ampulets

Photographs in this post by J, drawings by Y. This photo was taken at Spot Cinema, which screens foreign arthouse and Taiwanese films. Since we are creatures of habit, discovering something new - a new cafe, restaurant, bookstore, day trip or tourist trap - was not top on our priority list when we visited Taipei again in October this year. In fact, it is always comforting when you re-visit a foreign city and still find that same ol' cafe at the same ol' street with the same ol' coffee served by the same ol' waitress. Perhaps in our own ever-changing island-city, this is a luxury we cannot enjoy. Still, our October trip to Taipei yielded a few new finds that we would definitely revisit. And of course, we made sure to drop by several old haunts. Friends, as a kind of "best-of" summary of our various Taiwan reports elsewhere on this blog , we present here a list (and images) of 3 New Finds, and 7 Old Haunts...

images by J Do you remember how it was when you were young and random relatives would remark to your parents - “Wow, he/she has grown so much already!” or “長這麼大了!”. Not being very tall, this remark never appeared very sincere to me. Perhaps J and I are now at a stage in our lives when the passing of time is marked not by the next school year; not by the prospect of graduation, a job or a promotion thereafter; not by the weddings or even the baby showers of close friends. Instead, it is starting to be marked by how quickly the kids around us – since we have none of our own – seemed to have grown. J to a boy at church: Hello. Boy: Hello. J: How are you? Boy: Hmm. Six. J: Not “how old are you”… How are you? Boy: Oh. Today, I’m fine... [ Pause. ] Boy: But yesterday was not so good. J: …

The fall in May did give me a bump on the head for a few days, but the rest of the year was a strange combination of intense work days and nights of sheer ennui (which, according to J, simply calls for exercise). In any case, I’ve been thinking of reviving the blog, and what better reason than to have a chance to say - Dear friends, have a blessed Christmas! J and I were somewhat uninspired at first when it came to the door design for Christmas and the new year. We did have all kinds of rabbit-inspired motifs at first. A giant 3D origami rabbit ( nah, been there, done that ). Vinyl sticker designs ( too much of a hassle ). A brand new coat of paint ( but we’ll miss the 2 kids ). It was dinner with a friend D in early December and hearing his story that made it clear to J and I the message our door should bear in Christmas and into 2011. The text and rabbit outfits are cut out from ampulets studio's year-end project last year . This year’s year-end project, incidentally, will be