At the hospital!

At the hospital! Nicole is on the monitor and everything is looking fine. Baby's heart rate and movement are good now, although the doctor is worried because there was low movement for a little while there (which is why she was sent here in the first place). We are still unsure what is going to happen, but now she is in good hands at NYU hospital, and we are in a big delivery room. Nicole is feeling good, and is relaxing listening to Tina Fey's audio book and now watching Ellen. Darlene and I are relaxing - I think we are both more nervous that Nicole, but doing fine. The initial nerves are wearing off. The nurse told us that Dr. Berg has hinted that he might be leaning towards a c-section, but he is just leaving it as a possibility, not definite.

So, the following I had written last night but didn't post, so now is as good a time as any:

I thought I should explain the title of this blog. I think the "cacti" is pretty self explanatory. Getting ready for Arizona! Tumbleweeds and cacti! There is nothing as visually stereotypical as the Arizona cacti, shaped exactly as they are in the old Wile-E-Coyote cartoons.

Janacek is a Czechoslovakian composer who lived from 1854-1928. I remember sitting in my car one evening driving through Queens about a year ago - before I had decided to definitely go back to school, and before any idea about a baby entered the picture. I belive I was going to pick up Brian Kassel, who was in town for a couple of days, and we were going to get Taiwanese food.

I didn't hear the beginning of the opera, in fact when I turned on the radio I only caught the last five minutes. I was enthralled by the sound of the language, and the stretch of the music, but could not for the life of me figure out what it was. I thoguht maybe Russian, but there was something more fluid about the words, and the music was to tender and hopeful to be any Russian composer I knew. I decided right there that whatever language it was I would make it my life's goal to learn. When the opera finished, and I heard that it was Janacek's "Jenufa", I was a little rattled, for I had never heard of him and had to look him up on Wikipedia to even find out what language it was. Czechoslovakian. What an amazing sounding language.

I looked into getting some study guides, and was constantly informed that Czechoslovakian, in addition to being difficult to spell, is also one of the most difficult of the European languages to learn. I still will make it a life's goal.

The weekend of June 22nd, the New York Philharmonic will be performing Janacek's opera "The Cunning Little Vixen" at Avery Fisher Hall. They performed Ligeti's "Le Grand Macabre" last year, and it was one of the most incredible performances I have ever seen in NYC. I have tickets for Nicole and I to attend, they were purchased before the baby and school were certain. I am not going to say it is a specific goal to attend, because it is low on my list of priorities right now, but I feel like it is a nice landmark to look to.