This week has been pretty uneventful, although we’ve had a few mini dramas, mainly to do with the cats and their ongoing de-sexing saga. We took them back the three times for their anti-biotic shots and they displayed various degrees of discomfort and protest, smart little beggars they are as Cass and I had to shepherd them into their carry boxes in the end as they knew where they were going! They seemed to get a certain wild eyed, terrified sense of adventure from the trip across, the afore mentioned odours, noises and sensations providing a very different environment than the one they are used to. They finally got their stitches out yesterday but Mary has to go on Wednesday and Friday for more anti-biotic shots as her wound hasn’t completely healed. Anyway, what a saga!
I collected two items of certified mail from the local post office the other day and my worst fears were confirmed when I arrived. The only people who use our home address are the car and bike authorities, and as it turns out, the police! Inside the envelopes were crisp colour images of the speeding “Auburgino”, boards attached to roof, caught on a speed camera on the coast road. They are about $100 each, so as is our way, Ross was hit up for half. We’d have no idea who was driving anyway and we both tend to have a rather leaden foot, but we’ll certainly keep an eye out for that trap in the future. The photos were so clear that we can easily identify the spot from local landmarks, so they won’t get us there again at least!
Well, apparently the Olympics were on, is that right? Our mate from Australia, the PE teacher here at school, who you might remember coached our dragon boat team, was the coach of dual silver medal kayaker, Nathan Bagguley. Peter Clark is due back tomorrow after attending the Opening Ceremony and Closing and heaps of events in between. We’ve heard a few stories via email already about breakfasting with Roger Federer and partying with the Poo and Delta along with the strain of keeping his charge up and ready to go in the last few days of the game.
My facetious question at the start of this paragraph is not that far from the truth. If Taipei or China were playing baseball or table tennis, it would be run on at least 5 different channels. As for any swimming or cycling, forget it. It just shows how biased the reporting of the Olympics is. The sports that Australia excels in are just not televised here, much as, I imagine, there is not a whole lot of fencing, ping pong, archery or baseball played at home. I naively used to imagine that everyone was watching the Aussies carve up the pool, but alas, it seems each country celebrates its own little world of sport, to the exclusion of all others. I was really depressed about it all this past two weeks. I really love the excitement and colour of the Olympics and I look forward to it for years. This year was a total non-event, made even more painful when I realized as I read the paper each day, how wonderfully successful the Aussies were.
ESL Parent Night is tonight and I’m writing this between classes to distract myself from it for a while. As usual, it has been an awful time of preparation, a little harder for me this time as I can’t use the excuse of being new at the job (which I was quite prepared to use last year if things went wrong, which thankfully, they didn’t!)
The heat is confronting today, physically assaulting you when you walk out of the air conditioning, draining energy and forcing a dripping perspiration the instant you hit it.
Oh well, not the cheeriest of weeks: I suppose we’ll get over it soon!
