girls are weird.

28 February 2006

hip to be square

A recent scene from workville:

Manager type person: "They're talking about frozen monkeys in there."
Me: "Frozen monkeys? Have you guys been drinking again?"
Colleague: "Arctic Monkeys?"
Manager type person: "Yeah, them."

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

22 February 2006

one

Our little boy turns one year old today, which convinces me that time takes on a completely different meaning when you're a parent. It's like what my friend Gordon used to call "computer time" - this is when you sit in front of the PC for what feels like three minutes but turns out to be roughly 72 hours. I feel like I've been a mother for a couple of months, but it's actually been a year. One year! If the rest of my life goes by this quickly, Jack will be wheeling me into a home by 2010.

One of the best things about having kids is having an excuse to do childish things. This afternoon, I am going to hurl myself down a large plastic slide, sit in a tub of balls, and stuff myself with chocolate cake until I go blind. This is all for the sake of my son's birthday party, of course. I am overjoyed that this country has a distinct lack of Chuck E. Cheese and an abundance of soft play centres.

Happy first birthday, my adorable boy. My life will never be the same again, and that's a very good thing.

(Soppy mummy post to celebrate Jack's birthday can be found on the baby blog.)

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

14 February 2006

feel the love

I know that Valentine's Day is a load of Hallmark-induced malarky. I know. It still doesn't stop me from feeling giddy when a dozen red roses greet me at the office along with a boatload of chocolate. Maybe I'm deluded, but what's wrong with a tradition that compels us to be romantic? I'm even sharing the love with my workmates (in the form of chocolate) and have had some lovely chats with those who have stopped by my desk. I'm very much looking forward to the fantastic meal Paul will be whipping up for us this evening, and I care not a jot that it will contain double cream.

[Edited to add] In general, North Americans don't necessarily view Valentine's as a holiday for couples only. Parents give children chocolates and cards, kids bake cupcakes with cinnamon hearts on top at school, and classmates give each other little tear-out paper Valentines regardless of whether or not you've got a crush on the person. Maybe we should adopt that attitude here, and that way February 14th wouldn't always be a Day to Make Single People Feel Like Poo.

So I wish all of you a happy Valentine's Day, even if you're feeling ambivalent about the whole thing. Now could somebody please save me from myself and take this chocolate away from me?

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

10 February 2006

in the car cleaning guy we trust

Our company organised a car cleaning day yesterday with a chap with a van and a very powerful hose of some sort. As I have now reached the age and point in my life where I feel it's my duty to pay others to clean for me, I happily handed over my car keys to a complete stranger. Luckily, the guy did actually clean my car (and very well, I might add) and didn't drive off with it and trade it for crack. My faith in mankind has been restored.

I have a burning question. Do English people normally eat burgers with forks and knives? We went out for a pub lunch with about ten of my colleagues, and most of us had burgers. I noticed halfway through the meal that I was the only heathen chowing down on my burger using my hands. Everyone else ate it open-faced with cutlery. Is this the norm here? I need to know - I've got a citizenship test to take soon, and this might be one of the questions.

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

09 February 2006

some people shouldn't even own pet rocks

"Police visited the home of pop singer Britney Spears following the publication of photos showing her driving with her son on her lap." [source]

Words fail me.

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --

02 February 2006

better now, thanks

After the initial shock and horror of being back at the office, things aren't too bad now. In a strange way, it feels like I never left. Everything is so familiar and it hasn't taken any time at all to get back into the swing of things - I even got my chair back without any difficulty. Everyone's been lovely, asking me how I'm handling the return to work and how Jack's doing. I've got all of my desk critters set up again (a USB "lava lamp", Mr. Potato Head keyring, a Jack-Jack Pez dispenser, Lisa Simpson figurine, a plastic moose, stuffed beaver, Batdz Maru, Cartman keyring, a vibrating Ireland bus, and my Lemon Jelly rubber ducky), a lovely picture of Jack courtesy of my husband, and a drawer full of PG Tips teabags. I'm starting on a new project and looking forward to the scrummy Fitzbillies cakes we get every Friday morning.

It's still hard to get used to the dramatic reduction in Jack time, but maybe seeing him less is better for both of us. I find that the time I do spend with Jack now is entirely focused on playing with him and giving him lots of attention. When I'm with him for the whole day, I tend to go about my daily tasks with intermittent playtime. Quality vs. quantity, perhaps.

On a final, very exciting note, I can taste again. After six days my sense of taste and smell has finally returned. You have no idea how exciting this is for me - last weekend, I made a spicy curry that could have been a bowl of wallpaper paste for all I could tell. It's incredibly depressing to eat simply to fill my stomach and unable to derive any joy from it. On the downside, nappy changing is a lot smellier now.

[posted by: Lisa Durbin] --