Archive for December, 2007

There are 3 people whom I admire who have a passion in what they do. They are my kids’ paeditrician, a gynaecologist I saw from time to time (not the one who delivered my babies) and my neurologist. They are extremely busy people but one common trait I noticed is they always look calm. They don’t look rushed even though they are.

Once I asked the gynae, You are so busy rushing about, I find it so amazing that you are still smiling all the time. “I love my job.” she tells me. Its the same with my kids’ paeditrician. She has a passion to help new mothers breastfeed. She really takes up a lot of her time to do so. She spent so much time supporting me, even calling me up at home to find out how I was doing and sometimes she didn’t even charge me or she would charge just a token on RM1. She did all those out of love for what she did.

As for my neurologist? He always looks calm and smiling. During my previous visit, he was rushing off to the airport to catch a flight and I didn’t even know it till he said so. He didn’t appear rushed at all.

What about me? Before I became a full time mum, I was a remisier but I was not passionate about that. I just did it for a living. Now, I’m passionate about being a mother but I’m not like those 3 people I mentioned above. I always look rushed and at the slightest provocation I yell! Hahaha.

I am also passionate about blogging but I am not sure whether it is passion or addiction. Hahaha. I think it probably borders on addiction a little bit more.

What about you? What are you passionate about? Are you passsionate about your job? your cat? the love of your life? your car? Its Monday morning. Are you passionate about going to work or you just want to stay home and snooooooze? Hahaha. 

My blog posts has been copied before by another blogger. She took several blog posts and passed it off as her own. But that was soon resolved.

And then recently there are robots or whatever it is you call them that goes around stealing posts from several bloggers to pass of as their own. These blogs would steal content as soon as you hit publish. They take posts from different bloggers on the same subject matter. Lets say its a Parenting blog. They would steal the content of several Parenting blogs and pass it off as their own. Many of my posts had been stolen that way before.

But now, I’ve just discovered that my ENTIRE BLOG is being copied! Everything. Every post. Every image. Here, take a look at my Parenting blog. Its called Parenting Times. And then take a look at the fake one. Its called Parenting Details. Its a replica of my blog content with all my pictures too including pictures of my children’s craft. I’m so upset but I don’t know what to do. I hate it that someone is trying to pass all my personal moments with my kids as theirs!

I forgot to mention. The forger has put 3 categories into the blog. My whole blog has been copied and being passed of as the Parenting Tip category. Another category is blank and the 3rd category is a copy of various Parenting news from online newspapers on the net.

Can somebody help me please???? What should I do? Can I report to Google or something? I don’t want my blog to be penalised for duplicate content. How should I do that? Anybody has any experience with this?

I would like to invite everyone to take a trip down memory lane back to the time when you were 7. Do you remember your school going experience? I remember mine quite clearly.

At age 7, when I was ready for Std One (I didn’t attend any kindergarden), I went to school on a school bus on the first day of school. I had my elder brothers and sisters in the same bus. We all wore different sets of uniforms. Elder sister in her secondary school uniform, elder brother in his secondary school uniform, second sis in her primary school uniform and second brother in his primary school uniform and me in my spanking new primary school uniform. We all attended different schools but took the same school bus.

I did not have a very pleasant time at school because I was bullied by some other 7 year olds. One of them would take away my pencil and wouldn’t let me finish my work until she finished hers first. And there were some teachers whom I was really afraid of. One of them was the PE teacher. She had bulging eyes like those of a goldfish and she was very very fierce. I was terrified of her especially when she stared at me with her goldfish eyes. I was not very good at sports so that made it worse.

I hated school so much that one day I decided to go home on my own. Now my brother was in the morning session and I was in the afternoon session. So when the schoolbus dropped me off at school, I waited till the schoolbus was ready to pick those from the morning session home. Brother was in the school next door. So I walked over there on my own and I waited for the bus. And when brother came to board the bus, I climbed up the bus after him to go home. Haha. My fear and dislike of school was so great that I, who was only 7 then, could come up with this innovative way to go home. No, I was not being naughty, I was just afraid. I was a good kid, quiet and timid but brave enough to think of a way to take the bus home on my own because of my fear.

In this dangerous age, what I did would be very dangerous indeed. I could have been kidnapped by bad people.

I want the school going experience of my children to be better than this. Not filled with fear so it is with great worry that I read this article: Caning of Schoolgirls is nothing new by V.K. Chin of the STAR especially these parts……

In Chinese-medium schools, caning would start on the first day of Standard One. …….Of course this would be done in the classroom and on pupils of both sexes, especially in the first week of school……..This is one way for teachers to impose their authority, and the cane would be used for the slightest excuse. Once pupils get the message, they tend to behave…….Some of them have developed a phobia and would become hysterical should they forget to bring a book.  (My sister came across one such poor sweet little 7 year old girl one day when she was picking up her son from school. The girl was crying with fear at the school gates afraid to go in …. because she could not complete her homeworm. “Nevermind still got time, still got time” my sister and another mother coaxed her while she continued to write frantically in her exercise book.)

