mm's brother moved to a place where it's possible to bbq, and he called today and asked bbmm to do exactly that tomolo. would bb be interested to go? bbmm are going to see movie with librarian. the plan was to have din din with her. mm spoke to librarian and told her that mm may not be able to have din din with her. then she said: no problem, I'll just have din din with bb! oh no??! clever mm of course let it open - mm told librarian she needed to check with bb, as the invite extends to bb too.

what would bb's choice be??

mm likes seashell chocolate, and wonder if she might receive them for her b'day this year ...

since the last post, mm had spoken to bb re this matter. bb's response was "great. and I can redeem the points on my credit card!"

mm has come up with an idea for her b'day pressie - weighing machine that also shows % of fat in body.

mm reckons to have put on some 10 pounds since joining new firm, and conscious that she's growing out of her clothes, not least to mention that bb rested her hand on mm's protruding tummy last weekend ... so she hopes to lose some (ideally, more) of those pounds! hope bb will encourage her to exercise more - not only "that" lah!

bb is having a massage.

And so is mm.

May be bbmm can have the massage together?

mm just received an email from that commercial partner - he said "better be me I guess"! he didn't get the hint - so stupid!!!

if you think mm will budge, think again - mm is going to use "her discretion".

another stupid thing mm has not mentioned is that even her boss is going to be out of town! he said he won't be able to read the draft agreement - why push for easter holiday???!! And there are time when mm has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do - if you have any doubt, pls see previous entries!

mm's boss called this afternoon re preparation of a revised draft agreement. it's not the thought of needing to prepare such draft, but more of the fact that mm's boss mentioned mm needs to work over Easter holiday! mm quickly told her boss that they (mm and her colleague) aim to finish that before Easter and even if necessary, whatever needs to be done should not be substantive. In fact, mm's colleauge is going away for Easter, although she would only be out of office for one day - that's all! however, mm's boss panicked. he said mm should still raise with commercial partner as to who would step in when mm's colleague is not available - bearing in mind he said he'll be out of town on the red days! what's the point?? what's the urgency - client already said they don't mind if they have to wait another month to sign the deal. it's actually the other side who's trying the get the deal signed off. stupid guy, falling into that trap!

mm being mm would not budge so easily. so she wrote a tactful email to the commercial partner, hoping that he would come back and say it's not necessary to work over Easter. That should solve the problem! mm is waiting for the commercial partner's reply. In the meantime, let's share mm's great tactful drafting:

"If the other side reverts to us this Thursday, we may need to work over Easter holiday such that we could send the revised draft Agreement to them early next week. mm's colleague is working on the revised draft Agreement on the basis of our final offer to the other side. We aim to have a revised draft Agreement by Thursday before mm's colleague goes away for Easter (returning on Wednesday, 30 March 2005), so it may be that we would only need to incorporate the other side's comments into the draft Agreement. But if necessary, is there someone who could step in to help?"

so mm now has *two* scary thoughts: 1) that she needs to come into the office during Easter and 2) she needs to cancel her holiday with bb - very scared!!!

it was both bb and mm's deadline last Friday - what a coincidence! it's also very convenient!!

got a call from him - what a surprise!

he sounded much better, more of his usual self, to begin with. then he accused me for being in a bad mood and was sarcastic the other day. I protested. he said I should know him etc etc. anyway, he made his point, so did I.

then he brought me up to date of what's going on on that case. in brief, both firms of lawyers are trying different ways of getting more money out from her. now they have filed their case, and nothing need to be done now. but both firms managed to come up with something which they said to her needs to be done in the meantime. everyone has their own agenda. sf said he put those to rest. the effect is that he must have saved her say $5 to 10m a month easily. good for him.

i told him at one stage, my boss here asked about moving the case across. may be for dual purpose 1) to verify the role I claimed to have played in the probate action and 2) see if they can get $$$. told sf that I said no to it, simply because I finished my work, and they don't need me anymore.

sad it is, but it's true - I'm used. time to move on.

we talked about holiday plan. actually, told him i'm going away for b'day, and he (as usual) is not going anywhere. told him we'll be going to phuket and bangkok. he said why would I want to go to a place where many had died recently. I said there's a reason. then he asked "he?" didn't know what he was talking about. he explained when people say there's a reason, it's usually connected to their other halves. smart guy! then he tried various ways to find out who's going with me eg are you going with your family? is it your mother etc. good try. I laughed, but did not answer. he gave up. he said let's meet for a coffee at starbucks next week. I said ok. the back of my mind said why did he mention "coffee"?? not "hot chocolate"?? he's changed. I let it lie.

