Scheduler and schedulee

We talk about scheduling babies a lot. Experts recommend it, parents dream about it, and babies defy it. Little do we know that step by step, we, the presumed schedulers, are actually trained by the babies and transformed into "schedulees". The baby, such a little creature, used both positive and negative reinforcers, has turned us into remote-controlled suckers, who would do anything to change the little frowning face to a big smiley one. When all adults are brain-storming about the ways to get babies to do what we want, the babies have figured out the simplest way like a electrical light switch: crying or smiling. I guess biologically speaking, it makes perfect sense. We are smarter than the babies, therefore, like dolphins are more intelligent than sharks, the intellectuals learn faster. Hence, we are put on a schedule by babies. Now, look who is laughing?

Reviews on italian restaurants

I was never a big fan of italian food in italian restaurants when I was a poor student. Understandably, when I had to choose a dish from the top five of the "least expensive list", it wasn't that exciting:Pasta, pasta and pasta. For those who know me, I love meat, the more the better. But you can't put too much meat in a pasta dish. Consequently, italian restaurants mean one thing to me: boring food at expensive prices, until I decided one day, that I would shift my budget from under $10-$15 to $15-$25. The food was amazing!! They do deserve the title as a cuisine. Here are some of the opinions from my dining experiences in three popular and decent italian restaurants in houston. (P.S. The restaurants who don't make to this review can be very good too, I just didn't have the chance to try:)

Carraba's italian grill
Fantastic combo appetizer dish. Salmon entree: disappointing. Too salty and not enough volume. I think it is over-rated.

Maggiano's little italy
My favorite. Fantastic salad. And the salmon dish, was like heaven melted in my mouth. A lot of food too. A must-try.

La vista
Great food. The beef tenderloin was tender and exquisite. Though I could have left with a one-quarter empty stomach without stuffing myself with the free bread. But the bring your own wine feature is a bonus.

Warning: All three reviews were carried out under the influence of at least two glassed of wine. Please lower your expectation if you plan to go sober......

A happy day

Just when I thought there was no hope in the American public to see through the lies and deceits; Just when I had to admit to myself so unwillingly that the general public prefers bullshit covered with chocolate to the black-white truth, which they seem to be blind to: Don Rumsfeld is leaving the office. Yes, the most arrogant, dismissive, incompetent donkey head is going to stop wasting our tax money. This is the one single most delightful piece of news I have heard for a long time. Yet, it took so long to finally realize, I feel like I am in the wonderland. Join me and raise our imaginary wine glasses and wish we would never have another Dumb-Runs-Field again!

Back to work

I never knew I liked to work so much, nor did I know that I was fond of seeing the faces of my colleagues so tremendously. After six weeks of staying with Lucas, I was so eager to go back to the lab. My O.B. doctor assured me it had nothing to do with the baby, so that I don't feel like a bad mother. This brand-new discovery re-shapes my future, for me to think about what I am going to do with my life (career/baby).

The baby, frankly, didn't seem to miss me that much for the first couple of days. I guess, the realization that my baby can survive without me makes me a little empty. As it turns out, one little pacifier brings him the comfort which I thought only I could provide him with. On one hand, this proves that I and my baby are independent of each other to some degree, on the other hand, it also shows undoubtedly, that I need to have him all to myself sometimes to win him over. A mother-baby relationship does not just come from the cord which once connected us, it needs work.

Another important discovery I made concerns the people around at work. We take for granted everyone working in the same places as we do. The people working at the cafeteria, the people working on the same floor, and etc. They are always there, like a knot on the chain, working, but we don't know them. We don't know their names, we never talk to them, we are invisible to each other as people. And then one day, they ask, "Did you deliver? How is your baby?" So they did notice, and they remembered. The fact that I am having a baby brings niceness and friendliness out of other people who we don't even know. Isn't that just nice?

Maybe this kind of social interaction is what we all need to feel we are cared about. Maybe we are not so indifferent after all.....