Tracking vs Reflecting

It came to my attention recently that there are quite a number of wearable activity tracking devices these days. From wrist bands for the sporty (Nike+ fuel band), and products for well-being (Fitbit Ultra, Jawbone Up, Lark Life), to the devices that monitor physiology (BodyMedia Fit & Basis), there's something for everyone. The idea is that you can wear those devices all the time, and it would track your daily activities, see if you are meeting the 10,000 steps a day recommended for healthy/active living (or whatever goal you set for yourself), and so motivate you to stay active and maybe even save you from a health condition such as diabetes.

I did a post about how these devices generally work and basically they have sensors to measure movement, heart rate, skin temperature and even sweat. Short of a mind reader that could document your thoughts and emotions (something this aims to do), and a video cam to record what you see (like the Google glass project), they function almost like an old fashioned diary.

Actually, I wonder if many people still journal, whether physically on a diary or electronically on their computers or tablets. I think the diary works very differently from tracking your life with whatever wearable equipment. That's because when I want to pen a journal, I am often in a reflective mode - thinking about stuff, like why something happened, what went wrong or right, what was the significance, how things could be improved etc. It takes a bit of time; quiet, uninterrupted time, not doing anything else, just reflecting.

Those wearable activity trackers on the other hand aims to keep people moving and doing stuff - go set a goal, try and achieve it, don't stop till you do, then repeat the next day. The positive outcome would be to have developed a healthy and active routine; and sure, its good to have a routine and stick to it, but if I don't have a think about the specifics and keep doing things the same way over and over, I might not realise that something was not right while getting injuries or not getting enough rest and getting burnt out.

Anyway, the past couple of months for me was extremely mundane. I was occupied with 3 things: 1) writing the research thesis, 2) taking care of Gideon and 3) thinking about what I am going to do after I submit my thesis. On a typical day when Gideon goes to childcare, I would drop him off in the morning, head to Uni to spend the next 6-7 hours working on my thesis, followed by going home to make dinner, then pick up Gideon from childcare, and finally feeding, bathing and settling him. About once a week (or fortnight), I try to squeeze in a run around the neighbourhood. So activity wise, there's really not much to track since I am obviously not that active these days. In the evenings or in between thesis writing, I 'ponder' about stuff like what to do next and how to take over the world.

At some point, I contemplated becoming a house husband to take care of Gideon and our home because as far as I could see there aren't any opportunities to do what I would like to do (and get paid to do it), not in the private companies or in the university (Well there might be contract research work to do but nothing is confirmed). Since we have decided to stay put in Melbourne, applying for overseas positions was ruled out. The other 'option' was to start my own business: research and product development of sports and health related products. I had that thought for a while and its one of those things that gets me excited but I think I still lack certain experience and certain level of drive, so I will hold that thought for a later day. So with no known opportunities in sight, I decided to send out emails to a few companies that (in my opinion) might explore product development in sports and wellness. The emails were of course expressions of interest to work for them if there are possible openings in the near future. After 2 weeks, there was actually a positive reply, that led to a casual meeting the week before Christmas, and I think the outcome of the meeting was rather positive. We shall see.

During the whole time of 'pondering' and exploring opportunities, there were two proper job applications that sort of didn't go through. In fact they happened before that 'good outcome' meeting. The first one was a product design job which I applied after I was approached by a recruiter. Not having much design experience (specifically industrial design), it was obvious why I did not get a reply. The second one was a mechanical design job that wasn't so much industrial design but more engineering design specifically in medical devices. I did get interviewed for the role but at the end of the discussion, the interviewer made a very keen observation - based on my resume and our discussion, I had very diverse experience but it was not focused on mechanical design. He used the term 'generalist'. The proper term would be 'project engineer'. True enough, I have dabbled with electronics, programming, mechanical design, data analysis, manufacturing, blah blah blah... but I can't say I am specialised in any. So there, I am a generalist. Jack of all some trades but master of none. I have to say its good to come to that realisation/conclusion/acceptance.  


   

In case of emergency...

