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Day at the Museum

22 Jul

It’s another hot day and a very long queue to see Mona Lisa!

The hubby and the brother went off for their business meeting, so I am left to discover Paris on my own. Donning my super comfy Blundstone walking boots instead of sandals, I took the train from Gare de L’est to Musee du Louvre.

I am determined to visit the Louvre this time as I missed it on my last trip here, back in 2008. And being a single person tourist today, things are moving quite fast. Good.

The buzz inside is so reverberating. Didn’t realize that the lure of art is so strong for people from all over the world.

Sculptors amazes me. They get so right into the details of the anatomy right down to the butt crack! Lovely cheeks, no? This was just a small detour before the big attraction.

Ceiling art are also amazing pieces of work. How do these artists endure the neck cramp painstakingly getting the details for us to appreciate? I get a neck cramp by just looking at all these!

Like every other ardent tourist, I made my way to get a glimpse of the Mona Lisa.

Alas! Being a short person I can’t even get close. This is the closest! I think it is overrated. At least cameras are allowed unlike the Sistine Chapel where everyone has to be hushed while being ushered in.

Mona looks green, probably from all the attention and nausea from the noise and smell. Hahaha….

Why is she such a fascination? I think it is more of the ‘been there, seen it, done that’ syndrome that people are thronging Room 6.

The crowd is just too much and I am getting a headache from it all. So am plugged into my music to drown out all the museum excitement which I don’t really need as I explore and jot my observations along the way.

I attempted again, sucker for the ‘been there, done that’! And succeeded to get a closer picture.

I find this picture comical. How does one go to war without any loincloth or something to cover that part of the anatomy?! Aren’t they putting themselves at risk for such exposure? Tsk! Tsk!

It is interesting to note also that while sculptures are crafted with so much details on the body muscles and hair on the head and crotch, all sculptures do not have armpit hair! Maybe this is deemed ugly that can mar the beauty of the body?

I have been wandering through the many halls housing many themes and era of art pieces. Three hours into my exploration, I have walked 2.78km and took 7948 steps and burnt 164.1 calories. Yes, I am one of those who likes to record my physical efforts. I lost my pedometer awhile back but thank goodness for the iPhone, I have an app on it to do the job!

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Paris is Hotter than KL

22 Jul

And so the holiday begins! With the different time zones between the two cities, we get an extra 6 hours after traveling for the last 18 hours to arrive at Hotel Magenta on Boulevard de Magenta, Paris.

Firstly, Paris is hot and feels way hotter than KL. The train ride from CDG to the city was a total sardine experience, packed and sweaty, long and cramped, confirming the sweltering heat. The train broke down after one stop and all passengers had to disembark to change train. What a start!

We finally got to the hotel and the front desk guy told us it can get to 34 degrees this week! Dang. But reassured us the room has air-conditioning, phew, thank goodness.

I managed to FaceTime the girls at the airport but the 15 minutes ended way too soon. And it’s too late to contact them now. No, I am not missing them… I am on holiday, remember?

It’s amazing the trouble we endure and go through with the journey to lead to a good vacation, which is the prized experience at the final destination. Despite with the extra hours gained, I feel tired and should hit the sack soon and be fresh for the next day.

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Etihad & Air France code sharing

21 Jul

What started out as code sharing between Etihad and Jet Airways turned out to be Etihad and Air France instead.

The first leg was 7 hours, leaving KLIA at 3.30am and arriving AUH 6.00am, Sunday. The next leg is timed for 6 hours and 40 minutes, departing at 9.00am. It’s a fuller flight so seat swapping looks unlikely. Oh well.

But at least no crying toddlers….

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The holidays begin?

21 Jul

Flying off at three in the morning is something new as we normally do more sane departures for our other escapades. Like a zombie, we boarded to a half full flight and a couple of screaming toddlers.

I guess getting four hours of sleep is sufficient. In transit at Abu Dhabi now before the real holiday kicks in!

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Separation Anxiety, Part 2

21 Jul

This has been a busy month for us, traveling again in a spate of two weeks. I think both M1 and M2 are used to it already by now, being older and having more activities to keep them occupied.

Tonight as we prepare to fly off for another six-days of separation, I sincerely think separation anxiety should not be happening. After all, since our first trip away from them (to Hong Kong), over the years we’ve done more than a week for each of our trips to the far and the exotic, they did not seem to mind our absence.

They are much older now and with our lived-in maid taking care of them (and Grandma not troubled), they also have the pets to keep them company and school work to keep them busy, six days will fly by very soon. Anyway, there’s always Skype, iMessage and Facetime if we have to see or hear them…

Wish us a great holiday!

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Separation Anxiety, Part 1

17 Jul

Many years ago, when both M1 and M2 were old enough to be left with Grandma overlooking them, I thought I could finally have an escapade and go away for a holiday with just the hubby. There was excitement as I thought, finally, they are independent enough and easy for Grandma to take care and we can have some time for ourselves. Then worried thoughts set in. Would they be fine? Would they miss us? Are we doing the right thing?

The six days plan to Hong Kong was not too extravagant as it coincided with their school term break. We were to take a holiday after attending a work-related conference/exhibition held there. The temptation was just too irresistible and thinking of the freedom from having to worry about their welfare plus timing it with the school holidays, I thought it was perfect and would not be too troublesome for my mother as well.

So off to Hong Kong we went!

However, by the fourth day of our trip, we had separation anxiety! We both started to miss them terribly! How could this be? It was the first time both of us were away from them and the separation anxiety for us was too much, it was so nauseating; we couldn’t wait for the remaining days to go by quickly. All that great holiday plans to have a good time, gone in a blink of an eye.

