2 women in our neighborhood die from Covid

Two elderly women in our neighborhood died from Covid in the past week and a woman on the street behind us is hospitalized with the virus, All three were unvaccinated. This information comes from our ward's government representative. I witnessed no music, drum banging  or loud processions for the deceased as usually occurs when someone dies here. In the "new normal," some family members get together for a meal and drinks, but no large gatherings are permitted. I heard that the government got the bodies of the two women who died at home and handled the cremation. Meanwhile, the people across the street from us tested negative after 14 days and had their red "Covid is here" sign removed. Three more signs on our street were removed and another popped up. I believe there are five signs in all on our street. One house down the street from us, which has some rough folk living there -- the woman laughed pretty hard when my daughter crashed on her bike and bloodied her knees -- put their Covid sign on a small trash can that's not easily visible. I wouldn't expect much else from this crowd, which is also the group that laughed at me when I wore the shield. Anyway, there are 15,000 to 17,000 new Covid cases here a day, which I know pales in comparison to the United States. No variant is named in Vietnam, but I suspect Delta is still making the rounds with Omicron coming later. I've always felt they're a little behind the times here.
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It doesn't look or feel like Christmas in Bien Hoa. It's not just the 90-degree weather. Before Covid (B.C.?), Christmas was picking up steam, especially with retailers. Now, some of the stores have decorations, but there's been a definite drop-off. Makes sense. If you can't give your mom a proper, traditional burial, why would you care about a Western holiday? The big mall and markets are eerily empty. Joanna and I went shopping on Wednesday at the largest and only "real" mall in town and it was too quiet. No lines, no hustle, no bustle. Nonetheless, I'm trying my best to instill a little Christmas spirit into our house for my daughter Joanna and son Elijah. Joanna has been coloring Christmas-themed pictures, which I hang on the wall near our tree. I keep adding ornaments and lights to the tree, even if it's tiny and artificial. Or ecologically and economically friendly, depending on your perspective. Christmas doesn't mean a lot to my wife even though she's Catholic; Tet is what matters to her and that holiday will be quiet this year as well. Elijah isn't too interested in Santa yet, but he'll kick our Christmas balls all over the house. 
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I dropped my Apple laptop down a flight of stairs and even though we've tried to get it fixed, it
hasn't been the same. We bought another Apple laptop but the new one (really, it's pre-owned) isn't quite right, either. So both have been returned to the shop, and I'm working on a PC now, which is a little tricky for me. So I now have a legitimate excuse for any mistakes in my blog. I've also struggled to get lessons together for Joanna on the PC, but we're on Christmas break anyway. Christmas coloring continues, but that's pretty much it. 
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I want to sincerely wish everyone a safe, healthy and very happy holiday season. I know so many people who step up in difficult times like we're enduring now and do the right thing for others and themselves. I don't expect anything different this holiday season, and that can give all of us reason to celebrate. 

Nearby Covid cases recovering; too old to run?

 Another red Covid sign was posted on a house on our street, bringing the total to eight. But the good news is that some of the signs will come down this week if the residents test negative. A few are already down. Still, no one is talking much about Covid or a particular variant here. There's almost a stunned silence regarding the virus. But I do see some attitudes slowly changing. People on our street who didn't wear masks would laugh and point at me when I wore one with a face shield, but now they laugh at me behind their own masks. Some mask resistance exists here; one guy at the park rode his bicycle and worked out on newly installed exercise equipment without a mask, along with his kid, who was also mask-free. I used sign language to suggest he should wear a mask and he honestly thanked me through my wife. Next time I saw him and his kid they had masks on. Two park joggers go mask-less and they huff and puff as they go about their business in a crowded park, which means they're likely to share any virus they happen to be carrying. I politely suggested that they wear a mask, and got zero response. My wife told the park security guard to put a mask on, and, shock of shocks, he did. I wouldn't be so adamant about masks except for the fact that it helps prevent the spread of the virus, and Covid case numbers released by the government here continue to climb, with anywhere from 13,000 to 17,000 new cases each day. Things are pretty much opened up, and there seems to be an honor system at businesses to scan your proof of vaccination with your cell phone. Some do, some don't. A couple of aspects of life here are returning to normal a little faster than I'd like. More motorbikes are being ridden on sidewalks and more litter is starting to show up.

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Last week at the park Joanna insisted we run a footrace. So, ready, steady, go, and away we went (I'm pleased my back lets me run). A lady who my wife and I know very casually says to my wife: "It's good your husband is running now with your daughter because he won't be able to run in a year or two because he's so old." Charmed, I'm sure. But it was one of those weeks where the odd was the norm. My daughter and I turned the corner to walk the path that leads to the street behind us and then on to the park, and as we turned the corner, we were met with smoke. Trash was being burned on the narrow sidewalk. Joanna was scared and wouldn't pass, so I started to push the pile to the side so she could get through, and some woman comes out of nowhere screaming at me to leave her burning pile of rubbish on the pedestrian pathway alone. I still pushed the pile a little so Joanna could pass and the woman barked something at me and swept the pile back into the middle of the sidewalk and reignited it. There was a bunch of leaves, berries, sticks and I guess some regular trash. I told her to burn her trash in front of her house or in the street and left it at that. Once past the burning pile, Joanna kept laughing about the whole thing, and started with the "Why?" questions. No easy answers. The charred remains of the pile were off to the side of the path the next day. Later, Joanna and I were walking down the main street when a security guard sitting in front of some bank shows his cell phone to me with a translated question: "Is she your daughter or granddaughter?" I told him daughter, which he either didn't believe or understand, and he showed me again. So I responded again, in English and Vietnamese, and he showed me and asked (I guess) again. I said "Yes, yes," and he seemed happy with the response. Then he pointed to my stomach and laughed. I told you it was an odd week.

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Owls are now the animal of choice for Joanna, which hopefully is a good omen for Yellow Springs, Ohio, and our waiver application. No word on our waiver lately; it was sent Sept. 17 and receipt of the waiver was acknowledged by the USCIS on Oct. 31. Nothing since, and some websites say we may have a decision by the end of May. I've accepted that Joanna has lost her year of kindergarten. If the waiver drags on forever we'll figure something out. ... Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingstone is an excellent book even though it sort of jumps around time-wise. which I guess makes it epic. The details of the characters' lives and the travels through Africa are riveting and, like Conquistador, which I recently finished, a bit unsettling. Much of the book takes place in Tanzania, which my friend recently visited. I'm glad I've become addicted to reading. ... Starting to heat up here for some reason, maybe because the rains have slowed. It's in the low 90's and of course humid every day.

Some kind of virus bugged us; keep your distance, please

I'm not sure if I had Covid, but there were some serious warning signs: chills, a sore throat and confusion. The confusion was the worst part. I could not find my wallet, which set off a desperate and futile nighttime search with a flashlight in the park. The wallet ended up being on the bedroom floor. I took my temperature countless times and it was normal every time, so I told my wife that I'd get tested the next day if I was still under the weather. After a lengthy trip to the bathroom and marathon shower, I felt fine that night and was right as rain the next day. Perhaps the vaccine did its job, or maybe I was dealing with some other issues, like confusion from fatigue related to lack of sleep and child care, and a sore throat and chills from too much air conditioned living. Who knows? Who cares, other than me? I will say I'm so happy to have been vaccinated because there's so much Covid around us now. My poor wife had a similar experience a few days later, with bad chills and dizziness. She bounced back after a few hours.  Our family remains devoted to the mask and hand washing, and I've become a real zealot about social distancing. Some people crowd others in line here, and put their groceries on top of someone else's stuff at the checkout counter. This happened twice to me this week -- at a specialty food store and at the local market. In both cases, the people made significant contact with me while sticking their items on top of mine. I smiled and politely motioned for both people -- a man and woman -- to back up and respect social distancing until I paid. But they bulldozed ahead, and I got seriously irritated and pointed to my  mask and barked out that "I HAVE COVID!" (in Vietnamese) and "get away from me" in English. The man actually left the store until I was finished and the woman walked five feet away slowly and with attitude, if you know what I mean. A few years back I might have put their groceries on the floor while checking out -- I've done that in the past, but those instances involved line-cutting as well as grocery stacking. But I'm a kinder and gentler White Monkey these days so I just try to communicate my concerns to the best of my abilities, and if that doesn't work, I try to scare the crap out of people so they'll back off. I don't want conflict or Covid. I've got two small kids who need their dad at the moment and I don't need strangers crashing my personal space with Covid. It's very much worth noting that a guy in line gave me a thumbs-up when I barked at the woman and the clerk smiled at me when I scared the guy out of the store. Most people here get it, but the ones who don't give Covid the chance to spread, and it's spreading at a rate of about 13,000 to 14,000 cases a day in Vietnam. At two of the seven houses on our street displaying ''Covid is here'' warning signs, mask-less people sit outside smoking and talking with their doors open. Like I said, most people get it.
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I don't need reminders I'm getting old -- turning 67 and my bathroom mirror have taken care of that. But the other day in the park I carried Joanna on my shoulders for a few minutes (at her request) and then I walked home with Elijah on my shoulders (at my wife's request). Later that night I could barely move from pain in my back at the same spot where I hit the road in a motorcycle accident a few years ago. When the pain first locked me up I wondered why, then thought back to my foolishness at the park with Joanna and walk home with Elijah. Then I thought about my age. Then I thought about the accident more than five years back. At least I can still think, but when the old sports injuries start to come back, I'll know it's getting near closing time.
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 I did a five-creature challenge with Joanna on Wednesday morning in the park that I knew wasn't super difficult, but figured would eat up a little of my daughter's time. It ate up less than two minutes -- bird, bee, lizard, snail, butterfly. She loves and knows how to spot her creatures. ...  Elijah heads straight to the road next to the park so he can see cars go by. A real boy, that boy, pointing out all the white SUVs to me after he kicks the soccer ball around a little ... I'm at 733 days and 106 weeks in a row of Kindle reading and I'm currently halfway through Into Africa: The Epic Adventures of Stanley & Livingstone. 

