Sunday, September 04, 2005
MOCA, Taipei
Typhoon Talim lashed away at the northern tip of Taiwan on Wednesday night prompting a school closure on Thursday. Much to our horror the winds peaked in the night with some quite terrible force, rattling doors, sheeting rain at crazy angles and generally huffing and puffing with fearsome gusts through the night. Our fear turned to relief and then delight the next morning as the rain and wind eased and the afternoon was left free for another adventure to the coast for the intrepid surfer boys. Our gale force wind dip into Damshui was completely reversed on Thursday when the Pillbox delivered beautiful strong offshore surf. It was quite a tonic for we long suffering surfers: the waves were fantastic, yet the water quality left just a little to be desired as silt from the river limited the water visibility to the extent that we couldn’t see our boards as we sat on them.
Cassy had a professional development day on Friday, where she lunched at a private club and then drank quantities of Moet et Chandon to celebrate the arrival of her principal’s first grandchild. Ostensibly the day was to look at scoring of tests or some such, but…I had a much more boring day as I dragged myself in to school for the longest day on record. This day set the world record for a workday: I swear it took at least 15 hours to complete! We charged over the mountain to catch the tail end of the swell, but we found little more than a blown out ripple.
Knowing that Saturday held no prospects for a wave, we headed down to the Taipei Contemporary Art gallery. We hadn’t been for ages and they had a fascinating exhibition on. Housed in a most beautiful old renovated building from the days of Japanese imperialist excess, the museum is such a haven from the bustle just outside. On our way, we took 5 paintings to be either re-framed or framed for the first time. Some mold had begun to affect the mats on paintings we’d brought with us and we also wanted to frame the etching on silk we bought from a street vendor in Vietnam. “Our” man at Chientan charged us the princely sum of about $120 A for all 5 jobs, which we can pick up in a week. Anyway, back to the MOCA, Taipei. There were some truly fascinating video installations that were extremely innovative. We didn’t quite “get” all of them, but the general sense was that Taipei’s contemporary art scene could be as spectacularly alternative as anywhere else! We enjoyed a couple of hours there before lunching at a very Parisian inspired café linked to the museum. Our lunch was quite delicious, but we spied a special takeaway cake when we were paying the bill. They had made tiny little croquembouches, which were an individual size copy of our wedding cake! We bought two to take home and they were most delicious.
This morning, Carl and Ross and I did a ring around to see who was interested in going for a surf. The swell had picked up again, the first waves of another typhoon headed this way. This one will just bring very annoying torrential rain as it veers towards Japan and we hold very little hope of another closure (!). We ventured to the rocket and I christened the underwater housing that goes with my new Sony camera. I had given it many tests in basins and showers etc. but this was the real deal! It performed very well and took some great shots, which I’ll put on the pointy over the next couple of days. That excitement over, I came home this afternoon so we could watch the Knight’s game together on TV. What a game! We were jumping around the lounge room, Virg’n Mary were perplexed at all the shouting and the Knight’s showed how well they would have gone in the semis…ah well, next year. Cass rang Chris for Father’s Day today and he was very chipper. I had a few thoughts about my own father today and thought he’d be quite interested in what we’ve been doing in the last few years and would probably quite like many aspects of our life here in Taipei. We continue to feast on our clippings from the Herald that Mum sends over, the last package arriving quite conveniently, just before the weekend. Must away to batten down the hatches and seal the exits ready for the next big blow!
Typhoon Talim lashed away at the northern tip of Taiwan on Wednesday night prompting a school closure on Thursday. Much to our horror the winds peaked in the night with some quite terrible force, rattling doors, sheeting rain at crazy angles and generally huffing and puffing with fearsome gusts through the night. Our fear turned to relief and then delight the next morning as the rain and wind eased and the afternoon was left free for another adventure to the coast for the intrepid surfer boys. Our gale force wind dip into Damshui was completely reversed on Thursday when the Pillbox delivered beautiful strong offshore surf. It was quite a tonic for we long suffering surfers: the waves were fantastic, yet the water quality left just a little to be desired as silt from the river limited the water visibility to the extent that we couldn’t see our boards as we sat on them.
Cassy had a professional development day on Friday, where she lunched at a private club and then drank quantities of Moet et Chandon to celebrate the arrival of her principal’s first grandchild. Ostensibly the day was to look at scoring of tests or some such, but…I had a much more boring day as I dragged myself in to school for the longest day on record. This day set the world record for a workday: I swear it took at least 15 hours to complete! We charged over the mountain to catch the tail end of the swell, but we found little more than a blown out ripple.
