I'm having a short breather this week. Hectic week, recovery weekend, little to report, so back bright and fresh next Monday!

Cass is hosting her Book Club group next Friday so this weekend the seemingly never-ending preparations began. In some ways, it's quite a good thing: we take the chance each year to look around the apartment and see it with fresh eyes and then do something about the things that offend us!

We scooped up some extra goodies during our regular supermarket run and got a few more at the "City Super" down at SOGO when we were there to visit Din Tai Fung. There will be further visits to various outlets in the days to come!

I take the opportunity to clean off the verandah for its rare beautification. There is a pesky, woody, weedy plant growing out of the drain-hole in the corner that is so ferocious in growth and so tenacious in survival that I have been unable to kill it. I simply hack off whatever evil foliage has formed and leave the chunky nub to sprout again later. Whatever is in the depths of that drain-hole certainly provides a bountiful feast for this hardy weed: I hate to think!

Our leather lounge has succumbed in a couple of places to years of over energetic cat "fizzling", and has split the leather where cat claws have ripped and teared as they leaped. We patch it up with fabric tape and pretend there's nothing to see! The accumulation of documents and daily "stuff" needs to be whisked away, so that the table becomes a showpiece for the meal: we just usually eat our breakfast around the piles of stuff until we get sick of it and have a cull. Every year at this time I look wistfully at the multiple shelving units housing hundreds of DVDs and CDs: I should get rid of them, but how to start? Do I throw them, keep them, sell them, give them away or ...? The question becomes more and more rhetorical as each year goes by and they remain, gathering dust, a testament to old technology and a distinct lack of conviction (on my part)!

We visited our favourite, the incomparable and ever reliable Din Tai Fung on Saturday afternoon and penciled in our order. For all the years we have been going there the price has remained exactly the same, which is a rarity in itself. The xialongbao and fried rice, the spicy cucumber and stir fried cabbage, the vegetarian dumplings for Cass and the bottomless cups of piping hot tea are delivered to the table with energy and verve, at sensible intervals, and simmering from the wok or bamboo steamers. We always leave well fed and in an upbeat mood: a dining experience that suits us perfectly!

Our computer guy, Dick, visited through the week and declared our computer terminally ill after going through a battery of tests. He has taken it away, will try to retrieve as much data as possible, then transfer it to an energetic new model full of power and memory and hopefully ready for a busy and energetic life. Our computer is put through quite a torrid experience as it streams live sport, downloads large files, burns and transfers data heavy files and videos and photographs and functions as a laptop substitute when we're at home. I pity the poor thing, and I understand how it succumbs to various maladies eventually. Doctor Dick is due this week to deliver a new, fast, powerful athlete who hopefully won't get sick for some time to come!

We're anticipating another great slab of poetry to grade mid-week, so there's no respite. That, along with regular after school meetings and preparing for the "Bookies" on Friday should keep us as busy as ever. Photos: We're always excited to see new restaurants opening up and the Pita Bar up the road has delicious offerings. Din Tai Fung chefs furiously kneading dumplings, Cass under the CNY decorations at SOGO, Mary avoiding a photo (she's a master at this) and a selfie with a couple of old Chinese people behind the old Aussies! I'm reading "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" by Peter Biskind and Cass is reading the stellar, contemporary Aussie classic, Boy Swallows Universe, by Trent Dalton.

Chinese New Year holiday is always quirky. The city shuts down, neighbours are up and about at strange hours of the day and night, firecrackers ignite and explode at annoying and inexplicable intervals, normally sober people light up with a few fortified rice wines onboard and shops and restaurants are open or closed at random times depending on the whims of the owners. I suppose, except for the firecrackers, that pretty much describes Christmas back home now I come to think about it!

We've revelled in our time away from work after a very intense month since the Christmas holiday. It's been well documented on these pages how tech tools that you've come to rely upon can cause great turmoil when they're whisked away, and even greater pain when their promised return is delayed time after time. Cass got herself a cold, I developed a cold sore and generally, we were run-down, exasperated and ultimately, exhausted. This week long break was exactly what the doctor ordered!

