Dreaming of Warmer Weather

I missed posting last week.  I hosted a EFM (Spouses) coffee and Thanksgiving for 8 of my fellow Americans here at post. They were both lovely events and I am thankful I was able to host them. My RA has been kicking my butt lately. So, I spent the weekend recovering. Around Thanksgiving most the public spaces in the city were closed. Some building and neighborhoods are in lockdown in my city, but I am free to move about. However, there is not anywhere open to go other than the testing booth for my daily COVID test. Since the temperature has dropped into the teens in Fahrenheit here and negative numbers in Celsius, I would not be inclined to go anywhere even if I could. I am heading home in less than two weeks on R&R to celebrate two weddings and then head to warmer waters for vacation. I am really looking forward to seeing my family and dreaming of warmer weather.

Below I poem wrote about sipping a childhood beverage. A similiar expience to what I hope to have when I am sippping my adult version in a few weeks.

Fruit Punch

Sweet

Fruity

Liquid Sunshine and happiness

Childhood in a glass

My limbs relax

A smile canters across my lips

I sink into the moment

Here and there

The 7th Floor Adventure

Last year when we had the community Fire drill at our apartment, it occurred the day after I had my COVID booster shoot. When my husband woke me that morning, I knew there was no way I was walking down 16 flights of stairs. I told my husband he could brief me after. He did and said there was some weirdness with the 7th floor. I told him we would go down it together at some point so he could show me.

Before that could happen, we had to return home for a funeral. Then I was stuck in the states for six months. When I finally returned to our apartment in China, I had forgotten about the missed fire drill.

Yesterday, my friend showed back up at my apartment after our language lesson and told me the elevator wasn’t working and asked if there was another way out. I remembered the missed fire drill and jumped at the opportunity to make sure I knew how to get out in case of a fire including navigating the weirdness of the 7th floor.

We made our way down from the 16th to the 7th floor via the stairs. The stairs were metal with gaps like fire escape stairs, but these were inside the building. Each set of steps had several sets down then a turn to the right and several more steps down to the next floor and its set of stairs. When we arrived at the top of 7th floor stairs they  seemed just like all the others. But as we turned to the right and peered down, we were looking into what appeared to be a dark utility room.  My friend asked, “Should we find another way?” “No, I see some stairs off to the left.” I said. I knew there was some weirdness with the stairs on the 7th floor, I assumed this was it and I continued down the stairs to the bottom. At that point I was able to see the ceiling and the exit signs down the hall. Although the space was still quite dark. I turned on my phone flashlight and preceded down the hall toward the exit sign. A few steps in a light came on and we continue down the hall toward the last exit sign. The sign was pointing to a door to the right.

We pushed open the door and  found ourselves in another set of stairs. These stairs were wider and solid. The stairwell was more open and brighter. We followed the stairs down until we reached the fourth floor where my friend recommended seeing if the elevator was working on this floor. I was inclined to do so, as I had managed to discovery the mystery of the 7th floor and safely navigated it.

We made our way out into a room with glass doors at the far end. I proceeded through the doors and looked down the hall. An employee was there, and I asked her where the elevators were. Thankfully, she understood English as I have not learned the word for elevator in Chinese yet. The elevator was working, and we made our way into the lobby, and I walked my friend to the door. Laughing she thanked me for another adventure.

Below is a poem I wrote that this adventure brought to mind.

Problem Solver
Go Getter
Getter Done
Fiery
Force of Nature
Descriptors given
Owed
Indeed, I am

Language Learning

I am currently learning Mandarin which is a challenging language to learn requiring a significant amount of effort and time. Because of this commitment I am determined to retain my knowledge and continue to work toward fluency after I leave China. 

This decision made me think about language retention in general and I began to wonder how much I had retained of the other two languages I had spent time learning. The Spanish I took for two years in High School and for a semester in college and the French I spent a few months learning before a trip to visit France.

I was curious enough to test my knowledge using Duolingo. This is one of the apps I already used as a supplemental practice to my Chinese tutor lessons.  Upon completion of the test, I was pleased to discover that I had learned/retained more than I realized. I also really enjoyed the exercise. I decided I want to retain and continue toward fluency int those two languages along with my Mandarin.

