there's lots to do in dubai. you can take a cruise on dubai creek in a traditional dhow, go 4wd-ing in the desert or what is known as wadi-bashing (wadi's are ancient dried up creek beds), watch hawking demonstrations, take dawn balloon rides over the city, take helicopter rides at any time, barter for gold, shop in any number of high-end boutiques, swim, snorkel or dive, snow board or ski at the fake indoor snow centre, enjoy a traditional bedouin dinner under the stars in the desert, get henna tattoos, go camel riding, purchase some of the most expensive real estate in the world, literally- there is a development of man-made islands just off the coast all divided up into the continents and countries of the world for your delectation. i believe the beckhams purchased recently.
there's the water slide park, deep sea fishing, sand boarding to do, or enjoy belly dancing, plus museums, art galleries and mosques to visit and even the humble bus tour to take.
so you see our two days was hardly enough to fit all this in. we were exhausted doing half of it, a quarter of it, a smidge of it... alright we did none of it.
we did none primarily because of percy. which is not to say i resent her or blame her, nothing of the sort. we didn't expect we'd be doing much. the break was really to recuperate from the flight, do some washing and gird our loins for the next bit of flying.
percy is exclusively breast milk fed. and 99% of the time that means on the breast fed. we have brought our expressor and bottles with us but couldn't really use them in dubai. so percy needed me to whip out the boob every time she needed a feed. given the extreme temperatures outside and the extreme air-conditioning inside percy was dehydrating very quickly, she needed feeding every one and half hours. now i don't know about you but i get the distinct impression that breast feeding in public in the islamic monarchy of united arab emirates is possibly a capital offence. i didn't even want to ask. i figure even if they let me off lightly because i'm a stupid foreigner they might still cut my tit off first and ask questions later. meaning every feed we had to skadaddle back to the privacy of our hotel room. with the consequence that all those interesting things we could have indulged in we didn't. they generally took longer than 1.5 hours. plus 4wd-ing with a baby is a stupid idea, balloons specify minimum ages, swimming in that sun is an even stupider idea, etc etc.
never mind, we might get back one day when percy is old enough to look after herself; you know when she's 2 or 3, and give it another go.
we did take a couple of short walks from our hotel early in the morning and one taxi tour of the city. it's an interesting place. i wonder if it will last as the touted cosmopolitan, financial and residential centre of the middle east. i don't know if is taking it's place amongst other great cities as the place to do business. it's certainly unrecognisable from the humble pearl diving village it once was. oil money has ensured some impressive architecture in the new high rise office and apartment buildings that line the roads. oh, speaking of the roads! someone has obviously decided that the car is the only method of transport that people would choose to use and consequently built enormous roads to cater for this traffic. the road outside our hotel was ten lanes wide, five in either direction on the main carriageway, then there are service lanes to provide access to the buildings, these vary between two and three lanes wide on either side as well. so a sixteen lane road lay below our room- no wonder the hermetic seal on the windows did little to dampen the constant traffic hum.
personally i dispair; being a town planner and a bit of a socialist 16 lane roads are anathema to me of good civic design, of inclusive societies, of easy access and public spaces that are welcoming, easy to read and easy to navigate. observation showed that dubai is not particularly interested in public spaces tho. the super designer buildings stopped right with their outer cladding, be that glass or chrome or steel or tile or whatever. the surrounding space was clearly not interesting and of no benefit. which i suppose might be true if your driver delivers you immediately to the front door of whatever monolith you are visiting and the time you spend outside is the grand total of two steps from air conditioned car to air conditioned shop or office.
in the main, where the building stopped, the desert started. there is no attempt made to create gardens or courtyards or any space in the public domain that is obviously inviting and public. which i find rude if nothing else. where does one rest, contemplate, eat, gather, watch, talk, read...?
however, in the opposing argument- who the hell wants to sit outside in 45 degrees? and how do you maintain a garden in like temperatures and windy, dry conditions? still, i believe thoughtful design could create inviting public spaces between the high rises. i cynically think that because you can't rent out the public domain or in some other way attribute money-making to it there's no point in spending money on it in the first place.
gazing out of a high rise window in dubai is a dusty, dry, depressing experience. maybe it will change, maybe the whole experiment will have the ass fall out of it and in ten or twenty years time it will be a monument to unsustainable spending and star gazing. it will make a hell of a slum.
Friday, June 29, 2007
random acts
... of violence!
what is it with this place?! on wednesday nite (same day i meet my neo-nazis) the aussie guys in the office, which so far consists of paul, clinton and zuben, took the entire kiev office out to dinner. i've since learnt the total on the bill! we will be eating 2 minute noodles for a while now.
at the end of dinner paul and two kiev guys decided to share a taxi to a club or somewhere for a few drinks.
(oh, btw, percy and i stayed home for this one.)
they approached a line of taxis and asked about the cost to wherever it was they wanted to go. taxis in kiev generally don't have meters and you should negotiate the price before you get in. not once you are seated, before you even open the door. anyways, they decided the taxi driver was asking too much and started walking towards the metro station instead. at this point two men ran up to them and assaulted them! i don't know if one was the taxi driver, i heard the story second hand from paul at 2am. one of the kiev guys was pushed to the ground and the other punched in the face. thankfully paul was unhurt. he helped the other two up and just gaped- "what was that about?" no real reason could be given; just "that's kiev." That's Kiev!!?? what the hell? i know there are random acts of violence in sydney too, i suppose i've just never been affected. it has actually made me a little reluctant to approach taxis now. which is really annoying because if the metro got daunting i thought i could always fall back to taxis. now i don't feel so confident.
needless to say the poor fellow who got punched in the face didn't feel like going out, what with blood dripping out his nose and all over his shirt. they all went home quietly on the metro.
what is it with this place?! on wednesday nite (same day i meet my neo-nazis) the aussie guys in the office, which so far consists of paul, clinton and zuben, took the entire kiev office out to dinner. i've since learnt the total on the bill! we will be eating 2 minute noodles for a while now.
at the end of dinner paul and two kiev guys decided to share a taxi to a club or somewhere for a few drinks.
