text:
Category: Love
nour·ish: (nûrsh, nr-)
I stood willingly and gladly in the characters of everything – other people, trees, clouds. And this is what I learned, that the world's otherness is antidote to confusion – that standing within this otherness – the beauty and the mystery of the world, out in the fields or deep inside books – can re-dignify the worst-stung heart.
~Mary Oliver
Hhhmm, I see a pattern here. I really need to stop overanalyzing these posts before I even write them. Ah, there you go. First goal for 2014. Don't think, just write.
Because …
I have been thinking about this post for weeks. I'm not kidding. Weeks. The different parts have been swirling in my head for some time now but I guess there were too many books to read, feelings to deal with, a mind to put to rest, people to see, gifts to buy, stories to hear, and an emotional corner to reach and turn before I could sit down and write. I also think it has something to do with wanting to do things differently at the tail end of this year. Because 2012's last two ber months were a blur. By the end of 2012, I could no longer remember where I ended and began and I felt like I didn't have the time and/or had lost all inclination to reflect, to take stock of the year that went, to think about where I was, what I was grateful for, who I was quickly falling in love with. You know, things normal people do. I mean I was really happy for so many reasons but I had also reached the dip of the expat cycle. The honeymoon stage was over and I didn't know it. When January 1, 2013 hit, I was unhinged, disorientated and wordless. I remember writing to my close friends in Singapore that first day of last year looking for a way to feel the ground underneath my feet.
I swore I would never do that to myself again.
I also remember, spending the last hours of December 31, 2012 in the middle of Romanceville, polishing a piece I had been working on with my Grade 7 kids, desperately scribbling, typing, revising and editing this poem. Anything to avoid the profound loneliness I felt just a few weeks into my new relationship. As usual, my spirit was filled with impatience, restlessness and contradictions. I thought I was in love. But I had doubts. I thought I met someone worth the time and energy but some things didn't add up. I told myself over and over, I could make what we had right/work/last if I tried hard enough and ended with the thought, What? Not here again? Damn it, Pau! I thought I recognized him & didn't know until later that I had recognized someone else. I swore I would never move or fall that fast again. Even if my heart healed a long time ago. Even if he made me really happy for awhile.
Anyway, as much as I have been thinking, I have also been writing bits and pieces of this post for days. In different coffeehouses, park benches, airports and living rooms. Wrote drafts and parts in a new Moleskine notebook I bought to serve as my writing journal for the coming year. I really wanted to pay attention. Choose the right words. And not share them until they were ready. Until my heart was ready. Until I had my word for 2014. Until I knew exactly what I thought of the year that came and went. I didn't want to feel lost again when the new year arrived. I watched the days of winter break pass me by as I read and rested, hung out with my family, and observed and took pictures instead of blogged. Four books, pages and pages of redundant notes and drawings in my new notebook, a sleepless week, decisions and a brain crammed with emotional stuff later, what I intended to be my last post of 2013, has turned into my first one for 2014. I thought I was too late and then way too early, now I know this post arrived just in time. Here goes …
Before I officially welcome 2014, let me say a proper farewell to a year that wiggled its way into my heart. Thank you, 2013 (and Haikudeck). Here's to you and the 13* things that have made you some kind of wonderful
(* implicitly includes God and my immediate family, of course #justsayin).
I started biking to and from work for many reasons. One was to make sure I was moving more and incorporating some kind of workout into my day without needing to carve extra time or creating more obstacles to not be more active. Another was I needed to change my morning routine. It reminded me too much of a time when I was really happy and because I didn't have that routine anymore, it made me sad to carry on status quo. So a girlfriend and I bought ourselves hybrids, practiced and figured out our routes to and from school, lugged a set of clothes, toiletries and groceries the Monday we were ready and started a new habit that we are still committed to today. Biking has forced me to sleep earlier, travel lighter, eat and feel better, find more quiet time and leave school earlier. It's one decision we made in 2013 that has made a huge difference in my health, well-being and peace of mind.
I love music but I am not like a crazy fan of anyone or any genre really. So many of my closest friends, including my brother, are like music aficionados, complete with blog post series on bands, concert tickets, old CDs or albums and different playlists they searched for and listened to over and over again. It defines milestones for them, says something about who they are and what they are going/been through and I love that and admire them for it. But I don't think I have that gene. It's like a relationship I only understand when I think of my love for books or photography or poetry. Or when I think of films and possible songs that will make up a soundtrack filling the air as the establishing shot begins. Anyway, for many reasons, finding Spotify this year has been life giving. Playing music all the time has changed my spaces. My classroom, my home, my commutes and plane rides have all been different. I hardly listen to the old tunes in my iTunes library anymore (which I ripped from my brother, pretty much) and am slowly developing my own muscle for music. I love having access to different types of sounds and discovering what I actually like, what defines me and the best part, sharing playlists with favorite people. I am still no music expert on any single band but I do love walking around with my headphones on curating different soundtracks for different scenes that actually happen to sh*t that's just playing in my head.
It's been a rich year for traveling, 2013 So I am grateful for that too. I went home to Manila four times. Went to Thailand thrice, then Perth, Sibu and Cambodia for different student trips. I also got to visit Kuala Lumpur and HongKong to be with close friends and New York twice to spend time with my sister. What I rediscovered this year is my love cities. Everything about them makes me swoon. From the diversity, the lights, the culture, the pace and its pulse – I miss the ocean and the mountains but this year was a year for city love.
This actually deserves its own blog entry but in a nutshell, one of ultimate highlights of 2013 for me was anticipating the arrival of my sister's first son, Caleb. It was a treat to have been able to spend time with her during her third trimester in my favorite city on the planet, New York and to be able to go back and MEET and spend time with Caleb AND turn 40 in New York City was like the best birthday gift ever…because of this I will never forget you, 2013.
Which brings me here. This also deserves its own blog entry but right now this is what I have to say about leaving my thirties behind.
Yup. This is what it looks like. Me at 40. Right here. Right now. And guess what, it's pretty darn awesome. I know a little more…more of what really matters anyway. I also understand that I still don't really know much and yup, that's totally okay. I am independent, fulfilled, free and hopeful. I love what I do everyday and am surrounded by amazing people. I live in a beautiful country not too far from my family and can rush to my sister in NYC if she ever needed me. I do wonder what's next but most days, I take it all in, humbled by the open doors and enjoying the freedom that's in front of me. At 40, I've never felt more grown up but I've also never felt so young and ready for anything. Does that make sense? There's so much out there to still learn and embrace and love; and letting go? That becomes easier because I have also become wiser.
You can read my post on it here. One word – EPIC.
My love affair with images and words continues. Music, art, photography, books and writing our own verses and entries- they always, always save the day. Again, let me use Mary Oliver's words – because this is what photography and words help me do.
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Don't laugh. I know. I should have put something more profound um, but I didn't and I won't apologize for it today. Because I love that fashion is like art too in many ways. I know it's a problematic industry and looks like it shouldn't be celebrated any more than it needs to be but it feels good sometimes to put something together and let it say something about design and style.
Anyway, I think 2013 would have been treacherous without the love and company of my girlfriends, both old and new. They have become my family away from my family.
Seriously, you know who you are.
From saving me from myself to catching me when I fall to trusting me with your own secrets, joys and pain, I love you all. Thank you for always being there.
Heartbreak is only hard while it's happening, I guess. In the end, because you survive it and come out stronger, it's all good. You learn from the crappy bits, remember the good stuff, feel grateful and forgive (and hopefully feel forgiven) and just want what's healthiest for you and your old partner. All the rest, you get to just throw away because it doesn't serve you. That's what I did, anyway.
Best part is, I don't regret, not even for a minute, putting myself out there with my hopeful heart on my tattooed sleeve. I don't regret loving fiercely and trusting completely. Can I protect my heart better, sure. But I also know that I have learned to leave when I know it no longer feels right for me. I didn't settle or hang around like I was 23 or 28 or 35. I left like a wise
R 39 year old and didn't waste any more time than I needed to.
Ah, I guess, I already have three other posts on the back burner because this too deserves its own entry. Ideologically and literally, embracing the sadness is really so much better when you have a tribe to do it with. Sadness comes in different ways, at different times and to carve time today to talk about it and say, 'I love and accept you whether I get it or not', has been priceless. Who says you can't make new real friends as you grow older? It's just not true. So to my old Twitter/now new IRL friends who I love, respect and admire to pieces, thank you for making 2013 special. You know who you are.
Did I say three extra blog posts? I actually meant four. I wish I could say more about this but I think I will be composing this particular post for awhile. Let's just say that in the end, 2013's finish line has been all about this. Receiving and accepting it actually more than my extending it. I take none of it for granted. I am still humbled by it today. Thank you.
Lastly, my second year at UWCSEA-East is coming to a close and my gosh all the learning can't measure up against a trip around the world and back. Twice! Everyday, I continue to learn something new, consolidating ideas and collaborating with some of the most inspiring, open minded educators on the planet. I am happy to say that I have signed on for two more years and feel like there is no place I'd rather be except where I am right now in my career. My heart is full of love for my place of work, this UWCSEA and Singapore family and I am grateful everyday for all the open doors.
And for all the second chances, 2013…thank you.
Here's a little something from Google Zeitgeist, 2013 to end this farewell…
And to the new year, a poem, 'To the New Year' by WS Merwin. Nice to meet you, 2014. I love you already.
To the New Year
With what stillness at last
you appear in the valley
your first sunlight reaching down
to touch the tips of a few
high leaves that do not stir
as though they had not noticed
and did not know you at all
then the voice of a dove calls
from far away in itself
to the hush of the morning
so this is the sound of you
here and now whether or not
anyone hears it this is
where we have come with our age
our knowledge such as it is
and our hopes such as they are
invisible before us
untouched and still possible
Anyway, my word for 2013 was love but now that I think (and have written) about it, should have been rediscovery which would have been a nice segue from my 2012 word for that year … which was discovery. Not that it wasn't at all about love because it always is, right?
My word for this year is NOURISH, which includes rest, save, balance, read, write and paying attention to what needs replenishment and love. I want to sustain what's already positive and life-giving while allowing other parts of this amazing life to grow. I also want to be more giving and be more generous to others so my relationships and people around me are nourished too. Because I'm convinced that nourishing others will most definitely nourish my soul.
I have been working on a a set of goals/plans and projects that I have outlined in my Moleskine journal and when it's ready, I will share it. Just needs to percolate a little bit more. But this recent article on HuffPost Books is the basic framework for most of my plans this 2014 with a special mention of my friend's New York Times article, Chris H, which inspired me to no end. I hope to someday write with the same heart and conviction but with my voice. Thank you, Chris.
One thing I did start the year with is a Facebook/Instagram fast. People who know me well will know exactly why (and think it's silly because they completely understand and accept my documenter gene). If not, my #embracethesadness tribe and I will surely have a lengthy conversation about it. I love Instagram but I need some time away from it to discern what's next with that space. It might change after this fast or it might stay the same but I want to take a step back and reflect on what it has become and what it can be more of. As for fasting from Facebook – it's just detox from an addiction that needs to be curbed. I am a social media cliche, I know. A post on how it's going or how it went coming soon. In the meantime, I hope to breathe life into this space and this one too.
So, what's your word for the year? How do you plan to live 2014 by it? and what was the first thing you did today to mark a new beginning? Drop me a line below to let me know.
And with that, thanks so much for passing by and reaching the end of my massive post. I really appreciate it. Happy New Year! 🙂
grateful slice: Yearly roundups, reflections and new beginnings
Learning 2.013 State of Mind: A CrossPost
"The trick to having good ideas is not to sit around in glorious isolation and try to think big thoughts. The trick is to get more parts on the table."
– Steve Johnson, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation
|Bullet points
|MoonShot Thinking
|Learning Spaces
|A Friday Moonshot
Giving it another shot now four days in, I realise that I just needed to rest, spend time with my nephew and gain some distance from this recent peak experience that has been Learning 2.013 held at our school in Singapore. I needed to let the gushing subside so I can be sober in writing about the things I'd learned sans the melodrama. I mean, when something catches you off guard, touches your life in a very deep way, leaves you different and overwhelmed with gratitude (there must be a word for that, if not I need to invent one) – that deserves some space and time. To let things sink in, right? So, yeah.
Third, I am glad I paid attention. Said thank you as often as I could. Took it all in no matter how surreal. Sitting with some of the best, most innovative, progressive minds in education has been a real treat. I didn't take a moment of it for granted. I remember entering the Think Tank in the library the day before the pre-conference feeling giddy and excited but I had NO idea how amazing it would feel being in that room, listening to everyone share, collaborate, create and critique. I feel honoured to be part of this amazing community. Really. I must have done something right to have earned this privilege to commune with the Learning 2.0 family.
|Post Conference Meet Up
Fourth, trust begets trust. More than the resources on a page on my blog, the questions my participants asked and the wealth of knowledge, experience and insight they brought with them needed to have many opportunities to emerge. I really believe that empowering teachers and letting them see what already exists within them to make something work is more powerful than just presenting pedagogy. Also, all hell broke loose with the internet connection during my first session yet everyone took it all in stride, was totally chill and rose to the occasion. After feeling a little panicked at the situation and looking at how I was the most frustrated person in the room, I made a quick decision to just let it go and trust that WE would make it work. I realised very quickly that I wasn't in it, alone in that room. I let the trust instead of the panic dictate how the session was going to go and that made all the difference. Because man, the degree of commitment, passion and integrity was awe inspiring and again, I felt lucky to have had an opportunity to share something I am passionate about and to be in a room filled with people who wanted the same thing — to talk about how we can make our learning spaces more vibrant, engaging, dynamic and authentic for our students. The conversations saved the day regardless of the technology and at the heart of the success of the workshops were the participants.
|Second Session FTW!
Finally, freaked out by it all? Share anyway. You never know who will be moved by something you've shared. Even if it sounds silly or useless or obvious to you, bite the bullet and just share because … watch this.
Obvious to you. Amazing to others. from Derek Sivers on Vimeo.
|Part of the story now
Check out the original post here.
Right. It's been awhile, I know. :p Boo on so many levels.
But I've been busy. Busy with my heart. Busy getting back on track. Busy forgiving. Busy paying attention. Busy planning, moving, settling in, teaching, learning, loving and learning some more. Busy letting go. Busy accepting. Busy making up for lost time. Busy resting. Busy recalibrating. Bust traveling. Oh and busy with images.