Covid cluster around our house; locals call Joanna a boy

 Our street seems to be at the center of a Covid cluster, with more than 30 people and seven houses around us infected.  The virus has certainly quieted things down: kids don't ride their bikes –– masks or no masks –– up and down our street; fewer vendors and lottery sellers come around; fewer mask-less morons strut around, although the annoying bread sellers still arrive 6 a.m. with a booming announcement over a loudspeaker of hot, crispy bread.  The guy across the street, who gives me xam xam (a gelatin made from leaves) because I give his kids chocolate, tested positive along with his wife, mother and the two kids. I've suspended the treat exchange until things cool down. The concern for us is that these folks got the same vaccines we received -- AstraZeneca. As has been the case for me over the years here, I have no idea of what's going on. I hope the vaccines were legitimate but it does seem odd that a lot of vaccinated folks are getting infected. I sure hope our family can avoid getting coronavirus, but we're pretty nervous. I've been a little under the weather the past two days and if my malaise continues another day, I'll get tested. Covid would be a real drag for the obvious reasons, but also because my daughter depends on me to provide classes and entertainment. Many of the people who contracted and probably spread Covid on our street exhibited inappropriate behavior such as no masks in addition to having lots of people coming and going from their houses with zero social distancing. Houses in our ward that have a resident with Covid are identified with a red sign on or next to the front door. It's a grim passover of sorts.
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My daughter tried to cut her own hair, and failed. She likes to do her own thing. Anyway, my wife had to cut Joanna's hair really short to kind of even things out. As a result, when Joanna and I go out people ask me the age of my son, to which I reply that she's my daughter. The people overreact with shock and disbelief. They react a little too strongly, in my opinion. One guy in T-Rex Coffee told me at least three or four times that she looks like a boy. Whatever. It's ironic since my daughter is very proud of being a female, and she calls all insects, lizards, dinosaurs, geckos, and animal characters in her books "she" and "her". I love it. My son Elijah, meanwhile, is so enamored with kicking his ball that he boots it around for 30 minutes in the bedroom before his nap.
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I still fret over my daughter's education and socialization here. She's not in school, and wouldn't benefit much from online kindergarten taught in Vietnamese and perhaps some English. This is a 5-year-old kid who can read and write a little, is now expressing herself extremely well, and has a very keen memory -- and low threshold of boredom and isn't shy about speaking her mind. With Covid on the upswing, no schools are open for face to face learning and even if they were, my daughter would resist the uniforms, conformity and discipline that seem to be the focus here. The private international schools are about $19,600  a 10-month school year and require uniforms, and almost certainly stress discipline, conformity and order. There are no easy choices, which is why it's so crucial to me that my wife's waiver is approved by the USCIS and she can get her visa to come to the U.S. I know I've repeated all this countless times in this blog -- sorry.
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The park near our house is much more pleasant with motorbikes now prohibited from entering. Some guy and his girlfriend rode into the park in the one open spot, but the security guard politely asked him to take his bike outside the park. The guy rode away and the problem was pleasantly resolved ... I'm currently reading Into Africa, the story of Stanley and Livingstone.  I just finished Conquistador by Buddy Levy; it was as good as it was disturbing. My reading "addiction" is at 105 weeks and 726 days in a row. ... It's been two years since I've had alcohol, except in my Listerine mouthwash. ... Good visit with my eye doctor. Dr. Wong is a good doctor and good man. My glaucoma is stable and my vision even improved a tiny bit. Well, my hindsight is 20-20 ... 

Persistent Covid way too close; flu shot, bee stings

Two of our neighbors -- three and four houses away -- have Covid. One gentleman in his 90s is on a ventilator in the hospital. A woman in her late 30s remains at home. Both were vaccinated, so I'm not sure what's going on. Or what to believe, really. There's no official government notice, like yellow tape or a sign in front of the houses to let people know Covid is present. Information is shared through word of mouth among neighbors, which surprises me since rules and regulations seem vital here. Maybe officials are unaware or can't keep up, but some kind of signal to the neighbors that Covid is nearby would seem essential for everybody's well-being. Society has opened up and life and traffic are back to their usual chaotic flow. But with so many home deliveries of food and packages, it's no wonder officials are acknowledging that 0 Covid cases won't happen. Vietnam reports 8,000 to 10,000 new cases daily. On Tuesday, Vietnam added 38,000 new cases to its overall total of 1,137,923, which included 28,000 previously unreported cases in Binh Duong, a neighboring province of Ho Chi Minh City and Bien Hoa. I see online that the United States gets anywhere from 50,000 to 111,000 new cases daily, so this virus is far from finished. My wife and I received our two AstraZeneca shots but we still wear masks and wash our hands religiously. I'm assuming our 5-year-old will eventually get a vaccine and we'll need a booster. Bring it on.
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Our son got an influenza vaccine on Wednesday and my daughter, wife and I were vaccinated for the flu. It's like needle park here, sometimes. Joanna is not a fan, vehemently protesting any injection, saying "No thanks, no thanks!"  The anticipation was worse than the injection for the flu, and she didn't cry after getting stuck, but she whined a bit before the fact. She cried more when she was stung by some weird bee  -- something like a yellowjacket I was told -- a few days ago. I got stung multiple times a while back by one of these guys and I cried a lot more than Joanna. I also swelled quite a bit at the site of the sting. Joanna's skin raised only slightly where she was stung. She was victimized while looking at the nest being built on tree trunk in the park. We went home, put on a band aid, and Joanna shook it off after a short while, returned to the park and continued her creature exploration and play.
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Many schools in Dong Nai are doing online learning to combat Covid, so Joanna and I continue our learning at home. Her attitude improves all the time since I give her total leeway with her drawing and coloring, and she even did some math without any complaints. ... We had a power outage last week and my daughter was upset until I gave her my headlamp, prompting her to say, "I'm putting on my 'octogoggles,' " a funny reference to the Octonauts, an underwater adventure cartoon she watches sometimes. She's doing quite well, all things considered, and there are many things to consider ... We received a receipt and short note from the USCIS regarding our waiver application for my wife to get a visa to come to the United States. Our nonrefundable payment of $930 has been received and they're now reviewing our case. The note also states that if  biometrics are required, they'll let us know. That's pretty much it, so we'll just wait for a decision: Either my wife and our family leaves for the U.S. relatively soon, hopefully, or we have some serious thinking to do, especially about our daughter's education and future. ...  T-Rex Coffee and Tea, the nearby dinosaur coffee house, is our new hangout. Joanna and I go daily (except Sundays) for an hour or so. Joanna even has a T-Rex Coffee and Tea t-shirt. ... I'm deep into the book Conquistador, which has shaken my faith in mankind with its portrayal of massacres and human sacrifices. On that awkward note, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Electric E; dinosaur coffee; more Covid, no waiver news

He can be the Big E, Little E, Easy E, but he's always E, as in Electric. My son Elijah, who's getting tall as well as big, jacks up the microwave to full heat and maximum time whenever he passes by. If I heat up coffee, he turns the dials to their limits so coffee will boil all over the place if I'm not there. But I've always been there because I know my son's behavior. I worry about his height and size now because he can reach the stove dials and every outlet in the house. Coffee is a special problem, and not just because of the microwave dials. He goes ballistic if I don't let him drink it, and he's oblivious to how hot things are or could be. My after-dinner coffee is a scream-fest and he has to be diverted. Electric is the big lure and we have to use it to get him off the coffee, letting him turn off the ceiling fan. If we're not focused on him, he'll move chairs to reach light switches, creating concert-like effects in every room, especially the bedrooms and bathrooms.  We got him a sensory board with switches, plugs, locks and shapes, and he's starting to get into it. My daughter did everything on the board a couple of times and the thrill is gone. Elijah smashed the bell on the board, laughed and applauded himself. He's a fun guy with a ready smile.
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Joanna and I spotted a T-Rex Coffee and Tea on Vo Thi Sau during our afternoon walk. It was easy to spot because it's next to the ATM  I use. Oh no. Joanna loves the place (the T-Rex coffee shop) and she was fascinated by the large and scary anatomical T-Rex inside, along with plastic and relatively realistic triceratops, parasaurolophus, and velociraptors. It took her a little while, but she now she touches the moving, roaring T-Rex. She'll eventually get bored with the place, but it will take a while since she's enamored with dinosaurs, sea creatures and all animals, really. We went on a Sunday and the crowd of kids was a little rough; one kid kept hitting the styrofoam dinosaur with his fist and anything else he could grab, another kid about 6 or 7 was flipping off the T-Rex while his parents sat nearby and laughed, and another kid grabbed the T-Rex tongue and ripped the tip off. Adults were nearby but preoccupied on their cell phones ... or laughing at their kids' unsavory behavior. Joanna started getting a little wound up, pulling up some flowers to feed T-Rex. I didn't laugh, explained the problem to her and we left in a veil of tears. I tried to explain so she would understand and not get too upset, but my daughter is very sensitive to criticism. I really just wanted her to know that other kids can be fun and good friends, but we have to make our own decisions and do the right thing. Thank goodness my daughter is very bright and seems to understand what I'm telling her most of the time.
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Covid keeps hanging around here, averaging more than 8,000 new cases a day in Vietnam in the past week, but life is returning to normal. More and more noisy vendors are walking the streets, more bikes are appearing and more speeders on bikes and in cars are making their presence felt on our street. Food produced locally is still relatively cheap, but imported goods are getting costlier all the time. Joanna and I end up in the park sometime each day, often to meet my wife and Electric E, who loves kicking the ball and chasing it down.
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We're still waiting for any word regarding our waiver application for my wife to get a visa to enter the United States. It was sent mid-September. My daughter isn't in school but should be (she's 5 years old), and probably will refuse to go to school in Vietnam. The only school she could do here would be online kindergarten, which I nixed. So we're hoping for good news on the waiver and we're hoping for it soon. Homeschool continues, but my computer broke down, the internet can be problematic, and Joanna needs peers and she needs to be challenged more. We're on a break at the moment waiting for a new laptop to arrive. In the meantime, she draws and colors while humming the entire time, reads on occasion, and walks in the heat with her dad. We watch British Council kids videos and she'll answer the accompanying questions.
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I've surpassed 100 weeks and 700 days in a row of reading, having recently finished the riveting Labyrinth of Ice by Buddy Levy, which was about the Greely polar expedition.  Now I'm reading Conquistador, his book about the conquest of the Aztecs by Cortes. ... I'm a month away from two years without a drink of alcohol. I might share a beer with my wife if we get the visa. ... Rainy season continues here, with a daily downpour usually starting late afternoon. The Coffee House always lends Joanna and I an umbrella if we happen to be out walking in the rain. Nice folk work there. 

