Back in Minnesota - where Fall weather is here and that makes me happy. We have Sarah moved in with me, boxes are emptied (but house is still a mess), and the newest addition to the house... both Diamond and Diablo are exploring their new location. The two girls seem happy to be "dog free" after a year of daily battles with Sarah's parents' dog Chase. It became pretty comical watching Diamond swat at Chase as he walked around the place. But that is no more as we drove them up to Rochester and we're starting anew here.
We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend on the lake. Great last of summer weather, but now reality sets in. I'm still without my laptop (using a loaner that is sort of getting the job done for now) but hopefully my laptop comes back fully repaired today. That would seriously make things easier if I had my own system back. I'm amazed that I went almost 18 months with no problems but of course in my final 2 weeks, on top of everything else I'm trying to get done for the transition, the laptop has to add to the issues.
It's been a shopping week though since I've been back. We purchased new iPhones for both Sarah and I. We picked them up last night and are still trying to figure everything out. I should be able to update via the iPhone now when not in front of my computer (or when it's getting worked on) so my life of blogging can return to normal. We also picked up a new car for Sarah - a 2009 Honda Accord which looks really sharp. The new Accords are MUCH bigger in size than the Accords of old if you haven't seen them. I'll post some pictures soon, but I am actually extremely comfortable in the new ride. Plus it has XM Radio which I've had fun playing with. She went with the Pearl White color (more "off white" than "white") which actually looks really nice. But it also shows all the bugs on it currently after our drive to Iowa.
Goal for today is to continue moving things around in the house so it feels "normal" for all 4 of us now living here. Then we're throwing everything in the fridge and cabinets away (I still have crackers and cereal in the cabinets from pre-Taiwan that are a little stale) and doing a big grocery trip this afternoon. Fun huh??
Anyway - have a good Tuesday. Continue basking in the glory of the Cyclones victory from last week!
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Final Countdown
Well - getting down to the last week. And after the 117 degree heat index day today, I'M READY!!! It's been an interesting week trying to ship some of my stuff home. The rate is higher than I had hoped so Plan B was to take them onto the plane as extra luggage. After looking into that route, there is no guarantee of rate or that my stuff will even get there on the same flight. It's actually not a bad option if you only have a direct flight, but since I have a connection flight, I can't wait for my luggage to carry through Customs. SO..... back to plan A of shipping my stuff through UPS. I moved some of the heavy stuff (books, shoes) out of Box #3 in hopes of saving some money. If all goes well, most of my stuff will be safely in Rochester by the end of the week waiting for me to arrive next week with two suitcases full (but still under weight!) of stuff.
As for customs... I added an extra category to the invoice that lists "country of purchase" so I can show the US Customs folks that most of what I'm bringing home I actually purchased in the US. SO DON'T TAX ME TWICE!!!
Ah, the stresses of moving home! But in 8 days, I'll be back in Rochester with my one and only Sarah. Then back to fighting jetlag and culture shock! Can't believe this moment is finally here!
This past week has included a lot of going away parties. I'm working on the pictures to upload now but of course no going away party is right unless it includes KTV!!! We went out as a large group from work for some food, beer, karaoke, and I even brought a couple of bottles of Captain Morgan for everyone's enjoyment. We also headed out for an all-you-can-eat BBQ for lunch on Friday which turned into all-you-can-drink for the afternoon.
Then some more festivities as we had "guys night" Friday night to an interesting restaurant called DS Music where everything has a hospital theme. They serve beer like it's an IV, they give shots of alcohol in shot containers, the servers are dressed as nurses of course. It's about as PG-13 as Hooters would be and there were a lot of people of both genders at the restaurant, including some high school kids at the table next to us. The food was actually very good and most of it came out with flames or on fire for additional affects. You'll see pictures on the right! Our waitress could not speak much English and we spoke little Chinese so it made for an interesting conversation every time she came by the table. It was actually pretty comical.
As for the weekend? Too hot to do anything outdoors. Further wrapping up of packing and going through the house to get ready for moving out on Monday.
Favre is officially Minnesotan..... get your Purple #4 Jerseys now!
As for customs... I added an extra category to the invoice that lists "country of purchase" so I can show the US Customs folks that most of what I'm bringing home I actually purchased in the US. SO DON'T TAX ME TWICE!!!
Ah, the stresses of moving home! But in 8 days, I'll be back in Rochester with my one and only Sarah. Then back to fighting jetlag and culture shock! Can't believe this moment is finally here!
This past week has included a lot of going away parties. I'm working on the pictures to upload now but of course no going away party is right unless it includes KTV!!! We went out as a large group from work for some food, beer, karaoke, and I even brought a couple of bottles of Captain Morgan for everyone's enjoyment. We also headed out for an all-you-can-eat BBQ for lunch on Friday which turned into all-you-can-drink for the afternoon.
Then some more festivities as we had "guys night" Friday night to an interesting restaurant called DS Music where everything has a hospital theme. They serve beer like it's an IV, they give shots of alcohol in shot containers, the servers are dressed as nurses of course. It's about as PG-13 as Hooters would be and there were a lot of people of both genders at the restaurant, including some high school kids at the table next to us. The food was actually very good and most of it came out with flames or on fire for additional affects. You'll see pictures on the right! Our waitress could not speak much English and we spoke little Chinese so it made for an interesting conversation every time she came by the table. It was actually pretty comical.
