serialdeviant.org(y)

My mum arrived yesterday, and we’re trying to get a few things done before we have our release from spacedock.

The fact that my sister-in-law had her baby at 39 weeks and her estimated due date was 13 days before mine… has freaked me out. Despite carting the bump around for this many months, I’ve been in denial about what’s happening this whole time.

Oh Deity. We’re having a baby.

Falklands 30 year anniversary: Argentina renews assault at UN — the Argentinian government clearly doesn’t give a toss about what the Falkland Islanders actually want, so why should anyone even consider getting into negotiations with them over sovereignty? They’d clearly fuck the citizens over royally the moment they get a chance.

My mate Jeff has been on me to read Reamde since before Christmas. Neil bought it for me for Christmas. Jeff kept asking me, Have you read Reamde yet? Tell me what you think of it once you have! I wondered why he was so kancheong about it — we both really like Neal Stephenson, but this was a bit overkill.

And then I read it.

OMFG!

For starters, it goes back to the gaming world of Snow Crash (well — sort of): this time we are with the game’s creator Richard Forthrast, a very rich man with a colourful past who owns the world of T’Rain, a MMORPG (I think) that has taken the world by storm. There’s virtual war, virtual currency, and some Russian mafia thrown in for good measure. As well as a very large part of the story set in Xiamen.

That’s the OMFG part.

Is it really geeky that I was so thrilled to pretty much recognise every part of Xiamen he described? Even the apartment blocks — I may not know the exact streets he writes about, but I’ve definitely been down many of them. That crazy-ass wiring? It’s everywhere, you just need to get off the main tourist drag.

Neil heard me squeak with excitement when I realised the characters were going to be spending a substantial amount of time in Xiamen. And it was clear that his research trip must have been a few years ago, as the waterfront he speaks of has pretty much been fully developed and occupied (I even have an idea of which office building he must have been thinking of when talking about the safe house).

He could have been talking about the 禾祥西/东路 (Hexiang Xi / Dong Lu) area when he referred to where the Troll and Jones lived. We didn’t see 鼓浪屿 (Gulangyu) this time as we were told the number of tourists that now visit is so massive it’d be unpleasant, but he captured it very well. I wonder if he ate any muah chee while he was there. And the roundhouses! We’ve been there too! I have so many lousy photos of the roundhouses that I could have been his research assistant.

But. He said they all got stared at and people would run out to see them. I only see this happening with Zula, as the other characters didn’t seem any different from the thousands of laowai who have taken up residence in Xiamen. Caucasians aren’t a reason to gawk any more, not in Xiamen.

So that was me being anal-retentive.

What a fun novel! Loads of action, geeky stuff, extreme libertarians, guns, planes, Russians, romance — what’s not to love? Stephenson has a real flair for giving the reader a lot of information without it seeming too much like a lecture or really bad dialogue.

Needless to say, this book is going on the collector’s shelf (no child is going to get their hands on it until they understand how badly I’m going to react if any of these books are damaged) next to my Peanuts comics.

• Details: Reamde by Neal Stephenson, Atlantic Books, £18.99
• Verdict: 5/5

Neil and I had the same reaction when we saw the newspaper headlines (vastly more inflammatory) about the Anglican Church’s reaction to same sex marriage on last night’s Newsnight — I believe the words ‘schism’ and ‘split’ were used in conjunction with ‘church’ and ‘state’ — “About bloody time!!”

Penguins in gay necrophilia shock — details at ten. Heehee.

A ‘Welcome to the world’ post for the little boy born this morning to Neil’s sister and her husband. Another ginger ninja!

Part of the antenatal course Neil and I attended included a session on breastfeeding. I know there’s a real divide about the idea, and my opinion is I will try my best to do it as a) we won’t have to spend loads of money on formula, bottles, and sterilisers, b) the baby’s food is always available and doesn’t need to be ‘made up’, and c) it’s tailored to what a baby needs.

But everyone does say breastfeeding’s hard and babies can have trouble latching on, the mother could suffer from all sorts of painful conditions because the baby isn’t positioned or attached correctly. I generally have a high threshold for pain, but it’s exactly this that would make me give up, so when the counsellor told us about biological nurturing, I was all ears.

