Monster Ru

the M9

2009-09-28T20:34:00.002+01:00

I can hardly believe it. Leica has made a full-frame digital M camera, just 3 years after releasing the M8. (I say "just" but OK - full frame digital cameras are quite common now.)

Camera lust is a terrible thing. And sadly, I do not have the kind of moolah to splash out on one of these sexy things. The only thing I can hope for is that in a few years' time (or more probably, a lot more than a few years), my lenses will find themselves happily attached to one of these bodies...

2009-06-18T20:23:00.004+01:00

X has been chattering away a lot now for the last few weeks. Most of the time, i just let him get on with it, but sometimes, when i think i can make out sentences, i stop and try to listen to what he's saying. The other day, he was playing and blabbering to himself, and i thought i could hear him saying "tissue! tissue!" So i stopped what i was doing to listen, wondering if he'd actually wanted a tissue. But then i realised that he was singing "Ring-a-ring-a-roses" after he went "...all fall down!" and then dropped his bum onto the floor. that was super cute.

and the other night, i was quite tickled by this:

X: more yoghurt!
me: there is no more in the fridge.
X: go shopping!
(pause)
buy yoghurt!

i tried to recall the times i've told him that we have to go shopping in order to get things that we had run out of, but i can't think of more than a couple of times. so i was pretty chuffed to hear him say that.

the funniest thing that X said today

2009-05-26T21:47:00.004+01:00

when we were walking back from tumble tots, i alerted X to this bit of dog mess on the road and then he started going, "Dog pooooo... Dog poooooo... Gross!" i couldn't stop laughing because i don't know when he picked up the word "gross", but i'm guessing it must have been when i was out into the garden, picking up after the dogs...

'twas also quite amusing when he tugged on my arm this morning when i was nearly falling asleep on the couch and went "mummy, UP! mummy UP!"

and then again, when he was nearly at the point of meltdown at dinner because he didn't have an afternoon nap today - "more soup! i want more soup! MORE SOUP! MORE SOUPEE!!!!!" he's been adding "ie" to his nouns lately (sockies, shoesies, etc) but i thought "soupy" was just too funny, so i had a good laugh and that made him laugh too, which prevented the meltdown.

2009-05-15T18:46:00.002+01:00

my own little helper was well impressive today.

as he took out each item from the laundry basket and handed them to me, he was able to name most of the items. "Xander's trousers, xander's sock, mama's sock, dada's trousers, dada's sock, xander's sleepsuit, towel..." i've never heard him say "sleepsuit" before, so i was quite impressed. it is amazing that in the last 2 weeks, his vocab has increased by soooo much. and he seems very keen to learn more words at the moment because he keeps wanting us to read to him all the time.

more developments

2009-05-13T19:45:00.002+01:00

in the last couple of weeks since his cousin left to go back home to Singapore, X's speech has suddenly developed in leaps and bounds.

Earlier this evening, he said 'i want to poo' and it was the 1st time ever that he expressed this need in a full sentence. Mummy was proud, and daddy ran upstairs to get the potty. Unfortunately, the poo was done almost immediately after he said this. Still, hopefully, this means that potty training won't be too hard...

'dog Poooo...'

2009-03-30T09:02:00.002+01:00

there's something funny about the fact that the 1st two words that the boy has managed to string together himself are 'dog' and 'poo'.

And the way he says it - slowly and deliberately - makes it quite a lot more funny.

potty training?

2009-02-27T18:48:00.002Z

I've been asked by several people when i'm going to start X on potty training. The first one was my mum, who made me lol because she said that my sister's nanny told her that if boys wear nappies for too long, their pee-pee will be - er, crooked. (ahem!) i wanted to ask her how many penises she has seen both at the baby, as well as the grown-up stage, but i thought that might be a bit of a weird/rude question to ask.

Anyway, I haven't actually given potty training much thought, but just said that i would start once X can communicate better.

And in the last week, the boy has just started doing this - he runs to me and says to me, very definitely, 'Poo. Poo.' and sure enough, he had done one. i'm actually quite proud of him for making such a progress.

Now i just have to get him to tell me before he needs to go. :)

speech development

2009-02-05T11:06:00.004Z

the boy has not developed as quickly as his friends (mostly girls) in terms of speech. He says fewer words, and the words that he does use, he pronounces them less accurately. I attribute this to the fact that he is more interested in physical activities - like climbing, jumping, dancing - so his body wants to continue developing in these ways rather than trying to express himself more.

This makes it difficult for him and we find that he tends to be screaming and shouting and having more temper tantrums in the recent weeks. But he is still a very sweet little boy and as with all things, this testy phase shall pass too. I just think i should enrol him in gymboree soon so he can have fun doing the more physical things that he enjoys...

Something i'm quite pleased about over the last 2 days tho' is that he seems to be trying to say more proper words - the night before last, as we stepped out of the house, he looked up to the sky and said 'moon'. I can't remember the last time i showed him the moon (must have been months ago!) and so, i was quite suprised when he remembered. Also, last night, he tried to say 'open' as he passed me a lotion bottle when he was in the bath.

I'm hoping these are signs that he is interested in communicating more becos' temper tantrums are really no fun!

stupid things that commentators say

2008-12-08T09:23:00.002Z

last nite's snooker game between ronnie o'sullivan & mark selby:

'He's been in hot water before. And now, he's using it!' (on ronnie holding a cup of hot water to keep his hands warm.)

2008-11-25T08:18:00.003Z

we moved X to his room for bedtime a couple of days ago, and he's not too happy about it.

This was how he tried to get his dad's attention last night whilst i was trying to put him to bed:

(standing at the child gate)

X: DA DA! DA DA!

DA DA!

(fails to get any attention)

X: Nee! Nee! Nee... Nee...

(fails to get any attention)

X: (knocking on the metal child gate) Nyock Nyock!

(Still no attention...)

That was funny then, but i wasn't so amused because it took me 2 hours or so to actually get him to fall asleep, after much whining and crying. Poo.

2008-11-22T23:16:00.003Z

NAB: 'Where's daddy's nose?'
X - points to NAB's nose.

NAB: 'Where's daddy's belly button?'
X - lifts up NAB's t-shirt and sticks his finger into belly button.

