what yaya does at 16 months

I am always observing how yaya learns. I take note of how she learns and then use the same method to teach her the things I want her to learn. So she is learning faster and faster each time. She only took a few hours to learn how to press the play, stop, forward, volume buttons for music on the iphone, she knows where to get the ring tone, and shewill press them one after another, line after line, to listen to the different tones in amusement, she also learnt how to drink from the straw after possibly 5 tries. I used the normal straw from NTUC, 1 packet 60 cents, because I couldn't be bothered to buy those kids straws because it wasn't practical at all, I won't get such straws when I am eating out. The first few times was hilarious, she choked, face turned red, and looked frustrated.

Recently, even though she has been kept at home, she learnt how to turn her body 360 degrees, and she was tipsy after that. She definitely felt what it was to be giddy, and was very amused. She kept spinning and laughing and I kept laughing till I forgot about taking a video. She also looks for objects to step on, likes to feed herself with her hands, walk backwards, run with both her hands facing backwards, repeat after words she knows, nod or shake her head to answer you, and point to the object she wants you to get for her. After her diaper change, I will hand her the diaper, and she will walk to the dustin in the kitchen, throw it in, and walk out. She knows the kitchen boundaries when the hubby is cooking, she can only stand at the door.

Most importantly, she doesn't put everything in her mouth. She only takes food from people she knows, and dirt, chilli seeds, garlic skin, hair, etc, that she picks up from the floor will be dutifully handed over to me.

However, she is very demanding, just like me. lol... I need to always teach her new things to do to keep her occupied because she is a perfectionist who will keep practising until she always gets it right. After that she will be bored and wants to try something else. If it's something too tough for her to master, she will scream at me and throw her temper, so restraining that side of her requires the violent side of me. So that's the trick I use to teach her all the antics she has now, and also leave her alone to practice so that I have time to do other work. She hasn't started talking, but her 3 bodily hand signs are sufficient to get her fed.

what do overworked and overweight have in common?

What do you think your boss is expecting to hear when he/she asks you whether you feel overworked?

It set me thinking about what it means to be overworked. As usual, the logical mind tookover to refine the problem statement. Personally, I feel that the determinant for overworked is the same as that of overweight. One doesn't need to ask a person whether he is overweight. We work up a chart, look for a height, and the corresponding weight, then anything more than the weight listed for that height is overweight.

At work, there are similar charts, you look at the person's 'height' in terms of salary grade, and the 'weight' in terms of the amount and type of work, you will know who is overworked and who is not. Because ultimately, as the boss, you come up with this chart as a ruler to measure your staff.

Just as how some people feel fat and keep telling people that they are fat when they are not, because the scales don't lie. Similarly, people who feel overworked and keep telling people that they are overworked could be not overworked if a scale is used. The weight-height chart is also not something cast in stone, people adjust and adapt for their own use, so I don't see why salary grade-work load charts can't work the same way. Just to give an example, the 'height' can be seen as the salary amount, and the 'weight' as the cost (total contract cost + internal manpower cost + overheads) of the projects.