are tape-loads of strong aussie-accented recordings of how he jumped on crocs and educated us about the conversation of wildlife. Sigh...RIP Steve. You will be missed.
- 9/11 is becoming such a household catch phrase. I don't think that's a good thing. I don't actually have much to say, except that it has been 5 years. That's long. And sadly, the supposed "war against terror" seems far from over.
- Jon Leong is so 'acquired taste'. I never took much notice of him until the week he sang 'Unforgettable'. No pun intended, but that's when I started remembering him. I'll be rooting for him. I certainly hope my track record of bad luck (whenever I support someone, the person loses) will not result in him being booted out of the competition tomorrow night. Hmmm. Maybe I should support Jasmine...
Ok, back to my blerdy never-ending annoying long-drawn assignment.
In any case, this has been very therapeutic. Good night...
Posted by Jo at 11:11 PM
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Stupefied
"Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?" - James 2:5How could I possibly stay angry with a Man who never fails to make His presence felt? I can't.
Posted by Jo at 11:49 PM
Thursday, September 07, 2006
When there are holes in the pocket
Some people are born with a sliver spoon in their mouth. Unfortunately, I don't happen to be one of them. The past few days, I have been bogged down by the thought of money. It's a terrible predicament to be in, and honestly, I don't know how to get out of it. A part of me hopes for a kind soul to come by and drop some money into my bank account. But realistically, what are the chances...It disgusts me, the fact that the rich gets richer most of the time, and the poor, as usual, are stuck in the manhole which they may not have necessarily dug for themselves. Every day at work, I face doctors who live their lives with no worries, except whether they can multiply the riches they already have. Leading the high life is like part-of-nature for them, but I wonder if they're aware that there are others around who are struggling to lead a less-than-simple life.
My mum celebrated her birthday last Sunday, and like all birthday celebrations in the family, she picked out numbers for 4D. The number she drew was 7731. In the lottery ticket that I bought, as long as any of the combination comes out, I would have won something. Yesterday, the top prize for the 4D results was 1734. In the starters, there were 7141 and 3137. In the consolations, there was 1397. And hence, I didn't win anything. And for the first time in a long time, I felt a sudden surge of resentment for the Man whom, less than a week ago, I felt so close to. "This must be some sort of twisted joke," I thought to myself, and it's true, because I don't understand His love. I don't understand how He can be so unfair. I'm not asking for excessive riches. I'm only asking for enough to get by.
And you know, the thing that bothers me even more is something which my linguistics lecturer said - "The world is no longer driven by politics. It is driven by economics." Like hello, even in my English lesson, I'm not spared the harsh realities of life.
What am I going to do?...sigh.
