Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
Rene starting having contractions at 4:00 am Sunday morning. True to Pisces form, the baby did not want to leave the watery confines of her mother’s womb and made us wait and wait and then wait some more. The midwives and doctors tried everything in their toolbox to coax her out, but she wasn’t budging. After a good fight, they decided to perform a c-section because she was quite content just swimming around and not descending into the world like everyone was expecting.
Rene was full of grace but by the end, she was a bit loopy from a combination of exhaustion, delirium and drugs. She started saying the funniest things, with my favorite quote being:
“Look at all these tubes! You [midwife] should be an electrician. I look like the back of my television.”
Lily was born at approximately 1:00 am Tuesday morning. I didn’t get home until 3:00 am. And I left for Oregon less than 6 hours later.
Meet Lily from giyen on Vimeo.
Tags: lily, panda, rene
Posted in Daily | 10 Comments »
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
Rene’s baby shower was on Sunday.
If you would have told me at this same time last year that she would be having a baby I would have seriously laughed in your face and then told you to piss off. But here we are. She is having a baby and in about three weeks she is going to know how it feels to be equally nauseated and deliriously ecstatic all at the same time. I liken it to being on a roller coaster that never stops. It’s nuts, I tell you.
Thinking about Rene as a mother completely freaks me out. Throughout our friendship, I’ve been the “mom” and she’s been the “world traveler extraordinaire.” When she was trekking through Oaxaca. I was at home. When she was working in Maui. I was at home. When she went to Thailand … not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES. I was STILL AT HOME.
With baby just around the corner, she’s now the one who will be wiping milky vomit off her shoulder and I fully intend on being the one who is sipping frozen drinks where it’s fucking 90 degrees outside. I can’t help but get just a little pleasure in thinking about that. Just a little. Sorry, Rene.
When I really think about it, Rene is actually my antithesis. The yin to my yan. She’s a complete sweetie pie and has a sunny disposition. I am grumpy and spend most days in a neurotic state of emotional distress (this is mostly because I am hungry). She has the capacity to love just about anyone. I guard my heart and hold my cards close to my chest. She LOVES television and is not afraid to say it. I secretly love celebrity gossip and often tell people I am reading the news online when really I am looking at the latest photos of Brangelina. She loves Korean food. I love Thai food. We are opposite in most ways.
Perhaps that’s the magic to our 10+ year friendship. I think she is crazy and she thinks I’m a bitch. And perhaps they are both true. But we love each other nonetheless and I am gonna love that baby too.

On a completely different note, I saw several people at the baby shower that I hadn’t seen in years. To my amazement, everyone looks pretty much the same and the years, it seems have been favorable to all. I sat and talked to Chateau M and Shabu Shabu for a bit and got caught up on their lives. The Chateau spent several years in Bhutan (where they measure GNH) and the Philippines as chef at a luxury resort. I am completely impressed. Shabu Shabu and his wife own a chic salon in my neighborhood. I am equally impressed.
Note to Self: Schedule a hair appointment this week because hair is in a sad state of disrepair. Schedule a trip to Southeast Asia, because travelling adventures are in an equally sad state of disrepair.
Tags: panda, rene
Posted in Daily, panda | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

In about six weeks, Rene’s (one of my bff’s) baby girl is going to drop. We are calling the little bun in the oven – Panda. No real name has been figured out.
My biggest hope is that she’ll someday be into old school rap and be a Mac user. I believe that the next generation deserves to rock around the clock too.
PS. Thank God there are other people to have babies.
Tags: baby, panda, rene
Posted in panda | 6 Comments »