happy new year [again]

it's officially Chinese New Year here, the year of the snake. we haven't done much in celebration. one, we don't know where or if there are any public festivals going on. two, we are enjoying relaxing back at home and stuffing ourselves with tasty tasty foods we have missed [fried chicken + mashed potatoes, burgers from Rick's, a big pot of chili, mexican, a feast of italian meats, cheeses and wine...]

I went for a walk today to pick up eggs + water, thank goodness 7-11 is always open. most everything else seemed to be closed. the streets were all but deserted. kindof creepy, actually. it was misty out and hazy from all the firecracker smoke. the smell reminded me of being up north on a cold fall evening.

last night firecrackers were going off non-stop, and so Husband and I climbed up to the roof of our building to see what we could see. it was like a 360 guerrilla fireworks show. we would hear something being let off, then try to find it before it exploded. there didn't seem to be any one main display going on, but a hundred different people around our neighborhood, shooting things off at random. from the ground, from the park, from the temples, from rooftops. I got a few lame photos and decided to just sit and enjoy the warmth of Husband's arms and the scotch I brought up in a travel mug.

we had one of those "we're really here, living in Taiwan, doing this. this is our life." moments.

but mostly we sat in the chill and hazy air, and enjoyed the show. I'm not sure if there's anything going on in town [can't find any information on the internet, at least not in English] but it's barely dusk and already I'm hearing firecrackers from the nearby temple. I did find out that the Taiwan lantern festival will be in Hsinchu this year, starting in 2 weeks. but for the start of the new year at least, it seems to be more about spending time with your family than at organized celebrations. [though I could be completely wrong and there's something crazy going on that I'm missing. but honestly, it's rainy out and I think I've got enough photos to edit for the time being.]