Today we went to the second prenatal visit. And another ultrasound revealed that our little shrimpy had grown into a 30$ lobster … well .. actually I could make out the kid pretty well on that black and white screen. I could see feet and arms and a super big head. We could even see the heart beat!!!! And the kid was moving around … already a diver. Again our doc answered all of our questions and made us feel good and according to all data so far, everything is super peachy.
Too bad I did not get to take a photo this time .. but soon we have the “structural scan” which we can post here 
Ok, so most of you know it already, but I bet we forgot some people (others have gotten the good news several times:). It is true, another Nacken is on the way and so far everything is fine … what only bugs me is that I as the expecting Dad am getting morning sickness too!
Today, my boss came back from his 2-month leave and I told him the news!!
He received it well, but his next question was “so, when are you going to take a maternity leave?” He told me that his wife worked until the day she gave birth, which sounded to me that he wanted me to work until my due date! I told him that I have to consult with my doctor about it…
I was thinking to take a leave 6 weeks before the due date as in the guideline of our workplace, but maybe I will try to work a bit longer… Then, I can take more time off after I give birth. Still, all in all, I was very happy about his reaction and felt really relieved!
Another happy note for today is that I received a letter from my friend in Japan. It was a detailed report on her experience of childbirth in October 2003 and a beautiful picture of her son and herself! It felt weird seeing her as a mother since I know her for more than 10 years. But the letter was really moving and the picture was gorgeous!! Thank you, Atena-chan!!
(Ritsu’s friend Atena with her babyboy Soutarou)
Last night we were invited to Rob’s Birthday BBQ, the initial plan of doing a Lovo was changed into grilled Tuna chunks, since Rob had just caught a huge yellow fin tuna over the weekend.
I love the view he has from his house
His landlord also finally finished the outdoor pool, which we used afterwards to chill out.
Last night was fairly hot an humid, so we decided to sleep downstairs, in my office (where we moved our old futon and where I got the kick ass new AC unit) … since this thing is newer and the room is smaller, we figured it will use less electricity. I also found out that for some weird reason the roosters (yes, both of them still seem to be alive) are less audible downstairs. The only wake up call was Nietzsche who happily slept with us again, but seems he needed to use the bathroom … good cat!
Following our Monday idea we managed again to get each other out of bed around 6 (though I felt dead tired) and did our morning walk towards the water … beautiful sunshine, no rain … super low tide … we actually walked a bit on the ‘beach’ (that dirt and trash encrusted soil which only shows it’s ugly face during low tide) and on the way back we got the newspapers … and these 2 pics here .. these are our 2 neighborhood places … first the Tim Lee Supermarket .. a cramped little store full of stuff .. and then the Nasese Bakery … really good bakery … I hear people travel quite some to get their bread … Ritsu loves their creamed buns
Did not rain this time, but it sure started a bit later, after 8 AM .
One reader came across this blog in search for more info regarding his possible move to Fiji … and, best thing to get even more info is to email me. So, for fun and the general interest of people who really like to surf weird stuff, like exotic newspapers, I scanned in the one page of “To Let” ads that our Saturday paper had to offer. Its 740KB , click and enjoy
Another reader showed interest in Fijian music … I think we had that topic before, but not sure if I ever uploaded some tunes. Fijian music is a bit similar to Hawaiian, usually cheerful, themes ususally cover love and goodbye songs. Interestingly enough I never really hear women singing … this seems to be in church only. So, most of the time you have an all boy band, several guitars, one ukulele, and at least one of the guys sings as if recently a coconut landed on one of his testicles. Here are 3 examples:
- Rau Tayabe (2.25 MB)
- Sa Moce (2.33 MB) (“Moce” basically means “see ya”)
- Isa Isa (3.13 MB) (most famous farewell song)
enjoy.
Victoria Wines’ wine club had its monthly wine tasting again, topic was Chardonnay and Shiraz .. and it was fun as before (not totally sold out this time) .. the ususal po quiz that turned more into a guessing game with lots of glass swirling, knowingly nodding, gargling and eating those fantastic cheese platters which can be had for 10FJD (wait a bit longer and get some free bread)
Well, the fuzziness and over contrasting of the photos actually captures the atmosphere of the evening quite well.
| So today we went to the movies (sunday is a great day for that) and watched Tim Burton’s “Big Fish“.
