29th June to 5th
July
A week of
‘hodge podge’ happenings.
Monday was
basically the first official day of holidays but myself and Paul are still
working on the final grades for the class we co-taught. What I found out is that Paul gave the exams
(65) to his student assistant for marking.
This should not be the case as it’s not the norm for a student grading
other student’s test papers AND it’s not his/her responsibility.
I prepared
the final exam myself so I asked Paul if he could take care of grading the
papers, since we co-taught then this request is not unheard of.
As I am
reviewing the papers I see there are mistakes and the mistakes continue
throughout all the papers. I took them
and re-checked everything and had to correct every paper. At this time I’m not very happy and it seems
I have now done way more than half of the work.
I should have taken care of all of this from the beginning.
In the
morning Nicholas and I went for coffee then we wanted to check out the new “World
Gym” that is nearby.
We went in
the week prior asking for some information but told us we needed to return at
9am when someone would assist us.
We went
inside and WOW what a spectacular gym. I
have never seen anything quite like this.
The first thing I’m thinking is that a membership fee won’t be cheap
here..haha
A
consultant came to us and we sat down and I had to fill out a questionnaire
first. This seems to be normal for any
membership into any organization. I’m
assuming the consultant will receive a commission for talking with potential
clients.
His name
was Ken and he spoke a little English but Nicholas had to help out much of the
time. Ken took us then on a facility tour.
Again WOW! I’m not sure what the
dimensions of the area would be but it took up 3 full floors of a high-rise
office tower.
All types
of cardio machines, a weight room, a private room for yoga, a private room for
cycling, sauna, hot tub, 3 lane swimming pool, huge shower/locker room, neon
lights throughout. The main colour was
black with all these funky colours streaming through.
When we
returned to the front lobby area Ken then went over membership fees. The bottom quote (he gave 2 others before
coming to this one) would be a 2-year contract at $42Cdn per month and that
included everything. (including towel) I
thought that was a great deal for what they have. Both Nicholas and I simply wanted to know the
membership fee but need to go through this ordeal to get to that point. I felt somewhat bad in telling Ken no thanks,
knowing I wasn’t going to join but only wanted to know the fee and see the
inside.
Wednesday
(Happy Canada Day) was my next accident follow-up with another x-ray and Doctor
visit.
X-ray
results show good results but the Doctor again reiterated that I still need to
be careful because not 100% healed. The
worse pain is area where the pins are located. I cannot do anything about this
until minimum one year after accident.
The pain feels something like having your skin pinched firmly until it’s
an uncomfortable feeling.
The Doctor
gave me all the files from the accident and the procedures, x-rays etc. to take
back to Canada as I will visit my Doctor when I’m home.
I also had
to be given a letter from the Doctor/hospital indicating I have these pins
inside me because he said they could trigger an alarm when I go through the
x-ray machines at the airport…hahaha I
need to show the officials the reason.
Hmmmm this could be interesting.
Thursday
didn’t bring anything special to the day and I actually felt somewhat
bored. OMG is that possible? I did however, go to Dream Mall and purchased
a few small items at the Japanese Dollar Store “Daiso” and stopped off at
Starbucks.
6th to 12th
July
Monday
Didn’t do
too much today as the weather was not cooperating well. Rained off and on for most of the day but the
latter part of the day seemed better.
I went with
Lee and a few of his co-workers out for dinner.
One of the co-workers wanted to treat me for my birthday so five of us
enjoyed a nice dinner at Dream Mall then went for latte afterwards.
One of
Lee’s friends speaks a little English and I know she enjoys practicing her
English with me..hahaha
Tuesday
Happy
Birthday to Me…
A day of
relaxation and just doing spur of the moment activities.
Lee
presented me with a beautiful Canon Rebel 700D camera so a good reason for
trying it out with some photo shoots.
The morning
started off looking not bad as far as weather went so I decided to show him
where Cafaina was and enjoy latte and breakfast there. Nicholas first took me there and I think it’s
one of the better cafes to enjoy coffee and pastry.
We arrived
shortly after they opened, as I know it gets busy quickly. We stayed for maybe one hour before heading
back and as we were half way riding the scooter, the rain decided to pour down.
Good thing we found a nearby tree that provided a little shelter from the rain
in order for us to get our rain gear on.
After
arriving back to the apartment it was shortly thereafter the rain stopped and
the sun came out.
A trip to
the Sugar Refinery area where I hadn’t been since when my sister and her
husband were here visiting in February so it was a good choice to take the new
camera and try it out. It was either
there or to Cijin Island.
