random updates …

• I’ve joined a gym, not those california wow or fitness first . It’s a small n quiet gym in a service apartment. Nice equipments, no crowd which is good for my anti-social behavior. It’s a bit pricey but hey, you have to keep me healthy or else who’s going to do all the housework here ?
• The kid’s going to hold the ” plarn ” ( flower tray ) on teacher’s day. I have to wake up at 6 in the morning 3 days in a row to get her to school on time for holding-the-plarn practice. Hence, no updates lately.
• Found some nice thai blogs to read via The Lost Boy’s Top Thailand Blogs . You have to see this post by Bangkok Klong of Consciousness. Anyone can be ‘ abraew ‘ with big eye contact lens. Also the rabbit pics in Lost in Translation. So funny !
• Tried to watch the no confidence debate. Want to scream after the most trivial point is objected upon for over 20 minutes. Will read up in newspaper instead.

Small time Ripoffs

Last week I met up with my parents for sukiyaki. The waitress there must think we are sitting ducks because we spoke Cantonese throughout the meal. When it was time to pay, the waitress came and told us ” 1,470 bht “. Was she surprised when I asked to check the bill. Like “omg-she-can-read-thai??!!” face. She fumbled with the bill and said that she has over-billed us with a pot of hot tea.  Yes, she suddenly knew that she has over billed us when I asked to see the bill. The revised one was 970bht. The tea must have cost 500bht. Ducki Suki ? Please check on your people ?

Another ( reoccurring ) incident. You know those Spot reward cards ? I never fish them out of my wallet . I just tell them my phone number so I can get the discounts. Watch the cashier’s fingers. Sometimes the number they are typing is not yours. If you can read thai, you can double check on the receipt because the card owner’s name will be printed on it. This happened to me twice and I don’t go to Tops that often.

I don’t know if time is really lean these days that people have to do whatever to make ends meet. Or is it just people don’t have a good conscience anymore ? It really isn’t worth it to be caught.

Howto : DIY Housework Chore List ( part 2 )

( the sequel to my very anal post ; those that do not do housework need not read it !! )

You’ve figured out the early morning and before bedtime chores and have marked them for sorting . The first task in the late morning chore is decluttering. Now look through the remaining ‘ Daily ‘ task and work them out into flowing steps. For example, bathroom-cleaning detergents need time to work their magic. Spray them first, then do other areas like dusting, sweeping, before washing the detergents off. Mark them in order by placing ” L1, L2 , L3, etc ” next to the tasks in the fourth column . After you’ve labeled all the remaining daily tasks, you can highlight them and sort them out by ascending order.

I don’t know if there is an easier way to do it on Excel, but I just copy/paste this list ( excluding the fourth column ) so that there are enough for the 5 working days.

Underneath each list will be where all the other remaining chores get allocated. You can group them by ‘ area ‘ and distribute them through the week with the to-be-done dates noted next to them. For example, my Mondays is gardening and dog bath day. Tuesdays is storage clean up day where I’ll alternate mondays to clean/organize toys, closets, storage rooms. Wednesdays is usually the day I visit mom, and also go to ” Pun Gun ” , a shop that takes in donated stuff to support underprivileged school kids. This way you don’t have to keep stuffs you don’t need. After you packed them up , the next day you give them away. You get an uncluttered house and good karma every week.

I print out a sheet for each working day. The list have little check boxes next to the task. You add this by shrinking the column and adding borders . Since this is the first-draft list, I print out enough to last a month ( that will be four checkboxes / task ). After one month I can further adjust it to better suit me.

I’m into week 2 of the list and it is very satisfying looking at all the checked boxes. Next week, I can add gym time back into my life

The story was…

Okay, I’m back, feeling relieved after settling with the principal, the teachers , and the mom. They agreed to move the K2 to another class after she got stabbed on the head with a pencil by a Special kid ( have autism ). This kid has been hitting her since K1. The teachers and the mom have been telling us that this special kid likes the K2 ( and another boy in the class ) very much. However, he does not know how to show affection gently. He’ll bear hug the K2. When she doesn’t want to play with him, he hits her. AND I tell you that he doesn’t hit like ordinary kids ( we found that part out recently, with our own eyes ). He really swings at her.  We’ve been very patient about this whole thing, trying to teach the K2 how to protect herself ( from telling the teacher, to yelling at the special kid to  STOP , to running the other way when he comes near ), and complaining to her, then, K1 teachers . Well, it didn’t work and lately the K2 does weird things , like she’ll bring several handkerchiefs to school. When asked why, she said she needed the handkerchiefs to wipe away tears when that special kid hits her. There’s also the twisted idea that it’s okay for a friend that likes you to hit you. People who likes you , does not hit you ! Don’t teach children that ! I have so much reprogramming to do.

