Typhoons, Avril, cooking and Greys!

Helllooooo and happy almost-October!

Once October hits then that really is the first half of the school year gone! Before I know it, it will be Christmas and after that it is pretty much game over. I am having a lot of fun in the classroom so that might be a reason why everything is going by so quickly as well.

Last week we had a typhoon warning on Tuesday. The weather looked blustery and somewhat windy, but not bad. Some people were getting excited, predicting a 'typhoon day' but that had apparently never happned at TIS before so I wasn't holding my breath. That night the typhoon really kicked in... signs fell down and smashed, trees were down everywhere, fences, plants, everything possible was in ruins. I wish I got it on video!! The next day we got a phone call at 7am saying there was no school, and at that point the weather was quite bad still but not deadly. It's funny how quickly weather can change because by noon everything was opening and life was as usual. Regardless, we still got the whole day off- but I think that will be our 'free' card used up and from now on we will have to a least come in for a half day or something. The typhoon made for a very short week because we had a PD day on Friday- so we still had to be at the school just not teaching.

Also on Friday my roommate Pamela and I went to see... wait for it... Avril Lavigne!! Yes, she had her concert in Macau. The arena was fairly full which was good, but the crowd didn't really know how to be at a concert. Like when the singer puts the mic to the audience, you have to sing... and loudly! So the atmosphere was interesting because the audience was generally sitting down, clapping with glow sticks. There were a few good songs though where mostly everyone was up having a good time. The songs were censored but were cute. Even her husband from Sum 41 came out and sang. Overall I liked the concert- Avril's performance was good, she sang well live which is always a must!

Lastnight I was feeling as though I needed to attempt cooking. Believe it or not the only thing I have 'cooked' at home so far is oatmeal once and toast twice. And those do not count, really. It just happens that the restaurants are good and reasonable enough that I don't really eat dinner at home. So I went out to the supermarket and bought all the ingredients to make homemade spaghetti with meat sauce, with bread, olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. It was delicious. I definitely need to make a point of cooking more often. Also, I really miss baking so I made cookies as well: peanut butter, oatmeal, raisin and cinnamon (I know, no chocolate... the no-dairy thing kills me sometimes!). I used our toaster oven and the only fitting pan I could find was more suitable for banana bread... so it turned out more like cookie loaf... and now cookie bars. But they are still tasty!

And... might I just say... thank you Internet. I was able to find the full season premiere for Grey's and now I am so excited for the upcoming season! I missed it. SO excited. Yes, I am addicted to Grey's, still. No spoilers...

In one month I will be hiking Mt.Kinabalu in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Apparentl Gingko Biloba helps with altitude sickness so I will have to pick some up (thanks Bro-inLaw!)

I hope all is well for you!!! Take care and talk soon!

Lisa xo