My photo
Sydney, Australia
My musings and meanderings on childhood - mine juxtaposed with that of my kids'. Everyday incidents and images from our life in Sydney turn my thoughts towards my own wonder years growing up in Bandra, Bombay, India.

30 March 2011

Would I Lie to You?

“Caitlyn!” I admonished, “Dad is going to be really upset with you when I tell him that you ate only two bites of your sandwich at pre-school today.”

“Well, just don’t tell him then!” pat came this smartass reply from my three-and-a-half-year-old.

Lies of omission – those crafty little buggers – the asterisks, the loopholes, the fine print used to withhold part of the truth. Told my mum what her grandchild had said and was promptly reminded that she had to resort to such devious deception when I was a kid to save my butt.

As a child, I lived in a joint family – my grandma, my dad’s eldest brother and his family, plus my dad and our family. Nana Evelyn, the matriarch, laid down the law with a loving but firm hand. You obeyed or faced the music.

So every evening, after the family rosary was said (with us kids on our knees, no less), the Pereiras sat at table for the family dinner. Apparently, I hated eating my vegetables. Green beans – yuck! Palak (spinach) – double yuck!! Gowaar – don’t even go there...

So, while the family chatted about this and that, I would surreptitiously throw bits and bobs of any green stuff under the table. Little hands with underhand plans. My sneaky behaviour escaped everyone’s attention – except my mum’s.

Once everyone had said their “Good-nights”, she would get the broom and dust-pan out and sweep away all my sins, never telling a soul.... Whew! Thanks, mum!

So what lies of omission have you resorted to lately? Failing to mention your new pair of heels to your husband? Throwing your chocolate wrapper in the bin and covering it with other rubbish so your kids don’t see it? Telling your friend that her new haircut is sooo hot but not telling her that it doesn’t suit her face? In your opinion, are lies of omission as bad as lying outright?

25 March 2011

So What’s Your Idiosyncrasy?

When it comes to doing laundry, I have a system I follow to a T. First, sort clothes out into ‘whites’, ‘pastels’, ‘brights’ and ‘darks’. Hang washed clothes inside-out on the clothesline. Once dry, turn them over, right side up, and then fold clothes so that the side seams meet just so. I am fastidious, even pedantic about this. Not so my husband, whose idea of folding clothes is to roll up said items of clothing into odd-shaped balls. No prizes for guessing who does the laundry at the Rodericks’ residence...

Now don’t get me started on which side the toilet roll should face! Or how the notes in my wallet needs to be placed in ascending order, all facing one way...

So what’s your idiosyncrasy? Does it border on being obsessive-compulsive? Do you think having one (or a few!) adds character to your character?

iPad, iWant

So Apple launched its iPad 2 in Australia today. Not surprisingly, some customers camped overnight in front of Apple’s Sydney store to be among the first few. My first thoughts were, Don’t they have anything better to do with their time? What losers! They need to get a life!

Then again, aren’t most of us slaves to what I call "modern i-deology"? Tech junkies who have to have the newest/fastest/shiniest gadget or gizmo?

Hands up if you’re guilty of one/some/all of the following:
~ Playing PS3 games for hours on end
~ Checking Facebook five times a day
~ Clicking on your Inbox the minute it ‘pings!’
~ Texting/answering your mobile when you shouldn’t be.

Told you so! And then you have the gall to say we're time-poor. Suffer from information overload. Modern living is just too crazy. Well, here’s a tip: put the brakes on your e-life to get on with your real life!