Although, my focus is currently on Mandarin since being surrounded by the language on a daily basis is my best opportunity to learn and a vital part of navigating, daily life here. I do spend some time each week working on French and Spanish on Duolingo. Along with Japanese which will be the language of our next post and Navajo because it is an endangered language and why not.  

Even this minimal amount of overlap between languages makes for interesting thought processes in my head. In some ways learning more than one language at a time speeds the process up as I have more connections I can make in my head, making it easier to remember the vocabulary and grammar. In other ways it slows the process down. For instance, I know more grammar and vocabulary in Spanish than the other languages. So, when my tutor asked me how to say: Where is the toilet? First thought. Where is the toilet. (English). Second thought ¿Dónde está el baño? (Mexican Spanish)? Third Thought Xǐshǒujiān zài nar? (Northeast China Mandarin)?

For me the enjoyment of learning these languages and advantages of learning them at the same time out weight the disadvantages. So, for now I will continue on my course until that changes.

Musings on ADHD/Multipotentiality: Then and now.

I see you bounding around, and I remember. I remember what it is like to be so full of energy you feel like you will burst. The agony of the endless hours of school. Trying to contain the fountain of energy because I was a good girl. Recess a brief respite where I could let It flow out of me for a bit. Racing anyone who would take my challenge. The end of the day when I was finally home. Laps around the outside of the house. Down the hill up the stairs. Around and around until I was spent. The energy subsiding to a low bubble and the buzzing thoughts a low hum.

 I can’t do only one thing. My brain doesn’t work like that. I mean I can hyper focus on one thing short term, but I have too many interests to be or do one thing. It is hard when people ask me what I do. I always try to come up with a succinct way of mentioning the myriad of projects and interests that fill up my days. Inevitable I end up with a laundry list that leaves the asker dazed with regrets over the question or I go with an old stand by that in no way encompasses what all I do.

Rainy Monday


I been putting off getting a blog up and going again. In my defense I have been a bit busy. In July I started my journey back to my husband and I’s apartment in the city of Shenyang, China, after about 6 months away. Getting settled back into a country where I am are still learning the language is a challenge, especially when I was back home longer than I was here the first time. I enjoy the city and the people here are very patient and kind as I struggle my way through interactions with them. While this helps, everything here still takes a bit more time and energy to navigate. I have been back a little over a month and I am starting to settle back into a routine. This rainy Monday seems like a good time to stop putting off getting this blog going.
I was able to get my first poetry book published while I was home. A project I have been working on for years but more serious for a couple of years. I would like to keep the momentum going and get in a habit of writing more and complete some of my other writing projects in a little faster time frame. Even with all my interests and the activities that go along with them; the lack of opportunity to use my legal degree, distance from family, and limited volunteer opportunities here; frees up a significant amount of time. So here is the first post of the new blog with the expectation of more posts to come.

Originally posted in September 2022.

Strong ID

My musing this morning unearthed a memory of a story I wrote in high school. Our assignment was to take a short story and rewrite the ending. I chose a story by one of my favorite authors. I chose “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe. In the original story a group holds up in an abbey to escape the Red Death. During a masquerade party the Red Death comes in and kills them all. In my story Red Death kills all but one party goer. Id, the will to live, survives and is a witness at the murder trial of Red Death.

You see I was musing about the fact that I am a survivor one in a long line of women in my family who are survivors. Strong women who have faced hardships and persevered. Maybe getting knocked down but always getting back up and continuing on to care for, guide, and protect our loved ones and others who need us. This strength of will passing on from one generation to the next. This strong Id. This strength of will to survive no matter what life throws at you.

Silver Linings

It has been a tough week for tires in my family. Last Tuesday my daughter had a blowout and we ended up needing to replace all her tires. Yesterday I hit a pot hole and ended up with a flat tire.

There have been times in my life when these would have been major stress provoking events but at this point in my life I am thankful to be able to say they were just minor annoyances.

I am thankful that my daughter is a competent driver who was able to deal with the blowout she had. I am thankful we had the funds for a tow truck and even though the tires were outside our budget we were able to buy new ones.

I am thankful that I was close to home and able to make it there before my tire had a blowout or went completely flat. I am thankful that I had the skill and physical capability to change my tire this morning and that I will be able to buy a new tire to replace the flat one with the hole in the side wall.

Sometimes it is hard to find the silver linings in the difficult things occurring in our life and world but it is there if you look closely.