As for the weekend? Too hot to do anything outdoors. Further wrapping up of packing and going through the house to get ready for moving out on Monday.
Favre is officially Minnesotan..... get your Purple #4 Jerseys now!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Ticket Booked For Home
Lots of people are asking about the flooding and mudslides here in Taiwan. It's definitely worth asking, but it's all in the South of Taiwan. I'm in the North which didn't see much damage from the Typhoon other than some trees down, etc. In the Mountains, a lot of times there is only one road to get through there so when a Typhoon dumps 80 inches of rain in 2 days, you expect the ground to react in a negative way. So people are stranded up there and clearing the roads isn't necessarily the easiest thing to do. But that's what is going on in Taiwan right now. Pretty neat to see the recovery efforts by helecopter, etc. I'm seeing them on TV just like you are there, but mine isn't in English;)
It's starting to set in that I'm headed home. Mainly after going through all my stuff and boxing things up. I have three big boxes that are full, taped, recorded (for customs) and ready to send. I'm afraid to ask how much this is going to cost me! I'm pretty sure that everything that isn't boxed up will make it into my two luggage, everything after that is getting donated to neighbors and friends here in Taiwan. It's at this point that I'm glad I bought the $10 toaster, not the $15 one.
I have purchased my 1-way ticket back home. That's a weird feeling yet again.
It was a strange weekend - normal hot weather BUT on Sunday I heard someone knocking at the door of my next door neighbor. Then I heard my door bell ring. When I answered, there was a Taipei Police Officer (with gun and all) asking me (in Chinese but I understood the point) if I had seen my neighbor. I told him that I hadn't. I closed my door but for the next 20 minutes I could hear him ringing the doorbell and knocking trying to get a hold of my neighbor. I heard "Sir, I am police, let me in" and "Sir, I need you to help me". Then it died off for about 15 minutes, BUT then he returned with ANOTHER police officer. They were trying to get the door open for another 30 minutes after that. For some reason they were convinced he was inside but never did get him to open the door. A very strange affair to be sure, and of course I have no idea how it ended. Nothing more happened on Sunday.
Back in the US - football preseason has started and an impressive showing by my boy Sage for the Vikings. Here's hoping for a successful season with 2 wins over the Vikings! As for my Cyclones - I'm just wanting to start with a win over NDSU (there are a lot of NDSU graduates in Rochester with IBM), then a win over Iowa (of course the most important game of the year), a road win of some sorts (break our losing streak) and a Big 12 win! Anything more than that would be SWEET! We shall see how the Clones do this year with a new coach and a seemingly unknown team.
It's starting to set in that I'm headed home. Mainly after going through all my stuff and boxing things up. I have three big boxes that are full, taped, recorded (for customs) and ready to send. I'm afraid to ask how much this is going to cost me! I'm pretty sure that everything that isn't boxed up will make it into my two luggage, everything after that is getting donated to neighbors and friends here in Taiwan. It's at this point that I'm glad I bought the $10 toaster, not the $15 one.
I have purchased my 1-way ticket back home. That's a weird feeling yet again.
It was a strange weekend - normal hot weather BUT on Sunday I heard someone knocking at the door of my next door neighbor. Then I heard my door bell ring. When I answered, there was a Taipei Police Officer (with gun and all) asking me (in Chinese but I understood the point) if I had seen my neighbor. I told him that I hadn't. I closed my door but for the next 20 minutes I could hear him ringing the doorbell and knocking trying to get a hold of my neighbor. I heard "Sir, I am police, let me in" and "Sir, I need you to help me". Then it died off for about 15 minutes, BUT then he returned with ANOTHER police officer. They were trying to get the door open for another 30 minutes after that. For some reason they were convinced he was inside but never did get him to open the door. A very strange affair to be sure, and of course I have no idea how it ended. Nothing more happened on Sunday.
Back in the US - football preseason has started and an impressive showing by my boy Sage for the Vikings. Here's hoping for a successful season with 2 wins over the Vikings! As for my Cyclones - I'm just wanting to start with a win over NDSU (there are a lot of NDSU graduates in Rochester with IBM), then a win over Iowa (of course the most important game of the year), a road win of some sorts (break our losing streak) and a Big 12 win! Anything more than that would be SWEET! We shall see how the Clones do this year with a new coach and a seemingly unknown team.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Post-Typhoon Monday
The "Typhoon" hit us over the weekend including a Typhoon Day on Monday. But as is the case often in Minnesota with Snow Days - the actual event was far less spectacular than the prediction. Don't get me wrong, there was over 80 inches of rain dumped in southern Taiwan - but in Taipei (northern part), it rained heavily with some wind blowing, but far from the severity they were predicting. It's most likely my last Typhoon Day so we spent it watching movies with friends. Actually, the whole weekend was pretty much only good for watching movies with friends with all the rain (and now extreme humidity) that does come with the Typhoon Season.
