jumpy

Sometimes, it's good just to jump.

style notes

Last weekend, I tried on some of Aron shushu's stylish glasses. Do you think they're "me"?



Those guys are not paying attention to the main attraction here, are they?



I'll ask for Chelsey ah-yi's opinion.

Friday last

Snapshots from the after-school routine, so you can see the super fun purple car.



And the set-up for the big "Love to Shop" Promotional. They're giving away 3 Honda CRVs in the next three weeks. Binbin likes the car pictures plastered all around the mall these days.



He is also fond of the new, brown-colored Starbucks cups.

future so bright...

need I say more?

dog days

It's steamy weather now, AC a necessity, even at 7:30 am.

Binbin's new favorite books are: "who ate my candy?" and "who is hiding my lemon?"

After school routine has shifted slightly. We play at school with the purple car, then slide down the slide a few times. We still go to "Love to Shop," but we have to stop to play with toys on display on the first floor. We don't always spend all three coins on basketball, we now diversify and try things like the "whack a mole." Still, we like our mango icee, but now we've added a cup of lukewarm water. And, we like to switch seats at least once. We don't always want to leave, but a new obsession with the special features in Animusic is enticement enough.

And so, it's home we go...to return to the comforts of AC and TV.

Return to routine

We're all still trying to return to our routines. Binbin's illness, a cold, passed for the most part. We hear the occasional cough in the morning and evening. We wipe his nose only two or three times a day. This compared to the constant wiping last week. He still expresses angst at having to go to school, but he's been a trooper. Once he's gathered Monkey and Blankies (yes, Binbin has caught on that there are *two* blankies, and he needs them both) into a bag to bring along, he'll head out for school. I should add that Binbin had a fabulous time at school yesterday...his class was treated to a blow-up jumpy "room" on the school's front lawn.

Jack is still under the weather. He was on parent duty this morning from about 4 to 7 am. Binbin work early, and since we refused to give him the bottle he asked for, had to be held and rocked and otherwise encouraged to return to sleep.

De-nin has mustered her resserves to return books to Academia Sinica yesterday, plot out an outline for the remainder of her manuscript, and begin drafting the dreaded chapter on authenticity and attribution. The quiet environment (and the generous usage of the air conditioner) of the nearby National Palace Museum has made for a much-needed, productive day of writing.

play at home

Would you like play?



Books are for reading, but we can use them to create tunnels for the train



And then we can flatten them.



Our "work" is done, how about if we just veg out now?

The Zoo

On Saturday, we went to the zoo with Yeye, Nainai, Yigong and Yipo. It was my third time to the zoo and I still haven't seen it all. This time I got to see some of my favorite animals again - the Lemurs, who were getting fed, and the Elephants. We were there early and the zoo had just opened. The animals were all just being fed and very relaxed.




I spent some of the time watching the animals from the luxury of my sedan chair.


And finally, when it got too hot I halted our procession and got drinks for everyone. You can see them all resting and enjoying their cool drinks.

Garden on a cloudy day

We went on two big outings while Yeye and Nainai were here. One was to the Garden next to the Palace Museum. The other was to the zoo. I'll tell you about the Garden first.

It was a cloudy day and there were signs posted that said we couldn't feed the fish, though we did anyway. Mama and I were watching the fish and wondering why they were hiding under Yeye. Some of the fish were as big as me. Luckily, I didn't fall in, though I tried to scare mama as much as possible. A nice man gave me some fish food that I threw to the "starving" fish.




After watching the fish eat I realized that I hadn't eaten and called an emergency family meeting, at which I declared that we should retire to another location and eat. Which we did.




While we were eating this guy and his young "assistant" were trying to trade some calligraphy for a 挖土機 (excavator). Mama told me that it was really some famous calligrapher named Wang Xizhi who was trading his calligraphy for geese. Looked to me like he was trading for an excavator. Why would you want geese when you could have an excavator?