Knowing that Saturday held no prospects for a wave, we headed down to the Taipei Contemporary Art gallery. We hadn’t been for ages and they had a fascinating exhibition on. Housed in a most beautiful old renovated building from the days of Japanese imperialist excess, the museum is such a haven from the bustle just outside. On our way, we took 5 paintings to be either re-framed or framed for the first time. Some mold had begun to affect the mats on paintings we’d brought with us and we also wanted to frame the etching on silk we bought from a street vendor in Vietnam. “Our” man at Chientan charged us the princely sum of about $120 A for all 5 jobs, which we can pick up in a week. Anyway, back to the MOCA, Taipei. There were some truly fascinating video installations that were extremely innovative. We didn’t quite “get” all of them, but the general sense was that Taipei’s contemporary art scene could be as spectacularly alternative as anywhere else! We enjoyed a couple of hours there before lunching at a very Parisian inspired café linked to the museum. Our lunch was quite delicious, but we spied a special takeaway cake when we were paying the bill. They had made tiny little croquembouches, which were an individual size copy of our wedding cake! We bought two to take home and they were most delicious.
This morning, Carl and Ross and I did a ring around to see who was interested in going for a surf. The swell had picked up again, the first waves of another typhoon headed this way. This one will just bring very annoying torrential rain as it veers towards Japan and we hold very little hope of another closure (!). We ventured to the rocket and I christened the underwater housing that goes with my new Sony camera. I had given it many tests in basins and showers etc. but this was the real deal! It performed very well and took some great shots, which I’ll put on the pointy over the next couple of days. That excitement over, I came home this afternoon so we could watch the Knight’s game together on TV. What a game! We were jumping around the lounge room, Virg’n Mary were perplexed at all the shouting and the Knight’s showed how well they would have gone in the semis…ah well, next year. Cass rang Chris for Father’s Day today and he was very chipper. I had a few thoughts about my own father today and thought he’d be quite interested in what we’ve been doing in the last few years and would probably quite like many aspects of our life here in Taipei. We continue to feast on our clippings from the Herald that Mum sends over, the last package arriving quite conveniently, just before the weekend. Must away to batten down the hatches and seal the exits ready for the next big blow!
Sunday, August 28, 2005
There has been some stifling heat this week, that real take your breath away stuff that just forces you back into some air conditioning. We have been artificially cooled each day and night this week, at work and home. Combined with this heat, there has been a peculiar huge intense tropical downpour each day. This has been most curious, as it has occurred whenever we decided we were going to walk or bike to or from school each day! We tried to fool the storm a few times by leaving at different times but it still got us!
Virg’n Mary have even enjoyed the air conditioner this week, quite unusual for them, as they will seek out the hottest parts of the house in which to sleep and relax. The surf has remained quite the millpond and we have not even ventured over. There is the slight promise of a typhoon way off the coast towards the end of the week, so we’re all pinning our hopes on this storm to blow a little bit of swell our way: we don’t care how stormy/rainy it is, anything would be better than the flat conditions we’ve had now for 3 weeks. Yes, three weeks already and at some times it feels like months. Mum sent some clippings which arrived in record time from Australia so that last weekend, we enjoyed clippings from just the Saturday before. We read some more of these this weekend and they were especially enjoyable this morning as Cass cooked pancakes for breakfast! What a great treat that was, washed down with some strong coffee. We went to the pictures again today, as the weather was so enervating as to preclude any other activity. We saw “Redeye” which was quite a competent thriller, but we found it a little formulaic and not great in comparison with the funny “Wedding Crashers” from last week. We grabbed a quick takeaway lunch and settled in to watch the football between the Eels and the Raiders this afternoon. We’re off to one of our favourite restaurants, “Bird”, tonight, a Thai restaurant just up the way that serves delicious and authentic Thai fare. It’s close, so we think we’ll be able to make it there and back without getting heat stroke; I’m only half joking, it is psycho hot!
I had a fairly quiet day on Saturday after more than a few beers on Friday afternoon/night. I started in the afternoon with Ross and Gurecki just for a few quiet ones, but we ended up heading to the Green Bar after a great time on the terrace at Wendel’s bakery. I’ve included a few shots of the festivities…there were lots of our friends out and about, so plenty of encouragement to stay and have “just one more”. Suffice to say that Saturday was very quiet indeed and Cass popped in and out a few times while I enjoyed some time on the lounge in front of the telly!
Work will be busy, especially early this week as I prepare and present the ESL information night. I’m not at all nervous about this, which could be a worrying sign (!). I’m still teaching a full load while doing my other duties, and keep getting told that the issue will be resolved soon. I would much prefer if I were given some time off in form of a sub, rather than extra money, which is another possibility.