We did go see G.I. Joe last night. I was thrilled of course since I was the GI Joe kid in the family. Jeremy was the Star Wars kid. You can tell he was the favorite child since my parents held onto his Star Wars toys (which are being enjoyed by the next generation of kids in his family) while they shipped off my GI Joes to Goodwill many many years ago so I no longer have that portion of my childhood. I know I know, my parents were SO mean for doing this. I do have the memories still and 4 seasons of GI Joe cartoons downloaded to remind me of my days of youth starting at 3:30pm for 30 minutes.
The movie was pretty well done. The only thing that bothered me was that the voice of Cobra Commander sounded WAY too close to Don LaFontaine who became popular for doing voiceovers for movie previews and the phrase "In a World". LaFontaine actually just died last year by the way:( Anyway - other than that, the plot was good for introducing the GI Joe concept as well as some character background. Baroness was WAY hotter in the movie than in the cartoon plus she lost the cheezy accent from the cartoon days. And of course I still stand by my childhood crush on Scarlett;) Lots of action, ok plot (actually very typical of most cartoons) and they did a nice job "modernizing" the cartoon version to look like it's 2009 standards. Go see it if you haven't already.
Eat to Die Hotpot tonight for a going away celebration for a coworker (not me). I guess we should start planning my going away celebration at some point this week. Only 3 weeks to go! Can you believe it?
Gearing up for another season of Iowa State Football. The few words that are dedicated to the Cyclones from the "experts" state that basically it can't get worse than last season and ISU could surprise a few folks. Isn't that basically the statement every year? The life of cheering for ISU - hope for surprises but ultimately get your hopes and dreams squished by an interception after having 1st and goal from the 3 yard line. If you have to ask, you weren't there.
Enjoy the week - summer weather finally to the MidWest, hopefully short lived as I'm sick of the 100+ degree days here. Better be back to fall weather by Labor Day!
We did go see G.I. Joe last night. I was thrilled of course since I was the GI Joe kid in the family. Jeremy was the Star Wars kid. You can tell he was the favorite child since my parents held onto his Star Wars toys (which are being enjoyed by the next generation of kids in his family) while they shipped off my GI Joes to Goodwill many many years ago so I no longer have that portion of my childhood. I know I know, my parents were SO mean for doing this. I do have the memories still and 4 seasons of GI Joe cartoons downloaded to remind me of my days of youth starting at 3:30pm for 30 minutes.
The movie was pretty well done. The only thing that bothered me was that the voice of Cobra Commander sounded WAY too close to Don LaFontaine who became popular for doing voiceovers for movie previews and the phrase "In a World". LaFontaine actually just died last year by the way:( Anyway - other than that, the plot was good for introducing the GI Joe concept as well as some character background. Baroness was WAY hotter in the movie than in the cartoon plus she lost the cheezy accent from the cartoon days. And of course I still stand by my childhood crush on Scarlett;) Lots of action, ok plot (actually very typical of most cartoons) and they did a nice job "modernizing" the cartoon version to look like it's 2009 standards. Go see it if you haven't already.
Eat to Die Hotpot tonight for a going away celebration for a coworker (not me). I guess we should start planning my going away celebration at some point this week. Only 3 weeks to go! Can you believe it?
Gearing up for another season of Iowa State Football. The few words that are dedicated to the Cyclones from the "experts" state that basically it can't get worse than last season and ISU could surprise a few folks. Isn't that basically the statement every year? The life of cheering for ISU - hope for surprises but ultimately get your hopes and dreams squished by an interception after having 1st and goal from the 3 yard line. If you have to ask, you weren't there.
Enjoy the week - summer weather finally to the MidWest, hopefully short lived as I'm sick of the 100+ degree days here. Better be back to fall weather by Labor Day!
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
What's In The Daily News
I'll tell you what's in the daily news.....
$5 for anyone that knows what that's from without Googling it. Do you drop the "e" in Google when you make it into a verb since it is a "Proper Verb"? Deep subjects today.
So what is in today's news? Clinton leaves North Korea with two journalists... interesting, but not necessarily what I'm interested in. I do enjoy seeing Slick Willy in the news though. Mainly because he makes all the Republicans out there shudder.
What else - Ahmadinejad sworn in. Iran is interesting read but hopefully never really a threat. Only time will tell. It is good to see Iranians taking to the streets to have their voice heard!
Pussycat Cabaret club in Zumbro Falls is reopening..... interesting....
Paula Abdul won't rejoin Idol.... Typhoon on its way to Taipei on Frid..... WHA!?!??!?!?! The ditzy-non-relevant-line-memorizing-has-been Paula Abdul won't come back to American Idol next season? Who's going to annoy audiences with her comments that don't make sense, or never make a "tough" decision, or fight with Simon which got old in Season 2? Who's going to spark rumors with her affairs with past contestants? Who's going to comment about how good or bad the dancing was in a Singing Competition? Who's going to stand up and clap every time she likes a contestant yet still tell a contestant they "look great" when they sucked it up? To all this I say: Paula - Good Riddance. No, I am not a huge fan of Kara either, but at least she is an improvement in proper skill to be a judge of a 2009 Singing Competition. I'm sure the show will "be different" but I guarantee that it will still dominate the ratings as it always does.
