Dylan Bamboo's sleeping sssshhhh...
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
Silence is Easy
Dylan Bamboo came home yesterday and in 6 hours he managed to go through as many nappies as hours. My duties are getting nappies off without getting shit anywhere else, cleaning, washing and shopping. Last night I spent half the night in the bathroom for reasons other than I'm usually used to. It feels much more rewarding wiping your son's mess and crap up as opposed to your own.
It's fantastic having him with us and after the effect the birth must have had on his looks and the shock I had at first, he has turned out really cute. I'm trying not to be biased, he looks like me in real life but on many of the photos taken he looks very much like Dtock when she screws up her face. His nose is a cross between mine and Dtock's so he's got an upturned button nose with a defined bridge like me at the top. His eye colour is black with a tint of what looks like green which would come from me, his skin is not as pale I first thought it was. He looks like a slightly tanned white person more than he looks Asian, his oriental looks are still only very discrete but starting to show as the swelling around his eyes comes down. He definitely has his Mum's round chin. I will post some pictures later.
Last night he opened his eyes really wide and smiled at me, which melted my heart and in a second moment grimaced you can't help wondering whether he recognises you yet (although he obviously doesn't) but I'm speaking in English to him all the time aside the Laos patter of his Mum and Grandma. I expect he's picking up the different sounds of our languages from the offset.
He doesn't cry too much and when he does Dtock feeds him, he doesn't seem to cry when he shits himself which I'm not sure is a good or a bad thing. He was making a slight noise at 4am this morning but it was all slick and easy get the dirty one off, wipe it up, put it in the wash with some water and mild baby detergent, put the clean nappy back on and go back to sleep. I'd rather have him shitting, pissing and being sick all the time than crying all the time (so long as it isn't adverse to his health) so it seems, so far so good, let's hope this is the form.
Dtock said the food she had at the hospital wasn't too good and whilst it's not had any effect on her constitution it's obviously having its effect on Dylan Bamboo's, so he's a little bit unwell at the moment with an upset stomach nothing unusual in Thailand but not the best for him, you'd think they'd be careful about the food they provide in the hospital but like I say this is Thailand.
Yesterday it took me a full day off work to get his birth certificate, walking backwards and forwards from counter to counter, translating our passports into Thai, translating his name into Thai so it comes out Dirrol Bamboo Na Buch, what's the point? He's not Thai and I wish Thai people would stop offering Thai names, I reiterate he's not Thai and he's certainly not going to play for your crap football team! Thai bureacracy is a joke, I say this over and over Bamboo will not be educated in this country, maybe kintergarden but anything after that we have to be in a country where people have a semblance of common sense. Yesterday the Thai nursing staff at the hospital started speaking to Dtock's mum in half English half Thai, how's her Mum going to understand fifteen? Thai numbers are the same in Lao as they are in Thai, these are people in educated positions, they infuriate me with their stupidity. Lest I complain about Thais or I'll be here all day.
Dtock's Mum is with us at the moment, I'll be sorry to see her go and may ask her to stay a bit longer. She's like the Terry Venables of the operation, Dtock being Steve McLaren and me being Steve Round with his cones and bibs. It's a privilege to learn from people like this, when they show you what do to it's so natural you can feel that this is the way they've done it for years, this is the way that their mothers taught them and so on. It's all so natural and correct, problems are kept to a minimum and I am learning how to become a proficient Dad without any kind of intervention from Western aids like dummies or pampers type nappies that would give him rashes and actually look uncomfortable or any of that crap that you don't really need and is just an invented to make people spend money.
So for now great news, I have a beautiful son and family, I'm losing no more sleep than if I were out on the tiles all the time like I used to be. Nobody said it would be like this, I expected hell but it's the complete opposite.
This song is for Bamboo, just like your showing despite your stomach ache Silence is Easy.
Blog On
It's fantastic having him with us and after the effect the birth must have had on his looks and the shock I had at first, he has turned out really cute. I'm trying not to be biased, he looks like me in real life but on many of the photos taken he looks very much like Dtock when she screws up her face. His nose is a cross between mine and Dtock's so he's got an upturned button nose with a defined bridge like me at the top. His eye colour is black with a tint of what looks like green which would come from me, his skin is not as pale I first thought it was. He looks like a slightly tanned white person more than he looks Asian, his oriental looks are still only very discrete but starting to show as the swelling around his eyes comes down. He definitely has his Mum's round chin. I will post some pictures later.
