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Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Slept like a baby

Got an email today on one of the joke lists that I'm on and it was even funnier now that I'm a parent. It was titled 'Ever Wondered?' and is basically statements about some irony which starts with 'Ever Wondered...'. The one that I particularly found amusing was 'Ever wondered why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up every two hours?'

Heheh... it's sooo true... I guess nowadays the wifey and I are sleeping like a baby... Hannah, we try and sleep when she sleep and wake when she's awake.

---

Ever wondered...

  • Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are LOW?
  • Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough?
  • Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
  • Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?
  • Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?
  • Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
  • Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but then ducks when you throw a revolver at him?
  • Why do kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
  • Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?
  • What is the speed of darkness?
  • Are there specially reserved parking spaces for people at the Special Olympics?
  • If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?
  • If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?
  • If it's true that we are here to help others, what are the others doing here?
  • If someone with a split personality threatens to commit suicide, is it a hostage situation?
  • Do you cry under water?
  • How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
  • If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have branches?
  • Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
  • How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
  • Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up every two hours?
  • If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
  • Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

  • Monday, June 27, 2005

    More changes...

    Showed up to work today and just stuck in the deep end of things, had to hit the ground running. Good bunch of people at the client site, although I was a bit distracted with my mind on other things. What has been burdening me over the past few weeks even through the joy of the birth of little Hannah was the prospect of a career change. I've been going to a few interviews and the first one I thought was an excellent prospect however I didn't get the job, although was encouraged by the company as they said I interviewed well, and was pipped by someone who was more suited.

    Went to another interview on Friday and was a small company similar to the current one, who made bespoke software, which is a fancy way of saying they do custom software development. They mainly concentrate on VB.NET development and coming from a C#.NET background I was confident I would not have too much of a problem, and they gave me a simple test which was an exercise to load data from a spreadsheet into a listview control. I could have done it in 5 minutes if it was in C#, but seeing I was not farmiliar with VB.NET, I struggled a bit at first, but looking up the help files and internet it was pretty straightforward. Anyways to cut a long story short I got an offer today from them and I'm taking it. Praise God! As I mentioned one door closed for me before and another one opened up! Conditions are good as well, forty hour week, four weeks paid holiday per annum, flexi-time, paid overtime, six monthly appraisals, etc. and not to mention more pay, but the work will be challenging and will work well into my new role as a parent.

    The only downside is that I didn't have a fun time telling my boss about it this afternoon, as he is struggling from a resourcing point of view already, and this definitely does not help. However the uncertain stream of work and also prospects of work interstate and overseas does not interest me at all with the arrival of Hannah, I think I am at peace with my decision even though right now I feel like I've had my stomach ripped out and run through a strainer. Feel like I'm doing the wrong thing by my boss, but I need to consider the needs of my family ahead of my boss who has been treating me well over the past 3 years.

    Now trying to co-ordinate the smooth transition for my boss so that there is some continuity with the person who is going to replace me, and oh I need to get back to the new guys about my start date and to tell them that I want the job! :)

    Hope I feel better about it tomorrow... *sigh*

    Sunday, June 26, 2005

    Back to the daily grind


    Max lazing in the sun
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    Well, I knew it was too good to last but I'm heading back to work tomorrow. Been dreading this for the last few days as I've been settling into the routine of being a new parent, and now I have to head back to work. I mean it's part of what life is about, and also my role as a parent to make an income to help support my family, however it's still pretty heart-wrenching the prospect of being away from home for those 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. *sigh*

    Been a lovely day today, the weather was great, and I even managed to bathe Max. Max takes a bit more effort to bathe than Hannah, although he was quite good and just stood there for the duration of the bath. Only time he struggled as usual is when I try and put that ear stuff in his ear, then he puts up a huge fight. Otherwise he's been quite a good dog, and has been quite placid and chilling in the sun as seen in the pic.

