After a career of doing countless parent-teacher interviews/conferences in a myriad of different guises, I thought we'd pretty much seen it all. This week however, set a new benchmark in dizzyingly, strange decision making when Cass needed to meet up to one hundred sets of parents in just two days.

Her job is now one of a pure English teacher, as opposed to the humanities role she had before. Effectively, this has doubled the number of students she sees, and more than doubled the number of classes, although they are shorter. She has noticed a major difference in her ability to get bits and pieces of grading done at work (she now can't) and her workload at home has exploded. The parent teacher days were just unbelievable, with her day starting at 8 and ending at 4, while trying to juggle the needs of this massive number of parents. Apparently, the Maths and Science teachers have been doing it for years, but it was a big learning curve for Cass.

Unfortunately, and adding to her woes, she started to develop a sore throat on the eve of the second day, and had to dope herself up to survive the last day. She has been just recovering slowly all weekend, as it has been a great drain on her physical resources.

We took it really easy, but did manage an afternoon tea at Dunkin' Donuts ( me with "green tea" doughnut!) and a viewing of a surprisingly well made movie, "Warrior". I'm a massive fan of the UFC and martial arts in general, as you know, but I only took Cass after reading this review from a source which we trust. It certainly has Oscar performances written all over it, both the leads (including Aussie, Joel Edgerton) and supporting cast including Nick Nolte, were superb. The fight film genre, however, just doesn't seem able to totally escape a formulaic approach, even a Rockyesque homage (or blatant copy). This film, along with one we saw earlier this year, "The Fighter". did a better job than most in avoiding the inevitable, downbeat loser makes good, redemption for the troubled characters on the periphery etc. but didn't quite make it. Cass gives it a B+ and I give it an A.

We had a relaxing dinner out at "The Spice Shop" and I went crazy and elected to go total non-meat, partly in deference to my ailing darling! A lentil curry, curried vegetables, saffron rice, plain nan and some vegetarian samosas were delicious, but I must admit my favourite dish were the Tempura style battered fish "morsels"! While there we saw an amazing number of families, groups of tiny kiddies with accompanying adults and other groups roaming the streets "trick-or-treating". This American tradition is totally embraced here: the kids looked very cute and seemed to be enjoying themselves, but, really? I just don't get it.....please don't tell me people in Australia are doing this too....please!

We watched UFC 137 this morning live, and I think Cass was just too weak to offer an alternative suggestion... Oh well, we certainly had our mixed martial arts fix this weekend! I ventured back over to the track and did a series of sprints, or what could be very loosely labelled sprints. Conscious of doing a hammy, or worse, it was a slow build. I know I shouldn't be amazed, but I still kinda was: my fast twitch muscle fibres appear to have completely atrophied away to nothing and I was jelly legged after  7 or 8, 100 metre sprints. I combined these with a few other exercises at the end of the straight each time, so I didn't feel too useless when I scootered back on home.

Cass is cuddled up on the lounge having an afternoon nap as I write this: she really is sick for this to happen, it's very unusual. She looked up at me and said through droopy slits of eyes, "I think I might just have a little sleep". I think she was out before I even made my way into the study to type this.

Photos: A weird Halloween pic of me and Gurecki, the pig gets bigger, doughnuts, a clever movie promotion in the theatre toilet, Cass at the Spice Shop, trick-or-treaters, a surprising number plate, and photos of two of my classes on Friday with the intelligent, refreshingly candid and talented visiting author, Ralph Fletcher.
 I am reading the eye-opening biography of one of my favourite artists, Caravaggio...it is called, "A life sacred and profane" and Cass is reading "The Best American Mystery Stories"

While we were having lunch at Chili's on Saturday, we could gaze out from the big floor to ceiling windows over a pretty beautiful cityscape melting into impossibly steep tree covered hills. Perched right on top were just a few exclusive houses, barely hanging on to the slopes, looking like they're just waiting for a decent rumbling earthquake to loosen their precarious ties and send them tumbling down to the city below. Weird what you think about when you're chowing down on some chicken quesidillas isn't it? And no, I wasn't drinking either!