Last night he opened his eyes really wide and smiled at me, which melted my heart and in a second moment grimaced you can't help wondering whether he recognises you yet (although he obviously doesn't) but I'm speaking in English to him all the time aside the Laos patter of his Mum and Grandma. I expect he's picking up the different sounds of our languages from the offset.
He doesn't cry too much and when he does Dtock feeds him, he doesn't seem to cry when he shits himself which I'm not sure is a good or a bad thing. He was making a slight noise at 4am this morning but it was all slick and easy get the dirty one off, wipe it up, put it in the wash with some water and mild baby detergent, put the clean nappy back on and go back to sleep. I'd rather have him shitting, pissing and being sick all the time than crying all the time (so long as it isn't adverse to his health) so it seems, so far so good, let's hope this is the form.
Dtock said the food she had at the hospital wasn't too good and whilst it's not had any effect on her constitution it's obviously having its effect on Dylan Bamboo's, so he's a little bit unwell at the moment with an upset stomach nothing unusual in Thailand but not the best for him, you'd think they'd be careful about the food they provide in the hospital but like I say this is Thailand.
Yesterday it took me a full day off work to get his birth certificate, walking backwards and forwards from counter to counter, translating our passports into Thai, translating his name into Thai so it comes out Dirrol Bamboo Na Buch, what's the point? He's not Thai and I wish Thai people would stop offering Thai names, I reiterate he's not Thai and he's certainly not going to play for your crap football team! Thai bureacracy is a joke, I say this over and over Bamboo will not be educated in this country, maybe kintergarden but anything after that we have to be in a country where people have a semblance of common sense. Yesterday the Thai nursing staff at the hospital started speaking to Dtock's mum in half English half Thai, how's her Mum going to understand fifteen? Thai numbers are the same in Lao as they are in Thai, these are people in educated positions, they infuriate me with their stupidity. Lest I complain about Thais or I'll be here all day.
Dtock's Mum is with us at the moment, I'll be sorry to see her go and may ask her to stay a bit longer. She's like the Terry Venables of the operation, Dtock being Steve McLaren and me being Steve Round with his cones and bibs. It's a privilege to learn from people like this, when they show you what do to it's so natural you can feel that this is the way they've done it for years, this is the way that their mothers taught them and so on. It's all so natural and correct, problems are kept to a minimum and I am learning how to become a proficient Dad without any kind of intervention from Western aids like dummies or pampers type nappies that would give him rashes and actually look uncomfortable or any of that crap that you don't really need and is just an invented to make people spend money.
So for now great news, I have a beautiful son and family, I'm losing no more sleep than if I were out on the tiles all the time like I used to be. Nobody said it would be like this, I expected hell but it's the complete opposite.
This song is for Bamboo, just like your showing despite your stomach ache Silence is Easy.
Blog On
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Good Morning Bamboo
Dtock gave birth to Bamboo yesterday at 13:52 Bangkok time, he weighed 3 Kilos and 320 Grams. I saw him for a very limited amount of time through a small partition about two hours after the birth and he was balling his lungs out so he obviously takes after his father in that respect.
He hasn't acquired any of his Mum's good looks yet, he's pale and bald like his Dad, I can't recall his eye colour. He had the stark appearance of my Grandad Booth when Grandad used to pull an angry face. Let's hope the wind doesn't blow on him or it may stick like that.
Dtock is looking really good and healthy, almost as if nothing has happened. Exactly like she's been all the way throughout the pregnancy, she never complains about any pain or discomfortort, she even managed to tell one of the nurses where to go in English who was complaining at her for making a mess on the floor during a contraction, you truly have an amazing mother Bamboo.
Photos will follow in a few days, I am at work and probably won't see him till he's out of the hospital, which will hopefully be on Thursday.
Blog On, Dad
He hasn't acquired any of his Mum's good looks yet, he's pale and bald like his Dad, I can't recall his eye colour. He had the stark appearance of my Grandad Booth when Grandad used to pull an angry face. Let's hope the wind doesn't blow on him or it may stick like that.
Dtock is looking really good and healthy, almost as if nothing has happened. Exactly like she's been all the way throughout the pregnancy, she never complains about any pain or discomfortort, she even managed to tell one of the nurses where to go in English who was complaining at her for making a mess on the floor during a contraction, you truly have an amazing mother Bamboo.
