LATEST GOSSIP
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You will need quicktime to play most of these vids. If you haven't got it, download it from here |
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| January 2011
After a fantastic December(weather wise), January brought in the rain and freezing cold weather....
I was ok however, armed with my oil radiator and thermal clothing...my flatmates froze and Edwards was permanently nursing a cold!
| February 2011Chinese new year was not something I was particularly looking forward to given that on every other occasion it had poured with rain. Edwards took off for the sunny Phillippines whilst Keelung Dave and I stayed to brave the conditions. But this year things were different, The sun shone, temperatures rose, I went out hiking and biking whilst Keelung Dave stayed up all night, slept all day and played computer games in between times! We went to the pub on alternate days and ended up getting wasted and coming come at ridiculously late hours but it was fun and gave us a chance to sample the new On Tap which has moved into much bigger premises. Started going hiking regularly again and made another trip to Teapot mountain at the end of the month...Naomi enjoyed it but her legs nearly fell off!
| March 2011
Funds had been low in February due to a lots of cancellations in January and March was bad due to a weeks lay off for chinese New Year in February.
Still, one doesn't have to spend copious amounts of money drinking so I limited my trips to the pub. Got introduced to Herbal Life's nutrition shakes and the their little club. Now, I've always avoided such organisations like the plague before but this time I think the danger of being brainwashed is limited. I have however, been invited to attended various meetings which I've politely declined...drinking shakes will do for now.
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| April 2011I was scheduled to go to Kenting for the annual Spring Scream knees up...there was even a battle bus going down with 35 folk signed up. I however, er, didn't make it and went to Yingge to make myself a pot and after that popped down to the local stadium to see none other than Bob Dylan!
Went along with the Bear and Jason to see His Bobness at the Big Egg and while The Bear snaffled up an 8000nt ticket for 3000nt off a tout, Jason and I contented ourselves with 1800nt tickets at the back...the scalpers were getting desperate to sell and I could see why when we got in. The place was half empty. Still the sound is much better than the Nangang exhibition centre, which is awful, but Bob's voice was ropey to say the least.
HOT NEWS!! I decided to head back to UK for 5 weeks or so to visit the folks, friends and see the mighty Reading in their push for promotion! To be honest I was in need of a break as Taiwan was starting to do my head in.
| May 2011
The other footy games I saw weren't great either but at least we made it to the play-offs. Anyway, I was browsing through a jobs website when I came across a language school for sale in Caziz province, Spain.
so more HOT NEWS, I decided to fly over to check it out!
But before I flew there was a family do in the Retriever pub between Bracknell and Crowthorne. There had been big forest fires just a few days before and the road was closed with access to the pub only. fire crews and Police were camped just across the road! Heather didn't want her picture taken so my spoon conveniently hid her...
Anyway, the next day I was off and typical me, I had booked the flights, hotel and Parking and was just getting onto the shuttle bus to take me to the airport proper having driven all the way to Stanstead, when I received a phone call from the schools owner to say he'd accepted an offer....Somewhat taken aback I decided to go anyway and that night was strolling the streets of Chipiona on the Spanish Atlantic coast.
Back to UK on the Thursday and the important business of the play offs on the Friday. Reading drew 0-0 first leg do Nick and I drove down to Cardiff for the 2nd leg. Met Gareth in Cowbridge first for a few ales and was feeling a bit drunk when we arrived. The game was an absolute classic as you can see on the video and we won 3-0. The best atmosphere at a game I have experienced for years....Now for Swansea City and third time lucky at play off finals!
With a week to pass before the Wembley trip I took the chance to visit old friends and went up to London to visit Loree her husband, Michel and two sprogs. They've bought a new house which is a definite upgrade compared to their previous place. Maya the daughter is now a cheeky four year old and I had some fun playing with her in the tube!
As playoff fever started to build, I went to the pub with Paul and Mum to discuss the upcoming game. My mum was caught up in it all and demanded I take her over to the Madjeski Stadium to buy some RFC products...who was I to refuse?
Well, the big day came and somewhat to my consternation we didn't leave until 11am. I was dying to get there early to savour the atmosphere...but anyway. We arrived close enough to Wembley where Mike and I got out and walked to the pub as the traffic wasn't moving. The main pubs were all full so we ended up in some overflow pubs where the atmosphere wasn't that great but we did proceed to get drunk! Nick the Perv arrived as it was close to where he now lives in London. He was originally just coming for a quick beer but after walking with us to the stadium managed to blag a discount ticket!
The atmosphere inside the ground was electric, as you'd expect from 86,500 fans, half in Swansea white and half in the blue and white hoops.
THE GAME HIGHLIGHTS...painful viewing for myself it has to be said.
| June 2011
After that it was On Tap with the Bear where we had a tussle over whether to go to Revolver and see the "Deadly Vibes" or not. The Bear was resisting and in the melee my phone was knocked off the table and is now broken.....
