Spring has sprung

So yesterday was the first day of 2011 at the beach (Chinese New Year doesn't count, because we were down south.) The day was warm, bordering on hot, so everyone was out of their house, and although traffic getting out of the city was a bit of a mess, it was nice driving along the coast, enjoying the blue skies, brilliant sunshine, and watching the waves rolling in. By the time we got to the beach, though, some fog had rolled in, and it wasn't until we left that the sun cleared it up. We still had a good time - A & J and their kids met us there, and our kids played in the sand. I threw sticks out into the sea for Gustav to fetch, and the mood was mellow. A & J had bought some food along the way, so we had a bit of a picnic, and we had a nice time talking with A & J.

On the way back home, Vanessa offered to drive to let me nap for a bit, and I said, sure, just wake me up if you're not sure where to go. Well, while I was snoozing, I sort of felt that the car was making too many turns to be on the straight road that we were supposed to be on. I opened my eyes and asked V where we were. "Oh, it's a shortcut!", she said brightly. "The sign said that we can go this way to Taipei." End result? It took us an hour longer than it should have to get back home. Groan. We got back home, changed our clothes quickly and made it over to A & S's place for dinner at 8:00, instead of 7:00. A had cooked a fantastic meal - rack of lamb, roast potatoes, broccoli, wine, cheese, salmon - it was a great dinner! After that, I dropped Vanessa off at a KTV where she was meeting some friends, took the kids home, put them to bed, and slept like a log. All in all, a very nice day!

Anyway, now that beach weather has started, it's time to get back on the bike. I've been pretty sedentary for the last three months, and it shows. I really want to make some improvements in my life this year, and physical fitness will help that. And I want to be less of a dork on a surfboard, although that may not be possible.

Holy Nightflier, Batman!

So there I was, zipping along the riverside bike path, enjoying being back on my bike after a four day absence, loving the night breeze, when WHAM! A freaking bat flies right into my face! Does it fly off? NO! It gets its freaking wing entangled in my chin strap and flaps around wildly. Five seconds later (an eternity!) it gets loose and flies away, leaving me a little scratched up and completely grossed out.

If that bat infected me with anything other than super powers, I'm going to be severely pissed off!

Boracay Videos!

You can see all the videos of our January trip to Boracay in one spot here, but there are a couple that are especially fabulous that I'll put up alone in this blog. In the meantime, enjoy!

Paco Park Oasis Hotel in Manila

Slumming it in Manila

Our first night in Manila we stayed in the Paco Park Oasis Hotel. At $30/night it was certainly affordable, and despite the cockroaches and rats, it wasn't THAT bad, but it's not going to make the cover of Condé Nast Traveler magazine any time soon...

Back from Boracay!

Vanessa, Trudi, and I just came back from a much-needed holiday on the beautiful island of Boracay in the Philippines. We took a lot of pictures and videos, and I'll be posting them after I edit and upload them. The picture below was taken at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, while we were waiting to board:


And this is Trudi and me on the plane:

Like father, like daughter

Now Trudi and I have matching hair styles!

Peek-a-boo!

A drink before retiring...

A drink before bedtime is something I've really come to enjoy. Lately, I've had the pleasure of getting to know two new favourites - Murphy's Irish Stout and Laphroaig Scotch Whisky. Murphy's is a smooth, creamy ale with hints of chocolate and coffee, and goes down like mother's milk. I'm not a huge fan of dark beers, usually, and I've never liked Guiness, but Murphy's is great, and you can get it at 7-elevens around Taiwan, so it's easy to pick up. I've been told by British friends that Murphy's is an old ladies drink in the UK, but whatever. I like it fine.



A couple of months ago, I was presented with a bottle of 30 year old Scotch whisky from the Laphroaig Distillery on the Isle of Islay, Scotland by a friend departing Taiwan. This is maybe the most interesting Scotch I've ever tasted. It has a strong flavour, very peaty, and a little pungent. From their website: The aroma, on pouring the 30 year old, gives an initial burst of sherry, the full profound depth and roundness of sweet fruit then becomes apparent followed by a tantalising hint of Islay peat. On tasting, all the traditional Laphroaig personality comes through, allied with a succulent, heavy roundness that belies the massive depth and power of this outstanding and unique single malt. Some consider it the finest of all Islay single malts. I still think Glenmorangie, finished in sherry or port wine casks, is my overall favorite, because it's an "easier" Scotch, but when I drink the Laphroaig, I tend to get lost in thought a little more, and that's a nice feeling.

Slainte Mhath!

Third Grade Class Photo

Third Grade Class Photo
Originally uploaded by Maoman.

I dug this out of the bottom of a drawer yesterday. Cedarbrae Public School in Waterloo, Ontario sure seems a long way away.

Milestones

I'm sitting here at half past midnight, not feeling even a little bit guilty for not having entered anything noteworthy in the last couple of months. I didn't want to share what was going on in my life because it was too fresh, too exciting, too personal, and too close to me at the time. Now things are settling into a comfortable routine, and I am getting some perspective on things.

I am married.

I married a beautiful, funny, incredibly perceptive, loving person - Vanessa Pan. (Her Chinese name is Pan Huixin - pronounced "Hway-sheen") We got married on my 36th birthday - a date we chose so that I would never forget our anniversary, so that Vanessa can combine my b-day gift and anniversary day gift, and because we're also getting married publically next summer, so we didn't want to assign too much significance to one individual day. It was a really hot day. I wore a black silk Chinese style shirt that V had bought for me, and she wore a beautiful cream-coloured dress.

I was pretty excited that day, even though I had tried to fool myself by saying it was just paperwork and didn't mean that much. It didn't work - by the time I got there, my heart was racing. It was a thrilling experience.

The gentleman presiding was a Notary Public who specializes in this sort of thing. He had a little altar set up, with the Chinese character for double happiness in red neon behind. It wasn't as tacky as it sounds. He spoke to us about the powers invested in him by the government of the Republic of China, our responsibilities to each other as a married couple, he mispronounced three out of four of my names, we then bowed to each other (almost bumping heads), smooched, and he then handed me our marriage certificate. That was it.

Despite the banality of the procedure, when it came time for the little "ceremony", I felt very moved. I mean wow - there was a beautiful woman standing next to me who actually wanted to be with me for the rest of my life. I was thrilled and proud. What a high! Our witnesses to the ceremony, next-door-neighbours and all-round good guys Geoff and Joyce Lin, took us out for a celebratory bowl of beef noodles for lunch that were just insanely spicy. We went home, had an afternoon nap (we were both zonked - too much nervous energy), and then later in the evening went to Salsa Bistro on Anhe Road with them for Champagne and dinner.

After dinner, we went to an outdoor cafe very close to Lotus Hill and had coffee outside under the trees. The music was nice. I just remembered - when we sat down there, the waitress came to take our temperatures - SARS was in full bloom back then - and the way she was fiddling around with the laser-pointer thermometer made me realize that she was new at this. She did me first and the second she pointed the laser at me, I grabbed my head in apparent agony and started moaning. The poor girl was startled - she thought she had killed me.
"Omigod sir, are you alright?!"
"Yeah, just playing with you - I'm sorry...."
Everybody else was in stitches, but the poor girl looked faint. I'm such a bastard...

Anyhow we all talked about nothing for a couple of hours, and I kept stealing looks at Vanessa beside me. She was especially beautiful that night. I think I'll remember that day and that night for a long time - forever, I guess. Here's to our beautiful life together ~clinks glasses~