Funny Signs

Coming from America it is always interesting to see differences in other countries. I have seen some interesting signs (not as strange or funny as those in Asia..but that is a very high hurdle rate).

The first sign was taken at a grocery store and the second sign is pretty self explanatory. The third sign was taken at Selfridges (which is a very high end department store). I never figured out what the Wonder Room is. Next time I'll have to go there and see what the 'wonderment' is all about.

Boat ride to Little Venice

As a pre-program get-together, some of the MiF class went on a boat ride along a 2 mile stretch of canal starting in Camden town (north London) and headed west to Little Venice. That part of town is called Little Venice because it is at the merging point of 2 canals. There are actually many, many canals in the UK that are joined together and create one very long stretch of waterways. The stretch begins at the Thames river in London and continues until it reaches Liverpool in the Northeast of Britain. I think the total distance is 600 kilometers.

Here are some pics from the trip.

Yahooo....Long Weekend!!!!

I feel so much better today! Still have a running nose and cough, but feel like new when the body ache went away. I think being healthy is so much more important than anything else like being rich! However, Di-di's fever came back this morning and his coughing was sounding bad! It got progressively worse, so I rushed him to the doctor's office after his morning nap. He tested negative for strap throat and pneumonia, so the doctor just sent us home. :( She said to watch him for a couple of more days before getting too worried, but it's been 6 days since he got sick!! We don't have plans to do anything this weekend. Di-di and I just need to rest and recover from this flu.

I called my parents and my aunt (dad's sister) to complain about how "hard" and difficult my single-mother life has been in the past three weeks. They just laughed (out of musing), then I started laughing (out of embarrassment.) Hahaha... that's right no sympathy from my family! :)

I always forget how "hard" my parents' generation's life was in post WWII Taiwan. They worked 20-hour days at very young age in my grandparents' rice and vegetable fields. Without much education, they had to do a lot of labor-intensive work to make a living before Taiwan's non-agriculture economy took off. My aunt had a even harder life as an adult. She raised 6 kids while helping her husband running one failed business after another and trying to make ends meet. Taiwanese men did not help with housework or raising kids in the old days, so my aunt did everything & she also had to serve a very demanding MIL. For example when my aunt ran a noodle stool business, she cooked noodles soup for customers by carrying the youngest on her back, while the older daughters took care of the other younger ones and they all washed dishes. Fortunately, all of her kids got her work ethics and are very successful today and take good care of my aunt. I feel so embarrassed to ask my aunt to leave her family again to come help me.. :)~ I really need to keep things in perspective, because my life now is really easy and comfortable compared to my parents' and my aunts'! I will try to complain less when my aunt is with us. :)

Here are some more pictures from Di-di last weekend's KinderMusik class. I have signed him up for next semester starting in mid September!

Video of Di-di "dancing"- my baby is very independent :

Diary of a Working Single Mother

Ok... I must have jinxed myself when I hoped for a smooth-sailing two weeks before my aunt's arrival. This week turned out to be much much worse than the week before!!!

1) First off, the stock market was down more than 170 points on Friday.. that can't make anyone feel good.

2) Both Di-di and I got really sick!!! Di-di started with a running nose on Sunday that turned into fevers on Monday and Tuesday which kept him from going to daycare. My flu-like symptoms started on Tuesday evening. My whole body ached and my head felt like a burning furnace.

3) Supposedly, my work gives us "unlimited" sick days off, but I of course couldn't call in sick!! (I also had the worst cold sore breakout on top of the flu.) We are in the middle of evaluating a deal, against a very tight negotiation deadline. I can't have another person take over due to confidentiality agreement and the tight deadline. On top of that I am preparing quarterly reports that have been delayed due to me working on the deal!! I am hopelessly behind on work.

4) You are going to think I am crazy, but we actually decided to remodel our kitchen before S left CA. Guess what? The cabinets had been delayed and finally arrived THIS Tuesday. The installation guy was eager to get started so that he can get paid ASAP!!! He wanted to start the job on Wednesday morning which meant I have to scramble to clean out EVERYTHING from the kitchen cabinets on Tuesday night. The installation guy was efficient and finished in 6 hours! However, the counter top guy was too busy to start his job, so now I ended up with beautiful new cabinets without the counter top, sink and appliances......

