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.