Today was a big day for Joanne. She officially started school as a Preppie. And unlike Joshua, she couldn't wait to go to school. She didn't have a first session until 1.30pm but insisted on coming along when I dropped Joshua at school just before 9am.
Joshua found his old buddies and quickly blended in. Joanne kept asking why she couldn't go into her classroom yet. I had to explain that the Preppies only needed to go to school for 2 hours the first 2 days and they only do it in batches. Disappointed, she came home with me, but before loudly exclaiming: "I wish I could go to school now!"
Four hours later, smartly dressed in her school uniform (a second-hand summer dress uniform that I got for only AUD10), Joanne finally made her entrance at her classroom, which actually resembled a playroom with an assortment of colourful toys, drawings and paintings, other artwork and even a pair of birds in a cage! Fabulous, just the kind of room a 5-year-old would like to be confined in.
Mrs Boyce, her class teacher, ushered us in and instructed Joanne to find her own tub to put her books, stationery, library bag, reader cover and satchel. She did it brilliantly. And without being told, she helped herself to the paper and crayons laid on the tables. Her new friend Phoebe was already there and had started drawing something.
Joanne rushed through her drawing. I didn't realise why until I saw her putting her masterpiece aside and started taking out some "masak-masak" toy from a nearby bin. She certainly knew how to keep herself amused. After arranging all her cooking utensils on the table, she turned to me and said: "Mummy, you can go now."
My jaw dropped and I was at a loss for words for a few moments. Some parents lingered on (like I did with Joshua last year) and Joanne just dismissed me! My little one is not so little after all. She certainly packs more guts than Joshua. She actually asked me to leave. I remember Joshua clinging to me timidly on his first day at school. Joanne has never been to any childcare centre, pre-school or kindergarten. Yet, she had no problem setting foot in her school on her first day.
Well and good. With my 2 kids becoming more independent, I'll have more time for myself. About time too!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Watching Tennis With The Hubby
If there's one thing that can stop Alex from dropping everything else, it has to be Maria Sharapova, the glamour girl of professional tennis. Yes, my husband has the hots for another woman. Thankfully she is someone completely out of his league and out of his reach.And I don't blame him. Really, if truth be told, I enjoy looking at Sharapova too. She is tall, beautiful, brainy (you have to be to play world class tennis) and she actually wins big matches, unlike fellow Russian player Anna Kournikova, who flaunted everything about her except her tennis skills while she was competiting on the professional circuits.
So I wasn't surprised when Alex decided to ditch his parents for an after-dinner walk just so he could watch his idol-cum-goddess taking on Justine Henin in quarterfinals of the Australian Tennis Open, which is currently broadcast live daily over Channel 7. After dinner, he promptly forgot his cleaning up duty and plonked himself on the couch. He even recruited his parents as his fellow cheerleaders for Sharapova.
Each time Sharapova scored a point, he cheered like a jester, much to the kids' amusement. Of course, he did that for their benefit too. (About time he learnt to entertain the kids, anyway). She played brilliantly, demolishing the top ranked Henin 6-4, 6-0. My significant other was overjoyed, naturally. He went to bed happy.
Since Sharapova also thrashed her semi-final opponent Jelena Jankovic, we'll get to see her in action in the final on Saturday. You can count on Alex cancelling all his appointments or refusing to leave the house. He may even forgo his much loved nap time! All in the name of ogling the leggy tennis ace in action.
Sharapova is a beauty all right. Too bad she grunts a lot. Wait, maybe some guys find that, err, exciting? Hmm, I'll have to ask Alex about that.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Watching Tennis With The Kids
It's tennis and cricket seasons now. And since I know next to nothing about cricket, I opt for the Australian Tennis Open. After all, I was at one time a big fan of professional tennis.
We can't afford the pricey tickets at the Rod Lever Arena to catch the action live. Fortunately, we get to see matches broadcast live daily over Channel 7. So we tune in to watch tennis whenever the kids are not hogging the TV to watch their kiddie shows.
Last week, Joshua and Joanne watched their very first tennis match - the 3rd round match between Aussie underdog Casey Dellacqua and former Australian Open Amelie Maurismo. Joshua the patriot wanted Dellacqua to win while Joanne chose Maurismo simply because she was dressed in pink, Joanne's favourite colour.
It was an exciting match with both players taking turns playing brilliantly. Joshua, still new to the game, kept asking me how the points were scored. So I explained as the match progressed. He could read fairly well now so he could tell who was leading. He was definitely anxious for Dellacqua. Because it was a close match, he couldn't sit still. He would cover his eyes, walk around, wince or grimace each time Dellacqua lost a point or made an error. He would cheer and jump up and down excitedly when a point went in favour of Dellacqua. Naturally, he was over the moon when Dellacqua emerged the winner of the match. Joanne, on the other hand, wasn't all that concerned that the "pink girl" lost.