As for what's next for Paula? What else can she do? American Idol really made HER a household name, so I'm surprised she's leaving the show. If she's holding out for more money - HA. Don't think there are any other opportunities for her that could pay as well (and honestly be as easy to do) as AI. Maybe a book deal. I've said it before, life is all about finding your 15 seconds of fame then immediately doing the book deal. I'm actually serious about that. It'll be interesting to see what the details come out of it all though.
As for the Typhoon - yeah... this one looks to be going straight over Taipei too! We'll see what actually happens. If we have a Typhoon Day on Friday, I already have plans to go out and get it on camera!!!
Meredith is feeling better but still far from over. Thanks for the continued prayers!
$5 for anyone that knows what that's from without Googling it. Do you drop the "e" in Google when you make it into a verb since it is a "Proper Verb"? Deep subjects today.
So what is in today's news? Clinton leaves North Korea with two journalists... interesting, but not necessarily what I'm interested in. I do enjoy seeing Slick Willy in the news though. Mainly because he makes all the Republicans out there shudder.
What else - Ahmadinejad sworn in. Iran is interesting read but hopefully never really a threat. Only time will tell. It is good to see Iranians taking to the streets to have their voice heard!
Pussycat Cabaret club in Zumbro Falls is reopening..... interesting....
Paula Abdul won't rejoin Idol.... Typhoon on its way to Taipei on Frid..... WHA!?!??!?!?! The ditzy-non-relevant-line-memorizing-has-been Paula Abdul won't come back to American Idol next season? Who's going to annoy audiences with her comments that don't make sense, or never make a "tough" decision, or fight with Simon which got old in Season 2? Who's going to spark rumors with her affairs with past contestants? Who's going to comment about how good or bad the dancing was in a Singing Competition? Who's going to stand up and clap every time she likes a contestant yet still tell a contestant they "look great" when they sucked it up? To all this I say: Paula - Good Riddance. No, I am not a huge fan of Kara either, but at least she is an improvement in proper skill to be a judge of a 2009 Singing Competition. I'm sure the show will "be different" but I guarantee that it will still dominate the ratings as it always does.
As for what's next for Paula? What else can she do? American Idol really made HER a household name, so I'm surprised she's leaving the show. If she's holding out for more money - HA. Don't think there are any other opportunities for her that could pay as well (and honestly be as easy to do) as AI. Maybe a book deal. I've said it before, life is all about finding your 15 seconds of fame then immediately doing the book deal. I'm actually serious about that. It'll be interesting to see what the details come out of it all though.
As for the Typhoon - yeah... this one looks to be going straight over Taipei too! We'll see what actually happens. If we have a Typhoon Day on Friday, I already have plans to go out and get it on camera!!!
Meredith is feeling better but still far from over. Thanks for the continued prayers!
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Notes and Neurons
First off, prayers and get well wishes to my FSIL Meredith who's still trying to fight off this illness. She's back in good hands of smart doctors and hopefully she can get back to normal VERY SOON!
I found something that amazed me - it's musically related, but I think everyone will appreciate how human nature music can be. Of course it takes someone very gifted such as Bobby McFerrin to point out how we as humans can quickly pick up a concept such as the pentatonic scale. A simple example of the pentatonic scale is the black keys on a piano. They split (unevenly split) the octave into 5 notes, and only the notes that really matter. Ancient civilizations built their music on the pentatonic scale. It wasn't till the human race evolved in mid-evil times that we got the 8 note scale most commonly used and taught today. What I love is how he harmonizes with the crowd while he's jumping around on the stage. I'm trying to find a full copy of the lecture but so far I'm unsuccessful.
It's pretty impressive to me for some reason. I will have to look into that some more.
I found something that amazed me - it's musically related, but I think everyone will appreciate how human nature music can be. Of course it takes someone very gifted such as Bobby McFerrin to point out how we as humans can quickly pick up a concept such as the pentatonic scale. A simple example of the pentatonic scale is the black keys on a piano. They split (unevenly split) the octave into 5 notes, and only the notes that really matter. Ancient civilizations built their music on the pentatonic scale. It wasn't till the human race evolved in mid-evil times that we got the 8 note scale most commonly used and taught today. What I love is how he harmonizes with the crowd while he's jumping around on the stage. I'm trying to find a full copy of the lecture but so far I'm unsuccessful.
It's pretty impressive to me for some reason. I will have to look into that some more.
Monday, August 03, 2009
No Earthquakes Today
Another scorching hot weekend in Taipei - just when you think it can't get any hotter, it does. August is here which means sub-85 degrees at night is only 2 months away! I'll be home before we get to that point. That's right, the packing has begun to ship stuff home. I already have the Wii packed away along with my unread books. I do have a lot of things I'm giving away too since they're not worth shipping home. Toaster, glasses, ironing board, etc - things I had to get to get by that weren't part of the furnishings.
I was invited to Danshui yesterday by Alisa and her extended family. I was the only one there not Russian or married to a Russian. The three nieces of Alisa were super fun to be around. We hit up the Mexican restaurant that I've heard lots about from others and it lived up to the hype for my Taiwan standards of Mexican food. I had the burrito that was far from Chipotle, but it got the job done. I posted some pictures from the evening up north - we just missed sunset, but you'll see where the river that runs through Taipei, connects to the Taiwan Straight.... if you keep going straight, you'll eventually hit Shanghai area or so. You're looking North West for the most part. It's a beautiful area with a nice breeze in the evening that keeps us cool. Wish we had that breeze in Taipei!
