Weekends

Why do weekends have to end so fast. I usually have a list of things which have to be accomplished over a weekend, but barely manage to make a dent on it. I don't know if my expectations for the weekend are very high or I just don't do enough to complete everything for the weekend.

Friday is a beautiful start to a weekend - full of promise and expectations. Then Saturday rolls in with a fully packed schedule - most of which remains undone. Last comes Sunday with the realization that the weekend is over and nothing much has been done!!

This weekend we took the kids to see the new Mr. Bean movie called "Mr. Bean's Holiday". This was the second movie that they have seen in the theater (the first being Happy Feet). The Pilot is such a huge fan of Mr. Bean, that except for one short toilet break, she sat through the entire movie absolutely transfixed. And those of you who know him, will agree that sitting through a 90 minute movie with just one toilet break is a great achievement for him. Well the movie was classic Rowan Atkinson with not much dialog but plenty of action. The theater was filled with kids of all ages and looks like this movie will be a huge hit here in Singapore.

The Pilot and the Princess fell sick (cough and cold) over the weekend too so this weekend was filled with stuff to do. I took them to the doctor on Sunday and although the Pilot didn't have it too bad, the Princess's chest was filled with phlegm. WE have been given loads of medicines and have been asked to monitor her. If it persists for over 4-5 days, i have to take her back to the GP and then he will ask me to take her to the hospital for an x-ray. I am actually thinking of not taking her to the GP tomorrow and instead getting an appointment with her pediatrician on Saturday for a second opinion. What do you all say?

Girls and Boys

Being the mom to a girl/boy pair of twins has certainly given me loads of food for thought. It's quite fascinating to see how girls and boys behave under certain situations - given that the external environment is the same for them both. This brings to my mind the "Nature versus Nurture" theory that I learned in Psychology class way back in college. The gist of that theory is that "What determines a human being's behaviour patterns? Is it his internal genetic make-up or is it the external factors which make a person what he/she is and how they behave?"

With the Pilot and Princess, I have always tried to be fair - I never made any distinctions between the two, especially in terms of gender specific toys and games. But surprisingly the age-old gender distinctions are very clear in our home. The Princess loves playing with her dolls and Barbie collections and the Pilot is vehicle mad. But there are some blurred spaces - the Princess likes to play with blocks and the Pilot with their little laptop (guess that is because it is a Ferrari model and all the games are car based).

But it is in temperaments that I am most surprised about. Contrary to perception that girls are made of 'sugar and spice and all that is nice', the Princess is the more assertive and dominating twin. The Pilot on the other hand easily gives in to his sister, but he is learning to be more assertive now. The Princess can shriek, rant and throw tantrums with the best of them and she is not afraid of anyone and anything. If we try to punish her, she probably will come back to me and I am really dreading her teens! The Pilot is more sensitive and a look from me is enough to make him back down. If anyone has any ideas on how to handle them, I'll be really grateful.

Back to cricket. India beat Bermuda by a huge margin and make World Cup history. Yesterday Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh and lead the table now. If India beat Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in turn will beat Bermuda then both India and Bangladesh will be equal in terms of points. So to get to the next level, which is the Super Eight, the run rate will be deciding factor. As of now, because of India's huge total against Bermuda, the run rate is in their favor, so now everything hinges on the last two matches of the group. Here in Singapore, there is not much being made about the ICC World Cup, soccer being the game of choice and the English Premier League the most watched games in the sports channels.

Recently there are many adverts about the Zee Cine Awards and since this year they are going to be held in Genting, Malaysia, I was quite tempted to go for it. Then I saw the ticket rates and decided that if I have to buy the cheapest ticket and see it on a screen in the auditorium, I might as well wait for Zee to show it on cable and I will see it then....

Bombay.....Mumbai

For some reason today, I was getting homesick and kept thinking of my home - Bombay. I was in college when the name change was affected and till date can't call it Mumbai - for me, it remains and will always remain Bombay!

Here is something that I dug out of my archives (it's basically interesting stuff that I save). Since the theme today is Bombay, here are some Bombay facts (I got these as forwards and so this is nothing that I wrote, but since I have long lost the original email, I can't give the author any credit. But if this your work, let me know and I will give credit where it is due).

