Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Second Day

I'm actually really tired right now, but I can't seem to be able to fall asleep. I've been up since 0700 this morning and I'll be waking up at that time again tomorrow morning for my run. My body must imagine that it's some kind of superhero right now; thinking that it can handle not sleeping for 9 hours and then going through the day without passing out.

Fat chance.

Actually, while I was playing "Doctor" with the kids today, I fell asleep while lying on the bed, pretending to be sick. It was only for a while, but let's just say it was a really deep slumber. The kids were jabbing away at me with the fake syringe but I didn't even wake up until my body automatically heard the mom come upstairs. HAHA!

Tomorrow the maids will be coming in the morning to clean the house, so I have a few hours to go shopping for Russian food. I'm so happy that this place is right next to a Russian area where I used to go to the banya. I think I'll go this Sunday after working in NYC on Saturday to relax.

Life is so structured now. I have no choice but to get into this disciplined lifestyle. It'll be good training for time to come.

I took the baby out in the stroller for a walk today and the weather was cool and lovely for a while. One day of sunshine, then another 9 days of rain is forecasted. To date, it has been raining almost everyday for 2 weeks now. What is up with June? That's what everybody wants to know...

Well I still can't fall asleep so I'm gonna write more until I get into the dozing mood.

I was just thinking today, how interesting life has been for me since I was born. Every year brought changes and challenges in ways that I could never foresee. And I guess after all these years, I'm just so used to moving around and having my life alter drastically that I just automatically look for these opportunities now. That's why I wanted to move out, to explore, to do something new and different.

Yet although I willingly displace myself frequently, I actually miss my friends and family very much. And I'm starting to miss places too. Every single place that I've lived for more than 2 weeks has a special significance for me because I've made those places a part of me. I usually scout out the area on foot, lovingly turning the pages of its streets one day at a time, seeing sights, smelling scents, remembering faces and sounds at every turning of the corner. Then I become a part of the place and the place becomes a part of me.

There are also always songs that remind me of a certain place or period in my life since. For example, when I used to live in Katong, my co-inhabitants would listen to Jay Chou all the time, so each time his songs are playing, it would always take me back to my bedroom in that house with the dark blue curtains swinging in the wind.

When I listen to Chinese music from the WWII era, it takes me back to the little village in Xiamen that I was at for a while. I can hear the wind rushing through the trees outside and a dog barking a few houses away. I smell the sea and the peanuts growing in their furrows distinctly; it's almost as if I were there again.

And now that I'm lying here listening to some other songs, I'm sure that listening to them in the future would always remind me of this house in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

I'm still not used to living here yet, but I know that with time, this place and its culture will grow dear to me and when it's time to leave, I'll leave with reluctance in my heart.





P.S.

This song "As The Rush Comes" gives me the chills at late night in absolute darkness.

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