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.
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