The Polish Nation Intellectual Forum met and imbibed at our usual spot, Uli's, for an evening of problem solving and various highfalutin discussions about various and random topics. One problem we're particularly keen to avoid is the arrival of the owner himself, who has chewed our ear off on various other occasions. We thought we'd missed big Uli this year as he usually comes to "check on his troops" at Chinese New Year. This year the big bear was a little late, yet mercifully enough for us, he had to go off and practice for a strange card game he was to be involved in the following night. Well meaning, the big man currently runs another restaurant in Seattle, which keeps him away from Taipei most of the year. A veteran of the Taipei expat community, his stories are highly entertaining and informative for the first 30 minutes or so, but as his beer intake mounts, it becomes impossible to even get a word in edgeways! We wished him the best for the cards and with a sigh of relief, resumed our own "meeting".

Cass and I decided to go and watch "The Avengers" at Miramar Cinema on Saturday. I suspected that Cass thought it was a remake of the classy British TV show of the same name yet I thought I'd disavowed her of this notion. As it turns out, it was only when the plot line became more and more bizarre as the film rolled on, Cass realized it was not said remake! I wondered why she so readily agreed to attend the movie, a fantasy/sci fi piece with all sorts of super-heroes involved....obviously, her original confusion was the reason! I booked the last remaining seats online and it was pandemonium at the cinema: it seems there must have been a lot of local hype about this one, as every session and the lobby itself was packed solid with human flesh, bulging cartons of popcorn and frustrated workers trying to redirect the masses into some semblance of order. It ended up being pretty B grade except for the amazing special effects, none more so than the gargantuan flying fish/dinosaur attack rocket ships (yes, I know, but really!).

Shopping time on Sunday, and as I wait for Chris's special battery isolator part to arrive in the post, I'm conscious of keeping the car battery running at regular intervals. I haven't braved the surf since my broken rib, so we've got out of the pattern of taking the car to the coast most weekends. Subsequently, I was keen to offer my driving services to cass as she first did the local supermarket shopping, then went across to Takashimaya for a few more specialized items. I dropped her off at the Wellcome supermarket, then drove around for 25 minutes as she got the groceries. Back home with the "colds" before onward to the department store. Cass strolled home from here with her goodies, I returned the replenished car to the school parking area and scootered home and all was good for another week!

We also watched the atmospheric yet disturbing film of one of our favourite books of recent times, "We Need to Talk about Kevin" (Lionel Shriver). I downloaded it, as it's the kind of film that doesn't usually make it to the general release cinema here in Taipei, and we're also keen to watch a lot of stuff at the moment at home due to aforementioned big bruisin' new TV. We're also making a lot of use lately of the PVR embedded in the new set top box we have to get digital channels. There are about 107, but a good 20 or so of those are HD TV, so we've been (or I) have been recording various shows and watching them later. I'm hoping this recent obsession will ease off a bit soon!

Photos:  a shot of me "under the lip" at Bashien, some shots of my 50th celebrations, holding back the floods in the basement of the Miramar and a shot of Cassy's new birthday earrings. Cassy is reading Lionel Shriver's "Double Fault" and I'm still on the Grafton.

Massive chains wrapped around your upper chest and back, being squeezed tighter and tighter by giant's nimble fingers. Pain so intense that four shots of morphine did little or nothing to dull it. An experience so vivid that lights seared into the pain cortex and tiny everyday sounds became sonic booms to shy away from. My mate Dave, a fit, healthy 32 year old with whom I have been team teaching and socializing since his arrival here in Taipei a few years ago, described his heart attack in these terms over the past week.

I know, crazy, right? When we returned from Thailand, Dave and his wife Toby jetted in from some expeditions in Sri Lanka, where they had enjoyed upmarket jungle huts down far flung roads, far from Colombo and with elephant herds wandering and bellowing on the rutted roads at night. His symptoms appeared just a few hours after de-planing, and we all thought the same thing: what if this had happened away from Taipei's slick and futuristic medical system?

His surgeon was a young superstar, about Dave's age. Dave was conscious throughout his procedure, watching the wire and stent track through his body to the affected area in his heart. The doctors have no explanation why it happened: he had none of the risk factors, no warning signs, not a thing. It was just one of those rare medical aberrations.

