|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Grandpa Ben & Grandma Eva's Visit
October 31, 2010
Grandpa and grandma took a few days to visit us before I return to work. While they were here, they happened to see Jamie's ad in the shopping plaza next to their hotel!
|
|
***
This time I recommended them to stay in a nearby resort. They were lucky rainy season just ended right before they came. The weather was very nice thru out their stay. We couldn't resist not hanging out in the pool.
|
|
***
We had lunch literally in the water.
|
|
***
The hotel provides complimentary boat service to the sky train station. Instead of being stuck in bad traffic, we had a slow boat ride with nice breeze and sunshine. It was a very nice ride. And we made it to our destination in less time than it would have taken by car.
|
|
***
We also spent some time in the dog park with Yo & Peanut Butter and many other dogs. Their visit's been a relaxing and refreshing time for me before I have to return to work tomorrow. Today is the last day of my 3-month vacation. I feel like I just had a very long weekend...
|
|
Cool shopping cart
October 24, 2010
I'm very impressed with this type of shopping cart design in the States. Make shopping so much more fun for both parents and kids. Not only it can sit 2 kids but the 2-layer design means we don't have to bend down every time anymore. Really cool!
|
|
Thank you
October 24, 2010
2 weeks have passed since we got back to Bangkok. There's still 1 more week before I return to work. Ironically, it is time like this when I'm not specifically busy on anything that I feel most tired and unenergetic. I know I should have gotten to this earlier. I really need to write a big THANK YOU note to Grandma Tonna & Grandpa Herbie for looking after Jamie when I pursued my dog training dream. Couldn't have made it without you. We can definitely see your influence on Jamie. For one thing, his English has improved tremendously. He says all kinds of surprising and funny things that are definitely Grandma & Grandpa like calling people "honey"! He fell in love with the Dora character which he was introduced to in the States. He often sings "We did it! We did it! We did it!" which I think is a Dora song that he used to sing often with Grandpa Herbie. He gets excited when he sees pumpkins which probably remind him of the pumpkin he carved during his stay with you. He saw a Labrador looking dog and he first called it Kona then Bailey. And most impressive of all, he can go potty standing up like a boy should! Thank you for everything!!! Here is a photo taken by Jamie!
|
|
LA trip
September 21, 2010
Having to fly on small airplane and have stop-over and totalling 6 hours of flight just to get to the west coast from North Carolina didn't exactly make me too excited about the trip. BUT, on the way to LA, we happened to sit next to a super friendly lady named Teresa. Thanks to her, both Jamie and I were greatly entertained thru out the flight. Thank you Teresa! You even made me think, flying isn't that bad afterall! |
|
***
And when we were in LA, it was really nice to be able to spend some quality time with my brothers. I'm so glad I have them as Jamie's uncles.
|
|
A nice short break
August 10, 2010
2 hours is not a long drive especially with nice smooth roads without traffic. So even though I only had the weekend, I drove to give Jamie and the family a visit. Of course it was all worth it. Got to experience Texas Roadhouse, something unique and local to the South.
|
|
***
Got to enjoy Sunday brunch with Grandma Tonna's delicious cooking!
|
|
***
Got to see Jamie spending time with Auntie Keiko.
|
|
***
Got to see the wonderful "Finding Nemo" again in such a relaxed environment. This movie is even better than I remembered. A great story on parenthood and independence. |
|
***
Immediately putting new learned skill into practicing with Bailey. Mainly teaching her the "watch" command.
|
|
***
Of course being with this ridiculously funny Klyde is just pure joy.
|
|
The journey began
July 28, 10
My journey to becoming a professional dog trainer unofficially began on Monday when I left Thailand for the USA. This is going to be a 3-month trip. I'd miss Jamie too much if I left him behind. So I took him with me.
Our first stop in the USA was LA. That's the only non-stop destination from Bangkok. Funny the day we flew, Jamie happened to dress like a typical Hispanic kid. :) He'd surely blend into LA population hahaha.
|
|
***
Daddy is also on 3-month off but he's spending time taking surfing trips before he heads to USA to join us. He saw us off in the airport. |
|
***
I was not looking forward to the long flight from Bangkok to LA but the 15 hr 20 min flight turned out to be a breeze. Jamie was happy listening to the headphone or sleeping. The food wasn't bad either! |
|
***
Jet lag was another problem I worried about but the time difference worked out pretty well. We got on the plane at night in Bangkok ready to sleep. We slept thru most of the flight. Got to LA at night again for more sleep. Great! So the next day we were all ready to have fun. We took Jamie to Chunk E Cheese!
|
|
***
It was also time for reunion with the Mar family I lived with when I was in LA. We were all school kids back then. Now we all have our own kids. :>
|
|
***
Melanie, Steven's 1 year old daughter, is the most active one. She's very boyish. When Jamie tried to kiss her, she was not afraid to show him NO.
|
|
***
On the other hand, Vera, Thomas's 3 year old daughter is very girlie. She went up to the top of slide and was too afraid to come down. Thomas had to go for the rescue.
|
|
***
Aidan, Vera's younger twin brother, seemed to be a quiet yet determined boy. He knows what he wants and he goes right to it. In Chuck E Cheese, he wanted Mario car racing. :>
|
|
***
After Chuck E Cheese, we dropped by Thomas's newly renovated house. It was so gorgeous! There are plenty of rooms. Even the kids got their own play room. Look at all these toys! Back in Thailand or Asia, you would only find this type of big scale toys in shopping malls for public use. Kids here really live a different kind of life.
|
|
***
I love Melanie's Zoolander Magnum expression. :P
|
|
***
The next day we hung out in Arcadia Mall. Completely different from before. We were lucky to get this fire truck for free use that day. A guy was about to return it and he let us use it. It costs $7 for rental!
|
|
***
After staying in LA for only 2 days, we flew into North Carolina. You know USA is really huge when you fly 4 hr 20 min just to get from the west coast to the east. That's almost double duration from Bangkok to HK. But even though it's not a short flight, domestic flights usually equal smaller airplanes. And smaller airplanes usually equal more bumpy rides. Plus overnight ride, all of these added up to a terrible flight experience. Ok, it wasn't that bad. But if I had a choice, I wouldn't want to fly like this. Even worse than the flight was the check in at LAX. A complete mess and we almost didn't make it to the plane on time due to Delta's inefficient ground service. Despite all these, it was all worth it to be able to let Jamie spend quality time with his grandparents. :> And the beautiful country home of course was not a bad place to spend vacation time in!
|
|
***
A lot more quality time like this is going to take place in the next few months. :> |
|
***
Besides spending quality time with grandparents, their pets are also adorable!!! I'm so glad Bailey is such a good girl. She immediately gets along with Jamie. Jamie, the dog trainer in the making. ^^
|
|
***
Bailey is so much fun! I'm falling in love with her already. Am gonna miss her when we go!
|
|
***
And Klyde is such a joke! To begin with, he looks like a lion! But his behavior is even funnier. Look how he begs to go outside. Too cute!
|
|
Nostalgic
July 3, 10
Seeing Jamie in this type of outfit reminded me of my childhood.
|
|
***
Especially when I saw him playing in the condo area with other neighborhood kids. Just like how I played with kids who lived in the same government housing. Precious time.
|
|
Safe zone?!
My company arranged people who live in the dangerous zone to move temporarily to the relatively safer zone. So some moved to our street. We met up straight for 2 nights to celebrate we are still safe and sound. Jamie also joined us on the 2nd night. These are Kei san and Miyuki san.
|
|
***
These are Yama and Ono san.
|
|
***
Yama again, whom we jokingly called Rain as he resembles the popular Korean star.
|
|
Songkran in Hong Kong
May 1, 10
Back in Hong Kong with Jamie in April for a week during Thailand New Year holiday. Spent time there as usual but the highlight of this trip was we took Jamie to see the museum of his idol, a singer from his favorite Chinese operas.
|
|
***
Jamie watches Chinese operas a lot. But this time he got to perform live!
|
|
***
It was also good to see Annabel who had grown up so much! She was cheerful and behaved very well.
|
|
***
Charolette also grew up a lot. Looked like the Japanese character Maruko haha. As always, we took a happy family portrait.
|
|
***
Of course the one with me in it looked more picture perfect. :P
|
|
Another photo of look alike
March 24, 10
|
|
***
But not so much when I had long hair.
|
|
Rayong
March 23, 10
We had been so busy with a friend's wedding and friends in town. Tons of photos were taken. This means hundreds of photos will be uploaded in the near future.
Tonight I finally got the time to write about a trip I took with Jamie a month ago. It was our first trip to Rayong, a beach area which is about 2-3 hour drive away from Bangkok.
|
|
***
There was not much to do besides hanging by the ocean and pool and taking photos. I don't know where Jamie got it from but he got all kinds of funny poses.
|
|
***
He ran all the way to the other side of the pool just to do this pose. Haha.
|
|
***
But this banana shot was the loveliest.
|
|
***
After a good rest, we woke up refreshed and had breakfast right by the beach.
|
|
Look alike?
February 17, 10
People at work say I look like Jamie with this hairstyle. Do I? Hey, shouldn't it be the other way around?!
|
|
Envy
January 4, 2010
Hearing about the birth of Maya, the little sister to Rafee, I'm filled with envious emotion. How precious. To give a little sister to about 4 year old Rafee. We met Charlotte and Shagor during birth class when I was carrying Jamie. Rafee was among one of the first to be born. Steve and I were so excited. Both of us were filled with joyful tears when we saw the new born Rafee in the hospital even though it was through a window. Being only a few day old, he was already handsome with dark full volumn hair pointing toward different directions that you can't help but notice. Today, he has already grown into an even more handsome young boy holding his little sister in his arms with his more "elegant" hair. :) It brings tears to me even while I'm writing this. Kids grow so fast. Jamie is becoming more and more a young boy everyday too. I could only wish that I could also present such a precious gift to Jamie, especially while he's still a child himself. This will be a life long bond that he won't be able to experience from other things in life.
Another minor envy is that Charlotte could give birth underwater. I tried but didn't work. I know from firsthand experience that it really takes all factors to work to your advantage to have a 2nd child and do it underwater. Envy is really the word to describe my feeling. I'm so happy for you, Charlotte. You so deserve it.
|
|
The most eligible bachelor
November 13, 2009
On Halloween, we went to my coworker Pim's wedding. Yes, it explains why Jamie dressed as Mickey Mouse. Red is also a color for wedding, at least for Chinese so I thought it was a good choice. But the problem was, I wore this particular dress because for ladies, we had to wear either pink or brown and this was the only dress I have in such color. What's the problem? I looked like Snow White in it! Daddy Steve said Jamie and I were Disney characters for that night. Well, if we were, then Daddy Steve would be my prince!...Anyway, I wasn't trying to be anything so I covered myself with a pink pashmina. The focus should be on the bride.
|
|
***
I don't think they would do this in America but in this wedding, they gathered the single GUYS to throw the flower bonquet at them. Jamie, being the most eligible bachelor, of course had to join in.
|
|
***
First, there were just a few guys. But then the MC asked the single ladies to join too. The crowd became much bigger. By this time, Jamie was being held by this stranger. :)
Btw, don't be surprised at how grand this wedding seems. It's normal in Thailand to invite the whole village to a wedding.
|
|
***
Then the important moment came. Ladies aimed for the flower bouquet from the bride. Guys aimed for the one from the groom. Jamie didn't care where it comes from. He tried his best to get it.
|
|
***
But in Thailand, children never lose. The winner happily shared some of his victory with Jamie.
|
|
***
Another new experience for us in this wedding is that guests can go up to the stage to sing songs for the couple. Our team went up. So did Jamie. But all he did was block the karaoke screen. |
|
More photos of HK trip
October 27, 09
I was organizing the photos in my mobile phone and found many taken during HK trip so I'd like to share them here.
