16W

隨著肚子慢慢變大, 懷孕的感覺越來越明顯
雖然現在沒有像之前一樣的疲累或不適
但我這顆孕前非常健康開心的胃
慢慢開始了解什麼叫做胃灼熱,胃酸逆流
尤其是傍晚 特別覺得好像有東西卡在食道的感覺
咳嗽或打噴嚏時 也會造成由胃酸逆流引起的嘔吐感
雖然醫生開給我胃藥 我還是想能撐著不吃就不吃

With my growing belly, the pregnancy seems to be a lot more real now. Although the fatigue and morning sickness have gradually faded away, I’ve started experiencing so called “heartburn” & “acid reflux” (which my happy tummy hardly experienced before). It seems like there is always food rising up in my chest, especially in the evenings. Or the nausea returns due to acid reflux induced by coughing or sneezing. My OB gave me a prescription for Zantac (she guarantees this is perfectly fine), but I think I can handle this without taking medication.

孕婦就是這樣 盡量將藥品視為拒絕往來戶
也不就是為了希望肚子裡的寶寶健康
但這次H1N1流感讓孕婦成為高危險群
在詢問過婦產科醫生及幾位醫生朋友
我也是毅然決然的挨了兩針(一般及H1N1流感疫苗)
雖然有人不信任疫苗安全性
或相信所謂”增加小孩自閉症機率”理論
我選擇相信科學根據(當然我知道科學不是100%)以及風險效應
尤其我冬天常常生病

Pregnant women often try to avoid medicine as much as possible for one simple reason: to keep the baby healthy. However, the outbreak of H1N1 has put pregnant women on the top of the high risk group. After consulting my doctors and several M.D. friends, I also received seasonal and H1N1 flu shots. Although some people question the safety of the vaccines and/or believe the “vaccine-Autism” theory, I chose to believe science and risk-benefit (though I know nothing is 100%). And on top of that, I get sick pretty often during the winter.

我雖然贊成用疫苗來保護媽媽寶寶以及廣大社群
但打不打疫苗是個人選擇 我也尊重反對意見的人
每個人的情況都不同 (至少我不會正面去批評)
但我就遇到有人當面嗆我說
“我才不相信流感疫苗這種東西, 那會導致自閉症, 我才不打”
不知道講的人有沒有心…
但我聽起來就是在批評我是個壞媽媽
或許是我太敏感 (孕婦很敏感喔…大家請小心)

Although I strongly support getting flu shots to protect expectant mothers, babies, and the greater community, I also think this is a personal choice. I respect those who choose not to get vaccinated; at least I won’t confront them. However, I encountered someone that brutally said to my face (can’t remember exactly how that person phrased it) “I don’t believe in flu shots, I never get them. They cause Autism. I don’t believe that kind of ****”. Maybe this person didn’t mean it, but I took it hard. I felt I was being criticized as a bad mother that put my baby at risk. Maybe I’m too sensitive….but I guess pregnant women are sensitive in general because of all the hormones.

不過願意打H1N1的孕婦還真不少
這個禮拜二下午接到醫院打來的電話
說當天四點到六點可以免費到醫院打H1N1
我翹班準時四點到…已經有一百多個人排在我前面
整個走廊擠滿孕婦坐在地上等著打針 (有點像孕婦難民營)
在我等待的45分鐘 大概來來去去有兩三百人吧
從來沒同時看過這麼多孕婦 應該照個像的 真的很壯觀
我想醫院也沒料到會有這麼多孕婦願意打H1N1吧

However, there are a lot of pregnant moms out there (at least in Pittsburgh) willing to get H1N1 flu shots. I got a phone call from my OB office Tuesday afternoon that they have a free H1N1 vaccine clinic for pregnant women 4pm-6pm that day. I arrived on time at 4pm, and there were already 100 pregnant women ahead of me. The hallway was packed with pregnant women sitting on the floor (like a refugee camp) waiting to be called. During my 45 mins wait, there was probably about 200-300 expectant mothers. I’ve never seen so many pregnant women at the same time; I should have taken some pictures!! The hospital probably didn’t expect so many women so desperate to get an H1N1 flu shot.

還有還有, 這個禮拜接到移民局的通知
我的兩年”條件式”綠卡正式已核准轉為十年”永久”綠卡
(由結婚拿到的綠卡只有兩年, 屆滿前要申請移除”條件”轉為永久綠卡)
這次移民局的動作還蠻快的 居然六個月就通過了(聽說有人等一年)
至少申請費變貴是有改善成效的

By the way, we got a letter from USCIS that they approved the removal of my “conditional” status on my permanent residency (which was necessary because I got it through marriage), and will give me “permanent” permanent residency within 60 days. I’m very pleased with USCIS’s processing time. It only took them 6 months to approve it, but it’s often twice that or more. I guess the increasing fee is worth it.

