Posts
A couple movies of Rhiannon playing piano with her Piano teacher, Rita. Also, a painting of Rhiannon done by her art teacher. It brings out her Elvish quality... She really enjoys both classes.
Sunday, 31 May 2009
Thursday, 28 May 2009
May 28th, 2009
Well, these are just some more from our Thursday at the beach.I have a four day weekend due to the Dragon Boat Festival, so we headed to the beach early. We got there as it began to drizzle, and it was overcast all day. Not that we really minded. The lunch was cooked in the fire (soup noodles and green veggies + hard boiled eggs & tins of various things), and aside from a little ash -- which is good for digestion, anyway -- it turned out really nice.
So, I got to work clearing the shore of bamboo -- cutting down pieces into manageable lengths and the like... burning what isn't usable... At about 2pm, some senior citizens came down to the beach in search of bamboo. They were local residents and were apparently gathering some free bamboo to make some oyster frames in the nearby river. At first I thought the woman was yelling at me for using the bamboo, but she was just a tough as nails Taiwanese grandmother trying to explain to me what she was doing. I spent a while helping her and her husband carry bamboo poles up the road to their blue truck... it was really nice getting to know them --- they spoke Taiwanese and a little Chinese, I spoke English and a little Chinese, and we both spoke with our hands. As they took a break, they came and inspected my hut. I got their thumbs up which was really a seal of approval considering who it came from...
I worked on the hut and placed the frame for the kid's hut ( fifteen feet down from ours), the old woman and her husband scavenged bamboo for their own project, the kids played in the ocean with Gosia and the fishermen fished along the shore.
A very nice day at the beach.
Sunday, 24 May 2009
April 25th, 2009
Today, like most weekends, was a beach day for us. We packed everything on the scooters, went to an early Mass, and then drove out to the beach.
If any of you have Google Earth, you can see our beach:
Just cut & paste this into the "fly to" tab:
23° 0'44.37"N, 120° 7'8.79"E
So, I got some work done on the hut, the kids played in the sand and water, Gosia read and swam a bit... We made a fire and cooked some food.
Typical day at the beach...
If any of you have Google Earth, you can see our beach:
Just cut & paste this into the "fly to" tab:
23° 0'44.37"N, 120° 7'8.79"E
So, I got some work done on the hut, the kids played in the sand and water, Gosia read and swam a bit... We made a fire and cooked some food.
Typical day at the beach...
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Calvin
This is the website where I've posted the pictures and written a brief summary of Calvin's death and cremation.
Calvin Peter Cleary
Sunday, 4 January 2009
Feast of the Epiphany
5:45 am --- A nurse called us at about 2:30 to come quickly to the hospital. We'd laid everything out before going to sleep, so we were dressed and on scooters and to the hospital in fifteen minutes. At about 2:30 Calvin suffered, maybe, a stroke-- his heart and lungs stopped working. They resuscitated him. This is what we know:
-- his heart is very, very badly damaged. I signed the DNR papers, and if it happens again, he goes to those who have gone before us. We don't want to hold him against his will. His heartbeat has been high for days -- 80 - 100 is normal for him, he was at 170.
-- he had blood pumped out of his stomach from the resuscitation.
-- he's on a breathing machine, the same as when he was born.
-- he's getting fluids, but they were unable to get the shunt into his heart so I don't know what kind of nutrition he's capable of getting.
--he's suffering from Sepsis, which is essentially blood poisoning and organ failure.
-- and he's in a coma. No pupil dilation or movement.
So, Gosia's with him now, while I handle these things and get some rest. I'll go over later to be with him while Gosia gets some sleep.
I'll update later. Please give him your support in the many varieties, designs and colours that you all may give it.
With love.
Sean
9:50 pm--We just got home from the hospital and Calvin has worsened considerably.
He did get water on his brain during the seizure and it may have become infected, giving him a brain infection. They're doing a rather serious test via the spine to find that out. He's up to stage three antibiotics. They're putting a shunt into his heart to feed him... he's essentially where he was after he was born... A bit worse, actually. We'll see where he is in the morning, they seem to think we'll know more then, after the antibiotics are in.
