Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Shung Shung

Because of certain unavoidable circumstances, I wasn't able to post anything for weeks. But by next week, I'll have my sketches and a bunch of photos posted so I'm really excited.

In the meantime, let me tell you about the cutest kitten in the whole world, our baby Shung Shung. He's often bursting with energy and more often than not he becomes too distracting that you can't help but stop whatever you're doing and just play with him.

And yes, that is his name...

He had a long history of names, actually.

When we first adopted him, we wanted to call him Batman or Bruce Wayne. Instead, we settled for Chester. It sounded cute and appropriate for a cat his size. Then we realized Chester was too boring so we gave him a second and last name - Michael Michaels. We started pretending he was the brother of Chaz Michael Michaels from Blades of Glory (we loved the movie). So he was Chester Michael Michaels. But then we ran into another obstacle. My mom couldn't say his name. It was too confusing for her. She also started insisting that he looks like a Tarsier (in case some of you might not know, that is a tiny primate native to Southeast Asia) so we thought why not name him Tarsher instead. Then my brother one day said, let's just name him Shung Shung. It's simpler and it sounds Chinese. And so we did.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Bakery

One of my friends, Michelle (who is head over heels in love with the Arctic Monkeys), sent me the lyrics of this ballad one day when was feeling a little bluer than usual. I read the lyrics and I thought to myself, "Here it is. In this simple 5-chord ballad are my exact feelings and frustrations, word for word." To me, it was like I came up with the thoughts, really. Alex just wrote the words for me...

The Bakery by Arctic Monkeys

I wish you would have smiled in the bakery
or sat on a tatty seatee
at a mutual friends gathering

and the more you keep on looking
the more it's hard to take
love we're in stalemate
to never meet is surely where we're bound
there's one in every town
just there to grind you down

I wish I would have seen you in the post office
well maybe I did and I missed it
too busy with the mind on clever lines

why not the rounders pitch or the canteen
you're slacking love were have you been
just have to go and wait until tonight

to give me the invite
don't worry it's alright

I wish I would have seen you down in the arcade
sippin' on a lemonade
in the paper cup and chewin on a straw

and I wish I would have seen you in the bakery
but if I'd seen you in the bakery
you probably wouldn't have seen me