♥♥♥ for lack of a better title!!!

Well, maybe one more story!!! I almost fell off of our living room couch the other day, when Kumar reminded me that I needed to get a dress for an upcoming wedding that we've been invited to. It's not that Kumar doesn't like to shop. Are you kidding? Very early into our dating days, I had discovered that he was a seasoned shopper himself! I clearly remember one of the first few times we hit the mall. He had insisted that I try on a dress, although I couldn't be bothered that day. My trained eye could easily tell that the dress looked just about right off the rack. But no, he patiently waited outside the dressing room while I shed off layers upon layers of the typical winter attire - outer coat, cardigan, blouse, skirt and finally peeled off the cumbersome tights, to try on the dress in compliance! Yes, Kumar, as you can see is of a very rare male breed. And he totally had me from that day on (lol)!

So going back to the subject, I wasn't surprised at my husband's reminder because it was out of character, but because he had been a bit stressed out over our finances. As some of you already know, it had been just a little over a month that I had been back to work. I was actually due back last February but I had asked my boss for an extension of a couple of months more because of a situation that had arisen. Of course my benefits had run out too in February, and we were managing somewhat with the the lapse of a second income feeding into our cash flow. So I didn't feel comfortable asking Kumar for extras, you know, in other words, shopping money! But now that I'm back at work I have Kumar's blessing to shop as I please (don't worry, I'm not irresponsible that way and besides I look for bargains, bargains, bargains - like my latest acquisition: gorgeous, gorgeous Guess black and beige patent leather wedge platforms, originally priced at $160.00 which I got on liquidation for $36.00, super versatile which can be dressed up or down!!!). That was actually one of the conditions that we had agreed upon - that if I were to return to work, I wasn't supposed to hear a peep out of him conplaining about my shopping escapades as long as they were within reasonable limits. You see, the six months prior to my return to work, I had spent awash in mixed emotions as a very, needless to say, tiresome debate whether to go back or not transpired in my head, guilt-ridden at the thought of having another person raise my children. Of course by now, I am actually glad that I have. I totally agree with Uma Thurman's frumpy mom lead character's statement in the movie "Motherhood" that "there is something validating about having a real job, besides the mothering one!" (or something to that effect). This I actually gleaned from an odd snippet of the movie that I was able to catch amidst toys strewn all over the living room floor, a sinkful of dirty dishes, between doing two loads of stainy laundry & getting supper going last night, the dialogue, barely audible above Maya's whiny complaining that I change the channel back to Nick Jr. and Jaden's increasingly persistent clamoring for attention. I swear, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as I watched what could very well have been the story of my life unfold before my own eyes on Kumar's flatscreen baby.

So did I set off to find the dress yet? Well, yesterday I swung by Winners which as I had already explained on a previous post, is Canada's lame excuse of an answer to the States' Target, more with the intent of taking advantage of the end of summer season's sale and get sandals for next summer to replace the ones I've literally worn to the ground this year. So yes, I found the Guess beauties which I'm wearing as I write, but also chanced upon some Nine West pumps. Again my (avid) followers might vaguely recall a post where I explained at length how I had settled on a pair of Nine West pumps over a beautiful pair of real Gucci's. But honestly by now, those Nine Wests (that are stowed beneath my desk, also as I write) have grown on me even if they pale in comparison with the Gucci's. They just totally make my office outfits. Now while those are a completely classic pair of black pointy pumps, the ones I literally unearthed yesterday under a tangled mess of strappy sandals were almost identical to the ones I had, the only difference was that these ones were more fashion forward and had what I like to call shackle-y straps that go around the ankle in a bondage-y way which is not only for streetwalkers these days but is all the rage now! Of course it seemed like a bit much to get two pairs on the same day especially after having to dole out a goodly sum of moola because of a busted airconditioner, but then I suddenly and conveniently remembered Kumar's reminder and so to justify the purchase, I figured, I would pull out my old LBD standby (a black ruffly halter Ralph Lauren which I got a couple of years back at an outlet somewhere in Northern Ontario) to wear to the wedding and get the shoes instead!!! Mind you, I have another dress option: a silky spaghetti strapped dress with a poufy balloony hemmed skirt which I got from Axara (Paris) for a wedding last year. The only problem was I had just given birth to Jaden at the time, and have since dropped a couple of dress sizes. Sure, I could have it taken in, but the only other problem is that the bride of this wedding was also present at the same wedding last year. Now, I highly doubt it if
she would remember or even care for that matter, but I really wouldn't want to risk it, so that dress is a total write-off.

