Thursday, February 07, 2008

Dear Diary: Day 5 on the Island....

I've been on vacation from school since Friday the 1st. And since Saturday the 2nd, I've been spending hours and hours a day watching the most faboo TV series, Lost. It all started when Shannon arrived on Saturday afternoon. She spent the night Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, leaving Tuesday morning, and except for a couple runs to the store for victuals and food prep time in the kitchen, we had our asses plunked down on the couch, working our way through all of season 1 and part of season 2 before she had to leave. I've continued the grueling ritual and am now into season 3. Hopefully, Shannon managed to find the series for rent at Blockbuster, because my set is region 1 coded, and she's unable to play it on her DVD player. Hoo boy, she was so pissed off Tuesday morning, because the student she left my place at 9:30 a.m. to meet stood her up, and she could have stayed here and watched at least two more episodes before her afternoon student!

My ass hurts. My legs hurt. I'm really tired of sitting. However, it is rainy and freezing-ass cold outside, so I have no incentive to vacate the premises and get some exercise. I walked to the store yesterday afternoon and got soaked, because one shoe seems to have sprung a hole that caused my left sock to become a soggy lump and the wind was so bad that my umbrella did a "kai hua" - that's Chinese for "blossoming flower" and I think you get the idea. It's not raining right now, so there's a good chance I'll get out and about today, before I lose all feeling in my nether regions.

In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, around 2:00 a.m., I was awakened by wailing and moaning. I figured it was the kids next door crying, tried to fall back asleep, but it kept up. Finally, I took my earplugs out and walked over to the wall, thinking maybe I'd bang on it, but then I heard the sound again, coming from outside. It was the wind, sounding just like it does during a typhoon! I guess the way these buildings are set up it sort of makes a wind tunnel that gives the wind a lot more force, and it just wailed and wailed for over an hour, keeping me awake. Can't imagine what it will be like during an actual typhoon, but guess I'll find out.

So, hey, it's now The Year of the Rat! Happy Lunar New Year to everyone! I'd dithered a bit about whether to make the trek into Taipei and pick up some yummies from Shanghai Dumpling to bring back here to eat or to fend for myself, and the sorry state of the weather pretty much decided me on staying here. I already had some stuff to make hotpot, so I bought a little more and sat here with DZ eating fish balls and mushrooms and sliced beef boiled in broth and dunked in hot & spicy sha cha jiang. Trust me, it tastes a whole lot better than it sounds. There were lots of fireworks and firecrackers last night, but not all night long, thank goodness. I went to bed around 1:30 a.m., I think. No wailing winds kept me up.

It's perfect baking weather, and last week on Friday I made chocolate chip cookies and some muffins, which Shannon and I made quite a nice dent in. Today I'm going to make a cheesecake, just because I feel like it. Having the little oven on for hours sure makes it warmer in here. If you remember, Taiwan apartments don't come equipped with central heat (or air), so all I have for warmth is a standing space heater that actually does quite a good job. Taking a shower ain't fun, though, as the bathroom is really cold. Best I can do is set the heater up outside the door and try to get the tub/toilet room warmed up before I get in, and get dressed as fast as possible when I'm done.

OK, so I'm gonna get myself outside before the rain starts again, and then when I come back I can continue my immersion into fantasy island life with the cast of Lost, trying to figure out all these mysteries.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, it all sounds so relaxing. The food sounds delicious.

Happy New Year! I have a feeling it's going to be a great one.

scenic said...

hey Marla!
新年快乐!
祝你
万事如意,心想事成!