Yup. Been busy living.
There's more to it too, of course.
The silence.
Part choice, part involuntary mutism – there's always more to it than just the silence of someone's soul. Um, because it's never really quiet in there. The total opposite actually. And until some of the wires untangle, and not until breathing resumes to normal, attempting to write about whatever sometimes, especially when nothing is pouring out, becomes counter productive.
Sure, I have been documenting what I've been grateful for these past months. Sharing snaps and slices with people I love in my other online spaces. Traveling has made that easy. There's something about visiting old friends in a new place (Jower in KL) and visiting old places with fresh eyes (Manila and New York City) that allow for this combustion of inspiration. Everything I see right now, I want to shoot and share. So, yeah, I thank G everyday for photography and communities who appreciate photography.
But writing, boy do I miss you. There's nothing like you and the way you enable/force us to articulate what we are thinking, feeling, learning one word after the other. I have missed you, old friend. I have been cheating on you with my new love, photography and I'm really sorry for neglecting you. Please forgive me because here I am. Mid year. Mid July. Mid summer break. In my favorite city on the planet, doing many of my favorite things with a lot of great people sometimes; alone most days. Am overwhelmed with gratitude and joy right now and I'd like to honor where I am standing right now with this momentum post and an old poem.
A brief background and an extended explanation:
I wrote this poem for and with my students (and co teacher) last school year. I write a version each year I teach poetry actually, so there are many versions swimming around on different pieces of scratch paper, several inboxes, maybe three to four Moleskine notebooks and Pages documents. I've read older versions aloud to my class before but I've never blogged any of the pieces. This is the first one I've shared beyond the classroom. The original post written for my kids lives here. There's also this writing and photography course I am taking this summer with 89 other women all over the world, who are strangers right now but hopefully won't be for long, and I wanted to share this post with them. We are on our second week with already two sets of photo and writing exercises. This where I'm from poem (inspired by George Ella Lyon's version) reminded me of the first writing exercise we had to do – stepping stones to unravel where we have been, which may also reveal where we are headed. Here goes…
by Ms. Pau
I am from an old house on 21 Lilac St.
from rooms with stories, secrets
and slippers in my father's hands
occasionally hitting the exposed
surfaces of my little body.
I am from extending stolen tearful
glances at my mother who
didn't know what to do.
Making that first note to self:
never cry where your young
angry father
could sense you.
I am from the stone balcony that looked out
at the dusty street
and our big black steel gate
where I watched my
Yaya Shirley leave unexpectedly
after she was almost stabbed
by our other evil helper.
I am from abandonment that I
got to know too intimately at a very young age,
from the expectation to be
strong, silent and sure, which
meant I was being a good girl because
I understood why,
because I didn't cry.
I am from thinking that moving houses
was never supposed
to be traumatic.
Haunting images of my parents,
partners and friends
leaving me again and again and again
from Sunday tears erupting from my core
for no good reason except the thought
of another goodbye
even years later
as a grown woman
I am from a bigger backyard, a bigger house
an even bigger gaping hole in my heart.
I am from this place where I learned to say the words
"I love you" second and not first;
"I am sorry" first and never second.
I am from Alabang Golf and Country Club,
holding hands, bad poetry read to young crushes
who thought they had found their true love
Big words and alliterative phrases
clumsily strewn together for loved ones I vowed
I would never forget
never wanted to forget
to forget me
I am from betrayal, deep sadness
and harsh secrets learned too early;
from an awkwardness in my own skin
I clung to, not knowing how else to be
from fighting for a self that he, she, and
everyone I knew thought was perfect
except my-self
I am from everything they said I couldn't be
I am from one day realizing I had wrapped
myself voluntarily in a cocoon, so difficult
to escape and wiggle out of
feeling like I deserved to hide there, and
to prove me right I had to
break my heart
over and over and over
But I am also from the paper thin wing that
made the first finest tear
the path to redemption and forgiveness
began with
the other wing setting me free…
I am from books that adorn my walls
fortified from anyone who thought I was
illiterate and not critical enough
Yes, from a thousand books
I can't live without today
A thousand friends who have
kept me company, have helped
me escape, who constantly remind me
all to well about my own humanity.
I am from a hundred films, movies
and pirated DVDs; characters like
Tyler Durden, Mr. Keating, and
Lara Croft, I wish
I were instead of me sometimes.
Their happy endings, misadventures
and worlds combined
leave me envious and confined
As I gaze vacantly at the laundry
spinning round and round
I am from the quest for kindness
gratitude and turning the corner
but still not having a clue
from women's rights and claiming feminist
and not believing in God for awhile
because according to my Masters Degree
that made me look weak
I am from all of it boiling down to that angry little girl
who wasn't allowed to speak
or make an appearance
All she wanted was to be heard and be herself
I call her Olivia
I am from writing and writing and writing
during nights desperate for answers
and from days like this, where I am writing
and writing still
I am from many complicated,
complex and convoluted corners
that don't remember everything
like I thought I did
I am from wondering what it all means to
all of it making sense
I am from seeing the world behind a lens
and through my pen and lined journals
from finding solace
in the sound of the pounding of keys
I am from these eternal lines and shared images
from these two always, always saving the day
I am from malignant tumors
that peppered my neck and upper chest
from cancer that came out of nowhere
but taught me the most important lessons
in life
from being in remission
and from being spared
for a reason
I am from my body image, the final frontier
that is the total contradiction of who I am now
fissures from an old script
of a self worth defined by a society screaming
I need to be stick thin to be beautiful
tiny cracks in my psyche that need
to be filled
healed and sealed
I am from metamorphosis that only happened
when I stopped trying
from being transformed by
gratitude and a love that overflows
from the ultimate well spring of life
I am from my Creator
who reminds me that I am
wretched and yet
still the best thing that's ever
happened to Him.
I am from a God who says
I made you for a reason and has
a son who helped me understand
the words, 'I forgive you."
I am from the earth and the sea and my
sun kissed skin
from beneath the shallow surface
of the ocean, watching dugongs
swim away as I listen to my heavy breathing
and celebrating a heart that's so full
it could burst at any moment
I am from my Kuya I was born to adore and
and a father, now older, less angry, my biggest ally
These pieces make me who I am
the best bits that make the most sense
most of the time
the very basic
definition of where I belong begins
with Mon and Maqui, Eddie and Rae
the conversations that wow me on
a daily basis
to collaboration, asking important questions
and reclaiming the power of storytellers
and storytelling
I am from always challenging myself as a teacher
and learner and from saying
I can still do so much more
I am from spaces that we create to build a new life
three hours away from where I was born
From missing the sound of the clipping carabiner
to finding peace on the mat
I am from the inked narratives on my skin
that remind me that the pain, it always ends.
I am from love lost, love found
love that I have recently discovered
who recognized me back
as his long lost friend,
match, partner and soulmate
a challenging handful he can't quit
We are from the shark always being included
in this disastrous adventure
we have begun
Here goes…
I am from my mistakes and
my redemption and transformation
that has already begun.
I am from where I am headed,
where goodbyes become easier
and where everyday there are
warm hellos.
I am from today, still alive
more than okay
the best I've ever felt
in 39 years
I wouldn't recognize ennui
if it sat in front of me to have tea
I am from
looking out my balcony
writing these verses for the most important
people in my life right now
finally coming home to a huge party
where everyone is invited
Again, thanks for passing by. Appreciate it.
grateful slice: summer break, time, poetry and honouring where we are from
Day 1: Be the guardian of your own solitude
I tell you that I have a long way to go before I am—where one begins….
You are so young, so before all beginning, and I want to beg you, as much as I can, to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.
Resolve to be always beginning—to be a beginner!
Reusing Rilke. His words always seem to resonate with me. Just can't get enough of using his letters to a young poet. The last time I used his words concerning being patient with things unsolved in my heart was when I was mind blown by India and being overstimulated in Mumbai. A maximum city can do that. Who knew a broken heart would send his words tumbling down the rabbit hole on to the plaster that would bandage the cracks of the organ I didn't guard.
I know it will take time to mourn and heal, and today is Day 1 even if it really isn't. I bike to and from school these days to change my morning routine. Twenty more days to break an old habit and start a brand new one. Recovery is expensive and is a pain in the butt.
I am looking forward to my future self thanking me for doing this. That's the next step. Right now, my present self is really sorry. Sorry to my cracked and beaten heart.
Anyway, two things made me smile today though, Bishop's villanelle and a song Yason sent me "Since I Left You" by The Avalanches. Here they are and here goes…
One Art
Elizabeth Bishop, "One Art" from The Complete Poems 1926-1979. Copyright © 1979, 1983 by Alice Helen Methfessel. Reprinted with the permission of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, LLC.
Source: The Complete Poems 1926-1979 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1983)
grateful slice: making a hard decision and sticking to it
12 things I am grateful for today
"…please, ask yourself whether these large sadnesses haven't rather gone right through you. Perhaps many things inside you have been transformed; perhaps somewhere, someplace deep inside your being, you have undergone important changes while you were sad. So you mustn't be frightened if a sadness rises in front of you, larger than any you have ever seen; if an anxiety, like light and cloud-shadows, moves over your hands and over everything you do. You must realize that something is happening to you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall."
-Rainer Maria Rilke
Yup. It's official. I have the blues. And as much as I like blue, I do not like feeling it. Sometimes, it is okay (read: Rilke's lines to a young poet). To ride the sadness and embrace the empty – it can be fodder for our art, teachers of empathy, allow us to honor what makes us vulnerable and lonely – but misery is also overrated and once the spiraling begins, what started as a shallow hole you can easily step out of, can deepen into a dark, abandoned well with stagnant water and fetid aromas. Sitting there awhile allows you to remember never wanting to end up there unnecessarily again and after wondering how you got there in the first place, the clamor to get out claws at your soul. How did I get here? Well, I've been thinking too deeply. Feeling too much. Overanalyzing to a degree that no longer feels healthy to me. Taking myself, my thoughts, my emotions way too seriously. Focusing too much on what is making me unhappy rather than gazing at what makes my life grand. Because it is a grand life. I seem to have lost my bearings about this and want my compass back. So yeah. I need to get out of here. And quick. Because I don't want to get used to feeling wet, cold and in the dark any longer. I don't want to get comfortable in this despair. I don't want it to define me. I want to stop asking why? for now and just emerge from this familiar sorrow and back into the light. I have to pull myself out of this weird funk. I've done it before. I can do it again. Today. I'm feeling a little better already.
What usually works for someone like me is to write and pray. I don't really see the two as separate anymore. Most of the time, when I am writing and pouring my heart out, I am also reaching out to G. Surrendering what is inside me and asking for some assistance. There's the difference between scratching the walls until my nails bleed climbing and eventually crawling out of the well, to asking for and receiving help with the pulley. The former relying on my own feeble strength; the latter, a ticket to a less painful, more graceful exit. On my own, I reach the light wet, angry and exhausted. With G, I emerge with more peace, less struggle and a fluffy towel waiting for me.
So yes, today, I write and pray with my heart on my sleeve. I don't want to feel sad anymore. I don't want to feel bad anymore. I don't want to be in the well any longer. I want to bask in the light that sits on my skin, warm and life giving. To do that, I refuse to focus on what's making my heart ill. Instead, I want to remember and lean on what makes it full. So here goes…12 things I am extremely grateful for today, in no particular order.
1. God who is faithful, unchanging and a fulfiller of promises.
2. I am alive and healthy and have the ability to show love, choose my own perspectives, share ideas and live with freedom.
3. My family is safe, intact, happy and complete.
4. I have a dream job that I worked hard for and deserve. I collaborate with inspired, interesting, intense, hard working people who believe in me and who teach me something everyday. I am surrounded by kids who push me to teach, learn, do and be better. I earn enough to be able to save, travel, enjoy life's little pleasures without worrying about it too much. I am financially independent, living on my own and fully capable of making a home that's lovely to retreat to everyday.
5. I am surrounded by amazing people who offer consistent love and support. Friends who accept me and who allow me to show love back. Friends who tell the truth, who will defend, who will protect and share what makes them happy and what makes them scared. Friends who listen, who will sit me when I am sad but also not enable destructive behavior. Friends who show up. Friends who I can count on and who I trust can count on me too.
6. I have a fundamental trust in the world, people, the future and God. I know things happen for a reason and that eventually, everything works out for the best.
7. Even if it feels elusive right now, I know I have had joy in huge doses, in inexplicable levels and will have it again. I am grateful today for knowing and being intimate with joy and it's just a matter of time and perspective that we will be one again.
8. Words upon beautiful words stacked against each other to create and negotiate meaning, give comfort, keep us company, enlighten, humble and leave us thinking, longing, wanting more. I am grateful for books today.
9. Images that speak to me and allow me to share my worldview in a simple but powerful way. Photography always saves the day. Thank you, nikon, iPhone5, instagram and Flickr.
10. Even if it hurts sometimes, I am grateful for truth and honesty and facing everything that makes our world great and broken.
11. From art, to music, to nature, to material things that make us stop for a minute and appreciate details, design and composition, to the mundane and everyday, beauty is everywhere. I honor and celebrate it today.
12. Finally, I am grateful for love, the shark included. That it has found me. That I have found it. That I am learning. That it pushes me to want to be better. To always be the best version of myself.
I know this is just the beginning. That the funk I allowed to fester will take awhile to slink away , shrink and disappear but this is a good start. I want my heart of gratitude and love back. I miss it.
I miss me.
"Why do you want to persecute yourself with the question of where all this is coming from and where it is going? Since you know, after all, that you are in the midst of transitions and you wished for nothing so much as to change. If there is anything unhealthy in your reactions, just bear in mind that sickness is the means by which an organism frees itself from what is alien; so one must simply help it to be sick, to have its whole sickness and to break out with it, since that is the way it gets better."
-Rainer Maria Rilke
grateful slice: deciding to be happy
I remember you
Ah, there you are.
I remember you.
I see you. Past your swollen, bloodshot eyes and your despair, I see you. Where have you been hiding? Wait. Let me guess. Under a pile of papers well, in this case, google documents, am I right? I knew it. Come, sit and write with me for awhile. It's been a long time coming, this post. I agree the rain is not helping. But welcome back. You look like hell but I know you are glad to feel your limbs, your face, your fingers typing again. It's been too long. So tell me, what's up? How have you been?
I see.
You feel displaced, misplaced, and out of sorts, like a bathtub in the middle of an arabica farm. Hhhmm…how in the world did you end up here, like this? Spent. Barely breathing. Lost. Repentant.
I have an idea…
This happens when you're not paying attention. When you work too much. When you tunnel vision and ignore the best parts of you, the people you love, the people who love you, those who matter most, things that make you happy and whole. When you don't listen to the throbbing on your right temple, which makes you unkind. The exact same one you now have from weeping all day. The throbbing that tells you stop. Tells you take a break. Look around. To see who you are loving? Hurting? Neglecting? Nurturing? Whose hand do you have to/need to hold right then and there? Even in the dark, it's good to reach for it. To let him know, you are still there. And there for him. Completely. Even if it's lifeless from the waiting and the frustration. Hold it. Hold it tight and don't let go. Because it's the most important thing to you. It's the hand you were born to hold. It's his hand that you were built for. Have been waiting patiently, expectantly for. Don't let go. If you're lucky enough that it ever reaches for you again, don't ever let it go.