Carl and family got a dog this week! They’ve been interested for some time, but were worried about the usual things: apartment living, what to do in the big break etc. She’s a beautiful dog, a retriever of some type, but unfortunately, has got into some very bad habits while living with other families. She tends to ignore the litter tray and just relieve herself wherever she likes! As you can imagine, some hard and fast training has to occur and I think Hiroko has been at her wits end during the day. Carl is doing his best when he gets home and I’m sure they’ll have “Chisel” trained before you know it.
Monday, August 22, 2005
While still drifting in and out of a “return to reality” mood, I’m starting to see a little light at the end of the tunnel. What has exacerbated this feeling is the fact that I’m teaching a full load and still expected to do my administrative duties. It’s a hard ask at the start of the year in particular. I’m also working with 3 new teachers this year, who all are adapting to my presence in their room with varying degrees of stress, relaxation or trepidation! I’ve got so used to working with Blair and Chad over the years and I miss that easy rapport we shared. Belinda, John and Gerri will be just fine, but we all need to get used to each other and the way we each work. All the teachers amongst my readers will understand the daunting prospect of another teacher teaming with you, same room, same time. In contrast, Cassy is reveling in having her partner, Kristin, back with her. Kristin is just so delightful; she thanks Cassy at regular intervals for the work she does and the easy working relationship they have developed. Cassy’s classes are shaping up very nicely too and she was really pleased to see that Carl’s youngest boy, Sean, is in one of her classes. She taught Steven a couple of years ago. She also has a student who bears an uncanny resemblance to the “Bride of Chucky” who is quite precocious and demanding, but I’m sure she’ll deal with her in the appropriate manner!
I have been doing some boxing training here with Ross the past fortnight, using the extra gloves, wraps and focus pads that I brought from home. We are using a heavy bag that Aaron the pool guy had secreted away in his storeroom, until we get a better one. We string it up on a chin-up bar in the corridor outside the weight room, but it’s a cramped area and we have to take it down each day. Clarky has given me the OK to hang a heavy bag in the weight room, so I’ve been busy finding a good bag locally this week. I can’t find a speedball, which is a bit frustrating, but I’ll keep searching. Hopefully we’ll get properly set up in the next few weeks. Our new Aussie, Josh, who works on the 5th grade team with Ross, has even begun a new blog calling it the Pointy Hat boxing club, but I don’t know what he thinks he’ll post on there!
The surf has been as flat as my mood this week and all the Pointy Hat surfers have been very frustrated. I’ve resorted to posting photos that members took when they were home and also world’s smallest wave entries, but that has been about all. We were hoping for something today, but the tragic scenes that greeted us via web cam photo this morning were even worse than we expected.
Cassy had an interesting day yesterday when she traveled downtown on the MRT with 1 of her book club friends, Kathy and another woman from school, Carol, to check out some upmarket home ware and lifestyle stores. She came back most impressed with them all, some Swedish inspired and one specializing in exquisite Chinese antiques and other objet d’art where a sales assistant accompanied them around the store explaining each item if needed. She bought a small mat for the cat’s room and a set of 4 hand made glasses which are simply decorated and very stylish. We had a scrumptious meal at the Moroccan restaurant here in Tienmu last night and invited Carl, Hiroko and the boys. They hadn’t been there before and they were most impressed. It is swathed in silk and Moroccan curios inside, dimly lit and the food, in Tajine ovens, skewers and cous cous can transport you away from Taipei. Sitting there with our friends, we could have been anywhere in the world. We’re off to the pictures later this morning to see “Wedding Crashers” with Owen Wilson. Anything I’ve seen him in has been hilarious, so it might be just the tonic! We’ll come home to catch the big NRL game between the Saints and the Eels and I might try and drag myself into the weight room for an hour or so after that, seeing as I haven’t done one active thing all weekend. I’ve included a photo that Lewy took last week after he presented me and Ross and Gurecki (back to camera in horse impression!) with Delbridge Racing caps. He is a part owner in a number of horses back home and we share his passion to a point. (Just back from the pictures…it WAS hilarious!)
Now Monday afternoon and this short addendum. The software won’t load photos to the web so I’ve been delaying this post. It may end up being unaccompanied. We had a very civilized afternoon when a tropical storm, which just wouldn’t stop, thwarted our shopping plans, so we took the car! Underground parking, trolleys etc…we felt most spoilt. Taking advantage of the car, we bought mega packs of everything and what seemed like a thousand kilos of cat litter. I still had to take the car back to school and ride the scooter through the downpour, but it was quite the adventure!