Line up for 2nd jab; creatures; safer park; Joanna bee cool

When we got our second AstraZeneca vaccine shot at a converted gym, the line cutters were out in full force. Three people stepped in line in front of us, but my wife called out one guy, and a watchful government official sent the trio to the back of the line, and basically taught them the process of queuing in an orderly fashion. The cutters nodded in approval, like this was the first time they had been instructed how to line up, which may have been the case. There seems to be a panic in some countries -- actually most countries I've been to -- of being left out when a group of people gather to do something, whether it's paying for groceries or getting a needle stuck in your arm. That leads to people simply muscling their way to the front of the line to get what they've no doubt been denied countless times in the past. By the way, my wife and I both felt sick after the shots -- headaches and stomach issues that lasted a couple of days. Not horrible but a little uncomfortable. Since the lockdown has been lifted, coronavirus cases have been slowly rising in Vietnam, from a low of about 3,000 new cases daily to nearly 6,000 a day. Our province, Dong Nai, has been the area recording the most new cases – over 800 a day. Among the infected is a 90-year-old man on our street and a pregnant lady around the corner, who both had been vaccinated twice. 
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Maybe this is another teaching moment here: Officials have installed metal bars and chains to keep motorbikes out of the pedestrian park we go to. Signs and gestures didn't work. Motorbikes were cruising the park; walking was becoming dangerous, especially for children like my son and daughter. Delivery drivers would sit around, smoke and litter next to their bikes in the park. A security guard being paid the equivalent of $150 USD a month did little or nothing to intervene. It's probably cheaper to put up barriers than hire more, or more involved, guards. The improvements (I'll call them that) took place during the lockdown along with lots of other construction projects in town, including new sidewalks, which were desperately needed. 
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Joanna and I have resumed our afternoon walks with masks on. The creature hunts are back, and my daughter is amazing. She is in a class by herself at spotting critters. She saw a lizard between two stones that form the barrier to the park's stinky canal, two lizards on a utility pole, and a beehive being built on a tree. The only thing I've spotted recently is another giant spider in the bathroom next to our kitchen. We've all spotted ants, but not very many lately. My wife cleaned some snails (ugh!) that I won't eat, and missed a spot when cleaning up the counter, so the ants came out to finish the job. Other than that one incident, no ants. I've turned my addiction issues to cleaning, in addition to reading, and the ants don't have a chance. Also on our walk, we saw two guys walking through the mucky canal with boots on (thankfully for them) and carrying large wooden poles with little nets on the end. The water was low, and these guys walked down the canal scooping up fish and putting them in a bag. I have no idea what kind of fish they were "catching," but there were a lot of them.
• • •
We had a small Halloween gathering for Joanna.  She made her own costume -- a color-and-cut bee mask and black and yellow T-shirts from my drawer. She refused to wear a witch costume my wife got out for her and insisted on being a bee. We colored a few Halloween pictures – good witch, bad witch, pumpkin – and hung them on the bedroom doors. She knocked on the doors, and entered dark rooms where spooky dad gave her treats with a spooky, kid-appropriate video playing. I think she loved it, especially the candy. I know my daughter should be in school now, but she's rallied a little with the lessons I've given her. She still hates math, but we're having "testing" week, and of course she aced the sea animals section. I contacted some international schools here regarding Joanna. One never picked up the phone (during school hours) and I got disconnected, and another called back and sent an email that started with We are appreciated for your interest ... At least they responded and were nice, and I'll assume a teacher didn't write the email, but looking at their class schedule and seeing the email, I expect more for $17,000 to $20,000 a year. The waiver from the USCIS is so crucial for our family, especially for our children and their education. We filed the waiver in the middle of September, but still no acknowledgement of any kind from the USCIS.
• • •
I'm about to join the 700 club, if such a thing exists on Kindle, since I've read 697 days and 101 weeks in a row. Currently reading Labyrinth of Ice, a story of the Greely polar expedition ... I tried to buy a Birds of Paradise comforter for Joanna for $123 and $68 shipping and handling, but Fed-ex wouldn't release it to me from HCMC unless I produced the receipt, photo of item, and bank record of purchase. So I slogged though this process with my wife, sent the requested documentation, and got an email back saying I must also pay at least $50 more duty and taxes, and possibly more, or they'll return the comforter. Principle rules ... return the comforter to Redbubble, who's good to work with by the way, and let them keep the $191. Update: My wife overruled my decision and said pay the duty and taxes so Joanna gets the comforter after Redbubble wrote me to say they would cover the extra expenses if I send them the receipts from the duty and taxes. A complicated world we live in these days ...  a big shout-out to a wonderful high school classmate of mine who sent Joanna a couple of truly cool coloring books. And I didn't have to pay duty and tax. Thank you Estera!

Anticipating vaccine jab No. 2; Why oh Why?

My wife Phuong and I were supposed to get our second vaccine shots next Sunday, which I believe might be a prerequisite for us to travel to the United States if the waiver for my wife's visa is approved. We'd be getting AstraZeneca shot No. 2 nine weeks after the first jab. I guess that's fine since we'll probably need a booster eventually, especially the senior citizen in our family. I'd rather be a human pin cushion than fighting to breathe on a ventilator. Update (Wednesday morning): We ended up getting the shots in a hurry-up scramble Tuesday. We're very pleased. New coronavirus cases here in Vietnam have dipped, from about 12,000 a day a few weeks ago to 3,000 to 5,000 a day in the past week. You can credit the lockdown, which was recently lifted, and the vaccines, which I believe are the only way to truly control and ultimately eradicate the virus. My view is that along with vaccines, maintaining a mask mandate for the foreseeable future will help reduce the spread of any possible variants, and add to the public's confidence. Again, that's my view ... maybe not yours, his or hers. One problem I see here – and I suspect in many other countries – is that once the number of new cases drops, some people act like there's no more Covid; they discard their masks, gather in groups, and ignore social distancing, just like in the days when the virus really took off. The virus is still soaring in some places, like the UK, and the U.S., unfortunately ... maybe not like before but enough to be worrisome, which should make simple, relatively easy precautions become simple, relatively easy procedures.

• • •
My daughter Joanna has discovered a new word: "Why?" She applies it to everything she really wants to know – Why do giraffes have ossicones? They use ossicones as weapons when they fight, like smaller antlers ...  as well as to every situation and circumstance – Why do I have to wash my hair?  Because it's dirty. Why is it dirty? Because you were outside and it's hot and dirty outside? Why is it hot and dirty outside? It's hot because we live near the equator and it's dirty because of all the motorbikes, cars and factories. Why do we live near .... At this point, I'll cut her off, change the subject and tell her we'll see about washing her hair ... and ossicones. Our son Elijah seems a little delayed in his speaking. He'll make sounds and point, but only occasionally makes attempts at words.  Like Joanna, he's dealing with two languages. Joanna made a choice to speak English, and now she's interested in Vietnamese. We'll see about Elijah, of course. I just want everything to be OK for these guys.

• • •
Joanna has become less enthusiastic about some of our homeschooling work. I'm challenged to get her started on anything academic and she seems to genuinely dislike math. I figure that we've been at this since last November with no extended time off, and we sometimes have school on Saturdays. Probably time for a break for both of us. She'll draw and color with no prompting, she'll read books she likes, but doesn't like to write words or do basic math, even with jelly beans. Yep, sounds like a 5-year-old to me. I'm not concerned because in addition to a break from school I believe she needs peers and a teacher who isn't her dad.
• • •
The initial results are positive indeed. The massive cleaning effort and subsequent chemical warfare on the ants that invaded our house have put the little pests on the run for the time being. I haven't seen more than three ants in three days. I've seen a few more flying roaches and giant spiders in our house, possibly on reconnaissance missions, but they're easily removed and not nearly as unnerving as swarms and swarms of ants. Adequate living conditions through toxic chemistry!

Lockdown lifted; ants launch massive counterattack

The lockdown was lifted in Vietnam last weekend; the country has chosen to try to live with the coronavirus rather than aim for 0 cases. The biggest plus now is you don't get hassled if you take a walk. Masks are still required, which is good news to me, and most restaurants and coffee shops are takeout only. Some businesses are opening up gradually, while others just threw open the doors. I believe there are limits on gatherings, but I don't know for sure. There is no taxi service that I'm aware of, so for the most part life as I know it hasn't changed a whole lot. I did buy Indian food (takeout, of course) and pizza (also takeout) with Joanna in tow; we're slowly returning to our routine of a late afternoon walk. I still shop at the little market around the corner and cook whatever they have to offer, which seems to be a lot of Australian and Canadian beef and Da Lat potatoes.  Since the strict lockdown ended, the market shelves are better stocked and there's more variety. The country had to end the strict lockdown, in my opinion, because the economy was starting to struggle. Some surefire signs things are starting to return to normal: a car came ripping out of an alleyway and almost hit Joanna and I during only our second walk since the lockdown was lifted; another car came up on the sidewalk very close to us while trying to park; a girl on a motorbike roared down our street and swerved between Joanna, Phuong (holding Elijah) and I rather than slow down while we crossed the street; and two women and a man cut in a long line at the market to get served quicker instead of waiting in line like the rest of us lesser humans. I don't actually miss the lockdown, but I miss the reduced traffic, etiquette, gentile manners and slower pace of life it seemed to create.
• • •
I was battling ants, as I had mentioned in a previous blog, and thought I had the upper hand until the little rascals launched a major counterattack. This was an attack the likes of which I've never seen from the insect world. It looked like our dining room and kitchen floors were moving. Elijah spotted it, baby-babbling and pointing in disgust at the sea of ants. The ants were filling the spaces between nearly all of our dining room tiles, which probably could have been a lot cleaner. So I bought some acid-type tile cleaner often used in toilets and bathrooms and poured it between the tiles on the grimey grout. This stuff bubbles up a little when you pour, so you know the toxins are doing their dirty work. The stuff was so nasty, it made the dining room and kitchen cloudy, and actually hurt my lungs and burned my fingers (gloves and masks for solo cleaning are for sissies), but it made the tiles and spaces in-between look like new. I spent seven hours over three days pouring poison cleaner, scrubbing, rinsing, rubbing, rinsing again, and drying. I'll be curious to see how the ants react. If they come back in any significant number, I'll try to negotiate a settlement. I won't let then know I'd be willing to surrender ...  and let the geckos fight my battles for me.
• • •
Joanna got her passport, but she didn't receive her old passport. Unless the situation is dire, phone calls to the U.S. Embassy in HCMC don't get a response so I had to email my complaint on Saturday about the missing passport. There's been no email response yet, but the passport came Monday morning via courier. We're trying to get everything in order in preparation for the waiver response, which could come at any time, We're hoping to get our second vaccine shots next week. Elijah will get vaccinated for chicken pox, flu and some Japanese brain flu next week in spite of the wisdom of Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio. If the waiver is approved, we'll pack a couple of suitcases and be on our way. If rejected, well, we've got a wonderfully clean dining room and kitchen where we can sit and stew over more than six years of rejections and thousands of dollars spent in vain.  Boo hoo.
• • •
Finishing up Big Fella, a book about Babe Ruth. It's one of the few non-science fiction books I've read in the past two years -- 99 weeks and 680 days in a row of reading on Kindle. As noted before, only a few of the days were forced to keep the streak alive. Living in a tropical climate with heavy monsoon rains daily hasn't hurt the streak, but staying up late reading and the dealing with two active, engaging young children each day, and cooking and cleaning, presents special challenges of their own. ... Joanna has been spending more time with mom these days and is so much better for it.  Still homeschooling Joanna but I'd be happy to let true professionals do the job right, and also get her around other kids who have similar interests and speak her language. ... I use an extension cord with multiple outlets for our toaster over, refrigerator and microwave. I changed the quality extension cord with outlets I was using for a cheaper, longer version. Almost burnt down the damn house using the toaster oven. I went to the store, Phuong heard poppping noises and smelled plastic. She arrived just in time to put out the fire with minimal wall scorching. Thanks, dear.