We came back bearing gifts for them out of guilt and you could sense our relief when we saw them again.

Their sentiments over the separation?

Nothing amiss as both were having a ball bonding with Grandma, who indulged them in so many ways that they hardly had time to miss us. Freedom backfired on us as separation anxiety got the better of us instead of them!

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How You Spell Your Name Again??

15 Jul

Thank goodness I named the my two girls, currently code named, M1 and M2, with sensible sounding names that are easy to pronounce. Yet, we have people pronouncing them wrongly, or worst, spelling wrongly! Horrors.

During my early working years, I encountered many creative minds and with creative names, it was such an eye opener. The one that stands out most after all these years was from my working at a local publishing house. An enthusiastic ad salesman came a calling and introduced himself as Calvin but spelt, ‘Qalvin’, proudly showing me his business card!

Unimpressed, I queried him on this choice of spelling for the name and then, pointed out to him that a ‘u’ technically should follow after the ‘Q’ – typical of the letter ‘Q’.

I then went on teasing him, purposely emphasizing “QUAIL-vin” prominently, and this embarrassed the heck out of him. I guess he wasn’t impressed too for he never dropped by after that incident.

Honestly, I have no objections to one having a creative name, I am just of the opinion that it must be spelt correctly. Remember my ‘English teacher’ calling my mother intended me for? And it would be a bonus if the chosen name goes well with the person’s physical appearance.

Call me old school or whatever but wouldn’t it be more significant if one looks like their name? I often asked my girls if I had switched their names, how would it be like? They’d squint their eyes for a minute before bursting into contagious laughter! Obviously, they cannot imagine one being the other. See my point of one looking like their name?

I’ve come across a sweet lady aptly named Apple (coincidently in New York City), a bridegroom named Cyclops, perfectly healthy and with two eyes unlike what the name conjures up in the mind (only in Hong Kong you get something like this!) and of course, the timid bird-like Qalvin (in Kuala Lumpur)!

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Last week, I was down in Singapore attending an exhibition and met up with a ‘Seaman’ and a ‘Kinus’, from Singapore and Hong Kong respectively. I had to refrain from laughing in front of them as I found their choice of name so totally wrong with their physical appearance and country of origin.

Walking away, I commented to the hubby, “I met a Seaman.”

“Semen?” He asked incredulously.

“Oh stop it! It’s ‘s-e-A-m-A-n’. Got a couple of ‘A’s in between, ok?” I pointed out and in a way, was relieved Seaman did not look like a dick head.

“Aiyoh…. Why choose such a name?” the hubby could not fathom.

Makes me wonder too. Whatever happened to good old safe choices to avoid the embarrassment of correcting someone spelling your name wrongly?

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Don’t Talk to Us

27 Jun

When I was young, going to Singapore with my parents by car was always a happy occasion. Singapore! Grandma! Shopping! Yay. But the 7-hour journey was never looked forward to, too long an ordeal. The main PLUS highway was not constructed then to ease traffic traveling South.

Nonetheless, my brother and I would play ‘Spot the car number plate’ games or read books to keep ourselves entertained. After all, during the dinosaur era, there was no such thing as the iPod, iPad, what more smartphones and the radio stations then were hardly hip and happening.

Fast forward to now. Whenever we travel outstation, a good three to five hours’ drive depending on destination, the girls will be equipped with the iPod, iPad, phone, books and headphones. And they always tell me, “Mummy, don’t talk to us, we can’t hear you. If you need to, wave your hands, ok?”

Hrmph.

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The M&M Factory

17 Jun

Last year, we had our “Big Adventure Road Trip to USA” and it was an exciting trip for both the girls as it was their first time visiting the Land of Opportunity.

One of the many stops we had was at the M&M Factory in Las Vegas, Nevada. M2 was thrilled and pointed out, “Our factory! Our names! Whoaaaaaa!!!! How cool is that?”

A pat on the back for the parents to link their children’s names to something famous.

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Is English a Funny Language?

13 Jun

I’ve always loved telling my kids that prior to attending college, their grandma (my mother) had advised me to study English to become an English teacher (don’t laugh!), this being a noble profession. But I would scoff at that idea and gently break my mother’s heart and convinced her that I would fare better as a graphic designer instead.

While in college, I did enjoy my English classes, having signed up for both English101 & English102 AND scoring ‘A’s in both courses. I am most proud of the ‘A’ in English102 because firstly, it is not a typical class taken by Asian students and secondly, the lecturer was a mean looking, typical American lady and I was the only Asian student daring enough to be in her class full of American students. Until today, I still remember her name, Carol Ewing (and thoughts of Dallas and its theme song would break out in my mind!) Thankfully, the class was more of creative writing and I guess I stood above the rest.

Despite this, I feel my knowledge of the language is inadequate as I still cannot tell the difference between a verb, a noun and a pronoun, you know, all those linguistic jargon which are very important, along with correct punctuations and pronunciations. But having said that, it irks me to no end to see spelling mistakes and grammar error.

Last night M1 was sharing stories about her teacher and the way she pronounces her signature phrase: “Thats mean…” instead of “That means…” It has becoming so glaringly wrong and disturbing that her friends decided to pick on it. They purposely created a scenario to question the teacher to prompt her reply. And the whole time using the erred sentence repeatedly to the teacher, unaware of the situation! Naughty kids!

I think “That’s mean!” in this proper context of use.

And not to be outdone, M2 also shared about her teacher, who made a comment “I knows” in class. Immediately, her good friend made eye contact with her and pointed to her eyes and nose! These 12 year olds are so cheeky but then again, are they at fault?

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