Has been sometime since I've had a chance to get to this space due to many things and nothing in particular. Not sure if I mentioned that I was running for the School Board again this year. Not much to say about it that wasn't said in my failed campaign from two years ago. Am the only minority candidate on the slate this time and paraphrased Donald Trump in one of my speeches, so don't have high hopes of success, but you never know what will resonate. To be honest, would rather not be elected as it'll be a pain in the butt and have to be more politically correct. OK, have to attempt to be politically correct in some fashion. Either way, the election ends tomorrow so am done with those obligations. Have to be careful what I say on that topic as some folks read this that live here and wouldn't want to get into too much trouble with the powers that be at this point.
Update on the Boy's tail surgery...we are still dealing with it. He went on his school softball teams trip to Bangkok a couple weeks ago and played 6 games over three days and think he may have torn open the wound. We had to go back for another surgery to clean it up and restitch, and it just doesn't want to close. We were talking about the original surgery that was not "major" but he was under anesthesia and anytime one has to be put out like that, there is worry. In the nature v nurture debate, it is hard to not see how close his mind works to the way mine does. I asked him after the original surgery if he felt nervous about it and he said that once he learned that he was going to be put completely under, rather than it being just a local anesthesia, he didn't worry as if anything happened and he died, that he would be out and wouldn't know about it. I had the exact same thought during all of my surgeries and always took the 'completely under' option when it was a choice for just that reason.
The converse of that happened the other morning at breakfast. Turned on the Dodger game and Vin Scully was doing his thing. Paul sits down to eat and is listening to Vinny tell some story as he is wont to do, and Paul says that he really doesn't like this announcer. Blasphemy. I thought I brought him up right and attribute this heresy to the immediacy of the internet age. He was still unconvinced when I pointed out that the best baseball impressions by Harry Shearer on the Simpsons were based on him.
The best baseball/Simpsons related video though is this Hank Azaria one...
We have been going back regularly to the hospital to get it checked up on and cannot stop being obsessed with this advertisement in the dermatologists office. I have to assume that it is for that surgery that arrests over active sweat glands, but really take a moment to look at what is going on here.
Why does the main dude wear an eye patch? Why is his friend trying to collect his excretions and what's up with the curly hair? And I would be keeping my mouth closed, rather than wide open. What's with the lips and head of the sweat guy? The third friend in the background seems quite pleased with his output. Amazing ad.
Some random thoughts that have been rolling around...
- Everyone know the saying, 'when God closes a door, he opens a window". There needs to be one about when you are passing through a doorway, go all the way through. Don't fucking stop in the doorway.
- Selfies seem to be evolving, but not fast enough for my taste. I don't see as many people throwing out the peace sign in every photo, but saw one the other night that disgusted me. Babydoll and I went to our favorite Italian joint and at the table next to us were a couple of local ladies. They get their pizza and it is...of course...seafood. I was willing to let that go as cultural peculiarity, but then one of the gals picks up a slice with one hand and then takes several selfies of herself with the nasty thing. What could she possibly do with that photo? Has to be some kind of mental illness. While it feels that obsessive selfie-ing is becoming a thing of the past, its death throes feel even more sad.
- I think my daughter watches the movie Mean Girls as more of a documentary than a piece of fiction.
- I love how kids can wear just about anything and not feel conscientious about it. Maybe it is different in the States, but I remember being humiliated when I tooled into school on the first day one year in a pair of Toughskins. Today, I see the Boy's buddies wearing jackets with the exact same pattern as ones my 89 year old mom wears. Having to sport a certain hairstyle or clothes just doesn't have the same stigma as it used to, and that is such a great thing.
We didn't leave the country for Spring Break this year...wanted to save a few bucks and a week of Betty's vacation time to use in the States this summer. We did take the train to Hualien to spend a couple of nights at a place called Taroko Gorge. Everyone agrees it is the most beautiful spot in Taiwan but we hadn't gone as we wanted Betty to be able to come along with us. A couple hour train ride from Taipei and you hit the coast...the hotel sends a van to pick up passengers for the hour drive to the only hotel in the park.
I am a sucker for anything that relates to How the Earth Was Made and Taroko hit that spot.
Taiwan was created by the convergence of three tectonic plates and this area is mainly made from ancient marble forged deep under the ancient ocean floor. It is a hard rock, which is harder to erode, but as the island is tropical, it gets a ton of rain, so the erosion is more gradual. That is why the gorge is so narrow and sheer. Truly spectacular.
Other things I'm a sucker for include...
70' s Funk and Soul
Giraffes
Dimples on a girl (but not on a guy as that signifies evilness)
Baseball
Feedback guitar
Octopus (alive, not sauteed)
Rain
Meatballs
Regarding dimples on a female, took the bait on this article that listed the 6 traits men can't resist in women...according to science. Hard to dispute most of them, like a wider hips to waist ratio, smiles and healthy hair...those are so duh. And it was nice to have validation that less make-up is a trait men prefer. The one that caught my eye was that men prefer women with high pitched voices. Explains the local variety of girls with that squaky "Xie xie" that I can't stand. After years listening to Loveline, was sure that the high pitched voices were a signal of arrested development. Really just a manifestation of why guys are perverted and why I worry about my daughter when she is out of my sight more than the Boy.
Also could not resist clicking on this 9 great things about Taiwan article. Open government, no guns, lots of butterflies, high recycling rates...lots of good things here to be sure. But # 9 was a head scratcher..."The approval rate of President Ma Ying-jeou is dwindling at 9.2 percent, but it’s higher than former Russian President Boris Yeltsin’s 8 percent when Yeltsin was in office." Think I would have stopped at 8 great things. This Ma guy is done in a couple of weeks and as I've posted before, am excited about the new government and first female President who gets sworn into office in May Was waiting outside of the oil change place yesterday and was approached by an older lady who had an axe to grind about the new lady. It is weird in that there are people on the street handing out ads for all kinds of stuff, but they never want to give me one as the (rightly) assume I can't read it. That's OK by me as I am not opposed to a little racial profiling. The converse is that every crazy that knows some English feels obligated to spew their theory or conspiracy forth to me. When I'm not in the mood, will just start speaking in Spanish and they go away. But if I have the time, will engage in discussion. Old lady yesterday started talking about how the dinosaurs went extinct because they were angry and equated their demise to present times by comparing the incoming President to a dinosaur that was going to tear down all the buildings. I am a pretty thorough student of politics (and have read a lot about why the dinosaurs went extinct) and could not really get the connection, but I told her that we Americans really like this new lady and that she should too. Please back me up on this should the topic come up in your conversations with Taiwanese people.
Finally...mentioned earlier that the Boy went to Bangkok for a school softball tournament. The school (and regional association of American schools) have agreed to switch to real baseball next year only that our school will not be participating citing "safety" reasons. This is one of the topics I cannot elaborate on at this point as I am quite disappointed in the schools administration and the way they went about this issue in general. The point for today is that this might be his last sporting opportunity in High School and that it was an important moment for him. By all accounts, they had an amazing time...he and three of his favorite teammates all stayed at one of the local like-minded boy's house and played video games and laughed the whole weekend. I regrettably could not attend, but another mom, who is a rabid and talented shutterbug was there and took a ton of photos. Thought I'd share a few.
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