It should
It would
but
It didn't
and
It couldn't.
Am tired of the should bes, could bes and would bes.
Just tell me YES or NO.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Open plan offices
A colleague forwarded an article to me (THIS) about open plan offices and how it leads to more stress and illnesses... I am working from a cafe right now, and the only grouch I have is that the length of time I can sit here depends on ... my bladder.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The genetics of time.
The Big One has an issue with my lack of timeliness. This issue keeps popping up again and again, the latest saga being my not bringing the Small One on time to school, thereby planting the habit or concept that being late is ok.
??? I totally resent his accusation. But then again, I had no real defense, since he hasn't really grown up yet and therefore it cannot be proven whether he would eventually be as oblivious to time as I am. It's upsetting. How is it that however hard I try, I always end up being late, sometimes by up to an hour?
Suddenly it struck me! I have no time intelligence. That's it! Howard Gardner, who conceived the Multiple Intelligence theory - which are seven different ways to demonstrate intellectual ability (i) visual/spatial (ii) verbal/linguistic (iii) logical/mathematical (iv) bodily/kinesthetic (v) musical/rhythmic (vi) interpersonal and (vii) intrapersonal - has missed out one - Time Intelligence!
I don't have a sense of how much time it will take me to get from point A or point B. Or if I took a shower, how much time I will take ? 20minutes or 37 minutes? Or if I wanted to get out of the house, I should allow myself 2 minutes wear my shoes and lock the door or 5 extra minutes in case I can't find the keys etc. Or if the journey to work takes me 25 minutes and that if there are 8 minutes to go before my meeting time and I am somewhere along the way, whether or not I can still make on time. Usually not, because I tend to forget I do need to set aside time to find parking, take the lift etc… See? I get it wrong. ALL THE TIME!
Time intelligence. Is it genetic? If it is, then that could explain why my parents didn't turn up for my concert performance until hours after, or pick me up from school only way after everyone else has gone home, or serve lunch at 3pm or how during a recent wedding dinner, they told me they had were leaving the house when I called to check at 6pm, only to arrive 2 hours later?
If it is indeed, then my dear boy, based on genetic probabilities, you have about 50% chance of catching the disorder, regardless of whether or not I got you to school on time. I really hope and pray you don't, else you'd get into Big trouble with the verbal/linguistic-intelligence-challenged One.
??? I totally resent his accusation. But then again, I had no real defense, since he hasn't really grown up yet and therefore it cannot be proven whether he would eventually be as oblivious to time as I am. It's upsetting. How is it that however hard I try, I always end up being late, sometimes by up to an hour?
Suddenly it struck me! I have no time intelligence. That's it! Howard Gardner, who conceived the Multiple Intelligence theory - which are seven different ways to demonstrate intellectual ability (i) visual/spatial (ii) verbal/linguistic (iii) logical/mathematical (iv) bodily/kinesthetic (v) musical/rhythmic (vi) interpersonal and (vii) intrapersonal - has missed out one - Time Intelligence!
I don't have a sense of how much time it will take me to get from point A or point B. Or if I took a shower, how much time I will take ? 20minutes or 37 minutes? Or if I wanted to get out of the house, I should allow myself 2 minutes wear my shoes and lock the door or 5 extra minutes in case I can't find the keys etc. Or if the journey to work takes me 25 minutes and that if there are 8 minutes to go before my meeting time and I am somewhere along the way, whether or not I can still make on time. Usually not, because I tend to forget I do need to set aside time to find parking, take the lift etc… See? I get it wrong. ALL THE TIME!
Time intelligence. Is it genetic? If it is, then that could explain why my parents didn't turn up for my concert performance until hours after, or pick me up from school only way after everyone else has gone home, or serve lunch at 3pm or how during a recent wedding dinner, they told me they had were leaving the house when I called to check at 6pm, only to arrive 2 hours later?
If it is indeed, then my dear boy, based on genetic probabilities, you have about 50% chance of catching the disorder, regardless of whether or not I got you to school on time. I really hope and pray you don't, else you'd get into Big trouble with the verbal/linguistic-intelligence-challenged One.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Grumpy
He was grumpy this morning. GRUMPY AND GROUCHY! Less than 4 and a half years old. Already GRUMPY! GROUCHY! SULKY! Worse! He weighs too much now for me to carry him and so, I dragged him, plus his bag, plus my laptop bag, plus his half-eaten kaya sandwich, plus my handbag with the 3 connected devices all the way to his school, on foot! Worser! His whole class was ready to leave on an excursion to Chinatown! We got there 10 seconds before the bus left. No time for health check - his teacher only had just enough time to slap a cap over his head before pushing him onto the bus.
I ate whatever was left of his almost-eaten kaya sandwich while walking myself to the bus stop and smiled. Peace.
I ate whatever was left of his almost-eaten kaya sandwich while walking myself to the bus stop and smiled. Peace.
All aboard!
Very last minute decision - We will all be spending the Chinese New Year holidays on board this ship. Wednesday, January 14, 2009
It caught up with me.
