Chasing Daydreams

Here’s a puzzle. Michelle was following up with their HR regarding the requirements for claiming SSS maternity benefits and they responded with this one interesting item: Certified true copy of child’s birth certificate (Please take note: It should certified true copy and not certified xerox copy from the original).

So how do you make a true copy (by itself already an oxymoron) prior to it being certified? Apparently not by photocopying. But how else can you make a  copy? Laser printer? Doesn’t that use the same toner and drum technology? Offset printing? By hand? Really beats me. The sad thing is that this stupid bureaucratic mumbo jumbo probably have some twisted meaning somewhere.

I was cradling Jeanne when my dad, who was visiting us, suddenly started talking to her in Tagalog. I struck me how alien it sounded. It’s not that I don’t use Tagalog, it’s just that it was all Tagalog. I guess it really sounded alien to me considering that my first language is a mix of Cebuano and English (ceblish?) and my second is a mix of Tagalog and English (taglish). English, my third language, is always there in the mix. Looking back, it must have been really confusing growing up with so many languages. You get spoken to in Cebuano, English, and later Tagalog. And all the while your reading materials are all in English. Luckily, I turned out reasonably well (or did I? :P) And here I am still aspiring to learn yet another language (French).

I was trying to test a web application in WebSphere 6 when I encountered this error:

Error 500: java.lang.LinkageError: LinkageError while defining class: aiu.webservices.bean.ConfigServiceProxy Could not be defined due to: aiu/webservices/bean/ConfigServiceProxy (Unsupported major.minor version 49.0) This is often caused by having a class defined at multiple locations within the classloader hierarchy. Other potential causes include compiling against an older or newer version of the class that has an incompatible method signature.

After a little bit of puzzling and googling, the problem turned out to be that I have been compiling using JDK 1.4. while the WebSphere VM only has Java 1.4. The solution was to Project->Properties->Java Compiler->Compiler Compliance Level to 1.4. And Project->Properties->Java Build Path->Libraries->JRE System Library->Alternate JRE to 1.4.

I exported to WAR, updated the application via WebSphere console, and it worked! couldn’t believe it was that simple :P

Jeanne had been active the past few nights as newborns normally are but for the past two nights, I noticed what I thought was difficult in breathing. We decided, fretful parents that we are, to go to the hospital.

So off we went at 1AM in the morning to hospital. When we got there, we went to the emergency room where one of the nurses checked her vitals. All the readings were normal: 100% oxygen and good heart rate. She was also kicking vigorously, crying strongly, and feeding voraciously. The doctor on duty called Jeanne’s doctor and they both agreed there seems to be nothing wrong but that if we want, we can have Jeanne admitted for observation.

Michelle and I talked about it and eventually decided to just go home to a less stressful environment, observe Jeanne, and just come back at 11AM. In the event the breathing difficulty recurs, we planned to just rush off to the nearest hospital again.

Later in the morning, we went back to the hospital, saw Jeanne’s doctor, and after a lengthy examination, concluded the same as earlier, there seems to be nothing wrong. She assured as that newborns do sometimes breathe irregularly.

Whew!

Our little angel is finally home! She was confined in the nursery for a few days initially for observation, but later for antibiotics treatment due to infection cause by meconium inhalation. We were told she’ll be discharged Tuesday but we were glad when her pediatrician told us that she can be discharged by Monday. And so this afternoon, after final check-ups, a lot of paperwork, and bills, we boarded the car for the long drive home.

I had bought an infant car seat in anticipation of this exact moment. We put her in it but she was there only a few minutes and then she started crying for food. We hadn’t prepared a milk bottle had no choice but to unstrap her and breastfeed her. Unfortunately, she takes a long time to nurse, usually a few hours, so we decided to continue on while she’s feeding.

Naturally, I was rather concerned during the whole drive. I have this tendency to be risk-averse and to go for safety equipment. Be it extra camping and diving gear, mask and padded vest for airsoft,  seat belts for driving, infant car seats for babies., I usually have it. They’re all easily available but a lot of people don’t use them. The general mindset seems to be that they’re too much of a bother or not necessary. My opinion on this is that sure it’s not comfortable or may be a hassle, but definitely it’s more comfortable than even a minor injury. And it quickly becomes necessary when something untoward happens.

Fortunately, nothing did and after the slow trudge through traffic, we were finally home. Jeanne is finally home! Welcome home baby!

