A Long Hiatus.

Pictures first, words later.

Hubby and I on the beach at Penghu island, off of Taiwan. Yes, my hair is that short now, except, it's curly, Shirley Temple-style (a.k.a. I went for the perm a few days later.)

My brother-in-law, David.

The whole family at Penghu.

Paul and I at Asakusa in Tokyo, this was where our hotel was. See my Smurf feet? Atleast the Birkenstocks kept me comfortable even if I was ultra-unfashionable in a very style-conscious Tokyo.

Our first night and first meal in Tokyo, tempura!

One of my favorite photos: hubby in jeans among a sea of black-suited Japs.

Yes, I've been gone for a long time. . .not just from blogging, but from the country. We returned recently from our 3 week trip to Japan and Taiwan which was just fantastic! I hesitated to blog for a long time after I returned, I just didn't have the desire anymore in the face of a zillion things to do in my mind. But I unexpectedly cut my finger while cooking so no dish-washing for me tonight! Sooo, while hubby's doing dish duty, here I am.

First off, I spend a few tiring days finishing up our moving process. Note to self: make MORE use of those brawny and very capable movers next time! I was definitely trying to do too much myself. Now, I'm in search of some furniture to fill out my bigger apartment. And sadly, the US post office managed to lose our three weeks of mail while we were gone! It was just too confusing for those postal people to arrange to hold our mail, change our address, and forward our mail all at the same time. I got a call from the hospital saying that the contract they are trying to send me got returned to them! Now I'm going postal trying to chase down our mail!! And yes, I'm also trying to schedule a LASIK surgery, wisdom teeth surgery, and cook, clean, shop, and play with the cat all at the same time. Speaking of Kitty, she was very well taken care of by Kimberly, our catsitter. She's had her bumpy moments with all the moving, beinig left alone, and a new apartment. We've transformed her into a full-time indoor-only cat. She needs frequent TLC and regular periods of active play and seems to be doing okay. Did I mention I graduated this past Saturday?

Some memorable moments of our trip:

1. Walking tours of Tokyo with Robert and Lieu.

2. Finding what must have been the only cherry tree with blossoms left in Tokyo! We had just missed the cherry blossoms season.

3. Waking up at 5am to visit the Tsukiji Fish Market and having the best sushi ever for breakfast.

4. People-watching: the very beautiful and stylish Japanese girls/women. You won't catch even one without their high heels and LV handbags. As for me, I wore my Birkenstocks everywhere, and yes, I looked like I had Smurf feet.

5. Meeting my mother-in-law. I didn't know what to expect, hubby hasn't seen her for 15 years. Well, she was super! She cooked lobsters and crabs for us, made fresh fruit juices in the mornings, took me to get my hair cut and styled, and just all in all endeared herself to me. And when I came back, she sent me some Korean mini-series DVDs that I've come to love in Taiwan. It's not that the things she did for me that were meaningful, but it was her thoughtfulness that touched me. I have never met her before, but she opened up to me and loved me right away. . .here was me, not able to call her "ma" and not pushing myself even a bit, I was waiting, waiting to see if I could or would love her. . .

6. Visiting Penghu island with the whole family: a day at sea, getting sunburned because not one of us managed to remember sunscreen, eating sashimi on the boat, sleeping in hammocks after lunch, and devouring a whole bushel of oysters at night.

Okay, there were "bad" memories, too. I was ruthlessly bitten by mosquitos one night at a relative's condo. The next day, one of my arm was covered with red bumps that drew me much sympathetic attention which unfortunately didn't help with the itchinig. The unpredictable showers in Taiwan. More than once, I was in the middle of a shower when the hot water decided to cease coming. This was one of the reasons I decided to cut my long hair to a bob. Finally, the terrible motion sickness I experienced while coming down the winding roads from Alishan. I think I vowed to myself many many times that I am never leaving America again. However, perhaps like giving birth, the memories later are much sweeter than any "pain" I endured at the time.