Wow, this whole week has passed in a blur! My days seem to be all Lucas, laundry, lunch, grocery list, dinner and looking forward to some me time after dinner.
The weather has changed for the past couple of days. It's cold for late August. This morning was 12 degrees; its been overcast for the whole day and its 22 degrees now (230 pm).
Weather forecast tells me its the same for tomorrow as well... Looks like its going to rain too, so Lucas & I will once again forego our walk around the neighborhood.
The H1N1 is getting bad in France. A few days ago, there was 1 death of a healthy person who contracted H1N1. Previous deaths were of patients who were suffering illnesses made worst by the H1N1. Yesterday's news showed 2 rugby players contracted the disease as well. The Government is making the H1N1 vaccine available to everyone for free. They announced this last night, so anyone can walk into their doctor's office for the vaccine. We have been asked to start washing our hands and bringing bottles of antiseptic hand wash with us.
Lucas & I try to avoid crowded places and I air our apartment everyday by opening the windows during lunch hour when there is no traffic outside. In Tarbes the most quiet time is mealtimes, where no one is on the road from 12pm - 2 pm, and evenings from 7 pm - 9 pm. Literally everyone is eating at home or in cafes, so no one is out on the road. If you look out my window during those time, its totally dead. And the road outside my apartment is normally busy during other time of the day and night.
Oh, did I tell you we have our very own Mat Rempits here? Totally annoying, but apparently the police have a hard time tracking them as they split up and communicate with each other via mobile phones. The police should really camp outside our apartment building as most mornings around 2 am, the mat rempits zoom past in their big bikes, waking up half the neighborhood including me and sometimes Lucas.
Last night it was virtually impossible for me to get back to sleep again and when I finally did in the wee hours of the morning, Lucas woke up and wanted his breakfast.
Tonight I have 2 back to back episodes of CSI NY to look forward to. I try not to miss out on the CSI (Miami, NY and LV) as they are the only English speaking TV shows I can get here. Its weird watching Ugly Betty, Criminal Minds, Law & Order, The Simpsons and Desperate HW in french.
Oh I just read about Andy Lau and his 24 year "secret" courtship! Its bizarre that there are some hard core fans out there threatening to kill themselves just because he is getting married to his long time love- c'mon, even if Andy doesn't have his Carol, its not as if that deranged fan will stand a chance to be Mrs. Andy Lau...
Friday, August 28, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Weekend drive
Lucas & I went out to town last Saturday. We took a bus and Lucas was really good :) He was babbling and pointing out at the cars throughout the 15 minute journey. The great thing about buses and the drivers here are that the bus drivers will wait for you to take baby out of the stroller, fold the stroller, climb onto the bus, fumble through your bag for 1 euro and take a seat before they start driving onto their next stop. This time the bus driver even helped me hold my stroller while I looked for 1 euro!
In town, Lucas and I walked along the shops and we stopped at the City Hall to witness a wedding. We went shopping for safety scissors for Lucas and other stuff for me. We were stopped by a hen party, collecting money for their night out by "selling" chocolates, candies and condoms! The bridesmaids dressed the bride up to look like a zombie, and with her smeared lippy and grey pallored face she looked pretty scary! On the other side of the road was her partner's stag party, also trolling the street looking for money. He was on a rickety bicycle, a top hat and glasses with eyeballs hanging out. Overall, that Saturday afternoon out was nice, with the carnival atmosphere around town as Tarbes was in the midst of holding its annual Tango party. There were clowns, musicians and people walking on stilts, dancers dressed up in fishnet tights and lace.
On Sunday I had my driving lesson which ended up with me driving all the way to Sassis, which is about 45 minutes away, on a windy narrow road! Thank God I didn't encounter a bus, as the narrow roads are actually 2 way and there were plenty of cyclists on both sides of the road. I had to keep below the speed limit, make sure I was not off center, and make sure I didn't get too close to the cyclists. I tried to overtake a white van that was going really slow on the road, and when I was parallel to the van, it suddenly started to speed up and of course I had to "step on it" to overtake the van. Just after I managed to overtake that van, the driver accelerated and overtook me again and then went back to his 40 kms/hr... The van later turned into a gypsy camping ground. We do not wanto antagonize gypsies who are here for their annual pilgrimage - just last week in Nai, a 19 year old got stabbed to death by a bunch of gypsies over some dumb drunken argument.
Lucas' new words "merci" instead of thank you and "turtle" :)
In town, Lucas and I walked along the shops and we stopped at the City Hall to witness a wedding. We went shopping for safety scissors for Lucas and other stuff for me. We were stopped by a hen party, collecting money for their night out by "selling" chocolates, candies and condoms! The bridesmaids dressed the bride up to look like a zombie, and with her smeared lippy and grey pallored face she looked pretty scary! On the other side of the road was her partner's stag party, also trolling the street looking for money. He was on a rickety bicycle, a top hat and glasses with eyeballs hanging out. Overall, that Saturday afternoon out was nice, with the carnival atmosphere around town as Tarbes was in the midst of holding its annual Tango party. There were clowns, musicians and people walking on stilts, dancers dressed up in fishnet tights and lace.