    The last 2 weeks have been amazing experience wise and spending time at home with wifey, Hannah and Max just makes it that much harder to face the prospect of going to work tomorrow morning. It's times like this that I wished that I won Lotto, not for the cool stuff that I can buy, but rather that I can spend time at home with the girls and Max.

    I'm sure once I get back into the swing of things at work, it'll become part of my daily life, and it'll make me more focused to get stuff done at work such that I can leave on time so I can rush home to see the girls. Oh well, we'll see how bad a case of Monday-itis I get tomorrow.

    Feeding Hannah


    Hannah looking for food!
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    It seems like a long time since Hannah's been around, but it's only been just under 2 weeks. Just getting used to feeding her, and the usual routine of trying to wake her up fully so that she will feed well.

    She's quite an inquisitive little one, and her eyes dart around the room looking at things, and it's nice when she glances up at me when I'm feeding her and hold her gaze. Who know what she is thinking, her thoughts, dreams, ideals... just hope that wifey and I give her a good environment for her to be a self confident independant little girl who is well adjusted... I mean isn't that what all parents want for their kids?

    Still coming to grips with being a parent, and realised that everything changes when one becomes a parent. I mean I didn't have an expectation prior to becoming one, except that I know it was a great responsibility, and that there will be great changes, but I never expected how much things change. Perhaps it's because it's still so new that I'm embracing it and trying to enjoy each and every moment, including the not so nice bits like nappy changes, but my priorities have changed completely.

    The pic is from the first week still in hospital as I didn't get many pics today. I thought it was amusing that she instinctively tried to look for food at my chest but found nothing. Cute! Although it was probably frustrating for her.

    And before anyone should ask why I have a rude word on my shirt, it's FCUK for French Connection United Kindom. In hindsight I probably shouldn't have gotten the singlet, but it was cheap from a factory outlet place in Singapore, and you know how much I love a bargain! :) My mum asked me about the lettering on this singlet a number of times so perhaps I should retire it to the status of pyjamas.

    Friday, June 24, 2005

    New Pram! Take 2!


    Three wheeled monster!
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    Finally went back to BabyLand in Osbourne Park to return the first pram and choose a new one. The original pram we got was a Steelcraft Swivelrite Deluxe, and it was too large for the boot of the Accord, so the nice lady at BabyLand who I spoke to last week on the phone about my dilemma helped me choose another one. Her name is Wendy and she was really helpful so if anyone wants baby stuff go see her.

    Anyways I ended up deciding on the Valco Runabout Deluxe, and it's schweet! I got the Deluxe model cos it was cooler, not to mention it's got cool alloy wheels as seen in the picture... Heheh... although I can't confirm or deny that was the clincher... *grin* Most importantly it's a lot easier to fold than the Swivelrite, and lighter so it'll be easier on the wifey.

    Also ended up getting a Baby Bjorn baby carrier (Thanks to my sister Agnes, bro-in-law Basil and nephew Marc for the pressie!), it'll make it easier to go shopping with Hannah, rather than pushing the 3 wheeled beast through the aisles. Although I'm a bit conflicted cos the parking spots at the shops for parents with prams are very wide and I would park there, but if I'm not using the pram, can I still park there? I mean it's labelled "Parents with prams", and technically I am now a parent and I own a pram, so I suppose I can get away with it... ;)

    Thursday, June 23, 2005

    Advancements in Technology


    Baby Monitor/Translator
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    Didn't get a chance to post yesterday cos I was swamped with other stuff in addition to the usual baby stuff. Car got tinted and it looks gooooooood! Weather has been a bit cruddy so will take pics when sun is up.

    The picture is of our baby monitor which is cool, has a temperature gauge on it which even beeps if it's either too hot or cold. Imagine my suprise when I woke up yesterday and it said "Hi" to me... Hmmm... didn't read about the baby translator feature in the manual... must be an undocumented feature... Hannah was trying to say Hi to us... but alas it was only trying to tell me that the temperature in the room is 23 degrees which it reckons is too Hi(gh)... *grumble* need to return this one for one that is a baby interpreter... ;)

    Managed to pack up the pram back in its box, and it's a good thing I kept all the packaging still... moved the box into the boot of the new car, and it fits! Only just... pretty heavy too so I might have to choose one that is lighter as well as fitting into the boot.

