Some of my chickadees are going off to school soon, which makes me sad. But they give me presents, which makes me happy! (Just like a child, I'm easily distracted.)
This is Taya's card.
Dear Sam,
Thank you for playing with me. I hope you have lots of children, but really just four.
And Lulu said:
"Sam, I'm going to school, because now I am old."
"Oh," I said. "Am I old?"
"No, but you are a bit crinkly."
Thursday 21 January 2010
Wednesday 20 January 2010
Work Laughs
Well, I'll be the Mother of a Nu-Nu
We've got a whole lot of new children in our room, one of whom is Emily, aka Nu-Nu. (Nu-Nu is her Chinese name). She loves me more than anyone else at work - so much so that her family won't hand her over to anyone else but me, but will search for me until they find me (or wait until I get to the room if they are earlier than normal) in order to give her to me and not the others.
So, I was walking with Nu-Nu down the hallway, where they have photos of all the staff along with details of their qualifications, etc. I often point to them and ask the children who they are, (or if they've been at work longer, I'll say something silly, like me being Anthony, or something).
"Who's this?" "Maryam!"
"Who's this?" "Mira!"
"Who's this?" "Mama!"
"Not quite honey. My name's Sam."
No, Really, We Have Parents Hide Behind Bins All the Time:
Ryan is another new boy. His parents were very worried about how he was going to settle in. So much so, that they hid for his ENTIRE FIRST DAY in the staff carpark skulking behind the bins. We knew they were there within 10 minutes, and went down every half hour to give them reports.
Ryan did not have a good first day.
On about the eighth time of giving them an update, they said, "You must think we're the most obsessive parents in the world."
"No," I said. "All the parents worry." Yes, all parents worry. They were the first parents to hide behind the bins though.
I told my CG, and Jasmine just said, "They were Chinese, weren't they?"
"Yep," I confirmed.
"You'd never catch white parents acting that way."
That's because we know that we can PHONE and not spend a thirty degree day hiding behind bins with soiled nappies in them.
And the weirdest couple is:
Campbell is also new. His mum went upstairs for his thrid orientation, and he was fine. A bit upset, but got over it in less than 2 minutes. Because he decided that he had a new best friend.
Ryan's dad.
Seriously, little blonde Campbell spent his entire orientation following Ryan's dad about, playing with him (Ryan is a mummy's boy), and when Ryan's dad left TO TAKE HIS OWN SON HOME Campbell was distraught. Shrieking, crying, the works.
Mum came back and was able to calm him down.
Since starting, every time he sees Ryan's dad, he's instantly bestest buddies with him.
We've got a whole lot of new children in our room, one of whom is Emily, aka Nu-Nu. (Nu-Nu is her Chinese name). She loves me more than anyone else at work - so much so that her family won't hand her over to anyone else but me, but will search for me until they find me (or wait until I get to the room if they are earlier than normal) in order to give her to me and not the others.
So, I was walking with Nu-Nu down the hallway, where they have photos of all the staff along with details of their qualifications, etc. I often point to them and ask the children who they are, (or if they've been at work longer, I'll say something silly, like me being Anthony, or something).
"Who's this?" "Maryam!"
"Who's this?" "Mira!"
"Who's this?" "Mama!"
"Not quite honey. My name's Sam."
No, Really, We Have Parents Hide Behind Bins All the Time:
Ryan is another new boy. His parents were very worried about how he was going to settle in. So much so, that they hid for his ENTIRE FIRST DAY in the staff carpark skulking behind the bins. We knew they were there within 10 minutes, and went down every half hour to give them reports.
Ryan did not have a good first day.
On about the eighth time of giving them an update, they said, "You must think we're the most obsessive parents in the world."
"No," I said. "All the parents worry." Yes, all parents worry. They were the first parents to hide behind the bins though.
I told my CG, and Jasmine just said, "They were Chinese, weren't they?"
"Yep," I confirmed.
"You'd never catch white parents acting that way."
That's because we know that we can PHONE and not spend a thirty degree day hiding behind bins with soiled nappies in them.
And the weirdest couple is:
Campbell is also new. His mum went upstairs for his thrid orientation, and he was fine. A bit upset, but got over it in less than 2 minutes. Because he decided that he had a new best friend.
Ryan's dad.
Seriously, little blonde Campbell spent his entire orientation following Ryan's dad about, playing with him (Ryan is a mummy's boy), and when Ryan's dad left TO TAKE HIS OWN SON HOME Campbell was distraught. Shrieking, crying, the works.
Mum came back and was able to calm him down.
