Back to life. Back to reality.

Well, I'm posting this one from the sweaty cubicle which is our home office/study back in Taichung. Just sitting here, the only thing moving is my fingers, and I'm dripping. There goes a drop down my - nevermind - suffice to say that the suffocating heat is a shock.

So, I guess I will answer the two questions that you all are dying to know about. The first, of course, "How was the flight back?" And, I guess in this day and age, about the only positive thing you can say about any airtravel would be uneventful. No unruly passengers peeing in the aisle, no bomb threats - just mind numbing boredom and joint stiffness. The kids were even well-behaved. Well, except for Josh's 10 minute tirade when he found out he had to sit next to - say it ain't so - ME. Kind of hard to explain to the flight attendant or for that matter, anyone sitting anywhere on the aircraft why he is blocking the aisle shrieking, "But I hate you! Why do I have to sit next to you? You're not my real mom!!" But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Other than my eye-lubricating drops and nasal saline spray, I made sure to have nary a lip gloss tube hidden in any of our carry-on bags. I even waited until Jayden was asleep the night before our departure to check the contents of his Finding Nemo wheeled carry-on. Just to see if there were any stray fishing lures or other potentially dangerous articles he's ferreted away in there. The only thing of note was his 2m bright green rubber snake. Was he envisioning his own version of the movie? I'm sure more than a few people would have freaked out if he'd chucked it into the aisle. Around the 18th hour of the trip let me tell you, it was tempting.

Therefore, one would think, I would think, at least, that the first thing that the airline would do - as soon as that fasten seat belt sign gets switched off - seeing as we're all parched - is to immediately start handing out cups of water like the fans that line the route of theTour de France do. But, no, we were flying Continental. It was an hour and forty-five minutes before the drink trolley made it's way down to seats 21ABC - it was made all the longer by the stereofonic whining in both ears I got from Josh and Jayden, "Mommy, I thiiiiiiiiiiiiiisty!" And then the same refrain repeated in Chinese - just in case I hadn't gotten it the first time in my mother tongue. But at least we got to watch Dr. Dolittle 3 in flight. That one had been on my "Must See" list for some time already.

Yes. I am joking. It was awful.

We arrived at CKS pretty much on-time and, as he'd promised, Jason was eagerly awaiting us just outside the arrival gate. We arrived back in Taichung - I was unconscious for most of the trip back - and did a bit of unpacking. Somewhere in that time, Rudy made the monumentous discovery that he started school the next day!! Seeing as "the next day" was technically a mere four hours away, I suggested that we go to bed, try to sleep some, and get him off to school bright and early the next day. Our Rudy is a trooper and he made it off to school with no complaint and really didn't have any jet-lag to speak of. Unlike me, who is still exhausted at 7pm and waking up at 4:00am.

Now, the second, more pressing question you're all dying to ask is, I'm sure, "Are you and Jason really going to get divorced over your tattoo?" I mentioned it rather glibly in the Tattoo post I made last week. Little did I know the firestorm that awaited me back here. The short answer is "No." But it was touch and go there for a few days. After he saw it (Well, actually, I had to point it out to him because he's not so big on noticing things, my husband), he didn't talk to me for two days! After I'd missed him so much!

I finally couldn't take it any more and we got into a big heated row about it. Many interesting arguments were put forth by both sides and just a little FYI in case you're ever in a similar situation, the "It's my body and I can do whatever I want with it!" argument works about as well with a Taiwanese husband as it does with your parents when you were in highschool. As you often do in a marriage to keep things afloat, we've agreed to disagree about this one and he just avoids looking at my art. Which I can't understand because it's soooo pretty.

Other than the stifling heat, it's good to be back. The boys are getting into their routines and I'm, well, I'm avoiding the mountain of work that awaits me before classes resume. I did go join the school's fitness center. Somehow, the three kilos I'd gained (in addition to the two extra I had to lose even before our trip to the States this summer) were a big motivating factor. Would be pretty awful to have nothing to be able to fit into to wear on the first day of classes. My diet was instantly sabatoged, however, by Jason's mom's cooking. Deep fried shrimp? Sigh. I'm going to get serious this week. Maybe I can just sweat it off. I must have lost at least 1kg just sitting here writing this!