Dellacqua's quest however was over in her next match against Jelena Jankovic. Joshua was disappointed. Then he turned his attention to another match involving another Aussie - this time the match between Lleyton Hewitt and Novak Djokovic. Until yesterday, Joshua has never heard nor seen Hewitt but Hewitt instantly became his favourite in yesterday's match. Unfortunately, Hewitt too lost.
Yes, Joshua was definitely disappointed but not crushed. Even before the match ended and we all knew how it was going to end, Joshua stayed true to his "hero", saying he didn't care and still wanted to cheer Hewitt on. At Joshua's age, I would've stopped watching if my hero was being given a sound beating.
There are a few more days of tennis watching to go. Joshua is sure to sit next to me if I'm watching. I wonder if he'll pick up watching cricket or footy too. Probably not, since I don't.
We can't afford the pricey tickets at the Rod Lever Arena to catch the action live. Fortunately, we get to see matches broadcast live daily over Channel 7. So we tune in to watch tennis whenever the kids are not hogging the TV to watch their kiddie shows.
Last week, Joshua and Joanne watched their very first tennis match - the 3rd round match between Aussie underdog Casey Dellacqua and former Australian Open Amelie Maurismo. Joshua the patriot wanted Dellacqua to win while Joanne chose Maurismo simply because she was dressed in pink, Joanne's favourite colour.
It was an exciting match with both players taking turns playing brilliantly. Joshua, still new to the game, kept asking me how the points were scored. So I explained as the match progressed. He could read fairly well now so he could tell who was leading. He was definitely anxious for Dellacqua. Because it was a close match, he couldn't sit still. He would cover his eyes, walk around, wince or grimace each time Dellacqua lost a point or made an error. He would cheer and jump up and down excitedly when a point went in favour of Dellacqua. Naturally, he was over the moon when Dellacqua emerged the winner of the match. Joanne, on the other hand, wasn't all that concerned that the "pink girl" lost.
Dellacqua's quest however was over in her next match against Jelena Jankovic. Joshua was disappointed. Then he turned his attention to another match involving another Aussie - this time the match between Lleyton Hewitt and Novak Djokovic. Until yesterday, Joshua has never heard nor seen Hewitt but Hewitt instantly became his favourite in yesterday's match. Unfortunately, Hewitt too lost.
Yes, Joshua was definitely disappointed but not crushed. Even before the match ended and we all knew how it was going to end, Joshua stayed true to his "hero", saying he didn't care and still wanted to cheer Hewitt on. At Joshua's age, I would've stopped watching if my hero was being given a sound beating.
There are a few more days of tennis watching to go. Joshua is sure to sit next to me if I'm watching. I wonder if he'll pick up watching cricket or footy too. Probably not, since I don't.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Unrepentant
This is so weird and leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.
A Melbournian teenage scumbag by the name of Corey Delaney hosted wild open house party that went completely out of control, leaving his neighbours' cars badly damaged and scaring the hell out of them when 500 intoxicated young punks made themselves at home in his house and the neighbours' frontyards, and guess what?
He's completely unrepentant. In fact, he is basking in the attention he's been getting everywhere. The mass media are party to blame for giving him too much exposure. I think he fancies himself some sort of celebrity now, walking around in some weird hooded jacket and a pair of sunglasses. Worse, a party promoter is even said to be considering hiring him to organise a party since he seems to have the flair of inviting strangers to his party. They might as well be promoting bad behaviour.
The authoritites, the police and the neighbours, understandably, are not amused. The police is slapping a AUD20,000 fine on the Delaneys for wasting police resources. Terrified neighbours called the police when the crowd got too rowdy and police squads dogs and helicopters had to be called in to disperse the unruly teens. Several police vehicles were smashed in the process too.
The parents claimed they had no idea the son would do something as irresponsible as that. I find that a bit hard to swallow. Surely there were signs that their teenage son could not be trusted to be left alone for a couple of days. Yet they went on their holiday without him. I wonder how they are going to face their neighbours and the community.
As for the irresponsible and idiotic party riot boy, someone should give him a harsh lesson. He's completely unremorseful. When asked by a reporter to take off his stupid sunglasses and apologise to his neighbours, he refused, repeatedly. He ought to be whipped, repeatedly. And when asked what advice he'd give to other teenagers considering of having a party while their parents are away, he had the audacity to say: "Get me to do it."
I hope something really BAD happens to him soon. Better still, someone ought to hand him to the Malaysian police. They have the knack of inflicting excruciating pain without leaving any marks on the body. That would do beautifully. Really.
