Looking At You Babe

When we were visiting the Gynae, my wife’s tummy was once again scanned, so that we could squint our eyes at the screen again to find out that there’s no way we could differentiate our baby from the other random white dots.
We had a problem seeing the baby on the screen during our first visit last month, because the image was so blurry. So when the gynae told us which part the baby was, we could only nod and nod, although we actually were not very sure what we were looking at.
But we were afraid to admit that we could not see it, because it was our child. How could we not recognize it?
We could only see the baby after a while, after the gynae pointed to us many times which part was the head, and which part was the mouse pointer, because we were that blurred.

But this time, it was much different. The baby had grown and was easier to spot. I instantly recognized the shape once it’s shown on the screen. But at that time I paid more attention to my wife as she could not see the screen clearly and I have seen similar picture many times on many books.

And then the baby moved.

And my eyes could never leave the screen again. It was unbelievable seeing how that magnificent creature was developing inside my wife’s body. So amazed by it. And it did not stop there.

The nurse told us to wait for the baby to stretch its body (because it was slightly curled) so she could measure its length. And suddenly, just like it could hear us, the baby straighten its body. The nurse told us that the baby had been very kind. Positioning itself to be measured and checked easily by the nurse the whole time, so that it only took several minutes to finish the process.

Then suddenly the baby moved again, and this time it’s more obvious. We could see the legs kicking inside. Then the nurse pointed us to see the hand, “See those fingers on one hand”. And, just like the baby could hear her, she raised the other hand. “Oh two hands now,” the nurse said, smiling.

We wanted to see more but unfortunately the process was done. So we went out after that. We could not stop smiling on the way home.

Next Gynae Trip

I finally went to see a gynecologist to check my wife’s pregnancy for the second time. But this gynae was different from the first time. And after we visited this second gynae, we decided to stick with him because we had a better healthy experience, such as it’s only 30 minutes away from our home so the ride did not cause my wife to be tired and grumpy, which meant it was good for my health.

The first thing that impressed us was that the consultation started on time, It’s actually common to start seeing the gynae late, and we were usually stuck in the waiting room, reading magazines from the ages when The Bee Gees was still in Top 40. So we were just so happy to see the gynae on time.

The visit took longer than expected though, because we went through several tests, which I could say were necessary, as long as my wife was the one who took them, because some of the tests involved needles.
So we ended up spending around 1.5 hours there as we needed to queue for the lab process. We are only able to get the result tomorrow, but of course everything is fine and normal. And I don’t have any injection mark on my hand.

Phone Light

Something that is more important than the camera, the music player and the ring tones. So you know what you should bring the next time your relatives are in the operating room.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The light from the cell phone screens allowed surgeons to complete an emergency appendix operation during a blackout in a city in central Argentina, reports said on Saturday.
Leonardo Molina, 29, was on the operating table on July 21, when the power went out in the Policlinico Juan D. Peron, the main hospital in Villa Mercedes,"The generator, which should have been working correctly, didn't work," a hospital spokesman, whose name was not given.
"The surgeons and anesthetists were in the dark... A family member got some cell phones together from people in the hallway and took them in to provide light," he said.
(from Reuters)

Lost Contact

Every time I went to Indonesia I always switch my SIM card to Indonesian phone number because of many practical reasons. So it's just a matter of time before I lost my SIM card.

I just realized it yesterday when I wanted to check if I got any sms on my Singapore number. Then I couldn't find the SIM card. I usually kept the card in my wallet but now somehow I couldn't find it. So I did what other adults usually do in this situation. I panicked.

I did not know when I lost my number and at the moment this blog is written, I still don't know whether somebody used it, which because of the roaming charges, might cause me to sell my kidney to cover the bills. That’s why I panicked. I really hope that it's safe.

Then I tried to block the phone to prevent other people from using it. Luckily I could get the number that I should contact in Singapore from the Internet. So, by calling this number, I no longer have to worry about being broke from paying big bills. I only need to worry about being broke from paying the IDD calls to Singapore.
It's because I was put on hold for quite a while. So after some moments I finally managed to block my phone number. I will try to take care of this number on Monday and I will be out of reach until Monday, assuming that I don't need to sell my mobile to pay phone bill.

