An evening of learning

Tonight, at work, I was not snowed under. But I did have a couple of enquiries.

1. I need info on Colombia
ok, so we go and look for books on Colombia, of which there are few. Then the person clarifies a bit more...actually, they want info on a park in Colombia called San Augustin that apparently has statues dating back centuries on display. hmmmm. Found something on the WWW, but nothing helpful in book form. I suggested she go to a rival library (lol) instead.

2. I need info on Medieval sieges.
success came rather quicker, but I discovered that most of the really good stuff was already out on loan.

3. I need info on the Leaning Tower of Pisa
another pretty easy one - World Book here we come! Then, out of interest, I googled it. It took 200 years to build because they kept getting interrupted by wars! And the tower is actually curved (if you stood it upright) because they tried to compensate for the lean that happened just 3 years after the first floor was built on a very poor foundation.

Then, somehow, I was overcome with the need to look for a history of mobile phones. Wow, things sure have come a loooong way in about 20 years.

And of course, that then led me to googling the history of computers, which was also rather fascinating. Women have played important roles all throughout computer's life.

Last night I finished reading a book called 'Escalante: the best teacher in America'. It was a discarded book from our library and I found it pretty interesting. I wouldn't say that he actually was the best teacher in America, but he had a unique style and it worked for a large number of kids who were interested in Maths (his area of interest).

Tonight I picked up 'He's just not that into you' and 'They call it a break-up because it is broken' and 'Deal breakers'. No, I am not trying to salvage my marriage, I actually like torturing myself with the fact that I made the original mistake 9 years ago. lol.

Househunting, or in my case, shoe box hunting, is rather unpleasant. There is some stuff out there, and thankfully I know the area fairly well, so I can sit at my computer and say 'no way' or 'maybe'. Did a drive past one area and decided I had better rework my budget so that that area wouldn't have to be an option.

Asked Tween today 'If you had a choice, would you stay in Sydney or move away.' Stupid question to ask him, since I already knew the answer, but I wanted to check I had it right. He wants to stay in Sydney. I can understand that, my mum dragged me all over the place when I was around his age and I really resented it. I know that if I asked No. 2 he would say 'Move!', as he has already said it a few times.

I was talking about careers with No. 2 today (actually, we were talking about my job, because he was complaining about being tired from a teeny bit of walking and made some comment about how I must sit down alot in my job hahahahaha). Anyway, I suggested he become a Pilot since he likes to see new places. He announced he was going into one of the defences (keep in mind that he is 8!). We then discussed the merits of Navy (boring) vs Army (cool guns) and Airforce (fly big planes and shoot people out of the sky, awesome!). He is currently leaning towards Airforce. hmmm.

No. 2's teacher is a little concerned about his incredibly active imagination, but personally I think it sounds cool, like a boy version of me at the same age. He likes to write stories about spies and people from another dimension and killing (he is very big on the whole 'I am a boy and boys must kill' thing without it actually spilling over into real life). He and his mates act out this wild spy club thing that sounds pretty awesome, and they even have girls joining in! Wow! Can I play too?

Tween does not like No. 2. I am hearing this alot lately. Admittedly, they are like chalk and cheese, so if they weren't brothers they probably wouldn't have much to do with each other. How do I encourage a relationship that will enable them to still be talking to each other in ten or twenty years time, without requiring them to be bestest buddies? No. 2 actually loves his big bro, and would like Tween to be nicer to him and play with him, but unfortunately No. 2 has this yucky habit of whining if things aren't going his way. Irritating for me, and like nails on a chalkboard for Tween. *sigh*

DH is home in 30 days. He called tonight while I was at work, chatted to the boys, and told them he would call back later to talk to me, but didn't. Can't say I am surprised, it's just as easy to email.