After lunch we went and checked out the Emperor's pavilion. Baba tried to get me to pose in the Emperor's seat, but I decided it would make a much better picture if I posed under the Emperor's table.

School, no! 上學不要!

Why the bad attitude? Well, the visit with grandparents meant two days off from school. Monday's return to routine wasn't nearly as tearful as we anticipated. But, by Tuesday afternoon, Binbin had caught his second Taipei cold virus. He returned home with us about an hour early, then stayed with us through Wednesday and Thursday. What is Binbin like when he's ill? He's coughing and got a runny nose. And though he wakes about 2 am needing more Tylenol, and wakes again at 6 for a bottle, he'll sleep until 8...and then, to his exhausted parents dismay, he won't nap until about 4 in the afternoon!

Jack and I are wiped out. Zengzeng laoshi called to check on Binbin yesterday, and heard the voice of a desperate mother. She encouraged Binbin's return to school this morning (Friday). So be it, and Binbin returned, crying and pleading nearly all the way, which left the parents feeling not so great, but the thought of some much needed rest during school hours won out.

We, too, are ill. Jack with a stomach bug; De-nin with the early stages of Binbin's cold. More regular blogging will have to wait until our good health is restored.

a visit

Grandfather, Sir, and Grandmother 爺爺和奶奶 came for a visit! They arrived late Wednesday and stayed through Sunday, just in time to celebrate Mothers' Day with us.

Saturday morning, we all went out to one of our favorite destinations, the Taipei zoo. This time, the blazing hot sun made it far too warm to climb on the hippo sculptures. But, Binbin found a cool spot!



By Sunday morning, the weather had started to change, and a cooler breeze made our visit to the Approaching Goodness Garden 至善園 very pleasant.



More pictures to come soon.

Binbin the Musician

Binbin has a great fondness for music. Some of his favorite songs are: "Elephant" 大象, "Little Frog" 小青蛙, "Train Fly Fast" 火車快飛. He likes to accompany these songs with his favorite instrument (s), xylophone with drums. He has also recently discovered the joys of playing these very loudly while listening to his favorite songs on headphones. He's getting ready for his future recording career.



Here you can see him in action with the quick drumstick manuevers he loves best.



Since being a musician requires the right kind of attitude, Binbin has also started developing his own attitude/style to go with his future career. Here he sports his new tan hat with plaid bill and teddy bear embroidery. Yet, as you can see, the attitude is all in the wearing it backwards. It goes well with the hippo shirt. (For those of you who may suspect that this photo op was posed, think again. Binbin put this hat on all by himself.)

things native and exotic

Lots of adventures were had this past weekend. And, some pictures were taken to document the fun, but they have not yet been downloaded (nor, for that matter, uploaded). So, please read on. We'll feed your picture habit soon.

Saturday morning, Binbin lobbied for rides on the bus and choo-choo both. So, we made use of both to travel into central Taipei to visit Guma 姑媽 and Gudie 姑爹, De-nin's paternal aunt and uncle. They have taken up temporary residence near the Botanical Garden beside the National History Museum and so, when the rain stopped, we all went for a stroll. As usual, Binbin wasn't so sure about entering an unfamiliar home inhabited by unfamiliar people. But, he was eventually won over by Gudie's screen saver, which projected fantastic animated renditions of mechanical drawings by Leonardo da Vinci.

In the evening, we met up with Aron and Chelsey and headed over to yet another unfamiliar home with unfamiliar faces. This time, since Aron shu-shu seemed okay with going in, Binbin bravely ventured forth. He soon scampered all over place, up and down stairs, on and off sofas, offering freshly popped popcorn to one and all. As an extra bonus, he got to watch "Laputa" projected on a four foot wide screen!