You'll see a bunch of pictures from the Turkish Ice Cream guy. He's kind of an odd ball, but he's pretty popular. The icecream itself is ok, really sticky ice cream, but the show he puts on is the reason to go. He plays with the buyer and spins the icecream or pulls it out just when you think you have a grasp of the cone. I sent Zack up there to get 2 of them so I could take pictures. Let everyone laugh at him so I can get it on film!
I'm down to 4 weeks before I come home. Pretty amazing isn't it? I'm excited to do some tailgating and reserving my spot on the couch every Sunday afternoon for NASCAR/NFL watching. I have to train Sarah how to watch that on Sundays. I'm also excited to be able to communicate with people in a normal fashion. Getting tired of relying only on my computer for all my communication needs.
I was invited to Danshui yesterday by Alisa and her extended family. I was the only one there not Russian or married to a Russian. The three nieces of Alisa were super fun to be around. We hit up the Mexican restaurant that I've heard lots about from others and it lived up to the hype for my Taiwan standards of Mexican food. I had the burrito that was far from Chipotle, but it got the job done. I posted some pictures from the evening up north - we just missed sunset, but you'll see where the river that runs through Taipei, connects to the Taiwan Straight.... if you keep going straight, you'll eventually hit Shanghai area or so. You're looking North West for the most part. It's a beautiful area with a nice breeze in the evening that keeps us cool. Wish we had that breeze in Taipei!
You'll see a bunch of pictures from the Turkish Ice Cream guy. He's kind of an odd ball, but he's pretty popular. The icecream itself is ok, really sticky ice cream, but the show he puts on is the reason to go. He plays with the buyer and spins the icecream or pulls it out just when you think you have a grasp of the cone. I sent Zack up there to get 2 of them so I could take pictures. Let everyone laugh at him so I can get it on film!
I'm down to 4 weeks before I come home. Pretty amazing isn't it? I'm excited to do some tailgating and reserving my spot on the couch every Sunday afternoon for NASCAR/NFL watching. I have to train Sarah how to watch that on Sundays. I'm also excited to be able to communicate with people in a normal fashion. Getting tired of relying only on my computer for all my communication needs.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sick in Taiwan
Note that it says "in" not "of" in the title. It's still in the mid to upper 90s this week (106 today with Heat Index) but I managed to catch a cold. I think the worst of it was on Thursday but I'm back in the office today (wearing my mask as is the polite thing to do when you are sick). Luckily I have very little plans for the weekend which should allow me to continue healing and avoiding the heat/humidity.
Another month closes. The next time we role over to a new month, I'll be on my way home! ETA to arrive in Rochester is Sept 2, just in time for bowling season to start! Also in time to watch a successful football season from my beloved Cyclones. Bring on a National Championship!!!
The World Games completed earlier this week without any troubles. Taiwan also has the Deaflympics starting in September, so they're doing what they can to remain on the world stage! No, Taiwan could not handle the full Olympics at this point (or ever in my opinion). It's good for tourism though and of course for bringing in revenue to the country. The government is doing a lot lately to try to increase world awareness and bring an interest in traveling to Taiwan. I encourage anyone who wants to "see Asia" but is afraid of the 3rd World concept of squattie potties (if you've used one, you know what I mean) and unhealthy food - come to Taiwan. You can still use squatties, but it is much more comfortable for the first time Westerner traveler.
I'm working on uploading some videos from this past weekend for your enjoyment. Stay tuned.
Another month closes. The next time we role over to a new month, I'll be on my way home! ETA to arrive in Rochester is Sept 2, just in time for bowling season to start! Also in time to watch a successful football season from my beloved Cyclones. Bring on a National Championship!!!
The World Games completed earlier this week without any troubles. Taiwan also has the Deaflympics starting in September, so they're doing what they can to remain on the world stage! No, Taiwan could not handle the full Olympics at this point (or ever in my opinion). It's good for tourism though and of course for bringing in revenue to the country. The government is doing a lot lately to try to increase world awareness and bring an interest in traveling to Taiwan. I encourage anyone who wants to "see Asia" but is afraid of the 3rd World concept of squattie potties (if you've used one, you know what I mean) and unhealthy food - come to Taiwan. You can still use squatties, but it is much more comfortable for the first time Westerner traveler.
I'm working on uploading some videos from this past weekend for your enjoyment. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
More From Hualien
I guess I am losing my power from midnight till 6am tonight. That means no air-conditioning.... not sure I can make it so I'm working on a back up plan. I have 4 hours to go;) There's been a message in the elevator for the past week, but I can't read Chinese. Finally figured out the date referred to tomorrow so I scanned it and sent it to Kirsten to be translated. Could be a long 6 hours without my AC!
More pictures have been uploaded for this past Saturday's trip up the river in Hualien as well as the Whale/Dolphin watching trip. As I said before, we didn't see any whales and only a couple of dolphins. Definitely better dolphin viewing in Naples Florida!!