Saturday, August 13, 2005
the wide brown land 
It’s quite a wondrous thing to live in two different worlds. After a few days where our equilibrium was more than a little unsettled, everything is just settling down gently and those feelings of dislocation are subsiding again. We arrived to find two very healthy cats, feeling neglected and very sooky and needy. School has started in a whirlwind and the kids don’t even arrive until tomorrow!
What a great trip back we had. Newcastle is such a rare gem and it is unappreciated by the majority of Novocastrians. It has a provincial charm that I was never fully aware of before, masked by its leaders continually puffing out their chests and declaring it a “city” and demanding all those big city services. It is such an enjoyable mix of town and city, you almost wish you could freeze it in time: we don’t want it getting too big or too sophisticated. That gorgeous harbour and sparkling beaches…we could walk beside them and sit beside them and gaze all day long (in fact we did on many occasions!). Those cafes and restaurants vying to be the next trendy thing all serving up scrumptious meals and coffees. The open space and the parks, gardens and fields; even the front yards. People here would think they’d died and gone to heaven. The wine, the libraries, the galleries, the roads, the people speaking English, the vistas. It is underrated by those who live there, no doubt at all about that.
We’re still a little overwhelmed by how quickly we’re “back”, holiday slowly drifting into a warm fuzzy memory as work picks up a dizzying pace.
That 1st bit was written on Wednesday night and it’s now Saturday afternoon. We’ve had a few surfs already and the pointy hat site has been updated a couple of times this week. I was quite euphoric yesterday afternoon, getting a really quick, but full cover tube out at the rocket. All the other boys saw it which was even better…..little harder to believe these stories if you’re just telling them without eveidence! Today we went again but it was fairly small, so Ross and I came back early. Cass and I have just done the weekly shopping and remember what a frustrating experience this can be sometimes. Now, to not have any mince is a fairly common occurrence and this happened again today. When you realize that there is no margarine anywhere in the supermarket, you start losing it a little, but even we couldn’t believe the lack of carrots! It just means that we’ll have to get this stuff somewhere else through the week. I had already made the pilgrimage to the other big store nearby to buy rolls of toilet paper, as our supermarket doesn’t stock them either.
So, I’m feeling frustrated and missing the ease of living at home. It’s hard to make yourself understood, you can’t buy what you need and to make matters worse, the weather is boiling hot and drippingly humid. I suppose it doesn’t help that work seems just that little bit harder to cope with this year: maybe we’ve had too good a holiday.
I’m sure we’ll feel a little better soon: Cass actually feels OK now, I’ve just allowed myself to wallow in a little tizzy fit of depression for a while…no doubt I’ll snap out of it in a couple of days.
Apart from all the people, I’ve included a few shots of some things we’ll really miss as well.
It’s quite a wondrous thing to live in two different worlds. After a few days where our equilibrium was more than a little unsettled, everything is just settling down gently and those feelings of dislocation are subsiding again. We arrived to find two very healthy cats, feeling neglected and very sooky and needy. School has started in a whirlwind and the kids don’t even arrive until tomorrow!
What a great trip back we had. Newcastle is such a rare gem and it is unappreciated by the majority of Novocastrians. It has a provincial charm that I was never fully aware of before, masked by its leaders continually puffing out their chests and declaring it a “city” and demanding all those big city services. It is such an enjoyable mix of town and city, you almost wish you could freeze it in time: we don’t want it getting too big or too sophisticated. That gorgeous harbour and sparkling beaches…we could walk beside them and sit beside them and gaze all day long (in fact we did on many occasions!). Those cafes and restaurants vying to be the next trendy thing all serving up scrumptious meals and coffees. The open space and the parks, gardens and fields; even the front yards. People here would think they’d died and gone to heaven. The wine, the libraries, the galleries, the roads, the people speaking English, the vistas. It is underrated by those who live there, no doubt at all about that.
We’re still a little overwhelmed by how quickly we’re “back”, holiday slowly drifting into a warm fuzzy memory as work picks up a dizzying pace.
That 1st bit was written on Wednesday night and it’s now Saturday afternoon. We’ve had a few surfs already and the pointy hat site has been updated a couple of times this week. I was quite euphoric yesterday afternoon, getting a really quick, but full cover tube out at the rocket. All the other boys saw it which was even better…..little harder to believe these stories if you’re just telling them without eveidence! Today we went again but it was fairly small, so Ross and I came back early. Cass and I have just done the weekly shopping and remember what a frustrating experience this can be sometimes. Now, to not have any mince is a fairly common occurrence and this happened again today. When you realize that there is no margarine anywhere in the supermarket, you start losing it a little, but even we couldn’t believe the lack of carrots! It just means that we’ll have to get this stuff somewhere else through the week. I had already made the pilgrimage to the other big store nearby to buy rolls of toilet paper, as our supermarket doesn’t stock them either.
