Look at the two bright young parents-no wonder their baby is a genius, who took this photo when she’s 19 months old. This was taken at Capilano park, Vancouver. Our favorite picture so far, and Fifi’s first masterpiece ever. She’s been born a little world traveler and sees so many places with us since she’s little. She’s sincerely curious and happy on new things she sees and experiences. She enjoys food everywhere she went, and eats well on her own, so we could enjoy all the exotic food. She sleeps as soon as the car starts or plane takes off-I bet she can be a journalist or rock star when she grows up-since she adapt herself so well on all the long flights and road trips. And now she has developed this new photographing skills and her dad and mom can finally get into the same picture again.
my child prodigy
birthday is more fun with a baby…
it’s like surrounded by the whole world.
Can’t help it…
so here it is- a space for Fifi
When the moment comes…
Before Fifi was born, we took several childbirth classes and learned in awe how baby is born. Every time I watched the raw footage of labor in documentaries, I had to brink away my tears the moment the baby was pushed out of the exhausted and excited mothers. I imagined how monumental the moment will be when it comes to me- how emotionally overwhelmed I will be. And then, the moment came- Fifi finally slided out, after 22 hours of labor, covered in blood and fluid, and the nurse pushed her firmly into my arms. She didn’t cry out really loud, instead, she’s whining like a little cone-headed animal, wounded all over, after a long and lonely journey, soft, warm, moist and sticky, a tiny piece of pink flesh, with temperature and breath. I looked at her, like looking at a extraterrestrial creature falling onto my arms from outer space, not feeling it’s coming out of my own body. All other possible emotions at that moment are submerged by suspicion and curiosity. I, looking at this most strange creature of all, with my most fresh eyes, like another new-born in the birth room… Then nurses took her away for cleaning and measuring. I heard her crying a little harder, which reminded me that I had not wept with excitement yet-like I had always envisioned. Nonetheless, the moment is gone.
* Fifi was born March 2nd, 2007, a week before her due date.
Our Very first Christmas tree..
for a very merry (though raining in Seattle) Christmas!
Wish all our friends a happy holiday and a wonderful new year!
Hope gifts will pile up under the tree next year!
Parents’ visit
My parents have visited our three homes in the States, from Buffalo, to LA, to Seattle. When told that they stayed with us 3 months each time, American friends will look so surprised and sympathetic: “what?! They will stay with you for 3 months?! You mean 3 months” Our Chinese friends will also express their surprise: “what?! They are ONLY here for 3 months? Why not 6 months.” So I guess 3 months is a very awkward period of time, too long for Americans and too short for my Chinese fellows.
I am not sure that’s because Chinese are suppose to have better relationship with their parents. There are a lot of considerations out of economic factors. My parents had to travel to another city 1000 miles away to apply for American visa and twice they went back home with broken hearts-visa denied. The expense for one visa-application trip (approved or not) is about $500-equal two months of my mom’s retirement subsidy. And two tickets to fly over Pacific Ocean will worth her one-year subsidy. No smart Chinese will think it a good deal for such a short stay, of, well, 3 months. Why not 6 months? Why not 12 months? Isn’t visa good at least 6 months?
My mom is a very modern Chinese woman in many senses-she only wanted 1 baby when she could have had more; for a very long time before her retirement, she made more money than my farther did; She is straightforward and outspoken, very atypical trait of Chinese women of her generation. Nonetheless, she can’t be cool with her child. Like many parent of only-child in China, she thinks she is forever in debt with her child, and nothing cheers her more than being with her (o, I mean me).
Then why they are here only 3 months? That’s about the maximum that our honeymoon can last. Life is a comedy with tears. One of my American friend told me that the house will collapse if she and her mom (even she’s over 80) stay under the same roof for 3 weeks. That makes me feel very proud about the enduring patience of myself and my mom, both of whom are very strong-minded people (or strong-minded only around each other) and sometimes can be quite drama Qs. Being treated as a guest in the house frustrated her, and being treated still as a teenager pissed me off (that might be a sign that I am still teenager in spirit).
