we bought a fantastic Christmas tree on Saturday! It has these amazing fibre optic ends on all the "branches" which produce this mesmerizing light show. It sounds horrendously kitsch, but it actually looks really great.
We saw "Knockaround Boys" at the pictures and were really impressed with Vin Diesel......he really stole the movie. We battled the second weekend of Harry Potter crowds and even though it's been on here for 2 weeks, the crowds keep coming. The scooter braved the streets again and I'm realising that I'd better remember how to drive legally when I get back on the "big bike" at home.
We borrowed and watched all 4 "Alien" movies on DVD from some friends here, and thoroughly enjoyed them as well.
You probably get the theme of the weekend.....pretty lazy!
back to work now, I'd better go and do some!
Monday, November 25, 2002
Friday, November 22, 2002
David is just about had it at this stage - hope he makes it till tomorrow!! This course is even worse than the last one, so I pity him! We've been having "hot dates"(!!) each afternoon before his course starts; we go to a cafe and have coffee and talk. The people I work with are amazed that we want to spend so much time together! I miss him when he's at his course!
We think we'll go to the movies this weekend, as there's one starting that sounds good. I think it's called "Knockaround Boys" or something like that. City slickers meet country bumpkins - with a bit of pisstake involved- should be interesting.
I finished marking the (80) speeches on genetics today so my brain has slightly imploded from a lethal mixture of boredom and intense concentration!! Oh well, I used to have to do much worse.......... I've been spoiled a little here!
Speaking of being spoiled, we've been enjoying watching 2 episodes of "Friends" each evening (David's missed them lately). It's great just to watch a TV show without having to sit through a movie. The Discovery channel is not too bad either - as long as we avoid the (nightmare-inducing) wild- animals- killing- each- other shows!!! The travelogues are sometimes fascinating.
Catching a ride each morning on a scooter has also spoiled me! It's meant scouring the wardrobe for trousers to wear each day but it's saved my feet/heels as they adjust to "winter" shoes after summer sandals.
I went to the library today in preparation for thanksgiving - I plan to do some serious reading!! We've been invited again to Chad and Cathy's place for dinner, along with a whole group of other (nice) people, so we're really looking forward to that. Next week we only work Mon, Tues, Wed then have Thurs, Fri off!! Our Thanksgiving show is on Thursday and we plan to go up Yangming Shan as well sometime over the break, if it's not raining. (Cassy on Thursday)
Finished! Another installment of study finished. This one was especially tedious. Two weeks of research methodology and statistics with one of the most boring people on earth. At least it reminded me how NOT to teach my kids. Looking forward to a weekend of relaxation and no academic thought whatsoever.
On a totally different topic, if anyone wants some superb professional photography done (and lives near Newcastle, Australia!) I strongly recommend contacting my sister Sue. Her business, "Fotojenik", is generating some genuinely exciting photos. All bias aside, I've been blown away by some of the fantastic shots she is taking. For any work at all, big or small, why not give her a ring on (02) 4961 3362. Sue is great with kids and adults alike....... keep her in mind.
Anyway after that brief advert, I'll sign off. (David)
We think we'll go to the movies this weekend, as there's one starting that sounds good. I think it's called "Knockaround Boys" or something like that. City slickers meet country bumpkins - with a bit of pisstake involved- should be interesting.
I finished marking the (80) speeches on genetics today so my brain has slightly imploded from a lethal mixture of boredom and intense concentration!! Oh well, I used to have to do much worse.......... I've been spoiled a little here!
Speaking of being spoiled, we've been enjoying watching 2 episodes of "Friends" each evening (David's missed them lately). It's great just to watch a TV show without having to sit through a movie. The Discovery channel is not too bad either - as long as we avoid the (nightmare-inducing) wild- animals- killing- each- other shows!!! The travelogues are sometimes fascinating.
Catching a ride each morning on a scooter has also spoiled me! It's meant scouring the wardrobe for trousers to wear each day but it's saved my feet/heels as they adjust to "winter" shoes after summer sandals.
