I was greeted with a limping tired girl on Friday afternoon, but she got home and did her icing and elevation all weekend, and the result is pretty good this evening.
We managed to escape the approaching lashing teeth of Typhoon Fanapi on Saturday night and went to our traditional post camp restaurant where Cass breathes in the fine dining experience at Wendels, we both order up large and generally wash away the camp for another year. She always relishes the chance to be clean, couth and elegant again: her nails had been busily attended to by her busy team of girls at Takashimaya in the afternoon and the meal was the last restorative measure needed.
The typhoon struck with a vengeance during the night and we awoke a number of times as the cats cried or the vicious squalls pounded and drummed away at our usually very protected windows. It’s always a little nerve-wracking: I lie awake tensely at times, half expecting a giant window blowout and the catastrophe that would follow: it’s never happened, but shaking, rattling and bowing giant windows don’t do much to ease the spirits! This morning the roads were littered with trees debris and the odd awning is askew. The calm that follows the storm is usually very interesting as well: people tentatively poking their way outside, weaving around the rubbish and slowly re-entering the world. I snuck out to get us some sandwiches for lunch and had to bypass a few usual stores as they were still shuttered up.
As is the pattern of recent years, these typhoons do little but seriously inconvenience us on our days off. If it had struck on any other night bar Friday or Saturday, we would certainly have had a “typhoon day” off school. These days are usually the sweetest of holidays: an unexpected and late notice holiday, precipitated by approaching violent weather and heralded by the much anticipated “phone tree” at about 9 p.m. In fact, we did get some calls from colleagues, but only to inform us that the campus was closed on Sunday……so what??!
We’ve had a lazy day today and apart from my brief outside sojourn, we’ve been content, to read, watch T.V. and play with various electronic toys (well, I was…!) while listening to the wind and rain dance in the trees outside. We’ve got a P.D. day on Wednesday, but this will no doubt add to the stress of the week: they seem to be filled with so much busy work these days: we’d much rather just teach our kiddies.
I’m reading a book about watercolors as well as The Other and Cass is still enjoying her The Elegance of the Hedgehog
