550. CANON IXUS 850IS - GALLERY 3
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
549. Back to normal sedated life?
Well, Ando san has returned to the Land of the Rising Sun yesterday, so it's time I returned to dreamland. All of us lack sleep for the past few days. 'Twas a busy week.
Spent yesterday catching up on my sleep. However, after dinner, managed to watch "One Night in Mongkok" starring Daniel Wu and Cecilia Cheung. Pretty entertaining. Lai Fu (Daniel Wu) is a hired gun while Dan Dan (Cecilia) is a prostitute from mainland China, both trying to make a living in HK. Bla bla bla, he's involved in some elaborate double cross scheme, police hot on his trail, saves the damsel in distress, shoot out with cops, showdown with bad guys, falls in love with damsel, more shoot out with cops & even more clichés than you can shake a stick at.
Back to lala land................
Well, Ando san has returned to the Land of the Rising Sun yesterday, so it's time I returned to dreamland. All of us lack sleep for the past few days. 'Twas a busy week.
Spent yesterday catching up on my sleep. However, after dinner, managed to watch "One Night in Mongkok" starring Daniel Wu and Cecilia Cheung. Pretty entertaining. Lai Fu (Daniel Wu) is a hired gun while Dan Dan (Cecilia) is a prostitute from mainland China, both trying to make a living in HK. Bla bla bla, he's involved in some elaborate double cross scheme, police hot on his trail, saves the damsel in distress, shoot out with cops, showdown with bad guys, falls in love with damsel, more shoot out with cops & even more clichés than you can shake a stick at.
Back to lala land................
Thursday, July 26, 2007
547. Dating a Younger Woman
Now that I have your attention, actually, that was the title of an article featured on MSN's website today (July 26th, 2007). Here's the full article.
Dating a Younger Woman
By Michael Kramer
Have you ever seen an older man dating a much younger woman and thought to yourself, “Oh, yeah. I know why they’re together”?
Well, maybe you don’t. Because I thought I knew, too—until I became one of those older men.
Katie and I met last year, when I was 41 and she was… here goes: 22. As in, one year over the legal drinking age. Contrary to the jokes my friends made, I did not meet Katie while I was buying Girl Scout cookies or waiting outside a junior high. Katie and my friend Joel are co-workers, and we met at one of his parties. We hit it off right away.
Obviously, there was an age gap, but at first, neither of us realized how much. Thankfully, it’s still considered rude to ask someone’s age when you first meet them. (The older I get, the more I appreciate that bit of social etiquette.)
Now, before you dismiss me as some old geezer trying to rationalize dating someone nearly half his age, let me just add that she asked me out. And, as luck would have it, I have this little policy that when fun, attractive women ask me out, I say yes.
What other people were saying about us…
The second we began dating, though, my friends started in with the jokes. They ranged from mild teasing (“Is she impressed that you have a car?” and “Are you sure she’s not just using you to buy her alcohol?” and “Which is her favorite Teletubby?”) to outright hostility (“What the @#?!&$ are you doing?!”).
The best was when they’d run the numbers. “When you were her age, she was in diapers!” and “Do you realize you’re closer in age to her mother than you are to her?” and “When she’s your age, you’ll be 61!” But despite what my friends were saying, Katie’s friends were saying worse. They had reduced her to a gold-digger and me to a drooling, aged sugar daddy. I repeatedly dismissed their comments, believing instead that given my genuine connection with Katie, our age difference didn’t really matter.
The difference a yearbook made
Until, that is, Katie showed me her high-school yearbook… from 2002! Her yearbook is dedicated to the victims of 9/11. (Did I mention she graduated in 2002?!) It was the first time I had ever looked through a yearbook and couldn’t mock the hair and clothes as being out of date.
In my high school yearbook, kids are wearing shirts from REO Speedwagon and the J. Geils Band concerts. Katie’s classmates are wearing shirts that said Eminem and The White Stripes. It made me wonder whether everyone was right and I did have issues. Was I going through a midlife crisis? Was it true that all men have creepy fantasies about dating women half their age?
“Am I having a midlife crisis?”