Sunday adventures were undertaken with Yigong and Yipo, who drove us to the playground in Xin Beitou. Though Binbin went up and down the slides dozens of times, he couldn't get enough. But, he is almost always willing to visit someplace new, and so he gladly walked over to the library and "read" some books in the children's area before becoming fussier and fussier. Fussiness disappeared by finding a pond filled with tadpoles and a few fish. We tried to feed them sempei, but those rice crackers seemed only to draw waterbugs our way.

After a short rest and lunch at home...we did what many, perhaps too many Taipei families do on Sunday: we went to Costco. Binbin was happy as punch riding in the shopping cart, which we filled with our exotic needs: flour tortillas, imported avocados, Special K cereal, and Canadian bacon. Evening found the three of us staring zombie-like at the TV, eating fresh guacamole and chips. A happy ending to a busy weekend.

The Elementary School Playground

To play properly in any school sandbox you must first add a good deal of water to the sand and mix thoroughly. Do not over mix as the water will begin to seep further into the sand and not be available for step two.



Step two requires that you abandon the shovel and use your hands. Sand is a great cleansing agent and rubs all that dead skin right off, leaving your hands soft and warm to the touch, though a bit grimy.



Besides the sandbox I've discovered that it's easy to circumvent the restrictions imposed by authority. Here I simply raise the "Caution: Do Not Cross" tape and run across what appears to be a perfectly fine rope and wood bridge.



See, it works in both directions. Very handy trick to know.

mystery seals

I'm trying to decipher the two seals below. what do they say? whose seals are they?




I know the seal below reads: 別時容易. And the seal belonged to Zhang Daqian 張大千. But do we know who carved it? Is there a date for this seal?

artwork 藝術品

Binbin brought this home from school earlier this week. (It's a sea turtle, in case you are among the less perceptive viewers.)



Baba asked if his turtle had a name. Binbin said he hadn't thought of a name yet, but after a few seconds, he came up with the name "wugui 烏龜," that is, "Turtle."

bubble Yakuit 珍珠洋樂多

Binbin is now unofficially Taiwanese. Why? Because he's come to love drinks containing chewy, tapioca pearls. In his quest to expand his 7-11 drink choices, Binbin stumbled upon larger, polka-dotted bottles of a version of Yakuit, his yogurt drink. Turns out, the polka-dots advertise the tapioca pearl contents. And, even more exciting, the drink comes in original and green tea flavors!



Binbin wants to show you the tapioca pearls...



See!

veggie ball 蔬菜球

An obscure game has now captured Binbin's imagination. It requires: one plastic grocery cart filled with assorted plastic vegetables, one ball (not too large), two or more players, and a good sense of humor. Players choose their vegetable, take positions in the courtyard of the housing project, and use the vegetables as hockey sticks to direct the ball's movement.

Veggie ball will probably not be among the events at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but if it catches on, perhaps an exhibition sport?

May Day 勞工節

The streets in our neighborhood were quieter on May Day. Laborers took the day off, and so too rested the many bulldozers and cranes that are usually hard at work transforming the former watershed into luxury condos and swank shopping plazas.

Binbin attended school. De-nin had planned an expedition to Lexis 樂學 to purchase books, but they were closed (perhaps shelving and re-shelving books constitutes hard labor). So, she worked on her book manuscript, trying to find the right words to tell the story of Zhang Daqian's 張大千 acquisition and sale of the famous "Night Banquet of Han Xizai 韓熙載液宴圖." Jack endeavored to edit a colleague's paper for his Xunzi 荀子 anthology, and later ruminated on his own new article for a different project.

Later in the afternoon, we went shopping at Miramar for a dress for De-nin to wear to cousin Jean's upcoming wedding banquet. She and husband Nelson will celebrate their nuptials in Taipei next month.

After that, our regular routine ensued: picking up Binbin, going to "Love to Shop" for 3 rounds of basketball, consuming a mango-tea icee at Starbuck's, sauntering home for dinner, walking over to playground #1 for some running around, nodding off after a bottle.

Night-night.