(oh, btw, percy and i stayed home for this one.)
they approached a line of taxis and asked about the cost to wherever it was they wanted to go. taxis in kiev generally don't have meters and you should negotiate the price before you get in. not once you are seated, before you even open the door. anyways, they decided the taxi driver was asking too much and started walking towards the metro station instead. at this point two men ran up to them and assaulted them! i don't know if one was the taxi driver, i heard the story second hand from paul at 2am. one of the kiev guys was pushed to the ground and the other punched in the face. thankfully paul was unhurt. he helped the other two up and just gaped- "what was that about?" no real reason could be given; just "that's kiev." That's Kiev!!?? what the hell? i know there are random acts of violence in sydney too, i suppose i've just never been affected. it has actually made me a little reluctant to approach taxis now. which is really annoying because if the metro got daunting i thought i could always fall back to taxis. now i don't feel so confident.
needless to say the poor fellow who got punched in the face didn't feel like going out, what with blood dripping out his nose and all over his shirt. they all went home quietly on the metro.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
two big things today
i know i haven't actually said much about ukraine and kiev yet. i'm getting there.
two things i can say about my experience in kiev today; one great, one a bit ominous.
first the great thing- i have found a mothers group! they are ex-pats and all speak english! i went to my first meeting today at a lovely lady's apartment nearer the city centre. what a nice apartment too! makes our little hole-in-the-wall feel even more like that.
it was quite a mix of backgrounds present; czech, french, american, spanish, ukrainian and good ol' aussie me. there may have been more but i didn't drill everyone on their histories! the babies ages ranged from percy the youngest at 3 months (exactly today) to 4 1/2 months to a few around the 6-9 month range and one celebrating his 1st birthday tomorrow.
mums and bubs were very welcoming and i felt comfortable to sit on the floor with percy propped between my legs and play with the toys there. so much so that one little girl crawled over to me and clambered up to standing using my leg within seconds of me getting in the door. she'll be a heart-breaker in years to come, i've never seen such long eyelashes on a baby, a drag queen yes, but not a baby.
often i'll sit in the background in new scenarios and groups and make up some excuse to leave early. today was different. perhaps i've just come to the conclusion that if i don't make an effort here and do things for myself (and percy) i will have a very bad six months of it. so i'm proud i figured out how to get to the apartment- with the help of a map paul printed out for me, that i persevered in figuring out which apartment it was- believe me this is no small feat in kiev, i'll explain the street addresses system, or apparent lack thereof, later, that i spoke to everyone there and was proactive rather than shrinking on the sidelines. it appeared many friendships in the group go back many months or even years but no-one was exclusory (word?) and i didn't adopt an air of unapproachability. so, yay me!
the second thing...
not so nice. i encountered my first group of neo-nazi skin heads. there is a racism problem in ukraine and russia. so much so that a big demonstration was held in the main square, independance square, yesterday to highlight the problem and urge politicians to make legislation that will make racist attacks crimes. however this is not likely to happen until after the september elections and legislation doesn't stop this sort of crime and the hurt and injury it causes. it just gives the victims and their loved ones something to concentrate on after the fact. the people who violently attack others because of language or colour or ethnicity or any other determining factor are not exactly sane and sensible- these same people murdered a 10 year old girl in moscow a couple of years ago.
my encounter was very mild, i might even have made it up. before heading to my mother's group meeting i went across to paul's office to pick up the map he printed for me. the office is only a ten minute walk from the apartment. i then retraced my steps to get to the metro (train) station. walking down the steps to the metro i was passed by a group of five young men with the standard shaven heads and evil slogans on their t-shirts. they were talking amongst themselves but i thought they may have addressed some sentences to me. not speaking ukrainian or russian i couldn't be sure. however another lady walking with her young daughter (6 or 7 years?) near me jerked abruptly, looked up, looked at me and started walking quite slowly, putting space between herself and the youths. being ignorant and trusting i didn't really notice this until looking at it in hindsight. i just fell into step behind the guys. it only takes a couple of minutes to walk from the entrance to the metro, past a bunch of shops and a food court (like wynyard or town hall- except very different too!) in this time it did work its way into my brain that the youths continued to look over their shoulders at me and possibly say things to me. i too slowed down and let them get well ahead of me. before the doors to the metro they stopped at a shop and i had to pass them. nothing happened and they did not come into the metro station.
besides all this, there were tens of people around all the time. i don't think i was at any real risk. if i feel anything else at any other time in the future tho, rest assured i'll act faster, smarter and we'll be on our way home pronto. absolutely nothing comes before percy's well being.
so a mixed day... on the whole a very good one.
i can't look like that much of a foreigner, twice since arriving while walking on the streets around the apartment i've been asked for directions! sadly i've had to shake my head and say i only speak english, that i'm no use to them.
plus people can be very nice too you know. as i explained in an earlier post the walk to the supermarket is a bloody painful long way. i made the trip this morning or we'd be drinking the tap water for dinner (don't drink the water in ukraine) and needing to wear percy's nappies in lieu of loo paper. ha ha, was that one of the worst puns you've heard? anyways i was halfway up the ratty hill on the way back with percy in the sling on my front, a backpack full of heavy tins and stuff on my back and two big bags of groceries in my hands. a very plush 4wd pulled up alongside and the window slid down. a very plush and pretty girl in the drivers seat i'm sure offered me a lift (isn't this language thing a shit? i should try to learn more.) isn't that nice? i politely refused. at least i hope it was polite. stupidly the main reason i refused was because i can't remember the name of our street. that is my task for tomorrow- REMEMBER STREET NAME. i therefore couldn't have told her where to take me. i would have loved a lift!! plus falling in with the rich crowd in this city can't be too bad a thing. why do i assume she was rich? there is a huge divide in ukraine between the rich and the poor. and the rich are obviously rich- big houses and flash cars. apparently there are more luxury cars in kiev than any other city in the world, except moscow. i'm not sure i believe that but hey, let them keep their urban myths. the reason for the luxury cars is the corruption and the ill gotten gains that have marked this country for decades. the lucky ones stole and cheated their way to millions and everyone else lives on an average salary of $500 a month. you can't afford a brand new 4wd on $500 a month.
so despite her wealth most likely being derived by her father being a bastard i would have liked a lift and perhaps forming a friendship with someone on the happy side of life. let's not get into the debate on whether money makes you happy. if you get it the right way and spend it the right way of course it does. bugger off.
this is far longer than i intended. i've got little miss off to sleep and i'm going to shower and join her in the land of nod. it's a public holiday here tomorrow- we might go do more touristy stuff!
two things i can say about my experience in kiev today; one great, one a bit ominous.
first the great thing- i have found a mothers group! they are ex-pats and all speak english! i went to my first meeting today at a lovely lady's apartment nearer the city centre. what a nice apartment too! makes our little hole-in-the-wall feel even more like that.
it was quite a mix of backgrounds present; czech, french, american, spanish, ukrainian and good ol' aussie me. there may have been more but i didn't drill everyone on their histories! the babies ages ranged from percy the youngest at 3 months (exactly today) to 4 1/2 months to a few around the 6-9 month range and one celebrating his 1st birthday tomorrow.
