It's been almost four months since I've last blogged and I blame my negligence on 3 things. 1) We are really busy; 2) Facebook has taken my attention away from blogging; and 3) the iPhone has made strangers of my computer and me.

Recently, a dear friend asked me if I had stopped blogging. I was reminded that not only do I enjoy blogging but that others get pleasure from it too. With the intimacy of having a private blog, I can record our happenings and my more personal thoughts without sharing it with all my old high school classmates and acquaintances on Facebook. Plus, it allows me to scratch a certain writing itch that I somehow seem to have acquired. Where was this itch in the 90s? Is it too late to re-submit my junior English papers? Trouble is, I am still a huge fan of run-on sentences and ending sentences with ....

Anyway, I'm back to blogging and I do very much appreciate the reminder, you know who!

In the months that have passed since my last entry we've been working hard and having a ball. Britton is still loving his residency (picture with the only 2 other male residents in OB/GYN). He's gone through rotations in Moffitt Cancer Center, oncology at TGH, labor & delivery, gyn surgery, and family medicine at local clinics. Meanwhile, I started working at TGH as well. The plan is for me to take over the position of a PT who is currently pregnant. She is the sole PT of the pelvic floor program as well as one of 2 PTs in a multi-disciplinary pain management program at TGH. Both are outpatient settings. I have big shoes to fill while she is on ~ 6 to 9 months of maternity leave and I hope to expand both programs a little while she's gone to make room for me when she comes back. In the meantime I am working in acute care at TGH and constantly feeling a little overwhelmed with being thrown in a different unit each day since I don't really have "a home" there. I'm in ortho trauma one day, neuro ICU the next, and so on. I am not loving my job in acute care, but I do get to work in the outpatient rehab clinic on Wednesdays practicing my upcoming job and will go full-time in outpatient starting Jan. 11 so I am in good spirits about the future of my career.

In September, we put a little container garden on the side of our house which is still a work in progress. So far, I have herbs, flowers, lettuce and green tomatoes. My garden struggles with too little sunlight, but a sunnier spot is not really available. Britton and I also became board members of our HOA, treasurer and secretary, respectively. This is not so much a project that we wanted to take on as much as something we had to take on as the current board was falling apart and several issues needed attention.

In October, I visited my much-adored friend, Sarah and her husband Jeff in Austin, Tx. It was great to see them and as a bonus I loved Austin, if only they could move it to Florida or Georgia even... Later in the month, Britton and I visited Jupiter and yes, I am very much enjoying being closer to my parents. I haven't been able to "pop home for a weekend" in eight years. My mom has a new dog named Aiko, who is pretty cute, weighing in around 3 lbs. The very next weekend, my parents came to visit us in Tampa and we all attended my grandfather's 96th birthday party at my Aunt Helen's house in New Port Richey, FL (~1 hr from north of south Tampa). It was a good party and my grandfather obviously enjoyed himself.

In November, we added a roof and screened in our already existing back porch. We are thrilled with the addition as the weather is making outdoor dining delightful. Later, we celebrated Thanksgiving in Charleston with Britton's mom's large extended family. We all gathered at Bryan and Ursula's house (Britton's cousin) and were treated to a feast created by the Rodwell clan. It is wonderful to see all the children in the family grow, they have such neat little personalities. Next stop: Lexington, SC to visit Britton's dad and Pat where we were once again treated to more good food and hospitality. We returned on Monday evening and, after a super-short work week, I left on Thursday to go to my parents house for the weekend while Britton stayed in Tampa to study. In Jupiter, my parents spoiled me with more good food at local restaurants that were new to me. (For my few Jupiter peeps, you should try Leftovers, it was awesome!)

Currently, I am back in Tampa, 5 lbs heavier with a head cold which is making me miserable and impairing my writing! Britton is studying for the boards (USMLE Step III) which he will take next Tuesday and Wednesday. Now I believe I am all caught up with blogging, for the most part; and I am hereby vowing to update the blog more frequently... an easy goal as the bar was recently set quite low. ;-)

Starting to feel more and more like home

This weekend we had new carpet installed upstairs and on the staircase. It feels so nice under bare feet especially with the upgraded padding, a must in my mind for comfort. We went with a 100% nylon (= super soft and longer lasting) twist pile carpet in a light coffee ice cream color with flecks of toffee and mocha. Getting hungry?

Samantha was a little shocked at first. Her world, consisting mostly of the floor, had dramatically changed. I tried to cheer her up with "the cuddle bug," one of my favorite cuddle techniques to which Samantha has become accustomed.