So, the past 2 days I pressured the teachers for a decision. When the promised ‘ talk with the principal ‘ didn’t appeared the next morning, I told them through gritted teeth that I am not letting my child study in the same classroom with that kid and I am bringing my child home. I think the mom heard me. shit. It was said to get  results, not to hurt her feelings.

The outcome was, the K2 gets to move to another class. The special kid’s mom have to go to school with him. I wasn’t completely happy. No apologies from the principal. She accepted a kid whom the teachers cannot control and hurt my child. Now, my child have to readjust to new classroom, new teachers, new friends all over again.

End of Story.

Demonstrators moving in…

to the Parliament House . Watch the live news on TNN, they are just 10 meters away from the parliament gates.

We passed by that area yesterday and saw the ” Mob E-thann ” ( farmers mob,  they came by foot and ‘ E-thanns ‘ <– tractors ) . The policemen on that day wasn’t geared up like this.

not in the mood

to write part 2 of the diy housework list. have splitting headache. have problem with kids’ school. will be back.

Howto : Housework Chore List ( part uno )

( Warning : This post will sound very anal to those who does not have to do housework )

Housework can be overwhelming. There are so many tasks to be done you don’t know where to start. Or you start doing too much on one day and end up with back pain. I figured out a 5 day schedule while resting from a backache which act up on me 3 times during the past 2 months.  The chores are divided up into early mornings, late mornings ( after I get back home from sending the kids to school ) , and before bedtime. The first and last session only takes up 15-20 mins, whereas the bulk of the work is done in the late morning session  which takes around 1-2 hrs to complete . Following the schedule allows me to have the whole afternoon off. The weekends are my free days where chores should be done at a minimum or even better, delegated to the children *evil smile*.

( Note : I did not include ironing in my schedule because I totally despise ironing. It is done while I watch the night news with the husband. )

First step, take out a piece of paper and start jotting down all tasks that needs to be done in each area, as in the picture below :

Take time and be detail . Go through all the rooms , pet-related chores, closets , etc .. When do you change bedsheets ? How often does the fridge needs to be cleaned ? Sweeping behind the sofas ?  Assign frequency next to the tasks.

Step 2 : If you have Excel, this would easy things up.  Type in all the data  under 3 columns ( Area , Task, Frequency ) so it looks something like this :

Step 3 : Sort out the data by Frequency. Look at the ‘ Daily ‘ tasks group. Which ones should be done in the morning right after you wake up ? For me, after I wake up and shower, my tasks are the followings :

• Put dishes away
• Make Coffee
• Prepare Breakfast pintos
• Wake Kids
• Turn on Washing Machine

Mark these tasks by placing numbers next to them in the 4th column. Now, there are some chores that if done before bedtime will make life easier in the mornings. Mine will be washing dishes , throwing away the wet trash ( don’t feed the house pests ! ),  sorting out laundry and place into washing machine.  Mark these tasks so you can use Excel’s sort function to organize them later ( mark them N1, N2, etc… )

Or, you can just use the copy and paste function to create a new list, which ever way suits you better is fine.

Okay, I will have to pick the kids up from school now … Please come back tomorrow for part 2 !

pattern review ?

I don’t think mine came out looking much like the original… But !! It is spacious and red. This is a pattern from a Japanese magazine , ” Pochee” ( Spring, Vol.5, ‘08 ) . The complicated part is figuring out how to fold the creases. The red fabric is called ” pa lom ” in Thai ( umbrella cloth ?? ) which is water resistant. There is batting in the middle and inner fabric is linen. I’m going to throw it into the washing machine to test if it is washable.

Payback time

I was around The Old Siam area to update my sewing supplies ( cuz one cannot have too many pieces of trims and buttons ) . I walked past the ” khao ka moo ” shop which I christened , ” Khao Ka Moo park Ma “  . It’s one of those shop where the seller is snobbish and mean yet people still visit the shop because of the good food. Several years ago, she was selling take home stew pork legs for 50bht a bag ( other shops’ price were 30bht ). I was surprised when I ordered a take home for The Husband, she said she no longer sells 50bht take homes , only 100bht . wtf ? and this is years before  inflation hit us. I stopped being her customer when I saw her yelled at a grandma and let other people cut the line because grandma was slow. Oh, the witch !!

Anyways, a new “khao gaeng ” shop opened right next door. Very reasonable price, and VERY tasty TOO. I was amongst the hoard of people waiting to get our morning breakfast. ” Khao Ka Moo park Ma ” has been dethroned !! Now, I will call her ” Khao Ka Moo park Hang ” .

“Sai Mai Lo”

is Cantonese for ” sako cantaloupe” , a dessert made of sago ( tapioca pearl balls ) , melon balls, and coconut milk syrup. My version came out with a mild bitter taste. Is it suppose to taste like that ? I replaced the coconut milk with whole milk, the sago is prepared according to the package’s instructions. The bitterness must come from the honeydew melon. If anyone knows some tips, please share !