I'll stick with the LBD - can't go wrong with that. So yesterday, I did get the other Nine West pumps. They weren't exorbitantly pricey, not at all, very reasonable, in fact, and again totally versatile, maybe a bit on the edgy side...but just awesome!!! What did Kumar think of the arrangement? That is was fair enough, and that's probably one of the reasons why we've been married for so long (lol)?! This time, I'll leave you on festive note and not on one of me pining for silly Gucci's: last Tuesday, July 27th and two beautiful kids later, Kumar and I had been married eight years. We still haven't done the actual celebration, but Kumar has it all planned out: a dinner at which restaurant he won't tell of course, we'll probably go see Salt and then Kumar's got us reservations at the brand spanking new Le St-Martin Hotel Particulier - whoa, TMI, I know, I know, but before that conjures up any funny images in your mind, I bet you that we'll most likely conk out in 2 seconds flat so don't get too excited!;)

Kumee: I probably don't tell you this enough, but I love you so much! I rely so heavily on you, and you've always always been there for me, through thick and thin. Thank you for championing my cause! I admire you for your maturity and for your Godfearing qualities. You are a wonderful hubby and an examplary daddy to our little cuties. I am so proud of us!!!

:) ♥♥♥

I wanted to apologize to those who randomly stumbled across my blog and stayed long enough to read about the whole airconditioner thing and to my followers who voluntarily checked out what's new even without my usual shameless prodding to do so and had read on....I didn't mean to sound so whiny and self-absorbed and to bore you guys to death. Yes, I do realize that there are far worse things in life and no, I'm not indifferent to the less fortunate plight of millions of others out there. I know nobody deserves to hear my whine about my first world problems. But don't you hate it when something turns out bad when it totally needn't but does all because of the incompetence of, let's just say, certain ones we know!!! I mean, if you don't know the first thing about something, why pretend???

I don't know whether this summer's, err, sweltering weather (forgive the pun!!!) is recordbreaking and that it will go down in our history books as such, but I do know for sure that for us, the Vaitheewaran family, summer 2010 will always be remembered as the fateful summer our airconditioner broke down!!! With that being said, I promise that my next post will be on a more interesting, current and socially relevant subject as I feign smartness and perhaps in a deductive style or something - like the Kumee series. I promise not to wax poetic or subject you guys to boring narratives for awhile....until then!!!

♥♥♥
Aimee
xoxo

On What Has Now Become a Ridiculously Overly Drawn Out (and not to mention) Boring A/C saga

So heeding Stavros' friend advice, I figured that my best bet would be to contact our Condo Association to see whether they could give me some trade contacts. As it turns out, there had been a precedent case like this in our building and they told me that to repair the problem, I could expect to pay around $400.00. Kumar took care of getting in touch with the technician recommended by the association. Unfortunately, the technician apologetically told Kumar how swamped they were and that he'd only be able to come in about a week's time.

We were debating on whether to tell the service guy about what Stavros' friend had done or not. It's not that we wanted to withhold information so as not to have the a/c's warranty deemed void. Regardless of whether the airconditioner's warranty was up or not, we wouldn't normally omit details like that. If anything, if indeed the water being poured into the unit had actually made matters worse, we wanted this problem addressed as well, but we were worried that the service people would capitalize on this knowledge and tell us that this and that would have to be done and that they would charge us exorbitantly. We weren't sure either, if for the amount the association had estimated, we should just get a new portable airconditioner. But then we figured, the central one would have to be fixed anyways.

So a week passed and the service people finally came on Kumar's day off. Kumar excitedly called me at the office just to let me know so right away I asked him whether he took down the portrait that I had since hung back up beneath the A/C. Kumar incredulously replied "Gosh, I wonder sometimes what you think of me! "Of course I removed the picture!" He shot back. "Huns, I was just making sure" I teased! (Poor Kumar!) The service people spent about a good hour and half to fix the airconditioner, tested and re-tested it and then finally satisfied that it was working well, issued us a bill for $240.00 which Kumar paid and then left. Kumar picked me up from the office and the kids from the daycare later that afternoon and when we got home, he immediately turned the a/c and we relished the cool air.

