Nine: Wednesday 20/07/2005
Sunday, 24 July, 2005
I go to breakfast by myself and then delete all my spam and half-heartedly check my email. Kathleen and I walk to Borders and find it doesn't open until 10. Obviously it operates on Uni student time. I sit on a bench and start knitting another Katia Himalaya hat. Kathleen browses the discount bookstore opposite.
When it opens, we go exploring. I buy Mr. Punch, The Last Temptation and a birthday present for Haoran. All these are going towards the hive mind that is the Un brothers (and whoever else can be trusted with such rarities for the purpose of artistic advancement). I get a very nice curly-haired Borders shop assistant who asked me if I went to see Neil and I said I did and had he and he said regretfully no. Unfortunately the Borders 15% voucher is quite obscure and doesn't mention that we can only get 15% off one item. Kathleen, though disappointed, does not bring out her big lawyer guns though she tells me she is tempted to do so in Brisbane with her other one.
We catch the tram into town and find the art bookshop, Metropolis, that Kathleen was recommended. I get distracted by the fact they sell CDs and start SMS-ing Ben to find out if he's been there before. He hasn't and sends me messages like,
can u c if they have pat metheny letter from home?
and
oh! c if they have neutral milk hotel in the aeroplane over the sea
(Where he finds these people I do not know.)
They don't have Pat but they do have Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea but only on vinyl and, even though the sound quality is better, Ben doesn't want it on vinyl.
Kathleen and I continue to walk around the city. I buy new shoelaces from Colorado because mine are falling apart so bad I don't want to risk my shoes falling off my feet. The shop assistant kindly lets me change them over in his store. We wander into T2 and smell the chai (I also fell in love with the smell of gyokoru asahi but it was ridiculously expensive). I buy a new lip balm from The Body Shop because mine has finally run out and the Body Shop sells the cheapest good lip balms I can find.
We also found Of Science and Swords, a small sci-fi/fantasy bookshop I discovered when I bought my copy of Cryptonomicon off Jon on eBay. The package came with a With Compliments slip and I told him I would come visit when in Melbourne. Since then, he's kept sending me catalogues. His books are usually several dollars cheaper than the normal retail price and I don't know how he does it but he does. While I was there, I bought Stardust (not the graphic novel) and The Dream Hunters for $30 (the first Sandman graphic novel I ever read, courtesy of Haoran) which more or less completes my Sandman collection.
I found a stack of very reasonably-priced blank journals at Angus and Robertson stationery and could not resist buying a few. They do not measure up to the beautiful journal that Kathleen made me (which I have forgotten to take a picture of) but nonetheless a journal is a journal and when you're a student, you take what you can find without forking out $30 for one.
We eat lunch on Bourke St (Kathleen gets a phone call from Deb), then go back into the Strand Arcade to poke around in the Christmas shop (on top of the Babushka shop) and buy beautiful butterfly hairclips at Paint and Powder and candy at Suga (surprise lollipop for Ben). Melbourne is a virtual rabbit warren of arcades and nooks everywhere—even though Kathleen and I were sick of walking and carrying stuff around, we can't help walking into another doorway, another little arcade.
We go into The Chocolate Box (I buy chocolate rocks for Ros) and Lincraft and I ponder whether or not to buy this book and don't. Kathleen gets a new wallet at Cherry Lea (beautiful clothes and accessories but no cloche hats). We discover Haighs Chocolatiers and I am amused to find that there are tours for chocoholics (I think of my sister-in-law).
We also discover Basement Discs which, amazingly, Ben has not yet unearthed. I am back to SMS-ing him again and end up buying You Am I, Tori Amos and Humble Pie (whom he's never heard of) on sale.
Still tired of walking and carrying but there's an oriental tea house and across the street, there's Minotaur and, amazingly, they are carrying the only paperback copy of Sunshine that I have seen in Australia (though perhaps they are more widespread that I think). I tell Kathleen she must buy it and she obeys. I discover the comics section of the shop and splurge on Murder Mysteries (look, the art's by P. Craig Russell who also did “Death” in Endless Nights; if you were me, you wouldn't have resisted either!) and a birthday present for Guan. They have The Dream Hunters for $28 (*sigh!*).
I ask about anime soundtracks for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Trigun and Cowboy Bebop (which, incidentally, was playing in Koko Black the first night we were there) but they don't have them. The lady very nicely writes down the names of all these other anime stores for me but I have run out of steam and this time we really do get on a tram and go back to University College to knit and read the American Gods weblog. In the meanwhile, I get SMSs from Ben informing me there is a street named “Saint Mangos” and that he is visiting the CD stores that I messaged him about earlier.