所以….這個禮拜很開心
打到H1N1, 永久綠卡沒問題, 星期六還去看了場學校的足球賽
只是工作上的事永遠做不完……………..

In general, I had a very good week, getting H1N1 shot, having my green card conditional status removed, and watching Pitt’s football game in Heinz Field. The problem is…….I’m still so behind in my work.

應該讓大家知道囉!!

很早以前就想和大家分享這個好消息了

不過我們還是決定穩定一點後再跟大家宣布

自己的好消息要忍很久真的事件蠻痛苦的事

對於懷孕這件事 其實已經計畫了一陣子

就在我們覺得 這檔事可能不會在我們預期下順利發生時

我懶惰的不再天天吞一大顆臭臭的”prenatal vitamin”

吃東西也不再戒口　生病了就吃藥　也不再等確定沒懷孕才吃

沒想到　這件事就這麼奇妙的發生了

或許上帝是要讓我知道 祂有祂的旨意 不是我能安排的

知道懷孕的當下 我們的反應一點都不像電影或電視裡演的

我沒有高興的大叫 反而是鎮定的盯著驗孕棒遲疑了一下

靜靜的沉浸在欣喜與訝異中 互相擁抱

懷孕的第一期 身體及心裡的不適其實大於欣喜

一方面是因為一點都不覺得自己懷孕 肚子也沒凸 也沒什麼人知道

只是一整天持續的噁心(倒是沒有吐太多),疲倦(平均睡眠9 hrs) ,食慾不振 (瘦了6磅)

在加上媽媽姐姐不在身邊, 總覺得少了那種”及時分享喜悅”以及”交換經驗”的感覺

兩個姐姐年齡相近, 結婚懷孕的年齡也相近 我好像永遠趕不上似的

想到若是媽媽在身邊, 至少可以和媽媽撒嬌請她煮我想吃的東西

所以 其實前三個月 有點小 depressed (因為疲累和頭暈 無法專心 工作上的進度也很慢)

懷孕對男人而言其實也是很不公平的 因為他們完全沒有辦法真正的體會

不太會煮中國菜的老公 只能看著我每天碎碎唸 這個不好吃 那個不想吃

或是在我吐的時候 站在旁邊很心疼的看著 問我要不要喝ginger ale

不過他倒是蠻認真的唸 “Daddy is pregnant too” & “Baby Bargain” books

進入第二期 身體舒服多了(頂多只是每天偶而的胃不舒服)

精神體力也好很多 三不五時的肚子餓 一餓就一定要吃

大部分的家人及身邊的朋友都慢慢知道這個消息

這幾天 肚子也慢慢突出來 也開始穿起孕婦裝

一切覺得比較真實了

接下來 就等到下次的超音波揭曉baby的性別囉

因為H1N1流感的肆虐 以及幾乎24 hrs 的旅程

我們決定今年冬天不回台灣了

下次回去的時候….就會帶著新成員和大家見面囉!!!

Till later….

Without further ado...

... I am pleased to introduce to you initial images of our little (very very little, as of yet) daughter or son (!). We expect to make more personal acquaintance with him or her sometime in April 2010.

I think it's pretty good timing for a birthday, since it's also the same month as YT's and the year is a multiple of 10. That means 2 birthdays around the same time, and it will always be easy to calculate his or her age (ha ha). I also believe (and have been told) it will give the sense of re-birth in spring a whole new meaning.

As you can imagine, we're both pretty excited.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves right now, and let Little Bu* sign off with a smile and a wave. Or, if he/she were wearing a hat, he/she could be tipping it at you right now. Actually, I suppose he/she could be thumbing his/her nose at us all, but I prefer to think our prenatal child would have better manners than that.

BB & YT

















*Yeah, we're calling him/her Little Bu right now to ease the pronoun ambiguity. I considered 'Pat' or 'Jean' or some other gender-neutral name, but thought it might stick prematurely. Plus, Little Bu rhymes with 'Bru' and it's around Halloween, so it seemed fitting. I also thought of 'Baby Gaga', but that was vetoed pretty quickly.  Cherry cherry boom boom, anyone?

Could my father's great aunt be indirectly responsible for Hershey's chocolate?

I recently heard an interesting story about Brubaker family history from my dad, which he just learned at a family reunion not too long ago. The scoop is that Mr. Milton S. Hershey, yes THE Milton S. Hershey of Hershey's Chocolate fame (shown here), once had the sweets for my great great aunt. He asked her to marry him - and even gave her a wicker chair, which is still in the family today (dad's cousin's to be specific). To the detriment of future Brubaker fame and fortunes, she turned him down.