He's really in a life or death situation, and we're as prepared as we can be for a phone call in the middle of the night.
I will, of course, write more when I know more.
Much Love,
Sean
1-4-09 So, as I expect everyone knows, yesterday in the mid afternoon, Calvin began to have a seizure that lasted between 70 and 90 minutes. Longer than five minutes is serious, thirty is enough to be fatal or cause brain injury due to swelling. One of the risks of this, what is called Status Epilepticus (wiki article) , is the brain and body not getting enough oxygen -- leading to death.
We initially got him under a heat lamp and kept his mouth clear, went to the computer and looked it up. We know that kids like Calvin are worse in cold weather and during fatigue, both of which were affecting Calvin -- however, he wasn't cold that day. We initially thought it was some muscle spasaming condition, since it wasn't stopping, but at the hospital they told us that it was a seizure. We read that longer than five minutes in abnormal, and Gosia decided that we have to get to the hospital. We got him to the hospital within fifteen minutes of it beginning thanks in part to our kind neighbour and his car. They realized at once what needed to be done, gave him oxygen and two anti-convulsants via an IV. After half an hour of it not stopping, they admitted him to the ICU where he went right after his birth.
There they give him more anti-convulsant medication and three valiums. He's currently on three anti-convulsants. When we saw him at 7pm, about 4 hours after it began, he could look at us with his eyes only without moving his head.
Gosia and I believe that the root cause of this is his sustained fatigue. He has not slept properly in about two months. He has not had real sleep in about a week, and I seriously doubt that he's been able to enter a stable REM state for quite some time. Last night, the nurses told us, even on all of those medications, he did not sleep through the night. There's nothing "wrong" with him, though. He's actually quite healthy. His white blood cell count was up, but they said today that it may have been due to stress. There wasn't any lung damage, due mainly to Gosia knowing what to do with him, and her good instincts.
He was quite alert today and very hungry. I fed him a yogurt and he ate the whole thing. Gosia tried giving him some rice soup, but he didn't want it. It was probably just too hard for him to chew and swallow it down. I went back to the hospital store and got him a can or Pediasure, and he drank the whole thing and wanted more... He hasn't lost his ability to swallow, which means no feediung tube.
He is much more rigid, though. That's treatable with therapy, though... hopefully, that's the only long term damage done by this episode, but we'll see. They're keeping him in the ICU for observation another day, them moving him to general care where Gosia will stay with him.
After visiting Calvin, we all went down to the cafeteria and had lunch. The hospital always has excellent veggie food -- unlike the hospitals I've been to in Amarica, the cafeterias here have excellent food at low prices. It'd nice to be able to eat well without feeling bilked.
The kids had their favorite -- rice soup (which they made themselves out of a bowl of rice and the clear soup they always offer here). They're doing well, and are of course worried about Calvin. But they're doing well. We've always told them the truth about Calvin, never "protected the little ones from the harsh truths" and such crap. So, when this stuff happens, they know how to cope. It's not a huge blow. Actually, hospital time tends to be fun time for them -- more visits to the 7-11 and eating out!! Through it all, they had a good time today. Right now they're napping... or pretending to. Eli's always amazed that I know the "shut my eyes and pretend I'm sleeping when Daddy comes in" trick... They're good kids, and I really believe that Calvin has been good for them, as he has for me. But it's a hard road, and we let them know that. They'll came to work with me this week, so again, it's a hard time, but it's a hard time spent with one of us.
I do ask you all to pray for Calvin, in all the many varieties of prayer that you all may offer. I know that prayer is a good part of the reason Calvin is here now for two and a half years, and I know prayer is a good part of the reason he's here 23 hours after this started. I'm not soapboxing here, but I know that prayer will be vital to him recovering from this, and I ask you all to please pray for him.
I'll keep this post updayed as I know more. All my love and thank you for everything.
Sean
-- his heart is very, very badly damaged. I signed the DNR papers, and if it happens again, he goes to those who have gone before us. We don't want to hold him against his will. His heartbeat has been high for days -- 80 - 100 is normal for him, he was at 170.
