Saturday, January 28, 2017

The Year of the Rooster

Today is Chinese New Year. I have my usual rituals for celebrating the day, but this year I've set them aside so I can recover from the flu. Yesterday I rode my e-bike on the deserted streets a few minutes, just to soak in the peace and quiet that only comes once a year, and only for a few hours.

I have a cough that is aggravated by cold air and talking. So I'm camping out in my cozy abode this holiday. I hope everyone out there is having fun as they usher in the year of the rooster.

Monday, January 23, 2017

I've got the flu (and a Facebook rant)

Burning fever, chills, aches and congestion started Friday night. These led me to believe I had the flu. But because I'd had a flu shot on December 22nd, the doctor thought perhaps this was some other type of virus instead. The nurse did a blood test and a nose swab this morning, and it has now been confirmed. I have the flu.

Do they give refunds for defective flu shots?

The flu is rough on anyone, but they are especially concerned for me because my immune system has been through the wringer in the past couple of years.

I saw the doctor in time to benefit from taking Tamiflu pills. Have you ever had those? Rather quickly after taking my first pill, I developed nausea and then uncharacteristic incessant belching. Nice, huh? I hope this five-day round of medication does the trick. I have a trip to the U.S. coming up in less than three weeks. I need to get well fast.

While waiting for my lab work to come back at the doctor's office, I scrolled through my Facebook account and unfollowed anyone who had a political post. I didn't unfriend anyone, I just stopped following them, which means we're still friends, but my newsfeed won't show anything they post. I can change this at any time, and I can also still look on their Facebook home page to see what they've been up to.

Overall, this makes me sad, but I couldn't take the tension and negativity anymore. I'm halfway around the world and still it eats at me to read all of these online shouting matches that have escalated over the weekend. I do hope this is just a temporary thing and I can add people back little by little. I'm not opposed to people having or expressing opinions, I am just opposed to having unnecessary stress in my life and this is one small thing I can do to alleviate it without cutting myself off from the world completely.

I did not unfriend my mother though, of course.💗 She didn't have any political posts today, but even if she had, I wouldn't have unfriended her! Never. But everyone else was fair game.

Now all that's left on my Facebook feed are cat photos, how to make an old guitar into an overhead light fixture, recipes, quilts, baby announcements, and who has been Facebook friends with whom for the last 4 or 8 or 11 years (why does Facebook even do that...who cares)? I just want to see when people have babies, get married, pass through the pearly gates, have anniversaries, need prayer, and/or have something personal, interesting, fun or positive to talk about.

I'm in search of a better way to live, and although I'm not sure what I've done will help, it was worth a try.

And, now that I have better internet, I hope to spend more time on this blog anyway.

I hope this finds all of you doing well, and if you haven't gotten your flu shot yet, please consider doing so sooner rather than later!

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Happy Chinese New Year



Chinese New Year falls on January 28, 2017.

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Holiday buzz

There's a buzz in the air as people travel to their hometowns for Chinese New Year, which falls on Saturday, January 28th this year. School is out for a month. The train and bus stations are packed above and beyond normal capacity.
All through town, you see people rolling their luggage. Everyone is on the move!

People are also stocking up on food and supplies, because even though most stores are only closed for three days, many businesses will be closed for two full weeks during the holidays. Even the ones that are open will be short of supplies like meat and produce, because their suppliers are on vacation. I'm stocking up on bottled water, toilet paper, light bulbs, and groceries. No need to stock up on coffee. Starbucks here is open 365 days a year.

People are also buying gifts, in the form of food items in gift boxes. The food may be cookies, cakes, fruit, nuts, wine, etc. Chinese people give the gifts to family members and to people that they visit during the holidays. The beautiful boxes of gift food are often re-gifted. These gift boxes are not cheap, and people need to buy quite a few. Homemade gifts are not considered appropriate. 

This year, fireworks have been banned in the city limits. No fireworks' stands line the roads as usual. I'm pretty excited that I won't have to bring in everything off of my balconies this year. (I have had flaming bits of paper land on my balcony before, so the risk of fire was real.) But I cannot imagine Chinese New Year without massive pyrotechnics. It seems like the mature thing to do, to ban fireworks. But I'm afraid it won't be quite the same.

Monday, January 16, 2017

The birthday girls

Mimi and I share a birthday! 

I've been homeschooling her lately. Most of the time she sleeps during class -- but when class is over she eats her homework. Mimi is 12 years old now, equivalent to age 74 according to the veterinary charts for small dogs. 

I chose her tiny furry body out of a cardboard box on the sidewalk on a Sunday afternoon in early 2005, and it has proven to be one of the best things I ever did. I thank God for this warm fuzzy blessing in my life. 

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

On the streets

You may have heard that the air quality in China has been very poor this year, more so than usual. When I lived in Bedrock, it was extremely bad all the time, but since I've been in Bamboo Forest, I've found it much more bearable. But when fog rolls in and stays for weeks, it traps the pollution and creates smog; most of China got hit hard this year. After all these years, I just last week got an indoor air purifier. In less than a week, the filter, which should last four months, is already black. It is an uphill battle to try to stay healthy and breathe clean air.
I like all the sidewalk shops in the city. This one sells dolls. As you can see, backpacks are very popular and practical for city living.        
On a cold rainy day, there aren't many customers, but the owners stand guard out front anyway, full of hope! 

Sunday, January 08, 2017

Subway dreams


Commuters endure a long ride on a Sunday morning subway. Everyone's in their own little world.

Friday, January 06, 2017

In my neighborhood

You don't see this kind of thing in Texas.

Sunday, January 01, 2017

The first day of 2017

I took Mimi on a walk through the neighborhood today. I captured the blue sky with wispy clouds visible behind the stark bare branches of a winter tree.
I used to have a young American friend, Katherine P, who lived in one of those twin towers just outside my apartment complex. She's been gone for 7.5 years, but every time I go on a walk, I see her towers and think of her. 
Mimi was walking on the boardwalk when I started taking photos. She turned her back to me so her face wouldn't be in the photo. I whistled shrilly to try to get her to turn her head, but she knows that trick too. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and did a fast two-step u-turn to put an end to the nonsense. I caught her in motion. She looks a little uncomfortable, but she's just twisting her body and getting ready to run.
A canal runs through the middle of my very large apartment complex. There are two bridges over it, a walking bridge and a drive-over bridge. Mimi's goal in life is to cross to the other side of the walking bridge as often as humanly (caninely) possible. She enjoys the smells on that side, and she gets more exercise. No one else knows this little secret, but as far as we're concerned, the name of the bridge is "The Mimi Bridge." Shocker, huh?

That's the first day of 2017 here in Bamboo Forest. Have a year full of God's blessings!

So far, so good

                                        
It's 2017 and all is well in the Middle Kingdom. I think 2017 is going to be a better year for this blog. (I found a better internet solution, and I'm not as exhausted as I was during most of 2016.) Keep checking back. 

I'm related to these people


Part of my family got together during the holidays. My brother J and his immediate family, my parents, J's mother-in-law, and J's son-in-law are all in the photo. H and her husband T live in Seattle, so group photo ops like this are rare.