This one is my favorite. Looks like Jamie was traveling alone.
|
|
***
This is Hayden. Jamie quickly became good friends with him. They dressed alike, held hands and Jamie tried to imitate Hayden's way of peeing standing up but failed. :)
|
|
***
We met up with the Mar family. Jamie and Ashton showed the true form of parallel playing.
|
|
***
Amazing how straight Ashton lined up those cars! Hey, thanks alot for the toys you lended Jamie to bring home to play.
|
|
***
It was already chaotic to have to handle 3 kids for Mar family in this outdoor Mid Autumn Festival. Jamie "helped" by bugging their mommy Sue while Keaton fought for the digital camera from his dad Kenny.
|
|
Trip to Hong Kong
October 20, 09
It's Jamie's summer holiday now so I took him to Hong Kong for more than a week. During this trip, Jamie got to spend plenty of time with Uncle Sam who surfed the net with him, took showers with him, slept with him etc.
|
|
***
Sam also helped a lot in holding Jamie which is becoming more and more difficult for me. When I take him to school in the morning, I have a hard time holding him up to sit on the motorcycle taxi.
|
|
***
Jamie also got to spend more time with Baby.
|
|
***
Even closer with Siu Mei who is so adorable. Likes to snug up to people and let people do anything to her. |
|
***
And the rest of the family.
|
|
***
Celebrating Grandpa Ben and Uncle Sam's Oct birthdays. It was also the day for Mid Autumn Festival.
|
|
***
Nice photo with Auntie Mar.
|
|
***
This Donald Duck outfit is very cute but it would have been even cuter if I remembered to bring the necktie that comes with it.
|
|
***
Jamie had a good time with Cousin Anson.
|
|
***
The 8 beautiful young girls stood behind Grandpa Ben to congratulate him on his birthday. Jamie felt the happiness too. :)
|
|
***
With the older lady group, he wasn't as excited. He developed a funny preference in this trip where whenever there was a young good looking girl joining our gathering, he would put up a big smile and show obvious welcome but if it's older women he wouldn't be as interested.
|
|
***
In this trip he also learned to show different facial expressions. This is his scared face.
|
|
***
And this is his angry face. He can also do happy face, crying face, sly face, cat, dog, mouse, cow and his favorite pig.
|
|
***
And he surely knows how to put smiles on others' faces.
|
|
***
But he made Cousin Anson unhappy when Jamie took his bus lantern. Anson didn't want the taxi.
|
|
***
Another highlight of this trip was Macau. He got very close to Auntie Lai Wah.
|
|
***
Another one he got close with was Cousin Koey, who was holding Jamie in this photo.
|
|
***
We stayed in a surreal room where we had our private karaoke room. Jamie was singing all the HK oldies from the 80's. He also came to like Chinese Opera with Grandma Eva's singing practice at home.
|
|
***
He had the hotel pool all to himself.
|
|
***
Then his "girlfriends" joined us. |
|
Mother's Day celebration
September 12, 09
Jamie's kindergarten held a celebration for Mother's Day a few days before Jamie's birthday. All the mothers were invited. Many daddies who didn't get invited also joined to be the camera man. Can you find Jamie in this picture? |
|
***
After some events in the hall, parents followed the children back to their classes and we did some art work together. We made this lolipop flower together.
It was also snack time. Each child got 1 piece of sandwich. From the very first day, the teacher already told me that the food they offer in school is not enough for Jamie so we need to prepare something extra for him everyday. Like this day, after he ate the school's sandwich, he still had the apetite to finish all these carrots!!!
|
|
***
This is Jamie's class Love. All the children proudly presented their flowers. |
|
***
This kindergarten does a really good job in teaching kids to clean up after themselves. Nowadays we don't have to say it and Jamie would clean up after himself even at home. I think it's this type of small habit in early life that can nurture responsibility in the long run.
|
|
***
As morning was coming to end, it was lunch time. Even though Jamie just ate all those carrots, he still had the stomach to eat 2 bowls of rice. Crazy kid!
When Father's Day come in Decemeber, I will definitely join their event again even uninvited. |
|
Grandparents' visit
July 28, 09
As usual, when my parents decide to visit, they come very suddenly without much advance notice. But it doesn't really matter as long as I can find the time to hang out with them while they are here. Here I upload my favorite photos from their recent stay.
This one is definitely my favorite. Jamie looked like a beggar haha. My parents asked for praying from the dancers. He was afraid to go up or even look at the dancers in the beginning but eventually he walked up, sat down and imitated my parents' hand gesture but was still afraid to face the dancers haha.
|
|
***
Another photo I like is this one. Captured a natural but good looking moment of Jamie.
|
|
***
For this one, the waitress who helped us to take this photo did not know how to use a camera thus resulting in this awkward photo but did capture Jamie posing a shaka haha. |
|
***
This is the proper one taken by another waiter who knew how to use a camera.
|
|
***
This one captured Grandma Eva jumped into a kid ride with Jamie.
|
|
***
Both grandparents playing with Jamie. I don't remember my parents ever playing with me like this before.
|
|
***
We were having dinner and we were all laughing at something that obviously Jamie was too young to understand but he was so empathetic that he laughed with all of us. :)
|
|
***
Another photo of Jamie having a big smile on his face.
|
|
***
Jamie was running around in this big tatami room thru out the whole dinner (except for this photo).
|
|
***
This was an intimate moment when I brushed Jamie's teeth before we left Jamie in grandparents' hotel for a stay over.
|
|
***
Jamie didn't put up a fight and soon fell asleep but Grandpa Ben is always the fastest one to fall asleep.
|
|
***
Photo taken in aquarium. A grandkid can really bring new perspectives into life. Again, I don't remember going to aquarium with my parents when I was a kid.
|
|
***
I rented a van which was perfect size for our group.
|
|
***
But the next day the driver showed up with this super big bus because the van had some problems. Ridiculously huge for our group. If you look closely, you can see Jamie sitting in the back.
|
|
***
Seeing the group off in airport.
|
|
Holidays with mommy
July 11, 09
Last weekend was a long weekend in Thailand due to Buddhist holiday. Daddy had 5 days off. He went to his favorite surfing spot at Phuket. Mommy and Jamie stayed behind in Bangkok for the first 2 days. We went to a nearby floating market. We had a blast!
|
|
***
First we had delicious local seafood. The noodle was so surprisingly delicious we ate 2 bowls.
|
|
***
This whole place is actually floating in the water. Jamie with a big smile after a satisfactory seafood meal.
|
|
***
Next, we wanted to take private boat and go around the neighborhood a bit but they didn't have that in this market so we took a scheduled one which sat many other people too. But soon after departure, heavy rain poured down. The boat was shaky and it was getting very chilly for us. We had to stop and waited like this.
|
|
***
But of course Jamie wouldn't waste any time making friends.
|
|
***
Her name is Mickey. His father used a plastic bag to protect his head from the rain and he kept offering one to Jamie.
|
|
***
But Jamie took his other hat instead.
|
|
***
After the rain stopped, our tour resumed. The whole boat ride took 3 hours. Much longer than what I wanted.
|
|
***
The next day we headed to Pattaya.
|
|
***
The beach was right there but Jamie wouldn't let go of me so I let him play in the pool. He finally was able to stand in the pool on his own!
|
|
***
Next morning we got up, ate breakfast and hung out by the pool again.
|
|
***
The weather was perfect.
|
|
***
Perfect for sunbathing...of course with Jamie under shade.
|
|
***
It was a beautiful day and really didn't want to leave the beach and pool yet but check out time came before we knew.
|
|
***
We checked out the hotel and went across to a park to ride elephant. The "driver" suddenly got off and let us ride alone!
I was ambitious enough to take Jamie to another floating market afterwards but he fell asleep in the car so we just ended our trip and headed back to Bangkok.
It was so fun to hang out with him like that. I'd definitely want to do it again. |
|
Jamie bag
June 19, 09
I use Kodak Gallery site to hold many many photos I share with family and friends. The service used to be free but now if you don't purchase any product from the site, you can no longer use the site to hold photos. So I was browsing thru their products and I found something I could actually use - this Jamie bag. Look closely and you'll see Jamie's photo on it. The product turned out to be even better than how it looked on the site. This eco bag is perfect in size and shape for my everyday use. I highly recommend it!
|
|
My favorite photos from Hawaii trip
May 23, 09
Bear with me. There are a lot. And I had a hard time selecting since I love all the photos we took.
Just make my heart melt to see 3 generations being together so lovingly.
|
|
***
Another photo of 3 generations being together.
|
|
***
Family photo in front of the famous Duke statue in Waikiki Beach. I was in bathing suit with a lei on. So Hawaii!
|
|
***
Captured the moment of natural smile on everyone's face. Our cameraman, Grandpa Steve's friend Pat, was imitating the way I take photos, making all of us laugh.
|
|
***
Jamie really knows how to make people laugh, both intentionally and unintentionally.
|
|
***
A beautiful photo of Grandma, Grandpa and Jamie together.
|
|
***
A cheesy but cute photo of the three of us, with Diamond Head as the backdrop on top of soft sand in Waikiki Beach, with Jamie wearing Hawaii 09 jersey. Really really cheesy. Love it.
|
|
***
Jamie wearing Great Grandma Chun's shoes. And posing. Cute!
|
|
***
A beautiful natural smile on Jamie's face, looking out of the car window.
|
|
***
I like this sign. Took this photo in a moving car. Glad I bought this camera with fast shutter speed.
|
|
***
Sunset on Sunset Beach.
|
|
***
Because I was often the one behind the camera, I was hardly on any photo. So it's really nice when Daddy volunteered to take out the camera and capture a great shot like this. It looks like I rode that wave but I so did not. I wiped out the next second.
|
|
***
Another rare shot of capturing Jamie and I hanging out.
|
|
***
Another rare photo of Daddy and Mommy in slice of life. The shave ice color was exactly same as my shirt! Looks like I spilled shave ice all over my shirt.
|
|
***
This photo reminded me of photos I took when I was a kid. When I look at photos like this, I feel like I remember what happened at that time even though I was too young to be remembering details that happened. So I'm not sure if it's just my imagination from looking at photos. I wonder if Jamie will remember this special moment.
|
|
***
The rest are just my own obession with dogs. A beautiful dog wit a lei around his neck, waiting for his master in front of Burger King. Gorgeous.
|
|
***
A handsome white German Sherperd with a cool name Duke. His master's name happened to be Joey. Cool!
|
|
***
This dog walked up to me wanting my potato chips. Lucky him. He had the whole Sunset Beach to himself. |
|
***
Another obsession of mine is to take close up photos of food. It's not easy to capture close up shot with clear focus since food usually comes in great details. So when I'm able to take a good shot like this one, I enjoy looking at it over and over again. Even if you close up, the shrimps' outer layers are still crystal clear.
|
|
***
And last but not least, this may be my favorite photo. This is a re-make of a photo I took with Daddy in Newport Beach, California in 2005. At that time we didn't have Jamie, now we do. :) We all had great smile and great pose in this photo. Lovely. Thank you Grandpa Herbie for this great shot!
|
|
Quality photos
April 21, 09
I have several compact digital cameras but were never satisfied with the photo quality. When I was in Japan last week, I finally bought a Canon single lens reflex digital camera. I highly anticipated high quality photos but the result was beyond my expectation. This was the first photo I took with that camera. Notice how clear the details are. And, I took this photo in a moving bulleting train but it still didn't blur. Amazing!
|
|
***
Another random photo I took was this one. I love it. It's a wow photo for me. Again, it was taken in a moving bulletin train. Jamie was just drinking his milk. This is my computer's wallpaper now.
|
|
Nest
April 10, 09
A pigeon built a nest by our master bedroom window! In the beginning, I saw a few wood sticks by our window, thought it was kind of strange but didn't think much about it. But by the next day the nest was already completed. Absolutely amazing! How did the pigeon put the wood sticks together in a way they twine together so neatly so stable for the egg?! How did the pigeon know how to do it?! The next day we found 1 more egg. I joked with Jamie that he should eat those eggs and the pigeon mom since Chinese are known for eating anything. :)
Daddy was concerned about bug problem and bird flu and was wondering if he should destroy the nest but after seeing 2 eggs being hatched and how the pigeon mom diligently sits on her eggs all the time, he couldn't do it. Plus he witnessed the pigeon eating up the bugs around it so the pigeon may actually be helpful to terminate bugs.
Maybe news spread fast among the pigeon community. Soon we found a few wood sticks by another window in master bedroom. This time, daddy immediately removed the wood sticks before they became a nest though.
|
|
School not ready?!
April 1, 2009
Today was supposed to be Jamie's 1st day in school. But yesterday I got a call from his school saying "I'm very sorry but our renovation has not finished yet so we'll start school on April 2nd instead of April 1st". And nope, this is not a joke for April Fools' Day. This is reality living in Thailand.
I still haven't got the refund from our flight cancellation during Bangkok airport shutdown that took place 4 months ago. As anything could happen here, I waited the very last moment to register for this summer course, to minimize the risk we have to bear.
When I finally went to register on March 30th, I was surprised to see that the school was under renovation. It didn't even look close to being finished. I'd be impressed if they could finish up in just 1 day. But the school reassured me that it would finish by then. And it turned out, construction never ever finished on time. My condo was no exception and the school wasn't either.
Well, just to see how the school would respond, I asked "Since there will be 1 day less, will the school return that 1 day tuition to us?" The school responded "no, we are delaying to ensure the classrooms will be clean enough for the children. And it's only 1 day less so there will be no refund for that." Ok! Her response made no sense. This summer course has less than 20 days of classes so 1 day is actually not just "only" 1 day. And if they were really serious about providing a clean environment for the children, they didn't have to delay a day to make it happen.