It also happens when you don't take pictures with your big camera, or pick up a pen or write a post about what you're grateful for. When you stay in the city too long. When you don't commune with the ocean. When you are not creating. When you don't talk to family. The worst of it is when you can hear what he is saying but you don't listen to the aching of his heart. When all he wanted was love and all you could see was the hazy mist of your fatigue. The same fatigue that has put your relationship in the ringer. The same one that beat the life out of you and the most important thing to you. The exhaustion that's been recently lifted leaving you with a desperate prayer and a remorseful heart. Hurtful words have escaped the darkest recesses of everything that makes you broken and flawed, spoiled and selfish. And now you're sorry. You yell this to the air in the silence of your apartment. And the universe and your neighbors now know just how sorry you are. You weep. Loudly. You did this to yourself, you know that right? And now you are a bathtub in the middle of a coffee farm. Alone.
Then there are the old scripts. It's when you fall into old scripts that don't serve you. That don't belong to you anymore. That don't define you. But you default into those spaces because they are familiar, which in the end act as some sort of defibrillator that wakes you back up into this new reality.
CLEAR. thathumpthathump your heart is beating again. Thumping evenly to the beat of this remembering. Of a now that you can embrace because you are still alive.
This authentic now that you honor with instagram shots everyday because your heart is bursting with gratitude and joy. This real life that tells you every single moment that you don't fit into that old mold anymore. That you're new. That the you that you have fought hard for, prayed for, the part of you where you can offer something good, life giving, loving to everything and everyone, exists. The you you have to stop abandoning. Forgetting. The best you that can only come from a space of love and honesty and acceptance. The you that's anchored by something bigger and greater than yourself. Which has brought us here. Already a special space that you momentarily forgot you already had. Still have. The one he recognized. The one He made. The one you deserve. The one you and I remember today.
So yeah, I remember you.
Glad to have you back. Even if you look like shit and feel like hell.
So what are you waiting for? Go get your ice pack. Place it on your tired eyes. The swelling will subside. Your heart will heal as you learn from this. As you suck it up. As you grow up. You'll learn to forgive yourself. You'll learn to be better. You'll know how to love stronger, fiercer. You'll keep praying because you know you can't do this alone. And we both know that, love and writing always save the day.
And your kids. Don't forget the 128 kids who need you to be solid and strong.
And his heart…listen to his heart as you place it next to yours. Don't ever lose sight of its beating again.
grateful slice: remembering
[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]
Protected: Slicing the Deep Blue-Green Sea: Sibu,Malaysia -a cross post
Blog2Learn: Mano a Mano
It's really interesting to watch a conversation grow. Especially when you take part in it midway; not at the very beginning or the tail end but right smack in the middle of the complicated, swirly marinade of people's differing perspectives, questions, assertions, speculation, preconceived notions, hopes and dreams. It has been on the table for a while, the discourse on student blogging. From its value, relevance, usefulness and purpose, the idea of using blogging to learn has received varying responses, both encouraging and dismissive. Out there, die hard believers and skeptics alike roam the same pedagogical hallways, crossing paths as they agree to disagree.
Last Sept 11, UWCSEA had the opportunity to create a space for more people to engage in this exciting conversation mano a mano. With a panel of three made up of UWCSEA East's Jabiz Raisdana, the renowned Clay Burell from Singapore American School and one of his History students, Hayden, a group of teachers, administrators, students and parents sat together in the Kishore Mahbubani Library at the UWCSEA East Campus and continued the conversation I feel lucky enough to have been part of.
The hour and a half long discussion was peppered with personal stories, insights, testimonies, admiration for the great work people are doing to push blogging to learn forward and profound responses to thought provoking, and challenging questions from the audience and #blog2learn tweets. Questions about privacy, purpose, value, authenticity, audience, safety, how and where to begin, assessment and systems were some of the few plaguing people's minds.
In the end, here's what most of us took away:
1. People's blogging journeys usually begin with the pursuit of a "white rabbit." It's a kind of indirect mentoring that takes place organically. A younger Jabiz followed Clay for years before Jabiz learned to trust his own online voice. Clay acknowledged Jeff Utecht, who was also in the room that day, as his white rabbit. Many people there looked toward Jabiz and thought or tweeted that he was theirs. Well, you get the picture. A lot of people I follow now followed someone else through the rabbit hole and have felt the same admiration, vulnerability, motivation and inspiration. And yes, the ripples are multiplying. It's an exciting leap of faith that has lead to amazing things happening.
2. Blogging is writing. And that means differently to different people. To Clay, it's about rigor and preparing his students for university and the future. For Jabiz, it's about giving his 15 year old self and other young people the space to feel safe to share what means a lot to them. Either way, it has been about a cultivation of voice, a discovering of self, and expression of ideas and creativity to an audience that's out there. Victoria, a Gr 8 student from UWCSEA-East couldn't have said it better in her student blog, "Recently I went to conference called "Blog to Learn", where experienced bloggers would talk to people about how blogging could make education that much better. The conference was immensely interesting, and I felt that I gained a lot of knowledge about blogging. The most important message that I've gotten out of it was that to become a better blogger, you actually have to blog. This means, that you shouldn't keep stalling or getting paranoid that somebody is a tremendously better blogger than you. Instead, you should be working to your upmost potential and possibly use that as motivation."
3. Finally, the most amazing thing about blogging is the community building it enables. It doesn't matter if it's a class of 22 Grade 7 students reading a post on Sharks, a Middle School teacher in Singapore interested in the students' blogs of a Robotics class in Bangkok, or a young blogger getting 27 comments from all over after posting this, the idea that people can authentically share, get immediate feedback, build relationships and cultivate conviction will keep that authentic conversation going. Discussions in the classroom will never be the same again. I believe when students find a way to carve a home in the online sphere, they expand and break down the four walls of any classroom.
What about you? What questions are you asking about blogging to learn? Where are you finding your answers? Please, feel free to join the conversation.
Blogging is like a giant piece of paper. Imagine. The paper goes on for as far as you can see in all directions, just a plain white sheet of paper. There is only tiny mark on it, right where you are standing. Your name.
In your hand, you realize that you're holding a paint palette containing paints of every colour of the rainbow, thick and thin brushes, pens and crayons.Then you realize that this paper is yours. All yours. You can draw, paint, write, scribble, colour, decorate and splatter on your paper. You can rip it, stamp on it, stick it, flip it, tear it, poke it, cut it, and scrunch it up. You can get others to judge your paper, support you as you draw, and give you ideas. And the best part is that the paper will never ever run out.
When you look back after years of work on your paper, you realize how you drew what you loved, what you hated, what you wanted, what you felt, what you needed, what you had, where you were, what you were, when you were. You have made one beautiful piece of art that is unique and will always be unique. You have made yourself into art. Hazel, Gr 8I really enjoy the blogging part of english as I find it my best and most fun way for me to expresses how I feel and what's going on in my life. I think that all English classes should set up blogs because its just a site. A site that turns in to something immensely amazing and beautiful. But the most important thing about thing about blogs is that it come in an empty space I think. It's like a sand box. You can build, houses, castle, dungeons, pyramids. You build from your background knowledge, you build from your experiences and you build about yourself that's why I love blogging. It's your sand box, let the building begin and so will I! – Kaymin, Gr 7 I love blogging now. I am not even sure if it is related to english. But I am loving it. It is like a journal, where you can share your thoughts, experiences, and ideas. It is a whole new world for me. I think that blogging is going to have a good future for me because later in my life, my teachers, my employers, my kids, will see this. – Dhruv, Gr 7 When I first found out that we were setting up blogs I cringed, I have had really bad experiences with blogging in the past but I realized that if you do it properly blogging isn't all that bad. I have realized that you can share so many ideas whilst blogging. I have really found that it has helped with my writing, but really we have only scraped the surface of writing and the full extents of blogging. – George, Gr 8 With the introduction of blogs you're allowed to go to the max and well show off your skills in English but still with some guidelines. With the ability to look at one another's work you can inspire and share ideas of which could eventually finish the puzzle your work can be. From a good paragraph opener to a good finishing of a story or poem or any sort of English related work we do. As well as the ability of others to look at your work and you to look at others. I am not now just creating work of what seems useless to me besides gaining me a grade level at the end of the year and entertaining my teacher, instead I am creating something of which people around the world can view, family can view, teachers can view and class mates can view. – Blair, Gr 8
Keeping Things Whole
By Mark Strand
Mark Strand, "Keeping Things Whole" from Selected Poems. Copyright © 1979, 1980 by Mark Strand. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House, Inc. Source: Selected Poems (Alfred A. Knopf, 2002)
Psssst. So, how have you been? Alls well, I hope.
Erm, I've been busy, I guess. Moving. Here are some snaps of what I've been up to.
Anyway, it's a peaceful Saturday afternoon out here in muggy Singapore and life is pretty good. My new spaces are happy places and work is extremely fulfilling and inspiring. I have new friends who feel like old friends. And old friends I am seeing in a fresh light. I am at peace. My heart is intact and I have my students on my mind.
I know I have managed to neglect this space for awhile now and that's fine. It happens. These seasons of silence. It doesn't mean I haven't been living a life of gratitude. It also doesn't mean I haven't been traversing the grid. If you'd like to see where I have been spending most of my time online, you can check it out here (Meta). It's currently where I hang out these days. Especially since, a huge part of my classroom involves all of my students blogging themselves. Make sure you click on some of their sites in my classes' bundles. A lot of great ideas are coming out of these young minds. I am extremely thrilled to be part of their writing journeys as they build communities, develop their voices, and hone their convictions.
Like I said, it's been a great first few months away from home. I miss certain things about it but that's a blog post for later. For now, I need to decide what to do with this old home of mine. I am thinking of revamping it, perhaps getting my own domain or something like that. I haven't decided. It has served me well but just like my geographical move, I am seriously thinking of an online uprooting as well. Will you follow me to my new space if I move?
I hope you do.
grateful slice: old and new spaces
Wait for it …
It's true.
I am a collector and I hardly throw anything away. Not things, vintage clothing, pieces of paper with scribbles on them, memories, letters, pictures, feelings, associations and connections. I am a big believer of documentation, of writing everything down and have been accused of compulsive capturing. This sentimental side, the one that also houses the pack-rat gene, has been there ever since I could speak and then became more pronounced when I learned to write. At some point, this compulsion to take everything down and remember every single detail of what I see and experience, I attributed to being a writer. I figured I needed to remember it all, so I could always fill in spaces and gaps in whatever story, character, poem or essay I come up with. I thought all these things will eventually make it to my future 'book' somehow (on what, I still don't know) so remembering meant material. There was comfort in knowing I could retrieve something, anything, from wherever I stored 'stuff' because it was torture to forget.
But today, I am thinking that it's okay, sometimes, to put the camera down. To let go of the pen or the sticky keyboard and turn the computer off. It's okay, sometimes, to document experiences and epiphanies in the little cracks of our consciousness instead of hurriedly and clumsily on the page. It's also okay at times to wait for inspiration, for the best moment, for the mind blowing muse, the worthy snap, before spilling our guts onto a place where people will see them. There IS beauty in silence and power in observation and withholding. I honor that today.
It's all good anyway because the silence is temporary and from whatever writing and documentation hiatus, the compulsive capturer always emerges with a new way of seeing; one that's not so attached, harassed or desperate.
These past few weeks have been a blur. I tried, many times, to sit down and write but felt overwhelmed instead. So many things were happening all at the same time. I never knew where to begin. I didn't know how to back track. How to recall and record.
So,I let it go. Because I realized not writing something down does not always mean I will forget.
Anyway, amidst the blur of loving gestures, emotional goodbyes, surprise parties and special meals with loved ones, packing and sorting through stuff I never threw away, I found myself agreeing to facilitate a summer writing workshop after a good friend and parent requested I do. People thought I was crazy to agree with everything I still needed to fix and arrange prior to moving. But I didn't care. It felt like a gift, actually. A nice chance to be surrounded by Beacon kids. I thought it would be a wonderful way to ween and manage the separation anxiety.
True enough, this is where I find refuge these days. Twelve brave souls decided it was worth their time to spend eight two hour sessions with me and if they only knew what a treat it has been. To share and teach something I am passionate about. Without rubrics or TSCs or report card narratives. With nothing but the intention to get them started on their own writing journey. One I hope they will keep alive and nurture even after the eight sessions are over.
We are right smack in the middle of the workshop and so far, things are going well. Kids are excited. They are writing and writing and reading each others' work. They are attempting interesting writing activities and have been blogging! I couldn't be happier.
In light of encouraging the twelve to start their own blogs and write and share as often as they can, here is a poem I have been meaning to post for months but never had the guts to. I wrote it awhile back and showed it to one person (Joey Tandem aka Mr. Lapid) who helped me refine part of my controlling metaphor and one transition. I felt pleased once we "fixed" it but quietly placed the piece on my desktop thinking there would be a better time to share it.
I guess, now is that time.
Tell me what you think.
by Ms. P
It crawled inside her head
and lodged itself
in the deepest cavities
of her cerebral cortex.
She thought she was,
at this juncture,
impervious to the leech;
didn't think it would
bother her
ever again.
there it sat
curled up
vicious and
sucking the might
of her confidence
slowly eating away
at her lobes,
without her knowledge.
Nothing prepared her
for the pain
when it dug
its jagged teeth
on the soft tissue
surrounding her decisions
her opinions,
the grey matter of
her insights and
It drank the life out of
everything she believed was
real and important.
Worn out and weary
she wondered why
she could not hold her
heart in her hand,
the usual indicator
that she was in a safe place;
where there were no hidden agendas
or predators lurking
in her subconscious.
Until of course,
that very
same thought
alerted the little demon
hiding in her brain
that she finally,
It uncurled and
the little bastard
slithered out
of her ear
moved on to her shoulder
on to her forearm
passed the tiny tiara
and sun tattoo
on her wrist
only to find its
way on her palm
where she
until she could
close her fist
to squash
the little fiend
that tried to eat
a part of who she was
die, douche bag!
Guts squirted
from the gaps
of her tight fist
She watched
the color return to her cheeks
as she unclenched
her pale yellow
And you? What's your recent source of inspiration?
grateful slice: my summer writing workshop and my 12 young writers


