So, a couple months ago Graeme and I were visiting Shanghai and they had these new-fangled thingies for sale that we'd thought we'd test out. It was a contraption the size of a Bic pen and it was supposed to let you know how your addition skills were. It was exciting, it was new, so I thought, what the hey! I'll give it a try.
I followed the directions as best I could. First, I blew on it but nothing happened. Then I licked it; didn't taste so good. I tried to coax it with soothing words and encouragement, much like a gardener does to her beloved plants. No luck. Out of desperation, I stuck this dang thinga-ma-bob into every orifice I could think of. Quite exciting, but still no go. Finally, I sat down and pissed on the damn thing and, in a last-ditch effort, enveloped it with a fart as loud as a firecracker. (Did I mention the instructions were in Chinese?)
From outside the bathroom Graeme heard my efforts and asked how things were going. I looked down and, lo and behold, the thing was changing color! It was working! A tiny blue "plus" sign was emerging on the thinga-ma-bob's surface. (I think it was the fart that did it.)
So, the long and the short of it is, our efforts at addition and multiplication and such have been confirmed. We're pregnant. Or rather, I'm pregnant and Graeme is holding up well to life with a blimping crazy woman. YIPEE! I'm due April 2nd. We'll have the lil' nugget in Hong Kong, and we're not exactly sure what the plan is after that. Sailing across the North Pacific might no longer be in the cards for next spring. But at least we're getting new crew for Dragonfly!
Hmmm...it occurs to me that for some of you, we dropped off the planet once we got to the Philippines many months ago. I guess I should add that last spring, after much deliberation, we decided to live and work in Hong Kong for a year. We were tired of moving 1,000 miles a month. We now live on Dragonfly in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour. Neon skyscrapers have taken the place of palm trees and white sand beaches. We love it here! Graeme has started a consulting business here; he helps American companies who want to do business in China (sourcing products, business start-up and optimization, etc.). I'm writing fulltime. You can see an article of mine in Blue Water Sailing's October issue (won't be on the stands much longer) and I'm working on a series of articles for them about male/female dynamics at sea. But now that this new-fangled thingy has entered our lives, we are here, not just to work, but to become parents. Crazy and wonderful!
We no longer check our sailmail address with any regularity. The best way to reach us is at
jannac9@hotmail.com and
gesare@aol.com. Hope this email finds you well.
Love,
Janna and Graeme
P.S. I just noticed that, after months of ignoring our poor blog, Graeme and I both got the bug to update it in the very same week. Weird. So, apologies if my blog repeats quite a bit of what Graeme's says. Oh well. Two perspectives... -JC
If you want to read more about our sailing adventures, I've got one pretty crazy story called "Pissing on Dave's Feet" in What Color is your Jockstrap? (Travelers' Tales, 2006).
I also have another story, "Thar She Blows!," coming out in More Sand in my Bra this spring (Travelers' Tales, 2007).