Anyway, we'd braved the restaurant with which I have a definite love/hate relationship. The food is fantastic and different from most places in Taipei, but it is nearly impossible to avoid running into numerous colleagues, parents of kids you teach and the kids themselves. Now, we do admit that they're generally cute little creatures and oh so lovely, but we do like to see them confined within the boundaries of the school! I tend to choke on my corn chips when I hear the loud "Hi Mr. (or Mrs.) Braggett" shouted right in my ear, only to look up to find the beaming faces of one of our adoring students and their family. I suppose there are a lot worst things in the world, but I tend to regard my Chili's visits as clandestine hit-and-run missions, much to Cassy's great amusement and admonishment.

Actually, I was more prepared than most times to do a Chili's visit, as I'd just had a very enjoyable, yet tiring, two days of parent teacher activity conferences. The kids I have this year seem even more delightful than usual and it is really great fun to report to the parents on all the little champion's achievements. The parents here are also, generally speaking, just so pleased with every effort we make as teachers and actually listen to our advice and act on it, making it a genuine partnership in their kid's learning. Wow, I sound like I'm throwing out a corporate line here, but it is true, and it is oh so refreshing to have your professionalism (what passes as!) respected and not called into judgement.

We've had a mini revival of summer today, with the sun out, unhindered by cloud and blazing away. I chose this day and right around midday to venture out to the nearby Taipei PE Teacher's College complex which is a gigantic affair over behind the baseball stadium. You might remember a few years ago we got caught up in a protest day at the stadium, as they protested against this very development (red protest bandanna wrapped around head?). Well "people power" Taiwan style is not very effective and they have built a more massive complex than was even originally envisaged! I'm just testing the waters with a bit of light jogging this week, ever mindful of my TWO previously torn and operated on medial ligaments. The weight room at school has seen some schedule changes and my previous sacrosanct hour on the treadmill has been taken away by some middle school PE classes: how dare they?!

The state of the art cushioned and perfectly formed track is just the thing for my delicate knees and so far, so good. During the week I've travelled over after work, only to be surrounded by incredibly fit, fast, lithe athletes whizzing past my shoulder on either side with annoying regularity! It's not so great a venue if you want to pretend you're still a relatively young, vibrant athlete! I soon learned to gravitate to the old man shuffle outside lanes!

Photos: Taiwan style scooter fashion: micro minis and knee high boots...gotta love it, men totally untethered on a very high rooftop...OH and S back home would have this place closed down in the blink of an eye. Virg'n Mary relaxing in the sun and a very rare photo of Mary before she ran away (she's scared of the camera for some reason)! More super signage, including the classic " no dice gambling" one! Fake flowers from a leaking gutter and a couple of shots of the track at the PE College.

Posting a bit early today as I'm off in a few minutes to watch the All Blacks beat France in the Rugby World Cup final...

Friday evening saw the return of an old acquaintance, Jaime, who is currently working in Singapore. He was in town to accompany the IASAS golf team from Singapore as Taipei was hosting the event this year. He was here in his capacity as coach of the team, but lots of adults also got the chance to play, including our own Brandon and Shaun on the Friday while we were all solidly beavering away here at school....bludgers!

We all met at Ulis and had quite a party, as Jaime managed an amazing feat on the day: he hit a hole-in-one on a par 4 hole! His feat was widely lauded and the golf course awarded him a prize of $20,000 NT (about $600). Apparently this feat has only been achieved by one other golfer at this course, so he was pretty stoked. He gave us lots of news about the rest of the crew that we know in Singapore too, which these days is quite a swollen crowd!

Cass and I decided to go down to the inventively named "Eat Burger" on Saturday early evening and we enjoyed, as always, their delicious, freshly cooked fare. It's a really cool little hangout, and if it wasn't so fattening, we'd be down there a lot more than we already are! Saturday night seems like a weird time for shopping, but this is Taipei, and all the glowing neon from the nearby Sogo department store was tantalizingly inviting to one in our party (guess who?!).

Cass has been keen on sourcing ultra-light weight down "puffy" jacket for ages, eever since she saw both a student and a colleague sporting these very svelte, fashionable and oh-so-warm garments that hail from that ultra-chic style capital, Tokyo. The Uniqlo brand is a chain store over there and has now got branches all around the world, showing off their plain but uber cool clothing. Check it out here. They have just opened a branch on the 4th floor of our Sogo, so we wandered in to have a look.

