Temperatures plunged to single figures again this weekend, just when we thought the cold was behind us for this season. Ross and I managed a few scrappy waves at the Rocket on Friday after school before heading out early on Saturday morning to the Pillbox (pictured) which was surging with fat messy swell, the north east wind playing havoc with the swell which had whipped up overnight.
Forgoing that uninviting opportunity, we headed back quite early and I arrived home to find Cassy packing the aforementioned wardrobes full of stuff that had been straining on the couple of built-in shelves we have in the study. It has made a great difference and we can now again use the desk for the task it was intended to fill, not as a space to accumulate all sorts of junk. We’re really thrilled with the results and bought a desk lamp for the newly cleared desk. We also moved the shoe cupboard into the study, packed the top with blankets and now it provides an extra “lookout” for Virg’n Mary into the back alley. The back provides all sorts of interest for them, a few big moving trees with the occasional bird to mesmerize them, as well as the new litter of kittens down the back which look suspiciously similar to them! The kittens all have the same Tasmanian tiger style markings and colouring: I wonder if our two feline companions know how lucky they are?
We bought a new filing cabinet today on the way home from B’n Q (the big hardware shop down near the night markets). We had gone to that store to look for a cabinet, but on the way home we spied a little office furniture shop jam packed with all sorts of boring grey metal monsters. Through some sign language and some limited Chinese (well, a few numbers at least!) we managed to order a cabinet, which we can pick up Tuesday after work, so we’re well pleased with everything. Add to that a massive clean out of old clothes and re-arrangement of other cupboards and wardrobes, we’re all set up with what feels like a brand new shiny apartment.
I’ve given up trying to get our big Grundig TV fixed. After trying all the TV shops and repair places I’m resigned to the fact that the great multi system TV is destined for the junk pile. They have stopped selling Grundigs in Taiwan and I suppose in a sign of the throw away society here and the lack of both Grundig repair people and a lack of parts, no one is prepared to work on it. The picture tube blew some time ago now, but I’ve finally realized that this is the end. Once we get rid of this, the study will once again really resemble the place we originally set it up to be: I’ll have to do some work then!
Cass has been having meetings after school with her makeup girls in preparation for the school play and needs to do some local shopping for lipsticks and other goods in the next few days. Her internet order has not yet arrived, a source of some anxiety, but she has a little time yet. As mentioned before I’m still doing two Master’s courses at once and I’m halfway through both. The main problem is that the online component of one is coming to an end and the classes start soon. I’ll have lectures and workshops through the week after school and the next TWO Saturdays! You can imagine how enamoured I am with that prospect!
We’ve watched our first two games of the NRL season this weekend and found them both to be very entertaining. ABC Asiapacific will again broadcast the Friday game on Saturday afternoon, necessitating a self-imposed media blackout on Saturday morning and the Sunday game is broadcast about the same time it is back home. I was quite glum watching the Knights progress this afternoon on the NRL’s live scoreboard: looks like Joey might need a few weeks to find the old magic. We’ve also been scanning the draw to work out which games we’ll see when we’re back in June/July. With the Knight’s first home game not till Round 6 we thought we’d get a few bonus games: not to be unfortunately as they end a run of eight home games from nine weeks the weekend we return! We’ll see just 4 games, but we might go to one or two others, especially the one before we fly out against the Bulldogs. Well, very report style this week. I wasn’t really in the mood to wax lyrical about anything and nothing really piqued my imagination this week either. Pictures are of the frenetic Jason’s market place in the basement of Takashimaya, the haven for all things exotic and foreign. The stormy Pillbox features, as does Chientan MRT station with train arriving. The other shot is of the newly refurbished riverside path, just a few steps from our place, with views to the Yangminshan mountains beyond.
