Teacher's Day Goodies

Today is Teacher's Day here in Taiwan. Yes, there is an official holiday to honor teachers and it's a wonderful gesture.

It was established in 1939 and coincides with the birthday of Confucius. Here is a excerpt on the topic from Wikipedia:

"The day honors teachers' virtues, pains, and also their contribution not only to their own students but also to the whole society. People often make use of the day to express their gratitude to their teachers, such as paying them a visit or sending them a card. This date was chosen to commemorate the birth of Confucius, believed to be the model master educator in ancient China."

My students & employer went above and beyond the call of duty this year. I received tons and tons of chocolate goodness from several of my students and a really cool thumb drive for my computer from the boss lady. The thumb drive, or USB drive, has my name on it...I like it!

It's always great to get stuff from the kids, it makes me feel like a million bucks. I love my job so the gifts are icing on the cake.

This Says It All

Wake up America! Palin is NOT the answer.



p.s. Eerie how much Tina Fey looks like Palin, eh?

Cats, Dogs & Buckets

Rain, rain & more rain. We're coming to the end of the third day of non-stop rain. Last I heard we had over 10 inches on Saturday...crazy stuff. This is a brought to us by Typhoon Sinlaku, a nasty storm that has managed to sit off the coast of Taiwan and thoroughly drench Taipei.

Sinlaku has not been all that bad. The winds have not been too ferocious. I expected lots more.

The government here is seriously skittish about typhoons. As a result, we have enjoyed a three-day weekend. If there is a decent chance we could be in the path of the storm, they cancel all schools and work...no complaints here!

You'd think I would have taken advantage of these past few days of no responsibilities...not so much...lol. Catherine and I have managed to be as unproductive as is humanly possible. We have watched tons of TV and had our fair share of naps. I did manage to get some work done for my adult class, but I haven't been too motivated. I think I needed this time to decompress. The past 6 weeks at work have been grueling.

It's still coming down. I am gonna have to swim to work tomorrow!

3 Years and Counting

I have been crazy busy with work this past month so my social life has been M.I.A.. Therefore, blogging seemed silly since I doubt any of you out there care to hear about my struggles at work.

Catherine and I have a few excursions planned in the near future. Perhaps they will be blog-worthy? Not sure yet, but I will do my best to get back in the swing of this.

A few weeks back, I reached the three year mark of my time here in Taiwan. The time has really gone by so quickly. I am planning on writing some posts about my impressions of life in Taiwan, 3 years in.

We're going to Taichung this weekend so I hope to take lots of photos and fill you in on the details. Time to dust of the camera!...lol

Catherine and I are working on all the marriage stuff, too. It's super confusing and I haven't had enough time to work on it lately. That's gonna change soon.

Also, I foresee some ranting about the US presidential election in the near future. I fear that the American public is getting hoodwinked by the republicans, again! That's just not acceptable.

Thanks for continuing to check out my silliness and please stay tuned!

And the Nomination Goes to:

Mayor Quimby!

The actions of John McCain in the past few days have left me dumbstruck. I have been genuinely trying to see the logic behind his nomination of Sarah Palin for the VP...it ain't there!

This all comes down to a total lack of respect for the process and the American people. How can you put someone a heartbeat (a 72 year old heartbeat that has been diagnosed with cancer 4 times) away from the leadership of the 300,000,000 people that is so unqualified???

Mrs. Palin didn't even have a passport until 2007!!!!! All the stuff regarding her family and ties to the "bridge to nowhere" are intriguing, this is downright frightening!

The possible Vice President of the United States has traveled abroad less than I have...scary stuff people.

I fear that we are getting fed the "average American that you'd want to have a beer with" crap again; much like we were in the early days of the dumbass in the White House.

We are electing a president. I don't want a "normal" person. I want an exceptional person with skills and a temperament suitable to the duties of leading the world.

Bottom line: your stance on abortion should not be the determinant factor when choosing a vice president.