Andy's Diary: December 2006

Merry Christmas or Merry Xmas or Merry X'mas?

I remember one of the fathers in my high school told us that we should always write Christmas in full, because Christmas is to remember Jesus Christ's birth. If we really want to use short form, write Xmas, not X'mas, because X stands for Christ, and there is no need to add the apostrophe in between. We see so many X'mas nowadays...

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Carols

Christmas time reminds me of the time I spent in the UK, where I sang carols with other schoolmates and in the choir. I love singing carols, in four parts, eight parts, solo, and with descant. In university, we sang in an open space and people would gather to sing together, and have some mince pies and mulled wines afterwards. Those were the days!

Chinese in Hong Kong always sing the same few carols, "Hark, the Herald Angel Sing!", "O Come, All Ye Faithful", "Silent Night". In fact, there are a lot more good carols. My favourite ones are "In the Bleak Mid-Winter", "In dulci Jubilo", "Ding Dong Merrily on High", "We wish you a merry Christmas (the full version with much longer lyrics and in four parts)", "The Twelve Days of Christmas", etc.

I remember two years ago, when I was doing some shopping in Prince's Building, there was a small group singing carols, and I joined them to sing for a while. I guess I really love singing!

Ultimate need

What do we need? We need a lot of things: a job, respect, money, love, music, a home, material possessions, etc. What is the most important thing among these? Love, I heard you say. But where does love come from? Religious people would say God. But not everybody can experience Him (at least not yet). So how do people find love? In relationships. Yes, we rejoice in relationships. We all enjoy love and being loved, by our boy/girl friends, husband/wife. But what about those who are single? We all need friends who can listen to us, be there when we are in need, give us a hand when we are in trouble, laugh when we tell the same old joke for 100 times. And we feel lonely if we are left out, especially in times like Christmas. We cannot bear the loneliness. We can't spend time with ourselves, at least not for a prolonged period of time. Men are created to live in a community. But sometimes, as a theologian said, we don't spend enough time in solitude to enable us to spend time with others.

Arthur Grumiaux

Grumiaux is one of my favourite violinists. I really like his Mozart (concertos and sonatas) and Bach (sonata and partita and violin sonatas). Philips have issued quite a lot of his recordings from the 50s to 70s. They are really treasures of violin music lovers.

Maid

My maid seems to be not very smart. She is absent-minded and always forget our instructions. However, she seems to be hard-working and keeps the flat clean. She is no good in cooking, as she was not responsible for cooking in her previous role in Singapore. I shall give her a few more chances before I seriously think about getting a new one, as I need a maid that won't forget what we've told her and I need somebody who will not forget feeding the baby, what the baby is allergic to, etc. This is a pre-requisite for a domestic helper, is it not?

Wagner

I have become interested in Wagner's music recently. It began with Tristan and Isolde. I was listening to Karl Bohm's version. I have owned this set a long time, but suddently I found the music charming. I still don't understand German, and I am too busy to look at the story line, but the music itself was attractive. And then I listened to other Operas of Wagner, like Tannh?user,Lohengrin , Die Meistersinger von N?rnberg, Parsifal, etc. I am about to start "Der Ring des Nibelungen". I have bought the Solti version for nearly 10 years, and it has been sitting in my CD shelf, waiting for me patiently. It is time to pay some attention to them now!

Thirty things that change when you have a baby

Read from babycenter.com. Very funny (and true?)!

------------------------

What changes when you have a baby? A better question may be: What doesn't change? Here, writer and mom Rebecca Woolf lists her most notable post-baby observations. Then scroll down to read our favorite comments from readers about how their babies changed their lives.

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.

2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.

3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.

4. You respect your body ... finally.

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.

6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.

7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.

8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.

9. Your heart breaks much more easily.

10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.

11. Every day is a surprise.

12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)

13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.

14. You become a morning person.

15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

And from our readers...

1. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth." — Ashley's mom

2. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth." — Anonymous

3. "You now know where the sun comes from." — Charlotte

4. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have." — Sophie's mom

5. "You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers." — Roxanne

6. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night." — Kellye

7. "Silence? What's that?" — Anonymous

8. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having." — Brenda

9. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had." — Ronin and Brookie's mom

10. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule." — Thomas' mom

11. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one." — Jaidyn's mom

12. "Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog." — Kara

13. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late." — Tracey

14. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury." — Jayden's mom

15. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger." — Dezarae's mom