I have been writing in an online journal since May 1999.

Over the years it has evolved with me as a person - from a young single graduate, charging through life with the relentless pursuit of EVERYTHING. To a married woman settling into a new life, home, career and business.

But things have changed. A few days ago, my first child was born.

And so a whole new online journal begins today.

Enjoy.

Callum was born Saturday 12th April 2003, 3:00pm.

I was in labour for 15 hours and I had to toss aside my plans for having an ‘au naturale’ birth.
That was fine with me, because after the birth, I lost a bit of blood, got whipped up to intensive care and had a blood transfusion. I was on standby for emergency surgery. But I recovered and went home 4 days later. It was all glamourous and exciting stuff.

Nonetheless, I’m doing GREAT! I’m on this SUPER-DUPER high. My baby is happy and healthy and adorable and burpy and pooey and hungry and just doing really REALLY well.
He’s a *dream* baby. I’m sooOOooOoo happy.

Lots of people have asked about the name we chose.

Callum : Scottish Gaelic form of the name Columba - which is Latin for dove-like. Columba was the name of the 6th Century Saint who brought Christianity to the West of Scotland.

Callum peed on the visiting nurse today!
*baby high five*

I’ve decided to go through with Chinese “confinement”.

The traditional Chinese believe that when a woman gives birth to a baby, her body is “cold” - in the sense that there is a lack of energy and warmth.

To make up for that imbalance, she is expected to observe a month of confinement where she has to change her lifestyle and diet to bring back her “warmth”.

She must stay at home and stay warm. She must avoid cold temperatures, cold water, cold wind and cold foods. She must restrain from washing her hands, take occasional warm baths and only eat certain “warming” foods.

Stricter rules include, no drinking water (only boiled red date water) and absolutely no washing your hair for 30 days.
My mother was the one who encouraged [convinced] me to try it out. I said, “Ok, but only if you come over every day and bring me food.”

So she has stuck to her word. She has been here every single morning with “warming food” -  chicken in brandy sauce, chicken with sesame and ginger, pig trotters in vinegar, boiled red dates, ginger this, ginger that. Delicious.

I actually think this is a big step for me.

It’s not like me to do something that sounds dodgy. The whole idea of being cooped up in the house sounds very unhealthy. Physically and emotionally, in terms of getting my life back to normal, settling into a new routine and discovering a new life with the baby. But I want to try to do it.

Long walks by the river with baby in the new pram. Joining new mother’s groups. Going to post-pregnancy aerobics classes. That’ll all have to wait.

I guess I have this strange desire to connect with the people in my Chinese community.

They’ve all went through with it. My mother. My grandmother. All my aunties. They have no idea WHY they did it. Or WHAT it all means.

It’s just a tradition. And I guess sometimes… that’s a pretty good reason.

It’s finally caught up with me.
Callum was a bit grumbly last night, so from 2am to 7am I was feeding, playing, burping, pacing, bouncing, circling, cuddling, rocking, anything to try to put him to bed. He ended up sleeping on my chest for 30 minutes. He looked so cute and content. My husband took the day-morning shift, so I managed to catch up on sleep from 8am to 12pm. I feel great now. But I’m all out of whack with the rest of the world.

This day-time zombie feeling reminds me of my uni days - sleep at day, play at the night. It didn’t quite work out when I had day classes to attend though. I used to love the quiet existance at 4am. Street lights buzzing. No birds. No cars. No people. No colours. Just the moon crawling across a black sky full of stars. I used to love driving at night. Through the empty streets and past the ghostly shadows. I loved to drown myself in the silence - surrounded by my thoughts, dreams and fantasies.

But how things change. I think having a job quickly put things into perspective. Getting married, having a baby. Now I can’t imagine wasting away my days. There’s so much to do and see. So much to live for. So much to love.

I love beautiful things. Art, design, photography, rocks, flowers, landscapes, pottery, jewellery, textures, colours, buildings, people.

I love reading. I think life is too short to read crap books, so I only read books that come highly recommended. I like reading from all genres. Trashy chick lit, hard-core sci-fi, fantasy, thrillers, crime, classics. I have a soft spot for Australian and Asian literature.

I enjoy keeping healthy and active. I like taking walks, jogging, swimming and being outdoors. I’d like to do a bit more scuba diving, snorkeling, kick boxing, and Latin dancing. I also like the occasional game of squash, netball, soccer, tennis and beach cricket.

I love cooking! And eating. I love entertaining and throwing parties too. I get such a buzz from experimenting with food and recipes. I prefer fresh, healthy, low-fat, low-sugar foods. But I can’t live without dim sum, pizza, hamburgers, chocolate and KFC.

I enjoy crafty designy things. Ceramics, pottery, knitting, sewing, paper crafts, painting, printing, illustrating, drawing.

I love hanging out with my kids. One of the hardest decisions my husband and I made, was to choose to live on one income so that I could stay home to look after our kids. I can’t describe how amazing it is to watch these little people grow up before my eyes.

I really love the idea of natural living. Growing my own veges and herbs. Cooking with natural and organic products. Recycling. Composting. Supporting local businesses and produce. Buying products that are made to last. However, sometimes it just isn’t practical, so I swallow my guilt and happily live with the contradictions in my life that make me ME. (For example - Give up my car for a bike?!? Bwahaha. Yeah right.)

I’m a bit obsessed about shopping. Clothes, shoes, jewellery, underwear, anything girly. I’m not into brands or teeny fashion trends. I’m a careful shopper, I’m always on the look out for a bargain. And I like to think that I’m careful with my money.

I love going out. Sitting in cafes, dancing in clubs, talking in bars, dining out, house gatherings, parties, barbecues, weddings, picnics! I also love an occasional trip to watch movies, theatre, musicals, symphonies, stand up comedy, rock concerts and live bands.

At the same time, I can’t think of anything more satisfying than sitting in front of TV, eating take-away, lights down low, in my pyjamas and watching crap on TV. I’m a home girl at heart.

Basically, I strive to live a balanced life. Fun. Serious. Fast. Slow. Brainy. Bimbotic. Intense. Lazy. You get the drift.

More Stuff About Me

I was born on Christmas Island in 1978. My family moved to Australia when I was 10, and we have lived here ever since.

I have one older brother and one younger sister.

I’m the eternal optimist. The peacemaker.

I can’t speak Chinese! I feel a little bad about it. But not bad enough to enrol myself into Chinese classes. I can mutter a few words in Cantonese. My Chinese name means “Beautiful Deer”.

I’m a Christian. I reckon that God is cool, loving, down-to-earth and has an awesome sense of humour. But his PR people need to lift their game.

I was in a special art programme while attending high school.

I’ve worked in Singapore. It was great fun. But the crazy expat life wore me down, and I just wanted to come home to my mother’s cooking and the big Australian skies.

I like perving on guys. Being married, I feel somewhat excused for my shameful social behaviour.

I can’t drink very much alcohol. I go bright red after 3 sips of wine on an empty stomach. Given the choice, I’d reach for a beer over wine and cocktails.

I loooove buying clothes, underwear and books.

I’d like to drive around Australia one day. In a campervan.

Music : Air, Beastie Boys, Ben Harper, Bently Rhythm Ace, Bjork, The Cardigans, Creed, Blur, Chemical Brothers, Coldplay, Garbage, Goo Goo Dolls, Hillsongs, Jamiroquai, Jet, John Mayer, Lamb, Lifehouse, Madonna, Massive Attack, Metallica, Mozart, Nirvanna, Philip Glass, Portishead, Powderfinger, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Fray, The Whitlams.

I have a weakness for boy bands. But I won’t admit this in public.