5) Something happened to the electrical power after the remodel on Wed, so my home network was out and I couldn't get any work done on Thursday!!! In a feverish haze, I remembered driving to Starbucks so that I could connect to work using Starbucks wireless network. The other customers were probably scared of me: coughing, dazed, with the ugliest cold sores, hunched over my notebook PC, typing away like a mad woman... hahaha... The power in the garage is still out, but I connected two long power extensions from insdie the house to the network in the garage to power the network.....duh...why didn't I think of that on Thursday before driving to Starbucks with a fever!! Sigh... the beautiful new cabinets are the only thing keeping me sane at this point.

6) Without the kitchen sink and appliances, we have to eat out every evening which is hard for a sick mommy. However, Di-di loves eating out. He has been in a good mood when we eat out! Note to other mothers, remember to add dining out costs to your kitchen remodeling budget. I totally forgot this cost and it's going to add $$$ to my original budget!

All I can say is that THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!!! I am counting down the days when my aunt arrives.....

BTW, the new kitchen cabinets totally made my week. I will be so happy to have that new counter top! Here are some before and after pictures:
(Our old kitchen cabinets & really ugly appliances)

(Remodel in progress)

(Bye-bye old and ugly kitchen cabinets)

(Welcome home.. my beautiful new kitchen cabinets.. still need to buy a new refrigerator..)

(New cabinets just waiting for new counter tops and appliances:)

Prime Meridian in Greenwich

Today I visited Greenwich, which is just east of 'the City' and south of the Thames river. Here are some pics of me at the Prime Meridian line, which is the demarcation between the East and West hemispheres.

Oxford

I have had a fun 12 days since I arrived in London. I have split my time between CAIA studying, shopping (mostly necessities since I am now dirt poor) and sightseeing. CAIA is like the CFA but for alternative investments (Venture capital, Private equity, Hedge funds, Real estate, Derivatives).

Also, I am very happy to say that I passed CFA level 2. Level 2 is supposed to be hardest so I am very happy. Thanks to Jackie for helping with Shaun. Without her I wouldn't have been able to pass the exam.

Here are some pics from Oxford. I took the train which was pretty cheap (9 pounds each way).

Diary of a Working Single Mother

Has it only been 12 days since S left CA?

Skype is the greatest invention in the world after Chinese invented "stinky tofu"! Di-Di and I can talk to and see S very often via the webcam and not break our bank. Di-di always tried to kiss his computer-screen daddy. I am waiting for our new notebook PC to arrive so that S can see us via a webcam, too.

Being a working single mother is like having two full-time jobs. Luckily I work for a great company that takes work-life balance seriously and allows me to work from home most of the time. This week was very busy at work and I had to call into some early morning and evening meetings when Di-di was not in day care. It was crazy trying to give a presentation with a screaming baby who refused to leave my lap. Di-di was very clingy, because he had a rough week due to a very serious diaper rash and diarrhea. My coworkers were extremely understanding, but I felt bad that I couldn't just focus on one thing!!! We are also fortunate to have great family, friends and neighbors in the area who check on us and make sure that Di-di and I are doing ok. (This tought week also included Di-di felling off our bed once and hitting his head! He was fine. Just lots of tears and calling for ba-ba..:)

By Sat Di-di's diaper rash and diarrhea was getting better, but he threw up in the car on our way to his Sat music class. The vomit was all over his clothes and car seat. Had to quickly clean him up and told his teacher that we will attend a make-up session on Sunday. What a week!! Hope it will be smooth sailing from here until September 7th when my aunt arrives at the U.S. It will be so great to have her with us!!



(When did Di-di write over all his thighs???)

(Little trouble maker is messing up daddy's desk)

(Daddy got more Thomas shirts for Di-di before he left)

Anyone want to try 'Blue Eggs and Ham?'

I saw these blue eggs at the Marks and Spencer grocery store. Note the word 'speciality'. I guess these eggs are not 'specialty' but 'speciality'. What is the difference? Is the spelling correct?

Pics of Camden town/market

Today I took the bus to Camden town. The famous Camden market is located there. The place was interesting with lots of small eclectic stores and stalls. The stalls reminded me of the 'night markets' in Asia.

The first two pics are from the Camden Lock Market Hall and the second two are from a small scenic area right outside the Market Hall. Sorry, no good pics of Camden Market. Maybe next time.

1st full day in London

Yesterday was my first full day in London and it was filled with adventure; mostly failed adventure, but adventure nevertheless. I borrowed my landlord's bike to run some errands and see the neighborhood. The first 3-5 minutes was nice but then it started pouring rain (really hard). My hair, pants and shoes were soaked through. I probably looked really funny.

My first errand was to register with a health centre so I can use the free UK health care system. I went to the one next to the school but they said my address was not in the approved area so I have to go find the one in my postal code. Next, I biked to school to pick up my student id card. But they said I needed to come back in 3 hours. Then I went to HSBC to open an account. I had some success but still need to return tomorrow to complete the account application.

