ReNe: wasting my time

I absolutely hate the laundry machines here. I can't count the number of times I've gone down and the machine had simply turned itself off, or hung (displays an 'OFF' error) and I have to reload the machine again. With my eczema, I hate dealing with wet soapy laundry and I hate wasting my time; I had planned to leave right after I'm done with the laundry.What if I was rushing for something important?

When I saw the 'OFF' sign again, I slammed the lid and yelled 'FUCK'. Next to me, Ryan echoed, "fwuck!"

Right now the management is painting the building and corridor walls. Why? I look around and the paint looks fine to me. I would much rather they spend the money, and the rent increase, on things that really matter like LAUNDRY MACHINES THAT WORK. Painting probably cost thousands. You can replace all of the washing machines with the money spent on painting.

The rant about how lousy they are, even when they don't turn off, how much lint they leave behind, is another subject all together. ONE wash and ONE rinse cycle. Is that sufficient?! Our linens are getting dingier and dingier. I've had bedsheets that I've wanted to throw because they're linty and oily-looking. I've tried washing and re-washing, adding dish detergent to cut the oil, peroxide, vinegar, everything. Then I brought them to Singapore to use one last time before ditching -- and then they come out as good as new.

I used to love doing laundry, until I came here. Now it's becoming a chore.

Now off to pick up the laundry.

ReNe: back and jet-lagged

We were abroad for three and a half months -- but more about that later -- and came back a couple of days ago. With an eleven time zone difference, there is jet-lag.

But. The jet-lag would not have been so bad if it weren't for a certain boy. We know to keep awake during the day and sleep at night; try telling a baby that. The first night, that is Monday night, he woke up bright and alert at 3am, thinking it's Japan 4pm and wanting to play. It hadn't helped that we flew 12 hours from Japan time 5pm-5am and he slept nine of those 12 hours. We were not that fortunate as to be able to stretch out horizontally; in my case, he was on my lap most of the 12 hours. (I was quite the candidate for deep vein thrombosis.) Then during the day, he fell asleep around 1pm and when we woke him up at 3, he was literally red- and bleary-eyed.

The second day, we made the mistake of napping when he finally fell asleep for his afternoon nap, thinking that we should catch our rest when he does since he interrupted our nighttime sleep. That was at 1pm. Next thing we knew, it was 5pm and we had ALL slept through the afternoon. And then after dinner, he fell asleep again. That was about 9pm. Around midnight, when we were preparing to go to sleep, we heard a "Mummy! Mummy!" and the patter of little feet. The third night was actually the worst so far. We let him play for an hour, then after much screaming, he went to sleep around 1:45am. 2:30am and 3:40am, he woke again. And at 4:40am, he woke and absolutely refused to go back to sleep, crying and screaming until 5:50am when we gave up.

So even though last night was our third night dealing with his jet-lag, it was the worst, and I'm quite sure it was the long, uninterrupted nap through the afternoon that ruined his progress. Today we must make sure he keeps awake!

Monday night: slept from 1-3am.
Tuesday: napped from 1-3pm, 5-7pm. Both times he had to be woken up.
Tuesday night: slept from 10pm-5am, woke at 3am, then again at 5am where he refused to go back to sleep.
Wednesday: napped from 1-5pm.
Wednesday night: slept from 9am-12am, 1:45-4:40am, woke at 2:30, 3:40, 4:40am.