Meetings after meetings

Marty and Irma - on the left - on their pontoon boat


What was I doing lately, apart from running after my son who is now a professional walker?
Some days ago we had some Lab related meetings, meaning that there were colleagues-friends coming over to Long Island for work, which led to some dinner and nice talk afterward.
We met our friend Marty - who used to be Ralph's colleague back in 2000, in Chicago - and Shen Pen - a Chinese Californian colleague with whom we were sharing our compartment on the night-train from Shanghai to Beijing two years ago: thanks to his human engineering AND knowledge of chinese language we managed not to spend the night with perfect strangers.




Aren't we relaxed?


We were all invited at Nancy and zio Bob's (that's how Carlotta calls him) place and had a very good time, with me trying to protect the kids from Sierra (their dog).
If you know how scare I am of dogs - childhood shock - then it might sound amusing...
We were all brave, indeed, and let Sierra swipe our crumbs and (hi hi) get Carlotta's slippers.

We then managed to go eat at the local steakhouse (not much fish on Long Island...) - just when I had convinced Carlotta that we could try another place, my work was annihilated by ignoring husband: that's why talking about stupid details matters, I guess.

The one dinner we skipped was probably the most exciting, though, because it was in Flushing, where you can find a large Chinatown.
Supposedly it's even more dumpling filled than the one in New York City. SURPRISE.
Let's not mention that Flushing hosts a large Korean community too - which adds a hint of garlic to the (melting) pot.

So, now Flushing is the one spot to be visited - what do you think I am planning for the next Chinese New Year celebration?I'd love to see it, even if I must confess I don't quite like the idea of dragging the kids into the crowds.


We - me and the kids, that is - joined a Music Together class with my friend Jane and her little daughter Julia (who's a month older than Bastian - but a lot lighter, which is worth telling as a sign of my activity - me, the anti-sport).
It's a fun thing we did when Carlotta was about two years old, but now it's even more interesting, because she speaks English and plays with Bastian who seems to love music too - this is one of the many words he immediately recognizes.
No, I am not a super fan of franchising activities in general, but I know that my kids like music - probably every kid does - and it is nice to make them approach it in a fun way - no Mozart when they were fetuses...




Comments

mari said…
ERRATA CORRIGE

Sheng Peng - sorry, I never know how to spell names until I see them written.
Marty was and still is Ralph's colleague.

CORRECTA NON CORRIGE

Ralph is the ignoring husband BECAUSE even when I told him that Carlotta recovered from her steakhouse ambition, he decided it was too late to change destination.
This was never intended as an insult though.
January 26, 2010 at 11:23 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts about Pregnancy

No revelation here: I am not thinking about having a third child!!! A dear friend of mine on LI is going to have her second child; the due date is around mid-January, which means I am not going to see the baby. This is triggering a lot of feelings of course. In the first place because I know how a pregnant woman feels about babies: suddenly there is nothing more important, more beautiful, more precious and delicate than your child, even if it's just as big as a tennis ball and even if it makes you feel sick from morning to evening or tired as if constantly jet-legged. Or too sensitive or just freaked out. Even pathetic at times. When a good friend has a baby, I respect her need for rest but I am very glad to get to see her and the new-born and maybe do something together that might help her feel not too lonely without making her too tired. It's a very intense and very emotional phase of a woman's life. And I AM NOT GOING TO BE THERE. It is clear to me that - at least i...
Read more

Mattete!!!

Image
We are packing again. Tomorrow we will leave for Japan: Ralph has a meeting in Kobe and we are following him. The weather doesn't seem to be too good, with some tropical storms and winds, but it will hopefully get better. ...of course I am happy, but the idea of SUCH a long flight is terrifying. Guess I will have to relax and just post again when I am there, since it might really appear to you it's more a torture than a pleasure. Japan is one of the countries I love most. I love Japanese people, food, sights, colors, language, sounds - yeah, some might even be disgusting, but they are part of the fun. Besides, I have tons of good memories related to Japan; lot of dear friends (I know, some might argue a friend is someone you see very often, but me...no, I don't have such friends). The photo above was taken six years ago, in front of the Pacific Ocean, in Chigasaki. eeeeee...... Last, but not least, I met Ralph in Japan.
Read more

Meditate

This morning I had a very inspirational moment; brought Carlotta to pre-school - after a very busy breakfast which included several interruptions to prepare lunch, feed the kids, get them started - and instead of the usual errand run I went to the beach. Baby Bastian was falling asleep in the car, so I did not take any walk but stayed at the parking lot for a good half an hour and watched the Sound, the waves and the ferry approaching Port Jefferson and the fumes of some factory down in Connecticut. Also I listened to the radio. Just some cheap pop. But it was nice, very nice indeed. Guess I will miss this view... I don't know if it's the water, the waves...or the horizon...In Berlin there is no horizon: you can go to different Towers and look around and you would still see Berlin. My theory is that this lack of view is one of the reason why Berliners are kind of hard-spirited. Not all of them, but generally they are. Don't get me wrong, I like it here and there, and everyw...
Read more