Not too terrible now...

Things seem to have gotten better with Ethan. I'm doing better at dealing with his flare-ups, and he's not as upset as he used to be. I've given up trying to reason with him - I keep forgetting that he's only two years old - and mostly resort to distracting him with someone else to get him to calm down. It's one helpful tactic that my MIL managed to show me. She's always telling me to back down on him, but then again, she used to cane her kids...

A lot of the temper and flare ups come from the fact that I'm not the type to stay at home. I'm doing this because I don't want Ethan and Sophie to be left alone with the helper all day long. Not that Nora isn't the greatest help, but it can get boring for the kids after a while, and they run the risk of picking up some really broken English. If they were born in the States, I would've put them in daycare and gone back to work, but there's no daycare system here because most people rely on their live-in helpers or relatives to watch their kids. Don't get me wrong - I'm fortunate to be able to be at home as opposed to having to work, and I'm glad that the system is the way it is so that I can enjoy the baby years. But now that Sophie's coming on a year old and isn't as reliant on me in terms of nursing, I'm ready to look towards other endeavors.

Back in January, as I started training for the 1/2 marathon, I picked up a newspaper on the way to the track and saw an ad for an MBA fair. Almost 10 years ago, when Herb started his MBA program, I thought it was a waste for him because he didn't have any real work experience. When I saw the ad, it clicked that now was the time for me to pursue one. I didn't want to stay on the agency side once I go back to work because it's not as conducive to a mother's schedule as being on the client side, for instance. I thought about a master's in marketing, but there aren't as good of programs here. I decided to apply for the MBA program at HK University of Science and Technology, and I found out two weeks ago that I got in.

I'm really excited at the prospect of starting school in the fall. It's a part-time program with classes on Saturdays and some weekdays, and it lasts two years. The Financial Times just came out with the 2010 global MBA rankings, and HKUST is tied at ninth with the University of Chicago. What that means to me is that I'm getting a world-class education at a sixth of what I'd have to pay in the States if I did ever get into those top schools. On the other hand, getting an MBA is all about networking, but if I'm going to work in the States after graduating, networking here won't do me as much good. While I can't say that HKUST is as well-known as Wharton or Harvard Business School, I'll be in the same league as a graduate from those schools, and hopefully, that'll give me some leverage when it comes time to look for a job.

Or maybe I'm just adopting the thinking that every MBA candidate has - having MBA behind my name guarantees me a higher salary and a better job. More than anything else, I'm glad that I have something to focus on besides the kids. Graduate school will be a good segue way into working, but I'll still be there for the kids. It'll be a great way to meet new people and be able to talk to grown-ups for once. You know what I look forward to most of all? Being able to wear whatever I want - not having to think about whether Sophie needs to nurse or whether Ethan's going to spill something all over me. I miss my old work clothes and dresses...although that also means being able to fit them again...sigh...that's another entry altogether.