Monday, January 25, 2010
2 mickeys!
Our Little One's bedfellows... His day (or rather night) is so made when he climbs into his crib and sees not 1 but 2 mickeys... has to be the 10" mickey, not bigger, not smaller.. the ones that do not match the specification actually get thrown out of his crib...sigh.. when did they ever get so choosy?
Saturday, January 23, 2010
A Contradiction in Terms...
Yes.. indeed.. check out the battery operated Ferrari.. which goes from 0 to 100 in 4sec and the battery will last you a good 60 miles... now... all they have to do is set up charging points on every lamp post on the road and this car will be in business!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
A day of running around
This has truly been a day of just running around... like realy running around... morning.. we were told that we would be able to pick up our new car.. (hurray!!!) and so we set off to the showroom at about late morning (so as to get come lunch as well)... Our Little One's nanny comes along mid morning to relieve us of parental duties so we thought our minds are at ease.. well for the moment since Our Little One had a bit of fever last night.. but after a dose of generic fever and pain reliever for toddlers, the fever was kept at bay.. so we thought.. all was well...
All WAS well till we picked up the car and drove home... Our Little One was awoken by our triumphant return.. and was really excited to see us.. and because (or so we thought) he was still recovering from his fever, was a little sticky and fussy... but oh well, what is a little more hugging and carrying him around anyway? But before we could carry Our Little One to see the new set of wheels, blood starting streaming out of his nose!!! Oh My GOD!!!! The Mommy flew into a panic and galvanised the troops and calvary (the Daddy and the car, not the new one, just the regular SUV), had the nanny pack the going out bag and once the SUV was loaded, off the family went to the hospital...
The Mommy's organisational mode kicked into action.. Once in the car, she began to quick dial the hospital's PD ward to inform them of Our Little One's impending arrival. She was given instructions to visit the Easy Access Clinic so that she can bypass the crowd at the Emergency Room. Once the entry was made clear, the Daddy drove as fast as the law and traffic allowed him and the whole family was in the hospital in good time. Unloading Our Little One was a routine that was well-rehearsed and in no time, the Mommy had registered Our Little One at the clinic and all the whole family had to do now was wait their turn. They did not have to wait long.
The nurse came along and took Our Little One's weight and details of his symptoms.. then the doctor arrived and did the usual checks, back, chest, ears, throat.. AH HA!!! the throat... as soon as the doctor's torch shone into Our Little One's throat, even the Mommy could see why Our Little One had been so cranky and fussy... little white-ish boil, appeared on a really red and angry looking patch on his throat... The doctor smiled and said that everything was all right, its a viral thing and the body has to clear it (well fight it and gain the immunity).. so Our Little One was prescribed more pain reliever and The Mommy and Daddy was also informed that Our Little One's fever might spike.. but he should be all well and good in a matter of a few days... and no school in the mean time .. so Our Little One is going to miss his R Brigade after just settling down last week...
But at least now the Mommy and the Daddy know what was wrong with Our Little One.. what a scare to see blood on his nose!!!
All WAS well till we picked up the car and drove home... Our Little One was awoken by our triumphant return.. and was really excited to see us.. and because (or so we thought) he was still recovering from his fever, was a little sticky and fussy... but oh well, what is a little more hugging and carrying him around anyway? But before we could carry Our Little One to see the new set of wheels, blood starting streaming out of his nose!!! Oh My GOD!!!! The Mommy flew into a panic and galvanised the troops and calvary (the Daddy and the car, not the new one, just the regular SUV), had the nanny pack the going out bag and once the SUV was loaded, off the family went to the hospital...
The Mommy's organisational mode kicked into action.. Once in the car, she began to quick dial the hospital's PD ward to inform them of Our Little One's impending arrival. She was given instructions to visit the Easy Access Clinic so that she can bypass the crowd at the Emergency Room. Once the entry was made clear, the Daddy drove as fast as the law and traffic allowed him and the whole family was in the hospital in good time. Unloading Our Little One was a routine that was well-rehearsed and in no time, the Mommy had registered Our Little One at the clinic and all the whole family had to do now was wait their turn. They did not have to wait long.
The nurse came along and took Our Little One's weight and details of his symptoms.. then the doctor arrived and did the usual checks, back, chest, ears, throat.. AH HA!!! the throat... as soon as the doctor's torch shone into Our Little One's throat, even the Mommy could see why Our Little One had been so cranky and fussy... little white-ish boil, appeared on a really red and angry looking patch on his throat... The doctor smiled and said that everything was all right, its a viral thing and the body has to clear it (well fight it and gain the immunity).. so Our Little One was prescribed more pain reliever and The Mommy and Daddy was also informed that Our Little One's fever might spike.. but he should be all well and good in a matter of a few days... and no school in the mean time .. so Our Little One is going to miss his R Brigade after just settling down last week...
But at least now the Mommy and the Daddy know what was wrong with Our Little One.. what a scare to see blood on his nose!!!