I get an SMS from Liwen who says
Neil gaiman is @ ki okuniya right now! I can see the b ck of his hair
I ask her in capital letters “ARE YOU GOING?” (come to think of it, why didn't Guan go?). She messages back,
No i was buying a book & saw him or his hair
That's friends for you. She's not into his work at all but she knows that I'm slightly obsessed.
Anita comes to pick us up for dinner and we go to Gurkhas for Nepalese for dinner because I can't get the memory of Anita's cooking out of my head. I eat goat for the first time and it is quite tasty. I point out the statue of some idol in the restaurant and Anita gets a bit uncomfortable, wondering why she hadn't noticed it before. I don't have a problem with eating in restaurants with idols but others do. (What do you think?)
Anita suggests gelato for dessert and we walk down Lygon St, past all the hawkers trying to get us into their restaurants (promising to take good care of us! Lygon St is like Leichhardt in Sydney; total Little Italy) only to find the gelato place is shut. Anita then suggests Southbank. Ben is tired so we drop him off and invite Kathleen along instead. We park and walk past the Victorian Arts Centre along the banks of the Yarra river. The trees are all lit up with blue.
There is a group of three guys sitting on a park bench, busking with small amps and bongos. I think of Ben and take some photos of them. The waterfront reminds me of Darling Harbour/Cockle Bay (complete with an aquarium across the water). Anita takes us into Crown Casino/hotel which has a fountain and a foyer that constantly plays music with coloured lights and leaping balls and jets of water. It is very cool—especially when chandelier-type things come down from the ceiling.
We go and have dessert at Cafe Greco. The interior is full so we have to sit outside but the heaters keep us warm. Between the three of us we split a slice of baked cheesecake and a slice of hazelnut meringue. It is delicious. At some point during the evening, the great obelisks which line the Yarra start spouting flame. Some of it is so large and intense, we can feel the heat on our faces.
It's getting late and Anita still has prac tomorrow. We walk back along the Yarra. The trees are covered in fairy lights.
Flinders Station is also lit up nice and pretty.
Anita comes up to see our accommodation and I show her the journal Kathleen made me. I say goodbye to her—I don't think I shall see her again until she comes to Sydney in September.
Current:
seen: Moon 15/10/2009
read: The Incredibles 11/10/2009
seen: She's the Man 05/10/2009
read: I Kill Giants (Joe Kelly and J. M. Ken Niimura) 04/10/2009
read: Astro City The Dark Ages Book 1: Brothers and Other Strangers (Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson and Alex Ross) 04/10/2009
seen: Children of Men 02/10/2009
seen: Metric (The Metro) 30/09/2009
seen: 500 Days of Summer 25/09/2009
seen: The September Issue 18/09/2009
seen: Gilmore Girls: Season 1 17/09/2009
read: Flight (Volume 1) (edited by Kazu Kibuishi) 16/09/2009
seen: Ponyo 11/09/2009
read: Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert) 05/09/2009
heard: Aimee Mann (Enmore Theatre) 04/09/2009
heard: Ben Folds Solo (Opera House) 31/08/2009
read: Phonogram: Rue Britannia (Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie) 26/08/2009
seen: Northanger Abbey 20/08/2009
read: The Princess Diaries (Meg Cabot) 18/08/2009
seen: The Phantom of the Opera 17/08/2009
seen: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 10/08/2009
seen: District 9 10/08/2009
read: Shortcomings (Adrian Tomine) 02/08/2009
read: AIR Volume 1: Letters from Lost Countries (Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker) 28/07/2009
seen: Persepolis 25/07/2009
seen: Ghost Town 25/07/2009
heard: Gutter Twins (Seymour Centre) 23/07/2009
seen: Coco Avant Chanel 20/07/2009
seen: Gutenberg! The Musical (Seymour Centre) 16/07/2009
seen: So You Think You Can Dance? Australia Live Tour (Sydney Entertainment Centre) 11/07/2009
seen: Every Little Step 07/07/2009
seen: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen 03/07/2009
seen: Synecdoche, New York 30/06/2009
seen: Charlie's Angels 27/06/2009
seen: Penelope 26/06/2009
seen: Coraline 10/06/2009
seen: The Sky Crawlers 08/06/2009
seen: The Bourne Ultimatum 07/06/2009
seen: The Bourne Supremacy 07/06/2009
seen: The Bourne Identity 06/06/2009
seen: Stick it 05/06/2009
Comment:
@Sarah: Thanks for the tip RE Australian Breastfeeding Association! I never would have thought to look there. Ditto KMart: I was wondering if they did since Target don’t.
