Quiet

My colleague, S, who gifted Xiao Guai to me, has left for China. Her one year as a visiting research scholar is up, but I hope to see her in April - and I hope we have several opportunities to meet and collaborate over the course of our careers. My little Xiao Guai took it hard at first. Things were rather quiet initially, at work and at home - I missed S and Xiao Guai realized he missed his homeland. Luckily for both of us, Snorky Figgles was around.

I believe Xiao Guai's started to look much happier after several sessions with my little counselor. After all, what can't be cured must be endured, no?

Pirate Pig

Snorky Figgles, like all self-respecting little pigs of his age, has become a little curious about the classic, R.L. Stevenson's Treasure Island. I've seen him reading the book. And his line of thought seems clear from the questions he's been bringing up lately, including:

** Are pirates always bad? ('Usually, yes.' Actually it depends on how you define morality, although I think I'll defer this discussion to a later time.)

** Why is rum associated with seafaring men? ('And can I have some?' 'No!')

** What other books feature the sea and seamen of long ago? (My goodness, I know I've read some but, for now, the only ones I remember are 'smuggler' books - like Du Maurier's Jamaica Inn. And, erm, The Pirates of the Caribbean series of movies.)

** If I have to run away to sea, which is the closest sea that has pirates? ('Well, technically, piracy is outlawed. You're not allowed to be a pirate.' 'Oh.' 'Um, but it would be the Caribbean - according to fiction.' 'Ok, can you please show it to me on the Atlas?' 'Sure.' Good way to start with a little bit of geography, right?)

Anyway, so the other day I was putting away a little trinket or two, when I found I'd misplaced my heart-shaped pendant. I looked all over for it, and finally found my it on my little pirate.

Snorky Figgles looked so cute and un-pirate in his get-up that it is easy to overlook the otherwise obvious question: should the questions and the pirate games scare me?

Busy

While I work towards submitting the abstracts that will hopefully take me to my beautiful island destination next April and far beyond that in the course of what I hope very much will be a productive career, my little genius is busy figuring out words and ideas. We sit and read together when I'm home but some days I'm late coming back (as is very usual these days), and I've found his little snout deep in the enjoyment of the pictures in the centerfold. Sometimes, I find him trying to re-read what we've already covered, apparently trying to pronounce the words carefully and correctly, the way I teach him. I can't help but be overwhelmed with emotion when I look at his ears, pricked up, enthusiastically absorbing information. My little darling!

Of course, sometimes I've also found him like this.

'Genes' tell, don't they? I remember a bunch of times that my mother has caught me in the same position. A little pat on the only visible part of Snorky Figgles sets him right again. I believe my mother resorted to much the same measure back then. History, as they say, ....

Limping Back

My little Pig, as you know, likes it when I talk about him. That's the purpose of this blog, isn't it? Since I've been very busy of late, many people (Pigglett, Fi, Mom, etc.) have started to complain that Snorky Figgles has also been deprived of his ... erm, 'writing fix'...? Which means that, at this point, he's certainly not one among the most written-about pigs on this planet. (I'm sure he is on that list, when I write regularly.) Unfortunately, they are absolutely right. He's been sitting like this for a while now, and refuses to show me his charming little snout.

I'm going to have to make a strong effort to get back into his good books. Of course, it didn't help matters that we got a picture of Piggles looking like this, after we got back from our vacation to Bombay.

Anyway, we've had a wonderful trip to India, as you've probably read here. I've spent the last month (and more) catching up with work, and hope to write again very soon. For now, I feel I ought to focus on making my little darling piglet feel more loved and wanted, so in the mean time, on Pigglett's recommendation, I'm reading this little bedtime story aloud to him.

Good idea??

P.S. Another one that was written almost a month ago, and wasn't posted because I didn't have the time to format the pictures. Well, I'm almost there! After I post this one, I'm off to cajole Snorky Figgles into showing me his cute little snout. (Actually uploaded 10/06/2008.)

Adventures at Home

We've had some hectic mayhem since the time we got here to warm, wet and wild Bombay, last Sunday. I'd thought Snorky Figgles would have trouble with the weather and the heat and humidity, but he coped much better than I did!! No jetlag, either. I think the answer to that lies in the touching first meeting of the two brothers, Piglett's Piggles and my Figgles. Take a look.

We've had several other activities, including but not limited to
i. Playing with a Figgles-colored balloon:

ii. Meeting a "real" Butterfly:
iii. and, Getting very excited about some wall murals depicting pigs:

Snorky Figgles even tried to make an international call to Fi, to tempt him to come home, but unfortunately Fi isn't that easily persuaded. Nevertheless, we HAVE had a lot of fun! My only worry is that Snorky Figgles will make a fuss once it's time to leave.

P.S. Like the previous post, this one too has been sitting here because I haven't been able to upload the pictures for so long. Well, we're getting there! (Actually uploaded 10/06/2008.)