Blood result

I had an appointment with the midwife yesterday at 3:45. I wasn't called until about 4:05. I was waiting there impatiently because I could see there were so many pregnant ladies in the clinic. I presume they're all waiting to see the midwife. I felt a bit left out because as soon as one came in and saw another with the maternity folder (-- which I also have) and a big belly (-- which I don't have), they said hello to each other and asked how many weeks, etc. I quickly hid my maternity folder to disguise that I'm actually one of them :D That'll save a bit of embarassment and time to explain why I'm not yet showing a bump.

Some of the mothers even brought her other kids along to the clinic! Oh how noisy they were! Especially the boys. The girls were just sitting there quietly playing with the toys provided. The boys did that too, but as soon as they're bored with the toys, they started throwing the toys around. Geez... *I'm NOT saying anything*.

When the midwife finally called my name, I was so relieved to leave that noisy waiting room. I was even more relieved when she said the blood results were all fine. No HIV, no syphillis, no rubella, no other strange diseases on me. Which I knew already anyway. My iron level is also normal. I'm just waiting for the blood group result, but that's just going to tell me what blood group I belong to. Glad to know everything is normal.

I also got the chance to hear the baby's heartbeat. In between the heartbeat there's a screeching noise. I asked the midwife with an alarmed look "What was that?". She replied with no worries at all on her face, "Oh nothing, that's just the sound when the baby moves." Indeed it moved a lot!

She also said the size of the baby (judging from where the top of the womb is) is normal for the age of the baby. She advised me not to worry about not showing the bump yet, she said I will be able to see it after the 18th week. So I'm just going to settle with that for now, and see how it goes in 2 weeks. I'll worry about that later :D For now I'm just happy that everything is normal.

I didn't do the maternal serum screening - the test to find out if the baby have Down Syndrome. I decided not to do it from the beginning itself, because the chance of it showing positive is pretty high, but out of that results that came out positive, 90% of them are actually okay! I know I'll just be panicky and worrying a lot if the result came out positive, and knowing how Nagi is, he'll worry a lot more than me. Besides, worse comes to worse, if there's anything wrong with the baby, so what? Would I terminate it? Of course not. There's nothing I can do about it, except for praying that everything is going to be okay. I'm going to love the baby no matter what.

Local dialect

Like it or not, we all have an accent. Well for me I considered myself to have two accents. A messed up English accent (due to staying in some places for a considerably long time, association with friends, etc), and a Javanese accent when speaking Indonesian. Those two are completely unattached to each other. In other words, there's no connection between me speaking Javanese and me speaking English. Afterall I speak Javanese to Javanese people and English to other people who doesn't understand Javanese/Indonesian. The audience of the two are not the same. 
 
From my experience, my speaking English was really crap to start with. It was still crap when I left Australia, but now from totally confusing becoming a bit understandable. The learning experience is still continuing until now. There are lots of people (who have conversed in English with me) which moulded and exercised my English accent. As I'm building my vocabulary list, unconsciously I'm taking some of the accents with me. Meanwhile, I still speak Javanese very regularly to my Javanese friends and family. My improvement in speaking English does not affect my Javanese accent. It doesn't change the way I speak Indonesian. I still have a Javanese accent when I speak Indonesian. It's simply because mostly the people I speak Indonesian to are Javanese. You see, no corelation whatsoever between Javanese and English.
 
This morning is not the first time that I heard opinions from non-Javanese Indonesian people who thinks their accent is superior to Javanese people. For my non-Indonesian friends, I must point out that "Javanese" here only refers to "people from Central and East Java". I myself always think of Sundanese and Jakartanese (uh what special people huh?) as Javanese. I never really understand why some people from West Java and Jakarta area distinguished themselves from the rest of Java. I guess it's just a matter of superiority-inferiority. Like here in England we talk about superiority and inferiority between Southerners (South Easterners) and Northerners. The South have better job-prospects, bla bla bla... This calling "Javanese" is like that too.
 
I'm actually proud that I belong to a group. I'm proud that I can still speak and write (very slowly) Javanese, a language that has its own script based on Sanskrit. I'm not ashamed at all of my Javanese accent when speaking Indonesian. Why should I? I think Sundanese and people from Jakarta do speak a different accent. It's just the way you speak Indonesian. I don't find it inferior to speak in Javanese accent, so why do they feel superior to speak in "Jakartanese" accent? I heard a few of my Javanese friends do feel inferior when speaking Indonesian to Jakarta people because they have Javanese accent. Hence they tried very hard to change their accent to "Jakartanese". This is absurd and unnecessary. To hell with people with superiority complex! I think we should be proud of who we are because that's what makes each of us special.
 
* Update on my mum's surprise: She received the flowers on Sunday morning her local time, and she was indeed very surprised when she saw the names of the sender :D She said it was a big arrangement and the flowers were beautiful, soft colours. Thanks, Debbie!

* I went to see Eric at his graduation day on Saturday evening. He looked handsome with that funny attire. Black robe with blue band at the back and huge tie at the front :D I thought I've achieved something too just by being inside the Senate Garden, because normally that place is closed to public.
 
