Tuesday in November

Tuesday November 12… Could there be another more boring day than this? It’s Tuesday, the worst day of the week to start with, and then November, middle of November even. It’s grey and raining in Hong Kong. It’s the kind of day that never really wakes up. The sun never made it through the thick clouds. Everyone in the office look a bit worn out, I’m no exception, I probably look even worse after a really bad night’s sleep with dreams about our baby, and about dolls. It was a bit freaky, that’s all I remember.

 

To brighten it up, here is a sunshine picture of my wittle girl, my hairy baby, my Miss Poo, Gunvor, Ding Ding… I’m so glad she’s in my life :). 

 

I'm fat

I’m pregnant, and I’m getting fat, I know I am supposed to get fat, I have something wonderful growing inside me. But I cannot stop obsessing over my body… When I read online it’s apparently common that pregnant women are obsessing over their bodies. But friends with babies… HOW COME I have NEVER HEARD any one of you complain about getting fat? I feel very self-absorbed for even thinking about my well-being (of being fat or not) instead of just focus on having a healthy baby… But I wanted to write this to let you know that we exist!

Yes, I have been obsessed about my body for many years, why do you think I work out so hard? Now with the pregnancy I don’t have the strength left to work out after all my hours at work. It’s sad. I tried to go to the gym once a week, just for some easy weight-lifting and end up being completely exhausted, and cardio is not even on the table, unless it’s a walk in moderate tempo. Apparently my body needs to focus 100% on producing our baby, and not for me to even try to stay fit right now. I see it as a defeat. Being a strong and independent woman I thought I would handle being pregnant while still going on with my life as nothing happened. How stupid of me... I have pelvis pain, heartburn, headaches, skin irritation, fatigue, dizziness, difficult to breathe, swollen feet, cannot drink coffee (it tastes bad!) or eat sushi but at least I'm healthy :). And I haven't gone through the worst part yet! 

One thing is for sure, I cannot wait to meet our girl (two different doctors confirmed it's a girl). I know it will be worth all the suffering I go through, I just do. :) ❤️

 

Connected equals stress?

I really like facebook, whatsapp, text messages, instagram and all the other fantastic ways we have to connect to people. These devices have been especially good since I have moved around a lot and met many interesting people on the way that I want to have in my life, even if they are not close physically. And of course being able to reach my beloved family with just a sentence in our whatsapp group, that is very encouraging. I get pictures of my beautiful nieces sent to me in an instant, I get to see how they grow, even if I am not there.

 

But I also have to say that sometimes being constantly connected drains my energy. To always be expected to be reached, to be expected to answer within the hour, or at least the same day... Someone is always expecting a reply. It’s usually no problem, there is always a moment over for replies while you wait for the bus, or while on the bus, the subway, or during a commercial break on TV.

 

To be able to be reached all the time has put some kind of extra stress on life, at least my life, even if it also made it easier. I have started to turn off my data plan so I cannot be reached when I’m not hooked up to a WiFi, it feels pretty good to know that I can ignore anyone trying to reach me. The replies have to wait.

 

I remember when I lived in Long Beach, CA, the first time, in 1997, for the first time far away from family and friends. I was still calling my family every two weeks or so on a landline, I wrote long handwritten letters, and expected a handwritten letter back in a month or so, if I was lucky. I am probably romanticizing it all, but life felt a little less stressed back then. Perhaps because I was 20 years old and had my whole life ahead of me helped, but still… I don’t consider myself too old now, but a lot has changed in 16 years. Connected or not, I always know my family loves me, and that is strength in itself :).

 

Draining energy

 Right now Hong Kong is draining my energy; we don’t get along at all. I find the city too crowded, too noisy, too dirty, too polluted, too hot. Today I really miss country roads, I miss fresh produce (all food in Hong Kong is imported), I miss nature, and I miss silence… I miss normal rent prices and salaries you can actually live on. It’s just that kind of a day…

 

I still claim to be a city girl. I love the city pulse, when I don’t have to live right in it. I need it at a distance, but at a very reachable distance. I loved living in Sundbyberg when I lived in Stockholm. I got the loud, smelly and crowded city of Stockholm just 12 mins away on the subway. And I got the tranquility of a sleepy small town with excellent public transports and nature just around the corner where I lived. For me this was the best of two worlds. Of course there are pros and cons with everything, but I wish we could find that balance somewhere in Hong Kong too. My ears are tired, my eyes are itchy and my clothes are shrinking.

 

Not all days are a bed of roses, and there are good and bad days. That’s life, right? Let’s hope tomorrow is a good day again…

 

 

Usagi

Last Sunday Hong Kong was supposed to get hit by a severe typhoon called Usagi, which means white rabbit. It didn't happen. Although the whole city was prepared, and Hong Kong with all its concrete is strong to take such hit. Unfortunately (or fortunately) HK is also so hot due to the hot air trapped between all these tall buildings, which usually pushes away the bad weather. But we need that bad weather to clear the air a bit. The air in the city is so stale. 

Anyway, we got to sleep in a little last Monday, as work is cancelled when there is a typhoon signal 8 or stronger in force. 

Either way, HK got lucky. 

“It’s just temporary”

You’d think it would be easy to renovate in a very small apartment. I mean, it’s small, so small surfaces to paint, right? Well, it’s not. When you live in such a small apartment like we do, without any proper storage areas (except the bedframe, with six drawers and two gigantic compartments in the back) it’s difficult to keep track of all the stuff all the time. Each room is so small that if you just move one more thing in there it’s full. Well, not that bad, but close. And then we have to live there too. Try to cook, eat, sleep, shower, find stuff. It’s not that easy.

 

I think we are doing okay though. But for a neat-freak like me it’s tough to see all the stuff just piling up in corners where there is space. Hopefully after repainting the walls, installing some storage it will all be worth it. I calm my already tense nerves with “It’s just temporary”. I look at the mess, get stressed, and tell myself “it’s only temporary” and try to ignore it. Honey doesn’t even see the mess. He’s happy either way. I envy his bliss of not being able to see the mess.

 

But you know, it’s for a good cause, it is so we can have a nicer and hopefully a bit more spacious apartment, once the mess is gone. One room is done, the bedroom, and the hallway is painted. Now we’re working on one half of the living room, and then move over to the other half. I know it will all be worth it in the end, of course it will, right?

 

Attacked by roaches!

Yesterday it was so hot outside that I actually got angry just by walking out the door. Today it’s typhoon warning and raining so hard that the cock roaches are fleeing out of their holes to not drown. 

During the busy lunch hour I saw two big cock roaches running on the sidewalk along all the walking people. The cock roaches got so stressed from all the feet that they almost simultaneously ran towards the person’s feet walking in front of me. After that they went to attack my feet, so I took two big leaps and when I landed I took some quick steps to ensure they weren’t on me. Yeah, it was not a pleasant experience.