Anyway, I didn't really care. The school advised the parents to be there the whole time for the first 2 days, to help the kids adjust to the new environment. Of course I want to be there for Jamie. I had many meetings today but not tomorrow so everything works out fine in the end. I'll take my morning off to spend the whole morning in school with Jamie.
|
|
Ready for school??
March 28, 09
Jamie will start going to school from April 1st! It's going to be a 1-month summer program. But I've been so busy during weekdays that I still haven't applied for him yet. But the school says the deadline is last day of March. Whenever I tell someone this, I always get the reaction "Is this school ok? Doesn't sound like a proper school..." Haha, well, this is the beauty of Thailand. I'm looking forward to being with him on that very special day. Daddy, on the other hand, whose work is very far away, may not have the privilege to be there. Well, let's see what will happen. I'm already looking forward to the last day of this summer program which I heard, the kids will perform for the parents in the "graduation" party. Yeah!! Exciting!! |
|
Strange doll
March 1, 09
When I was at Kuala Lumpur airport in Malaysia this past week, I saw this strange doll which can pee and poop! Gross! They sell disposable diapers for this doll but I hope kids will recycle them. We're already creating a lot of diaper trash in the real world, please don't add more unnecessary trash!
I can see how kids may like playing with this doll but who is going to take care of the mess?! It's already not easy to potty train 1 kid. It's ridiculous that parents will/may have to take care of the mess of this doll too!
|
|
Smart business
February 22, 09
At my work, I see companies pay tons of money to study consumer insight, branding etc but sometimes the answers are incredibly simple.
Every time we take Jamie to the train park, I always like to buy him pancake from this stall. Why? Cuz I know Jamie not only enjoys eating it but also enjoys making the choice of which "look" to order. There are butterfly, Hello Kitty, Ultraman, bird...This stall makes its selection very easy to choose for kids. They make the pancakes in front of the kids. Even impatient kids would wait patiently for their selection.
|
|
***
Jamie chose Doraemon, his favorite character at the moment. And when we fed him, Jamie was excited at eating different parts of Doraemon, a good chance for us to teach him different body parts. The whole brand experience is amazing.
|
|
Baby sitting
February 1, 2009
Last weekend while daddy Steve went to practice golf with Jamie's friend Lyla's dad, I offered to take care of Lyla. I always had the feeling that taking care of 2 kids in close age at the same time is easier than 1 since they can occupy each other and this experience proved that I was correct.
|
|
***
I noticed that Lyla was wearing a shirt that Jamie also has, so I made Jamie wear it too.
|
|
***
I'd love to give Jamie a little sister (Lyla is actually 1 year older than Jamie). I grew up with brothers so I know how special the bond could become between sibilings so I know having a little sister is going to benefit Jamie, plus I will benefit by being able to enjoy shopping for cute girl outfit! :) Now I fulfill that desire by buying clothes for my friends who have little daughters.
|
|
Happy New Year!
January 5, 2009
Jamie and I went to Hong Kong to welcome 2009. You can see all the photos from the link at the end of this entry but here is a few preview.
Very grateful Baby and Shui Mei are very well behaved dogs. They accepted Jamie right away.
|
|
***
Grandma Eva took out my old clothes out from the closet and there was this T-shirt with my face on it. I made this T-shirt at a Thailand's attraction spot when I visited here for the first time around 11 or 12 years old. Now this shirt belongs to Jamie.
You'll see Jamie had this same pose in many photos. We say pose and he'd pose for the photo. That's the only way to make him stand still and look at the camera.
|
|
***
This clock has been at my parents' company for more than 30 years already! Amazing it still works.
|
|
***
We visited Miki's home. Miki is my friend from my Hawaii era. She's holding her 5 month old daughter Annabel who is usually mistaken as a boy. On the other hand, her husband Simon is holding Jamie who is usually mistaken as a girl. Annabel's room is painted in beautiful purple.
|
|
***
We also went to Charlotte's 5 month old celebration party. She's so adorable! Her mom Maggie lost a lot of weight due to hardship of being a mom!
|
|
***
Even the usually quiet taxi drivers talked to Jamie. One driver asked in Cantonese "Do you understand our language?" Jamie replied "What are you saying?" in Cantonese. :)
|
|
My poor coworkers are stuck in Thailand
November 29, 2008
This past week with the airport shutdown happened to be the same week we had our Pan Asia network meetings. Over 40 coworkers from other Asian countries joined the meetings and now they are stuck in Thailand. This put a lot of financial and emotional burden to our company as our company has to pay for their extended stay and make sure they can return home safe. Why do innocent individuals and companies have to pay a prize for Thailand's political turmoil? This thought is the biggest reason why I'm losing faith in this country. Since I'm one of the person-in-charge for the meetings, I've been stressed both physically with long hours of working (with very little time to see Jamie) and emotionally with helplessness and uncertainty. But the last thing we would do is to drag our coworkers' spirit down. We go out and party with them to keep the spirit up. One of them is from Mumbai, India where the horrible terrorist incidents took place this same week. So many negative things happening...Hopefully everything will resolve soon in a peaceful way.
|
|
Loy Kratong 2008
November 29, 2008
One year passed by so quickly that I didn't realize it was already time for another Loy Kratong (kind of like Thailand's Valentine's Day) until the day Loy Kratong. And I only found out because during our office's lunch break, traditional Thai music was playing over our company's stereos and that's when I knew. That left me with no time to prepare for the kid Thai costume contest at dinner party at the serviced apartment we used to live in. I remember how fun it was to see the kids and parents enjoying the contest. This year Jamie is old enough to stand still so I figured it would be fun to put him in the contest and reunite with many old neighbors. But it turned out that dinner party that always took place on the Loy Kratong day was carried out one night before Loy Kratong this year. Disappointed we missed the chance but I quickly redirected my focus on finding which other places had party that night. Not that Loy Kratong is a very important festival for me but I just want Jamie to be able to experience it every year when he lives here. We ended up going to another serviced apartment's party. Since there was no costume contest and I didn't have time, I didn't get the Thai costume for him. But I made him wear Malaysian costume that he has already, haha. You can see more photos from this link. http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=heta005.3ygjxtyh&x=0&y=avswld&localeid=en_US |
|
So much fun in dog park
November 6, 08
Usually raining season in Bangkok lasts from May to October. But this year the rain still hasn't stopped in November. It's been raining heavily almost everyday and it's been getting on my nerve. One disappointment results from the rain is that we can't enjoy the outdoor dog park. So when last Sunday turned out to be a rare sunny day, I couldn't wait to take Jamie and Yo there. And I'm glad I did because there were so many interesting dogs there that day, starting with this Newfoundland which is obviously much bigger than Jamie and weighs about the same as me.
|
|
***
It's amazing that the same person who owns the Newfoundland also has this Dalmatian. Can you notice this Dalmatian is missing a leg? But she's very active. The owner is able to take care of both these dogs. Wow! I wish I have the time and discipline!
|
|
***
The fun didn't just stop there. I ran into a former coworker Nuk, who was there with her family and Scottish Terrier.
|
|
***
Nuk's 30-month old son's nickname is Teppan, which is taken from Teppanyaki, the Japanese style of BBQ because she likes the cuisine :). Jamie and Teppan hit it off right away. They immediately held each other's hand and ran around together, so cute. See more photos from this link.
|
|
Ridiculously unhealthy flight meal
October 25, 08
I just found a photo I took of Jamie during our flight to Hong Kong in September. Seeing this photo reminds me of how unhealthy the flight meal for children was. Apetitizers included gummy bear candy, potato chips, cream puff...As if those apetitizers were not unhealthy enough, next came fried shrimps and french fries as the main dish. The food was way too unhealthy and too much for a 2-year-old so I did what a mom could do best, ate almost everything for him. :) When the flight attendants saw Jamie wasn't eating, one after another came asking if he needed more food. They are probably not parents. |
|
A rare long stay in Hong Kong
September 24, 08
I took the whole week off last week from work to spend 9 days in Hong Kong. When was the last time I spent so much time in Hong Kong?! And the 2nd day Jamie and I were there happened to be the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most celebrated Chinese festival in a year. My parents threw a party in their house to celebrate the Festival as well as my coming birthday. It was a good gathering for Jamie and many relatives.
|
|
***
Here one of mommy's aunts was playing "flying man" with Jamie, a game that my aunts used to play with me when I was a child. Jamie named this game "superman".
|
|
***
We were also lucky that Uncle Bobby was willingly unemployed, taking some time off his work to think about his life, making him available to accompany us to different places.
|
|
***
It was the perfect way to spend the morning of my birthday. |
|
***
Uncle Bobby also took us to Society for Abandoned Animals (SAA) to meet up with L (Fat ah Paul's daughter) who runs that place. I haven't been there for years and was surprised to find sooo many dogs and other animals there. There were over 100 dogs. Sadly, they are all similar mixed Chinese breeds. Learn more about SAA from its website, especially those who live in Hong Kong and are interested in adapting or helping abandoned animals. Now I'm planning to go somwhere, probably the States to study to become a certified dog trainer. Hopefully I can offer help to them in the future. http://www.saa.org.hk/public/main |
|
***
Afterwards we went to L's house nearby. There were many dogs and cats. Suddenly Jamie picked up the broom and started cleaning. This has been one of his favorite activities since he could walk.
|
|
***
Back to Uncle Bobby, his company didn't stop there. We took over his bedroom because his bed is lowest to the ground thus safer for Jamie (But on the last night the bed became higher and Jamie did fall off from the bed crying). Every night when I put Jamie to sleep, he'd be playing on the internet. He witnessed every night how I had to struggle to brush the constantly moving and crying Jamie's teeth and put hyperactive Jamie to go to sleep.
|
|
***
On the other hand, Jamie had so much interaction with different animals in this trip. It made him much more confident around Yo too.
Just now as I was writing this entry, Jamie suddenly came to me and said "apple juice". This cat's owner Kay actually gave him apple juice that day so I asked Jamie to see if he remembers who gave him and he said "Bogey" who is Kay's husband and also in the house that day. So I think he really remembers! Wow!!
|
|
***
Yes, another animal, Husky, who was my dog back in Hawaii. Now he lives with my aunt.
|
|
***
I took Jamie to see my junior high school friends whose 2 of them just had babies recently. So many kids even though 2 other kids of Hing (the woman next to me) are not even in the picture!!!
|
|
Peace between kids & dogs
August 14, 08
I just turned on the TV hoping to see Olympics games but the news was on about a 2 year old being bitten to death by her family's Rottweiler. I saw the mom covering her face crying. This news is way too sad for me to watch as a mom whose kid just passed his 2nd birthday and also have a dog at home. I had to turn the TV off. I wish peace between all kids & dogs and such sad incident will never happen again. Jamie is too precious to get hurt in any way especially by own family dog. This news also made me realize I shouldn't let minor problems bother me. I'm so lucky already to have Jamie and Yo here with me.
|
|
What should parents do in this case?!
July 19, 08
I took Jamie to the bicycle park today. The weather was great. I was riding the bike and Jamie was sitting in the front. I thought he'd need some exercise on his own from time to time but every time I put him down on the ground he wanted to get back up and ordered me to sit too. Yeah he's been quite bossy lately ordering me to do things. For example, in the morning after he wakes up but I'm still sleeping, he says "put your shoes on" to get me out of bed. Back to today. I sang Cantonese cartoon songs to entertain him and whenever I finished a song he said "more" :).
We stopped at the playground. He climbed up to a high slide and I was watching from the ground. A girl who was about 5-6 years old, taller than Jamie by the whole head, pushed Jamie out of the way to try to go first. Without second thought, I yelled at her "don't push!" She looked puzzled. Then I figured she might not understand English so I said "that wasn't good. you understand?" in Thai but I don't think she understood my point in Thai either. But anyway it worked because afterward she acknowledged her position in line. But then I started doubting if I should have done that, interferring kids' interaction like that. I wondered what parenting books say about that. I think I read somewhere that as long as the kids' interaction doesn't get too violent or nobody gets hurt from it, adults should let them deal with it themselves. But as his mother, how could I just stand there and not say anything when somebody (even though she was just a little girl but I don't know why she had heavy make up on) disrespected my baby like that. Yup, especially when he is still just a baby under 2 years old but his relatively bigger body makes people think he's older. But I also wondered how that little girl's parents would feel if they knew a stranger (me) was yelling at their kid like that. I just know that we caught Jamie hitting other kids before and we made sure he apologize to the kid and of course we apologize too. But I don't know how I'd feel if I see a stranger yelling at Jamie.
|
|
My visit to China and grandparents' visit here
July 18, 08
I was away on business in Shanghai and Hong Kong last whole week for 8 days. It was probably the longest time I was away from Jamie. Too bad that I had to stop at Shanghai first, otherwise I would surely have brought Jamie to Hong Kong with me. But the Shanghai trip turned out to be pretty good. Lots of good food and good service. Full of Olympics spirit with the event coming up in Beijing next month. Got to visit the famous Shanghai Bund. It's becoming more and more magnificent, and I think the view looks a lot like Hong Kong's. And I got to ride on one of the fastest trains on earth that ran over 400 km per hour. Arrived at the airport in only 5 minutes.
|
|
***
Work in Shanghai went well and I was surprised to find more than dozens of flights fly from Shanghai to Hong Kong everyday. I moved my flight one day early and that turned out to be a good choice. Auntie Sue from LA whom I used to live with during high school years was flying back to LA from Hong Kong on that same night. So we had dinner together at the airport. |
|
***
Work in Hong Kong also went well and I got plenty of time to spend with my family. We even went to watch the movie "Kung Fu Panda" together. And it was exciting to know that my parents would fly to Bangkok with me to see Jamie. But as that day was approaching, I started to hear from Daddy Steve that Jamie seemed to be having a light fever and some coughing. It happens quite often that when I'm gone Jamie somehow becomes sick. |
|
***
When we saw Jamie at the airport when they came pick us up, it was obvious he was sick. His eyes looked tired and his body was hot. During dinner he threw up. Next day the doctor diagnosed him as having 39 degrees fever and Acute Bronchitis. He should not eat or drink cold stuff or fruit.