at least we ended at a nicer note this time.

bb and mm were born in the same week - although in different years. so every year, they can celebrate their b'days together, and this year is no exception. in fact, for this year, they have both taken that week off and plan to get away together. initial plan is to phuket, which mm said will go with bb some years ago - mm went there with her mum for the first time last year in September before the tsunami struck.

as it is with every other news, people's memory fades quickly and whilst at the time, that news make headlines on tv and newspapers, there's no mention of it at all now - and we are only less than 3 months since it happened. mm is not sure about the situation there, and so she did some research. here are some websites which talks about phuket's recovery after the event:

http://www.planetholidayhk.com/tsunami.htm
http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/050311/15/3r6mc.html
http://www.phuket.com/

all says it's fine to go there. mm will ask about hiring a car too.

mm also checked out skiing - it's still available in hokkaido for that period, if bb prefers - cos it's its big b'day! :D

bb stayed with mm last night. it's a great evening - they escaped in early evening, returned to bb's to get overnight stuff, went for an Indian dinner - a restaurant they wanted to try for ages and finally got there; it's in TKS, window shopping at a furniture shop there, strolled home and on their way back, picked up dessert, went to bed early - but mm was watching the Korean drama she'd seen a few times, while bb was sounded asleep! what better evening can there be??!

they went to work together this morning. mm thinks it's good to meet on Wednesday. if they stay together that evening, it only means that they don't see each other on monday and tuesday - not bad.

a temporary solution, in response to bb's patience. : )

bb wants a aeron chair for b'day pressie. but can't order through her office - yes, she has one in her office already. searched several website this morning. found this: http://www.sit4less.com/aeronchair.html

asking for some US$650. don't know if it helps.

sf called today. called him back and left message. a bit of hide and seek there. he caught me after lunch.

started with general greetings - asked how I'm doing, if people here are good, if it's better here, workwise, and how did the draft case read (which is probably what he's after) etc. when I asked him, he sighed (hur?? what kind of reply is that???)

he said it's the first time that something is done without me. I said it only means that I'm fully dispensable. He said I'm in his heart. I said I wish that's true.

he said he's losing all his clients. I was nice. I said "you don't need them." ha haa! and the back of my mind thinks it's his choice. and he's not the only one who's done that. he's not God, and he should stop acting as though he is.

I seized the opportunity to tell him that I was hurt - he was real sharp and was truly untouchable. I said I appreciate he was under a lot of pressure, but can't help feeling that way. then he said I was silly. when he complained that I'd never called if he has not, trying to lighten things up, I said "no, I was not." I said I can't see from where I am and don't know when he's busy and when he's not. better play safe. he said I was silly. silly it may be, but it's safe. I have feelings and dignity too. I just don't see why I should put myself low when it's really his wife's job, and hers only! if the others can be nasty to him and be respected, I'll be that way.

we hanged up the usual way - he got another call, and he said he'll call me later.

I must have scared him off. but can't help it. I'm only human, and feelings too. Am I concerned that he would never call again? not quite, as if I have lost him, that happened soon after I left my old firm. In fact, I never have him. took me a while to realise, but it's about time I grow up - although I'm still a bit relunctant to do so. I still want to think the world is beautiful.

It still is. bb is there. : )

if you have a relationship when you are young, you'll probably be spending quite a bit of time arguing and fighting over things or principles or picking on each other's habits or weakness. but the benefit is that you share more of your life with each other (assuming you don't break up) and get to know each other at an earlier stage, and therefore will understand each other more. after a while, you just know the person!

that I guess is bbmm's summary. we have been together for a while. there were ups and downs but we went through those. i'd describe it to be stable now. mm used to be afraid of committment, feeling bound, and worried that won't be able to realise them and therefore bb would be disappointed. i think both bbmm are now more relaxed - and are indulging into spoiling each other - bb could play on computer all weekend while mm could sit in front of tv also all weekend! ha ha ha! that may sound unimaginative, unconventional (really??) and boring, but at the end of the weekend, bbmm still want more time together, so those adjectives are not quite right.

after all these babbles, mm just wants to say she's enjoying this relationship - letting each other do what the other like, and be together. : )

But mm has another thought for "what to do at weekends" and that is - cycling, and may be bbmm would go say NT or other island and take photos?? have to do so before it gets hot and sticky.