* Asia Cup in China (football) - Indonesia won their first game against Qatar 2-1. Wow!
Another Asia Cup, in Sri Lanka (cricket) - India lost against Sri Lanka by 12 runs :D.
 
On that thought, this is a note for Virtual Primate:  Archer, I commend you, and because of your skill, you shall get what's coming to you--- our royal congratulations. ...... Release the royal fingers. Aha. And now, I name you the winner, or more appropriately... THE LOSER!!!
 
*laughing hysterically on the floor*

Surprise for mum

Since my mum doesn't read this blog, I think it's okay to reveal the surprise here. For people who know my mum, this is a secret, okay? Don't say a word! It's her birthday on Sunday, Zita suggested to send her flowers. But none of her daughters are in Indonesia, let alone in Semarang. So here's the cunning plan. Zita's friend, Debbie is in Semarang. She's more like a family friend too coz I know her since she was a toddler. Zita had asked Debbie to get flowers on our behalf, and she'll give the money back on Saturday when Debbie visit her in Singapore. Good plan isn't it? Except for minor details. None of us had ever sent flowers to anyone in Semarang before, and we don't know the place nor how much it will cost. The place and flowers, we'll trust Debbie to choose. The cost.. well.. as Zita put it "We'll pay whatever the price!" *hihihi.. how confident*. I hope it'll be a nice surprise for my mum, and I'll update here on her reaction upon receiving the flowers :D

Now message for people who commented on my blog lately. I'm too lazy to write email to everyone :p

J - I said they were TINY tubes :P Thank God I didn't use the word "bottle" to describe them :p How often do you need spare parts? Plus, cows' lifetime is probably shorter than vehicles in Zimbabwe. Especially when people suddenly crave to eat steaks... *hmmm...*

Ammu - Grrr... where's your blog? Why have you stopped blogging in blogger? I know where your other blog is, but it's not the same and it's ORANGE!!! *eyes popping out*

Nagi - Yeah yeah.. AR Rahman. Whatever. Didn't I praise him? Stop complaining :P

Eric - I saw your photoalbum. Yay I'm finally in it. I thought I was nobody in Eric's life.. turns out I do play a part. *wipe tears from the corners of my eyes*. See you 2:30 on Saturday. Thank God I didn't have to dress up :D I hope I can get inside the garden with no problem. Otherwise I'll call you. I'll bring my bodyguard (read: Yovita) anyway (just in case).

Finally, thanks for everyone who had congratulated us on our anniversary. Shame on you who didn't. *hihihi :P*

Blood test horror

I'm in a terrible mood today, after the lady who took blood for my blood test messed up big time. There were 6 little tubes to fill, 2 bigger than the rest. But they're tiny. I've had blood taken before, and this has never happened. First she took blood from my right arm. She barely filled the 2 bigger tubes when we both noticed that no more bloods are sucked into the tube. She said she needed to take it from the other arm. She also suggested that I lied down instead of sitting down. "Blood will flow better", said her. I said u-huh, and I lied down. She ventured off to the other arm and suck the blood from it, this time she only managed to fill 2 little tubes. In case you haven't had any blood test before, all these blood tests are done using NEEDLE. Yes. A combination of NEEDLE and BLOOD. Oh the horror is coming back to me now. Anyway, those who keep count, we still need two more tubes to fill. Yes, so she asked me if I prefer to do it some other time, or if she can go back to the other arm. I said to myself, why would I want to do this all over again if I can get it done today? So I said, go ahead then. To my horror, this time not even a single drop of blood coming out from my right arm! *cry* At this point the nurse said "We would have to do this some other time, because I had 3 go's already, and that's the maximum I could do." Somehow after that I felt a tiny bit of a relief, only for two seconds, since then I realised I need to do this whole thing again!
The nurse said she'll book me next week on Wednesday morning with a phlebotomist (=a blood testing expert) instead of a regular nurse (like her). That eased off my worry a bit. Not very long, because she then mentioned that the four tubes she took might not be enough, she'd have to wait for the laboratory to get back to the clinic to say whether it's enough or not. So I might have to do another 6, not 2! *face in horror*

Anyway, since that put me off smiling for the whole day, I thought I'd take this opportunity to rant.

Reading BBC News online today made me realised how much money on tax we spent to accommodate MPs to debate about pointless subjects. The headline today is about changing the honours system. They want to rename the Order of the British Empire (OBE) to Order of British Excellence, because some people argued it's no longer appropriate. Do we really care? Don't they have better things to talk about rather than spending time talking about the honour from a monarch that people know is no longer served the same meaning as before? Do we really care who's getting OBE and who's not?

