Poor Chloe had been plague by hives again – but not the serious type – every other day we will see one or two bumps coming up – she would scratch it like mad and after we give her some Claritin – it would stopped. But a few days later – we would see a few more bumps. The camp-coordinators had been really good – and keeping an eye on Chloe for us – so we are happy that she is in camp and not exactly loving it but she still would go. Only a few more weeks and she is going back to school. Summer is going by far too fast – the weather is already turning cold here. I’ve also stopped putting on an undershirt on chloe since summer begun. So have i changed or have chloe changed..??
Life In This Small Town
Tis’ very sad to see restaurants/bistros/movie places – closing its door one at a time during the last few months – i wonder what is next for this town. 6.5 yrs ago – when i was pregnant with Chloe – i could eat nothing but quiche from this bistro – just a few doors away from our store. This Bistro kept me and Chloe alive for at least 6 months – i just couldn’t stomach anything. There are so many good people like the owner of this bistro trying very hard to make a living – but end up losing so much – just for trying. Owner of this place is very talented – i’ve eaten there many time during my 11 yrs in this town – so it came as a shock to us that they just up and left with no notice whatsoever.
There is currently a new MP – elected – a very young one – promising from what i see – so i’m hoping that with this new MP – we will see some small changes. Lately, the town councils have been more and more disappointing – i just read in the local papers – how they are $100K unprepared – so they claimed a mis-interpretation! WOW!! already there had been a lot of mis-interpretation in this town for the last few years – plus i can’t see how the town is not aware of what is going on with SWDAS – all these years – when they are even involved in the tri-county school thing. I am deeply troubled by what a lot of folks of this town suspect – but time will tell eh – time will tell. I’m just glad that our business haven’t been affected *touch wood* and thank God ! we are keeping our fingers and toes crossed.
Local Library
We all believed in teaching our kids good value in life and reading is one of them. Chloe is no different from any kids and although we buy lots and lots of books for her – we still go to the library – to borrow some – so that she knows that reading is good. A few months ago, during the March break – I had brought Chloe to the library to color and read – she loves coloring and when she saw that there were coloring print outs for her to color – she wanted to go to the library more.
Alas, it was short lived – not the going to the library part but the print outs – after our first trip to the library – the subsequent ones were greeted with no new print-outs because the clerk there said that – that was all they have. She suggested that i bring my own coloring books the next time. You and I know that kids love the novelty of “new” stuff – they don’t want to bring their own coloring books. But that was alright – i didn’t say much.
But one afternoon, a friend came by with her kids and said “meet us at the library!” and since it was a saturday not really much to do in this small town – we said ok. I packed my laptop and got PB to send us to the library. The friend had 2 kids and they had gone to ask for some paper from the clerk – she gave them 3 pieces. When the kids were done that paper – Chloe being Chloe wanted more paper – so i went instead to ask – for some reason/s the kids didn’t wanna go. So this time the clerk told me matter of factly that the paper were for printing – and not for giving out to the kids – again she suggested that i bring my own the next time.
I was kinda taken aback by the lack of tactfulness – we are dealing with kids here – kids that the library had encouraged to come to the library – because reading is fun. But nope they won’t give us a few pieces of paper. So i guess – our donation to the library 2 months ago – thru’ “Adopt – a -book” for the library – didn’t mean a thing? What is a few pieces of paper right? 3 kids – 3 pieces of paper and they refused to print anything out for the kids to color ? We haven’t gone back to the library since – because of that incident – we are also re-thinking if we should encouraged our family and friends to “Adopt – A – Book” – afterall, donating more than $120 for those books didn’t mean nothing to them *shrug* – so we might as well be nonchalant and not do anything. Again, I am writing this after a month – not because I’m being petty – but moreso – I feel for my kid – who was quite hurt that the clerk won’t give her some paper to draw. And I feel bad for the many kids who will be going to the library and to be told off – to bring their own paper – if they wanted to draw. I’ve witness an incident whereby a foreign student had asked if he could borrow the phone to make a phone call only to be told to bring a quarter with him the next time *slap forehead* – i had actually wanted to come forward and give the kid the quarter – I can feel for the kid – and I know that if it was my Chloe – she would wished the floor would open up and swallow her. Tactfulness is important when dealing with the public – especially where kids are involved – for now – my kid (Chloe) doesn’t wanna go to the library – why? she said the clerk was a “meanie”. A lasting impression the library has on her for now – i can only hope that she will forget with time – but so far – i’m not getting any luck.
PS: i have no problems bringing my own paper but at times – when a parent forgets – i feel that the clerk should have been a lot more understanding and a lot more flexible. A little bit of kindness goes a long, long way.
Pencil Holding
And here we go again … ! *sigh* .. same old .. same old .. with chloe’s new but old school. I think they need help to weigh the more important things that they need to concentrate on. I know where they are coming from – and I know Chloe does have an odd way of holding her pencil – but why stress the kid out when she had already informed them that she was comfortable with the way she was writing. Encouragement is the key to good teaching not? But the school haven’t approached us personally – it was just Chloe coming home all stressed up during the weekend about how one of her teachers wanted her to hold the pencil the way they want and she didn’t get to write nicely. She was pretty upset about it because this kid of mine – aims for perfection. And yes, we are aware of it – it’s painful to look at the way she holds her pencil – we are not slacker parents – we just want her to learn at her own pace.
Racism In Canada
My girlfriend from Hong Kong who is planning a trip to visit me this summer for supplements – asked me about how the “ang mohs” treats me here in Canada – if there was racism in Canada. I had replied that – there is no more than any other places and that the people are generally ok – and treated me with respect – I think more so because we own our own business and they sorta see me as a respectable figure – albeit the fact that I’m still the Crazy Chinese Woman in Canada – HAHA!