NAB: 'Where's milky?'
X - starts to lift up NAB's t-shirt again, but stops and looks confused, then turns to mummy and gives a cheeky smile, remembering where they are supposed to be...

2008-11-15T09:00:00.002Z

The boy fed himself his entire lunch (spaghetti with salmon and tomatoes) yesterday with a fork. Previously, when eating stringy noodlely type things, he mostly used his hands and sometimes, a spoon. But usually, this would be messy, and after a while, mummy usually ended up feeding him the rest of his food.

Yesterday though, he was really good! There was hardly any mess, and he finished the entire bowl of food, and after he was done with his yoghurt, he removed his bib and placed it nicely on the table whilst I cleared away stuff to the kitchen!

I am well impressed because although he is able to feed himself other food like porridge, rice, or yoghurt with a spoon, he had never used a fork much before. And now, mummy can eat her lunch at the same time more peacefully!

2008-10-27T12:56:00.001Z

the boy has an affinity for green things, just like his mum...

except for peas.

2008-10-22T09:29:00.001+01:00

the boy said the word "t-o-a-s-t" properly just now! Not "tow" or "toes", but "toasT"! :)

Counting Crows, finally!

2008-07-09T00:00:00.001+01:00

Counting Crows, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

i finally saw them on sunday, and it was well worth the wait! adam duritz sounds as good live as he does on the CD, and i'm not being biased. :) it was really incredible. the highlight for me must be when they played an extended version of Round Here - "did you think that you were dreaming..." and this time, it was about a girl named "Mary". (no more Maria - pui!)

Setlist is here:

Le Ballet D'or / Have You Seen Me Lately / Hanging Tree / Mr Jones / Colourblind / Cowboys / Good Time / Anna Begins / Round Here / Washington Square / Big Yellow Taxi / A Long December / Rain King / Blues Run the Game / Hard Candy / Meet on the Ledge (Fairport Convention) / Holiday in Spain.

a bit disappointed that they didn't play Mrs P's Lullaby, but it was still a very good night. adam durtiz said something about trying to squeeze the most number of songs into a short amount of time.

also chuffed to bits that the babysitting went so well. when we got back to the hotel at 11ish pm, (after a drink at the bar!) our friend was sitting in the dark so as to not wake Xander up!

(p.s. - the boy also started to walk properly on his own. he took quite a few steps on sunday by himself, and last night, he gained enough confidence to walk around all by himself!)

more updates

2008-06-16T20:38:00.002+01:00

the last week has been a really busy week.

amongst other things, X has learned to say a new word - "ba-ba" for bubbles. (we have a bubbles machine that we just used yesterday at a friend's baby's 1st birthday party.) He also managed to repeat the words "huai dan" (bad egg) after me, which was really funny becos my mum actually warned me not to say that too often in front of him, as it might be the first chinese words he'll learn. Oh well, too late for that now.

he was also really sweet when i put him to bed just now - he leaned forward to give me a kiss without me asking for one. :-)

i can't believe how fast things are progressing with him, and i don't even have the time to document them!

NAB can really cook anything.

2008-06-06T21:58:00.001+01:00

beef kway tiao (dry), originally uploaded by monster-ru.

up the stairs

2008-05-28T21:36:00.001+01:00

up stairs, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

i haven't blogged much at all - haven't really had the time cos looking after this little monster, er... bundle of joy i mean, is taking up quite a lot of my energy.

the boy has indeed grown a lot over the last couple of months, and it is quite amazing how much he was developing as he approached his first year.

this photo was taken a couple of days ago, when he crawled to the stairs (where i was standing), and then started making his way up. i was quite intrigued because he had never shown any interest in doing that, and he even made it all the way to the top, with very little help from me. (i really wished i had a better photo, but i was too nervous about him falling down!)

he'd never really been keen on crawling, but he is really enthusiastic about walking. we got him his first pair of shoes on the weekend, and i have a feeling that very soon, he'll be walking on his own. at the moment, he is also trying to stand up on his own, and getting him to sit in his pram for a long-ish period of time without him protesting is also damn near impossible now.

2008-04-01T00:58:00.004+01:00

tonight is the first night that i have seen Xander roll from his back to his front in his sleep, (tummy time, with his head up but eyes closed!) and then sleep facing down. then he turned his head again to switch sides.

strange to see him moving so much in his sleep. i know he inches towards me during the night, but this is quite interesting because he usually does not voluntarily go onto his front. meanwhile, this nasty cold and horrible horrible cough made him projectile vomit most impressively earlier on, and the useless GP didn't even give him any meds.

oh, and make that 3 CDs that i have bought since Christmas. the new REM album was released yesterday. happy.

2008-03-31T22:13:00.002+01:00

i have purchased 2 new CDs since Christmas. Hooray!!

i don't recall a period in my life ever that i have bought so few CDs...

2008-03-30T23:42:00.002+01:00

the poor boy has fallen sick again, and this time, i think it's the worst ever.

he's coughing, and throwing up, and not eating much at all. the worse thing is that he hates taking his meds, and it is such a struggle getting him to take any of it.

tonight, as for the last few nights, we made him take some and he threw all of it up, including the milk he drank before that. the poor little fella was feeling so sorry for himself, and it's really heart-breaking to see him being so unwell...

he has however, made the connection that shaking his head means that he doesn't want something... so that's quite sweet.

(AND FINALLY! i am so happy to see Casey Stoner making mistakes on the race track! the others have a chance!)

teeth

2008-03-18T20:19:00.003Z

the boy's top teeth have cut through now. He has been miserable for the last couple of weeks or so (and so have we!) and i thought that maybe it is just the two top ones. But i looked closer today, and i think all the 4 front teeth have started to appear! and i think more from the sides are coming because he seems to be chewing things (including his fingers!) with the side of his gums! God help us!

2008-03-03T20:17:00.002Z

my son can now kiss on demand. It's the sweetest thing on earth.

2008-02-25T21:28:00.002Z

i feel like such a bad mummy today.

first, i woke my son up by taking him out of his pram where he'd earlier just fallen asleep in, and then put him into a cold cot-bed in a cold cold room. and the worse thing was when i attempted "Controlled Crying". i wasn't going to give up or give in. But after 45mins, i decided that it was enough...

so, besides feeling like i'm a bad mummy, i also feel a bit of a failure where this is concerned.

sigh... tomorrow i will try again.