Next, I went home and ate my "poor man's" lunch of pasta with spaghetti sauce (I miss all the nice affordable restaurants in SacTown. Then I walked to grocery store and lugged my heavy bags back to my flat. I miss my car but on the plus side I am getting good exercise =)

I studied CAIA after dinner until about 11:30pm. The most fun I had today was studying. Sounds sad, I know, but those close to me know that I like studying.

Simon

Flight over the pond

Here is my first post for my London trip...

I flew out from SFO on Monday on Aer Lingus, an Irish carrier. Surprisingly, nearly all of the workers behind the counter were Asian. I know it is SanFran but you would think there would be more Irish employees.

Once I got on the plane, it was a totally different story. All the employees had traditional Irish names. The meals were pretty good and I got to experience their love for dairy products. Both meals included around 3 dairy items each. When I commented about this to my Irish seatmate, she said that they eat a lot of dairy. She said the butter is a lot better than in the U.S. So, I tried the Irish butter but didn't notice any difference. I guess my palate for butter is not very refined.

I had a one hour layover in Dublin. It was too bad I didn't have more time to step out of the airport but at least I visited the Guinness store at the airport. I got a beer mug (stein) with the Guinness logo (hey, I am going to beer-drinking London after all).

My plane was delayed an hour due to backup at Heathrow airport. Thankfully, my new landlady was nice enough to move meetings around so she could meet me at the flat when I arrived in the middle of the afternoon (2:30pm).

I got around 15 minutes sleep on the plane and I had been up for 24 hours but I wasn't too tired. After getting myself settled, I took a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. Then finally went to bed a little after 2am (Wednesday morning).

Until next time...Simon

New Life

Monday was the first day of our new life without daddy. Di-di seemed to sense that something was going to happen. He was extra clingy with daddy on Sunday and only wanted daddy when he was upset which was unlike him. Di-di was fine throughout dinner and bath time on Monday evening, although he was less active than usual. Then all of a sudden, I heard crying from the family room when I was preparing his bottle before his bedtime. I recorded the last minute of what I saw: Di-di was standing in front of daddy's picture, crying for his "baba". It broke my heart!!!
He has also uncharacteristically cried twice during his sleep like he was having a nightmare. I couldn't wake him up from his nightmares, so I had to turn on the light and showed him daddy's video to finally calm him down and get him back to sleep. Oh..my God... I'd better write down all of the reasons why daddy had to go to London without us so that Di-di might understand our decision one day. I really hope that there won't be any permanent impact on Di-di with daddy being absent for months. I have so much respect for soldiers who have to leave their kids and family for a much longer period of time to serve in Iraq.

Today S has arrived at London safely. I was pleasantly surprised by the size of his new flat. He is renting a room in a 4-bedroom flat, sharing 1 1/2bathroom and one kitchen with 4 other people (soon.) For $1,600 USD per month, we thought he was going to get a 10x10 room that was only big enough for a bed, but his room looks as big as 10x20 in the pictures which is HUGE by London's standard...hahaha!! Did I mention how insanely expensive housing cost is in London!! The washing machine and driers (in the picture) are as small as we had expected.. Check out the pictures of his new home away from home.

Di-di was so excited to see daddy via Skype webcam today, but he became very upset when we hung up. I had to call S back 3 times when Di-di would start crying as soon as S's face disappeared. I finally tricked Di-di by showing him a video of daddy so that daddy could finally go to bed, because it was almost 2AM in London!! Poor S, he must have been so tired from the travel and staying up to talk to Di-di. Hope my daddy-video trick can "fool" Di-di until December when S comes home during his winter break.

Di-di didn't miss mommy!! :(

Mommy went on a 3-day business trip last week. According to daddy, Di-di didn't miss or look for mommy at all. That was so sad! However, Di-di did give mommy a BIG smile when they picked me up from the airport on Saturday. Mommy missed Di-di a lot and was very happy to be home with the boys. This Sunday, we had a great time in his KinderMusik class. Di-di was literally bouncing off the wall and loved being the class clown. Daddy is leaving for London tomorrow morning. Di-di is such a daddy's boy, so I am afraid he will miss daddy a lot.

Will give everyone an update about our London situation later. I think I am in denial that Di-di and I are not going to London with S and can't face the fact that I will be a single-working mother for a few months. If you hear on the news that a single-working mother in CA has gone postal, don't be surprised that it's me!! :)