Yes, I have the keys to my apartment. By the time you get to work, I should be unpacking and getting set up. This is by far the easiest move I've ever done. Where's Eddie saying "Adam, you got a lot of s**t" now??? 2 suitcases, 4 boxes, 1 umbrella! I bought a sweet Tiger Woods Nike Golf Umbrella last night - it's bigger than the other ones around here (like me).
Neil Diamond night on American Idol - that was pretty cool! They are pulling out the baby boomer mentors this season (Diamond, Dolly, Lord Webber) but that's ok. They probably much better mentors than Gwen Stefani was! The performances felt very rushed as they tried to get 10 songs (and 1 set of comments) performed in the hour time slot. Have to make sure to leave room for the major sponsors!!! My ranking is as follows:
1 - David Cook - was hurt by not getting but 4 minutes of performing 2 songs.... quite the contrast and pulled it off very well. Still hate the left handed guitar playing thing! Still my pick to win....
2 - David A - he definitely has one style and sticks with it doesn't he? I liked the voice crack (pre-puberty?) during America. He's starting to sound too show boatish in my opinion. But he has the under 18 female vote wrapped up for sure! Hopefully he can avoid puberty for a couple of more weeks.
3 - Syesha - Has her own style as well - just doesn't pull it off nearly as well. Hoping she's still safe (in comparison to the next two). Her 2nd performance was one of the more entertaining of the night.
4 - Brooke White - I figured she would have done better with Neil than she did, but not really. She sounded a little country behind the piano - maybe that's why I didn't like it. At least she didn't have to restart this week.
5 - Jason.... is his time up? I think so. A little bizarre and not very entertaining honestly.
And no - Paula can't see the future - ONLY I HAVE THAT POWER!!! She's an idiot. And Wednesday is just peachy!
I have to wait till Wednesday to get my bank account since Taiwan takes "banker's hours" to a new level! Tomorrow is a holiday - Labour Day (ok, so that's the same), but then it's daily 9am-3pm and not open on Saturdays or Sundays!! Since I am traveling Friday, and have a full agenda already on Monday/Tuesday - it'll happen Wednesday morning. My cell phone is on order now, should see that early next week. As you can see, it's really starting to feel much more like home!
Few Nintendo Links for entertainment:
Wii has always been said to have "poorer" graphics than 360 and PS3... which may be true, but I think the programmers are just starting to understand the graphical potential of the Wii. Here's a cool video to show some improvements are on the way!
An interesting video showing how some simple innovation can make new uses for the Wii technology - another one showing how we're just tapping into the capibility of this thing.
And a preview for the new Lego Batman video game coming soon! BTW - Mario Kart Wii is out! I need to go look for it here and see if it's US encoded or not.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
That's Gonna Leave A Mark
This is my 600th posting!!! Is anybody still reading? That's a lot of postings - who has time for all this?
So I think the score is BusDriver 8, BigShow 0.... and after tonight, I'm ready to throw in the towel. After work, my "Driver du jour" made me appreciate my life (and my stomach) with his lack of ability to find 2nd gear on the bus. Of course, I'm the "nice guy" that allows others to get on the bus before him (same as allowing others to walk inside ahead of you) so of course, I was the guy with one foot on the bus when it tears off. I was safe at that point, but when I got to the top of the stair entrance, no seat was to be found. We immediately stopped for more pick up (a rather jerking motion going from 10mph to complete stop in about 10 feet)... this is where the bastard got me - first gear... then WHAM a 2nd gear jerk that caused me to hit my head HARD against the hand rails on top of the bus. I went piling backwards (falling into a girl that is probably 1/3 my size) but I also noticed everyone else that was standing piling backwards. It's been about 2 hours since my trek home and my head still kind of hurts from the impact.
But I made a new friend this weekend in the park... he posed for a picture and says hello to everyone in the US who reads my random stories:
Yes, that is a dog walking around with glasses on (with owner next to him - no leash). They were just the frames, but he seemed very comfortable wearing the glasses. Very nice guy!
Tomorrow is MOVING day! At long last, my apartment is ready to be lived in. They are getting the mattress delivered in the morning, I take over at 5pm, then a trip to Costco/RT-Mart for the "necessities", then back to the hotel for moving as much as I can. I will still stay at the hotel (for convenience) Wednesday night, but then I check out Thursday morning. And the earlier the better. Tired of hotel life more than I can ever remember....
No other good stories to share at the moment... did enough talking yesterday.
Have a great Tuesday!
So I think the score is BusDriver 8, BigShow 0.... and after tonight, I'm ready to throw in the towel. After work, my "Driver du jour" made me appreciate my life (and my stomach) with his lack of ability to find 2nd gear on the bus. Of course, I'm the "nice guy" that allows others to get on the bus before him (same as allowing others to walk inside ahead of you) so of course, I was the guy with one foot on the bus when it tears off. I was safe at that point, but when I got to the top of the stair entrance, no seat was to be found. We immediately stopped for more pick up (a rather jerking motion going from 10mph to complete stop in about 10 feet)... this is where the bastard got me - first gear... then WHAM a 2nd gear jerk that caused me to hit my head HARD against the hand rails on top of the bus. I went piling backwards (falling into a girl that is probably 1/3 my size) but I also noticed everyone else that was standing piling backwards. It's been about 2 hours since my trek home and my head still kind of hurts from the impact.
But I made a new friend this weekend in the park... he posed for a picture and says hello to everyone in the US who reads my random stories:
Yes, that is a dog walking around with glasses on (with owner next to him - no leash). They were just the frames, but he seemed very comfortable wearing the glasses. Very nice guy!
Tomorrow is MOVING day! At long last, my apartment is ready to be lived in. They are getting the mattress delivered in the morning, I take over at 5pm, then a trip to Costco/RT-Mart for the "necessities", then back to the hotel for moving as much as I can. I will still stay at the hotel (for convenience) Wednesday night, but then I check out Thursday morning. And the earlier the better. Tired of hotel life more than I can ever remember....
No other good stories to share at the moment... did enough talking yesterday.
Have a great Tuesday!
Monday, April 28, 2008
NO SLEEP TILL.......
TAIPEI - or Brooklyn.... something like that. If you have to ask, it's already too late!
As I was walking and exploring this weekend, I heard Beastie Boys No Sleep Till Brooklyn playing from a radio which I thought was kind of cool. Then I went into a 7-11 for a water and heard SpinDoctors Two Princes which made me sad. I go halfway around the world and hear that crappy song? Seriously....
Today's Lesson from Taipei: How I accidentally climbed a mountain this weekend.
Yes, you read that correctly. I "AXidentally" hiked up (and finally down) a mountain here in Taipei. So here's the story:
I went exploring as I had intended on Saturday. It was blue sky (a light blue - about as blue as it can get in this part of the world... probably still bluer than in LA) day and about 80 degrees (nice breeze). So I took advantage and said I was going to explore north part of Taipei that feeds into the Grand Hotel that we went to before via driver.
I started out by checking out the Jade Market which was full of probably 500 different vendors all with their own jade jewelry, figures, souvenirs, whatever you can think of, for purchase. I then walked along the train route and discovered the "Electronics" part of town where it reminds me of walking in downtown Hong Kong. It's the place to go for computer gadgets, or even if you just need new accessories for your cell phone, etc. I then kept walking to a Buddhist Temple (you'll see it in the pictures) for a viewing and picture taking opportunity. Then a short train ride to the North.
I walked by the soccer stadium - there was some rock concert going on, all in Chinese of course. There were a lot of people in the Art Center Park (or whatever it's called... depends on which map you look at) and a TON of kids there. It was some organized event for the kids as some were dressed for performing (as you'll see in the pics, some were part of a dragon show). Of course I got a lot of looks there from the little ones. I do have to be careful here, I think if I accidentally step on a kid, they might arrest me for attempted murder since I am so much bigger than anyone else here. I've thought of this a couple of times as I walk around Taipei....
I headed more North to the river, then crossed the river to where the Grand Hotel is. I headed East, past the American Club (a Country Club of sorts that has WAY too expensive of initiation fees/monthly fees so my interest in joining there has dropped to zero) to the Martyrs' Shrine. This was another beautiful shrine and plaza area, similar to the Memorial from last weekend, but this time next to the mountains and away from a lot of the city traffic. You can see a lot of the pictures I took there (look at the right side of today's page - additional photo gallery there). Note the brown straight lines running the entire length of the walk the guards take between the Sanctuary area and the front gate. It gets walked every day, every hour from 9:00am till 5:00pm (Banker's Hours) I think.... Here's a video I shot of the actual march, not a typical march. I'll get video next time of the actual change - kind of cool what they do with the rifles (no shooting unfortunately).
I was just informed that these are "Navy" folks marching (in white). I'll find out more on the unique marching style as I can.