Friday, January 15, 2010
The Mommy has a new toy!
Yes, another post about the Mommy... the Mommy has a new toy.. a new Laptop!! After a full 2 years!!! yep, pretty proud of myself for transferring all the mail from the Old one (outlook) to the new one (that I still remembered how to do it..)... (deep breath).. I truly feel the distance I have traversed in my IT journeys and perils... it was not too long ago (ok.. I fib) that I only used Word (exclusively) and no other program (save for surfing the Internt).. even then Word was just not scratched on the surface when I used it (to write my thesis mind you).. now, I can transfer mail from inbox to pst and load it onto another laptop... GASP!!! I have indeed come far (from my personal point of view)... maybe I should really get to know Photoshop and other applications and maybe... just maybe.. even think about playing games on my laptop... but wait.. I don't think I will go that far.. even Captain Kirk may not want me to go that far...
Monday, January 11, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year
Dear Family and Friends,
Happy New Year! With the start of a new decade, it is a pleasure to send this letter to family and friends. 2009 has been a very fast paced year for all of us, but one that was good to the three of us.
The Daddy:
Serving as HOD for the Department continues to demand most of his time. Despite the recession, which has not hit the desert as hard as many in the world press might have liked, we were able to significantly expand our department and add some new programs. He finally enjoyed the chance to teach a course devoted to modern Southeast Asia, while also doing the Senior Seminar which explored the politics of Heritage in the Middle East. Additionally, he was able to near his manuscript for publication, attend some interesting conferences in Brisbane and Jordan and get a few articles published along the way. One of the nice surprises that 2009 had for him was that he got invited to publish on baseball: he wrote about 6 pieces about the Atlanta Braves draft and farm system for a blog devoted to the Braves (for those who follow the Braves a post just two days ago: http://www.chop-n-change.com/). All of that said, his day is made when he return home to the Mommy and Our Little One and the latter, now nearly 18 months, comes to the door carrying a ball for us to play with.
The Mommy
Her professional advances neatly framed the calendar—with significant developments at both the beginning and end of the year. In January she resumed her education: She began Leicester University’s MA program in Mass Communication. This is an online degree program and at this point she has completed 5 modules and she will take an exam for another in about a week. With the end of 2009 on the horizon, the mommy joined a commercial publishing company located in Dubai—as an editor. She assists with the publication of one magazine and is the editor for another magazine. She has been tasked with taking her magazine from bimonthly to monthly so this is a terrific opportunity, which guarantees that 2010 will be fast paced year for all of us. The daddy is very proud of her: instead of appearing on the covers of magazines (which she did back in 2006), she is now editing them. The Daddy would not rule out the possibility that one day she will do both! In between, She has enjoyed being a devoted and loving Mother. Her frequent updates about Our Little One on Facebook have brought him many new fans.
Our Little One
Predictably, Our Little One gets the lion share of attention. In terms of development, he has had the biggest year: after all, he learned to walk and he is now working on talking. Our 6 weeks of travel in the summer gives you the snapshots: his first birthday party in July in Singapore; his first real attempt at a conversation (with another baby/toddler) on the ferry from the Taronga Zoo in Sydney—this event was cute until Darwin continued to babble loudly at length without saying anything. Clearly, this moment could be a harbinger that he will follow in the family tradition and become an academic—or even a politician. Darwin crawling over our apartment in Brisbane and learning to look out of the balcony windows from the 21st floor were new experiences as well. The flight from Brisbane to Singapore which we enjoyed because of the wonderful view of the outback, had many babies, but one parent told us after the flight that “your son has such strong lungs”! Our Little One in North Carolina competing with his uncle and aunty’s dog Rio for his bowl and ball; these episodes were followed by Our Little One learning about lawns and grass in Connecticut. A month later, he was walking in Sharjah and soon practicing his newly found abilities in some of the desert’s lesser known malls.
Yet, he had one more transition ahead of him: Our Little One enrolled in the nursery program in November. Someone asked if the choice of school meant that we were preparing our son for a career of beer drinking and I could only reply that this was an outcome which we would have to ‘track and measure’. In any case, he quickly made his presence felt—in fact, he appeared to be getting ready for a visit by George W. Bush, as he got so angry that he took his shoes off and threw them at this teacher! Eventually Our Little One got over the shock of being at school without his parents and eventually he made the transition and began to benefit from interacting with many other children.
As 2009 recedes from view, we know that we have been very fortunate. Like so many, we watched with dismay as so many people lost their jobs and struggled to rebuild their lives. Again, the passing of the Daddy's uncle (and the incredibly frustrating inability to get to the funeral in West Virginia) was a reminder that good years are normally followed by ones which are more challenging. 2010 beckons with promise, but five decades of experience has taught be that there will be shoals ahead—many of them completely unforeseen.