@Rae: Thanks for the tip! I’ll check it out.
@Little Rachel: Oh, I’ll definitely be up for visitors! I may not be very good company (brain-dead, etc.) but I’ll certainly appreciate visits!
@Rachel C: CONGRATS!!! So excited for you 
Yours sounds like a good philosophy. One day I shall have to blog about Outliers!
@CafeDave: Thanks for the tip!
@Elissa: Thanks for your kind words! It makes me happy that you and Dave were excited we were getting married! Thanks also for the prayers!
@Elsie: There are lots of other lovely things I could have said about you, but let’s not overload my readers, shall we? ;P
Aww...thanks for the lovely things you said about me! I enjoyed reading this post (as I do with all yours). xo
Congratulations to you both. I know you will be such wonderful parents. You sound WAY too sensible! 
(Sorry to read that there were some unusual comments made about your marriage! We thought it was exciting. We still have a lovely photo of you & Ben in our lovely box of special memories. (I was only 22 when married & I was 30 when we had Bonnie...)
Everyone is different! I nodded through your post. SO many people feel the curious need to share their “horror stories” which is just dreadful. I remember complaining to David who said - go find people who are positive & listen to them. Great advice, which I did. Those people still have a big place in my heart because their advice was honest & gentle.
Bless you & Ben & the little Peanut. We pray all goes smoothly over the coming weeks/months ahead. We sometimes forget what a precious little miracle life really is…
Another book from the dad’s perspective I found helpful was From here to paternity - it’s an Australian book, and was followed up with a blog.
Hi!
I’m so excited for you reading your blog about being pregnant I am 13 weeks pregnant with #2.
You’re so right about all the pessimism “advice” that you get. I got so mad about it but never found a good response. I’ve had such joy right from day one with E that I just don’t want to buy into the negativity (I’m sure kids pick up on it too!).
My philosophy was/is to be a relaxed mum and from that figure out what was best for my baby/child. Get advice when you’re not sure on things or want to know how other people approached things, read books (loved Outliers!) that aren’t all about parenting… but just enjoy.
In a sample size of one to date, I’ve had such a happy, chilled out son right from day one. People say all the craziest advice… glad you don’t do guilt
With love,
R
Thanks so much for writing more! I love hearing how you’re going and all your thoughts.
After watching my sister I agree with you that it seems the first six months are perhaps the hardest. She got quite lonely at home all day; weekends were all right because then her husband was around but it’s just as you say… one feed ends then the next begins! If you are accepting visitors during this period then I hope to use some RDOs to come have grown-up conversations!
The book review of The Second Nine Months makes me want to read it now!
Names: We have one girl name that we both like and no boy names that we agree on. But they are also top-secret… so if anyone else uses them we can’t accuse them of theft! 
Yay Peanut, keep on growing, can’t wait to meet you!
Hello! Thanks for sharing
I loved reading your pregnancy update! I am glad to hear that things are all going pretty well, and I hope the rest of your 2nd trimester is as good.
I just wanted to add, that some other blokes decided that there was not much for the fathers-t0-be, and made a couple of DVD’s just for expectant dads. They are called ‘Being Dad’and i think they are available at big W. I have both though, if you would like me to send them!
Just wanted to wish you all the best!
Love
Rae
re: gluten: no idea!! I didn’t have to go on that diet - it was probably related to the test I didn’t do.
At the risk of adding to your list of advice:
Re: maternity bras - because I’m big I had to look hard for something nice in my size and discovered the Australian Breastfeeding Association. They have a massive range online and most are (dare I say it) sexy.
Re: maternity clothes - Kmart have a nice range of basic stuff.. I only found out towards the end of pregnancy and I would have liked to know earlier!
Re: Parenting classes - if you’re at RPA you can just ring the midwives section (they’ll put you through) and ask directly.
Congratulations again
Don’t laminate your ultrasound picture That is my advice.
Congratulations! This is so fantastic!
Thanks so much for sharing all of this… people swap engagement stories but rarely pregnancy stories! And it’s kind of similar don’t you think, all this excitement leading up to a big day!
So happy for you guys! Actually never been more excited for anyone except my sister! I think it’s because I think that you will both be amazing parents and love the idea that someone could grow up in your family.
Looking forward to many more posts on the topic.
Lovely news, Karen.
Thanks everyone! I will be sure to ask for help when I need it!
Great pic!! Peanut is cute! :D
Praying for you all!
xx
:D
I had a similar sort of morning sickness.. except I threw up! I’m suitably impressed that you coped OS.. that must have been tough.
It sounds like you’re doing marvelously otherwise!