From bb
Normally I'd put my thoughts in the comments and not barge into mm's post like this, but I have more to say than just comments, which I feel fits into mm's post, and I want it to be on the main page.

bb's summary of bbmm is pretty much the same as mm's. A pleasant surprise, cos I thought we may see our relationship differently. Certainly in the past we have.

This relationship is the only one either of us has ever known. bb hasn't ever been with anyone else and mm too, by and large. So perhaps on the face of it, we shouldn't be comparing and having expectations.

When we were younger (and we were young when we started -- even though bb was older, bb's always been young for her age in terms of maturity), emotions were way more intense. There was a lot more passion and desire but more arguments and stubborn-ness too. Now, after so many ups and downs and time apart, I think we both realise it's time to put the self-centred and destructive feelings away and enjoy our time together. Signs of ageing? Definitely. But not in a bad way. Staying home all weekend but in different rooms? Relaxing and doing what we like ourselves? Yeah it sounds boring but with all the stresses of our lives it's exactly what we need.

The great thing is, we've stumbled upon our balance. We no longer feel the need to be joined at the hips for every single second we're together. There's security and confidence that mm won't disappear if bb doesn't have her in sight constantly. It's allowing each other freedom to pursue our own hobbies. It's trust. And it has taken time.

I know I want more time together, I don't think I speak out of turn if I say mm thinks that too. Right now, with us living on opposite sides of town, it's hard. The 48 hours we snatch each week is a poor substitute to being together every night. But that's something we'll work out, and perhaps we should not take it so much to heart, and let things develop naturally. A solution will come by, just need to be patient.

was in touch with an ex-colleague. she's also into korean drama. she's nice and intelligent, and that's a rarity in old firm.

we agreed to meet for din din on 24th March - and of course, for korean lah! there's been a korean drama which talks and shows a lot of good korean food for the royals. mm seemed to have read somewhere that says that a korean restaurant in HK is offering such cuisine for royals. ex-colleague will find out and let's see if we get a chance to try that.

24th is the day before public holiday. hope bb not mind. mm already asked to start early - 7pm, subject to work, so shouldn't finish too late. may be bb want to join too, or bb wants mm to be guinea pig and if it's good, will take bb there afterwards??

stupid mm forgot to bring bb keys last Friday evening, so ended up hanging around in central for some 2/3 hours. stupid, right? went to a book shop, read about food in bangkok - in preparation for their trip/b'day! the book recommended a jap buffet. Name of the restaurant is Oishi. website addy is: www.oishirestaurant.com. logged onto there this evening to take a look at it - the book recommended prior booking as it's full most of the times. price looks reasonable - 299 Baht per person. for 1 hour 45 mins eat as much as you can. it opens from 11 am to 10 pm.

apparently, the restaurant belongs to Oishi Group. has quite a lot of other stuff. the internet is ok to surf - but most of it seems to be in Thai! mm has been learning Korean by osmosis - watching tons of Korean drama. can pick up a few words here and there. but Thai - mm's clueless! never watched a Thai program or drama closely. no intention to start lah.

the restaurant is centrally located - in Siam Square, which is a shopping arcade. shouldn't be difficult to find. worth trying for say, lunch?? let's see what bb thinks. : )

there's already a structure for this weekend's plan - which is rare, given it's only Monday, and that we don't usually have any plan until the weekend is over!

Sat - am - office; 1pm meeting with edn*; then tea at tea house in HK Park.
Sun - PRC

yes, weekend has been shortened because of that. one thing not sure is where's best to stay on Fri and Sat night. that'll work out.

in the meantime, need to think hard on what mm wants for b'day - yes, she'd been asked!

