Old Dutch Hospital, Fort.

I have started reading the Julie and Julia blog. While looking for it I also came across the rather disconcerting piece of news that Julie cheated on her husband (after the movie deal?) and then wrote another book about that experience. Weird or what? And somehow it just seems like she's exploiting people for money. Maybe she had an affair just so she could write about it. Who knows? Anyway, definitely won't be reading that book.

Life in Colombo is getting increasingly boring on a personal level now that I'm no longer studying and also because H is going crazy working round the clock. I so need a way of using my time constructively! So not the type to enjoy watching the TV the whole day long!

However there have been good changes happening in Colombo. More shops have opened up (Mango's here now, though way more expensive than any other shop here) and the old Dutch Hospital at Fort has been converted to a tourist hotspot of swanky restaurants and small outlets of the popular shops here such Odel and Barefoot. We've eaten at 2 of the joints : Work in Progress and Heladiv and both were good and very tastefully decorated. Many of the old structures are getting a much needed lick of paint as well. Also old colonial buildings are having their walls torn down so that they are more visible to passersby. The expressway to Galle is also operational though we still have not used it.

Changes change everything

So, daughter has learnt many new things this year. She can now:

1. Do multiplication up to 5 (Not yet taught at school)
   
2. Do addition through carrying (Not yet taught at school)
3. Do the back stroke (just about - and yes not taught at school : remind me again why I send her to school?)
4. Read mother tongue moderately well (not taught at school)
5. Count in mother tongue up to 30 (ditto).
6. Eat her dinner on her own (eating basmati rice on own with a spoon is a big deal: it's not simple at all, especially if mixed with gravy (ditto).
   
7. Go to sleep without me in the same room (though we do join her afterwards - her bed is still in our room). (ditto)

These are just some of the things I remember right now. I'm sure there are loads more.

Funnily enough, it is me who feels bad about her progress in many ways (not needing me to go to sleep) even though it is liberating. I'm so sentimental! However, am planning on blogging more regularly since I have more free time at night now.

What does it say about you when you don't like your friends?

Was watching Julie and Julia the other day when I noticed that rather interesting dialogue. This is exactly the way I feel. Or would feel if I had any real friends that is. Ha ha. Yes, I've realised that though I have plenty of this so called species on facebook, in reality I have precious little of them right now.

I think I did have friends till university. Then ofcourse everyone got busy with their lives, getting married, having kids, immigrating, moving. I did all of the above except for immigrating, and still had time for friends. However hardly any one had time for me in general. The problem is also exacerbated because of our moving around from country to country. Naturally it's easiest to make new friends with other expats. However as soon as I become anything near close to them, they up and leave. I have also had the misfortune that anyone who seems remotely interesting seems more interested in housework and ironically hanging around at home so that the maid can do their work, rather than socialising in the mornings when the kids (if they have any) are at school. I have also found it strange that the moms that I know prefer to have play dates with kids rather than meet when the kids are at home (refer back to making the maid work excuse). It seems strange that play dates for kids who are 6 or 7 years old are needed! Don't they get enough play time while they're at school for crying out loud?

Overall, I feel I've been swept aside and forgotten about while everyone is busy dealing with the rat race that is life. I don't really know why I don't feel much of an urge to join the rat race myself. I also feel I'm somewhat a loner in this search for friends. Most people I know are more interested in policing their housemaids, and sticking to their daily routines than meeting up with me.

Don't get me wrong, I've got plenty of people who want to stay in touch, more often than not when they need something. Usually after they have got what they wanted (often a free stay at my house, with me slaving away after them), I'm chewed up and spat out. There are other friends who are always on the invisible mode, again until they need to kill time.

Ofcourse it's entirely my fault that I have given people the message that it's ok to treat me in this fashion. And I've taken steps to reduce the dumb behaviour on my part. Even though it's lonely, it's better not to have many friends than to not like the ones you have.

Happy New Year

Even though I have only 3 followers to my posts, I'm going to keep on writing. Because I love looking back oh every year or so and seeing how things have changed.

December and January have both been extra-ordinarily busy. Got work for myself which I can do over the net! So that's totally amazing. I have yet to collect payment for work done though. Hope that works out, given that the people I'm offering services to are in another country!

Our driver quit in December and that was quite the wake up call as he did it the day before H left for NY and school was very much open. So have been taking steps towards getting a license. Got my learner's permit this month. It was a little bit of a nightmare doing so, as they couldn't make my finger prints match. I think that's down to me hardly having any discernible finger prints! I don't know why that is. Extra smooth fingers I guess.

Ok, it's the middle of the night here so must go!

Little Miss Muffet

I had this conversation with Daughter yesterday and thought would put it up on this blog. The way I see it, I don't think anyone else reads the darn blog (regularly) except me. And it's nice for me to remember these conversations. And the only person who I can think of would read these blog posts years from now on, is my daughter. And she'd get a kick out of knowing what she used to say when she was six. So here goes.

Scene: Me (spooning out Curd to daughter during lunch).
Daughter : Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet eating her curds and whey. What's whey?
Me: Whey is what you call the juice of the yoghurt. See, Little Miss Muffet eats her curds AND whey. Why don't you eat the " juice"? Little Miss Muffet eats it.
Daughter: Little Miss Muffet isn't real. And why would a spider come and sit down beside her? Spiders can't sit! They can only stand. And what's a tuffet anyway?
Me (dumbfounded): Don't really know what a tuffet is. We'll look it up on the internet when you've finished lunch. Now eat your curd.

Steve Jobs

As I type away on my Mac Book Air, I think of Steve Jobs. Facebook is awash with people playing tribute to him. People from all corners of the globe. Many of whom possibly didn't own any Apple products. Some of whom did not like what Apple stood for. Such was his greatness.

I doubt few world leaders would have had so much of a following.

So why are people like him thought to be so great? I think the way they have re-shaped our world is simply enormous. I mean, look at me, Blogging! This is a word that didn't even exist in our vocabulary when we were young students. And today, this is something I feel good doing. Look at the way I chatted with my Mother, thousands of miles away, on Skype! Look at the way we find solace after looking up the latest thing wrong with our near and dear ones on some medical website, and knowing what to do.

So thank you Steve Jobs and all the other nameless techie geeks out there!

Restaurant Review - Nihonbashi

We have gone past Nihonbashi almost every day of our stay in Colombo. Never entered. However finally decided to go last May, just before I left. Anyway, the food was not as good as in Hohsen Ginza. However the decor was interesting. They had tables sunk into the floor. They also had an I-pad menu. Was not sold on the concept. Then we were offered coffee flavoured jello on the house. The irritating thing occured when we wanted to pay the bill. They were having a promotion for SCB card holders which would enable a sizable discount. Fishily enough, their card machine was "down". So we were forced to pay by cash and forego the discount. Pretty sure they made up the fact about their machine being down. Not going back again. Feel like having Japanese? Go to Hohsen Ginza.