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!