I have been trying to avoid it for the last 6 months. It finally caught up with me and landed in my hands - the BlackBerry. And now I have 3 mobile devices in my handbag. My connected life is seriously weighing me down.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Cooking for the Iron Lady
Like a jilted lover, my Iron Lady rang me 32 times during the second day of the new year. I was quite sick with the then unnamed bug. She must have dialed continuously - how else could I have registered 32 missed call in one hour?
Just imagine my shock when I found out I had 32 missed calls! And honestly, when I found out it all came from the same person, from my dear Iron Lady, I did get angry.
Finally.
But before I could contemplate my response, the phone rang again. I took a deep breath and hit the green button. "Karriii! Karrri! I'm (name)! I come later to iron......" The big roar in my very then sore throat came out in a sad whisper, "No. No need ironing......" and before I could finish, she said,"NO? NO NEED TODAY? OK!" and ... the phone went dead.
I was defeated.
And so, about 5 days ago, when she rang again and before she could hang up on me, I cooked her... "(name)! Sorry, my auntie is staying with us now. She is helping me! No need ironing anymore! Sorry."... my story.
How many of such stories do you cook up each day? Even if it's for the benefit of protecting someone else's ego, does it really do anyone any real good? Is it all imagined? Is truth that difficult? My stories, I discover, is my avenue of taking the easy way out, for me, the real coward.
Just imagine my shock when I found out I had 32 missed calls! And honestly, when I found out it all came from the same person, from my dear Iron Lady, I did get angry.
Finally.
But before I could contemplate my response, the phone rang again. I took a deep breath and hit the green button. "Karriii! Karrri! I'm (name)! I come later to iron......" The big roar in my very then sore throat came out in a sad whisper, "No. No need ironing......" and before I could finish, she said,"NO? NO NEED TODAY? OK!" and ... the phone went dead.
I was defeated.
And so, about 5 days ago, when she rang again and before she could hang up on me, I cooked her... "(name)! Sorry, my auntie is staying with us now. She is helping me! No need ironing anymore! Sorry."... my story.
How many of such stories do you cook up each day? Even if it's for the benefit of protecting someone else's ego, does it really do anyone any real good? Is it all imagined? Is truth that difficult? My stories, I discover, is my avenue of taking the easy way out, for me, the real coward.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Great expectations
Conversations with the big one.
We discussed the small one's 'music education'. We have re-started him on the violin and he's now taking private individual lessons. I think the 3-4 months break worked out well in our favour. He has lost all his bad habits (aka a year of sweat down the drain) and after 2 lessons, we have progressed to getting him to hold the instrument the correct way.
I am thinking of starting him on the piano, since we have a piano sitting in our living room. I was telling the Big One about Yamaha's 4-year program for kids and how it's going to cost another thousand odd per year in fees and how when I told them that the small one's had already taken one year of violin lessons, they dismissed it as, "That's not related to our course!". Well, I've decided I'm going to try to teach the little one how to play the piano myself.
Then I went on how the small one talks and talks and talks and that maybe the best instrument may be a wind instrument. That way, he has no choice but to stop talking while playing the instrument.
We also talked about expectations, about how people behave as you expect them to. i.e If you expect a person to be nice, to behave well, somehow they will. Likewise, if you expect so and so to be mean, they usually turn out that way. We both agreed on this point.
(and then I had an idea!)
Me to Big One: Eh, why don't you expect me to be a beautiful person and then I can become more and more beautiful?
( a big pause) ... followed by loud laughter!
The conversation ended.
We discussed the small one's 'music education'. We have re-started him on the violin and he's now taking private individual lessons. I think the 3-4 months break worked out well in our favour. He has lost all his bad habits (aka a year of sweat down the drain) and after 2 lessons, we have progressed to getting him to hold the instrument the correct way.
I am thinking of starting him on the piano, since we have a piano sitting in our living room. I was telling the Big One about Yamaha's 4-year program for kids and how it's going to cost another thousand odd per year in fees and how when I told them that the small one's had already taken one year of violin lessons, they dismissed it as, "That's not related to our course!". Well, I've decided I'm going to try to teach the little one how to play the piano myself.
Then I went on how the small one talks and talks and talks and that maybe the best instrument may be a wind instrument. That way, he has no choice but to stop talking while playing the instrument.
We also talked about expectations, about how people behave as you expect them to. i.e If you expect a person to be nice, to behave well, somehow they will. Likewise, if you expect so and so to be mean, they usually turn out that way. We both agreed on this point.
(and then I had an idea!)
Me to Big One: Eh, why don't you expect me to be a beautiful person and then I can become more and more beautiful?
( a big pause) ... followed by loud laughter!
The conversation ended.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Happy Birthday!
