Aaron and I have started to play a little Hide and Seek. Its more like he hides and then asks me to find him. Anyway, it got me thinking about the games I used to play as a child.
My most vivid memories of Primary School are partnering up with my best friend and playing 'Five Stones'. I don't even know what we called it back then. AND, I only used the stones when I was learning at home. At school, everybody had little 1" x 1" bags of rice and I got my mother to make me a set too.
The game was all about hand-eye coordination. You had to throw the five stones (or bags) up in the air and then try to catch as many as you can on the back of your hand. A point would be allocated to the player for each stone caught. In between each of these point counting rounds, there was another part to the game where you throw one stone in the air, pick up another from the ground and then catch the first stone again. All this with the same hand. The first round would be picking up the stones one at a time. The second would be two at a time for the two pairs and then the single one. Third round was a three and then one. Sounds a little confusing trying to explain it here but it was GREAT fun. EVERYBODY played it. BUT this was how many 'best friends' broke up because they wanted to partner other better players.
Upon doing some research, the origins of the game are ancient and is sometimes referred to as Knucklebones (sheep's knuckles were originally used). According to Wikipedia, Sophocles mentions the game played by Greeks during the Trojan War. Imagine that!
Some ancient explorer must have brought it to Asia. But those would have been men. BURLY MANLY MEN I imagine. Its funny to think that these days, the game is played only by little girls. What an evolution for the game!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
How do I look?
Aaron never misses an opportunity to look at himself in the mirror. Its not just a quick glance. More like a prolonged examination of himself. Thats understandable because he's a toddler and they supposedly like mirrors. So he's excused.
So, how often do you look in the mirror?
I come from a family of opposites on this one. My father never passes up a mirror (or any other reflection) while I think my mother only looks once a day when she brushes her hair. I'll admit that I'm a little like my father but not as extreme. I try to do it while nobody is looking but he'll just openly stand at a mirror and look at himself from different angles. (I hope he's not reading this particular post. HA! HA!)
It seems that looking in the mirror is equated to vanity. I guess in many cases, it is. But there isn't anything overly wrong in that. Is there? We shouldn't need to feel guilty about spending a little time checking ourselves out (as long as we don't end up being one of those self absorbed people). No, I don't spend so much time in front of the mirror that I need this justified. I just find it unnecessary that most people inevitably feel embarrassed if they are caught admiring OR scrutinizing their reflection. So, I'll be signing off now to go examine if my ears are identical and at the same position.
So, how often do you look in the mirror?
I come from a family of opposites on this one. My father never passes up a mirror (or any other reflection) while I think my mother only looks once a day when she brushes her hair. I'll admit that I'm a little like my father but not as extreme. I try to do it while nobody is looking but he'll just openly stand at a mirror and look at himself from different angles. (I hope he's not reading this particular post. HA! HA!)
It seems that looking in the mirror is equated to vanity. I guess in many cases, it is. But there isn't anything overly wrong in that. Is there? We shouldn't need to feel guilty about spending a little time checking ourselves out (as long as we don't end up being one of those self absorbed people). No, I don't spend so much time in front of the mirror that I need this justified. I just find it unnecessary that most people inevitably feel embarrassed if they are caught admiring OR scrutinizing their reflection. So, I'll be signing off now to go examine if my ears are identical and at the same position.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Do mothers need quarterly reports?
I didn't even realize that it was the end of the quarter until I visited John at Out of My Hat. In the old days I would have been glad that the end of quarter stress of checking my 'funnel' for the status of my accounts was over. That seems so long ago. I don't even think in quarters anymore. I'm not sure what I think in these days. Usually, I just drift from day by day. Other times, I feel that my life is now segmented by time spent in Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia. The only milestones I really track these days are Aaron's.
Is it really necessary to constantly set and accomplish goals? I know why corporations need to do it and I also liked that sense of achievement when I was in that environment. But, what about life now? Out of habit, I try to set myself little (and big) goals but its different these days. Its truly an Aaron driven life.
I question myself all the time as to whether this is the right way to be. Then, I question myself again on why I needed to question myself in the first place since Aaron is technically my 'job' now. Its just a different type of job with different deliverables and very unpredictable time frames.
So, I don't exactly have a quarterly report. I just know that things with Aaron have been moving faster than I realized. In the past three months:
Sleep: Progressed from nursing to sleep to nursing THEN sleeping.
Toilet Training: Absolutely no control to Number 1s being caught about 50% of the time. Number 2s are still never caught. I think we're a bit slow in this area.
Mobility: From walking to now running without any breaks. He's been attempting to climb anything that has hand/foot holds. He's trying to jump but he doesn't quite have lift off yet.