Another lesson to be learned (you'll see a picture in my collection). When you see a space between the words "Rest" and "room", it is called a "Rest Room", not a "Restroom". So walking in when you have to pee and be in the motion of using the urinal is not advised since it is usually elder folks and mothers with sleeping little ones. Fortunately I hadn't unzipped so I was able to continue holding it till I found the "Bathroom". Rest... Room... just like it says!
So after this, I wanted to get back to the train station. Instead of walking all the way back around the Grand Hotel, I saw a sign with a Trail that looked like a "shortcut". Well this is my lesson learned for the weekend. I started up the stairs (the entire set of trails was paved with blocks that someone had to haul up there... including the main, and not so major, paths) not aware of what waited for me. In order to get the full benefit of the short cut you had to climb a TON of stairs to the top of the mountain. So after about 30 minutes of climbing stairs (I wasn't quite to the top... I got lost on one of the side trails) - I figured that I was close to the top anyway so I might as well go all the way up. I didn't realize that this would be required anyways. But as I'm climbing, I pictured many mountain climbers before me who travel through adverse conditions to reach the top of the mountain in order to find a wise man that either has the answer to the meaning of life, or grants a wish, or something profound for the effort. I continued to ascend the mountain trying to figure out which wish I would use when I got there - or hoping that the wise man at the top spoke English enough for me to understand him.... But at the top of the mountain.... BEHOLD - a older lady singing Karaoke with her husband, all in Chinese, and really shitty Karaoke at that. I kid you not. Yes, there were many shrines and a couple of temples at the top of the mountain, but no meaning of life. Just Karaoke.
The descent was MUCH easier - but I did realize that I picked the correct path to ascend. The other side is much steeper climb so anyone who wants to visit and take my path, make sure you start on the East side.
With that said, I hope you enjoy the pictures.
And after reading the following article, not sure my excitement for Friday's train ride is as high as it was earlier in the morning.
Have a great Monday!
As I was walking and exploring this weekend, I heard Beastie Boys No Sleep Till Brooklyn playing from a radio which I thought was kind of cool. Then I went into a 7-11 for a water and heard SpinDoctors Two Princes which made me sad. I go halfway around the world and hear that crappy song? Seriously....
Today's Lesson from Taipei: How I accidentally climbed a mountain this weekend.
Yes, you read that correctly. I "AXidentally" hiked up (and finally down) a mountain here in Taipei. So here's the story:
I went exploring as I had intended on Saturday. It was blue sky (a light blue - about as blue as it can get in this part of the world... probably still bluer than in LA) day and about 80 degrees (nice breeze). So I took advantage and said I was going to explore north part of Taipei that feeds into the Grand Hotel that we went to before via driver.
I started out by checking out the Jade Market which was full of probably 500 different vendors all with their own jade jewelry, figures, souvenirs, whatever you can think of, for purchase. I then walked along the train route and discovered the "Electronics" part of town where it reminds me of walking in downtown Hong Kong. It's the place to go for computer gadgets, or even if you just need new accessories for your cell phone, etc. I then kept walking to a Buddhist Temple (you'll see it in the pictures) for a viewing and picture taking opportunity. Then a short train ride to the North.
I walked by the soccer stadium - there was some rock concert going on, all in Chinese of course. There were a lot of people in the Art Center Park (or whatever it's called... depends on which map you look at) and a TON of kids there. It was some organized event for the kids as some were dressed for performing (as you'll see in the pics, some were part of a dragon show). Of course I got a lot of looks there from the little ones. I do have to be careful here, I think if I accidentally step on a kid, they might arrest me for attempted murder since I am so much bigger than anyone else here. I've thought of this a couple of times as I walk around Taipei....
I headed more North to the river, then crossed the river to where the Grand Hotel is. I headed East, past the American Club (a Country Club of sorts that has WAY too expensive of initiation fees/monthly fees so my interest in joining there has dropped to zero) to the Martyrs' Shrine. This was another beautiful shrine and plaza area, similar to the Memorial from last weekend, but this time next to the mountains and away from a lot of the city traffic. You can see a lot of the pictures I took there (look at the right side of today's page - additional photo gallery there). Note the brown straight lines running the entire length of the walk the guards take between the Sanctuary area and the front gate. It gets walked every day, every hour from 9:00am till 5:00pm (Banker's Hours) I think.... Here's a video I shot of the actual march, not a typical march. I'll get video next time of the actual change - kind of cool what they do with the rifles (no shooting unfortunately).
I was just informed that these are "Navy" folks marching (in white). I'll find out more on the unique marching style as I can.
Another lesson to be learned (you'll see a picture in my collection). When you see a space between the words "Rest" and "room", it is called a "Rest Room", not a "Restroom". So walking in when you have to pee and be in the motion of using the urinal is not advised since it is usually elder folks and mothers with sleeping little ones. Fortunately I hadn't unzipped so I was able to continue holding it till I found the "Bathroom". Rest... Room... just like it says!
So after this, I wanted to get back to the train station. Instead of walking all the way back around the Grand Hotel, I saw a sign with a Trail that looked like a "shortcut". Well this is my lesson learned for the weekend. I started up the stairs (the entire set of trails was paved with blocks that someone had to haul up there... including the main, and not so major, paths) not aware of what waited for me. In order to get the full benefit of the short cut you had to climb a TON of stairs to the top of the mountain. So after about 30 minutes of climbing stairs (I wasn't quite to the top... I got lost on one of the side trails) - I figured that I was close to the top anyway so I might as well go all the way up. I didn't realize that this would be required anyways. But as I'm climbing, I pictured many mountain climbers before me who travel through adverse conditions to reach the top of the mountain in order to find a wise man that either has the answer to the meaning of life, or grants a wish, or something profound for the effort. I continued to ascend the mountain trying to figure out which wish I would use when I got there - or hoping that the wise man at the top spoke English enough for me to understand him.... But at the top of the mountain.... BEHOLD - a older lady singing Karaoke with her husband, all in Chinese, and really shitty Karaoke at that. I kid you not. Yes, there were many shrines and a couple of temples at the top of the mountain, but no meaning of life. Just Karaoke.
The descent was MUCH easier - but I did realize that I picked the correct path to ascend. The other side is much steeper climb so anyone who wants to visit and take my path, make sure you start on the East side.
With that said, I hope you enjoy the pictures.
And after reading the following article, not sure my excitement for Friday's train ride is as high as it was earlier in the morning.
Have a great Monday!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Please Alight At The Next Station
By the time you read this, my weekend will have started. Just want to rub in the fact that my Friday will be completed and yours is just starting. Don't worry, also means my Monday morning arrives earlier too:(
So not too much new and exciting to report here in Taiwan. It's actually been a pleasant weather week with some Spring feel to it. A nice breeze all the time to keep it cool (they are wearing jackets, me in short sleeves... different perspectives on what is "cold") and rains in the night or morning.
I have gotten pretty good at getting in and out of work. I have the tricks down of riding the bus, or of getting my cab driver to the right door of the building (I know the chinese for "Straight", "Left", and "Right" now). The train is still the easiest way to travel - except something bizarre happened this morning.... the train stopped at the 2nd to last stop (my stop is the terminal station before it goes back the other way) where a bunch of high school kids usually get off. The doors never opened, followed by an announcement, then some disgruntled passengers, then the train started moving again. There was some mis-alignment or something that prevented the doors from opening. I just caught the English written translation that mentioned something about "due to the berth of the train" and "please alight at the next station". Yeah, I have no idea what "berth" and "alight" are either. It happens from time to time here.
Plans for this weekend.... doing some more exploring, including a trip to Costco, RT-Mart (a Target like store - but without an English webpage for me to do some early shopping on), Hola Home Furnishings, and B&Q (3rd largest in the world behind Lowe's and Home Depot). Supposedly everything at B&Q is bright (and annoying) orange... just like Home Depot. Going to go check out another Night Market - this one to the North of town, but still easily accessible by train. Who knows what else will come up this weekend!
I was sent an article that was written in the NY Times about Taipei and the changing world that I now live in. It's actually very good as both a historical and cultural explanation and also why it's kind of a fun time to live in Taipei!!! I've noted some of the references to things to see and will get to the ones I have yet to visit. I haven't made it to "west" Taipei other than the Memorial last weekend. It's about a 10 min train ride, so no problems getting there at some point!
Also - The RedWings go up 1-0 on the much hated Colorado Avacheats.... Here are some old videos to remind us of yesteryear and the fights they used to have:
Vernon goes after Roy. Watch Shanny fly in the air at Roy... the dirty goalie!! This is known as "the big one"
McCarty goes after Lemiex as soon as the puck drops... leftover from the previous season
"The big one"... one year later - this time with Osgood
And 2002 fight - note that Roy is always in the middle.... with him retired, doubt we'll see any of this stature
And for S&G - check out the mention of "Iowa" in the latest StrongBad email. And yes, I think he's referring to Cedar Rapids:)
One more - just ran across the "Funniest Mike Tyson" video that I couldn't stop laughing at. What a moron. Not a PG rated video by the way!