mums and bubs were very welcoming and i felt comfortable to sit on the floor with percy propped between my legs and play with the toys there. so much so that one little girl crawled over to me and clambered up to standing using my leg within seconds of me getting in the door. she'll be a heart-breaker in years to come, i've never seen such long eyelashes on a baby, a drag queen yes, but not a baby.
often i'll sit in the background in new scenarios and groups and make up some excuse to leave early. today was different. perhaps i've just come to the conclusion that if i don't make an effort here and do things for myself (and percy) i will have a very bad six months of it. so i'm proud i figured out how to get to the apartment- with the help of a map paul printed out for me, that i persevered in figuring out which apartment it was- believe me this is no small feat in kiev, i'll explain the street addresses system, or apparent lack thereof, later, that i spoke to everyone there and was proactive rather than shrinking on the sidelines. it appeared many friendships in the group go back many months or even years but no-one was exclusory (word?) and i didn't adopt an air of unapproachability. so, yay me!
the second thing...
not so nice. i encountered my first group of neo-nazi skin heads. there is a racism problem in ukraine and russia. so much so that a big demonstration was held in the main square, independance square, yesterday to highlight the problem and urge politicians to make legislation that will make racist attacks crimes. however this is not likely to happen until after the september elections and legislation doesn't stop this sort of crime and the hurt and injury it causes. it just gives the victims and their loved ones something to concentrate on after the fact. the people who violently attack others because of language or colour or ethnicity or any other determining factor are not exactly sane and sensible- these same people murdered a 10 year old girl in moscow a couple of years ago.
my encounter was very mild, i might even have made it up. before heading to my mother's group meeting i went across to paul's office to pick up the map he printed for me. the office is only a ten minute walk from the apartment. i then retraced my steps to get to the metro (train) station. walking down the steps to the metro i was passed by a group of five young men with the standard shaven heads and evil slogans on their t-shirts. they were talking amongst themselves but i thought they may have addressed some sentences to me. not speaking ukrainian or russian i couldn't be sure. however another lady walking with her young daughter (6 or 7 years?) near me jerked abruptly, looked up, looked at me and started walking quite slowly, putting space between herself and the youths. being ignorant and trusting i didn't really notice this until looking at it in hindsight. i just fell into step behind the guys. it only takes a couple of minutes to walk from the entrance to the metro, past a bunch of shops and a food court (like wynyard or town hall- except very different too!) in this time it did work its way into my brain that the youths continued to look over their shoulders at me and possibly say things to me. i too slowed down and let them get well ahead of me. before the doors to the metro they stopped at a shop and i had to pass them. nothing happened and they did not come into the metro station.
besides all this, there were tens of people around all the time. i don't think i was at any real risk. if i feel anything else at any other time in the future tho, rest assured i'll act faster, smarter and we'll be on our way home pronto. absolutely nothing comes before percy's well being.
so a mixed day... on the whole a very good one.
i can't look like that much of a foreigner, twice since arriving while walking on the streets around the apartment i've been asked for directions! sadly i've had to shake my head and say i only speak english, that i'm no use to them.
plus people can be very nice too you know. as i explained in an earlier post the walk to the supermarket is a bloody painful long way. i made the trip this morning or we'd be drinking the tap water for dinner (don't drink the water in ukraine) and needing to wear percy's nappies in lieu of loo paper. ha ha, was that one of the worst puns you've heard? anyways i was halfway up the ratty hill on the way back with percy in the sling on my front, a backpack full of heavy tins and stuff on my back and two big bags of groceries in my hands. a very plush 4wd pulled up alongside and the window slid down. a very plush and pretty girl in the drivers seat i'm sure offered me a lift (isn't this language thing a shit? i should try to learn more.) isn't that nice? i politely refused. at least i hope it was polite. stupidly the main reason i refused was because i can't remember the name of our street. that is my task for tomorrow- REMEMBER STREET NAME. i therefore couldn't have told her where to take me. i would have loved a lift!! plus falling in with the rich crowd in this city can't be too bad a thing. why do i assume she was rich? there is a huge divide in ukraine between the rich and the poor. and the rich are obviously rich- big houses and flash cars. apparently there are more luxury cars in kiev than any other city in the world, except moscow. i'm not sure i believe that but hey, let them keep their urban myths. the reason for the luxury cars is the corruption and the ill gotten gains that have marked this country for decades. the lucky ones stole and cheated their way to millions and everyone else lives on an average salary of $500 a month. you can't afford a brand new 4wd on $500 a month.
so despite her wealth most likely being derived by her father being a bastard i would have liked a lift and perhaps forming a friendship with someone on the happy side of life. let's not get into the debate on whether money makes you happy. if you get it the right way and spend it the right way of course it does. bugger off.
this is far longer than i intended. i've got little miss off to sleep and i'm going to shower and join her in the land of nod. it's a public holiday here tomorrow- we might go do more touristy stuff!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
books!
considering how important books are to paul and i, i'm ashamed that we didn't invest more in buying more for percy- and bringing them with us!
i have tried to locate suitable books here in kiev but it hasn't happened. there is a baby shop about a 15 minute walk from our apartment. the measly shelves of books they have are all for older children. don't ukranians read to their babies? i don't even care that they are not in english. we can make up stories to go with the pictures. we also tracked down a cafe cum bookstore that is mentioned in the lonely planet guide book as having second-hand english books. i absolutely did not expect any childrens books but was hopeful that i could get something for myself. i was right about the childrens books; none. i did pick out 4 for me. however on learning they wanted $25 for a tatty second hand book i culled it to 2! another down side i've only noticed since returning home is that because every bloody person smokes in this country (come on guys- catch up to the 20th century! maybe even the 21st! no wonder you're not in the eu?! - or are they?) the books actually leach cigarette smoke smell every time i pick it up. uuurrrgghhh.
i suppose i'll live with it. between loving percy and sleeping and running the apartment (not terribly successful on that last bit) i don't have much time to read anyways.
but i really do wish we had more books for percy. we have the fabulous osburne soft book title "fish" on kind loan from her cousins and that's it. i think it will drive percy batty if she has nothing else to read soon. it's certainly stretching my capabilities to go over it and over it and over it and over it and... snap out of it!
if anyone has any spare books and can bear the cost of postage i'd love to receive anything at:
Paul Wahltuch
co/ 6A Podvysotskogo St.
of. 107
Kiev 01103
UKRAINE
my sincere thanx will be with you always.
