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.

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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.

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.