Last weekend was a three day weekend which I extended to four by taking Tuesday off. Some co-workers naturally asked where I was going but in fact there was no plan, just futz around, spend time with the kids and Yang, and decompress a bit. And the best thing about four day weekends is a three day work week the following week.

So on the extra Tuesday I had off, I futzed around a bit, went to IKEA with Yang bought an unassembled chair that is actually comfortable so I can type these blog entries in style. We then planned lunch and immediately dismissed having lunch at IKEA. You might not think lunch and IKEA belong in the same sentence unless you are a termite, yet IKEA lunch is wildly popular here. In fact there were many more people in the IKEA lunch canteen when we left than the actual store. So we decided on a new place, a Belguim restaurant called Morel’s. Morel’s is not new to Beijing, we’ve noticed it since we moved her, but have never tried it. This would be the day. Yang’s friend’s Shirley met us there and for 88 RMB we got a three course meal, choice of beverage (beer, wine, cola), and coffee or tea. I ended up with two poached eggs on toast w/mushroom sauce, penne pasta, and desert. Around us were Europeans speaking French, none too skinny. It was a nice relaxed atmosphere, a fun experience, and reinforcing of why we live here. It made me glad I took the day off work. I noted as much to Yang. She said it was just a normal Tuesday.

In the afternoon I went to see the eye doctor because I have a little bump on my eye. I’ve had it for about three years. When I told the nurse she wondered why if I had it so long, I would just be coming in to have it looked at now. I said I was lazy. Actually, I didn’t much know what think of the bump when I first got it so I followed my nature and ignored it. About six months ago, I want in for some allergy medicine and Yang used to occasion to ask the German doctor about my eye, she took a look, and said it was probably nothing but hat I should get it looked at. So six months later I did. Turns out I have something relatively minor call Pterygium which requires a small procedure to the eye. I don’t call it eye surgery even through the eye doctor called it that but it sounded relatively minor. In the hospital in the morning, local anesthetic, they take some fiber from top of the eye and use it to stop the growth across the eye. Eye patch for a few hours, back to work the next day. I will get it done when I am back from my next trip to the states assuming I don’t get lazy. The tested my vision and it was fine, fine for a man my age anyway.

Me and my 1.5 good eyes got home and started to assemble the chair. IKEA has these wordless instructions that are hard to mess up. Elisa came in and help me by handing me the screws and washers. I followed the five step big picture instructions and the chair looked like this

which is kind of creative but not too comfortable looking. Anyway, with the help of Yang, I reassembled my assembly and the chair was fine. My Tuesday ended with me teaching Aidan to ride his bike without training wheels for the first time. At first Aidan didn’t think he could do it. He asked me how I learned. I have vague memories of falling a lot. Or of an older brother pushing me down a hill. I told him you just have to practice. I held him upright and pushed him so he could get a feel for the balance. Still no luck. I stood in the wind while he started and stopped. And then he was moving. A good two or three full tire rotations. It was magic and the boy who was about to give up stayed at it another half hour. And again the next morning at 6:30am before he went to school.