Lost in Austen

I absolutely enjoyed this show! I have misgivings though in that I think there are missing scenes - story line seems disjointed. Still get the gist of it all. Darcy is such an arrogant upstart, yet you see his vulnerability. Its hillarious how the storyline is so skewed from the original! BUT she gets her Mr.Darcy! *sigh* He's soo amazing. Yes my favourite scene IS the wet-shirt scene because its so darn funny! Enjoy as I did!

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Mum-In-Chief, Michelle Robinson-Obama

This accomplished and articulate lady from the middle/working class of America, has caught my attention. I may not be American, nor have any ties with the grand country but I am proud of Michelle and what she represents, first a wife and a mom, then the First Lady. In Woman's Day article, she says..

"It is always my focus to make sure that I'm doing my job as a mom. Barack and I both, no matter what's going on, we're always measuring our progress by how our kids are doing. If they're happy and they're feeling confident and loved, and they're doing well in shcool and they have friends, then I feel whatever else is happening it doesn't really matter. As a mom I'm always wondering, 'Am I doing everything I can do?' So I think that's always a challenge"

The commitment of Barack and Michelle is astounding! "Barack and I haven't missed a parent-teacher conference throughout this whole process [presidential campaign]"

Despite their newfound status, Michelle is determined that Malia (10) and Sasha (7) live "normal" lives. During her first visit to the White House, she warned staff not to do chores, explaining that the girls will have to tidy their rooms and make their beds. And its seems the girls have their feet firmly planted on the ground.

"How many kids really care about what their parents do for a living?" says Michelle. "When they come home it's 'Lemme show you want I drew'. My kids are still wonderfully self centred. And as a result, what Dad does is neat, and they think Dad'll be a great president."

I've read somewhere that the puppy is coming to the White House in April. Awwww....

Michelle, you go girl!

You Pierce My Soul....

I came across this picture and fell in love with it! It is the letter Captain Wentworth wrote to Anne Elliot in Persuasion (easily another one of my favourite, after P&P of course).

"I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own, than when you almost broke it eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone I think and plan. - Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? - I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice, when they would be lost on others. - Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating in F.W. I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look will be enough to decide whether I enter your father's house this evening or never."

Although the movie Persuasion95 is more faithful to the novel and Ciaran Hinds reads the FULL letter, Rupert Penry Jones in Persuasion 08 (pictured) is more dashing as Captain Wentworth! Although I've seen P95/P08 more than I wish to divulge, the best bit is when Anne finds the letter! Upon receiving/finding the letter, Anne hurriedly looks for Captain Wentworth thinking he's gone far, only to find him still close by! *sigh* In the P08, Anne runs through Bath, in search of him. Initially I was appalled! I thought, "NO! The real Anne wouldn't do this!". But seriously for Rupert "Captain Wentworth" Penry-Jones, I WOULDN'T do any different!

I remember reading the letter to Mr. Darcy once; with the blank look on his face, I knew instantly it's escaped him! Yup, that's why he's Mr.Darcy!

Friday

Another week's gone by at home-soil. To begin with Mom left earlier in the week to harvest her rice. With much trepidation Dad will be joining her soon; again they had another tiff. Sometimes I wonder at these folks. I often ask Mr. Darcy if we'll up like that. He assures me most confidently, "No, we don't have to"...

We spent the day sorting out business matters and now just knackered from all that travelling! I think the Kids had fun; they got a chance to meet up with the cousins again, albeit briefly. Got home very late afternoon, just in time for the boys to help Dad fix the poolside fence. In no time, the Kids jumped into the pool with M singing cheerily whilst squirting water at the fence-mending boys. I can hear Mr.Darcy admonishing her from time to time as their tools were getting quite wet! I, prepared dinner of our staple steamed-fish plus other dishes, magically concocted from dried up vegies in the fridge! The "Tuhau" and "Bambangan" Mr. Darcy bought from the road-side stall earlier, made dinner extra scrumptious; not that my dishes weren't already scrumptious!

Now in the quietness of the evening, I reflect on an MSN chat I just had with a friend. I had inquired how business was in her neck of the woods, to which she tells me is bleak and not looking at improving anytime soon. I felt for her and her staff, who were once my colleague. These girls were taking a 10% wage cut and an imminent layoff of ONE staff if things were not looking up in the next 3 months - they are to choose among themselves WHO is to go! The horrors of an economic downturn. You read about it, you see it happen on the news, its a hot topic at conversations, many lose sleep over it and it affects lives, many lives.

I cannot know for myself how that feels. I cannot say I understand because I am not, or rather, no longer in the same boat. As far as they are concerned, I have taken off on a cruiseliner! true. I feel spared from the turmoils and heartaches of the economic downturn;I am none the wiser for which, I am trully thankful...

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