We Are Still Alive or How We Venture Further On Our Scooter

Like I mentioned yesterday, I am finished with all my marking. All the grades are in so I am just waiting to do the report cards. Next week, the school has a field trip on Friday, which makes me loose my longest day. Sweet!

Yesterday, we took the scooter to do some errands. It was quite a ride. But I now found an easier way to get to our 2nd tutoring job, where both of us tutor on Thursday nights. I tutor French my wife tutors ESL. I am again quite proud of my wife, she was able to endure the ride there and back without any complaints, except the occasional swear.

On our way back, we came by a new fruit shop. One of the vendors was screaming his head off trying to sell his wares. So we stopped. If we were driving a car, this would not have been possible. We got some guava fruit, a coconut, a papaya and a few other fruits before heading back.

Before leaving, I had managed to buy some ribs from a meat vendor that I knew. At the same time, I picked up some cabbage and some other veggies from one of the farmers. I was planning on cooking soon. After the tutoring, we ate and started packing; on Friday, we are leaving for Taipei right after work. Since we were stuck once standing up on the train, we pre-booked our tickets a few days in advance thanks to a co-worker so that we would not be standing on the train.

We are going to Taipei for a teacher’s conference and to see our friends Carrie and John. We are planning to go the the night market and have some dinner afterwards and to come back on Sunday. Both of us are feeling under the weather because of our colds. I think I got the worst of it with some sniffles and a bit of a sore throat. If it wasn’t for the conference, I guess we would both be staying home.

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I got some great news from the family who is taking care of our dog. They seem to be taking stellar care of him, and I am really thankful. Spike and their English Bulldog are getting along quite well. I can’t wait to get photos of the two dogs.

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I am still thinking as a TV watcher and not a how I was before. The TV is still on from time to time. It’s a nice way to cool down after a day of teaching, though I do find solace in drawing. I am not satisfied with the photos I took of my drawings, they came out in a weird light. So that will have to wait a few more days, same as our photos from October’s trip to Taipei. My best ones are on the elevator on the 101 building. It’s the fastest elevator in the world and it has a nice fiber optic ceiling with LEDs.

Honestly, one of the things I am really looking forward to is getting my own DSLR camera. I’ve decided on a Nikon D200. I should be able to use that camera for a few years. My wife has a Fuji S2 Pro, but I prefer Nikon. She says she will buy the S4 when it comes out. I am not going to be getting a flash, since I will be mainly doing night photography. The great thing of having a wife who has been into photography for years, is that since I am buying a Nikon, I can use her equipment! So I am not going to be getting a lens to start off, just the camera body. My wife has a really good top of the line Nikon flash, though I do not remember the model number. Lenses are quite cheap here too, my guess is anywhere between 50-60% cheaper than in Canada or the US.

One of the type of lenses I really want is a fisheye lens. I will also be doing some HDR photography.

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