Would one consider me a bad mum for not enrolling Arianna in any playgroup? She hasn’t really been exposed to a lot of kids but that said, when she is, she seems fine with them. And despite her height as a little taller than your average 2.5yr old toddler, she’s never been one to bully smaller kids. I’ve noticed that she is more of the accommodating kind and would prefer to leave a ‘messy’ situation than try to make it worst by standing her ground. I wouldn’t call her a peace maker but more like being the bigger person, giving in and walking away to find something else to do, iykwim.

One occasion where she sort of stood her ground was at the doc’s at one of their game tables that they had set up for the kids in the waiting room. I think it was like a train set there amongst other things and Arianna is just nuts about trains, especially Thomas the Train. Omg, that girl goes absolutely crazy when she sees anything related to Thomas.

Anyway, there was another playing with it and he was a slightly smaller built kid and let’s just say that if that girl wanted something, she’d make it hers no matter what. And apparently, she took if off him and he wasn’t impressed. *lol* He whinged about it and I think ran to Mum but that didn’t bother Arianna one bit, she got her Thomas.

This reminds me of the time we walked into church and sat down at this pew and right across us was this little boy who was holding his Thomas and golly, Arianna was just carrying on and on about it at the top of her voice. It was so embarrassing that we actually moved away from there and sat right in the middle of church, just so Thomas was out of her sight! I bet that poor boy, having noticed how intently Arianna was eyeing his toy, hung to it for dear life! *lol*

I guess it’s about time we did send her to some sort of playgroup but not sure when or where we will go to just yet. One thing’s for sure, she won’t be lacking playmates back in Malaysia coz my friends mostly have kids her age and my cousins are the same. I bet she will miss the company when she gets back but hopefully by then, we’d have worked something out for her.

My thoughts often wander to the homeless people especially during the cooler weather like autumn and winter. It’s not only cold and wet, some days it just windy and the chill really eats right into your bones! It’s just absolutely terrible.

Just yesterday on the train when it stopped at one of the station on the way to work, there was a homeless man at the station, talking to himself. I think most of them just go insane after sometime due to various reasons I’m sure but mostly I think it’s due to loneliness and no companionship. If there’s no one to talk to, then you just talk to yourself I guess. Anyway, seeing him made me think where he would be spending the night as it was potentially going to be a cold one. And it’s nothing new for me to think this way especially when I’m home, with a roof over my head and a bed with warm sheets. Not to mention sufficient food on the table and surrounded by people who love and care for me. What do these homeless people have? They literally have nothing and they live one day at a time. I bet they don’t know what tomorrow hold or if there’ll be another tomorrow.

It’s just so sad. I’ve heard of shelters that they can go to and the Vinnies van (St. Vincent de Paul Society, a well known group that helps the poor and needy), that provide food every now and then but nothing is certain. There is definitely more homeless people around than the help that is being given out. This is why I always remind myself that although I may not have much, I have more than enough to live a comfortable life. We may not be rich but we have more than enough to know that there will be food on the table tomorrow and a roof over our head to call our own.

These may be simple basics but when you put it into context, it certainly beats having to live out on the streets or out of a car. With the turn of economy for the worst recently, many people have been forced to sell up their homes and live out of their car. It’s times these that I hug my kids tight and thank the Lord for the many blessings that he has showered upon us.

I hope that poor man is alright and found a nice place to keep as warm as he can.

Yesterday was the first time I ever held a meeting on my own. It was an AGM for one of the societies and the turn out was rather disappointing seeing that I had gone around the whole college sticking up posters, and that included the toilets too! You’d think the students would take a LITTLE notice of the stuff that is plastered all around but nup, and then they turn up upset and angry coz “no one TOLD me about it”. I’m like what?? It’s all over the college and you expect me to tell you in person about it??? Cow….God gave you a pair of eyes for a reason, use them appropriately please!

So anyway, the turn out was pathetic. If not for a class who had turned up to observe and take notes, it would have been less than 10 people and we have hundreds of members mind you. SO yes, it was P A T H E T I C. There was even too much food left over when I thought we hadn’t ordered enough. I should have known better.

Anyway, we started a little late as I was hoping that N would come on time to help me out but she had issues with her college car and came about 20mins into the meeting. My starting was so shaky and I had barely past the welcome stage when I was told I forgot to introduce myself!! SO embarrassing!!!! From then on, I felt like a teacher and sure enough, I got caught out on something and praise the Lord that I have an excellent college manager who came to my rescue and pretty much took over from then. Lol Such a nice man he is, his wife certainly caught herself a good fish there. So he took over the whole thing and then N came along and helped out and me, I just served the food and watched from afar.