Book recommendation on something a bit less technical and a bit more human: ‘Birth’ http://www.birthnet.com.au/
Praise be to God indeed! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Congratulations, Beilharzen! Welcome to the slightly-bewildering world of pregnancy (and birth...and children...). God has blessed you greatly with this new life. We’ll be praying for Peanut’s growth and development, and for you guys as you prepare.
I’m sure you’re surrounded by baby veterans, but always happy to help with books/advice/recommendations/listening.
B&L;
Excellent job Karen! You SHOULD be pleased with yourself!
Have you discovered http://www.ravelry.com ? It is an excellent site with thousands of free patterns in its database, lots of support, tips, forums etc and of course - friends like me? Look me up when you get there - fionag77
PS Are you just wearing a bulky dress or are you sporting a bump under that dress?
oooh.... It’s done and it looks great on you! xxx
Well done on all that hard work! It looks great and will be very snuggly come winter!
Thanks for letting me know, Timo!
Hi there,
Thanks for pointing out the shortcoming on our website. I’ll pass it on to my colleagues and hopefully it will be rectified soon.
The documentary at Fashioning Now was by Holly Kaye-Smith; I’d be more than happy to put you in touch with her if you’d like.
Again, thanks for the comment, much appreciate it!
Kind regards,
Timo Rissanen
Thanks Mark! Much appreciated!
Rich survey, Karen. Particularly I was struck by the notion of Jesus being clothed with our sins. I heard recently somebody suggest the crown of thorns was a kings crown but it was made of the symbol of the curse in the Garden - thorns. I would like to read your thoughts about Joseph’s coat of many colours.
Looking forward to the next installment. Regards,Mark
It is lovely - and looks great on you.
You’ve made me want to read it - though I may need an interpreter at times!
Well done with the sewing!
I think it looks good - very relaxed and spring-y.
Hey Sandra! Thanks for the tip! I read it yesterday, but I struggled a bit because Lewis doesn’t start from the Bible. I wasn’t convinced by his argument. What did you think?
Interesting post Karen - Thanks
I like the ending too! :D
xxx
Fantastic post, Karen. Just great. Thanks!
Thanks Bec! Eternal life just keeps getting better and better ...
I do like the way you ended this post - excellent thought.
Personally I don’t feel that way. Maybe that’s something you should blog about?
Wow. Lots of things to pick up on there. It’s been interesting to see the changes to your blog these last 6-12 months: Twitter is certainly more immediate, but are there (gasp) downsides to having its constant buzz in the ear?
Is our (already fractured) ability to concentrate on a single relationship at a time further jeapordised by the regular buzz of tweetdeck (and worse yet, by the imagined sense of loss that goes with being off the grid)?
Or am I just projecting my own fears?
Hi Karen!
If you’re still thinking about this… I just read CS Lewis’s essay “Learning in War-time” which exactly addresses this issue (ie. how can we justify cultural & aesthetic pursuits when people are going to hell around us?). Have you read it? i’d be interested to hear what you think..
(i have it in his little volume “Transposition and other Addresses”, but it’s easily findable online)
I’m doing my own series on the trials and tribulations of writing on my own blog here http://sedshed.blogspot.com/search/label/From%20Head%20to%20Hand
It’s coming along slowly
Coincidentily, I stumbled upon the above Phonogram vs. the Fans cover when digging around for ID concepts for Salt. A disturbingly brilliant image.
Thanks Karen. At the very least, this post gives some context to your myriad of phonogram tweets. At best, it has reinvigorated my stagnated appreciation of comics.
Seriously, though 4,549 words. Is that the best you can do? I say, longer!
Blinks:
Why non-religious parents are starting to home school their children. Problems with American public schools. New models for education that will work (instead of just rote learning and teaching things to kids earlier).
Maybe discomfort is better for writing.
Showing her daughter that women are great by doing tours and walking in the footsteps of famous women. I like that this article is about engagement.
Jordan White, editor for Marvel, answers questions.
Jamie McKelvie answers questions.
Vision therapy as a treatment for ADHD, learning disabilities and even autism. The scientific community's opinion. The results of concentrated therapy.
Kieron Gillen on Phonogram, Siege, Ares, Loki and his collaborative relationship with Jamie McKelvie.
Superheroes and how they have changed the way we see urban landscape. Their attraction to New York.
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Comments
Oooh! Presentpresent!
If you’ve read Smoke and Mirrors (you have, haven’t you? I’m sure I lent to it most writing-type people I know) then the story is familiar. But it’s very nice with the artwork.
Are you referring to “Murder Mysteries”? I borrowed Smoke and Mirrors off you. Neil reads the story about the cat on his CD, Speaking in Tongues
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