A New Space

In the past two years that we have lived in China, we have rented furnished spaces. Our apartment in Shanghai was nice, with modern fixtures and Chinese furniture with clean lines. It wasn't OURS, though. We tried to make it comfortable, but it seemed more like a place to sleep and watch TV than a home.


In Beijing, we have been in a furnished townhome. Most of the furniture was definitely more country kitch than I would have liked. It was OK, but again - not really home. We did our best with slipcovers and things. But really, who picks out a couch that looks like this?


So now that we are moving again, this time to Taipei, we really need to seize the opportunity to make this new space a home. In order to do that, we started with the following must haves: close to work (preferably walkable), located in an urban environment, three or more bedrooms, and MUST allow dogs. In addition to all that, though, we were definitely looking for an unfurnished place, one where we could pick the rugs and the sofa and the drapes.

This week, the lease to our next apartment was signed, and we are set to move into our new home next month. We did not get our first choice, but the new place is probably a better bet anyway. It is much sunnier, has higher ceilings and is right in the middle of a very Taiwanese neighborhood.


I am a planner, but Chris is not. In my mind, that new apartment is a blank slate that we can start filling in, even though we are not there yet. For him, though, it is really difficult to imagine the space without being in it. So I am all "how about this rug" and "won't we need a desk for the office"? He, on the other hand, is a big "let's wait and see" advocate. So we are trying to be understanding of each other in these days before we move. He nods slowly (and bewilderingly) at each new rug and furniture item, and I try not to be too vocal about all of the plans dancing around in my head.

I am really excited about this opportunity to craft a space that is ours. With all of the changes coming - new city, new responsibilities, new daughter - at least we can nest a bit, make a home.

Bloodbath

To the government of Myanmar - you are corrupt cowards and bullies.

The monks and your people have shamed you with their bravery. Step down.

Down a Side Street

On Sunday, I took a little trip down a side street near Tian An Men* square while Chris was getting his hair cut. I found a whole pile of these lovely folk art pigs, which made me chuckle.


Side alleys seem to be where the real Beijingers hang out, usually chomping down on sticks of odd roasted things, like seahorses, starfish and scorpions. The scorpions seemed to be placed on the stick live, as I saw many struggling against their fate. Really, these vendors must be extremely talented to be able to impale scorpions on thin bamboo sticks without getting stung. Maybe they are harmless scorpions....


You can never start eating meat off of sticks too young in this town.


More pictures here.

*Did you know that Tian An Men means "heaven's peace gate"? Fascinating.

Summer Palace

Summer is winding down, as is our time in Beijing. Chris and I realized this weekend that we had not yet seen the summer palace. One quick call to a back up driver and we were off...


This is definitely a "must see" in Beijing, as evidenced by the busloads of tourists posing for pictures everywhere. Thank goodness for them, there were plenty of clear signs pointing the way.


The summer palace was lovely, with lots of trees and greenery. As were walking along a forested path near the end of our visit, we commented that this must be the greenest and cleanest place in all of China.


This is the Dowager Empress' famous marble boat. In retrospect, restoring that boat instead of building up the imperial navy probably wasn't such a good idea, was it Cixi?


Here we are....still smiling after traipsing up and down stairs and around the big lake. Or are we smiling because we have seen all there is to see in Beijing and are now moving on? More pictures of the summer palace visit are here.

Things That Make Me Smile

Monks in airports. After seeing one, in Hong Kong or Shanghai, I always wonder what they are doing, where they are headed. Are they going to an existentialist convention? How did they pay for their flight? Do they freak out like me if they are delayed and miss their connection?

Seeing them against the backdrop of stores peddling perfumes and fancy bags makes me think ... how ironic. Suffering is caused by desire, right?

Lovely, in their muted saffron robes. Makes me smile.

On (Not) Having a Driver

Truth be told, the idea of a driver has always been a bit disconcerting. Of course, my family had them when I was growing up and living in the Philippines and Bangladesh. As I got older, though, I was not so interested in having my own as an expat. Mainly because it seemed so colonial and segregationalist.

