Baby Crazy

Well, since I only have baby in my head, I've moved blogging to my baby blog.

Just visit it when you can. It's just, well, baby stuff. Yes, I have become a cliche, but I'm loving it (and you better well love it too dammit!)

http://www.levisgenes.wordpress.com

Introducing...

Chatter

In theory, the idea of not lifting a finger when moving houses is plausible. But in reality, it doesn’t happen unless you’re filthy rich. As much as I’d love to just sit there and wait for everything to be packed and transported, I can’t help but exert some effort to speed up the process.

I had to take several moments of rest, but in the end, I was as exhausted as everyone else – well, maybe not as bad as the actual removalists but they were not carrying a bowling ball inside them.

The stress was exacerbated by the fact that I kept checking myself if my water broke. That’s what happens when you attend antenatal classes the day before you move houses. After watching the birth videos, I was convinced I was going to go on labour anytime soon.

I don’t know how we managed it but after over two years, we’ve accumulated more junk in our old place. We hired a huge truck, yet we had to do two trips to take everything. In the next couple of days, I will be a regular on eBay. And I will be calling the council for another rubbish pick up.

Although I can’t stay on my feet all day these days, I will make the most of my nesting phase to tidy up the house. It has its disadvantages, but the house has a lot of potential. The ad wasn’t lying when it said sun drenched indoors – I love having a lot of light inside. The dogs absolutely love the backyard, and the new Christmas tree will fit perfectly in the lounge room.

I’m exhausted, yes. But at least I’m getting some exercise.

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I have a huge crush on David Boreanaz again. I want to lick him all over – as vampire Angel or as FBI agent Booth. I need to dig out our Angel DVD collection and buy the last four seasons of Bones.

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I finished reading Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult, and although I enjoyed the book, I realised I have to take a break from her works for a while. The thing with reading several of a single author’s work is that you end up getting their style too much. So much so that before the book ends, you already know how it ends. Well, for my case that’s how it is anyway. I wasn’t disappointed by her writing, she’s still a great author. But I already knew how the story would end before I got to the middle of the book, that’s why I had to put it down for several months. I already know Picoult’s formula especially since I’ve been reading her for over three years now. I’m switching to another author for a while – to get a fresh style.

Besides, after organising our bookshelves yesterday I realised I have stacks of books I haven’t even read yet. I’ve learned – after several expensive book purchases – that it is not worth getting the book immediately after it comes out. Two months down the line, these books will be available at my favourite basement bookshop near Central station for less than half the price. I’ve bought books for $7, $5 and even $2. And I always, ALWAYS, find the good ones I want for less than $10 – by then I’d be silently cussing at myself for being so impatient and buying the book at full price. Patience is a goddamn virtue.

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I finished washing everything from the baby’s room – finally. I cannot believe we have two full loads of baby clothes. We didn’t buy a single thing – it’s all from friends and my god there’s a lot of it. I washed all the toys as well and had to throw out a couple for donation. I can only accommodate a basket of toys so I had to give away a lot of it.

I washed everything from pram covers, swing cover, to towels and so on. Presents have trickled in the last couple of months and we didn’t even realise just how much stuff we got. We didn’t even need to buy bottles, dummies etc. I’ve uncovered boxes of baby things we didn’t dig through before and we have more stuff than I realised.

I am grateful, very grateful, to everyone who shared their old baby treasures with us.
Thank you so much.

Peaceful Slumber

My soon-to-be newborn's siblings, contented and happy.

Oh.My.God

A couple of weeks ago, my sister told me to send a couple of files to her because she wants to nominate me for an award from our highschool alma mater.

So I sent it to her – you know, an arrow in the dark.

It turns out they like me.

I just received an email from my highschool saying I’ve been chosen as one of the Ten Outstanding Pilgrimians for 2008 (the school is called Pilgrim Christian College – a sister school of my uni). I won the Mass Communication category and is now the youngest TOP.

It’s the school’s 60th Foundation Jubilee, which makes the award more significant.

Although I am absolutely honoured by the award, I can’t help but feel tickled as well. I’ve been given an award that I usually associated with something you give to a 50-year old alumna. I’m not even 30 yet.

My first reaction was to shake my head -- more in disbelief than anything. The self-doubting/self-deprecating side of me started thinking that maybe no one else was nominated for the category, but my dad said the committee got a lot of nominations this year. Apparently, I was chosen for my “commendable achievement” in the field.

Five years ago, I was asked to be the speaker for the highschool graduation. Although I considered myself too young to qualify as a good candidate for the role, I reckon I imparted some good insight to that batch.

I was speaking from experience – practical and realistic yet also inspiring (ahem). I didn’t give them some bullcrap story about just working hard blah blah. I spoke about the realities of the things you face after highschool, and how there is also room for fun and relationships.

When I found out about the award, I had to succumb to some self-doubt (what healthy human being doesn’t?). But I also know that, given my background in the profession I’ve chosen, I had a very good shot at getting the award. It is easy to forget past achievements especially when the reality you’re living with changes so often and gives you more pressing matters to attend to (such as babies coming out, moving boxes piling up, tying loose ends at work before the maternity leave etc). I had to look at my CV to see that since I graduated from highschool, I’ve done quite well for myself – even in a foreign country. So I told my self-doubting/self-deprecating side – “don’t be too hard on yourself, you earned it mate, remember not everyone gets to be published in the New York Times several times”. I think she’s listening now.