Well a little 'emergency' happened last night. I was doing the dishes, putting them on the dish rack when a plate fell out and for some reason (maybe its reflex) I reached out with my right hand to catch it. I wasn't sure what exactly happened but the plate broke into a few pieces in the process and cut the back of my hand. Stupid reflex. It was quite a nasty gash and I sort of freaked out. At that point, Gideon was already sleeping and Mabel was resting in the room. I looked at the cut and didn't think it looked good, so I called for Mabel, she had a look at it and started to panic a bit.

We both agreed that the cut needed stitches but obviously I couldn't drive myself to the hospital and she couldn't do it without dragging a sound asleep Gideon along. Then we started to think who we could call to send me to the hospital. None of our closer friends lived near us (they were at least 30 minutes drive away) so our quickest option was our neighbours. Mabel ran to the first unit directly next to us but they weren't in. Fortunately the family in the next unit were home and in fact the guy of the house is a doctor! I guess some part of our brain knew that, just that it didn't occur to us that they might be home or I could say they weren't programmed in my head as one of the "in case of emergency" contacts.

Anyway neighbour doctor kindly came over to have a look at my hand. He sort of spread the wound to have a better look at the cut, made me move my fingers to make sure it was not affecting movement and also made sure they had strength and sensation. His conclusion: the wound is superficial and doesn't need stitches. Phew. That was a relieve and (I have to admit) a little bit silly that I over-reacted and thought it was very serious. But hey, how would I know? This also got me thinking: thank God it's not a real emergency but what if it was and I had a few young kids at home? To be honest, I cannot imagine and I hope that never happens.

I have to add, even though its a superficial wound, it hurt pretty bad (by my standard) and I bet there's some sort of injury to the nerves or tendon because there's a fair bit of pain in my first two fingers when they move in a certain way. So I am guessing I will have problems doing things with my right hand for the next few days - like cooking, washing and carrying Gideon and maybe driving. Now wouldn't it be great if one of our neighbours is a baby sitter and/or a house caretaker who could help with cooking and cleaning; although we probably couldn't afford it.

The Paralympic heroes/champs

The London Paralympics was a huge success. The coverage on television was good (well, better than the Olympics coverage here in Australia). There has been good highlights and also great stories of the athletes; like this video from CNN about war heroes and how sports has given them a new lease of life:

          

For some reason, I thought the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympics were brilliant too, more so than the Olympics. I mean the Olympics was good, but kinda ordinary. But the Paralympics was just so much more interesting. Not to mention the opening ceremony had Stephen Hawking! Just look at some of the photos from the closing ceremony. It's awesome. Alright, maybe I am just a little bit biased towards the Paralympics because my PhD stuff has been quite focused towards wheelchair sports and I got the chance to meet with and do some testing with the Australian athletes. But I am sure that is the case for anyone who has worked with or been involved in Paralympic sports one way or another. Anyway, the Australian team has done extremely well this year and especially the sports I was gunning for: the track events and wheelchair rugby. I like this nice little clip that explains the game of wheelchair rugby complete with some mind-blowing moves, definitely not for the faint hearted:

The Aussie wheelchair rugby team or the Steelers totally dominated the games from day 1. They  played 5 games in total and won every game by at least 12 points. The most impressive thing is that even in the last quarter of each match, when they were already leading by more than 10 points, they were still going all out and making every effort to score the next point/block the opponents score attempts. No complacency. No holding back.

The Oz Steelers (photos from the london2012 website)

Some highlights from the gold medal match:

In the track event, Richard Colman, did an amazing race in the T53 800m. He had a great tactic - drafting for the first one and a half laps, conserving his energy for the final 200m burst. If you pay attention, you could kinda tell that he was staying behind intentionally, braking a little bit at several occasions in the first lap and checking back to see if the rest were catching up. Then he just surges forward at the last 150m and leads for the final 100m. Here's the youtube video of the race and Richard Colman is in lane 3 wearing yellow:

London T53 800m finals

I must say, this Paralympics has been quite phenomenal. The standard of the various sports have increased so much, with so many new world records, sometimes happening even in the heats, and then having another new one set again in the finals. There is a also lot more support and technology invested in the sports; and there is the explanation of classifications during different events which sheds so much light to home viewers and just makes the whole viewing experience so much better. So I think slowly people are becoming more aware of Paralympic sports and more are beginning to see that these Paralympians are not just disabled athletes, but elite athletes serious about doing well in their sport and even in life. They may not have been dealt with the best cards earlier in life but they sure are playing it to the best of their abilities and are all heroes and champs in their own right. Well, that's it for London, until the next time in Rio 2016! 

