Apparently this is the time of year when all the lists surface. Top Ten Blogs, 12 Worst Hairstyles, whatever. So I'm stepping on the bandwagon and making a list: Mommy Advice I Hope's Not True.
And no, I'm not going to do it a la Letterman.
1. "You will never be able to read a book in peace again."
2. "Everything changes." Really? Everything?
3. "Good luck sleeping through the night."
4. "You haven't known worry until you've had a child."
5. "Sex once a month is a higher batting average than most." Can we play a different sport then?
6. "Become a mommy, lose your sex appeal." Ahh, the good old Catch-22.
7. "Make time for dates; otherwise, you'll never see each other again." Is that why the average American family size is only 2.14 now?
And my list is only 7 long. Because you don't have to have 10, 25, 50, or 101 things to write to make a list.
In the mood to make New Year's resolutions? Check out this list-crazed site. It made me add "see the Northern Lights" to my own life list. For my birthday this year, a friend gave me Listography: Your Life in Lists. I haven't written anything in it ... I'm not ready to put it in ink yet. Does that make sense?
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Thursday, December 27
Thursday, December 13
Snowy footprints
After leaping out of one snowy foot imprint and into the next, I finally made it home in a 3-hour commute that usually takes 45 minutes. It started snowing around lunchtime, accumulating about 1 1/2 inches an hour, and it hasn't stopped yet. I can still hear the neighbors scraping away with their metal clunk-clunk spoons for snow. At least now they're clearing some of it up. I'm amazed at how far in advance the city knew about this weather storm and how little preparation was put into the clean-up effort. It's like the way the West practices medicine: all treatment and no prevention. Not that they can prevent snow, but hiring a few temp workers to drive the dozens of plows that are just sitting in the state's parking lot might be a start.
We had our staff holiday party last night and I ventured out for a non-work, non-medical reason for the first time in two months. I'm proud that I made it through the whole night, too. We were floored by the fancy-schmancy restaurant, and a little surprised that the server, who knew with our reservations that we were vegan, told us the chef had specially prepared fish for us. First of all, I don't expect everyone to know what vegan is, but I would think a famous chef and perhaps a few on his/her restaurant staff would have a clue. Secondly, if you don't know what I can eat, why don't you just ask? And finally, that disgusts me that you wasted food like that. I certainly hope the dishwasher got to eat "our" grub.
That makes it sound like a bad night, but really it was nice. I enjoy, for the first time in my life, all the people I work with. One of the bigwigs even made a toast over how much she is enjoying the high value we place on our families and that there is a work-life balance cultivated that puts family first. She pointed to me and one of my coworkers as an example. My coworker brought his 5-week-old baby girl to the dinner! She was soooo adorable ... and I got to hold her! She looked up at me from her sleep a few times and I thought I was melting. I've thought about her all day today. I guess I've got a bit of a baby bug. :)
I was happy to hear the bigwig's speech, especially since I've been looking into alternative work options like flextime. I don't know what I want yet, specifically, but I do know that I'm going to go for it. It never hurts to ask, right? I read this blog on Gen Y work predictions today and it made me feel like figuring out what I want and asking for it may help someone in my shoes later. Like I can pave the way for future mothers and their work environments. That's exciting!
Speaking of shoes, I need to get me some winter boots.
We had our staff holiday party last night and I ventured out for a non-work, non-medical reason for the first time in two months. I'm proud that I made it through the whole night, too. We were floored by the fancy-schmancy restaurant, and a little surprised that the server, who knew with our reservations that we were vegan, told us the chef had specially prepared fish for us. First of all, I don't expect everyone to know what vegan is, but I would think a famous chef and perhaps a few on his/her restaurant staff would have a clue. Secondly, if you don't know what I can eat, why don't you just ask? And finally, that disgusts me that you wasted food like that. I certainly hope the dishwasher got to eat "our" grub.
That makes it sound like a bad night, but really it was nice. I enjoy, for the first time in my life, all the people I work with. One of the bigwigs even made a toast over how much she is enjoying the high value we place on our families and that there is a work-life balance cultivated that puts family first. She pointed to me and one of my coworkers as an example. My coworker brought his 5-week-old baby girl to the dinner! She was soooo adorable ... and I got to hold her! She looked up at me from her sleep a few times and I thought I was melting. I've thought about her all day today. I guess I've got a bit of a baby bug. :)
I was happy to hear the bigwig's speech, especially since I've been looking into alternative work options like flextime. I don't know what I want yet, specifically, but I do know that I'm going to go for it. It never hurts to ask, right? I read this blog on Gen Y work predictions today and it made me feel like figuring out what I want and asking for it may help someone in my shoes later. Like I can pave the way for future mothers and their work environments. That's exciting!
