Back to School

No! I’m not talking about the new school year where thousands of children moan and groan their way back to school. I’m talking about me. YES!! You read right! ME!! I am moaning and groaning my way back to school! (and buddy if you laugh I’m gonna smack you so hard your eyes are gonna be crossed for life LOL)

Talk about life changes when you have a child. First it was my signing up for the gym last year. I mean I never thought for a moment that I’d join a gym because I always thought it was a waste of time and money. Besides I hate to exercise…I’d rather play games like football and basketball. However, after years of trying unsuccessfully to lose weight by every possible way I took the one option I had never tried. Exercise under a trained professional. The results were good and I lost a lot of weight. This year I haven’t really picked up momentum yet! Still getting back into the routine for the new year and hope to get back on track. The reason I was so determined was just plain simple… I became a First Time Dad.

Now, I’m doing the thing I hated the most…Study!! Believe me I never liked studying when I was in school all those years ago and I still don’t. I don’t really mind those short-term training sessions that last for a week or two or less but a full blown course is something different. But here I am now taking my Masters in Business Administration. That’s right! Me and MBA student (LJ quit laughing…I will have to learn how to spell now LOL).

Trust me I’ve tried to find ways to wrangle out of this and to avoid taking the course but unfortunately I could not find an excuse good enough. I want to improve myself and to learn. (Is that me talking?) I’m partly doing this for myself and partly for my daughter so that I can set her a good example too. Believe me I’d never have even though of taking this if it weren’t for her.

Anyway, I managed to convince wifey too that it would be beneficial for her and also that it would be a great help to me to have a partner to push me to study otherwise I’d find all kinds of excuses not to do it! Of course, ultimately she’ll diverge to her field of expertise that is Marketing and I’ll be in my area of expertise which is Human Resources Management. Yesterday was our first day at school. Believe me it’s been almost 20 years since I last did this and boy did it feel strange!! Walking down the corridors and seeing people who were mostly younger than us mingle in the hallways. In a way it felt good.

Unfortunately, taking up this course is also going to eat away at the time we spend with our little one and it really does make us both feel bad. Although, classes will be only twice a week for about three hours only there will be assignments and coursework and other little things that will crop up. It’s going to go on for eighteen long months so you can imagine how much time we’ll be away.

In fact this morning, wifey was telling me that last night the little one was talking in her sleep and asking her ‘Yaya” (Filipino for nanny) where Mummy was...So this will undoubtedly be a challenge. Not to mention that we still have to go to the gym too…what was that old saying a Healthy Body means a Healthy Mind!

I know that I am taking a step in the right direction no matter what happens and just hope that I haven’t bit off more that I can chew!! Only time will tell!!

And the journey continues…

A lesson in History

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:

These are interesting...

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and off the roof. Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."

Getting quite an education, aren't you?

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat."

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake."

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. `So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."

And that's the truth...

Now, whoever said that History was boring

Educate someone...Share these facts with a friend.

A Christmas Thought!

Bet you thought that I didn't have any more Christmas stories to tell right!! LOL Well I have one more and I'll be brief. You see last Friday I happened to notice that there was a Pos Laju slip in my mailbox. I looked at it and saw that it was dated December 26 would you believe!!!

You see after Christmas, on Dec 26, we went away for a short holiday to nearby Port Dickson and apparently the Postie came by while we were out and left the note. We did get back on the 29th but didn't notice the slip until last Friday. We called the distribution center and they sid they'd deliver it to the office on Monday but Monday came and still no parcel...Tuesday came and it was the same so I decided to just pick it up myself on Wednesday after work (today) but the parcel finally came.

I took it home to be opened and saw that it was a gift for Ellie from none other than Emila!! Well see for yourself what she made for my little girl!! Thank you so very much Emila for the wonderfully thoughtful Christmas present! Ellie loves it!

Hmmm what is it? It's wrapped in a ribbon!!

Can I open it? Look at the nice card, mummy!

What is it? It's a bag...

Close up of the lovely hand made bag!! My young model!

And while we're talking about what happened today....this is what she drew...LOL it's supposed to be a face ...but it sure looks a lot like Barney!! hehehe

Time Flies

My little one when she was a chubby little baby!!

The other day I was looking at some pictures of my little one and it was then I realized that she was starting to grow up!! I remembered her first Christmas when we were so happy to see her glide...that's walking while assisted with furniture for those of you who are not familiar with the term! LOL Now she still doesn't walk...err...she runs LOL

This is the first time she stood on her own...

and this is now!

This is the first time next to the Christmas tree and

this is now!

I don't know what to say...except that my little baby is growing up and she's not even three!!!!

A Little Prayer…

Pictured are my daughters current favourites!

We’ve always been getting story books and nursery rhymes for the little one ever since she was born. Although she can’t read yet we’ve, well mostly wifey, has been reading a little to her each night at bed time to calm her down.

Initially, the little one, understandably, had no patience and would just flip through the books even as we were reading them. As time wore on, however, she became more and more interested in the stories. She’d ask questions about the characters and what they were doing over and over again. I guess it was her own way of confirming if that was what the characters were really doing LOL

Now, what really got me was yesterday as I was watching tv while wifey was putting her to bed the little one wanted to come out. Wifey said that the little one had something she wanted to tell me. So she brought out her children’s prayer book and started reading the prayers. I was amazed. Normally she’d just follow as we recited the stories or rhymes or prayers. This time she was reading it….Well I don’t know if she was really reading it (okay okay no way a twoi year old can read right!! ) or if she had just memorized it but either was good, isn't it!! And it was not just one prayer…she was turning the pages and reading/reciting several. Actually I don’t know how old children are before they can read or memorize but I felt a sense of pride in my little one’s achievement and am just plain happy that she did it!!

And the journey continues…

Happy New Year!

I'd like to wish each and everyone a Happy and Joyful New Year! I hope that 2008 will be filled with hope and peace and joy for you and your loved ones! CHEERS!!!