Trying to eradicate a small but persistent pest

I feel like Bill Murray in Caddyshack as I try to rid our house of an incredible ant invasion. Ants have found their way into everything from laundry soap to clean dishes to the silverware to the microwave oven and toaster oven. In the morning, I'd see an ant on my spoon as I was about to scoop up some cereal and milk, and ants on the plate during any meal.  Ants crawled on our tubes of toothpaste and played in the soap dish. Our kids carry food all over the house, and both Joanna and Elijah have contributed to the problem. My wife and I have done our share as well.  Also, ants appear in bigger numbers after a rain, and since we're still in monsoon season with nightly rain, we were seeing bigger numbers daily. And this is the tropics, so ant season is year-round.  We're not big on sprays like Raid. My wife resists using sprays and was more tolerant of the ant situation than I was, but last week when I came downstairs and had ants on my forearm, glasses and behind my ear while preparing my daughter's breakfast, I decided enough was enough. The itch alone will drive you crazy. So first, I cleaned the heck out of the living room. I washed the walls, toys, the floor, the couch cover and pillows, and finished with a "healthy" dose of Raid everywhere. Then the kitchen was next, where everything was rearranged so all the walls are now exposed. Again, scrubbing followed the rearranging and Raid concluded the day's events. Food very rarely makes it way upstairs in our house so ants aren't a super huge issue in the bedrooms, but they make their presence felt in the bathrooms. Again, Raid to the rescue. Since my neat freakout, the ants have been dramatically reduced. I rely on Joanna's powers of observation and good eyesight to spot any colonies or gatherings of ants, and she's picked out a couple. (So I got that going for me, which is nice.) The kids and wife are then forced to go elsewhere while I clean and spray again. It's been a real learning experience and lesson in patience – and cleanliness.
• • •,
Covid cases are dropping in Vietnam – roughly 5,000 new cases a day are being recorded, down from 12,000 a day – most likely because of vaccines and the strict lockdown. I was walking to the pharmacy to get eyedrops and wet towels on Sunday when two guys on a motorbike rode up to me and said I shouldn't be out and to go home. They weren't cops, but most likely cop-wannabe volunteers of some sort, but I didn't squawk. I turned around and went to the market near our house and then home. On the way home I noticed lots of folks out in the streets, most without masks, playing with their kids and such. I always wear a mask and shield when I have to go out. I have one vaccine shot and I'm waiting to hear about the second. I don't understand folks here and everywhere who won't wear a mask. I understand even less the folks who won't get a vaccine, especially in the United States where I see anywhere from 70,000 to 140,000 new Covid cases a day. Screw politics; vaccines are available and this is about the well-being of family, friends, co-workers, and everybody around us.
• • •
My two children are getting increasingly fed up with being home all the time. My daughter Joanna and I used to take long walks daily, risking life and limb amongst the motorbikes and cars on the streets and sidewalks. Now we would risk life and lungs if we walked too much, although we went around the block the other day -- wearing our masks and shields -- to photograph some dragonflies. Our son Elijah would run and play soccer for long stretches in the heat and park, which meant at naptime and night he slept like... well, like a baby. With the park closed and walks prohibited, we have two frustrated children on our hands. I'm sure we're not alone.
• • •
I talked to my friend in the U.S. on Skype the other day, the friend who was at death's door with heart issues, lung issues, kidney issues and major back surgery. He didn't go through death's door and he was driving to an auto parts store to get a new battery, presumably for his car, not his heart. We joked about the joys of aging and had a nice little chat for 15 minutes.
• • •
I changed the picture at the top of this blog. Joanna saw the previous photo and asked a simple question: "Where's Elijah?"  That prompted an immediate change. The blog most likely will end when we find out about the waiver. If approved, we'll head to the U.S. If the waiver is rejected, I'll try to get more sleep and work on improving homeschooling lessons for Joanna.

Nothing brutal yet, but lockdown is getting old

   No need to be dramatic, but things are a little difficult here. We're approaching three months of living under lockdown due to Covid. It's not easy or fun, but it's not brutal yet. Characterizing life as brutal here is going a little too far. Life may be brutal in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Haiti or probably the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Vietnam, we still have internet, TV, and a market around the corner where we buy what's available. The variety of food is limited, and that's inconvenient, but no one is going hungry or wanting for food to the best of my knowledge. At least not in our area. So while life is a little bit boring, or challenging, or inconvenient, or a hassle, it's not brutal yet. I don't want to go there -- ever.
   I've no doubt mentioned before that certain foods are not considered essential by the government during the lockdown and are nearly impossible to get. Things such as butter, raisins, peanut butter, and, oh my God, now coffee, are getting extremely difficult to find. Deliveries have ground to a halt, so to speak, which has made the delicious coffee I've been buying from my mother-in-law the past seven or eight years impossible to get, so I battle for what may be available at the market. I guess there's still instant coffee, but regardless of what anyone says, ground coffee is an essential for me. With deliveries halted in our area, our bottled water could be the next casualty. That means there's a possibility we'll be boiling tap water for drinking -- at least that's what I would do since I'm reluctant to drink straight from the tap. I wasn't born here so my body probably isn't ready for the tap.
   There was talk the lockdown would be lifted Sept. 15, but the cases continue to cluster around Ho Chi Minh City, and we're close to Ho Chi Minh City. Our province, Dong, Nai, has been reporting close to 1,000 new cases a day. The lockdown has been extended at least until the end of the month and is expected to last even longer. One of our neighbors lost his eldest daughter to Covid. She caught it from her husband and died only a week after getting ill. I was told she had no pre-existing conditions.  A couple of items were gossiped to me: 1) The rent-by-the-hour motel behind us reported yet another Covid case, and apparently (and finally) has been shut. 2)  Police came and told our mask-less, outdoor-badminton-playing neighbor to either go inside or go to the police station to pay a substantial fine. He chose inside. I think a lot of people in our area, like me and my wife, are sitting on one shot waiting for the next jab to come. I also heard the Army may be sent to our area to enforce social distancing and curfews, and assist with food distribution.
 We shall see.
   The goodwill of people has become more evident here the longer the lockdown continues. People share food like pomelo and other fruit, coffee jello, and assorted vegetables. Neighbors have purchased stuff for us and have refused to take money. Tough times can bring out the best in people.
  The lockdown is starting to get to our kids a little. Some parents defy the rules and let their kids outside sans masks to ride bikes and such. Our daughter Joanna sees this and wants to play outside. Our son Elijah really seems to miss kicking the ball around outside, so he'll play soccer with anything that's loose on the floor in our house -- stuffed animals and even Legos are fair game. Joanna is a little impatient and bored with our classes, even the drawing and coloring, so we're playing more games and doing stuff like scavenger hunts. It isn't brutal, but it's certainly difficult and challenging to keep the kids entertained.
• • •
   I continue to read a lot, which is more difficult than it sounds even with the lockdown given the rigors of child care, cooking and cleaning. I'm at 95 weeks and 657 days in a row. I finished Jack Vance's Night Lamp, which is 384 pages, in three days. Now I'm reading Big Fella, a biography of Babe Ruth. ... Joanna helps a little with my cooking, but mostly grabs and eats food I've just cooked, or pleads her case for candy. ... Elijah constantly goes up our dangerous stairs, and I slipped and fell while carrying him back down. I sacrificed my left knee to make sure he wasn't banged around and now there's a little clicking sound in my knee when I go down the stairs. It's not a big deal because Elijah didn't get hurt and hardly noticed the fall, and I'm still walking. 