i have tried to locate suitable books here in kiev but it hasn't happened. there is a baby shop about a 15 minute walk from our apartment. the measly shelves of books they have are all for older children. don't ukranians read to their babies? i don't even care that they are not in english. we can make up stories to go with the pictures. we also tracked down a cafe cum bookstore that is mentioned in the lonely planet guide book as having second-hand english books. i absolutely did not expect any childrens books but was hopeful that i could get something for myself. i was right about the childrens books; none. i did pick out 4 for me. however on learning they wanted $25 for a tatty second hand book i culled it to 2! another down side i've only noticed since returning home is that because every bloody person smokes in this country (come on guys- catch up to the 20th century! maybe even the 21st! no wonder you're not in the eu?! - or are they?) the books actually leach cigarette smoke smell every time i pick it up. uuurrrgghhh.
i suppose i'll live with it. between loving percy and sleeping and running the apartment (not terribly successful on that last bit) i don't have much time to read anyways.
but i really do wish we had more books for percy. we have the fabulous osburne soft book title "fish" on kind loan from her cousins and that's it. i think it will drive percy batty if she has nothing else to read soon. it's certainly stretching my capabilities to go over it and over it and over it and over it and... snap out of it!
if anyone has any spare books and can bear the cost of postage i'd love to receive anything at:
Paul Wahltuch
co/ 6A Podvysotskogo St.
of. 107
Kiev 01103
UKRAINE
my sincere thanx will be with you always.
Monday, June 25, 2007
missing in action
this is the tale of a loyal companion, a quiet comrade, a fighting protector and now a sadly missed and much regretted loss.
many years ago katherine lustig and i were perusing the hat collection in david jones. this was before the renovation, when the hats were kept in the south east corner of the ground floor. it felt welcoming and almost cosy there. you could browse around and around and be pretty much on your own. now the hats are between the lifts and the escalators- far too exposed. too commercial, too race season, no opportunity to stand in front of a mirror and try numerous angles and expressions confident that no-one was watching you. a hat is possibly the most personal item of attire. much more than shirts, pants, coats, shoes even underwear. it's a small list of people that see you in your underwear (generally!) hats are right there crowning you. everyone sees your hat; it's a statement, a character trait, an expression or indeed anything else you want it to be.
katherine and i discovered that a sale was on. i don't remember the details, suffice to say if you bought in multiples of two some discount was made. we made the most of this and purchased three hats each, divvying up the cost between us.
those of you who know me thru work or play know that my hats are pretty special to me. at last count my collection was around 50.
the collection is now down one. one of the three i got that fun day in dj's. it was not a pretentious hat, it did not draw attention to itself. it had no feathers, no ribbons, no bright adornment. it was plain and modest and hard working. a simple black, now faded, straw hat with a wide brim and a devoted band. it clung to my head in all weather and circumstances. and in it's turn i clung to it not at all...
that hat accompanied me happily on many trips both short and long, both near home and abroad. it came to work with me, it went on picnics and thru the aussie bush, it went on our honeymoon for crying out loud! on that marvellous trip it protected me from the egyptian sun and the sleet in the wadi rum when we trekked with the bedouin on camels. a year later it kept me from being burnt while paddling thru the hongs in pang nga bay near phuket.
that darling hat really kept me safe and happy for many years on many adventures.
and now it sits alone, not ever forgotten, in the overhead compartment above seat 31A of a singapore air plane flying into singapore on 7 june 2007, that we rushed madly to get off, hoping to make our connection.
i suppose it's not there anymore...
i will think of that worn black hat with the stitching starting to come loose at the very top whenever i go somewhere new. it was my companion along for so many steps. i'm terribly sorry to have lost it. there are other hats but none so easy, so comfortable and filled with so much history.
vale my trusted, easy, beautiful friend.
many years ago katherine lustig and i were perusing the hat collection in david jones. this was before the renovation, when the hats were kept in the south east corner of the ground floor. it felt welcoming and almost cosy there. you could browse around and around and be pretty much on your own. now the hats are between the lifts and the escalators- far too exposed. too commercial, too race season, no opportunity to stand in front of a mirror and try numerous angles and expressions confident that no-one was watching you. a hat is possibly the most personal item of attire. much more than shirts, pants, coats, shoes even underwear. it's a small list of people that see you in your underwear (generally!) hats are right there crowning you. everyone sees your hat; it's a statement, a character trait, an expression or indeed anything else you want it to be.
katherine and i discovered that a sale was on. i don't remember the details, suffice to say if you bought in multiples of two some discount was made. we made the most of this and purchased three hats each, divvying up the cost between us.
those of you who know me thru work or play know that my hats are pretty special to me. at last count my collection was around 50.
the collection is now down one. one of the three i got that fun day in dj's. it was not a pretentious hat, it did not draw attention to itself. it had no feathers, no ribbons, no bright adornment. it was plain and modest and hard working. a simple black, now faded, straw hat with a wide brim and a devoted band. it clung to my head in all weather and circumstances. and in it's turn i clung to it not at all...
that hat accompanied me happily on many trips both short and long, both near home and abroad. it came to work with me, it went on picnics and thru the aussie bush, it went on our honeymoon for crying out loud! on that marvellous trip it protected me from the egyptian sun and the sleet in the wadi rum when we trekked with the bedouin on camels. a year later it kept me from being burnt while paddling thru the hongs in pang nga bay near phuket.
that darling hat really kept me safe and happy for many years on many adventures.
and now it sits alone, not ever forgotten, in the overhead compartment above seat 31A of a singapore air plane flying into singapore on 7 june 2007, that we rushed madly to get off, hoping to make our connection.
i suppose it's not there anymore...
i will think of that worn black hat with the stitching starting to come loose at the very top whenever i go somewhere new. it was my companion along for so many steps. i'm terribly sorry to have lost it. there are other hats but none so easy, so comfortable and filled with so much history.
vale my trusted, easy, beautiful friend.
