what is this? two posts in two days?

it’s just, work finally dried up enough for me to send my everyday computer to the shop (by sunday, when it went, it was shutting itself down after 40 minutes), and the flowerpower imac that sits, humming noisily, in the corner, is pretty much just good for one thing these days. well, two things, if you count the pixel painting kid pix studio deluxe. yeah, pitas is one of like, the five websites still accessible on OS9 IE5.

so, work, two months of vague unwellness and two weeks of intense, specific illness — i’m sure i have developed an infected sinus in the last few days, for the entire left side of my face feels like its being crushed in a vice — and now, time.

i am reading three books at once. three! which i’ve heard of people doing in the past, but always thought i’d be unable to. it’s not so hard; i suppose it helps that they are each quite different, so there’s no getting characters or storylines mixed up. and these days i’m getting better at switching on the different sections of my brain as the situation dictates: read a maisy book? sure! build a kind of a house out of blocks? yeah! hey, you kicked it over! build it again? why not! now you want some grapes? in a green bowl? ok!

the kid got me “the secret river” by kate grenville for my birthday. looks like she’s inherited the boy’s penchant for historical novels about early settlers to new south wales. i’m balancing that out with the kitchen capers of “julie and julia“, which i guess y’all know is the result of another blogger with a bookdeal.

the surprise entry into the mix, just arrived yesterday from my good sister, is “mammon inc.“, whose author, i’ve just read reviewed, “might not be in the class of maugham et al, but she is one of singapore’s recent literary successes.” quite. i much prefer nellie’s endorsement: “i read it with a troubled and furious avidity; there was much gnashing of teeth.”

not too much gnashing of teeth today. yet. it’s true: the twos are terrible. but by lunchtime, we’d been to two playgrounds, with starbucks inbetween. cleverly, she chose the fruit mince tart, festooned with a biscuit star. it was moist and sweet, a perfect accompaniment to a babycino wearing a chocolate smile in a festive xmas cup, and a gingerbread chocolate frappucino.