Archive for January, 2011

It can  be a very funny scene indeed if you could see what went on behind closed doors in the ladies public toilets . Fortunately most public toilets these days have hooks behind the doors to hang handbags, otherwise, some has to clutch on to their handbag while…….. (some ladies do some of the below or ALL of the below)

• wiping the toilet seat
• wrapping the toilet seat with toilet paper carefully
• if no toilet paper is available some clamber onto the toilet seat and squat there
• some balance on their feet and slowly lower their bum like doing a ballerina plie.
• some with kids have to do all of the above a few times ie for themselves and for the kids
• if the kid is young, some carry the kids in their arms and ask them to aim into the toilet bowl

Its an ugly scene I tell you, quite funny too if you think about it but what to do? Some of the toilets are so dirty. The other day I visited Empire Subang and was pleased to find toilet seat wipes. I think it would help if toilets had them. Quite often, I find toilet paper all over the floor after someone has arranged it to cover the toilet seat before sitting on it. Some of the toilet paper is covered with urine. Ewwww…

Ahhh… public toilets. How I hate them.

The Cheongsam is such a beautiful garment…….. if you have the figure for it, that is. Nevertheless, I still like to dorn a Cheongsam for Chinese New Year. It is all part of the fun and tradition.

It is easy to find a Cheongsam during Chinese New Year as most stores will carry it. I have quite a collection over the years. All worn during the first and perhaps 15th day of Chinese New Year then hung somewhere in the clothes cupboard for the rest of the year. Silly. Still, I can’t resist it.

Being pear shaped, it is rather difficult to find a Cheongsam that fits. Quite often, the top would be hanging losely while the bottom would literally split at the seams. Some of the cheongsams has sexy splits at the side or back, well those may split an inch or two higher too to make way for plump thighs and a big bum! Thankfully, some tailors have recognised that not everyone is shaped equally so some designers have come up with some contemporary designs that allow some of us who are not shaped like hour glasses to hide the flab. Yay!

In my younger days, I could still slip into a little black cheongsam (not on Chinese New Year of course or I will be chased out of the house by the elders by a broomstick. Haha.). Now, I have to stick to those errm “contemporary designs” to fit my pear shape but you won’t catch me in a samfoo, those Chinese looking blouses with matching trousers, well not just yet anyway but I have to watch my diet. Otherwise, even “contemporary designs” can’t save or hide my shape.

Well, since Chinese New Year is just round the corner, I better go do my workouts now, so that I have more choices when going Cheongsam hunting.

There are many terms used to describe the word “mom” these days. For example, I am a SAHM or the Stay At Home Mom. There is also the FTWM or the Full Time Working Mom. We’re on both sides of the coin. However, right there in the middle is a space where most people would like to be, a balance between both called the WAHM. That is the Work At Home Moms.

I know so many ladies who have managed to find that space to become a WAHM. Most of them are bloggers whom I have known since I started blogging in 2004. Some of them started selling clothing via the internet, some started sewing and selling handbags, some started online bookshops. Some made cakes and sold them through the web and others sold their beautiful crafts using their blogs. Incredible! So many opportunities. Freelance writing, photography, wedding planning, you name it. Staying at home no longer means being a boring old housewife.

Starting a home business is relatively easy. However, I think what differentiates a good home based business from another is professionalism. Like any other businesses, one must be professional about it. You should be able to market and promote yourself well through good copywriting and other useful promotional materials like good photographs, a website and a blog. You should also have business cards. It is a cheap but very effective and the most basic of all marketing tools. You can easily print a set of 100 custom business cards for less than $11. A business card adds credibility and professionalism to your business.

It is my dream to move away from being a SAHM to become a WAHM one day. I can’t bake or sew, do crafts of take photographs but I can write. I have always loved to write. I hope to become a freelance writer one day. What about you?

This year my girl is on a higher floor. Her books have increased in numbers. There is about half a dozen books for each subject. So we are facing a school bag dilemma.

In the first two years, it was easy. We got her a trolley bag. Since she was on the ground floor that was not a problem. She is still using the same school bag. The bag has removable trolleys so we can switch between trolley and backpack.

My girl said that she would try both trolley as well as backpack to see which was easier to handle.

On the first day, she tried trolley. That was not a problem because there were no books. She came home with her timetable that day. When she was packing her bags for the next day, I took out several workbooks.

As I mentioned, each subject has about 5 or 6 books, 1 textbook, 1 activity book and several workbooks. Oh, and I forgot, exercise books. Each subject has several exercise books being used at the same time too. Since it was only the 2nd day or so I thought, I took out all the workbooks and asked her to bring only the textbook and activity book. In the end, she had extra homework because she could not do some work in school because she did not have the books with them. “Mummy, I have extra homework now because you asked me not to bring the books. Luckily teacher didn’t scold me.”