So not too much new and exciting to report here in Taiwan. It's actually been a pleasant weather week with some Spring feel to it. A nice breeze all the time to keep it cool (they are wearing jackets, me in short sleeves... different perspectives on what is "cold") and rains in the night or morning.
I have gotten pretty good at getting in and out of work. I have the tricks down of riding the bus, or of getting my cab driver to the right door of the building (I know the chinese for "Straight", "Left", and "Right" now). The train is still the easiest way to travel - except something bizarre happened this morning.... the train stopped at the 2nd to last stop (my stop is the terminal station before it goes back the other way) where a bunch of high school kids usually get off. The doors never opened, followed by an announcement, then some disgruntled passengers, then the train started moving again. There was some mis-alignment or something that prevented the doors from opening. I just caught the English written translation that mentioned something about "due to the berth of the train" and "please alight at the next station". Yeah, I have no idea what "berth" and "alight" are either. It happens from time to time here.
Plans for this weekend.... doing some more exploring, including a trip to Costco, RT-Mart (a Target like store - but without an English webpage for me to do some early shopping on), Hola Home Furnishings, and B&Q (3rd largest in the world behind Lowe's and Home Depot). Supposedly everything at B&Q is bright (and annoying) orange... just like Home Depot. Going to go check out another Night Market - this one to the North of town, but still easily accessible by train. Who knows what else will come up this weekend!
I was sent an article that was written in the NY Times about Taipei and the changing world that I now live in. It's actually very good as both a historical and cultural explanation and also why it's kind of a fun time to live in Taipei!!! I've noted some of the references to things to see and will get to the ones I have yet to visit. I haven't made it to "west" Taipei other than the Memorial last weekend. It's about a 10 min train ride, so no problems getting there at some point!
Also - The RedWings go up 1-0 on the much hated Colorado Avacheats.... Here are some old videos to remind us of yesteryear and the fights they used to have:
Vernon goes after Roy. Watch Shanny fly in the air at Roy... the dirty goalie!! This is known as "the big one"
McCarty goes after Lemiex as soon as the puck drops... leftover from the previous season
"The big one"... one year later - this time with Osgood
And 2002 fight - note that Roy is always in the middle.... with him retired, doubt we'll see any of this stature
And for S&G - check out the mention of "Iowa" in the latest StrongBad email. And yes, I think he's referring to Cedar Rapids:)
One more - just ran across the "Funniest Mike Tyson" video that I couldn't stop laughing at. What a moron. Not a PG rated video by the way!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Taiwan Idol Top 6
American Idol Top 6.... Andrew Lloyd Webber night and of course Phantom gets most of the pics. There were a few surprises, but we're in "record selling" mode now. We're also in popularity mode where a contestant might get to come back just because he/she is well liked.
Surprisingly Strong?? Syesha - Well she looked amazing, and since Whitney hasn't sung any Lord Webber songs (at least not made famous by her), she was going to have to find something else. A song from Starlight Express? Where are the roller skates????? Was a great performance but can she survive even after going 1st?
Singing A Girl's Song!! David A. - interesting.... Think of Me is a well written song and while I personally wouldn't buy an album for that performance, it'd sell. If it came on the radio, I'd probably turn just like I do when Enrique Iglesias or Rush comes on.
Judas' Song!! Carly - Her lack of range showed, but I thought it was a pretty good song choice. Despite a mix up of words on the first verse, she looked proper for JCS. Glad she switched, too much other Phantom songs were already sung.
Not His Usual Self... David Cook - Well - Music of the Night is a great song, but not really his style tonight. I actually started liking it better when he hit the high A right on it! It reminds me of the Queensryche version of Heaven on Their Minds where it doesn't quite work but they pull it off. David - fix your hair please before the season's over.
Karaoke Time - Jason - That was just weird. I agree with Simon 100%, he looked miserable and I thought it was miserable.
Enough's Enough!! Brooke White - her "shtick" is getting old and it's time for her to go. The whole starting over thing (this is the 2nd time) really bothers me. No room for that on AI with 35 million watchers. Plus there was WAY too much harp, needed more cowbell. My pick to go home.
As for what I would have sung? My picks might have been either Heaven on Their Minds (also sung by Judas), Close Every Door To Me (sung by Joseph... or Donny Osmond in this case)... Could have dug deep for some cheezy Mr. Mistolfelees:) Too bad it wasn't "or Tim Rice" night, there's a couple songs from Chess that would have been cool.
"Lord" Webber (means he's been Baronized or a "Life Peer") was a great musical add to the show. Despite being 60 years old (he looked more like 80 years old when he received the Kennedy Center Honor), he has composed some amazing music over the years!
As for Taiwan updates.... May 1st is the magic day here! I take over my apartment, I get my ARC (green card) so I can then get my cell phone, as well as a bank account. Until then, it's just working and trying to stay sane in my hotel room:)
Surprisingly Strong?? Syesha - Well she looked amazing, and since Whitney hasn't sung any Lord Webber songs (at least not made famous by her), she was going to have to find something else. A song from Starlight Express? Where are the roller skates????? Was a great performance but can she survive even after going 1st?
Singing A Girl's Song!! David A. - interesting.... Think of Me is a well written song and while I personally wouldn't buy an album for that performance, it'd sell. If it came on the radio, I'd probably turn just like I do when Enrique Iglesias or Rush comes on.
Judas' Song!! Carly - Her lack of range showed, but I thought it was a pretty good song choice. Despite a mix up of words on the first verse, she looked proper for JCS. Glad she switched, too much other Phantom songs were already sung.
Not His Usual Self... David Cook - Well - Music of the Night is a great song, but not really his style tonight. I actually started liking it better when he hit the high A right on it! It reminds me of the Queensryche version of Heaven on Their Minds where it doesn't quite work but they pull it off. David - fix your hair please before the season's over.
Karaoke Time - Jason - That was just weird. I agree with Simon 100%, he looked miserable and I thought it was miserable.
Enough's Enough!! Brooke White - her "shtick" is getting old and it's time for her to go. The whole starting over thing (this is the 2nd time) really bothers me. No room for that on AI with 35 million watchers. Plus there was WAY too much harp, needed more cowbell. My pick to go home.
As for what I would have sung? My picks might have been either Heaven on Their Minds (also sung by Judas), Close Every Door To Me (sung by Joseph... or Donny Osmond in this case)... Could have dug deep for some cheezy Mr. Mistolfelees:) Too bad it wasn't "or Tim Rice" night, there's a couple songs from Chess that would have been cool.
"Lord" Webber (means he's been Baronized or a "Life Peer") was a great musical add to the show. Despite being 60 years old (he looked more like 80 years old when he received the Kennedy Center Honor), he has composed some amazing music over the years!
As for Taiwan updates.... May 1st is the magic day here! I take over my apartment, I get my ARC (green card) so I can then get my cell phone, as well as a bank account. Until then, it's just working and trying to stay sane in my hotel room:)
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Reading for Fun
Today is the next Primary vote between Obama and Hilary... and will someone please just drop out and save us all the headaches? I'm thankful that as long as I stay off of US channels or webpages, the whole election thing is kind of quiet.
More Rain in Taiwan... which means more humidity is on the way.
I have made plans to visit a supplier next week that is in the middle of Taiwan which means I get to take the HIGH SPEED TRAIN!!! Gets me there in an hour!! I'm excited to both see a different part of Taiwan, plus ride a high speed train through the mountains of Taiwan. I just hope that the train operator can drive better than the Bus Drivers of Taipei!! I have thought of opening a bus driving school here in Taipei to improve the skills of the bus drivers here... if successful, I would become a legend here and they would make ME a cool memorial that charges admission! Isn't that everyone's goal in life???
Another random thought - Every taxi here (and in Hong Kong) is Toyota. And most are only a year or two old. So there is no scary ride when you take a taxi here. Plus there are no taxis with the 4 inch glass between you and the driver. Plus I can fit my legs in a taxi here, unlike the taxis back in the US. Just throwing it out there.
I finished two books last week. I finally finished Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely which is a book that explores the whole "why we do what we do" phenomenon. Some of the things Ariely explores is the "free" concept - how we react differently at the thought of getting something free and lose our sense of judgment. His experiment on this offered random people the chance of getting a high quality truffle for 15 cents (a great deal considering they are normally 50 cents+ a piece) and a Hershey's kiss for 1 cent. 75% of the people used their judgment to buy the 15 cent truffle (no "shuffle" accompanied the truffle). But when the prices were both lowered by a penny to 14 cents for the truffle, and FREE for the kiss.... well now 75% of the people took the FREE option despite the same relative difference in price. It's the same thought that shows most people would take a FREE $10 Gift card to their favorite store (a gain of $10) over the option of paying $5 for a $20 GC (a gain of $15). That's just reality. There are many other ideas that he explores with regards to marketing and shopping habits, how the decisions we make can be more influenced by external factors than we originally thought (the whole premise that the last person to order at a dinner table rarely gets what they truly wanted in order not to "copy" someone else at the table), and the fact that people make rash decisions when under stress (including sexual habits, shopping when hungry, etc.) It's a very enjoyable read - anyone who wants to borrow it may have to wait a while:) Probably easier to wait till it's at your library, or cough up the $20 like I did and get it! It was quite enjoyable especially if you like the psychology reads like I do.
