This & that

The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy.

I recently came across this quote by John Galsworthy while generally browsing and I think it perfectly sums up all thats been going on in our household for the last few weeks.

The kiddo turned 3 over the weekend. I was going over her baby pictures yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised by how much she has grown, even over the last 6 months. I was gently reminded that 6 months is effectively 1/6th of her lifetime so its really not that unusual – her development, that is. What has me almost floored is the fact that instead of baby-fat, she now almost has a 6-pack on her lean stomach. I couldn’t help feeling a pang for the chubbier, less-coordinated bouncy bundle that she was just over a few months ago. She still runs into walls, has trouble getting her sentences out right or even pronouncing the right word at the right time and still believes I have the power to kiss her bruises away. But she now understands complex questions, you can almost see the wheels turning in her head as she tries to evaluate her options and she can eat by herself almost entirely. Hmmm..maybe the latter is what is causing the lean stomach. Note to self – Should look more carefully into it.

The above quote comes in when we decided to throw a birthday party for her at home. Due to gross over-estimation of the size of our living room, we ended up with a standing room only crowd. It was completely awesome that so many did care to show up even though it was just a kids birthday party. So what if I didn’t have time to put out the mini-quiches or mix the juice-concentrates into proper juice that could be consumed by humans. At least we all had some magnificent chocolate cake. If you are ever in Edinburgh, please stop at Choco-Latte. They make the most delicious, moist chocolate cake, perfectly sweetened with just the right amount of chocolaty bitterness that I have ever tasted this side of the Atlantic, so far.

On a slightly unrelated note, what was not untidy was the beginning and the closing of the Olympic games. I missed both and only caught the highlights, but was impressed even by the little I saw during the telecast of the highlights. I had a long post on the Olympics typed out but put off publishing it, because if you had been following it as closely as I did over the Internet, you’ve probably heard and seen every story,  every controversy and read every angle of it. So there is no point in me rehashing any of it.

But if you have missed any of the fun or even otherwise,  you must read Dave Barry’s version of his experience in Beijing.  You can find it here:

Bye-bye, Beijing
Want harmony? Try Forbidden City
Rolling with Beijing rock scene
Haggling should be an Olympic sport
Try scorpion on a stick, or chicken without sex life
Is this wall great or what?

I recommend him simply because he informs us that there were badminton players named Prapawadee Jaroenrattanatarak, Poompat Sapkulchananart and Porntip Buranapraseatsuk (yes, Porntip!!)  and of course, because he comes up with stuff like this:

My travelling party included my wife, my daughter and my mother-in-law. (Marco Polo also took his mother-in-law to China. You should always travel with your mother-in-law, because you never know when you’re going to need unsolicited advice.)

You can read more of his stuff here. He’s now covering the Democratic National Convention in Denver, in case u’re interested.