NB a thought came up after writing this post (it's now coming up to 6pm on the same day). may be bbmm will go jap buffet in central on Friday evening? wonder if bb might like that. :)

sometimes it's quite difficult to put a title to an entry. to me, an entry should be whatever one wants to record, and could be on anything and everything. and most of the time, for me, i cover several things in one entry, more like my diary. but i can't put the date in the title because it's already provided for. I can't say it's diary, as it's too unimaginative. sometimes, there's a little pressure there. :P

sf never returned my call or sms of the day before. eventually, I wrote an email to set out my comments on the draft case - that should stop him pointing fingers at me later. got an email from him this morning saying that case was filed yesterday and thanks for the helpful comments, and asking how am I. I replied that he must be exhausted; I've been very busy; and the weather is bad. I have had enough. I have feelings and dignity. I'm doing that for free and in my own time. I don't owe them anything. In any event, I don't deserve to be treated like that! the tone of my email should be clear to him. if he chooses to ignore, nothing I can do.

I feel unhappy, and disappointed. the naivity of me was hoping and believing that sf is different, but apparently, he's just one of them - using others, treating you nicely when they need your help, but treat you like sh*t after you are used. sigh

It's Friday. abou 12:15pm. I've been feeling hungry for the last half hour or so. my secretary sent me a link to "yummy places for 2005." went through the first page - looks really good, and feeling more hungry. thinking of taking bb there. here's the link - in case I can't find it again: yummy places.

did a draft reply and circulated it to my boss. got his comments back on the introduction part a moment ago. He has effectively crossed everything out and re-casted the whole thing. I read his amendment. there's no change in substance. in terms of style, I prefer mine - yes, I may sound eagle -istic, but if you read it, I think my opinion is justified. And he did a covering email to send his comments in attachment. in that email, he said " thanks for the good work you have put in and I've been looking at it etc etc." what stupid thing to say. that's basically saying that I know you worked hard on it, thanks very much, but it's rubbish! - nevermind.

met with an ex-colleague for a drink last night at Chamber Lourge, Ritz Carlton. enjoyed that very much. their snacks are good. told him that people here are all very nice, and the partners are making an effort to push me forward, but I would like to do something intellectually stimulating, but there's none here. I'm thinking if I should see if say CC is recruiting or might consider me. but there's conflict of interest on a huge case they do that's why I didn't knock on their door at the time. I suppose the question is: do I want $$ or want jobsatisfaction? if I make partner, $$ should be better and therefore I should stay here. If I want job satisfaction, may be I should look elsewhere. the support here is not great either.

I don't know if this is part of the cycle when one joins a new company. I hope it is.

may be I'll seek bb's advice when we meet again - later today - yeah!

why did I put asterisks between "Head"? that's how he says it, with emphasis, each time he tells people of his position, even when not asked, naturallement.

just reported to him on a case for which he's the supervising partner. as usual, he doesn't want to know. he said he leaves the day-to-day stuff with me. that's fine. but i think he just want to wash his hands off, as it's too "ma fan" and it's more of a social issue, rather than legal issue. he also criticised the two professionals appointed by the Court do not knowing what they are doing.

then all of a sudden he spoke to me re partnership. he told me a consultant in this group has resigned and will leave in May. that's a good thing for me (don't know why). he said I only need 24 votes, and he has already secured 12. he said "don't worry, I think you are better than the consultant. your english is better than his." - well, I think he tried to be encouraging, but I think it's an insult. it's certainly not a complement! only if you heard the guy speaks. before I joined here, I had a case against that consultant. his legal skill is not worth mentioning, and I think that's what people generally thinks of him too, so not a subjective opinion.

he also said I'll make it, and "don't worry" me again.

it's a happy thing, and i'm grateful, but i've been compared to that consultant ... bbmm should plan to go away in Dec. As mm said before, if mm gets promoted, it'd be a trip to celebrate. if not, it'd be a trip to comfort her. either way, mm gets to go away with bb, so either way, mm is a winner - yeah!

always have things that want to do, but then when there's time to do so, those things are usually forgotten, and nothing is done.

thinking of making a memoire of things we want to do, so if we are stuck, there's some reference. here are some to start with:

- hiking
- visit lantau island
- spa in chu hai
- try korean cooking - need to get books on it first

places to visit:

- new zealand
- india

meeting ex-client for a happy-hour drink - din din would be a bit much with her. her conversation is quite dry. she's a year older, but still studying. she's living on old money, so no point of sharing work experience with her. she's pretty innocent too.

it's 5:41pm. officially 11 minutes passed the end of the day. shall I go???

