I know that for some, January was a cold and bleak month, but I was lucky to be in a place where that wasn't the case. After spending the holidays with family, I set off again, this time heading westward from home. It didn't start without a bit of adventure though, as the day I left, flights were being canceled right and left due to the conflict with Venezuela, and the airspace was closed over the Caribbean. My flight was delayed, then delayed again, then canceled. The wait time on the phone for an agent to figure out what do do was eight hours. I tried the chat, but as they often are now, it was a bot, and it was not very helpful! I got onto another flight, which was also delayed, then delayed again, but finally I made it out of the country! I ended up spending about 10 hours in the San Francisco airport.
Pro tip: don't take no for an answer. When I got to the airport, despite not needing to check a bag, I stood in line for an agent. I asked him if he could put me on a different carrier, since the only other flight on my carrier (Delta) was the next day. He told me that with my 30 minute layover in Seattle, even with the delay, I was "going to be fine with the connection," aka, I would make my next flight. I was highly doubtful, so once I was inside the airport, I went to another desk with a real person and was put on a direct United flight, which is what I would have wanted anyway. Unfortunately this flight was also delayed and I ended up getting in about 4 hours later than I would have originally had things gone according to plan.
The other saving grace was the lounge access I have on one of my credit cards, which I have been trying to decide the value of, but you can't put a monetary value on the ease of being able to hang in the lounge with food and WiFi and drinks and a nearby toilet while the world is going crazy outside. It's the rough times that show you who your real friends are and what things have more emotional value than you may have realized before. So, without further ado, here's January in a nutshell.
Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix!
Where was I? Taiwan
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
January: Devouring the Sweet Potato
Taiwan is known as "the Sweet Potato" apparently due to its shape, and/or the fact that sweet potato plants are resilient, as are the Taiwanese people. In January, I rode around the entire island, mostly around the edge, eating my way around each city one by one.
2. What did you learn last month?
I learned that Taiwan is called the Sweet Potato. I learned that dragon fruits are a cactus looking plant. I learned that I don't really like asparagus juice but I love milk tea. I learned that the kanji for "cold" looks kind of like a puppy dog to me. Woof.
3. What was the weather like where you are?
It was quite nice! Mostly around the 70s f / 20-25 C but sometimes a bit cooler, and a few days of rain and high humidity. However, mostly pretty darn good!
4. What event last month was your favorite?It's hard to say but I did enjoy the night markets in Kaohsiung, as well as a hike I did there, which I found randomly but really enjoyed!
 |
| Kaohsiung Liuhe Night Market |
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? I got off to a a rough start and did not finish my first book until January 11th, but due to the bike ride, which meant LOTS of audiobook time, I caught up on my reading goals a bit and there were some good ones! However, none of them WOWED me, but I think my mood is just not in a "wow" mood right now, so I gave no 5 star reviews in January.
Book: Homeseeking by Karissa Chen, which I started during the cruise in late November, but finally came back to and finished, and am glad that I did.
Movie/Show: I binged the last few episodes of Grey's Anatomy. I know its basically a soap opera, but what can I say, I still enjoy it after all these years.
Podcast: Lives Less Ordinary on the BBC, where real people tell interesting tales, like this one, where a man accidentally finds his birth mother in his local bakery.
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
I got attacked by a monkey! I was in the Taroko gorge and I had just ridden up to a little village and I sat down to have a drink and a snack and before I knew it, a monkey was running up to me. I stood up to get away and he hopped up onto me and tried to get my food. For some reason, I resisted, as if saving my food was important, and he went away. However, two minutes later he was back, and I put my food behind my back to keep it away from him and a different monkey came out of nowhere from behind and snatched it right out of my hand. It scared the bejeezus out of me and I screamed like a little girl!
 |
| This is not the monkey that attacked me, but it is the same type. (Formosan Rock Macaque) |
The funny (?) thing also is that I just watched Outbreak a few days before that and after the monkey took my food, I thought about how lucky I was that he had not bitten me or something! There is a scene in the movie where a little girl is feeding apples to the diseased monkey and it puts you on the edge of your seat, I tell you!