2008-02-22T21:17:00.001Z

YEEESSSSSS!!!!! Counting Crows will be playing at Hyde Park this summer! YIIPPPPEEEE!!!

Xander, the bully

2008-02-10T00:18:00.001Z

smack!, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

Taylor is 2 mths younger than Xander, but very recently, she has got bigger and taller than him.

Still, he does not get intimidated, but smacks her one in the face when she does not give him any attention!

Rats!

2008-02-06T23:01:00.001Z

xander being ill, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

We had plans for this year's Chinese New Year. We'd got the car from mum, and i'd recently bumped into a chinese lady whose kid is a month older than xander, who told me where i can drive to (somewhere really near, not chinatown!) to get some stuff for the new year.

We wanted to do something. Have a party, invite the neighbours, get some friends around, and have a proper reunion dinner. Unfortunately, i fell sick over the weekend and then the boy got quite ill last night. I ended up having to hold him in my arms all night so that he would get some sleep. (and me, very little.)

So this is how he looked today... he felt so hot this morning, it worried me. And i feel bad because if i hadn't fallen ill, he probably wouldn't have either. :-(

Luckily, our dinner was salvaged by NAB going to chinatown and bringing home some yummy "sioh bak" and beef noodles. So we all had a relatively good time, with Xander grooving to NAB's freshly-downloaded-from-itunes chinese new year songs and us being quite amused by that. Oh, and the dogs were not left out either. Finn was kind of entertaining X by letting him wave his hand at him, and Belle jumped up into my lap to be spoilt.

Anyway, i've had a good Pig year, except for the bloody chicken pox. And i hope you all have a great Rat year ahead.

vroom vroom!

2008-01-29T21:47:00.000Z

tomorrow, we get our very first car, courtesy of NAB's mum.

whilst i'm a bit kan cheong because i have not driven for a few years and never in this country, i am also looking forward to being able to take the boy out to places besides the town centre and not be restricted by the fact that i can't take him out in the pram by myself if i have to use the train. (blame it on the fact that the space between the platform and the train is far too wide!)

oh, and about something else unrelated, i took my tongue piercing out. might still put it back in, but it is looking quite unlikely...

sick boy

2008-01-22T22:44:00.001Z

Dad i am so ill!, originally uploaded by taekwon-dodo.

this poor little fella has been ill since sunday, and sunday night was probably the worst night ever in terms of dealing with baby. he sreamed and cried (and threw up as a result) most of the night.

but the funny thing was that our neighbours had a new lodger and it was his first night - and we think he's the guy who when parking his car on our street, failed to check before reversing and nearly backed into us at high speed. the angry me wanted to "kanninabei!" and "chowchee" him jiaklat jiaklat, but it came out in a milder version instead because i am trying not to swear in front of the baby... - so it was a great welcome "gift" for him!

anyway, the boy is still snotty and teary, and has lost a bit of weight. but after taking all his measurements, the midwife today (at his 8 months check) assured me that we have a very "proportionate" baby. hahaha!

haircut - stage 1

2008-01-19T13:26:00.001Z

haircut - stage 1, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

The boy's fringe has got so long that it was getting into his eyes.

I managed to cut a bit of it off this morning, before he started wriggling too much. At least now he looks less like a girl!

(oh, and he started clapping with both hands all by himself this morn!)

father & son

2007-12-22T18:54:00.001Z

father & son, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

is this sweet or what? :)

(lens test - new lens from Dad!)

the happy bunny

2007-12-17T23:02:00.001Z

DSC01966, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

Xander has really grown in the last month or so. and i don't mean growing in physical terms, but emotionally and the rest.

there is just too much to say about his development, but in short, he is definitely displaying much more consciousness and awareness in what he does and what's going on. It really is amazing to watch him. Like the way he stretches his hand out to touch our faces in the mornings whilst we are still in bed, or the way that he chuckles when we play with him, or how he watches us when we are not really paying attention to him before deciding what his strategy for getting some love would be.

so far, i think the 3-6 months period was the hardest, and i'm glad that that time is now gone. But i'm also very aware of how fast he is growing, and how quickly it will all go. So for now, i'm just really happy to be enjoying the good times. Nevermind that i have to wake up at least 3 times a night, and that he has started teething. :)

Xander in a bunnysuit

2007-12-06T21:27:00.001Z

Xander in a bunnysuit, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

this baby gets bored sitting in his pram. i don't blame him... i wouldn't be able to sit in a chair for too long myself. this however, means that daddy and mummy (mummy, usually! 'cos she has to carry him *and* push the empty pram at the same time! ) get really tired carrying him around in town.

but it's worth it really. especially when he's looking like this, and everyone who walks past has a little smile on their faces.

2007-11-16T17:26:00.000Z

it is nice when someone else agrees with you that Boxing Day is the worst ever day in the entire year to have your birthday on.

remembrance day 2007

2007-11-11T23:02:00.001Z

remembrance day 2007, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

(took this in the town centre today.)

rollover

2007-11-04T21:39:00.001Z

rollover, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

he hates doing this so much.

i love the frame in the centre because you can just about see his rather unhappy face, looking all distressed, saying "mummy, why do you make me do this? i hate it, i hate it!"

falling asleep

2007-11-02T23:22:00.001Z

falling asleep, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

the boy loves falling asleep whilst feeding. This causes 2 problems:

1. he can't fall asleep by himself anymore/when not feeding,
2. he doesn't feed enough and so wakes up during the night to feed.

whilst this made him quite easy to handle whilst he was still a newborn, this is really starting to make life more difficult for me.

But nevermind all that for now. He's the sweetest thing.

2007-10-26T16:18:00.000+01:00

these days i love watching the boy observe his hands.

he looks at them with such intent, and then moves his fingers so slowly and deliberately, as if to conjure up something.

2007-10-26T10:54:00.000+01:00

i'm being used as a dummy. but what makes this funny is that the boy would stick his finger into his mouth at the same time, so as to see which is "tastier"?

2007-10-23T22:05:00.000+01:00

i was on msn with ondine and there was the funniest typo error i'd ever seen:

"hee hee..but if you just have him.. he'll be kibely"

well, i thought that kibely is a real cute way to describe a baby...