nothing! came in for breakfast meeting - it's a real breakfast meeting. we all had hot breakfast and was served. great stuff. not greasy at all. vegetarian omlette, one sausage, and some mushrooms.

then did a few things for Japs client and spoke to commercial associate about it. a few other phone calls. that's all really.

but did some non-chargeable work too. got a revised draft case from sf this morning and spent some time to read it through and commented on it. sent sms to sf wanting to speak to him re my comments. eventually gave up and wrote him an email setting out all comments. i'm not going to hang around today to wait for his call. he may never call! and that's not unrealistic or speculative!!

draft case due in tomorrow. did everything I can. my conscience is clear.

spoke to travel agent re April trip. made some arrangements.

spoke to bb again - hippy!

yesterday's entry was a dull read. and unhappy. there were in fact happy things happened. 2 things came to mind namely, bb called and I won in the hot debate with my partners and colleague!

yes, it was a hot debate. I raised with my boss the night before and asked him to consider overnight. I sensed that he still disagreed with my view. but rather than saying that to me, and obviously, not wanting to take any responsibility, he said we should also seek the commercial partner's view. his comment on the commercial associate was that her experience were in UK, not HK! that amazed me as in commercial world, I'd expect the english to be more sophisticated than us. in any event, the scale of their transactions is usually much larger than ours.

so I called this meeting among the 4 of us. my boss and I were on different side. the commercial partner was the judge. the commercial associate is on my side as we discussed it the night before. in the end, both of us felt that we achieved something out of it. it's exhaustive to have to deal with it that way, but what to do?? the main reason why I disagreed with my boss was because his view was not commercial enough and it would not have achieved client's objective. he just wanted more litigation and he approached it from a litigation angle. the thing is the parties have reached an understanding on the terms on which the dispute could be settled, therefore, my view is that we should try to acheive that for client. the focus should therefore be commercial, not litigious.

after that discussion, I drafted correspondence for client and advised client. the commercial partner sent an email to me, copied to my boss and the commercial associate, which said "great draft response."

sorry folks, a bit of blowing my own trumpet there!

feel bad. sf sent the draft for me to look at. read in quickly last night and tried to catch him yesterday and today. yes, I've been lazy, I could have gone back sooner, but I've other work to do and I need a break too. the fact is that I'm not instructed on the matter, not that I want to boast about how nice and great I am, but just that I can't put everything aside and just work on that like I was in my old firm. what happened was I sent him sms and left messages and asked him to return my call. the last sms I sent was to say that it'll only take him 5 mins. then he called on my mobile and we've just spoken. the first thing he said was "you have 5 mins. yes, go on." I said "thank you" and before I was able to go on, he said, in an annoying tone, "you came back to me too late. I gave you the draft last week. your comments is probably history now." I said "in that case, I won't go through each paragraph but just on 2 points." then I said the first point. he said it's now been included. again, before I was able to go on, he interrupted and said he's working on the draft and proposed to send it to me later this evening, and that I must read it tonight and revert to him tomorrow morning. I was *so* close to tell him "don't bother." what kind of attitude is that??! I really wonder why and for what I'm doing it?? client doesn't know. he's blaming me. what's the point??! why did I stay until 10:45 pm last night to ready the bl**dy thing, when I don't even get an "E" for effort???!

If they don't want me, or my comments, fine. I didn't ask for this. they came to me for help.

I feel really, really stupid, and hurt.

i've tried to write on this web for a few days, but was too busy. when I finished work, it's either too late (eg 11:45pm) or too tired and just wanted to quit. it's terrible of me as there were so many things I want to write and tell bb. those things just kept floating in my head, and yet to be shared with bb. the thing with me is that i usually remember them when I'm not trying to remember them or thinking of those things, but they just came back to me? i don't know if it makes sense to the reader of this weblog, but that's what's happening with me!

Various things have happened this week and I think they are worth mentioning. I'll put them under different episode, and as far as I can remember, in chronological order.

Episode 1 - Tuesday

it was "go lo's" birthday tomorrow, Wednesday, but we are having lunch with him today to celebrate his and another associate in this team's birthday. went to the chinese restaurant at Man Yee Building. been there once or twice with my ex-supervisor and colleagues from Lov***s. food was ok. bull shit for an hour or so. $222 each. not cheap for lunch at all, although we are paying for the 2 birthday boys.