So, I’m feeling frustrated and missing the ease of living at home. It’s hard to make yourself understood, you can’t buy what you need and to make matters worse, the weather is boiling hot and drippingly humid. I suppose it doesn’t help that work seems just that little bit harder to cope with this year: maybe we’ve had too good a holiday.
I’m sure we’ll feel a little better soon: Cass actually feels OK now, I’ve just allowed myself to wallow in a little tizzy fit of depression for a while…no doubt I’ll snap out of it in a couple of days.
Apart from all the people, I’ve included a few shots of some things we’ll really miss as well.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
preparing to lash 
The “tongue lashing” temple just around the corner lit up with sights and sounds of wonder through the week. Their main festival that always takes place at the start of June, culminates in a few spazzies off their heads on betel nut, scraping their tongues with some kind of divine fork. In a trance-like state, they don’t seem to notice the pain, but I’d like to see them the next day. Early in the evening, before they got too out of it, I wandered up, camera in hand to try to get a few shots. The garish makeup and motifs are a little Pacific Island in their design and they seemed more than happy for me to snap some shots, one fellow with more than a couple of beers on board insisting that he took one of me with the leader of the tongue lashing youth.
The night rolled on and on, smell of gunpowder heavy in the still night air as various drumming and fire rituals reached their climax with the lighting of firecrackers which screamed high into the night exploding with a deafening noise to the great amusement of the crowd below. Virg’n Mary were far from amused and their eyes were quite wild with fear as the noise went on. Eventually the crowd calmed a bit, but when we went through the park the next morning on the way to school and there was a great mess everywhere; obviously it was a big night had by all!
I got quite a bad cold on Thursday and had Friday off school and also missed our respected and departing superintendent’s farewell at the American Club. Cass went along and flew the flag and reported that although the night of speeches and reminiscing had more of a funereal feel to it, it was a fairly fitting send off to the big man. Mark Ulfers was the man who interviewed us in Sydney all those years ago and hired us both and we owe him a great debt of gratitude. He fought hard to make sure we got here and we hope we’ve repaid his faith in us: we’re pretty sure we have. Those who know me well will be surprised to read that I have an amazing respect for this man: usually my feelings for my professional administrators has been less than strong, occasionally bordering on disdain. This man is a far cry from anyone we have ever worked for, or for that matter, heard about.
Suffice to say, he commands an almost universal respect, he is the consummate politician with the uncanny knack of making you feel like a very important cog in the massive machine he runs. We’ll miss him very much. (this is starting to sound like an obituary too…he is actually very much alive and well and taking up a similar post in Germany!)
Well, this time has been a long time coming! Just 4 more days of work and then home again for our big break. These four years have flown by and the year 7s we taught in our final year at Grammar are now in their final months of school in year 12. What a fantastic time we’ve had! It’s a little hard to remember our past working lives in any real detail…maybe that’s a good thing!
See you soon….
The “tongue lashing” temple just around the corner lit up with sights and sounds of wonder through the week. Their main festival that always takes place at the start of June, culminates in a few spazzies off their heads on betel nut, scraping their tongues with some kind of divine fork. In a trance-like state, they don’t seem to notice the pain, but I’d like to see them the next day. Early in the evening, before they got too out of it, I wandered up, camera in hand to try to get a few shots. The garish makeup and motifs are a little Pacific Island in their design and they seemed more than happy for me to snap some shots, one fellow with more than a couple of beers on board insisting that he took one of me with the leader of the tongue lashing youth.
The night rolled on and on, smell of gunpowder heavy in the still night air as various drumming and fire rituals reached their climax with the lighting of firecrackers which screamed high into the night exploding with a deafening noise to the great amusement of the crowd below. Virg’n Mary were far from amused and their eyes were quite wild with fear as the noise went on. Eventually the crowd calmed a bit, but when we went through the park the next morning on the way to school and there was a great mess everywhere; obviously it was a big night had by all!
I got quite a bad cold on Thursday and had Friday off school and also missed our respected and departing superintendent’s farewell at the American Club. Cass went along and flew the flag and reported that although the night of speeches and reminiscing had more of a funereal feel to it, it was a fairly fitting send off to the big man. Mark Ulfers was the man who interviewed us in Sydney all those years ago and hired us both and we owe him a great debt of gratitude. He fought hard to make sure we got here and we hope we’ve repaid his faith in us: we’re pretty sure we have. Those who know me well will be surprised to read that I have an amazing respect for this man: usually my feelings for my professional administrators has been less than strong, occasionally bordering on disdain. This man is a far cry from anyone we have ever worked for, or for that matter, heard about.