-- he had blood pumped out of his stomach from the resuscitation.
-- he's on a breathing machine, the same as when he was born.
-- he's getting fluids, but they were unable to get the shunt into his heart so I don't know what kind of nutrition he's capable of getting.
--he's suffering from Sepsis, which is essentially blood poisoning and organ failure.
-- and he's in a coma. No pupil dilation or movement.
So, Gosia's with him now, while I handle these things and get some rest. I'll go over later to be with him while Gosia gets some sleep.
I'll update later. Please give him your support in the many varieties, designs and colours that you all may give it.
With love.
Sean
9:50 pm--We just got home from the hospital and Calvin has worsened considerably.
He did get water on his brain during the seizure and it may have become infected, giving him a brain infection. They're doing a rather serious test via the spine to find that out. He's up to stage three antibiotics. They're putting a shunt into his heart to feed him... he's essentially where he was after he was born... A bit worse, actually. We'll see where he is in the morning, they seem to think we'll know more then, after the antibiotics are in.
He's really in a life or death situation, and we're as prepared as we can be for a phone call in the middle of the night.
I will, of course, write more when I know more.
Much Love,
Sean
1-4-09 So, as I expect everyone knows, yesterday in the mid afternoon, Calvin began to have a seizure that lasted between 70 and 90 minutes. Longer than five minutes is serious, thirty is enough to be fatal or cause brain injury due to swelling. One of the risks of this, what is called Status Epilepticus (wiki article) , is the brain and body not getting enough oxygen -- leading to death.
We initially got him under a heat lamp and kept his mouth clear, went to the computer and looked it up. We know that kids like Calvin are worse in cold weather and during fatigue, both of which were affecting Calvin -- however, he wasn't cold that day. We initially thought it was some muscle spasaming condition, since it wasn't stopping, but at the hospital they told us that it was a seizure. We read that longer than five minutes in abnormal, and Gosia decided that we have to get to the hospital. We got him to the hospital within fifteen minutes of it beginning thanks in part to our kind neighbour and his car. They realized at once what needed to be done, gave him oxygen and two anti-convulsants via an IV. After half an hour of it not stopping, they admitted him to the ICU where he went right after his birth.
There they give him more anti-convulsant medication and three valiums. He's currently on three anti-convulsants. When we saw him at 7pm, about 4 hours after it began, he could look at us with his eyes only without moving his head.
Gosia and I believe that the root cause of this is his sustained fatigue. He has not slept properly in about two months. He has not had real sleep in about a week, and I seriously doubt that he's been able to enter a stable REM state for quite some time. Last night, the nurses told us, even on all of those medications, he did not sleep through the night. There's nothing "wrong" with him, though. He's actually quite healthy. His white blood cell count was up, but they said today that it may have been due to stress. There wasn't any lung damage, due mainly to Gosia knowing what to do with him, and her good instincts.
He was quite alert today and very hungry. I fed him a yogurt and he ate the whole thing. Gosia tried giving him some rice soup, but he didn't want it. It was probably just too hard for him to chew and swallow it down. I went back to the hospital store and got him a can or Pediasure, and he drank the whole thing and wanted more... He hasn't lost his ability to swallow, which means no feediung tube.
He is much more rigid, though. That's treatable with therapy, though... hopefully, that's the only long term damage done by this episode, but we'll see. They're keeping him in the ICU for observation another day, them moving him to general care where Gosia will stay with him.
After visiting Calvin, we all went down to the cafeteria and had lunch. The hospital always has excellent veggie food -- unlike the hospitals I've been to in Amarica, the cafeterias here have excellent food at low prices. It'd nice to be able to eat well without feeling bilked.