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
I am looking forward to the Lunar New Year, and to settling in a bit in one place, to going to a couple of meetups, finding some good hiking trails and eating more great food!
Your turn! To copy/paste, highlight the text below and click CTRL-C, then put the cursor in the comment box and click CTRL-V.
JANUARY:
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
2. What did you learn last month?
3. What was the weather like where you are?
4. What event last month was your favorite?
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month?
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
FEBRUARY:
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
Bonus question! What is the longest amount of time that you have ever spent in an airport?
Let's do this!!!
ReplyDelete1. Laissez les bons temps rouler! (let the good times roll - the slogan of Mardi Gras)
2. That Mardi Gras is not a day, it is the season from Epiphany to Ash Wednesday
3. We started off with some mild days, just long enough to fake everyone out that it was going to be a mild winter. Then it got cold, which was my cue to go to Louisiana for 10 days. There it was bright and sunny and the highs were 50-70. However it did get down to 30 for a few nights and it was "New Orleans chilly". Then I came back home and two days later we had the mother of all winter storms. Negative temperatures and a mountain of snow! Boo!!!!
4. The whole New Orleans trip.
5. Best book was Discontent by Beatriz Serano. Best non-Hitchcock movie? The new Naked Gun movie was delightfully silly.
6. The funniest thing that happened last month was that one morning when I went out with the dog and I realized that I was missing a glove. The most likely explanation was I dropped it in the yard the night before, but we'd had several inches of snow overnight so I had no way to find it. Well, I didn't have to because my dog did, and she acted like it was the greatest prize ever.
7. I'm looking forward to travel and to the weather (hopefully) getting warmer. I'm headed out today on a lil' road trip.
Airport record: I am still traumatized by the flight home from family vacay in FL in 2023. We got to the airport at noon and the flight finally took off at midnight. Meanwhile my two SILs drove home, and it really rubbed me the wrong way that flying was barely shorter than driving. I'm glad that your lounge access paid off but geez....
Haha! That would chap my hide if my friends who were driving got home before me, and I had to sit in the airport all day! Sometimes I have driven because of that very reason, even without delays. Like for example, if you fly from Sacramento, you will inevitably have a layover in San Francisco, so sometimes driving to San Francisco makes more sense (and sometimes it doesn't due to parking etc.) in the long run! I hate waiting so I would rather be "doing something" even if it is not really more efficient, as it often feels more efficient. Enjoy your road trip!
DeleteJANUARY:
ReplyDelete1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
*How Many Months Are In January?
2. What did you learn last month?
*It is possible to still find stray Cheerios weeks after a toddler has visited
3. What was the weather like where you are?
*frigid and snowy and I'll never, ever see grass again
4. What event last month was your favorite?
*the day my grandson moved much closer to us
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month?
*book: The Correspondent; TV show: The Pitt
FEBRUARY:
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
*We are having a gas fireplace installed, replacing our old woodfired one that always smoked us out. I'm also hoping that we have temperatures that actually reach 30 or better, and we are thismuchcloser to spring.
I did love The Correspondent! It reminded me of my grandmother, or my mother, who are both avid letter writers! It was a great book. I am laughing about the Cheerios, as I feel like those things can even turn up years later. I once had my car broken into and the guy came and replaced the window and cleaned up the glass, or so I thought. I was finding little flecks of glass in the wheel wells and seat cracks months and months later. No matter how many times I vacuumed, it didn't seem to be enough.
DeleteA MONKEY?!?! Omg Kyria, you are so brave. I dislike monkeys vehemently.
ReplyDeleteLet's see, last month my favorite book was Heart the Lover (I think??? It's so hard to choose.) I adore The Pitt, and I watched Bugonia which was awful but also really good, if that makes sense.
A monkey! I dislike any animal that should be far away from me and isn't. I am not a fan of people feeding birds and squirrels either, and at home we have issues with bears because of this too! I think Lisa also loves The Pitt, but I will have to wait until I have HBO (I think?) to watch that one! Bugonia sounds interesting! However, I don't have Peacock either so I will put them both on my someday list!