As for Saturday - you'll see our group in our suits (I took my own as my size is not normally stocked in Taiwan) and safety helmets (I got a "special" one in larger size) and also life vests (again, I get the special one that only gets used every 5 years probably). But all was well as we headed out early in order to beat the other groups that were following us. It paid off to go early (we were on the water by 8am) as we got to do everything and made it to the top where other groups didn't make it up there.
It was quite the adventure. We did a lot of climbing, some floating in the river, jumping off the falls, swimming behind waterfalls, climbing water falls, rope climbing some of the higher rocks, some cliff jumping (one at 2 meters and one at about 5 meters), and of course just swimming. My favorite part was the swimming since the water was as pure and clean as any water I've ever been in. Fresh water and at some points the water was very deep (thus the cliff jumping) which is amazing. It was so cool in the water, and so peaceful up in the mountains. We did see a poisonous snake (one of the last pictures) which was stuck in the water at the top on a branch. The snake can't swim and it looked like he'd been there a while on a branch that fell but there wasn't enough current to move him down river to escape. Our instructor let some folks take pictures, but he ultimately freed the critter to go back to being a poisonous snake in the forest. He really was an ugly thing.
As for Sunday - everyone was taking some anti-sickness medicine, but I think it made everyone overly tired. We were up early again, but the rest of the gang hung out on the top of the boat. I went to the front in hopes of seeing some dolphins following the bow of the boat which is one of their favorite things to do at times. The dolphins we saw though were feeding, meaning they were more interested in following the fish (which we were scarring away I'm sure) than they were in entertaining the people on the boat. It was still beautiful water and wonderful to be out on the Pacific Ocean!!
Then we had the only bad part of the trip - the return to Taipei which had us hitting traffic. Just like in Chicago, the worst part is the fact that they split everyone for a toll booth, then there's a huge bottleneck getting everyone back into 2 lanes. That seems to be a poor design around the world!!!
We did get to go through the new tunnel which is now Taiwan's longest. It was 14.9 km long (about 9 miles) which is actually pretty amazingly long! There were a couple of long tunnels, but 9 miles is a little rediculous! They even rebroadcast the radio inside the tunnel (as well as having cell phone towers), BUT it gets a little freaky when they interrupt the radio to announce an accident and at what mile marker. A little too science fiction like for me!
Anyway - hope you enjoy the pictures! Have a good Tuesday!!
More pictures have been uploaded for this past Saturday's trip up the river in Hualien as well as the Whale/Dolphin watching trip. As I said before, we didn't see any whales and only a couple of dolphins. Definitely better dolphin viewing in Naples Florida!!
As for Saturday - you'll see our group in our suits (I took my own as my size is not normally stocked in Taiwan) and safety helmets (I got a "special" one in larger size) and also life vests (again, I get the special one that only gets used every 5 years probably). But all was well as we headed out early in order to beat the other groups that were following us. It paid off to go early (we were on the water by 8am) as we got to do everything and made it to the top where other groups didn't make it up there.
It was quite the adventure. We did a lot of climbing, some floating in the river, jumping off the falls, swimming behind waterfalls, climbing water falls, rope climbing some of the higher rocks, some cliff jumping (one at 2 meters and one at about 5 meters), and of course just swimming. My favorite part was the swimming since the water was as pure and clean as any water I've ever been in. Fresh water and at some points the water was very deep (thus the cliff jumping) which is amazing. It was so cool in the water, and so peaceful up in the mountains. We did see a poisonous snake (one of the last pictures) which was stuck in the water at the top on a branch. The snake can't swim and it looked like he'd been there a while on a branch that fell but there wasn't enough current to move him down river to escape. Our instructor let some folks take pictures, but he ultimately freed the critter to go back to being a poisonous snake in the forest. He really was an ugly thing.
As for Sunday - everyone was taking some anti-sickness medicine, but I think it made everyone overly tired. We were up early again, but the rest of the gang hung out on the top of the boat. I went to the front in hopes of seeing some dolphins following the bow of the boat which is one of their favorite things to do at times. The dolphins we saw though were feeding, meaning they were more interested in following the fish (which we were scarring away I'm sure) than they were in entertaining the people on the boat. It was still beautiful water and wonderful to be out on the Pacific Ocean!!
Then we had the only bad part of the trip - the return to Taipei which had us hitting traffic. Just like in Chicago, the worst part is the fact that they split everyone for a toll booth, then there's a huge bottleneck getting everyone back into 2 lanes. That seems to be a poor design around the world!!!
We did get to go through the new tunnel which is now Taiwan's longest. It was 14.9 km long (about 9 miles) which is actually pretty amazingly long! There were a couple of long tunnels, but 9 miles is a little rediculous! They even rebroadcast the radio inside the tunnel (as well as having cell phone towers), BUT it gets a little freaky when they interrupt the radio to announce an accident and at what mile marker. A little too science fiction like for me!
Anyway - hope you enjoy the pictures! Have a good Tuesday!!
Monday, July 27, 2009
My "Graduation" Trip to Hualien
In Taiwan schools, they take a "graduation" trip after their senior year where they explore parts of the Island and enjoy the wonderful tourism aspect of Taiwan. So with my return to the US in a month or so, some of my coworkers planned a weekend trip to Hualien for us. A total of 8 of us drove down Highway 9 which is famous due to the scenic view of the mountains, Pacific ocean, windy roads, and ultimately the beauty of Hualien. This was the same place that Pitzen and I visited in May with the amazing mountains running into the ocean.... and this trip again proved the beauty that is in the East of Taiwan.