The kids had their favorite -- rice soup (which they made themselves out of a bowl of rice and the clear soup they always offer here). They're doing well, and are of course worried about Calvin. But they're doing well. We've always told them the truth about Calvin, never "protected the little ones from the harsh truths" and such crap. So, when this stuff happens, they know how to cope. It's not a huge blow. Actually, hospital time tends to be fun time for them -- more visits to the 7-11 and eating out!! Through it all, they had a good time today. Right now they're napping... or pretending to. Eli's always amazed that I know the "shut my eyes and pretend I'm sleeping when Daddy comes in" trick... They're good kids, and I really believe that Calvin has been good for them, as he has for me. But it's a hard road, and we let them know that. They'll came to work with me this week, so again, it's a hard time, but it's a hard time spent with one of us.
I do ask you all to pray for Calvin, in all the many varieties of prayer that you all may offer. I know that prayer is a good part of the reason Calvin is here now for two and a half years, and I know prayer is a good part of the reason he's here 23 hours after this started. I'm not soapboxing here, but I know that prayer will be vital to him recovering from this, and I ask you all to please pray for him.
I'll keep this post updayed as I know more. All my love and thank you for everything.
Sean
Sunday, 28 December 2008
December 28th, 2008
Well, I had a few minutes so I thought I'd post to the blog.
Calvin's doing OK the past couple days... he woke up early, so he and I walked over to the outdoor market which is up and running before dawn, I think. It's on a tiny street that wraps around a supermarket, much to small to hold all the vegetable and meat sellers... I bought some millet and fruit, and four bottles of fresh squeezed orange juice from a man who was selling orange juice, grapefruit juice, and pigs hooves at his stall. It's an interesting life...
So, I spent some of the afternoon with Rhiannon making stewed tomatoes in vinegar.
It's become a staple for us, especially in tomato season. In winter, it can be made with cans of tomatoes (I work near a restaurant supply store, and we can get them there), but fresh is better. I buy up as many discounted packs of cherry tomatoes as I can find over a week, this time I had about five or six dozen of the things... Rhiannon and I sliced them in half (to make peeling easier after cooking), put them in a pot with about half a cup of oil, a cup of vinegar, salt, pepper, Italian spices, and paprika. Cook that all together for a couple hours in a 190 degree Celcius oven. Meanwhile, mince one or two onions, and cook that for a few minutes in a little oil and a little vinegar on a stove.
When the tomatoes are delicious, take them out of the oven and peel them. It's quite messy... From there you can do two things with them. Add the onions plus a little minced garlic and put them over pasta. Or take the tomatoes plus the onions plus a can of tomatoes (to cut down that acidity) and blend them in a blender. The kids really like it, and the vinegar takes on a wonderful flavor after being baked in the oven. This sauce has been evolving over a year to this current version. I also use the larger tomatoes, quartered, but they're harder to find on sale here...
So, we have that over pasta plus some capers. Calvin, we found out tonight, loves eating capers. Eli spent the afternoon building one of his Christmas presents, a Lego car, while Rhiannon copied numbers from the calendar and practiced writing them. She also made some popcorn chains for the Christmas tree while watching some Christmas stuff on the computer.
We're letting the candles on the Advent Wreath burn slowly down, and added 12 tea lights to the center, and light a new one each day of Christmas. We're planning to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, and it's been nice marking the days of the season, not letting it be just one day of presents madness.
Anyway, just posting for the sake of posting.
Much Love.
Calvin's doing OK the past couple days... he woke up early, so he and I walked over to the outdoor market which is up and running before dawn, I think. It's on a tiny street that wraps around a supermarket, much to small to hold all the vegetable and meat sellers... I bought some millet and fruit, and four bottles of fresh squeezed orange juice from a man who was selling orange juice, grapefruit juice, and pigs hooves at his stall. It's an interesting life...
So, I spent some of the afternoon with Rhiannon making stewed tomatoes in vinegar.
It's become a staple for us, especially in tomato season. In winter, it can be made with cans of tomatoes (I work near a restaurant supply store, and we can get them there), but fresh is better. I buy up as many discounted packs of cherry tomatoes as I can find over a week, this time I had about five or six dozen of the things... Rhiannon and I sliced them in half (to make peeling easier after cooking), put them in a pot with about half a cup of oil, a cup of vinegar, salt, pepper, Italian spices, and paprika. Cook that all together for a couple hours in a 190 degree Celcius oven. Meanwhile, mince one or two onions, and cook that for a few minutes in a little oil and a little vinegar on a stove.