I've been super-busy this past two weeks as I've taught Dave's classes double time in his absence and although his substitute is quite capable, the kiddies have needed a little extra tender lovin' care and reassurance that their teacher is OK. He made a cameo appearance on Friday afternoon, and plans to ease his way back in over the next week or two, doing a few half days. We're all so pleased to see his remarkable recovery, although he does still get easily tired.

With all that drama, we were pretty exhausted this weekend and after the hoopla surrounding the birthdays etc, we were keen to just sit back and relax. I took delivery of a big, bruising HD TV last Sunday night (after buying it just a couple of hours previously: gotta love that Taiwanese service!), which I bought with some of the money that my generous parents-in-law gave me for my birthday....thanks Chronic and WoW!
Made in Taiwan, it was so cheap for this quality, I almost couldn't believe it and the picture is as sharp as a scalpel. I thought Cass and I should upgrade so we can take advantage of the slew of HD channels on cable these days, with more and more coming online every month. It's quite mesmerizing and it's hard to tear your eyes away from it!

We drifted down to the incomparable Din Tai Feng for lunch/dinner on Saturday, got our bread for the week at Wendel's on the way home along with a slab of banana cake each. I strapped up my slightly dodgy knee and challenged the thousand steps on Sunday, and while the kneecap whimpered a few minor complaints, I was pleased it didn't howl in protest. I'm adrift of my best times by about 3 minutes which doesn't seem so bad, considering the length of my "break". I suppose I'll know better if I test my knee out properly by taking two steps at a time all the way up... I'll reserve judgement for now! As threatened, here's my pushup challenge from my birthday. I do lots more than this three times a week, but this seems to be the most I can do consecutively.

Cass, the jewelery designer, has done some amazing work over the years, but she received a really fine example of her skills recently with her other birthday present in the form of her diamond and sapphire earrings. She remodeled the diamonds from her 5 stone ring, added 1 diamond, so that the centre of each earring is now in the shape of the centre of a flower. She asked Joe to set specially sourced, deep blue sapphires around these diamonds as the petals. Her old 5 diamond ring has been replaced by a new 5 diamond ring with much bigger stones. Anyway, she's very happy with the result and I'll try to remember to post a photo of them next week.

Photos are of my kids doing their very best to impress this week, along with a few shots of the steps and scenery. Dave is in the background of the last shot as Gurecki and Wal marvel at the scrumptious squid balls at Big Brother! Cass read a book which she loved until the ending....what does it all mean??!! It was called The Sense of an Ending (ironic!!) by Julian Barnes. I am reading the ever reliable Sue Grafton as her protagonist Kinsey asks if V is for Vengeance.

Our ten day break in Thailand started with a conference and ended with lots of swimming, sunning, strolling, sitting and stuffing! I'm glad i decided to bite the bullet today and get digits to keyboard, otherwise I may well have never started again! it's not a malaise of blogging, but rather a weariness of a very long and busy school year catching up with us. After an uber-relaxing break, time back at work has been extremely enervating!

We began the time in the Thai capital Bangkok, a pulsing mass of steel and concrete, traffic clogged arteries below Sky trains purring overhead, and a constant cloying and sapping heat. The conditions are relieved at regular intervals by another gigantic and salubrious air-conditioned shopping mall, full of designer gear which is copied and sold at a 100th of the price by the hawkers sweating on the footpaths just outside.

Our hotel, the Park Plaza was a hidden gem just off Sukhumvit, with a spacious, well appointed corner room offering a stunning view of the city, a rooftop pool to relieve the heat and an amazing breakfast along with coffee, tea and snacks all day. We ventured from here to various points in the city via the conveniently close Asoke sky train station, taxi and even tuk-tuk. Most of the time however, being so conveniently located, we braved the din and the sweat and walked.

First stop, the esteemed Empire Tailors, where I was measured up for a bespoke 3 piece suit of the finest wool/cashmere mix along with two bespoke Egyptian cotton, cuffed shirts. What an exceptional "shopping" experience this was, coming from a life-long committed non-shopper. Service and knowledge at the fore, Sunny and his calm team made the first of three measuring sessions to produce what is an amazing product...I reckon it has achieved a pretty remarkable feat of even making me look good!

Of course the Thai food was paramount each day. We dabbled a little at breakfast, snacked on the local cuisine for lunch and went all out with multiple ethnic dishes of the realm at dinner time. Some of the meals we had were unforgettable: to the extent that the Thai restaurants we have here will fade in our estimation of their excellence after the fare we sampled in the homeland.