The other book I read completely while traveling to Hong Kong (including waiting for my visa all day). Blaze by Stephen King (actually Richard Bachman written in the 1970s but just now published) was a strange book, but I still enjoyed it. It's right in line with his characters who are a little off their knocker, but no real super-natural stuff going on in this one. I was surprised to see how I felt sorry for "Blaze" even though he's the antagonist, but you still feel sorry for him. It's a good quick read. Now to tackle Duma Key which is King's 2008 release (a 900 page hardcover book... like carrying the Family Bible around with you).
A nice relaxing Tuesday evening here at the hotel. I am making my list for next week's move into my apartment. I pretty much have to start from scratch with EVERYTHING... think about towels, pillows, sheets, a comforter... kind of like moving to college for the first time. I think my apartment is about the same size as my room in college too!!! I may go use the pool later (if it's not sprinkling or raining).
Hope y'all have a good Tuesday!
More Rain in Taiwan... which means more humidity is on the way.
I have made plans to visit a supplier next week that is in the middle of Taiwan which means I get to take the HIGH SPEED TRAIN!!! Gets me there in an hour!! I'm excited to both see a different part of Taiwan, plus ride a high speed train through the mountains of Taiwan. I just hope that the train operator can drive better than the Bus Drivers of Taipei!! I have thought of opening a bus driving school here in Taipei to improve the skills of the bus drivers here... if successful, I would become a legend here and they would make ME a cool memorial that charges admission! Isn't that everyone's goal in life???
Another random thought - Every taxi here (and in Hong Kong) is Toyota. And most are only a year or two old. So there is no scary ride when you take a taxi here. Plus there are no taxis with the 4 inch glass between you and the driver. Plus I can fit my legs in a taxi here, unlike the taxis back in the US. Just throwing it out there.
I finished two books last week. I finally finished Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely which is a book that explores the whole "why we do what we do" phenomenon. Some of the things Ariely explores is the "free" concept - how we react differently at the thought of getting something free and lose our sense of judgment. His experiment on this offered random people the chance of getting a high quality truffle for 15 cents (a great deal considering they are normally 50 cents+ a piece) and a Hershey's kiss for 1 cent. 75% of the people used their judgment to buy the 15 cent truffle (no "shuffle" accompanied the truffle). But when the prices were both lowered by a penny to 14 cents for the truffle, and FREE for the kiss.... well now 75% of the people took the FREE option despite the same relative difference in price. It's the same thought that shows most people would take a FREE $10 Gift card to their favorite store (a gain of $10) over the option of paying $5 for a $20 GC (a gain of $15). That's just reality. There are many other ideas that he explores with regards to marketing and shopping habits, how the decisions we make can be more influenced by external factors than we originally thought (the whole premise that the last person to order at a dinner table rarely gets what they truly wanted in order not to "copy" someone else at the table), and the fact that people make rash decisions when under stress (including sexual habits, shopping when hungry, etc.) It's a very enjoyable read - anyone who wants to borrow it may have to wait a while:) Probably easier to wait till it's at your library, or cough up the $20 like I did and get it! It was quite enjoyable especially if you like the psychology reads like I do.
The other book I read completely while traveling to Hong Kong (including waiting for my visa all day). Blaze by Stephen King (actually Richard Bachman written in the 1970s but just now published) was a strange book, but I still enjoyed it. It's right in line with his characters who are a little off their knocker, but no real super-natural stuff going on in this one. I was surprised to see how I felt sorry for "Blaze" even though he's the antagonist, but you still feel sorry for him. It's a good quick read. Now to tackle Duma Key which is King's 2008 release (a 900 page hardcover book... like carrying the Family Bible around with you).
A nice relaxing Tuesday evening here at the hotel. I am making my list for next week's move into my apartment. I pretty much have to start from scratch with EVERYTHING... think about towels, pillows, sheets, a comforter... kind of like moving to college for the first time. I think my apartment is about the same size as my room in college too!!! I may go use the pool later (if it's not sprinkling or raining).
Hope y'all have a good Tuesday!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Just Another Taiwan Monday.... (ohhhhh-oooo-ohhhhh)
Few random thoughts to start with:
Saturday was a day of adventuring to the older part of Taipei.... Closer to the river, this area has a much more historic relevance to the days of the Japanese invasion, the Chinese takeover, etc. First stop was the Chiang Kia-shek Memorial. It's a beautiful plaza that holds not only the Memorial (white building with blue roof), but the East Gate, the National Theater, and the National Concert Hall. Chiang Kai-shek was a major figure in the post-Japanese developments in Taiwan. He's seen as a major political figure and it was neat to not only see his memorial (with a giant Lincoln-Memorial-esque statue inside) and read the development of his life inside the museum (found underneath the memorial hall). The Concert Hall and Theaters are under construction to renovate the roof (you should be on THAT project Jamie). Good thing I'm here for a while and can see them after their construction.
There was also a National Geographic display that showed some environmental stats between the US and Taiwan. You'll see the artwork of Sunday Afternoon In The Park (by Seurat) but up close it's actually a lot of different pop cans. I thought that one was the coolest.
I also made it to the 228 Memorial Park. The Feb 28 incident was a dark time in the Taiwan history that only recently was allowed to be discussed (and remembered publicly). Again, it's amazing that in the thousands of years of history in Asia, especially in the dynasty after dynasty in China... that a lot of the revolutionary type history (that occurred in the US during the 18th Century) happened in the past 50 years!!!
So here are a bunch of pictures to get caught up on from this weekend:
CKS Memorial and 228 Park
A couple of Hong Kong pictures and some Work photos (with US visitors)
GO RED WINGS!!! Onto Round TWO!!!
- I forgot how intimidating it is to go through Hong Kong's airport. Guards don't have tazers, they have MACHINE GUNS!! Seriously, a little scary. I got stopped by the dude in declarations since I had no checked luggage but I explained that I was there for 24 hours to get my Taiwan resident visa and then I was headed back to Taiwan.
- I found a great "American Chinese" style place where you walk up, point to the food you want to eat, and they throw it in a container with rice for you (similar to the Panda Express days) then you leave. It's quick, it's easy, and they understand the word "Chicken". I've eaten there a couple of times since it's discovery.
- It's still pretty humid here. Lost power last night at the hotel around 4am. I called the front desk when I heard the air (and my fan) turn off... plus the "lost power" noise of my laptop. They said it was the whole hotel and the electric company was on the case. It was on about 20 minutes later but I heard the generators kick in. Interesting.... it was raining last night but nothing that severe.
Saturday was a day of adventuring to the older part of Taipei.... Closer to the river, this area has a much more historic relevance to the days of the Japanese invasion, the Chinese takeover, etc. First stop was the Chiang Kia-shek Memorial. It's a beautiful plaza that holds not only the Memorial (white building with blue roof), but the East Gate, the National Theater, and the National Concert Hall. Chiang Kai-shek was a major figure in the post-Japanese developments in Taiwan. He's seen as a major political figure and it was neat to not only see his memorial (with a giant Lincoln-Memorial-esque statue inside) and read the development of his life inside the museum (found underneath the memorial hall). The Concert Hall and Theaters are under construction to renovate the roof (you should be on THAT project Jamie). Good thing I'm here for a while and can see them after their construction.
There was also a National Geographic display that showed some environmental stats between the US and Taiwan. You'll see the artwork of Sunday Afternoon In The Park (by Seurat) but up close it's actually a lot of different pop cans. I thought that one was the coolest.
I also made it to the 228 Memorial Park. The Feb 28 incident was a dark time in the Taiwan history that only recently was allowed to be discussed (and remembered publicly). Again, it's amazing that in the thousands of years of history in Asia, especially in the dynasty after dynasty in China... that a lot of the revolutionary type history (that occurred in the US during the 18th Century) happened in the past 50 years!!!
So here are a bunch of pictures to get caught up on from this weekend:
CKS Memorial and 228 Park
A couple of Hong Kong pictures and some Work photos (with US visitors)
GO RED WINGS!!! Onto Round TWO!!!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Frustration With The Metric System!
Sarah's favorite girl is no longer able to win American Idol... she was sad to see Kristy leave, but such is life and I told her to get over it.