When the tomatoes are delicious, take them out of the oven and peel them. It's quite messy... From there you can do two things with them. Add the onions plus a little minced garlic and put them over pasta. Or take the tomatoes plus the onions plus a can of tomatoes (to cut down that acidity) and blend them in a blender. The kids really like it, and the vinegar takes on a wonderful flavor after being baked in the oven. This sauce has been evolving over a year to this current version. I also use the larger tomatoes, quartered, but they're harder to find on sale here...
So, we have that over pasta plus some capers. Calvin, we found out tonight, loves eating capers. Eli spent the afternoon building one of his Christmas presents, a Lego car, while Rhiannon copied numbers from the calendar and practiced writing them. She also made some popcorn chains for the Christmas tree while watching some Christmas stuff on the computer.
We're letting the candles on the Advent Wreath burn slowly down, and added 12 tea lights to the center, and light a new one each day of Christmas. We're planning to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, and it's been nice marking the days of the season, not letting it be just one day of presents madness.
Anyway, just posting for the sake of posting.
Much Love.
Thursday, 25 December 2008
December 25th, 2008
Well, we were hoping we'd be able to spring for a camera and I could get the blog up and running again, but it looks like that'll be after Chinese New Year. Hopefully for Easter.
But even without the camera, I thought I'd write a little about what's going on over here this Christmas Day.
The new job's going pretty well, I've been there a while now and I've pretty well settled in. No place is perfect, but I'm happy there and feel like I can contribute.
Gosia goes to therapy in the city and at the hospital three times a week (once at the hospital, twice at the alternative center).
The winter months are tough for Calvin. They were last year, and they year before, but he's much better than last year. So far, he's kept up his eating and has not been vomiting. His spastic muscle problem has gotten worse, though -- one side is stronger and the other weaker. This affects his swallowing and facial control, but I hope it'll pass after the Winter is over. I almost wish we could move to somewhere with a more stable climate for him. Even the moderate change here (the winter is like a cold Autumn) still has a considerable affect on him, and he loses weeks of learning, and even backslides. He can't use a straw right now, but like I said, I hope it'll pass.
He went back and forth between screaming and whining and temper tantruming for about two weeks straight... He barely slept at night, was miserable all day, didn't nap... after almost two weeks we took him to the hospital (a 5 am ER run, which I've gotten very good at) and got him X-rayed. He was extremely constapated, with the stools pressing against his spine... we've been giving him an enema a night (the brand we use here is "Atomic Enema", and it's true to it's name) and that's helped.
But I don't think that was the root cause of his misery. Supposedly, changes in seasons can really affect these kids. So, we keep chugging along, trying to keep him happy in his head. Gosia does an amazing job at home with him, cooks him four complete meals a day, gives him therapy and does so much with Eli and Rhiannon, too. She's really amazing, even when exhausted.
Eli and Rhiannonare doing well. Life with a screaming, brain-injured kid isn't easy, but we work really hard to balance their lives inside and outside of the house so that it doesn't overwhelm them. I'm able to take them to my job whenever I need to, and besides that, they take classes there twice a week in the evening -- so they're out of the house all evening till 10 pm on those nights. Plus, Eli goes to afternoon home-work school four days a week, and there's a chance Rhiannon may start that after she turns six.
Eli chugs along with his education, and Rhiannon's slowly atarting to pick up some reading. Eli's up to book eight of A Series of Unfortunate Events... he reads about a chapter or more a day, which is nice to see. A while ago we got into the home-schooling theory that you buy these books and things for the kids, and some day, not when you expect it of course, they'll get interested in them. We keep track of where he should be, more or less, and keep him on track with math and stuff like that, but he's way ahead of where he should be in science and grammar, and he gets a lot of spelling done in his classes with me. And beyond all that, he's interested in learning, which we consider the most important thing.
Anyway, these are the things that move and shake the secular side of out lives. These days anyway... Every day is different, each day brings new challenges and moods... so, on we go.