I was very disappointed at the situation that he was sick when my parents were here. In the end my parents only got to meet Jamie a little bit and most of the time he was being cranky. :(
On the day my parents left, daddy Steve also left for Philippines for his surfing trip. He hasn't called yet but I hope he's having a safe and good time there. While daddy's gone, I have Jamie all to myself to make up the time I was away. Today I took Jamie and Yo to Ozono, the dog park, and we had lots of fun. Jamie's recovering very well. Now he only has a bit coughing left. Too bad he is still on his restricted diet though. This morning he went to the fridge and took out one cherry (which was given by my parents) and asked me "want it?" in Thai but what he actually meant was he wanted it. I had to tell him no and he disappointingly put it back. Through out the day I had to stay away from food I like too to avoid him nagging me for food I can't give him.
The weather was perfect when my parents were here but once they left, it's been raining heavily. Like now the rain is so heavy that I can't see outside and I'm not sure if the building next door, which is during floor removal construction could stand this heavy rain...
|
|
Uncle Sam & Jenny @ Bangkok
July 3, 08
They came to visit last month right when Daddy Steve was suddenly away in his Australian business trip.
|
|
***
On the first night, we went to Night Bazaar which is scheduled to close down this August. Sadly, Bangkok is going to lose this unique and local outdoor market to some commercial highrise or big scale department store.
|
|
***
After that, if you look at the photos here, every photo was taken at a different resturant so it looks like we were just eating all the time.
|
|
***
We also walked around in the weekend Jatukjat market. They were being very helpful helping to carry Jamie most of the time.
|
|
***
Look at all those dishes at the Korean BBQ place!
|
|
***
While I was skimming through the Bangkok tourist guide book for them, I discovered a place called Ozono where it allows pets in all its stores including resturants. After I dropped them off for a massage, I took the chance to go there to check it out. It turned out to be the perfect place to spend an afternoon at even for Jamie because he can walk around freely. See Yo being chased by another dog at the right side of the photo.
|
|
***
Another time after I dropped them off at the Grand Palace, I went to a park and found it nice for Jamie and Yo too especially with the bird viewing which was what I was looking for in Bhutan. I was worried about bird flu though.
|
|
***
Jenny took great photos with her camera. Among the ones she sent me after the trip I especially like these two. This naked one is my work computer wallpaper now so everyone can see his cute butt. |
|
***
This one he has a nice smile.
|
|
Grandpa Ben & Grandma Eva @ Thailand
June 9, 08
Last month Grandpa Ben & Grandma Eva made a sudden and short visit to Thailand to see the new house. They decided to come only a few days before the trip and they were here for less than 2 days. Here I'm going to showcase some good photos we took during their stay.
Starting with this one taken in Ayuthaya. We were resting on the top of a building enjoying the breeze.
|
|
***
This one was also taken in Ayuthaya. It looks cute that they both held Jamie's hands and they were all looking straight at the camera.
|
|
***
At night we went to the best Japanese resturant in town (in my opinion). The food was great. Jamie also looked great in this photo.
|
|
***
That night I wore a pair of super high heels but daddy Steve is still so tall next to me. I like this photo a lot. We were posing but it came out very natural.
|
|
***
Here they were standing in front of the whiteboard of Jamie's bedroom. On the whiteboard it has the phrase "welcome grandpa grandma" in Chinese.
|
|
Auntie Carrie @ Bangkok
June 9, 08
This is Auntie Carrie who is the younger sister of Auntie April. We met in Florida when she was still around 6 years old but now she's this beautiful young lady and we met in my house in Bangkok. It was a strange but good feeling.
|
|
Auntie Lok @ Bangkok
June 9, 08
Auntie Lok comes to Bangkok very often and we are happy we met again in this April. We went to the same Thai resturant we went before. We took this photo at the same spot we took 2 years ago 2 months before Jamie was born. Now he's this big.
|
|
***
Back then he was also big but he was inside my tummy.
|
|
***
Here is another photo we took in the resturant with the rest of the group. Jamie's naughty moment was caught on camera. He was trying to steal my key.
|
|
***
The next day I took a long break from work to have an all-you-can-eat sushi/sashimi lunch with them in their hotel but turned out they were not even hungry and Kim can't even eat raw food so basically I ended up eating the all-you-can-eat alone.
|
|
Pregnant Auntie Maggie @ Thailand
May 18, 08
My friend Maggie from secondary school is 6 months pregnant now with her first baby. She went to Chiang Mai for business trip and dropped by Bangkok for a short visit. As soon as we picked her up from the airport, Jamie acted like they were buddies.
|
|
Getting ready for Bhutan
April 13, 08
We are in the middle of our Songkran holiday. Songkran is the Thai New Year and the biggest holiday in Thailand. During this period, people on the street splash water on each other with water gun or bulk of water as a blessing by cultural meaning. But really the splashing is for fun and for cooling down the body in this hottest season. I've experienced the craziest Songkran with Steve in the busiest area before. We also experienced it in a resort island when I was pregnant. I was walking around in a bikini with a big belly. People hesitated to shoot me but they all turned their guns to Yo. Poor Yo but it was a funny scene. When we went out to lunch today, the tuk tuk (open jeep) behind us got "attacked" and got splashed severely. When the tuk tuk stopped at the red light, people ran up to them and splashed them with a big bulk of water. Everything got wet. I made sure to keep our car windows closed. And when we walked on the street I held Jamie close to me to use him as a shield so that people wouldn't splash at me. We have had enough splashing so this year we're spending our New Year in Bhutan! Many people may not even have heard of the country Bhutan. It's right by India so it's quite close to Thailand. If you look it up on MSN, you'll see Bhutan is one of the top 10 must go countries in 2008, but you won't be able to find much more info about that country. Bhutan is a very closed country and allows only 21,000 foreigners to visit per year. We're very lucky to have the chance because Bhutan's prince is now working in my company as an intern and he helped us with the visa application and other arrangment. If he didn't help, we would have to pay US$200 per person per night there for the tour because independent traveling is not allowed. So of course if he wasn't there to help, we probably wouldn't have gone in the first place despite of how much we'd love to. I'm very used to traveling so I usually pack in last minute but Bhutan is such a mysterious country this is truly an adventure for us. This time I'm packing 2 days before the trip. The super early flight at 5:50am tomorrow is also making me nervous because I have no idea how Jamie will take it. Why do airlines make their flights so early anyway?! Did they consider that it usually takes a few hours for people to get to the airport and wait for check in which means we won't be able to sleep tonight. Anyway, Bhutan claims itself as the last Shangri La so I'm really looking forward to taking a lot of beautiful landscape photos. I'm emptying all the photos in my digital cameras so that I can take as many photos there as possible. While I was doing that I found some photos I took of Jamie and Yo back in February. Silly me, I lived in that same place for several years but I didn't notice this wonderful grassland where it was perfect for Jamie and Yo to walk together. Please go to this URL to see more. http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=heta005.4i4cubvp&x=0&y=-pka8c5&localeid=en_US
This is the first time for the 3 of us to travel abroad besides Hong Kong so we are very excited about it and will cherish the time there. I have no idea how it's really going to be like there but I'm imagining a beautiful nature with sunny blue sky during the day and clear starry night where Jamie can walk around at his own pace without worry of car or other people. Let's see if it'll really be like that. |
|
The view
April 11, 08
Since Grandma Tonna requested to "send more pics of the new place", I'm going to do just that! No, I'm kidding. I've been wanting to write about this new home we moved into a month ago once I get the time.
This is the first house I bought and much thinking and effort has been put into its design and making. Preparing this house for moving took away so much time I could have spent with Jamie and Steve. But still I had to do it, to make everything right and pleasant for us to live in.
With the much thinking and effort behind it, of course I have many stories to tell. One is about the view. I like many things about this place but not the view. Before we had beautiful open view like this, where the open space makes you feel you own the space in the view and the green makes you feel fresh...
|
|
***
to having this, where all you see is concrete and in such a close distance. It makes you feel suppressed and depressed.
When I was still considering whether to buy this place or not, I noticed the condo next to it was in construction. In fact, I checked out that new condo first but the sizing was too small.
As view is an important aspect of my selection criteria, I was worried that the condo may eventually block our view which happened to feature my favorite bridge in Thailand but the seller reassured me that the building would build only up to 8th floor and since our unit is on the 10th floor, our view wouldn't be blocked. So I trusted that comment.
But then as time went by, every time when I came to inspect the renovation progress, the condo next door was getting closer and closer to our height. Eventually it was inevitable that the condo would completely block our view which is exactly what's happening now. I can't see anymore the spectacular bridge and the magnificent landmark building next to it which both have beautiful lighting at night. But the seller didn't lie. If you count the residential floors, yes they only have 8 floors. But they have so many things on top of the residential floors!
Just when I thought it was foolish of me to expect 8 floors really mean 8 floors, my contractor told me the condo next door had stopped their construction work for a month already because the condo turned out to be 1 meter higher than it was supposed to be from original design. 1 meter! That's exactly the portion that's blocking our view. So if they hadn't made this mistake, our view would have been ok?! This was even harder to accept. I was speechless not understanding how a building can make a mistake that big because even for small scale renovation in my tiny place, 1 inch makes a big difference. But the story didn't end there.
When Shangor visited last week, we told him the story about the view. Then he told us he just read on the newspaper that this condo next door is in violation of building height and has been ordered by the court to remove the top floors. I couldn't believe my ears. Does it mean it's possible that this concrete that's blocking our view maybe removed and we can have our view back as it was supposed to be?! Great! After they left I quickly looked up the news and found him correct. It'll cost the company 400 million baht to remove the top floors of its 11 condos. How could this costly mistake be made in the first place? As in most situations here in Thailand, people don't take preventive measure so problems bound to happen very often but they are very good in resolving the problems somehow so as the cycle goes, everyone continues not to take preventive measure. And for the record, everything usually works out fine, at least in their point of view. I thought this was another classic case of that kind. But again the story didn't end there.
When I told the locals about this incident, they weren't surprised. I found out this kind of incident actually happens often in Thailand. They even know that the latest law prohibits any condo built on a small road like ours to be higher than a certain height. But some companies still build higher than that in attempt to sell more and earn more. They get away by bribing the government and usually when another person takes over office, they may hold you liable, of course until the building bribes that next person too. So now I'm really hoping the bribery deal won't work out and they will carry out their removal plan as ordered. But who knows when it will happen and how is this story going to end...
|
|
Great photos
April 7, 08
My friend April uploaded their Thailand trip photos to her Facebook but for the longest time I couldn't figure out how to get to them. I finally got it tonight and I found some wonderful natural shots of Jamie. They were taken back in February. Here they are.
First, the smiley Jamie.
|
|
***
Another dancing Jamie.
|
|
***
The dragging-Yo-around-inside-the-house Jamie.
|
|
***
The golfer Jamie.
Thank you, April & Marco for these wonderful shots. Looking forward to your next visit!
|
|
Stain striker!
March 26, 08
At our work we just finished shooting a commercial with this character called Stain Striker. Could you tell it's me underneath the big head?
|
|
***
As an ad person, I didn't hesitate to use Jamie as a contact point to spread the brand. Kids who saw this shirt immediately said "how cute!" which is perfect because we are trying to catch attention of moms who have kids.
|
|
Finally!
