A Little Tipsy

We had a Friday Shabbat dinner with a cheap Chinese wine. The wine tasted actually OK. I had a half glass. It was still early. I took Akiva to take a walk.

Outside stopped raining. It’s been raining for almost two weeks. We walked around and checked several small boutiques and a DVD store. At the playground Akiva wanted to play on a slide, but there was a puddle at the bottom of slider. He still wanted. I thought I could catch him before his going into the puddle. He was sliding down so fast I couldn’t catch him. Instead he jumped into the puddle from his butt. His pants got wet. I took his pant off. His dawn jacket covered till his knees. I thought he wouldn’t be cold. On the way back, some grandma told her granddaughter “Look at the boy. How could he walk around with no pants in this cold weather?”. Some guy said to me,”Why don’t you let your son to wear pants?”. Usually I get annoyed by these local’s comments. However I had a wine and was in a good mood. I was smiling at them. Akiva and I hold our hands together and walked with a skip.
When we got our apartment complex, I let him walk on the small fence. At the end, Akiva wanted to jump off. I held his hands. He jumped. One of my hands slid off. Akiva fell down from his face. His lip started bleeding. He cried. I felt terrible.

Next day I check his cut. His front tooth was chipped off. I felt really terrible. In addition, I had really bad hung over. I no longer go out with kids when I am tipsy. I won’t drink Chinese cheap wine any more.

Happy Thanks Giving!

I am thankful for my beautiful wife. She is so beautiful. I’m thankful that my children are healthy and smart. I’m thankful that Akiva is only 1.9 years old…if he was older, he would definitely be an alcoholic. I’m thankful that Kenaz is always cute and very happy…during the daytime before dinner.

We are happy for the North-Eastern Chinese food restaurant that delivers lamb-wraps, cold onion tofu, and beef & turnip dumplings…because otherwise we would have had to go out into the cold rain, wait for a taxi to pick us up, and go to get Beijing Duck (which is our usual Thanksgiving in China tradition)…and then we would have had to deal with The Forces of Chaos (Akiva and Kenaz) in a public restaurant.


We are thankful for the love of our family and friends all over the world. Happy Thanks Giving!

Miscellaneous other things I am thankful for: Battlestar Galactica Season 2; our babysitter/domestic helper (who never listens to what we say and is very old-school, but she is great with the babies); heated floor carpet in the living room;baby-rocker seat; the years we could spend with Unagi; Googletalk so that my family in America can hear Akiva say “No!”; the new French sporting goods store in Shanghai (called “Decathlon”) that sells thick white socks and good-quality down-feather jackets for cheap; and a Democratic-party controlled legislature in Washington.

Frustrated Mom in China

Tony, Jess hasn't complained about the locals and their attitudes because it is my turn.

Oh, My God! I cannot stand it!! My pregnancy is finally over. However I am not supposed to go out in three months. The weather is nice. I feel good. I came to outside in my apartment complex a month after my labor. Now everyone think I am going to have bad menopause !! I am supposed to wear socks otherwise my feel get crack. I am supposed to wear scarf and hat even under 81F. I am not supposed to eat ice cream because baby would get the hiccups. (The store clerk actually refused to sell an ice cream) I respect Chinese medicine and tradition based on Chinese four thousand years history. I will eat chicken and ginger soup every day just because Chinese people believe in that would heal me after labor. Yet some have to be updated by modern medical science and life style.

Chinese Herb “Ban lan gen”

Jesse is sick (again!!). Now we have two kids. I need his help. He cannot be sick that often. He needs to build up his immune system. I have asked around locals how they prevent catching cold. Their answer was having ”Ba lan gen” tea (Echinacea is not popular). I went to a local pharmacy and bought the tea. It is a little bit bitter but mostly tastes like brown sugar water. I looked at internet about bal an gen. It is Isatis root to remove toxic heat, to reduce heat in blood, and to soothe the sore throat. Jesse and I will have this tea every day from now on. We will see the result over this coming winter….