Still waiting...
...not much exciting has been going on here. We are still waiting on the apartment. We do think that we are getting the one that I've posted pictures of and talked about - we have a possible move in date of September 25th. We are very excited and can't wait to have a kitchen, I sure hope I can remember how to cook and do laundry :) I just can't wait to get our stuff from storage, the toys for the girls and clothes that we haven't seen in ages, I've forgotten what most of my clothes look like, so I guess it will be like Christmas!
Something weird is going on at the moment...in front of our hotel is Taipei City Hall and close by is Sun Yet San Memorial. I was coming back to the hotel from lunch with a friend, when we were diverted by police cars and fire trucks, all surrounding city hall. And there are people in bomb threat gear (air masks and white body suits) walking around and in buses outside the buildings. At SYS Memorial, there were fire trucks everywhere. As I'm typing this, I hear helicoptors flying all about. Now, I'm seriously hoping that whatever is going on is just a test, a rehearsal, a practice for anything serious that actually might happen. The hotel hasn't used their emergency broadcast system (which I know they have only because we've been here two months and they test it once a month) and everyone around the area is going about their daily business, no crowds are accumulating, no people are running away screaming, so I'm assuming that there's nothing wrong and it's just a test. Weird.
I've just been trying to go day by day, finding things to keep the girls occupied, since that's what life is all about these days. Yesterday, we had to get out of the hotel, girls were going stir crazy, so we walked to MRT line, took the MRT to a shopping area of town with a few department stores, went into one that I knew had an indoor play area, got there, took shoes off, started playing with Liz, Ashley went up the stairs, through the tunnel, down the slide, then declared she was done. Yup, all that way (about an hour, with Liz cranky and screaming on the MRT) for one minute of playtime. Fun, Fun, Fun. We walked around the mall a bit, letting Liz walk and crawl and get into lots of stuff she probably shouldn't have gotten into. Then went outside, where lo and behold, it had started raining, so no catching the MRT back home again, since that would mean walking for at least 20 minutes in the rain with a stroller, a kid that loves rain and no umbrella. So, we caught a cab, our first female cabbie, and went back to the hotel. Ashley got a timeout in the cab, for hitting her sister on the head, so there was quite a bit of screaming and crying going on during that RELAXING trip back to the hotel. Sometimes, I wonder why I venture outside with the kids, then I realize that if I didn't, surely, I'd go insane just sitting in the room listening to them scream and cry rather than making sure others get to see them throwing fits and wondering why I'm just standing there and not comforting them. They took long naps, which was nice, so I did have some time to relax a little on my own, which is quite enjoyable.
Today, we met Angie and Joseph (1 year old) at Playspace and had a very enjoyable time. It amazes me how much Liz can play on her own at that place. She'll just wander around, climbing on and over toys, sliding down this ramp, then back up again, then over to the book and puzzle area, where she'll pick up a book and "read", then back to the baby area, where there's a rocking horse she loves to climb on. Ashley found a princess costume and wore it the entire time, declaring me "king" and ordered me to dance with her (too cute!). Afterwards, we ate at a place called "Subbers", which used to be Subway - they've kept the same Subway colors (green and yellow) and the same wallpaper, and the same bread type and just changed the name (so they don't have to pay franchise fees?). It was pretty good. It was definitely a nice afternoon spent with the girls and Angie and Joseph. Now the girls are napping and I'm going to relax and play around on the computer for a while.
Something weird is going on at the moment...in front of our hotel is Taipei City Hall and close by is Sun Yet San Memorial. I was coming back to the hotel from lunch with a friend, when we were diverted by police cars and fire trucks, all surrounding city hall. And there are people in bomb threat gear (air masks and white body suits) walking around and in buses outside the buildings. At SYS Memorial, there were fire trucks everywhere. As I'm typing this, I hear helicoptors flying all about. Now, I'm seriously hoping that whatever is going on is just a test, a rehearsal, a practice for anything serious that actually might happen. The hotel hasn't used their emergency broadcast system (which I know they have only because we've been here two months and they test it once a month) and everyone around the area is going about their daily business, no crowds are accumulating, no people are running away screaming, so I'm assuming that there's nothing wrong and it's just a test. Weird.
I've just been trying to go day by day, finding things to keep the girls occupied, since that's what life is all about these days. Yesterday, we had to get out of the hotel, girls were going stir crazy, so we walked to MRT line, took the MRT to a shopping area of town with a few department stores, went into one that I knew had an indoor play area, got there, took shoes off, started playing with Liz, Ashley went up the stairs, through the tunnel, down the slide, then declared she was done. Yup, all that way (about an hour, with Liz cranky and screaming on the MRT) for one minute of playtime. Fun, Fun, Fun. We walked around the mall a bit, letting Liz walk and crawl and get into lots of stuff she probably shouldn't have gotten into. Then went outside, where lo and behold, it had started raining, so no catching the MRT back home again, since that would mean walking for at least 20 minutes in the rain with a stroller, a kid that loves rain and no umbrella. So, we caught a cab, our first female cabbie, and went back to the hotel. Ashley got a timeout in the cab, for hitting her sister on the head, so there was quite a bit of screaming and crying going on during that RELAXING trip back to the hotel. Sometimes, I wonder why I venture outside with the kids, then I realize that if I didn't, surely, I'd go insane just sitting in the room listening to them scream and cry rather than making sure others get to see them throwing fits and wondering why I'm just standing there and not comforting them. They took long naps, which was nice, so I did have some time to relax a little on my own, which is quite enjoyable.
Today, we met Angie and Joseph (1 year old) at Playspace and had a very enjoyable time. It amazes me how much Liz can play on her own at that place. She'll just wander around, climbing on and over toys, sliding down this ramp, then back up again, then over to the book and puzzle area, where she'll pick up a book and "read", then back to the baby area, where there's a rocking horse she loves to climb on. Ashley found a princess costume and wore it the entire time, declaring me "king" and ordered me to dance with her (too cute!). Afterwards, we ate at a place called "Subbers", which used to be Subway - they've kept the same Subway colors (green and yellow) and the same wallpaper, and the same bread type and just changed the name (so they don't have to pay franchise fees?). It was pretty good. It was definitely a nice afternoon spent with the girls and Angie and Joseph. Now the girls are napping and I'm going to relax and play around on the computer for a while.
posted by The Armstrongs at
9/16/2004