Finn on top of toppled compost bin

2007-10-05T17:15:00.001+01:00

Finn on top of toppled compost bin, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

this is how he shows Belle who's boss...

2007-10-05T09:15:00.000+01:00

the boy has started having some puréed food in the last couple of weeks. today, i saw (and smelled) what was clearly adult-poo in his nappy. it was funny when he was clearly pushing, complete with visual and sound effects. but i wasn't laughing anymore when i had to change the nappy!

a jedi kiss

2007-09-08T23:54:00.001+01:00

a jedi kiss, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

acid clouds

2007-09-08T22:34:00.001+01:00

acid clouds, originally uploaded by bentann.

i wish i had been in singapore to see this...

flip-top books

2007-09-08T16:07:00.000+01:00

i saw these in Borders the other day and immediately thought of "Lucky Strikes". I couldn't stop myself and i had to pick up one of them to play around with for a while. Memories came rushing back and i almost felt like a smoker again... 'twas quite nostalgic and i nearly bought a pack!

2007-09-02T21:52:00.000+01:00

i recently read Michel Houellebecq's Platform, which i quite enjoyed. However, the quality of editing/proof-reading is not so great. It irked me greatly (and even to the point of thinking about getting my pen and correcting the errors in the book), but for the sake of getting to the end of the book, i kept reading. When i got to page 313, this nearly made me throw the book out of the window:

"One of them had shaved her public hair, you could easily make out her slender, ..."

Public hair? WTF!

and so i went back with my camera...

2007-08-26T23:49:00.000+01:00

this is a really cool kid. he sure knows how to have fun and is friendly with the other kids too!

oops, i guess! this kid slipped and fell several times, and sometimes it looked like it really hurt as he laid there being still for a few moments before getting himself up and playing some more like he never fell. anyway, 'twas a really nice way to spend an afternoon, sitting around watching kids play. There is something about this that warms your heart.

Oh, and i even had a bratwurst. Just no beer. :-)

raincoat girl

2007-08-26T13:19:00.001+01:00

raincoat girl, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

This little girl stood very very still next to the jet of water. I thought it was very cute that she had a raincoat on and yet, was still very cautious not to get too wet.

i'm glad that there is the equivalent of the Bugis Junction water fountain here in town. There is a nice atmosphere and you can even get German sausages and beer. If only the weather was a bit nicer more often.

2007-08-23T22:00:00.000+01:00

when you wake at 5am and its not light,
when you are out at 8pm and it's already dark,
(even feels like Singapore at christmas - the cool air after it's just been raining... blame it on the lights on some trees outside the futon shop!)

you know that summer has GONE...

"Highly Effective" my arse

2007-08-15T00:28:00.001+01:00

screenshot - citibank seminar ad, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

I got this in the email, and it made me sick in the stomach. It not only brought back bad memories (of when i was teaching), but also reminded me of the "kiasu" culture in Singapore. And also the fact that i've said to some of my (then) colleagues and friends, that if i ever have a child/children, i would be reluctant to let him/her be educated in Singapore.

The words "Highly Effective", "empower", and "success- driven" make me cringe. i blame this on the ex-job. but this sort of marketing strategy just makes me nauseous. You are not supposed to (God forbid!) ignore anything that claims to make you "Highly Effective". Especially if it is something that will "empower" your child/children and make them "success- driven"!

But what is really wrong with this ad? Let's see. How do you "Nurture" a "Natural Genius"? And do you still need a "Success Formula" for teens who are already "Highly Successful" anyway?

Oh, and the one that irritates me the most. "The Five Emotions that Drives your Children". Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong here... i hate to admit it, but it's the teacher in me reacting here.

Imagine when your child delivers your eulogy, " my mother... she was highly effective..." WTF?? i think i would rather be remembered as a loving, encouraging, caring, or even fair parent. But "Highly Effective"? No thanks. And so what if my child is "success- driven", i would rather he be successful! Haha!

i was talking to my mum the other day about the retirement age in Singapore going up. Then she said that she felt bad for all those old aunties and uncles who have to work at the food courts and hawker centres collecting the dirty plates and bowls. I think she felt a sense of embarrassment and shame that they are the ones cleaning up after us when they are supposed to be enjoying their retirement. i guess in Singapore, where the support network for old people isn't all that great, behind people's preoccupation with success is the fear of ending up like them in one's old age. And you are well and truly screwed if you have "success- driven" kids who do not have the decency to return the favour and take care of you when you're old.

what i like about the UK is...

2007-08-13T22:36:00.000+01:00

not the weather! Haha. Well, actually, what i like about here is the fact that i can walk into a library, look through 2 shelves of "Summer Bumper Sale" books and pick out 4 for the grand total of 60p! (Even less than the 99p i spent in Oxfam Books for Jean-Paul Sartre's Nausea.)

i got Mark Helprin's "A Soldier of the Great War", Michel Houellebecq's "Lanzarote", Henry James' "The Aspern Papers and Other Stories" and David Knowles' "The Third Eye". Well, i've never read any Helprin, but that one looked quite promising...

Oh yah, and also that the museums are free (well, except for special exhibitions). It's really cool that if you've got a couple of hours to kill, and you don't want to spend too much money, you can just walk into a museum and get to see some really cool stuff...

X - updates

2007-08-07T13:45:00.000+01:00

last sunday we finally splashed out and bought a bouncy chair for the boy. A disney "Baby Einstein" infant-to-toddler rocker that's got speakers and features "Limitless Audio Options!" because it has a (wahj - i think you'll like this) jack to connect to an iPod. It even has a pocket on the under-side of the chair to slot your iPod in! i guess it is "limitless" as long as you are willing to keep expanding the size of your iPod...

well, the boy seemed to enjoy it the first time we put him in there.

NAB swears by the "vibration" feature, but the first thing he said when he found it was "you're not allowed to use it!" Well, me, i'll be satisfied if this musical vibrating machine buys me 20 mins of hands-free (haha!) time during the day.

the boy has also seemed to have suddenly grown quite a bit. he's nearly too big for his cot & moses basket. it doesnt take much kicking for his head to reach the top of the cot/basket:

i think it's nearly time to fix his bed up... but i'm trying to delay it because at the moment, with his basket right next to me, it's really easy to pick him up for night-feeds. Depending on where we put the bed... it'll take more effort. =)

A List

2007-08-04T17:15:00.001+01:00

a list, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

This was found in a book that i bought in a charity shop. Strange to be writing a "to-bring" list in a book, don't you think?

