transposable element

mia started on solids — well it wasn’t really that solid, more like goo– earlier this week.

what a messy affair! jan was feeding her, so there was more food ON her than IN her. on her clothes, on her legs, on her hair, on her chair. oh joy!

one of the things i plan to do when i get to manila is to get my skin problems checked. no, i don’t need acne treatments; i’ve never had acne since high school, i think. but i’m having eczema flare ups on and off the last few weeks. i know its atopic, and its probably stress and sleeplessness that’s causing it, but i don’t want to resort to cortisol treatment as i’m still nursing. good thing i don’t need to go out of my way to see a derma. we have one in the family

we don’t own a car here in singapore. would be nice and convenient to have one, but considering the associated costs and paperwork one has to go through to have your own four wheeler (and this how-to page does not even include getting auto insurance quotes), we simply couldn’t afford the luxury. and in singapore, a car IS a luxury.

and besides, i’m sure that with the current financial/economic crisis, local banks wouldn’t be dishing out car loans so easily at this point. in the us, many banks and auto finance companies are no longer willing to lend money for such purposes, and if this goes on, they fear it might lead to the bankruptcy of major car companies.

when times get rough, i suppose the first things that get scratched off your buying list are the luxury items you can well do without. um, can you live without a car?

i’m not into economics, finance or business, and i know next to nothing regarding the ripples of the current financial slump worldwide. unfortunately, in this case, ignorance is NOT bliss. with the little i understand about stocks going down, banks needing state support, people being laid off their jobs, the more i get worried. what do all these mean to ME? how will all these affect MY life.

on another time, i might have been tempted by the airfare deals i see as a result of rollbacks in fuel surcharge. in fact, i’ve been thinking of a family holiday before jan’s schedule become dictated by school holidays. just a weekender somewhere nearby (no Vegas vacations for us!). however, the recent developments are making me too nervous to part with money unnecessarily. i know i am not alone in feeling this way, and the lack of confidence in spending is making the situation worse. but hey, what can i do?

has the recent economic slump in the states, europe and some parts of asia affected you personally? has your spending habits changed?

not that many seem to have noticed, but this blog blacked out for a few days, while i transferred hosts.

on the network-blogging arena, it’s also been an unsettling couple of weeks. i don’t know whether the phenomenon was something already simmering for a while now and just spurred by the current financial crisis in america, but both networks i blog for are instituting major changes. blogger pay cuts, blogger lay-offs. seems like the professional blogosphere is in recession as well.

let mia show you how:

contagious, isn’t it?

a baby’s laughter. giggles. gummy grins. unique baby gifts to adults. and it’s priceless.

ahh, october, finally. just a couple more weeks and i’ll be flying to manila with mia. although i’ve flown cebu pacific on its domestic routes, this is the first time i’m flying their international route. if they are using the same planes or bigger, maybe there’s even more legroom and more comfortable seats than in jetstar or tiger. i’m used to no-frill flying now, so i’m not expecting to be impressed. but, let’s see.

actually, i’m more worried about the airport than the airline now. cebu pacific is now operating on the new terminal 3. this is the new 640 million-dollar terminal built by fraport and due to open some six years ago, but did not due to legal issues. finally, in june this year, it was formally opened, not without mishaps and chaos. and just last month, a portion of its ceiling allegedly collapsed, for the nth time.

fortunately, both mia and i have a comprehensive travel insurance. y’know, just in case something falls on my head or some such. or should i rather be thinking of getting life insurance quotes?! shucks, i’ve flown so many times in the last 10 years or so, and while i always, ALWAYS, get nervous during take-off and landing, i think this is the first time i’m concerned at being at the airport!

buying a tabletop oven has widened our dinner options dramatically. tired of stir-fries and stews, we’ve been putting the gadget to good use the last few weeks. pasta, pizza, fish, chicken, veggies — slide it in the oven and wait. simple, quick, easy, and yummy.

from mains, i’ve moved to desserts, too. i’ve dug out my favorite cake and cookie recipes, and have managed to find most of the ingredients i needed. no more betty cocker mixes! hopefully the oven is good enough for my simple concoctions.

anyone care to share a good recipe for chewy chocolatey brownies?

when i was in labor, giving birth to jan, the very first thing the midwife told me was “hm, asian mother, caucasian father— this just means pain.” i nearly hated her for it, except she turned out to be the best midwife i could have hoped for. for more than 12 hours, she never left my side, guiding, consoling, encouraging, comforting me during the entire journey. without her persistence and conviction, i would never have been able to give birth non-surgically.

she could have saved stanford some research money. according to their new study:

…the researchers found that white mother/Asian father couples had the lowest rate (23 percent) of caesarean delivery, while Asian mother/white father couples had the highest rate (33.2 percent). Because birth weights between these two groups were similar, the researchers say the findings suggest that the average Asian woman’s pelvis may be smaller than the average white woman’s and less able to accommodate babies of a certain size.

may be smaller. may. they’re not even sure. surely, it couldn’t have been that hard to figure that one out?

anyways, i’ve been trying to extrapolate… what are these findings trying to tell us? that mother nature doesn’t sanction partnerships between asian women and caucasian men? hm. food for thought.

check out handbag planet, quick!

To celebrate the October 15, 2008 launch, we are giving away a free handbag every hour for 24 hours on the day of the launch.

that’s 12 days from now. i’ve checked the t&c, and i didn’t see any restriction regarding residence, so unless it just skipped me (which could also be as it’s nearly midnight as i type this so my eyelids are admittedly falling), the draw’s open to everyone!