It's Somebody's birthday today! Not mine. Somebody's. Which suddenly reminds me of what this Somebody did for me on my birthday some very many years ago. Somebody bought me a present, wrapped it up and hid it. Then Somebody gave me a clue - telling me to go look for my birthday present with it. It was extremely exciting. After collecting a few clues (a bit like the amazing race), I eventually found my present amongst some clothes in the cupboard. It was a beautiful notebook and a pink mechanical pencil! A very big deal when you are only 7 or 8 years old. I'm still wondering till today whether that Somebody had starved for a week to get that for me. It was my best birthday present ever! Nothing can and will ever beat that!
It's really great to have somebody like Somebody around in my life. And so, Somebody, with all my heart, I wish you a very very very very Happy Birthday today!
*Muah*
It's really great to have somebody like Somebody around in my life. And so, Somebody, with all my heart, I wish you a very very very very Happy Birthday today!
*Muah*
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
On Medical Leave
So they finally found out what's wrong with me after a blood test why I've been having back to back colds over the last 4 weeks and feeling fatigued all the time! It's mycoplasma! No biggie.. just sounds dangerous that's all. Easily destroyed with the right type of antibiotics.
Armed with a medical certificate, this is what happens:
Eat breakfast,
Send the little one to school
Send the big one to work
Send some stuff over to in-law
Put bath mats into laundry
Read emails
Take bath mats out to hang
Put in another load to laundry
Read emails
Eat lunch
Pick up boy
Realize one tire was flattening out
Drive to car workshop to have it mended
Drop off the boy at my mom's
Rest at my mom's
Buy bread for tomorrow
Came home
Eat some of tomorrow's bread
Read emails
Hang the 2nd load of laundry out to dry
Call the bank to enquire if we can re-finance our loans
Read emails
Blogging now...
I gather if I'm not working, 'read emails' can be replaced with 'webtime' while those
'other chores', replaced by 'other chores'.
Better to work and leave the 'other chores'.
Armed with a medical certificate, this is what happens:
Eat breakfast,
Send the little one to school
Send the big one to work
Send some stuff over to in-law
Put bath mats into laundry
Read emails
Take bath mats out to hang
Put in another load to laundry
Read emails
Eat lunch
Pick up boy
Realize one tire was flattening out
Drive to car workshop to have it mended
Drop off the boy at my mom's
Rest at my mom's
Buy bread for tomorrow
Came home
Eat some of tomorrow's bread
Read emails
Hang the 2nd load of laundry out to dry
Call the bank to enquire if we can re-finance our loans
Read emails
Blogging now...
I gather if I'm not working, 'read emails' can be replaced with 'webtime' while those
'other chores', replaced by 'other chores'.
Better to work and leave the 'other chores'.
Monday, January 05, 2009
The Tale of Despereaux
I didn't know there was a movie until I googled for a .jpg of the book cover today!Anyway, read it if you can. It's really very very well written. It's meant to be a children's book - i.e for readers 9 and above ( to 33?). I bought it last Friday, to read to the kid. Really ambitious of me to introduce him to such a 'big' book, considering it's about an inch think, with only about a dozen or so pencil illustrations.
Honestly, I'm darn sick and tired of reading his picture books again and again, very few of which offer any depth other than a single faceted slice of humour, moral lesson or event; and so, for my own sake, I thought I'd try reading him this one. Only long after he had fallen asleep, I was still holding on to it... reading ... through to the very end.
Excellent stuff.
Hello 2009!
Last year's resolution was:
(1) Consume less
(2) Save More; and
(3) Be happier...
On (1). Considering that I cannot recall spending on any big ticket items costing more than $1k, I did pretty well there, except that I put most of those small ticket items into my tum-tum, resulting in higher 'nett worth' ( by kilograms that is).
On (2). Made some bad bad bad investment calls. Again, considering that some billionaires lost some 70% of their nett worth (in billions that is), then I think I did better. A consolation.
On (3). Definitely much happier as a person. It was a challenging year but I'm grateful for all that happened. Hopefully, it's not that I'm adopting the Ah Q mentality but rather, that I am more able to live more often, in the present.
Like all greedy souls, I'd add on to the list. My 2009 resolution would be
(1) Consume less, lose some baggage.
(2) Save more, be wiser and more patient with investments.
(3) Be happier, everyday.
Cheers!
(1) Consume less
(2) Save More; and
(3) Be happier...
On (1). Considering that I cannot recall spending on any big ticket items costing more than $1k, I did pretty well there, except that I put most of those small ticket items into my tum-tum, resulting in higher 'nett worth' ( by kilograms that is).
On (2). Made some bad bad bad investment calls. Again, considering that some billionaires lost some 70% of their nett worth (in billions that is), then I think I did better. A consolation.
On (3). Definitely much happier as a person. It was a challenging year but I'm grateful for all that happened. Hopefully, it's not that I'm adopting the Ah Q mentality but rather, that I am more able to live more often, in the present.
Like all greedy souls, I'd add on to the list. My 2009 resolution would be
(1) Consume less, lose some baggage.
(2) Save more, be wiser and more patient with investments.
(3) Be happier, everyday.
Cheers!
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