I take a jab, pursue passport, visa and peace at home

 My wife's nephew saw old people like me getting Covid vaccines at a farm near our house. It was 7 p.m. on Sunday and we rushed to the farm. The vaccines ended at 7:30 p.m., and we just made it. Officials had the folks line up in single file, and all but a few people behind us were told to come back the next day. My wife Phuong got her vaccine at this location earlier in the day, but at that time she was told I was too old for AstraZeneca. Someone must have had a change of heart and I was in line waiting. My wife did my paperwork and after a little pushing, shoving, apologizing, and cutting in line from a few folks, all turned out well. (Lessons in queueing would be appropriate here.) After I got my shot, monsoon rain poured down, but my wife found the umbrella she left at the farm earlier in the afternoon when she got her vaccine. Fortuitous, indeed. My wife's side effects included soreness in her back, stomach discomfort, fatigue and headache. I only had a mild headache, but I don't know for certain if it was from the vaccine or from missing my after-dinner coffee. We will return for a second shot in 8 to 12 weeks. There were long lines at the farm for a few days after we got our shots.
Next up was the renewal of Joanna's passport. Because of the strict lockdown, Phuong had a friend in Ho Chi Minh City go to the embassy for us, and he paid the fee for the passport that we mailed in for renewal, and he also paid to have EMS deliver it to our house. We reimbursed him, of course, and paid him a modest fee for his services. It would require lots of paperwork and perhaps a quarantine, I guess, for one of us to go to the embassy with Covid still roaring and the lockdown in full effect. We don't know when the passport will be delivered. The embassy sent me an email saying EMS won't be delivering until the lockdown is lifted. There's talk that a limited lifting of the lockdown could happen next week. We need the renewed passport to get Joanna's resident card, which I'm told is required to leave the country. The resident card simply needs to be paid for at this point. Simply? Nothing is simple with Covid -- here and everywhere, no doubt. 
Last, our waiver application is about to be sent to the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) by our lawyer either this week or next. If approved, my wife should get her visa to enter the U.S. after more paperwork, sweat, and tears involving the embassy. If rejected .... well, we'll see. Covid is raging in the U.S. even worse than here, and vaccines are happening now in Vietnam. Almost everyone is on board to get jabbed and I'm not really sure resistance or refusal to get the vaccine is an option here. I'm pro-vaccine, of course, so it's not an issue for me.
The lockdown is getting to my kids a little. Joanna and Elijah have been at odds over toys lately. Mostly, Elijah wants to grab Joanna's stuff and run away, and she'll go a little ballistic if he succeeds. But he was not well for a few days, throwing up and dealing with a low-grade fever. I must have taken his temperature about 20 times, driving my wife crazy. Elijah didn't mind because he loves gadgets and remotes of any kind, and the digital thermometer we have was exciting for Little E, who loves all things electronic. When Elijah was ill, Joanna was so sweet to him. She's got a wee bit of temper and is one of a kind to be sure, but she can be so kind and caring when the chips are down. We continue with her schooling, focusing on insects and animals  (that has to pass for my science instruction), math and reading comprehension. We're on a second go-around with bees, learning about beeswax, the proboscis and pollination. She'd rather draw, but she understands so much more than I think, and I love when she corrects my mistakes if I mispronounce or misidentify a body part or process of one of our creatures. Joanna has taught me more than I've taught her in so many ways.

More testing, conservation, no school, rain and ants

We had our third Covid test in 8 days on Sunday, and it was handled tactfully -- no ramrod action. This test is supposed to be the most accurate and thorough of the three, with swabs going to a lab. The results are revealed in two or three days.  I've been told that three negative tests make you eligible for the vaccine. That sounds good to me, but so far, talk of a vaccine has been just that  – talk. The first test, administered by a nurse, was fairly comfortable considering a giant cotton swab on a stick is being shoved up your nose. The lady was as gentle as she could be. The second test was given by a policeman, who wasn't as gentle, and I think he brought back some brain on his swab from a few of us. Our 5-year-old daughter Joanna was supposed to take the third test with me and my wife Phuong, but the crowd and heat were a bit much. I'll endure quite a bit for negative results and vaccine shots because the lockdown is a bit of a hassle and it's extending indefinitely ,,, and Covid can be deadly.
• • •
There's not much bread now, no honey, and only very little (and very expensive) cereal. We found some wonderful wild blueberry and raspberry preserves, but with limited bread and butter it doesn't work so well. We got a little bread on Friday (for the weekend) and we're nursing the little butter we have. There's nothing quite so effective as a lockdown and shortages for forcing people (like me) to conserve, reduce, reuse, recycle. Aluminum foil is precious, since it's essential for keeping our frequently used toaster oven clean when we cook. Trash bags are gone, so we use grocery bags and recycle everything we can. Since almost all shops are closed, my wife gave me a haircut. She did a great job even though she had little to work with. A small, all-purpose store down the street stayed open through the restrictions and this week several people there tested positive. Obviously, Covid is all around us. That's why I'm baffled when I see folks on our street not wearing a mask and walking around talking to neighbors.
• • •
There's no school but there's talk of online kindergarten starting in the middle of September. Our daughter should be starting kindergarten now, but she's made it clear she would much rather continue with homeschooling with dad than go to a school here. The web and printer help me with lessons. We've been studying insects for the past month. We've just finished a week of ladybugs / lady beetles / ladybirds. We have a standard joke now: "Oh no, not the life cycle of the ladybug / frog / butterfly ...." We started dragonflies with a video on Sunday and starting Monday we will read, identify body parts, where they live and so on until we finish with a "test" on Friday. These lessons were from the teacherspayteachers website; it costs some money but it's worth it for me. Our 2-and-a-half-hour sessions also include: math, which she hates, except when I use jellybeans; singing and dancing, which she loves; drawing and coloring, which she super loves at the moment; reading, which she enjoys and excels at if the subject matter interests her; and trying to beat the timer tracing the alphabet and numbers 1-20. She loves playing with little plastic frogs, lizards, iguanas, snakes, crocodiles and alligators that we bought back when the Vincom mall was open before the lockdown. Otherwise, she'll hang on mom, bug her brother, and help me cook just a little. Elijah will kick a ball or anything else he gets his feet on around the house; climb the stairs up and down; and really hang on mom, although he's starting to single me out for rough-stuff play. Both will sort of watch Babytv.
• • •
Cooking is a real pleasure for me, even in our hot as hell kitchen. I cook most of the meals, although my wife has been nosing around the kitchen more of late. I'm soaked in sweat after cooking, but the new toaster oven and microwave keep meals warm while I tidy up ...  I finally finished the Dune series and I am so happy that the one Jack Vance book that I couldn't find online -- Night Lamp -- is finally available as an e-book. I found it just as I finished the final Frank Herbert Dune book, Chapterhouse. The reading streak continues with 630 days in a row ... Thunderstorms come almost nightly, and the rain is driving the ants inside. Every house is battling ants like crazy. I pick up my spoon to eat ice cream and there are ants on it, along with ants circling around the ice cream bowl. Not real appetizing.

Covid test (all good); bought butchered pig (super good)

Everyone on our street was asked to get a Covid test this past weekend. If you weren't contacted by police within 24 hours after the test, you don't have Covid. I'm enjoying the sounds of silence on this one. I was more than happy to be tested even if the nose swab was mildly uncomfortable. Lots of people milling around made it feel like it could be a super-spreader event, although everyone was masked. I was surprised that some people refused to be tested -- a couple of our neighbors, for example. People here often seem to focus on the greater good, the welfare of the group. I was told a neighbor got one vaccine shot and didn't think a test was necessary. Testing is as much about those around you as it is about yourself, but I won't waste any more (cyber)space on this topic. If you don't understand the benefits of testing by now, I'm not sure you ever will. We get about 500 new cases a day in Dong Nai, our province, and Vietnam is now recording 10,000-plus new cases a day. The Delta variant is obviously highly contagious; the amount of new cases in the United States is proof of that -- around 150,000 a day of late.  So we continue on lockdown indefinitely here with no word (to me at least) when the situation may change. No word on a vaccine I'm supposed to be on some kind of waiting list for, so ... I'll  just keep ... waiting.
• • •
A guy my wife knows sold us pork that he said his friend has just butchered. Sorry, Wilbur, but this is about the greater good. Maybe that's why the huge spider we called Charlotte came to our house a week or so ago. Anyway, folks, that was some of the most delicious pork I've ever eaten. We got quite a load, so I made pulled pork a couple of times and it was the best pulled pork I've ever made, and daresay, I've ever tasted. My wife's brother has supplied us with wonderful grapefruit three or four times a week, and we lucked into barbecue sauce at the little market around the corner, the only place we're supposedly allowed to go. I will walk to the pharmacy for vitamins, soap, shampoo, that kind of stuff. I do this as much for the walk as the for the items I purchase. My back struggles unless I walk a lot, so I find excuses to walk to the little market. It's not a long walk at all, but it's a little better than nothing. I probably could just go out and take the walk my back needs, but I'm nervous about, and uncomfortable with, mask-less people in front of their houses, some spitting in the street, or coughing (honest to God), so I pass on walking for exercise at this point. The heat makes it rough anyway. And rain kind of just pops up these days, although thunderstorms have been fairly regular at night.
• • •
The guy across the street started pounding on metal with his hammer one morning at 10 a.m. Once he crossed the 20-minute mark of pounding, as our son was being put down for a nap, I got pretty upset and went over and asked him to stop, telling him that Covid prevents us from leaving our house to get away from the loud noise he was making on a Saturday morning. He just smiled at me, so I told him in English I wasn't going to leave until he stopped and I would scream at him the entire time. This is the same guy who creates the welding light flashes and also pounds on metal for hours at a time. He didn't have a mask on, either, so I said let's talk to the police together about the noise and no mask. A neighbor intervened and he packed up his metal and went inside. I really don't think this guy is evil; he's just bored and not that bright when it comes to living in close quarters with people like me during a surging pandemic in his country.
• • •
I'd like to watch the news more to pass the time, but my son Elijah demands attention from any adult in the room, and the ones who leave the room as well. The situation in Afghanistan dominates TV news at the moment, and it's grim, of course. Also, it's not doing much to boost Joe Biden's presidency. My son served a tour of duty in northern Afghanistan, but we haven't really discussed the current situation there.  He just got married, and I just got locked down.  The lockdown is starting to affect my kids, especially at bedtime. They don't want to sleep, and bedtime has become wild time due to the unused energy in the day, I believe. It's fun to watch them chase each other ... until I'm ready to read or sleep. Then,  it's a little less fun.
• • •
My friend in the U.S. has emerged from his near-death ailments more alive than most of us. So happy to hear he's improving daily.