The Olympics (Paralympics) post

With the Olympics happening in another 8 days, the excitement is really building up. Some call it the world's biggest reality TV show because there is so much drama about it, on and off the court. The anxiety just before a race, the adrenalin shooting up during the finals, the disappointment of not making it onto the podium etc. In fact, even before the games has started, there are already tonnes of drama that has happened: There are the athletes who have been to the Olympics previously, won medals, broke records but couldn't make it this time round for various reasons; then there are the athletes who thinks they should be in the Olympics team but their governing sports bodies thinks otherwise possibly for strategic reasons; there is the athlete who would and should make the Olympics team until she got banned due to an absolutely honest mistake with drugs; there are of course the regular heart-warming stories of athletes who do make it to the team after much effort and struggles; and this is just in Australia!

Whatever the case, I applaud the athletes for getting so far, whether they made it to the team or not. These people have worked hard with their God given abilities, and made their fair share of sacrifices to get to that elite level in their sport. Plus most of these athletes are either self-funded or they get an allowance from the Australian Sports Commission which is usually just enough for daily expenses. Come to think of it, these elite athletes remind me of what PhD candidates go through. There are definitely some striking similarities:

Elite Athletes	PhD folks
Train really hard hoping that one day they become the best in their sport.	Study and research (till their brains are fried) hoping to be the top expert in their field
They eat, drink and live their sport.	They are bogged down by their research problems 24/7
They are not really paid to train so they either work part-time or try to get sponsors or do both.	They are not really paid to do the research so they either work part-time or try to get sponsors or constantly apply for funding
When they do get to the Olympics and get a spot on the podium, they do get a moment of glory but after that it’s back to the grind of life.	When they do submit and pass their thesis, they do get a moment of euphoria but it’s quickly back to the daily grind as well.
After their peak, it seems natural for them to become coaches, motivational speakers (entrepreneurs) or stay on in sports institutes working in other areas	After their PhD, most go on to teach, do more research (the horrors!), start-up a company, or join a government agency.

Shockingly similar I say.

On a separate note, the application of engineering and technology in sports have gained much more attention this Olympics year. From technology being used to help the officials and judges do their job better, to technology that enables enhanced viewing experience all over the world; and then of course there is the (controversial) engineering and technology used to enhance performance of the athletes by reducing drag or energy loss. The latter has actually brought about a report from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers that addresses the topic of sports technology 'doping'. At the end, they recommend that engineers, sports regulators and sports institutes and governing bodies should work together to set new policies and boundaries going forward, and come to an agreement to what is misuse of technology and what is acceptable. Yup, whatever. I think there is too much hype about this issue. Engineering does a lot more things other than just 'enhance' performance of athletes' equipment. I for one am doing sports engineering research that will do nothing to enhance the performance of wheelchair rugby athletes; but my brains are almost fried trying to sort out things like Renyi's entropy, capacity dimension, fractals and how all that is linked to performance and activity classification...

Anyway, back to the games; so other than the usual Olympic events (sprint kayaking, swimming, basketball, athletics) I would watch, I would also be looking forward to some of the Paralympic events like athletics, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair racing, especially since I have worked with some of them before and seen how hard they train. It would be awesome to see them get out there and win some gold medals!

 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:27 (NLT)

Little setbacks

Working on a PhD while having a little one is definitely challenging.

Fortunately, two things happened that promised to make life easier at home both for me and Mabel. Firstly, my Mum-in-law (MIL) was kind enough to fly over here to help take care of the little guy while Mabel goes back to work and I work on the PhD. Well she is more than happy to do it because she absolutely loves Gideon. Oh, on top of that MIL would also make us delicious meals which means one less thing to think about. Secondly, by the grace of God, we managed to get a spot for Gideon in a nearby childcare for the days that Mabel worked! The same childcare initially told us we might have to wait till end of the year before a spot might be available, so this is a pleasant surprise.

