We have been absent from the Taipei American School campus since I last wrote and we've done a whole lot of "not too much" in the meantime. What a magnificent bonus we get each year to celebrate the Chinese New Year. This year, the snake uncoils itself from the 12 animal matrix that makes up the Chinese horoscope and we couldn't be happier to help him slither and hiss!
I managed to read 4 Stephen King books that I've had on the back-burner here for ages. He's a prolific writer but deceptively rich in his prose and although the story-lines can be a little predictable, they're perfect page turners for a week when you want some easily devourable, entertaining stories. Cass also immersed herself in books and we were laughing at the strange scenes over the past few days when I was reading a huge hardcover and she was button-pressing the electronic reader: who'd have thought?
I went to my friend, Morgan's apartment for a viewing of the iconic mockumentary, Spinal Tap, on Tuesday afternoon/evening. It was great fun and good to catch up with my teammate on Grade 5, Ben, as well as some guys I hadn't met, Charlie and Jamie. Jamie was a very entertaining raconteur and I enjoyed his company immensely: he's a Brit with a fascinating business/car background and the five of us had some long chats about the state of the world's finances as we sipped some local beers on Morgan's rooftop as the sun went down.
Cass and I roused ourselves from our Van Winkle-like narcolepsy most days in order to do some essential eating, shopping or just rolling the legs over in a pleasant stroll along the river. We had some tasty dinners out at decadent times, like mid-morning brunches and early evening lunch/dinners. Cass cooked some delicious pots of curry and served up piping hot toast in the mornings with a slathering of one of my precious pots of Peck's Anchovette: heaven!
Yesterday, to try and preclude a fall into despondency with the looming return to work today, we bought ourselves some sandwiches for lunch then motored around various beautiful spots in the Yangminshan National Park just beyond our suburb, Tienmu. We decided not to stay at our first destination because of one cackling loud witch, who seemed enamoured of announcing her every thought in a raucous, rasping screech to all and sundry!
A much more peaceful setting was found just in the shadows of the park's belching fumaroles, as we trekked down the valley to the caldera, where thousands of Calla Lilies were in their most succulent flush. We stopped and ate our little picnic on some rustic benches overlooking one of the lush fields and admired the beauty of their military planting lines and long juicy stems. The hills beyond were stained yellow, green and brown but were notable for the shocking explosions of lolly-pop pink scattered throughout, where cherry blossom tress bursting with buds were breaking through the verdant canvas.
We watched some good Aussie programs over the break, including the movies, The Sapphires and Wish You Were Here and the TV movie, Underground: The Julian Assange Story. We finished off our break last night by starting to watch the series Puberty Blues. How weird it was to remember all the sexist, racist, crazy stuff that used to go on in our era at high school (and how strange it all seems now). Oh well, back to school today and six weeks and counting until Spring Break!
Photos: Wol with big head Chinese fellow at the Nation on Friday night, some foliage over a wire near our apartment, Wendel's brunch and lots of Yangminshan beauty (including the scooter chick with attitude!) Oh, and a classic video here of Taipei Gangnam style.