Speaking of shoes, I need to get me some winter boots.
Tuesday, December 4
Slush
The four inches of slush on the ground is my reminder to buy some winter boots.
Vomity morning today, not fun especially when there's nothing in your belly to come up. It is a strange sensation to be simultaneously hungry and sick to your stomach. I am feeling more and more pressure to return to work full-time. My disability coverage ran out on November 15, and our savings is running out now. I'm lucky to have had time off, especially since this job is only a few months old. I just wish I felt better.
My single, childless friends don't seem to know how to handle this pregnancy concept, and certainly not feeling sick. One of them keeps asking when I'm going to go out. Not anywhere near in the mood for bars and smoke and late nights, thank you! I'm not sure what they don't understand about the phrase constant vomiting, but I wish they'd hurry up and understand. I feel guilty, like I'm ruining friendships by being sick. I know I shouldn't, but I do. I guess I feel the same about my job.
My parent-friends, however, seem even more excited than I do sometimes. As one of my co-workers wrote in a congratulatory note, "Welcome to the club!"
A little more snow and a thick layer of ice has covered over the slush from Sunday/Monday. It has made for some weird car sounds outside my window. I'm not sure what it's like to walk in, being sick, but it certainly looks dangerous. So far most of the neighbors haven't cleared their sidewalks at all. I wonder if that's another symptom of this Boston rudeness. I live on a fairly steep hill and will have to walk it to get to the bus ... scary for a pregnant woman due to the risk of falling. Not looking forward to that.
Back to my previous post on sprawl ... wondering how to avoid moving further out. There isn't anything to really downsize or sell ... I've always paid attention to urban design and affordable housing issues, but it seems that having an article addressing that the issue of families moving out of the urban center is as far as they get. I still think moving to a cheaper city is the best solution so far, but will have to wait at least a year for that. I'm not planning to spend buckets of money on the baby like the industry would prefer (I've always been of the mind that a good child's toy is an empty pot to bang on or some trees to swing from), but I still realize we'll need a little more moola. Hell, even now we're spending a bit more money simply because I'm hungrier, doctor co-pays, etc.
Speaking of frugal and simple lifestyles, there's the issue of a baby shower. My mom didn't realize that oftentimes it's in her corner, but now that she has, she's talking about a shower near my IL hometown. Problem is, I don't know if I actually want all that stuff. I do need basic items, yes, but not necessarily new ones. Also, I've been to enough baby showers to realize that you don't really get the things you actually need (diaper wipes, breast cream), you get the things that are fun to buy (elaborate outfits, plastic toys with flashing lights that probably cause ADHD). Although I'd like to celebrate the baby coming, I'm not sure I want to contribute to all that buy-buy-buy overconsumption, let alone travel across the country to do so.
I should probably tell my mom this soon - before she invites all her friends I've never met.
Vomity morning today, not fun especially when there's nothing in your belly to come up. It is a strange sensation to be simultaneously hungry and sick to your stomach. I am feeling more and more pressure to return to work full-time. My disability coverage ran out on November 15, and our savings is running out now. I'm lucky to have had time off, especially since this job is only a few months old. I just wish I felt better.
My single, childless friends don't seem to know how to handle this pregnancy concept, and certainly not feeling sick. One of them keeps asking when I'm going to go out. Not anywhere near in the mood for bars and smoke and late nights, thank you! I'm not sure what they don't understand about the phrase constant vomiting, but I wish they'd hurry up and understand. I feel guilty, like I'm ruining friendships by being sick. I know I shouldn't, but I do. I guess I feel the same about my job.
My parent-friends, however, seem even more excited than I do sometimes. As one of my co-workers wrote in a congratulatory note, "Welcome to the club!"
A little more snow and a thick layer of ice has covered over the slush from Sunday/Monday. It has made for some weird car sounds outside my window. I'm not sure what it's like to walk in, being sick, but it certainly looks dangerous. So far most of the neighbors haven't cleared their sidewalks at all. I wonder if that's another symptom of this Boston rudeness. I live on a fairly steep hill and will have to walk it to get to the bus ... scary for a pregnant woman due to the risk of falling. Not looking forward to that.