I certainly didn't need a driver when I was in the Philippines doing dissertaion research. I even tried to ride only jeepneys during my time in Manila. That lasted only about a month until I got a lung infection from the pollution. After that experience, I reluctantly upgraded to taxis.

In Shanghai, we had the luxury of taking taxis everywhere, as we lived in downtown (Puxi) where they were cheap and abundant. In Beijing, though, we are required to live outside of the city because of our big dog. In the beginning, I tried taking taxis to work, but it was too far, too expensive and too unreliable. Getting a driver was inevitable.

We found Mr. Wang through our real estate agent. He came with a little four door Nissan and cost RMB 7,000 per month (about US$900). For that, I got a ride to and from work (one hour each way) and rides anywhere we wanted on Saturday or Sunday. Gas, insurance and the driver's monthly salary (RMB2,000 we learned) were all included. Not a bad deal.

Most importantly, he was a NICE GUY. He really tried to help us out, to get us things we needed and find us places to visit. Everytime we gave him a gift, he reciprocated. He was quiet during the drive to work, and very safe.

We tried very hard to treat him well. We let him go home if we were out to dinner, taking taxis home instead of making him wait until we were done. We gave him a one-month salary bonus at Chinese New Year AND at Christmas. I travel a whole bunch, so there were many weeks where he had nothing to do.

All in all, it was a fine arrangement, except for one tiny little thing. He was almost always late. If I asked him to pick me up at 7:30 a.m., he would pull in at 7:45, sometimes 8. It got so bad that I would tell him 7 a.m. if I had an urgent meeting that I could not miss. We - and by we, I mean Chris, who speaks excellent Mandarin now - had two very serious conversations with him this summer about the importance of being on time. We also said that if he was going to be more than 5 minutes late, he needed to call and let us know. It never happened. He did not learn.

Three weeks ago, I had an early flight, and he was supposed to pick me up at 6:00 a.m. I finally heard from him at 6:30 as I was racing to the airport in a taxi. So sorry, he said, I will be there in 15 minutes. Ummmm, no.

That was an awful morning. I barely made my flight to Hong Kong. The delay meant that I spent a very stressed out hour in the horribly long immigration line imagining alternate ways to get to my afternoon client meeting. Chris discussed the seriousness of the issue with him for me later that day, but it apparently made no difference.

Unfortunately, the same thing happened again this Monday morning. I was wiser this time and took a cab at 6:05 instead of giving him the benefit of the doubt. On my way to the airport, I called and woke Chris up and said - he must be fired. Had to be done. I would have done it myself, but Chris has experience firing people in China. Frankly, I wouldn't have been able to say it with nearly as much eloquence.

We would have let him go in October anyway, but we were planning on giving him an extra two months salary. Instead, I decided to send a clear message now (immediate and relevant feedback, as HR would say), in hopes of helping him learn what needs to be done for the next family. A harsh message, yes. Hopefully it was a good idea, for his sake.

So I began and ended this driver saga with a heavy heart. Hopefully, never again will we need a driver.

G is for Gioia

I woke up this morning feeling like I just "had" to make a pillow for Miss G's nursery. We are moving soon, you see, so I have to rearrange the nursery plan in my mind. The new one has a big white chair in it (in my brain), and that chair needs a pillow.


Since I have been on this applique kick lately, I decided to try making a pillow with a big ol' G in the center. I am quite tickled that it worked.


The binding did not go on quite as nicely as I had hoped, and the center G needed some interfacing to keep the pink flowers from showing through. Enh. Lessons for next time. Still happy with it, regardless.

Everybody is pleased.

New England Dolly

Remember the summer contest dolly? Well she made at all the way to New England to live with her new family. Looks like she fits in just fine.


Such beautiful dogs. Seems they like to sleep as much as Frankie does.


