March 2013

When Jax was three, he got the hots for a sweet little girl, Deviyani (also three), and through that love connection I made a terrific new friend, Anu Kumar. Anu is a terrific lady. She’s gentle, loving and sweet, as well as a woman of incredible intelligence and curiosity. As we started getting to know each other, it turned out my humble friend is also very successful Indian writer, with a strong following on the Indian subcontinent and beyond. Since we met, Anu had her head down creating an adult murder-mystery – “It Takes a Murder” – which was published late last year. I had the privilege of attending her book launch in Singapore recently, where I was able to finally get my hands on the new book. I am not a murder-mystery kind of gal, it’s just never been my genre, but I absolutely LOVED this book – and not just because it was written by my friend. Anu is one of those rare talents who writes with the most delicate words, and she has an amazing gift for describing a scene in a way that takes you right into the moment. India remains my favorite country, and for me, Anu was able to capture and explain so much of what I saw when I was there, even down to the point I could smell what she was describing – not always a positive when it comes to India J. Brooks Town came alive for me through Anu’s words, as did the rich array of curious characters the story is wrapped around, especially the main character Charlotte – who I still don’t quite understand but that’s OK. I read an interview that Anu was inspired to write this story after observing many solitary women, and it always left her wondering what their story is. I often wonder what a complete stranger’s story might be, so I loved what she created out of her inspiration behind this book. The cast of characters is complex and deep. Charlotte, the main character is a fascinating woman, who you get to know throughout the book, but her story is never done – which is intriguing. I was curious about her strained relationship with her daughter, Maddy, and wondered about the heritage of that inability to truly connect with her. I am looking forward to understanding that in the next book – because I presume (and hope) there will be one. Then there was the absent husband – maybe dead, maybe not – who I think was British but I was never 100 percent sure, and the other star of the book – Gautam Dogra. Dogra could be from any country – a middle-aged man, protective of his daughter’s virtue, who became embittered by the experiences and failures of his life. He’s hateful and hurtful towards everyone, including himself, and Charlotte’s attraction to him says as much about her and it does about him – but you don’t really get that at the start. Another star is Dogra’s daughter Asha, wow what a character, however definitely not someone I could ever spend too much time with. For me, this book is more than a murder-mystery, it’s more than a love story, and it’s more than the rich and intriguing characters Anu explores. It’s a journey into the last 50 years of Indian history and what it means to the people of this country. We can try to understand this time from reading history books, but Anu opens our eyes to what it actually meant to the people directly impacted by these events – including the love of a nation towards Indira Gandhi and the attitude towards Sikh’s when Gandhi was murdered by her Sikh body guards. I found the historical insight fascinating. There is so much I loved about this book. It appealed to me on so many levels. I feel I understand India just a little bit more after reading it. It’s an amazing journey into life for a small hill station town, with deep English imperial roots, and while it appears not much is going on, there is – in fact – so much going on. Bravo my friend. What a talent you are. I hope someone buys the rights to this, because it would make a spectacular movie. Buy it if you can and support a great talent. You’ll be delighted you did. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea 

I’m now in my third year of “official” predictions for American Idol and while I’m writing this a little later in the season (usually do it when the top 20 are announced), I decided it’s time to stake my claim once again, because season 12 is cracking, with the girls absolutely standing out. I’m also loving the new judges. Mariah Carey started off weird for me with her diva-esque-disconnected-from-reality kind-of way, but I’m warming up to her as she opens up her true self to the world – that evolution alone has been interesting. Nicki Minaj obviously does NOT like Mariah, but I must say – Nicki is a funny bitch and I love her honesty! And Keith Urban – man, what a sweet dude. I love how he can see into the hearts of people – not a common quality in human beings these days, especially in the world of showbiz. Randy, well he’s Randy, and I’m glad he’s still around. Photo credit Americanidol.com  My previous prediction blogs have had decent readership, with the 2011 blog here and 2012 here – which remains my third most popular blog after anal bleaching and speech delayed children. Let’s see if this gets picked up in Google searches again this year? BUT my predictions are not necessarily reflected in the final results – then again, maybe the curse was broken last year with Philip Phillips winning? Maybe I’m getting more in tune with the American kids? Sometimes it just seems the qualities I admire in a performer – the