My New Car November 27, 2009
Posted by themarchingjester in Car, To Start Off With.Tags: Car, drive, drivers, honda jazz, i have a new car, learning how to drive, my new car, Ps, vti
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My New Car in Echuca, along the Murray River. Because introducing My New Car against an urban backdrop just wouldn't do it justice.
Hello there, I hope you have all been well.
My family has a new car. Or rather, I have a new car. I say ‘I’ because between Michele and I, I’m still the only one who has a drivers. It’s a 2009 Honda Jazz VTI. It’s pearly white, it’s efficient and it has made me wonder why I have waited over a decade to learn how to drive.
Friends of mine (shame on you if you haven’t had a chance to catch up with me over the last three months!) would have known I’ve only recently gotten my Ps in September. Since then I’ve been surprising all my friends and family with the car through various guises.
I’ve driven up to their house when they fully expect me to call to be picked up. I’ve walked and driven friends home around in my car after a meal when they expect me to see them off at the train station. I’ve taken friends to my car after informing them of a ’surprise’ just around the corner. I’ve surprised friends by meeting friends while stillin my car; ferried people around; taken people three hours across Victoria and even did the grocery run for friends.
In fact, I’ve done just about anything and everything to make my friends go “Oh my God you’ve got a car!” The look on their faces is priceless. They just don’t expect it. So many years in Melbourne and everyone has been conditioned to me without a car.
I can’t keep up the deceit and charades anymore. I’ve been driving for over two months now and the earlier I rid this burden off my chest, the better I sleep at night.
So yes, I drive. Make sure you toot your horn when you see me on the streets.
Toby in Echuca November 26, 2009
Posted by themarchingjester in Family Trip, Toby.Tags: country, cute, daylesford, dog, eat, echuca, great ocean road, internet, life before internet, nature, new south wales, passport, poodle, shih tzu, sleep, Toby, victoria
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The family went up to Echuca over the weekend. We have family friends up in Echuca and as it’s not the first time we’ve been up there, it’s familiar territory for us.
I thought Toby might like a slice of country action, so I brought him along. He’s quite a well-travelled dog. I reckon his passport would look quite full and indicate a who’s who of Victorian attractions – The Great Ocean Road, Daylesford, practically all of Melbourne inner city and now, the border of Victoria and New South Wales. If a dog is reading this, it would want to be my dog too.
Really it was all about a relaxing weekend. Didn’t even do much browsing in the shops. It was Nature + Sleep + Eat = Remembering what life was before the advent of the Internet. It was great not having to stare at a screen for hours on end, or worry about anything computer-related.
Just all in a weekend's work for Toby!
The Birthing Of A Singaporean Father: Adventures In Conception (Part Deux) November 25, 2009
Posted by themarchingjester in theAsianParent.Tags: balrog, conception, dragon age: origins, father, google, google search result, singaporean, the asian parent, the marching jester, theAsianParent
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There’s a stage in a man’s life where he steps up the pedestal, plunges his hand into a Balrog’s body and rips out its still beating heart. As he stands there triumphantly with Balrog heart held aloft his head, he wishes for the world to see his heroic deed and demands the accolades he so deserves.
His transition from boy to man is now complete.
If that, ladies and gentlemen, isn’t an apt description of my feelings on discovering I’m about to become a father, I have three eyes and a diaper-wearing married man who still lives with his mother.
The second in my series on becoming a father has been published on theAsianParent.
Personally, I really love the reference to the Balrog. It doesn’t matter what your background is – everybody loves medieval fantasy. I’m currently clocking up hours on the epic Dragon Age: Origins (much to Michele’s chagrin) and perhaps that’s where my inspiration came from.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t know how a Balrog looks. Just the work Balrog itself screams fierce and scary. And it starts with B – perhaps the alphabet’s fiercest letter. Rawr!
Anyway, check out the new article. Leave a comment!
The Fortnightly Belly Show – Episode 4 (week 22) November 23, 2009
Posted by themarchingjester in Michele, Pregnancy.Tags: Baby, honeymoon, ice cream, moving inside belly, new zealand, Pregnancy, rotorua, star jumps, waddle, zorb
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Hi there, and welcome to your fornightly belly update.
'The Burden of the Burgeoning Belly', brought to you by the letter 'B'.
While munching on a salad last week, Michele’s gums began to bleed. For a brief moment I thought Michele’s teeth – due to calcium deficiencies caused by the pregnancy – had fallen out and I was about to cheer and do the Kumbayah.
