It's a ........
...... GIRL!!!!!!!
Avani was born on 6th December at 1447 in Tsuruoka, Japan. She is 47.5 cms tall and weighs 2668 grams and is absolutely adorable!
07 December 2006
Avani was born on 6th December at 1447 in Tsuruoka, Japan. She is 47.5 cms tall and weighs 2668 grams and is absolutely adorable!
04 December 2006
Watching it snow
So what's a reasonable person doing being wide awake after midnight? Watching it snow. According to the weatherman, it wasn't supposed to till about middle of December, but I guess someone forgot to tell that to the weather.
I'm getting done with my packing. Since I'm going to be in the hospital for around 10 days, I decided this is a good time to re-read all 11 volumes of the Wheel of Time. Isn't it a good thing I convinced Arun not to throw it away when we moved? A too thinks it's the best way to kill time in a hospital bed. Beats watching Japanese television. I still haven't figured out what is a show, and what's a commercial. Or the point of one particular show where half the characters are dressed in kimonos and the other half in natty western suits, who seem to go through life in a series of elaborate tea ceremonies. Or another where a bunch of guys in, what I assume are medieval costumes, go around chopping up people like so many vegetables with their katanas. Wheel of Time is way less complicated! Just some 100 main and 200 sub characters, 1 dozen key plots and a dozen-dozen sub and sub-sub-plots, enough twists to confuse a geo-mapping satellite... what more could I possibly ask for to keep me entertained for 10 snowy dreary days?
Aditi is pretty excited. She's waiting to play with her new sibling. She's picked out books to read to and stories to tell the little one.
Here I sign off. I have no idea when I'll be able to blog again for the next few weeks.
How come all you guys out there aren't running a baby pool?? You were so much more fun last time around! So watch this space to know if it's going to be a boy or a girl.
I'm getting done with my packing. Since I'm going to be in the hospital for around 10 days, I decided this is a good time to re-read all 11 volumes of the Wheel of Time. Isn't it a good thing I convinced Arun not to throw it away when we moved? A too thinks it's the best way to kill time in a hospital bed. Beats watching Japanese television. I still haven't figured out what is a show, and what's a commercial. Or the point of one particular show where half the characters are dressed in kimonos and the other half in natty western suits, who seem to go through life in a series of elaborate tea ceremonies. Or another where a bunch of guys in, what I assume are medieval costumes, go around chopping up people like so many vegetables with their katanas. Wheel of Time is way less complicated! Just some 100 main and 200 sub characters, 1 dozen key plots and a dozen-dozen sub and sub-sub-plots, enough twists to confuse a geo-mapping satellite... what more could I possibly ask for to keep me entertained for 10 snowy dreary days?
Aditi is pretty excited. She's waiting to play with her new sibling. She's picked out books to read to and stories to tell the little one.
Here I sign off. I have no idea when I'll be able to blog again for the next few weeks.
How come all you guys out there aren't running a baby pool?? You were so much more fun last time around! So watch this space to know if it's going to be a boy or a girl.
03 December 2006
2006 - Big sister is watching
Aditi is quite curious and has her own ideas about the little baby.
She was quite shocked when I told her that the little one does not know how to open the kitchen drawers and cupboards. She thought about it for a while and came up to me and said, 'Amma don't worry, I'll teach kutti-baby to open drawers'. Yikes, that's all I need right now!
Aditi has told me that she will sing to the little baby, will carry it around (scary), will teach baby to use the potty, will tell the baby stories, will share with the baby (scarier: considering that her idea of sharing is to take what she wants from the other kids), will teach baby to sing, and yes, that she will tell baby to listen to what amma and appa say, and that she will teach baby to be good (scariest).
More than the baby itself, A and I are now eagerly waiting to see Aditi's reactions to her little sibling. Her first sight of the little ones and her opinions and thoughts.
That reminds me: better get the video camera ready. Charge batteries, get more tape etc.
She was quite shocked when I told her that the little one does not know how to open the kitchen drawers and cupboards. She thought about it for a while and came up to me and said, 'Amma don't worry, I'll teach kutti-baby to open drawers'. Yikes, that's all I need right now!
Aditi has told me that she will sing to the little baby, will carry it around (scary), will teach baby to use the potty, will tell the baby stories, will share with the baby (scarier: considering that her idea of sharing is to take what she wants from the other kids), will teach baby to sing, and yes, that she will tell baby to listen to what amma and appa say, and that she will teach baby to be good (scariest).
More than the baby itself, A and I are now eagerly waiting to see Aditi's reactions to her little sibling. Her first sight of the little ones and her opinions and thoughts.
That reminds me: better get the video camera ready. Charge batteries, get more tape etc.
Food for thought
Now that D-day is around the corner, I've been quite caught up with things... Was it this hectic last time around?? I don't remember. I don't think so.
This time around, the rigmarole is starting to show signs of getting 'Lost in Translation'. I had a very exhausting 2 hour interview with the nutritionist at the hospital a couple of days ago. Somehow by the time I got through to her about what I eat and don't eat, I was quite ready to give up and tell her just give me rice and curds, and I'll get my own pickles, thank you. Being a vegetarian in this neck of the woods isn't all that easy.