I’d say it turned out alright in the end. Just when I thought it was all over, I am now on a mission to get more nominees for the Board Members. And it’s not easy trying to persuade the students to submit their names although I have to admit that the mention that being on the board would look good in their resume normally seals the deal. Also that they are pretty much in charge a huge chunk of money as well is simply icing on the cake and so far, I’ve got me ONE recruit! *lol* I think I can rope in a couple more. Hehehe….wish me luck!

*You have to watch this. I thought it was just amazing! The vid is at the end after the explaination.*

This video from YouTube shows the winner of Ukraine’s Got Talent, Kseniya Simonova, aged 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table and showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a rare one, is mesmeric to watch.

The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears. Kseniya won the top prize in the series, about AUD130,000.

Kseniya begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated. It is replaced by a woman’s face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman’s face appears. The young woman quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.

This outdoor scene is then framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house. In the final scene, a mother and child appear inside and a man stands outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying goodbye. The Great Patriotic War, as World War II is called in The Ukraine, resulted in one in four of the population being killed. There were eight to 11 million deaths in the Ukrainian population of 42 million.

Kseniya Simonova says she finds it difficult to create art using paper and pencils or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is OK. “The art, especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there’s surely no bigger compliment.”

Why is the F-word used so casually? Maybe it isn’t so back home but over here, it’s like part and parcel of a daily conversation you have with anyone you know.

While on the bus today, I overheard this conversation that lasted some 10 minutes. And within that 10 minutes span, the F-word was said out loud and clear for at least 26 times! Almost every sentence that came out of his filthy mouth had an F-word in it. Horrifying I tells ya!

What is it with the F-word anyway? Does spitting it out so casually like that bring across some sort of important point I don’t get? Does it help the other person understand what you’re saying? What is the purpose of it? If it came out during a fit of anger, I’d understand but certainly not in a normal conversation. I just find it so hard to comprehend.

From personal observation, tradies or trade workers like painters or hard labour workers tend to use the word more casually and frequently compared to your average office bloke but that doesn’t mean your high ranking officer doesn’t say it. I’m sure everyone uses the word every now and then but the frequency and the manner, as well as to whom it is said to vary and depends on the situation, iykwim. I can’t remember the last time I ever said a bad word myself! And I don’t see a reason why I should and if I was pissed off mad at someone, there are others ways AND words to use which are less offensive, at least to my ears anyway. I usually say words like ‘stupid woman/fella’ or ‘cow’ as opposed to ‘b*tch’, etc. Perhaps this is because I have kids around me and I’d like them to grow up not needing to learn such words plus, they don’t really need to anyway. It’s just plain rude! More often than not, I even try to not say stupid and such, kids pick up words they don’t need to know far too quickly so as parents, we have to be very, very careful what we say in front of them. One word I noticed that I use rather frequently is ‘bugger’ as opposed to ‘damn’, and there was once, Arianna actually repeated it after I had said it unconsciously and it stunned me! So I have been trying to be extra careful with what I saw these days.

My impression of someone who uses the F-word or curse words so casually is not a positive one. It’s a personal opinion that I have. To me, someone who has a loose mouth like that isn’t respectful of others and to put it harshly, it really does reflect on your upbringing. Being articulate and respectful doesn’t make one a sissy or a softie, it just goes to show the sort of social circle you come from and mix with.

Today marks the first day of autumn and the end of hot, sticky nights….YAY!!! I’m so glad the cool weather is here. Gimme this any day!! Anyway, today also marks the days “>5200 Aussies posed butt naked for a photoshoot on the steps of the Opera House!! For many who did take part, it was a once in a lifetime event but I honestly couldn’t do it even if my life depended on it. It’s just way too out there for me. And it’s just really not my thing so it doesn’t interest me one bit.

That said, it must have been quite a sight seeing that it was a chilly morning and apparently the ‘models’ who came in all shapes, colors, sizes and age had to walk a fair bit from where they dropped their clothes to where the photo shoot took place. I can just imagine the number of stiffs around!! Pun not intented….really. Ok, maybe….*lol* One couple even postponed the birth of their twins to take part in the shoot – extreme or what?? They rushed to the hospital immediately after the shoot to get induced. Haiyolar, some people….dont know where their priority lies.