ability to rock my world with their voice and give me goosebumps – is not necessarily what the American voting audience goes for. Old bag versus the tweens right? Girls How many seasons has it been since a girl won American Idol? Five? Well it can’t continue this year, because the girls are absolutely crack-a-lacking! Four out of the top five could win it, but here’s my order of preference and why. Candice – I absolutely adore this woman. My word she can sing and she’s the one whose album I will buy. Jazzy, bluesy, cool, great musical judgment, lover her. Will she win? She could, but based on past Idols, there are a couple of things going against her. Firstly, she won’t be perceived as contemporary in comparison to the other contestants. In addition, she’s got to work on her PR skills and keep the smile going no matter what. The camera regularly catches her with a scowl and she definitely does not have a poker face. Stuff like this matters on American Idol – so she’s got to win the hearts and minds Angie – this gal is an incredible talent across multiple areas – voice, musicianship, drama, style, etc.. although I was relieved to see the hair a bit more under control this week – she’s got so much of it! She is terrific, and while Candice is my preference, Angie equally deserves to win. When she performed her own song a few weeks ago, I knew her ultimate style is definitely something I’m inclined towards – a bit Loreena McKennit without the complete range… Angie is also very contemporary Kree – this woman is a stand-out for me, and I would be equally pleased to see her win. I’m not massively into country, but her voice has a class and purity that I am completely drawn towards. She also has a heartbreaking story which makes me want to see her succeed even more. There’s just a simple elegance about her that is very alluring. It’s been wonderful watching this humble and shy lady come into her own and really embrace her talent – I think she’s special Amber – this young lady is Whitney Houston re-born and she is going to be the lady singing soundtracks in the eternal movies of the future. She is a phenomenal talent, but she’s number four for me only because I’m not the sort of person to buy the diva albums. It doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate her tremendous voice, it’s just not my thing. She’s a stunning young girl, and at 18, she’s going to be around the music business for a long time. However, based on her bottom three position this week, America isn’t in love with her and I honestly don’t know why. Let’s see how she goes Janelle – up until this week, Janelle just wasn’t my cup of tea at all. She’s all sweet and lovely for sure, and she’s a true country gal with tremendous talent, I just don’t dig her style as much as the other girls. With that said, she was sensational this week – a very powerful performance. She’s a terrific kid and her music career will continue beyond the show I think all of the girls are terrific for very different reasons, but the boys are NOT such stand-outs for me. One sensational singer has already been voted out and another that was in my top 10 didn’t make it in. It shouldn’t be a boys’ year this year compared to the girls, but the American voting public does seem to like its boys. Boys Curtis Finch Jr – my favorite male in the top 10 and he was the first to go – bummer. This boy is absolutely magnificent and I HOPE he goes on to do more, because he has heart and soul in his voice that is once-in-a-generation stuff Burnell – the little lad from New Orleans is as sweet as they come, with the most distinctive voice I’ve heard from a male in a long time. He’s now my top boy in the competition and if he can keep things interesting, he definitely has the talent to go to the end. I will be amazed if a girl doesn’t win, but if one doesn’t, it’s because Burnell will find his true path and wow audiences week after week. I don’t know if he has that insight into himself yet? Devin –

Well here I am, sitting in a beautiful five star hotel in Sydney, reflecting on the fact that my life has become rather frantic in a very different way the last month. This reflection started on Monday night as I contemplated my first proper business trip in quite a few years. So I’m sitting there thinking – how the hell do I even pack for a business trip anymore? I mean what clothes do I take? And what’s the weather in Sydney going to be like? But then who cares, because if it’s cold I’ll just have to be cold, because I only have clothes for a tropical climate anyway, so don’t even check the weather, just pack whatever and see where it takes you. Thankfully the weather has been absolutely magnificent, so I have been very comfortable with my selection, but I have suffered the cold on past trips and know how miserable that can be. Hey I live in Singapore and just don’t have winter clothes anymore… But the next thought – what do I need to take on the plane? Ticket, passport, employment pass, work stuff to read, a book, headphones, a little make-up, work books to make notes, etc, etc, etc… and yet, what bag is best to hold all of that but is also comfortable to travel with, then how do I pack it in a way that makes what I want to utilize accessible during those brief moments one has before putting said bag in the overhead compartment while getting bashed and shoved by other passengers doing exactly the same thing…    And then you get to the airport, and security regulations