It may look like I am constantly changing plans... and some people consider that a bad thing.
Someone recently said, "Oh, you're just light-footed."
I like that view so very much. Thank you.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Foiled again!
Confirmed -- the NZ rental agency won't take my temporary USA license. It isn't valid enough.
So, what to do while waiting around for 10 days for the little piece of plastic to arrive?
Hum...
Top items off the top of my head:
* Explore half-moon bay for a week -- too expensive, hotels are 250-500/night there. Even if we drive every day there & back, the gas is considerable, more than an RV in NZ would cost in our little jaunts...
* Do a tour of bay area museums again, could be fun.
* Grab some $60 tix to LA, stay with friends and go to Disneyland for a week. Possible, but Jee & Aee hate crowds and heat even more than I do.
* Enroll them in camps. Too expensive!
* Hire The Most Awesome Babysitters (who are not related to us) to watch the wee ones for 1/2 days, just enough so that the day balances out. Jee and Aee get four hours of non-stop board game time while I work, then they play at the shop while I work. Then we all breath a deep sigh and play together a bit.
Sounds good, but this is what we have been doing for the last two weeks. Plus, The Most Awesome Babysitter team is out of town.
Harumpf.
Those $300-something tickets to Spain are looking better every day.
So, what to do while waiting around for 10 days for the little piece of plastic to arrive?
Hum...
Top items off the top of my head:
* Explore half-moon bay for a week -- too expensive, hotels are 250-500/night there. Even if we drive every day there & back, the gas is considerable, more than an RV in NZ would cost in our little jaunts...
* Do a tour of bay area museums again, could be fun.
* Grab some $60 tix to LA, stay with friends and go to Disneyland for a week. Possible, but Jee & Aee hate crowds and heat even more than I do.
* Enroll them in camps. Too expensive!
* Hire The Most Awesome Babysitters (who are not related to us) to watch the wee ones for 1/2 days, just enough so that the day balances out. Jee and Aee get four hours of non-stop board game time while I work, then they play at the shop while I work. Then we all breath a deep sigh and play together a bit.
Sounds good, but this is what we have been doing for the last two weeks. Plus, The Most Awesome Babysitter team is out of town.
Harumpf.
Those $300-something tickets to Spain are looking better every day.
Excuses, Excuses
I'm feeling a bit like Sisyphus, pushing a rock, pushing a rock, but never getting anywhere. I am trying to leave. The kids are beyond psyched. Everyone is ready, but...
Every day some new monster rears its head.
Last Monday it was a slipped something in my back. Fixed.
On Tuesday it was a work thing that needed an immediate solution or I couldn't leave town. Mostly fixed.
On Wednesday it was my foot. It feels like it's broken. I can barely walk. Horrid shooting pains.
Today it was the expired driver's license. New one will get here in 10 days.
Is someone trying to tell me something? Because the next step would be a brain tumor or a car accident. Eep.
Every day some new monster rears its head.
Last Monday it was a slipped something in my back. Fixed.
On Tuesday it was a work thing that needed an immediate solution or I couldn't leave town. Mostly fixed.
On Wednesday it was my foot. It feels like it's broken. I can barely walk. Horrid shooting pains.
Today it was the expired driver's license. New one will get here in 10 days.
Is someone trying to tell me something? Because the next step would be a brain tumor or a car accident. Eep.
HUGE amount of luck
Imagine this: You book tickets for yourself and your children to fly half way around the world. You are beyond-ready to rent that sweet little RV so you and your little ones can travel up and down the coast.
You get to the checkout counter to fill out all the RV forms and the clerk says in that fantastic New Zealand accent: "Matie, you can't rent. Your driver's license is expired."
You know what happens when you are in a foreign country and need US approval for visa, dls, this sort of thing? You have to *go home* to get it done.
Did I just narrowly escape a huge mistake?
On my way to the DMV now...
You get to the checkout counter to fill out all the RV forms and the clerk says in that fantastic New Zealand accent: "Matie, you can't rent. Your driver's license is expired."
You know what happens when you are in a foreign country and need US approval for visa, dls, this sort of thing? You have to *go home* to get it done.
Did I just narrowly escape a huge mistake?
On my way to the DMV now...
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
My favorite moment of the day
Seeing my teenage son take control of his life, ground his career, and work with a new colleague.
This is nothing so fulfilling as knowing that your kids are going to be OK.
This is nothing so fulfilling as knowing that your kids are going to be OK.
Time and a Half?
When you work overtime on holidays, weekends, during the birth of your son, days when everyone else is on vacation... aren't you supposed to get time and a half?
My beloved just worked two weeks straight of 18 to 20 hour days, non-stop, around the clock, quick naps and short nights. He worked through one weekend, then worked again through the next -- the 4th of July.
What does he get for around-the-clock devotion?
Time and a half?
Nah. How about the new company rule that went into effect while he was gone: "One comp day for every two weekend days / holiday days worked."
What's that? Half time?
Invest 2, get 1 in return...
Yikes, how motivating!
My beloved just worked two weeks straight of 18 to 20 hour days, non-stop, around the clock, quick naps and short nights. He worked through one weekend, then worked again through the next -- the 4th of July.