One can only speculate what impact this had on the young Milton. Perhaps he turned to chocolate to nurse his spurned affections, his hurt feelings, and tarnished pride. It is true (according to Wiki) that he did have several failed business starts in Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York, before finding success shortly after returning home to Lancaster County, PA -- where my great great aunt lived. A coincidence? Perhaps not! Perhaps Annie's rejections spurred him to achieve greater heights. Perhaps the seductions of the cacao bean substituted for the lost comforts of his love, and he poured his devotions into discovering the perfect recipe and business that would prove his worth as a man. What other reason to explain the origin of, yes -- the Hershey's kiss! Each tiny confection consumed could be a message from Milton, a not-so-subtle reminder of the lifetime of his sweet affections she had rejected.

Milton did ultimately marry, but produced no offspring other than an answer to boring plain vanilla ice cream, chocolate-milk mustaches on the smiling faces of countless satisfied kids, an industrialized town bearing his name, and an international conglomerate called the Hershey Chocolate Company. As for Annie, she remained a spinster her entire life, perhaps burning with regret and resentment at the opportunity she passed up. Or perhaps she just wasn't the marrying type. Still, who knows the influence great great Annie had on the development of Hershey's chocolate? And yet, no mention of Annie in the Wiki.
At least, that is, not yet. Ha ha ha.

Babymaker

A friend of mine hooked me up to this "babymaker". Simply uploading photos you and your love one (or celebrity, if you wish) to create looks for your future babies. Here are the five pictures of our potential future baby (doesn't really look like bi-racial).
同學部落格上介紹的"babymaker"網站, 只要把爸爸媽媽的照片依規定上傳, 就可以看看未來小孩長什麼樣子. 以下是我和布先生將來小孩的模樣...長的不太像混血兒


1) I like this one. very elegant.








2) What's with the hair?








3) Naaah..... don't like this chubby baby.






4) This one is cool, especially the hair.








5) This one looks more like a girl. Not bad.

The Story of Stuff (有中文字幕連結)

A friend of mine sent me this link. It's a short documentary film about stuff we use. Where does it come from, what process does it involve before it gets to us, and what's going to happy after we don't want this stuff, and also how we end up living in a society of "buy more" (well, at least part of the reason). It's a very nice film...I think everyone should watch it.



(中文字幕影片點這裡 http://www.storyofstuff.com/international/)
謝謝小莉寄給我這個link, 看完以後馬上覺得一定要和大家分享. 這個短片是有關"東西的故事". 是以一個美國人的角度來描述, 告訴我們日常生活中所用的東西是怎麼來的, 如何行銷到我們手裡, 丟棄後去了哪裡, 還有.....我們的怎麼變成一個以"物質"為導向的社會 (至少解釋了一部分). 我真的覺得這個影片蠻有啟發性的....請大家有空點去看看. 下面的連結會帶你到影片首頁....可以選擇繁體中文字幕喔!!!

Once: Falling Slowly

耶誕節的時候我和布先生看了一部愛爾蘭獨立製片的電影 "Once". 這部片是描寫一個以修吸塵器維生,默默無名的愛爾蘭創作歌手, 和以賣玫瑰花維生, 彈的一手好鋼琴女生的故事. 藉由對音樂的喜愛及才華, 他們共同創作一個Demo專輯, 希望藉此拿到唱片合約. 在創作的過程中, 他們共同回首逝去的感情, 也藉由歌曲默默抒發對對方的情感. 整部電影其實就是創作一個音樂專輯的過程. 故事情節以及電影裡穿插的歌曲都相當動人(而且沒有Hollywood那種膚淺結局). 還有, 我後來才知道主題曲"Falling Slowly"得到2007年奧斯卡最佳電影原著歌曲)
前幾天我終於記得上網買電影原聲帶, 雖然已經過了幾個月, 一聽到"Falling Slowly" 眼淚就不停的掉. 我的iPod今天撥這首歌已不下十次, 但每次聽, 我都還是覺得心有揪在一起的感覺. 或許是因為看過電影, 知道歌詞背後的意義, 讓我感觸特別深. 所以, 我想和大家分享這首應該是我最喜歡的歌!!