I enjoyed this chance to write a little, to spend Christmas with you. I'm not going to start this thing up again until the camera arrives, but I hope to put out another for New Year's and then again at Chinese New Year.
Much love, and Happy New Year!
Sunday, 21 September 2008
Sunday, September 21st
So, things have been going at a decent pace this week... I've been sick (again) due to the typhoons... the weather has been hot and cold, which is awful, plus the kid germs I'm constantly around... But it's part of the hazards of the job.
Eli started AnchingBan this week. It's sort of an after-school school that most kids go to here. They get homework help, snacks, a nap, etcetera... He has some friends in this one, too, so that's nice for him. He needed to get out of the house a little, and he's really enjoying it. He goes every afternoon from about 1 - 5pm, and a little later on Thursdays and Fridays because of Math Class.
Rhiannon wants to start going too, but we'll see in a month or so. She actually takes a nap, though, when Eli's not there for stimulus.
So, I work in the mornings and evenings, so I'm not home as much, but it's a lot less stressful than the other place, so I don't mind... A couple of kids from my old school gravitated over to my new school to follow me, so it's nice to have them around too. And I've been focusing on corriculum and writing tests and things of that nature... getting to know my students... I have, all in all, about 160 students, now. But teaching here is a lifestyle. Or it should be. I don't exactly have any real days off anymore, but it keeps me busy. I teach Monday to Friday, later on Fridays for some older kids... I only have one class of older kids on Wednesdays, the rest of the time, like on Saturdays, is for office work and marking homework. Sundays are my earliest days, for Mass and the class afterwards. It's an interesting life...
Gosia took Eli, Rhiannon and Calvin to an air show on Saturday. She and the other brain injured kid families went over to the Tainan Air Force Base to view Taiwan's newest purchases from Amarica's military industrial complex. There were plane fly-overs and schoolchildren drumming. Plus ice cream. Eli got a model airplane, one of those with the rubberband so you can wind up the propeller. Nice morning...
Well, the webcast morning Mass from Fordham University is wrapping up, so I'll be getting off the computer soon.
Much love!
Eli started AnchingBan this week. It's sort of an after-school school that most kids go to here. They get homework help, snacks, a nap, etcetera... He has some friends in this one, too, so that's nice for him. He needed to get out of the house a little, and he's really enjoying it. He goes every afternoon from about 1 - 5pm, and a little later on Thursdays and Fridays because of Math Class.
Rhiannon wants to start going too, but we'll see in a month or so. She actually takes a nap, though, when Eli's not there for stimulus.
So, I work in the mornings and evenings, so I'm not home as much, but it's a lot less stressful than the other place, so I don't mind... A couple of kids from my old school gravitated over to my new school to follow me, so it's nice to have them around too. And I've been focusing on corriculum and writing tests and things of that nature... getting to know my students... I have, all in all, about 160 students, now. But teaching here is a lifestyle. Or it should be. I don't exactly have any real days off anymore, but it keeps me busy. I teach Monday to Friday, later on Fridays for some older kids... I only have one class of older kids on Wednesdays, the rest of the time, like on Saturdays, is for office work and marking homework. Sundays are my earliest days, for Mass and the class afterwards. It's an interesting life...
Gosia took Eli, Rhiannon and Calvin to an air show on Saturday. She and the other brain injured kid families went over to the Tainan Air Force Base to view Taiwan's newest purchases from Amarica's military industrial complex. There were plane fly-overs and schoolchildren drumming. Plus ice cream. Eli got a model airplane, one of those with the rubberband so you can wind up the propeller. Nice morning...
Well, the webcast morning Mass from Fordham University is wrapping up, so I'll be getting off the computer soon.
Much love!
Monday, 15 September 2008
Monday, September 15th
Well, we're back. Sort of. Last night I got the inclination to start writing here again, so here I am, writing here again.
The posts will still be sparse until we get a new camera (ehem, Christmas present?) but I'd like to at least start it going again.
Things are going pretty well here, all things considered. Calvin has new abilities and tricks, and he's hopefully in the last leg of his teething.