As far as i can make out, the list includes

water
shoes
??
suntan lotion
nasal spray
tissues
sunglasses
wallet (?)
Telephone

Looks like s/he was on a nice beach holiday. i'm full of envy.

2007-07-19T23:55:00.001+01:00

i've been here for a year...

smiling at daddy

2007-07-12T23:25:00.001+01:00

smiling at daddy, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

NAB ran at the JP Morgan Chase Challenge on Wednesday at Battersea Park. There was a lot more people than i'd expected, and there was a nice carnival feel to it. After the run, we had a little picnic (bought burgers from a van and free bottled spring water from the sponsers!), and X had big smiles for his dad... how sweet!

"after the rain has fallen"

2007-07-05T19:16:00.001+01:00

rainbow, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

went out for a walk a couple of days ago. It was actually raining hailstones before that, and a few places in South London was flooded. Even the road outside was slightly flooded.

generally quite shitty weather, but a view like this kind of makes up for it. bright sunshine and a nice rainbow. and then a short while later, another faint one appeared next to this, so it was pretty cool.

a lullaby indeed...

2007-07-03T12:36:00.001+01:00

sleep
Originally uploaded by monster-ru

i put CC's Mrs Potter's Lullaby on and it sent the boy straight to sleep!

No Dogs Allowed

2007-07-02T23:58:00.001+01:00

Dogs Not Allowed
Originally uploaded by monster-ru

Wimbledon Common is one of my favourite places to go. The place is always full of dogs, and a lot of them are off the leash, which is really cool cos they have so much fun.

This was taken outside the Windmill cafe quite early in the morning before it was open. As you can see, there are "no dogs!" signs on the doors, so these very well-behaved dogs waited patiently outside, and then their owner came out with a sausage for each of them!

2007-06-29T10:58:00.001+01:00

xander 2 mths, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

this baby is 2 months old today.

:-(

2007-06-27T20:37:00.001+01:00

shaved finn, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

Finn is not well. It started yesterday, and it was something he ate. He had blood in his urine, and it was the same this morning, so NAB took him to the vet.

They shaved him to take a blood sample, and the results came back - looks like his kidneys are damaged. We still don't know if he's going to be ok, but if he doesnt drink enough water tonight, he'll have to be taken to the vet's tomorrow morning and they'll put him on a drip.

we're both keeping our fingers crossed. It'll break our hearts to lose Finn.

Update: The vet said there is probably some bacterial infection. Finn is on medication and will have to go back to the vet's next wednesday for more blood tests to make sure he is OK. Fingers crossed, he's getting better.

2007-06-21T15:36:00.000+01:00

after some delays by amazon, my copy of the new Murakami is finally here! Now, i just have to find time to read it...

2007-06-10T16:17:00.000+01:00

Whilst we were out at Richmond Park, the little one needed a nappy change...

2007-06-07T12:18:00.000+01:00

we weighed X at home yesterday, and he's now about 5.4kg... he's 5 1/2 wks old and has started trying to hold his head up by himself. It's scary how quickly babies develop and grow. But it's even scarier how, perhaps because you've become a parent, you start to see more and more similarities between your parents and yourself. Grr...

2007-05-22T11:59:00.000+01:00

16 days to go. This sucks ballz.

And i actually prefer the cover of the US edition. Too bad there are no more Vintage ones...

2007-05-19T07:11:00.000+01:00

the boy got weighed yesterday - he's now 3.34kg (with nappy on).

2007-05-18T12:07:00.000+01:00

NBCB.

Murakami's After Dark is already out in the US, but i have to wait another 3 wks before i can get it here.

NBCB.

Not fair.

If only my ability to read chinese didn't suck.

2007-05-11T12:10:00.000+01:00

The health visitor came by yesterday and said this before she left - "Ah, the baby looks like daddy, but you did all the hard work...tsk tsk..."

i also say...

added at 19:33 - The midwife came by today, and she also said that the boy looks like daddy. And he's put on even more weight! He's now 2.97kg!

The Crucible - The Final

2007-05-07T22:30:00.000+01:00

And the commentator said this, "Those were the kind of shots that brought the audience to their feet. And they're using their feet now to bring themselves back to this auditorium..."

No. Fucking. Shit.

added at 23:08 -

"Sometimes he's good with the rest, sometimes not. The supporters will be hoping this is one of the good times."

Right...

Update!

2007-05-07T21:22:00.001+01:00

D8_DSC00642, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

The midwife came by again today and weighed him. He's gained weight and is doing well. He's now 2.7kg, up from the 2.44kg when he was born.

baby's first day out!

2007-05-06T00:03:00.001+01:00

05/05/2007, originally uploaded by taekwon-dodo.

Ok - i must say that this photo makes me laugh. He looks as if he's being swallowed up by the blankets, but he really is that small.

anyway, we took him out today. i'm not supposed to go out - midwife's instructions to stay home because i'm still bleeding quite a lot (nasty infected stitches!!!) - but we thought it would be nice to go out for a bit since NAB's mum came to see us today.

so we went to the mall to get some more baby things and some groceries. but halfway through shopping, this boy got hungry. Still, he didn't make too much of a fuss and was generally most well behaved.

We talked a bit about the labour just now, and it still sends shudders down my spine to think that when he was born, he was really grey and wasn't making the usual baby "ong-air" sounds. i know it's such a cliché, but something like this makes you want to guard him with all your life.

The Labour

2007-05-05T01:18:00.000+01:00

Well, i wasn't sure i wanted to post about this, but NAB said i should, for posterity. Hell, i don't even know where to start. On record, the labour took 18hrs 57mins. But really, it was more like 24hrs, starting from the time of the first contractions (Sunday, just gone 0000hrs), although the first symptoms appeared quite a lot earlier (around 4pm Saturday).

Basically i endured the contractions without any pain relief (nor sleep!) for a few hours and then i took some panadol in the morning. And it wasn't until a couple of hours later that NAB asked me if i wanted to use the TENS machine (duh! Why didn't i use this earlier?!). This made the pain slightly more bearable, although i must say that the persistence/regularity of the pain of contractions is enough to make anyone lose hope!

