Weekend Summary

I survived my first single-mom-marathon after the arrival of baby #4! Needless to say, I am very tired; hence I am tapping my inner list-freak to summarise my weekend.

What put a smile on my face this weekend:

• Pleasantly surprised concierges - I always make a point of saying thank you. I suppose that does not occur often to a hotel concierege.
• A shortened single-mom-marathon - Hubby surprised me by catching an earlier flight home!
• As is tradition, he brought me home some yummy cheese and foie gras from Pa-ree.
• Baby said "mama" - I know he still does not associate the word with me, but it still makes my heart melt.
• Hubby's mom and step-dad - Always good for a nice kaffeetrinken.
• We went out visiting museums and random exhibits in the city. Upon seeing a case filled with crowns and tiaras, our younger daughter proclaimed to anyone who would listen that they belonged to mommy and papa because they are a king and queen.
• At no point did the children become uninterested or impatient in the museums and exhibits.
• Hearing that Bush claimed his favourite childhood book to be Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". (The book was first published when Bush was in his twenties.)
  

What did NOT put a smile on my face this weekend:

• The Eurozone officially entered recession.
• My stores of Tim Hortons coffee are now completely depleted.
• Hubby's horrible hotel experience - First the hotel left him waiting outside the airport for the shuttle which was going to arrive "in ten minutes". It took over an hour for the shuttle to arrive. Secondly, he was first placed in a smoking room - despite his request for a non-smoking room. This mistake was very reluctantly rectified. Thirdly, there was patch of mould, about 75cm in diameter, right next to his bed. (All this at a four star hotel!)
• Dishonest people who cannot read - Upon hearing that he might be able to catch a delayed flight back home a day early, he spent between five and ten minutes away from his hotel room, at the front desk, to negotiate a free cancellation of his second night in person. He made sure he hung the do not disturb sign on the doorknob before leaving. When he returned, his bed was made up, and a 50 Euro note that he left on his bedside table was missing. The housekeeper was no where to be seen. Unfortunately, hubby could only place a formal complaint by risking losing the courtesy late check-in window that the airline offered him as an exception, so he left it as such.
  
• I forgot to recharge my batteries and had to leave my camera at home.
• The weather - I do not mind cold weather, but I do despise strong gusts of wind with spitting rain.
• An arrogant waitress - I do not care if you are having a bad day; you NEVER let it show to a customer!
• Hubby's aunt - She is completely oblivious and/or condescending to everything that does not interest her or conflicts with her priorities.
  
• CNNI - Enough with Tomb 33 already! It was interesting the first two times it aired, but that was weeks ago and it now seems to be aired with increasing frequency. Wait another six months and I will happily watch it again.
  
• Our planned road trip to the Harz Mountains - We had to postpone it for mid-December.

(Photo from AP)

The almost-plane-crash

This video left me awe-struck. At first glance I thought that this must have been a fake. Hubby, however, being the flying guy that he is, explained to me how this landing could have been possible with 90% luck and 10% skill. Apparently the pilot made as sure as humanly possible that the nose of the aircraft was pointing upwards. Utilising maximum thrust the fall was, to a limited extent, controlled. With all environmental factors coming to his aid (i.e. - no change in wind, etc.) the pilot managed to swing the aircraft body around using maximum vertical trim, and what he's got left from the ailerons.

Can you imagine what it would have been like in the cockpit? I would have gone into full panic, spluttering out an endless string of expletives like #*$% ^&#& $##@$ *@&*#*$ @##@*... enough to make George Carlin squirm in heaven. And I am sure that the pilot never wants to do that again.

Finding Mommy a new Man

On hubby's flight back home from Switzerland today, he sat a couple of rows away from a mother travelling alone with her two sons. As hubby passed them on the way back from the toilets, the older son, who looked about seven or eight years old, started to converse with him.

The conversation was typical small talk until the mother went to the toilets. The young boy then pulled out a piece of paper, wrote his home number on it and handed it to hubby saying: "My mommy needs a new man, so here's our phone number. Please give us a call if you like".

Hubby was understandably flabbergasted and managed to tell him, before his mother returned, that the mommy of his own kids might not like that. He told hubby to keep the number anyway.

I wonder if this child did this of his own accord, or if his mother gave him the idea somehow. In either case, he has a terrific sense of character. And he really cares for his mother.

Awwwww...

(photo from inmagine.com)