My Swimming Baby Dragon

Bloomberg Nov 2011: 

"Many families are also likely to want their children born in 2012, the year of the dragon. Five percent more babies are born in a dragon year because the icon of China’s emperors symbolizes power and wealth, said Cheung Tak Hong, who runs the obstetrics and gynecology department at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong"

The Straits Times Dec 2011: 

"From renovating maternity wards to dangling discounts in blood cord storage, the hospitals are hoping to attract mothers-to-be. Private hospitals are gearing up for a Year of the Dragon baby boom next year, as some Chinese parents still believe that those born under this Chinese zodiac sign are ambitious, creative and successful." 

The China Post Dec 2011:

"Amid the strong baby boom in the Year of the Dragon, a significant increase is seen in the number of sterile patients visiting gynecologists for medical treatment, according to Wu."

So there you are, there is a rush. Everyone wants a Dragon bundle of joy.

The general characteristics of a Dragon Baby are alertness, high energy and an enthusiasm to learn skills. They may be leaders from an early age whilst having a compassionate and friendly nature, making them sociable and easy to integrate into any group. Due to their inner strength they may be rather erratic and fickle in their early development; parents of Dragon babies will certainly know their lives have taken on a new dimension (on a very positive note). In Eastern philosophy, the Dragon is said to be a deliverer of good fortune and a master of authority. Therefore, those people born in Dragon years are to be honored and respected (just because the Emperor's deemed a Dragon?)

So since mj will be born in 2012, we will be anticipating a Water Dragon! Water Dragon Babies in particular will have great strength and a strong sense of self. During their development they will be able to find solutions easily and effortlessly and may develop a strong will when they feel they are not being heard (in other words, stubborn!). In Feng Shui the element of water relates to wealth so the arrival of a Water Dragon baby signifies monetary gains (4D? Toto?). The luck of those born in such a year improves when they are prepared to travel and change their residence often (So I see it's better to let our chick out of the nest when he/she is all grown up).

Now, I need to know if our Water Dragon will be have a good relationship with Metal Roosters (1981)! Many old folks validated its claims that it is the perfect combination because the home will have a Dragon 龍 and Phoenix 鳳. Let's see...

According to www.chineseastrology.com:

The Rooster and Dragon are soul mates and 2012 promises to be a stellar one for plucky Roosters. The industrious Rooster is many times the power behind the achievement oriented Dragon's throne. If adulation is what you seek, 2012 will definitely bring that to a peak! Roosters (especially 1933 Water Roosters & 1981 Metal Roosters) will enjoy very good luck, harmony within their family.

I am stupefied that people in this generation are still consulting the stars to plan for perfect harmony. Getting married in the Tiger or Rabbit year just to project in a little Dragon. For not so fertile fellows like these two Roosters at home, a baby is such a blessing. Who cares if baby's a Rat or Horse or Cat! We do not believe in the signs but the googling for the above information was really interesting. Now, I am worried about mj's Primary One Registration Exercise with so many Dragons in town! Remember May, you said you wouldn't be a kiasu parent ...

footnote for Phyllis (who believes only in western horoscopes and that she is at loggerheads with Geminis *hahah*):
GEMINI DRAGON: These are life's performers, taking pleasure in the company of others. Gemini Dragons can accomplish several tasks at once and are able to juggle many conversations successfully. However, taking on anything in depth is not really their style.

your Name is your Identity, Love It!

What is your name?

Do you identify with it? If you don't, did you give yourself a name you prefer being addressed as? I have friends who gave me the privilege of naming them because they just couldn't live with their Chinese names. I, too, asked my mummy when I was little, "Why didn't you give me a Christian name?" She replied, "Isn't Liang May a nice name? You are Chinese." I had been ashamed of my name.

Christian names are given at baptism. It is traditionally a personal name formally given to Christians at christening. However, this is now loosely used as an English name for cross-cultural ease. We are concerned about how the caucasians might call us and hope to make their lives easier. Instead of "lee-ang-may", I might get a "lian-may". Instead of a Mrs "young", I might hear a Mrs "yee-ang". But hey,  why are we bothered about that? If we can adapt to their cultures, why not them? I don't see a need for us to change, add or subtract just to convenience them. Yes, they used to rule and we tailed behind their backs. Not anymore.

The influence of western cultures caught up with us in a mere decade or less. We are exposed to everything "ang mo" that we even (pretend to) cut up a five-tiered styrofoam wedding cake at weddings. Do we actually know the meaning of a wedding cake in a western culture? Have we been following the all-mighty (western) values and customs blindly. Well, don't forget, our roots are from China, Malaya and India. Nothing on us shouts WHITE!

How more horrible can this naming proceeding get? *hahah* when you give your child a very 'uneqqee' name and you pronounce it wrongly. What a joke!

The Mei-Lings and Ying-Yings are considered as old-fashioned but I find them intriguingly timeless. If the 'ang mos' can't pronounce Tham Kai Ming, they just call him 'Kai' for short! What's so complex about that?

So, Oh No! What's Junior gonna be called? I love naming my Jim Thompson elephants and I can give them names in a flash. In fact, I'm proud of the names I gave them but it is a tough one when it comes to your own child. I (We) like a lot of English names and they come storming into my (our) head(s) but I need to stick to my conviction! *hahah* So... the baby won't have a name until probably after birth because Meyer and I have an insubstantial list of chinese vocabulary to build a name after 杨. Someone else needs to name this little tot on our behalves.