DeleteWhen I was coming home from Seattle, I spent more than twelve hours at the airport. Every agent I spoke to just talked down to me and I didn't get so much as a food voucher. I did eventually just take no as an answer after the fourth or fifth agent. They beat me down, Kyria, and they won.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it can be frustrating! I did get a food voucher luckily, which I used to buy candy at the bookstore, and was happy to have when I arrived and needed a "pick me up!" Travel can definitely be hard when there are glitches, that is for sure!
DeleteI'm glad you liked Homeseeking! I learned a lot about Taiwan by reading that book. I knew basically nothing about that country before reading that book, though.
ReplyDelete1. January: The world is on fire.
2. I learned/was reminded that Minneapolis is a really wonderful place to live. Our community is full of good people who care about their neighbors. We've been in the spotlight for horrible reason but have shown how good the people of this state are!
3. It was bitterly, dangerously cold for most of the month. The boys did not have recess for 2 weeks straight. They go out for recess as long a the feels like temp is above 0, so that really tells you how awful January was.
4. My favorite events were book club and going to a light show at the Basilica with an orchestra + choir.
5. My favorite read was So Far Gone, I think. I've been slowly watching The Pitt when I'm alone in the house. It's so good but I have to turn around away when there is anything fire-related (there's been fire-related injuries in 2 of the episodes...).
6. All I can think of that is sort of funny is that Will has developed a habit of smelling us and telling us how good we smell. Phil finds it creepy, I find it sweet. He is always asking to smell things - like my coffee, a softdrink, a fizzy water, etc. I guess he's really into his sense of smell.
Ha! Oh my goodness; Will is funny! I do like the smell of clean hair and coffee, but it would be a little creepy if an adult did that! I think with a kid it is not creepy, and I suppose he is learning that sense at the moment. I am sure it will pass. Does he do it to other people? If so, THAT would be funny! I think a lot of the things that kids do that are funny would be embarrassing for an adult, which is why they are funny!
DeleteI'll have to check out The Pitt someday. I don't have HBO and likely won't but I think my brother does so maybe next time I am at his house I can take over his living room!
Your pictures are lovely! Wow, 10 hours in an airport is way too long. I don’t fly all that often, I think the longest I’ve ever spent is about 3 hours?
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying the latest Game of Thrones prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. I didn’t love the other prequel show, but this one is better. I loved Plur1bus, though I’m pretty sure that ended before January.
I just finished Heart the Lover and then Writers and Lovers, and really enjoyed them both. I’m loving The Age of Innocence, though I guess that’s a February read.
I have never seen any of the Game of Thrones shows! I did read the first book and liked it, but never got further than that, and then the television show came out and it was so hyped and I think I kind of got overwhelmed by it. I think prequels are hit and miss for me. I read the one for the Hunger Games, about the bad guy, and it was not as good as the first trilogy.
DeleteKyria, I would answer your questions, but I can NOT get over the fact that you were attacked by monkeys! And how clever and devioius they are to have one distract you while the other came up behind you and stole your food right out of your hands! RIGHT OUT OF YOUR HANDS! I am screaming this "like a little girl!" But, in spite of that, your trip sounds amazing and your photos are wonderful. You are so cool to go there and ride your bike all over Taiwan. I had no idea it was called the Sweet Potato, so there is something I learned!
ReplyDeleteI know; they are brazen and it was quite scary actually! I was happy that all they got was my snack and did not try to bite me to get it from me. They know what to do and they also probably know that we are scared of them and they can force us to give them our stuff! I remember in Bolivia we went to a place with monkeys and were told to keep nothing in a pocket or on your head (like your glasses or camera) because they would take it. We saw a monkey steal a 2L bottle of Coke from a guy, take it up into the trees, OPEN IT, and guzzle it! They are crafty!
DeleteOh how exciting. Taiwan. I am looking forward following your asian adventures this year.
ReplyDeleteThe monkey story scares and grosses me out.
Having lounge access during that delays circus must ave been heaven. For that day alone all the fees have been validated, right?
In February I am looking forward to my anniversary trip – which I am in the middle of while typing this.
