Saturday, December 31, 2011
mini heart attack...
Monday, December 26, 2011
A turn towards positive... But first a couple rants
I'm not big on new years resolutions because I don't keep them (mainly because I forget) - but there is something about the new year that makes you think you can have a new beginning so I find myself thinking of what I'd like to do differently in the new year. Two things come to mind - lose weight (obviously) and from now on, I'd like to be more positive. My Aunt Corliss is my role model on this effort as I have always noticed that she isn't one to join in when the people around her start talking negatively and she seems to see the good before the bad which is refreshing.
That said there are two rants I absolutely MUST get off my chest before I'm forced, I mean before I take a turn towards the positive...
Mosquitos
Who knew that when the weather cooled off I would get my own family of Mosquitos as roommates? And guess what, they only feast on me. Every morning I wake up with at least one new bite. I'm glad that Henri isn't being attacked but maybe if Maxime was sharing in my misery he would take our situation a little more seriously...
Did you know that Mosquitos just park themselves up on your ceiling all day? I do. Did you know that they pretty much laugh at you from up there? Today I threw a balled up sock at one repeatedly and it just kept flying just a few inches over. It wasn't even scared, he knew he was too high from me.
Did you know that if you don't clean up a dead mosquito right away the little carcass pretty much becomes a permanent fixture on your wall?
These aggressive Mosquitos actually harass you when they are ready for a meal - they buzz around your face by your ears. One night that happened five times so when I went to sleep that night I pulled the covers up over my head to protect myself. After a while I realized I needed to breath so I reluctantly exposed my face. I'm sure you can guess what happened next - I woke up in the morning with a bite just below my eyebrow.
I'm being harassed, I want you to know. These Mosquitos have really gotten into my head - each time I walk into our room (their favorite hangout, just waiting for me) I scan the walls and ceiling to see if there is one who slipped up and decided to perch low enough for me to reach. When they don't, I've resorted to calling them names. Seriously - and then I hear myself and I realize I'm not as sane as I once was.
The Internet isn't very helpful, not providing a cure all for my problem but I did learn that they have survived for millions of years from the arctic to the tropics for a reason - they are freaking resilient!
Noise pollution
In San Francisco we survived the building of a new row house right next to ours. In Chicago my neighbor was renovating right after Henri was born and I had to suffer through that construction throughout the day for months. In addition, we lived near Navy Pier where they set off fireworks two to three times a week. I thought I was pretty used to the noise pollution that comes with living in densely populated areas. How wrong I was. Taiwan takes the cake when it comes to noise pollution that makes you want to scratch your own eyes out and then throw them at people.
The biggest offender? Their blatant abuse of loud speakers.
There are cars that drive slowly up and down the street blasting a message that either advertises what they are selling or promotes some candidate running for election (see below video/picture). Think ice-cream truck without the ice-cream, replace music with Chinese sentence repeated over and over and over...
Garbage trucks don't go door to door here, they park in a central location and blare classical music to let everyone know in a one mile radius that it's time to bring down your trash.
Sometimes you walk by a store and there is some recorded message attempting to very loudly lure you into their store - you look down to see that they have left a loud speaker out on the sidewalk that is looping their pitch.
Everyone says just wait for Chinese New Year... Ugh...
I am officially old because I spend so much time complaining about noise.
That said there are two rants I absolutely MUST get off my chest before I'm forced, I mean before I take a turn towards the positive...
Mosquitos
Who knew that when the weather cooled off I would get my own family of Mosquitos as roommates? And guess what, they only feast on me. Every morning I wake up with at least one new bite. I'm glad that Henri isn't being attacked but maybe if Maxime was sharing in my misery he would take our situation a little more seriously...
Did you know that Mosquitos just park themselves up on your ceiling all day? I do. Did you know that they pretty much laugh at you from up there? Today I threw a balled up sock at one repeatedly and it just kept flying just a few inches over. It wasn't even scared, he knew he was too high from me.
Did you know that if you don't clean up a dead mosquito right away the little carcass pretty much becomes a permanent fixture on your wall?
These aggressive Mosquitos actually harass you when they are ready for a meal - they buzz around your face by your ears. One night that happened five times so when I went to sleep that night I pulled the covers up over my head to protect myself. After a while I realized I needed to breath so I reluctantly exposed my face. I'm sure you can guess what happened next - I woke up in the morning with a bite just below my eyebrow.
I'm being harassed, I want you to know. These Mosquitos have really gotten into my head - each time I walk into our room (their favorite hangout, just waiting for me) I scan the walls and ceiling to see if there is one who slipped up and decided to perch low enough for me to reach. When they don't, I've resorted to calling them names. Seriously - and then I hear myself and I realize I'm not as sane as I once was.
The Internet isn't very helpful, not providing a cure all for my problem but I did learn that they have survived for millions of years from the arctic to the tropics for a reason - they are freaking resilient!