I went to the library today in preparation for thanksgiving - I plan to do some serious reading!! We've been invited again to Chad and Cathy's place for dinner, along with a whole group of other (nice) people, so we're really looking forward to that. Next week we only work Mon, Tues, Wed then have Thurs, Fri off!! Our Thanksgiving show is on Thursday and we plan to go up Yangming Shan as well sometime over the break, if it's not raining. (Cassy on Thursday)
Finished! Another installment of study finished. This one was especially tedious. Two weeks of research methodology and statistics with one of the most boring people on earth. At least it reminded me how NOT to teach my kids. Looking forward to a weekend of relaxation and no academic thought whatsoever.
On a totally different topic, if anyone wants some superb professional photography done (and lives near Newcastle, Australia!) I strongly recommend contacting my sister Sue. Her business, "Fotojenik", is generating some genuinely exciting photos. All bias aside, I've been blown away by some of the fantastic shots she is taking. For any work at all, big or small, why not give her a ring on (02) 4961 3362. Sue is great with kids and adults alike....... keep her in mind.
Anyway after that brief advert, I'll sign off. (David)
Sunday, November 17, 2002
Sunday night again and ready for another big week. We had a pretty quiet weekend with no big trips etc, as we were both pretty tired from a big week.
Saturday was spent watching a movie or two and generally bumming around before we went "downtown" to find "Mr. Fish" which we had seen advertised in the 'Taipei Times' one of he Eng language newspapers here.
This might not seem very exciting, but it was for us. We rang Carl up and he, Hiroko and the boys joined us as we traveled into town on the train, changed trains and emerged with a funny little map. After a couple of false starts we eventually found the shop and enjoyed a couple of pieces of battered fish with chips! This does not exist anywhere else in Taipei!!
The owner is a Canadian /Chinese who originally wanted to set up shop in Shanghai, before realizing 1/2 his profit would go to the gangs of Triads.....anyway, we're pleased he chose Taipei.
Home again to watch the Aussies live as they went down narrowly to the Pommies in the rugby....good with English commentary.
Sunday was really lazy...little trip out for lunch at a nice coffee shop and a trip on the scooter to have a wander down a market alley or two.......we were pleased to look at some nice jade jewelry, yet less pleased to see live chickens awaiting their fate, with one of their' brothers getting plucked beside them!
I have another week of my course to run; it's called "Research and Evaluation Methodology" so you can imagine how rivetting that is after a full day at work! Oh well, just 5 more nights. We can get flights to Cairns now but are still waitlisted on early internal flights from Cairns to Newcastle. At least we'll be somewhere in Australia!
Saturday was spent watching a movie or two and generally bumming around before we went "downtown" to find "Mr. Fish" which we had seen advertised in the 'Taipei Times' one of he Eng language newspapers here.
This might not seem very exciting, but it was for us. We rang Carl up and he, Hiroko and the boys joined us as we traveled into town on the train, changed trains and emerged with a funny little map. After a couple of false starts we eventually found the shop and enjoyed a couple of pieces of battered fish with chips! This does not exist anywhere else in Taipei!!
The owner is a Canadian /Chinese who originally wanted to set up shop in Shanghai, before realizing 1/2 his profit would go to the gangs of Triads.....anyway, we're pleased he chose Taipei.
Home again to watch the Aussies live as they went down narrowly to the Pommies in the rugby....good with English commentary.
Sunday was really lazy...little trip out for lunch at a nice coffee shop and a trip on the scooter to have a wander down a market alley or two.......we were pleased to look at some nice jade jewelry, yet less pleased to see live chickens awaiting their fate, with one of their' brothers getting plucked beside them!
I have another week of my course to run; it's called "Research and Evaluation Methodology" so you can imagine how rivetting that is after a full day at work! Oh well, just 5 more nights. We can get flights to Cairns now but are still waitlisted on early internal flights from Cairns to Newcastle. At least we'll be somewhere in Australia!
