Had a wonderful Chinese New Year

Lily and I have been talking about doing many things this year but we thought it over and decided to just enjoy life by ourselves for the week. I have not regretted for even a second. I had a wonderful time shopping and cooking and just enjoying my time with her.

Please go to my new blogging account

I probably won't be posting in this blog much anymore as I find another location better. Please visit.

http://scottintaiwan.spaces.live.com

I will probably copy all and close this account soon so please go to the new one....

Lantern Festival

We made it to the Lantern Festival again last night and it was ok. We have been there before but it's interesting to see some of the new lanterns that people have made. If we had arrived earlier we would have been able to see the sky lanterns being launched. Supposedly they can fly as high as a few kilometers into the night sky. It would have been quite a sight. Here are some pics.

It's springtime again

Well,

Here we go again. The weather is starting to get hot and we want to go out less in the afternoons. Lately we have been riding bicycles and going to a small park fairly close to us. They have some exercise equipment and we go there to exercise every night. It is quiet and interesting.

We are still waiting for our licenses to go through for our new school but we anticipate no problems. Our classes are going well and we get to see some of our students who started here in level 1. Now a lot of them are in level 4 and their ability is much better.

I had to install a new hard drive in our computer. The old one died taking pictures with it. I think I'm starting to get pretty good with all of these computer things. Before we had an 80 gig. Now we have double the space and hopefully this one will last longer.

That's all for now...

except.... Happy birthday mom. I am going to call you soon and see how you are doing... I hope you get the house.

Scott

Canada

Clear and crisp air,

Fresh water to drink,

Animals are plentiful,

So breath-taking; don't blink.

The roads all clean,

Most relaxing to drive,

Fishing and camping,

Will keep you alive.

The time you are there,

Don't regret what lies all around,

As Taiwan is so different,

But is lacking, I've found.

Being here however,

Has helped me remember,

How much that Canadians have,

Even in cold, cold December.

For it's Canada I love,

Along with all of you,

And when I get back,

To me it will never be blue!

We have a long morning on Sunday

In the spirit of Chinese New Year most of the department stores sell New Year Gift bags. You don't really know what you are getting but they are always worth more than what you pay.

Now, one of the stores sells bags at $2000 Nt or about $70 CAD. It is the most expensive one but you can win digital cameras, a car, a scooter, LCD TV's and more. So this year Lily and I are going to line up by about 2 am for the 10:30 am store opening.

So everyone make sure to wish us luck and maybe I can be the first foreigner to win a car!!!

Finally got in touch with Dolan

If you're reading Shawn, yes I'm talking about you.

Especially after grandpa passed away I have really been thinking more about my friends and family. I know I have a busy life here, but regret (as I regret not calling grandpa when I thought of it) has made me think about a lot more than just my life here. I think about all of the people that I care about who are about a 15 hour plane trip away.

All of you, from Casino buddies and family mean everything to me. Believe me when I say I would love to return tomorrow. However, that is not written yet and if I leave for a visit it means we lose a lot of money. Hopefully we will have our new branch open soon and we can hire more staff and Lily and I can be more on the management side of things. If that is the case I will have more time to get back. But let's not count our chickens before they hatch.

We kind of hope that China will take Taiwan because it will drive the property values through the roof. We have to wait and see in next year's election on how it goes, too. If the right party gets in we should be getting home much faster.

Just remember one thing for me. I am over here in Taiwan working seven days a week with a one week holiday every year. I am trying to build a future for Lily and I so I don't have to work until I keel over and die. I have a great life here but MY HEART is with all of you and my home.

Take care

Scott

Almost Chinese New Year

We have been busting our proverbial "asses" the last year and we have almost got to those most treasured days, "Chinese New Year". We will have eight days of relative peace and quiet and no kids to drive us crazy except for Angel.

We are still waiting for the licenses to come through for the new school and then we will have to start looking into the staffing problem. Oh well, we will manage one way or another.

I picked up some new shoes and three heavier shirts. I think the total for all of them would be about $36 CAD. Pretty sweet eh? I definitely will make sure to pick up lots of clothes before I get back home. You can't beat the prices here. So if anyone is looking for anything let me know and I can arrange to have shirts or jeans or shoes delivered. Let me know soon though as Lily's parents are heading back in a few weeks.

If you take an XL in Canada you are out of luck though. It's almost impossible to clothe myself and I am not that big.