My new annoyance wile being in Taiwan..... my usual webpages detect my location as "Taiwan" based on the IP address and therefore think I want Chinese Characters. Yahoo, Blogspot, YouTube.... all of them think I can read Chinese. So much for the computer and web being "smart"! Some are easier than others at forcing them to change back to english for us single-lingual folks of the world - but some can be a pain in the butt when you really don't know what you're looking for! Kind of like when certain idiots take your cell phone and put it all in Spanish for you to try to figure out how to switch back to English.
A breezy day in Taipei today. We had thunderstorms (probably related to Typhoon Neoguri that is hitting Hong Kong in the next couple of days). Weather predicts Thunderstorms for the next 5 days! Good news is that means temperatures won't go over 80 degrees (25 degrees C) which is FINE BY ME!!! As for the Typhoons..... I'm not scared! When you get snow, ice, thunder, and lightening all at once (like in Minnesota), nothing scares you!!!!
There are a few aspects to this metric system that are a requirement if I'm going to live here.... distance (as in "I'm 2 meters tall" instead of "6 foot 6 inches" - a common question over here!) or even kilometers instead of miles (just remember that a 5k race is 3.1 miles or so). Temperature is key since they have very little concept of "Fahrenheit". I just use the double, subtract 10%, add 32 rule. Same as multiplying by 9/5 then adding 32, but easier to do in your brain.... don't think too hard about what I just said;) The next one is volume - and since I can relate what a 2 liter of mountain dew looks like, or a liter - I'm ok with that one. Where I start getting into trouble is with weight - grams instead of pounds when ordering fruit, etc. I still haven't figured out if the price in the store is per kg or what.... I just know I can't read a whole lot at the stores here:( Kind of makes the food shopping difficult!
As for money, I just divide everything by 30 (or so) to get an idea of how much things are in US dollars. That should eventually get better as money is all relative isn't it? How do you know whether something is worth "$10" in US? It's comparitive to what else you can get for that same amount. Once I understand what I can get for $100 TW, I can compare.
Had a fun dinner tonight (Thursday night) at a Rock and Roll joint (a kind of Hard Rock... but not as snooty) that had good music (played a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers Stadium Arcadium CD) and had a pretty darn good steak! Plus they had Captain Morgan which is always a good thing!
Anyway - enjoy your Spring Thursday!!
My new annoyance wile being in Taiwan..... my usual webpages detect my location as "Taiwan" based on the IP address and therefore think I want Chinese Characters. Yahoo, Blogspot, YouTube.... all of them think I can read Chinese. So much for the computer and web being "smart"! Some are easier than others at forcing them to change back to english for us single-lingual folks of the world - but some can be a pain in the butt when you really don't know what you're looking for! Kind of like when certain idiots take your cell phone and put it all in Spanish for you to try to figure out how to switch back to English.
A breezy day in Taipei today. We had thunderstorms (probably related to Typhoon Neoguri that is hitting Hong Kong in the next couple of days). Weather predicts Thunderstorms for the next 5 days! Good news is that means temperatures won't go over 80 degrees (25 degrees C) which is FINE BY ME!!! As for the Typhoons..... I'm not scared! When you get snow, ice, thunder, and lightening all at once (like in Minnesota), nothing scares you!!!!
There are a few aspects to this metric system that are a requirement if I'm going to live here.... distance (as in "I'm 2 meters tall" instead of "6 foot 6 inches" - a common question over here!) or even kilometers instead of miles (just remember that a 5k race is 3.1 miles or so). Temperature is key since they have very little concept of "Fahrenheit". I just use the double, subtract 10%, add 32 rule. Same as multiplying by 9/5 then adding 32, but easier to do in your brain.... don't think too hard about what I just said;) The next one is volume - and since I can relate what a 2 liter of mountain dew looks like, or a liter - I'm ok with that one. Where I start getting into trouble is with weight - grams instead of pounds when ordering fruit, etc. I still haven't figured out if the price in the store is per kg or what.... I just know I can't read a whole lot at the stores here:( Kind of makes the food shopping difficult!
As for money, I just divide everything by 30 (or so) to get an idea of how much things are in US dollars. That should eventually get better as money is all relative isn't it? How do you know whether something is worth "$10" in US? It's comparitive to what else you can get for that same amount. Once I understand what I can get for $100 TW, I can compare.
Had a fun dinner tonight (Thursday night) at a Rock and Roll joint (a kind of Hard Rock... but not as snooty) that had good music (played a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers Stadium Arcadium CD) and had a pretty darn good steak! Plus they had Captain Morgan which is always a good thing!
Anyway - enjoy your Spring Thursday!!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Hump Day Around The World
First off - so nobody plans too late and "misses" it this year... the schedule is out for this year's Preeclampsia walks (in memory of our friend Shelly). Check it out if you're interested (I obviously will not be a part of any of these directly) especially for those in Madison, San Diego, Davenport, and Raleigh..... Funny - I know friends in those places.... you all know who you are!
Hong Kong - what a huge city! I got to experience rush hour traffic on a hot day! But more importantly, I got my resident visa in hand plus made it back to Taipei in one piece. The final step now is getting my Alien Resident Certificate which will hopefully be here on Monday. Then the fun begins with getting cell phone, bank accounts, all the things you do when you're a "local"!
I'm growing a little frustrated with the hotel life. I'm too cheap to eat at the expensive hotel restaurants, and there really aren't any food places under 5 minutes away. My best bet is to just get food when I get off the train and then come back to the hotel rather than trying to go back out for a "quick" bite before my evening meetings start. Plus I can't make or cook anything here in the hotel room. So yeah, I'll be ready for May 1 when my apartment becomes my home.
I have my American Idol evaluation for you on time as usual. Again, thanks goes to YouTube for keeping me up on my US pop culture.
Ready for Recording
David Cook - careful, the Rocker was voted off in the Top 3 two seasons ago (he's still the most successful of that season though). Not sure I like hearing a rocker redo Mariah Carey, but such is the theme...
Hangin' Around
David Archuleta - it was pretty good, but will he sell records? I just don't think so yet....
Jason Castro - Guys dominate but then again, we saw Michael Johns go home last week on an "average" performance.... another one I don't think will sell a lot of records.
Syesha - She continues to prove week after week that she's no Mariah/Whitney but I think she will still sell some records through time. You'll hear her name for a while. But still bottom 3:) Such is the game of American Idol.
Bottom 3
Kristie Lee Cook - It was good for her, but still some pitch problems. How many weeks can the underdog hottie stick around???
Brooke White - Let's see... Brooke playing simple chords on the piano while singing a slow song. Isn't that every week? Getting old quick... She also looked kind of homely again this week.
Carly - That wasn't very good in my opinion. My pick to go home this week.
They need Prince night! Or "Paula doesn't speak" night... that'd do well!
Anyway - that's all for today. Been a long week already with the "extra" travel and I have 2 meetings to go yet tonight. Have a great Wednesday!
Hong Kong - what a huge city! I got to experience rush hour traffic on a hot day! But more importantly, I got my resident visa in hand plus made it back to Taipei in one piece. The final step now is getting my Alien Resident Certificate which will hopefully be here on Monday. Then the fun begins with getting cell phone, bank accounts, all the things you do when you're a "local"!
I'm growing a little frustrated with the hotel life. I'm too cheap to eat at the expensive hotel restaurants, and there really aren't any food places under 5 minutes away. My best bet is to just get food when I get off the train and then come back to the hotel rather than trying to go back out for a "quick" bite before my evening meetings start. Plus I can't make or cook anything here in the hotel room. So yeah, I'll be ready for May 1 when my apartment becomes my home.
I have my American Idol evaluation for you on time as usual. Again, thanks goes to YouTube for keeping me up on my US pop culture.
Ready for Recording
David Cook - careful, the Rocker was voted off in the Top 3 two seasons ago (he's still the most successful of that season though). Not sure I like hearing a rocker redo Mariah Carey, but such is the theme...
Hangin' Around
David Archuleta - it was pretty good, but will he sell records? I just don't think so yet....
Jason Castro - Guys dominate but then again, we saw Michael Johns go home last week on an "average" performance.... another one I don't think will sell a lot of records.
Syesha - She continues to prove week after week that she's no Mariah/Whitney but I think she will still sell some records through time. You'll hear her name for a while. But still bottom 3:) Such is the game of American Idol.
Bottom 3
Kristie Lee Cook - It was good for her, but still some pitch problems. How many weeks can the underdog hottie stick around???
Brooke White - Let's see... Brooke playing simple chords on the piano while singing a slow song. Isn't that every week? Getting old quick... She also looked kind of homely again this week.
Carly - That wasn't very good in my opinion. My pick to go home this week.
They need Prince night! Or "Paula doesn't speak" night... that'd do well!
