All posts by Zoe

Basketball and other forgotten skills

As part of my day job over on Lazygamer.net, I’m currently reviewing NBA 2K16. Most of the guys in the Lazygamer crew have been laughing at me about it – in general I’m so totally oblivious about sports that I’m not allowed to touch sporting games with a ten-foot pole. However, I was actually quite amped to get my hands on this one, and it turns out that I’m the most qualified person to do so.

Back when I lived in New York, I was actually on my school basketball team. I played through all of junior high and even after I stopped playing the game, I continued supporting the New York Knicks. For those who know basketball, they’ll know that’s a pretty masochistic team to support, but that’s okay – I still love them and there is nothing that can compare with the energy in Madison Square Garden during a Knicks game. Playing NBA 2K16 has reminded me of just how much I enjoyed following basketball. While it’s not really feasible from here in South Africa, it’s still the sport I like to spectate the most. The last time I was really able to follow it was when I was around 14 or 15, before I moved to Holland; that’s about half my lifetime ago. But I still know all about the game, even if the player names are new to me, and it’s made me think about those skills we forget we even have. Continue Reading

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Baby showers and begging

I have mixed feelings about baby showers, or really any event that includes doing a registry. I know it’s accepted and normal, but it all ends up feeling a bit like begging to me. Dean and I didn’t register for our wedding. In fact, because we were already living together and struggling to find room for all our kitchen stuff in our little complex unit, we asked for NO kitchen presents, saying that cash was always appreciated instead. It still felt awkward, but it’s one of those odd traditional things. People like to give gifts for birthdays, weddings and baby stuff, but it just seems weird to ask.

I went this weekend to go look at Baby City for potential registry. It was sort of a disappointment, though, mainly because Baby City is idiotic with this stuff. You can only register 3 weeks before the baby shower, and all the things you pick out are just dumped in a bin in that specific Baby City. The fact that they don’t let you go further in advance, or have it listed online to make things easier for those who live closer to other outlets, just seems dumb to me. Now I don’t even see the point of registering; it’s more convenient to just give people a list of cool websites and the names of the preferred brands that I want and leave it at that. Continue Reading

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Arts and culture when raising a kid

Looking back, I realize just how spoiled for choice I was as a kid. I grew up in New York City, which “just” felt like my hometown. It was a wonderful place to grow up, particularly from an arts and culture perspective. I remember going to tons of galleries, museums, theater performances and concerts. It was so normal to spend an afternoon at the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art) or even to pop into one of the ridiculously expensive boutiques to just look at the latest fashions and see what designs, palettes and imagery were interesting at the time.

It’s important to me that Harley also grows up with an understanding of art and culture. I want her to learn to play an instrument, even if she abandons it before puberty. I want her to go see plays, musicals and other performances, even if she decides that she prefers YouTube videos. Much like reading, it’s an important window into worlds we wouldn’t access otherwise, and key to unlocking parts of our imagination. Continue Reading

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A personality in an ultrasound scan

Ultrasounds are pretty weird. I have a great doctor and he does an excellent job of explaining what I’m seeing and why it’s important, but if I had to look at those scans myself I would think I was looking at a Rorschach ink blot or a weird sketch in the back of Giger’s book.

The scans are a massive reassurance, though – it’s incredible to see those images, hear the heartbeat and know that everything is going well. The 21 week scan is an important one for checking all kind of birth defects, abnormalities or issues. Thankfully, everything is still looking absolutely perfect and Harley is definitely still a girl, and still developing exactly as she should be. It’s always such a relief to see her in there, to know that everything is absolutely fine even if I have random worries or panics based on silly dreams or odd stuff I read.

The best part, though? I get to see what my little girl is up to in there, and she’s already showing some serious personality. Continue Reading

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Yes, I’m still eating sushi

After peeing on a stick and figuring out that I am, indeed, knocked up, the next step was learning about all the things I could and couldn’t do. I knew there were rules about what pregnant women could and couldn’t eat, but I wasn’t too clear on what they were. So, I went reading online and found a ton of conflicting info. Then I went to see my GP for the blood test to confirm I was with child, and got even more conflicting info. So, I’ve decided to only listen to my gynae, and I’m oh so happy with his rules.

You see, if you look online and listen to the variety of opinions out there, just about everything that I like to eat would be off the menu. According to the interwebs, I wouldn’t be allowed things like camembert, eggs that aren’t fully cooked through, steak that isn’t fully cooked through and, most tragically, sushi. I was really torn up about the sushi thing, especially because it was one of the few foods that I still craved and could stomach when many others weren’t sitting well. Continue Reading

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