As it turned out, it’s just a common side effect. I couldn’t do much myself, so apart from stopping to check on her I didn’t think too much about it.
Baby’s also beginning to be more aware of its surroundings. It kicks and punches back when prodded, it rolls around when Michele’s eating and it practically does star jumps when she eats ice cream. Baby must like ice cream.
I reckon Baby’s having lots of fun in there. It’s like living in a perpetual state of Zorb. Michele and I went to Rotorua, New Zealand for our honeymoon and had a memorable time rolling down the hill in a wet, bouncing ball for twenty seconds. It cost us $40/person. Try doing that for nine months. Damn, that’s one expensive ride!
Looking rapt after attempting the Zorb. Don't think Baby's going to look too pleased when it's forced out of its own Zorb!
Michele’s walk has also officially become a waddle. I like teasing the way she walks. Instead of aping her movements, I exaggerate the way I swing my hands when I walk. She doesn’t know it but I reckon she looks really cute with the waddle.
We are also a little over the ‘halfway’ point of our exciting journey. I can’t believe in another 20 (or so) weeks’ time, Baby will be in my arms, demanding ice cream, creature comforts and telling Toby it’s now the Number One Priority.
But let’s take it a week at a time. Long way to go Baby! Daddy can’t wait to see you but you would have to grow big and strong inside Mummy first!
The Baby…It’s…It’s alive!!! November 23, 2009
Posted by themarchingjester in Baby, Life At Home, Michele, Pregnancy.Tags: Baby, Pregnancy, belly, tummy, kick, mother-child
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Something happened this week when it shouldn’t really be happening. I don’t know whether it’s chance, an oddity or a little bit of both.
I felt Baby move over the weekend. My hand was firmly on Michele’s beautiful belly when it happened. Not once, not twice, but many times over.
Over the last three or four weeks Michele has begun to feel Baby moving inside of her. Sometimes, when she sits up or shifts position quickly she feels the ‘water balloon’ inside her move and is able to feel Baby doing a 360 degrees.
B-b-b-b-b-basketball! Michele reckons her tummy looks like one.
Most times Baby just shifts or does whatever it wants to do inside and Michele feels every little movement. When asked how it feels, she says it’s a like “a bubble moving across your belly” when it moves. A kick feels like a kick, a punch feels like a punch.
Our home. Our work in progress. November 19, 2009
Posted by themarchingjester in Life At Home, Observations.Tags: adsl, air con, boulder hill, heat, heat wave, home improvement, home renovations, melbourne, ps3, sparky, split inverters
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The sweet relief of cool air. Note to self: Remember to remove plastic film.
Hello there, hope you are all staying cool in this wretched Melbourne heat.
It has been a busy few weeks with our home improvement project going at a steady pace. Our local sparky have since installed split inverters air conditioning in most parts of the house, replaced and installed lighting in our yards, installed an additional ADSL line (for lag-free online gaming on the PS3!) and even had time to patch up some bathroom work for us. What a legend that bloke is!
Home renovations – big or small – is definitely a project that takes months or even years to complete. It took us a long time to get us to where we would love our house to look. Our home is almost unrecognizable from the one we bought in January 2008. It’s still not the house we have envisioned it to be, as there are still minor ‘upgrades’ to be done.
It’s no secret your first home purchase is never your dream home, so Michele and I are refitting both interior and exterior of our home with a view to sell or rent out. It’s not happening anytime soon of course, but we can see our family outgrowing this house within a few years when Baby gets a little older, and it has a sibling.
I’d say by then, between a naughty dog, a nagging wife and two screaming kids I’ll definitely need a private sanctuary far removed from my house to maintain my sanity! That means, a larger backyard with my private room with anti-children and wife deterrents. My very own Boulder Hill.
But hey, let’s cross the bridge when we come to it. For the moment, it’s miles and miles of dirt with no water in sight.
Baby in 3D! Now in all IMAX theatres near you… November 18, 2009
Posted by themarchingjester in Baby, Michele, Pregnancy.Tags: 3d, Baby, healthy, jelly bean, preggers, pregnant, progeny, red herring, ultrasound, up the duff
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My progeny - dimply eyes, clumpy hands and all...
Hi all, hope you are well.