text:
Transient States: An SF Camerawork Members' Exhibition
2nd Floor
94103 San Francisco
Art inevitably bears the marks of the time in which it was made. In the past year we have witnessed the fall of dictatorships and governments around the world, seen the ebb and flow of wars, and experienced the collapse of weakened economies as others struggle to regain some semblance of balance. The accelerated turmoil and uncertainty in the current social and political spheres is seeping into the language of expression, just at the moment in which photography itself is undergoing dramatic evolution from analog to digital. The photographs in this juried members' exhibition bear subtle traces of the uncertain and often tumultuous climate in which they were made.
Featuring work by: Amanda Boe; Sparky Campanella; Sophie Tianxin Chen; Sarah Christianson; Terri Garland; Scott Hopkins; Hiroyo Kaneko; Melissa Kaseman; Linda Levinson; Paccarik Orue; Ethan Rafal; Cynthia Rettig; Tealia Ellis Ritter; Matthew Shain; Donna J. Wan; and Terri Warpinski. Transient States was organized by curator Lisa Sutcliffe.
Curator's bio: Lisa Sutcliffe is an Assistant Curator in the photography department at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. In 2009 she organized The Provoke Era: Postwar Japanese Photography, and Photography Now: China, Japan, Korea. This summer she will organize Naoya Hatakeyama: Natural Stories for SFMOMA. She graduated from Wellesley College in 2001 and received an M.A. in art history from Boston University in 2006.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
It's Thanksgiving Day. Your turkey is in the oven, the pies are cooling off, and you're setting the table for all of your family to gather around for supper. But when you unpack that nice silver that you only use on special occasions, you're shocked to see that it looks woefully dull and dirty.
Don't panic; this isn't enough to ruin your holiday, because we have a quick trick that we borrowed from Grandma to save the day.
Plain old generic toothpaste (the gritty paste variety, not the fancy gel form) makes a great and inexpensive silver polish. Use it the same way you would use commercial silver polish to restore shine, and you'll have the silver sparkling long before the turkey's ready to be cut.
Adapted from "101 Old-Time Country Household Hints," © 2008 Publications International, Ltd.