I uploaded group 1 of my photos. These are the "general" pics that were taken over the weekend. We headed down on Friday that took about 4 hours by 2 cars. There was a stop for shaved ice and we finally arrived at our bed and breakfast that we rented for the weekend. Plenty of room for the 8 of us! Wonderful view of the mountains and countryside. We also hit the night market (the archery pics and the bumper cars) which also allowed me to pay $10 for my own firework. They were amazed how I wanted the biggest firework they have to shoot off from the beach - it fulfilled my pyro tendencies for a while.
Saturday we had a guide to take us up on a river climb along with his camera toting assistant who got around like a spider monkey on the river. It was an amazing adventure climbing rocks, waterfalls and swimming in the clearest mountain water I've ever been in. Sunday we went looking for whales (no sightings but we did see some Dolphins!!).
I'll post Saturday and Sunday photos in the next couple of days, I haven't had a chance to go through them yet. Plus it gives me more things to blog about this week!!
For group 1, you will see a lot of food pictures:) One thing the Taiwanese do well is eat GOOD food - this weekend had no shortage of good food of course. One restaurant was on the Pacific Ocean plus we were the only ones there so we were VIP! The next night we went to dinner in the mountains that would have had a tremendous view of the stars except for the rain clouds:( We did see some stars on Friday night - amazing how much you miss seeing stars when you live in the city and see none of them year round.
More stories and explanations throughout the week. Enjoy the first group!
I uploaded group 1 of my photos. These are the "general" pics that were taken over the weekend. We headed down on Friday that took about 4 hours by 2 cars. There was a stop for shaved ice and we finally arrived at our bed and breakfast that we rented for the weekend. Plenty of room for the 8 of us! Wonderful view of the mountains and countryside. We also hit the night market (the archery pics and the bumper cars) which also allowed me to pay $10 for my own firework. They were amazed how I wanted the biggest firework they have to shoot off from the beach - it fulfilled my pyro tendencies for a while.
Saturday we had a guide to take us up on a river climb along with his camera toting assistant who got around like a spider monkey on the river. It was an amazing adventure climbing rocks, waterfalls and swimming in the clearest mountain water I've ever been in. Sunday we went looking for whales (no sightings but we did see some Dolphins!!).
I'll post Saturday and Sunday photos in the next couple of days, I haven't had a chance to go through them yet. Plus it gives me more things to blog about this week!!
For group 1, you will see a lot of food pictures:) One thing the Taiwanese do well is eat GOOD food - this weekend had no shortage of good food of course. One restaurant was on the Pacific Ocean plus we were the only ones there so we were VIP! The next night we went to dinner in the mountains that would have had a tremendous view of the stars except for the rain clouds:( We did see some stars on Friday night - amazing how much you miss seeing stars when you live in the city and see none of them year round.
More stories and explanations throughout the week. Enjoy the first group!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
PICTURE DAY!!
Lots of photos to share today - don't take them all at one time as you may have an overloading sensation.
First though is the Solar Eclipse that happened in Eastern Asia this morning. The prime location was closer to Beijing in China, but we were still able to experience it rather well. Now most of us have difficulty seeing this afternoon after staring at the sun most of the day. I was reluctant at first since it's pretty cloudy today - BUT actually the clouds help to actually see the eclipse. Here are the 4 photos that actually turned out from earlier today:
It was a pretty cool experience - I'm just glad some of the photos actually turned out!
As for more photos to share from my trip back to the US - there are 5 new photo albums added on the right starting with seeing Eddie and his beautiful new daughter Sophia, some pictures from Storm Lake, and of course wedding photos (not our wedding). I love our new camera as it really takes great low light photos. None of those would have turned out with the standard point-and-click cameras that all of us have. Very life like and lots of personality coming out in some of those shots.
I've been back in Taiwan for a week but I'm still screwed up for sleeping. I was up at 4:30 this morning and I didn't even nap yesterday for a change. It is however the latest I've slept in all week, just need to keep working at staying up later, then trying to sleep in. There is definitely some weird TV at 3am in Taiwan. Wish I could figure out a way to share it with you.
Hope everyone is having a good week!
First though is the Solar Eclipse that happened in Eastern Asia this morning. The prime location was closer to Beijing in China, but we were still able to experience it rather well. Now most of us have difficulty seeing this afternoon after staring at the sun most of the day. I was reluctant at first since it's pretty cloudy today - BUT actually the clouds help to actually see the eclipse. Here are the 4 photos that actually turned out from earlier today:
It was a pretty cool experience - I'm just glad some of the photos actually turned out!
As for more photos to share from my trip back to the US - there are 5 new photo albums added on the right starting with seeing Eddie and his beautiful new daughter Sophia, some pictures from Storm Lake, and of course wedding photos (not our wedding). I love our new camera as it really takes great low light photos. None of those would have turned out with the standard point-and-click cameras that all of us have. Very life like and lots of personality coming out in some of those shots.