Anyways, take care all and have a wonderful cold season.

Love

Scott

Another great memory

I had to think about this one for a while as the name of the bird eluded me for a little bit.

One summer when I was staying in Peterborough grandpa noticed a very unusual bird out on his small cedar tree. Now grandpa had given me a bird watching book before with many pictures and information. So we searched through the book and we found out that the bird that was visiting was a "cedar waxwing". The bird had blends of orange, yellow and a little red with a very "sharp head". It is, until this day the most beautiful bird I have ever seen. I guess I will always remember it as "our" bird. I will post a picture and here is a link you can follow.

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Cedar_Waxwing.html

In memory of grandpa

To anyone reading,

I am sorry to say that I just heard from Lisa that my grandfather has died. Fortunately, he died in his sleep and without any major illnesses that we know of so it was most likely painless. However, I must say that for me (and I know many of the family and friends) this time will most certainly be difficult. As I write this I cannot stop the tears that began the moment I heard the bad news.

I really wish I could have made it for the funeral but it has already taken place. Hopefully for my part, family and friends can read what I have to say about this amazing person I am fortunate enough to call grandpa. To me, he has always been my mentor, role model and hero.

I don't ever remember a moment when he was angry. He was always the most forgiving and caring person I knew. If I was naughty he would shake it off or laugh. If I was demanding and wanted something he would put everything else aside to please me. I always felt like a prince around grandpa.

Whatever I wanted he would do. I remember visiting Peterborough one year. I had a lot of toy cars but nowhere to use them or play with them. When I complained to grandpa he just said, "Well, let's see what we can do about that." He built me a wooden ramp that I played with for many years after that; racing my cars along it. Another year I wanted a fort. So grandpa got some wood and we made a tent-like fort in which I could play. The problem was that mosquitoes liked it, too. It eventually became somewhat of a shed.

Waking up in the morning in Peterborough was always a treat. I would smell the fresh food that grandpa was cooking. It always made my mouth water. It always seemed like he made the best food on Earth. I would always ask him, "Grandpa, how do you make that?" He would simply reply, "It's a secret. I take a little bit of this and a little of that and throw in some of this." It's so funny because even though he told me very little about what he was cooking, I still remember it all to this day.

Grandpa knew everything, too. There wasn't anything he didn't know about. If I said, "Grandpa, I'm studying electricity." He would reply, "Oh, I can teach you a few things about that, if you like." I don't think he has ever wasted his time. How can one man know so much? From flying, to electricity, to food, carpentry, automotive just to name a few. I know when I was younger I took my studies for granted but I have changed a lot now. I often think about him and what he would do or like when I choose anything. Not because of any fear but because I have and will always have such a deep admiration of him. I hate to think that anything I might have done would ever make him feel any less about him. But know grandpa, that would never be true. He has always supported me in any he possibly could.

I remember fishing for lobster or crab in the canal in Cape Coral. It is one of the only thing I remember from that trip because I was only five years old. I also learned to ride a bicycle there (though I don't remember it very well).

Grandpa would take me to the zoo every time I visited grandma and grandpa in Peterborough. If I go back there I will no doubt remember almost every (older) inch of it. I never played video games in Peterborough. I never needed to. Those were the most amazing times for me and I hope grandpa enjoyed those times, too.

Grandpa was the most honest, caring, loving, loyal, tender, honorable, wonderful, intelligent, wise and utterly fascinating person in my whole life. He will always hold this coveted position in my heart. If he taught me one thing in life, it would be this:

He taught me the values and morals which make a hero, an idol, a role model, an icon, a teacher, a guardian, a father and most of all a grandfather. I will always hold him at the forefront of my memories and he will always have the most wonderful place in my heart. I never had the chance to meet my other grandfather and I am sad that it turned out that way. However, I feel so fortunate that I did have this most amazing person to call "grandpa" and I have never felt want or need around him.

I hope, that wherever grandpa is now; that he will be enjoying himself and that he will always hold me in his memory as I hold him. I have a million memories of grandpa and I am so sad that I can have no more. But I will thank him each and every day because he has enriched my life so much that no one could fathom.

Grandpa, I love you, I miss you, I regret not spending more time with you. You are the best grandpa this only grandson of yours could ever have and I will always look up to you and live up to you.

Your grandson always,

Scott