This one's for you, Angie

I know, I know.  I've been neglecting you, my faithful readers.  Two nights in a row - it's totally uncalled for and I want to assure you that it's not you, it's me.  I wish I had a really great excuse, but the truth is, I was just too tired.  I know that's a cliché, but my housemates can attest to the fact that I have a tendency to stay up late.  (And I don't just mean Angie and Beth - I mean all my housemates, ever.)  Well it caught up with me this week.  I've been stretching myself way too thin and so when on Monday night during my 6:30-8pm class we started talking about chronic stress and fatigue and how it can affect one's health, I thought - this is describing me.  I should pay attention.  I should get some real sleep.  So last night I literally came home, ate some takeout and crawled into bed.  Didn't brush my teeth or clean my contacts or anything.  So at least I'm spreading the neglect around.  That's my point here.  I don't want you to feel like I'm singling you out.

Sunday's excuse is a bit better.  At least I had some fun on Sunday.  I spent most of the day working, but Teresa, my coworker and Level 2 head teacher, had invited us to Coloane for dinner and I really wanted to go.  Firstly, because it was on Coloane, which I haven't really explored yet, and the restaurant is right on the beach.  Always a good thing.  Plus it's an Italian place - another reason to love.  But also because I know it's important to connect with people early in a new environment - if you wait too long sometimes the second chance doesn't come.

So despite the fact that it was already almost dark and raining when we left, Beth and I ventured out.  We had some trouble with the bus, so we got there later than we intended, but when we got off the bus it was like stepping into another world.  First of all, it was totally quiet.  The only sound we heard was chirping crickets.  (Crickets?  What?!?)  Plus it was dark and misty and so the streetlamps made it all look very mysterious.  We got off the bus in the middle of nowhere - not a human or a building in sight.  Just trees and the road and a few stone stairs.  Luckily Beth remembered about the stairs, so we followed them and soon were walking down several flights to the swimming pool!

Yes, the restaurant adjoins a swimming pool and the beach.  Great huh?  Regrettably, this was the last weekend the pool is open until spring, but I'll be coming back for the beach and the food, no question. We were joined by some of the same crew you've seen before.  Pictured from L to R are Teresa and her son Ollie, Augusta and her husband John, Mark, Sumi, Mario and Barbara (his Mom) and Rebecca (her daughter), and Beth.  Not pictured were Teresa's husband and two daughters.  Her youngest is a toddler and always wants to be in motion.  I tried to get a photo of her because she is already a beauty, but nothing came through but a pink plaid blur.


This beach is at the very southernmost tip of Macau and so there was nothing to see out in the vastness.  Just black - a big change from our 24/7 neon lights.  It was very peaceful and alluring so I must go again soon.  I spent some time at Ocean Beach on my last day in SF, and told her I'd see her on the flip side.  Now I have.

There was another restaurant just down the way from us.  Also totally quiet and peaceful.  There are supposed to be some nice walking trails on Coloane so I intend to check them out soon now that the weather is cooling down.

(I know these photos are dark, but I don't believe in using the flash and you can see more detail if you click on them to enlarge.)

So yeah, that was Sunday.

As I mentioned, Monday was rough and further proof that I'm moving to stage 2 of culture shock.  Not only do I feel totally overwhelmed with work this week, but I'm also getting more frustrated when things go wrong, be they misunderstandings or inefficiencies at school, mistakes on my part, or the students just not learning the vocabulary list.  I'm pretty good at putting my emotions aside when the pressure's on, but eventually if I don't do something nice for myself I get kind of demoralized.  Not like the Meyer lab kind of demoralized, just the regular version. 

A good night's sleep helped a lot though and I woke up feeling refreshed and motivated to find some good YouTube videos to illustrate present progressive to my 10am class. I went out for lunch instead of eating at my computer and this also helped significantly.  As my very dear friends Bobby and Aaron can attest, going out for an enjoyable lunch can make almost any day bearable.

When I got home I invited Beth to try a new Thai place with me for dinner and that was fun too.  Tasty food and fun atmosphere.  Check out the lamp above.  It's string!  It just sways in the breeze of the air conditioner.  Cool huh?

After dinner, we went to see China.  Kind of.  Beth's boyfriend, Chris, is coming to visit tomorrow and he's flying from Beijing to Zhuhai, the city on the other side of the border from us.  So we took a trip to the border gate so she could get a sense of what it looked like and how to get there.  Here it is above.  We've seen the curvy lit roof at a distance, but lantern scene was an extra treat.  Sorry, this is the backside, so they don't look like much.

On the way out we noticed these apartment buildings that look like they escaped from Tron.  Kinda creepy, but I like them.  So that's what I've been up to.  Luckily, Chinese National Day is coming up next week and so we don't have classes on Monday and it's optional on Tuesday, so I'm just going to show a movie.  It should be just the chance I need to get on top of things.  Hopefully this will never happen again.
Sorry Angie.  I hate to disappoint the fans.