Anyway - that's all for today. Been a long week already with the "extra" travel and I have 2 meetings to go yet tonight. Have a great Wednesday!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Who Is This Super Hero?????
I'm in Hong Kong today to get my resident visa.... Since I'll be out most of the day, I only have a few moments to write. And similar to my last time to Hong Kong, I can't help but have the following song going through my head;
Yes, I watched too much TV growing up!! Still do!
Yes, I watched too much TV growing up!! Still do!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Catching Up (again)
Sorry for the lack of blog on Friday. We ended up going out (Friday night here) and having a great time. Lots to share today though.
American Idol (you missed my update... admit it)... I used Wheeler's suggestion of using youtube (what would I do without youtube???) to watch the performances and the results. I thought all the performances were pretty weak - Jason Castro pretty much mimicked Israel's performance of that song (such a beautiful arrangement and performance). But with Michael Johns leaving (yeah, Ryan was kind of crude about it - but I'm wondering if he wasn't really prepared for that either) - there's still a hand full of good singers, but I still think only David Cook will sell a lot of records someday. Remember that the AI winner isn't necessarily the most successful. Most of the time it's better NOT to win the whole thing.
I was able to watch a little bit of The Masters live when I woke up the past few days. Good for Immelman to continue the streak of "no names" winning - and good for Cedar Rapids boy Johnson making the cut and finishing somewhat decent. It was the same broadcast that was show in the US, but had Chinese announcers. You would hear chinese chinese chinese chinese "double bogey" chinese chinese...... it was rather interesting:)
Saturday, I went with 2 other IBMers who were visiting from the US, and 2 of the Taiwanese employees to do some Taipei sightseeing. Went to the National Palace Museum which houses a lot of ancient artifacts and items from the Chinese Dynasties. I really need to brush up on my Chinese and Taiwan History. Ch'ing, Ming, Yuan.... those are the three right before it became Republic of China. Some of the artifacts were from the BCE period which was neat to see, especially how many of them have ancient script of poems and stories in them. We also went through the Grand Hotel which was beautiful. Built in 1949 to mark a palace for foreign guests to stay in the post-Japanese rule of Taiwan. It is done in traditional Chinese palace-style architecture and currently has the world's largest Chinese classical style roof! It's very beautiful and looks like a place for kings and queens!
Note the links on the right side of my blog for pictures. They'll be there to reference in case you miss a day. Here are the pictures from our weekend excursions:
And speaking of a place for kings and queens.... My palace in Taiwan has been decided upon and I can move in May 1st. I will then wait arrival of my queen from Chicago! It's a nice place, kind of "quaint", but superb location. I had actually ruled against this one for a short time, but after walking around the areas last Thursday evening on my own, the location of this one is too good to pass up. It's like living 2 blocks from Michigan Avenue in Chicago! Lots of fun things to do, there's a fruit stand and vegetable stand on the corner where we'll live... and the 2 BR place isn't too bad:) Totally refinished inside with brand new appliances and plumbing (still smell the new plastic of the shower head and tubing in the bathroom). I'm excited, just wish I didn't have to wait till May 1 to move in! Here are some photos of the place for you to enjoy! We were able to also negotiate a queen size bed (SOFT!!), a microwave (no oven but there is a stove), a DVD player, and a CLEANING LADY!!! She'll come 2 times a month to clean and do my ironing (my least favorite thing to do). Almost as good as living with Pitzen and Eddie again!!
I'm off to Hong Kong tonight for a 24 hour stay. I have to apply for my Resident Visa in person then wait for it to complete. Since I entered Taiwan on a Business Visa, I have to exit, then re-enter on Resident Visa. Up till a month ago, I could have done this entire process here in Taipei but now I have to go to the Bureau in Hong Kong. Only a 90 minute flight or so... just have to spend a day traveling then be back tomorrow night.
Enjoy your Monday!!!
American Idol (you missed my update... admit it)... I used Wheeler's suggestion of using youtube (what would I do without youtube???) to watch the performances and the results. I thought all the performances were pretty weak - Jason Castro pretty much mimicked Israel's performance of that song (such a beautiful arrangement and performance). But with Michael Johns leaving (yeah, Ryan was kind of crude about it - but I'm wondering if he wasn't really prepared for that either) - there's still a hand full of good singers, but I still think only David Cook will sell a lot of records someday. Remember that the AI winner isn't necessarily the most successful. Most of the time it's better NOT to win the whole thing.
I was able to watch a little bit of The Masters live when I woke up the past few days. Good for Immelman to continue the streak of "no names" winning - and good for Cedar Rapids boy Johnson making the cut and finishing somewhat decent. It was the same broadcast that was show in the US, but had Chinese announcers. You would hear chinese chinese chinese chinese "double bogey" chinese chinese...... it was rather interesting:)
Saturday, I went with 2 other IBMers who were visiting from the US, and 2 of the Taiwanese employees to do some Taipei sightseeing. Went to the National Palace Museum which houses a lot of ancient artifacts and items from the Chinese Dynasties. I really need to brush up on my Chinese and Taiwan History. Ch'ing, Ming, Yuan.... those are the three right before it became Republic of China. Some of the artifacts were from the BCE period which was neat to see, especially how many of them have ancient script of poems and stories in them. We also went through the Grand Hotel which was beautiful. Built in 1949 to mark a palace for foreign guests to stay in the post-Japanese rule of Taiwan. It is done in traditional Chinese palace-style architecture and currently has the world's largest Chinese classical style roof! It's very beautiful and looks like a place for kings and queens!
Note the links on the right side of my blog for pictures. They'll be there to reference in case you miss a day. Here are the pictures from our weekend excursions:
And speaking of a place for kings and queens.... My palace in Taiwan has been decided upon and I can move in May 1st. I will then wait arrival of my queen from Chicago! It's a nice place, kind of "quaint", but superb location. I had actually ruled against this one for a short time, but after walking around the areas last Thursday evening on my own, the location of this one is too good to pass up. It's like living 2 blocks from Michigan Avenue in Chicago! Lots of fun things to do, there's a fruit stand and vegetable stand on the corner where we'll live... and the 2 BR place isn't too bad:) Totally refinished inside with brand new appliances and plumbing (still smell the new plastic of the shower head and tubing in the bathroom). I'm excited, just wish I didn't have to wait till May 1 to move in! Here are some photos of the place for you to enjoy! We were able to also negotiate a queen size bed (SOFT!!), a microwave (no oven but there is a stove), a DVD player, and a CLEANING LADY!!! She'll come 2 times a month to clean and do my ironing (my least favorite thing to do). Almost as good as living with Pitzen and Eddie again!!
I'm off to Hong Kong tonight for a 24 hour stay. I have to apply for my Resident Visa in person then wait for it to complete. Since I entered Taiwan on a Business Visa, I have to exit, then re-enter on Resident Visa. Up till a month ago, I could have done this entire process here in Taipei but now I have to go to the Bureau in Hong Kong. Only a 90 minute flight or so... just have to spend a day traveling then be back tomorrow night.
Enjoy your Monday!!!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Lessons Learned (already)
First off - things I've learned while in Taipei so far (for any of you thinking of moving here - take good notes):
I have a Chinese name.... it's basically the first letter of my last name (D) and my first name... but not really pronounced Dadam... Dee-Ai-Den... now comes the fun part! The "Dee" is a rising tone (like you're asking a question), the "Ai" is a falling tone (high to low), and the "Den" is flat toned. Try it outloud... not nearly as easy as you think. I've been saying it all afternoon and I still suck at it. But it's the Chinese version of "Adam", so people will know my English name when they read it. It'll be on my badge at work, and on my business cards! I'm doing my best to fit in over here!
It rained most of the morning - which also made the temperature come down a bit. I wasn't sweating all morning at work today!
And finally - here are some pictures that I have been getting a lot of feedback from folks as liking:
Getting To And From Work
- When the bus comes, try not to be the last one in line to get on. If you are, you get to jump on the bus as it begins to pull away. It's actually kind of funny to watch until it happens to you!
- Cab drivers don't speak English - or choose not to. And showing them on a map where you want to go only makes the situation worse. Helps to find a Chinese map (my goal for later tonight)
- The ideal setup is watching NBA games (from last night... again - it's like looking in the past since I can look up the final score on the web... wonder if people down in the bar would bet me on the game!) with Chinese announcers - with my iPod on listening to music since listening to the game does me no good.
- Skittles with Chinese writing don't taste like Skittles in US. The grape is an unusual purple... may have something to do with it.
- My internet is quicker at the hotel than it is at work.... but both are too slow to really stream any video from the US (the American Idol dilemma continues!)
- No Llama farms in Taipei City - in case you were looking for them
- Hearing the Chairman of the Greater China Group for your company speak in person isn't nearly as cool when the entire presentation was spoken in Chinese. Luckily the slides were in English so I just memorized those. He seemed funny since people were laughing from time to time at what he was saying.