Cash for Clunkers

Yesterday afternoon, I got off work early and Britton and I went car shopping. Do we need a new car... not really. But my 1997 Ford Explorer is only going to last for so long and, with the $4500 kickback from the government's CARS program, this might be a good time to buy. The only issue is that you have to buy a new car (not previously owned) in order to qualify, and I firmly believe that one should never buy a new car. However, with a couple of Gs under MSRP, the $4500 kickback, the trade-in scrap value, and free tinting, we think we got a great deal and are happy with our new Honda Civic.

I like to think that a car is just an object, 4 wheels and a hunk of metal, certainly not something that I would have any feelings about. But as we were clearing out the Explorer, it really was sad to let it go. Over the past 10 years I've had good memories with that car. When I was 19, my dad and I went to a car lot with a set budget to buy my first car. We figured we'd get something about 2 years old and Dad wanted me to do the negotiating. After many awkward moments with the saleman and several counter offers, I had a big luxury Explorer all to myself! I was on cloud 9! How lucky I was to have such generous parents - I knew it then, and now.

Then, as I moved from dorm to dorm in college and even all the way up to Atlanta after school, this car held all of my belongings. I used the Explorer to move 3 times while in Atlanta, including one time to move in with one of my best friends and another to move into my first solo apartment. I drove the Explorer, loaded up, from Atlanta to Columbia where I would spend the next 4 years in school once again. This time my parents followed with a U-haul; my stuff had finally outgrown the Explorer. The Explorer is the car I was driving when I met my husband. We used it to move in together in Columbia and then again when we became first time homeowners in Tampa.

So, in the end it was sad to see it go, especially because it is going to be scrapped. Sigh. But I'm sure the Civic will be a part of many new memories to come.

A toast: to new memories.

Settling down in Tampa

After we returned from Taiwan, my parents came to visit us in Tampa. As a housewarming gift, they treated us to a weekend at Home Depot and a lot of handy knowledge, skills and "more power" from my dad. We had a list of little problems: flickering light sockets, sink problems, chandelier installation, etc. We also went from having no storage in our garage to having two long shelves on each side, hooks for our bikes, broom/mop organization and cabinets above our washer and dryer! It was amazing what a difference that made is our ability to organize our things and now we can park our car in the garage!

Britton is really enjoying his residency at Tampa General Hospital and I am more or less enjoying my current 13 week contract physical therapy job at University Community Hospital. We have really been making use of the bay-side trail near our house and are settling in well in Tampa. We've discovered a great Thai restaurant around the corner, made good friends with our neighbors and Samantha has finally stopped pulling her fur out...so life is good.

Britton just started working nights tonight (hence I have time to write this entry), so for the next three weeks I'll only see him on the weekends. Good thing we have a kitty!

Best signs

All around Taiwan, we saw signs that tickled us. Some merely grammatical errors, many phrases that an English speaker would just never say, and some with words that while technically English, are never actually used. Fun!

These must be really good people!

Did you know that ustulation is a word?
–noun
1. the act of scorching or burning.

2. pharmacology, the roasting or drying of moist substances.

The bakery could probably find a better word...


Just in case you don't read Chinese or English, the picture says it all! So that's what men do in the toilet!







Oh, and how would you like some Pro Sweat to quench your thirst?












We also enjoyed the mandatory picture warnings on cigarette cartons. Based on the pictures I can only guess that they advertise warnings that cigarettes will ruin your teeth and gums, fill your lungs with tar, poison your family, and even make you impotent. Got a light?

How many people can you fit on a scooter?

We saw 5 once, but this was the best picture that we were able to get: 3 on one, 4 on the other! Who needs an SUV? ;-)
(Did you know you can click on any picture to view it's full size?)

Tuesday 6/16/09 - Homeward bound

In the morning, Todd and Shu-Fen drove us to the the airport. We were very happy with our trip to Taiwan. Todd and Shu-Fen went out of their way to show us all their favorite things and neat restaurants and markets. It was wonderful to spend time with them and to get to meet the extended family! Thanks guys!

Monday 6/15/09 - Our last day in Taiwan

After waking up at Shu-Fen's parents' house, we took a picture in front of her mom's store (her mom is on the right). She was a very sweet host, making sure that we had water for the car ride as well a delicious gourd-based drink.

We went out for some freshly made noodles. This guys carves your noodles for you from a large block and it was perhaps the best noodles we've had.

Then we went to a massage parlor and got foot soaks and massages that were ...painful and entertaining. The men put their full body weight into our helpless carcasses until we wanted to scream for mercy but didn't speak the language. Todd, Britton and I were all in the same room and the sound of one of them being slapped on made me laugh, but I always knew that a similar torture was about to start on me! Strangely, it felt good in a very painful kinda way. At least the slippers that we had to wear fit us, unlike the largest slippers that Todd was given.

