The end of one,…the begining of another

Yesterday morning, hubby called from work with the news.  There was an emergency meeting, and about 600 staff members Australia wide were made redundant,… including him.  Although we knew at the back of our minds that this was a possibility when the company was ‘taken over’ just before Christmas, the news still hit us,…or at least me,…with a little sting.

I was dazed for the whole of yesterday.  Unfocused.  There were times where I would be excited, thrilled for the new career prospects that awaits  hubby in the near future; this was a new beginning of good things to come.  Then, there were moments where I was riddled with fear and uncertainty.  The many “what ifs” running through my head like a speeding train going downhill….

This situation was new to us despite statistics indicating that the average person would experience at least three redundancies in their career life.  I wanted to comfort hubby, but at the same time I did not want him to worry about me and the kids.  How does one show this? The kids were at home when hubby got back from work.  [As far as the kids are concerned, it was just another 'usual' day (even-though, it was their first day back to school this year!)]  We did not talk about the situation  in front of the kids.  They pick things up very easily even at this young age.  We did talk later.  We talked about and agreed that this was a positive step for us, and that we just needed to be organised and stay focused.  No point stressing and worrying, as ’stress and worry’ doesn’t get anything done.  We needed perspective, a focused mind and most of all faith. 

Hubby still has three weeks to go at work, and then there is the redundancy payment of up to seven weeks of salary after that.  This was our buffer for now.  10 weeks of income.  Enough, I hope……

This is me

Amazing yoga poses….. [View these photos]

My sis-in-law (SIL) had recently returned from India, where she had attended a month long Yoga Teacher Training Camp in Madurai.  From the photos that she took, it can be seen that she had a very enlightening experience.  What amazed me and my family the most were the photos of young children and their yoga abilities.  Here are just 4 photos that I had pinched SIL’s Facebook album.  It’s a wonder what our bodies can actually be trained to do ….and that age is no limitation!

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Hello! …..but, who are you again?

It really eats me!!  Have you ever bumped into someone….. and they knew who you were but you couldn’t place their face or their name?  Worst still is when they stop and start having a conversation with you!  This is exactly what happened to me this morning.

It was about 10 o’clock this glorious Saturday morning.  Our family had just completed playing tennis at the local community club.  While hubby and our youngest packed up our belongings on court, I decided to walk into the reception area with my eldest son to pick up a timetable for the exercise classes that they run at the club.  As we were about to walk into the centre, out walked a young lady (who had obviously just completed a workout, possibly at the gym or at one of the exercise classes).  As our eyes met, she smiled straightaway,…knowing who I was.  I recognised her,..knowing that I knew her from some place, but just simply couldn’t place where!

The next few seconds, as we walked towards each other, my brain went on overdrive.  Who was she?  What’s her name?  She stopped.  “Oh..No!  We are about to have a conversation!”, my head screamed.  I continued to smile, not knowing what else to do.  She said hello and said that she saw hubby and V (youngest son) earlier on.  “That’s a clue! She knew the family…”, I thought.  But, still my brain failed me…..it wasn’t giving me any new information.  I replied politely, still smiling, saying that we had played tennis this morning.  She then continued to ask me if I was about to go for an exercise class.  As my brain searched hard, I told her that I was just going into the centre to get a schedule.  Then, there was a moment of awkward silence before she asked J (my eldest son) if he was having a good day.  And that was it.  We walked our separate ways after nodding our byes to each other.

I felt really bad after that.  I am really sorry for not remembering who this person was.   Everyone I know is important to me, and it breaks my heart that I could forget or misplace somebody.  When I recounted the story to hubby later on, he said that I should have just told her that I couldn’t place her.  Should I have done that?  I don’t know. 

Sadly, this wasn’t the first time this has happened to me.  A few years ago, the same thing happened with one of my youngest son’s creche carer.  I was so used to seeing Tapu in her creche uniform, that when we bumped into each other at a social gathering somewhere else, I just couldn’t recognise her.  As I did today, I had appeared rude by not contributing to “the conversation” that we were having.  

It has now been almost 7 hours since the encounter this morning, and I am no where closer to finding out who this young lady is.  Her face and our conversation is still running in my head like a stuck vinyl record on a record player.  There had been fleeting moments during the day where I had felt closer to the “answer”, but…. the “answer” still eludes me.  In my heart, I feel that I should make up to her somehow, but I can only do that if I remember who she was……

FORGET ME NOT

Carnival of Running an Organised Home

Welcome to the January 26, 2008 edition of carnival of running an organised home.  The following are the submissions received this week.  If you are interested in making a submission for the next edition, please use the submission form link found at the bottom of this post.  

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Carnival of Running an Organised Home - Edition #5

GP presents Fit and Fast to Fuel Your Day posted at Innside Montana-Your Home at the Range.

Matthew Paulson presents Coupons – To Clip Or Not to Clip posted at American Consumer News.