text:
I'm Sam Hope, a genderqueer and transgender person living in the UK.
I started the Facebook page Lesbians and Feminists against Transphobia in 2013, because I was witnessing heartbreaking ignorance and transphobia from a die-hard minority in my community, and I did not know how to challenge it, but knew it needed to be challenged. I wanted to create a rallying banner for people who felt the same way as me.
I did not realise my exploration of gender through the page and through other research would take on such a personal aspect in my life or change things so dramatically. And now it occurs to me that being open about myself and sharing some of my own personal journey may be a small part of how I help things change, which is why I've started this blog . . .
Please feel free to contact me on the form below.


text: Congratulations to driver Billy Hattrich and Sherene Moody who were married at the Garden City, GA terminal on June 3rd! Agents Bobby Harvey and Randy Edwards made the office available to the couple and, as you can see, lots of friends and co-workers were in attendance!. Much good luck to the happy couple!


text:
Also by this author: One Dance with a Duke, Romancing the Duke
Series: Castles Ever After #2
Also in this series: Romancing the Duke, When a Scot Ties the Knot
Published by Avon
Genres: Historical, Romance
Pages: 374
Format: eBook
Read in: Mar 18 to Mar 27
Source: Personal Collection
Add to: Goodreads
Your presence is requested at romantic Twill Castle for the wedding of Miss Clio Whitmore and . . . and . . . ?
After eight years of waiting for Piers Brandon, the wandering Marquess of Granville, to set a wedding date, Clio Whitmore has had enough. She's inherited a castle, scraped together some pride, and made plans to break her engagement.
Not if Rafe Brandon can help it. A ruthless prizefighter and notorious rake, Rafe is determined that Clio will marry his brother—even if he has to plan the dratted wedding himself.
So how does a hardened fighter cure a reluctant bride's cold feet?
● He starts with flowers. A wedding can't have too many flowers. Or harps. Or cakes.
● He lets her know she'll make a beautiful, desirable bride—and tries not to picture her as his.
● He doesn't kiss her.
● If he kisses her, he definitely doesn't kiss her again.
● When all else fails, he puts her in a stunning gown. And vows not to be nearby when the gown comes off.
● And no matter what—he doesn't fall in disastrous, hopeless love with the one woman he can never call his own. - via GoodReads
I really, really loved Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare. It's the first in her Castles Ever After series. Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare had a lot to live up to. I was worried it wouldn't make it. I shouldn't have worried.
Clio Whitmore is the kind of historical heroine you want to read about. She's basically been given the shaft and she's decided that she's going to start living her life for Clio. I loved how she used what she had been trained and groomed for and used it to her advantage.
Rafe is the type of hero that's going to appeal to a lot of readers. He's strong and doesn't hold himself back just because London Society says he shouldn't enjoy the things that he does. Rafe is also very loyal and wants to please the people he loves but also won't do that by compromising himself.
To be honest Rafe is just a little bit responsible for that half castle. He comes across as a bit sulky sometimes. I just didn't enjoy those sections at all. Dare manages to knock another one out of the park because she knows how to make me giggle and swoon. I will always pick up Dare's novels because I know she'll deliver the perfect historical romance to make me smile; Secret Pain and all.