It was a fascinating place! Lots of very cool stuff and at a pretty amazing price. Cass did find a short version of the parka she wants, but is going to wait till this longer version arrives from Japan. She did find some jeans on a sale table that seemed impossibly priced at just $499 NT (about  $15), tried them on, they fitted well so she ot a pair of the blue and black ones. Later on, I found a table of the same priced men’s versions, so I got the blue, black, green and grey ones! We also outfitted ourselves in the special "Heattech" thermal smalls, Cass got some socks and we walked out parting with about $180 for six pairs of quality jeans, two sets of thermals and some socks...now, that's my kind of shopping and we'll definitely be back!


Wandering to Wendel's on the way home to get the weekly bread load was an experience as well. Lusty singing, amplified polka music and a serious din washed up and down the street outside as one of their wildly popular Oktoberfest Saturday nights ramped up into top gear. They were packed in like sardines at long trestle tables and it looked and sounded like lots of fun. It's a curious sight to see Taiwanese girls dressed like German beer wenches and they don't quite have the requisite physical qualities to really pull it off! Anyway, after our eardrums were roundly assaulted, we drifted on home.

Shaun dropped around to catch the end of the rugby league test at our place on Sunday, before we scootered on down to Patio 84 for the big world cup clash between the Aussies and the Kiwis. As the game progressed and the result became more obvious, we grew slightly morose and for some reason the Kiwis didn't seem to want to know about the shellacking we had inflicted upon their rugby league team just a few hours earlier! I despair of our kiwi brothers here in Taipei: they had the perfect opportunity to stay and celebrate a little, give us some gentle (or not so gentle) ribbing about the result and generally enjoy the moment. However, as soon as the game had finished they all very quickly scuttled out....maybe they're worried about the final next week: one last chance to choke! Check a video Michelle took at the final siren at the top of this page or here.

I have conferences Thursday and Friday of this week, so that will be hectic. Cass has a little longer yet before enjoying similar pleasures! Neither of us have much time for reading etc. so I’ll leave our books on hold for a little longer. Photos: puffy down jacket, heattech, pretty bottles at "Eat Burger", Sogo and Oktoberfest fun.

If last weekend was a sputtering, anemic Tom Thumb, this weekend, in contrast was a sweating, heaving bursting bundle of TNT! Quite appropriately on National Day here in Taiwan, and the 100th anniversary at that, we had a fun filled 4 day weekend to celebrate all that Taiwan has become!

The great Gurecki winged off to Nagasaki to consult with architects for his planned new house on Friday, leaving Wal and me to mind the shop down at the Polish Nation Headquarters. This slow build-up to another life in Japan is a little worrying from Gurecki: while he assures us he's staying for a couple more years, all this activity speaks a different tale. Anyway, Wal and I did our best to cut through the diplomatic red tape and solve some world issues even without our leader's influence.

Party time on Saturday night down at Mr. Sausage! My colleague and good friend, Dave, with whom I've team taught for the last couple of years each day, was hosting a party for his wife's birthday. We don't know Toby well, but she's an energetic and charismatic girl, a great match for Dave, and we were pleased to be invited to her 30th to have a further opportunity to catch up with her and her friends. Toby works at the Canadian Trade Office, and as a young diplomat, has had the opportunity to study languages full-time as part of her job. She made best use of this before they moved here to Taiwan, and her Mandarin skills today are silky smooth and enviable. We'll miss them next year: this life inevitably sees people moving on, and they will take up another posting next year, where as yet unknown.

The party was absolutely fantastic! A few people from my team went down and we chatted with them at the start. Wal publicly debuted his girlfriend, Annie, with whom he seems quite taken and dedicated, and with good reason as she seems charming, smart and beautiful. There were a stack of people from the Canadian Trade Office and another coterie of Canadians, mainly linked with Dave's ice hockey team here in Taiwan. "Mr. Sausage" himself was an ex-pat Aussie married to a Taiwanese woman (an infectiously delightful maitre de) and has had the restaurant going for about a year. The food was sensational: we'll be ordering some through his delivery service and we're already regretting not doing what others did on the night: take some home as takeaway. Suffice to say that Cass and I both had a really entertaining night.

