the Liou-True Family Blog

tea

lioutrue — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:27:06 +0000

I’ve been brewing leaf tea both at home and (more recently) in the office. Shian-Ren bought a lot of tea in Taiwan on our last trip and we have quite a bit around from before and gifts that people gave us. I’ve been switching between Taiwan high mountain tea and a regular green tea at home. The high mountain tea is an oolong that has a honey tone to it. In the office, I’ve been finishing up some Oriental Beauty Tea that Shu-Dan had in the lab. This is oolong tea that has been bitten by leaf hoppers (called Gio Fei in some locations). It is very very sweet. There are supposedly health benefits to drinking these teas regularly. I’ve really been enjoying the tea.

no Saturday sitter for a while

lioutrue — Sat, 18 May 2013 02:38:02 +0000

She’s in Brazil for a few weeks. And she hasn’t been able to come for a couple of weeks. So Ru-Jun and I will have the whole day. We have a play date with Maxsym and his mom at our usual play ground. That should be fun. Ru-Jun’s dance recital is Sunday.

can’t watch sports

lioutrue — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:31:34 +0000

Not because I don’t want to. It’s just the crucial evening sports time is my washing dishes, get the girls ready for bed, go to bed time. I guess I’m not missing much. But a lot of guys wouldn’t put up with this state of affairs. I have motto: don’t get bent out of shape about sports. Which among other things means get something else done while watching sports because then if the team you want to win loses, at least something got accomplished that you can feel good about.

I can’t help it

lioutrue — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:35:31 +0000

I can’t help resenting having to help Ru-Jun go to sleep every night. It is time stolen from me. It is an affront.

back to Pokemon

lioutrue — Wed, 15 May 2013 01:44:05 +0000

Ru-Jun has rekindled her interest in Pokemon with a passion (something like an addict that went clean for a while but then lurches back into the habit with a binge). Timely enough, Duke friends of ours (who are now on the faculty there) sent us a bunch of their kids old Pokemon toys yesterday. Shian-Ren and I are pretty OK with this since we like Pokemon (better than many of the other shows Ru-Jun has gotten into) and are into other forms of anime. Maybe Pokemon will be the gateway to anime for Ru-Jun…

A good friend

lioutrue — Tue, 14 May 2013 01:49:01 +0000

Today Ru-Jun’s teacher reported that she had volunteered to watch after a friend (a 4 yo) who had hurt himself last week, as he rode a two-wheeler (which Ru-Jun cannot do yet). ”After all, that’s what friends are for.” Ru-Jun said.

First lawn mowing

lioutrue — Mon, 13 May 2013 02:22:39 +0000

Lawn definitely needed it so I did the front on Friday and the rest of it today. It was rainy in between. Ru-Jun and I also went to Heritage park and flew the kite for a little while and then she went on the swings (and then had an ice cream cone). It was a beautiful day here after a wet morning.

Definitely better

lioutrue — Sun, 12 May 2013 02:23:32 +0000

GI seems back to normal so I got back to normal eating today, but still trying not to overdo it (which is a good plan to just stay with; ingest fewer calories altogether). Our sitter couldn’t come today and the weather was off and on rainy. Ru-Jun and I went to the lab for a few minutes then to the grocery store and then back here for lunch. In the afternoon there was a brief period of sun so we went to the playground. But the weather quickly deteriorated. She had a good time there and then we went to the store to get flowers for Mothers day for Shian-Ren and Min. Overall, not a bad day…

Probably OK now

lioutrue — Sat, 11 May 2013 02:12:10 +0000

Today I felt pretty good. Still eating a bit light. Will know in another day or two if the GI thing is gone. Ru-Jun had her last dance lesson today before the performance (next Sun.). The recital is at the Comsewogue High school. Something like 20 classes are each giving a few minute performance in rapid progression with a few intermissions all afternoon. We have tickets for seats in the back (Shian-Ren, Min and I). We’ll have to sit through most of the other performances before Ru-Jun’s and the girls in the class will all be backstage waiting to perform (and not with us). Should be fun to see her and the class on stage. Huge orchestration for such a short performance but there are many dozens of kids and families involved.

still a bit blah

lioutrue — Fri, 10 May 2013 02:26:36 +0000

Feeling better but colon still not absorbing water effectively. Haven’t been eating much. I hope this isn’t the same thing that happened to me in July 2009 in Taiwan. Picked up an intestinal bug likely from street food. Turned out to be drug resistant campylobacter. Took about a month to figure it out. Felt OK except diarrheal. I’m vulnerable because I take immunosuppressants (although I took a much higher dose then than now) and acid blocker.