But the more I thought about it, the more I felt sure that age wasn’t a factor in my dating choices. I mean, it’s not like I have a pattern of dating much younger women. My previous girlfriends were all around my age.
It turns out Katie had been wracking her brain, too, trying to figure out whether she had daddy issues. But prior to me, she had only dated guys within her age range. Ultimately, we came to realize that what people were saying revealed more about them than about us. Our relationship had become a Rorschach test of their own prejudices and insecurities—and of our culture’s preconceptions about what my mom politely refers to as “May-December romances.”
The truth is, the older I get, the more shocked I am to be my age. It’s as though time kept moving forward, and I simply didn’t notice. When I hear an oldies station play “Start Me Up,” to me, that’s a new Rolling Stones’ song. But in other ways, I feel far surer of myself than I did at 21. And if age has taught me anything, it’s that life is too short to miss the opportunity of being with someone you like just because society makes assumptions about your relationship.
After six months of dating, Katie and I split up. While I’ll admit that age did play a part — some lack of compatibility had to do with being at different stages in our lives — it was less of a factor than the issues similar-aged couples face, like differences in personalities and religion. In the end, unlike the salacious explanations our friends gave, we started dating for the right reasons and ultimately broke up for the right reasons.
So the next time you see an older man with a younger woman or an older woman with a younger man walking by on the street and you’re trying to figure out why they’re together, remember: They might actually just like each other. (Or, of course, he might actually be her dad.)
Michael Kramer is an Emmy-nominated writer in Los Angeles.
Now that I have your attention, actually, that was the title of an article featured on MSN's website today (July 26th, 2007). Here's the full article.
Dating a Younger Woman
By Michael Kramer
Have you ever seen an older man dating a much younger woman and thought to yourself, “Oh, yeah. I know why they’re together”?
Well, maybe you don’t. Because I thought I knew, too—until I became one of those older men.
Katie and I met last year, when I was 41 and she was… here goes: 22. As in, one year over the legal drinking age. Contrary to the jokes my friends made, I did not meet Katie while I was buying Girl Scout cookies or waiting outside a junior high. Katie and my friend Joel are co-workers, and we met at one of his parties. We hit it off right away.
Obviously, there was an age gap, but at first, neither of us realized how much. Thankfully, it’s still considered rude to ask someone’s age when you first meet them. (The older I get, the more I appreciate that bit of social etiquette.)
Now, before you dismiss me as some old geezer trying to rationalize dating someone nearly half his age, let me just add that she asked me out. And, as luck would have it, I have this little policy that when fun, attractive women ask me out, I say yes.
What other people were saying about us…
The second we began dating, though, my friends started in with the jokes. They ranged from mild teasing (“Is she impressed that you have a car?” and “Are you sure she’s not just using you to buy her alcohol?” and “Which is her favorite Teletubby?”) to outright hostility (“What the @#?!&$ are you doing?!”).
The best was when they’d run the numbers. “When you were her age, she was in diapers!” and “Do you realize you’re closer in age to her mother than you are to her?” and “When she’s your age, you’ll be 61!” But despite what my friends were saying, Katie’s friends were saying worse. They had reduced her to a gold-digger and me to a drooling, aged sugar daddy. I repeatedly dismissed their comments, believing instead that given my genuine connection with Katie, our age difference didn’t really matter.
The difference a yearbook made
Until, that is, Katie showed me her high-school yearbook… from 2002! Her yearbook is dedicated to the victims of 9/11. (Did I mention she graduated in 2002?!) It was the first time I had ever looked through a yearbook and couldn’t mock the hair and clothes as being out of date.
In my high school yearbook, kids are wearing shirts from REO Speedwagon and the J. Geils Band concerts. Katie’s classmates are wearing shirts that said Eminem and The White Stripes. It made me wonder whether everyone was right and I did have issues. Was I going through a midlife crisis? Was it true that all men have creepy fantasies about dating women half their age?
“Am I having a midlife crisis?”
But the more I thought about it, the more I felt sure that age wasn’t a factor in my dating choices. I mean, it’s not like I have a pattern of dating much younger women. My previous girlfriends were all around my age.
