Are there any awards for Super couples being given out? I'd like to nominate Brian Cox and his lovely wife Gia as the uber super couple. I want Robert and I to be like them, when we evolve later in our relationship :) They are visiting from UK and are here in the bay area for the Ted conference since Brian is speaking there and we met them and some of their friends for drinks at Medjool in San Fran last night. Brian Cox is a physicist working for CERN and Gia works in the TV and Film industry; her recent project was blogging for the movie, Sunshine.
They are both attractive, charming, accomplished, smart and kind, but what I really like about them is that even though they are quite successful in their professional fields, they are well-rounded enough that you can talk to them about anything. The conversation never comes to a dull point. Brian is a brilliant scientist but he was part of a band in college. A nerd who knows how to rock and roll; now that is pretty cool. And Gia? She is not to be outdone by her husband. She is a geek too; in fact we keep running into eachother in the geeky conferences, but she is also in the film and movie industry and hangs out with the stars as part of her job. She is a cool kid with geek cred.
They have smart friends too. We met Jas of the Electronpusher blog last night at Medjool who showed off her Apple Newton to us. It may be an interesting antique to many but she let me play with it and it was pretty cool. I think I want me a Newton. It turns out that Jas works at Google and designs computing infrastructures for them. I am always in awe when I meet women who have made it in the boys world of computers and are accomplished as such. There are so few of these genuises and they have to work hard to attain their professional achievements.
It was a great night hanging out with Brian and Gia and Jas and their friends. Maybe they just have the right accent to make them sound smart and look attractive. Maybe it is because they are Brian and Gia and Jas.

I am learning new words about babies from my husband these days.

First there was, Fuss Bucket: referring to baby when he was fussy at nights and wouldn't go to sleep. It's cute and it works for me :)

Then there was toothing, referring to why the baby was acting fussy and wouldn't sleep at nights. Isn't it teething? I asked. But what if it is only one tooth that is coming out? He asked. Good point, I thought.

Finally, there was burfing, referring to baby who was trying to burp but barfed instead.

My husband is a modern day Shakespeare, creating new language as we speak and you thought he was just a geek ;)

After having seen the movie, The Motorcycle Diaries about Che Guevara's life by Rivera, I was excited about watching his play,The Brainpeople: http://www.playbill.com/news/article/114682.html on stage. I went to see the play with two girlfriends, and I have to say I was nicely surprised and deeply moved. It's been a week since I've seen the play and I am still struggling with the concepts brought forth by the play. The actresses were at once beautiful, engaging and had an amazing range. The play mixed surrealistic aspects with universal concepts of love, life and death in such a smooth and humorous way and the actresses couldn't have been better.
If Rivera's Brainpeople is playing anywhere nearby I definitely recommend watching it.

If someone told me that there were actual benefits in flying with children in my childless days, I would've never believed them. I remember I used to pray for one thing when I stepped into the airplane before, not for us not to crash...I figured if it was my time to go, nothing could stop it, but I did pray that I wouldn't be seated near a crying baby. Yes, I am selfish. I don't want to be disturbed while I am flying, especially not by a wailing child. And I would look at the families traveling with children with pity; the poor souls. The saying was right: They weren't vacationing; they were suffering. Well, I am here to tell you I was wrong. I am not advocating that you go have babies just so that you enjoy your travels more, because let's face it carting around all that extra stuff, the stroller, diaper bag, extra clothes, and of course the baby, especially through various security checks is not all that fun. There are benefits in flying with kids though.

For one thing, most other passengers, the airline staff and especially the flight attendants are much nicer to you. You really do see the kinder, gentler face of humanity when you are traveling with child. People go out of their way to help you with your luggage, get the doors for you, complement your baby, and if there is time, even tell you about their kids, grandkids, or nieces and nephews. I think it is biologically ingrained in us to assure the continuance of the species, but taking care of the youngest of the population.