To say that we slept a lot is an understatement: our bedtime inched earlier each night and our get-up times crept ever later. In the end we were even astonishing ourselves with our feats of sleep: sometimes the only thing getting us up were our aching backs from sleeping too long! We also feasted on some spectacular movies and TV series. We caught up with mindless fodder from Iview along with quality series like "The Cry" and "Shetland" as well as welcoming back the hilarious "Get Krackin'". I downloaded a slew of movies from the movies of the year list from Metacritic and we watched half a dozen of them as well!

We read a lot too. Cass continued with her "Overstory" which increasingly devolved into a very strange over-reverential tribute to all things natural, mostly trees. In tribute to characters in the book we came up with our "green" names. I'm now officially Dawei Leaf and Cass is Cirrus Fern. You can see how much time we had on our hands.....this alone took about 30 minutes to figure out!

My man in Japan, Gurecki, had sent me a hard copy of a couple of books (very kindly) and I read one of them, the voluminous and gritty "The Force" by Don Winslow, along with electronic reams of garbage from various news websites and social media. We wallowed in our freedom and unscheduled slabs of time!

It wasn't all sedentary, slothful repose. We charged (or more accurately, strained) up the 1300 steps to start the week, then nursed our aching carves for the next few days! We ate out, most notably at the always fantastic The Spice Shop and also tried out the new version of Eat Burger, now re-badged as Bad Ass Burger with a fun professional wrestling theme. We went for lots of little strolls around and about and went to see Green Book at the cinema, which was an absolute classic and highly recommended. The two leads were incredible!

We planned to travel to Sanxia for a day trip but aborted the trip midway when we saw snarled traffic, with cars bumper to bumper for kilometres on the 6 lanes of the southern side of the Number One Expressway, our preferred route back home. We swerved off the expressway to take the back roads to Bali, not the exotic isle in Indonesia, but Damshui's version of Rive Gauche! It was delightful weather and after depositing the silver bullet with some enterprising car-park guys, we wandered the mangrove boardwalks, spotted wildlife and enjoyed the riverside feel. After a moderate walk we felt in need of some re-fuelling and what better spot than the auto themed "Ton Up" cafe. The second floor balcony had spectacular river views and we dined on the English High Tea, played with Cassy's new glamour sunglasses and checked out the various car and motorbike memorabilia. It was a pleasant day of beautiful weather, tasty food, new adventures and great company! Off the expressways, you could fire a bullet down the byways, so we made it back home in record time!

Mary snuggled on the lounge with various coverings depending on the ambient temperature of the morning or evening. She was exhausted having us home, and ate into her allocated 22 hours a day of sleeping....we did our best to catch up with her, although I'm sure she's enjoying the solitude today with us back at work. Not long till Spring Break....!

 

Death-defying daredevils gyrated, leapt and balanced, while drummers tapped out a hypnotic beat and the audience screamed in terror and shock: all part of the incredible TAS Middle School Chinese New Year show! I'd witnessed these athletes in full flight last year and Cass has seen them many times, but nothing quite prepares you for the moments of awe that seem surged with electric excitement just that little bit more each year. The Chinese Acrobats vary the routine each year, but they also seem to up the ante: I don't remember the strength and agility and sheer bravado of an acrobat stacking chair upon chair, then tilting two on top on the tiny surface areas of their angled legs, then, impossibly, doing a handstand on them! If you have any doubt about the veracity of that comment see the video posted above or here later on. My opening comment about "death defying" stands: he, and probably we in the front two rows, were in clear and present danger of life if the chairs had 'a tumbled!

The short term between Christmas and CNY came around incredibly quickly this year, but not soon enough for us as our tech disaster lingered into a third full week. My thoughts went out to my niece just starting her career in teaching this week: the teaching gig has changed dramatically with the advent of newer technology each and every year. Kids' education is a field that should and does embrace all the latest gadgets and approaches to prepare kids for an increasingly digital world. We've kept abreast of the changes and have utilized most of the tools to a lesser or greater extent. When they work, everything goes swimmingly, yet when they collapse we were glad we could invoke our "old school" skills and still teach the curriculum seamlessly. It would have been disastrous if we had no backup set of skills from the old playbook! Anyway, lots of hard copies of materials, hand-written notes and grades, along with some good old-fashioned "chalk and talk" (albeit with whiteboards and markers!!), and we muddled our way through day after day of promises of better times that never appeared. On the very last day there appeared to be some distant blinking cursor of light at the end of a very long dark tunnel, so we'll hope for the best when we return next Monday!

