It's a decadent treat to bask in the glow of the Ipad as the first cricket test of the summer unfolds. It's an even more luxurious comfort not to have to worry about work, deadlines or interruptions: it's that time when we give thanks every year to our American overlords!
The annual Thanksgiving holiday started in fine fashion on Wednesday afternoon when the Food Services crew here at school somehow feeds the masses a full meal of turkey and gravy and all the trimmings without a hitch or a glitch. Not only do the hundreds of faculty and staff enjoy the feast: their immediate families are also invited so there are throngs of people of all descriptions, including a runaway of quicksilver toddlers and youngsters!
" The Detentions", the creatively monikered faculty band, was creating a wall of sound and the aforementioned runaway was causing parents to scurry and retrieve all over the place. Despite the general chaos, I had a few beers and a chat to an odd assortment of friends and acquaintances, some of whom I hadn't seen all academic year. Cass, meanwhile, had settled into a much calmer and more leisurely beat down at the famous "Mia Cuccina", where she and her good friend, Kristin, could enjoy a much anticipated old fashioned catch-up. They enjoyed a superb meal and tasty wine and were able to while away the hours in fine style.
It just never gets old to watch the first ball of the first test of the Australian summer, especially an Ashes test! I was like a little boy on Christmas Day, quite fevered with excitement, so much so that I was wide awake and full of kinetic energy at 7.30 a.m. in anticipation of the start at 8. I must admit that I pretty much didn't miss too much after that for the next four days! We managed to schedule other activities and jobs in and around the hours of play and had a most satisfying holiday weekend, while keeping a close eye on proceedings in the cricket. The Australians covered themselves in glory and were able to wrap up the result quite quickly and efficiently this morning, even though the result was in the balance for the best part of three and a half days. We can't wait for the day/night test in Adelaide soon!
Taking advantage of our mid-week leisure time, I met up with other like minded, including Marcus, Shaun and Terry so we could also have a much anticipated, long-awaited catch-up. It was drizzly evening, but we managed to have a great time discussing the latest and greatest (it always amazes me how much time we spend and how very little we actually talk about.....must be a lot of "filler"!). The following day, Cass and I dined at the magnificent Din Tai Feng, Taiwan's own export to the world, and the xiao long bao and dumplings were as exquisite in creation and delicious in taste as we remembered and now expect.
A chance meeting down at the SOGO Uniqlo with Annie and Marcus was good fun and we chatted for ages as the boys ran amok in the fashion displays. It's amazing how quickly the boys are growing: Cass got a shock when she picked up Eli for a cuddle!
The rain continued to worry and bother during the duration of the break, just enough to stop us embarking on any massive journey, yet also sufficient to assuage any guilt we felt in not leaving the house! We did have a fairly firm plan to catch the high speed rail down the west coast to Taichung for two days and a night, but delayed until Friday to see if the weather would co-operate: it didn't, so we stayed put....looks like an adventure for another occasion.
Photos: I forgot to mention that the long weekend began with a "Wellness Day" for the Eighth Grade. We had our homeroom for the entire day with various activities that began with a trip downtown to the bowling alley and culminated in a chicken dance contest! The bowling had to be seen to be believed: I now know why the local alleys don't want us back! Cass managed to sneak up the back for a while and despite the cacophonous din, get a little grading down! The first shot is artifcial grass on a scooter (no, I don't know why!), shots of the bowling and then Wal with a strangely designed place-mat down at Uli's (it's supposed to be half a chef's head but,...well,...!) The boys are growing bigger and we enjoyed a tiny bottle of wine with, of all things, a cork!