So on and on the contractions went without respite until they were about 2-3mins apart, lasting about 1 1/2 mins each. And this was when the hospital said it was ok to go in.

We got there about 2ish, and after the usual checks, we waited in a room because there were no delivery suites available. i requested for some pethidine so i could sleep for a bit before the big push. I managed to doze off a bit, but everytime a fucking contraction came, it woke me up. When the pethidine wore off (4hrs later), i started on the "gas & air" (entonox) which was great! It made you dizzy and numb... definitely recommend it.

It wasn't until 8pm that we got into the delivery room. and just when i thought it would all be over soon, i was actually facing the worst part of labour. By then i had very little energy - wait, make that- no energy left. So the pushing bit was really really really very very tough going. It basically went on for about 3 hrs. After an hour, I was going to have the doctor come in to give me some help (ventouse) but they were just too busy. The baby's heart rate was dropping and everything was really looking quite hopeless, like nothing was going to happen. But the midwife was really good - she kept going "KEEP PUSHING KEEP PUSHING..." and it was about quarter to midnight and she was saying how with 3 good pushes, we'll have the baby soon... and 'cos she had already written down the date of birth on the papers and she didn't want to change it haha.

so then it happened. With "3 good pushes", the baby was out. But as he came out i could see the look of horror/shock on the midwife's face. It turned out that the umbilical cord was round his neck, and it snapped whilst he came out, and blood spurted everywhere. I must say that he made a pretty dramatic entrance into the world... I was super relieved, but there was more pain to come, in the form of stitches.

So, that's what happened. We thought the midwife handled the situation really well, and she kept calling the baby "Tiny" and said he looks like a girl!!! He's only 48cm in length, and weighed 2.44kg at birth. But he's super super cute, and feeding well at the moment. Will send the midwife a thank-you note with a bottle of whiskey and some tea leaves. Also very very grateful to NAB's mum who was with us - couldn't have done it without her!

Oh, and for the record, no swear words (in whatever language) were used during labour.

Baby's full name: Alexander Peter Burton 林宥.

Introducing...

2007-05-03T01:12:00.001+01:00

D3_DSC00585, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

The Squealer!

This is the new addition. More later...

'Bridge of Inspiration'

2007-04-24T01:53:00.001+01:00

'Bridge of Inspiration', originally uploaded by monster-ru.

NAB spotted this in Covent Garden when we were walking about. It links the Royal Ballet School to the Royal Opera House. If you don't look up, it can be easily missed. I stopped in the pub that is on the corner of the left side of the photo for a drink (no, not alcoholic), and didn't even notice it. Well, i guess most of us don't walk with our noses up in the air...

Anyway, google tells me that the guy who designed it is Wilkinson Eyre, who is also designing the 'Gardens by the Bay' in Singapore. Any of you had a look yet?

London Marathon

2007-04-22T09:01:00.000+01:00

Best of luck to NAB!

chewed bath toy

2007-04-20T10:33:00.001+01:00

chewed bath toy, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

i've been "waiting" for this to happen. i just didn't think that it will happen so soon, before the baby is even here. Dogs thinking that baby toys are theirs as well and later, quite probably, vice versa? (Actually, to be fair, this was probably Finn's doing...)

Well, its not really a problem if dogs chew baby's toys but it wouldn't be so cool for baby to do the same to theirs...

yucks.

parkour jumping at Southbank

2007-04-19T14:43:00.001+01:00

parkour jumping at Southbank, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

Took a bit of a walk at Southbank last friday. It's supposed to be spring, but it was a rather warm day, and everyone thinks its summer already! People are out in full force!

Spotted some guys doing some parkour jumping, and was regretting not having my camera with me. Luckily, i always have my phone camera, and i used the BestPic feature for the first time... with great satisfaction. :-D

Maybe i'll go back there with my camera tomorrow...

singapore laksa in london

2007-04-12T23:02:00.001+01:00

singapore laksa in london
Originally uploaded by monster-ru.

spotted a Malaysian restaurant, Melati, earlier in Soho. Was looking at the menu and trying to decide whether to give the food a try when this drunk guy stopped next to me and started "talking cock". In order to avoid his very yucky alcoholic breath, (and also because the shop owner, i guess, came to the door,) we decided to go into the restaurant.

We were kind of lucky because the food turned out to be pretty authentic after all. I had the "Singapore laksa". They didnt have laksa noodles, but beehoon, with prawns, chicken bits, fish cake and tau pok. And the soup was really quite alright. NAB had some rice with curry and chilli chicken which was also quite yummy. Definitely a place we will be going back to.

Think next time i will try the Hainanese Chicken Rice, or the Nasi Ayam...

Glad to have spotted the place.

small bump, big baby?

2007-04-06T09:05:00.000+01:00

In the last 2 days, i've been told by different people that my bump looks a bit...small. One of them was the midwife, who took a measurement, and then sent us straight off to the hospital for an ultrasound scan to check that everything is OK. I was naturally a bit worried.

At one point during the scan, the sonographer went, " Wah... Look..." In that split second before he finished his sentence, I was thinking to myself and hoping that it wasn't something bad that they had not picked up before... "Big penis!" ... HUH?! What?! He even took a photo of this (it would be too cruel to flick'r it) and gave it to us. And he kept saying, "Look, daddy..." I was of course glad it wasn't anything bad, but i didn't know whether to be more amused or disturbed. Anyway, the kiddo is a bit on the small side (but everything is still within the normal range), but i guess that is just because they are using Western standards to measure him?

The other person who said that the bump looked a bit small made me a bit more worried. She works at this restaurant in Chinatown (excellent beef brisket kway tiao for only £4.80!) and she commented that the bump is very "si(1) wen(2)". I can't really think of an appropriate translation for this, but i guess its a nice way of saying small or "modest"? Anyway, she said that when she had her baby, her bump too was very small. But when her baby was born, s/he was over 8lbs! Pain pain pain!!!

I don't really feel prepared for it, but as she reminded me - well, it can happen anytime now. (My cousin's baby was about a month premature, and my sister's was 16 days early!) I guess i'd better go and pack my hospital bag!

reminder to self - only about a month to go!