text:
Universal has released a new trailer and five-minute preview for Snow White and the Huntsman. I can't believe I'm excited for either of the two Snow White movies opening this year, but here we are. I'm digging what director Rupert Sanders has done with the visuals and the world he's trying to create. Also, ten points for the Shatterbeast at the end of the trailer (not the official name, but it should be). The trailer gets the job done. As for the extended preview, it contain the first real look at the dwarves in action, so it's worth your time. I like everything I'm seeing, and when Dave caught the film's presentation at WonderCon this weekend, he said the movie looks liked an "action-packed, visual marvel that is positively brimming with emotion." As someone who enjoys action-packed visual marvels that are positively brimming with emotion, this Snow White sounds like the one for me (Tarsem Singh's Mirror Mirror, by comparison, sounds like the movie for no one).
Hit the jump to check out the trailer and preview, and click here for Christina's interview with Sanders. The film stars Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Nick Frost, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan, Ian McShane, and Charlize Theron. Snow White and the Huntsman opens June 1st.
Trailer and 5-Minute Preview via Xfinity.
Here's the official synopsis for Snow White and the Huntsman:
In the epic action-adventure SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN, Kristen Stewart (Twilight) plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Oscar® winner Charlize Theron) out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, Thor) dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White's beauty and power.
The breathtaking new vision of the legendary tale is from Joe Roth, the producer of Alice in Wonderland, producer Sam Mercer (The Sixth Sense) and acclaimed commercial director and state-of-the-art visualist Rupert Sanders. SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN hits theaters June 1, 2012.


text:
A children´s room should first of all be simple and functional, it makes it easy to keep tidy.
Efficient storerooms
High and narrow (Horma serie), but not deep cupboards are a good and practical solution for a child´s room. A narrow cupboard makes most things visible and easy to find – for example, books or clothes will not get hided behind each other– unlike in a deep cupboard. A narrow and high door is easy to open even for a smaller child, because pinewooddoors are light and quality hinges open and close quietly.
The door knob for a high dooris high enough to keep very small children from reaching it. Every high cupboard has a fixing for attaching it safely to the wall.
Corner closet´s great feature – possibility to choose the closet´s size and function!
Corner wardrobe (Horma art.9457) is mainly for hanging clothes – it comes with 2 wooden hangers, which you can attach to 4 different hights. Shelf, which has 3 different ways of attachment (low, in the middle, high), can be used to place larger things. The narrower cupboards that can be placed next to the corner closet, have a high door, a semi-high door and a bottom part with shelves to choose from. These cupboards can be added to the corner closet as you wish and need – that way you can combine a suitably sized set for you. Narrow cupboards can be connected with a wooden lath, which can also be colored if you wish, similarly to the top sock-lath or the small shelf panel – that way you can add color nuances to the cupboard. You can also add a small colored separating shelf to the opened part, which makes the outcome even more colorful.
Under-the-bed shelves:
A smart storeroom for e.g toys – that way you can get to playing fast and easy! The child can do what they want in their room and later clean things up easily and roll the shelves on wheels under the bed easily.
Semi-high compartment under the bed is a nice place for playing or for shelves.
Build a cosy nest with a soft mattress under the bed, you will only think of good thoughts while you are lying down there. On the other side you can place shelves where you can put anything you need – or turn it into a real dollhouse? Put some curtains around the bed and you can be inside a castle or a fort…
You cannot find two children´s rooms that are alike – every child is unique and wants a specially decorated room just for them.
Colorful and fun separated products can bring excitement to the room and are also practical: e.g rack, rack
shelf or clock. If you put many different colored racks on your wall, you can choose where exactly you want to hang your things every day according to your mood.
A small shelf on top of the rack helps you organize exhibitions of your drawings or you can hold your tiny toys on it.
Wide floor surface, enough space for running and a tabletop that is free from toys – these are the most important things in a children´s room. That way, no game is left unplayed.
A comfortable little desk, where the surface is only for drawing, and a rack-shelf attached above the desk, where pencils and brushes are safely stored – this is every child´s dream. Knobs on the rack-shelf are perfect for hanging something fun on them.
For example, you can hold your bed-buddies there (dolls, books or your favorite car).
Get yourself and your friends aqcuainted with a natural colorgamma – it creates a peaceful/tranquil mood in the room.
Lighter tones bring more light and space into the room. Partial security boundary and smaller shelf panels can add some darkness into the room. Toys are so fun and colorful – create a cosy one-colored background for them, you can see them even better that way. Too many colors in a room can make your child restless. As the child grows, you may want to give up the security boundaries or the slide/latter. That is why it is fun to have the color accentuating the room at first. Later you can choose new colors that are more suitable for the child´s age and the room looks new again.
Even more important than the toys you own, is the joy of feeling cosy in the children´s room and fun in playing.


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Happy Jack in "Happy Jack Gets A Warning"
Happy Jack Gets
A Warning
"It matters not how smart you are,
So be it you are heedless too.
It isn't what you know that counts
So much as what it is to you."
A fat Gray Squirrel is very tempting to a number of people in the Green Forest, particularly in winter, when getting a living is hard work. Almost every day Reddy and Granny Fox stole softly through that part of the Green Forest where Happy Jack Squirrel lived, hoping to surprise and catch him on the ground. But they never did. Roughleg the Hawk and Hooty the Owl wasted a great deal of time, sitting around near Happy Jack's home, hoping to catch him when he was not watching, but they never did.
Happy Jack knew all about these big hungry neighbors, and he was always on the watch for them. He knew their ways and just where they would be likely to hide. He took the greatest care to look into every such hiding place near at hand before he ventured down out of the trees, and because these hungry neighbors are so big, he never had any trouble in seeing them if they happened to be around. So Happy Jack didn't do much worrying about them. The fact is, Happy Jack wasn't afraid of them at all, for the simple reason that he knew they couldn't follow him into his hollow tree.
Having nuts stored away, he would have been perfectly happy but for one thing. Yes, Sir, there was only one thing to spoil Happy Jack's complete happiness, and that was the fear that Shadow the Weasel might take it into his head to pay him a visit. Shadow can go through a smaller hole than Happy Jack can, and so Happy Jack knew that while he was wholly safe from his other enemies, he wasn't safe at all from Shadow the Weasel. And this worried him.
Yes, Sir, it worried Happy Jack. He hadn't seen or heard of Shadow for a long time, but he had a feeling that he was likely to turn up almost any time, especially now that everything was covered with snow and ice, and food was scarce and hard to get. He sometimes actually wished that he wasn't as fat as he was. Then he would be less tempting to his hungry neighbors.
But no good comes of worrying. No, Sir, not a bit of good comes of worrying, and Happy Jack knows it.
"All I can do is to watch out and not be careless," said he, and dropped the shell of a nut on the head of Reddy Fox, who happened to be passing under the tree in which Happy Jack was sitting. Reddy looked up and showed his teeth angrily. Happy Jack laughed and scampered away through the tree-tops to another part of the Green Forest where he had some very secret stores of nuts.
He was gone most of the day, and when he started back home he was in the best of spirits, for his stores had not been found by any one else. He was in such good spirits that for once he quite forgot Shadow the Weasel. He was just going to pop into his doorway without first looking inside, a very foolish thing to do, when he heard some one calling him. He turned to see Tommy Tit the Chickadee hurrying towards him, and it was very clear that Tommy was greatly excited.
"Hello, Tommy Tit! What ails you?" exclaimed Happy Jack.
"Don't go in there, Happy Jack!" cried Tommy Tit. "Shadow the Weasel is in there waiting for you!"Happy Jack turned quite pale.
"Are you sure?" he gasped.Tommy Tit nodded as if he would nod his head off.
"I saw him go in, and he hasn't come out, for I've kept watch," said he.
"You better get away from here before he knows you are about."
That was good advice, but it was too late. Even as Tommy Tit spoke, a sharp face with red, angry eyes was thrust out of Happy Jack's doorway. It was the face of Shadow the Weasel.


