Thurs. Nov. 22
Tuesday was the big zoo trip. It was really nice. I think the kids were a little afraid of all the people there, so they were really well behaved. For the first bit, we had to stay in the section with all of the domestic animals, including an entire habitat for rabbits and guinea pigs behind glass. Seriously. But then we got to go see more "exotic" animals, like the monkeys and the cutest vegetarian bear.
Yesterday was the half day. All of us preschool teachers went to lunch at the Thai place that I really like. And Ty came too, cuz Jackie’s subbing for Adrienne for a while. Then I spent the afternoon at CKS with Katy and went to the library with Emily in the evening.
School was ok today. One more kid came back, so I’m up to 14 again. I’m still missing one, but it’s nice of them to come back one at a time so I can readjust slowly. The kids were really crazy, though. None of them wanted to listen and they were all very silly. I think Thursday is surpassing Tuesday as the worst day of the week for me. It’s weird, but I’m pretty sure it’s just a Taiwan thing. My theory still holds true for Canada, I’m sure.
Sat Nov 24th
Yesterday school sucked. We were supposed to go to the park, but the Chinese teachers decided that it was raining too hard to go (which it SO wasn’t). So I had to prep something last minute for the entire afternoon. Not to mention dealing with 13 kids who were all expecting to play outside and then couldn’t. They went crazy, which in turn made me act like a harpy.
After work I went for tea with K and Corrie, until Corrie had to go back to school to teach. Then K and I went to the Rice Café in Taipei for supper. After food, we kinda wandered around and I tried to find Christmas presents (which would be much easier if my family contained fewer males). Eventually I gave up and we ended up at 0204. Jason met us there and we played some pool and had a couple of drinks. It was good times.
This morning I was supposed to meet K and Corrie and her boyfriend Andy for a hike. But I’m still fighting this virus and couldn’t make myself leave my bed. I actually woke up at 8:30, talked to K at 10, to tell her I wasn’t coming, and then went back to sleep.
During my day at home I watched Heroes (so good, even if there was no Peter) and Bones (also good). I also read a book that I got out of the library the other night. It was really interesting. I’ve never seen anything with quite that writing style. The author is Jonathan Safran Foer and the book is called Everything is Illuminated. Elijah Wood stars in the movie based on it.
Speaking of movies, after meeting up with Jackie, Ty and Diana for dinner and randomly running into Katy, we all went to the movies. We saw Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. It was really cute. A little sad, but still cute and magical.
Tues Nov. 27th
It is raining like mad outside right now. And it has been since Sunday. Luckily, it wasn’t raining too hard on Sunday, cuz I met T, Michelle, and Michelle’s friend Brent (also Canadian) for a late lunch and then we went shopping. It was actually a pretty fun day. I also bought some new non-smudgy eyeliner from MAC (which is made in Canada). It’s actually really cool, cuz it’s a gel. It looks like a lipgloss jar, but it’s eyeliner. And it’s easier to apply than a pencil or liquid. (Sorry to bore you all with this, but I found it really exciting).
Yesterday was good. My girl who has been away for 3 weeks finally came back. She’s still a little subdued, but it’s so good to see her. And I was in a really great mood, so nothing phased me the whole day. After work, I had dinner here and then met Katy to go grocery shopping (where I bought only bread, because what good are groceries when the stove is broken?). After shopping, I came home and read for a bit, then met the whole crew at 0204 for a couple of drinks and some pool. It was a really good time.
Today my special phrase of the day was "Justifiable homicide". The kids were awful. There’s one especially that I thought was just horrible for me because he didn’t understand me, but he’s just as bad for the CTs. We did finally finish watching Snow White and the kids were mercifully quiet for a whole 45 minutes.
Because of the downpour, I stayed at school during my break, reading in the office. I finished my book (The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King, which is really good) and I got some paperwork done ahead of time (only because I finished my book). I wished out loud that I hadn’t finished my book and Sam offered me his, cuz he was going to nap. So I also read the first 20 or so pages of Space by James(?) Mitchner.
