Empire of Ivory - excerpt of the ending

Spoiler alert! Do not read this if you intend to read Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik.

"Napolean said that if I stayed, you might tell them so if you liked," Temeraire said, "and then they might spare you. But I said you would never say such a thing at all, so it was no use; and so you may stop trying to persuade me. I will never stay here, while they try to hang you."

Laurence bowed his head, and felt the justice of it; he did not think Temeraire ought to stay but only wished that he would, and be happy. "You will promise me not to stay forever in the breeding grounds," he said, low. "Not past the New Year, unless they let me visit you in the flesh." He was very certain they would execute him by Michaelmas.

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I thought this ending of the fourth book in the Temeraire series particularly moving. If I had not already read the fifth book, I would probably have cried.

Quiet Sunday afternoon

As I write this entry, I’m tremendously enjoying soaking up the quiet atmosphere surrounding this particular Sunday afternoon. There is no electricity at the moment; therefore it’s quieter than a normal Sunday afternoon would usually be. It seems like a fitting conclusion to an eventful weekend.

On Saturday, I had the futsal challenge against my colleagues from another branch office. We (the home team) were vastly outnumbered but we soldiered on. I was a bit apprehensive in the first game, so I didn’t do much except chase for the ball. During the second game, I saw how another female colleague of mine played and was duly inspired. It’s not that she played so much better (perhaps she did) but she was gutsier, she was not afraid of getting hit. I attempted to play fearlessly from then on and my game improved a bit. I enjoyed the game and felt a joy I had not felt in a while. It felt really good to be on the field again. The futsal court was nice as well, it was covered but it was open. The futsal courts I’ve been to were either covered (totally covered and thus had no ventilation) or open (like an open tennis court). The weather was cool since it had been raining the whole morning so I didn’t sweat as much.

Which turned out to be a good thing, because after the game I had to rush to my nephew’s birthday party. The cats and kittens had to be fed as well since it would be too late if I only fed them after the party. Thus I didn’t have time to shower and just quickly washed up a little and changed. I finally showered after dinner and slept early since I hadn’t a moment to rest since the game. The day was not over though.

At 1am, my sis called me saying there was a kitten emergency. Apparently a small kitten had managed to sneak into the compartment underneath her car and followed her home. She thought the kitten was stuck and asked me to help. I duly went down and the three of us (my bro-in-law included) brainstormed on how to get the kitten out. We didn’t want to leave it out since all the other cats around the house seemed really curious about the kitten and we weren’t sure they were not going to harm it. After about an hour plus, and after much coaxing by my bro-in-law and sis, the kitten still refused to come out. My sis was still on the ground trying to call the kitten and I told her we should probably leave a box with some food and go in. It was then, a miracle happened. The kitten slowly came out and started eating the trail of catfood we left for it. My sis kept very still as the kitten came out. Once the kitten was within reach, she quickly grabbed it. So that was the end to the night episode. We promptly put the kitten in the cat carrier and provided it with food, water and some towels (it was a cold night). We went to bed praying that the kitten would survive the night. Without a mother to warm her, the chances were very slim.

I woke up with trepidation the next morning. After prayers, I quickly went down to check on the kitten. She was alive! I heaved a huge sigh of relief. During breakfast, I explained to my parents what happened. Around 11am, my sis and I brought the kitten to the vet. The vet told us she needed to be de-fleaed and de-wormed. Yes, it’s a she. She’s around two months old and weighs 500 gram. Apart from the fleas and worms, she’s perfectly healthy. The vet also said that she can be fed solid food. This is of particular relief to my sis and I because we thought we had to give the kitten formula milk every four hours! Oh and we named her Max :)

Poetry and prose

"You know time always does stand still in an enchanted palace," Anne said seriously. "It is only when the prince comes that things begin to happen."

Mr Irving smiled a little sadly into her up lifted face, all astar with its youth and promise.

"Sometimes, the prince comes too late," he said. He did not ask Anne to translate her remark into prose. Like all kindred spirit, he "understood".

"Oh no, not if he is the real prince coming to the true princess," said Anne, shaking her red head decidedly, as she opened the parlour door.

....

"No, I can't understand that," said Charlotta. A wedding ain't poetry. Why, Miss Shirley, ma'am, you're crying! What for?"

"Oh, because it's all so beautiful ... and story-bookish ...and romantic ... and sad," said Anne, winking the tears out of her eyes. "It's all perfectly lovely ... but there's a little sadness mixed up in it too, somehow."

"Ah, of course there's a resk in marrying anybody," conceded Charlotta the Fourth, "but, when all's said and done, Miss Shirley, ma'am, there's many a worse thing than a husband."

- Excerpt from Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maude Montgomery.

I've watched the 1985 movie Anne of Green Gables and the sequel but never really read the book besides the first one. I've just finished Anne of Avonlea, which is the second book in the series. There's a great many elements that are not in the movie, including the touching reunion between Miss Lavendar and her old beau, Mr Irving. Which is great, of course. There's no point in reading the book if everything is the same as it was in the movie. Now I need to find the other books in the series.

Like a fairytale...

This is a picture of Castle Coch, a 19th century gothic castle in Tongwynlais, near Cardiff, UK. Doesn't it just look like it came out of a fairytale?

Picture source: The Telegraph.

Work from home?

There’s not a definitive answer on where telecommuting works best, and where it doesn’t. Anyone working at home knows that perils lurk around every corner: a sink full of dirty dishes, insistent pets, interrupting children, and the lure of distractions are everywhere. But--in different ways--these are plentiful at work too. Engineering your environment at home can eliminate many of these perils. At least one Stanford study in China found working from home increased performance by 13%, and cut attrition by 50%.

- Excerpt from Fast Company article, Want To Work From Home? Calculate How Much You’ll Save Your Company And Yourself.

I'd love to work from home but I have a feeling "insistent pets" would be one of my main challenges. It's hard enough practicing piano with Cookies constantly meowing from outside with a sad, pitiful look -__-;;