2007-04-02T10:52:00.000+01:00

All of last week (ok - not all. Maybe the 2nd half) i was telling myself to book the 34th week GP antenatal appointment, and i was going to do it this morning. As it turns out, I've just missed a midwife's appointment. It's funny because sometime before falling asleep last night and when i got a phone call from them earlier, a message was flashing in my head - "Mon, 10am". It did occur to me that maybe, it could actually be my 36th week midwife appointment, and I was going to ask NAB to check my notes, but i was in between being lazy and being convinced that it can't be week 36 yet...

NAB pointed out to me that i've been saying that i'm 32 weeks for the last few weeks, but somehow, i remained oblivious to the fact... I think having chicken pox threw me off the timeline, and now, i feel kind of out of it... It's weird because i don't feel prepared (haven't packed hospital bag, haven't rented TENS machine, haven't bought new disposable lenses or made new glasses - the pair that i have is more than 10 years old - No shit. No sterilising equipment or feeding bottles in case breast-feeding doesn't work out, no breast pump...) and yet at the same time, i kind of can't wait for him to get out. It's so damn uncomfortable... you can't sleep properly. Hell, you can't sit properly. And just when you think walking might be the solution, you start getting Braxton Hicks, or some other kind of cramps or discomfort that makes you walk all funny. You know, the way that pregnant women walk. Nevermind that you feel that you have to pee all the time, and actually do go to the toilet like every half an hour.

But the nice thing is also how you become more conscious of the baby, of how he might be lying and pushing against you, of where his head, back, arms, legs, etc are. The "funniest" one is when he is pushing in 2 opposite directions at the same time. Yah... Stretching. I guess being in the foetal position for a few months can get boring too.

The other day i (foolishly) told NAB that i was "worried" if i turned over too quickly from lying on my left to the right, it feels like the boy might get a nasty flip-over in my tummy. Of course, he laughed his head off at me.

2007-04-01T23:04:00.001+01:00

Platform 5 at Clapham Junction
Originally uploaded by monster-ru.

took this a while ago. I remember the sun coming through onto the platform, and it's that amazing feeling you get, the warmth that reminds you to be grateful for all the things you have, for the fact that you are alive.

boy, am i glad that sunny days are here again.

woe is me

2007-03-25T10:35:00.000+01:00

i had a really nice long chat with my sister earlier this week. I'm getting quite stressed out about my parents coming over, and talking to her felt a lot more like how it used to be when we were younger. You know, more like Us vs. the Parents again, which was really comforting, although it didn't make me feel any more at ease. In fact, it confirmed (most of the) fears and anxieties that i have.

Hell, i even thought about not telling them when the baby's born, and then letting them know after a month or so, just so that they won't rush straight over and watch my every step during the(ir) "confinement" month, telling me not to do this and that. You know, like cannot have baths, cannot touch water, cannot use scissors, cannot go out, etc. They are already doing it, over the phone. I mean, it's not like they are going to physically stop me doing these things, and you know that you are going to have to have showers, you are going to have to wash your hands, and you are going to step out of the house to get some fresh air. It's knowing how they will react that kills me. I know they mean well, but it's damn bloody annoying when you ask them for a reason for these things and they can't give you a logical answer. I'm really dreading the tension that will arise, and i really don't want their trip over here to be unpleasant. The scary thing is that there isn't really enough space in this apartment to "run away" from any sort of conflict.

-------

In other news, i was a bit shocked when my sister told me that the most expensive thing (the price!) she bought for this whole pregnancy/motherhood thing is a breast pump. So far, our most expensive purchase are the nappies we got yesterday. They're cute little organic re-usable ones. (Ok, we haven't got a pram/travel system thing, which is probably going to cost the most, but my mother-in-law is going to get that for us, which is cool.)

We're getting closer to the date now, and for the last couple of months, i've been feeling like i can't wait to get it out. You know, just 'cos of the physical discomfort and all. But my sister did say to me, "It's better in than out..."

We'll see.

WTF?!

2007-03-25T00:02:00.001Z

cock soup
Originally uploaded by monster-ru.

excuse me, would you like some cock soup?

"west is best for today's sunshine"

2007-03-24T08:53:00.001Z

"west is best..."
Originally uploaded by monster-ru.

i don't know why, but whoever is behind these weather comments makes me laugh...

"Madness or Genius?"

2007-03-20T15:30:00.001Z

"Madness or Genius?", originally uploaded by monster-ru.

i like marmite.

i like guinness.

hmm...

2007-03-20T13:20:00.000Z

how do you sit and wait for dried-up scabs to fall off own their own without even thinking about giving them a bit of "physical" encouragement?

2007-03-19T15:32:00.000Z

yup, i think it's raining hailstones. there's supposed to be a cold snap this week, and there's snow in some parts. Isn't it supposed to be spring already?!

in other news, i think i'm going mad, being stuck in the apt for days. (since last Sat afternoon. Ok. Minus the trip to the hospital on sunday morning and the one to the GP round the corner on tuesday...) There's not a lot of space in here to walk about. My legs are turning to jelly...

2007-03-16T18:16:00.001Z

My nephew, Elijah!, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

no harm posting more photos of the new boy!

Welcome little one!

2007-03-16T18:09:00.001Z

My nephew, Elijah!
Originally uploaded by monster-ru.

Whilst i was in hospital on sunday morning with a terrible temperature and having the baby's heart-rate monitored (it averaged around 170, which is a bit high...), this boy here was born.

My father is a very proud grandfather. And this boy here is going to be so, so spoilt. But does it matter? Look at him, isn't he cute? :-)

(Was going to blog about this earlier, but i just started feeling more human today!)

KNNBCCB!

2007-03-13T11:57:00.000Z

FCK. after 31 years of my life, i've got chicken pox.

and i'm covered in 'em damn spots. i've even got them in my throat.

and no, the antibodies don't pass through the placenta, so its not like the boy is going to be immunised.

... what luck!

17:29 - Just saw on the NHS Borders site:

"In some cases a baby recently born to a woman with chicken pox may be given passive immunisation."

Hmm...

Year of the Pig!