    Tuesday, June 21, 2005

    Productive Day

    It's been quite tiring with feeding and settling Hannah, but still a joy to do so. I fed her at 9 a couple of hours ago, and she was quite awake and alert during the feed which is quite cute cos she just looks around her room. I give her my finger to hold and she has quite a firm grip which means when I move my finger around she tries to resist. Cute... :)

    Managed to clear out the garage today, and now the new car fits first go without much to-ing and fro-ing. Now I can concentrate on doing other things around the house as well as help out the wifey with Hannah.

    Getting sleepy so going to go chill for a bit and then feed Hannah again soon before turning the shift over to wifey. Early start tomorrow as car is getting tinted! w00t! should look the part once the windows are tinted to match the nice silver exterior. Stay tuned for pics... (like I'm not going to take hundreds of pics of the new tinted car anyways...)

    Monday, June 20, 2005

    Routine and other things


    Lap-doggy!
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    Just put together a bit of a routine so that wifey and I have some structure to the day when dealing with Hannah. Decided it was best for wifey to get some rest after dinner so I'll be dealing with Hannah for her 9pm and midnight feeds while wifey gets some sleep. Then I'll be off to get some sleep whilst Ming deals with her during the night. Hopefully this will mean that we'll both get some rest and hopefully Hannah will get into some sort of routine so that she'll be easier to deal with during the night

    This should fit in well (if it works) for when I return to work next week so that I get to spend some quality time with the little one and continue to do things in the evenings in between feeds like catchup on much needed web surfing. Max is up in the study with me(see pic) and is sitting on the bean-bag chair quietly being sleepy, hopefully this keeps up with the routine such that I can keep on eye on the 2 little ones while wifey gets some much needed rest.

    Absence of Loss...


    Pseudo-Arty Accord Badge shot
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    Well, we survived our first night home with the girls, little Hannah appears to be hungrier at night so we're going to adjust accordingly to keep her fuller, which means hopefully she'll sleep better tonight.

    Busy morning started with me rushing off to my dental appointment to get my crown done on my infamous weak tooth, which I had several things done to in the past, namely fillings, root canal, and now a crown cos I managed to crack it due to my teeth grinding. When I finally get this tooth extracted, I'm going to keep it, plate it with gold and mount it on a board with a running total on how much I spent on it over the years. Now kids, if you're reading this, take care of your teeth, so you'll have money left over to buy toys instead of spending it on dental work. *heh*

    Guy who bought the car called early this morning to say he can't make it tomorrow to pick it up, so this morning it'll have to be... *sigh* don't think I'm going to have a chance to take pictures of Hannah in the car, but it's okay, I mean heck! It's only a car... guy came round before lunch and gave me a cheque, I handed over the keys, and went back to check on the girls. Funny, I didn't even feel a slight sense of loss, I must be all grown up and all, or maybe it's the lack of sleep... :)

    Managed to have some lunch, and went for a nap, ended up being a power nap which was great, then did some errands and shopping. Then back to see the girls then off to walk Max. Checked email and had news which meant a metaphoric door had closed for me, but like the car, there was no sense of loss, but of anticipation for what God has in store for me. I have no doubt that bigger doors will open for me, and it's God's way of telling me this was not for me, even though in a mortal sense I felt like it was. Like I said before, trust and surrender, and our cup will overflow!