I have a Chinese name.... it's basically the first letter of my last name (D) and my first name... but not really pronounced Dadam... Dee-Ai-Den... now comes the fun part! The "Dee" is a rising tone (like you're asking a question), the "Ai" is a falling tone (high to low), and the "Den" is flat toned. Try it outloud... not nearly as easy as you think. I've been saying it all afternoon and I still suck at it. But it's the Chinese version of "Adam", so people will know my English name when they read it. It'll be on my badge at work, and on my business cards! I'm doing my best to fit in over here!
It rained most of the morning - which also made the temperature come down a bit. I wasn't sweating all morning at work today!
And finally - here are some pictures that I have been getting a lot of feedback from folks as liking:
Getting To And From Work
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Catch The Magic!!!
To all my friends who are living in the past.... (that's all of you in the US who will read this "Wednesday morning"). Wednesday morning is SOOOOOOO 12 hours ago! I love having the power to talk to people in the past - makes me feel powerful or like a magician or something. I can also tell you the future... Wednesday is a good day!
Tuesday was "House Hunting Day" here in Taipei. In the course of 6 hours, I looked at 12 apartments. My criteria? Here's what I went with:
1) Location - stuff to do close by? Shopping areas? As part of this is transportation - MRC (train) and bus close by? Very good public transportation here!
2) Size (some were smaller than my townhouse back home, some much larger). If the place is too small in size, experiencing living with Sarah for the first time could have a negative outcome... the whole Cabin Fever thing!
3) "Newness" - don't want to live in something old that needs repairs and multiple calls to a landlord that doesn't speak English. My negotiation skills are limited to folks that can understand English. Hard to get my way when I have to only rely on my size as intimidation.
4) Security - wasn't as big of an issue as I was expecting... every place was secure enough - some overkill but it's still important!
5) Hot neighbors? Not as big of a criteria for Sarah for some reason....
I've narrowed it down to 4 options as of Tuesday night. And talking through them with Sarah, I think I've ruled 1 of them out - it was really cute and in the "artsy" district next to the Puppetry Art Center (yeah - you read correctly... puppet art!) and a grocery store about a block away. Very new furniture, but next to a very busy road and construction of the new above ground train so lots of "excess noise". Currently a 15 min walk from the train stop:(
As for the "final 3"? More on those tomorrow as I try to make this decision!
Funniest parts of the day looking at apartments:
The biggest news of the day though... I stumbled across this headline:
Holy crap - I just shit my pants!!! Did I read that correctly? I read on...
Yeah, the little things in life excite me.
Tuesday was "House Hunting Day" here in Taipei. In the course of 6 hours, I looked at 12 apartments. My criteria? Here's what I went with:
1) Location - stuff to do close by? Shopping areas? As part of this is transportation - MRC (train) and bus close by? Very good public transportation here!
2) Size (some were smaller than my townhouse back home, some much larger). If the place is too small in size, experiencing living with Sarah for the first time could have a negative outcome... the whole Cabin Fever thing!
3) "Newness" - don't want to live in something old that needs repairs and multiple calls to a landlord that doesn't speak English. My negotiation skills are limited to folks that can understand English. Hard to get my way when I have to only rely on my size as intimidation.
4) Security - wasn't as big of an issue as I was expecting... every place was secure enough - some overkill but it's still important!
5) Hot neighbors? Not as big of a criteria for Sarah for some reason....
I've narrowed it down to 4 options as of Tuesday night. And talking through them with Sarah, I think I've ruled 1 of them out - it was really cute and in the "artsy" district next to the Puppetry Art Center (yeah - you read correctly... puppet art!) and a grocery store about a block away. Very new furniture, but next to a very busy road and construction of the new above ground train so lots of "excess noise". Currently a 15 min walk from the train stop:(
As for the "final 3"? More on those tomorrow as I try to make this decision!
Funniest parts of the day looking at apartments:
- Finding a German brewpub downtown for lunch. Great food, pretty good beer, and Taiwanese servers wearing Lederhosen!!
- Having to parallel park the company car for the house tour lady... it was a nice Lexus car (complete with proximity beeps when you back up) and the spot was big enough for a 747. It was the only spot and she tried once before I offered for her and we swapped. So yes, I've "driven a car" in Taiwan!
- Most of the gas stations (all 3 of them... not very many as you drive around) are full service (as in they pump gas... nothing sexual in "full service" for you perverts!). Well the lane she chose was self serve... I helped out and got the gas in the car so we weren't stranded! She wasn't sure how to put the credit card in, select the grade, and then put the nozzle in the tank to get some fuel. No, I haven't converted the price here yet to know what gas runs here. I'll do that sometime for a comparison.
The biggest news of the day though... I stumbled across this headline:
Stone Temple Pilots get back to work
‘I felt like the story’s not finished,’ says Scott Weiland
‘I felt like the story’s not finished,’ says Scott Weiland
Holy crap - I just shit my pants!!! Did I read that correctly? I read on...
The quartet — singer Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz — each took on solo projects during the band’s split. Weiland’s group, Velvet Revolver, was arguably the most successful. That group, which includes former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, announced on April 1 that Weiland was no longer a member: Slash claimed Weiland’s “increasingly erratic on-stage behavior and personal problems have forced us to move on.”Wow!! So the most underrated and talented group of ALL time is back together to do some damage! More interesting to note is Slash saying that Weiland's "erratic" behavior was a problem... have you ever seen Weiland live? And this was new to you??? The bad news of this new tour this summer is that Taipei is not on the list:( BUT the hope of a new album (and a NEW tour to follow) is now at an all time high after being non-existant for the past 5 years. My hope is the album comes out summer of 2009 so I can see them in the Fall of 2009 when I return;) Best line from the MSNBC interview is Weiland claiming "I think I have the world record for detoxes though." Hillarious! Anyone goes to the June 6 concert in St. Paul, let me know so I can call your cell phone and listen in!!!
Yeah, the little things in life excite me.
Just Another Typical Day
So the first day of work was a success! I had "help" in getting to the office, then took public transportation home. The bus ride was bumpy and my head was hitting the handle bars (before you mock me, this happens in the US frequently... now you can mock me), plus the damn bus driver drives like an animal!! Then we switched to the train which was AWESOME! Very quick and very efficient around here!
Public Transportation - CHECK!
My team is wonderful - mostly a young team eager to learn and discover the bigger picture of the company and industry. As the current manager said though - this will give all of them a WONDERFUL opportunity to practice and enhance their English speaking abilities! I promised that if they continue to be patient with me getting up to speed, then I will continue trying to learn Chinese!
Found more Starbucks over here.... one even in the lobby of my work building! Not good for my caffeine addiction although I'm starting to have my anti-Starbucks mentality again after a short break. There are plenty of other coffee shops, just none with the recognized logo. They have Mr. Donut all over too - usually right next door!
The weather continues to be very warm and kind of muggy. I know it will get hotter still - I plan on losing weight just from sweating all day long. Right now it feels like a Minnesota June - where you're happy to feel the air conditioning but know that it will continue to get worse! I don't know that it actually gets hotter or more humid here than we see in the mid-west US, but what's going to bother me is the duration. Similar to the snow again this week in Minnesota (that makes 7 calendar months we've had snow, 1/2 of the year!!!) - just never goes away!
Some non-Taiwan thoughts - Kansas won so I win! For the first time in my decent bracket-picking career, the tiebreaker was required. I threw in a 78-69 guess and wow, I was only 4 points off total on that guess! I think I use "69" as a guess every year for the tie breaker - just glad I benefited from it!
Yes Jill, I'm ignoring you and your backflip putz....
This whole West Texas polygamist fram or whatever is kind of weird. Actually, pretty scary given the history of Texas ranch's/compounds....
Every damn Yankees game is on TV here - I hate the Yankees! Plus they are sometimes on two channels - one in English (still has Chinese commercials) and one in Chinese (Yankees still suck!)
Thankfully HBO, Cinimax, Movie Channel are all in English (just have to ignore the subtitles... or try to learn the Chinese characters while you watch) and NO commercials so they make great background noise in the hotel room.
Food? So far I've been slowly experimenting (and successful at avoiding seafood... just like home!) but I'm very thankful for the Western Buffet in the mornings at the hotel (included in the room rate!).
Anyways - have a great Tuesday! Thanks for reading!
Public Transportation - CHECK!
My team is wonderful - mostly a young team eager to learn and discover the bigger picture of the company and industry. As the current manager said though - this will give all of them a WONDERFUL opportunity to practice and enhance their English speaking abilities! I promised that if they continue to be patient with me getting up to speed, then I will continue trying to learn Chinese!
Found more Starbucks over here.... one even in the lobby of my work building! Not good for my caffeine addiction although I'm starting to have my anti-Starbucks mentality again after a short break. There are plenty of other coffee shops, just none with the recognized logo. They have Mr. Donut all over too - usually right next door!
