Monday, December 11, 2006

misery welcomes company

I'm actually not miserable, not at the moment anyway. I had a fantastic weekend away with several friends. We ushered in the holiday season by attending a madrigal dinner - the second I've been to during my years in Taiwan. It's the closest my season comes to feeling like Christmas at home. For a few hours, I was not in Asia but a Renaissance castle with festive decor, song and show, and food, making this time of year a bit more merry.

The misery came into play later in the evening. No, I'm not talking about having to see Patrick Swayne's appearances in Havana Nights, though that was part of our post-madrigal evening. As the Christmas dinner took place in another city, some friends and I planned to spend the weekend at our friend's home in town. I shared a room with one of my old roommates and we were perhaps perfect company for one another. Between my random upright bolting coughing fits and her random attacks of vomiting, we were up about every hour or hour-and-a-half throughout the night. I think as much as we hated that someone else had to suffer through the presence of us sick, it was nice having someone there - someone to hand you a tissue or fetch a glass of water. Also, I'm sure the others were certainly glad they didn't get stuck sharing a room with either of us for the night. It was not the anticipated restful night that ensues when provided with a warm, comfy bed but it was not entirely awful either.

Sunday morning found us a little worn but still glad to be retreating at a friend's and out of our smog buried city. We rounded out the trip with a visit to McCafe before heading home. McCafe is a coffee shop/eatery within McDonald's. I was first exposed to one in New Zealand and let's just say, when the commercial came on, I thought it was a joke. But their existence has proved real in several countries I've been to this year, though I haven't heard of any in the States yet. The coffee drinks are decent and the food of a healthy variety, at least compared to the traditional McD's fare. It's just weird to be sitting in a McCafe within a McDonald's, a place I otherwise avoid.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Let's not forget that the deep mechanic rumble that started during the madrigal performance was just the time machine warming up.