Well. Today, for the second day in a row, I took a nap. Stupid jet lag.
Also, I didn’t run today, as I waited until late in the day, planning to run with a group that they told me started at 5:45 from the local running shop. Sounds good, except I was the only one who showed up. “No one runs alone,” they told me, which, as it turns out, was true. After waiting around for 15 minutes I gave up, and by the time I picked up Seth from Barnes & Noble where he was waiting for me, it was dark and cold, and I don’t really have clothes appropriate for running in the dark and cold. And tomorrow it’s supposed to be really, really cold. I’m thinking maybe I need to investigate membership fees at the local Y.
We’re home! We landed at MCI (aka KCI) around midnight and met my sister, Marie, at the gate. She took us to Lisbeth’s parents’ house, and we’ve mostly been resting since then. I’ve mostly been resting, anyway. Lisbeth has done an admirable job of pretending she’s not feeling any jet lag, and I’ve fallen asleep more or less intermittently. I think I’m going to do that again right now so I can maybe have a productive day tomorrow. G’night!
Oh, my - I’d forgotten how good real diet Coke is! Coke light has been an okay substitute, but real, honest-to-God diet Coke is so, so, much better.
Oh, man! I fell asleep yesterday before I could post, and then I forgot to post an item in my series on Friday, and now, holy crap, we leave tomorrow.
So. Most of our stuff is packed - what remains is to pack today’s clothing tomorrow morning, and make sure all of our bags squeeze in under the weight limit. I’ve tried my best to be ruthless, but we’ve accumulated some things, lots of it gifts or souveniers that I can’t bring myself to leave behind. We’re going to have to ship a few boxes, but only two, and we might be able to get it down to one.
Tomorrow, we have to return our internet modem thingie, drop off a few things for people at the kindy, take the boxes to the post office to send home, and be ready to go at 11:00am. We’ve got a cab coming to take us to the airport, and we leave then around 6pm. In 24 hours, we’ll be in the air, on our way home.
Things I Can Do In The US That I Can’t Do In Taiwan:
- See spring coming, in the form of longer days. For six months, the sun has set between 5:30 and 7:00pm. It’s strange and unnerving, and it almost feels like natures trying to play some sort of practical joke. The visuals just don’t match up with the calendar and the smells in the air, not to mention the teasing bits of warmth.
- Drive from point A to point B without the need to put my hair back so it doesn’t get all tangled as it whips around in the open air atop a scooter. Don’t get me wrong - I have loved driving a scooter. But I’m excited to drive a car again.
- Drink tap water without worrying that I might get some strange stomach bug that’ll put me in the hospital.
The packing continues. We’re getting visibly closer, but of course, it still feels like we’re miles away from being finished. But, eh. It’ll get there.
So, I’ve had to set aside a bunch of knitting projects recently - nothing has really been quite working out for me. So, I was thinking I need something pretty simple for plane knitting, but not so complicated that I’d fall asleep knitting. I’ve been doing some swatching for the project I’m thinking of, and it’s looking pretty good so far, but I’m only a few rows in, so I’m reserving judgement a bit longer. When I’m sure (tomorrow evening, I hope), I’ll share. I promise. No, really - pinky swear!
Packing, along with the requisite procrastination, is really pretty boring. Well, maybe not always. But it was today. For me. So, I’ve really got nothing today. I’m sorry. I really hate coming here and not actually posting any content. It’s boring for you. But I also hate not posting at all. I’ve gotten into a groove, and I’m actually posting regularly, and I’m afraid to miss a day for the fear that it might just spiral into a week that morphs into a month and all of a sudden, I’m just some girl with a dead blog.
So. The boring post in which I write about how I have nothing to write about. So boring. So meta.
Things I Can Do In The US That I Can’t Do In Taiwan:
- Speak the native language. Oh, what joy, to be able to ask where things are, to be able to know that I can go do whatever needs doing without worrying if I know enough words or if the person working knows any English or if there are picture menus or whatever. Kato tells me that I’ll be overwhelmed with all the conversations I’ll be able to hear and understand, but I think it’s an okay trade. I may think differently in a week or so.
Only one more teaching day left - then it’s 4 days to pack, a day (give or take a few time zones) to fly, and we’ll be home!