All is well that ends well, right? Wrong. The next day was actually a cooler one with a more seasonal temperature of 27 degrees Celsius and not humid, so we didn't even have a need for the airconditioner, but the following day was a different story. It was another scorcher. Jaden had fallen asleep on our way home from the daycare. So when I got home I put the a/c on again to keep him from waking up drenched in his own perspiration as he always does, but the unit was taking longer than usual to cool the place. When I checked, the air coming out of the a/c wasn't even cold and sure enough, Jaden woke up in a fit. I swear I was at my wit's end!!! The next day was Saturday and I had Kumar call the service people but they explained to him that they didn't work weekends and that it would have to wait until the following week. It really didn't help that the forecast for the day was 30 degrees but would feel more like 35 with the humidex, so that afternoon I took the kids for a little outing to Future Shop a bit fearful that the rumors that all airconditioners in the entire city had been sold out was true, but was relieved to find a prominently displayed stack of some portable a/c's at the store. Without wasting another minute, I made a beeline for them, chose one, paid for it, enlisted the help of an employee to help me fit the massive thing into our tiny car and drove the two blocks back home.

I waited for Kumar to get home from work and had him haul the box upstairs and then we both immediately got cracking on installing the unit. It was fairly easy to do, the only problem was the kids hovering around us while we worked and not to mention the muggy heat that was making Kumar sweat bullets. And then it was time for the moment of truth! With bated breath, I watched Kumar as he pushed the "on" button of the remote. With 8,000 BTU's it was powerful enough to cool our bedroom, the only downside is that it makes an incredible racket (lol). That night, I couldn't hear myself think as I attempted to replay the events of the day in my mind and mentally put together an outfit for the next day and I lost count several times of the fluffy sheep I was counting but when I finally fell asleep after what seemed like an eternity, I did so like a baby and the next thing I knew, it was morning! So all is well that ends well, finally? Well, we still have no choice but to get the central air fixed anyways, especially in case we decide to just sell and move out of the condo, but in the meantime, I might as well invest in those nifty little earplugs...I'm just wondering now which color ones should I get???

On What's Becoming an A/C Saga....

The original title of this post was supposed to be "all is well that ends well" because I thought that the problem with our busted centralized A/C had finally been resolved....I guess not! Now, I'm just wondering who's playing this sick joke on me? Seriously, is it "pick-on-Aimee" month because I never got the memo, nope, they haven't cc'd me...but then again, why would they???

Re: the busted A/C - so it got pushed to it's limit during the heatwave two weeks ago that was really leaving my naturally wavy hair with way too much to be desired. I know Kumar had noticed a trickling sound coming from the unit which I dismissed as the refrigerant circulating inside it's system. As it turned out, it was water actually leaking out right onto our family portrait hung beneath it and so I panicked. What you've got to understand is that we live on the top floor of our six-storey building (that affords us a pretty nice unobstructed view especially at night of our section of the city and of the annual fireworks competition, I might add!) so the sun relentlessly beats down on the roof directly over our heads. Our tiny condo is also situated on the southeast wing of the L-shaped edifice, so we soak up and trap in all of the morning sun which is fine really in the winter when it helps to dispel my SAD symptoms and keeps our heating costs down but come summertime, just renders our place perfectly conducive to hydroponically growing tomatoes, without a working A/C, that is.

I immediately thought of our friend Stavros, who had once mentioned that he worked with airconditioners at one point, so I had Kumar contact him. Stavros in turn referred us to someone whom he felt might be better-equipped to help us. I was elated to say the least, when Stavros' friend agreed to pass by the very same afternoon. When he arrived, I briefly explained to him how the airconditioner was leaking. He asked for a glass of water so I presumed he was thirsty and was about to get him some filtered water for him to drink but he had already helped himself to a glass from the kitchen tap which, before I knew it, he proceeded to quite deftly pour into the a/c to see where the leak was coming from. I honestly didn't think anything of what he had done. He seemed to know what he was doing. I figured there just had to be a method to his madness. Finally, he told me that a hose might be blocked and might need to be cleaned, and that I should get a hold of the builder to find out exactly where the connections are from the unit to the building's plumbing/HVAC system. After which, he took off.

