12/12/2021

Hey there,  

Know I have said this before, but the level the locals go to with the mask wearing is extraordinary.  Amazed every day that I do not see a single person walking around without it covering their nose and mouth properly.  On the track I go to exercise on, some people will take them down, but about half keep them on while running laps.  And there hasn't been a single locally transmitted case reported in over 30 days.  If the States went one day without a case, there would be a tickertape parade.  I know it is like comparing an apple to an orchard full of apple trees, but still.

Haven't mentioned the kids much lately.  I don't bring them up in conversation out of the blue for two reasons.  First, they are both in good spots in their lives and don't want to jinx it.  Second, some folks are not as lucky and theirs are going through tough times and you never want to be that person bragging on your kids to people that don't care or that you may make feel bad, so I only offer updates should people ask after them.  If you are here, I assume you are curious, so here goes.  

The Boy seems to be in a decent space.  Last I heard he had a special friend, enjoys his j-o-b, and dog sat for his cousin (my sister's kid) a couple of weeks back.  The dog survived.  I didn't want to say anything but the last time that an Imbro dog sat for a Post, the dog didn't survive the night.

Babydoll seems to be thriving in her first year. Last I heard, she has a special friend, and samples all the offerings that a big university has, like basketball games and lawn lighting ceremonies.  She attended the Freshman, excuse me...First Year Formal and here is a shot of her and her girlfriends before they headed out.  

Made me happy that she was the only one to not wear tennis shoes.  Must be all that Nordstrom DNA.  And Betty said she was the best looking of the bunch.  I didn't include the photo with the special friend out of respect for her privacy (and that the nature of relationships at this age could mean that  they may be kaput in the near future and don't want to record that).

She joined some dance production at the school and enjoyed it so much she is considering minoring in it.  As we dance aficionados say...merde.

Wish we could have gone.  The Boy drove up to represent us.

One more brag.  Last Spring, the kiddies graduated from their respective High School and College.  We saw The Boy's diploma and while it is hard to see in this photo due to the flash light on that part, it reads his degree was with "Highest Distinction" 

Thought that was quite impressive.  It happens that he was visiting Seattle with a college buddy that also graduated in the same school, and his degree also came with Highest Distinction.  May have read the dictionary wrong or just had been a bad student, but can there be multiple highest's?  

When we got back to Taipei, the school had us pick up an award for Babydoll that she didn't receive in person as the end of school was shut down due to covid.  Hers was for Academic Distinction.

I goof on the schools these days cause it feels that everyone gets an A and they grade on these curves that'd make Hef sit up and take notice, but upon research, is not a gimme.  I tried to bait The Boy into making a joke that B-dolls wasn't Highest, but he took the high road and said he didn't get the same in High School and that B-doll is a better student than he was.  If I'm ever baiting you into saying something awful, the high road is the only way to win the game.

Regardless, they are both quite intelligent and obviously get that from their mother, and just hope that they do something good for the universe.  As Eleventh Dream Day would sing, Two Smart Cookies.

I go in on Monday for knee replacement surgery.  Old lefty will be shiny and new come Tuesday afternoon.  Went to get my pre-op pedicure yesterday so I'd look presentable to the nursing staff.  Pushed it out far longer than normal to maximize the time they'd be clean post-op, and my toenails were so long that it'd make a lemur envious.  I'd share a photo, but know there is at least one foot fetishist on copy.

Feel better prepared this time as I re-read Know What To Expect When Your Expecting a New Knee, which I wrote..  Think that I'll be able to move better during recovery as I have a good knee to balance on/push off from.  And in anticipation of round two, hoarded all of the kids meds they had leftover from previous medical procedures.  They had some good stuff and experimented with them during quarantine to know which ones did what.  Wish me a speedy recovery.  

Finally, over the summer, saved a bunch of local news articles with the intention of sharing them with you at a later date.  Haven't found the time or whatever to do so in earnest, but will leave you today with my favorite.  

Black Friday fight at the Costco.

To entice you to click on that link, two guys had a disagreement over the queue for the after Thanksgiving (which they don't celebrate here) sale of Herbal Essence shampoo.  This article has everything, a blow by blow description that would make Bert Sugar blush, dudes in flip flops using rudimentary kung-fu kicks on each other, Costco...  And the whole thing wraps up with the actual video, including the knockout blow.  Mangia!