Walked
around the area for a little more than an hour then headed to Caffe Bird for a
latte and quick bite to eat. Later in
the evening we are going out for dinner at Lees Hotel.
We met up
with Lee’s family at the Hotel and proceeded to the third floor where the
restaurant ‘flavors’ is located.
The dinner
was dim sum with pre-ordered Peking Duck.
I’ve never really had that before so it was a treat for sure.
The Chef
presented the duck then began carving it.
The tradition (so I’m told) is that the flesh of the duck is presented
in three ways.
1. First, some slices are prepared of
the meat and then you eat this inside a thin pancake with a piece of spring
onion and some sauce
2. Second, some pieces of the duck are
prepared in a salad of vegetables and a vinaigrette dressing (very tasty)
3. Third, a soup is prepared with the
bones and any meat left from the duck
I was
absolutely stuffed by time we had finished.
Afterwards,
we all went to the Caffe Bird (nice when you know the owners) and had a private
get together with cake and more gifts…
A great
evening and I was exhausted by time I arrived home and not from being tired but
from eating…hahaha
Wednesday
The
approaching typhoon is teasing us it seems.
Rain off and on and very windy but nothing too serious at this point.
Went to
Lee’s friend (hairdresser) to have my hair done and played with her two twin
sons. They are around 1 ½ years old and
very obedient that’s for sure. Both her
and her husband are hairdressers and usually bring the two boys with them to
their shop.
In the
afternoon we went to Caffe Bird for latte and light lunch and waited for the
rain to slow down before heading home.
In the
evening the winds picked up and Lee and I decided to head outside to feel the
sensation of wind and walked across the street to the library.
We took the
elevator to the rooftop and it was somewhat eerie as we were the only ones up
there. Either people were just scared or
they had no interest to see what it might be like on the rooftop during the
approach of a typhoon…haha I like to be
adventurous.
Shortly
afterwards I noticed a few people braving the conditions and being curious just
like me. Even security was walking
around perhaps just checking to ensure everything was ok.
Thursday to Sunday
There are
three separate typhoons heading this direction but uncertain as to whether they
will hit land or continue northward. As
of now it’s raining and very windy but nothing out of the ordinary. There is speculation that two of the typhoons
will merge, which will create a devastating typhoon. Fingers crossed that won’t happen.
One thing
I’ve learned today and that is do not try to drive your scooter through a group
of people as they’re assembling around the garbage truck to empty their
garbage.
I didn’t
realize how serious this procedure is and they have the right of way to gain
access to that truck. I got somewhat
stuck in the middle and just waited it out as people were going all around
me…hahaha Quite the embarrassing moment
(at least for me) but it was as if no one else noticed as long as I didn’t move.
On Friday
again the winds are high but the rain has stopped. I’m thinking the typhoon is passing by us
instead of hitting land.
Didn’t do
anything too exciting, just the usual with coffee in the morning with Nicholas
and then I rode around exploring different areas of the city I had been before.
Saturday is
here and still no typhoon to speak of but again heavy wind and light rain.
Lee and I
went to Caffaina for morning coffee and a breakfast snack before heading to the
Oceanside to view the fierce waves.
This seems
to be a spectacle for people around the Oceanside area. There were a lot of people just sitting and
gazing at the waves crashing into shore.
Part of the area was closed off due to the high water but there was
still enough to see.
We decided
to head over to Cijin Island as the waves over there would be somewhat larger
(so I’m thinking).
We headed
over and spent a good two or more hours riding around and viewing the beach
area where the waves were high.
There was a
sandcastle building competition a few days prior so got to view all the entries
and I have to say ‘WOW’, some talented people.
Sunday was
a lazy kind of day so I just rode the scooter around and went again to Starbucks
for no other reason than I enjoy it..haha
Nicholas,
Nicholas’s parents, Jocelyn and me went out for dinner. This was to be a celebration of my past
birthday, Jocelyn’s upcoming birthday and my departure for Canada even though I’m
returning in September.
Since
Nicholas’s parents are vegetarian we went to this great vegetarian restaurant
located alongside the Love River.
The
ambience inside was nice and relaxing but the food was even better.
Afterwards when
we went outside Nicholas’s Father offered to play a few tunes on his
flute. He plays quite well (Chinese
music) so we listened for a while then we all went our own ways. I am so full by this time and just want to lie
down and moan…haha
The end to
another good week.