I've been looking for new hikes and one big challenge I haven't done yet is the Sh-Ding to Muza ridge which is a linear 6 hour job. I went out with the intention of completing this trek but left it far too late and only had time to do a section which was still very tough and took about 4 hours! Anyway, apart from the views I also saw a Stick insect, Giant Millipede and the tail end of a large sake disappearing into a hole under a tree.
Managed to get a snap of Sticky boy but the others were too fast for me!
My plans to hike the complete Sh-Ding ridge were scuppered when a typhoon side swiped Taiwan and deposited large amounts of rain over the whole island. Well, luckily my plans for the weekend were not entirely ruined because "Revolver" once again came up with the goods and provided some top live music. A Black Sabbath tribute band no less! They were excellent musicians, (especially the drummer) and were all wearing long wigs to look the part. At the end of the set they removed the false hair to reveal bald palates one and all.
| July 2011Having been "laid off" by Happy Marion I was forced to go out and look for another job and managed to bag myself a kindergarten at the local Montessori starting in August. That meant no more Happy Baby!! Sad to say farewell to the little munchkins but the place had become a bit chaotic with the new teachers unable to control the kids. As I don't see myself as a law enforcer the kids were running riot in B3, opening cupboards, clambering over each other, ripping things to shreds and using me as a human climbing frame! In the middle of the month I got first a phone call, then a text from Mia coyly asking me if I wanted to go on holiday with her. After picking myself off the floor I first declined as I'm a busy man but then as it was only for a long weekend thought why not. After some desperate searching on the internet we took off on a four day trip to Thailand which I have devoted a page to. It went quite well really, no serious arguments! The only trouble was the first hotel was a bit isolated, the weather was a bit crap and time was up before we knew it. I literally had to dash from the airport to the Eurocentre to teach the evening classes!  The following week Bear and I tackled the hitherto considered impossible Sh-Ding to Mao-Kong trek which took a soul sapping six and a half hours. A video of the heroics will be posted soon enough! The Long Hike....
| August 2011New month, new job! Started at Jason Montessori and was somewhat underwhelmed. Organised it aint! A vague schedule to fill the day interspersed with water breaks, toilet breaks, play breaks and food breaks....I'll get used to it! First weekend of the month and golf was on the agenda. Edwards, Keelung and I headed off to the well manicured fairways of Xindien for the MinZu classic. A full video of the entertainment can be found here The weather has been constantly hot with frequent thunderstorms in the afternoon. I was caught out in one....near the top of a mountain and with thunder and lightning flashing all around me I had to take refuge in a tiny shrine for an hour...gave me a chance to check out the games on my mobile.
Had my first ever yoga class and some of the girls present had to stifle their mirth at my inept attempts to bend my body into the most basic of positions...it would appear that I am quite stiff! Hoping to continue this and gradually transform into a contortionist.
| September 2011Good God!! September finds me still employed by Jason's...shows how much I need the money!! Moon festival was a good holiday, not because of any celebrations but because the three day weekend was so looked forward to! However, at the Daniel Pearl concert(live bands playing outside...cool vibe) I broke a tooth eating a nacho and subsequently found out I needed a root canal operation...four visits to the dentist to fix it. The last ever pool party at the Country Club was a roaring success, crowded as I've ever seen it and I managed to get very drunk...but over a long period of time.
| October 2011My God, not another birthday! Decided to keep a low profile this time around and so, on my birthday, nothing happened! I did get my first ever birthday phone call from Nina though which was super nice. I was supposed to go out for a meal with, ahem! a certain young lady, but after some phone drama, that didn't happen. September and October have been the season of the tooth for me. Weekly trips into the dentist thinking it would be the last time and SIX trips later, I'm still going! Supposed to be getting a cap fitted but after drilling, buffing, syringing blue stuff into my mouth, yanking, squirting, clamping my teeth over some clay like stuff, putting in nails, telling me to bite over stuff, more drilling....it's still not over. 
Halloween reared its ugly head at the end of the month and yet again I dragged the old shirt out of the cupboard and became a punk once more.
Can you tell which of the pictures above is from 2009 and which is from 2011?
| November 2011
| I wasn't exactly looking forward to the trip to Snow Mountain as it was being squeezed into two days and to my mind this was insufficient for the arduous nature of the trek. Needless to say only two out of the eight made it to the peak.
With the lightened workload the rest of the month was spent getting some chores done, getting up late...general dossing, reading books and studying Chinese. Handed in my notice at the Eurocentre because I've decided to take an office/teaching job for the business teaching side of Happy Marion called "Round Table." Not sure if i've made the right decision....I've been at the Euro on and off since 2002!
| December 2011
Latest news on the job front: Yann has now offered me a full time job at the Eurocentre!!
Decided to stay with the Eurocentre...means another month of idleness...Can I cope???
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