As the day afternoon progressed, it got warmer and warmer until it reached a point that I just had to turn the a/c on. It was working fine otherwise before and I was just using a basin to catch the leaking water - my main concern was the water damage that could result to the drywall, baseboards and floor. But this time, after all of the water that Stavros' friend had poured into the unit came gushing out, it started to make funny sounds as well, noticeably different from it's usual deep drone. Feeling unsettled, I consulted the manual to see what could possibly be wrong this time. I actually came across the section on "caring for your airconditioner" and was rather surprised to see the explicit warning to "never put water into the unit" under an illustration of little boy shooting water into an airconditioner with a water gun with a big black X drawn over it. I mean, how much clearer can instructions get???

Now Stavros' friend didn't even look at the manual. I wasn't sure anymore whether he had actually exacerbated the problem or if it was just a coincidence and that the airconditioner was bound to break anyways. I'm telling you, he seemed competent enough, the only problem was, sure he worked with airconditioners, except only with ones in Greece, though (lol). But you would think the way airconditioners are built and function everywhere is universal, no??? Paranoid that the unit might short and that someone might get electrocuted, I shut down altogether the a/c's circuit breaker in the fusebox. Meanwhile, as a temporary solution, Kumar borrowed a fan from his mom, but with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Farenheit) with the humidity index factored in, all the fan did was blow around the hot air. The next morning I woke up feeling like a semi-trailer had hit me, or to describe it more aptly, that some invisible fists had pummeled me all night long....to be continued....

Zara

Because of a my unshakable slothdom, most of the info I share comes from what I can remember off the top of my head - facts and figures from skimming through Wikipedia and/or simply from hearsay...so just don't quote me on a lot of the stuff! Today I thought I'd blog a bit on one of, if not my favorite, past-time: Shopping! Yesterday, my dear friend Patty, came up with the bright idea of hitting the mall in order to keep cool with the kids. You see our A/C had been pushed to it's limit last week & hasn't been working since. This whole thing about the busted A/C is actually another blogworthy subject, but I'll save that for next time. Today I just want to focus on shopping.

Now one of my all-time favourite boutiques is Zara. You might have never paid much attention to this before, but it will probably suddenly click now that I'm telling you that Zara does not adverstise. Yeah, my reaction exactly! That's because when the Spanish magnate, Amancio Ortega, founded the chain in the mid-70's he opted to skip the publicity that his peers spend big bucks on and used the money instead to open up more stores - He was certainly confident that the times were auspicious and that his maverick business strategy would work and that he would have a huge patronage in no time! So that's why you never see billboards, tv commercials and so forth of Zara. You'll also never see a runway show because they concentrate on understanding what their consumers really want now and on delivering it to them rather than promoting predicted trends for the next season. Because they take care of their own design, production and distribution, Zara can churn out fresh and trendy styles faster that you can say, "houndstooth wool and cashmere blend coat!" or "paisley print halter silk top!" or "gold strappy gladiator sandals!" or "black chiffon sheath dress to be cinched with a funky studded belt and paired up with sexy stilleto sandals!!!" that is, around five weeks tops (lol), while it can take months for most companies to come up with a new collection and actually have the finished goods on their shelves. Moreover, when a certain style doesn't sell, they pull it out of the stores right away and cancel any further orders for the same. No single style stays on the sales floor for more than a month. According to Wikipedia, an average high-street store in Spain expects customers to visit three times a year. That goes up to 17 times for Zara, owing to this constant influx of fresh styles. I'm not too sure what the averages are for their boutiques in other countries, but having raked in 6.824 billion € in revenue in 2008, I wouldn't be too worried. No, I have no idea what this figure translates to in terms of profit margins in their books or in comparison to their competition, or in relation to the industry as a whole, but that's a lot of money!!!