22 Things that prove you are a Bombayaite

1. You say "town " and expect everyone to know that this means south of Churchgate.
2. You speak in a dialect of Hindi called 'Bambaiya Hindi', which only Bombayites can understand.*
3. Your door has more than three locks.
4. Rs 500 worth of groceries fit in one paper bag.
5. Train timings (9.27, 10.49 etc) are really important events of life.
6. You spend more time each month traveling than you spend at home.
7. You call an 8' x 10' clustered room a Hall.
8. You're paying Rs 10,000 for a 1 room flat, the size of walk-in closet and you think it's a "steal."
9. You have the following sets of friend: school friends, college friends, neighborhood friends, office friends and yes, train friends, a species unique only in Bombay.
10. Cabbies and bus conductors think you are from Mars if you call the roads by their Indian name, they are more familiar with Warden Road, Peddar  Road, Altamount Road
11. Stock market quotes are the only other thing besides cricket which you follow passionately.
12. The first thing that you read in the Times of India is the "Bombay Times" supplement.
13. You take fashion seriously. You're suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.
14. Hookers, beggars and the homeless are invisible.
15. You compare Bombay to New York's Manhattan instead of any other cities of India.
16. The most frequently used part of your car is the horn.
17. You insist on calling CST as VT, and Sahar and Santacruz airports instead of Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
18. You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression.
19. Your idea of personal space is no one actually standing on your toes.
20. Being truly alone makes you nervous.
21. You love wading through knee deep mucky water in the monsoons, and actually call it ''romantic'.
22. Only in Bombay , you would get Chinese Dosa and Jain Chicken.

This post has gotten me real nostalgic for the landmarks of my childhood and adolescence - I guess all that is fodder for a new post, but I couldn't end without some names. Everytime I think of Bombay these are the things that come to my mind - my school (J.B. Vachha), Dadar Five Gardens, Matunga market, my home, Guru Kripa's in Sion where we used to go either after college or while bunking a lecture, Siddhi Vinayak Temple in Prabhadevi (whom I believe a lot in), Mahalakshmi Temple in Haji Ali and the crowds during Navratri and Diwali, Dandiyas during Navratri, the British Council Library in Nariman Point where I spent many a days during my under-graduate and post-graduate days, this list could go on and on. There will be more days when nostalgia will overtake me and that's when there will be another post about my favourite city.

I just had to write this one thing before I publish this post. I can't believe that India got defeated by Bangladesh during the first round matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup being held in the Caribbean Islands. I felt so disappointed, as would the millions of Indians across the world. Cricket is not just a sport in India, but a religion. I am not an expert, nor even an armchair critic, but I do know this - Dravid and the team, pull up your socks quickly and beat Bermuda and Sri Lanka by huge margins or you will be on the first flight home - beaten and humiliated. I was an infant when India last won the World Cup and in those days, you probably came to know about India's startling win over the then strong West Indies team only the next day when one saw the papers, but today with ball-by-ball commentary on the television, radio and the internet, I want to see India lifting that cup...

This started off as a supposedly small nostalgic post and has grown to gigantic proportions. I better quit while I can. Tomorrow is another day. Hopefully Team India will have better news for us when we wake up tomorrow morning. Till then have a great day!

Bombay.....Mumbai

For some reason today, I was getting homesick and kept thinking of my home - Bombay. I was in college when the name change was affected and till date can't call it Mumbai - for me, it remains and will always remain Bombay!

Here is something that I dug out of my archives (it's basically interesting stuff that I save). Since the theme today is Bombay, here are some Bombay facts (I got these as forwards and so this is nothing that I wrote, but since I have long lost the original email, I can't give the author any credit. But if this your work, let me know and I will give credit where it is due).

Bambai meri jaan....

• A City where everything is possible, especially the impossible.
• Where lovers first love and then marry, Where there is place for every Tom, Dick and Harry
• Where telephone bills make a person ill, Where a person cannot sleep without a pill.
• Where carbon-dioxide is more than oxygen, Where the road is considered to be a dustbin,
• Where college canteens are full and classes empty, Where Adam teasing is also making an entry,
• Where a cycle reaches faster than a car, Where everyone thinks himself to be a star,
• Where sky scrapers overlook the slum, Where houses collapse as the monsoon comes,
• Where people first act and then think, Where there is more water in the pen than ink,
• Where the roads see-saw in monsoon, Where the beggars become rich soon,
• Where the roads are levelled when the minister arrives,
• Where college admission means hard cash, Where cement is frequently mixed with ash.
• This is Mumbai my dear, But don't fear, just cheer, come to Mumbai every year!