Suffice to say, he commands an almost universal respect, he is the consummate politician with the uncanny knack of making you feel like a very important cog in the massive machine he runs. We’ll miss him very much. (this is starting to sound like an obituary too…he is actually very much alive and well and taking up a similar post in Germany!)
Well, this time has been a long time coming! Just 4 more days of work and then home again for our big break. These four years have flown by and the year 7s we taught in our final year at Grammar are now in their final months of school in year 12. What a fantastic time we’ve had! It’s a little hard to remember our past working lives in any real detail…maybe that’s a good thing!
See you soon….
Monday, May 30, 2005
city wall gate
Frustration can eat away at one who waits. Waiting for the surf to get better, waiting to get all those end-of-year tasks done, basically waiting to get home. When the end of May comes round, we expect to jump on a plane and fly away home, but this year we still have 9 days to wait. The uninspiring surf and general weather conditions have added to our frustration; even Virg’n Mary have gone a little strange, no doubt reacting to the general malaise that is palpable right now.
Helen bid for a whizzo camera package for me on Ebay, Australia last week, but wasn’t successful. I had not allowed enough money for her to win the bid, so I was a little disappointed (and frustrated!). Cass and I went down to the camera hub of downtown Taipei last Friday evening to price a few new ones of the type I was after. We were mesmerized by the streets of camera shops, all butted up against each other, all vying for that precious sale. We walked from one to another to another in great long rows down the street, pitting them against each other for the best price. I discovered that for just $100 more than I bid, I could get the package I wanted, brand new. The irony is that the camera I’ve been looking at has been superseded and in the blink of an eye, all the shops have only the new model available, which does not come with a water-housing accessory. This is what I really wanted and of course the one shop, which still had the older model, offered it for a higher price than the new model!
The Taiwanese are much like the Japanese in this regard: only the latest, greatest, smallest, most powerful of electronics will do: I just wished I knew what they did with all their “old” stuff!
I hummed and hawed over spending the money and in the end, didn’t buy anything….just another toy after all. We again noted how familiar we are with our city here; turn me around 3 times in the middle of Sydney and I wouldn’t know where I was, but here, we can scoot through a labyrinth of interconnecting subway terminals and emerge within steps of our destination. We treated ourselves a KFC dinner on the 4th floor high above the street overlooking a surging Friday night mass of scooters, buses, cars and pedestrians, all of whom jockeyed for position in that unobtrusive and peculiarly Asian way. The MRT purred all the way home and after we alighted at Mingde, we wended our way through the back streets home. Halfway there, we heard some chanting and spied a class of young kiddies, still in school uniform, crammed into a small room, gaining instruction in some subject or other. These cram schools suck the life out of these poor little beggars: 9 o’clock on a Friday night, these kids should be home having their dinner and watching some mindless TV. This mentality could be part of the reason some Asian students perform in such a stellar fashion at our schools and universities: we just can’t comprehend their drive to succeed and their work ethic.
We made several abortive attempts to find a semblance of a wave this week and weekend. Did I mention frustration? Best to leave that one alone. If you want a good laugh and want to see what we are reduced to here, check the Pointies for more information. To add to our frustration (did I mention frustration before?) we looked longingly at surf reports, stills and live web cams from back home as the surf went off like a cracker over the weekend.
One minor victory of sorts was had: yesterday, I finally ate some spring rolls from the tiny Vietnamese shop/stall about 5 minutes ride from our house, and they were pretty delicious! So what, I hear you say….. well, we don’t have a Vietnamese restaurant here and this tiny little hole is the cause for much celebration. When we get home we plan to eat Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese (?!), lots of “Modern Australian” and of course some BBQ sausages and Ridge Street hamburgers!! Can’t wait….
Photos are of the last surviving gate from the original city wall, right next to “camera alley” and the very impressive Grand Hotel.
Frustration can eat away at one who waits. Waiting for the surf to get better, waiting to get all those end-of-year tasks done, basically waiting to get home. When the end of May comes round, we expect to jump on a plane and fly away home, but this year we still have 9 days to wait. The uninspiring surf and general weather conditions have added to our frustration; even Virg’n Mary have gone a little strange, no doubt reacting to the general malaise that is palpable right now.
Helen bid for a whizzo camera package for me on Ebay, Australia last week, but wasn’t successful. I had not allowed enough money for her to win the bid, so I was a little disappointed (and frustrated!). Cass and I went down to the camera hub of downtown Taipei last Friday evening to price a few new ones of the type I was after. We were mesmerized by the streets of camera shops, all butted up against each other, all vying for that precious sale. We walked from one to another to another in great long rows down the street, pitting them against each other for the best price. I discovered that for just $100 more than I bid, I could get the package I wanted, brand new. The irony is that the camera I’ve been looking at has been superseded and in the blink of an eye, all the shops have only the new model available, which does not come with a water-housing accessory. This is what I really wanted and of course the one shop, which still had the older model, offered it for a higher price than the new model!
