Spring is here- and so is the frightening month of March...

I am angry! I am flustered. I am so many things- Libya and the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti; the horrible post-tsunami conditions in Japan; the appalling situation in Bahrain. My prayers going out to them all. But maybe I'll save lamenting over all those issues for another time. 

Today- I'll nag about other things... 

Its one of those days when the only thing keeping me from falling dead asleep is- food! I will hate this day tomorrow. I've probably eaten enough for all of Europe and I'm still craving for something. No, no! Nothing baking in my anatomical oven. I wish the mixture of the stuff I've ingested has some sort of a laxative effect and slips out of my body, but knowing that I will probably hibernate for the next 12 hours once the eye lids meet, it wouldn't be a very smart idea to wish that. 

Oh well... apparently my last blog post raised some eyebrows- in a not so pleasant way. It leaves me rather head scratching (and subsequently, dandruff scraping) but I do believe that every form of art fights the noose of verbal description, incorrect interpretations and misunderstandings; and writing (to me) is nothing short of art; and I'll leave it at that instead of trying to clarify my view point. 

Moving on... It was such a beautiful day today. Yes, yes- Spring is around the corner. And if this is what it is supposed to look like then I want to spend every waking minute outside, by the lake. 

We've had two much awaited birthday celebrations. Daantje turned 2 & Noah turned 1. Both birthday parties were much fun. I'm sharing some pictures with you.

 

And as the 2011 group, we have emerged successfully from the first installment of the infamous 48-hour-integrative exercise. Of course partners devised various ways of keeping themselves occupied while the MBA's were tearing their hair out in their race against time and fight against insanity. 

All I wish for is that I be granted a little heads-up on whether there will be dinner available at such occasions. Because I had Faisal call in and ask me to leave him food- which I had to do while juggling with my favorite hobby- babysitting Jose, only to find out that a lavish buffet was being put up to entertain the MBAs gastronomic demands while teasing ours (yet again). 

Speaking of, God please let Faisal like what I cooked today. All that time I put into it while trying to finalize the Bollywood Dance routine for tomorrow (we're working on Kajra Re) and wrapping up all that paper work that Canada needs from us before it grants us the go ahead to move into the civilized part of the world- and of course there's that trip that I need to make to Orange, which the half-wit in me did while they were closed! 

Let me warn you today: the Orange service is not for the faint-hearted. 

Half the month their signals don't work and instead, their clueless customers are often interacting with each other on the far stronger signal from France (just across the lake). But a monthly bill with these apparent "roaming calls" will arrive in the mailbox rather promptly!  And you'll be surprised to observe how efficient their accounts department is with all those follow-up calls. Gives you the feeling that either they have too much time on their hands or you're the only shameless customer on their list who hasn't paid up. 

And I know, no matter how I plead my case, in the end I will have to foot the entire bill. No concessions. 

And then there's laundry day tomorrow- sigh... every single time I use the darn machine I find myself on my knees begging to some invisible entity to let my clothes out in a decent, wearable condition, promising that I will never ever experiment with the Swiss washing machine again. 

And yet again, I find myself giving everything the benefit of doubt; the washing machine and my cretin of a brain. The pitfalls of optimism! 

And recently (I haven't told my husband yet, whose screaming upon this discovery will be audible all across the land) I have been sensing *gulp* a little "irritation" in one of my molars. God please! Transfer all my dental problems until next year when we have dental cover, Amen. You see, I'm a little short on cash and as it is I'm still trying to get through the year with the risk of not having paid the "billag" and of wondering how to maximize the 150 francs I spent on the half-fare card- the last thing I need is some dental problem to creep up during this year of student misery. 

In lieu of the half fare card, I don't plan on getting myself a 20 Franc student card, so please don't show me any mouth-watering, wail-inducing rebate later that I can benefit from only upon being able to demonstrate my possession of a student card. 

Moving on, it's March and the pace has seriously picked up. The MBA's have a lot on their minds.......... and then they have miserable partners to deal with. 