    Also I managed to fit the new car in the garage, by fit I meant just fitting, kinda like being at a buffet and you're just comfortable without unbuttoning your pants(and all you reading don't sit there like you don't know what I'm on about...) I had to move the car in, then slowly edge out the side as there is not much room, then check the front and back for clearence, then get back into the car carefully and edge it forward a touch, then repeat process 5-6 times... 10 minutes later... It fits! Tomorrow morning's job is to clear up all the junk from the garage so I don't waste a good proportion of my life trying to park the car in the garage without scratching it! :)

    Sunday, June 19, 2005

    Sold!


    The Red Monster!
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    Forgot to mention in the previous post that the guy that was interested in my car came by with his wife to see the car again. It all went well and a chapter in my life has ended, as a much more exciting one has started.

    Wifey apologised that I had to sell my car because of the baby, but you know what? I was bummed just after we found out we were pregnant, but that was me being selfish, and since the birth of Hannah, I knew that I wanted to sell it cos it was impractical. So I have no regrets, and praise God that things are all falling into place... now I have a free garage to park the new car in! :P

    Driving the girls back in our new car made me realise that it was much better for the girls, especially Hannah. I was telling her how it drove like we were riding on a cloud, kinda like the cloud cars that the Care Bears rode around in... :)

    Plan for the next week is to settle into home life and enjoy the experience no matter how tiring and trying it will be.

    The girls are home!


    Max being good!
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    And Max is happy!

    Girls got home today at noon today, and it was great having them home. I managed to pop out soon after as mum(in-law) was kind enough to stay on to watch over the girls long enough for me to pop out and get some much needed things like a oil heater for the nursery.

    Max missed his mum, and was really good, and was very good around Hannah when introduced...

    Ahhh... one happy family all under one roof! :)

    P.S. Tiredness set in big time last night... but now more rested and making it through the day in a zombie like state... :) But it's all good! Praise God!

    Saturday, June 18, 2005

    Accessories go in...

    Woke up early cos I couldn't sleep anymore due to the excitment of the new car, um I mean baby... :) Drove the car up to my parents place and woke them up to show them the new car and then tried to navigate through McDonald's drive-thru to get some brekkie with the folks... Hmmm... large car in drive thru is scary, this might make my diet alot healthier in fear of scratching the car... :)

    When home to install the baby seat in the car, and that was relatively painless, in the MX5 whenever I was doing anything to it, it would require a 'blood sacrifice' as Nick would call it as I would lose some skin and blood in the process, however the new car I managed to keep both skin and blood. We're off to a good start.

    Took the pram out and opened the boot, Mmmmm... remote boot release on alarm fob... Nice... folded the pram, stuck it in... Hmmmm... remove pram... re-adjust... retry pram... bugger. Okay, don't panic... let's try again. Rotate pram, re-adjust... retry pram... Doh! Oh well... called up BabyLand and they said it was fine, we can get another one and get credit for the cool pram we got... *sigh* I really liked this pram as well. On the bright side we can take Hannah shopping for her pram next week.

    w00t!

    Friday, June 17, 2005

    Another new delivery...


    Papa's got a brand new car!
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    Hehehe... of the motorvehicle kind... :)

    New car made it home earlier than Hannah, and it is cool. A real dream to drive although it was a bit scary driving a new car which is much bigger than what I'm used to. But hey, I'm not complaining!

    Rushed back to see the girls, and soon forgot about the car until this blog entry.

    Might spend a bit more time with the girls tonight as I've only had a short visit this arvo before picking up the car... and now I'm back. Got to bath Hannah before dinner and even managed to feed her too... Amusing thing is that after the feed she was close to my chest and tried to attach to my T-shirt! Got another comical pic out of it too! :)

    Seperation...

    It was over 16 hours since I left the girls last night and I kept feeling like I wanted to just pop in the car and drive up to see them, but I had some stuff to sort out this morning, like let the RAC guy check over the MX5, and let the cleaner in.