March 19, 08
I haven't been able to update Jamie's site for a while already. But that situation is finally going to change. After much delay, we have finally moved into our new condo. For the past few weeks, I had been very caught up in renovating the condo and going on back-to-back business trips. Although many suitcases are still sitting around waiting to be unpacked, at least our bodies have settled down. And I finally got the internet hooked up. We used to live in an apt where the internet charge was very expensive and was available only for a short period unless I renewed the service. But now I have regular internet that can be used 24 7 which will make it so much easier to use my free time mostly late at night like now to update Jamie's site. I have tons of photos waiting to be uploaded and many old entries waiting to be written. Hopefully I can keep it up from now on.
|
|
P Jeab
February 16, 08
My Thai teacher when I was in Tokyo. She happened to be working in the Thai school I went. When we first met, she told me she knows someone who looks just like me who works in Thailand. It turned out that she was talking about me! She actually had worked as an interpreter for us during one of my business trips to Bangkok while I was living in Tokyo. What a small world! Now we both live in Bangkok.
|
|
Taking Jamie to my office
February 11, 08
Our office here is very kid-friendly. Sometimes people take their kids to work out of necessity, sometimes out of leisure. I bring Jamie to work or work events mainly to let him meet all those uncles and aunties I work with. Plus, people at work always ask about him so I figured I'd arrange some office appearance once in a while.
Last month when I brought him to the office without prior notice, I was looking forward to a surprising but quiet interaction with my team but it turned out to be something completely different. When Jamie arrived, people dropped their work and gathered around him, snapped photo shots of him, took turns to take photos with him, gave him food that we usually don't let him eat etc.
Of course I appreciated everyone's warm welcome to Jamie but ironically it made it harder for me to bring him to the office next time knowing the sensation he creates and how that can affect everyone's work. Like this last time, someone actually came to tell us to be quiet because in the nearby meeting room, a meeting was going on with a bunch of clients who came all the way from Japan. They must have been shocked by the scene because bringing a baby to work and making such a big scene over it is pretty much unacceptable in Japanese work places but in Thailand, with the huge love and passion people have over babies that go beyond place and occasion, it's just another common scene.
|
|
April & Marco
Februrary 2, 08
April was my middle school mate back in Florida. It was so long ago that it's hard for me to believe that I've actually lived there. After Florida there were only a few times we had the chance to meet up. The last time was in her wedding with Marco in Hong Kong a few years ago. Now they live in Beijing. I'm glad they decided to visit Thailand.
|
|
***
We went to Ayuthaya. It was hot and shiny. It was the perfect chance to have Jamie wear that Anpanman hat I got for him. Usually he doesn't allow the hat to stay for more than a second but this time it was long enough to snap a few shots.
|
|
***
This makes a perfect family photo...if April and Marco had their own child, which I'm sure will happen very soon.
|
|
***
As Jamie is a better walker now, the Ayuthaya trip has become even more enjoyable. It's such a great feeling to see Jamie walking around in his own pace with such dramatic historical architecture in the background.
|
|
***
Sometimes he stopped to interact with different people.
|
|
***
Suddenly I thought only Jamie has the right to walk around really freely and enjoy the open air. So we took off his clothes and have him walk. But he sensed something different and hesitated to walk. So I threw his shoes far out to the grass and lured him to explore the grassland. And he did!
|
|
***
After throwing and running after his own shoes several times, he got bored of it and walked away.
This trip was so enjoyable for all of us that made me want to take Jamie to Angkor Wat in Cambodia which is supposed to have similar setting with grassland and historical temples like this. But with all the steep stairs I wouldn't be able to go alone. Too bad Daddy Steve has no interest in going.
|
|
***
Next stop was to the elephant riding place. Jamie saw this little girl and went up to un-tie her shoe. He likes to un-tie his shoes alot, which is an irritable habit for us as we have to put them back on.
|
|
2 apologies to Jamie
January 25, 08
1) Sorry for not updating your site for so long. I believe this has been the longest time (1 month) I've left your site un-updated. Ideally I want to update your site at least once a week but sometimes I just don't get to do that. I'll try harder. I want you to be able to track your own growth.
2) I forgot how to spell your middle name! Funny, I was the one who initiated the idea of naming you "Klistoff" from your father's origin but yet I can't handle its tricky spelling. Was it 2 "s" or 2 "f"?! Haha. When I had to fill out your full name for something today, I had to look up this site to confirm the spelling.
But I have 1 thing I'm proud of to tell you. Recently I've started giving you choices. I want you to have the freedom to choose, to be able to have your own will. It may seem a little thing but I started to let you choose your own clothes, shoes, even food etc. We pick 2 candidates and you make the choice. I've also asked Babysitter Pong to do the same and she said you've been enjoying it. Clothing is an important part of self expression. I always wished I could have the freedom to choose what I want to wear but I wasn't given that freedom even till teen years. I envied so much of my friends who could pick what they want to wear. I was not comfortable with what I was told to wear but there was nothing I could do. I went to a school where girls were not allowed to have hair longer than shoulder line which as an adult today I still cannot understand the meaning of it. How does hair length have anything to do with education?! This has more profound impact on me than people can imagine. For example, I think even now sometimes I dress or do my hair in a certain way just because I can, not because I really want to. I don't want you to have to go through this complex emotion. And that's probably also why I don't understand why daddy allows work to define his hair style, and why I like to work in the advertising field where our dress code is relatively flexible. Sorry I'm being too deep for a baby website but this is genuine feeling I want you to know. I want you to know that you shouldn't take things for granted. The freedom to choose is a very precious thing to cherish.
|
|
Meeting Auntie Yan
January 23, 08
Auntie Yan used to work with me in Tokyo. We found time to get together and let Jamie meet her during her business trip to Bangkok. Since she's a mother to a 22-month-old, we have lots in common to talk about.
|
|
Ridiculous recall
December 31, 07
Product recalls are very common among toy products in the United States but when I saw the headline about recall from Starbucks it caught my attention. I wondered what they were recalling. And then when I read the news, it turned out that the recall product is a cup that Auntie Keiko gave Jamie as you can see in the photo but the reason for recall is completely ridiculous! Here is the reason and how Starbucks compensates:
"If the cup is dropped, the face on the cup can break off and leave small parts or sharp edges exposed, which young children can choke on or get cut by. Starbucks has received seven reports of the cups breaking, including two reports in which a child began to choke on a broken piece...Take the recalled plastic cups away from your child immediately and contact Starbucks for instructions on returning the cups for a refund. Starbucks is also offering a complimentary beverage as an incentive to return the recalled cups."
What in the world?!?! Isn't it common sense that if you drop a cup it may break and the broken piece may hurt somebody. Why is Starbucks held responsible for this?! With this logic, all glass makers need to be responsible for all broken glass accidents. It's another classic case of how Americans just like to sue sue sue and don't take much responsibility in their own action.
|
|
Auntie Karen Kwan
December 18, 07
Auntie Karen was Mommy Joey's high school friend. We haven't met for years. When we met for dinner, she kept saying Jamie is indeed very hyper active but actually that night Jamie was already very quiet as he was willing to sit through our dinner but we had to keep stuffing him with food. |
|
***
Auntie Karen and her boyfriend were very kind in walking us back to our car. In the parking lot, we found this shopping cart. Whenever we don't have his stroller around, encountering an empty cart is always a pleasant thing. Every little thing that can help reduce the use of parent's energy is welcome :).
|
|
***
I looked like I was pregnant here but I was not.
|
|
Meeting up with Annie
October 29, 07
Annie is Mommy Joey's good friend from university. She now lives in Washing DC in the United States. As we live in the opposite side of the world, we hardly have chance to meet up. But this month came that rare chance as she invited me to her wedding reception in Taiwan and visited Thailand after the reception.
Steve and Jamie couldn't come along and I had to get back soon for work, so I stayed in Taiwan for only 3 days. Immediately after I arrived we didn't waste any time and we headed for the biggest night market in Taichung where Annie and Minh had their reception for her mom's family.
|
|
***
One thing I was looking forward to was food in Taiwan and Taiwan didn't disappoint me at all. There were so many different kinds of great and interesting food everywhere I didn't know where to start. Well, I did start from this interesting street sushi vendor.
I also found many great toys for Jamie in this night market. I brought an empty suitcase to Taiwan for shopping but it was still not enough to hold all the stuff I bought.
|
|
***
And I also couldn't resist hot pot. I love Taiwanese style spicy hot pot. I love it so much I went alone at 11pm. Their opening hour is also great. This hot pot resturant closes at 6 in the morning. Look at the beef behind the pot! Don't they look delicious??!!
|
|
***
After a good full meal, the next day I joined Annie and Minh's reception. They've been married for a year already and they already had their wedding in DC but they were having this reception in Taichung for her mother's family. Her family showed great hospitality and they took us around to sightseeing.
|
|
***
That night I took the others to eat the same hot pot again. Before dinner, we were shopping at the night market again and I bought a lot of rings. But I was afraid they'd break so I asked everyone to wear one for me :).
|
|
***
My Taiwan trip ended at a glance but I had fabulous time there. A few days after I came back to Bangkok, Annie and Minh visited. We went to Pattaya together. At first, Jamie was scared of the sand and wanted to be held. But as he saw other kids playing on the beach, he figured it's ok for him to walk on the sand too and he really enjoyed it.
|
|
***
After we hung out on the beach, we went to Noonnooch Village to see their culture and elephant shows. There are many elephant shows in Thailand but this village has by far the best one I've seen. Despite it was raining really hard that day they still performed although they did skip some parts of the show. Elephants were not the only animals there. They also had tigers, monkeys etc. We took pictures with these monkeys and surprisingly Jamie wasn't scared.
|
|
***
On our way back to Bangkok, we stopped at a field for elephant ride. While we were waiting for Annie and Minh to finish their ride, we were talking to this elephant rider. |
|
***
He was kind enough to offer to let Jamie ride this elephant for free. But Jamie didn't like it. Not because he was scared but because he didn't want to leave his daddy's arms. He's a daddy's boy.
|
|
***
After Pattaya, Annie and Minh dropped by our apartment before returning to their hotel. It was special feeling to see Annie and Yo together again. The last time they met Yo was only months old. Now he's already 10 years old.
|
|
HK trip for Grandpa Ben's birthday celebration
October 7, 07
Grandpa Ben's 60th birthday is coming up. For Chinese, 60th birthday for men is very special. Thus Grandpa Ben held a party inviting close relatives to have dinner together. To join that party, Mommy Joey brought Jamie along to Hong Kong.
Now that Jamie can walk, I didn't bother to take his stroller along. But when we started walking toward the boarding gate that always seems unreasonably far especially when I was holding a baby in my arms, I started regretting that decision. But something caught my eyes! The luggage cart in the airport! They had this perfect spot where Jamie could sit comfortably. Oh, it helped so much for me and Jamie enjoyed it too, perfect!
|
|
***
The day we arrived in Hong Kong was Uncle Sam's birthday. We celebrated his birthday in an extremely delicious Japanese teppanyaki resturant.
|
|
***
A Grandpa Ben's close friend also has a grandson around Jamie's age. He's half Chinese half Canadian. We had lunch together. I was trying to get them to stand still for a photo shot but they proved that it was impossible.
|
|
***
During our stay in Hong Kong, we slept in Uncle Bobby's room. Uncle Bobby used to have a bed but recently they had to move the bed out to renovate the flooring so he sleeps on the mattress only temporarily. It's perfect for Jamie since it's low so I didn't have to worry about him falling off. Jamie moved around a lot during his sleep but even having felt in between the mattress and shelf, he slept so well that he didn't wake up through the night.
|
|
***
In Grandpa Ben's party, Jamie met up with Cousin Anson. Anson looks just like Grandpa Ben when he was a kid!
Grandma Eva prepared a gift, a necklace with golden pig pendant for every guest because Grandpa Ben was born in the year of pig. Everyone had to wear it in the party. |
|
***
We also met up with Mommy Joey's 3 beautiful cousins. They were all over Jamie. Lucky boy!
|
|
***
That night Jamie had a very good sleep through the night again without waking up despite of him being all over the place again. Not waking up at all through out the night! That's something that happened for only a few times in his whole life but it happened for 2 consecutive nights already in Hong Kong. I thought about what the reason could be and came to one hypothesis that Jamie is such a big movement sleeper the crib has become too narrow for him to move freely and thus he wakes up during the night. To test this hypothesis, I'm going to have Jamie sleep on the futon in Bangkok as well.
|
|
***
On the way back to Bangkok, I wouldn't have thought that the potato chips I brought on board for myself to eat would turn out to be the toy that occupied the most of Jamie's time. Thank you chips!