But I’ve spoken too soon – when I was reminded of the hate crime – so widely publicized recently about a Nova Scotia woman who awoke to the sight of a burning cross on her lawn and then her car was torched. And then last nite a customer of the store was told off on Facebook to “F” off and “F” back to China by someone who apparently lived in our midst – in our community. I do not know this person but I’m truly shocked to see such behavior and the fact that no one stood up and speak up for this customer. Everyone thinks it was a joke !!! I’m indeed shocked – and here i sit thinking – Chloe looks very Asian – what happens if this happen in school when she grows up or when she is out at the mall? Hate crimes and racism shouldn’t be taken lightly – i spoke to PB about it – and of course – he wasn’t too concerned because it was an isolated case – but i’m thinking ahead and trying to be pro-active and prevent what will happen in the future. What would you do in my shoe? would you be like the rest of the 7000+ members on FB and ignore it because it wasn’t you it was directed to? or would you speak up?
Things You Should Know Before Migrating
Canada is a great place to be if you are migrating – moreso, if you are a someone who has money and coming to Canada to start your own business. The government is very generous with their money – and medical is free here once you become a permanent resident. There are many things you can get here that I can get from home too like diet pill for women but before you migrate – just make sure you know where you are migrating to. Why? because i missed the convenience of having a food court a few feet away from home and of course food from home that I can’t even get unless I wanna drive 8 hrs to and fro to the city.
The winters are harsh in Canada and the summer is short – and if you are thinking that you can be lazy in Canada, well, think about it because jobs are hard to come by – as they give first priority to the people in Canada first. But knowing Asians I know it isn’t hard to get a job if we want to – it’s our accent that makes it somewhat harder – for although we think we speak perfectly ok – they still can’t get what you are saying at times. As for me – even though i’ve worked for foreign bosses all my life – some people still finds it hard to understand my kinda english. What else do i missed..?? the weather, the food, the shopping malls, the high tech buildings and of course the short vacation I can take – for once you own your own business – you are obligated to work all the time.
School Rules
Chloe came home from school today and apologized for not drinking her apple juice but she also mentioned that she did finish her water though. So i asked her – how come she didn’t drink her apple juice during lunch – in which she replied that her teacher asked her to choose between the water bottle or the juice bottle. I tell yer – this school certainly makes me wonder what is going on – if this nonsense carries on – i would be needing a hair loss cure. Why? because i cannot understand why my daughter cannot bring the apple juice and water into her cafeteria..?? Anyhow, i’m keeping my cool and wait to see what happens within the next few days – in the meantime, I told Chloe that i can put her juice box into her lunch bag – but she said she didn’t wanna upset her teacher *slap forehead*. So you tell me lah.. how come the teacher can upset my daughter .. and my daughter is still so thoughtful and don’t wanna upset the teacher? where got meaning right? “steam rising from my head”
Neighbors
Many of you would know by now that I have a famous neighbor – yes that one. You would think that after pulling a stunt they did like 4.5 yrs ago, they wouldn’t want to have anything to do with us eh. But nope – every time we turn around and when we least suspect – they would smile or say hi to us. I don’t know what they are thinking but if I were to go attack my neighbors because of a picture i had put up on the internet with no intent of evilness nor malice – which could be quickly resolved with a “I’m not comfy – please can you take my kid’s picture down?” but nope – they told me they could sue me for $40K and that they were pissed with me was not called for. With neighbors like that who needs more acne products right?
My other neighbors are great and share the same dislike about a lot of things about this chicken shit neighbor. They let their dog poop in our lawn without cleaning after the dog – they let their cat do the same thing. On top of it – they worked late at night and go on their four wheelers at midnite. You tell me crazy or not ? He mows his lawn at 9pm during the summer and every other day or at least a couple of times a week – come on – how much grass can your lawn have in a few days right? And to do it at 9pm? Your kid no need to sleep – mine does! So what makes them think they can turn around and be nice to us – is not comprehensible. Stay away from us and don’t even acknowledge us pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee…!! crazy ppl we can do without – thank you very much ! we have no time for you and yours!
Learning Words
Chloe came home with a list of words she had to learn weekly – we had known about it for a few weeks now. And a look at her list – we realized that we didn’t get Week’s 1 list – and since some of Chloe’s classmates parents shop at our store – I of course, quickly called and asked them for the List 1’s words. But one of them couldn’t remember where her list was and another didn’t call back. And another one who happened to be at our store in the evening – didn’t even know that her kid had words to learn *slap forehead*. Anyhow, that evening – I lay away my auto insurance quotes and started to teach Chloe her words – 2 at a time – I figured for the weekend.. and 1 each for the weekdays.
So lets get back to these other parents – well, as you can see – how challenging it is for Chloe’s teacher with this kinda attitude *shake head*. As for us – I hope we can be diligent parents and help Chloe move ahead with every standard she is promoted to.
School System
Chloe hasn’t gone to school for 3 days now – well the first day – was in -service (meaning – the teachers had meeting or some self help class) – then it was a snow day but the snow wasn’t so bad – but that’s alright because she was quite stuffed up in the morning she woke up. Today – same thing we woke up at 7am – and the radio announced no school again. Boy!! these ppl are real wuss – the snow wasn’t bad at all – i mean for chloe she wasn’t feeling the greatest – so we would have made her stay home – but what about those other kids – whose parents had to work..??? I tell you .. the school or the school board needs some testosterone booster – no wonder the “ang moh” kids are so lazy…!!!