Photos will follow in a few days, I am at work and probably won't see him till he's out of the hospital, which will hopefully be on Thursday.
Blog On, Dad
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Sam Sen (3 Centimetres), Progress and Confusion
Dtock's waters broke at about three in the morning and we swiftly arrived at the hospital by taxi after fighting our way through the chaos caused by the taxi driving 'Where you go' parasites who group outside Lucky the misnomered disco/meat market at the top of our Soi.
The hospital admitted Dtock and sent me home, telling me to call at midday. I didn't call because I knew they wouldn't understand me on the phone and me them likewise. I asked my boss to call them for me instead but she couldn't get any information out of them because Dtock doesn't have a surname, Ajarn Kanokporn, my boss, bless her, gave them Dtock's only real name: Souvanney (the same and only name as in her passport), she's registered with the hospital as just Souvanney, how can they not find her?
I therefore decided to go in person just in just in case there's a mass surge of Laotion women giving birth to half English children. When I got there they said she still hadn't given birth and that I should call not come in person... I'm staying remarkably calm despite the retardedness one has to encounter in matters of life and death. I got a Thai person to call for me but they couldn't locate Souvanney because they wrote her name in English because she is Laotion and Laotions don't write in Thai, like they do in their records that they can't read properly, I know this because the lady at reception kept saying mai mee mai mee (no have, no have) and I could read her name upside down in their records book.
I asked could I see Dtock they said no, I said when should I come back for more news they said allai na (what?) I repeated, they muttered to each other sam sen which I know means three centimetres, they didn't have the gumption to tell me she was doing well or high as a kite on gas and air and/or anything really and after the prior confusion I hadn't the heart to ask.
They told me to go back at four, I've since learned from Ajarn Kanokporn's (my boss who I bumped into at the hospital again) daughter that it shouldn't be long now. But by the same token I keep looking at how big three centimetres is between my thumb and forefinger and thinking it doesn't look like much progress to me.
I called Dtock's Mum (Grandma Lao) in Laos this morning and she's on her way down on the bus, I'm collecting her at Mo Chit because she doesn't know Bangkok. Trying to work out what time she's due in is becoming a task she hasn't got a clue where she is, what time she left Udon and what the bloody hell I'm asking her. My Thai, her Lao and typical Asian 'awareness' of time and space are causing much confusion. At least we're having a laugh about it which is much more than can probably be said for Dtock right now.
Who knows by the time I wrote this blog I may have/had become a Dad!
Blog On
The hospital admitted Dtock and sent me home, telling me to call at midday. I didn't call because I knew they wouldn't understand me on the phone and me them likewise. I asked my boss to call them for me instead but she couldn't get any information out of them because Dtock doesn't have a surname, Ajarn Kanokporn, my boss, bless her, gave them Dtock's only real name: Souvanney (the same and only name as in her passport), she's registered with the hospital as just Souvanney, how can they not find her?
I therefore decided to go in person just in just in case there's a mass surge of Laotion women giving birth to half English children. When I got there they said she still hadn't given birth and that I should call not come in person... I'm staying remarkably calm despite the retardedness one has to encounter in matters of life and death. I got a Thai person to call for me but they couldn't locate Souvanney because they wrote her name in English because she is Laotion and Laotions don't write in Thai, like they do in their records that they can't read properly, I know this because the lady at reception kept saying mai mee mai mee (no have, no have) and I could read her name upside down in their records book.
I asked could I see Dtock they said no, I said when should I come back for more news they said allai na (what?) I repeated, they muttered to each other sam sen which I know means three centimetres, they didn't have the gumption to tell me she was doing well or high as a kite on gas and air and/or anything really and after the prior confusion I hadn't the heart to ask.
They told me to go back at four, I've since learned from Ajarn Kanokporn's (my boss who I bumped into at the hospital again) daughter that it shouldn't be long now. But by the same token I keep looking at how big three centimetres is between my thumb and forefinger and thinking it doesn't look like much progress to me.
I called Dtock's Mum (Grandma Lao) in Laos this morning and she's on her way down on the bus, I'm collecting her at Mo Chit because she doesn't know Bangkok. Trying to work out what time she's due in is becoming a task she hasn't got a clue where she is, what time she left Udon and what the bloody hell I'm asking her. My Thai, her Lao and typical Asian 'awareness' of time and space are causing much confusion. At least we're having a laugh about it which is much more than can probably be said for Dtock right now.