After work I went to the library and grabbed dinner before coming home. Once I got here, I nested on the couch and barely moved. From the library I got The Life of Pi and the movies "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and "Mary Poppins", both of which I watched tonight. I really didn’t like The Postman, although Lana Turner is beautiful. Diana came home from class in time to watch the end of Mary Poppins with me. Tomorrow’s the half day and K and I are going to the Thai place that I love for lunch.
Thurs. Nov 29th
I successfully accomplished almost all of my goals for today. I didn’t have to go harpy in school. At lunch I read a little more of Space, even though I started The Life of Pi yesterday. We also had a teachers’ meeting, which killed the last hour of class and I found out that the golden prince, one of my students, has moved so I’m down to 14 in my class. Yay!!
This afternoon I bought a new blanket (nights here get chilly and the apartments aren’t insulated) and I picked up some more Christmas presents. I’m almost completely finished Christmas shopping and it’s not even December yet. This is unprecedented for me.
It helps that I spent all afternoon yesterday shopping. I dragged poor Katherine all over the place looking for presents. And I was partially successful. I managed to get Jamie’s present, although there are still some others that are eluding me. I had been hoping to ship the package tomorrow, but it looks like that won’t be happening. Hopefully Monday, then.
Tonight has been even better than the rest of the day. I had my favourite cheap chicken curry for dinner, watched an episode of Heroes (so freakin’ good) and won $200 in the lottery. Of course, the money was in NT so it’s about the equivalent of $7 CAD. But still, it’s money for nothing.
Sat. Dec.1st
I can officially start celebrating Christmas now. And I have with my mixed CDs. Of course today I’m just listening to them and writing down what songs are actually on them. I had a big rush of homesickness while I was in the grocery store. First, I can’t find any advent calenders. Then I looked down the baking aisle and there were all the ingredients for Christmas goodies, and I don’t have an oven in which to bake.
Yesterday at school the secretaries were putting up all the decorations. There’s a tree and everything, so at least I’ll be in the festive spirit at work. Although, it seemed to elude me yesterday. For some reason my inner harpy had emerged and refused to be locked away. It may have had something to do with the sinus headache I had all day, and the kids were horrible. I didn’t even get to relax after work, cuz I had agreed to sub for one of the kids’ teachers. That class was ok, though. It was just that it went from 7-9. But after, I played some pool with Katherine then I came home, talked to the roomies for a bit and went to bed.
I feel much better today. And tonight we’re going out! Actually out! Not to 0204 for a drink, but into Taipei to a club. It’s been ages since I’ve gone dancing. I’m so excited. And we’re having a nice dinner first, so we can still hang out with the people who don’t want to go to the club.
Sun Dec 2nd
So, the nice dinner ended up being only 4 of us and it was at Swensons. We tried to go to a different place, but it closed at 9. Katy, Jackie, Ty and I enjoyed our meal. T was waiting for Michelle (who is always late) so they didn’t get there until we were finished. Then T, Michelle and I went to a club.
I had wanted to go to a club called Ocean Blue, which has a shark tank inside, but in spite of everything I read to the contrary, Michelle insisted that there was no dancefloor there, so we ended up at Wax instead. Everyone says that it’s really scuzzy, but it wasn’t that bad. It was way less creepy than Classics, although there was a whole group of kids who were at the absolute most 15. Most of them looked about 12. We spent most of the night laughing at boys trying to seduce girls with their "mad dancing skills". And Michelle and I almost got into a dance off with a bitchy 12 year old blond girl (she was with the middle school crowd). It was really fun.
Today has been really laid back. I talked to Mom, watched a couple of movies, played around on the internet. All in all, a nice relaxing day. Hopefully I’ll be well rested to deal with the monsters tomorrow.
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