The last time Baby was caught on camera, Michele was 12 weeks pregnant, very nauseated, very sick and generally very tired. Weird hormones kicking in and strange sensations aside, Baby was still as big as a jelly bean.
Fast forward eight weeks, Baby now weighs about 500 grams, and Michele has blossomed. She doesn’t look up the duff at all if you were to look at her from shoulder up. The only weight she has put on is her belly area. Her hips haven’t gotten any bigger and really, if it weren’t for that basketball she’s carrying I wouldn’t think my wife’s pregnant with my kid!
Movember Update 1 November 12, 2009
Posted by themarchingjester in Observations, To Start Off With.Tags: 'mo, Asian, facial hair, herald sun, movember, vote of confidence
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Day 11 of Movember - absolutely no 'mo' to shout about. Pathetic.
So I’ve been growing my ‘mo’ since November 1.
This, in spite of incessant pleas by Michele to shave them as I’ll look horrible in them. Apparently, she’s wrong.
When we went out for lunch with Sandeep over the weekend, I asked him for his unequivocal opinion on what I thought was quite a charming addition to my facial features. Hello, Asian with facial hair here. Certified Herald Sun front page news. Frames my face, no?
To Michele’s dismay, Sandeep quite positively liked it! He went on to say it’s not something he had pictured me doing, but it suits me as long as it stays that length. He couldn’t resist a jab at the pathetic state of my growth, and said what took me a week to grow, takes him three days.
Hey, thanks mate. Your reassuring vote of confidence inspires me.
The Fortnightly Belly Show – Episode 3 (week 20) November 12, 2009
Posted by themarchingjester in Michele, Pregnancy.Tags: nausea, oedema, pregnant, second trimester, week 20
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Good morning, and this is your regular belly news.
At 20 weeks, Michele now displays a couple of physical changes that’s really testing her body. As a result, she’s in a great deal of physical pain and discomfort.
Her ankles and feet have begun to swell, making any homo sapiens activity with an upright posture a menial task. Called oedema, it’s exacerbated by Michele’s duties at work which requires her to stand on hours at end.
I am quite the busy little bee at home, scampering around completing Michele’s tasks as she rests on the lounge. Things she normally does herself becomes a bit of a chore, such as walking up the stairs, doing the dishes or even taking a shower.
She has also found it difficult to bend over to wash her feet when she showers, so I’ve purchased a stool and a non-slip mat and placed them in the shower stall to prevent a top-heavy Michele from falling over. Now, she showers sitting down.
Just this week Michele had to take a couple of days off just to relieve the pressure from her feet. She spent both days in front of the telly – legs propped up on a safari chair – as she ‘ordered’ me around the house to complete A, B and C or take X to Y. Oh joy.
She’s still throwing up on odd occasions, but the nausea is mostly reserved for strong smells she can’t stomach. Apart from that, I no longer find myself freezing up in public looking for the nearest public toilet whenever she turns green.
Sandeep has left the building November 11, 2009
Posted by themarchingjester in Baby, Life At Home, To Start Off With.Tags: culture, gay couple, liberty city, melbourne, melburnian, public transport
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Hello everybody, I hope you have all been well.
A very eventful three months has passed since my good mate Sandeep Fed-Exed himself from interstate with a view to settle in Melbourne permanently. Since then he has had a few funny moments with the intricacies of Melburnian culture and found both his footing and an opulent new pad in the inner North. He moved out last week.
But what memorable moments they were! Let me count the ways.
My Best Man has negotiated the perils of Melbourne’s public transport, found himself on the right street but in the wrong suburb, and fallen in love with Melbourne’s weather (“Oh look, overcast and cold again!”).
His sense of direction has been put to good use, as he has also begun to orientate himself with the CBD grid with not much luck (No, Exhibition and Collins aren’t parallel to each other), spends most of his free time cleaning bird shit off his new car (Welcome to Melbourne!) and spends most of his free time wondering why Michele and I eat such ‘good’ food for dinner.
We’ve also put our musical talents to good use and sang our hearts out at home, hijacked cars in Liberty City and looked like a lovely gay couple taking Toby out for a walk in the morning.
With Sandeep just a freeway away, our house is now a little quieter, but for all the right reasons. With Baby soon arriving, we have begun to plan how its new room (previously guest room) would look.
Until then, Michele and I (and Toby!) just have these few months to ourselves . Things will never be the same again with Baby at home, so we’ll take in all the extra sleep and peace in however way we can.