Trip Back and Tripped

I was traveling home again for a few days to Indonesia, which was why my blog was left untouched for a while. It's kind of a hassle going back to Jakarta these days. I remember people kept telling me, "Ooh Singapore is so near, only one and a half hour away". I hope those people could borrow me their magical flying carpet before they went back to Never Neverland.

Because for me of course it's not just the flight.
I need to go through the one-hour MRT ride, one-hour waiting time at the airport, ninety-minutes of flight, thirty minutes of immigration and baggage claim, then finally two-hour bus ride to Bogor. And that's only when everything is so smooth, such as when I were the only one who fly on that day.
So it usually takes me at least six hours to reach my home. Just like when I left, I woke up at 4.30 am and only arrive home at 12.00 noon.
And it's tiring. I usually take MRT in Singapore and bus in Jakarta, while carrying my big luggage and my computer bag. So losing my luggage is never really my concern as it was quite big enough to spot. But getting a hernia is.
I want a flying carpet for my birthday.

Blog Break Again

I am in Indonesia now, experiencing the slow internet connection that will make either my head or my internet bill explodes. This time I am bringing my computer back, so I might still be able to blog when I can find a connection. I will be back this weekend to Singapore and blog more regularly, if I still have my head intact.

Sleep Still

My wife changed her sleeping habit recently. Yes she still sleeps 8 hours a day or more, and yes she still sleeps like she just had four bottles of morphine. But now she sleeps with a lot of pillows. She needs at least one more pillow to support her back. It was suggested in every pregnancy book that she'd better sleep on her side. And if you want to know why, the answer is simple, I cannot remember.
There are so many tips in the books that I can no longer remember the logics behind them. But I still follow them anyway. Because otherwise it might cause any harmful consequences, such as mood swings or craving craze, that I don't want to face.

So she needs more pillows, at least one bolster for her to hug and one pillow to hold her back. I don't have any problem with those pillows, except that our bed is only queen size, and with my body expanding at the rate of 1 kg per month, I don't have enough space to do my routine sleep maneuver, such as turning from left to right, and back again, and roll over and 360°sommersault. No, sorry, of course I don't do that. But the point is that now I have less space on the bed. And I am surprisingly okay with that. Just as my wife is getting used to sleep on her side, I also am getting used to sleep without much movement. So I am fine and can sleep well. But of course I still need my extra coffee everyday.

Crave Attack 4

My wife's craving took a drastic change for the past few days. No, past few weeks actually. She's been craving for sotomie, a noodle soup with a lot of things inside including intestines and other stuff that I could barely recognize.
The problem was, there’s no Indonesian food stall that sold this type of food and my wife demanded to have sotomie that was similar to the one sold in Jakarta. So that's one big task for me. And I didn't even know whether it was really a crave or my wife was just bored with the food in Singapore, which happened a lot and could be triggered by anything these days, such by diner time.

My friend suggested making my own sotomie. Well I guess I could try that, except that it's possibly going to give us another problem, such as food poisoning or my wife's throwing plates at me, because my approach to stove and other kitchen appliances was the same as my approach to nuclear bombs. Avoid at all cost to avoid any major tragedy.

But luckily, thanks to the Internet, I managed to find an Indonesian food stall that sometimes sold sotomie. So I went there a week ago and asked the owner to sms me when she made her sotomie. and, bless her, this morning she did. So I rushed there on lunch time and finally got the sotomie. Fiuh. I am saved. At least until my wife can think of other rare Indonesian food that is unavailable in Singapore. I think I'd cook.

Note: it was stall Kedai Ibu at Tanjung Pagar Complex on Keppel Road.

11-year-old and drinking and driving

And this made me feel like an underachiever.