Eli and Rhiannon are both doing well... We has a barbecue on the balcony over the weekend (for Moon Festival), even though there was a Typhoon on. So, they made grilled cheese sandwiches and corn and got to smoke out the neighborhood. We ran low on charcoal, so we used whatever various wooden objects we had laying around. Driftwood and bamboo and the like. So, we had a nice roaring fire going up on the balcony for a while while the neighbors lit fireworks and firecrackers down below while a Typhoon swept through. God bless Taiwan.
It didn't really rain until Sunday, though. Gosia and the kids went to church in the car, but I made the trip on my scooter. Every Sunday after Mass I teach an English Bible study/reading class, so I have to stay an hour and a half later. Driving back was thrilling. The rain feels like needles going even 30 kph... But I get to drive along the freeway's side road which skirts the rice fields and countryside, so it's really beautiful during a Typhoon.
Teaching has been going well. I teach 9:30 - 11:30 in the mornings, and then 4pm till after 9:30 in the evenings. Plus Saturday mornings for three hours. I'm a full time teacher now, so not all of those are teaching hours. I help around the school, grade papers and homework, things of that nature. Over the last year, I'd forgotten what it was like to look forward to going to work. It's a very different school, more human and less sterile. Lots of plants and paintings. I'm getting to know my kids and I have a lot of control over my classes. I'm on "go" from when I get there till when I leave, but I don't mind. I know what they want from me, they know me... Even as no school is perfect, it's going pretty well. We'll see where things are in a year, but for now, it's going well.
Well, that's all for now. As the posts will be sporadic, I'll put up alerts on Facebook whenever there's something new up.
Ad astra per aspera,
Sean
The posts will still be sparse until we get a new camera (ehem, Christmas present?) but I'd like to at least start it going again.
Things are going pretty well here, all things considered. Calvin has new abilities and tricks, and he's hopefully in the last leg of his teething.
Eli and Rhiannon are both doing well... We has a barbecue on the balcony over the weekend (for Moon Festival), even though there was a Typhoon on. So, they made grilled cheese sandwiches and corn and got to smoke out the neighborhood. We ran low on charcoal, so we used whatever various wooden objects we had laying around. Driftwood and bamboo and the like. So, we had a nice roaring fire going up on the balcony for a while while the neighbors lit fireworks and firecrackers down below while a Typhoon swept through. God bless Taiwan.
It didn't really rain until Sunday, though. Gosia and the kids went to church in the car, but I made the trip on my scooter. Every Sunday after Mass I teach an English Bible study/reading class, so I have to stay an hour and a half later. Driving back was thrilling. The rain feels like needles going even 30 kph... But I get to drive along the freeway's side road which skirts the rice fields and countryside, so it's really beautiful during a Typhoon.
Teaching has been going well. I teach 9:30 - 11:30 in the mornings, and then 4pm till after 9:30 in the evenings. Plus Saturday mornings for three hours. I'm a full time teacher now, so not all of those are teaching hours. I help around the school, grade papers and homework, things of that nature. Over the last year, I'd forgotten what it was like to look forward to going to work. It's a very different school, more human and less sterile. Lots of plants and paintings. I'm getting to know my kids and I have a lot of control over my classes. I'm on "go" from when I get there till when I leave, but I don't mind. I know what they want from me, they know me... Even as no school is perfect, it's going pretty well. We'll see where things are in a year, but for now, it's going well.
Well, that's all for now. As the posts will be sporadic, I'll put up alerts on Facebook whenever there's something new up.
Ad astra per aspera,
Sean
Tuesday, 2 September 2008
Monday, 4 August 2008
first week of August
Well, things are going pretty good here... looking forward to the end-of-August post.... getting settled into my new school, things of that nature...
We're being hit by a series of typhoons and tropical storms, so the humidity is terrible....
Just so people know, I'm up on Facebook... I do most of my communicating there these camera-less days... I'm aiming for camera by the beginning of Fall...
here for me: Sean V Cleary
if your on Facebook, you can search "pages" for Swamp Rabbit Press, where I put up my updates and pieces of artwork...