I like Zara simply because it is very fashion-forward and affordable - it totally fits my pocketbook. I like how complete outfits and actually an entire season's wardrobe is grouped together on racks with the matching footwear perched either above the clothes or beneath them with accessories strategically displayed around the store - eliminating a lot of the guesswork which is especially great when you're a busy mom with not too much time to shop. Of course it's a different story come sale time when it always seems like a search party had ransacked the place, leaving not a single garment unturned. Well, that is exactly what happens, the stores do get combed by a cohort of girls of all ages, from the pre-pubescent to the menopausal (although I think it is the hormonally charged members of the 18-35 age group that do the most damage!) I know this is the beef a lot of my friends have against the store, particularly a neat-freak friend of mine who won't even bother going in altogether because of that. I think that's sad becasue she's really really missing out. Personally, I would never abandon Zara for that reason, what turns me off even more is when sales associates at certain other boutiques snarl and growl at you in a rabid dog manner for messing up a neat pile of clothes they had painstakingly folded. Are you kidding me? It's tons of fun rummaging through piles upon piles of sweaters, and flipping through racks after racks of dresses and digging into mounds and mounds of shoes. It's just a matter of inspecting the merchandise first to ensure that it is intact, checking for missing buttons, detached zippers, tears, lipstick stains and even BO. I know, I know, it's just because I had a nasty experience once when I tried on an outfit that stank of that, realizing it a bit too late after it had already touched my skin, talk about gross! So what I do now is give all clothes a little discreet sniff-over before I hit the dressing room. No, you don't necessarily have to bury your face into the fabric and smell away as if it's a Downy commercial, you would just end up getting high on the sizing chemicals that way. Just a quick whiff and you should be safe...better that than sorry, I always say! (I swear I almost have it down to a science! I think it's good practice and encourage everyone else to do likewise!) So, with all of that being said, I like Zara for how they are able to strike a perfect balance between ultra-feminine and trendy in their designs while keeping them reasonably priced....

Toy Story 3 (uhm..spoiler alert!)

When one's stricken with writer's block and has no clue what to blog about, movies might seem like that bottomless well to draw ideas from. The only reason why I haven't reviewed one is because I haven't seen one in ages! Honestly, what's the use of a review on a movie whose sequel is already out? Sure, I was able to catch the very tail-end of G.I. Joe two months ago, and some odd snippets here and there of Ghosts of Girlfriends past over the past two weeks on the Movie Network, but never a full-length movie, let alone at the theater!!! So needless to say, I was beside myself with excitement to go see Toy Story 3 last night with Maya at the Guzzo by us, albeit pathetically almost a month after it's North American release (lol) The original plan was for my mother-in-law to take care of Jaden while the three of us went. But at the last minute, Kumar volunteered to take care of the baby while Maya and I bonded over some popcorn and apple juice and Toy Story. You see, Kumar had never seen the first two installments, so he figured he might not enjoy it as much. My husband is a movie fiend and takes movie watching very seriously. Like the time we went to see Batman Begins. He actually spent a good two weeks watching the whole Batman institution in increments in order to prep himself prior to watching the movie. But Toy Story 3 is just as enjoyable as a stand-alone movie unlike some sequels that really just pick up from where the the previous one left off.

I was really looking forward to see the movie because I knew that if it was anything like the first two, it would be awesome. Not all animated films are inherently funny by virtue of their being "cartoons". Trust me, there are tons out there that bombed at the box-office, and to me personally, just didn't weigh in much on my funny-scale either. Like the Bee Movie (sorry Maya!) for example. Some of them can be really anti-climactic and even downright depressing. But that's probably just me, from having watched them over a gazillion times. But going back to Toy Story, I was introduced to the first two when I babysat a good friend's daughter, Briana, as a favor, who was around 2 or 3 years old at the time when the movies first came out in the late 90's. It might have taken Pixar forever to come up with the 3rd part but it was well worth the wait. The movie kicks off with the desperate last-ditch concerted effort the principled and serious Woody (Tom Hanks does his voice), the simply hilarious Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), charming and spunky Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the rest of the cute and endearing gang pull to get their owner, Andy, who is now all grown-up and is soon off to college, to play with them. Just watch the movie to see how they inadvertently end up at the Sunnyside Daycare, where they are warmly received by a deceptively kind, fatherly, cuddly teddybear named Lotso. You'll be feeling nostalgic for the toys you grew up with like the inseperable Mr. & Mrs. Potoato Head, and Barbie & Ken, who I might dare call metro!!! Look out for cameo appearances by the totally classic Fisher Price corn popper and talking telephone, but just be prepared, too for the creepy Chucky-ish doll and the rather frightening shreiking, cymbal-clashing monkey (don't worry, before the end of the film you'll understand where they're all coming from!). You'll also marvel at the group's seamless teamwork as they carry out their intricate plan to escape Sunnyside and narrowly cheat almost certain destruction at a landfill. There are also some heartrending scenes during which I had to discreetly wipe away some copious tears rolling down my cheeks to keep my four year old daughter from seeing me cry!!! All in all, if you want my two cents on the film, I say go watch it if you haven't done so already - it's definitely a must-see for kids and grownups alike and everyone else in between!!!