It turns out Katie had been wracking her brain, too, trying to figure out whether she had daddy issues. But prior to me, she had only dated guys within her age range. Ultimately, we came to realize that what people were saying revealed more about them than about us. Our relationship had become a Rorschach test of their own prejudices and insecurities—and of our culture’s preconceptions about what my mom politely refers to as “May-December romances.”
The truth is, the older I get, the more shocked I am to be my age. It’s as though time kept moving forward, and I simply didn’t notice. When I hear an oldies station play “Start Me Up,” to me, that’s a new Rolling Stones’ song. But in other ways, I feel far surer of myself than I did at 21. And if age has taught me anything, it’s that life is too short to miss the opportunity of being with someone you like just because society makes assumptions about your relationship.
After six months of dating, Katie and I split up. While I’ll admit that age did play a part — some lack of compatibility had to do with being at different stages in our lives — it was less of a factor than the issues similar-aged couples face, like differences in personalities and religion. In the end, unlike the salacious explanations our friends gave, we started dating for the right reasons and ultimately broke up for the right reasons.
So the next time you see an older man with a younger woman or an older woman with a younger man walking by on the street and you’re trying to figure out why they’re together, remember: They might actually just like each other. (Or, of course, he might actually be her dad.)
Michael Kramer is an Emmy-nominated writer in Los Angeles.
___________________________
My Random Thots:
Well, I have to agree with the writer when he said, "life is too short to miss the opportunity of being with someone you like just because society makes assumptions about your relationship.
..........But despite what my friends were saying, Katie’s friends were saying worse. They had reduced her to a gold-digger and me to a drooling, aged sugar daddy.
..........The truth is, the older I get, the more shocked I am to be my age. It’s as though time kept moving forward, and I simply didn’t notice. When I hear an oldies station play "Start Me Up," to me, that’s a new Rolling Stones’ song. But in other ways, I feel far surer of myself than I did at 21."
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
546. Another Eventful Week
Ando san is back in town since last week. It's always a pleasure to "hang out" with the guy. Despite the language barrier, it's always fun & enlightening when conversing with him.
Anyway, the week is still spent catching up with work and such.
Ando san is back in town since last week. It's always a pleasure to "hang out" with the guy. Despite the language barrier, it's always fun & enlightening when conversing with him.
Anyway, the week is still spent catching up with work and such.
Northern Garage, where we hang out
Jack speeding on the Dyno managing only 10 km/h
Notice the bat "hanging out" on the car?
Also managed some time to take a few shots of some models by Queensbay Mall with the guys.
Took Ando san around town a bit & also to Batu Ferringhi to grab some DVDs and also he wanted to get some wallet and handbags. I myself bought quite a bit of DVDs. 24hrs seasons 4, 5 & 6 and then there's TMNT, An Inconvenient Truth, Spiderman 3, Fantastic 4 - Rise of the Silver Surfer, Music & Lyrics, 300 & Transformers. :)
Many interesting things happened this week :)
Took Ando san around town a bit & also to Batu Ferringhi to grab some DVDs and also he wanted to get some wallet and handbags. I myself bought quite a bit of DVDs. 24hrs seasons 4, 5 & 6 and then there's TMNT, An Inconvenient Truth, Spiderman 3, Fantastic 4 - Rise of the Silver Surfer, Music & Lyrics, 300 & Transformers. :)
Many interesting things happened this week :)
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
545. More movies
Managed to watch Transformers again, I gotta say, it's better the 2nd time round. Also watched The Holiday & Man of the Year in the course of the week. Both are entertaining. Now to finish the rest of the DVDs I have stashed in the corner.
Bought a bluetooth adapter for my notebook coz I lost my cable to sync my phone to the notebook. It's amazing how small & thin the adaptor is. :)
Managed to watch Transformers again, I gotta say, it's better the 2nd time round. Also watched The Holiday & Man of the Year in the course of the week. Both are entertaining. Now to finish the rest of the DVDs I have stashed in the corner.
Bought a bluetooth adapter for my notebook coz I lost my cable to sync my phone to the notebook. It's amazing how small & thin the adaptor is. :)
