Siblings

I met my boss for lunch yesterday to talk about
work related things.� The good news is
that I am going to work a four day week which will mean half days on Wednesdays
and Fridays, so I will be able to pick the Princess up from school twice a
week.� The bad news is that April 3 isn’t
that far away and the logistics of being two working parents of three small
children are terrifying.

As ill-luck would have it, the Princess begins
a fortnight’s Easter holidays on the day that I start back.� We have booked the poor mite in for two one week
courses learning about the music of the world.�
Stop sniggering.� She’ll love it.� She needs a packed lunch for this
extravaganza (she gets a hot lunch at school) and I fear that she wonÂ’t eat
whatever I offer.� I would like to take
this opportunity to apologise to my mother for ignoring 13 years worth of
packed lunches.� So poor Madam, not only
will I be starting back to work which will be a shock for her, but also she
will be in a new and strange place and not with her school companions.� The boys will, obviously, be starting at the
creche which, presumably, will give them the opportunity to pick up some nasty
bugs and which, I fear, they may not take to quite immediately given that the
number of breasts available to them will be fewer than at home.� We will probably have to travel separately,
three of us in the car to the creche, which is inconveniently distant, and two
of us on foot or by bike to the school which is gratifyingly close.

And, the PrincessÂ’s birthday, which she has
been looking forward to for 10 months now, falls on the 12^th of
April and, as far as I can see, all potential invitees will be away on Easter
holidays.� And it will be something of an
organisational marathon.� I have promised
her the sun, moon and stars because when we go to the supermarket, she just
looks at the sweets and says “I can have those for my birthday, but not now”
and never makes a fuss.� I think we will
require a special shop to pick up all the goodies she has earmarked for the
special day and which she so richly deserves.

And I am off on a work trip at the end of
April, so Mr. Waffle will be spending 2 days alone with his offspring and the
school/creche run.� He has asked his
secretary to schedule no meetings or trips.�
He is very afraid.

Oh, and IÂ’ve promised to host the bookclub in
April.� I regret to tell you that I have
heard my loving husband muttering mutinously about straws and camels.

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http://www.belgianwaffle.net/2006/02/539/

Email from sister in Delhi:
“So saw 7 places this morning – they are massive (3 bedrooms) and in ex-pat areas. But generally they are a bit shabby – bathrooms are old, cupboards dark and far too many chandeliers. Also maybe it’s the level 2 area because the diplomats who would be my neighbours are from strange countries – Iran, Azerbaijan, Cyprus
and one place I’d never heard of.”

Phone call from sister in Delhi:
Her: There are 40 people working in the local office here and aside from the general manager’s secretary and me they’re all men.
Me: Mummy’ll be delighted, maybe you’ll meet some nice man.
Her: No, they’re all already married.
Me: What all of them??
Her: Well, once you’re over a certain age here, you tend to be married; it’s all arranged weddings.
Her: But we’re interviewing.
Me: How many female candidates?
Her: Er, none.
Her: I feel a bit vulnerable as a woman on my own here. You don’t see any women on their own on the streets, so I’m looking for accommodation far enough from work, so that I can get driven. Did I tell you that I have a car and a driver?
Me: Splutter.
Her: It’s very different from China [where she worked for a bit and people kept stopping her on the street to take her photo because she was the only westerner they’d ever seen and check out those weird blue eyes].
Me: I suppose.
Her:Somehow, I felt less foreign there and it was less intimidating. Sigh. I suppose that I’ll get used to it.
Me: And you’ll have a driver and chandeliers.

Text message from my sister at 6.00 this morning (of course I was up, why do you ask?): Just saw my first cow on the street.
Me to Mr. Waffle: Gosh, fancy that, how exotic.
Him: Jeez, they have cows there too.
I don’t think that he’s getting into the spirit of things.