She dragged her trolley bag up and down the stairs on the 2nd day.

On the 3rd day, having learned a lesson from the 2nd day, we decided to bring all the books for all the subjects required. That made the bag very very heavy. “Mummy, my bag feels like the middle of school, not the start of school” . It didn’t look possible to drag the trolley bag up and down the stairs with such weight.

We tried it at home. We tried carrying it by the handle. It was too heavy. I think the strap is going to give way soon as it looks thin and frayed by now. So we tried carrying it by the trolley handle. It was too heavy. We tried dragging it. It was too heavy. We tried carrying it on our backs. It was too heavy. Even for an adult. At one point the girl said “I found the answer. This is so light. She carried it in front of her by hugging the bag close to her body.”  She was right. It felt the lightest that way but it would mean her bending and lifting that weight up daily which is a no-no.

Finally we took out the trolleys, split the books into another back and told the girl to carry it as a backpack with another smaller hand carried bag to ease the weight off her back. So on the 3rd day, it was backpack with another smaller hand carried bag.

When we went to pick her up after school, she was walking slowly, rubbing her neck and saying “Mummy, my neck very very pain.”

Yesterday, she had BM class. The BM teacher has told them which books to bring on which day. That eases some of the bag load. So today, the 4th day, it is back to the trolleys and dragging it up and down the stairs. She showed me how she was going to do it last night. “Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.” she went up and down the stairs. She has to do it fast as well. There are many kids going up and down the stairs. There is no way she can walk slowly and carefully, hold on to the handrails and carry the bag up carefully step by step.

The other day when we were at school, we stood at the bottom of the staircase and observed the kids. Some of them did this Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang technique. Others carried the loads on their backs doubled over like some grannny. One mum mentioned that she had seen some kids throw the bag down the stairs before running down. I can’t imagine what will happen if that load hits another kid. Another mum, bought extra books for her child to leave in the school so he can have a set at home and a set in school. In the end, I received her hand me down extras. They look brand new, obviously not used very much. I don’t think that is the answer as it causes confusion for the child who may forget to bring homework back home and forget to bring completed work to school.

My girl does not have a locker in school. She is advised to leave her books behind in her desk. However she is reluctant to do that. “Mummy, if I do that, I may forget to bring the book home if I have homework and I will get scolded.”

My girl is tall but she is thin. Some of the other mothers who have small sized girls, shared with me their worry that the bag will topple their girls over at the stairs.

As at the point of writing, we have not resolved our school bag dilemma but for today, it is Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang.

The other day during my son’s orientation, I met the grandmother of one of his kindy classmate. I know her well because I see her around often. She sends and picks up the child and she is the one who collects the report cards and attends the school concerts etc. I hardly see the parents. They did not collect the report card, nor did they attend the year end concert.

So it was no surprise to me that it was the grandmother, yet again who was the one to attend the orientation. I do not know their circumstances but it is sad.

The grandmother was relieved to see me because she needed help to fill in the many forms that needed to be completed and submitted on Orientation Day. She sat beside me in the hall and I helped her to fill up the forms. She obviously did not know how to complete the forms.

The grandmother said the parents were busy……. again?……. on a public holiday? The grandmother often drives rather fast with a small frown on her face. She tells me that she can’t send the child anymore because this school is far and she has another small grandchild to look after. I can understand why she looks harrased.

I did not meet them on the first day of school but on the second day of school, it was again the grandmother who was there to make sure the child knows how to board the right school bus for her transport home.

Sometimes during school parties, the child comes to school not in a pretty little frock like all the pampered little princesses of today but in a school uniform because someone forgot to dress her up in party clothes. Once, she cried and told my son that her dress was not nice during a party.

Poor child. Poor grandmother. I really do not know the circumstances of the family so I do not wish to criticise anyone but what I know is, it is better not to have children if you can’t find the time for them.

In another case, once I saw a father come to the school to see his daughter. The teachers were at a loss about what to do. They had received strict instructions from the mother not to allow the father to see the girl. The man begged. “I am on leave today. I only want to surprise her.” The teachers were really at a loss. For safety and security they could not allow the man to see the girl. The man insisted that he is no stranger there to kidnap the girl. “I just want to see her.” He went and hugged the girl and left soon after full of apologies. How sad.

Again, I do not know the full circumstances. Neither do the teachers and they have a job to ensure the safety of the kids but what I do know is when adults quarrel, they should try their best not to involve the child.