22 Things that prove you are a Bombayaite

1. You say "town " and expect everyone to know that this means south of Churchgate.
2. You speak in a dialect of Hindi called 'Bambaiya Hindi', which only Bombayites can understand.*
3. Your door has more than three locks.
4. Rs 500 worth of groceries fit in one paper bag.
5. Train timings (9.27, 10.49 etc) are really important events of life.
6. You spend more time each month traveling than you spend at home.
7. You call an 8' x 10' clustered room a Hall.
8. You're paying Rs 10,000 for a 1 room flat, the size of walk-in closet and you think it's a "steal."
9. You have the following sets of friend: school friends, college friends, neighborhood friends, office friends and yes, train friends, a species unique only in Bombay.
10. Cabbies and bus conductors think you are from Mars if you call the roads by their Indian name, they are more familiar with Warden Road, Peddar  Road, Altamount Road
11. Stock market quotes are the only other thing besides cricket which you follow passionately.
12. The first thing that you read in the Times of India is the "Bombay Times" supplement.
13. You take fashion seriously. You're suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.
14. Hookers, beggars and the homeless are invisible.
15. You compare Bombay to New York's Manhattan instead of any other cities of India.
16. The most frequently used part of your car is the horn.
17. You insist on calling CST as VT, and Sahar and Santacruz airports instead of Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
18. You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression.
19. Your idea of personal space is no one actually standing on your toes.
20. Being truly alone makes you nervous.
21. You love wading through knee deep mucky water in the monsoons, and actually call it ''romantic'.
22. Only in Bombay , you would get Chinese Dosa and Jain Chicken.

Before I was a Mom

I got this from a board that I am a part of. It's something that all of us moms will relate to:

Before I was a Mom I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep

Before I was a Mom I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put them down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom - I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Kids and Television

I started writing this post yesterday and then didnt have time to complete it so here it is now.

I have been so busy the last few days that I just didn't have any time to write. Then I thought to myself, writing a post will take as little as five minutes if I have something to say (that is) and the entire day if I don't.

I really like watching "The Amazing Race" and try and catch them as soon as they air here. Apparently here they are aired directly via satellite and the first telecast is at 9 am on a Monday morning (just who is their target audience?). There is also an encore telecast in the evening and that's what I catch. On the days that I watch TAR, noone is allowed to see Zee TV (as if anyone other than me is even interested in this channel at my house) and Sun TV. Yesterday Rob and Amber got eliminated. I was sure right at the end Phil would tell them that they came in last, but this was a non-elimination leg. But I was quite surprised to see them leave. I didn't like them at all in Season 7, but this season they seem quite mellow. Anyway, there are loads of spoilers out there. Wonder who would win the race now that these two are out. I liked Uchenna and Joyce from the same season, maybe they would win again? But who knows, since they already won before, maybe this time a team that didn't win before can also win. Lets see over the next 3 months for this.

Speaking of television, right now "Mr. Bean - the animated series" is going on in the Disney Channel and the Pilot is a huge fan of Mr. Bean. Last year when I went to Penang, Malaysia for a conference, I got him the entire series on DVD and boy, was he one happy boy for a long time. The new "Mr. Bean" movie is releasing here by the end of the month and I am planning to take them to see it. Their first movie in a theatre was "Happy Feet", this one will be movie number 2. They also saw both the "Scooby Doo" movies which were aired over the weekend on the terrestrial channel and loved them, although the Princess was a bit scared about the monsters part of it.

Here is something that you should check out. Someone has actually gone through the trouble of drawing the human body from inside out and then anumating it. This person must have spent loads of time on this. Do check this out.

TGIF.....

TGIF! The week has come to an end and I am so looking forward to two days of rest. But I guess I can't rest much as I have to start to organize and declutter my home in order to prepare a new bedroom for the kids.

Speaking of the kids, they are down at the playground in our apartment complex and I am enjoying the peace and quiet in the house. I haven't had this quiet since before the twins were born and I am really relishing it.