Our tickets came today, so we’re sure (well, almost sure) to at least have seats on a series of three planes that will take us home. What we’re not so sure of is whether or not we’ll be seated together, since there are no seat designations on these retro-style paper tickets.
I guess we’ll be headed to the airport extra early in hopes of snagging some good seats.
Things I Can Do In The US That I Can’t Do In Taiwan:
- Drive along a flat, open stretch of highway, where the sky is big and blue, the land is green all the way to the horizon, and I don’t feel boxed in by hills and clouds and rain and smog.
So, I decided to make some no-bake cookies tonight. I used my regular recipe, and then added a scant cup of pistachios (mmmmmm………). They’re awesome, sure, but I overboiled the chocolate before I added the oatmeal and the pistachio, so they cookies are dry and crumbly, which just bugs me to no end. Seth sees no problem (chocolate? yup. oatmeal? uh-huh. pistachios? check. awesome? you betcha.), and yeah, sure, they taste good, but they’re just. not. right. So, no recipe, since I want to make a pretty post with pictures (of proper-looking no-bakes, not dull, crumbly piles).
Anyway, we had some (very) minor issues with our tickets. We bought them through a consolidator (or something, I dunno really), and as it turns out, they’re paper tickets. Paper. I had no idea paper tickets even still existed. So, of course, those tickets need to be shipped, which brings the cost up such that any savings we realized from going through this place initially is pretty much completely obliterated. Bah. They’re on their way now, anyway (well, I think - I asked that they hold off on shipping them until Friday so that they’d be sure to arrive on a work day, since our mailing address is, uh, our work address), so it’s done.
And, yeah, that’s the news. Since I completely forgot to post yesterday, today we’ve got a double header:
Things I Can Do In The US That I Can’t Do In Taiwan:
- Wash my clothes, and then dry them. In a dryer. In under 48 hours per load. Oh, technology! You are wonderful indeed.
- Attend multiple events we thought we’d miss:
- Seth’s cousin’s wedding
- My grandpa’s wedding
- Special Olympics events (okay, this one is completely Seth’s - I’ll likely spend that weekend hanging out with my parents)
- Winfield!
Lisbeth promised big news, and she’s letting me deliver it.
We’ve purchased tickets to the US and given notice at our job. After much flip-flopping, wishy-washiness, mind changing, and whatever else you may call it, we’ve made a final decision to come home. See you soon!
Last night, BB and Seth and I went to see I Am Legend and holy crap, that was a freaky movie. Not what I’d have choosen if I’d had even an inkling of what it was about. Anyway, afterwards, BB suggested a riding out along the coast today, and it sounded like fun, so we said sure.
View Larger MapIt was the right answer.We left around 2 or so this afternoon, and scootered up Highway 2. It was gorgeous. I got to see more of the scenery than either Seth or BB, since I got to ride along behind Seth instead of driving myself (I hadn’t been feeling well this morning, and I didn’t particularly think it was a good idea to drive). We stopped a few times along the way. The first was to get some food - there was a pullover spot where we bought a whole roasted chicken (they graciously removed the head for us) and some coffee, and sat under an umbrella that offered a bit of protection from the wind, if not the cold.
Above, the view from the table (click for big, if you dare).
My babushka look.
Seriously, folks, it was cold. I should have been wearing long underwear.
So cold, in fact, that I’ve clearly lost my ability to aim the camera so that we all get into the photo. I haven’t lost my ability to paste on a cheesy grin, though!
Getting ready to get back on the road.
BB’s all set!
Have I mentioned it was cold?
All ready to go! (Except I think Seth needs a scarf. Sheesh.)
We stopped again a bit later for some more pictures, since it was so pretty. Of course, you can barely tell in the pictures I’m posting here.
It was windy out by the coast - check out the bottom of my braid!
Heh. BB hates to smile for pictures. Silly goose.
Finally, our turnaround point - we found a spot we could climb up for some fantastic views of the distant and close-up landscape.
It was really pretty, but we were all beginning to feel like popsicles, so we decided to head back. I was so cold that I hopped into a hot bath as soon as I got home. Now I’m in bed, and I think that’s a good place for this post to end.
Goodnight!