Just the 3 of Us

I'm very much alive.

Thanks for all the email and greetings on C1's arrival. Much appreciated. We are all still on adjustment mode. Wanting to write a lot about the experience but will have to return to the regular blog format soon. Papa-TheresNoTylerDurden

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Among the many different notes that we got is a note from Baltimore based family friend Luis and he wrote...

Dear BabyPanda,

Welcome to our Wonderful World!

You have been blessed, and you have blessed your family for coming into their lives!

Just remember, you have to be a little patient with your PapaPanda...you know what I mean !!! You are absolutely adorable! I know you will bring lots of joy to your parents, especially to your Mama and Papa!

I think you will be a beauty queen! Send my love to the whole family.

Your Uncle Luis from baltimore.

Come and visit us so I can take care of you to give your parents a break!

C1 - Happy Arrival

C1 finally arrived last Monday.

Can only say that half of my brain was saying ready the tripod and asking how do we get more light in here.

The other half says this is beautiful experience and no matter how much I want to photographer this I'd miss the entire experience by not being an active participant.

Anyway, I have no photos to share but if you ask me to send you some. Will do directly to your mailbox.

Both Catwoman and C1 are well.

Yes, thankfully, she looks like mom.

=)

Taken over by great joy.

Catwoman's endorphins are still quite high. I crashed yesterday but I'm better tonight.

Will need the energy the rest of my waking life, wish me luck.

Hope you are enjoying life too. I am.

Terttu Uibopuu Interview

I was browsing online and found this interesting interview.

If you get a chance to listen to interview with Terttu Uibopnu, she mentioned that she did her latest project over a 4 month period.



Have deep respect for artist like Terttu who delve into project over an extensive time-lapse. By doing so, she can get in the heart and mind of her subject and come out with excellent portraits.

Walking - Harvard Square

Birthing Classmates

Neal Millman Photograph

Had a chance to see photographer Neal Millman a few weeks back. This is one of this incredible photographs. There's a Ed van der Elsken even a Robert Lebeck-like feel to this photo in an American settling. When you focus on a child's eye, it reveals such great emotion that you simply have to start a running conversation in your head.

Is this Barack?
No.

Can he be Barack one day?
Most certainly.

He could be the future inventor of a working prototype of teleportation.

Never say never.

Calm Underwater

Photo by Sandra Qvist

Underwater birth is one of Catwoman's wish-ways to give birth.

She's been swimming a lot with Stine and Meredith. They've been very gracious at the pool giving 3 pregnant women easy access and their own lanes. It's an olympic-sized pool and if you consider you're really servicing 6 people =)

Water water. The babies and moms seem to love it.

I'm not quite sure about the logistics of it all but the hospital told me that I have to help in putting water bath together -- building up the mini-birthing pool.

Waterbirth is an option as long as Catwoman doesn't need an epidural

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Yes, I've been in touch with pro photographer Sandra Qvist in Sweden who is shortly going to give me some insights on her photography soon.

It would be fascinating to hear about journalistic photography and as I mentioned when I contacted her Catwoman really loves the photos on the Swedish online newspapers Dagens Nyheter and like the great online newspapers the images really make a difference.

Looking forward to share not only Sandra's journalistic photos but also her fine art photography work.

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No news yet.

On Babywatch....

Send Movie Recommendations

Twitter allows you to send bit-size-text-like messages up-to-the-minute so friends in your contact list can know what you are doing, saying, thinking or doing in real time.

Minic had pointed me to this site some years back. I've not embraced it but in circumstances like this where people are texting and calling.

At work, I've posted an update sheet beside the pool-posting (where they can guess when Baby TNTD will be born. Some wager it even giving the time 3 a.m. but for most, it's all about the date, baby!!

Back to Twitter, neh. For now, you'll have to check the blog for some up-to-the-dot news.

No news. She's fine though. Both of them are doing well. It's just all about time.

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Have been reviving contact with some old friends. Also re-reading some blogs of friends who can give some movie recommendations. There's Noel V and other folks who I've exchanged emails with sporadically. You can just imagine the life-saving qualities of a good book or movie recommendation from a friend at the right moment.

Years back, Jane Talton gave me excellent movie recommendation including Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb, Sticky Fingers of Time and asked me to check out older memorable films by Jim Jarmusch.

I don't know if I'll get to do a lot of reading or watching movies the next few weeks.

I know there's not going to be a lot of sleep.

Always good to have interesting movies queued up in your Blockbuster bee-line.



Send movie recommendations. Anyone. Yes, Swedish and Scandinavian films also welcome =)

Book recommendations too but as J & N would remind me.
Hold off on the book accumulation till you move apartments -- wise advice.

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On Babywaiting mode.

No News Yet

No news yet =)

I know. I know.

Forget Therapy. Just Blog and Take Pictures

CNN today came out with a story about people blogging instead of paying expensive psychologists.

By no means am I saying that those who need professional help give up on professional services of those who can “open”, “close”, diagnose and really help those who need professional psychological help.

The article mentions that it is a wise option for some people to blog if they have difficulties communicating and reaching out to others.

One featured in the article started a blog to talk about some of her life difficulties. She got immediate feedback, comments and authentic support from strangers eager to offer advise and warmth to help her through her very very rough patch.

Blogging offers many things to different people.

It’s therapeutic to me and helpful in keeping life sane in spite of the many happy or unexpected curveballs.

Life is good for me and I’m quite lucky.

For many though, life is a continuum of pain mitigated only by death.

This morning someone reminded me that in my writing I should be “less nuclear”.

It’s the Procter and Gamble training which stresses that everything has to be anatomically succinct (in terms of language): Concise, Crisp and Clear. I guess it’s the eager anticipation of my little baby coming and a little bit of nerves too making me less fluid and calm.

I can feel my finger press more vigorously against the keyboard.

So I guess, it’s going to be a mission.

My mom’s mission is to get everyone to write biographies, journals, their life stories. You speak to my mom and it can be a total stranger and 15 minutes into the conversation she’ll go “you have to write a book!!” I have to tap myself in the head. As Catwoman can attest, I probably say the same thing….. tsk tsk tsk ….

Catwoman, “yes you do!!”

Now I will do that too but will probably spread and colonize the world encouraging everyone to be PHOTOGRAPHERS.

You can be bad. Real bad.

You can be cross-eyed. You can have no Aesthetic ability whatsoever. You can have no sense of balance, composition or even be color-blind.

You can still take wonderful photos.

And no, I don’t buy the junk some psychologists and some people purport that taking family photos create fiction in your life that say, “your life if better or life is wonderful”.

It’s just pictures.

You’ll regret some day not taking enough or taking any.

Memory fades and fades exponentially. Pictures will help you recognize people, places and help you live a fuller life.

If each person had a camera and took each other, the photographer himself/herself will have more photos. No more designated photographer with NO PHOTOs of himself/herself.

I don’t know about you but I’m teaching my little baby how to take photos as soon as she can hold a camera.

I suggest you do too.

Shooting photographs first.
Blogging later.