My mind always looks forward to weekends. My feet always look forward to the end of weekends. This past weekend was yet another 2 days of continuous walking.

On Saturday, I went to Yingge (鷹歌), a town in the Taoyuan county known for their pottery and china. My mom, sister, and I went from store to store looking not to leave the Old Street (鷹歌老街) empty-handed. What I had thought would be a 3 - 4 hr day (on one street!) turned out to be a 7 - 8 hr promenade! But we didn't leave empty-handed, and for that we should be pleased. That night, we scooted over to our cousin-in-law's for some wine and snacks to end the day.

On Sunday, I met up with L&S who had just arrived in Taipei on a 5am flight. We had a quick breakfast and MRTed Northward to Danshui (or Tamsui), a town along the North coast of Taiwan -- also a very popular tourist area. We spent the day walking around, looking at the many little food stands/shops, little boutiques, and small eats. We even played a game that my dad used to play when he was young, trying to catch fish with a paper net... I only caught one, while SC managed two, and LC managed to scope one into his bucket after his net broke. Cheater. The best part of the day was when the clouds dispersed and left a great blue sky for me to enjoy. And enjoy it I did. It was the first of a few great days of weather - the best I've had since arriving. Strange how just seeing a blue sky can make me grin like a child who just got his dad to buy him a lollipop at the fair.

That night, I did some record keeping.

- 8:18pm leaving home
- 8:30pm arriving at bus stop just in time to catch a bus
- 9:07 arriving at the bus stop in Hsinchu
- 9:20pm arriving at home in Hsinchu
[this is for my future reference.]

In other news, I've got a new furry pet. It sits upside down on my chin. It's been a week-long project, and I've concluded that it's probably not possible for me to grow any kind of beard or goatee. It's bad enough that the beard isn't thick and consistent -- but on top of that, a good percentage of the hair grows out light brown so it looks even thinner. What's that all about? But since CS wants to see the upside-down Chia Pet, I'll keep it around for another week.

Work is busy now. I'm taking a day off around this weekend, and I have to give a short presentation of some results to some directors on Tuesday. Work work work! But I'm glad to be useful. I should get a promotion after this. ... haha... umm... yeah.

I've been in a good mood recently. I'm happy to see friends, I'm happy to have a computer to use at home (albeit one with a buzzing left speaker), I'm happy with the way things are going at work - both work-wise and socially, I'm happy to have some things to look forward to in the coming years, I'm happy that things are going well with family, and I'm happy to see the sky blue again. I might even get to play volleyball the weekend after next... now wouldn't that be a treat?