When I was ranting about this, Will pointed me to another BBC news page. The Zimbabweans are getting ambulances as donation from Unicef per request by the Zimbabwean Government. But get this. The ambulances aren't the ones we normally see about. They're not running on petrol. These are ox-drawn carts! There are a few things wrong in there. First of all, why do Zimbabwean government asked for ox-drawn ambulances? Second of all, probably Zimbabwean Government didn't ask for ox-drawn ambulances, it's just Unicef being a bit imaginative. But if you donate something to someone, wouldn't you donate something more useful instead? Like ones running on petrol? Okay, maybe car is a lot more expensive than oxes, but instead of NINE ox-drawn ambulances they could have donated ONE normal ambulance. I'm sure it'll be more effective. Probably the Zimbabwean government doesn't have any money to buy petrol? Even if it's true, this ambulance is an investment. Maternity mortality has doubled from 1994 to 1999. With this ambulance, those problems could very well be reduced. I still think Unicef could have done better. Probably with horses?

Warriors of heaven and earth

What a crappy movie! I'd give 1.5 out of 5 star rating. 1 for excellent music score by A.R. Rachman, the same guy who did the music for Lagaan and Bombay Dreams. The 0.5 was for the fact that Vicki Zhao was very pretty in that movie. Other than that, the movie lacks a lot of things. Story, to start with. The script must have been badly written or something, the characters were confused how they're supposed to be :D There's nothing much in the story.
The costume is appaling. Probably the costume director had a deal with Gladiator movie to get their 2nd hand costume! It doesn't look Chinese at all!
But it was interesting to see action movie like that. Me and Yovita arrived too early that we finished the popcorn before the movie started!

This movie was part of The 24th Cambridge Film Festival. The movies that I was interested to see was "Fahrenheit 9/11", and "Two Brothers". But I was too late coz both of the movies were gone by Saturday! At least I can still see "Fahrenheit 9/11" because the Arts Picture House will show it as a regular movie after the end of Cambridge Film Festival. I don't want to book it yet because I'm sure Nagi would also love to see it.

Last weekend I also saw Pop in the Park at Parker's Piece, which has the annual French Market too! Oh the sight of French Saucisson was so appealing. I can't buy it because I won't be able to eat it! *cry* I'm not supposed to eat salami :( grrrrr.... I bought some Brittany biscuits like the ones Fazal brought last time though, as a consolation.

In anniversary spirit

Nagi bought me this lovely bouquet of flowers yesterday. This guy always embarasses me by sending me flowers to the office. Needless to say, the flowers were beautiful, and it's one of those heavy bouquet that has water underneath so it stays for ages and no need for vase. He knows we don't have vase at home. :D  

Also, below is a picture from the wedding day, taken by Augustin, which is one of the rare pictures that actually caught Nagi smiled!


PS: I'm trying out hello.com tool to insert photo into my blog, recommended by Justin.

This day, two years ago

Tying a knot with someone so dear
Too happy I shed a tear
Too excited I felt no fear
My feelings were strong and clear

As I walked down the aisle
I threw everybody a smile
Even if I walk for another mile
This journey would have been worthwhile

The sight of your loving face
This was no imaginary place
A thousand year will not erase
Nor will it leave without a trace

Two hearts that beat as one
Embrace warmed by the midday sun
Days ahead might not always be fun
But we've only just begun...

dedicated to Nagi for our 2nd anniversary
8th July 2002 - 8th July 2004

Q-Joen visit

I was delighted to see Q-Joen (read: Key-Joon, real name: Indra) on Saturday. He spent the day in Cambridge with Cen (his girlfriend) and Marlina (his friend from San Diego). Actually she's a friend from common friend of ours, Mila, in San Diego, who just got married recently. This Marlina girl is also getting married in October. My best friend Eveline's wedding is on 10th July. My parents were invited but unfortunately they cannot come because it coincides with another wedding. Deasy, my cousin in Jakarta has decided to have her wedding on the same day.. *doh* But my mum is invited to a mass at Eveline's house on Thursday, so I guess that's okay. I wish I could come :(
Another friend of mine, Benny Ho is also going to get married in September. I begin to think this year is a marriage season for friends of Monica. *hint hint*

As usual, to accompany tourists in Cambridge, I had to go punting :D Well that's really the best way to have a look around Cambridge. Relaxing and thorough :D We were so lucky with the weather this time. It was raining a bit after lunch when we decided to punt, but the rain disappeared when we got to the river bank! This is the first time it had happened. I think the rain chose to go to Wimbledon instead :D
Not just that, the rest of the day was magnificent. Glorious sunshine, not a cloud in the sky. After punting we went to have tea & scones at the Little Tea Room. Very nice.

On Friday evening we saw Shrek 2 at the cinema. We arrived 45 mins before the film started, and there was a huge queue already in front of the door! Luckily we still got some good seats in the middle towards the back. Some people who arrived 15 mins before the film started found that the cinema was already full, and they had to sit separately. It was the premier day though, so that's probably why. Nevertheless it was worth the queue. Absolutely hillarious. I love it better than Shrek 1. I'd have to buy it in DVD when it comes out. I'm sure I must have missed some jokes here and there.
For people who haven't watched Shrek 2, sit down through the credits. Wait patiently. You'll regret it otherwise. I felt like yelling to those people who stood up soon after the movie finished. "Sit people, SIT DOWN!!! You fools!!!" But I didn't :D