More important, perhaps, in sending this letter to you we want you to know that you have already enriched our lives. After all, Cicero was at least partly right about the importance of friendship: friends divide our grief and double our joys. We may not be able to see you in 2010, but it is a privilege for the three of us to know you because as our friends you have helped us when we needed it or added more happiness to our lives. With some luck, our paths will cross in 2010, but if they don’t we hope to be able to catch up with you. We also wish that as this decade dawns, you will find that it proves to be a wonderful one for you—complete with many achievements, joyous moments and great memories.
In closing, we want to wish you and your family the best for the New Year.
Happy New Year! With the start of a new decade, it is a pleasure to send this letter to family and friends. 2009 has been a very fast paced year for all of us, but one that was good to the three of us.
The Daddy:
Serving as HOD for the Department continues to demand most of his time. Despite the recession, which has not hit the desert as hard as many in the world press might have liked, we were able to significantly expand our department and add some new programs. He finally enjoyed the chance to teach a course devoted to modern Southeast Asia, while also doing the Senior Seminar which explored the politics of Heritage in the Middle East. Additionally, he was able to near his manuscript for publication, attend some interesting conferences in Brisbane and Jordan and get a few articles published along the way. One of the nice surprises that 2009 had for him was that he got invited to publish on baseball: he wrote about 6 pieces about the Atlanta Braves draft and farm system for a blog devoted to the Braves (for those who follow the Braves a post just two days ago: http://www.chop-n-change.com/). All of that said, his day is made when he return home to the Mommy and Our Little One and the latter, now nearly 18 months, comes to the door carrying a ball for us to play with.
The Mommy
Her professional advances neatly framed the calendar—with significant developments at both the beginning and end of the year. In January she resumed her education: She began Leicester University’s MA program in Mass Communication. This is an online degree program and at this point she has completed 5 modules and she will take an exam for another in about a week. With the end of 2009 on the horizon, the mommy joined a commercial publishing company located in Dubai—as an editor. She assists with the publication of one magazine and is the editor for another magazine. She has been tasked with taking her magazine from bimonthly to monthly so this is a terrific opportunity, which guarantees that 2010 will be fast paced year for all of us. The daddy is very proud of her: instead of appearing on the covers of magazines (which she did back in 2006), she is now editing them. The Daddy would not rule out the possibility that one day she will do both! In between, She has enjoyed being a devoted and loving Mother. Her frequent updates about Our Little One on Facebook have brought him many new fans.
Our Little One
Predictably, Our Little One gets the lion share of attention. In terms of development, he has had the biggest year: after all, he learned to walk and he is now working on talking. Our 6 weeks of travel in the summer gives you the snapshots: his first birthday party in July in Singapore; his first real attempt at a conversation (with another baby/toddler) on the ferry from the Taronga Zoo in Sydney—this event was cute until Darwin continued to babble loudly at length without saying anything. Clearly, this moment could be a harbinger that he will follow in the family tradition and become an academic—or even a politician. Darwin crawling over our apartment in Brisbane and learning to look out of the balcony windows from the 21st floor were new experiences as well. The flight from Brisbane to Singapore which we enjoyed because of the wonderful view of the outback, had many babies, but one parent told us after the flight that “your son has such strong lungs”! Our Little One in North Carolina competing with his uncle and aunty’s dog Rio for his bowl and ball; these episodes were followed by Our Little One learning about lawns and grass in Connecticut. A month later, he was walking in Sharjah and soon practicing his newly found abilities in some of the desert’s lesser known malls.
Yet, he had one more transition ahead of him: Our Little One enrolled in the nursery program in November. Someone asked if the choice of school meant that we were preparing our son for a career of beer drinking and I could only reply that this was an outcome which we would have to ‘track and measure’. In any case, he quickly made his presence felt—in fact, he appeared to be getting ready for a visit by George W. Bush, as he got so angry that he took his shoes off and threw them at this teacher! Eventually Our Little One got over the shock of being at school without his parents and eventually he made the transition and began to benefit from interacting with many other children.
As 2009 recedes from view, we know that we have been very fortunate. Like so many, we watched with dismay as so many people lost their jobs and struggled to rebuild their lives. Again, the passing of the Daddy's uncle (and the incredibly frustrating inability to get to the funeral in West Virginia) was a reminder that good years are normally followed by ones which are more challenging. 2010 beckons with promise, but five decades of experience has taught be that there will be shoals ahead—many of them completely unforeseen.
More important, perhaps, in sending this letter to you we want you to know that you have already enriched our lives. After all, Cicero was at least partly right about the importance of friendship: friends divide our grief and double our joys. We may not be able to see you in 2010, but it is a privilege for the three of us to know you because as our friends you have helped us when we needed it or added more happiness to our lives. With some luck, our paths will cross in 2010, but if they don’t we hope to be able to catch up with you. We also wish that as this decade dawns, you will find that it proves to be a wonderful one for you—complete with many achievements, joyous moments and great memories.
In closing, we want to wish you and your family the best for the New Year.
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