Shaun was keen for me to join him down at the Patio 84 (formerly the Green Bar), to watch the Aussies game in the rugby world cup followed by the All Blacks. We were glad we went together as when we walked near, we could hear the noise emanating from the bar indicating a very large and boisterous crowd were already in attendance. To our horror, the Springbok contingent of Taipei had decided to descend en masse and were cooking BBQs on the footpath, sloshing giant steins of beer around with gay abandon and singing at loud volume and off key with great gusto! What had we done? Settling in a quiet corner inside, the Aussies initial shock try was a comical moment. The noise abruptly stopped and as we raised our arms in the air and cheered, dozens of flinty hard South African eyes drilled straight through us....they weren't too happy. Cut a long story short, we survived and actually had a few long friendly chats with the vanquished afterwards before watching the All Blacks game.

Cass and I decadently went down late morning Monday to Jake's and had a whopping big breakfast with all the trimmings! It's always a treat to eat breakfast/brunch out and this was especially sweet falling as it did on a usual work day. Full as the last bus, we scootered home then decided to further enjoy the day off and go to the movies. Too late to book online, we went over to the Miramar, only to find a very orderly but incredibly long ticket line snaking its way back, back and further back into the far reaches of the complex! There are terrific benefits of living in a city this big and this populous, but this is definitely not one of them! We took one look, decided that we weren't prepared to wait in this corralled humanity for the requisite amount of time and left for home again. We decided to have our own cinematic experience and watched the downloaded, dark, disturbing Australian movie, Snowtown....Prior to our movie, we witnessed the real show of military muscle in the skies: and saw the Taiwanese air force on their way downtown for various flyovers. I took a few videos from our balcony, including the helicopters flyover, the transport planes then the jet fighters. It was an unforgettable experience and just a little frightening: I'm not sure how long the Taiwanese might hold off a full onslaught from China.


Tuesday and another day off? Off to the east coast we went to surf and swim. Sluicing through the 13km tunnel at Pinglin and jettisoning out the other side, the Wushi harbour, Waiao area was, as usual, a mix of rural dagginess and new money east coast surfie culture. The two are vying for domination now: when Ross and I first made the trip years ago across the mountains, it was like entering the Taiwanese equivalent of the "Deliverance" foothills! We had a good time surfing at the "Taj Mahal", it was small but fun and without a zephyr. Cass settled in with her straw pointy hat perched on top, her low-light being to save a stray kitten from a dog attack, but the highlight a chance to bliss out a little at one of her favourite east coast spots! The Robinson family were there as well, so I surfed with a few friends out the back.

I'm considering tonight's post the equivalent of a Sunday night posting as it seems like one to me! Photos are of a restaurant up on our corner, shots from the party, breakfast at Jake's and the day at the beach, including religious stuff at the water's edge and a wonderful working pump to rinse off! Also, a Taiwanese 7/11 lunch, some jets, and Virg doing what she does best: nothing!

You could almost hear The Flight of the Valkyrie playing a few days ago as we were eating our breakfast. A squadron of supersonic jets did a series of low passes in pairs and were shortly followed by at least 20 helicopters in various configurations. It was loud and a bit scary: were the Chinese invading?! We found out later that they were just exercises as practice for the Taiwanese National Day coming up next week: known colloquially as the "ten ten" as it takes place on October 10th.

It's just been a footy feast this weekend and the traditional gathering of a crowd for the AFL Grand Final occurred again on Saturday. It was lots of fun, and included the now traditional passing out of the winnings from our annual tipping comp at half time. Its always a bit weird watching football at 11.30 in the morning, but we always manage to do it! Today we sat down to watch a very entertaining game between the Warriors and Manly in the NRL grand final: although the game was great, we didn't really want either team to win: Kiwis vs the hated Manly? In the end, the best team won I suppose.

We've not done much else this weekend, although Cass had a pleasant evening with her bookclub girls on Friday night. As usual they had delicious food and lots of discussion. Their next book is actually my favourite book of the year so far, "Unbroken", so Cass is just about to crack that one. She's not normally a big fan of the biography, so I'll be interested to see her reaction to this one: it might be a just a big boy's own adventure, I'll have to wait and see!

So, that's it! Could be the shortest on record....we'll try to do something vaguely interesting between now and next week, so I have something more to write about.