That night, after stocking up on rare grocery items, Todd and Shu-Fen took us out for our last meal in Taiwan. We went to a barbecue restaurant where you barbecue your food at your table. Think fondue, but with a barbecue embedded in the table instead of a pot. Amazingly, there was no smoke in the room and the meat was fantastic!

Sunday 6/14/09 - A meeting of the gods

On Sunday morning, Britton and I started walking toward the largest temple in the area. After about 3 miles, Todd and Shu-Fen came by in the car - thank goodness as it turns out we were only about half way there and it was hot. When we got near the temple, we parked and walked to the street that leads to the temple. Here, we realized that this was a special day.

Each Buddhist temple is built for a particular god and, occasionally, a god from a nearby temple is brought to another temple so that the gods can visit. Today, several gods were brought from nearby temples in a large parade. A god conference?

Men worked in teams to carry the statue of the god to the temple much like a member of royalty would have been carried long ago. Meanwhile the sounds of several small bands with large drums and fireworks are heard all around. Hundreds of small fireworks are set off at the same time (a loud and startling event) and smoke fills the air.

The men carrying the statue of the god, walked back and forth (like crab walking in marching band) through firecrackers as they gave off small flashes of light and loud popping sounds. The street afterward is littered with fireworks!

We entered the temple on the right side. Todd taught us that a Buddhist temple should always be entered on the right and exited on the left; the center entrance is reserved for the gods.

In the temple, we saw a man up close who had been cutting his back by slapping himself with a knife throughout the parade. This is his way of showing sacrifice to the god that his group brought to the temple today. Todd and Shu-Fen informed us that they've seen much worse.



Afterwards, Britton finally got an opportunity to drink directly from a coconut, something he had been longing for.

Back at Shu-Fen's grandfather's house, the four of us sat in the living room enjoying some cold watermelon on a hot day.

Before we left, we took a picture with all the family still present at the house. Unfortunately many people left while we were at the temple. In this picture are mostly Shu-Fen's cousins and uncles and her grandfather is standing in the middle.

We drove back to Shu-Fen's hometown and the four us had dinner at a sushi place with a moving track of sushi and other food that goes by all the tables in the room. You just take what you want from the track and the chef in the middle of the room keeps replenishing the track. At the end, your plates are counted for payment. Todd and Shu-Fen's stack was higher than ours and Britton suffers as the loser (but they are eating for 2 1/2!).

Saturday 6/13/09 - Meet the parents & extended family

On Saturday , we went to Costco! We are big fan's of Costco (as you probably already know) and now we have shopped at Costco internationally. We dined in the food court and had a slice of Peking Duck Pizza, yum!

Next, we drove about 30 minutes south to Shu-Fen's parents' house, the home where she grew up. Her mom owns a general store (the size of a 7-11 but more geared toward groceries and household goods than fast food snack items). Her family lives above the store on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors. Her dad owns an egg sorting and distribution company; he is basically the middle man between the farmers and the grocery stores and bakeries. Shu-Fen explained the sorting process to me in this warehouse across the street. We are told that this is his small warehouse, but the number of eggs in this room is pretty impressive. Again, I'm wondering why we refrigerator our eggs in the U.S.

We left Shu-Fen's parents house and headed about 3 more hours south to Shu-Fen's grandfather's house. We followed Shu-Fen's mother, neice, brother and his girlfriend in their car; we were having a family reunion!

Shu-Fen's grandfather lives in an old ranch style house in a very small town in the middle of the country. The house is well over a hundred years old, I'd guess closer to two hundred. The concrete floor and old wooden doors must have seen many generations walk in and out. In the modest sized kitchen all of Shu-Fen's aunts made dinner for the extended family. The nicely updated bathrooms are located outside the house, presumably because this house was built before indoor plumbing was popular in Taiwan. A raised wooden area in the main room used to provide sleeping accommodations for the family but is now an area mostly for the kids to play. Here Todd, Britton, and Shu-Fen's little cousin try to create spinning tops out of basically round Legos. When they were finished the little boy's top spun the best, ha!

For dinner, we had a huge spread of food. The table contained every type of seafood I've ever seen and several types that were new to me. They also had duck and duck soup and chicken soup and rice and fried noddles and pig knuckles (is that the same as pig's feet?). Britton sat down in front of a feast made for a king and then was told that he was sitting at the kids' table! We moved into the dining room for dinner with the adults and were coached in the art of pretending you've tried everything and keeping your bowl full and your chopsticks poised so that it looks as if you are still eating your food, otherwise you would instantly be given more food! In this pic: Shu-Fen's older brother's girlfriend, Shu-Fen's uncle, and Shu-Fen's older brother.

Our sleeping arrangements at her grandfather's house were family style. Todd, Shu-Fen, Britton and I all slept on these two mattresses. In this picture you can see the old concrete floor.