Anyway, all these (help with Gideon, help with cooking and possibly help with housework) mean I would have more time to work on the Phd and possibly find time to kayak! Well, at least during the 3 months that MIL is here.

Unfortunately, things happen. A little toe accident here, a little foot accident there, throw in the cold (and random) melbourne weather, add in a terrible sore throat that lasts for a couple of weeks, plus lack of comfort (Singaporean) food and activity, makes the MIL not a happy camper. Although the little guy cheers her up heaps, the bad sore throat (with viral infection) was killing her and it was the final straw that 'broke' her and made her decide to shorten her stay. She blames it on the cold weather (that is getting colder as winter beckons) and she figured it will take 2-3 weeks for her to recover. In the meantime, she will only be a burden to us (not to mention her virus could possibly infect her precious grandson). So, she left 5 weeks ahead of the original plan. Sigh.

But wait, don't we already have a spot for Gideon at childcare? Yes, except that we can't take him to childcare if he is sick; and for the first 4-5 weeks, he was sick for almost half the time, probably because he is exposed to a lot more viruses common in the childcare centre (yes its ironic). Since Mabel has just started her new job, she can't really take leave, which means the Papa has to stay home to take care of the little guy when he is sick, instead of working at the Uni.

Then again, the optimist in me thinks:"I could work from home! This will not stop me from progressing in my Phd!". Yes, somehow I still haven't fully given up that thought - the possibility that I could do work at home while taking care of the bub. Tried it time and again and it does not work.

On the bright side, the last discussion I had with my Phd supervisor ended on a rather positive note: I have finished most of the work and I only require a final verification test and a bit more data analysis. No problems at all. Verification test needs an inertial sensor that belongs to another department in RMIT. All I need to do is contact them, loan the sensor, run the test, and I am good. It should take maybe 3-4 days. Easy. Until I contact them and find out the sensor is missing. Turns out the last guy that used it was a Phd candidate that graduated and left. So effectively, no one knows where it is. Dang. I was told they will try to contact him and find out the whereabouts of the sensor, but this time I am not that optimistic about that happening. Still, all is not lost; this inertial sensor that i need is manufactured by Catapult Sports and I know them. I will just approach them and request to loan one unit. Thankfully the boss was happy to do that. It's just that something that could be done originally in 3-4 days would now take much longer, maybe 2-3 weeks because Catapult usually has lots of work and service orders (based on my experience working there) and my case would probably not be considered a priority.

Anyway, as I am writing this, I am taking care of the little man who is down with a chest infection this time, with a sore throat and fever. He is a lot more clingy than usual and he wants to be carried (almost) all the time. This means I am almost 24/7 with him this past few days and nowhere near doing any work.

Honestly its pretty frustrating, having things happen that keep me
from moving forward. At some point, I felt like giving up on the Phd, again. But as I think about it, it's all good. At least I get to spend a lot more time with my little man - something not every dad can have. Also, during the moments when Gideon is quietly sleeping in my arms, I actually got to think about many things and pray about many things that otherwise wouldn't cross my mind when I am simply busy working. Setbacks are sometimes good reminders that I need to rely on Him, and not on my own strength; they also give me the opportunity to refocus on what is important, not just what can be done.

On a side note, its amazing that I actually managed to write this post all using the iPhone and the Blogger App. It is the one thing I could still use while Gideon is sleeping in my arms. Its good for taking photos of him sleeping too. It's just too bad that I cannot do my data analysis with it. Although coincidentally (or ironically) my Phd research is about using the iPhone or iPod to measure wheelchair sports performance on the field.

Running shoes evaluation

So RMIT started a research contract with Mizuno a couple of years ago to basically look at how Mizuno running shoes perform as compared to other popular running shoes in the market. The definition of performance in this study was not purely from a technical point of view but it was also about how users (your average everyday runner) feel about wearing the shoes. This is what is known as Kansei engineering and as defined in Wikipedia, it is the development or improvement of products and services by translating customer's psychological feelings and needs into a product's design parameters.