More roadblocks; cooking, coloring, stairs help us cope

Our street was locked down on Saturday and police patrols have increased with the rise of Covid cases. Apparently, the Delta variant spreads rapidly, and children seem to be more susceptible to it than they were from the previous versions. One of our neighbors was outside sans mask and police nabbed him, made him pay a fine of 2 million dong (about $100 U.S.) and sent him to a clinic to get tested for Covid.  He was pissed. Mini-roadblocks are set up all over the city, not just our street, to keep people in their neighborhoods. You supposedly can only go to the market or pharmacy with a pass, but no random or spur of the moment trips are advised, unless you have deep pockets to pay fines. Some people do, but if they're caught before they reach their destination, they're sent back home lighter in the wallet. Rice, noodles and potatoes, along with pork, beef and chicken are always on the menu. Inexpensive local vegetables are available sporadically at government buildings around town, but items like peanut butter, yogurt, cereal and cheese are hit and miss, and it's mostly miss due to hoarding. The biggest change for me in all this is less walking for coffee breaks, and no cheese and peanut butter. So I drink more coffee at home and I've gotten creative with cooking with help from the Internet. One nice treat I discovered is baked eggplant chunks gently drizzled with olive oil and a spicy salt and pepper mix. It takes about 30 minutes in the new toaster oven and is quite tasty. To replace not walking as much,  I chase my son up and down stairs. Adding to all the fun is that it's been remarkably humid because it's rainy season -- and this is south Vietnam. Government did well staving off Covid in the first year, but the new variant seems to have changed the dynamic. I don't think the old tactics of contact tracing and isolation can control the new variant. There's lot of talk about vaccines, and it seems everybody has signed up to be vaccinated.  Including me. The U.S. apparently doesn't vaccinate Americans overseas.  My wife's dad got jabbed, but that's the only person I know here who's been vaccinated. While I've signed up to be vaccinated, I've learned to hope for the best and expect the worst in situations like this.
• • •
Our kids are sick of being locked down, especially Elijah. He's the guy who loves to run, play soccer, be outdoors, run, and play soccer. Most kids still go out a little here – some with masks and some without –  but my wife doesn't really roam outside much with Little E. That's why he's the reason I've become the stair master. Sometimes, he'll go upstairs just to practice coming back down. Talk about scary stuff. These faux marble stairs are unforgiving as my ugly toe and woeful back and knees will attest to. Joanna has handled lockdown really well. I know she doesn't super love the super hot weather here, so she'll stay indoors and color and read books. Thank goodness two thick Birds of Paradise coloring books I ordered a long time ago finally arrived. The books are well done and Joanna has been coloring in them with her cousin. She's started to help me cook as well, and loves using the big knife to cut the zucchini and eggplant. School continues and her interest waxes and wanes depending on subject matter, which is her teacher's responsibility. It's a challenge, but sometimes we'll stumble into fun lessons, like subtraction with jellybeans and a unit on butterflies.
• • •
Joanna's passport is about to expire, so we're trying to renew by mail, which makes me nervous because we have to mail in her old passport to the embassy, which is pretty limited in operation. If we went, we'd have to spend 14 days in quarantine in Ho Chi Minh City, and then another 14 days in quarantine in Bien Hoa upon our return. In email communication with the embassy, they've done everything to discourage renewing the passport by mail and have told us to either come in (and face quarantine) or wait. Too late. We need the passport to get her a new resident card, which has expired. She can't leave the country, my wife says, unless she has a resident card.  So even if my wife got a waiver for a U.S. visa, we'd be stuck.  And 'round and 'round we go.

Big spider scares us; nearby school now Covid clinic

Part of our daily routine is to give our kids baths before dinner. Joanna takes care of her own business, from filling her small bathtub to barely washing her hair for fear of getting soap in her eyes. A couple of days ago as she's getting ready she says, "Dad, there's a Charlotte in here. Look!" I was half-listening and the words didn't register because I was making dinner while she prepared for her bath. Actually, I was soaking the salmon in milk to reduce the fishy smell.  She repeated herself, and said something about "a creature", so I walked into the bathroom and saw a pretty big spider next to her tub. The picture is on the right. Joanna, who still wasn't ready for her bath, didn't act scared since she's always on the lookout for creatures (geckos, ants, flies and spiders in the house due to Covid lockdown). I was a little nervous at first, but regained my composure and captured the spider in a tin can, and Joanna and I set him free in the street. Two neighbors came over to watch. Not much happening with Covid in full bloom. Joanna went inside and got on with her bath and I got on with dinner, which turned out quite nice by the way. Later, I asked Joanna: "Did the spider scare you?" She paused for a moment and said, "Yes, he said 'boo!'"  Funny kid. The Charlotte reference is from Charlotte's Web, of course, which we've read twice together, and the inspiration for the "Boo!" line came from The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Shadows, which we've read countless times. Comments like this from my daughter make me so happy that she and her dad have read –– and still read –– so much together. Our son Ellijah likes Llama Llama Hoppity Hop, but he prefers sports and the outdoor life to books. After all, he's 15 months old and he can make up his own mind now.
• • •
The surge continues here with little relief in sight. There's a school on the street behind us that's been turned into a Covid hospital. An ambulance sits out front. I was told that only one or two doctors were assigned to the site, which everyone knows is an issue here -- there just aren't enough doctors. A country that controlled the virus so well for so long seems to have more than its hands full with the Delta Variant. We had 347 new cases in Dong Nai on Friday. Every day there's 7,000 to 8,000 or more new cases in the country. Without a real vaccine program, it will be the ultimate challenge to control the new variant. Most people wear masks now, but there's a handful who don't and still take walks and gather for exercise near the park -- since you can't go in the park any more. I'll go out once or twice a week in full regalia to get some stuff from the pharmacy and to go the local market. I'll also sneak a walk around the block in the middle of the street to get exercise and provide some relief for my back, usually when I return from the market or pharmacy. Otherwise, I'll watch my masked daughter ride her scooter up and down the street, provide daily lessons for Joanna, play with Elijah, cook, clean, read and lay real low.
• • •
The simple pleasures in life have taken on added significance with the Covid surge and subsequent lockdown. My wife came home from her family's house and said almost triuphantly,"I've got bread." Then she producced two small sandwich rolls. I was expecting a bigger haul, but we made do. I used one roll for Joanna's "toast and jelly" breakfast and the other for her sausage sandwich at lunch.  Bread is a strange commodity here all the time, not just during Covid. There's usually a lot floaing around in the early morning, but it's OK to eat for only an hour or so after purchase before it gets rock hard. Sliced bread is scarce unless you go to a specialty store or bread shop. We've never really wasted food in our family. Once in a while part of a potato Joanna didn't want might have gotten tossed in the past. Not these days. All meals are eaten completely, and it doesn't matter who finishes what.  At the local market, candy bars and ice cream remain in ample supply while peanut butter, honey, cereal and other essentials are gone, as in GONE. That's OK with me. I can live on Snickers indefinitely. It's funny because I was just chatting online with a friend about how healthy my eating has become since the lockdown and with the purchase of a new toaster oven. That was true ... until I discovered the mother lode of candybars and ice cream at the little market.

Covid comes to town, so do serious shopping limits

Covid has arrived, with 250 cases reported in Dong Nai just on Saturday morning. Vietnam is averaging more than 8,000 new cases a day over the past week, which is a tsunami in this country. We were issued tickets a few days ago that enable us to go shopping twice a week. The little market down the street bypassed the ticket system Sunday for some reason, possibly because the shelves were almost empty. No cereal, oatmeal, or chocolate milk. I bought meat -- Australian beef that's pricey and chewy but OK. There were no vegetables except some stalky stuff that looked like scallions and two rotten onions. I had to wait in line for about half an hour to enter the market and there were crates outside to establish social distancing. I heard tensions ran high with line cutting and shouting at a government food giveaway last week around the corner from our house, and this may have helped spur the ticket system. My wife waited in line at a government site Friday to buy chicken, which she's become allergic to, and some pork and vegetables. Good onions have become something like golden nuggets during the recent Covid surge, and broccoli and cauliflower are in short supply. My wife, God bless her, got a few vegetables on Saturday and I made chicken soup for me and the kids. Since my wife is allergic to chicken of late, she can gnaw on the Australian beef.
• • •
A  handful of people still go outside with no mask on in our neighborhood, but police or soldiers will stop you if try to go to another area of the city. That didn't stop our neighbor from bringing some guy over in his big truck to start jackhammering on our shared wall (AGAIN! -- these are the same people who did this for close to 60 days). The noise was so loud -- this during a Covid lockdown, mind you -- that it forced me to go outside, ask him if the incredible noise was really necessary. Then I spit a couple of C words at him -- Covid and cops. He defended his actions to my wife by saying he was having a clock put up. The noise did stop. Unbelievable.
• • •
The lockdown has been tough on our kids, especially Elijah.  Both Joanna and Elijah are bored since they're stuck inside 95 percent of the day. TV and video seem to fire up Joanna in a bad way. Luckily, I can keep her fairly entertained and occupied with reading, school projects, art and lollipop stick puppets. But Elijah wants to play soccer, run as fast as he can, and chase his sister. Elijah, who isn't 15 months old yet, has done this stuff inside lately and the results haven't been good. He slipped while chasing his sister in the bedroom and smacked his head upsettingly hard on the corner of a desk. Huge knot and big tears. Horrible. He tried to ride Joanna's scooter the next day, fell and got a cut near his left eye. Frightening. He pulled over our giant plastic water container and the stand it sits in.  Fortunately, it was only half full (or half empty, depending on your perspective), and apparently missed hitting him head-on. We only heard a horrible crashing sound in the kitchen and came out to see him sitting on the ground next to the big water container and the stand. No tears. Nothing ... just shock. I had a back issue and could barely walk, but no way I was going to a clinic or hospital here with Covid raging.  Toughed it out for a couple of days and whatever was wrong with me went away.
• • •
My friend continues to make remarkable progress in a USA hospital, going from damn near his death bed to sitting up and joking with nurses. Highlander. ... I walked to a pharmacy for eye drops and candy -- it's one of the few places open -- and I had to go past a clinic where there's been at least one confirmed Covid case. There were six people in Hazmat suits outside at the entrance along with a parked ambulance with its lights flashing. Creepy, like some scene from a sci-fi movie about the future. ... And speaking of sci-fi, working my way through Frank Herbert's finale in the Dune series: Chapterhouse. And I read in the forward written by Herbert's son that Frank Herbert was friends with Jack Vance, who encouraged Herbert to get his work published. Vance is my favorite writer, for whatever that's worth. ... My son got married Sunday and I wish him and his bride the absolute best. They're brilliant, kind, and wonderful people who deserve only the best. 