    RAC check went great, only issue is that one tire needs replacement so I'm sure the guy will try and knock more off the price, but I think my price is a fair price. :) I met the cleaner and she was quite nice, I even helped her organise getting her car into the insurance assessment place cos she wasn't too confident with her english. I won't mention about the accident that transpired last week will I, Uncle Dave? :P

    Took advantage of the good weather over lunch to walk Max, and he got wet from the water left on the surface of the grounds. He had a great time, and managed to run around with a Dalmatian for about half and hour. He'll be tired and miss us less.

    Oh, and we get to pick up the new car today! My excitment for this is a bit dull seeing it's been overwhelmed by the arrival of little Hannah, but I'm sure I'll get more excited once I leave the girls and go pick it up. But first, bath time for little Hannah, then off daddy goes to pick up the Hannah-mobile! :)

    Thursday, June 16, 2005

    Busy Day


    Got your nose!
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    It's been a busy day today, starting off early and made a suprise early visit to the girls. Mum was glad, and bub was indifferent... heh, sleepy due to being filled with formula cos she was still hungry after brekkie... :)

    Early visit was prompted by wanting the wifey to sign the relevant docs to get the car delivery on the way, finance applications etc. Had to get her to sign, midwife to witness... yada, yada, yada... then off I went to Charlies Hospital to get her employer to sign.

    Wandered around aimlessly for a little while, found HR dept... lady I needed to sign was in late... bugger... oh well... went for a drive around nedlands, then decided to head towards Claremont, and passed a BabyLand store. I hit the brakes parked and then went shopping! Looked at a diaper disposal unit, found out how they worked by the saleslady, who incidentally remembered me from the opening sale in Ossie Park, and said I was trying to "screw her over for a bargain", in the nicest possible way though... hey, if you don't ask, you have a 100% chance of not getting a bargain... :)

    Anyways left with a cute bath toy which doubles as a temperature gauge to see if the bath water is too hot, a set of baby nail clippers, and other misc stuff not worth mentioning. I was worried I would buy more, as there is no better customer than a gushing new dad that loves his little girl to bits...

    Went back and the lady was there and she's signed it, yay! Off to the city to drop off the docs, w00t! I might actually pick up the car tomorrow if things go well. Went back to meet the girls for a lunch date (well, more like I get free meals at the hospital, or more like eating wifey's meals cos she has 'special' food catered...), then remembered I forgot to drop the cheque off to the finance place before... bugger!

    Oh well, had a date to keep, so I had lunch with the girls, even gave Hannah a bath and used the new bath toy/temp gauge, then left to drop off the cheque. Rest of the arvo was spent going to bunnings to get hardware to hang up the new dryer up in the laundry. Dad came over to help, thanks dad! and we had a nice coffee and dessert and caught up for a bit.

    Then back to the hospital for fun with the girls as demonstrated by the pic. Still here finishing off this post and then off home for sleep. Busy day tomorrow with the RAC inspection for the MX5, letting the cleaner in, and potentially picking up the new car! Yay!

    Wednesday, June 15, 2005

    The meaning of love...

    Just had a bit of time to reflect on the past few days and it just struck me what the meaning of AGAPE is. This is the love as demonstrated by God where it is selfless and not expecting return.

    Every moment that I am with Hannah, be it holding her, cuddling her, wrapping her up, bathing her, even changing her diapers and just watching her, I enjoy her company and derive the upmost joy from it, and not expecting her to reciprocate (well not at this stage anyways *grin*). This is the same as God and us, and wanting this relationship so much that He was willing to die for us.

    Until now I did not fully grasp and appreciate the enormity of His love for us.

    And yes I would be willing to give my life for our precious little Hannah...

    When it rains, it pours...

    Just thinking of the overwhelming experience of this week, starting with the birth of Hannah. We have showers of blessings, and today I got a call from Harvey Norman reminding me to pick up the dryer that my sister Grace helped us pick out last weekend.

    So I went this arvo to pick it up, and on the way there I got a call saying that our new car has finally arrives! w00t! Just got some paperwork to shuffle around tomorrow, and then we could have the car as early as this weekend! So the heavens opened up and the showers of blessings keep on pouring!