Stephanie presents Basics in My Refrigerator TT #18 posted at Stop the Ride!.

Mandy presents Soothing Night Wakers posted at Building Blocks Blog.

Raymond presents Ways To Protect Your Home From Burglars And Break Ins When You Are Away posted at Money Blue Book.

Tip Diva presents Top Ten Tips - Washing Your Clothes posted at Tip Diva.

Joe Caterisano presents How to get organized posted at Self Help and Personal Development.

PlanningQueen presents 10 things to do before the school holidays end posted at Planning with Kids.

Carole Fogarty presents Detox your kitchen bench: Six simple things you can do now: posted at THE HEALTHY LIVING LOUNGE.

Bela presents How to Catch a Mouse | House Chronicles posted at Some energy-saving lighting tips from the US Dept. of Energy | House Chronicles.

Tiffany Washko presents BPA Free Sippy Cups - Part Two posted at Natural Family Living Blog.

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That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Running an Organised Home using our carnival submission form.  Past editions of this carnival can be viewed here. 

Thank you!

“I Still Call Australia Home.. ♪ ..”

I love this song by Peter Allen.  Happy Australia Day everyone!!

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I Still Call Australia Home

I’ve been to cities that never close down,
from New York to Rio and old London town,
but no matter how far or how wide I roam,
I still call Australia home.

I’m always traveling, I love being free,
and so I keep leaving the sun and the sea,
but my heart lies waiting over the foam,
I still call Australia home.

All the sons and daughters spinning ’round the world,
away from their family and friends,
but as the world gets older and colder,
it’s good to know where your journey ends.
Someday we’ll all be together once more,
when all of the ships come back to the shore,
I’ll realise something I’ve always known
I still call Australia home but no matter how far or wide I roam,
I still call Australia I still call Australia, I still call Australia home.

but no matter how far or wide I roam,
I still call Australia I still call Australia, I still call Australia home

A Tribute To Heath

 
Heathcliff Andrew Ledger
(April 4, 1979 – January 22, 2008)

One cannot be an Australian and not feel for the loss.  I am sorry that the world has lost a great actor.  My thoughts go out to his family and to his little daughter, Matilda.

♥

E-capturing the Past: My Old School….♥

As I reminisced my old school days, I couldn’t help but attempt to use modern technology to bring history back to life.  I googled my old primary school name.  Surprisingly, I found something.  Now… to put things in context,…I think I should mention a few little pertinent facts about my little history. 

In my second year of primary school, our family moved from the the city (Kuala Lumpur) to a very little village in the Malaysian state of Kuala Terengganu.  I was 8 years old, and my brothers were 7 and 2.  The reason for the move:  Dad was to work on the Kenyir Dam project (incidentally, he was the one who designed and built the spillway on this dam). 

When I googled my old school name, Sekolah Rendah Tengku Ampuan Intan (also fondly known as SRTAI), I found a beautiful old photo of my sweet school! 

And along with it, was a photo of my old school badge!  I haven’t seen this for almost 30 years!

Our time in Terengganu was one of the best parts of my life. In coming days, I hope to be able to dig back into the deep recesses of my mind for all the wonderful memories I have of this wonderful time!

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NOTE:  If there is anyone out there, who had schooled at SRTAI between 1980 and 1983, I would really love to be in touch with you! 

One week to go!

The school summer holidays is showing its tail!  It is almost the end of the long break that the kids have been having (about 6 weeks).  Next Wednesday, one week from today, the school bell will ring again, marking the start of another year at Kalinda Primary School in the beautiful suburb of Ringwood.  The boys will be starting their school year in a new classroom, with new friends and new teachers.  They say that they are excited.  And for their sake,…I trully hope they are :).

I think back to my school days, and recall  how I used to feel at this time of the year.  In Malaysia, schools used to start (and apparently still do) right after the New Year public holiday.  I remember it always being a crazy time of year.  Not only is everyone usually still recovering from the buzz of welcoming the New Year in, but there usually is also a spike in general activity (and thus traffic).  Chaos is usully the ‘word of the day’ on the first day of school in those days!  We never used to know where to go or who to see. 

As I sit in my living room, while the kids watch TMNT on TV, I resolve to  make their last week of holidays a pleasant and memorable one. I will have to look at the “the list” and make sure that most of what we had planned to do during the holidays has been ticked off.  But most of all, I will spend as much time as I can with them this week…!

A Glorious Summer’s Morning in Beautiful Melbourne

I love this feeling!  It is still early at our home this Saturday morning, and very, very quiet.  The boys are still sleeping and hubby has gone for his morning walk.  As I sit here in the living room, with the laptop warming  my lap, all I hear is the whirring sound from the laptop and birds singing outside - I hear the spotted turtle doves that live on our compound and a kookaburra too!!

I feel a strange sense of peace.  ♥