MIAMI (Reuters) - An 11-year-old girl was charged with drunken driving after leading police on a chase at speeds of up to 100 mph that ended when she flipped the car in an Alabama beach town.
A video camera in the police car captured the look of surprise on the officer's face when he approached the wrecked car and got a look at the motorist.
The Mobile Press-Register newspaper said the patrolman saw the Chevrolet Monte Carlo speeding and flashed his lights to signal the driver to stop. Instead, the car sped faster, traveling at up to 100 mph (160 kph) before sideswiping another vehicle and flipping over in the Gulf Coast town of Orange Beach, Alabama, on Tuesday night.
The young driver, who lived nearby in Perdido Key, Florida, was treated at a hospital for scrapes and bruises and released to relatives. Police also charged her with speeding, leaving the scene of an accident and reckless endangerment.
The car belonged to a relative and police were still trying to find out where she got the alcohol. There was none in the vehicle but her blood alcohol level was over the limit for adult motorists, police told the newspaper.

Nanny Dials 911

I know that my wife’s pregnancy is only at its week 12th, and it’s still long until the due date, but I have started wondering how I am going to take care of the baby. I mean, I never have a proper training in raising a child. Heck, the only way I know how is from how my parents raised me, which, judging by the result, might not be the best way.
So I tried to find tips and tricks from the most comfortable source of information, the TV.

I watched the show Nanny 911 last week. And after a few minutes I was terrified by how the children on the show were behaving. It was like the children were put there on TV just for the show before they were returned to their real parents, the Wolverines.
But the show gave a lot of tips and tricks about how to discipline a child, which I might share with you if I could remember any. I ended up not paying any attention to how the Nanny disciplined them because I was too busy waiting for the children to create chaos and bite their parents’ ankle, because those what good TV were.
So, except the nightmare about baby wolves, I did not learn anything from that show. Stupid me.
That’s why I am planning to watch this show again tonight. I hope that I could get some tips and tricks on raising children. And I hope the children bite.

Puppy Love

Another oooh sooo cute award nominee:

Heart-Shaped Puppy Born in Japan
A baby chihuahua (puppy) born in Japan with a heart-shaped pattern on his coat becomes a national idol - almost like the Japanese version of Knut.
A puppy named "Heart-kun" was born with a heart-shaped pattern on his coat.
Born at a Dog shop in Japan, no make-up or modification has been added to the one-and-a-half-month old dog.
The shop owner Emiko Sakurada said this is for the first time a puppy with these marks has been born out of over a 1,000 she has bred.
She says the unusual feature in the puppy has brought good luck to her and anyone who sees him.
Though many people have enquired about buying the dog from around the country after local television aired pictures of it, the owner says she has no plans to sell it. -
(foxnews.com)

Bleeding Nose

My wife’s pregnancy has entered its 12th week. The week when the risk of miscarriage reduces significantly. Fiuh! That’s great to know. Because this pregnancy has been everything; fun, joyful, exciting, and down right scary.

As my experience in pregnancy is not more than my experience in climbing Mount Everest, I’ve been jumpy and worried quite a bit. Everything that my wife does out of her habit, such as throwing up or watching sports on TV, is considered alarming and makes me run to the phone and ready to call an ambulance.
So yesterday morning, when my wife had a slight nose bleed, you cannot imagine how panic I was. Should I call a Doctor? Is it normal? Would the Doctor laugh at me for being so panicky? Would I push his phone down his throat when he laughs at me? But of course I did not show this outside. I just looked cool and calm on the outside, although in the inside I was about to wet my pants anytime.

So after my wife left, I did what every responsible adult did in a situation where a serious medical action is required. I checked the Internet.
Luckily, there were so many Internet sites that covered pregnancy. Since I have already subscribed to one, I checked that page and it turned out that nose bleeding was quite normal for pregnant ladies. It’s because her body was producing more blood (for the baby) at this stage.
So everything is back to normal again now.

Brain Damaged

I thought it was just me. Phew!