Everything was fine in the flight except when it came close to landing. During descending, Jamie started pooping and there were a lot of it. The poop overloaded and I could literally see them coming out. If possible I wanted to wait until after getting off the plane to change his diaper but with his poop leaking out, if I didn't change his diaper then I couldn't hold him to get off the plane without getting his poop all over me. With no other choices, I changed his diaper at the seat. It was extremely smelly and I could only hope nobody else was paying attention to us. But Jamie hates diaper changing and without any success sleep on this flight, he became very irritated and started crying very loudly. I at the same time had this big mission at hand to change his diaper as quickly as possible without creating a scene. Mission was completed but some poop which were in the form of undigested food were spilled on the floor and some got to my fingers. When we waited to get off the plane, the passenger behind us said to me "your baby was very loud" with a friendly smile on his face. So I wasn't sure if he was making a complaint or was just making a comment. I replied by saying "thank you" then quickly fled. Gosh, why does Jamie have to poop in the flight every time on our return flight to Bangkok?!
|
|
Naoko & Jimmy in Thailand
September 15, 07
Right after Auntie Satsuki left, Mommy Joey's friends Naoko and Jimmy visited from Japan and Hong Kong. We went to the same university in Hawaii but we didn't meet until an university reunion in Tokyo when we were all living there.
Hanging out with Naoko and Jimmy in Thailand felt like Dejavu for me because basically I took them to the same places I took Satsuki to just a few days ago. One of them was State Tower but I discovered a new floor, the 52th floor which was very nice too.
|
|
***
I also took them to Ayuthaya. Last time when I was there I realized it'd be an ideal place for Jamie to run around so this time Daddy Steve and Jamie tagged along.
|
|
***
Perfect opportunity for some rare family photos in front of some historical landmarks.
|
|
***
As expected, Jamie loved running around in this free-to-run land without hearing Mommy and Daddy's constant "no" every second. No cars, nothing to break, spacious land, different scenery to enjoy...a perfect place for Jamie to explore.
|
|
***
Another historical landmark. It was such a wonderful feeling to be able to take Jamie with us on trips like this. When all you saw was a baby who couldn't do anything independently, it was difficult to imagine such a day would come. But at this stage we could take him only to domestic short trips except Hong Kong where my family can help watching him for us. Anything further than that is kind of out of the question for now. We'd love to take him to beach destinations like Phuket and Maldives too but he won't be able to hang out on the beach for too long so that's also out of the question for now.
|
|
Auntie Satsuki in Thailand
September 12, 07
Auntie Satsuki is Mommy Joey's host sister from Japan. She was going to visit Thailand last year around this time but the coup suddenly took place and her trip has since been postponed until now.
Auntie Satsuki met Jamie for the 1st time. When Auntie Satsuki asked mommy what to bring for Jamie from Japan, mommy thought of Anpanman (a bread man cartoon character from Japan) book with no doubt. Jamie loves mommy reading Anpanman book to him. Coincidently, Anpanman was first introduced to Jamie by Satsuki's sister Mikiko who gave him a big head Anpanman doll when he was only a month old.
|
|
***
Whenever mommy's friends come to Thailand from abroad, mommy always offers to bring them to a few certain places. Among them is Pattaya. It's the closest famous beach resort from Bangkok and an interesting place for tourists. But instead of Pattaya, Auntie Satsuki and her friend Agarie were more interested in Ayuthaya which used to be the capital of Thailand a few hundred years ago and is famous for remains.
|
|
***
Although I had never been there before, I took the challenge and went as I had always wanted to check it out too. It turned out that it's very convenient to get there. It only took 50 minutes by car with an easy to drive road. Ayuthaya is now one of the places I'd offer to take overseas friends to.
During this trip I finally saw in person this famous buddha-head-in-a-tree that is all over cultural photos in Bangkok. But its actual size is much smaller than it seems on photos. |
|
***
I was also impressed by these extremely steep almost vertical stairs inside a famous remain architecture.
|
|
***
Another must-see place in Thailand in mommy's opinion is State Tower, a 64-storey building with an open bar and resturant on the top, which mommy recently found out is the highest storey open resturant in the world, which is not surprising because only Thailand's "unique" safetly standard would allow such facility. Too bad baby is not allowed on this open floor. So Jamie still hasn't have a chance to check out this great view yet.
Here Auntie Satsuki and Agarie stood in front of the beautiful Bangkok night view. Mommy is very proud of this shot because it's technically difficult to capture this shot in a dark environment. It takes the right camera, photographer and tripod :).
|
|
***
This is another proud shot of mommy.
|
|
Meeting Kay
May 20, 2007
Kay, a friend from university, just moved back to Hong Kong from England. Living closer to each other, from now on we should have more chances to meet.
Jamie looked like a zombie in this picture.
|
|
***
Kay's mother runs a travel agency and comes to Bangkok often. As a grandmother herself, she helped to take care of Jamie while Kay and I did some catching up.
|
|
***
Jamie lied comfortably in Kay's arms.
|
|
***
Jamie looked funny again in this photo. This is what happens when he screams when taking a photo.
|
|
Meeting Kotaro for the 1st time
May 8, 2007
After waiting for months, Hanako and I who gave birth only 2 months apart finally had chance to meet. It's always great to be able to talk with another parent whose kid is at similar stage especially when that person is a good friend.
Hanako is a full time housewife who resides in Japan now. She spends all her time taking care of Kotaro and the household. Kotaro is allergic to plastic nipple so Hanako is still breastfeeding exclusively. I only experienced it for 3 months but can already say, being a full time housewife taking care of a small baby is probably the toughest job on earth. That day, I could only meet her for a short lunch break but I wanted to let her relax as much as possible. I ordered some room service for her while Babysitter Pong and I helped to watch Kotaro.
|
|
***
Jamie and Kotaro got along well but we had to watch carefully as Jamie likes to pull and squeeze suddenly.
Jamie's head is so much bigger than Kotaro's!
|
|
***
Kotaro is 2 months younger than Jamie. 2 months makes a huge difference in baby development so it's not surprised that Kotaro seemed much more fragile than Jamie now but wait until they become older and the situation will probably be reversed with Kotaro's dad being 7cm taller than Daddy Steve.
|
|
***
Kotaro had his first walker ride in our house. He didn't make any move and was content sitting still there. I wish Jamie is like this sometime!
|
|
***
Another thing I wish Jamie could do sometime is to stay contently in a carrier like Kotaro did here. It'd make things so much easier and it's nice to cuddle like this. What I don't want to do though, is to carry such a big bag every time we go out like Hanako is doing. The bag weighs more than the baby.
|
|
Trip to Hong Kong
May 8, 2007
I took Jamie to Hong Kong for a couple days. On the flight there, he behaved very well. He loves reading. Sometimes he turned to the passenger next to us and played with the tattoo on his arm. Lucky that this passenger didn't mind.
|
|
***
Grandpa Ben along with Grandma Eva happened to be back from Malaysia to Hong Kong airport at the same time. They met up with us and we headed home. In the car, Jamie sat on the floor and watched Grandpa Ben drive the whole time. In Hong Kong, babies are not required to be seated in childseat (I think).
|
|
***
During lunch, I tried to take photo of Jamie and Grandma Eva. When I said "1, 2, 3", Jamie made this fake smile for the camera. Kids nowadays are really used to taking photos. |
|
***
My friend Hing brought her 4 children over. Her youngest son Hayden (see Precious Babies) had a cold and couldn't come over.
|
|
***
I also took Jamie out to meet up with my friends. On the way there, we happened to see a parade. The music was very loud. He was more interested in the tape than the parade.
|
|
***
Here we were having afternoon tea with my friends. Many times they offered to hold Jamie for me. Although these people are celebrities, they are very down-to-earth and kind people. |
|
***
When we were at home, Jamie loved to play with our dogs. Here is Siu Mei which means Little Beauty in Chinese, who is Yo's girlfriend. I have to watch Jamie carefully when he plays with dogs though because he likes to grap and pull hair and that may trigger a dog to snap even the gentle ones. On the way back to Bangkok, Jamie fell asleep during take off. I had the luxury to eat in-flight meal as other people did. But in the middle of it, he was awaken by the fork hitting plate sound. He was upset by this sudden waking and bursted into a loud cry. I picked him up to soothe him but found him peeing and the pee leaked through to my thighs. The passenger next to me turned away and pretended she didn't see anything to save my face. I took him to the bathroom to change his diaper. Jamie doesn't like to be put down for diaper change and he especially hates the plane's narrow bathroom. He started crying when I put him down. I ignored his crying and continued changing his diaper. But then his crying got so intense that he started throwing up! I held him up close to my chest to comfort him and his vomit got all over me. He still didn't calm down. For some reasons, he was very afraid of the bathroom. I took him out of the bathroom with him being naked with a loose diaper that was not properly put on yet. I was concerned if he'd get a cold from this and more pee or poop may leak. People were waiting to use the bathroom and I had to keep them away because I hadn't have a chance to clean up his vomit off the floor yet. After a while he calmed down and I had my second attempt to change him in the bathroom. This time I let him get used to the bathroom first before I put him down. I let him play with the paper bags, the handle, the mirror etc. Then I put him down as if it was part of a game. This time it worked and I quickly changed his diaper but I didn't have a chance to wash my hands nor my body which was soaked with pee and vomit. I had to wait until we got home to clean up. In this situation, I could think that things couldn't get worse but I chose to think that I was lucky that he didn't poop on me and the plane safely arrived in Bangkok. Having Jamie taught me patience and a heart to cherish things. I guess what I'm trying to say is, he's so precious that everything else doesn't really matter as long as he's fine. Go to this URL to see more photos from this trip. http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2092401454&code=27881013&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite |
|
Again :(
March 20, 2007
After Jamie recovered from last sickness, he returned to the happy and energetic baby again. But it was a misconception we shouldn't have believed in. We brought him to the pool the Sunday following his recovery. We haven't hung out in the pool for a while mainly due to winter and Jamie's sickness. At first he didn't like it but after a while he got more used to it and started having fun by splashing water with his tiny hands. After quite a long session, he fell into a short but deep nap.
The weather was so sunny that day it was too tempting not to go out. We headed to another pool, doggie pool this time so that Yo can get his exercise too. We brought Jamie along thinking that he'd fall into another deep nap in the car on the way to the pool. But this kid once again surprised us with his adrenalin. He showed no sign of sleepiness and stayed very hyper with all the people and dogs around him. That night he slept for more than 12 hours straight. A long sleep like this surely helped him regain his energy. Or so I thought.
Next day he woke up being happy and energetic again. I headed for another business trip with no worry in mind. This time was to Tokyo. After work I had delicious sushi for dinner in the famous Tsujiki Market and met up with my former host sisters. Next day I had a long meeting and headed back to Bangkok that night. It was already 1am when I got home. When I got home, I saw an empty messy bed, and towel on the floor. I knew something was wrong.
Daddy Steve walked out from the guest bedroom and said to me, "Jamie is sick again and this time is worse." Oh no!!! How could it be happening again?!?! He seemed so healthy when I left him the morning before. I wanted to cry. Steve said Jamie had fever again and just threw up on the other bed. Poor little guy! I went to check on him and he was just waking up from his sleep. He was very fuzzy and kept moaning to communicate his pain. Jamie had the same type of throat infection again. He had problem closing his red hot lips and he couldn't sleep nor eat. Nobody could blame him for his fuzziness.
When a baby is sick, it's really tough on the caretaker. We were lucky to have Babysitter Pong to take care of him. But another unfortunate thing happened. On the very same day we needed her the most, her son got into a car accident. As a mom who had to work but couldn't stop worrying about her son's wellbeing, I couldn't understand more how she felt. I wanted to relieve her so that she could go see her son but at the same time it was very difficult for me to take time off work after being frequently absent from my Bangkok office due to the many personal day-offs I took for the HK trip and for taking care of Jamie during his previous sickness. The many business trips I've been taking also gives people the impression that I'm constantly away from my main job. I thought of bringing Jamie along to work but it would probably worsen his infection and may get other people sick too.
Pong ended up staying that day but she decided to take the next day off. Her company had arranged a subsitute to come. With Jamie's situation, we would be lying to say we were okay with just anyone coming in to take care of him. But again as parents, we know how important it is for her to be there by her son. I spent the whole night worrying if the subsitute could take proper care of sick Jamie and got up early to prepare for her arrival. But surprisingly Pong showed up at the door. She said her subsitute couldn't come. She said her son's situation had stablized and it was okay for her to work. As contradicting as it sounds, I was happy she could come to work but was sad she couldn't be with her son. Making difficult decision is really part of a mom's job.
After the whole cycle of ordeal, Jamie recovered and I hope it's not a misconception this time. But after experiencing 2 sickness back to back, we really came to realize the importance and joy of taking it easy with Jamie, and the importance of providing him a quiet environment so that he can get the frequent naps a baby needs. We cannot allow his adrenaline to run the show.
Even though the biggest holiday Thai New Year is coming up, we decided not to go anywhere and just take it easy with Jamie at home. With our hectic life, we don't get too many chances to take it slowly with Jamie. But at this stage, it is definitely the most precious and happy time for me. This means no business trip, no overtime, no appointment with anyone, no anything.
