Expensive schooling??

October 8, 2006 · Filed Under Italy, Milan, My son · 5 Comments

The cashpoints/atms/bancomats that I use are presenting a happy little message regarding finance for the purchase of school text books at the moment.

What!? You need a loan to buy schoolbooks? Wow. How expensive are the things, I am now wondering. They must be quite pricey if you need to take a bank loan out before you can afford them.

It’s already quite expensive to be a parent, and it looks as though it is never going to become cheaper.

Oh, the joys of parenthood.

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Grumpy little boy

October 8, 2006 · Filed Under Italy, My son · Comment

Our little one seems to have been getting more and more grumpy recently. Tantrums over silly little things such as using his plate for crisps, or not letting him wipe his own bottom. Trivial stuff, if you are an adult, but not if you are 3.5 years of age.
We’ve tried to establish what is the root of these mood swings and have a few theories. Too much sugary food? Not enough time with mum? The change from ‘do what you like’ day nursery to the higher level of discipline at nursey school? Not quite sure.
The other day I was told that our little one had deliberately bumped his head on a desk and had been earlier prevented from nutting a mirror. He has a temper, that is for sure. I’ve been raising my voice more often and having to discipline him more frequently too. He is spoilt, and I’m guilty of buying him too many toys. However, I think this is quite normal with an only child. He behaves well at school, but can be a monster with his parents. We are firmly in the “I want” phase - with phrases such as ‘I’d like’ and ‘can I’ being distinctly absent. You have to remind him to say please too.
Odd things children. Giving in seems to make them worse, whereas being more authortarian seems to make them unhappy. The difficulty seems to be finding a happy medium.

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SMAU

October 8, 2006 · Filed Under Events · Comment

If you don’t know, SMAU is a computer and technology exhibition which is held annually here in Milan. Being a bit of a geek, I usually go.

Now, I have to say that this exhibition has been going downhill over the years and this year it just about hit rock bottom. Why? Well, it was tiny and poorly organised. Oh, it’s never been fantastic, but it has been much much more interesting. However this year it was entirely closed to the general public and has become aimed at those who work in the technology sector, in theory. In fact, there just was not much to see for that many business people and nothing new, with the possible exception of 3d tv, which looked promising, but has to undergo plenty of development before we would want to have it in our living rooms.

I went to SMAU with a friend of mine and he too was unimpressed to say the least. A shame really, because this was the first year that the event has been held in the new exhibition centre outside Milan, at a place called Pero.

I was spolit before because the exhibition centre used to be within walking distance of my house. This is no longer the case, and even though the new complex is impressive, not to mention huge, I found myself having to walk about as far from the underground station to the exhibition hall as I would have walked to get to the old exhibition centre. At least there are mobile footpaths and it is all under cover.

If you actually have to pay to get in to Smau this year, then let me say that it is not worth the 15 Euro entry cost.

There used to be so much more, and I believe that the consumer technology exhibition has been hived off into a separate event, leaving the business oriented event purely to business - in theory.

I’m not all that sure I’ll bother going to SMAU next year. SMAU seems to have lost its way.

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