When checking in with a young child, if at all possible the airline staff make sure to give you more comfortable seats. Bassinets are provided free of charge if available, but if the flight is not full you get additional seats too. On our trip to Geneva, United even upgraded us to Economy plus seating,  because the flight wasn't full. They gave us two extra seats too, so we had a full row to ourselves. The fight attendants were super nice too. I think they figure babies are like weapons of mass dissatisfaction. They don't negotiate with terrorists but they can negotiate with parents. We make sure that you are comfortable and we'll take good care of you; you make sure your baby doesn't cry all the way home and make everyone on board miserable.

The best part about traveling with children though is that they make the trip go much faster. You are so busy feeding them, changing their diapers, changing their clothes, getting a new bib, wiping that drool, that you don't even feel the hours go by and before you know it you are at your destination.

 And the very best part? You make wonderful memories with your child at your destination that you can treasure forever. Ok, maybe that last bit sounded too hallmarky for you..trust me though, traveling with children can be fun. Of course you don't want everyone to know this; you want people to still go out of their way to help you out, get that door for you, give up their seat, and help you carry that extra bag :)

Bon voyage and don't forget to take that baby with you :)

Dear Valentine, I married you because you can not tell a lie to save your life. I love your honesty. I know you can never cheat on me, because you won't be able to lie to me. By the same token I can't ever ask you, "do these pants make me look fat?" It's not that you'd be rude about it and say something mean. You just look down, or look away, say no and try and run out of the room as soon as possible. I also love that you are hard working; that you are dedicated to your work, and I know you provide for our family and take care of us in the best of your abilities. At the same time, I know I can't ask you to play hookey and bum around with me when I feel like it. Oh why oh why, can't I have everything? I get so mad at you when you act absentminded and forget important things, like your cell. phone before you take off on a trip. But I love the fact that you never remember any of the mistakes I make. You always forget why you got mad me in a matter of minutes and that is why my Valentine, you and I will be loving each other forever. Happy Valentine's day!

Last year about this time, we were leaving Geneva after having had a fantastic time at the Lift conference : www.liftconference.com and Robert began suspecting that I may be pregnant. I hadn't touched the fine Swiss chocolates that Laurent, our wonderful host and amazing conference organizer had brought me; I wasn't having any wine (didn't feel like it at all), ran to the bathroom to throw up a couple of times; my back was hurting and I constantly complained about all the different smells. Oh and I wanted to eat Oranges all the time. I flat out refused to have any of that talk, blamed the whole thing on jetlag and being sick and wasn't even convinced after seeing the positive pregnancy test results we got right after we landed in the US and bought our own test at the local super market. That week after being back though, I went to the doctor and they told me, yes sure I was pregnant with child three months along. Now we are back here and five month old Milan is accompanying us and smiling at everyone he sees.
Lift has been yet another mind blowing experience. Watching Kevin Warwick, the first human cyborg on stage, is not an experience you can have every day. Last year we spend a week before coming here at Robert's aunt's house in Germany, but this year she met us in Geneva and has been taking care of the baby while Robert and I attended the sessions. Thank God for Tante Purzel! I have appreciated having this precious adult time to stimulate the mind, watching some of  the industry's greatest speak. 
I have had such a wonderful time, hanging out with Robert, Milan, Tante Purzel along the conference attendees, speakers, and organizers, nibbling on Swiss fine chocolates and cheese (especially fondue), basking in the unseasonably warm sunshine (after 18 days of consecutive rain in California), meeting old friends and making new ones, and even running into my childhood comic icons, Tin Tin and Milo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scobleizer/2250454120/. I do love Geneva and hope to come back again next year. Geneva is a must see city and Lift a must attend conference. Wish you were here!

My mom who is in her mid seventies and doesn't speak much English has moved in with us recently. She is sitting in the living room next to me looking at my brother, my husband, his friend and my step son who are watching the Super Bowl. "What are they watching?" She asks me. "It's the Super Bowl; biggest football game of the year." I respond.
She nods then asks, "So who is the US playing against?"
I love my Mom :)