On life and offspring

 For my daughter’s update, she lost her phone.  The insurance has not replaced it yet but the trauma for a young child. She needs her phone definitely.  Twelve is an age of wonder and she needs the data box of a more modern phone.   

My daughter has lost her Piano and Musical Theory teacher this year.  We did not even know she was sick.  We love Nadia. It was hard to replace Nadia on Saturdays but Natalya was kind enough to include us during a late evening class on a weekday and she goes to our house rather than us going to her place.  

My wish is for my daughter to practice more Piano and definitely more Violin.  Play more in Public or play more in Church.  Do the dances or ballet I know she is capable of performing.  Orchestra clashes with football this term. She has to give up football.  Getting into the orchestra takes precedence and it’s a challenge to join more extra-curricular activities as academics are hard enough for children.  I’m so relieved Maths is a strong subject. But it needs to be stronger.  Maths is the precursor to all the Sciences.  Science and maths are the key to life.  I love Geography and History.  I pray she would appreciate History.  She does not like it at the moment. But in time, I’m hoping.  She is studying Latin, Italian and French.   Have this belief in Latin, Chi. And study harder.  

As for me, I’m hoping to eat healthy and move more, do more exercise, dance more. Sometimes there is no motivation to do anything.  I wake up so early for work.  My daughter not needing me as much has taken its toll with the Step count.  I have not done as many Sick and mostly it’s because of the weather.  But all’s well.

It’s just a Click

 It’s the last day of the year.  I could have written this blog earlier but I thought it would be hard to sign in, compose the thoughts and construct the sentences.   But at least I made it rather than skip 2024 altogether. 

I haven’t seen much of C-dramas this year, my all time favourite is still Falling into your Smile, an idol drama about E-sports and the lives and romance of highly-talented and gorgeous gamers.  Cheng Xiao, the lead in Falling into your Smile does not do much dramas.  I could not watch her in anything except maybe Lie to Love and the premise of that series is that of  suspense and incredulity.  Like Falling into your Smile, the drama was released way back in 2021.  She mostly appears in Variety Shows. I really enjoy watching her in Dancing programs rather than Reality competitions.  I only get snippets through Twitter (now X) but you get the gist.  Xu Kai (Falling into your Smile) and Luo Yun Xi (Lie to Love), her former leading men, are so in-demand, as I gaze through their works on Viki.  I like Cheng Xiao in acting and dramas.  But other actresses act as leads a lot like Zhao Lusi and Bai Lu and I have seen their dramas prior to bingeing Falling into Your Smile.  Still they are not as charming as Cheng Xiao. 

Cheng Xiao’s strength is really dancing.  She is simply phenomenal when she moves to the music.  Dance with Ten again, Cheng Xiao.  In Fangs of Fortune, released this year,  she plays second lead.  It’s still acting but  I don’t like costume dramas. But people like it.  Anyway, I re-watch Falling into your Smile again and again.

Park Shin-hye meanwhile should have won the Daesang in SBS Drama Awards.  Jang Nara got the trophy in portraying a lawyer.  Their series had the highest ratings for the year.  You have to abide by the numbers and seniority.  The Judge from Hell though is a terrific show, the first time in history I was sat on a couch, eyes glued to the flatscreen with the hubby, not just in  Kdrama but first subtitled series.   I don’t like talk of the town Squid Game.  But we enjoyed the blood and gore of The Judge from Hell and its central character.  Hope Park Shin-hye wins more awards for this role. Really.  

I also enjoyed Doctor Slump.  I mean Park Hyung-sik kissing Park Shin-hye, playing top students then put-upon doctors?  Of course, it would work.  Ten years since The Heirs, every one moves forward although I still do not like Kim Ji won.  Queen of Tears be damned but makjang always works, with the exception of me. I can’t like an antagonist from The Heirs.  An antagonist of Cha Eun sang.   I always wonder Judy Ann Santos became friends with Gladys Reyes.  But not during the quest for the Diary, only at the tail-end of  the tearjerker.  We cannot force friendships but Park Shin hye seems like a nice person with her demeanour.  But Kim Jiwon is not within her circle.  Birthday cake surprise and all?  But she became close to Lee Sung kyung, her antagonist from Doctors. Even though the star of  Doctor Romantic 2 was not at Park Shin hye’s wedding or was not caught by paparazzi.   

Speaking of awards, Judy Ann won for Espantaho in MMFF ‘24.  Congratulations!  I don’t know how to see Espantaho.  Maybe Netflix?  Amazon Prime?  I was really lucky, I caught Ang Dalawang Mrs. Reyes in Shepherd’s Bush in rainy January in 2019.  I would not be as lucky this time. Judy Ann  gets a lot of flak from rival or younger fan groups.  But as long as the jurors like you and endorsement deals  keeps on coming,  directors want to work with you, it’s the dream.