I also have some serious concerns about their second language "Mother Tongue" choice when they need to take when they reach Primary 1. It'll be quite a big post and so I'll keep it for another day. But I would really like you to respond because I keep second-guessing myself.

This morning I wrote something on a board that I visit. The topic was "What was your top five reasons to lose weight". So here are my five in no particular order

1. To show myself and the other naysayers that I can do it.
2. To have better self confidence in myself and also project a better self image to others
3. To live long and healthy without any major diseases and hospitalisation charges
4. To be a positive role model to my kids. Also I want to be around them for a loong time and see and play with their kids and possibly grandkids.
5. To be able to just walk into any shop and buy or tryout what catches my fancy without asking if it was available in my size.

So what do you think of these reasons? I decided to put them here also so that I can read them again and again and then it reinforces my motivations.

I have also decided to start seriously looking for a new job and this time I really want to do something interesting and something that I really like. So what is it that I am passionate about? Well I love books - I would happily live in a library or a book store if I could; I also love to write - this blog is proof of that. What else do I like to do? I've realised I like doing research for people, especially over the internet and I like meeting new people. Now I have got to put all these different interests together and see if they make a career. What I don't want to do is to retrain for a new career at this age and start from scratch. I also would like to be in a place where there are no office politics (but I guess I am mature (?) enough to understand that such an utopian state of affairs may never happen....

Oh well, like they say Que Sera Sera.....Let me see what the new week brings to me..

Ciao and have a great rollicking weekend everyone....I'll see you on Monday, if not before that.

It's all about me today...

Now that I have some regular readers (just family) I thought I should write more often. I usually write from work, either when I am done for the day and just about to leave for home or during my lunch hour. Once I am at home for some reason I rarely even go near the computer, leave alone get online.

I am getting frustrated and plain bored at work now. I had thought that while my home situation was settled, I will stick on here and then look for a new position. But the way things work here is getting me increasingly loathe to even come to work. On Monday mornings I am waiting for Friday to roll on and that's now what I signed up for. Actually the work is quite interesting but my co-workers are poison. There are many who are in the bosses clique and so get away with practically murder whereas the rest have to slog like serfs! I think I've finally had enough. The way I look at it, the more I stay here, the more I will get entrenched into this culture and not want to leave. There are many perks to this job, especially to a young mom - I can come late if there is an emergency and leave early also at times. This was the main reason I was so comfortable here and didn't want to leave. But the time has come to leave I guess. This Saturday I will start searching the job supplement that comes with the paper and hopefully I should get something soon. But I am scared, I shouldn't get out of the frying pan just to land in the fire.

Since I wrote about getting the rooms organized for the kids, I have become addicted to reading decorating and organizing blogs. I plan to print or copy some of the interesting stuff they write about and then see how best I can use them. Also from this weekend onwards, Operation Clean Home starts. Wish me luck people, there is serious clutter lying around and I need to do something about it pronto!

On the weight loss front, I think I am finally breaking out the plateau I was on for almost two months. (Cross Fingers), hopefully the next time I write about this, there will be some serious kilos lost.

New Room for the kids

It's official now. After their fourth birthday and after four years of co-sleeping with DH and me, the Pilot and the Princess have to start sleeping in their very own room now. It also coincides with the fact that my domestic helper will be going back to India for good.

Now I am faced with the daunting task of transforming my home, which usually has two bedrooms (the master bedroom and the guest bedroom) plus another room where we store all our junk and the kids toys into one with a kids room plus a guest room. I am lucky that I have almost six months to do this. If anyone has any hints they want to give, please do.

Yesterday both of them brought back the work that they did for the past two months in school. Right now they are on the number four and have done the letter S. The teachers have also made them draw lines, slanting, curves etc so that it gets easier to start the actual writing. I have no clue what they are doing in Mandarin as the reports come in the language and it's Greek and Latin to me. I am very seriously thinking of getting them a tutor for them now. Maybe just once a week to start with, and then we can increase the frequency as they move on to K1 and K2. The language debate is material for another post.

I am getting so forgetful these days. When the Pilot and/or the Princess say or do something interesting, I immediately think that I should blog this. Then when I actually get to the computer; 'poof', it's all disappeared! I started blogging since I couldn't be bothered to actually write in a physical diary, but the way things are going, I guess I need a diary or a book to record what I should blog about! Go figure....