    Oh and the dryer is pretty cool as well, it's not mounted to the wall in the laundry just yet, but I might try it out tomorrow and wash some dirty laundry that has been sitting around since the unplanned arrival of the little one.

    Off to sleep now, cos I've got another busy tiring day, and more so cos I'll be trying to sort out the paperwork for the new car, and hopefully we can take home Hannah in her new car! :) Just a bit bummed (if you can call it that) that I won't have time to play with the new delivery(car) as I'll be happily playing with the other new delivery(little Hannah) this weekend... Doesn't get much better than this...

    Analog Phone Lines + Free Local Calls = Slow Dialup Bliss!


    Proud Grandparents
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    Hope the hospital tech guys don't hear wind of this... :P

    Word of advice to all new dads, if you do not have breasts, do not try and tell new mums how to breastfeed... Period... That's todays lesson. Stay tuned for more pearls of wisdom from me over the next few days... :)

    Anyways Mum and Dad came round to drop off some special food for Ming, and were eager to spend some time with the new grand-daughter so we left Ming to have some time to herself and took Hannah for a walk.

    We stumbled over to a bathing lesson so we stayed and watched/learned. (Incidentally, I was taught how to bathe her on Monday night, but can't quite remember a few specific things so I went for a refresher.) In fact I was in the other maternity ward instead of ours so I wasn't really meant to be in that class, but the nice midwife let us stay, Mum and Dad also tagged along.

    The test model was a little baby called Hannah! Nope, not my precious little one, another one! And guess what? Born on the same day as my little Hannah, staying in the same room number as us, but in the other ward, and mum's name is Eliza which is Ming's english name... freaky huh? I'm going to pop over later to see if dad's name is Sam as well... :P

    Anyways, I'm on slow blissful dialup right now, and the girls are resting, and Hannah seems to not be bothered by the following sounds : Windows XP startup sound, screeching of 56K dialup modem, keys typing on the keyboard, and daddy clumsily kicking chairs and tables when moving around... hope this keeps up for the future... :)

    Tuesday, June 14, 2005

    Asleep in my arms


    Asleep in my arms
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    It's amazing how the concept of time seems to change when kids come into the equation. Take today, when Hannah was asleep in my arms, I was happy to just sit there and watch her sleep, for a considerable amount of time.

    And also when she napped in the arvo, I was happy just to watch her sleep, and perhaps maybe take some video footage as well... :)

    This is bliss... :) Can't wait till the teenage years... NOT!

    Monday, June 13, 2005

    Absolute Joy


    Bath Time!
    Originally uploaded by swang.
    It's been a long and exciting day, and it hasn't quite sunk in yet being parents and all. Hannah has been a contented little bub and slept for most of the late afternoon as I went home to sort out little Max(the firstborn, dog I meant...)

    We got more visitors in the form of my parents and sister, and Jen and Rick.

    Then after they left, I got a very special time to bathe little Hannah for her first bath, and it was an absolute joy to do. The midwife taught me how to bathe her, and how to carry her fragile little body whilst I bathed her, and little Hannah seems to enjoy the bath.


    Funky Hairstyle
    Originally uploaded by hannahwang.
    The precious little thing was so adorable after her bath, and her hair was more noticible. She has very fine hair and it is slightly blonde, weird I know, but Ming had strawberry blonde hair when she was little too! What a little princess! And I can tell that without any of her doing she has me wrapped around her little finger already. What hope do I have down the track when she abuses that power with intent? :P

    Absolutely tired as well, as it's been a long day starting at 2am, hopefully a good night's sleep will ensure I can enjoy the experience as a new dad tomorrow, and will be able to help the wifey out as she's bound to be exhausted.

    Praise God!


    Free at last!
    Originally uploaded by hannahwang.
    Praise God from whom all blessings flow! :) We are truly blessed with the birth of our first child Hannah this morning at 8:47am. She weighed 3.08Kg and 6 pounds 13 ounces in the old scales, and is 48 cm long and is cute as a bug!