Back to my previous post on sprawl ... wondering how to avoid moving further out. There isn't anything to really downsize or sell ... I've always paid attention to urban design and affordable housing issues, but it seems that having an article addressing that the issue of families moving out of the urban center is as far as they get. I still think moving to a cheaper city is the best solution so far, but will have to wait at least a year for that. I'm not planning to spend buckets of money on the baby like the industry would prefer (I've always been of the mind that a good child's toy is an empty pot to bang on or some trees to swing from), but I still realize we'll need a little more moola. Hell, even now we're spending a bit more money simply because I'm hungrier, doctor co-pays, etc.
Speaking of frugal and simple lifestyles, there's the issue of a baby shower. My mom didn't realize that oftentimes it's in her corner, but now that she has, she's talking about a shower near my IL hometown. Problem is, I don't know if I actually want all that stuff. I do need basic items, yes, but not necessarily new ones. Also, I've been to enough baby showers to realize that you don't really get the things you actually need (diaper wipes, breast cream), you get the things that are fun to buy (elaborate outfits, plastic toys with flashing lights that probably cause ADHD). Although I'd like to celebrate the baby coming, I'm not sure I want to contribute to all that buy-buy-buy overconsumption, let alone travel across the country to do so.
I should probably tell my mom this soon - before she invites all her friends I've never met.
Sunday, September 16
Names
Yesterday, as we were counting the day's money, my boss says to me, "Have you ever noticed men's names are always other things?"
I paused in my penny count and looked up quizzically.
"You know," he continued. "Like Bill is a bill," he said, smiling and shaking a dollar bill. "You makes good marks. You get there in the nick of time." He smiled widely, proud of his epiphany.
"Huh. I guess I never thought of it like that," I respond slowly. I have to be careful; if he's not right, he's angry.
"What's your husband's name?" he asks, eager to prove his point.
"Mike."
He holds up an imaginary microphone and smiles even wider. "See?"
"I guess men's names tend to be more action-oriented," I half-agree.
"Well, I don't know about that. But they're almost always objects or things," is his smart reply.
I've thought a little more about what he suggested. It's true that a portion (certainly not "always" or "almost always") of names typically given to men are action-oriented or physical, concrete objects. The feminist in me wonders if this is another subtle reinforcement of socialized gender through language. Are women's names then usually more abstract, relationship-oriented?
I took a look at the top names for babies in the U.S. and found this:
Top 10 Baby Names of 2006
Girls:
1 Emma 1
2 Madison 3
3 Ava 10
4 Emily 2
5 Isabella 6
6 Kaitlyn 4
7 Sophia 5
8 Olivia 7
9 Abigail 11
10 Hailey 13
Boys:
1 Aiden 1
2 Jacob 2
3 Ethan 3
4 Ryan 6
5 Matthew 5
6 Jack 8
7 Noah 16
8 Nicholas 4
9 Joshua 9
10 Logan 19
If we stick to using current data like this (found at BabyCenter), then by my count, Jack is the only male name that is also an object. I suppose you could count Matthew if you use Matt for mat, but that seems to be stretching it. For the girls, it appears that Madison is also a city, which is a thing. So far it seems we're even. But what if we go back further, to more "traditional" times?
In the U.S. in the 1950s, the most popular names were:
Boys' Names
John
James
Robert
William
Michael
David
Richard
Thomas
Charles
Gary
Joseph
Ronald
Larry
Donald
Steven
Kenneth
Stephen
Dennis
Paul
Jose
George
Edward
Daniel
Mark
Gregory
Jerry
Douglas
Bruce
Frank
Terry
Roger
Timothy
Raymond
Lawrence
Peter
Willie
Wayne
Anthony
Juan
Gerald
Girls' Names
Linda
Mary
Patricia
Barbara
Susan
Maria
Sandra
Nancy
Deborah
Kathleen
Carol
Sharon
Karen
Donna
Brenda
Margaret
Elizabeth
Janice
Diane
Judith
Cynthia
Christine
Pamela
Shirley
Judy
Janet
Betty
Carolyn
Gloria
Joyce
Cheryl
Martha
Dorothy
Rebecca
Peggy
Catherine
Beverly
Kathy
Virginia
Gail
It would seem that a number of boys' names are also objects, especially if you include the nickname: John, Rob, Will, Mike, Rich, Chuck, Don, etc. For girls' names, I find a few also: Pat, Barb, Sue, Sandy, etc. So it seems that in the days my boss grew up in (and thus the names he would be most familiar with), his theory partially holds up, at least in comparison to the contemporary baby names. It does seem that the majority of his theory is based more on nicknames, or what the person is commonly referred to as. I wonder if this has a more simple explanation: we use and hear these objects all the time, and incorporate those objects into names we call those we're close to. A sort of familiarity complex.