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Beethoven Plus 5: Krysia Osostowicz, violin and Daniel Tong, piano
September 2, 2015 in by mwhiteside
Promoted by Aberdeen Chamber Music Concerts
Queens Cross Church
£12, £6 (u25, people in receipt of benefits), free for accompanying carers
Beethoven Plus is a Beethoven cycle with a new dimension: Krysia and Daniel invited ten composers to each write a short companion piece inspired by one of Beethoven's ten violin sonatas. These new pieces – each about 5 minutes long – are heard together with the original sonatas, creating conversations between living composers and Beethoven, and shedding new light on what Beethoven's music means to us today. The ten pairs will be played in five concerts over the next six days. Today's concert comprises two of these pairs:
Peter Ash A Major Chase
Beethoven Violin Sonata no 2 in A major, op. 12 no. 2
Judith Bingham The Neglected Child
Beethoven Violin Sonata no. 4 in A minor, op. 23
David Matthews Sonatina
Beethoven Violin Sonata no. 10 in G major op. 96


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Hope in the Midst of Tragedy
The eyes of the world turned to Hiati this year when a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated an already fragile nation. In light of this disaster we have decided to to initiate a re-building project for local families in Croix Des Bouquets. Our goal is to build as many homes as we are financially able.
All across the nation there are tent cities being formed. The Haitians have no resources to rebuild their homes which have been destroyed so they are resorting to tents. The tent structures are made from sticks, bed sheets, debris, and tarps (where available). When it rains the conditions become unbearable. Disease is rampant, there is no protection from stifling heat, and there is no clean water. In these conditions people die easily and often.
We are going to meet this urgent need by rebuilding homes for families with young children who are in the greatest need. We have already pre-fabricated 50 roof structures that are in the process of being shipped to Haiti even now. Below you can see an architectural layout for the future homes that are going to be built.


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Bright Multicolored Ethnic Design Yoga Bag in Canvas Fabric
This Yoga Mat Bag made with beautiful woven cotton from Northern Thailand. This bag is sized to comfortably fit the standard yoga mat. Fabric is soft and durable. Fully lined with 100% Cotton lining. All of the yoga bags in my shop made by hand with care.Material: 100% Woven Cotton Color: Multi-Color Feature: Adjustable Strap Measurements :Long : 28.5"Wide : 10" (laid flat)Adjustable Strap: 27-50"(This is handmade bag, the measurement may be different slightly.)
VARIATIONS-:- Standard : No zipper pocket = $29 Zipper : Zipper pocket = $34
Shipping: This listing make to order. Please give me a time to make your custom order 2-3 days. After shipped, I'll let you know a tracking number.Worldwide shipping will be handled by Thai Registered Air Mail and it will take 14-21 days after shipped I'll let you know a tracking number in our transaction.To Asia: 7-10 days.To Australia: 7-10 days.To Europe: 10-14 days.To America: 14-21 days.
PLEASE NOTE: The colors of some picture may slightly vary on different monitors. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me!!
Selling through Discovered creates more income for artisans. They can set the price they want to receive for the products themselves. By cutting out all middlemen, artisans receive at least 20% more for their products. This is what we call fairer trade.
Discovered is dedicated to creating positive impact. Not all artisans work alone. Sometimes they work in groups or collectives, are helped by not for profit organizations or work for social businesses. We select our partners to ensure more artisans have work make at least 10% above average wage.
Cultural heritage
We are committed to crafts. We encourage artisans to make products using traditional crafts and techniques. Making products mainly by hand or with easy accessible tools or common available machines. We believe this is important to keep alive.
Sustainable production
We love handmade. We also feel strongly about preserving the world we live in. That's why we work with our partners & artisans to stimulate using local materials and natural resources, and paying special attention to packaging & shipping.
Each product you buy is shipped to you directly by the artisan who made it.
Artisans try to get the product to you as quickly as possible, often using local post services. On each product page you can see how soon the product will be ready for shipment. Usually this is within 2-3 business days.
On average it will then take another 8-21 days before the product reaches you. If something should go wrong, we offer 60 days buyer protection.


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The spa team is committed to your health and beauty. We offer the most advanced, therapeutic, relaxing and corrective medical grade facial treatments for all skin types. Skin care experts will work with you to make your skin the best it can be and provide you with the tools you need to keep your skin looking and feeling its best every day.
Facials & Treatments
Signature Bliss FacialThe Signature Bliss facial is the perfect solution for dry or combination skin. A thorough cleansing combined with a massage and mask helps to hydrate & purify the skin. This facial will have you glowing.
|50 min | $75
Stile Custom FacialThe Stile Custom Facial starts with a full skin analysis so we can customize each facial to your skin's specific needs. This facial includes a deep cleansing, exfoliation, massage and mask specially designed to enhance and stimulate the senses while providing effective results suited for your specific needs. You will leave with your skin feeling healthier, softer, soothed, and luminous.
|60 min | $125
Ultimate Four-Layer FacialExperience layer upon layer of pure, fresh European and American Seaweed to help tone, deep cleanse and firm the appearance of the skin dramatically. Enjoy a cool seaweed mask, followed by a mineral-rich themal mask that allows for total relaxation and WOW results. Skin is cleaner and younger looking.
|80 min | $150
Gentleman's FacialTailored to suite the specific needs of male skin, this facial is focused on treating skin while protecting from environmental damage. This deep cleansing exfoliant reduces pore size and gives skin a healthy glow. Enjoy a relaxing neck and shoulder massage working over sore muscles. Finish up with a specialty mask designed for even the most sensitive of skin types. It will leave even the toughest of skin feeling clean and refreshed.
|45 min | $75
Teen FacialStart your skin care treatments early! This facial is designed to help target, treat and heal breakouts and to reveal a clear and healthy complexion. Deep cleansing and skin specific masks will be used to restore your skin and help to minimize future breakout.
|45 min | $69
Eye Lift TreatmentPerfect for all skin types who are concerned with the first or current signs of aging around the delicate eye area. The Eye lift is a welcome treat for those suffering from eye-strain, computer headaches and seasonal allergies caused from outside irritants. This treatment will reduce dark circles, fine lines and puffiness.
DermaplaneThis is an exfoliation process. It is a good choice for anyone who has fine facial hair, extremely sensitive skin, redness or rosacea, or visible facial veins. The dermaplaning treatment is done by our experienced aestheticians who use a blade to gently exfoliate the outer layer of dead skin cells and remove fine facial hair commonly known as "peach fuzz". A noticeable improvement is immediate with smoother texture and fresh skin appearance. Hair returns softer and becomes less coarse because of the treatment. Your products will penetrate the skin better following this treatment.
Micro-dermabrasion FacialMicrodermabrasion is a non-chemical, non-invasive procedure that uses a spray of micro-crystals to remove the outermost layer of dry, dead skin cells and reveal younger, healthier-looking skin. Microdermabrasion also encourages the production of a new underlying layer of skin cells with higher levels of collagen and elastin, which further improves your skin's appearance.
AromatherapyChoose from a selection of doTERRA oils to enhance your experience to relax and de-stress.
Enzyme PeelSmoothes and revitalizes the skin with enzymes that gently remove superficial dead skin cells.
GlycolicAggressively promotes the repair and regeneration of skin.
DermaplaneSimple and safe procedure to rid the skin of vellus hair (peach fuzz) to promote a smoother texture.
MicrodermabrasionNon-chemical, non-invasive procedure utilizing a spray of micro-crystals to remove the outermost layer of dry, dead skin cells.
Eyelift TreatmentPerformed with our Clarisonic opal and tightening serum.
Lip TreatmentPerformed with our Clarisonic opal and tightening serum.