2007-02-19T17:51:00.000Z

CNY door decor
Originally uploaded by monster-ru.

this is my first ever year that i didn't get to have a traditional Reunion Dinner.

oh well. we tried to get into the festive mood. I even went into chinatown twice last week, hoping to find some goodies to get, even though we dont really eat them. and on the eve, NAB and i braved the chinatown crowd, and bought this thing - really, the only thing that we have to "celebrate" the new year with. No mandarin oranges, no ang paos to give or receive...

i'm wondering if i'm supposed to feel homesick, or really glad that i don't even have to find an excuse to not do the usual CNY things that we used to try to avoid. But honestly, i think what i miss most is the gambling, and playing poker with my friends till the early morning...

in any case, chinatown was really boring. there were hardly any stalls, just lots and lots of people... guess the parade and all is there mainly for the tourists...

p.s. oh, and you know your dog is getting old when he is falling asleep sitting upright next to you...

"Rain slowly dying away tonight"

2007-02-17T21:56:00.000Z

"Rain slowly dying away tonight"
Originally uploaded by monster-ru.

i thought this pretty poetic for a weather page.

a bit of snow

2007-02-08T16:01:00.000Z

snow-stitch of King George's Park
Originally uploaded by monster-ru.

took a few quick shots to make this panorama, before i caught up with NAB and the dogs. This is where the dogs start their daily morning walk.

Belle acts as if the snow is not there at all, and Finn, he's just gets really whiney...

a bit of rambling...

2007-02-05T20:06:00.000Z

i wanted to post some photos when it snowed about 2 wks ago, and about the funny buskers on the train home on saturday evening. And also about our usually OK upstairs neighbours, who had a party on saturday night, and put on loud music only after midnight, with their guests singing (shouting actually) and stamping their feet to the rhythm the whole time, until i woke NAB up at 1.30am to go and ask them to please stop it. (KNNBCCB, i could have killed them because even the dogs could not sleep...)

So, i got lazy, but this post is really about how many "the photos do not do justice to this beautiful/gorgeous/fabulous-looking (insert whatever item of clothing up for bidding)" statements that i've recently seen on ebay (yes, for those of you who have not heard, i've been getting some maternity wear off ebay!). Anyway, the said photos were usually blur or "faded" and it got me thinking about what could have made this possible:

a. the auto-focus function on the camera was faulty
b. the photo-taker must not have steady hands (like me previously when i was drinking too much)
c. the photo-taker must have been tickled and jumped, or was drunk (also like me sometimes, when i get drunk and try to take a shot)
d. it was a very heavy camera and could not be held steady (like that time when i first tried a digital SLR, Terz's 10D when he first got it actually, with some big fuck-off lens with image stabiliser or something)
e. there is no auto WB (White Balance) setting on the camera/wrong WB was set
f. there was a fan in the room where the item of clothing was shot, and it was turned on at high speed and aimed at this piece of clothing.

It is really easy to screw up a shot. but i guess i just kind of assumed that if you are truly keen about selling your "really gorgeous" item, you'll try your best to show it as such in the photo. And i mean, in this day and age, even a phonecam can do a pretty good job of getting a decent shot of something that is not moving. And it's not like if you fuck up the first shot, you can't try again, not like some things in life...

But really, why do they feel the need to say this? Do they expect us to be forgiving and ignore the less-than-perfect photo and try to picture a perfect garment? I mean, if the photo does not give us a better idea of what the item looks like, then why bother posting such a photo anyway??

2007-01-23T22:45:00.000Z

i can't believe that in just 2 days, the temperature has dropped by about 10º celsius. When i was out earlier, i couldn't believe how cold it has suddenly got. And tomorrow, there is supposed to be sleet and rain. Hell, they've already thrown salt all over the streets.

i think i might need a down-filled coat!

view from Hungerford Bridge - or rather, on composites

2007-01-23T22:41:00.000Z

view from Hungerford Bridge
Originally uploaded by monster-ru.

Made this panorama with my trusty phonecam a while ago and got reminded of this "abandoned" one because i went to the David Hockney Portraits exhibition last week, and was quite impressed with the scale of some of his composites.

He started making composites from polaroids, and i made a note of the sizes they were in: 4(polaroids) x 4(polaroids), 12x8, 14x9, 17x6. I guess there is something appealing about making composites with polaroids. The image is still kind of "not fixed", and yet, it conforms to a certain dimension.

I remember the first composite i made with prints - and probably the only one. I was out shooting with wahj, and we took a 360º view of a field in Bugis(?) with our Lomo SuperSamplers. There is something really spontaneous about making composites with prints as opposed to doing it in Photoshop... I guess when i saw the Hockney ones, i wanted to do some with prints as well.

how finn got fat

2007-01-23T14:44:00.000Z

NAB has been saying for a while now that Finn has put on a bit of weight. When he first came over from S'pore, we noticed that he had actually lost weight. But a couple of months on, he's got a little bit chubby in the mid-section.

It's not like we've been feeding them tons of nice - er - human food like big pieces of steak and all. And Belle is still the same size, but just more muscular now because she practises a form of "Extreme Power Walk".

Today i found out why Finn has been putting on weight though. It's not because of (what NAB claims to be) me secretly feeding him my food whilst i eat. This is why: The dry food that we buy for them has got "meaty chunks" in it, and what happened earlier was the minute i poured the food into their bowls, Finn rushed to each bowl, picked out and ate all the "meaty chunks". Hence the extra bit of weight around him and not Belle. Poor Bella though. Because she eats much slower, she's always left with the "regular" bits.

2007-01-22T18:03:00.000Z

Belle is thinking, "What?! How can be muddier than me!"

She loves running through puddles of muddy water. No wait. Actually, i think she just doesn't care.

2007-01-20T19:27:00.000Z

Nabeh! Chow chee! The TV got sound no picture. Spoil already.

风很大!

2007-01-18T15:45:00.000Z

fallen fence, originally uploaded by monster-ru.

Strong wind = broken fence

clearing out the clothes

2007-01-17T08:49:00.000Z

on Monday, i cleared out a bit of the wardrobe - mainly t-shirts that are already too tight. I left some of my skirts and trousers because i thought that maybe, i can still wear them when the weather gets a bit warmer in the next few months, you know, under the bump.

I don't know what possessed me to think that, but i was so so wrong. I tried every single one of them on yesterday, and for some, i couldn't even pull them up above my hips! OMG!!! I am officially looking pregnant.

in the end, i cleared out about 80-90% of my clothes, folded them neatly and put them away. I just hope to god that it is not going to be a case of me not ever being able to wear them again. Hmmph.