Here's a video that encapsulates the idea of the project:

Recently, Pat (one of the guys in the video) who is in charge of the project needed a bunch of people to do some actual running shoes evaluation and I was approached to be one of the participants. The tests involved include: 1. Running on a treadmill and giving initial thoughts and feel about the pair of shoe I was running in; 2. Force plate measurements of foot strike and traction; 3. A user survey about how my overall feel of each pair of shoes. The easiest test to do was actually the force plate measurements because it didn't require me to think, I only had to go through the motion. It was the survey and giving of my feedback about how each pair of shoes felt when I was running on the treadmill that kinda had me stumped. But thankfully I got the hang of it by the third pair of shoes, which is pretty much halfway through the tests because each tester only tested 5 pairs of shoes.

The boxes of shoes in the Sports Eng Lab

Those 5 different shoe models included 2 pairs of Mizuno, 1 Asics, 1 Brooks and 1 Nike. Other than Mizuno which is the reason for this tests, the rest were considered the more popular running shoe brands based on surveys that were done earlier on. Personally, I have owned two of the popular brands, namely Asics and Nike (not the same models as these ones of course). Anyway, before I did this test, my opinion was that Asics made better running shoes - they were not only durable, they ran well. On the other hand, Nike ran pretty well too and they usually look good but they were definitely not as durable. As for the other running shoe brands, I never really bothered to try them for whatever reason.

By the end of the testing session, I was quite surprised to come to a conclusion that my favorite pair (among the 5) was the Brooks. This is in terms of the level of cushioning, traction, the fit of the shoe on my feet, how it feels when I run in them and other psychological factors. The next in line of my preference would be one of the Mizunos, followed by the Nike, then the other Mizuno design and finally the Asics. I never thought I would rank Asics last but I did, and this was mainly possible because I could try 5 different pairs of shoes within a short period, actually run in them on a treadmill (for a couple of minutes) and had to be objective about them.

Which means, the only reason I had stuck to Asics and Nike was purely due to the perception I had of their shoes; and this is probably the effect of marketing. I mean, I am not saying Asics & Nike shoes are not good but its just that based on my running style and preferences, the Brooks actually feels better. So this evaluation is mostly about personal preferences. 

Very enlightening. Don't trust marketing all the time. They lies!
 
The sweet thing about participating in this evaluation (other than finding out what's my preferred shoe) was that I scored myself a pair of Brooks! Yeah, Pat was kind enough to give away the shoes since he was done with testing them. So now I can really try running in them. It should be good since I tested them.

New shoes!

Paddling across a mini fall

The weather has been fantastic recently, not too cold and not too hot. So I thought I should take the opportunity to get into the kayak and do as much paddling as possible before it gets too cold and I get too wimpy. Today was one of those nice weather days and its such a relief to be able to go to the canoe club after a day of insane data crunching at uni.

Now the water level has been a bit low which makes it difficult to paddle down stream because there are certain parts of the river where the paddle almost hits the ground (or river bed). Also, there is this part of the river in front of the Fairfield Park Boathouse and under the Fairfield Pipe Bridge, where the river bed has a slight drop and it is only becomes obvious when water levels are low and the rocks become exposed creating sort of a mini fall (its hard to describe how small it is but its small).

View of the Pipe Bridge from the Boathouse (photo from here)

View from Google maps

Anyway I would usually go upstream instead to avoid that mini fall because I run the risk of running the club's kayak over the rocks, but for some reason I decided to go ahead this time. The trip downstream was actually fine and I managed to avoid hitting any rocks as I simply allowed the flow of the river to carry me across that mini fall. After that I continued to paddle happily till I reached the 3.5km mark where I turned back.

My 7km paddle route

It was all good until I came back to the mini fall and this time I had to go against the flow of the river and up the mini fall. Coincidentally, there was another guy on a kayak in front of me. He looked like an older and more experienced paddler. What he did was he decided not to go against the mini fall and instead he just got off his kayak at the side of the river and did a portage. In my mind I was thinking: "it can't be that hard to paddle up that tiny little fall". I went ahead and attempted to go across. I failed. My paddle was hitting the rocks and I couldn't get enough momentum to overcome the faster flow across that mini fall. But I was really not keen on doing a portage as I would have to jump into the river and who knows what slimy creepy stuff lies on the bed of the river. So I made a second attempt to cross the mini fall and this time I didn't even come close to it. As the sky slowly turned darker, I knew I had to do the portage or I would be stuck there. I went to the exact same spot where the guy got off his kayak and thank God there were some rocks that I could stand on and managed to get off my kayak without having to step into the river bed. It took me a while to get back into the river because I could not find a easy spot to launch the kayak. If only I had followed that guy (who is obviously more experienced) when he did his portage, it would have saved me some grieve. Oh well, guess sometimes I just learn things the hard way.