Friday, June 22, 2007
dubai
my apologies that these entries are out of order. i don't think it's too hard to follow tho, you're as smart at that.
we go back to dubai now. as i said it was 31 degrees when we arrived at 4am. this is a telling factor for our stay.
we broke our trip to kiev in dubai for two reasons. one: doing the whole thing in one go seemed too much of a nightmare and two: we haven't been to dubai before.
not that we experienced a lot of it anyways. dubai is for adults, particularly those unencumbered with infants. then again i think most of the world is for adults unencumbered with infants and children. but that's a musing for another day.
from dubai airport to our hotel, the crown plaza, a taxi ride of approximately 15 minutes did the trick. we had intended to stay at the intercon as i am a priority club member. however despite the website stating the dubai intercon was to be completed in may 2007, it wasn't. their advice was to contact their affliated hotel- the crown plaza. if we'd put more thought and research into we probably wouldn't have stayed there. not that there's anything wrong with the hotel, it just isn't near anything. any of the hotels lining the waterway known as 'dubai creek' or near the seashore would have made more sense. these places are walking distance to the attractions such as the creek itself, the gold souk (market), the spice souk, the larger shopping malls, the beach and what i'm sure would have turned out to be a tourist trap much like darling harbour; the heritage village.
as it was we needed a taxi ride to get anywhere. which again is not really an issue we were just tired and jet lagged and couldn't be arsed.
we did take a taxi to the burj al arab hotel. woops! this is the fancy-dancy hotel you see featured on the travel shows that apparently has a 7 star rating. as we were turning into the single road access to the hotel our taxi driver asked us for our "ticket." what bloody ticket?! apparently you are not permitted access to the hotel unless you have a reservation for a room or at one of the restuarants. you will then be issued with a ticket that you must present to the armed guys at the gate. how the issued ticket gets to you i don't know. obviously the restaurants don't rely on passing trade either.
once we understood this little arrangement we informed our driver, who had pulled over in a lay by that i'm sure is there just for this purpose, that we possessed no ticket and please drive on. oh well. i really did want to see the inside of this hotel, just for a sticky-beak. we had considered staying just one night but the cheapest room available then was around $A900, and while i suppose we could have gasped at the expense and promised to eat nothing but two minute noodles for the next 5 years, the opportunity cost was too great. so we admired the architecture from a distance and said "next time..."
oh dear, percy has just woken screaming. we'll have to do this in installments.
we go back to dubai now. as i said it was 31 degrees when we arrived at 4am. this is a telling factor for our stay.
we broke our trip to kiev in dubai for two reasons. one: doing the whole thing in one go seemed too much of a nightmare and two: we haven't been to dubai before.
not that we experienced a lot of it anyways. dubai is for adults, particularly those unencumbered with infants. then again i think most of the world is for adults unencumbered with infants and children. but that's a musing for another day.
from dubai airport to our hotel, the crown plaza, a taxi ride of approximately 15 minutes did the trick. we had intended to stay at the intercon as i am a priority club member. however despite the website stating the dubai intercon was to be completed in may 2007, it wasn't. their advice was to contact their affliated hotel- the crown plaza. if we'd put more thought and research into we probably wouldn't have stayed there. not that there's anything wrong with the hotel, it just isn't near anything. any of the hotels lining the waterway known as 'dubai creek' or near the seashore would have made more sense. these places are walking distance to the attractions such as the creek itself, the gold souk (market), the spice souk, the larger shopping malls, the beach and what i'm sure would have turned out to be a tourist trap much like darling harbour; the heritage village.
as it was we needed a taxi ride to get anywhere. which again is not really an issue we were just tired and jet lagged and couldn't be arsed.
we did take a taxi to the burj al arab hotel. woops! this is the fancy-dancy hotel you see featured on the travel shows that apparently has a 7 star rating. as we were turning into the single road access to the hotel our taxi driver asked us for our "ticket." what bloody ticket?! apparently you are not permitted access to the hotel unless you have a reservation for a room or at one of the restuarants. you will then be issued with a ticket that you must present to the armed guys at the gate. how the issued ticket gets to you i don't know. obviously the restaurants don't rely on passing trade either.
once we understood this little arrangement we informed our driver, who had pulled over in a lay by that i'm sure is there just for this purpose, that we possessed no ticket and please drive on. oh well. i really did want to see the inside of this hotel, just for a sticky-beak. we had considered staying just one night but the cheapest room available then was around $A900, and while i suppose we could have gasped at the expense and promised to eat nothing but two minute noodles for the next 5 years, the opportunity cost was too great. so we admired the architecture from a distance and said "next time..."
oh dear, percy has just woken screaming. we'll have to do this in installments.
a strange first
percy saw her first dead guy today. well, actually her head was turned in the opposite direction. i didn't feel obliged to point the poor fellow out to her.
it was while walking to the supermarket. to get to the nearest supermarket from our apartment you go down our street a little way, cross over, go up a lane, past the car wash, up some steps, around the back of a small chemist, down the big street you emerge on, cross this street, along another relatively busy street for a couple of blocks, cross this street at the school with the green fence, follow the fence and go down the hill for a couple of blocks, down a set of rather dodgy concrete stairs and thru the carpark and you've arrived. whew! this unfortunately wouldn't have been the case if the supermarket in the metro station just four minutes of level walk from our building hadn't flooded in heavy rains the week before we arrived and is now closed. luck? providence? enforced exercise?
back to the dead guy. at the top of the dodgy concrete stairs is an apartment building with a playground and some open space in front of it. as i was coming down the hill i noticed a good number of people standing in a semi-circle in the open space. in my constant babble to percy as we walk along i asked her what she thought the signifigance of this gathering was. she either didn't have an opinion or as i suspect, hadn't seen it as she was looking in a different direction; she made no comment. i then noticed someone carrying flowers and thought immediately- "it's a funeral." great! is there some ukranian etiquette rule of not passing funerals or some other delicate toes i'm about to stomp all over? apparently not because even as the open coffin was carried out of a bus and into the building no-one noticed me.
it was while walking to the supermarket. to get to the nearest supermarket from our apartment you go down our street a little way, cross over, go up a lane, past the car wash, up some steps, around the back of a small chemist, down the big street you emerge on, cross this street, along another relatively busy street for a couple of blocks, cross this street at the school with the green fence, follow the fence and go down the hill for a couple of blocks, down a set of rather dodgy concrete stairs and thru the carpark and you've arrived. whew! this unfortunately wouldn't have been the case if the supermarket in the metro station just four minutes of level walk from our building hadn't flooded in heavy rains the week before we arrived and is now closed. luck? providence? enforced exercise?
back to the dead guy. at the top of the dodgy concrete stairs is an apartment building with a playground and some open space in front of it. as i was coming down the hill i noticed a good number of people standing in a semi-circle in the open space. in my constant babble to percy as we walk along i asked her what she thought the signifigance of this gathering was. she either didn't have an opinion or as i suspect, hadn't seen it as she was looking in a different direction; she made no comment. i then noticed someone carrying flowers and thought immediately- "it's a funeral." great! is there some ukranian etiquette rule of not passing funerals or some other delicate toes i'm about to stomp all over? apparently not because even as the open coffin was carried out of a bus and into the building no-one noticed me.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
hush little baby
one night, many weeks ago, i sang percy to sleep.
