Taiwanese efficiency was demonstrated on a recent weekday morning. We were staggered to see a giant park tree had blown over in moderate winds through the night and some workman had already crime-taped the scene ready for action at 7 a.m. I joked with Cass that by the time we walked home about 4.30, that the whole gigantic mess would be sorted to the point we'd never know that it had occurred. Not quite, but by the following morning all had been squared away and nothing was left, not even a hole. By the afternoon, the tree had been cut up neatly and was awaiting haulage, which must have happened overnight as there was no sign at all the morning.
I'd been bragging through the week that I hadn't been sick for about two years....a fact taht I obviously shouldn't have voiced out aloud as the sickness gods wrought their vengeance within hours! I was smitten by a violent cold/flu, seemingly picked up from one of hundreds of snuffling sneezing kids in our classrooms every day. My immune system is not quite as ironclad as I had previously thought!
For this reason, I had no other recourse than to spend decadent spells in bed over the weekend in a bid to recover, followed by endless hours watching football and generally doing nothing. I didn't do any activity that relied on spending more than the minimum of energy and I was very lucky that Cass could do the shopping etc without me. This enforced relaxation I believe has enabled me to get to work today, slightly recovered and ready to face another busy week.
Cass had the play dress rehearsal today and I combined her first three classes with mine so we were both busy. She has an arduous time coming up: due to circumstances, she needs to break her usual routine and stay for the entire duration of the musical at every performance this year. This will see her personal time over the next couple of weeks severely whittled away, so she's far from happy with the situation. Oh well, it will all be over soon!
My great friend, Gurecki, is due to fly in for a lightning visit tomorrow and Wednesday, so we've organized to meet at Uli's, as is tradition, in the usual manner, and with the usual guests. The core threesome of Wal, me and him will be there of course, possibly entertained by cameos from Ken and Michael. Despite the fact that it can't get too raucous mid-week, it will be great to catch up with the latest from Nagasaki.
Incredibly, another year has almost whizzed by: we have just four weeks left of school for the academic year before we fly back to Newcastle for our mild winter for a couple of months. While not wanting to get the feeling of downing tools too early, we are definitely looking forward to the break and managing our time over the interim with our best efficiency.