Charmin-Ultra: Don't Squeeze Me

Calum has been taking a babysitting training class. Of course he didn’t volunteer to take the class. Of course, it was a group of moms manipulating one to get another into the class. Yup. We evil moms. However, like Fortnightly (a social dance class), Calum did it because it was my wish to see my son dressing up in suit and tie and dance with girls in dress and white gloves. He did complain about dancing with girls, but in the end he started to like it (mainly about wearing tie). I believe he will have a story to tell when he is older. The point was not that he learned social etiquette but he was there with his buddies and they tried something new. Like I often joked, “I know you are all forced to do it but you can be miserable together.” The fun part was they were in together! 

So babysitting class. It was a good skill to have. Some of Calum’s friends have already doing some odd jobs during summer; taking care pet fish or taking in newspapers for neighbors when they are on vacation. As he and his friends are turning 12; the legal age to babysit, some of them start to think about babysitting not only to make money but also to show they don’t need to be babysat anymore. Unfortunately, Calum never has monetary incentive so money couldn’t make it take the class. It took four moms emailing each other back and forth for the whole week and made sure everyone signed up.

"When you are comfortable with your differences, you are free".

This phrase came to my mind while I was watching CNN news on the main floor with Boomer and Pete watched Sherlok Holmes in the basement on a Sunday evening. 

Recently I have been searching what makes me excited. 

最近我身旁的幾位朋友紛紛做了職業上的重大決定。

ㄧ位辭掉了知名大學教授職位。

At 18th month, Rosie is late to start talking comparing to other children. She makes sounds; close to what we think they mean but I still cannot say definitely that she is talking.

I am not worried. Not at all.

今天因為ㄧ連串突發事件，所以我不能在下班後馬上去接琳琳。

打電話給阿公 （我爸爸）說要再等一下，阿公說琳琳已經穿好鞋子等我來接，我聽了心都碎了。 

最近台灣因為ㄧ件司法輕判虐童致死的案件，讓我好像是著了迷似的ㄧ直重複找尋有關案件的報導。

看著報導中描述虐待的情形，我真的不了解，這種事怎麼做得出來？

Age 2 and 5 are interesting ages to me.

Age 2 a.k.a. terrible two. I often joke that even dogs don't enjoy playing with a 2-year-old.

At 17 month, Rosie seemed to understand a lot. 

She could understand when I asked her to put on her socks and shoes in Mandarin.

Bored, the bikini girls wiggle their bodies against the poles. Neon light and crystal ball dye their skin eerily crimson. There are mirrors everywhere, on the walls, on the stage, and on the ceiling as if you can’t see enough of them or yourself. An announcer is saying something obscene but nobody seems aroused.  

Looking at the mirrors around them, the girls are actually admiring their thick-lined eyes, layers of foundation, and carefully painted scarlet lips. They carefully place their number plates on their breasts or on the string of their panties to attract attention.  The audience includes mostly foreign men and some women. Men are the regulars but women? Must be some feminists who wanted to ‘experience’, or some researchers collecting information, or like me just wandering. With or without the women, it makes no big difference to the girls. It was merely another night selling their bodies on stage, like animals in the zoo.