Comments
oneideaperday
on 15 February 2006 at 09:41
A cow on the road over hear is a pain in the arse. A cow on the road abroad is exotic. It’s that simple.
poggle
on 15 February 2006 at 09:53
I nearly ran into a cow on the east coast road in Malaysia – so I was almost the pain in its arse.
(And be very, very careful how you respond to that statement, oipd ….)
UndercoverCookie
on 15 February 2006 at 10:16
having a driver is not quite as decadent as people assume. He won’t be in a chauffeur’s uniform and open the door for her. He’ll be a small man with a sweaty back whose job it is to drive a lot and a wait around a lot more. It’s not a well-paid job and involves a lot of sitting around and the hours are long. The biggest advantage of having a driver is never having to park and also being able to send him to collect someone, pick up items from the post office, drop off a borrowed jacket to a friend’s and all manner of little errands like that.
oneideaperday
on 15 February 2006 at 10:24
Pog, I have no idea what you mean. Almost drove up it’s arse eh? That would have been a bit of a bugger and no mistake. The cow certainly would have got a bum deal. And his owner would no doubt have told you to sod off. Those watching would have cracked up though. (Ouch – apologies for that last one).

poggle
on 15 February 2006 at 10:32
*sighs*
dmts
on 15 February 2006 at 10:50
Yeah, you’d have been right in the shit and no mistake.
oneideaperday
on 15 February 2006 at 11:08
Now that’s just dirty.
dmts
on 15 February 2006 at 11:09
Uh? Right.

poggle
on 15 February 2006 at 11:39
And this from the man who said ‘cracked up’ H. Tch.
belgianwaffle
on 15 February 2006 at 12:55
OK, you lot, clean it up. You know who I mean. Ta for the sweetie though, Heather. And the explanation UC, I intend to forward it on to the sister, but I suppose she already knows…

You will recall that my sister is moving to Delhi. Even as I write, she is on a work trip in far off Delhi.

She got the following email from security in her company:

Security: Valentine’s Day unrest possible in India Feb. 14. Avoid protests; use
caution at restaurants and gift shops, especially in northern cities.

Rightwing Hindu groups strongly object to the observance of Valentine’s Day in India. Unrest is possible, especially in Mumbai, New Delhi and other northern Indian cities around Feb. 14. Valentine’s Day is very popular among many young Indians, but groups such as the Shiv Sena, Sangh Parivar, Hindu Jagran Manch, Bajrang Dal, and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) consider Valentine’s Day a vulgar affront to Indian culture and an example of Western commercialism. They regularly threaten to disrupt holiday events; protests are common outside shops selling Valentine’s Day paraphernalia. Demonstrations can turn violent – protesters have ransacked shops, burned bonfires of greeting cards and attacked people celebrating the unofficial holiday. Vandalism and police clashes are possible.

Most Valentine’s Day unrest occurs in New Delhi and in major cities in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. Although Mumbai is very cosmopolitan, it is a Shiv Sena stronghold and there has been Valentine’s Day unrest in the city. In New Delhi, mobs have harassed Westerners at Connaught Place. Use caution in the area, as well as at the Kamala Market and Ansal Plaza.

Despite increased police surveillance, security disturbances are possible at public parks, university campuses, and commercial areas in major cities around Feb. 14. Avoid gift shops (such as Archie’s Greetings) whose proprietors ignore warnings from rightwing Hindu organizations. These groups might also threaten
to disrupt Valentine’s Day events at other venues. Potential troublemakers are easily identifiable – rightwing Hindus often wear saffron-colored clothing or carry orange flags.

Valentine’s-related security disturbances since 2000:

• Andhra
  Pradesh: Hyderabad
• Chandigarh
• Chhattisgarh:
  Raipur
• Delhi:
  New Delhi
• Gujarat:
  Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara
• Jharkhand:
  Jamshedpur
• Madhya
  Pradesh: Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur
• Maharashtra:
  Aurangabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nasik, Pune, Thane
• Orissa:
  Bhubaneswar
• Rajasthan:
  Jaipur

My sister has been working for the same American multinational since leaving college.  She started in the UK, then she was sent to Germany, then China, then the US.  Each move was accompanied by a promotion and a hefty salary increase. I bask in her reflected glory and only experience very mild envy, no really.   Guess where she’s off to in the new year with promotion and hefty salary increase? Just as well, another Chicago winter would have killed her.