LONDON (Reuters) - Can't remember life before mobiles? Chances are you'll also struggle to recall your home phone number and family birthdays.
According to a survey released Friday, the boom in mobiles and portable devices that store reams of personal information has created a generation incapable of memorizing simple things.
A quarter of those polled said they couldn't remember their landline number, while two-thirds couldn't recall the birthdays of more than three friends or family members.
The tech-savvy young fared worse than older people. The under-30s could remember fewer birthdays and numbers than the over-50s, according to the survey.
Two-thirds said they relied on their phone or electronic organizer to remember key dates.
"People have more to remember these days and they are relying on technology more for their memory," said Ian Robertson, professor of psychology at Trinity College, Dublin.
Researchers polled 3,000 people over the last two weeks in the survey for Puzzler Brain Trainer magazine.

Baby Beats

The first thing that my friend asked me when I told her that my wife went through pregnancy scanning was how the heart beats like.
I was of course happily answered,” What heart beat?".

I really didn't know that I could see the heart beat. Heck, I didn't even know that I could see the inside of my wife’s womb before I got there. And the Gynae did not show and tell us about this. So we did not have the chance to see or hear the baby’s heartbeats.
That’s why last night I try to do something that I never did before in our five years of relationship that I believe every loving couple need to try at least once in their life. I tried to hear my wife’s stomach.
In a desperate attempt to find the baby’s heartbeats, I tried to hear it using the simplest method, putting my ear on top of my wife’s tummy and listen.
So that’s what I did, I asked my wife to lay down and I put my ear on her tummy. And then I heard something amazing. I heard a lot of gas.
That’s because my wife was constantly bloating because of the pregnancy. Then I told my wife and, as a result, she knocked my head with TV remote, I tried to listen again.

Then this time I heard a lot of water movement, which was normal because that’s what the baby’s home consisted of. And then, after the movement sound a little bit lowered, I heard the regular “bap bap” sound. I could not believe it. I shushed my wife again and I could hear it more clearly. It was definitely the heartbeats sound.
I was so excited. I kept listening to it as if it was more melodious than the whole top 40s’ songs combined. And I didn’t want to stop, except that my wife could not listen to it and might decide to give me a knock on the head.

Gynae Search

We decided to no longer go to the first Gynae that we went to because of one medical and rational concern: the fee is very expensive.
So we decided to go to a Gynae that one of my friend has experienced before. We asked around and compared notes with our friends, until we finally we heard about one Gynae that had a quality that we were looking for: the gynae that offers discount

But we also found out from the many Internet forum that thus Gynae is very skilled and good in every aspect, including in stitching.
My wife heard that most male Gynaes were less skilled in stitching than the female Gynaes, which I definitely agree, because, based on my experience in elementary school, If I were asked to stitch my wife's opening after she gives birth, she probably ends up having both of her feet stitched together from thigh to toes. So I am just glad that this Gynae is good.
We will visit this Gynae on the 30th, on my wife's week 14. Let's see how it turns out. Hope that my wife likes him, and hope that my wallet likes him even more.

Jokes

A mother passing by her daughter's bedroom was astonished to see the bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then she saw an envelope propped up prominently on the center of the bed. It was addressed, "Mom." With the worst premonition, she opened the envelope and read the letter with trembling hands:

Dear Mom: It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new boyfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Dad and you. I've been finding real passion with Ahmed and he is so nice-even with all his piercings, tattoos, beard, and his motorcycle clothes. But it's not only the passion Mom, I'm pregnant and Ahmed said that we will be very happy. He already owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. He wants to have many more children with me and that's now one of my dreams too. Ahmed taught me that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone and we'll be growing it for us and trading it with his friends for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want. In the meantime, we'll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Ahmed can get better; he sure deserves it!! Don't worry Mom, I'm 15 years old now and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure we'll be back to visit so you can get to know your grand children.
Your daughter,
Judith

PS: Mom, none of the above is true. I'm over at the neighbor's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than my report card that's in my desk center drawer. I love you! Call when it is safe for me to come home.

Passport Update 5

I arrived at the Embassy quite early, at 2pm. But since passport collection only started at 3, I wasn't allowed to go in. So I waited outside the gate with other visitors. Finally I could get my entry pass at 2.30pm so that I could get inside and wait again.

