Baby Check

Saturday was month 6 baby check for the little mouse. GP drank a cup of sugar water an hour before the appointment for her diabetes check (results were ok as we expected). We went through the regular doctor check - weight, blood pressure, etc. - and doctor said "that's it". Uh, what?! There was supposed to be one last ultrasound, that's why we made the afternoon appointment, remember? For the special ultrasound doctor?

Month 5 had shown a cyst on the baby's head and this check showed every was cleared up, so no worries there. We also confirmed that the little mouse is a girl (month 5 she had her feet together), so we are back to concentrating on girl names. The Chinese name was easy (she'll have separate names) and we think we found a good English name which ties indirectly to the Chinese one.

GP is feeling and looking great (I need to post a photo, or better yet, a waddling video). She celebrated the doctor visit by eating spicy crawdads on the way home in the car.

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For everyone who says "why can't GP just move to the US? You are married!" I give you this article. Some people will do anything to move to the US and/or make money.

And more happy wishes

Happy birthday Friday to Joshua, the handsomest boy GP has ever met (that's what she told me).

Happy birthday next week to Airelle, the oldest niece and a new teenager. I hope you both have very happy days :)

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It's been very busy at work, staying late on the SEM and working on reports, waking early to work on presentations, busy all day :p I escaped to get some pizza for lunch and buy some barrettes for GP. Her new hair works even better when she can clip it back.

The next few weeks continue busy as the bosses visit for a meeting and my replacement starts (first of July). It will be nice to hand some things off to him so I can spend my last 1 or 2 months concentrating on some pet projects. I will still hate to let it all go, however. It still feels unfinished, but it always will be, I guess.

It might be the nicer weather (compared to winter), but I'm even thinking I'll miss Suzhou. We went to the 2nd Cold Stone Creamery tonight and the Subway is almost finished. More Western things are moving in and I'm more and more comfortable with what there is here. I miss motorcycling, etc. less. Perhaps I'll job search in Suzhou. If there is a really good, expat position, we might just stay.

Told ya so

I told you June is a busy month.
Happy anniversary to Kelli & Chad! Fourteen, I say, fourteen years.
Happy birthday to Mike D, my only China visitor from the US :p I hope your new car is as comfortable, and durable, as the last two.

There are a couple more, important birthdays coming later in the month, but I'll wait to congragulate them later. In case there's nothing else to post about :)
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It's Friday morning here in Suzhou and I am at work as usual. Yesterday was a long day; I woke at 5am and couldn't go back to sleep. I went to work, stayed in for lunch, but then went out for dinner (mmm, tasty beef and sauerkraut sandwich; too bad it had mustard on it :P). Back to work for some writing and a 9pm conference call. Today seems like a good day to coast, so we'll see how that goes.

I'm becoming a little more enthusiastic at work as I have a new project. It'll probably let me extend my contract by one more month, through September, so that'll be handy. Then it'll be 3 months of baby, baby, and more baby until returning to the US. Well, that and job hunting.

I admit, it's tempting to stay in Suzhou if I can find a good, well paying expat job again. When I think of all the things here and the improvements going on (Coldstone Creamery, Subway!, and I hear there is a Blue Frog coming), it feels like a possibility. Though we won't trust the local stuff *too* much. GP bought a baby magazine and found "US Baby" brand bottles and other baby stuff. She said "see, it's good, from US". I said "No, it's called US Baby so Chinese will buy it, but it's a Chinese company and the stuff is made in Shanghai". Sneaky, aren't they? We'll probably make a trip to Hong Kong in July to get a bunch of baby stuff.

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To answer John's astute (i.e., drunken) questions:

1) GP has a large, green condom on to keep the rain off. For $0.50, she wasn't concerned about how it looked. Besides, she looks good in almost anything. At least as good as you in Frogg Toggs ;)

2) To say "Denise has my money": wo de lao po you wo de qian. Lao is pronounced with "ow" like you hurt something. Qian is pronounced like chen. The sentence actually says "my wife has my money", but I assumed you meant your wife when you said Denise :) If Denise has *my* money, we'd say "wo de peng you de lao po you wo de qian". and then I'd have to explain quickly why your wife has my money.

See ya

June is a busy month

Big, happy, June 12th wishes to:
Trev & Erin for their wedding anniversary
Mike & Rachel for their wedding anniversary (9 years?! - wow!)
and especially to my Dad who celebrates his birthday. I ran out of gift ideas long ago, so I'll just say I love you.

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July will also be busy with birthdays and a trip to Guangzhou for Very Important business. I'll give you 2 guesses :)

Fun, fun and more fun

Friday was a good, though tiring day at work. A US supplier visited and we had a great meeting to share ideas and trade information. It was good for the local engineers, etc., to get first-hand info.

Friday night we went to the Howard Johnson All-Suites for buffet dinner. It was pretty good and we'll probably go again.

Saturday we slept in and it felt so good! Then we went shopping and I became a one-day sensation in Suzhou. I had bought a shirt in Guilin, black with Chinese characters in white. It says "mei you qian" pronounced "may yo chen". It means "I have no money". I wore it Saturday as we went shopping and everybody got a kick out of it. The workers at the mall, the other shoppers, people on the street. Everywhere we went, we heard "mei you qian!" And people would laugh. At the American bar last night, the other foreigners wanted to know where to buy one. It was surprising how much entertainment I provided. Imagine the lack of response a foreigner in the US would get just by wearing a shirt that says "no money".

And you can tell my jaw muscles are still misaligned. I now have a crooked smile :^/


Today we did a little more shopping and found a pretty dress for GP. Our best bet for pregnancy clothes has been the Korean clothing stores. The dresses are typically loose and/or high-waisted, so they fit her well, and the fashions are 200% better than the Chinese, maternity clothes.

Afterwards we stopped at Big & Whistle for an orange juice and some popcorn. On our stroll following drinks, we made a big discovery. And it was delicious.

Pretty girl gets a haircut

GP wanted something cooler for the summer and easier to take care of. Now she's extra pretty and looking very modern ;)

Misc fun in China

Guilin photos are posted (uploading slowly to Picasaweb as we speak), so check them out. You can see that GP and I are both noticeably round. We are diverging, however, as she becomes larger and I am (slowly) becoming smaller. Most of the photos came out pretty good and I hope to give some trip details later. Overall it was a great time, but the only reason to go is the scenery.

I signed an absence form today for one of my employees. Eight hours for "lactation leave". Nursing mothers in China get 1 hour per day of paid leave to nurse their babies. Some (many?) save it up and take a day off every two weeks instead. I call it "milking the system". Ha!

Dragon Boat Festival is Sunday, so Monday is a public holiday. Woo hoo! Three-day weekend!