As is our tradition, and considering we've already had two decadent overseas trips this academic year, we resisted the temptation to pack up and jet off to exotic islands or golden beaches this CNY break. Instead we've enjoyed the sleep-ins and lazy days afforded to us in this strange and interesting week. This morning, Chinese New Year's Eve, we were puzzled momentarily by the change in the setting outside our apartment. Normally, players are swatting tennis balls on the courts opposite and traffic hums in the distance. There are neighbours greeting one another, scooters puttering and a general zing of life as the day awakens. Today, there was nothing but birds chirping: it was a little unsettling in a city of boisterous millions, almost like a zombie apocalypse!

We decided to take advantage of this "dead zone" to visit the familiar stone steps of the challenging Tienmu Gudao (or the 1300 steps!), as we hadn't been for a while and the shuffling and trail blocking of hordes of people would be one eliminated impediment. We scootered up with flimsy jackets in the cool, overcast conditions and were indeed greeted by a deserted trail. It was a little surreal to huff and puff up the stairs to the accompaniment of just our own exertions and the rustling of indeterminate wildlife just off the trail. The monkeys kept themselves to themselves mercifully: perhaps they were celebrating a family meal like the rest of the population? We spotted all sorts of beauty as usual, from sun-dappled trails on the ridge line at the top, impossibly green foliage, and caterpillars with the fuzziest, hairiest bodies we'd ever seen!

We're blissing out with all this leisure time and luxuriating in the thought of it continuing through the week. We might take the car for a spin or we might not, watch some movies or choose to stay at home, or go out to eat (this will definitely happen!). It's good to have the time to make some choices and not be locked in to any schedules: Happy Year of the Pig!

Photos: CNY show wonders, Tienmu Trail nature and Cassy checked her "hibiscus" coloured shoes against a fallen example of same...pretty close!

The supermarkets and boutique food outlets around the suburb are increasingly more adventurous in their selections of products, and we're finding more and more exotic fare as every month goes by. We used to wildly celebrate when we saw an Aussie or familiar western product on the shelves, but it seems to be the regular thing these days. We do still get a little thrill when a product appears: it's quite sick, actually! Nonetheless, despite the avalanche of new and/or interesting foods, we still need to get to a number of different venues to source them all!

We had a great weekend, partly because we had an enforced time indoors due to a healthy cold snap that deterred unplanned wanderings around the neighbourhood! We went out and did the food shopping and a couple of other regular errands, including the perennial of dropping off the garbage, all compartmentalized into little presents according to what material it is. We've got gifts of flat plastic, hard plastic, bottles, styrofoam and general trash. If we miss the general runs of the singing garbage trucks, we can deposit the lot in separate bins at the local depot located up near school. I combined this with a decadent serve of KFC on a cold and inhospitable Saturday evening and we watched some TV, cuddled the crying cat and relaxed.

On Sunday we got bundled up in traveling gear and scootered over to Dazhi via the long Neihu tunnel to visit, again, the fancy new Miranew Royal Cinema. As previously described it's quite luxurious with plump, oversized and motorized chairs, little table for snacks and coffee, table services and flocked blankets to cuddle up with. It's a real treat for a great movie and we found one in the form of "The Old Man and the Gun" a Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek movie with a laconic pace and some sublime underacting, especially from the two old masters. We'd both highly recommend it! We'd seen another old master at work recently in Clint Eastwood's "The Mule", but Clint's directing style is less subtle these days and he tends to overplay the symbolism and the themes.

Surprisingly, I'm going to pull up stumps on this entry this paragraph: I've got 92 poems written and analyzed and annotated by by kiddies and they won't get to grade themselves. While I'm procrastinating, Cass is ensconced a couple of doors away hammering a few out! Our tech problems at work still linger and we're fudging out lessons day-to-day, so we're desperately looking forward to the early Chinese New Year break in just a week's time.

Photos: Cass loaded up with cash, train crowds, we got a close up shot of "The Moop" in a unique triple sighting of Moops in our local park!, flower in park, food for sale.

Il Mercato is a world class restaurant just a hop, step and jump from our apartment building in Taipei, Taiwan. We would be very surprised if it doesn't soon rise up the ranks of "best restaurants" in the various forums and judging panels that are available in print and online. The latest degustation menu and experience is absolutely top notch.