Finally at 3pm a staff asked us to form a queue in front of the counter. No queue number was needed. Then when the counter opened, we just needed to show our receipt and got our passport. As simple as that. I walked out of there by 3.10pm. Couldn't remember the last time I finished government-related administrative task so fast. Great.

Passport Update 4

Today I'm supposed to pick up my passport at the Embassy, And I was excited about it, because after I got the document, I would be able to go to any country in the world! Except to the countries that are located outside Singapore, because I can't afford the air ticket as I am saving for my baby.
Unfortunately along time ago some geographic experts decided to put Europe on the other side of the world, so I still cannot have European honeymoon, even with my new passport. But I still can go to Malaysia and Indonesia though. Yiipeee! Ah well J

Another thing that made me excited about getting my passport was that I would need to go to Indonesian Embassy. Being in a place where there were a lot of Indonesian, speaking with Indonesian language, and seeing familiar face features just reminded me of one thing, there should be a good Indonesian food there.
So I went early and planned to have a late lunch there. I heard that the cafeteria served a good beef rendang and I planned to try it.
So I did. But unfortunately since I arrived quite late, there were not so much food left. So I only ate one chicken and a tempe. And I must say that the food had the same characteristic as other Indonesian food in Singapore: they were not cheap.
At least compared to the price of other food in Singapore. But the taste was not bad after all. I enjoyed the food and would eat at that place again the next time I visit the Embassy. Probably five years from now.

Crave Attack 3

My wife hasn't had her craving for a long time. Well, at least not that I know of. She actually asked for many types of food, but I don't know which ones were the craving and which ones were her saying to me "This is for making me nauseous every morning!"

And yesterday she's craving for (I think) a soto mie, noodle served with yellow coconut milk gravy. She wasn't really a fan of that food. In fact I cannot remember the last time she had that food. She just had a crave for anything soupy these days and it's just a matter of time before she included soto mie on her list. So she tried to get the food yesterday, which might be a problem because I didn't recall seeing any stall selling sotomie near our place.
But everything turned out fine, mainly because I had a meeting during diner time and that meant I couldn't help her finding the food. But guess what, it turned out that there was a small stall in a corner that served sotomie. So she enjoyed and satisfied her craving then.

That was an easy one to find. I guess she's saving the hard ones for the time when I am available. Because she's still having her nausea.

MRT Ride For Three 2

If you take a ride in an MRT, it is easy to find a sign that said “Please give the seat to someone who needs it more than you”. It serves as a nice decorative sign that nobody actually read.
Just yesterday morning I took MRT ride during the rush hour and I could see that there were two pregnant ladies who stood in the crowd while the seats were filled with young men, educated office workers, who apparently did not see the pregnant ladies because he was very busy doing his own stuff, such as pretending to sleep or looking the other way.
But finally a young man alighted and everybody just asked the pregnant lady to sit. Phew.

And my wife was also able to find a seat after that. Then it dawned to me, my wife is sitting, but I was still standing. Nobody offered a seat for an expecting man, although the bulge on my tummy was bigger than my wife’s. So she just sat there nicely, while I was still standing in the crowded MRT car and got shoved further inside. I could not have a conversation with her because I stood quite far, and I was stuck between men whose idea of morning bath, based on the smell, consisted of only wiping out their morning drool.

But at the end it paid off to see my wife resting on her seat, knowing that the baby was also resting and helped it grow. Now, would you excuse me? I need to rest and lie down, because I am also growing.

MRT Ride For Three

If there is one good thing from the pregnancy that we can enjoy right away is having people offer seats to you when you are in an MRT.
It happened to us last week. A young lady, probably only 13 years old, told her mother that there was a pregnant woman on the MRT and she’s offering her seat to my wife.
It was a pleasant surprise for me. You can imagine how my wife reacted after she received such a kind and compassionate gesture.
“Am I getting bigger already?” She said.