any of you who know of my singing abilities will realise percy must be the most tolerant baby on earth. in my sleep deprived state i made up words to "hush little baby..." they, fortunately or unfortunately have stuck. i record them here for your edification and amusement:
hush little baby, don't you cry
mumma's gunna buy you a mocking bird
and if that mocking brid don't sing
daddy's gunna buy you a diamond ring
hush little baby, hush little baby, hush little baby, hush
hush little baby, don't you cry
mumma's gunna buy you a rocking horse
and if that rocking horse don't rock
daddy's gunna buy you a bright red frock
hush little baby, hush little baby, hush little baby, hush
hush little baby, don't you cry
mumma's gunna buy you a sailing boat
and if that boat don't float
daddy's gunna buy you a billy goat
hush little baby, hush little baby, hush little baby, hush
hush little baby, don't you cry
mumma's gunna buy you a motor car
and if that car don't race
daddy's gunna buy you chantilly lace
hush little baby, hush little baby, hush little baby, hush
repeat ad nauseum.....
i can be heard to be stumbling thru this mess at least five times a day, often more. if anyone knows the real words or cares to be inventive with new verses i might consider incorporating them into my repetoire.
tho percy seems calmed by these empty promises. there is no way i'm buying her a car. she can take that path to destruction on her own money, i'm definately getting myself a sailing boat before i get her one, and i don't think birds of any sort ought to be caged. as for what daddy's gunna buy her? well, it took her birth to get me a diamond ring! (which was a complete surprise and i adore it) i'm not sure paul wants to buy frocks. he's quite happy for percy to be wearing the blue shirts and pants we have on loan from her cousins. there's very little possibility to fit a goat in either our erko or kiev homes and i don't think paulie knows what chantilly lace is.
empty, empty promises! i'll have to think of new songs before her language memory kicks in.
oh, happy to get her a rocking horse.
how many prospective parents claim the baby is not going to change let alone disruptive their lives? how many achieve this? i will lay money on all and none.
as percy reached the magic milestone of 12 weeks of age yesterday paul and i decided we might try to influence her feeding/waking/playing/sleeping patterns a little. primarily to ensure our sleep and hopefully set some ground work for coming months. i have been recording her sleeps, feeds and length of time awake over the past few days. she generally sleeps a 4-5 hour stretch when she first goes down for the nite and then 3 hours of wake and sleep (sometimes 4) between feeds after that. it would be lovely if we could get two 5 hour stretches thru the nite and make the day time separations always 4 hours. we'll see. as they say; stay tuned!
having made this decision however has given me a renewed energy and commitment to being the best mother i can be for her. while she is obviously still the all-consuming entity in my life i feel a little control has been handed to me too.
credit for this decision and how to carry it out is to be given to the book "the no cry sleep solution." originally loaned to us by our midwife and of which i have now purchased my own copy.
or am i just setting myself up for failure and frustration? i'd like to think i'm too smart for that. i don't expect percy to immediately and successfully fall into a regime that we like. her little belly is still empty in the middle of the nite, of course it needs filling up. and i'm the one to do that. when she decides at 5am rather than 6 or 7am that she has slept enough and would like to get up now, please, paul and i are the only ones that can kiss her good morning and help her welcome a new day. in fact paul has instituted in the last two days what i believe is a lovely way for percy to wake and greet the day. he puts her in the sling and goes for a walk for 30 - 45 minutes. this lets me sleep a little longer which means when they get back i'm all set for the day and paul can get ready to go to work.
speaking of sleep tho, i figure she's got another 40 minutes in this nap so i might lie down too.
any of you who know of my singing abilities will realise percy must be the most tolerant baby on earth. in my sleep deprived state i made up words to "hush little baby..." they, fortunately or unfortunately have stuck. i record them here for your edification and amusement:
hush little baby, don't you cry
mumma's gunna buy you a mocking bird
and if that mocking brid don't sing
daddy's gunna buy you a diamond ring
hush little baby, hush little baby, hush little baby, hush
hush little baby, don't you cry
mumma's gunna buy you a rocking horse
and if that rocking horse don't rock
daddy's gunna buy you a bright red frock
hush little baby, hush little baby, hush little baby, hush
hush little baby, don't you cry
mumma's gunna buy you a sailing boat
and if that boat don't float
daddy's gunna buy you a billy goat
hush little baby, hush little baby, hush little baby, hush
hush little baby, don't you cry
mumma's gunna buy you a motor car
and if that car don't race
daddy's gunna buy you chantilly lace
hush little baby, hush little baby, hush little baby, hush
repeat ad nauseum.....
i can be heard to be stumbling thru this mess at least five times a day, often more. if anyone knows the real words or cares to be inventive with new verses i might consider incorporating them into my repetoire.
tho percy seems calmed by these empty promises. there is no way i'm buying her a car. she can take that path to destruction on her own money, i'm definately getting myself a sailing boat before i get her one, and i don't think birds of any sort ought to be caged. as for what daddy's gunna buy her? well, it took her birth to get me a diamond ring! (which was a complete surprise and i adore it) i'm not sure paul wants to buy frocks. he's quite happy for percy to be wearing the blue shirts and pants we have on loan from her cousins. there's very little possibility to fit a goat in either our erko or kiev homes and i don't think paulie knows what chantilly lace is.
empty, empty promises! i'll have to think of new songs before her language memory kicks in.
oh, happy to get her a rocking horse.
how many prospective parents claim the baby is not going to change let alone disruptive their lives? how many achieve this? i will lay money on all and none.
as percy reached the magic milestone of 12 weeks of age yesterday paul and i decided we might try to influence her feeding/waking/playing/sleeping patterns a little. primarily to ensure our sleep and hopefully set some ground work for coming months. i have been recording her sleeps, feeds and length of time awake over the past few days. she generally sleeps a 4-5 hour stretch when she first goes down for the nite and then 3 hours of wake and sleep (sometimes 4) between feeds after that. it would be lovely if we could get two 5 hour stretches thru the nite and make the day time separations always 4 hours. we'll see. as they say; stay tuned!
having made this decision however has given me a renewed energy and commitment to being the best mother i can be for her. while she is obviously still the all-consuming entity in my life i feel a little control has been handed to me too.
credit for this decision and how to carry it out is to be given to the book "the no cry sleep solution." originally loaned to us by our midwife and of which i have now purchased my own copy.