On Sunday I had my driving lesson which ended up with me driving all the way to Sassis, which is about 45 minutes away, on a windy narrow road! Thank God I didn't encounter a bus, as the narrow roads are actually 2 way and there were plenty of cyclists on both sides of the road. I had to keep below the speed limit, make sure I was not off center, and make sure I didn't get too close to the cyclists. I tried to overtake a white van that was going really slow on the road, and when I was parallel to the van, it suddenly started to speed up and of course I had to "step on it" to overtake the van. Just after I managed to overtake that van, the driver accelerated and overtook me again and then went back to his 40 kms/hr... The van later turned into a gypsy camping ground. We do not wanto antagonize gypsies who are here for their annual pilgrimage - just last week in Nai, a 19 year old got stabbed to death by a bunch of gypsies over some dumb drunken argument.
Lucas' new words "merci" instead of thank you and "turtle" :)
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Heatwave!
Woke up this morning , looked out the window to see fog which means today will be extremely HOT! August seems to be the hottest time of the year. I have been closing the shades on the windows and doors to keep the heat out, the fans are on 24-7. All over the news people are advised to stay indoors and to drink a lot of water.
People ask me where I'm from and when I tell them Malaysia, they think that this heat is a breeze for me :P
What they don't realize is in Malaysia, we are in air cond all the time, except when we walk out for lunch and walk to the car... so this heat is sweltering even for a tropical person like me!
I had a massive headache yesterday from the heat, and today I took Lucas out for walkies early to avoid the mid day sun.
Later this afternoon, I will bring Lucas to the shopping mall for the air cond :)
We have to walk to the bus stop and wait under the sun, but the end result might just be worth it...
People ask me where I'm from and when I tell them Malaysia, they think that this heat is a breeze for me :P
What they don't realize is in Malaysia, we are in air cond all the time, except when we walk out for lunch and walk to the car... so this heat is sweltering even for a tropical person like me!
I had a massive headache yesterday from the heat, and today I took Lucas out for walkies early to avoid the mid day sun.
Later this afternoon, I will bring Lucas to the shopping mall for the air cond :)
We have to walk to the bus stop and wait under the sun, but the end result might just be worth it...
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Cleaning the uncircumcised penis
Another week has passed without me writing in my blog. In that last week, I haven't been anywhere interesting, stayed home most days except for when Lucas & I went for our walk, checking my emails and FB countless times for news from friends far far away.
One of my dearest friends has been emailing me about her babies (she has 2 boys) and the question of when to start pulling back our toddler's foreskin for cleaning came up. Apparently her paediatrician told her that she has to start when her boys are 1 and that's exactly what she's done (actually her husband does it as she said she couldn't stand listening to her boy screaming in pain.... and her maid actually holds the toddler down while her husband forcibly pulls the foreskin back)
I tried to clean Lucas and gently pulled his foreskin back as much as it naturally could and didn't go any further (Thank God!) and decided to check if I should forcibly pull back the skin. The following is the conclusion of my search:
For those of you with baby boys and have been asked by your doctors to start pulling back the foreskin forcibly - STOP! Don't do it. Don't subject your babies to unnecessary pain. You may be doing more harm than good. Forcibly ripping the foreskin in the name of hygiene can lead to pain, scarring and adhesions.
Wait for the foreskin to loosen and to separate from the glans. You know when this happens as the foreskin can easily be retracted without the use of any force.
One of my dearest friends has been emailing me about her babies (she has 2 boys) and the question of when to start pulling back our toddler's foreskin for cleaning came up. Apparently her paediatrician told her that she has to start when her boys are 1 and that's exactly what she's done (actually her husband does it as she said she couldn't stand listening to her boy screaming in pain.... and her maid actually holds the toddler down while her husband forcibly pulls the foreskin back)
I tried to clean Lucas and gently pulled his foreskin back as much as it naturally could and didn't go any further (Thank God!) and decided to check if I should forcibly pull back the skin. The following is the conclusion of my search:
For those of you with baby boys and have been asked by your doctors to start pulling back the foreskin forcibly - STOP! Don't do it. Don't subject your babies to unnecessary pain. You may be doing more harm than good. Forcibly ripping the foreskin in the name of hygiene can lead to pain, scarring and adhesions.