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We are open and here to serve your needs!
Please give us a call with any additional questions.
La Mesa Auto Repair
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How to Connect a Computer to a Coaxial Cableby Joshua Benjamin
A coaxial cable typically transmits video signals from a source, such as an active cable connection in your home, to a TV screen or similar video device. You can also connect a coaxial cable to your home computer to view video on your monitor, although you will need a special piece of equipment to do so. Computers are not equipped with coaxial inputs straight out of the box.
Step 1
Connect the TV tuner device to your computer. There are two types of tuners: USB devices and PCI devices. USB devices connect to your computer through a basic USB port, while PCI cards plug into a free PCI slot on your motherboard inside your computer.
Step 2
Install the software that came with your TV tuner device onto your computer. If applicable, insert the CD into your computer's DVD drive and follow the installation instructions as they appear on your screen.
Step 3
Connect one end of your coaxial cable onto the threaded connector stud on your video source. This will be an active cable jack on your wall, in most cases.
Connect the other end of the coaxial cable to your TV tuner device. You will now be able to view the video input on your computer screen.
Photo Credits
- Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images


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"Grant me this use of America's voice,…….When you cut through all the 'inside baseball' stuff in this Omnibus Spending Bill that's in front of Congress, you're left with two cold hard facts: this bill doesn't defund Obama's amnesty (so he gets to reward lawbreakers with your tax dollars) and it adds to our dangerous, unsustainable debt."
"It also breaks campaign promises made by quite a few of our incumbent politicians on both sides of the aisle."
-Sarah Palin-
Hey, if you thought we wanted more of the same as we worked our butts off to get good folks elected in November, then why did we vote to oust liberals who got America into this mess in the first place?
Guess what you in the GOP: our victory party is over and voters are wide awake and trusting you to keep your promises to America. Get a handle on your debt. Stop Obama's amnesty to illegal aliens. Support our military. Bottom line: we elected you to stop Obama's "fundamental transformation of America."
Do it – especially you Republicans who promised to do it. Or face America's wrath next go 'round because an elephant never forgets. That means, you will be held to the fire of retribution if you don't keep your promises.
John Boehner and the top GOP people HAVE TO GO. We didn't win this last election in landslide fashion to fund Obamacare……and that is just what the GOP just did!
In a Republican Betrayal to the people who voted them in, Obamacare is now fully funded. Amnesty too!
Mad Yet?
In a mad rush to get a deal, Lawmakers agreed on a 1.1 trillion dollar spending bill that has 1600 pages, at 700 million per page, and it also has kickbacks for Harry Reid's Las Vegas donors and more. It would take a full 24 hours to read every word of it, and it was already voted on. Against the people's wishes too by the way. You NEED TO Call your representatives and threaten them with not winning the next election if they go for this boondoggle.
From the Washington Post comes this and it has been updated and revised:
The $1.01 trillion spending bill unveiled late Tuesday will keep most of the federal government funded through next September — and it's packed with hundreds of policy instructions, known on Capitol Hill as "riders," that will upset or excite Democrats, Republicans and various special interest groups.
So, what's in the bill? We've sifted through the legislation, consulted supporting documents from Democratic and Republican aides, and called out some of the more notable and controversial elements below. (If you want to review detailed reports on all 12 parts of the spending bill, click here.)
Please note: This is a fluid report that will be updated to add more detail or correct errors. What notable changes did we miss? What notable changes did you spot? Contact us or share details in the comments section below:
The bill once again bans using federal funding to perform most abortions; blocks the use of local and federal funding for abortions in the District of Columbia; and blocks the use of federal dollars for abortions for federal prisoners. Republicans say that there's also new language directing the secretary of health and human services to ensure that consumers shopping for health-care coverage on the federal exchange can tell whether a plan covers abortion services.
The law is still funded, but there's no new money for it. There's also no new ACA-related funding for the Internal Revenue Service and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the two agencies most responsible for implementing the law. The bill also would cut the budget of the Independent Payment Advisory Board — what Republicans have called "the death panel" — by $10 million.
Congress withholds funding for the Afghan government "until certain conditions are met," including implementing the bilateral security agreement reached with the United States.
The nation's rail passenger service earns $1.39 billion, the same amount it currently receives. The rail service carries passengers through 46 states and hit an all-time high of 31.6 million passengers during the last fiscal year, according to Democratic aides.
The bill would dramatically expand the amount of money that wealthy political donors could inject into the national parties, drastically undercutting the 2002 landmark McCain-Feingold campaign finance overhaul. Bottom line: A donor who gave the maximum $32,400 this year to the Democratic National Committee or Republican National Committee would be able to donate another $291,600 on top of that to the party's additional arms — a total of $324,000, ten times the current limit. Read more on this here.
The agency would get more than $6.9 billion, an increase of about $42.7 million. The nation's leading disease-fighters also get $30 million to help fight Ebola (see below).
In a win for Republicans, the spending bill blocks the Environmental Protection Agency from applying the law to certain farm ponds and irrigation ditches — a move that GOP aides said would benefit farmers.
Democrats agreed to make some of the biggest changes yet to the 2010 financial regulatory reforms. In a deal sought by Republicans, the bill would reverse Dodd-Frank requirements that banks "push out" some of derivatives trading into separate entities not backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporations. Ever since being enacted, banks have been pushing to reverse the change. Now, the rules would go back to the way they used to be. But in exchange, Democrats say they secured more money for the enforcement budgets at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Roughly $5.4 billion is provided across several agencies to combat the spread of the disease in the United States and around the world. The amount is less than the $6 billion Obama requested.
The beleaguered country gets $1.3 billion in military aid and $150 million in economic aid — but the money is subject to "democracy and human rights conditions," while the secretary of state can make exceptions for counterterrorism and border security operations.
There's $5.4 billion for security at U.S. embassies worldwide, $46 million more than Obama requested. The total includes new money to implement recommendations from the Benghazi Accountability Review Board. The bill also once again bans any embassy construction money to be spent on the lavish new U.S. embassy in London.
The agency gets $8.1 billion, down $60 million from the last fiscal year. The agency's budget has been slashed by $2.2 billion, or 21 percent, since fiscal 2010, according to GOP aides. The cuts mean that EPA will have to reduce its staffing to the lowest levels since 1989.
Folks, this is NOT what we elected the republicans to power to do! All of the incoming republicans were elected with the idea that they would stop big government, stop Obama, and stop Obamacare, along with the Amnesty thing. NONE OF THESE THINGS are stopped with this damned bill folks. Get ahold of your representatives and let them know that their terms will be short lived if they don't do what they were elected for. I know I am going to be contacting mine. The article that I got this whole thing from has all the links and it is at Red Flag News. Look it over, and then call your representatives. This has got to stop, while we still have a country that is there to fight for! It won't be here for long if we don't stop these idiots in Washington. They are playing hockey with us and the laws. We are the pucks, and so are the laws. The hockey sticks are them and their agenda's. Mark my words here folks. We are in dire trouble if we don't stop them.
God Bless America
God Bless our Troops
God Bless us every one


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A smattering of valuable and interesting posts from the blawgosphere and beyond
- "7 Job Seeker Questions You Didn't See Coming," Part I (from The Hiring Site) and Part II (from HRM Today). These questions are written to help hiring managers better respond to what might be new questions coming from applicants. Applicants, if you're not asking these questions, you should be. Especially the last one.
- "How Giving Away Legal Advice and Information For Free Is the Best Business Model for Your Law Firm" from The Greatest American Lawyer. I'm a big proponent of the 'business model = free' strategy. This post articulates that position much better than I could ever have hoped to do. Read it and you'll understand how you can give a lot away and still be successful.
- "Ads on Law Blogs? Are We Really That Desperate?" from Law Firm Blogger. This post, and the ongoing conversations in the comments, is a must-read for blogging lawyers and legal professionals as well as everyone else trying to understand how they can apply Web 2.0 technology to the legal profession. Did I say you need to read this post? I meant it.
- "Free Web Tools for the Way You Work" from Law.com Legal Technology. Not much explanation needed for this post, which lists 24 free web applications. You're bound to discover one (or more) that will become indispensible.
- "Marketing Without Faking It - A Case Study" from Social Media Explorer. I like this story because it really drives home the power of Twitter. Not as a tool for hawking your product, but as a vehicle for connecting with your clients and potential clients as if they were your friends. Lawyers, do you think you can apply these lessons to your own Twitter strategy?


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65% Say "Difficult" to Recruit and Hire; Difficulty Increasing as Unemployment Rate Drops
Express Employment Professionals recently released new survey results revealing the increasing difficulty that employers face when trying to recruit and fill positions.
The findings come from a survey of 340 businesses. Respondents were asked, "Currently, how easy is it for you to recruit and fill positions?"
Only three percent said "very easy," while 29% said "somewhat easy." Almost half, 49%, said "somewhat difficult," 16% said "very difficult," and another 3% said, "I don't know."
More respondents said "very difficult" or "somewhat difficult" (65%) in this survey than in any of the four hiring trends surveys conducted by Express in 2015. The increase in reported difficulty corresponds with the decrease in the unemployment rate.
"With the unemployment rate declining and more people headed back to work, it's not so surprising that companies are finding it a little harder to fill open positions," said Bob Funk, CEO of Express and a former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
"Of course, we still have plenty of people who want jobs—and others who have given up looking altogether. Part of the difficulty has been that the people who want to work may not have the skills that employers need."
The survey of 340 businesses, which are current and former clients of Express Employment Professionals, covers hiring trends for the first quarter of 2016.
Refresh Leadership is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.


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Cassina Maralunga
Cassina Maralunga 40 brings design and aesthetics to the custom to guarantee the most modern look and the most comfortable sofa in the category.
For further information on the sideboard, checking availability and price, contact us using the form on the right side of this page or write to [email protected]
Visit: Cassina
Have a look at the several alternatives Cassina proposes. Often, each one is available in more than one covering/color. Write us for further information & support with the choice of the product.
Alternatives: Catalogue
Design Vico Magistretti