My wife, being a woman, of course concerned about how her body was changing because of the pregnancy. And because she’s quite lean before the pregnancy, any small thing insider her tummy, such as the growing baby, will create a cute bump. So that’s why now my wife’s tummy is quite visible although she’s only on her 10th week. This is a great sign for me as it really shows that the baby is developing. My wife is also excited about this, well, except for the part where the one who needs to have her tummy enlarged is her, not me.
Apparently she forgets that I somehow gain more weight than she does. And that after 7 months she will get the baby out from her tummy, naturally, while there’s nothing inside my tummy that’s going to be removed.

Passport Update 3

I finally take my time to renew my passport after I postpone it a few times because the information at embassy's website said that my passport's expiry date must be less than 6 months away. And I was too lazy to copy my documents.
So I woke up very early today to go to the Embassy. It opens at 9am but I decided to go there very early, at 7.40 a.m., so that I could be among first ones who found out that I was completely lost.
That's because the Embassy was located in a housing complex that was similar to a maze but longer and more tiring. But I managed to finally arrive at the place after several gallons of sweat from walking in a big circle.

I arrived at 8.50am, 10 minutes before opening time, and there had been a lot of people gathering at the gate. There was a line for people to queue to get their visitor's pass. So naturally most of the Indonesians just ignore it and approached the counter in a way that looked like a terror scene in Godzilla movies.

But I managed to get in quite early and got queue ticket number 009.
I got the application form first from counter 1 before I took the queue ticket. I was planning to fill the form during the waiting time, because I figured, based on my past experience, the waiting time could last longer than the time needed to turn a tree into a coffee table.
But I was wrong surprisingly, in a good way. My number was called right when I just finished filling out the form. So I rushed to the counter and gave all the necessary documents, which included:
- 4 photo (see my previous blog)
- a copy of birth certificate
- a copy of Singapore IC, or work permit
- a copy of marriage certificate

Then I was asked to pay $40 at the cashier and then gave the receipt to the counter.
The officer then asked me to wait for a while until my name was called. So I just waited for around 15 minutes and she called me to take my signature and finger print. And she gave me the slip for me to collect the passport in 4 days.

And that's it. All were done in less than 45 minutes, which, using Indonesians usual service standard, was considered a miracle. So, I don’t know whether mine was a special case. I don’t know whether it’s because I arrived early. But being able to finish the process in less than an hour is definitely a great improvement. Kudos to the staff there. Hope there will be more and more improvement. Such as moving the building to a more populated area.

Jokes

A man speaks frantically into the phone, "My wife is pregnant, and her contractions are only two minutes apart!"
"Is this her first child?" the doctor queries.
"No, you idiot!" the man shouts. "This is her husband!"

----------------------------------
Billy Bob and Luther were talking one afternoon when Billy Bob tells Luther, "Ya know, I reckon I'm 'bout ready for a vacation. Only this year I'm gonna do it a little different!
The last few years, I took your advice about where to go. Three years ago you said to go to Hawaii. I went to Hawaii and Earline got pregnant.
Then two years ago, you told me to go to the Bahamas, and Earline got pregnant again.
Last year you suggested Tahiti and Earline got pregnant again"
Luther asks Billy Bob, "So, what you gonna do this year that's different?"
Billy Bob says, "This year I'm taking Earline with me."

Day By Day

Now my wife’s pregnancy just enters its tenth week. That means it ... Mmm, err, umm..., I actually don’t know. I just realized that I haven’t read the pregnancy book or email newsletter. So I am pretty much in the dark about what happens. Am planning to read about it on the weekend though, except if I suddenly feel more interested in watching Heroes DVD instead.

It’s funny how I become interested in this. It’s like my work and social life are taking a step back and my wife’s pregnancy is the priority now. I am interested to know every detail about what happens inside her tummy. It’s a strange thing. I was never interested in anything inside her body. Heck, I was never interested to find out about what’s happening inside MY body.

But I guess that’s what happens when you become an expecting dad. Your life suddenly revolves around the pregnancy, which also includes your wife’s craving, mood swings, sudden tiredness, and so on. But those all are okay for me. Because when those happen, I just have to remember one precious thing, that I won’t be the one lying on the doctor’s bed, delivering a 3-kg baby through a hole as big as a bottle’s mouth. Am so happy I am a man.