Covid numbers keep rising; food finally delivered

The number of new Covid cases keeps creeping up in and around Dong Nai, the province in Vietnam where we live. Nothing huge, mind you, but the numbers keep rising. In Dong Nai, we've gone from 15 new cases, to 40, to 87, to 104 and finally, to at least 146 on Saturday, July 24. (I'm trying to interpret Vietnamese so the numbers could be higher or lower, but most likely higher.) Ho Chi Minh City is a hotbed right now with its neighbor Binh Duong second and nearby Dong Nai third. New cases in Vietnam have gone from about 1,000 or less a day a few weeks ago to nearly 10,000 on Saturday.  Thousands have been vaccinated in a country of millions, so a Covid vaccination is not an option for the common man or woman at the moment, and that includes our family. I guess you could get on a waiting list for a Russian vaccine, but for now we'll social distance, go with a mask and shield, and hope for the best. The best would be that my wife gets a waiver and visa to enter the U.S.
• • •
We've been pretty much on serious lockdown since July 9, but the screws have been tightened a little in the past few days with reports of cases in markets and motels in our area. Everybody who goes out, even guys sitting on the bridge fishing, are wearing masks. A few people will stand in front of their houses without masks, and a handful of teens don't wear them, but that's pretty much it. Clear plastic sheets protect cashiers, and taxi service has been halted. Food isn't a huge issue if you can handle Vietnamese food. Neighbors share with each other and markets and supermarkets remain open even if the crowds are large and the inventory small. You can get food but it may not be what you would normally eat or buy. My wife got a bunch of canned liver ... that's not for me so I've been eating the stockpile of Korean cakes and other sweet items I bought at an expensive specialty store before the recent surge. So I remain fat while other folks scramble for vegetables.
• • •
On July 4, we ordered groceries to be delivered from a local supermarket when the number of daily Covid cases began to increase. The groceries arrived July 22. My wife would call from time to time to check on the delivery since we were initially told the groceries would arrive July 6 at 2:30 p.m. When it became clear that cases were surging and we were facing lockdown, we stopped calling. The store reached out to us, was contrite but didn't need to be, and ultimately delivered the goods. If we pleaded starvation and played the kids-have-no milk-or-food card, the store would have somehow gotten the groceries to us. They said as much. People started stockpiling around this time, but it was no big deal for us. And many people here are willing to pull together for the greater good. The folks who have the least so often give the most.
• • •
The lockdown is a little difficult on our kids, especially Joanna, 5, who wants to take walks and look for creatures. Creature searches have been halted by the park's closure, so we look for house geckos, spiders, flies and ants. Spiders are rare, but there are lots of flies and ants – too many, in fact – and geckos come out at night. With no real outdoor exercise for Joanna, bedtime has been gettng later and later, so she gets to see the geckos. Wakeup time is later as well. She's never napped. Her "studies" continue but they start 9:30 a.m. or thereabouts and go until lunch or thereabouts. She still loves to color and draw, and that gives me a little break sometimes. We could all use a break.
• • •
My friend in the USA continues his amazing recovery from pneumonia, a fractured vertebrae, kidney issues and God knows what else the doctors have found. Hopefully, they'll stop looking for stuff soon so my buddy can eventually get out of the hospital and back to living his life again. 

Lockdown means good food limited, boredom in excess

My wife came into the house this morning with two rolls. She gave one to Joanna and me to share and we ate it like ... like we haven't had good bread in about a week. And guess what? ... The big issue right now with the Covid lockdown here is food. It's difficult to go shopping due to long waits in long lines – with cutting creeping back into the equation – and extremely short supplies. A few markets, restaurants and coffee shops are open for takeout only, but that's about it. My daughter and I enjoy sharp cheese, but since the Covid surge and subsequent lockdown, cheese, peanut butter and bread are tough gets ... especially cheese. I get my cheese fix from takeout pizza at Pizza Hut, not that I need a cheese fix given my weight. Vegetables were scarce early in the lockdown, but as the week went on vegetables became more accessible. Usually, you can get lettuce and carrots, but I haven't seen asparagus or broccoli in a while – it's hit and miss. Which reminds me. Hoarding is a big issue. I saw a woman filling three shopping baskets with instant noodles. Yum. Another woman bought every egg in the little market around the corner. My wife asked the woman why she didn't leave some eggs for people with kids. The woman didn't respond, which is a typical response (anywhere in the world) from people who know they're in the wrong. Peanut butter being in short supply is interesting since a lot of folks here have never, or rarely, eaten it. Hoarders can be dangerous and selfish people.
• • •
There have been a few coronavirus cases in our neighborhood, most notably at the rent-by-the-hour (or minute) motel on the street behind us. For some reason, it wasn't shut down. It was "cleaned up." I walked to the bank on Sunday to use the ATM, and the streets were incredibly quiet for 1:30 p.m. Unreal. On my way home, I saw a group of people sitting around plastic tables in the street under an instant tent, probably for a funeral. I'm a little surprised people would do that during a pandemic and surprised officials would allow it.  But everyone had a mask on even if they were somewhat clumped together. The numbers in the country are not encouraging: from 1,000 new cases a day about two weeks ago to nearly 6,000 yesterday (July 18). Joanna and I aren't fond of math, but even we know these numbers add up to trouble.
• • • 
Being stuck indoors much of the day is tolerable given the heat here, but everyone gets a little stir crazy late in the afternoon, especially the children. That's when Joanna and I would take our daily walk to get milk tea, or coffee, or whatever. Now, our big treat is a raspberry-orange ice from the Coffee House along with a cappuccino for dad (takeout, of course). And on a rare occasion, I'll let Joanna come with me -- with mask and shield on, of course.
• • •
Our son Elijah loves the outdoors and kicking his ball, even during the heat of the day. The park is closed and that was his favorite place to go, so he kicks a ball around the street near our house.  My wife will hit a badminton birdie with her nephew. Everyone has to be extra vigilant because motorbike traffic, while very light, still doesn't slow down for children, even kids as small and young as Elijah.
• • • 
My 5-year-old daughter pretty much gets it as far as Covid is concerned. She knows the situation is serious even if she doesn't understand all the subtleties. We still do our classes, but I allow a little more video time since she's stuck indoors most of the day. She loves drawing animals and coloring birds of paradise while adding her own drawings and creating little stories that go with the drawings. I'm pleased her imagination is so active. She'll pull material from the two books we've read: Charlotte's Web and Little House in the Big Woods. In fact, we're reading Charlotte's Web a second time and we're almost finished. We still nab stories online and when she's in the mood, Joanna will read them and do a remarkable job sounding out unfamiliar words.
• • •
I'm in the middle of the sixth and last book in Frank Herbert's Dune series, Chapterhouse, and I run hot and cold on the Dune series, so to speak. Sometimes, I'm engrossed, but other times I'm thinking about what I'll make for  tomorrow's dinner. Pulled pork sounds good. They are long books ... Bought some new music to drown out neighborhood noise: Wooden Shjips and Spacemen 3 ... My friend in the U.S. continues to make slow but remarkably steady progress in the hospital from his series of life-threatening ailments. Incredible stuff. Maybe I should pray more often. However, that could be going to the well once too often.

We're locked down; turning 5; decisions to make

 As coronavirus swarms around Vietnam in general and Bien Hoa in particular, we're spending 98 percent of our time indoors. New cases, possibly from the new strain, have topped 1,000 a day for the past four days; July 8 had 1,300 new cases and July 9 had 1,600. We're trending in the wrong direction. I ran down to the market in monsoon rain to get some groceries, and the shelves were empty and the place was packed.  It could have been a super-spreader event. People were buying all the noodles available. Some markets limit the amount of a particular item you can buy. My mother-in-law was allowed only one ear of corn at Bien Hoa Market, which has since been shut down. Vegetables are scarce, even in cans. Hard to hoard vegetables, but masses apparently are swarming the few markets that remain open. Our daily trips to the park have stopped, and even the Coffee House is open only for takeout. I got a cappuccino to go yesterday. Seats have been removed from the Pizza Hut, where we go for takeout, which, like all restaurants here now, is all that's available anyway. Ho Chi Minh City announced a 14-day shutdown on Friday, so officials are clearly concerned if they're shutting down the financial hub of the country. Our daughter's passport expires in August and we're told we have to get tested and produce a negative result in order to go to the U.S. Embassy in Ho Chi Minh City. I'll guess this is what life was like in the U.S. a few months ago.
• • •
Our daughter Joanna turned 5 on Friday so I got her one shrimp pizza and one pepperoni pizza, and Pororo grape drink, and my wife decorated the house beautifully for her. I also made her a Birds of Paradise mask, and her cousins got her a stuffed frog, which she absolutely adores until a new favorite comes along. Frogs are her new favorite animal now along with Birds of Paradise. She copies the Birds of Paradise dance and even cleans the dance area, just like the birds do in the David Attenborough BBC video. Joanna was very excited and happy for her birthday and seemed to enjoy herself immensely. She doesn't really have any friends here but there's probably no party gatherings allowed anyway.  She's starting to play a little with her brother Elijah, but he's still having an extremely difficult time with teething. He's a bit of a fussy Gussy, and seems happiest kicking a soccer ball around.
• • •
With new Covid variants and the coronavirus situation here, my wife's waiver application to get a U.S. visa is expected to take longer than usual. No shock there. That puts a decision on Joanna's schooling up in the air. I could continue working with her. She's shown real improvement pronouncing unfamiliar words and can read pretty much anything I put in front of her. Her work with scissors and glue, and her drawing seem very age appropriate. She doesn't like math, which is also probably age appropriate. My issue is that I'm not sure my energy level can be maintained to teach such an active child. Joanna's motor never stops running. I'd really like to get her involved in some sort of sport. She doesn't need much sleep and has never napped, a source of difficulty here for her in the schools. I need more than the 6 hours a night of sleep I've been getting as a 66-year-old.  I was hoping a sport would force Joanna to get to bed earlier and get some more rest, but sports for a girl here even in the best of times would be difficult to arrange.
• • •
My son Elijah is a climber, and readily moves chairs, boxes, pillows or whatever's available – and stack them if necessary – to reach his desired altitude and destination ...  Joanna says to me that she likes speaking English and doesn't want to speak Vietnamese.  She understands more Vietnamese than she lets on ... my reading streak with Kindle is at 84 weeks and 580 days in a row. Since we're locked down, I suspect my streak will continue ... of course there's no more tobacco in my life (more than 5 years) and I haven't had any alcohol (other than what's in Cool Mint Listerine) in more than 19 months. I could see having one glass of champagne if my wife ever gets a U.S. visa ... my friend continues to fight for his life in a USA hospital, and has shown slight signs of improvement. If he gets through this, he deserves to be called Highlander.