I told my manager today that my parents are leaving this weekend; she did not say: “oh, so soon, why don’t they stay longer?” instead, she smiles like a flower: “now you can run your own house”. Guess is she a Chinese or American? How psyched!-I never told her of anything about the power struggle in my family. How does she know?!
Anniversary
We’ve been Seattlians for one year. August 13 of last year we flew in with 8 suitcases. Nobody told us the map in Seattle is not corresponding to the direction. We drove around space needle for about an hour to locate our apartment at Belltown. We are not very outdoorsy people, and we did not take advantage of hiking, skiing, boating or jogging that the city generously provides. Green lake is our favorite spot so far, where we can see a lot of weird-looking dogs and chubby-face babies when we strolling around the lake. I remember the weekend before Christmas, both of us received some bonus/gift cards from our corporate employers, and we went shopping, dinning and cinema at Westlake center without feeling guilty. That’s the first time we felt ‘wow, we are finally out of school’. New Year’s eve, we had a private show (felt like that) of the firework at space needle through the big window of Bin’s dim office.
I don’t know how long I will call Seattle my home. It did give us our first home. I got my first job here and we will have our own business set up here. And very soon we will have our first child born here. We entertain our friends and guests with barbecue at our patio, and we have to gardening every month. Do I feel Seattle home? When we first moved to our new home in Maple Leaf, we were very pleased by the natural scenes and absolute suburban tranquility. Now, I kind of wish there is a coffee shop or a cinema in my block instead of trees and lawns. I guess I miss city life very much. If I had money, I hope I can buy a second home in downtown. It seems not very realistic now-Bin read in the newspaper the other day that a condo of 2000 Sq feet in downtown will cost 1.7 million dollars now. It seems our neighborhood is getting renovated day by day. Though nothing in short walking distance yet, more chic cafés and restaurants appeared on Roosevelt Blvd this year; Northgate has a brand new and very cool community center plus public library open up last month. Across the street, Barn & Noble will be open up in two months. I think that’s a sign of a young and intellectual neighborhood coming into being. I guess I am witnessing an urbanization of a then suburban area and I am excited to see the change day by day, even it means we are losing the tranquility to some degree. I hope l I will feel more at home with the time being.
In transition
My current life, in a way, is a continuation of old days-getting up late, playing with computer till afternoon and then brushing my teeth and washing my face, and preparing dinner. This happens one or two days in a week when I work from home. Yes, I am lucky to find a job that encourages remote working. And even better, I am able to continue my research and apply it in real business. I feel blessed.
On the other side of the coin, there are things in change. It’s a real job-I got to drive on highway, talk to people over phone about business, search topics in mind for chitchat when bumping into coworkers in the hallway or kitchen, and try not to ask what words like RFP (Request for Proposal) or EOD (end of day) mean when hearing them the first time (they will reveal themselves with the time being).
If old habits die hard, new ones are even harder to acquire. There is hardly a day pass without me looking for car key, cell phone, keycard, security key or glasses before leaving home for office. I just figured out where to put car key and my keychain when getting out of my car is the most efficient-so I don’t have to search them all over when remotely locking the car and later scanning my keycard in the elevator, while carrying my laptop and lunch bag (I wonder how successful career woman manage to look fabulous walking into the lobby with the seemingly very light brief-case or tiny Coach bag).
We become homeowner, learning painful lesson every day- heating oil, leaking deck, crazy blackberries, and, surely, never-ending bills. We come to feel deeply sorry for our previous landlords back to Buffalo and Pittsburgh who had to pay heating bill for us. Our daily conversations consists more and more of domestic topics and it makes me wonder if owning a house is start of plebeian life (in mind).
I find myself hard to concentrate. I am juggling among a lot of things, and often in dilemma of to be or not to be: the Genealogy of Morals or Wall Street Journal? French Suites or Pyxml? Life is so short, time is so little; however, there are so many moments spent on deciding what to do at the moment. I guess that’s a typical symptom of transition period.