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I got to work this morning to find this sitting on my table. My workmates organised it while I was out.



I feel so touched they did this, especially given how I’ve been the last couple of months. One of my weaknesses at work is that when I get into work mode, I kinda forget to socialise with workmates. I only went to one lunch with them since I started in May. After that, I buried myself with deadlines and work, and focused too much on doing a great job. It also didn’t help that I was dealing with the pregnancy and personal projects. They’ve organised a long farewell-for-now lunch for me tomorrow. I am so touched. I swear to exert more effort to get to know my workmates when I get back.

OH.MY.GOD WTF??!!!

The US election is scaaarry.

The gala night

It was a night of humour. A night of humour indeed.

Each year, the publication and the company sponsor an awards night, recognising innovations in the electronics industry for both Australia and New Zealand.

I know, it sounds quite boring eh? But once you end up understanding what the projects are actually about, you’ll find that these innovations are the ones that you will be using every single day in the next couple of years – or even the ones that will save your life (medical technology is part of it).

Anyway, being the editor of the magazine, I was under pressure the last couple of months to organise this thing and finalise the winners. So last night, during the gala dinner, I asked the events coordinator to leave me out of the program so I can relax – I really didn’t feel like waddling on stage being 33 weeks pregnant and all that.

I was ready to “chillax” (you know, chill and relax) when I got this urgent call from the coordinators. They pulled me aside with panicked looked on their faces and pushed the program’s script on me.

My boss, who is supposed to emcee the program and hand out the awards, had to rush to the hospital. His wife’s water just broke. She was 32 weeks pregnant and dressed elegantly, ready to join the gala dinner. I knew something was up when I saw her crying on the phone outside the restaurant.

So there I was, scrambling to familiarise myself with the program, the script and the finalists’ projects’ proper pronunciation 10 minutes before the program started, and I can’t even have a drink. The baby, probably feeling the adrenaline rush, started moving and kicking around.

Instead of the night of “chillaxation”, I ended up on stage all night, trying to make sure I do a proper job in front of over 120 electronics experts from Australia and New Zealand and not break my water. After the initial nervous minutes, I finally got the hang of it and even managed to crack a few jokes on the side (they laughed, probably because by then they’ve had enough alcohol in their system).

I am proud to say I lasted the entire night without glitch. I am apparently still great under pressure (humility aside, of course). I was exhausted by the end of the night but I had fun, much much fun.

A very Pinoy weekend

I filled my weekend with various nostalgia-inducing activities. Hanging out with my highschool classmate and her one year old was a great way to spend Saturday afternoon. We listened to Cebu City’s Energy FM station online while eating my home-made Bulalo and Leche Flan. Her kid has been honed to try anything before she turned one so she was quite eager to swallow down her fair share of rice and Bulalo – she definitely has strong Pinoy blood running through her veins. Smart move on my friend’s part, something I’ll definitely try on my kid.

We walked around the neighbourhood in the afternoon, her with the pram, me with two dogs and soccer ball inside. Seeing the houses around this area left us confused of people’s choices for homes. Most have pillars and columns and room for over three families inside. We shook our heads at them, thinking of the families we left behind in the Philippines.

It’s nice to hang around someone with your sense of simplicity. Nice smaller homes are good enough for us, without the frills, bangs and whistles of the bigger houses. Where we come from, space is a luxury. We’ve learned to strip things down so that only the practical side is left. I was never high maintenance growing up. Even with the pregnancy, I’m still not high maintenance, and that’s going to continue to reflect on the choices I make. Sometimes, living in a rich country changes your perspective on things and makes you forget the lessons of your past. It’s nice to look at the giant mansion close to us, but in reality, I will never be one to live happily inside it. Hanging out with her reminds me of where I used to be, the things I used to enjoy, the kabaduyan (tackiness) that is inside of me. I hope to pass that on to my offspring.

It was nice to sit outside in the sunny springtime, talking about the good old days and the classmates we haven’t seen in a long time. It was good speaking in our native tongue, laughing at the tackiest segments on Filipino radio, revealing the secrets we kept in highschool and being reminded of the soapies we used to enjoy. It was nice to share memories of the place where we both grew up, mentioning places familiar to both of us. I am certain now more than ever that it wasn’t a coincidence that she ended up as my neighbour.

Hubby finally arrived close to midnight after a dramatic weekend in Hobart. The birthday party was filled with soap operatic chaos -- the pensioner's version of Gossip Girl. But it was still productive -- he came home with the pram and car seat his mum bought for us -- and a gazillion of useless baby calendars and baby notebooks that will be going to the recycling bin soon after I cut out the photos I like.

It's looking to be a very sunny week -- sooo looking forward to my very long weekend starting Friday.

Philippine Exhibition

A huge thank you to moochie pie for making this (first?) exhibit possible. I owe you and Q a spa session :) And thank you to those who went to the opening night last Friday.

Baby Blog

My thoughts and feelings on the impending changes brought by motherhood.

LevisGenes Blog