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 (NIV)

Going on with the Phd

It has been a month since I came back to Melbourne from the two months 'break' in Singapore, and I have pretty much gotten back into the swing of things and more or less picked up from where I left off last December. Well almost. The difference is that I have decided to focus more time and energy on the Phd - which means I dropped the part-time work (quite reluctantly because its good fun) and for the sports science traineeship at VIS, I simply didn't put my hand up for anymore projects.

As I made the decision to focus more on the Phd, somehow I was filled with many doubts - like why am I doing this Phd, what good is it going to be, is it worth all the effort? Reading this article from the Economist doesn't really help. It was basically explaining why doing a Phd is a waste of time. Firstly, most people get paid very little to do the Phd and very often the research done is not very relevant to the industry yet, which makes it hard for the graduate to find relevant work in the industry. Then for those who do find work in the industry, they would probably not be paid much higher (if at all) than their colleagues with bachelor or masters degrees. Also, the option to stay on in the university as an academic, or to work in some research facility is only for the lucky few because there are so many Phd graduates and so little openings in universities or research institutes. So based on that article, not only is doing the Phd a tough journey, the career outlook isn't very promising which makes it a waste of the individual's time. By the look of my current situation, it seems so true. That's because even if I finished this Phd (assuming I do finish and not crash and burn because it is bloody difficult) in sports engineering, I may not find a job opportunity in that field because it is a very niche field. Although on the bright side, my chances of finding opportunities here in Melbourne is much higher than in Singapore.

But even before I think about landing myself a job, I still need to cross the hurdle of actually finishing the research and writing up a thesis, which as I said before is taking the life out of me. I have gotten a fair bit of data from my tests; but going through the data and trying to make sense of it and wondering about the accuracy of my methods and contemplating if I should collect more data plus a million other things are all making me go nuts.

Here's a clip of what a typical Phd student would say; it is pretty hilarious but sadly true:

On a more positive note, I have a lot of support to do this Phd - mentally, financially, physically and spiritually. Mabel plays a big role in that and I thank God for her everyday. I know that God has allowed me to do this Phd, and whatever happens after that, I am going to leave it to Him. Although I have just said that, I am pretty sure that from now till I finally finish the Phd, I am still going to get doubtful now and then, and I am just going to keep reminding myself of this couple of things:

•  I did ditch my previous job and a couple of other opportunities to pursue this Phd in sports engineering, so I jolly well suck it up and just finish it.

• Or as Ralph Waldo Emerson said: Don't waste your life in doubts and fears: spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be the best preparation for the hours or ages that follow it.

• Last and most importantly, as written in Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV): For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

Parents have no holidays

Mabel and me decided to take a long (10 week) holiday with the baby to Singapore. The rational is: it has been quite a while since both of us visited the sunny (and humid) island, plus my folks have yet seen their first and only grandson, it will give us the opportunity to celebrate Christmas and Chinese New Year with the family; and my dad's health isn't that great and he's feeling a bit down, so hopefully letting him spend some time with his  grandson will cheer him up. We were also secretly hoping (prior to the trip) that we could leave Gideon with the grandparents for a couple of days while we go for a short escapade on our own. But after spending 6 weeks here in Singapore and with 4 more weeks to go, I don't think that short escapade will eventuate. Here's what happened in our first 6 weeks in Singapore:

