Monday, December 20, 2004



My student just gave me some slightly depressing news.
He has been informed that the government is upping our insurance payments as well as our pension payments next year. The insurance payments will raise in April but he isn't sure exactly when the pension payments will be upped.
UGH!
Insurance is going to raise 20%. That will put me at the 200$ a month mark and that is only for me. After the baby is born we will add it to my insurance and oh my god will that be a huge deduction off my cheque every month.
Then the pension payments will also go up at least 20%. I already pay 100$ a month and none of it is my money!!! For the past 2 years I have been paying 100$ a month and NONE of it is mine, it is all the governments. Work it out - that is 2400$ of my money and I will never see it. sniffff....
I will only get back a percent of my first three years of contributions when I leave this country, BUT I do not have a say as to whether I want to pay or not. It is the law!
Thankfully Li was never entered into the computer by his previous bosses and he has never contributed. I am hoping to leave the country before they discover and make him back pay on money he never even made! My boss does EVERYTHING by the book and I was automatically entered. Hell I even paid into the pension plan when this government kicked me out of the country for 5 months because of a screw up on my working visa!!!

Grumble groan, I am complaining. Yesterday was pay day and I had to work out our finances for the month as well as buy two necessaries for the baby. DAMN baby stuff is expensive, even when it is on sale!!! Thank god for credit cards.
I dont need too much in the way of baby stuff as we are not planning on staying tooooo long, god willing, but there are still some needs. I have a feeling I will be here long enough to have to buy a second hand stroller. I am going to hold off as long as I can though. I bought an awesome carry sling thing yesterday. It goes from a sling bed style to a front carrier to a back carrier all in one. The guy demonstrated it for me using this doll baby. Looks great. Li will be the main carrier though, not me.

I mentioned that to my private ladies last night and they were laughing - Li is going to carry the baby!?!?! UH ya!!! Damn rights he is, my back can only take so much.
Well I guess here, sadly, men who actually have the baby sling attached to their bodies are looked upon as odd, and the entire action is considered very unusual.
You will see the odd father holding the baby, with no carrier, while mom is doing the shopping, he is following. But I have never actually seen the dad with the sling.
Hell back home if dad dont carry dad be dead!
I told my students that I dont ever recall my mother having my brother or sister sitting on her back, and I dont bloody blame her! I told my students that I was quite content on sharing the load but I sure as hell would not be the sole sling carrier. I would be a bloody cripple before my next birthday.

I also bought this baby bouncer chair. It is perfect and it was the very first I have seen in Japan. I have been scouring the catalogues and had my friend Jean on the recycle look out for me, but nothing. She spotted it yesterday and called me quickly. It is the first time she has ever seen one in Japan and is considering purchasing one herself. The price was even not that bad. My Monday ladies had no idea what I was talking about but I was not going to pull it out of its box just yet. They will see it later.
I was almost considering ordering one from Amazon but the shipping was soooooo expensive it was totally not worth it. I was a happy shopper yesterday.

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There are some good baby books out there but they all have one or two STUPID sections of total idiocy. The latest section has been - dont wish for the last month of your pregnancy to go by quickly. Cherish your time alone and your sleep.
SLEEP!!!! What bloody sleep are they talking about?!?!?! Everyone tells me, be prepared to never sleep again!! Hell I dont sleep now!!! I can not remember the last time I had a full nights sleep!! Either I am peeing for the third time that night or my legs have cramped up so bad I have Charlie horses and need to do stretching exercises to release the tension. I stretch in the shower, before bed and around three in the morning when I am in pain. And then Li's six o'clock alarm is just another reason to pee again!!! AUGH!

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Went to the doctor yesterday. Baby is perfect and healthy and growing really fast.
Me? - I am totally me.

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Posted by (Top)Andrea::12/20/2004 :: 1 Comments:

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