It’s not every, but rather an amazing, day you meet an old friend in the lobby of a swank hotel only to be directed to the tailor’s shop to be custom fitted for a new dress shirt by a tailor who also tailored suits for U.S. Presidents Ford and Clinton. I am thankful for such caring and giving friends, as they don’t just enjoy life with you, they also upgrade your style!
It has taken 15 years after I graduated from college to realize I’m not in college anymore. Sure it feels great to work through manuscripts and piling up school work until 3 in the morning, but there simply isn’t enough Coca-Cola in the world to keep your mind, body, and soul from disintegrating. Therefore, instead of having an amazing night on this fine Tuesday, my wife prescribed me with a vampire schedule of going to bed at 5 p.m. and waking up at the witching hour so that I dutifully receive my necessary coffin time so that I can be fresh and more importantly alive. Here goes nothing!
The highlight of the day was visiting the Australian Office Taiwan (the equivalent of an embassy) for a seminar on preparing students for the future as well as highlighting how Australian universities support their international students.
I get a kick out of visiting embassies. Maybe it’s the security and glass windows as thick as milkshakes. I’m not sure, but all I know is I like them, a lot.
At first I was afraid I would struggle to pay attention for the 2 hour session, but when everyone has a cool Aussie accent, it’s just pure enjoyment. I could listen to my new mates talk forever.
As a bonus, I ate the tiniest cheeseburger I have ever seen. (Disclaimer: the photo is larger than the actual burger)
Campaign must be in high swing, because not only do we hear obnoxious mobile megaphones trucking down the street, billboards and even entire walls of buildings are rife with smiley people.
The one that gets me is the Lady of Linkou. This woman must have endless coffers for she is EVERYWHERE! You can’t escape her.
Sometimes I feel bad for my students. It must be hard to always be in my brilliant and witty presence. How can they compete?
Well… it’s a different story on the court. After school I participated in a pickup match between some of our staff members and students. While I made a few shots, it was only due to my towering height. The 9th grade boys danced all over me. I sure did travel a lot.
Well two things are for certain: this white man CAN jump, yet he don’t got game.
#baller?
And sometimes all one needs is a simple ham and cheese sandwich. That’s all there is to say about that.
In order to update some old accounts and files, a professional-looking portrait was needed. I gotta say, modeling is difficult work!
Halloween is by far my favorite holiday. While I’m a certified scaredy-cat, the autumnal celebration is the harvesting of safe-scares surrounding me with a warm spiritual embrace. Settling into our new cozy apartment with dim lightning and an ominous night sky presented the perfect prelude to the coming Halloween. I refused the call to surrender to sleep and instead of basked in its glory by taking a well-past midnight stroll.
While Taiwan’s subtropical weather doesn’t create that majestic autumn feeling, local 7-11s get into Halloween spirit with limited edition Sanrio characters in iconic spooky fatigues. I had gotten used to Hello Kitty being the featured star, so I passed on last year’s Gudetama offerings.
However, they’ve upped the ante this year with a Kappa figure! Two down, four to go. The hunt has begun!
Stephen "Crave" Cravak