1st week: arrived in Singapore and on the same day, my dad got warded to the hospital because his limbs were swollen. So we spent quite a bit of time visiting him at the hospital.
2nd week: my dad got discharged (Yay!), but Mabel got a cold, my mum has to work, which leaves me to take care of Gideon and Mabel. By the end of the week, Gideon gets diarrhoea (maybe it was a result of me taking care of him?). Brought Gideon to a GP and got some diarrhoea medication but there was no improvement after 2 days of diarrhoea medication - I went online to find out about the drug and found out the dosage as advised by the clinic was wrong! After giving Gideon the proper dosage, his condition improved slightly but he was still having diarrhoea for the next 3 days.
3rd week: We decided to go to a paediatrician. This time, the paediatrician advised us to send Gideon to the hospital and put him on a drip so as to rest his gut. Gideon was also put on a course of antibiotics because the doctor suspects a viral infection. I felt really terrible that Gideon had to have a needle stuck on his hand for the IV drip, but he was a real trooper - only cried for 2 seconds when the doctor inserted the needle! Anyway, at least his diarrhoea got much better after 2 days and got discharged just before Christmas!

Gideon with the IV drip at the hospital

The little Christmas elf! 

4th week:  Mabel has fully recovered from the cold. But all of a sudden Gideon started rejecting food during the week. He was rejecting milk from a bottle and fussing when fed rice cereal or mashed veggies. He had his usual "I'm hungry" type of cry, but once we put food into his mouth, he would cry even louder and throw a tantrum. We were clueless and decided to go to another child clinic. This time, we found out that one of the side effects of babies finishing a course of antibiotics, is that they might lose appetite for a couple of days. Thankfully the symptoms did go away after 2 days and he did go back to his normal appetite.
5th week: Now that Mabel and Gideon were both well, it was my turn to fall sick. Not sure what I got, but I had these typical flu symptoms of fever and body aches. The body aches were pretty bad such that my calves would cramp up when I wake up in the morning. For some reason, I didn't think it was so serious that I had to see a doctor (I think I was resenting the fact that I had to go a doctor every week for the past 4 weeks), so all I did was take some Nurofen (ibuprofen), took plenty of fluids and rest as much as I could; and thankfully Mabel and my mum-in-law (MIL) took turns to take care of Gideon.
6th week: The best week so far and it's the week before Chinese New Year. Mabel and I actually managed to leave Gideon with my MIL and took an afternoon off to catch a movie!

So as I was saying, parents have no holidays. Although we managed to have our time-offs from the baby (courtesy of the grandparents) and we do enjoy our time with family in Singapore, but it's just not the same. My idea of a holiday (and what we used to do before parenthood) includes - doing stuff at the spur of the moment, having late nights (not because the baby is crying), sleeping in during the day, having long meals and doing absolutely nothing as a couple. Parenthood makes these almost an impossibility. So far, about 70% of our energy is spent doing things related to the baby and about 25% thinking about the baby. Going out shopping is usually for getting baby stuff - either his food, or what he wears, or what he needs to use; and because we are away from home, and we can't possibly pack everything that Gideon uses into the suitcase while travelling, so not everything is as convenient (as home), and we have to make do with make-shift alternatives that takes up twice the usual efforts or resources. For example, without a change table, changing Gideon's nappy on the bed or floor now requires 2 persons instead of 1. Then for some reason, Gideon's sleep patterns have been insanely irregular, which means our sleep is irregular as well. Sigh. 'Holidaying' with a baby is tiring, either that or we are just noob parents and haven't gotten the hang of travelling with a baby yet. There is a silver lining to all these - that Gideon has brought great joy to the grandparents. :)

Gideon cheering up my dad with his
raspberry blowing

My MIL - the beaming grandma

Anyway, I just read this interesting book recently: The Road Less Travelled by Morgan Scott Peck. It is an interesting read about growing (mentally, emotionally and spiritually) as a person and finding one's purpose and meaning in life. The author wrote a couple of chapters about love - how true love requires work and effort and how it requires us to overcome the laziness that is so inherent in everybody. For parents, loving a child means we need to put in humongous efforts to raise him up, to nurture him, to provide security, to really listen and to ensure that he is well developed as a person. This can only be done with a love that is sacrificial, one that overcomes any fear of stepping into unfamiliar territory, and one that is disciplined enough to take the right action at the right time. It is hard work and I know there is no other way to do it but to live by the Spirit as written in Galatians 5:13-26 and the fruit of the Spirit is love.