or am i just setting myself up for failure and frustration? i'd like to think i'm too smart for that. i don't expect percy to immediately and successfully fall into a regime that we like. her little belly is still empty in the middle of the nite, of course it needs filling up. and i'm the one to do that. when she decides at 5am rather than 6 or 7am that she has slept enough and would like to get up now, please, paul and i are the only ones that can kiss her good morning and help her welcome a new day. in fact paul has instituted in the last two days what i believe is a lovely way for percy to wake and greet the day. he puts her in the sling and goes for a walk for 30 - 45 minutes. this lets me sleep a little longer which means when they get back i'm all set for the day and paul can get ready to go to work.
speaking of sleep tho, i figure she's got another 40 minutes in this nap so i might lie down too.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
the flights - installment 2
back into the fray. the flight from singapore to dubai was a bit over seven hours. again percy slept thru take off and landing. the most memorable thing about this flight was the abomination sitting next to us. christ!! how does he live with himself? i'll explain. we took our seats in the bassinet row and wondered whether a third person would be put with us. we were prepared to feel sorry for someone that percy might keep awake and that we would be clambering over every time we needed to get out of the row. no sympathy wasted on this fellow! in fact i asked to move to the middle section and get the bassinet set up there just to get some space from him. thankfully this was accommodated. poor paulie could only move over one seat and try to shut down all his receiving senses.
the creature fell asleep almost instantly, fine there. however he proceeded to snore in a volume that competed with the jet engines on the outside of the plane, belch, drool, thrash about and generally make everyone within a three seat radius miserable. even the cabin crew surreptiously sprayed him with air freshener every time they went past. was he not aware of his awfullness? did he not wonder why his shirt, white when he boarded was yellow and brown all down the front when he alighted?
absolutely gross. do i have an over developed sense of cleanliness? personal space?
arriving in dubai we kept as far away as possible and soon lost him in the terminal.
i'll point out that june is not the time to visit dubai. it's way too hot. we arrived at 4am and it was already 31 degrees.
planes are strange places. they bring out the best and the worst in people. sometimes both in the same person within a few minutes. also airports. it might be the constrained environment. it might be the thought that we all want to get somewhere or do something and have as little disruption to that process as possible. travelling is a great delight. you just have to temper it when you have a little person totally dependant on you, along for the ride.
travelling with percy is magical when you look into her little face and her huge liquid eyes stare back at you saying she knows you are doing the best you can and that she trusts you implicitly to make it all good.
the creature fell asleep almost instantly, fine there. however he proceeded to snore in a volume that competed with the jet engines on the outside of the plane, belch, drool, thrash about and generally make everyone within a three seat radius miserable. even the cabin crew surreptiously sprayed him with air freshener every time they went past. was he not aware of his awfullness? did he not wonder why his shirt, white when he boarded was yellow and brown all down the front when he alighted?
absolutely gross. do i have an over developed sense of cleanliness? personal space?
arriving in dubai we kept as far away as possible and soon lost him in the terminal.
i'll point out that june is not the time to visit dubai. it's way too hot. we arrived at 4am and it was already 31 degrees.
planes are strange places. they bring out the best and the worst in people. sometimes both in the same person within a few minutes. also airports. it might be the constrained environment. it might be the thought that we all want to get somewhere or do something and have as little disruption to that process as possible. travelling is a great delight. you just have to temper it when you have a little person totally dependant on you, along for the ride.
travelling with percy is magical when you look into her little face and her huge liquid eyes stare back at you saying she knows you are doing the best you can and that she trusts you implicitly to make it all good.
Monday, June 18, 2007
something slightly better
after explaining in a perfectly rational and calm manner that we could not wait in a transit lounge with a 10 week old baby for 8 hours to the ground crew (ask paul if you don't believe i can be rational and calm!) they eventually came back to us and told us the transit hotel was full but we were being allowed into the business class lounge.
tttp: pay for the most expensive seats on the plane you can afford. this will mean more room, more luggage allowances, hopefully nicer staff and access to lounges. being not overly endowed with cash we flew economy.
the business lounge did enable us to snaffle a corner and make a quiet place for percy to play and sleep. it also meant the food and drinks were free. which i got to add was not that impressive. having gained entrance to this sanctum i thought it would be a lot flasher. i anticipated beds and private rooms and waiter service and more than one bloody shower in the womens (don't many women travel for business?) compared to five in the mens, and a delectable selection of eaties and slippers and.... maybe i should push for first class next time?
i suppose if you're drinking alcohol you could get very neatly sloshed. anyways, we got to shower (tho we did have to put on the same clothes again) which was very welcome. we drank a lot of juice and ate what looked okay- the dried up sandwiches and dodgy hot food we skipped.
again percy was very well behaved and i don't think we annoyed too many people with her occasional cries. bearing in mind we were in there for 7 hours and most people came and went in under 1.
then back to the terminal for the second leg.
tttp: pay for the most expensive seats on the plane you can afford. this will mean more room, more luggage allowances, hopefully nicer staff and access to lounges. being not overly endowed with cash we flew economy.
the business lounge did enable us to snaffle a corner and make a quiet place for percy to play and sleep. it also meant the food and drinks were free. which i got to add was not that impressive. having gained entrance to this sanctum i thought it would be a lot flasher. i anticipated beds and private rooms and waiter service and more than one bloody shower in the womens (don't many women travel for business?) compared to five in the mens, and a delectable selection of eaties and slippers and.... maybe i should push for first class next time?
i suppose if you're drinking alcohol you could get very neatly sloshed. anyways, we got to shower (tho we did have to put on the same clothes again) which was very welcome. we drank a lot of juice and ate what looked okay- the dried up sandwiches and dodgy hot food we skipped.
again percy was very well behaved and i don't think we annoyed too many people with her occasional cries. bearing in mind we were in there for 7 hours and most people came and went in under 1.
then back to the terminal for the second leg.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
the flights- installment one
anyone want a tip about flying with an infant?
wait until they are 25 and buying you holidays for your 60th birthday or wedding anniversary or something- AND DON'T TAKE THEM.
having said that percy was remarkably well behaved and caused us little trouble over the days it took us to get here.
we left sydney (australia) on an 8am flight on thursday 7 june. unfortunately the bad weather delayed us by two hours which really stuffed things up later on. seeing the news reports on how bad the weather got i think we were lucky. life seems far more precious now that we have percy. it's terrible to learn of those that lost their lives and to think of the suffering of those grieving for them.
our 8am flight meant rising at 4am. we'd booked a silver service taxi- station wagon with baby capsule for 4:30am. and guess what- it arrived on time! first tip to travelling parents (tttp) pack at least 4 or 5 changes of clothes. whether it's because we are still crap nappy appliers or percy thought this was a good time to vent we had to change her twice because she had poo up her back, before we even got on the plane. sorry percy, if you ever read this when you're older- don't be embarrassed, babies poo everywhere at least once. all babies.