What can I say? We both loved the movie, but it is really tricky to describe it and really analyze as to WHY it is so darn good… |
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But it strums all the emotional strings at the right time, it makes you laugh, cry, wonder (that one a LOT) … at some point you give up trying to explain things, finding allegories … and that is the moment the movie totally sucks you in … not a movie for everyone, no big style action, no spaceships, a little nudity (if you ever wanted to see Danny DeVito’s rear end, this is the movie for you).
I was a bit bored in the beginning … but rewarded greatly in the end … fantastic movie!
If you hear someone compare it to “Forrest Gump” don’t give a damn, the similarities are very accidental and they are 2 very different movies (oh, they both have a “Jenny” But both movies will make you shed a tear I bet.
Afterwards we had some craving for junk food and steered towards the downtown McDonalds … on the way I saw something really strange:
The KFC carhop … I always considered a carhop one of these waiters in old style American drive-in (NOT drive-thru) fast food places, often on roller skates, they come to your car, have these attachable trays, take your order, bring food and drink, and you never even have to get out, unless you need to use the bathroom. So, it seems the Fiji version of KFC is that they block off 4 parking spaces, give it a red carpet and some nice signs, and then you drive up, some uniformed people (sans roller skates, that would be too funny) come up, take your order and bring back food …. kind of bizzare .. it also looked like it is a bit of a traffic hazard …
Well, we were still going for McD food, but opted to move on to the ‘other’ McD in Suva, the one close to cost-u-less, which is a bit bigger and nicer … and Ritsu had a big mac and I had a quarter pounder (that’s still only 125 grams!), which seems to be a current “only for a short time” item … after 2 bites we were reminded again that this food is just way too greasy and our junk food craving has been satisfied for the next couple of weeks.
We had this thought over the weekend that it would be really cool to get up 1 hour early and do some walking, picking up some freshly baked bread and the newspaper on the way. And surprise, surprise, we actually DID wake up at 6 and got up right away and went out and started our energetic day … and this is when the rainy season started …
I have posted here again and again how weird the weather has been so far, way to dry for this time of year … 2 of the 3 newspapers we bought even brought up the drought topic … but sure, while we were walking, we were hit by a rain shower of epic proportions … bravely we kept moving .. got bread and papers … it looked like it is lightening up … and then again … tons of water right onto us … I tried to save my phone and the newspapers as much as possible … we were drenched to the undies when we returned …
well .. so much about the weather ….
First a visit to the private hospital to do some routine check up … great place, fast service and very nice and understanding staff. Then Ritsu cooked us some kick ass Japanese curry.
While I schnippled the veggies, she managed the main event … great flavor … with some rice and some Japanese pickles Kozue brought us last night.
| Then we followed an invitation of Jon and went up to Tamavua to take advantage of their pool.
Long time since I have actually gotten a sunburn. But hanging out in the water and playing with the kids was sure fun. |
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When the sun set we all drove down to the Fiji Malt House for some nice hot cob bread (great thing to have if you only come for drinks, comes with 3 dips: Basil Pesto, Hummus and Tamarind Chutney), Pizza and beers.
OK, we got the blood test done this morning!!
I was very nervous because I passed out when I donated blood several years ago. I just HATE NEEDLES!!! But the nurse was very nice to me, even offered that I can lie down on a bed instead of sitting on a chair. With support of my loved one, I managed to get through it! It wasn’t that bad at all…
We also scheduled our next “structured scan” at the Private Hospital. It will be when I am 15 weeks, Friday 20 February (I’m now at the end of 11 weeks). I wonder if we can find out our baby’s gender then. Very exciting!!
Here some fun newspaper clippings from this weekend’s issue of the Fiji Times. Makes you wonder just what ends up as news worthy and what the heck is wrong with people?