Rhiannon, Calvin and myself all got hair-cuts. Calvin looks really cute. He's doing better and better at sitting, too...
Well, just wanted to leave a mark on the blog.
I'll put something up from time to time so it doesn't gather cobwebs, but the next real post is August 31st.
We're being hit by a series of typhoons and tropical storms, so the humidity is terrible....
Just so people know, I'm up on Facebook... I do most of my communicating there these camera-less days... I'm aiming for camera by the beginning of Fall...
here for me: Sean V Cleary
if your on Facebook, you can search "pages" for Swamp Rabbit Press, where I put up my updates and pieces of artwork...
Rhiannon, Calvin and myself all got hair-cuts. Calvin looks really cute. He's doing better and better at sitting, too...
Well, just wanted to leave a mark on the blog.
I'll put something up from time to time so it doesn't gather cobwebs, but the next real post is August 31st.
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Wednesday, July 23rd
This is quite a week... there's a huge typhoon moving across our area. Internet service isn't reliable, so I'm not even going to try and do anything here today...
This means I have to postpone my trip to the Immigration Office... the banks are closed, all government buildings are closed, but the 7-11s are all open...
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Defunct
Well, it finally happened...
the Cur family camera has died...
For the past month the lens wouldn't open and close properly, and now the on/off button won't work. So, I think I have enough material for the coming Wednesday blog, but I always envisioned this as a visual blog...
I'll have to see where this leaves the blog... probably in silent running for a few months until we can muster up a new camera. The Cur family car also died last week, after a few weeks of trouble, so we need to see if that's salvageable before we move onto photographics... It's been a good camera, but we've given it a lot of use.
Check in tomorrow for the Wednesday post...
All the best...
the Cur family camera has died...
For the past month the lens wouldn't open and close properly, and now the on/off button won't work. So, I think I have enough material for the coming Wednesday blog, but I always envisioned this as a visual blog...
I'll have to see where this leaves the blog... probably in silent running for a few months until we can muster up a new camera. The Cur family car also died last week, after a few weeks of trouble, so we need to see if that's salvageable before we move onto photographics... It's been a good camera, but we've given it a lot of use.
Check in tomorrow for the Wednesday post...
All the best...
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Monday, July 21st
Just a quick movie this post-weekend post... more of Calvin doing his exercises -- he's on my lap as I type this. He and the other two are doing pretty well... there was a tropical storm through here last week, so that always drains us.
So, not much really... enjoy the movies!
So, not much really... enjoy the movies!
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Thursday, July 16th
So, Gosia went to the nephrologist yesterday, and Calvin's kidneys have gotten worse. His creatinine level went up from 1.1 - 1.2 in the past three months.
He's "safe" until it gets to 3 or 4, and then the doctor says the level just shoots up.
At 7, dialysis becomes urgently necessary.
So, there are all these factors to take into account, blah, blah, blah, but it seems like that will be in four years from now.
Plus he's started growing!! He's outgrowing his clothes! This is really great, considering his battle with nutrition, but his growth ironically places a greater strain on his kidneys.. I suggested a diet of coffee and cigarettes once, but it didn't fly with the nutritionist. They're always opposed to homeopathic remedies...
So, four years is a long way away, etc, etc, etc, but it doesn't seem that way. I've been feeling for a while that this whole thing is entering a new phase. I can't explain why I feel that way, maybe it's just emotional, maybe it's because he has grown a good bit recently and really isn't a baby anymore -- he's going through what must be near his last round of teething right now, too.
But I'm very optimistic about this new place, which is where this week's pictures are from. They say he's already made some improvement towards sitting, so we'll see where this goes too. Getting him sitting-creeping-crawling is very important for his respiratory system. He still doesn't breathe correctly -- he breaths from the chest, not the stomach. Lack of respritory strength leaves him succeptable to a variety of illnesses that he wouldn't have the breathing strength to recover from, so that's another reason it's so important to get him on this path.
I think that's all for this mid-week post. Movie down below, first in a series!
See you Sunday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