Oh yay! I hope you are having a wonderful time on your trip! I know that you were very happy to have it planned out ahead of time and now the fruits of your labors are paying off! Enjoy! The monkey also grosses me out. Wild animals should stay wild and stay away from me.
DeleteWow, you get around! In the nicest possible way, of course. Maybe the monkeys learnt that trick from the gangs of pickpockets—one to distract while the other sneaks in and takes the loot. In February I'm looking forward to THE WEDDING!! Its next weekend actually.
ReplyDeleteYes, the monkeys have it all figured out, unfortunately. Luckily all I lost was a pastry! I mean, I was hungry, but unscathed. The wedding! That will be so fun! I am sure the weather will be perfect and it will be a blast. Enjoy!
DeleteYou got attacked by monkeys! That's WILD. We're going to say that's good luck for the rest of 2026. Yes, yes.
ReplyDelete1. The One With the Diagnosis
2. I learned about the process of embalming from a book! And that the hunger side effect of Prednisone is nothing to sneeze at!
3. We got cold! Not as cold as other places, but there were snow flurries in Florida at the end of the month!
4. My rheumatology appointment hahahahaha
5. The best thing I read was Promise Me Sunshine, the best thing I watched was The Celebrity Traitors UK, and the best thing I listened to was Sabrina Carpenter's album
6. I told this story on my blog of a night when my mom and I drove separately to a restaurant, but then we drove in my car to run a few errands afterward, and then I was halfway back to her house when I realized I was supposed to drop her off at her car outside the restaurant! We laughed a lot about that.
7. I have fun Galentine's Day plans with my best friend. And I just hope I start feeling better. :(
I heard about your snow flurries! What is happening to the world, eh? Hah! I am laughing at the story about your Mom and the car! It's funny how our mind sticks to the one track! I once got off at the wrong train station on my commute home because I had forgotten that I had driven that day, and I had to get back on the train and get all the way back(wards!) to the other station! I was so annoyed at myself.
DeleteWhat a fun trip to Taiwan. I chuckled about the monkey story (see my story below).
ReplyDelete1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
Nothing is certain but change.
2. What did you learn last month?
That some people are different from what you thought.
3. What was the weather like where you are?
Cool and foggy in the mornings, sunny in the afternoons.
4. What event last month was your favorite?
Trae Crowder comedy night.
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month?
I enjoyed the book "Invisible Women".
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
I once visited a "monkey zoo" in the Netherlands with my late friend and we have some funny pictures of little monkeys trying to steal our food. They're so clever and quick. :)
I had a coworker who always said that: the only thing that is constant is change! I hope that the different person was a good different and not a bad different! The monkeys really are quick and hey, I don't blame them for trying to get the food, but it did shock me!
DeleteJANUARY:
ReplyDelete1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
Basketball and more basketball
2. What did you learn last month?
My dryer doesn't seem to work well in these temps
3. What was the weather like where you are?
Thanks for asking, I'm noticing a theme. Crazy cold. Like WAY COLDER THAN AVERAGE
4. What event last month was your favorite?
Attending Mini's Irish dancing show at ND, or when Curly won an exciting b-ball game (this happened more than once, but she also lost a game that was super frustrating)
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month?
I read The Correspondent. Loved it
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
A baby took off her diaper and pants in her nap. Poop everywhere. She shares a room with Curly. The mom came the next day at drop off and had the tot hand Curly a giftbag with a candle in it. The card said: This is to clear the air. Sorry about the poop, I'll try to be a better roommate.
FEBRUARY:
7. What are you looking forward to this month? Parent weekend at Mini's college. And possibly Mom's weekend at Reg's college (this one just cropped up because he just got into the fraternity). Not sure I can make that happen in two weeks, not a lot of notice and a few other things on the calendar. Fingers crossed I can do them both.
Bonus question! What is the longest amount of time that you have ever spent in an airport? Probably when we missed our connection heading to Glasgow and we were in Heathrow for 14 hours.
the monkey story is hilarious. I do not think I would like to drink asparagus juice either. I've not been on my desktop much recently and waited till I was in order to use the control c function. Your post sort of fell off my radar. Sorry I'm so late to the party.