I also wonder if his theory is indicative of the way he views others: as objects, i.e. things which he can control with little or no social value.
Whew. The lengths I will go to just to prove my boss wrong.
I paused in my penny count and looked up quizzically.
"You know," he continued. "Like Bill is a bill," he said, smiling and shaking a dollar bill. "You makes good marks. You get there in the nick of time." He smiled widely, proud of his epiphany.
"Huh. I guess I never thought of it like that," I respond slowly. I have to be careful; if he's not right, he's angry.
"What's your husband's name?" he asks, eager to prove his point.
"Mike."
He holds up an imaginary microphone and smiles even wider. "See?"
"I guess men's names tend to be more action-oriented," I half-agree.
"Well, I don't know about that. But they're almost always objects or things," is his smart reply.
I've thought a little more about what he suggested. It's true that a portion (certainly not "always" or "almost always") of names typically given to men are action-oriented or physical, concrete objects. The feminist in me wonders if this is another subtle reinforcement of socialized gender through language. Are women's names then usually more abstract, relationship-oriented?
I took a look at the top names for babies in the U.S. and found this:
Top 10 Baby Names of 2006
Girls:
1 Emma 1
2 Madison 3
3 Ava 10
4 Emily 2
5 Isabella 6
6 Kaitlyn 4
7 Sophia 5
8 Olivia 7
9 Abigail 11
10 Hailey 13
Boys:
1 Aiden 1
2 Jacob 2
3 Ethan 3
4 Ryan 6
5 Matthew 5
6 Jack 8
7 Noah 16
8 Nicholas 4
9 Joshua 9
10 Logan 19
If we stick to using current data like this (found at BabyCenter), then by my count, Jack is the only male name that is also an object. I suppose you could count Matthew if you use Matt for mat, but that seems to be stretching it. For the girls, it appears that Madison is also a city, which is a thing. So far it seems we're even. But what if we go back further, to more "traditional" times?
In the U.S. in the 1950s, the most popular names were:
Boys' Names
John
James
Robert
William
Michael
David
Richard
Thomas
Charles
Gary
Joseph
Ronald
Larry
Donald
Steven
Kenneth
Stephen
Dennis
Paul
Jose
George
Edward
Daniel
Mark
Gregory
Jerry
Douglas
Bruce
Frank
Terry
Roger
Timothy
Raymond
Lawrence
Peter
Willie
Wayne
Anthony
Juan
Gerald
Girls' Names
Linda
Mary
Patricia
Barbara
Susan
Maria
Sandra
Nancy
Deborah
Kathleen
Carol
Sharon
Karen
Donna
Brenda
Margaret
Elizabeth
Janice
Diane
Judith
Cynthia
Christine
Pamela
Shirley
Judy
Janet
Betty
Carolyn
Gloria
Joyce
Cheryl
Martha
Dorothy
Rebecca
Peggy
Catherine
Beverly
Kathy
Virginia
Gail
It would seem that a number of boys' names are also objects, especially if you include the nickname: John, Rob, Will, Mike, Rich, Chuck, Don, etc. For girls' names, I find a few also: Pat, Barb, Sue, Sandy, etc. So it seems that in the days my boss grew up in (and thus the names he would be most familiar with), his theory partially holds up, at least in comparison to the contemporary baby names. It does seem that the majority of his theory is based more on nicknames, or what the person is commonly referred to as. I wonder if this has a more simple explanation: we use and hear these objects all the time, and incorporate those objects into names we call those we're close to. A sort of familiarity complex.
I also wonder if his theory is indicative of the way he views others: as objects, i.e. things which he can control with little or no social value.
Whew. The lengths I will go to just to prove my boss wrong.
Sunday, July 8
Time to Clock Out?
My current meanderings at work have found me in the children's department. I'm certainly aware of the fact that my hormones have been screaming at me for the last two years or so, but never did I picture myself staring at titles of children's books and holding back a sniffle for some odd biological reason. And when you get it in your head, you really do notice all of those little ones, their little braids, tiny fingers, funny coos, crazy cowlicks ... oh don't get me started. I'll be looking for a tissue in no time. What is happening to me??
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