Our 31st wedding anniversary conveniently fell on the same date as the opening of the new and wondrous "Tech Cube" at school, and as we'd already booked our night out, we were excused by our very generous acting principal. The skies were dribbling and the wind was whipping, so we ordered an Uber to come and pick us up door to door to eliminate an awkward trip up to the main road to hail a cab. In a city where cabs are a yellow haze, so ubiquitous that they often stop and offer themselves even if we don't hail them, we've had little use for Ubers. This night was just right however, and we used one in the steady rain falling after our meal to return home as well; a very impressive service!

Upon arrival at the restaurant, and after being ushered inside by a phalanx of expectant waiters, we were sent on a small tour of various boutique pop-up food carts, from giant wheels of Parmesan to home-made salamis to freshly made mint and chili lemonades, all served to us individually by staff manning the carts. Onward to sample three mini anti pasto delights commentated upon by the head chef himself. Directed upstairs to our table, we were served by sommelier, maitre d', waitresses and waiters all with perfect English and knowledgeable commentary on the 5 courses we selected. Dishes were whisked in and out at timely intervals, arranged artistically and melting in mouth, each course a taste sensation only outdone by the next. I even had edible gold on a pasta dish! Suffice to say we had an awesome dining experience in Il Mercato's new format: even when we left, the manager and head chef farewelled us in person and gave us some packets of their special pasta as a parting anniversary gift...classy!

The week droned on and our heads were spinning by the time Friday rolled around, knocked into semi-consciousness by a brawling, bruising week without access to much of our tech-tool arsenal. A "migration of platforms" seems to have gone spectacularly awry: a weekend fix has now been going a week and a half with no rainbow lighting up the distant skies! Basically the one-to-one laptop system has been temporarilydestroyed and we can't teach efficiently, plan or grade. Cass has been working furiously to scramble together old-school hard copies of handouts and modify lessons, but it is still an intensely frustrating experience. After a day catching our breath on Saturday, Sunday loomed as a perfect antidote: edgy contemporary art!

Taipei Dangdai had been advertised heavily on social media, we'd checked out the blurbs, and decided it looked like an intriguing day out. Not only that, but it would take us on an excursion to an un-visited corner of the city: a rarity for us as we've scoured the great city across every compass point and most in between. After connecting at Taipei Main Station, the second train whispered into the bowels of the Nanganag Exhibition Centre after a 45 minute trip from home: this city is really big!
Escalators and elevators transported us to the 4th floor and a line for tickets. All of a sudden, a tap on the shoulder and we were presented with free tickets by two mothers of kids that Cassy taught as three year olds, who are now graduating masters degrees at university! They remembered her and she remembered the kids, which was quite amazing. A little bonus before we even entered...

The space was more akin to an airport hangar in proportion and ambiance than one set to house some of the world's most provocative and extreme contemporary art. 50 or more leading CA galleries from around the world had been invited to contribute and they delivered interesting and thought provoking works that were mostly, also, for sale....albeit at eye-wateringly stratospheric prices. We wandered the corridors and marveled at one wondrous piece after another, strolled past others that didn't spark joy, and scoffed occasionally at the boldness of an artist who would produce such derivative work. There was a lot there that we felt we'd seen before, each artist just tweaking a little twist on the original, enough so it wasn't blatant plagiarism. Some works were sublime and beautiful however, such as Ai Weiwei's stainless steel bicycle stack and Double Square Gallery's marble sensations, so tactile, smooth and cool. There were clever works, showing different perspectives of usual objects, and inaccessible wonders that must have taken months to produce yet were lost to interpretation by our feeble minds!

All in all, it was a cavalcade of colour, light, sound and texture and our senses were peaking by the time we'd made our way all the way around and exited the Zeppelin hangar. We made a real adventure of it by alighting at Taipei Main on the way back and negotiating the gigantic food square on the second floor before choosing a Japanese restaurant (Cassy's choice) where we ordered fresh and hot chicken tamago donburi and tonkatsu respectively, washed down with Kirin wheat beers! Sufficiently fortified to challenge the Damshui line train back home, we negotiated the labyrinthine underground station, boarded the train then strolled back home via the river, very pleased with our Sunday adventure and ready for the week ahead.

Photos: G&T at home pre dinner, anniversary dinner, Cass got some sparkling shoulder diamonds for her big soliatire ring,  Taipei Dangdai art shots.