I'm legally licensed for both car and motorbike here in Taiwan for the next six years: that should be enough, right? What a crazy few hours this was round at the municipal motor registry. The front of the building is emblazoned with various intimidating shields and emblems, fit to strike fear into the heart of any unlicensed driver or road miscreant who may dare to enter the official halls of vehicular regulation and justice. The entry is a dizzying array of signs in Chinese and some confusing Chinglish( "2nd floor go drive license test but no photo 1st floor") which had me spinning on the spot for a few minutes. Eventually I headed to the third floor for "license matters not including pay fines", suspecting this might be the correct venue. After about 25 minutes waiting with my ticket, my number was duly called, whereupon I was immediately directed downstairs to start again at the photobooth and the "physical health exam".
An hour in, and I had completed the first steps, having a completed form in Chinese and having endured 10 minutes in a photobooth that resembled in look and feel, a full body MRI machine in a public hospital: it even made the same clunking cacophony as it processed the photos! I passed the physical health exam with flying colours, despite the fact that I failed every page of the colour blindness test and got hit in the head by the automatic height measuring arm as it travelled remotely down to meet my head as I stood in the machine: I stepped out before it arrived! The physical part of the test was to hold my hands aloft in front of me "no shake" and to do one half squat in front of the doctor. I passed the hearing and eyesight test without problems, but not before a nurse scanned my eyes at close range for hidden contact lenses! Onwards upstairs and after an eternity of checking various documents, including my alien card, my Australian license, my passport and bizarrely, my national health card, I was deemed worthy to get my little paper licenses along with protective little plastic holders. Hurrah!
Guess who just won the annual AFL tipping comp? I have won it once before, as well as being runner-up on another occasion, but I never expected to win this year. I snuck up on the gang by backing my team, the Richmond Tigers, through their recent 9 game winning streak which many others didn't. It came down to the last game of the final round on Sunday so it was a little nerve wracking! Cass was just as anxious as me, and we'll be glad to watch some finals action soon in the AFL and NRL without the added pressure of worrying about tips. So, bragging rights, as well as a slab of cash, will come my way upon distribution of prizes on grand final day. It will be a little strange as I am the organizer of the comp, so I'll have to award myself the main prize!
Our beloved video lifeline to all things Australian while we're overseas, the Australia Network, will cease airing on September 18. It will be a very sad day for us and we'll really miss our daily ABC news bulletin in the evening, the docos, the current affairs, even the frivolous soapies. It was always great to just have it nattering away in the background even if we weren't watching: it was a little Aussie friend in the room. Of imminent concern is where we'll be able to watch the grand final.....Patio 84 just used Australia Network in years gone by, and no satellite channels have the rights....
Poor Cassy has been stricken by her occasional enemy, the razor bladed, throat stripping bug. Apart from the throat, she is feeling very weak and stuffed up and has been quite miserable all weekend. She must really be sick, as she even emailed work last night saying she couldn't come in today: a very rare event for my usually healthy and happy little vegemite! Hopefully the "Queens of Ker Qiang Road" (aka Virg 'n Mary) will keep her company in bed today as she tries to recover a little.
Cass is reading Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland, after being spun a vertiginous web by her latest book club selection, The Luminaries. Her book club met at the peerless fine dining establishment in Tienmu, Le Jardin, for their monthly chat, and she duly dosed herself with paracetamol and antibiotics to make the trip and survive the social flittings. Many of the other members were similarly perplexed by the astrological references and waxing and waning of chapters in a mirror image of the moon's cycles, and they found it to be extremely ponderous and a little self-indulgent. Nonetheless, they delighted in the fine food and wine and declared the French mainstay to be as good as ever: onwards to the next tome, as per stated earlier in the paragraph.
Photos: hard won licenses, a funny kid in one of my classes being "Nerd Man", the Queens of Ker Qiang and a few shots of the steps. I made it up there yesterday in the blistering heat, saturating myself and meeting some monkeys and chooks along the way! Oh, and my cactus unfurled its last flower this morning...