Who knows by the time I wrote this blog I may have/had become a Dad!
Blog On
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Still Waiting
We're literally waiting outside the hospital now, the baby appears to have dropped lower into the womb and Dtocky is getting feelings akin to hunger pains but she doesn't want to eat.
We got to the hospital with the taxi driver having a fit because he thought she was going to give birth in the taxi despite our complete calmness.
Then when we arrived after rather bizarrely bumping into my boss, Dtocky said the pain had gone, so we're back in Lumpini Park opposite the hospital, waiting for pains I suppose.
If Cocker and Vez read this it may explain why we may not be able to rendez-vous, where are you anyway?
Blog On
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Waiting for Bamboo: Ever the Optimist
This week has been pretty much uneventful, we're sure that's going to change some time soon but one can't help feeling slightly deflated when all your plans are complete and all you have to do is wait for mother nature to do her stuff: true to form she doesn't.
That said we are staying relaxed at home doing all the things we won't be doing when he finally makes it. The Playstation is on overdrive, I can't remember how many times I've heard 'Uno' and we've seen nearly as much of Lumpini Park as King Rama IV's statue.
Dtock went to the hospital yesterday, from what I can gather her cervix has opened one centimetre and they gave her a membrane sweep which is carried out to encourage or hasten the birth.
I find this slightly concerning as it was only a couple of weeks ago when she had some kind of, I assume, bacterial discharge looked at and cleared up. It's not as if she was even given a choice to have the membrane sweep which certainly wouldn't be the case in the west. I just read this article which put paid to my concerns http://www.obgmanagement.com/article_pages.asp?AID=4374
Obviously I know barely anything about this subject and I am translating everything from Dtock, this is the start of the rest of my life of parental worry, I choose this moment to apologise emphatically to my parents, sorry!
On a positive note I know she's attending the most renowned obstetric department in Thailand so we can only put our faith in the staff there and hope they know what they are doing. But then again my faith in Thai capability in any field is limited at best. Even in those fields I know nothing about.
Come On Bamboo: Blog On
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Thanks a Million Dad
Eleven takes later we managed to make this video to thank my Dad for sending a considerable amount of money over to pay for Bamboo's birth and treatment at Chulalungkorn Hospital, Bangkok.
What would we do without altruistic parental genes?
We're extremely grateful.
Blog On
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Free Burma
I missed the International Bloggers Day action in support of a peaceful revolution in Burma, which occurred two days ago. But the sentiment is with me all the same.
From what I have seen through various brief visits and read about Burma I know it is a country rich in beauty and wonder, it is a place I would love to travel one day. Living in this part of the world I have some idea of the threat perilous tenuous political activity plays in the assumed security of our everyday lives.
Thai politics is so difficult to comprehend, imagine what life must be like for the Burmese who have been living under decades of repression.
In South East Asia Buddhist Monks are revered they teach about peace, peace in the self, peace in the soul. For this atrocity to happen is more than saddening it is a humanitarian disaster that could have been avoided, it shouldn't happen.
Please read the sites on the links below, which tell you more about the Burmese plight.
Please do what you can and help Free Burma.
http://www.ncgub.net/
http://www2.free-burma.org/
Blog On
Friday, October 05, 2007
Ian Brown - God
I heard this for the first time today, Ian Brown never fails to blow me away but for him to communicate words that need to be said over and over again in this manner leaves me speechless.
So what the fuck is this UK
Gunnin’ with this US of A
In Iraq and Iran and in Afghanistan
Does not a day go by
Without the Israeli Air Force
Fail to drop its bombs from the sky?
How many mothers to cry?
How many sons have to die?
How many missions left to fly over Palestine?