BTW, there’s not much happening on the pregnancy life. So we just take it day by day as it is.

Gynae Trip 2

Ok, this is what happened when I visited the gynae.
We got there, and then we waited for sometime before we were called in. But it’s not the gynae’s room. It’s a small room where the nurses take tests. But before the test, my wife is asked to fill a form for administration. Then we waited some more. Then my wife took urine test, blood pressure test, etc., while I waited alone. And after a while, my wife joined me to wait further.
Then we were called again. This time a nurse asked us lots of questions about our lifestyle. After that, the nurse more or less got the idea about our pregnancy, so that she asked us to go outside to, well, wait again.
Probably it’s a lesson that they want to teach us, that a baby must be waited with patient and care, while giving every nurse an angry look for keep us waiting.
Then finally the moment arrived. We were asked to meet the gynae. He looked like a nice old man. And he’s an elder in a Presbyterian church in Singapore it turned out. He’s very patient and looked glad about our pregnancy. He told us that the due date was around 24 January next year.
Then he asked my wife to go to the patient bed and the nurse did some checking, while I , uhmm, waited alone, again.

Then finally I was asked to come in, so that I could see the scan of the baby.
I’ve been told many times that having a baby was a wonderful and amazing experience. People just ran out of word trying to describe how great the experience was. And I more or less got the idea how incredible it’s going to be.
But it did not prepare me a bit for when I saw the TV screen, showing the small baby-to-be. With its small head and body inside my wife. I could see it moved a lot when the gynae tried to capture the picture. And it was just amazing and miraculous. Every words that my friends told me about the experience just disappeared and were replaced with a mind filled with awe.
No wonder my friends could not explain the experience in words. You just need to experience it yourself to understand the miracle that happens. It was so real yet still unbelievable.

Then we got the pictures and left the gynae’s office. Then we went through another unbelievable experience. Paying the gynae’s bill that is.

(These are the pictures taken during the scan. They do not say much and are not very clear. But you just need to see it when the baby moves. That’s really something.)

Gynae Trip

I never like going to a Doctor. I am afraid of needles and all the doctors that I visited in my childhood always managed to come up with a reason to give me a shot, even if I only went there for my pimples.
So, when I visited a Gynecologist on Monday, I was glad that my wife would be the one who took most of his attention, while I also kept my eyes on any syringes insight, in case he somehow found reason to give me a shot right then.

I've been to many doctors before and I could say that I have more or less understood the drill. First they ask you what's wrong ("I am sick. That's what's wrong. Duh”). Then the doctors use the stereoscope and listen to every part of my body.
I never understand what they try to hear there. Some conversations that the viruses have in my body, so that they can analyze the sickness and, using their sophisticated medical education and experience, they then ask me to take Panadol, drink a lot of water, and come back if it's getting worse.
So I was in the dark about what the doctors try to hear. But I bet it must be very important, because they sometimes mumble "hhmmmm" and put a very serious look and wrinkle their eyebrows, which at some doctors look more like they had a terrible case of diarrhea.
And then they take out the needle and I can't remember anything because I either pass out or too busy hiding the pee stains on .my pants.

But when I went to the gynae, I was lost. I did not know what to do. I basically just stood there and read newspaper, while my wife was busy answering questions, filling forms, taking urine test, taking blood pressure test, taking USG and so on. I was just lost. I tried to be involved, mainly by looking attentively at everything, including my own finger nails, but I still think I was very passive there.
But at the end I was finally able to give my support. At the cashier that is.

Price-Slashed Machetes

Machetes, the next hot investment item for the next Nigerian's general elections.
(from Reuters)

ABUJA (Reuters) - The price of machetes has halved in parts of Nigeria since the end of general elections in April because demand from thugs sponsored by politicians has subsided, the state-owned News Agency of Nigeria reported.
NAN surveyed prices in the northeastern state of Gombe and found that a good quality machete was now selling for 400 naira ($3) compared with 800 naira before the elections, which were marred by politically motivated violence in many states.
"A price survey on machetes, which served as a popular weapon among political thugs in the state, indicated ... a drop in the price of the implement," NAN reported over the weekend.
Machetes are primarily used as a tool for farming in Nigeria but they are also popular among political gangsters.
"Before the conduct of the general elections, I was selling a minimum of seven machetes daily but can hardly sell one a day now," said Usman Masi, a trader quoted by NAN.