A side story to this is that Steve got sick immediately after Jamie's recovery. The moment right after the intense few days being busy and nervous taking care of sick Jamie were over, Steve fell into the same sickness as Jamie. He fell so sick he felt like passing out just by walking from bedroom to living room. Ironically, the instinct to take care of his son boosted up his adrenaline and somehow oppressed the sickness but at the same time, this same adrenaline pushed him further than his body could handle and he fell sick. So another lesson we learned is that as parents it's our responsibility to stay healthy so that we are in the best condition to take care of our child. The only one who has the right to be sick in this house is Jamie, which of course is also our responsibility to prevent it from happening.
|
|
Sick Jamie :(
March 6, 2007
On our last night in Hong Kong, after a feeding and another long day of busy activities, I laid Jamie down on bed expecting him to fall asleep into another long 9 hours sleep. But suddenly he threw up vigorously. He had never thrown up before and the amount was enormous. The whole 8 ounces of milk he just drank was all over the carpet! It was horrifying for me to see because he seemed to be having difficulty breathing when he vomited. But soon after the vomiting was over, the smiley Jamie returned. Grandma Eva and I were trying to figure out the cause of his vomiting. Could it be because of the empty bottle he was sucking on after he finished with his milk? Or, could it be because of the little butt bath he got to wash off his poop right after eating? Or, could it be because of me rushing breast milk into his already full stomach? We couldn’t tell but as long as he wasn’t fuzzy anymore and was able to sleep, we didn’t think it was a big deal. That night he went on to sleep for 9 hours, as usual.
Next morning when he woke up I noticed some phlegm in his throat. Oh no, he probably had caught a cold, so I thought. And now I look back, I can explain why he was fuzzy in the airport and on the flight back. Coughing and runny nose eventually appeared that day. After the longest separation we ever had, Daddy Steve also came back from Australia that night. When he got home, Jamie was sleeping but I told him his son maybe sick. I was thinking about coughing and runny nose kind of sick. Little did I know Jamie was really sick. Soon after Steve came home, Jamie woke up from his sleep being fuzzy. Suddenly he threw up again while Steve was holding him. It was a scene I just witnessed the night before and I didn’t think I had to see it again. It was so horrifying and sad that Daddy Steve burst into tears while holding the vomiting Jamie. Steve kept saying, “this little body had done nothing to deserve this.” I felt so guilty that Steve had to see Jamie like that. Jamie had always been healthy and smiley. Now he was crying and throwing up. By now it was obvious the reason why he vomited was more than just sucking an empty bottle or taking a bath right after eating.
We rushed him to the emergency room in a hospital nearby. Fortunately they had a pediatrician on duty. The nurse checked for his temperature and he had a fever. How did we miss that?! It never occurred to me he was having a fever. I touched his forehead and body and it was indeed very hot. The nurses took off his clothes and sponge bathed him with cool water. He liked it! Doctor checked his heart and lung and said there was no abnormity. What a relief! But doctor said Jamie had Upper Respiratory Tract Infection which to put it in simpler words, throat infection and some kind of cold. Doctor said it was nothing serious and prescribed him 3 types of medicine. But doctor warned that with a fever, Jamie might have convulsion. Especially because I had the history of convulsion when I was about 2, being my son, he has a higher chance of having one compared to other babies whose parents had never have one. I’ve heard parents including mine talking about convulsion in kids. It’s very scary and I would not know what to do if it happens to Jamie. I’m not confident that I can take proper care of him if it happens because it will totally freak me out. Doctor gave us some tips on how to handle him if it happens but I can only wish it will never never never never never happen to Jamie. That night I went to sleep at 3am knowing that I had to wake up in an hour and half to attend a wedding.
Next morning I woke up at 4:30am not knowing what to do. Jamie still had a fever. I didn’t want to leave him especially since the wedding took place outside of Bangkok. It broke my heart to think of leaving him that far. But it was a wedding I had been wanting to go and I felt obligated to go because I made that promise. But when it came to being there for my sick baby, I made the decision to stay.
This day Jamie’s fever went up and down. We had to wet a towel with cool water and wipe his body every once in a while. He took a lot of short naps and looked kind of expressionless. And then night came and he vomited again the same way! I couldn’t believe it happened 3 nights in a row. We could only wait for his body to slowly recover.
After making the difficult decision of not going to my coworker’s wedding, the next day I was faced with an even more difficult decision. I took the day off to take care of Jamie but had to fly to Singapore for work that evening. If a bit outside of Bangkok was far, being in anther country was way too far. I wanted to cancel the trip. But could I? People were flying in from different countries to Singapore basically to meet with me. The meeting was set on that date also for me. My toothache didn’t help either. I had never experienced such pain. People say pregnancy weakens teeth. It couldn’t be truer. I visited the dentist on our street. She found cavity that had got to the nerve in one of my teeth. She gave me a few anesthesia injections and pulled my tooth out. The whole process took less than 10 minutes and none of it hurt. I was very impressed with her skill. But I was more impressed with the cost. The treatment plus some painkiller drug cost only 550 baht (approximately US$12) regardless of insurance coverage! After the treatment I went back to the house to check on Jamie. He seemed to be getting better. Even so, I knew I didn’t want to leave for Singapore. I knew it would be difficult for me to know every minute spent on the flight would be taking me further and further away from Jamie. And once that flight starts, it would be many hours before I can get back to Bangkok. But knowing he was getting better did make it a bit easier for me to go. So I went and couldn’t wait for it to be over as soon as I left our apartment’s door. I told Babysitter Pong and Daddy Steve, if anything happens to Jamie, call me, SMS me, do whatever they need to do to let me know ASAP. Sadly I really got such a call from Steve that night. Jamie threw up again. I couldn’t believe it. This was the 4th night in a row already. I started to suspect the possibility of him having problem in his stomach or intestine or something else more serious than a throat infection or cold. All I could do was to wait for Steve’s call again. I wish so much I could be there for them. But I couldn’t. All I could do was to wait. Throwing up is a big deal because when he throws up he has difficulty breathing. I’m afraid he would lose his breathe in the middle of it. Steve called me and told me this doctor gave the same diagnosis as the doctor earlier but recommended a blood test to be sure. It took 45 minutes to wait for the blood test result and those 45 minutes felt like forever. I stared at my mobile phone and waited for it to ring. Finally it rang and Steve delivered the good news, everything is fine except a bit low in iron level. It was a relief to know it’s nothing serious but it still left me puzzled why he vomited every night.
The next day came and I was secretly hoping the meeting would finish early so that I could change my flight to an earlier one, go home and see Jamie. But against my wish, the meeting was not going anywhere because some attendants liked to go in circles. I couldn’t stand the thought that these people were wasting the precious time I could have spent with my son. I broke my silence and tried to lead the meeting to a more productive direction. Fortunately it worked. The meeting really finished early and I was able to go home one flight earlier which made all the difference in the world. This night Jamie vomited again.
He went on vomiting 2 more times the next day, making it 7 times 6 days in a row. Was vomiting going to be a part of his life?!?! What was really wrong with him? People at work started telling me I should take him to the hospital during regular hours for a more proper diagnosis because doctors who work in emergency shift are usually university interns. I took another day off to take him to the hospital he was born in. His pediatrician was out of country so we were seen by another doctor. She diagnosed Jamie as having Acute Bronchitis (Daddy Steve just had it a few weeks ago and had to be hospitalized for it!) and ear infection. She said this explains his vomiting. She said that Bronchitis comes with vigorous coughing and it sometimes brings up food from babies’ stomach. She assured me his stomach and intestine were okay but she said in a harsh way, “didn’t you feel something at his chest when you held him?” Honestly, I didn’t feel anything and since 2 doctors at another hospital told us he was just having a throat infection, we believed them. But she said he might not have developed into Bronchitis and ear infection yet when we took him to the other hospital. Even though it sounded quite serious, she said it wasn’t. As long as he takes her medicine, he should be cured in a week. Jamie hates medicine and had been taking it so many times already that he mastered the skill to reject medicine by blowing his mouth with saliva flying in the sky when we stick the syringe into his mouth. But we also developed the skill to stick the syringe close to his throat so it will go right in. This doctor cooperated by minimizing the dosage. Now I think back I must thank those at work who care about Jamie and gave this important advice to go in at regular hour and encouraged me to take the time off even though so many things were waiting for me to do at work. Thank you so much!!!
After this visit, although he still threw up one more time, he was obviously getting much better. I took him to see his regular pediatrician yesterday for a follow up, and she said his Bronchitis and ear infection were already gone. Finally!!!
Man, that was one whole long week. Before, I took it for granted that Jamie would always be healthy. But I was wrong. Some people say that babies get sick much easier after they reach 6 months old. It seems very true. It’s also true that it hurts more to see your kid being sick than being sick yourself. We felt so helpless when we saw Jamie sick. Now I really respect those parents who have to take care of kids who have serious chronic disease. They may have a lot of fear in their heart worrying about the child but at the same time they have to stay strong and brave to face the challenge and to give the child courage. Now I just appreciate even more every moment I spent with Jamie and try harder to make sure he stays healthy. Health is really the most important thing.
|
|
Another Hong Kong trip
February 25, 2007
From February 19-24, I took Jamie to Hong Kong to attend my parents’ wedding and to celebrate Chinese New Year. Daddy Steve had to take a business trip to Australia this week and couldn’t come along.
Taking a baby to a flight alone isn’t easy but it eased my mind to know I’ll be flying Gulf Air and the trip will be short. The flight turned out to be quite empty and we were able to walk around without interfering others. On top of that, the lady who sat behind us was in love with Jamie. She kept offering to hold him while I eat or go to the bathroom. She even offered to take us home if we didn’t have a ride. Needless to say, the flight turned out to be quite pleasant. |
|
***
During our stay in Hong Kong, we spent most of the time meeting friends and relatives. Here were us meeting an old family friend Kenny and his family. The last time I met them was 2 years ago in LA. At that time they only had a daughter Megan but now they have a 1 year old son Keaton and another one expected to be due in April. Keep it going, Kenny and Sue! |
|
***
We also met up with my friends from elementary and junior high schools. |
|
***
Another must-meet were Twin and Husky who both were with me along with Yo in Hawaii during my university years. I wanted Jamie to meet these special dogs whom he should be calling big brothers. |
|
***
But the main reason why we went back was to attend my parents’ wedding. After being together for more than 30 years, Grandpa Ben and Grandma Eva finally tied the knot. Only close relatives were invited to a small scale buffet party. Here Jamie got a rare chance to meet his relatives again. |
|
***
I prepared a slideshow for their wedding which featured photos they took in the past. Some of us were still little kids in these photos. We thought it would be fun to go up to the screen and took the photos again in the same pose. Like this photo, it was taken more than 25 years ago. My parents became grandparents and a cousin of mine and I became parents. It was a good feeling that after so many years our bond is still so tight. |
|
***
While we were in Hong Kong, people including my mom were trying to feed Jamie different types of food. Jamie had no objection and gladly opened his mouth whenever somebody brought something to his mouth. However, as a mother I was strongly against it and tried to stop them from doing it but they found it very funny and all replied with the same answer “we raised you like this too!” Honestly, I don’t think much will happen from feeding Jamie new food if the amount is really small but why risk it?! Plus, Steve and I want to be the ones to experience the first moments with him. Funny enough, people didn't stop when I told them I was concerned about his health but when I told them that Steve and I want to be the ones to feed him new food, they stopped. |
|
***
On the way back to Bangkok, a very friendly Sky Nanny from Scotland helped me with Jamie. She likes children so much that she will soon quit Gulf Air and start her own nursery. I'm sure she'll do a good job.
Jamie and I were tired from the hectic days in Hong Kong which made it more difficult to take care of him but a less than 3 hours flight went by quickly and we were back in Bangkok again.
Please click this link to see more photos from this trip.
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2094887392&code=27017686&mode=invite&DCMP=isc-email-AlbumInvite
|
|
Look alike
February 16, 2007
There is a Chinese saying "People who get close to xx become red. People who get close to ink become black." My Chinese is limited and I don't know what the "xx" stands for. Anyway, I think this saying means that people who hang out together end up being very similar in various ways. I think this applies to Jamie and Babysitter Pong too because I noticed that their smiles look a lot like each other's! |
|
Recognition
February 13, 2007
2 of my coworkers also live in this same apartment complex but 1 will be moving out soon so we threw him a little farewell party at our apartment tonight. Work ended late so party also started late at 10pm. Jamie would usually be asleep by this time and wouldn't wake up until 7am next morning but tonight he was too excited to sleep. He stared at the 2 guests with concern the whole night. The usually smiley Jamie was stingy with his smiles tonight. As soon as the party was over, he fell right to sleep.
Tonight I realized something. Now I'm confident to say our son knows our faces. He's smiley and relaxed with us. This recognition made me feel special.
|
|
Hair!