The Taiwanese are much like the Japanese in this regard: only the latest, greatest, smallest, most powerful of electronics will do: I just wished I knew what they did with all their “old” stuff!
I hummed and hawed over spending the money and in the end, didn’t buy anything….just another toy after all. We again noted how familiar we are with our city here; turn me around 3 times in the middle of Sydney and I wouldn’t know where I was, but here, we can scoot through a labyrinth of interconnecting subway terminals and emerge within steps of our destination. We treated ourselves a KFC dinner on the 4th floor high above the street overlooking a surging Friday night mass of scooters, buses, cars and pedestrians, all of whom jockeyed for position in that unobtrusive and peculiarly Asian way. The MRT purred all the way home and after we alighted at Mingde, we wended our way through the back streets home. Halfway there, we heard some chanting and spied a class of young kiddies, still in school uniform, crammed into a small room, gaining instruction in some subject or other. These cram schools suck the life out of these poor little beggars: 9 o’clock on a Friday night, these kids should be home having their dinner and watching some mindless TV. This mentality could be part of the reason some Asian students perform in such a stellar fashion at our schools and universities: we just can’t comprehend their drive to succeed and their work ethic.
We made several abortive attempts to find a semblance of a wave this week and weekend. Did I mention frustration? Best to leave that one alone. If you want a good laugh and want to see what we are reduced to here, check the Pointies for more information. To add to our frustration (did I mention frustration before?) we looked longingly at surf reports, stills and live web cams from back home as the surf went off like a cracker over the weekend.
One minor victory of sorts was had: yesterday, I finally ate some spring rolls from the tiny Vietnamese shop/stall about 5 minutes ride from our house, and they were pretty delicious! So what, I hear you say….. well, we don’t have a Vietnamese restaurant here and this tiny little hole is the cause for much celebration. When we get home we plan to eat Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese (?!), lots of “Modern Australian” and of course some BBQ sausages and Ridge Street hamburgers!! Can’t wait….
Photos are of the last surviving gate from the original city wall, right next to “camera alley” and the very impressive Grand Hotel.
Monday, May 23, 2005
brunch
I won’t harp on again about sleepovers, but suffice to say, we did it and the kids had a ball and I got about 4 hours fitful sleep. That done on Friday night, I was pretty much a zombie on Saturday, but I roused myself in the early afternoon to take Cass and go to visit Sean in hospital. The poor little bugger had smashed into a hurdle at field day on Friday and did some major damage to his leg. He broke the tibia at the growth plate and dislocated his kneecap. Luckily there was no ligament/tendon damage, but he had surgery on Friday night, getting 3 screws inserted into his leg. As you can imagine he’s very uncomfortable, but Carl and Hiroko organized a private room for him and one or both of them has been with him non-stop. It’s been quite a strain on the whole family and travel plans back home are really in a state of flux at the moment. At this stage, they’re not sure if he can travel when school breaks up, but we’ll wait and see: hopefully everything will work out without too much hassle.
On Sunday, Cass went down to the Regent with a few friends from school to celebrate Kristin’s birthday. They had a tasty lunch at the smorgasbord there and whiled away a few hours. I went up to see Sean and joined the Lochrins watching the delayed telecast of the FA cup final. I arrived home in time to watch the Sunday football and enjoyed a kind of scrappy game. I had the Internet live scoring going on Saturday night and was so frustrated with the Knight’s game. Those poor men cannot take a trick at the moment. To get so close to winning every week must be quite soul destroying.
The Pointy Hat boys have not had much to cheer about lately, but we did get a few little waves on Thursday at the Rocket. Lewy is writing an article about us for a magazine over here, so wanted to get a few photos of the “die-hards” who go out in all weathers and conditions. That dubious honour was given to Ross and me, so we had Lewy regaling us with all sorts of stories and gossip there and back: that guy can really talk! Some of the photos are featured on the Pointy Hat site so check them out here. The site has been very popular with our crew here and I noticed the other day that we’ve been put on the links page of another surfing page here in Taiwan, so I’m quite chuffed! This Thursday, there is an amazing spike in the swell predicted, so we’re all hoping for a bit more action. The only trouble is that I have a meeting scheduled after school, but I might just need to leave early, I think!
