Hi...been about three months since I've visited this page. How have you been? We had an amazing summer touring Seoul and the US West Coast. We returned to T-dub on August 9th and have been very busy getting the kids back into the swing of things, sending thank you notes to a lot of folks that took us in and were just so damn generous to us, and getting the place back in order.
Another fun thing that has had me busy is an involvement in Carolyn's soccer team. Last season, she joined a private club that practiced and played all year long...pretty much the only option around our neighborhood that offered a real training option. The problem was that they mixed the girls and boys on the same team, both in practice and in games, and there is a real difference between skill and level of intensity between 10 year old boys and girls, and the little ladies were mainly marginalized. The coaches didn't emphasize team play and would sit only the girls during games. At best, the boys would not pass the ball to the girls and at worst, would trash talk against the girls...saying the sucked or worse. Boys can be such assholes. Carolyn's game suffered mightily and she told me she was done with soccer. Who could blame her?
Most of the girls parents were apoplectic, and addressing our concerns to the club were met with virtual silence (again, they were grown boys and total assholes). A few of us got together late last year and said we need something for the girls only or we were done. One of the moms kept up the cause and we have put together a parent led girls only soccer club called the Taipei Heartbreakers. Many of you know my love of Pat Benatar, and I had no part in picking the name, but absolutely love that moniker. Great tune...and remember this throw away line from Seinfeld? We are able to charge US$200 less than the other club (mainly cause we are not for profit), have hired a professional coach (who is a Brit, and soccer just sounds right when spoken with an English accent), and have recruited 5 parent coaches to be out there helping him at their bi-weekly practices. They asked if I would be willing to coach, but I know that my coaching style probably wouldn't fit with a girls team psyche. A large part of my coaching style leans on swearing and ridicule, which works well with most boys, but is not as funny to the little ladies.
Side note, if you enjoy either American football or the other kind, and haven't seen the American Coach in London video, where Jason Sudeikis plays a hardcore American football coach hired to head an English Premiere League team, do yourself a favor and check it out by clicking HERE.
As I needed a role in this endeavor, I volunteered to be the team admin...creating player lists, collecting money, communicating schedules, etc. I take no credit for this team...my role is minor in the scheme of things and am simply glad they included me in the organizational part of it. Our first practice was Monday and think this is going to be an amazing team and experience for the girls and have high hopes that it is going to rekindle Carolyn's interest in the game while being a lot of fun for yours truly.
Being back in Taipei so far has been good. While it is still ridiculously hot/humid, it doesn't feel as bad as it did last year. Would attribute it mostly to our bodies adapting to hell weather, but a little credit needs to go to the pool in our apartment opening this year. It was broken last summer, but they fixed whatever was wrong and it was open when we got back. Nothing better in taking down the body temperature than a soak in a cool pool. Big downer was learning that it is closing at the end of August (it would be great through September). Also, they emptied it last Wednesday in advance of Typhoon Trami blowing through late this week. Not the biggest of typhoons, and the kids got a day off from school because of it,. It did drop a couple of feet of water in a 24 hour period in the area, and if you haven't seen the video of the dam near Taipei opening its floodgates to prevent overflowing the Shimen reservoir, you can see it here. Powerful images.
I am also feeling more at home so far. Have collected a growing group of friends and the comfort level with them is feeling more natural. I've said before that I am like moss in that I grow on ya, and hope these new friends are coming to appreciate my sense of humor. Doing stuff around town feels easier and more familiar. Other than the soccer team mentioned above, have had a lot of things going on with the school like focus groups and teacher meetings. I have a lot of things I want to do like writing a couple of articles for the local English language magazine (first up...Driving in Taiwan, and How I'd Fix It) and planning for the families extensive travel calendar this year (you'd eat your heart out if you heard it). And all of the above doesn't include finding some type of worthy employment, whether it be a j-o-b, or writing the book that is in my head.
With all of the above, not only do I feel busy, but am not feeling the levels of angst that I experienced last year, and because of that, am worried that this diary would suffer. No one wants to read only how wonderful things are, and I know that most of you like the awkward observations and personal discomfort...and it's just more funny to write about that stuff. Plus, there is not that much that feels "new", and don't want to start making stuff up. I heard from a bunch of people that check in with this diary that they liked it and to keep it up, but want to make sure that it remains fun for both of us, so I am going to try and log an entry once a week this year. Last year, I had 92 postings, which is close to 3 per week, but think that scaling back will help keep it fresh and fun, so will now be naming the entries "Week of" and will endeavor to post them every Sunday.
Talk soon.