Going Home 4

Thursday
My days in Indonesia are just the same as usual. I chatted with my family, I did my work, I ate a lot. But now there is one thing new, I have two new members in my big family. My brother just had a daughter last January and my sister had a son last February. So this time I had a chance to see them.

I met Annabelle and Owen (pics below) who were quite different from each other, except for the fact that they both drool.
I had fun and play with them (play them, to be exact) for quite a while. I even held and carried them around, which was the first time for me. It's quite fun and such a wonderful experience that I felt deeply, in the form of numbness on my hands.
They are 6 and 8 kgs and I held them for quite too long. So my hands were sore and tired.
But I had fun and would do it again. I need the exercise, and who knows, I would do it again with my own baby soon. I need dumbbell.

Owen:

Abel:

Going Home 3

I have been going back to Jakarta almost every month this year. And I have used to the feeling of being back home.
So when I arrived in Jakarta this time, I felt the same way that I usually feel when I arrive at my home country. I felt sweats pouring down my body.
It was so hot in Jakarta. I instantly have my body covered with sweat. But that's how I remembered Jakarta.

And there's another thing that I remembered about Jakarta, there were crimes all over. Right after I bought a local mobile phone number, I just realized that it's been rigged. It was a second hand SIM card and the amount was reduced by $1. But that's how I remembered Jakarta.

Then I went home and ate and ate. And I got diarrhea.
I ate nasi padang with a lot of coconut milk and chilly, which caused my tummy to feel like I ate shredded glasses. That also reminded me of Jakarta. So I wake up at night to go to the bathroom several times and in the morning I didn't dare to pour coffee into my upset tummy. So I went to work without caffeine in my bloodstream, which made me only slightly more alive than a cauliflower. Then I took a medicine and it calms down. That's how I remember my home country. Well, of course there are also a lot of good things in Indonesia that I remember, but I probably only be able to remember them when my tummy is fully recovered.

Going Home 2

This is the first time I left my wife when she's pregnant. and of course I miss her and am worried at the same time. But fortunately she's going to stay with her mom. The in-laws are still here. And just like any other wives, she listens to her mom more than she listens to the husband. So, I actually should be less worried. But still, I am a first-time expecting husband. That means I have the right to be slightly worried.

So, I was planning to sms my wife very often, in a frequency that made my wife's phone's battery go flat in 2 minutes. But then my wife assured me that she would take a good care of her pregnancy. I believed she would. If she doesn't, then I, as a responsible husband, will take a stern action. I will ask her mom to scold her.

Going Home

As mentioned in the previous blog, I am traveling to Indonesia and will only be back on Saturday. So this blog is taking its off days. But I am going to write about my trip, because
- Some of you might want to hear about it (my mom does)
- I don't have any friends in real life to share this with.

Wednesday
This is the first day of the trip and I am taking the earliest flight. So I woke up to a glorious morning and I stretched out all my muscle, I inhaled the nice fresh morning air and I felt wonderful at this 7.00 in the morning, and... WHAT?!... What time?...Gosh what happened to my alarm? My flight was at 8.20am and I woke up at 7.00am.
I couldn't remember what happened next because it happened so fast and I hadn't had my coffee. Thank God I still remembered to take shower and brush my teeth. I took a cab and managed to get to the airport on time. phew.
Now I am sitting on my flight and able to write this blog, after having an airplane coffee, which is probably filtered using a sweat sock, because the taste was terrible. But I finished it anyway because I needed the caffeine to help me remember how to take off my seat belt.

So here I am, writing a blog on the plane, wondering what my days in Indonesia are going to be like. It's probably going to be like a lot of food.