Good fake shoes; dealing with girls; alphabet "worm"

The "Nike Air Pegasus Zoom" shoes that I bought in Ho Chi Minh City when my friend Andy visited are knockoffs of the highest quality. I mean they're fake as hell -- most of the swooshes peeled off after a few weeks -- but they're still functioning very well. I've been told by those in the know that knockoffs of this quality are constructed with stolen or "borrowed" Nike materials, assembled who knows where, and sold to morons like me who think they are cheaper, secret stash Nikes. I saw the $28 price tag for the Zooms, which really cost upwards of $120 in the U.S., and I took the bait. As I strolled around in my well-constructed Nike fakes, I thought back to a pair of name-brand shoes sold to me by a co-worker when I first moved here. Those shoes fell apart -- a la Zion Williamson -- when I walked around in them for a week. The salesman apologized, got me another pair that fell apart -- a la Zion Williamson -- after two weeks. That was my last transaction with the co-worker, who is a good guy but felt compelled to make a buck off a newcomer. Money does funny things to people. Not funny ha ha. My wife tried selling Nike shoes online when we first got together, and they also fell apart; people got really mad. I told her to knock it off and forget about money. She listened and now we are happily married. Like I've said before, lots of people have side businesses selling stuff online. I don't buy it, so to speak, and prefer to get ripped off the old-fashioned way in stores tucked away in the alleys of Ho Chi Minh City that sell "real Nikes." But in this rare case, the shoes were high quality for whatever reason and I got a good deal.

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I believe I've learned how to better deal with the two females in my life. First, Joanna. I understand now that Joanna is one of the world's most stubborn and grouchiest people IN THE MORNING. She doesn't pick fights often, but she won't back down from one IN THE MORNING. So, if I yield to her wishes within reason, we have a great day together. I put food and juice and milk out for her when she wakes up,  but I don't make her eat. Sometimes, she'll scream for chocolate if she knows I have a Hershey's Kiss or almond bar, and I'll give her a piece for breakfast. What the heck ... life is short. Oddly, she'll eat the candy and often have some cereal, fruit and yogurt afterward. An easy victory for the diplomatic White Monkey. Sometimes, I was very pig-headed with my kids from my first marriage. But life is journey and we learn as we go. My wife Phuong is trickier, because we both are stubborn and have big egos. These days I've decided to throw myself into chores and tai chi when there's a disagreement -- the chores that I do will usually placate Phuong, and the chi pacifies me. Everybody's a little happier and everybody gets along splendidly. Good times for the meditative White Monkey.

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A teacher I know, Bronwyn, suggested a wonderful activity for our daycare kids. It's an alphabet worm; kids paint paper plates, color letters, and the letters are pasted on the plates, which are then taped to the wall forming a "worm." Our worm became a centipede/caterpillar (I sort of copied Bronwyn's) and the kids and parents loved seeing the letters/caterpillar/centipede/creature on our wall. One mom said, "It's beautiful." We have seven kids, including Joanna, and four participated in the process with a little prompting, one needed significant prompting, and two didn't get it. Not bad, really, for 2-, 3-, and 4-year-old children. I'm waiting for Bronwyn's next suggestion.

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I'm dealing with some pretty serious sciatica pain, which leads me to think that my motorbike wrecks have finally caught up with me. I can still chi, which is good, but sometimes the pain is distracting, which is bad. I'm reluctant to seek medical help here, but may try acupuncture or a decent massage, as opposed to an indecent massage. We'll see. I have to do something because I'm no longer No. 1 in the family tennis rankings. Now that really hurts.