Noise pollution
In San Francisco we survived the building of a new row house right next to ours. In Chicago my neighbor was renovating right after Henri was born and I had to suffer through that construction throughout the day for months. In addition, we lived near Navy Pier where they set off fireworks two to three times a week. I thought I was pretty used to the noise pollution that comes with living in densely populated areas. How wrong I was. Taiwan takes the cake when it comes to noise pollution that makes you want to scratch your own eyes out and then throw them at people.
The biggest offender? Their blatant abuse of loud speakers.
There are cars that drive slowly up and down the street blasting a message that either advertises what they are selling or promotes some candidate running for election (see below video/picture). Think ice-cream truck without the ice-cream, replace music with Chinese sentence repeated over and over and over...
Garbage trucks don't go door to door here, they park in a central location and blare classical music to let everyone know in a one mile radius that it's time to bring down your trash.
Sometimes you walk by a store and there is some recorded message attempting to very loudly lure you into their store - you look down to see that they have left a loud speaker out on the sidewalk that is looping their pitch.
Everyone says just wait for Chinese New Year... Ugh...
I am officially old because I spend so much time complaining about noise.
Campaign motorcade
This candidate apparently rented out a handful of taxis, decorated them with banners and threw in some loud speakers blaring campaign messages and music (yes, it was all overlapping)... I'm just happy it was going down a commercial street and not mine!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Ancestor day
As I was leaving this morning the family that owns our building was out front burning (fake) money - they were also burning several inscents on a table they set up outside. One of them told me it was ancestors day. You regularly see money burning but I guess today is a bit more special. This is our neighbor's fire left unattended (didn't think I should gawk at my landlords...). Anyway, while my own beliefs don't compel me to make offerings to my deceased ancestors I can appreciate that they do honor theirs in their way.
Rainy day fun (?)
Today I took hen to the mitsukoshi play area for the first time. Its rainy and cold(ish) and we needed a change of scenery. We are regulars at the takashimaya play area near our apartment which is free and has only a few toys in a carpeted area for the kiddos. Well, the play area at mitsukoshi is much more serious. When we pulled up in the stroller the lady at the gate took Henri's temperature, wiped the drool of his face and washed his hands with antiseptic. Then we entered the kiddy fun house and We took a tour. I showed him the slide, he clung to me. I showed him the balloons being blown about by a fan, he clung to me. I planted him down in front of this slow motion merry go round which in the end was his undoing. He stared at it for about a minute before commencing a meltdown that not even the ball pit could remedy. The lady at the gate gave me my $200NT back, even though I didn't ask for it - I guess he needs a bit more time before he can appreciate this crazy place.
Possessed bear
In their attempt to scare small children the good people at mitsukoshi even attached this poor bear to a machine to make it swerve around mindlessly...
First croissant
Henri was given his first croissant the other day... He gave it more of a shot then some of the things I've handed him... But I can't say he immediately took to it. I'm sure his French genes will kick in sooner or later...
Monday, December 19, 2011
???
This is some kind of motorized bike/trailer thingy which you see around. What makes this one unique is the doll heads on stakes ... Which clearly are a warning to other dolls... Not to.... Mess with his stuff?
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Henri taking a stroll
Henri at the takashimaya play area playing with a walker (properly) for the first time...
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Happy 9 month birthday, Henri!
This past week Henri’s 9 month birthday passed with me thinking “Whoa! What happened to my baby?” He is growing up so quickly. He’s curious about everything. You can’t walk by anything without his hand whipping out and grabbing it. He is starting to protest when he can’t reach something or when something is taken away… I can tell he understands “no” and occasionally he listens. While I haven’t had him measured/weighed lately, he is a big boy - he has grown out of nearly all his 6-12 month clothes and is already wearing 12+ month sizes – he is about the same size as most the one year olds we know. He is also cuddlier now, I feel like I’m getting real hugs from him and he loves to grab the sides of my face and go in for an open mouth slobber kiss.
He’s very social. He crawls after the older kids at the park – some try to get away from him other’s try to engage.
It’s hard to believe we are about to celebrate Henri’s first Christmas. I find myself being very grateful for all of my many blessings. We have received Christmas care packages from our parents containing gifts (mostly for Henri), hard to find products like cans of peas and Tylenol PM, as well as my beloved reindeer food (which I polished off in two days – Maxime is hoarding his jar of it just to taunt me).
I count myself so lucky to have such an incredible son, husband and family. I don’t know if it is the distance or the arrival of my son (or a combination of both) that makes me feel so blessed. I find myself thinking about what great parents I have and how much I love my husband and my son(who we waited so long for). So even though the holiday spirit isn’t all that strong here in Taiwan (not that they don’t have some décor and music going in the stores), it’s pretty strong in my heart. I can’t wait to see everyone back home in the spring of 2012. Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Mitsukoshi play area
This department store's (overly pastel) play area is insane. Everything you see is actually in motion - the cylinder is spinning, the little merry-go-round, also spinning... The balloons are being blown around - there is a slide that is clear that has water running through it and a ball pit, as well. Intense...
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