There was one point in my schooling days (I changed several schools) where public caning was practised as a disciplinary action. It was a co-ed secondary school. I support those kinds of disciplinary caning for diehard trouble makers and gangsters in school but certainly not caning of very young children simply because they forgot to bring their workbook to school!

What do you think?

In another incident in school not related to caning, I was in a strict secondary all girl’s school. We had to tie up our hair and pin down the fringe. Once I was caught totally by surprise when called up by the strict principal who said that my fringe was too long and proceeded to cut it off in public. I felt totally humiliated. I was totally surprised by it too because I always abide by the rules and my hair was tight up neatly with the fringe pinned up but it must have gotten loose. It was another horrible incident which I will always remember of my school days. These incidents leave a bad taste in my mouth. I think the action by the principal was way too harsh. She could have just called me up to give me a warning instead of taking the liberty of being hairdresser.

Today I have no direction. My mind is not focussed so my blogging is the same. I shall write in random what is in my mind..

1. I just finished playing barber for the two kids. I think girl’s hair is much easier than boy’s to style. In addition, my girl who is older will sit still for me to trim whereas my boy makes it sound like I’m torturing him. “Don’t want already. One more only. Painful. Waaaah.” I had to promise him some Ribena and Ice-cream after the haircut and hairwash.
2. Sister is away with her family on vacation so Dad and her maid is here. I experience what its like to have a live-in full time maid. She is a good cook. That is the best part.
3. Dad will not bathe. Its been like this for months now. We all have a headache of trying to get him to bathe and change and… He gets up in the morning and does  nothing and says not much but sit on the sofa or lie on the sofa till its bedtime. I managed to get him to soak his dentures and brush it for him while he is asleep. I managed to get him to change so that I could wash his clothes otherwise he would wear the same clothes day in and day out and to sleep as well. It pains me when he looks at me for confirmation each time “Put this (the dentures) in here is it?” “Take out this shirt is it?” It pains me to watch dad this way. Big sister managed to get him to bathe last week but I haven’t tried yet.
4. Am having a cold war with the man of the house because he won’t attend yet another family gathering of mine. I know he hates these gatherings but we’ve only been to two this year. It is now December. I so wanted to bring the kids. I am very disappointed. I hate asking him to attend my family gatherings. I hate being hopeful and then being let down. The answer is usually no but I never learn. I am always hopeful then usually disappointed. I hate cold wars. I don’t normally go to sleep angry with the spouse but I am disappointed and I am tired. Sigh.
5. Because I am upset and unhappy suddenly all is not right with my world. Its funny isn’t it how our perception of things can change. From being content I suddenly feel like a recluse who is totally dependant on her spouse for transport and entertainment.
6. Maybe I will go and subscribe for that magazine I like. I haven’t bought myself anything in ages. I think I need some pampering, pampering by me. I look at all the wonderful fragances and other promotions for Christmas. If only I could pamper myself with some of those without giving a thought but I can’t. A magazine subscription will have to do. At least it’ll make me happy each month.
7. Sometimes he makes me feel like I’m walking on eggshells. I wish he wouldn’t do that and he wishes that I am more supportive. This is a typical  He says She says situation. We’re both thinking different things. When will we meet in our heads again? When will we find harmony again? We all need harmony in our lives. The kids can help sometimes. Kids can become a glue to a relationship yet they can also be the wall. Fortunately our set is often the glue.
8. I chatted with my friend today. She has been sick again and she still can’t decide whether to have a hysterectomy to remove cancerous cells. She sounds cheerful. She makes dark jokes. I hope she is well. I hope she will know what to do.
9. The weather is dark and gloomy, like my mood. I don’t normally rant on my blog but I guess it has helped to rant a little.
10. I feel better now.

 

Change starts from within and change begins from me. Remember that Michael Jackson song that goes “Take a look at yourself and make that change.” I wonder why that guy can write lovely lyrics but his life don’t reflect it but I digress again.

Anyway, I find that after becoming a parent, everything that I do no longer affects me alone. My actions affect my little ones. And if I want to change a certain behaviour or routine in the house then I have to start the ball rolling. The change has to begin with me!

I have to be the one to set the example. I have to be the one to change first, whether its a behaviour or a routine. Thats a really tough act. Its a heavy responsibility and I must take this responsibility seriously because I have young charges who are dependant on me and who look up to me.

What am I trying to change now? Waking up early! Yaawwwwn!