    She came early as we had a planned caesarian this wednesday however she decided she wanted to choose her own birthdate so Ming's water broke at 2am this morning. Always knew she was going to be difficult... ;P

    Mum and Hannah are doing well and she is a great feeder and is sucking like there is no tomorrow! She has had 2 feeds already and has been napping on and off. Her blog can be found at http://hannahwang.blogspot.com/

    It's been overwhelming so far and it hasn't already sunk in, however I know that she is in good hands as God has had His hand on her since her conception. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;" - Jeremiah 1:5, NIV

    Praise God indeed!

    Sunday, June 12, 2005

    Calm before the storm...

    Just got home from a lovely dinner with our old bible study group. It was at Mike and Em's place and they cooked up a lovely dinner starting with Sweet Potato soup, then home-made fetticine with a neopolitana type sauce with lamb, and finished with apple crumble with extra vanilla ice-cream!(Thanks Mikey!)

    It's been ages since we all caught up, and even though we were all there at the baby shower, we didn't get a chance to catchup then. The meal was delicious, and the fellowship was warm and sweet. Nothing quite binds us quite as closely as the bonds of fellowship of being in God's family as siblings in Christ, Amen!

    We moved into the lounge for more food(cheese and crackers) and watched a VCD of Russell Peters who is a canadian indian standup comedian and it was hilarious!(This was my 5th time watching it and was still in stiches)

    A couple of friends could not join us as they were in Albany, but we managed to put talk to them for half an hour on speaker-phone which was nice.

    Now blogging this sitting in bed as I think I'm too full to sleep even though it's been a tiring day. It was a great night out and probably one of our last in this capacity prior to the little bub arriving, however it's been a most enjoyable and memorable one.

    Friday, June 10, 2005

    Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's Star Wars Force FX Lightsabers

    But hey they are soooo cool!

    Star Wars Force FX Lightsabers:


    Neighbour:

    (Incidentally this is my mate Nick who wielded the beast during his trip in the US)

    Actually saw these in real life a few weeks back shopping for baby stuff in David Jones in the city, and they are every Star Wars fanboy's dream... :) They can be found at ThinkGeek.com.

    Thought I'd share... :P

    Life changes and blessings

    It's been a long time since my last post, and I mean looooong.... 4 months and 2 days to be exact...

    I haven't blogged about a certain few significant life changing events like my lovely wife expecting our first child and it's due next week! It's been an interesting journey over the last 9 months and the next 20 years will be another chapter in our lives when the little one arrives.

    Everyone around us have been so supportive, esp our family and friends, and we know that the little one will have an extended group of people who will help love and guide *it* (not giving away if it's a boy or girl as some people don't really want to know until the birth). :)

    We are truly blessed and praise God in this matter!

    Also work has been great with regards to the arrival of bub, however "clouded the future is" as Yoda might put it. So I've been praying about this matter and God seems to be opening a few doors for me, however nothing concrete yet, just leaving it to God and His plan for my career.

    Just to share, a few years back I had 2 job offers on the table and it was during a stressful time in my life when my mum was going through breast cancer (praise God she got through it and survived) . It was between Andersen Business Consulting and a web development company called Dow Digital. Only after the decision to join Andersen and starting work there that I realised that I might have made the wrong decision as it was not what I had expected, due to the work conditions and type of work. However in hindsight, my stint at Andersen had thought me the value of the "business" side of things, and not just the focus on technology itself, and the other company Dow Digital went bankrupt a year later... So I guess God had His plan for me all along, so I just have to surrender and trust.

    Incidentally, it's my last day of work today prior to my leave for the arrival of the baby... w00t! 2 weeks off for a some time alone together with wifey before bub arrives, then it's sleepless nights, dirty nappies, stress, and most of all JOY in the arrival of the little one.

    Can't wait... :)