Since starting, every time he sees Ryan's dad, he's instantly bestest buddies with him.
Friday 15 January 2010
Dolls Make Me Sick
So, was at work and patting the children off to sleep. Sienna was the only child awake, when she suddenly sat up and said, "Bed, WET!"
I pulled back her blanket, and low and behold, it was. My first thought was that her nappy leaked, but Sienna soon told me otherwise...
"Baby WEE."
Sure enough, the doll was at the top of the wet patch. Baby did indeed make the mess. So we changed the sheet, and put Sienna back to bed, thinking that that would be the end of it. But no!
"Want Baby!"
"Baby's in the bathroom doing more wees. You can play with Baby later."
"Baby wear nappy."
I'm obliging, especially because Sienna can scream loud enough to wake every child in the building. So I took Baby through to the Babies room to get a small nappy. As I'm carrying Baby, I'm noticing that my arm is very itchy and slightly painful.
By the time I get back from the Babies room, my arm is red and swollen. It hurts a fair bit. And then I realise that Baby is made out of rubber, most likely with Latex mixed in. That's right, I'm having an allergic reaction to a DOLL.
Unfortunately, my medical bag doesn't have any anti-histamines. Ventolin and juice I have, but anti-histamines, no. Been meaning to buy some, but just hadn't got around to it.
So I got to go home early. I stopped off at the chemist and bought myself some drugs. Then I went home and slept like a Baby.
I pulled back her blanket, and low and behold, it was. My first thought was that her nappy leaked, but Sienna soon told me otherwise...
"Baby WEE."
Sure enough, the doll was at the top of the wet patch. Baby did indeed make the mess. So we changed the sheet, and put Sienna back to bed, thinking that that would be the end of it. But no!
"Want Baby!"
"Baby's in the bathroom doing more wees. You can play with Baby later."
"Baby wear nappy."
I'm obliging, especially because Sienna can scream loud enough to wake every child in the building. So I took Baby through to the Babies room to get a small nappy. As I'm carrying Baby, I'm noticing that my arm is very itchy and slightly painful.
By the time I get back from the Babies room, my arm is red and swollen. It hurts a fair bit. And then I realise that Baby is made out of rubber, most likely with Latex mixed in. That's right, I'm having an allergic reaction to a DOLL.
Unfortunately, my medical bag doesn't have any anti-histamines. Ventolin and juice I have, but anti-histamines, no. Been meaning to buy some, but just hadn't got around to it.
So I got to go home early. I stopped off at the chemist and bought myself some drugs. Then I went home and slept like a Baby.
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Three of These Things...
Three of these things belong together
Three of these things are kind of the same
Can you guess which one of these doesn't belong here?
Now it's time to play our game (time to play our game).
Tuesday 12 January 2010
Church: It's Not Just About Finding a Spouse
At church on Sunday Jean-Marc came over to me and Kal and said how pleased he was to see us. Which is funny, because both of us have been in Hope for longer than he has. He was rather going on about it, so Kal decided to state the obvious.
"You're glad to see us because we're white."
He admitted that that was the reason. (Well, it beats those who are not pleased to see us because we are white.)
Kal said, "What about Rob? Doesn't he count?"
Jean-Marc looked around, puzzled, spotted Rob, looked back at us and said, "You know, I don't think he does. Why is that?"
"It's because he's a boy." I said.
"So?"
"It's more socially acceptable for a white boy to date an Asian girl than for an Asian boy to date a white girl."
"But it does happen the other way," Jean-Marc stressed. He paused, and then said, "Though I can't think of any..." (Incidentally I can. Steph's family, and a few more people in my generation.)
"Sure, but we're talking generalities."
Jean-Marc looked at us again, then said, "So, if that's the case, why are you two here?"
I leant forwards and said, "We're here for God."
"You're glad to see us because we're white."
He admitted that that was the reason. (Well, it beats those who are not pleased to see us because we are white.)
Kal said, "What about Rob? Doesn't he count?"
Jean-Marc looked around, puzzled, spotted Rob, looked back at us and said, "You know, I don't think he does. Why is that?"
"It's because he's a boy." I said.
"So?"
"It's more socially acceptable for a white boy to date an Asian girl than for an Asian boy to date a white girl."
"But it does happen the other way," Jean-Marc stressed. He paused, and then said, "Though I can't think of any..." (Incidentally I can. Steph's family, and a few more people in my generation.)
"Sure, but we're talking generalities."
Jean-Marc looked at us again, then said, "So, if that's the case, why are you two here?"
I leant forwards and said, "We're here for God."