Wait for the foreskin to loosen and to separate from the glans. You know when this happens as the foreskin can easily be retracted without the use of any force.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
bubbles & crayons
2 days ago I bought Lucas a bottle of bubbles, as I remembered how much he enjoyed chasing them around in KL. What I didn't expect was now Lucas takes his book with a picture of a bath in it, points at the bath, then pulls my hand to the bathroom as there is where I stash the bubbles! The first couple of times I relented and blew him the bubbles but Lucas has yet to learn limits and throws tantrums everytime I tell him "finish". Today his bubble tantrum took up a couple of hours - he would throw a tantrum and then get distracted but not for long, and he will "ask" for his bubbles (picture, hand pulling) and when he doesn't get it starts a crying fit again.
Lucas also got crayons recently and has been churning out one masterpiece after another!
Lucas also got crayons recently and has been churning out one masterpiece after another!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Books & Reality TV
I have just finished Lauren Weisberger's books - Chasing Harry Winston and Everyone Worth Knowing. If you are a fan of her bestseller The Devil Wears Prada, then you will definitely enjoy the two other books, tho I prefered Everyone Worth Knowing. Its pretty similar to Devil but still worth a read. Anyone looking for a good beach read will love it :)
I finished both books in 4 days, and am looking forward to my next instalment of books to arrive!
I have started on Stephanie Meyer's The Host - think that will take me about a week to finish, if I do not get distracted by the CSI marathon.
Last week, I got caught up in a reality show where the chosen guy, Christopher, a good looking, 23 year old, manly man thought he was going to find the woman of his dreams. He arrived at the mansion in a stretch limo and is greeted by a line of really good looking models, and he looks like he's just won the lotto! Little does he know that when he becomes the last of the 2 finalists, the hostess then tells both men to hold hands and drop the bombshell - the network will offer them 100,000 euro EACH if they manage to pull off a gay wedding in 2 weeks - and convince all friends and families that it is real! Unknown to Christopher also, the other finalist is an actor/ comedian who will try his hardest to make things difficult for Christopher (after all, if there is no drama, who will be watching right????)
Christopher was the perfect candidate - the show was hilarious with Emerin's antics (he starts practising how to be gay while Christopher tells him that he should just be normal cos no one will believe that he suddenly changed into an effeminate man).
(To see Christopher & Emerin, type in Les Incroyable fiance in google.fr - Christopher is the good looking one, Emerin is the skinny one)
In last weeks episode, Christopher tells the audience that he will do whatever it takes to win the 100,000 for his parents and we see Emerin sabotaging everything. Emerin is so irritating, I reckon the audience will end up hating him!
Christopher says things like "I am touching men when I do judo, dancing with men is not that different" - when he & Emerin throws a gay party in the mansion and Christopher gives quite a convincing performance that he's into the gay crowd.
It was hearwarming to see Christopher doing his best and thinking of his parents everytime he gets exasperated. The show ended with Christopher crying as he was scared of breaking his parents' hearts when he tells them next week that he has fallen in love with Emerin and will get married. Unknown to Christopher, Emerin will also be acting confused next week and then fall in love with Christopher :)
Tune in to find out what happens next!
I finished both books in 4 days, and am looking forward to my next instalment of books to arrive!
I have started on Stephanie Meyer's The Host - think that will take me about a week to finish, if I do not get distracted by the CSI marathon.
Last week, I got caught up in a reality show where the chosen guy, Christopher, a good looking, 23 year old, manly man thought he was going to find the woman of his dreams. He arrived at the mansion in a stretch limo and is greeted by a line of really good looking models, and he looks like he's just won the lotto! Little does he know that when he becomes the last of the 2 finalists, the hostess then tells both men to hold hands and drop the bombshell - the network will offer them 100,000 euro EACH if they manage to pull off a gay wedding in 2 weeks - and convince all friends and families that it is real! Unknown to Christopher also, the other finalist is an actor/ comedian who will try his hardest to make things difficult for Christopher (after all, if there is no drama, who will be watching right????)
Christopher was the perfect candidate - the show was hilarious with Emerin's antics (he starts practising how to be gay while Christopher tells him that he should just be normal cos no one will believe that he suddenly changed into an effeminate man).
(To see Christopher & Emerin, type in Les Incroyable fiance in google.fr - Christopher is the good looking one, Emerin is the skinny one)
In last weeks episode, Christopher tells the audience that he will do whatever it takes to win the 100,000 for his parents and we see Emerin sabotaging everything. Emerin is so irritating, I reckon the audience will end up hating him!
Christopher says things like "I am touching men when I do judo, dancing with men is not that different" - when he & Emerin throws a gay party in the mansion and Christopher gives quite a convincing performance that he's into the gay crowd.
It was hearwarming to see Christopher doing his best and thinking of his parents everytime he gets exasperated. The show ended with Christopher crying as he was scared of breaking his parents' hearts when he tells them next week that he has fallen in love with Emerin and will get married. Unknown to Christopher, Emerin will also be acting confused next week and then fall in love with Christopher :)
Tune in to find out what happens next!
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