What does he get for around-the-clock devotion?
Time and a half?
Nah. How about the new company rule that went into effect while he was gone: "One comp day for every two weekend days / holiday days worked."
What's that? Half time?
Invest 2, get 1 in return...
Yikes, how motivating!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Looking for a school
NZ is in school while we are on summer break (and they are on summer break while we are in school).
So, I am looking for a school for Jee & Aee to go to for a few weeks so I can work a bit while we are in NZ.
Finding a good school when you have a whole country to choose from helps you outline what educational atmosphere you want.
The top three things I treasure in my kid's school experience:
1. Diversity on all levels (financial, physical, intellectual, etc)
2. Acceptance verbiage rather than rejection verbiage. The school's website, usually approved by the principal is a fairly good indication of how the school is run. Ex: "We accept and appreciate..." rather than "We have a no tolerance policy towards..." While I believe strict rules are vital, schools who focus on the positive usually engender the positive, so...
3. Strong academics since my geeky little kids like studying. They get it from both sides of the family. I have such fond memories of sitting at the dinner table doing workbook pages because I liked to do schoolwork. There's something wonderful about a fresh sheet of problems and a pencil that you need to sharpen again and again. Thrill!
Why are diversity and acceptance are first on my list? As a trained teacher, you would think I would have something more concrete on my list. Instead I have the warm-fuzzies of peace, love and happiness.
Here's why... When you have kids you want them to be friends, right? You want sibling rivalry to be at a minimum, right?
Because, after all, what parent actually enjoys hearing: "She looked at me funny!" and "He touched the leaf that I was thinking of picking up!"
When the teacher at school is spending six to eight hours a day working on kindness, enlarging their hearts and minds, training them to naturally assume good intent, it makes my job easier. Haven't I heard too many times from my kids and others, "But he did it on purpose!" countered by, "It was an accident!" Let's rewrite that script.
It seems that the neural pathways need to be trained to assume good intent, at least during the playground years. I haven't heard too many kids on the playground, when bonked by an errant basketball say, "It's ok, I know you didn't mean to toss it over here." Instead you hear, "Hey!..." followed by words I would rather not record.
Anyway, my criteria is based on recognizing that I don't have enough energy or power to teach my kids this particular lesson sufficiently. I need the bolstering of a wide support network to get this message across. When supported by a wide net, my kids know that it is a societal norm, not just something their mom wants them to do.
So far, I have found nearly every NZ school has a message like the Kawakawa school has (note that the language is Maori, a lot like Hawaiin):
Motto: "Kai U Ki Te Pai:" Uphold that which is good
Bliss.
So, I am looking for a school for Jee & Aee to go to for a few weeks so I can work a bit while we are in NZ.
Finding a good school when you have a whole country to choose from helps you outline what educational atmosphere you want.
The top three things I treasure in my kid's school experience:
1. Diversity on all levels (financial, physical, intellectual, etc)
2. Acceptance verbiage rather than rejection verbiage. The school's website, usually approved by the principal is a fairly good indication of how the school is run. Ex: "We accept and appreciate..." rather than "We have a no tolerance policy towards..." While I believe strict rules are vital, schools who focus on the positive usually engender the positive, so...
3. Strong academics since my geeky little kids like studying. They get it from both sides of the family. I have such fond memories of sitting at the dinner table doing workbook pages because I liked to do schoolwork. There's something wonderful about a fresh sheet of problems and a pencil that you need to sharpen again and again. Thrill!
Why are diversity and acceptance are first on my list? As a trained teacher, you would think I would have something more concrete on my list. Instead I have the warm-fuzzies of peace, love and happiness.
Here's why... When you have kids you want them to be friends, right? You want sibling rivalry to be at a minimum, right?
Because, after all, what parent actually enjoys hearing: "She looked at me funny!" and "He touched the leaf that I was thinking of picking up!"
When the teacher at school is spending six to eight hours a day working on kindness, enlarging their hearts and minds, training them to naturally assume good intent, it makes my job easier. Haven't I heard too many times from my kids and others, "But he did it on purpose!" countered by, "It was an accident!" Let's rewrite that script.
It seems that the neural pathways need to be trained to assume good intent, at least during the playground years. I haven't heard too many kids on the playground, when bonked by an errant basketball say, "It's ok, I know you didn't mean to toss it over here." Instead you hear, "Hey!..." followed by words I would rather not record.
Anyway, my criteria is based on recognizing that I don't have enough energy or power to teach my kids this particular lesson sufficiently. I need the bolstering of a wide support network to get this message across. When supported by a wide net, my kids know that it is a societal norm, not just something their mom wants them to do.
So far, I have found nearly every NZ school has a message like the Kawakawa school has (note that the language is Maori, a lot like Hawaiin):
Motto: "Kai U Ki Te Pai:" Uphold that which is good
Aroha: Love
Awhina: Help
Atawhai: Care
Manaaki: To help, love and care for one another.
Now, doesn't that sound like something you want in your house at 6:15 every night while you're making dinner?Bliss.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)