We also had breakfast at the largest, fanciest, uppity-est
breakfast buffet EVER. They actually had
ten different counters and five manned stations including a pancake/waffle bar,
a select your own omelet fillings bar, a
noodle bar and a juice bar (novel, but if you are going for taste, get a coke). AND, just to impress on you what a high-class
joint this is, the chocolate doughnuts were actually covered in real, gourmet, melted
chocolate-- not the chocolate food product with suggesting influences of
plastic and Big Lots, but real, dark, bittersweet, thick, creamy, melted
chocolate, with a hint of salted butter, just to keep it soft enough to
spread. Beware my loved ones, Momma’s
moving in on your doughnuts.
Everything was wonderful until we got the bill. We were told breakfast was included with our
room, but apparently not THAT many breakfasts.
They charged us for four buffets ($100 or $25 each—that is US Dollars, not
yuan….oopsie!) The front desk promised
us that this was a mistake and we won’t be charged, but I’m not going back into
that place until we are sure. It was a yummy
doughnut, but not $25 worth of yum…. Well, maybe not.
We spent the morning moving rooms. They had given us two rooms half-a-hotel away. The
kids were too far off, so we got adjoining rooms for the first time since we
came here. This is SO NICE. Logistically, it’s just MUCH easier to have
the other kids adjoining us. We were so
happy to be together, we spent the morning just hanging out and playing.
About noon, we were planning to take a walk to a local mall,
but just as we got all the kids shoes on and the computers locked in the safe,
QingBei tugged Matt over to her crib and asked to be put inside. It was her nap time. I had totally forgot. She laid down for a minute, but as soon as
the other kids left the room, she threw a royal fit and started to scream and
stomp her feet. I hate to reward that
kind of behavior, so I thought I’d call them back in as soon as she calmed
down, but she never did calm down. I finally
asked Bill to come and he stayed with her until she fell asleep. –Good Man.
After that, we all went swimming in the hotel pool, which
was wonderful. There are two 25 meter
lap lanes, a cold pool and a hot tub.
There is a marble/mahogany locker room with a sauna, steam bath and two
whirlpool tubs, one hot and one cold, and there is a fully equipped exercise/weight
room. Bill has two triathlons coming up
the Saturday and Sunday after we get back home—as in, we land on Friday and the
races are Saturday and Sunday, so he has been training steadily, but all he
could do up to this point was run. Now he can swim
and bike as well. When he saw the whole health club set up, Bill's eyes lit up like his favorite fast food sign. He was as happy as I’ve seen him since we arrived.
We spent the evening at a local mall. It was so nice to be there that I got too
comfortable. While we were walking, I
noticed a woman facing us and pretending to text. I could tell she was taking our picture. I was in front and I walked right past
her. We almost touched shoulders. I looked back and saw that she had taken a
picture of me. There was my face, right
in her phone screen. As I was thinking
to myself, “Really?” I noticed her zoom in on QingBei who was walking behind
me, holding Bill’s hand and she took a picture of QingBei’s face as well. By the time I realized what was happening, it
was all over and Bill was herding me forward.
I walked on, realizing too late, that she took my baby’s picture so she
can show it to her friends and discuss the freak child she saw in the mall.
I know I have to forgive this woman, but all I could think of at the moment was that MY baby’s face was on her cell phone and I wanted it off. I considered grabbing her hair and smashing the phone into her face, but I realized that would be too violent. It would not be good to make Nanning News at Nine the day before I get my second baby. Then I thought about taking her phone and smashing it on the ground, but I figured that might attract the police as well. My options were limited, since she probably didn’t speak English. I finally settled on fuming. I was so mad, I was shaking. The only reason I didn’t turn around and engage her in a little incomprehensible chat was because Bill kept driving me onward.
I know I have to forgive this woman, but all I could think of at the moment was that MY baby’s face was on her cell phone and I wanted it off. I considered grabbing her hair and smashing the phone into her face, but I realized that would be too violent. It would not be good to make Nanning News at Nine the day before I get my second baby. Then I thought about taking her phone and smashing it on the ground, but I figured that might attract the police as well. My options were limited, since she probably didn’t speak English. I finally settled on fuming. I was so mad, I was shaking. The only reason I didn’t turn around and engage her in a little incomprehensible chat was because Bill kept driving me onward.
One of my parenting mantra's is: "Lose the Battle, but Win the War." After that, I was back on my toes. I stationed all the family around QingBei so
that all she saw of the rest of the mall was my kids tiny butts. Then I took up the rear and scanned both sides
of the aisles the rest of the evening, looking for people holding cell phones
pointed my way. Twice I noticed women standing
up to take our picture, so I gave them my livid-mamma look and they both sat
right back down. I also put my hand in
front of her face a few times as I saw people trying to take her picture from far away and
derived great pleasure giving them the same look as well. Bill kept telling me to let it go and not to stay
mad at that woman for the entire evening, but I’m certain I won’t. I’ll be mad at her for at least a month.
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