somehow sprained my ankle in my sleep (how? je ne sais pas!). So today I've been limping around the house and also reading Jane Austen's Emma. I've made a summer reading list recently (planning to finish 8 books before school starts). I've just finished reading the book "I dont know how she does it" by Allison Pearson. I saw it on Oprah a few years back and thought it would be an interesting read for 21st century women (and guys trying to understand 21st century women) :)
A lot of women these days have to choose between having a career or being a wife and mother. In this book, you can see the devastating consequences of a woman juggling it all - yet trying to maintain her sense of self. She talked a lot about 'guilt' career mums have to experience (like paying their nanny extra $$$ so that they would 'love' her kids more). Also, trying to excel at work would mean losing time with family and missing out on your kids' development. The start of the book is pretty funny too, how she just got back from a business trip at like 3am and was in the kitchen trying to make the store-bought pies look home-made by battering them with a rolling-pin or something because she doesnt want her daughter to be the only kid at school whose mum doesnt have time for these kind of things.
Funny office dynamic:
"The women in the offices of EMF don't tend to display pictures of their kids. The higher
they go up the ladder, the fewer the photographs. If a man has pictures of kids on his
desk, it enhances his humanity; if a woman has them it decreases hers. Why? Because he's
not supposed to be home with the children; she is."
The author takes you on an emotional rollercoaster ride - sometimes I find myself laughing out loud and other times feeling achingly sad for what she has to miss out on (her kids' bedtime etc). While I dont agree with everything she said (I think some of the experiences are greatly exaggerated) and towards the end of the book it sorts of wears down a bit, it is still an enjoyable read because the narrator's voice is so likable and witty...you can easily relate to her whether or not you are in her shoes.
This book reminded me of the Bioinformatics career talk I attended 2 years ago.
There were all these all-important scientists/CS ppl from some companies giving us
uncertain bioinformaticians-to-be advices about our career paths. While I was thinking of intelligent questions to impress these advisors with, my friend asked me if we could ask this advisor together (the only female one there!) about how she manages to juggle marriage and work etc., and what should comes first, marriage/kids or PhD? Sigh, decisions/sacrifices we have to make...:p
Came across this funny quote the other day:
"Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition." -Timothy Leary :p
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I'm not a gadgety person but I am so into the new MacBook Pro!!!! Too bad I've a laptop already. :(
Look at it!! Its so pretty!
Description (from their website):You’ve dreamed about it long enough. Now it has a name: MacBook Pro. Powered by a dual-core Intel engine. Up to four times the speed of the PowerBook G4. Eight times the graphics bandwidth. With built-in iSight for instant video conferencing on the move. And Front Row with Apple Remote to dazzle everyone in the room. Wait no more. MacBook Pro starts at just $1999.
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