Rabbits, gambling and overstimulated taste buds.

I haven't written in a while.

I'm busy, a lot busy. Which is awesome.

Fun things like day trips, weekend trips, leisurely lunches and shopping have taken up a significant amount of time, procrastination and work have taken up the rest. Oh sleep, how I missed thee.

Pig Dana and Spider nose monster Willie. When kids make things like this out of a blank circle with eye holes it makes you feel good, BUT....

Red Button moment

What is up with kids falling asleep in class?

Personally, I blame the parents. I run around like some sort of children's TV programme presenter dying for a pee playing games and throwing my arms around like an Italian on speed and they're still falling asleep? I guess an 8am-4pm day at school + two hours of Buxiban in the evening kinda kills them.

Anyway, 'J' fell asleep and drooled on his test...

Makes you doubt your teaching skills eh?

Red Button done

It's my third new year in Taiwan (Jewish, Western and now Chinese) and it seems that they're getting better.

I feel like every one has brought along a little piece of something good into my life.

Mostly in the form of people. I'm in a good spot right now.

A very new and lovely colleague of mine went to dinner at our bosses house for CNY last night;

This is just one side of the table, to say that there was enough food for an army is a gross understatement.

That's a traditional fish hotpot there in the middle, I don't even know how to explain how nom these noms were.

Think of this card game as 21 but 10.5 with royalty being considered 0.5

Needless to say I got my ass whooped out of 300NT

It was too much fun, and tomorrow brings another family party courtesy of another co-worker's family. This time they're gonna teach me how to play mah-jong (I hope) and I will hopefully walk away feeling a little less deflated than this time. First time gambler=big time loser...

Caramel Macchiato a la Robot Cafe

So a part of my new busy has been eating lunch/having drinks with friends at new places. I love Taichung sometimes, every nook cranny and alley seems to be hiding a hipster bar with cute bar staff.

I should apologise for the crap quality of the pictures I publish I'm mostly taking pictures with this guy;

Hot eh? my wall is slowly being covered in credit card sized polaroids. yum.

I may have mentioned before that I live in a bit of a Ghetto here in Taichung, from the gigolo around the corner, the gambling holes next to the fruit shop, the KTV across the road

,transvestites loitering around and the flash flash cars parked around my area...

Just to remind you that you're in Asia. This car also has black lights under it, so when it drives around at night it looks like a spaceship.

On the 18th of this month I'm going to Thailand for just under ten days. The joy of the thought of lying on a beach for a week followed by an intensive weekend with my cousin in Bangkok is too good to describe, and at the same time going back to a place I visited seven years ago brings about two realities: 1. I'm old and 2. Things are never quite the same the second time around.

I suspect that's not an entirely bad thing, but I'm still scared! Any advice on what's remained untouched during those years would be helpful.

Is it normal that I actually have a tiny trace of fear in me about going away for ten days on my own? considering the fact I'm here alone(ish) for a year?

Happy New (Rabbit) year, Happy New February and hurrah to life being exciting again!

Dx