We've had to cancel Cassy's "Australian House and Garden" subscription because the institution that is the school's mail room has virtually ceased to function! This wonderful service to the faculty and staff has been part of the school for more than 45 years, but from now on can only send and receive letters but no packages, so its main function has been taken away and it will continue to operate only in a severely reduced capacity for the foreseeable future.
New laws, or more severe enforcement of laws concerning the importation of goods into Taiwan, has necessitated the unwelcome changes. Apparently operating under a "3rd strike and you're out" mentality, the government has apparently identified two strikes against the school, so to avoid any possibility of fines or worse, the school made the decision to drastically curtail the parameters of operation of the post office. It's such a shame and an inconvenience: it was a gem for people to send the odd package in and a boon for us to use for outgoing packages or goods. It's now up to us to get goods delivered to home, and deal with the vagaries of the local postal service which can be quirky to say the least!
Virg'nMary are soldiering on and despite Mary's best efforts to avoid any photographic intervention (she runs away whenever I approach with phone/camera, I managed to snap this shot as she soaked up the sun in the back room in quite a groggy state. Virg features in nearly every cat photo as she quite likes posing in various cute positions!
The temple just round the corner on our daily walking commute is being severely overhauled despite being repaved just a few years ago. The temples follow the streets and parks in that regard: with a lightning quick update cycle, they are renewed, refreshed and refurbished, often without any visible need for intervention. We suppose it gives a team of council workers plenty of employment and it's rare to encounter on our daily walk a stretch without diggers huffing and puffing, and workers with darkened skin from exposure to the beating rays glistening with sweat as they beaver to and fro.
We returned to the Royal Cinema at Dazhi for consecutive Saturdays as a much anticipated movie made its debut. I've been fascinated by the moon landings, in particular, the first moon landing from Apollo 11. I was a wide eyed seven year old in 1969 who watched the grainy footage then dog-eared a much loved book of photographs of the events. "First Man" was an amazing biopic of Neil Armstrong and his journey from jet pilot to astronaut and all the associated trials and tribulations that went along with that journey. Ryan Gosling and Claire ("The Crown") Foy were equally splendid in their respective roles. The surroundings were just as sumptuous as the week before and we opted to get some hot snacks and drinks delivered to us this time as a special treat....decadent!
Our jobs continue at a dizzy rate: we've just finished grading literary analysis paragraphs on Fahrenheit 451, about 90 each! This is one of the reasons this blog is a day late. I try to scratch out an entry if I have a period off that is uninterrupted by meetings or other administrative tasks: luckily, I found a little window of opportunity today.
Photos: Cass outside our "Box 12" in the mail-room with our last copy of her magazine, temple renos, sun-soaking Mary, plus photos of the interiors of the cinema and shots of the surrounding buildings, malls and dealerships (The Mercedes building has cars on all four floors!)