Friday, November 15, 2002
We had some fun last weekend and added to our dvd collection with 2 beauties and one pretty good one. On Sunday we went on the scooter downtown to the fnac centre near Ikea - just to browse through their dvds and books. We checked out the map and "Dave the legend" was easily able to negotiate the crazy Sunday drivers ( who add a whole new dimension to that saying) and parked with impunity opposite the Asiaworld Centre. Our timing was as good as ever so we had to build our energy to search the racks by eating first at "Aubergine"- our "favorite" Japanese style curry place. Yum!! Salad, soup, curry, rice and coffee for less than 500 NT($25) for the 2 of us! All delicious and served in a clean, stylish (for Taipei!!) restaurant.
Ready for action, we attacked the dvd specials but ... there were none worth buying! We had fun just looking at some beautiful books - cats, design and decorating, karate, architecture, fashion - and satisfied our need for beauty without having actually to buy them! Because of our fruitless search, on the way home we stopped off at the night markets, just in case they had any new bargains. Luckily for us, we found "Monster's Ball" ( the one that Halle Berry won an oscar for and which is very good) and "Ali" (the new one with Will Smith in the lead role)
On Saturday, we caught the MRT down to the Living Mall to go to the movies. We didn't ride down as David was a bit spaced from lack of sleep: he'd been on the grade 3 sleepover the night before. Needless to say, was not impressed with spending his Friday night at school but had no choice. Anyway, we saw "City by the Sea" - the new Robert de Niro one- and enjoyed seeing that veteran strut his stuff with Frances Mc Dormand ( Fargo) in it too. Interesting look at troubled family life played out against the thematically significant backdrops of intimate apartment scenes in Manhattan and derelict buildings on the water's edge at Longbeach.
Not content with going home the way we came (is it a "boy" thing??), we caught the free bus from the Living Mall, ostensibly to go back to Sun Yat Sen station and then home. But on the bus, David said, "Hey why don't we keep going and see where this bus goes?" I was not too sure of the merits of this plan (no English anywhere on the bus to indicate its destination) but, what the heck, we could always find the MRT (it's hard to miss!) Further along, everyone got off the bus at SOGO ( a big department store ) so we did too. We knew where we were ( near Chungshiao Fuhsing mrt) so we got home ok AND found a funny dvd at the Blockbuster near there, called "Clerks" that we'd seen a while back.
It's friday night now and I've just got home from my course.....it's mind numbingly boring but it's half way over now. Looking forward to the weekend............we'll think about that tomorrow.
Ready for action, we attacked the dvd specials but ... there were none worth buying! We had fun just looking at some beautiful books - cats, design and decorating, karate, architecture, fashion - and satisfied our need for beauty without having actually to buy them! Because of our fruitless search, on the way home we stopped off at the night markets, just in case they had any new bargains. Luckily for us, we found "Monster's Ball" ( the one that Halle Berry won an oscar for and which is very good) and "Ali" (the new one with Will Smith in the lead role)
On Saturday, we caught the MRT down to the Living Mall to go to the movies. We didn't ride down as David was a bit spaced from lack of sleep: he'd been on the grade 3 sleepover the night before. Needless to say, was not impressed with spending his Friday night at school but had no choice. Anyway, we saw "City by the Sea" - the new Robert de Niro one- and enjoyed seeing that veteran strut his stuff with Frances Mc Dormand ( Fargo) in it too. Interesting look at troubled family life played out against the thematically significant backdrops of intimate apartment scenes in Manhattan and derelict buildings on the water's edge at Longbeach.
Not content with going home the way we came (is it a "boy" thing??), we caught the free bus from the Living Mall, ostensibly to go back to Sun Yat Sen station and then home. But on the bus, David said, "Hey why don't we keep going and see where this bus goes?" I was not too sure of the merits of this plan (no English anywhere on the bus to indicate its destination) but, what the heck, we could always find the MRT (it's hard to miss!) Further along, everyone got off the bus at SOGO ( a big department store ) so we did too. We knew where we were ( near Chungshiao Fuhsing mrt) so we got home ok AND found a funny dvd at the Blockbuster near there, called "Clerks" that we'd seen a while back.
It's friday night now and I've just got home from my course.....it's mind numbingly boring but it's half way over now. Looking forward to the weekend............we'll think about that tomorrow.
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