We got our 360 feedback last week as well, but I’ve taken an unusual tack with mine. This is a multiple feedback on our performance from 3 sources: the kids we teach, their parents and our colleagues. The trouble of course is that is done anonymously and there is great scope for some people to give you a massive serve, undeserving or not. It’s always great to read the good stuff, but a little disconcerting to read what the arrogant and cowardly have written. Cass received quite incredible grades and comments and hers is such a pleasure to read. I locked mine in the bottom draw of my desk without opening it! I’m sure it will be fine, but for the momentary thrill of reading a few nice comments, I’d prefer not to read any negative ones, hence my decision. If I can hold out, I think it’s been a very good decision. The ESL kid’s parents pay a huge fee over and above their tuition, so inevitably some take out this problem on me. I prefer not to read these, therefore my stance.
School is in that dizzy whirl at the moment: end-of-year parties back to back with divisions, departments, teams and whole school celebrations all vying for those precious few nights available at this time. We’re going to a big show at the American Club to farewell our wonderful superintendent, the lower and middle school each have a show, and I’m off to a team dinner on Thursday to farewell Blair and Chad etc etc. Just to add to this social frenzy, Cass and I are hosting a State of Origin party at our place when the game is televised live here at 5.30 our time on Wednesday.
Home soon…can hardly wait!
I won’t harp on again about sleepovers, but suffice to say, we did it and the kids had a ball and I got about 4 hours fitful sleep. That done on Friday night, I was pretty much a zombie on Saturday, but I roused myself in the early afternoon to take Cass and go to visit Sean in hospital. The poor little bugger had smashed into a hurdle at field day on Friday and did some major damage to his leg. He broke the tibia at the growth plate and dislocated his kneecap. Luckily there was no ligament/tendon damage, but he had surgery on Friday night, getting 3 screws inserted into his leg. As you can imagine he’s very uncomfortable, but Carl and Hiroko organized a private room for him and one or both of them has been with him non-stop. It’s been quite a strain on the whole family and travel plans back home are really in a state of flux at the moment. At this stage, they’re not sure if he can travel when school breaks up, but we’ll wait and see: hopefully everything will work out without too much hassle.
On Sunday, Cass went down to the Regent with a few friends from school to celebrate Kristin’s birthday. They had a tasty lunch at the smorgasbord there and whiled away a few hours. I went up to see Sean and joined the Lochrins watching the delayed telecast of the FA cup final. I arrived home in time to watch the Sunday football and enjoyed a kind of scrappy game. I had the Internet live scoring going on Saturday night and was so frustrated with the Knight’s game. Those poor men cannot take a trick at the moment. To get so close to winning every week must be quite soul destroying.
The Pointy Hat boys have not had much to cheer about lately, but we did get a few little waves on Thursday at the Rocket. Lewy is writing an article about us for a magazine over here, so wanted to get a few photos of the “die-hards” who go out in all weathers and conditions. That dubious honour was given to Ross and me, so we had Lewy regaling us with all sorts of stories and gossip there and back: that guy can really talk! Some of the photos are featured on the Pointy Hat site so check them out here. The site has been very popular with our crew here and I noticed the other day that we’ve been put on the links page of another surfing page here in Taiwan, so I’m quite chuffed! This Thursday, there is an amazing spike in the swell predicted, so we’re all hoping for a bit more action. The only trouble is that I have a meeting scheduled after school, but I might just need to leave early, I think!
We got our 360 feedback last week as well, but I’ve taken an unusual tack with mine. This is a multiple feedback on our performance from 3 sources: the kids we teach, their parents and our colleagues. The trouble of course is that is done anonymously and there is great scope for some people to give you a massive serve, undeserving or not. It’s always great to read the good stuff, but a little disconcerting to read what the arrogant and cowardly have written. Cass received quite incredible grades and comments and hers is such a pleasure to read. I locked mine in the bottom draw of my desk without opening it! I’m sure it will be fine, but for the momentary thrill of reading a few nice comments, I’d prefer not to read any negative ones, hence my decision. If I can hold out, I think it’s been a very good decision. The ESL kid’s parents pay a huge fee over and above their tuition, so inevitably some take out this problem on me. I prefer not to read these, therefore my stance.
School is in that dizzy whirl at the moment: end-of-year parties back to back with divisions, departments, teams and whole school celebrations all vying for those precious few nights available at this time. We’re going to a big show at the American Club to farewell our wonderful superintendent, the lower and middle school each have a show, and I’m off to a team dinner on Thursday to farewell Blair and Chad etc etc. Just to add to this social frenzy, Cass and I are hosting a State of Origin party at our place when the game is televised live here at 5.30 our time on Wednesday.
Home soon…can hardly wait!
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