Coronavirus getting too close for comfort; 'Real' birds

Coronavirus is in our neighborhood, four or five blocks from our house. A patient at a nearby clinic tested positive. Now the staff is quarantined for 21 days and the clinic is locked down. The staff at the Indian restaurant I frequent for takeout happened to be at the clinic for some kind of testing when all this went down. The owner informed me that he told his staff to take some time off.  My wife said there have been 15 confirmed cases of Covid in Dong Nai, the province where we live. The numbers have jumped around a lot lately, with 300 new cases reported one day and nearly 900 the next. It isn't a good situation regardless of the numbers.  I held off on a shopping trip for groceries for two main reasons: 1) I don't want to get sick and die because ... 2) I have two small children that need me at full strength. Joanna needs me to function at a level where I can teach and entertain her in a constructive manner. Elijah just needs me when he's bored. The work next door has slowed significantly but will unexpectedly flare up. The same people bought a house across the street and the some of the same noisy noise has started up again. Plus, the guy with the welding flashes has started "working" again. I'm sort of surprised that people can do these types of disruptive construction projects featuring unknown workers parading around, sometimes sans mask, during a pandemic. It's worth repeating: this country doesn't have the medical infrastructure to handle a massive surge of coronavirus cases. The U.S. has seen more than 600,000 die and hospitals stressed to the breaking point, and there's been an uptick recently despite vaccinations. Joanna and I have reduced the number of walks for milk tea (very close to the clinic) and our park trips are shorter and more supervised. Things are clearly quieter -- I see fewer people peeing outside in daylight, and less folks riding their motorbikes on the sidewalk, and fewer instances of trash burning. It's a shame people have to fear getting really sick to reduce churlish behavior. We've cut back on trips to the park since about half the folk walking and talking on phones don't wear a mask. And people tell me how stubborn I am. That may be the case, but for my sake, the sake of my family and the sake of others, I'll wear a damn mask. How's that for stubborn?
• • •
Our birds of paradise stickers, T-shirts, and children's fact book all arrived within a week of each other, making my daughter a very happy camper in grim times. None of the stuff was cheap, even the stickers. So what. It was priceless to see my daughter running around the house squealing with glee with a "Real" T-shirt in her arms. We call the Greater birds of paradise Vogelkop -- as well as the Smiley Face --  "Real" because of the What a Wonderful World video with David Attenborough. It briefly shows the Vogelkop or Smiley Face, and  Joanna, who was 3 at the time, thought it was a cartoon or drawing. When I told her the bird was "Real", a new name was created. Honest to goodness, Joanna just woke up and looked over my shoulder to read what I was typing and excitedly said "Real" when she got to this item. She doesn't miss much.
• • •
After I had Joanna's hair cut short to deal with the heat -- it's extra humid and remains in the 90s during  our rainy season -- people looked at her and said "That's a cute boy." Now my wife is trying to let Joanna's hair grow out again, which I'm not crazy about because of the heat and the fact she'll chew on it. Granted, there are bigger issues.
• • •
Our son Elijah acts like he's living with the Jetsons. He demands control of the TV remote control and when he gets it with batteries removed, he points it at the TV, lights, air conditioners, fans and  microwave, expecting it to work its magic and make those appliances turn on or off. Hasn't happened yet, but Elijah is master of the unexpected
• • •
My friend continues to battle numerous challenges in a U.S. hospital as he fights to stay alive. Sometimes it seems the treatment can present issues as serious as what he's facing, but I believe he's getting the best care and support from family and friends as possible. ... Nothing yet on our bid for a waiver to get my wife into the U.S. Just have to wait and see, which is becoming something of a mantra these days.

Covid fear; noisy as hell; friend gravely ill; birds of paradise

The coronavirus lockdown has ramped up here, with grocery stores hanging protective plastic sheets at the registers to separate clerks from customers. Customers are required to wear a mask. My daughter Joanna used to treat masks like tissues, using and losing three or four a day. She's a kid and doesn't like restrictions. She wears the mask without a fight, but she would take it off as soon as you looked away. Same with shoes, come to think of it. Being 4, the mask was left wherever, and as a result she was denied entry into a local market on two occasions. I will say that she's improved in the last week or so, possibly because we told her to put the mask she removes into her hat. We've only lost a couple in the past week since the mandate. My son Elijah won't even wear a cap, so a mask is out of the question, but since he's 13 months old he gets a pass from locals. He'll rip the mask off your face if you're not careful. Schools and most businesses remain shuttered and the coffee shop I used to frequent has a 10-customer limit, which means teenagers go in and use the internet for hours on end, so there's no point in waiting around. Another coffee shop down the road limits customers to 90-minute visits, which seems like a good idea to me. Some kids use the free wifi to do schoolwork, which is legit, but others use it to play video games and take endless selfies and put them on Facebook. I get it: they're kids like Joanna and Elijah and any time is play time. But the 90-minute limit seems cool so everyone can share in the fun dủring dismal times here. 

* * *
Joanna and I go out into town every day, often twice a day, only because of the drilling and jackhammering on the wall. I guess the neighbors didn't like the way their remodel looked, so the jackhammering and pounding have started up heavy duty all over again .... or continued heavy duy again, depending on your perspective. You never know when the unbelieveable noise will start up. It's a guarantee at 7:10 a.m., but then it's off and on, and you never get any warning when it's on. The workers seem to know when I try to work with Joanna (or on rare occasions nap) because noise has ended class (and nap) very prematurely or before it even starts on at least 30 occasions. This project started May 6 and hasn't missed many days since there's work on Saturdays and Sundays. I'm pretty sure the neighbors aren't too concerned about Joanna's sleep or education (or my nap schedule). Or our son Elijah's sleep and comfort. Funny (not ha ha funny) but the incredibly loud drilling started 2:35 p.m. on Wednesday, June 23, just as I tried to work with Joanna after we enjoyed a quiet morning together. It upset her, so we took a walk -- again -- into a town where coronavirus is on the rise. In all honesty the number òf cases reported here hás been relatively small, but the sharp increase of cases in the towns nearby is a little disconcerting. 
• • •
One of my best friends is in a U.S. hospital on a ventilator fighting for his life. It's not coronavirus, but heart and other issues, mostly related to his lifestyle. This is especially difficult for me since I'm estranged from most of my family in the U.S. for my past lifestyle issues. But this is about my friend, who would do anything to help others and to help me. It would be very difficult for me to try to go see him with a new variant of coronavirus ểmẻging here. It might be impossible to get back in Vietnam to be with my family, so I'll hope things take a drastic turn for the better for my friend and that we can visit in the near future. I'm not a religious man, but I'm praying for his recovery. 
• • •
Joanna has gone from a fascination with dancing to dinosaurs, to African animals to sea creatures, to insects and birds, to frogs, and lately to iguanas and other reptiles. She still loves reading. Dancing remains popular as well, but the latest craze is art and depictions of Birds òf Paradise. It started with dot to dot and coloring and a Birds-of-Paradise video, but now includes drawing and making clay creatures. I got Joanna a Vogelkop superb bird of paradise T-shirt and posters (or maybe it's the superb bird of paradise Smiley Face).  We had to buy tons of clay on a recent trip to Mega Market and my wife and I have obtained more crayons. The art is non-stop at the moment, which has given me my first chance to really relax with Joanna in the same room at the same time. Part of it is her maturity -- she's changed so much in the past two months. All for the better, in my view. Her inquisitiveness, temper and stubborness remain unparalleled, but now I know how to negotiate better, compromise and make deals, let her win some of the battles, answer her barrage of questions to the best of my abilities, and clearly and firmly explain the rules and expectations ahead of time. It's made a remarkable difference. No doubt this is Parenting 101 for Dummies, but it's really helping this dummy cope. 

Accepting Covid restrictions; more creatures and reading

We're living with a lot of restrictions here. I guess you'd call it lockdown light.  No more than 10 people together anywhere, most notably in the coffee shops. Most restaurants and schools are closed. Masks are mandatory -- for real, this time. Coronavirus was detected in a factory that's in our province and suspected in a big hotel/apartment building nearby. Ambulances and police went to the hotel/apartment building, creating worrisome excitement for the locals. There are about 300 new cases of Covid in Vietnam each day. Other than my concern that I can catch the virus and die, I find that the lifestyle retrictions create a calmer and more peaceful attitude here. Dare I say pleasant? Almost everyone wears a mask, and there's a bit more respect for personal space and social distancing, although people still put their groceries on top of your stuff in the checkout line in a cheesy bid to get ahead or "hurry up." The motorbike traffic is lighter, even on the sidewalks. You're not really supposed to go out unless it's necessary. I consider pounding with mallets and jackhammering on our walls (for 37 days now) a "necessary"  reason to go out in the heat and Covid. My daughter Joanna and I walk daily in the grim conditions for quite a while because of the situation next to our house. We've gotten to know some wonderful shop keepers and their kids, and we've met friendly street folk on our walks and "creature" searches and adventures. Joanna insists on a trek to Z88, a milk tea stand, and I oblige. We've moved her lessons to the third floor in an effort to get away from the noise, but jackhammering and mallet work on the walls next to us are, well, noisy regardless of where we are in our house.
• • •
Our creature adventures have become highly successful thanks to my daughter's eyesight. I'm just happy I can see my daughter. She spots birds, toads, geckos, grasshoppers and lizards like there's no tomorrow, and the way things have been going in the world, who knows if there will be a tomorrow. A small crowd of moms and dads and kids come to the park around 4:30 p.m. each day, and I can tell Joanna looks forward to being around new folk even if she doesn't speak the language.
 • • •
 I'm reading Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder to my daughter each night. This book contains extensive detail on things like smoking meat, making maple syrup, churning butter, and calico dresses. It's a bit much for a 4-year-old so I tell her to do whatever she wants when I read ...  but try to keep the noise down. It's interesting and satisfying watching her slowly getting into the book, and she clearly enjoys Pa's stories about the black panther, the bears, and the cows.
• • •
I'm in the middle of Frank Herbert's fifth Dune book, Heretics of Dune, and it's OK but a bit of a slog for a dullard like me. My Kindle streak continues thanks mainly to reading before sleep and the length of the Dune books. Actually, I read one night last week when our internet was down and it looked like the streak incorrectly ended. My reading "insights" said my streak was 0 the next day. I really didn't care and figured I'd read a hardback Jack Vance book I've been saving, but the following day the numbers were corrected and the streak -- I'm at 555 days in a row now -- is back on. And so is Heretics of Dune.