Squibblog

who are you and what have you done with my son?

After a lot of wrangling with the music shop where we hired it, Zac's cello finally arrived on Wednesday. I was pretty happy that it was here in time for his cello lesson on Thursday, but not half as happy as Zac.  

Zac opened the cello case carefully, delicately lifted the bow out of its holder, then caressed the body of the cello as he lifted it from its bed of velvet. He solemnly set up his stool and began applying rosin to the bow before starting the exercises he learned in class.

Being used to a child who won't sit still and normally uses every object he sees as a weapon, I was pretty impressed that his cello teacher had managed to convey the idea that cellos are beautiful, delicate objects worthy of respect. Nevertheless I was fairly sure the concentration and enthusiasm wouldn't last. 

Yesterday I was awoken to the strains of early morning cello practice, yesterday evening when he got home from AFL registration (sport being the forum in which we've come to expect Zac's enthusiasm) it was straight to the bathroom to wash hands before the cello came out.

This morning I was again awoken by the sound of bow on string. For a millisecond there was a touch of Yo-yo Ma, before the scraping screech set in. But even if it sounds horrible every second on every day, I can not get over how impressed I am with his committment to orchestral music and his enthusiasm for playing the open A string.

kick started

Tonight I am feeling simultaneously happy and totally buggered. 

Soy and I just spent 3 days at the Kickstart conference in Queensland. It was very valuable and while the highlight was the debate about the government's proposed internet filter (video of the whole debate is here), the pictorial highlight was the 4am balloon ride over the Gold Coast hinterland on Monday morning.

The conference was a great opportunity for me to spend 3 days being immersed in the IT industry, which given my usual workload is not often possible. It was also held in the gorgeous Santuary Cove resort which was spectacular and, despite the socialising and early morning starts, meant that I got to sleep between hotel sheets which is one of life's great luxuries. 

The kids were cared for by Soy's lovely Dad and step-Mum for the first few days, and my Mum for the last day, highlighting again how lucky we have been to have grandparents on tap this summer. 

One unexpected side effect of going away for three days was that when we got home the children were both excited to see us and incredibly sweet and well behaved. Maybe having a break from each other really is good practice for a family.

going swimmingly

Today is Zac's first swimming carnival at school. Swimming carnivals were a large part of my childhood and I remember them well - swimming being the only sport I could truthfully say I was competitive at. But I'm pretty sure my parents didn't worry as much about the carnival as I am worrying today.

I am worrying, a little, about water safety, ie will he drown? It's a little worry, because he's a sensible kid, but the consequences are big. 

I worry that he's flail about in the water and be very upset when he loses a race. He's quite a competent swimmer for his age, but I certainly wouldn't describe him as 'gifted' in the pool. Which is fine, except that he believes himself to be an Olympian in the making. I see disappointment in his future.

I am also worrying that he'll get sunburned and be cranky when he gets home. This is a major worry because his skin is naturally white (not pink, not olive, not slightly tan, but Day-Glo white) and he's almost always cranky on a Friday. We have slathered him in sunscreen, made him wear a rashie and a big hat and girded our loins for bad tempers, which is, I suspect, all we can do.

this song was written about Nell

I love this little TMBG ditty, which I am certain was written about a four-year-old. Employee Of The Month

This song was only released on a B-sides album and the video clip was made by a fan. How cool is that?

five things about Nell

• She is an extraordinary colour-inner. She basically never goes out of the lines. For a four-year-old it's pretty phenomenal. She can also draw love hearts.
• She still lisps out her esses. It's so cute I hope she doesn't outgrow it. 
• She will only eat out of green plastic-ware at breakfast. 
• Her favourite foods are sweet corn and tomatoes. In fact, I think she is 92% tomato, 6% corn and 2% WeetBix. 
• She can sing all the words to They Might Be Giants' "Birdhouse in Your Soul". 

resolving to be comfortable, perhaps even relaxed

I always make resolutions, and I usually keep them. Part of my success lies in rarely falling for the New Year's ultimate exercise in self-defeatism: the resolution to exercise more.  

This year I have just the one resolution: to swim my 20 laps (1km) in less than 30 minutes. Not hard, you might think, especially if you are the type who swims 55 second laps, but I am not. I am a slow swimmer and I think it will take the better part of the year to reach my goal.

 The motivation for this resolution has nothing to do with health and everything to do with convenience: the kids now take swimming lessons at my favourite indoor pool (Sydney Uni) and I want to be able to swim 1km while they are in the care of their instructors. To reach my goal I'm going to have to swim more regularly than just the once-a-week during the kids' lessons, though, so I am hauling myself out of bed early at least one or two mornings a week to swim my laps and swim them as fast as I can. Which kind of equates to a 'get more exercise' resoution. *sigh* At least I haven't resolved to lose weight as well.

2009 will be the first year in a while where we have no plans to make major changes to our lives. Thank goodnesss. For the past couple of years we have been starting new careers, new schools, launching new businesses and enrolling in Uni, so it's felt a little like we're facing new situations every week. As I think I've mentioned before, I'm not that good with new situations. So I am looking forward to working within my comfort zone for the next 12 months or so. 

NB: this is not an invitation to the Universe to blindside me on some idle Tuesday. Just thought I'd make that clear.

settling back in

We've been back a week and have only just done the laundry - and that's only because there has hardly been a drop of rain since then. Blogging has been put aside in favour of preparing for the school and work year. Now that both have been launched into (both kids perfectly happy with their situations, parents found the new working year a little more difficult!) I have a chance to write. But very little to say, now that the excitement of holidays is over.

To compensate for having nothing interesting to blog about. I've included some first-day-school photos. Nell, who was perfectly happy to go to Transition (a bridging year between Pre-School and Kindergarten) wasn't so happy to have her photo taken.