Interviews and cancelled trips
I had a job interview today - my first one for 10 years, if you don't count going to meet potential clients. I remembered why I hate them so. It was at the university, and the people were all very nice, but there's something about three strangers in suits staring at me across a boardroom table that makes my mind go blank and results in incoherent babbling on my part. At least that's what it sounded like to me!
We were supposed to be going to France this Thursday for four days with Ian's brother and sister-in-law, but we decided not to go. Amelia has been going through some serious teething in the past few weeks (2-year molars) and this results in her waking up at night. Although she hasn't had a tantrum (knock wood!) for more than two weeks, we just couldn't bear the thought of repeating the experience we had in London in February, when she woke up both nights and screamed for several hours. We couldn't put Ian's brother and sister-in-law though that again. All toddlers like routine, but Amelia seems particularly sensitve to changes in hers at this point in her life, and we decided it was better not to risk it. It's quite disappointing, as we had been looking forward to going. But we are going to try to change the flights so we can go somewhere for a couple of nights around my birthday - Madrid perhaps, or Hungary. We would ask Ian's parents to come down and babysit.
Weather here has been mostly spring- (or even summer-) like. Last Saturday was sunny and warm, and people thronged the streets of Exeter in their sandals and summer clothes, eating ice cream, buying balloons from the balloon seller and listening to the one-man steel band. A foretaste of what summer will be like, I think.
Below are a few more photos from Christmas and Chinese New Year, plus a few others. Easter ones to come soon!
Chinese New Year parade in London.
Kenda, this one is for you.