A Melbournian teenage scumbag by the name of Corey Delaney hosted wild open house party that went completely out of control, leaving his neighbours' cars badly damaged and scaring the hell out of them when 500 intoxicated young punks made themselves at home in his house and the neighbours' frontyards, and guess what?
He's completely unrepentant. In fact, he is basking in the attention he's been getting everywhere. The mass media are party to blame for giving him too much exposure. I think he fancies himself some sort of celebrity now, walking around in some weird hooded jacket and a pair of sunglasses. Worse, a party promoter is even said to be considering hiring him to organise a party since he seems to have the flair of inviting strangers to his party. They might as well be promoting bad behaviour.
The authoritites, the police and the neighbours, understandably, are not amused. The police is slapping a AUD20,000 fine on the Delaneys for wasting police resources. Terrified neighbours called the police when the crowd got too rowdy and police squads dogs and helicopters had to be called in to disperse the unruly teens. Several police vehicles were smashed in the process too.
The parents claimed they had no idea the son would do something as irresponsible as that. I find that a bit hard to swallow. Surely there were signs that their teenage son could not be trusted to be left alone for a couple of days. Yet they went on their holiday without him. I wonder how they are going to face their neighbours and the community.
As for the irresponsible and idiotic party riot boy, someone should give him a harsh lesson. He's completely unremorseful. When asked by a reporter to take off his stupid sunglasses and apologise to his neighbours, he refused, repeatedly. He ought to be whipped, repeatedly. And when asked what advice he'd give to other teenagers considering of having a party while their parents are away, he had the audacity to say: "Get me to do it."
I hope something really BAD happens to him soon. Better still, someone ought to hand him to the Malaysian police. They have the knack of inflicting excruciating pain without leaving any marks on the body. That would do beautifully. Really.
Stolen
I learnt a big lesson a couple of days ago - no matter how safe you think a place is, it never hurts to be extra careful.
It's true Melbourne is relatively safer than KL. However, it is not crime-free. Two days ago, I fell victim to a pickpocket right smack in Chinatown. Someone unzipped the front pocket of my backpack and stole my wallet.
Back in KL, I would never carry my backpack on my back and put my wallet in the front pocket. But here, lulled into complacency and the assumption that no one would pick my wallet, I did just that - convenient for me to carry the bag and hold the kids' hands.
Now I know better. I should exercise the same precautions that I did back in KL.
Luckily, there wasn't much cash in the wallet and only 1 ATM and 1 credit card. Once I discovered the theft, I quickly called the banks concerned and had the cards barred. My driver's license and Medicare card were easily replaced. There wasn't a need to make a police report. My requests to replace my library cards and several retailer loyalty cards were efficiently and quickly granted too. At least there wasn't so much hassle here.
Well, the incident was certainly a wake-up call for us. People do abduct kids and do nasty things to them, although not quite as frequently as in Malaysia. Still, I'll certainly be more careful now whenever I'm out with the kids. I've on several occasions left the kids on a bench in the market while I quickly did my grocery shopping nearby. That is going to stop immediately. Too risky.
And Alex will have to stop leaving the kids to me to watch over while he goes browsing on his own. It's hard to watch over 2 kids when they want to go to different sections of the store. He'll have to do his share of kids watching now.
That was certainly a lesson worth learning.
It's true Melbourne is relatively safer than KL. However, it is not crime-free. Two days ago, I fell victim to a pickpocket right smack in Chinatown. Someone unzipped the front pocket of my backpack and stole my wallet.
Back in KL, I would never carry my backpack on my back and put my wallet in the front pocket. But here, lulled into complacency and the assumption that no one would pick my wallet, I did just that - convenient for me to carry the bag and hold the kids' hands.
Now I know better. I should exercise the same precautions that I did back in KL.
Luckily, there wasn't much cash in the wallet and only 1 ATM and 1 credit card. Once I discovered the theft, I quickly called the banks concerned and had the cards barred. My driver's license and Medicare card were easily replaced. There wasn't a need to make a police report. My requests to replace my library cards and several retailer loyalty cards were efficiently and quickly granted too. At least there wasn't so much hassle here.
Well, the incident was certainly a wake-up call for us. People do abduct kids and do nasty things to them, although not quite as frequently as in Malaysia. Still, I'll certainly be more careful now whenever I'm out with the kids. I've on several occasions left the kids on a bench in the market while I quickly did my grocery shopping nearby. That is going to stop immediately. Too risky.
And Alex will have to stop leaving the kids to me to watch over while he goes browsing on his own. It's hard to watch over 2 kids when they want to go to different sections of the store. He'll have to do his share of kids watching now.
That was certainly a lesson worth learning.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