Stuckinanofficeinnyc - I am glad she made it to you safely. Thanks for sharing the pictures!

Gifties - Bibs and Matching Onesies

It seems that everyone I know is having a baby these days. And all are boys! Our friends Liz and Adrian's second son arrived on Friday (early). Welcome Cael. We cannot wait to meet you.


After many weeks away from my sewing machine, I was able to dive back in this Sunday and make some baby gifties. My friend Amy made some super cute T-shirts with patches this summer. I followed her lead with some pre-purchased onesies found at Zara in Hong Kong. On sale (hee hee).

To add the patch, all you have to do is cut out the fabric square and then use double-sided, iron-on adhesive to anchor the patch on the onesie. Then use a zig zag stitch to outline the edges and ensure it stays down. You can use a matching thread or a decorative color. Simple and cute. This takes ten minutes, tops.


I also wanted to make the bib in Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing book. But when I opened the book Sunday afternoon, I discovered that the pattern had to be enlarged on a copy machine. Who has a copy machine at home for impulse sewing? Instead I typed in "bib patterns" into good ol' google, and found a simple pattern. I added seam allowances to the pattern I chose so that I could sew, turn and topstitch instead of using binding.



I made four sets, each with a bib and a matching onesie. They turned out pretty cute, especially for an afternoon of TV watching and leisurely sewing. Two sets were made with flannel fabric from the 5 Funky Monkeys collection. I love the faces on the front pannel. It makes me imagine a Hollywood Squares for Monkeys. You cannot see it, but the back of the bib uses a red flannel splayed with yellow bananas. Precious.

The other two sets used some Heather Ross fabric (goldfish in bags) for the front and plain white flannel for the back. I love the Heather Ross fabric. It is incredibly soft and the fish are hilarous. Each one has a name, like Goldie or Swimmy.

Not bad for a Sunday afternoon.

Paw Attention

Have a rest, y'all.


Spied in a transit lounge in Southern China.

Just Wrong

Halfway through eating some Singapore noodles from the deli downstairs last week, I noted the odd package design.


What is that all about? Why do I have insecure white babies parading all over my noodles? And do they really sing? For goodness sakes, I just want to eat and get back to work. Now I am highly confused and disturbed by the creepy babies.

House Hunting

Chris and I have spent all weekend looking for a new place to live in Taipei. It has been a bit of a struggle, though, for two reasons. First, we want to live downtown and not in a suburban expat area. Second, we have a dog. Not a small toy dog that can fit into a purse, but a big dog. So when we first gave our criteria to the relocation people, I said that we wanted to live in Taipei City and that we had a dog. The immediate response (by email) was: I am sorry to inform you that you cannot bring your dog to Taipei.

What!? Are you kidding?

If we hadn't known the real story - which is that we have to send Frankie back to the States for six months before he could come - then we would have freaked out. What kind of insensitive idiot says crap like that? Especially untrue crap like that?

I immediately called the guy and set the record straight. Oh, OK, he said. Now I understand. But he didn't understand. The next communication I received from him (as I stepped off the plane and checked my blackberry on a Thursday evening) was - I have not been able to find any properties in Taipei for you to view. So we will go to Tien Mou on Saturday.

Again, What!? Tien Mou is an expat suburb that is 40 minutes away from the office. At this point, I was beginning to think that our relocation helper was having a hard time grasping our basic requirements. I immediately called him again and reiterated - no suburbs. He responded with - Just to be sure, is your dog a must?

Thank goodness I was not talking to him face to face. I said, my dog is my son. He is a must. The next day, I called his boss and explained that perhaps he was not suited to understand and meet our needs. Believe it or not, I was quite nice, given the circumstances. What an idiot.

After all of that mess, we did find seven properties to view. The choices were not inspiring and crazy expensive. However, we think we may have found a place. If everything goes well with the landlord negotiations, then we can move in October. Just so I don't jinx anything, I will only show a little sneaky peaky.