It involves me reclining comfortably and putting the baby on me, letting it find the boob and latch on correctly (which is instinctive, not child labour). Needless to say, the less work I need to do and the more ‘natural’ it is, the happier I am. Plus it means I might be able to get some more sleep, rather than fretting about ‘nose to nipple’ and soreness / mastitis.

Let’s see if the perfect-sounding theory bears any resemblance to reality. I’ve only got another month or so before I put this feeding method under empirical testing. I can do it!

Last night’s Question Time was in Inverness, so naturally the topic of Scottish independence came up. Anyone who reads my site knows what I think of the SNP’s version of independence (i.e. only in name).

I had to leave the room after watching for about 15 minutes, while Neil was happily sitting and watching the ‘debate’. The thing I really dislike about the programme is no one is in constructive dialogue with anyone else — audience or panellist. They’re only interested in soundbites and point-scoring statements. It infuriates me.

(Neil has spent less time in his life obsessing over politics and political news the way I do — his outrage fatigue hasn’t quite kicked in yet.)

Just what is the point of getting a group of people together and putting them on teevee just so they can say what they’ve been planning to say and then sit back and look smug? And why in Deity’s name was Alan Cumming there? He didn’t seem to have much to contribute. I used to think he was quite dishy in his own way, and now all I can say is You Were Used Very Ill, Sir.

I tried putting on a tunic / dress thing the other day and realised that 1) even though it’s loose, it’s not stretchy, and that’s impractical at the moment; and 2) my arms / shoulders are a wee bit meatier right now.

We’re going to a fundraising casino night this weekend (in aid of cancer research), and the dress code is ‘smart’. I assume they will give heavily-pregnant women a chance to just wear whatever still fits.

… but you know the world has definitely changed when rich Chinese no longer wear Louis Vuitton and Gucci as the brands are now too chavvy / bogan / ah lian / ned.

The dystopian, paranoid part of me thinks the potential widespread adoption of Chinese-made drones could be the opening chapter in the beginning of the end of the world. I may have watched too many James Bond / Bourne films.

Have you ever read a book that gave you a real sense of impending dread and heartbreak by the second or third chapter? Perhaps it’s because I am in my current ‘condition’, but I felt so stricken by Eve’s story.

Eve has met and married a man — Tommy Car — who is very kind, and they set up house together. (Tangent: a reviewer on Goodreads described its setting as Yorkshire / Northern England, but as I read it, I was thinking, this is Scotland. But anyway.) They try and try for a baby, while Eve’s sister keeps popping them out.

Finally, Eve and Tommy have a baby, but their joy doesn’t last long. Eve faces a real tug of war between her role as a wife and sister — her sister is incredibly bitter about her own lot and doesn’t hesitate to make it Eve’s issue.

Being a Susan Hill novel (I assume, as I’ve only read one other of her works), there is an unexplained supernatural element to A Kind Man, but it’s more a vehicle to further explore Tommy’s kindness.

This is a short novel, and it kind of feels to me like it’s about karma. The story has been told with economy and a lightness of touch, which probably helped me not cry, but the experience I had while reading wasn’t any less strong.

• Details: A Kind Man by Susan Hill, Vintage, £6.99
• Verdict: 4/5

I love a long weekend (thank you Auntie Betty). The cot has now been built and moved into position. We’ve stocked up on nappies (third-hand cloth), wipes (new!), baby clothes (second- and third-hand), and blankets (new!). The hospital bag is (mostly) packed. And we got a table fan — in case it gets really hot and humid again. I think we’re set, and I officially reach full-term this weekend. How the hell am I supposed to be a mother?! Aaaauuugggghhhh!!

You can’t see them, but my feet are getting chubsy. Or is that bloated?

So basically everyone knows the money for public services (and benefits) really isn’t there, but no one wants to be part of paying for it, all the while expecting — nay, demanding — that said services continue on their unsustainable course. Yes, many bankers are bad for having speculated and taken bonuses for crazy shite, but that doesn’t mean everyone else is pure as the driven snow.