And here is a “letter to the editor” about that porn topic which I posted a bit ago (I hope the word porn will raise the number of accidental visitors:)
I am not sure where Allen Lockington is going with his joke there, but the general questions he raises I agree with. Next time he is online (looking for porn?) and puts his name in google, he may end up here and sees that his letter got brief internet fame:)
ok .. what to say … I had my fair share of panic attacks … but mainly everything is fine and I am getting more and more excited … according to THIS our baby is over 2 inches / 5cm in length .. and it seems to be growing well … I keep feeding Ritsu tons of fruit and veggies … tommorow we are scheduled for blood tests and such … and soon we have the next picture and possibly audible heartbeat of the baby !
We had guests over tonight and I had made some food … those german meatballs in caper sauce again (Ritsu loves them), parsley potatoes and salad. But who would have thought that we would get the old Dance Dance Revolution game out, and not only the kids, everybody got into it and we had a lot of fun.
As many know, Fiji had already 2 coups in its recent history, one in 1987 and then in 2000 (really neat article about the aftermath). Very sweet that the parliament building is really just a coconut throw away from our house… so, if something like that happens again, I will have to decide between immediate evacuation and getting my camera and get some exclusive shots …. though, with shots I could mean pictures or bullets …
Anyways, why do I bring that up? There has obviously been some recent tension between certain army people and one government ministry … some papers called it a “Stand Off” … but very quickly everyone who had to say something (Like the police commissioner or the prime minister) declared there is no danger, everything is fine, we all need to stick together to build a united Fiji and so on and so on …
The second wave of newspaper articles all dealt with how much damage a little shake up like this can already do to the tourism industry, as tourists already begin asking their embassies if there has been a change in the security rating for Fiji (AU and US stated a big “no”)
From my point of view, there is a bit more activity and tension around this area … I see more police patrol cars … and one gets more receptive to all kinds of weird noises around … well … let’s see.
Oh .. dinner tonight was a cream of fresh broccoli soup. Sometimes we get really nice broccoli for a reasonable price and so this was our main veggie the last couple of weeks … and so yesterday I made a soup, pretty much following this recipe. It appealed to me as it is very simple … and instead of cream it uses a blend of cheese and milk. If I had only known that Cost-U-Less actually has Ricotta Cheese.
Tonight, for the first time in months, we returned to the Suva Motor Inn for dinner. I think it has been over 6 months since the last time, but we were very happily surprised that most people remembered us, my engraved beer mug was still there and the food, while it took a bit long, was nice. Ritsu had her usual braised chicken, and I tried the seafood kebab.
For those who don’t know: The Suva Motor Inn was our first home in Fiji for 6 weeks after we arrived and while we were looking around for a house.
Fantastic weather today (again) … I really wonder when the rainy season will start this year. Humidity was down to 53% at some point today.
And some fun from today’s newspaper … seems this is the Fijian version of the infamous Paris Hilton Video case:
(click to enlarge)
So, ok, i heard that before, porn is seemingly illegal in fiji … why and on what grounds and what is defined as porn this article does not say …. instead it repeats like 3 times: private porn ok, selling porn bad. Hilarious is also the line “please don’t watch porn as it is immoral” .. uh huh …. But humping your 13 old daughter is ok? (just 5 pages further, every day something like that).
Well, but this marks actually the first time I read something like this in the papers .. Now I am just curious what is on that video tape:)
Sunday, funday .. it actually rained a bit today .. that was pretty refreshing …
Today was RoC market .. RoC is “Republic of Cappuccino” .. Fiji’s version of star bucks there are 2 places in Suva and one would guess they may have more … I would not know as I do not drink coffee …
anyways, its a bit like a flea market. Usual regulars are a guy who makes smoothies, another guy abuses his computer to make VCD copies of current movies and sells them for 7FJD … lots of shirts, used books .. kinda fun … but it sure was smaller this time .. but Ritsu got some nice ear thingies.
Today’s main event was to get Nietzsche (our cat) to the vet for schedule shots .. but for the first time using our new cat carrier (cage) .. before we transported the cats in either a hamper or a box .. but we bought a noce plastic cage ..and getting any of our 2 cats in there is sure an adventure ..
so .. getting him in left certain bloody marks on my hand .. but he behaved very well at the vet’s office .. and too our surprise .. he went back into the cage on his own .. like this was his safe haven .. very cute .. he got his shots and everything seems fine …
Just got back from a nice BBQ get together at Rob’s place up on princess road .. due to lack of certain tools, Jon used a cane knife to flip the burgers
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