Oh man, that poop story sounds fun! That is nice of the toddler to give Curly a candle. A friend of mine borrowed a pair of sweats from her sister and accidentally soiled them, and they were the sister's favorite pants! She had to wash them good and bring them back! We thought that was funny though. I really enjoyed The Correspondent too! I don't know if I have met anyone who has not liked that book!
DeleteWhen I was in Malaysia, we were going to see the biolumescent water and a common place to stop on the way there was this place where there were all these monkeys. And there are signs all over the place about not feeding the monkeys. Well, do you know who feeds the monkeys? THE TOUR GUIDES. I saw one guide empty a huge bag of bread in the parking lot. I guess they know that tourists want to see monkeys so they bring food. There were even people selling food to give the monkeys. It really made me think about how tourism and economics and ecology are so intertwined there.
ReplyDeleteTAIWAN!!!! I'm so excited to hear how you like it. So much good food!
JANUARY:
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
January: Re-entry, jet lag. I just want to nap.
2. What did you learn last month?
I learned the term "snowcrete" for the frozen snow that I had to clear by hacking at it with a spade.
3. What was the weather like where you are?
Cold. Cold. Cold.
4. What event last month was your favorite?
Hmmm... I guess I went to two museums that I really liked - the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the Renwick Gallery for their exhibit on State Fairs. Also dinner with friends.
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month?
I really enjoyed the audiobook Good Spirits - a rom com with a Chistmas Carol twist.
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
Here's one from Taiwan. It's my grandfather's birthday, right. So I encourage my kids and my niece to do something for him at the banquet and they settle on singing happy birthday in Mandarin, French, and Spanish. My mother, who's always pushing for more, want the kids to sing this Chinese kids' song about a rabbit. Now of all my grandfather's sixteen great grand children, my kids speak the least amount of Mandarin, which is to say very little. Most of my cousins married people who speak Mandarin so they make and effort to speak it with their kids at home. I have kind of an inferiority complex about it, tbh. Anyhow, my kids and my niece get up, sing a very halting version of happy birthday. Polite applause from everyone. Then my mom says in Mandarin, "How about the rabbit song?" And my 9 year old yells at her, in flawless Mandarin, "Wo bu yao chang!" (I don't want to sing it!) and runs off. And I thought, "Huh. I didn't know he knew that much Mandarin." I was so proud of him!
FEBRUARY:
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
Super Bowl. Olympics. Going back to work.
Longest time in airport - Well last year when we came back from Taiwan we were stuck in the Seattle airport for 9 hours. That was pretty awful. Oh and once in college, our entire college choir missed our flight to Puerto Rico so we had to stay overnight in the airport. That's the kind of thing that's fun when you are 21 and with a bunch of friends.
I love the story about your son! It is always amazing how much kids know, and we often have no idea! I tried to speak to my friend's daughter in Spanish because she went to immersion school but she refuses to talk to me. However, I am guessing that if someone came up to her and said something to her in Spanish, she would understand and probably be able to answer pretty easily (it has been a few years since the immersion school, but still).
Delete9 hours in the airport is a long time! I was actually supposed to fly through Seattle on my flight too, but due to cancelations ended up with a direct flight in the end. Maybe Seattle is bad news...
January sped by for me, which is not usually the case! It might be because we went to Tampa in the middle of the month, which was a highlight. Our weather has been cold these last few weeks (I mean0 cold for us) which I love. We get plenty of hot weather, I like it when we have a cold winter to balance things out.
ReplyDeleteUm... asparagus juice? That sounds horrible.
I'm a little late to be saying what I'm looking forward to in February, but I can't wrap my head around the fact that it is, indeed February, and has been for over a week. I'm looking forward to the Olympics (which have already started, but just barely). I love having something fun like that to watch every night. And, I'm looking forward to a 50k training run I have scheduled! Well, I'm looking forward to it and also am nervously apprehensive... as I am with all super long runs.
Ha ha... glad you survived the monkey attack.
P.S. I realized I never responded to your email! I'll do that soon...