The D-I-Y demi-god

You don't understand, this situation didn't need to happen. The door handle had been loose for sometime by then and Kumar kept putting off fixing it. I guess, I can say that his lack of handy skills comes with the territory of being metrosexual and just as how he can't cook to save his life, he can't fix a leaking tap either even if his life depended on it. These are things that he likes to leave up to the pros. It's a good thing he has no qualms about shelling out money for repairs and servicing. And the time I decided to paint our kitchen & bathroom, he was pretty sure I'd manage if he left me to my own devices and left me he did!

Don't get me wrong Kumar is not completely helpless, I must give it to him for assembling all of the IKEA stuff we have in our house. Like the Hopen bedroom set, or the kids' identical Malm chest of drawers, and even Maya's Disney Princess bed from Toys r Us. All without even consulting the instructions - couldn't blame him, though, IKEA manuals are infamous for being the most ambiguous set of directions out there, with the (Swedish?) stick men and totally superfluous steps! But I've always wondered if the extra screws and bolts he'd always end up with are really "extra" for just in case, like the rivets that come with his Seven jeans or the extra PETA-approved faux ivory buttons for his Boss shirts!!! Or whether they are really meant to go somewhere to actually reinforce the furniture??? He takes great pride in the mammoth feat of having hung up most of the pictures on the walls around our place and always believes that accomplishing the gargantuan task of changing burnt-out lightbulbs merits a pat in the back and my generous praise which I'm usually willing to shower him with.

But yesterday's incident left me exasperated beyond belief. And yet, I don't think my hubby's a lost cause either, he just might turn out to be like my dad one day. According to my mom, my father, wasn't handy either in the beginning of their marriage. In fact, once he had not only hammered but sawed his own thumb!!! But soon after purchasing their first home, he morphed into a D-I-Y demi-god. The feathers in my dad's figurative hard hat include finishing the basement of our old house replete with a tufted upholstered bar. Hanging up wallpaper in very room, adding a shower to the downstairs toilet/laundry room. Landscaping our front lawn with a rock garden, laying unistone on our driveway, and building a gazebo in the backyard from scratch - among other things - well, maybe with a little help from my uncle, who, he himself once surprised my aunt by building a deck while she was away in Europe for three weeks! He rewarded himself after with a brand new barbecue, which I think you'll agree he totally deserved!!! I can't even begin to tell you all of the work my dad did on our old house in the Philippines, of course he built a cute little palapa in our backyard there, too! But that's my parents' generation. And while renovation and construction and it's many trades and subtrades will always be around, more and more kids are choosing and pursuing white-collar careers over the more hands-on ones. And while my mom has such a green thumb, and can sew and cut hair as well as she can give injections, I can't even get a single houseplant to thrive, let alone plant a whole rose garden. I can't sew buttons back onto my blouses, let alone hem pants that almost always come too long for me off the rack, nor cut Jaden's bangs straight but I do get deliriously excited when my spreadsheets balance!

No, I don't expect Kumar to tile a backsplash behind our stove for me or add mouldings to the kids' room any time soon - who has the time anyways in this day and age? But for starters, if he could invest in an Allen key set and tighten all the door knobs and handles in the house to prevent another incident such as the one that took place yesterday, needless to say, I'd be one really happy woman!!!