Monday 11 January 2010
Dancing Thoughts
Last night I went swing dancing. I only found out about it on Friday, and at the short notice wasn't really able to get anyone to go with me. Which was kinda sad, but I decided to go anyway and have fun by myself.
So, they call everyone up to learn the basic steps, and I'm standing by myself like a loser. They'd told all of the regular dancers to split up and find poor lonely people like me and dance with them. So I got to dance with a boy. That's right, a BOY. Things like this just don't happen every day.
Anyways, boy's name is Doug, and he's tall (and I like tall, even to dance with, and I have never had the "they're too tall" problem with dancing with tall people because I like tall) and he was a regular dancer, so he could actually dance. But there's more (no steak knives).
Doug wanted to keep dancing with me after all the usual dancers left their loser partners and went back to the cool people who can dance. True, I'm not completely unco, but I could only really do the moves that the lesson was on, and that gets pretty boring after a while. So he wasn't just after my smooth moves.
Which brings me to my point. I was kind of sad that day because I looked pretty at church. Huh? Says everyone. But the prettier I look the less any of my friends who are guys want to talk to me. Joab and Keith are exceptions, but that's it.
It's nice to not be avoided because you put some effort into your appearance. It's nice to know that when I put any kind of effort into my appearance other people appreciate it. And yes, it is nice to feel like you look pretty.
Next point:
Going dancing next week, same place, different dance style - Afro-Funk. Calling all volunteers, male, female, church and secular. It's from 6:30 to 9:30 Sunday evening at Fitroy Gardens in the city (near Parliment station). The event is free, there is a live band after the dance class. Bring a picnic, it's lots of fun.
If you want to come, leave a comment or text me, and so that I can look out for you. You can just rock up (no bookings required) but if I don't know you're coming I'm not searching for you. Because I'll be too busy dancing with random boys who think I'm pretty. That's right. Sam's gonna dance!
So, they call everyone up to learn the basic steps, and I'm standing by myself like a loser. They'd told all of the regular dancers to split up and find poor lonely people like me and dance with them. So I got to dance with a boy. That's right, a BOY. Things like this just don't happen every day.
Anyways, boy's name is Doug, and he's tall (and I like tall, even to dance with, and I have never had the "they're too tall" problem with dancing with tall people because I like tall) and he was a regular dancer, so he could actually dance. But there's more (no steak knives).
Doug wanted to keep dancing with me after all the usual dancers left their loser partners and went back to the cool people who can dance. True, I'm not completely unco, but I could only really do the moves that the lesson was on, and that gets pretty boring after a while. So he wasn't just after my smooth moves.
Which brings me to my point. I was kind of sad that day because I looked pretty at church. Huh? Says everyone. But the prettier I look the less any of my friends who are guys want to talk to me. Joab and Keith are exceptions, but that's it.
It's nice to not be avoided because you put some effort into your appearance. It's nice to know that when I put any kind of effort into my appearance other people appreciate it. And yes, it is nice to feel like you look pretty.
Next point:
Going dancing next week, same place, different dance style - Afro-Funk. Calling all volunteers, male, female, church and secular. It's from 6:30 to 9:30 Sunday evening at Fitroy Gardens in the city (near Parliment station). The event is free, there is a live band after the dance class. Bring a picnic, it's lots of fun.
If you want to come, leave a comment or text me, and so that I can look out for you. You can just rock up (no bookings required) but if I don't know you're coming I'm not searching for you. Because I'll be too busy dancing with random boys who think I'm pretty. That's right. Sam's gonna dance!
Thursday 7 January 2010
I'm So Awesome
Well, I am!
Jack C, one of the Babies-turned-Toddlers, was at home over Christmas, and was in the bath, when he suddenly looked at his mum and said "Where's Sam?"
"Sam?"
"I want to see Sam!"
"Sam the Wiggle?" they asked. (For those not in the know about the Wiggles, Sam is the new yellow Wiggle.)
"No, Sam Childcare!"
"She's at her house," they explained to Jack.
"Oh," he said. Then he asked, "Can I go to her house for a visit?"
Jack C, one of the Babies-turned-Toddlers, was at home over Christmas, and was in the bath, when he suddenly looked at his mum and said "Where's Sam?"
"Sam?"
"I want to see Sam!"
"Sam the Wiggle?" they asked. (For those not in the know about the Wiggles, Sam is the new yellow Wiggle.)
"No, Sam Childcare!"
"She's at her house," they explained to Jack.
"Oh," he said. Then he asked, "Can I go to her house for a visit?"
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