We travelled by taxi across the city to visit the twin attractions of the Grand Palace and surrounds as well as the reclining Buddha. After donning appropriate "leggings" to cover my offensively naked legs,we strolled with a crowd into the inner sanctums of the complex. Let it never be said that the Thais be outdone on covering their precious temples with gold: the dazzling spectacle that greeted us at every turn was retina achingly magnificent, if not more than a little over-the-top. It certainly provided us with some perfect photo opportunities..in fact I drained the camera's batteries taking shot after shot. We walked a long way (later, I realised the wrong way around!) to get to the Temple of the reclining Buddha. Apparently, the largest gold-covered Buddha in the world, it seemed like we were doing a mini "Super Buddhas of the World" tour, because we'd seen the largest wooden Buddha in the world just at Christmas time in Japan! Anyway, this guy was certainly a wondrous sight and the incredible oversized nature of the Buddha has to be seen to be believed.

On Saturday, we braved the seething hordes at one of the world's largest markets, Chatachuk Markets, to again experience the enormity of the place, mix with 200,000 other humans in a confined place under a hot tin roof, and perhaps secure a few bargains of Thai silk and others. After an intense train ride to the end of the line we were spat out to join the spawning salmon as we swam and jostled upstream, spilling off the narrow footpath onto the road and dodging a cacophonous tide of endlessly beeping, chaotic traffic all the way to the market entrance. Mercifully, at this point, the roads divided to many insertion points into the market proper, and while the tidal surge reversed to sweep us along, it was a lot easier to make a few adjustments to our pace. Inside, we made sure to replenish our water supply at regular intervals and we managed to secure a few trinkets, among them belts, pillow covers, t-shirts, ties and cuff links (for my new cuffed shirts!).

I had a special treat on Sunday when I visited the famous Ratchadamnoen Stadium, not only with front row ringside seat, but also to join the after party of one of the victorious boxers! Cass demurred on the opportunity, so I left her luxuriating in the opulence of the hotel to travel across town by tuk-tuk. Each bout was exciting, but no more so that when the only non-Thai boxer, an Aussie boy who had been raised in Thailand, knocked out one of the local favourites. After witnessing the frenetic betting of the men in the bleachers and the atmosphere as one fighter became more dominant against his opponent and the crowd whipped itself into a raucous frenzy, at the end of proceedings, I was invited to a bar to celebrate the young guy's win. Although he mainly had orange juice, his dad and other entourage proved to be willing and enthusiastic participants in an exciting bar crawl across the city...good fun!

Our hired car whisked us away for a three hour drive to Hua Hin at much the same time as Cassy's parents were doing exactly the same thing. We'd been working on a surprise for Cassy's birthday for some time, culminating in organising Chris and Val to come and stay at the same resort as for 5 days. After a few minor hiccups, I got Chris and Val to come across to our room as they'd arrived a couple of hours before us. The result can be seen in the video above or here! I don't think you can get a much better reaction than that! The subsequent five days were a lazy hazy crazy mix of eating fine cooked breakfast at a very decadent hour, lazing by the pool for the majority of the day before heading out each day for yet another superb dinner of the most mouthwatering Thai cuisine you could find. Cassy and i both had lots of time to sit and chat with her parents, and I think it was the most magical birthday for Cass. On her birthday itself, we ate at a restaurant overlooking the Gulf of Thailand, right on the beach, and relaxed from late afternoon through to the evening. Lights twinkled on boats in the gulf almost like a birthday cake emblazoned with candles and the fine food, wine and especially the company made it a night to remember. At the end of our time it was very difficult to wrench ourselves away and start the long journey back home: especially as Chris and Val were going back to Bangkok before traveling on to Chiang Mai!

I've subsequently celebrated my big birthday this weekend and it was marked by a small select gathering of the brethren at KGB (burger joint down town), before we did a bit of bar hopping around the city. I remember being in cabs for a great portion of the night, but perhaps that was an illusion! Gurecki left his camera somewhere, so I've volunteered to help retrace our steps this evening in a quest to find it. I'm sure there won't be anything on it quite like in the movie, "The Hangover", but we still want to find it! On the day itself, Mum rang up and I got dozens of well wishes via text, email and facebook from friends and family...it was really nice to see how many people wanted to celebrate the dawning of my old age (!) Oh, and as a little challenge I set myself, I also did 70 consecutive pushups just to show off...video evidence available soon!

Photos: two old people with their cards up top, before lots of Thailand photos. Also a slide show up top for a while, or here later on.