First I had to explain that I don't eat meat and fish. No fish?? Yes, ma'am, no fish. So the nutritionist gets some printouts from her file and my translator asked me whether fish is 'meat'. Now, how on earth does one answer that? So the next step was to explain that I was NOT vegan, and that I could take milk, cheese and other dairy products. Yes, eggs are OK too. No, I do not mind eating tofu and eggs every day to make up for nutrition components.
Then I had to explain that chicken, beef and pork are not OK, neither are ham, bacon or sausages. By the time we got through that part, I was so tired. Then came the kicker. 'So does that mean prawn, shrimp and crabs are alright?' Sigh... we were back to block one. And the poor lady went through a list of vegetables to find out what was OK and what was not! After a point I gave up saying 'every vegetable is fine, every single one', and stuck to okaying each individual vegetable as it was read out.
This time around, the rigmarole is starting to show signs of getting 'Lost in Translation'. I had a very exhausting 2 hour interview with the nutritionist at the hospital a couple of days ago. Somehow by the time I got through to her about what I eat and don't eat, I was quite ready to give up and tell her just give me rice and curds, and I'll get my own pickles, thank you. Being a vegetarian in this neck of the woods isn't all that easy.
First I had to explain that I don't eat meat and fish. No fish?? Yes, ma'am, no fish. So the nutritionist gets some printouts from her file and my translator asked me whether fish is 'meat'. Now, how on earth does one answer that? So the next step was to explain that I was NOT vegan, and that I could take milk, cheese and other dairy products. Yes, eggs are OK too. No, I do not mind eating tofu and eggs every day to make up for nutrition components.
Then I had to explain that chicken, beef and pork are not OK, neither are ham, bacon or sausages. By the time we got through that part, I was so tired. Then came the kicker. 'So does that mean prawn, shrimp and crabs are alright?' Sigh... we were back to block one. And the poor lady went through a list of vegetables to find out what was OK and what was not! After a point I gave up saying 'every vegetable is fine, every single one', and stuck to okaying each individual vegetable as it was read out.
I don't know who was more shocked by my diet, the nutritionist or the translator. I'm sure they think I'm from another planet.
Bond, James Bond
Since Ma is now here, and more than game for babysitting, A and I decided to go watch Casino Royale. Verdict, not bad at all! Initially I really didn't like the idea of Daniel Craig as Bond, especially after Munich. Now I really should take back any uncharitable thought that i might have had about Craig as 007.
Of all the Bonds to date, I think Craig comes closest to the high standards set by Sean Connery. After Sean Connery, he has to be the next best Bond to date. I really should add that I did think Pierce Brosnan was an awesome 007 too. Eye candy, oozing sophistication and er.. more eye candy. A, of course, thinks that this is a girl thing. he might be right, but who cares. He's CUTE! No one could call Craig's Bond cute. Cool, but not quite eye-candy. Beef-cake, yes; eye-candy, never!
The initial action scenes lacked the usual polish of a typical Bond chase. Way too gritty, and not quite polished. The Madagascar chase somehow reminded me of a classic Jackie Chan movie, with slightly too acrobatic stunts.
And then there was the absence of the traditional Bond theme music in the title sequence. But never mind, it did play during the end credits. So A and I sat through the final credits just for the Bond theme!
One crib I have about this movie is total absence of gadgets. Where, oh where, was the watch that doubles as a detonator that could also be used to pinpoint someones location by GPS and of course, in an emergency, tell you the time too?? Where was John Cleese?? Somehow Bond wasn't quite the same without his faithful-sidekick-fancy-gadgets!
And not enough of the trademark one-liners. (You expect me to talk? No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die)
But yes, if they can't get Brosnan back, Daniel Craig is an awesome Bond, James Bond.
Of all the Bonds to date, I think Craig comes closest to the high standards set by Sean Connery. After Sean Connery, he has to be the next best Bond to date. I really should add that I did think Pierce Brosnan was an awesome 007 too. Eye candy, oozing sophistication and er.. more eye candy. A, of course, thinks that this is a girl thing. he might be right, but who cares. He's CUTE! No one could call Craig's Bond cute. Cool, but not quite eye-candy. Beef-cake, yes; eye-candy, never!
The initial action scenes lacked the usual polish of a typical Bond chase. Way too gritty, and not quite polished. The Madagascar chase somehow reminded me of a classic Jackie Chan movie, with slightly too acrobatic stunts.
And then there was the absence of the traditional Bond theme music in the title sequence. But never mind, it did play during the end credits. So A and I sat through the final credits just for the Bond theme!
One crib I have about this movie is total absence of gadgets. Where, oh where, was the watch that doubles as a detonator that could also be used to pinpoint someones location by GPS and of course, in an emergency, tell you the time too?? Where was John Cleese?? Somehow Bond wasn't quite the same without his faithful-sidekick-fancy-gadgets!
And not enough of the trademark one-liners. (You expect me to talk? No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die)
But yes, if they can't get Brosnan back, Daniel Craig is an awesome Bond, James Bond.
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