Episode 2 - Wednesday

"go lo's" birthday today. came in early as we have a telecon with Japs client on a job that morning. but the telephone system in the whole building was down, and we also had problems with our email. so, in addition to wishing "go lo" happy birthday, I blamed him for the faults in the telephone system and email and said it's all because it's his birthday - as a job and trying to wind him up, of course. He told me he was going to Verandah in Repulse Bay for dinner with his family - his dad was in town for a few weeks. sounds good. I had a nice buffet dinner with bb, and my elder brother's family too. that was good. nice environ, but one the expensive side in terms of the quality of food. can't remember how much exactly, but I think well over $300 per head - and bb treated us all! that hurts - bb's $$ is mine!! :P

So our telecon was moved to business centre in Mandarin. they charge $350 plus 10% service charge an hour - not bad at all. it's nice there. to certain extent, better than in the office. it went on from about 10:30 am and finished around 3:00pm - non stop! we did not even break for tea or lunch. I left the room whenever I needed the loo. there was no snack, just water and some coffee. I'm not complaining mandarin, but I thought the partners should order something. One client was with us in the meeting, so they should at least be nice to him.

When we were done with the telecon, I came back to office. then i got a call from my boss (who left mandarin later as he had to pay for the room etc) asking me to lunch with him - in Canteen in the building next to us. Canteen is a fast food stop run by Max*m's Group. And I had a noodles in soup with barbecue pork, plus a hot plum tea. that tea was nice. but I expected at least coffee shop in Mandar*n ...

After we have eaten, he told me that he was very, very impressed with my performance and that I settled in very well and very quickly. He said I should rest assured that they are doing everything they can to push me to the next level, and I only need to do what I'm doing now. If I believe that, I'll believe in everything - naturally. but as my dad taught me - it's better for him to have said all these than not, and as bb said previously, there must be a basis for him to say so, although he might have exaggerated a little. And don't get me wrong, I believe that I did very well so far, and no doubt about my ability! But that was my boss's pretext.

Then he asked how nw case was going. As the conversation went on, it became crystal clear that he wants to get that case to here. In particular, he said for that case, money was not an issue. He put it on the basis that whilst they could sell me to others that I was a key member in that case, but here's a limited and it's rather vague and unsubstantiated if nw just left it at that after I left my previous firm. He said if I'm going to bring it here, he would need to put together a team for me. That would obviously good, if not guarantee, my prospect here. But I don't want that. Not that I don't want to improve my prospect here, or that I don't want to work on that case, but I didn't think that's in nw's best interest. So I told him, honestly and frankly, that it'd be difficult to do so as there are a lot of political issues and that I've advised against nw coming here. Also, it's be bad for this firm's reputation as it can expect to be blamed and criticised if that case not go well - and it's now in the last court here ie if anything goes wrong, there's no more appeal. At the end of my long explanation and analysis, I said the way I see this is that my work would be investment for future work from nw, not that case. I asked if he thinks differently, he said he has no particular view or comments. I took his point that the claim that i'm a key player in that litigation would be unsubstantiated unless that case follows me, but my conscience does not allow me to follow that objective at the expense of nw. That case is too important. It's her life. I have my reputation to protect too. I won't do it. I could well be that as a result, I don't get made up this year. The thing is if I don't, then neither should "go lo." Also, if I don't get made up solely because of that, I should think twice if I want to be here - although my boss said it does not affect my chance to be made up, but isn't that a little contradictory??!

I was a bit taken back after that conversation, but then I got a call from bb. bb's great - such good listener, had the patience to listen to these boring politic that does not concern her at all. although i thanked her over the phone, I still want to thank her here - thanks & smack!

ww called last night and I told him my conversation with my boss too. he said my boss is only interested in business.

Episode 3 - Thursday

I'm a sobie today. been busy this and last week. left office around 11:45 pm last night, came in around 8:45 am because I have meeting with another client. that a bank in PRC. client speaks mandarin. their accents are easy. it's my first mandarin case - let's see how it goes - hahaa!

bought 2 large bars of Cadbury's chocolate - finished with the shells already! lately, I appreciate more that girls and chocolate are one and the same entity!

really miss bb. checked but not much post. when we spoke on the phone, we kind of blame each other not posting anything?! it's quite funny. sent sms to bb and promised to write today, and I am doing it! : )