keep changing, there’s so many different scans, and you’re out of practice so constantly feel like a dufus, but somehow you get on the plane and think right, OK, I’m off. It’s at that moment you start feeling sad that you had to say goodbye to your little loves for the week. You know they’ll be fine, but you didn’t have time to reflect on that aspect as you just got caught up in the madness of actually getting on the plane and not forgetting anything. So the plane trips done, you got to watch a few movies you didn’t see in the cinema because it’s years since you’ve done that, and then you get to your hotel late in the evening, checking in, finding your room down endless corridors (Beijing was worse though) walking into the unknown (thankfully it’s beautiful), unpacking your bag, sorting your stuff out, finding the iron and ironing board + the hairdryer, all the while trying to get online and you can’t, because you weren’t paying enough attention when someone showed you once how to do it, and so you keep trying to do all sorts of different things to get your email working, and in the meantime you need to Skype with your family because they’re missing their mumma, and it’s getting close to 1am, but you’re not tired because it’s only 10pm where you live, but you have to get up at 6’something am and go meet someone you’ve never met before at an address you’ve never been to before and you have to sound intelligent because you want these people to like and respect you, so you get through that, before doing the next meeting in the same context, and the next and the next and the next, before coming back to your hotel in the evening and going SIGH – I made it!! And that’s only a week which included business travel, something I will get back into the habit of doing, as I did for so many years of my life. However things have definitely become frantic in a whole new way. I am enjoying it though, especially as in Australia I got to buy bras that actually fit me – score! Right it’s Friday and time to go and play with my Sydney pals yip yah! Yours, without the bollocks Andrea

So I got my big boy back after a two week adventure in the US (well it was work not fun) and I’m so very bloody happy to have him home. It’s always hard having him away, not just because it’s intense on the home front trying to manage all aspects of life, but because I miss him plain and simple. I think I missed him more than usual this time, because when you’re confronting so much change personally, not having your best mate around to talk too is difficult. Suffice to say, I did a lot of pining these last two weeks. Therefore, hand on heart; I am truly grateful for the beautiful man in my life. Steve’s a really special guy, not just ‘cos he was brave enough to marry me, but because he has loved me for who I am – and all that entails – from the minute we met. I think he’s pretty remarkable for that, because being with someone who loves you for who you are isn’t actually that common, I’ve come to realise. I was always hopeful I’d find someone like that, because I’m not the sort of person who can change my personality depending on the people I’m with – I am who I am, and he loves that – awesome. He’s also completely and 100 per cent focused on supporting me in whatever way I need to achieve my dreams. All he wants is for me to fly in whatever direction I want to fly and to be happy with where it takes me. I know he’ll be by my side throughout – through the good and the bad. He often says he’d love nothing more than to kick back and take care of the boys if supporting my career required that. I know he really means it. Steve knows my dreams and carries them as his own. He also puts up with my constantly seeking mind, as well as my explorations into all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas as I try to make sense of the world. While he often looks at me blankly when I talk about complex possibilities or theories (‘cos he’s just not that interested), he loves the fact I want to explore and I sure appreciate that. Many a man would ignore me or tell me I’m nuts. It feels amazing being loved by someone with all of his heart and then some. It feels incredible having confidence in his love for me – which is definitely something I am grateful for every day of my life. It’s also something I could never ever take advantage of, because it’s too beautiful to be abused. Don’t get me wrong – we’ve had some rough times along the journey of married life, and these last four years have been nothing but intense. Sometimes I wondered if we were capable of bringing our couple-dom back into harmony – because it would have been very easy to drift apart – but neither of us wanted that. So we kept talking, and listening to each other, and working at it, and remembering to love each other, and remembering not to blame each other, and remembering how special what we have together really is. So I’m a lucky gal with my boy. He’s a truly remarkable, kind, thoughtful and loving person. He’s an unbelievably magnificent Dad. He knows me and gets me. He knows when I’m uncomfortable or hurt, even when no one else can see it. He is my East, my West, my North, and my South. We’re definitely in this marriage for the long haul as we both dream of being together into old age, hand-in-hand, walking along a beach, him with his nut bra and me with my saggy old boobs banging around my knees… such a sweet vision. Yours, without the bollocks Andrea