Blogger seems to be acting up again…it will publ…
Blogger seems to be acting up again…it will publish the post up to, say, 57%, and then just keep refreshing it at that number forever. You could leave it on for days and it would still say “Publishing….57%”. And thanks to Hinet’s incredibly long-lasting cache feature I have no idea if any of my recent posts are going up or not. Blogger says the problem is with Doteasy, while Doteasy says the problem is with Blogger. So basically unless I can figure out it on my own, this problem is not going to go away.
Had a busy weekend, despite an upset stomach that wouldn’t go away. Rehearsal at Dean’s on Saturday, and then the Muddy Basin Ramblers did a gig up in Waishuangxi at a really nice mountain abode. We played on the patio, and I had a chance to see how my new black laquer/gold pocket trumpet performed. It looks really nice, but going back to the stradivarius for the second set felt really, really good. We played for something like three hours, though, so by the end I had only a little over an octave left, and it showed. Still, despite not being able to drink alcohol, it was a nice evening.
Yesterday Harry, Mark, Mario and I went to the Tianpao Temple, did the whole incense, walking around thing. Then we had some light lunch, dropped Mario off and headed up Yangmingshan to the hot springs. It was a brilliant blue day in Taipei, but as we crested the top of the mountain, we saw that the valleys below were filled with a sea of clouds. It was quite a sight.*
The hot springs were locked in fog, so driving was a bit precarious, but the hot water felt really good. I spent most of the time floating around in the mud pool. All too soon we had to leave, though, as the fog was getting thicker. We elected to skip going back to the city the way we’d come, instead continueing down the mountain and around the coast to Danshui. This took several hours due to traffic, but I didn’t mind.
Dinner in Danshui, along the banks of the river. Harry ate most of my meal, but what I had wasn’t bad, and I didn’t suffer any ill effects so I guess my stomach’s getting better. I wanted to walk around Danshui a bit, so Harry and Mark left in the car without me.
They’ve really done the waterfront up quite nicely, on both sides of the river. Business is booming, the river constantly traversed by the ferries going back and forth, and up to Fisherman’s Wharf. When I got near the MRT station a fat old guy with one tooth told me my fortune, i.e. I’d better get married soon.
The train ride back home took 54 minutes, the longest straight ride on the MRT system, for NT$54. A buck a minute. A long, hot shower didn’t quite rid me of the smell of sulphur, but bed felt pretty good just the same.
*Sorry about the lack of pictures this time; I am in the process of selling my old cameras and getting ready to upgrade, so I’m in between cameras at the moment.