Cause as a matter of facts
It’s a pact, it’s an act
These are illegal attacks
So bring the soldiers back
These are illegal attacks
It’s contracts for contacts
I’m singing concrete facts
So bring the soldiers back
What mean ya that you beat my people
What mean ya that you beat my people
And grind the faces of the poor
So tell me just how come were the Taliban
Sat burning incense in Texas
Roaming round in a Lexus
Sittin’ on six billion oil drums
Down with the Dow Jones, up on the Nasdaq
Pushed into the war zones
It’s a commercial crusade
‘Cause all the oil men get paid
And only so many soldiers come home
It’s a commando crusade
A military charade
And only so many soldiers come home
Soldiers, soldiers come home
Soldiers come home
Through all the blood and sweat
Nobody can forget
It ain’t the size of the dog in the fight
It’s the size of the fight in the dog on the day or the night
There’s no time to reflect
On the threat, the situation, the bark nor the bite
These are commercial crusades
Cos all the oil men get paid
These are commando crusades
Commando tactical rape
And from the streets of New York and Baghdad to Tehran and Tel Aviv
Bring forth the prophets of the Lord
From dirty bastards fillin’ pockets
With the profits of greed
These are commercial crusades
Commando tactical raids
Playin’ military charades to get paid
And who got the devils?
And who got the Lords?
Build yourself a mountain – Drink up in the fountain
Soldiers come home
Soldiers come home
Soldiers come home
Soldiers come home
What mean ya that you beat my people
What mean ya that you beat my people
And grind the faces of the poor
Gunnin’ with this US of A
In Iraq and Iran and in Afghanistan
Does not a day go by
Without the Israeli Air Force
Fail to drop its bombs from the sky?
How many mothers to cry?
How many sons have to die?
How many missions left to fly over Palestine?
Cause as a matter of facts
It’s a pact, it’s an act
These are illegal attacks
So bring the soldiers back
These are illegal attacks
It’s contracts for contacts
I’m singing concrete facts
So bring the soldiers back
What mean ya that you beat my people
What mean ya that you beat my people
And grind the faces of the poor
So tell me just how come were the Taliban
Sat burning incense in Texas
Roaming round in a Lexus
Sittin’ on six billion oil drums
Down with the Dow Jones, up on the Nasdaq
Pushed into the war zones
It’s a commercial crusade
‘Cause all the oil men get paid
And only so many soldiers come home
It’s a commando crusade
A military charade
And only so many soldiers come home
Soldiers, soldiers come home
Soldiers come home
Through all the blood and sweat
Nobody can forget
It ain’t the size of the dog in the fight
It’s the size of the fight in the dog on the day or the night
There’s no time to reflect
On the threat, the situation, the bark nor the bite
These are commercial crusades
Cos all the oil men get paid
These are commando crusades
Commando tactical rape
And from the streets of New York and Baghdad to Tehran and Tel Aviv
Bring forth the prophets of the Lord
From dirty bastards fillin’ pockets
With the profits of greed
These are commercial crusades
Commando tactical raids
Playin’ military charades to get paid
And who got the devils?
And who got the Lords?
Build yourself a mountain – Drink up in the fountain
Soldiers come home
Soldiers come home
Soldiers come home
Soldiers come home
What mean ya that you beat my people
What mean ya that you beat my people
And grind the faces of the poor
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Three Days, Three Videos and Two Nights in Nong Khai
You will have to excuse me for not writing very much, the spacebar at the keyboard I write isn't very effective and certainly no help. I've just had a fantastic few days back up in Isaan and these three videos show the things that I've been getting up to.
Looking at the motorcycle one I suppose it could be taken on a much deeper level (humour aside), 'look how fast I'm going... very fast'. Dtock has just picked up her Thai visa, she's on her way back across the border now. Tonight we will get the train back to Bangkok, this is her last visa run before Bamboo's birth. Let's hope he doesn't feel the urge for a window seat along the way.
Having just read Kafka's The Trial, re-visiting the very town I stayed before I met Dtock (even the weather is exactly the same as it was) and visiting the considerably mind provoking Sala Keo Kou, I'm in deep and thoughtful mood at this arguably most important juncture of my life.
Goodbye for now Isaan I will always love you.
Looking at the motorcycle one I suppose it could be taken on a much deeper level (humour aside), 'look how fast I'm going... very fast'. Dtock has just picked up her Thai visa, she's on her way back across the border now. Tonight we will get the train back to Bangkok, this is her last visa run before Bamboo's birth. Let's hope he doesn't feel the urge for a window seat along the way.
Having just read Kafka's The Trial, re-visiting the very town I stayed before I met Dtock (even the weather is exactly the same as it was) and visiting the considerably mind provoking Sala Keo Kou, I'm in deep and thoughtful mood at this arguably most important juncture of my life.
Goodbye for now Isaan I will always love you.
Monday, October 01, 2007
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