Brian and I saw an independent movie "Once" on DVD over the holidays. It is about an Irish guitarist/singer/songwriter who makes a living by fixing vacuum cleaners and as a street musician and a immigrant girl who sells flower on the street and plays piano. They get to know each other as the girl helps him to put together a demo disc that he can take to London in hope of landing a music contract. They work through their past loves, and reveal their feeling for one another, through their songs. This movie is a making of an album. Very beautiful story and songs.
A few months later, I got soundtrack of this movie and listened to it over and over again. "Falling Slowly", the theme song of this movie, is my favorite and even after listening to it for more than 10 times, I still got emotionally attached. I've never been so "haunted" (in a good way) by a song before, and I think it has a lot to do with how the story ties into this song. I think this song is going to be my all time favorite. I highly recommend it!!! (And we later found out this song won the best original score category in 2007 Academy Award)
by YT

-----------------------------------------------
Falling Slowly--Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová.

I don't know you
But I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me
And always fool me
And I can't react
And games that never amount
To more than they're meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You'll make it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can't go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I'm painted black
You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It's time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you had a choice
You've made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I'll sing along

I paid the cost too late
Now you're gone

Superbowl XLIII Champion.....Pittsburgh Steelers!!!!!!!!!!!

Pittsburgh Steelers won the 6th Superbowl title!!!! We are so proud of our team. We are the first team in NFL history to win six superbowl titles. Our coach is the youngest to win superbowl. Our defense James Harrison had the longest play (100 yards..the whole football field) in superbowl history. And this is the best superbowl game ever.

(Steelers QB No. 7 Ben Roethlisberger)

Steelers dominated the whole game until the 4th quarter. Cardinals scored two touchdowns in the 4th quarter and took the lead from Steelers (23-20). It was so disappointing...I screamed and shout and burried my head in my terrible towel. I thought that was it.........we're going to lose the game. But our quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did it again like what he had done almost the whole season.....took the team to 4th quarter comeback. We scored a absolutely beautiful touchdown at the sideline/corner of the end zone by Santonio Homles, when there is only 35 seconds or so remained in the game. What a dramatic 4th quarter!! Cardinal only had the lead for less than 3 minutes...and we took it back from them. What a great game. I felt I almost had a heart attak. It's so surreal and unbelievable. Many sport commentators also said this is the greatest superbowl game ever. Here's a bit of video (NFL.com) of the game-winning final drive, starting with the Cardinals' touchdown in the 3rd to last minute.

We are so pround of Steelers. Great owner, great coach and great players. We are Steelers nation. Now Pittsburgh is the "Six-burgh".

We watched the game at AM's place. We wore our Steelers jersey, brought our terrible towels and black and gold pompom to watch the game. We had Thaid food (not very traditional football game food) for dinner and I made a Raspberry-Chocolate Hazelnut tart for dessert. We had a good time watching this great game. Photos are uploaded already.

新年快樂+ Pittsburgh's goin to the Superbowl

對於大概20位有在看我部落格的朋友 非常抱歉沒有依照原定計畫update部落格 (shame)
我也不知道自己在忙什麼 覺得好像有點忙 但是什麼都沒做好的感覺
這個星期三是我postdoc evaluation 因為我才開始一個學期 所以進度也不多
不過接下來這一年我手邊大概有5,6篇paper等著我寫 1個pilot study等著我去做, 3, 4個meeting要去
anyway...現在並不想想太多

農曆新年要到了 祝大家牛年行大運
健康快樂 該嫁(娶)的快嫁(娶) 該生的快生

匹茲堡依舊沒有過年的感覺
台灣同學會似乎成荒廢的狀態已有幾年的時間了
大家好像都是各組小團體 我明天也要跟我的小團體一起吃火鍋(自從布先生說在台灣吃火鍋吃到怕...我今年冬天到現在都還沒吃火鍋)

最近還有一件令人振奮的消息

我們Pittsburgh Steelers(鋼鐵人) 上星期日成功挑戰AFC冠軍
(美式足球有兩個聯盟 AFC 和 NFC, 兩聯盟的冠軍爭Superbowl冠軍)
2/1 晚上六點將要和亞利桑那 Cardinal 爭奪今年美式足球超級盃冠軍
沒想到這才在Pittsburgh這幾年就可以看到Steelers兩次進軍Superbowl(2006年我們拿冠軍喔)
這次Steelers 贏的勝算很高 所以我們很有機會拿下第六個superbowl 冠軍
如果真的是這樣 我們將是美式足球史上第一個拿到六個冠軍的隊伍 Oh Yeah~~~
我們的新教練也會是史上最年輕拿到Superbowl的教練

最近大家都在唱Steeler Superbowl 歌 "....Here we go, Steelers, Here we go, Pittsburgh's goin to the Superbowl...."

整個城市high到不得了 連教授們都在討論球賽 我從Pittsburgh搬去德州的朋友還特地叫我幫他寄幾條 terrible towels下去
Terrible towel是Steelers的招牌...其實就是一條黃黃的毛巾寫著terrible towel. 由來就請大家點這裡去看吧!!

那...就醬吧 下次再寫