Chatter: I counted 132 words on December 30. We're now having little conversations about weird things like his MiMi's (that what he calls my mom) new shoes and the Becak Man.
From day to day, I marvel at each of his new skills but of course don't really notice his transformation from baby to little boy from a more macro level. Its only times like this when I think back to who he was at the beginning of the year to who he is now that it really hits me. Imagine, he's only been around 20 months. If he lives with me until he's 18, there are another 196 months more of developments to (hopefully) marvel at.
Anyway, its a strange job and definitely not one that easily segments into 4 neat quarters a year. For the record, 18 years would have been 72 quarters. Try doing THAT long range plan!
Is it really necessary to constantly set and accomplish goals? I know why corporations need to do it and I also liked that sense of achievement when I was in that environment. But, what about life now? Out of habit, I try to set myself little (and big) goals but its different these days. Its truly an Aaron driven life.
I question myself all the time as to whether this is the right way to be. Then, I question myself again on why I needed to question myself in the first place since Aaron is technically my 'job' now. Its just a different type of job with different deliverables and very unpredictable time frames.
So, I don't exactly have a quarterly report. I just know that things with Aaron have been moving faster than I realized. In the past three months:
Sleep: Progressed from nursing to sleep to nursing THEN sleeping.
Toilet Training: Absolutely no control to Number 1s being caught about 50% of the time. Number 2s are still never caught. I think we're a bit slow in this area.
Mobility: From walking to now running without any breaks. He's been attempting to climb anything that has hand/foot holds. He's trying to jump but he doesn't quite have lift off yet.
Chatter: I counted 132 words on December 30. We're now having little conversations about weird things like his MiMi's (that what he calls my mom) new shoes and the Becak Man.
From day to day, I marvel at each of his new skills but of course don't really notice his transformation from baby to little boy from a more macro level. Its only times like this when I think back to who he was at the beginning of the year to who he is now that it really hits me. Imagine, he's only been around 20 months. If he lives with me until he's 18, there are another 196 months more of developments to (hopefully) marvel at.
Anyway, its a strange job and definitely not one that easily segments into 4 neat quarters a year. For the record, 18 years would have been 72 quarters. Try doing THAT long range plan!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Lazing about Stumbling
Before Internet, I guess people lazed around reading or maybe just flipping through magazines. Or maybe they sat around flipping TV channels. I've been feeling a little lazy this evening and have been doing the online equivalent of lazing.
I installed Stumble Upon several months ago and its basically where I laze these days. Good magazines are hard to come by in Palembang and I find the internet more interesting than TV most of the time. So, for the past hour, I've been stumbling from site to site....giving it the thumbs up or thumbs down.
Here are several sites that I found interesting:
A Week of Food Around the World: I'm always comparing prices of things between Palembang and other parts of the world. Last week I mentioned that it costs me ~USD3 for half a week of groceries. This site compares a week's worth of food for families around the world.
Science of Cooking: Small site but has lots of interesting bits of information and 'activities' for some of the food. I think I'll try making a 'Naked Egg' one of these days.
Science Toys You Can Make With Your Kids: Not a good looking site but interesting and has plenty of fun ideas for activities I can use in a few years. Hope I don't lose the bookmark!
Philosophy Games: Definitely a site worthy of lazing time if you're into doing little tests/quizzes.
I installed Stumble Upon several months ago and its basically where I laze these days. Good magazines are hard to come by in Palembang and I find the internet more interesting than TV most of the time. So, for the past hour, I've been stumbling from site to site....giving it the thumbs up or thumbs down.
Here are several sites that I found interesting:
A Week of Food Around the World: I'm always comparing prices of things between Palembang and other parts of the world. Last week I mentioned that it costs me ~USD3 for half a week of groceries. This site compares a week's worth of food for families around the world.
Science of Cooking: Small site but has lots of interesting bits of information and 'activities' for some of the food. I think I'll try making a 'Naked Egg' one of these days.
Science Toys You Can Make With Your Kids: Not a good looking site but interesting and has plenty of fun ideas for activities I can use in a few years. Hope I don't lose the bookmark!
Philosophy Games: Definitely a site worthy of lazing time if you're into doing little tests/quizzes.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Thursday Thirteen #6
13 Things I've Been Wondering About
1) Will I end up preferring life without the live in maid? Its surprising how quickly one gets used to such a luxury but Linmas's mom has been coming in for a couple of hours each day for two weeks now and life has been good.
2) Is the idiom "Better the devil you know, than the one you don't" just an easy way out of making a change?
3) Do I really wish that I didn't know about trans fats? After knowing about them, I see them in everything!
4) Did I really see Aaron try to eat dirt this evening?
5) When will Aaron wean himself? WILL he wean himself?
