Phuong's dad has a nickname for his granddaughter Joanna. It's "Dollars" because Phuong and I dropped a bundle last week on the world's most beautiful baby. We bought a stroller and high chair, more toys, cool pants and shirts, and fancy diapers. We spent millions (of dong) and it was worth every dong. We also dropped more money on Joanna for medicine, but we don't even consider that spending. Phuong is so proud of our daughter that she doesn't just push the stroller and walk in the morning; she struts and strides with stroller in hand. You can see that Phuong is waiting for the neighbors to come and admire Joanna. We had trouble leaving the mall because shoppers wanted to look, touch, and kiss Joanna. The White Monkey, once the darling of the female crowd in Bien Hoa, is no longer the star of the show. Joanna, the little "Peanut", has made the White Monkey an afterthought. I started calling Joanna "Peanut" because I always have a nickname for kids -- and Joanna's head is kind of shaped like a peanut. My friends Tommy and Tony have also used that nickname for Joanna without knowing Phuong and I also use that nickname. We'll drop the nickname when she gets a little older (and when her hair grows to cover her head).
Joanna now rolls over routinely -- back to stomach only -- so we have to keep an extra sharp eye on her. Her first turn was stomach to back, but she freaked a little because her head bounced on the bed when she landed on her back. I poked around on the internet and saw that the average baby who is 14 weeks old weighs 6.5 kilograms and is 61 centimeters long. Joanna is 14 weeks old, 7.5 KG and 72 CM. She's tall and really stands out here, so to speak. Joanna is going to be someone special because her mom is someone very special. I'm jealous of both of them.
My body has made a rapid recovery from surgery, thanks primarily to Phuong's cooking. She bought a pressure cooker and has stopped using any oil in her cooking. We eat beef, pork and chicken with steamed potatoes, carrots, corn on the cob, onions, and anything else we can buy from the vegetable man. I still have yogurt and cookies for dessert, and everything has been just dandy.
I've pretty much cut coffee from my diet. I have a small, watered-down cup late morning during my walk, and that's it. I used to have at least three hearty cups a day. And since I don't smoke anymore (7 months now!) and never drink more than one beer at a time, the White Monkey is not only healthy, he's incredibly boring. Phuong is happy, and that's what matters most to me. Well, that and Joanna and my four fantastic children in the United States: Jessica, Caroline, Jack and Alec.
I saw a motorbike accident last week. A guy turned right from the center lane and clipped the bike in the right lane, knocking the rider to the ground. The rider on the ground rolled quickly and avoided having his head hit by a fast-approaching bike. Typical stuff here. No one slows, no one yields, and nobody stops their bikes to help a victim. Pedestrians will help, but motorbike riders only seem to care about getting somewhere fast.
I ride very slow these days so even if I'm in an accident, the damage hopefully will be minimal.
I returned to teaching a week after surgery and I've had some great classes ... no, I wasn't great, but the students were. One class in particular on Monday night was hilarious but focused. We laughed and learned the entire 90 minutes. These types of classes remind me why I got into teaching in the first place.
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