The weather continues to be very warm and kind of muggy. I know it will get hotter still - I plan on losing weight just from sweating all day long. Right now it feels like a Minnesota June - where you're happy to feel the air conditioning but know that it will continue to get worse! I don't know that it actually gets hotter or more humid here than we see in the mid-west US, but what's going to bother me is the duration. Similar to the snow again this week in Minnesota (that makes 7 calendar months we've had snow, 1/2 of the year!!!) - just never goes away!
Some non-Taiwan thoughts - Kansas won so I win! For the first time in my decent bracket-picking career, the tiebreaker was required. I threw in a 78-69 guess and wow, I was only 4 points off total on that guess! I think I use "69" as a guess every year for the tie breaker - just glad I benefited from it!
Yes Jill, I'm ignoring you and your backflip putz....
This whole West Texas polygamist fram or whatever is kind of weird. Actually, pretty scary given the history of Texas ranch's/compounds....
Every damn Yankees game is on TV here - I hate the Yankees! Plus they are sometimes on two channels - one in English (still has Chinese commercials) and one in Chinese (Yankees still suck!)
Thankfully HBO, Cinimax, Movie Channel are all in English (just have to ignore the subtitles... or try to learn the Chinese characters while you watch) and NO commercials so they make great background noise in the hotel room.
Food? So far I've been slowly experimenting (and successful at avoiding seafood... just like home!) but I'm very thankful for the Western Buffet in the mornings at the hotel (included in the room rate!).
Anyways - have a great Tuesday! Thanks for reading!
Monday, April 07, 2008
My First Weekend in Taiwan
Taipei is a FASCINATING city! It has the feel of any other big city that I've been to in the US, with a large diverse group of people walking around, but doesn't have the "too big for it's own good" feel that a lot of the bigger US cities are developing. I did some walking this past weekend to explore my new "home" and took some pictures along the way.
After not being able to sleep much on the plane (a common theme for my over seas traveling), I was picked up at the airport by a driver who had a coffee from 7-11 waiting for me. The coffee was great - the mint... not so much. But Saturday was a foggy morning for the 45 minute drive from the airport to the hotel. The hotel is quite stylish - reminds me of the Collins Plaza hotel in CR for anyone that's been there. There are a lot of shops (mainly clothing shops - a common theme here) in the first few floors of my hotel. A bunch of restaurants, a piano playing in the lobby.... makes one feel spoiled. A quick nap was in order, but then I headed out to venture.
I had to go check out Taipei 101 which is currently the world's largest skyscraper. It towers above the city with no other buildings even close to the same level. But that's what makes it so amazing to look at! There's a high class mall surrounding it with your usual Burberry, Coach, Prada stores. Funny story - I've actually seen as many authentic Coach stores (3) as I have Starbucks (3) so far. I was relieved to see fewer Starbucks than anticipated.
Here are the links for pictures - going back to this method to share photos instead of just posting a few highlights on here (may still do that). You should be able to click "view pictures" and won't need an account necessarily to view.
Travel and Day 1 Pictures
Day 2 in Taipei Pictures
I'll work on getting better comments in there from now on - wanted to get these posted! The Spiderman (and dog) were carnival prizes that came through on the conveyor belt... made me laugh to see. As you'll see in the 2nd set of pictures, there are some signs of the US everywhere:) I was going to pick up an application at Hooters for Sarah as a possibility.....
Couple other thoughts/experiences to share for today:
So after an enjoyable first couple of days, I leave you now to finish a few work things and head to bed.
After not being able to sleep much on the plane (a common theme for my over seas traveling), I was picked up at the airport by a driver who had a coffee from 7-11 waiting for me. The coffee was great - the mint... not so much. But Saturday was a foggy morning for the 45 minute drive from the airport to the hotel. The hotel is quite stylish - reminds me of the Collins Plaza hotel in CR for anyone that's been there. There are a lot of shops (mainly clothing shops - a common theme here) in the first few floors of my hotel. A bunch of restaurants, a piano playing in the lobby.... makes one feel spoiled. A quick nap was in order, but then I headed out to venture.
I had to go check out Taipei 101 which is currently the world's largest skyscraper. It towers above the city with no other buildings even close to the same level. But that's what makes it so amazing to look at! There's a high class mall surrounding it with your usual Burberry, Coach, Prada stores. Funny story - I've actually seen as many authentic Coach stores (3) as I have Starbucks (3) so far. I was relieved to see fewer Starbucks than anticipated.
Here are the links for pictures - going back to this method to share photos instead of just posting a few highlights on here (may still do that). You should be able to click "view pictures" and won't need an account necessarily to view.
Travel and Day 1 Pictures
Day 2 in Taipei Pictures
I'll work on getting better comments in there from now on - wanted to get these posted! The Spiderman (and dog) were carnival prizes that came through on the conveyor belt... made me laugh to see. As you'll see in the 2nd set of pictures, there are some signs of the US everywhere:) I was going to pick up an application at Hooters for Sarah as a possibility.....
Couple other thoughts/experiences to share for today:
- Lots of dogs being walked by people. Almost all on a leash, some carried (dang toy dogs and the Paris Hilton phenomenon), and all pretty cute.
- Kids here LOVE me! Probably the Budha look-alike thing or just the fact that they don't see a lot of bald people. I get that in the US too, but a lot of funny looks from the 1-4 year old range!
- Yes, I fit almost everywhere... had to duck under a few things while in public. Haven't hit my head yet.
So after an enjoyable first couple of days, I leave you now to finish a few work things and head to bed.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
On The Other Side Of The World!!
I made it to Taiwan.... just wanted to let everyone know that after the 4+ hour flight to LA (and a crappy LAX airport... who designed that crap?), then a 14+ hour flight (in coach) to Taipei - I am at the hotel, learning quickly the ins and outs of Taipei. I'll be at work soon, then will blog for a Monday viewing for everyone in the US.
Hope y'all enjoy the new look. The "schemes" in blogspot still haven't increased so the options are limited. My myspace is updated as well (thanks to the smart Sarah) but that one needs a lot more work to look good.
Go Kansas!!!
Hope y'all enjoy the new look. The "schemes" in blogspot still haven't increased so the options are limited. My myspace is updated as well (thanks to the smart Sarah) but that one needs a lot more work to look good.
Go Kansas!!!
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Last Day in the US
The Great Taiwan Move has begun! I'm in Chicago with some ultra-heavy luggage, a hot girlfriend, a plane ticket for Thursday night, and a passing grade from the first two chapters of my Pemsleur learn Mandarin Chinese CDs!!! It's really not too bad once you figure out the whole intonation part of it. I practiced what I had learned with a peer who's from China and working in Rochester - he thought my pronunciation was very good! Eight more chapters to go! And no, this whole "moving to Taiwan" thing was not a huge April Fools joke:( It's April 2nd and still on my way.
American Idol - a quick analysis by Sarah and I from last night:
Safe this week:
David Cook - The only one who acts like he can actually win this thing
Michael Johns - Probably the only performance I liked. He's getting better every week (similar to Elliott Yamin a couple of years ago)
David Archeletta - Still obviously a fan favorite, sounded better last night
Gets a little fuzzy:
Brooke White - She's still doing fine, but that will only last a couple of more weeks at best
Syesha - I liked it, but she's been a bottom 3 person for a while now.... we'll see.
Jason Castro - Ho hum... this Dolly night isn't my favorite either...
Prepare to go home
Carly - Well, she's struggled in the past to get the crowd behind her after decent performances... don't be shocked if she's back in the bottom 3.
Ramiele - So she's the weakest performer left - at least get her in the bottom 3 this week!
Kristy Lee - Your luck is running out fast, thanks for playing.
So my final full day in the US - lots to read on my destination.....
Sorry for the "boring" and "missing" blogs lately.... that'll change very soon!
Have a great day!
American Idol - a quick analysis by Sarah and I from last night:
Safe this week:
David Cook - The only one who acts like he can actually win this thing
Michael Johns - Probably the only performance I liked. He's getting better every week (similar to Elliott Yamin a couple of years ago)
David Archeletta - Still obviously a fan favorite, sounded better last night
Gets a little fuzzy:
Brooke White - She's still doing fine, but that will only last a couple of more weeks at best
Syesha - I liked it, but she's been a bottom 3 person for a while now.... we'll see.
Jason Castro - Ho hum... this Dolly night isn't my favorite either...
Prepare to go home
Carly - Well, she's struggled in the past to get the crowd behind her after decent performances... don't be shocked if she's back in the bottom 3.
Ramiele - So she's the weakest performer left - at least get her in the bottom 3 this week!
Kristy Lee - Your luck is running out fast, thanks for playing.
So my final full day in the US - lots to read on my destination.....
Sorry for the "boring" and "missing" blogs lately.... that'll change very soon!
Have a great day!
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