February 7, 2007
Jamie's bald head has finally formed the first layer of hair, at least to my observation. And the color is...still hard to say. |
|
My CD
January 24, 2007
When we visited Hong Kong earlier this month, I bought a Cantonese animation songs CD. I bought it for 2 reasons. 1 is to reminisce what I grew up listening to. 2 is to help Jamie learn Cantonese. But after I came back to Bangkok and listened to the CD, I realized several things.
1) I have never heard of most of the songs on this CD.
2) The few songs that I know are not sung by the original singers thus I can't reminisce much. Plus, the singers on this CD suck except those that are sung by a bunch of kids.
3) Jamie absolutely loves this CD and falls asleep by the 10th song every single time I play it. It's a hypnotic that works every time. When I see that he's sleeping but has a hard time falling asleep on his own, I bring him to sit on my lap in front of the stereo and turn the music on. He would first get excited then get sleepy. Most of the time he wouldn't sit still but this CD works like a wonder. Thank God the average duration of each song is about 1 to 2 minutes, otherwise it'd take me an hour every time to put him to sleep. As the mother of a baby who hardly sleeps, this CD is like a saviour to me. This stands true for Steve too because if I can easily rock him to sleep, it saves work for Steve too.
4) Due to 3, 1 and 2 don't matter anymore.
5) The catchy melody and phrases keep running in our (both Steve and I) heads and mouths.
6) Steve ends up being the one learning new and sometimes unusal Cantonese words such as Ninja.
|
|
Another work party
December 23, 2006
I didn't realize how many parties my company holds until I wrote the title for this entry. Here are Steve and Jamie attending another one of my work parties again.
The party was to celebrate a year of hard work and the theme was Retro. I'm not a big fan of dressing up but my team was nice enough to prepare some fabric from their costume so that we could dress alike.
|
|
***
Maybe it's difficult to tell but I dressed Jamie this way for the 70's retro look - wavey sleeveless buttoned shirt and belly bottom jeans.
|
|
Another business trip
December 23, 2006
As if ordinary work itself is not enough to keep me busy, since I returned to work, I’ve already had 4 business trips. The most recent one was a 5-days trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 5 days is a long time to be away from home especially when 2 of these days was the only weekend that Steve has his off in December so far. I felt bad having to have him take care of Jamie all alone for 2 full days. But it turned out that Yo was the difficult one. We don’t know why but he had been acting strangely by pooping in the house even though he already got his walks outside. Could it be that he noticed I was gone and acted out in odd behavior?
Work hasn’t been easy either. Everyday we were in the office for long hours of meeting, talking about the same thing over and over again. I kept thinking, did I really have to be there for 5 days? Couldn’t we get this done in maybe 2 days? People got sick one after another. Luckily I was exempted. It was a relief to think that my next trip will be for leisure and Jamie and Steve will be by my side. |
|
***
On my way back when I was in the Kuala Lumpur Airport, I noticed the nursing room. Before, I’d never notice something like this but now that I have a child, different things catch my attention. I checked out this room not because I thought I’ll come with Jamie one day but because it is just interesting to see how different countries approach child-related matters. I could be wrong but I don’t believe there is a nursing room in the Bangkok airport. There is one in the Jakarta airport. Last time I was there I went inside to check it out and found that there were 5 staff both males and females chatting in this little room. When they saw me the party was over and they left the room. But this one in Kuala Lumpur is different. It’s spacious and is separated into a private nursing area and a bathroom equipped with a highchair. I was impressed.
I was happy to be back at Bangkok after a long trip. What I didn’t know was I was about to face an unexpected challenge. The morning after I came back, Babysitter Pong didn’t show up because she was sick. Everyone is sick nowadays. Maybe she was tired from the overtime she had to do while I was gone. She totally deserved a rest but I was a bit upset that she didn’t arrange a substitute to come to our house at the usual starting time. As a result, I couldn’t go to work on time so I decided to call it a day off. And then the next morning came and the same thing happened! She didn’t show up at the starting time and no other substitute showed up either. I couldn’t believe it happened twice in a row and I realized someone, either Pong or the nursery or both doesn’t understand how important it is for a babysitter to show up on time. I had to take morning off again to wait for a substitute to come, especially for a working mom. Even when I went to work in the afternoon I couldn’t concentrate. I just don’t understand why they don’t see the importance of showing up on time. But this is Thailand where the World’s No.1 traffic jam and all other kinds of delay are accepted even in the business world. It may be silly of me to even expect such a proper arrangement in the first place. |
|
Back to work
November 12, 2006
The 3-month maternity leave flew by quickly. I've returned to work this past week. I spent 4 days in Singapore for my first assignment. My plan was to wean Jamie from breast milk to formula completely before I returned to work but I failed. Ironically I found myself enjoying breastfeeding more and more during the weaning period. Before, it was an around-the-clock duty. Now it's precious time that I get to enjoy with Jamie. I didn't really want to call it an end. I was still breastfeeding him the morning before my flight. I knew I was asking for trouble.
I ended up having to express my milk manually on the first morning in Singapore. It was difficult and time-consuming. I was almost late to work but still my breasts were full with milk. I couldn't concentrate on work because all I could think about was my breasts. When lunch break finally arrived, I rushed back to my hotel room to express more milk. And then the same problem bugged me for the rest of the afternoon. It was frustrating to imagine having to go through the same trouble the next day. But this is a must stage if I were to stop the milk supply completely. But wait a minute, do I really have to stop breastfeeding completely just because I'm returning back to work?! Before, my answer was a sure yes because I didn't want to have to deal with related problems such as engorged and leaking breasts and the constant need to pump to keep the supply coming. But during the weaning process, I realized my body can still produce milk even if I just feed Jamie at night and morning. I can go on for the whole day without engorgement or leaking. So what this means is that the problems I was concerned about don't really exist in the first place. The solution was simple. It doesn't have to be breast or formula. It can be both.
With my mind made up, I went to buy a breast pump. Ironically, the one thing I had been avoiding to use for months served as a big relief. With the pump, I was able to express milk efficiently, concentrate on work and enjoy my time away from Jamie. It's really funny how things worked out in the end. Never say never.
Besides this issue, I found my transition back to work very smooth. Babysitter Pong is a big help. I can trust Jamie in her hands. People at work are also very warm in accepting me back. During a meeting this week, I felt so familiar with the surrounding that I felt like I've never left. I couldn't believe how much I've gone through this past year and I have a baby waiting for me at home. Contrast to how people usually describe the juggle between work and motherhood as hard work, for me juggling between these two makes both time even more precious and enjoyable. I'm enjoying every bit of it.
Last but not least, of course I can't do it without the understanding and support of my partner. While I was in Singapore, Steve had to wake up for the night feedings. I'm not the only one juggling here. |
|
What are you trying to say, Yo?
October 26, 2006
Tonight while I was feeding Jamie on the sofa I suddenly felt some strange up and down movement. I looked underneath the sofa and there was Yo! He never got in there unless I throw a toy in when we play fetch. I looked again and he was digging the carpet underneath the sofa. I read in books that dogs dig to relieve stress. Does it mean he's stressed?! I certainly hope not. It almost felt like he got into that spot on purpose to catch my attention. Or maybe I was reading too much into it.
Before Jamie arrived I've been worried about how Yo and Jamie will get along. But to my surprise, Yo responds quite well and he doesn't seem to be bothered by Jamie's crying or presence. We also try to include Yo in as many activities as possible. I hope he understands our effort.
|
|
What a wonderful night
October 4, 2006
There was a work-related farewell party I wanted to attend tonight. It was the first time I agreed to attend an event that had nothing to do with Jamie since his birth. It's probably difficult for people to understand but for a new mom this is a big deal. It involves lots of thinking and preparation. The partner's understanding is also important. For one thing, I had to convince Steve that Jamie won't suffer from hunger while I'm gone. That part didn't go as smoothly as I wanted but I promised I wouldn't be gone for too long.
Babysitter
Because it was difficult to tell if Steve could make it home from work before I leave for the party, I decided to get a babysitter. This would be the first time for us to leave Jamie with a stranger. The babysitter is sent from a local nursery here. At first it didn’t bother me to leave Jamie with a babysitter but when I heard Steve said that it’s harder than he thought, I started to worry too. Is she really going to pay attention to him all the time while we’re not there? Is she going to take care of Jamie with a sincere heart or as a work object? Will she know how to keep the appropriate distance between Jamie and Yo? Is she going to go through our personal things? And the list of worries go on. But I tell myself, we can’t be with Jamie 24-7 forever. There bounds to be a day when we have to leave him with somebody else. This is something we have to learn to deal with. And tonight became that first time, or so I thought.
Babysitter or daddy?
I booked the babysitter for 5 to 10 o’clock tonight but to my surprise, Steve showed up at the door around 5pm. It turned out that his work finished early which almost never happened. Now we had to make the decision to have the babysitter come as scheduled or have daddy watch Jamie instead. We made the decision to cancel. I just hope that the babysitter won’t cancel on us at last minute the way we cancelled on her!
The party
Jamie loves to go out. It’s much easier to calm him down or divert his attention from hunger when we’re out. So we ended up heading to the party together. But Steve and Jamie didn’t intend to join the party. They were just going to hang out somewhere nearby. But after we arrived, I figured, if Jamie doesn’t cry and Steve is up for it, why don’t we all join the party together? So we arrived at the party together and soon there was no turning back. Immediately my colleagues noticed us and they came up to greet this mom who was supposed to be in maternity leave and the new born Jamie. It’s been a while since I saw people from work. Once again I was reminded by how nice all of these people are. Even though I’ve been away from work for a while, suddenly I felt confident that I’ll be fine when I return. With all this warm support, there won’t be any problem.
The party went on with entertaining shows. Usually Jamie sleeps when he’s outside but tonight he stayed awake. His eyes were wide open. It seemed like he was enjoying the music, the crowd and the new environment. He didn’t get cranky at all! Thanks to his cooperation and Steve's support, I had lots of fun.
Reflection on tonight
Family and work can easily be caught in terrible conflicts. But when they do get along well, it’s an absolutely satisfying feeling. I was so impressed by the outcome of tonight that even when I was getting a foot massage at home afterwards, I couldn't stop thinking what a wonderful night I had tonight. And instead of catching some precious sleep, I'm up 2am now still reflecting on tonight. It went from worrying to have to leave Jamie in a stranger’s hands to having an awesome family + work event. It's definitely worth it to lose some sleep over for.
|
|
State of Emergency
September 20, 2006
Right before we went to bed last night I happened to catch the breaking news headline “Bangkok State of Emergency” on CNN. I had no idea of what it meant but as I turned to other channels and found the same news all over TV, I knew something serious was happening as even the recent multiple terrorist bombing incidents in southern Thailand didn’t make the world headline.
After a night has passed, by now I finally grasped a sense of what’s going on - Thailand’s army commander ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a military coup while he was in New York and this country is currently under martial law. I don't know if I have ever been in a place under martial law before. Steve said "wow, this is history" but I don't want to be caught in some political drama, I just want our normal life back.
Last night while the news was still on on CNN, BBC and other foreign TV news channel, the military had already blocked the local media. All we could see was video footage of the Thai royal family on Thai TV channels. This morning that blockage had escalated to including foreign media as well. Fortunately by late afternoon the news was back on on all channels. It’s terrifying to learn that military has control over the media in this country.
While schools, banks and a lot of other companies are on holiday today and my company had also called to advise me to stay home, Steve’s company runs as usual. I can’t wait for him to come home to us. Over a long distance phone call, my mom reminded me to stock up on food and other necessities. At first I thought it wasn’t necessary but when I learned that even our serviced apartment will stop serving room service for the next few days due to “limited resources”, that’s when I realized my mom is probably right. So our big plan for tonight is to go to the nearest Tesco Lotus store to stock up on necessities!
Meanwhile, Steve’s family is coming in tomorrow from the United States to see Jamie. It’s a shame that they have to see this serious side of Bangkok. I wish during their stay they will be able to see the lively energetic side this city usually offers.
Little Jamie has no idea of the dramatic changes this society is going through now. I can only hope that this whole thing will continue to resolve peacefully and change for the better. |
|
Mosquito
September 4, 2006
Last night I heard the sound of a mosquito flying by my ear. Today I saw it. It was a huge black nasty mosquito. The first thought on my mind was "if you were going to bite somebody, bite me, don't bite Jamie." And then tonight Steve told me the mosquito had got to him last night. He said "I hope the mosquito will bite me, not Jamie." Funny! We both had the same thought.
|
|
Sling sling sling
September 3, 2006
To all new parents out there, if you don't have a sling yet, get one! It's so easy to carry and babies probably love the swaddling feeling. It's extra fun if you find one with a lovely print. Mine can be used after Jamie becomes a toddler too. It's so fun to go out in it!
And look at those little legs sticking out, so cute! |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|