This afternoon, I was driving back to the hospital after buying some stuff. I was almost at the hospital when I got an SMS from Michelle to buy a can of baby milk. We’re on a breastfeeding regimen but we needed something to supplement for when we were at home.  I doubled back to the nearest Mercury to buy one. When I got to the hospital, the nurse told me I got the wrong milk. It was supposed to be S-26 Gold, not the S-26 that I had bought (what’s the difference?). So off I went back to Mercury to swap it with the real stuff. It wasn’t too far but the traffic always make drives longer. Wish I had the Midas touch.

Tales of Music of Bojo Luzentales provides music from duo, trio, quartet to full band set up for any event. They have top rated pianists, violinists, percussionist, guitarists, flutists and singers. In fact, during the reception, we found out that one of the guys performs with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.

We called them up and turned out that Bojo is very easy to deal with.  We went and listened to them perform (the undying Canon in D, what else?), reviewed their repertoire, and selected songs. They have a pretty comprehensive repertoire and they were willing to practice songs not on the list. In no time at all, we closed the deal.

On the wedding day, they arrived on time and in neat barongs that matched the requested attire. Most importantly they were able to play all the songs we requested very well. And what’s more, they were even able to do excellent vocals for a surprise song.

I have just one very minor issue:  I requested for a string quartet and they agreed. But on the wedding day, they arrived with a keyboard :P Still, the music ended up very nice. Like I said, it was a very minor issue.

Cost: P13,000 for a quartet plus P3,000 out of town fee
Rating: 5/5

Michelle noticed the long awaited “bloody show” early yesterday morning. We quickly wrapped up house preparations, packed up last minute items, and leisurely left for the hospital. It felt strange since I was expecting to be going to the hospital at high speed, with blinkers on, and a screaming wife on the passenger seat. So I guess, so far so good.

On the way, we decided to drop by Mom and Tina’s along C-5 to buy a chocolate cake. Glenn and Mines had given one to us during the baby’s shower but Michelle decided not to eat any since the baby is becoming bigger than average. Since it was past lunch and we haven’t eaten, we decided to also have lunch there. Turned out that their lunch was quite respectable, definitely worthy of their cakes and pastry.

After lunch, we went on to the hospital, straight to the labor room, and got ourselves admitted. We were expecting that labor would take time but little did we know that it was the start of a long, sleepless day and night…and day. Michelle’s labor progressed slowly, cervix dilation was a slow 1 cm per 2 hours instead of the normal 1 cm per hour. And after 24 hours, it got stuck at 8 cm. And that’s already with an oxytocin labor-augmentation drip.

Finally, after being stuck for over two hours, we elected to go caesarian. Luckily, the doctor allowed me into the delivery room. I suited up while they started with the initial steps. They then invited me in during the emergence of the baby. I watched in awe, and couldn’t help but be misty eyed, as our baby came out squirming, kicking, and not-too-softly protesting her removal from her warm watery bliss.

The staff cleaned her up good, washing and suctioning her airways since she had already expelled some meconium due to the long and stressful labor. Also the reason why we couldn’t be with our own little angel yet since she had to spend some time under observation at the nursery.

Still it was one big event done and over with. Amelie Jeanne has been born.  Michelle and I are now parents! I am now a dad! Awesome!

We got this Bialetti Dama as a wedding gift from Bing. It is a stove-top coffee maker based on the classic Bialetti Moka Express. The  Dama is the newer, slightly modernized model.

The differences are actually pretty subtle: silicone rubber handle and “soft-touch” plastic knob instead of bakelite and a slightly rounded tank instead of octagonal. Both are made of aluminum and are functionally the same.

To make coffee, pour water (preferably filtered) into the tank, drop in the funnel, and put some coffee grounds (espresso grind but not too fine!) on the funnel. Screw the pot onto the tank, put on top of stove on low to medium heat (my preference), and wait as the water boils. Because of the gasket on the tank, the pressure and heat is higher. Once the water boils, steam drives through funnel into the coffee grounds, up the pot stem and into the pot. Remove from heat when, or preferably before, you hear the characteristic gurgling sound.

Pour and serve your freshly-made coffee! Okay, it’s not exactly espresso, since the pressure and heat is not high enough to produce crema and the thick consistency of true espresso. But it’s as close as you can get without spending a lot.

After use and enjoying the coffee, just wash with water. This lets the coffee oils coat and season the metal so that your espresso gets better and better as the years go by. You might want to clean the tank a bit more vigorously though since all the boiling leaves stains and calcium deposits. But, aside from replacing the rubber gasket, that’s about all you need to do to make it last.

A classic piece of coffee gear that you shouldn’t be without.