6) How many other 19 month olds out there DO NOT sleep through the night?
7) How much longer will the Legos entertain Aaron? He has been playing with them daily, several times a day, for nearly two months now.
8) How do you give a 19 month old a 1 minute time out? Does the clock reset if they leave the spot?
9) Richard's boss has indicated that they are extending his contract here for another two years. I wonder if we will end up being here for a total of 4 years. Will we get to upgrade the car?
10) Should I spend the money on a second hand piano or maybe an electronic piano now that I know we'll be here for longer? I really want to start Aaron young.
11) Will the internet be able to teach me how to play chess?
12) Will my parents, my brother and I ever live in the same city again?
13) We need to decide where to go during the May break. I've been wondering about Langkawi for the beach, Singapore for the zoo or Kuala Lumpur for its convenience. Where else? Brunei? Thailand? Vietnam?
1) Will I end up preferring life without the live in maid? Its surprising how quickly one gets used to such a luxury but Linmas's mom has been coming in for a couple of hours each day for two weeks now and life has been good.
2) Is the idiom "Better the devil you know, than the one you don't" just an easy way out of making a change?
3) Do I really wish that I didn't know about trans fats? After knowing about them, I see them in everything!
4) Did I really see Aaron try to eat dirt this evening?
5) When will Aaron wean himself? WILL he wean himself?
6) How many other 19 month olds out there DO NOT sleep through the night?
7) How much longer will the Legos entertain Aaron? He has been playing with them daily, several times a day, for nearly two months now.
8) How do you give a 19 month old a 1 minute time out? Does the clock reset if they leave the spot?
9) Richard's boss has indicated that they are extending his contract here for another two years. I wonder if we will end up being here for a total of 4 years. Will we get to upgrade the car?
10) Should I spend the money on a second hand piano or maybe an electronic piano now that I know we'll be here for longer? I really want to start Aaron young.
11) Will the internet be able to teach me how to play chess?
12) Will my parents, my brother and I ever live in the same city again?
13) We need to decide where to go during the May break. I've been wondering about Langkawi for the beach, Singapore for the zoo or Kuala Lumpur for its convenience. Where else? Brunei? Thailand? Vietnam?
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Victory Dance
I'm a little short of time today so here's a video that I took of Aaron over the weekend. I have NO IDEA how he developed this type of song and dance routine.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Shampoo, Tea and MSG
When we first arrived in Palembang and walked about the local shops, I couldn't help noticing that many had the entire store front covered by a colorful assortment of these plastic sachets. My initial thought was that the society that I thought was very conservative was actually extremely open about promoting safe sex and these were all condoms.
Upon closer inspection, I realized that they were little sachets of shampoos, teas and MSG (monosodium glutamate). I recall a conversation I had with our old driver about him not using shampoo each time he washes his hair. He said it was too expensive and he usually just used soap or water. So, I guess these little sachets are for special occasions.
The teas are mostly just plain but there are also some flavored teas there. I'm not a tea (or coffee) drinker so I can't really comment on what they taste like.
And finally the MSG. Some of the sachets there are just pure MSG while others are pre-mixes for the various Indonesian foods. Some are marinades while others are just the quick way of making their traditional meals without the tedious preparations. Either way, the main ingredient in there is MSG. The food here is so heavily laden with MSG that I have no idea what the originals would have tasted like. In supermarkets, there are more brands of MSG than there are of salt or sugar. I've found that most of the Indonesians I've met need their foods to be extremely spicy, salty or sweet before they enjoy it.
The good thing about discovering these little sachets is that the shampoos will come in very handy when traveling. I don't really see shampoo being sold like this elsewhere.
Upon closer inspection, I realized that they were little sachets of shampoos, teas and MSG (monosodium glutamate). I recall a conversation I had with our old driver about him not using shampoo each time he washes his hair. He said it was too expensive and he usually just used soap or water. So, I guess these little sachets are for special occasions.
The teas are mostly just plain but there are also some flavored teas there. I'm not a tea (or coffee) drinker so I can't really comment on what they taste like.
And finally the MSG. Some of the sachets there are just pure MSG while others are pre-mixes for the various Indonesian foods. Some are marinades while others are just the quick way of making their traditional meals without the tedious preparations. Either way, the main ingredient in there is MSG. The food here is so heavily laden with MSG that I have no idea what the originals would have tasted like. In supermarkets, there are more brands of MSG than there are of salt or sugar. I've found that most of the Indonesians I've met need their foods to be extremely spicy, salty or sweet before they enjoy it.
The good thing about discovering these little sachets is that the shampoos will come in very handy when traveling. I don't really see shampoo being sold like this elsewhere.
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