Clean your teeth everyone. Soft play is terrifying.
Clean your teeth everyone. Soft play is terrifying.
It’s Saturday morning. The kids have been playing with each other!!! It’s amazing.
We’ve just read Aaron Becker’s third book in the Journey trilogy that’s called Return. Though, at school the kids have been calling it Journey Number 3.
It has really grabbed Elise’s attention. In fact, it has grabbed mine too. I keep seeing new things every time I read it and more than once have got into conversations about it with colleagues at school.
A brief chat about scooters
Just created a Week 20 e-learning folder. Mannnnnn
Sometimes the best thing I can do for my family is to have some time away from them.
I think about this poem (link to Austin Kleon’s site) a lot. About not being able to have a social life, a passionate love life (I substitute family here) and work. You can have only two.
For me work and family are the big things in my life. They take up most/all of my time. I would and try to do anything for my wife and children.
I’m also aware that having a rare evening off is good for my mental health even if it feels like I’m letting them down by not being there for them.
I rediscovered that I had a journal in Day One titled Driving in China that I’ve tried to write some pithy words talking about my experiences driving here and to turn them into ‘Life Lessons.’ My experiences of driving are of driving in the UK for 10+ years and now driving in China for nearly 4 years now.
Driving here, there are the official rules and there are the rules of the road. At first, driving here was terrifying. Yes, the lane markings indicate two lanes but the physical space can fit 3 cars, so we’ll do that. My biggest gripe is the, as I see it, impatience of drivers. Like yesterday, I stopped at a crossing to let someone go across but the car behind me undertook me, because why would you wait? Anyway, that’s my second idea: Driving in China - Lessons in Mindfulness.
Lesson 1
The ‘fast’ lane isn’t always the fast lane. Sometimes people will say, “do this, it’s the quickest way,” and sometimes it is. Don’t assume the quickest way is the same for everyone.
(In the UK we have 4 lanes some places but here there’s 4, 5 and 6 lanes everywhere. There’s no lane discipline. It’s normal for people to undertake, to speed down the ‘slow’ lane and go between two cars.)
串串 You pick your sticks and then boil it in spicy oil.
As well, it reminded me how busy China is when you go outside in the evening. There’s just so many people “milling” around.
Apart, from the news of the virus in Beijing now.
Couple of photos from last night.
Back with a bump today. Small children are a rollercoaster eh?
Have been promising to make this out of the back of the book Tiddler by Julia Donaldson for a while. Finally got around to making it this morning.
Picking blueberries and waiting up for mum and dad.
One of my first memories of coming to the city I now live in was the weather. A muggy, heavy, heat. Something I now accept when summer comes around.
So, it’s not just that living here has helped me eat spicy food, my tolerance for hot weather has definitely changed too.
Lovely afternoon having a few drinks and not feeling additional, small child related, stress. As well, it was nice to be with someone I’m comfortable with.
Daytime drinking because my wife is amazing and has taken the kids out for the day. Guinness for olds time’s sake.
Looking forward to seeing Dads. Trailer looks really good.
Dads is a heartfelt and humorous documentary that celebrates the joys and challenges of parenting in today’s world.
Just submittd my Microcast to Apple!
Thanks to @manton for the support but also @chet for this post that was just what I needed to change the title to something other than my micro.blog title!
Knocked off another couple of 3* mirror races on Mario Kart 8 this morning!
Still aiming for 3*s on all the races but not sure the summer holidays are long enough to do that on 200cc.
Parents, what are your thoughts about posting pictures of your children online? I have some friends who choose not to, while others do. I’m interested in what your thoughts are? I had a private Instagram account that I used to share photos but I’m trying to move away from it.
Can I still gift a micro.blog account? I thought I could but I’m not finding anything.
Yumo says some names of people in our immediate family but not others!
My wife and I are trying to be good, food-wise, at the moment but it’s really hard. Since work is stressful and I’m realising that my go to reaction is to eat unhealthy good and snacks. It doesn’t help that the school canteen is giving free cookies with every coffee either.
Been a week since my AirPods case stopped working. This morning finally got the headphones from my iPhone 8 box. It’s weird. There’s a cable running to them.
Also, they don’t fit and I really don’t like them.
After reading some of @MDonaldson’s newsletter about starting to use Micro.blog and how it encourages people to interact. It has got me thinking about how I find it hard to engage online. In that, I actively choose not too. I spend a lot of time reading, but not interacting. I’m thinking particularly about Twitter and Reddit. That that is a for a variety of reasons. I feel like I’m breaking that habit more and more with Micro.blog but it’s still hard.
Some dinosaur chatter.
Home alone update: I’m playing Mario Kart on the tv!