Many frustrated emotions have crept to the surface, some are slowly boiling in this reservoir of resentment looking for an excuse to erupt... God be with those who haven't dealt with that yet! 

True, the MBA's have a lot to handle. First the lengthy classes and industrial amounts of homework and assignments, then there's the general reading and dealing with various groups and the clash of views and emotions that come with it. 

But it's no piece of cake for us Partners.

In all honesty I didn't think it would be that hard. And while the administration at IMD is consciously making the effort to engage us into something to keep our minds off of absent spouses/ MBA partners, it has only gradually dawned upon me why this is so important. The MBAs might find it hard to believe but we face our fair share of troubles too... 

We deal with our MBA partners being away; of not being appreciated enough, neglect, misconstruing certain behaviours that perpetuate the growing resentment; of the feeling of having nothing meaningful to do; of dealing with other partners and subsequent comparisons and that overflow of estrogen; dealing with the clash of cultures, language barriers, inability to relate; of missing home; juggling with parenthood on your own; financial constraints (goodness lord, let's not even go there); an unpredictable future (another super touchy subject). 

Of being at home, which is not really home.

And we also deal with that dangerous MBA gap that widens every day- where the MBA partner is growing by leaps and bounds while you're pretty much stuck in this routine; both moving in opposite directions at a different pace. And then there are those who are holding onto each other through this commotion via a very fragile thread called "long-distance"; I don't even want to begin to imagine what they have to put through. 

And then we wait all day for our MBA's to come home, so that we can vent and that's not possible because you, the MBA, are busy and you are tired or you are so engrossed in the MBA world that you just cannot be bothered by mind-numbing harangues on what we endure. It may seem trivial and silly and pointless, but there are issues that no amount of new friendships can cure- some concerns only a partner can help assuage; something just a little time out for communication can resolve. 

And that's all we need sometimes. 

I know all those psychotherapists think along those lines and encourage you in that grave, dry, "psychotherapist" tone to "COMMUNICATE". But I'm not saying it in that tone- I am saying this as a matter of fact. 

And I know that's what there isn't any time for. But to make this work a conscious effort is to be to take some time out in the entire week and iron out issues that are pricking a relationship like invisible thorns before it blows out of proportion. No one's casting a judgement on the strength of a relationship but even a titanium chain is only as strong as its weakest link. There's no need to test a relationship when both parties have such a lot on their plate already. 

I do not mean to state that the MBA's have a walk in the park, but I believe there is a sensitivity chip that's missing. Treat it like you would be trained to treat a high profile customer; sometimes just replying to a missed call, or a simple text message can help. I know every relationship has a background of its own and its own way to squeeze out of tight spots, but some basic codes work well for all. 

Take some time out for a walk, have a big breakfast on the weekend, watch a movie- See, Faisal lapped up those pancakes like a starving lion.

And as I type all this away, it scares me when I ruminate (yes, cow-like; comme une lavache) about what lies ahead. I'm spewing all this "make-it-work" jargon only because Faisal's efforts to compensate for him being uncaring, neglecting, unappreciative and unloving and everything mean have worked (for now). Sometimes the only thing that tugs at me when I've finalized that I just must walk out on him- be it to the end of the building to make myself feel important *sheepish smile as I admit how stupid I look*- is the thought of my overworked bitter half not waking up on time for his class and walking to campus in a stinky pair of socks!

Jokes apart, no one said this journey was going to be easy and it was a "joint" decision at the end of the day.. And although there are times when I feel all those miserable things above and everything seems to have gone dark and nothing can pull me out of the misery I find myself sinking in..... 

........ a trip to Callier by a generous set of friends, who bring you back some amazing chocolate (Love you Alison and Iye) or having Sevara as your neighbour who will make you delicious chocolate crepes can make it jusssssssssst right!  

Really- all that diet and drooling over the swiss average size (0.01)- chuck it in the bin!

Some chocolate a day, shoos the stress away! (;

Until my next post, A bientot (I hope that's correct)