note to designers/ builders/ owners of public spaces- your facilities for parents absolutely suck. no ifs, buts, howevers, etc. take a lousy 3 square metres and put in a decent change table, sink, bench space, comfortable nursing chair, bin and power points. would it kill you?
funny how this was never an issue a short three months ago. are parents supposed to cower at home until their children are toilet trained? are mothers supposed to formula or bottle feed always? personally i'm not bothered about breastfeeding in public but it would be nice to change my screaming baby in private.
the joke labelled "parents rooms" at syd international airport was not big enough for paul and i to fit into together once the change table was lowered from the wall. and we are not big people.
wait 'til we get to dubai!! ha ha.
percy slept thru the take off at sydney and the landing into singapore. so despite my dread about painful pressured ears and the associated yelling this did not eventuate. she was also a little angel during the flight, feeding demurely in my seat, sleeping a little in the supplied bassinet and more in our arms. she didn't even cry when we changed her in those appalling airplane toilets.
if you want to know how often your baby rouses or snuffles or whimpers or jerks in her sleep try holding her or peering over a bassinet edge for 8 hours. it's a lot.
we were late into singapore because of the delay in sydney. which meant we'd missed the connection to dubai. f**k. singapore ground crew tried to fob us off with a meal voucher to a burger king equivalent and a re-booking on a flight to leave 8 hours later. this is where i lost my cool. (do i have a lot of cool to start with?) we were 14 hours into this trip and only half way there. i sincerely intended not to sit in a transit lounge with a baby for eight hours. have you seen international transit lounges? they are open, plain, filled with wierdos, have no services or amenities and are not fun.
thankfully we got something slightly better.
wait until they are 25 and buying you holidays for your 60th birthday or wedding anniversary or something- AND DON'T TAKE THEM.
having said that percy was remarkably well behaved and caused us little trouble over the days it took us to get here.
we left sydney (australia) on an 8am flight on thursday 7 june. unfortunately the bad weather delayed us by two hours which really stuffed things up later on. seeing the news reports on how bad the weather got i think we were lucky. life seems far more precious now that we have percy. it's terrible to learn of those that lost their lives and to think of the suffering of those grieving for them.
our 8am flight meant rising at 4am. we'd booked a silver service taxi- station wagon with baby capsule for 4:30am. and guess what- it arrived on time! first tip to travelling parents (tttp) pack at least 4 or 5 changes of clothes. whether it's because we are still crap nappy appliers or percy thought this was a good time to vent we had to change her twice because she had poo up her back, before we even got on the plane. sorry percy, if you ever read this when you're older- don't be embarrassed, babies poo everywhere at least once. all babies.
note to designers/ builders/ owners of public spaces- your facilities for parents absolutely suck. no ifs, buts, howevers, etc. take a lousy 3 square metres and put in a decent change table, sink, bench space, comfortable nursing chair, bin and power points. would it kill you?
funny how this was never an issue a short three months ago. are parents supposed to cower at home until their children are toilet trained? are mothers supposed to formula or bottle feed always? personally i'm not bothered about breastfeeding in public but it would be nice to change my screaming baby in private.
the joke labelled "parents rooms" at syd international airport was not big enough for paul and i to fit into together once the change table was lowered from the wall. and we are not big people.
wait 'til we get to dubai!! ha ha.
percy slept thru the take off at sydney and the landing into singapore. so despite my dread about painful pressured ears and the associated yelling this did not eventuate. she was also a little angel during the flight, feeding demurely in my seat, sleeping a little in the supplied bassinet and more in our arms. she didn't even cry when we changed her in those appalling airplane toilets.
if you want to know how often your baby rouses or snuffles or whimpers or jerks in her sleep try holding her or peering over a bassinet edge for 8 hours. it's a lot.
we were late into singapore because of the delay in sydney. which meant we'd missed the connection to dubai. f**k. singapore ground crew tried to fob us off with a meal voucher to a burger king equivalent and a re-booking on a flight to leave 8 hours later. this is where i lost my cool. (do i have a lot of cool to start with?) we were 14 hours into this trip and only half way there. i sincerely intended not to sit in a transit lounge with a baby for eight hours. have you seen international transit lounges? they are open, plain, filled with wierdos, have no services or amenities and are not fun.
thankfully we got something slightly better.
beginnings
will 'travels with percy' be as entertaining as 'travels with my aunt'? i expect not, plus i should confess i have not read 'travels with my aunt', i've only read about it.
percy is our three month old daughter. her real name is persephone but no-one on the planet seems to be able to say it or comprehend it, far less appreciate it. go look up your greek mythology- i think it's a splendid story.
she's actually not quite three months today. she was born on 27 march 2007 at 10:23pm. but close enough. she's currently sleeping in her cot after a big morning out, hence my opportunity to start this blog. which was amanda's suggestion- the blog, not the morning out or the cot.
this entry being titled 'beginnings' i suppose i ought to start at the beginning. but which? where? you know when percy was born; is that a good start? how 'bout the labour?! that'll put a lot of you off! her conception? even worse! (well, just scrumptious really but perhaps too personal.) how her father and i met? cripes- too long ago.
maybe late last year. there was a hint or suggestion at paul's work (percy's papa and my gorgeous husband) that a stint in the kiev, ukraine office might be a good idea. discussions were suspended until after percy's birth. had she (or i) not been well no trip would have happened. obviously we are well as this is our 6th day in kiev.
we are here for six months. this is the "beginning" week.
percy is our three month old daughter. her real name is persephone but no-one on the planet seems to be able to say it or comprehend it, far less appreciate it. go look up your greek mythology- i think it's a splendid story.
she's actually not quite three months today. she was born on 27 march 2007 at 10:23pm. but close enough. she's currently sleeping in her cot after a big morning out, hence my opportunity to start this blog. which was amanda's suggestion- the blog, not the morning out or the cot.
this entry being titled 'beginnings' i suppose i ought to start at the beginning. but which? where? you know when percy was born; is that a good start? how 'bout the labour?! that'll put a lot of you off! her conception? even worse! (well, just scrumptious really but perhaps too personal.) how her father and i met? cripes- too long ago.
maybe late last year. there was a hint or suggestion at paul's work (percy's papa and my gorgeous husband) that a stint in the kiev, ukraine office might be a good idea. discussions were suspended until after percy's birth. had she (or i) not been well no trip would have happened. obviously we are well as this is our 6th day in kiev.
we are here for six months. this is the "beginning" week.
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