A day to forget

[This is a gripe about the #!%@^! things that went wrong today. Please click here if you want something happy ;) ]

I should have touched down in SG but instead, I'm back at home. The reason for this was that minibeanie needed a paper ticket to board while his mummy dearest had an e-ticket. And since a)these tickets had been issued 6 freaking months ago, b) DH did not bring home any paper ticket recently, c) his secretary who had helped to change our return date last week did not mention anything about a paper-ticket until 2 hours before my departure time (which by then is way too late) & d) a call to Silkair in the morning confirmed that "oh, no other documents beside passport is necessary"... Then what did I find in the airport?? no paper ticket, no boarding pass. Nevermind that it's in the system or the fact that he's a baby - who doesn't even need a seat JUST a box on the wall.

Ok, so I finally decided to buy a ticket for him only to remember that I only had RMB200 with me and no credit card (lost my wallet a few days ago). Freaking hell.Got the airport staff to pull out my luggage from the cargo hull to check if a wad of Singapore related cards in my luggage contained a credit card and someone from DH's office to come down with some slush funds. Nada from my luggage. And by the time, DH's colleague arrived, the immigration counter had CLOSED. Yes, this is the first time I've heard of immigration/customs closing - don't they stay open all the time? Well, ok, this is China. Just like someone would actually put toxic substances into milk, there are different rules and mindsets here.

minibeanie having a field day with my open luggage. Oh nevermind....

Tomorrow, I'm going to raise a ruckus at the Silkair office again for their f*-ing bureaucracy and the inept staff who gave out erroneous information. Tonight, it calls for a greasy pizza.

Inheritance

It appears that everyone's fond of the 'whose features the baby has inherited' game. Parents naturally are avid players. Then, there are grandparents, aunts and even folks who have no stake in the child's life, such as the old folks who actually left their game of mahjong, crowded around us and our bowls of noodles to weigh in on the issue.

The fascinating thing is that babies change as they get older. When minibeanie was born, he had a whole head of black hair. He looked very Asian then. Today, the biggest giveaway that he's not quite Asian is his flop of copper-brown hair from his dad.

Other features inherited from DH are his chin, mouth, build (minibeanie's a slender bean) and especially the long & narrow feet. As for the height, I don't know... I mean, this is a mixed bag ;)

From me, minibeanie has gotten my eyes :)


And finally, hopefully, not DH's pitch deafness.

minibeanie is 9 months & 2 weeks old

You know you are a parent to a newborn when...

1. you cheer & clap to every burp with, "Good job!" and "Encore!"
2. day becomes night; night becomes day.
3. your time is no longer your own.
4. despite being able to stay at home for a year, you wish you're back at work.
5. you get sour milk on your chest and pee down your legs, and you're not mad at the perpetrator.

minibeanie is 3 weeks 5 days old

Productivity rates

According to a midwife here, more babies are born in April and July than other months. It makes sense though. July babies are made in the dark and depressing months of October/November when the autumn weather affords little to do. It's wet outside and with the sun setting at 4pm, candles are used frequently for giving the home some cheer and light... apparently adding to the ambience as well, heh. April babies on the other hand, are made in July/August when lots of summer lurving goes around. I didn't know about this statistic from the midwife but in the last few years, I made the observation that advertisements of condoms only appear in summer. I guess Durex's marketing department knows something that I didn't previously.

I wonder which is the most productive month in Singapore? My gut feel is that July and August are the peak months. A most unscientific study of my girlfriends & sister shows that the number of birthdays peak in these 2 months. But if seasons do not change, how is this explained?

M - also a July baby ........ and so may be minibeanie
36 weeks 6 days