I've been back in Taiwan for a week but I'm still screwed up for sleeping. I was up at 4:30 this morning and I didn't even nap yesterday for a change. It is however the latest I've slept in all week, just need to keep working at staying up later, then trying to sleep in. There is definitely some weird TV at 3am in Taiwan. Wish I could figure out a way to share it with you.
Hope everyone is having a good week!
Monday, July 20, 2009
World Games 2009!!
The World Games 2009 started last week - never heard of them? Well you don't live in Taiwan then. They're being held in Taiwan (Kaohsiung which is in the far southwest of Taiwan) and are highlighting a very "Eco-Friendly" games. Call it the "Secondary Olympics" if you must, but it actually has some of the original Olympic sports such as tug of war and fistball. There are also sports such as Parachuting, Billiards, Bowling, as well as lots of Martial Art sports. It is a big deal since this is the first international competition to be held in Taiwan. The Chinese are participating, but they boycotted the opening ceremony last Thursday which of course dominated the news. The tension continues!! Go check it out on Wikipedia for all the sports that are being held. No, the US aren't participating, but many other countries are.
What's cool about the games though is that they are using the stadium that has almost 9000 solar panels that generate 1.14 million kwatt hours of electricity per year! That's a LOT! They sell it back to the country and it gets dispersed around the island. Taiwan is trying to do more and more with the solar panel revolution since it gets SO HOT and so much sun here. So far I've seen a lot of roller blading racing (very similar to watching speed skating at the winter Olympics), and even watched the Taiwan Women's Tug of War team bring home the gold medal! It's actually cooler than you'd think watching Tug of War would be.
I'm still screwed up from Jetlag - taking 3 hour naps in the afternoon doesn't help, but it has allowed me to watch a lot of this past weekend's British Open (aka Watson's final chance at age 59). What a great Open to watch! Too bad he didn't win but was still good for the sport of golf!
I know it feels like Fall in the US, but it's damned hot here in Taiwan. And very humid.... I'll probably complain about it every day till I come home. Which is now 42 days away.
What's cool about the games though is that they are using the stadium that has almost 9000 solar panels that generate 1.14 million kwatt hours of electricity per year! That's a LOT! They sell it back to the country and it gets dispersed around the island. Taiwan is trying to do more and more with the solar panel revolution since it gets SO HOT and so much sun here. So far I've seen a lot of roller blading racing (very similar to watching speed skating at the winter Olympics), and even watched the Taiwan Women's Tug of War team bring home the gold medal! It's actually cooler than you'd think watching Tug of War would be.
I'm still screwed up from Jetlag - taking 3 hour naps in the afternoon doesn't help, but it has allowed me to watch a lot of this past weekend's British Open (aka Watson's final chance at age 59). What a great Open to watch! Too bad he didn't win but was still good for the sport of golf!
I know it feels like Fall in the US, but it's damned hot here in Taiwan. And very humid.... I'll probably complain about it every day till I come home. Which is now 42 days away.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Back in Earthquake Land
I'm back in Taipei after a busy yet fun trip to the US! It's my last time to go back and forth via plane - and a good thing, I forgot how much I don't fit into coach class on most planes. Thankfully I was bumped up to business class for flying to the US, just wish I was as lucky coming back. It was also nice experiencing temperatures under 80 degrees for one last time till September. I miss the Minnesota summer, especially when it's a "cool" one like this year!
Sarah and I had fun visiting friends and at the wedding (no, not our wedding) - just a lot of driving around the mid-west. I'm working on the pictures now, gives me something to do with the jetlag.
There were some major earthquakes this week in Taipei, a couple causing buildings to sway and requiring some emergency vehicles to be deployed. I was still in Iowa at that time of the "big" one, but there was another tremor this afternoon that had some slight swaying here at my apartment.
As you can see, this is my last leg of my assignment in Taiwan. Only 46 days left till I head home. The time will go quickly, but still lots to cram into these last 7 weeks! Then a new facelift is in order for my blog page:)
Have a good Thursday!
Sarah and I had fun visiting friends and at the wedding (no, not our wedding) - just a lot of driving around the mid-west. I'm working on the pictures now, gives me something to do with the jetlag.
There were some major earthquakes this week in Taipei, a couple causing buildings to sway and requiring some emergency vehicles to be deployed. I was still in Iowa at that time of the "big" one, but there was another tremor this afternoon that had some slight swaying here at my apartment.
As you can see, this is my last leg of my assignment in Taiwan. Only 46 days left till I head home. The time will go quickly, but still lots to cram into these last 7 weeks! Then a new facelift is in order for my blog page:)
Have a good Thursday!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Getting Back Into It
yeah yeah - it's been a while. I'm trying to get my creative juices back to do some blogging so continue to bear with me.
Congrats to Eddie and Juanita in the birth of an adorable baby girl - Sophia!
I'm headed back to the US of A this week! There's a wedding (no, not ours) in Iowa that Sarah's in on July 11th, so I'm headed home to see Sarah, see some family, and see some normal summer weather. For those of you who are complaining that it's over 90 degrees (100+ with the humidity)... welcome to 4 months of the weather in Taiwan!!! Seriously, it's already 105+ heat index here, and will only get hotter for August and September. Sucks....
A weird week last week - Ed McMahon died... but nobody remembers that now that Michael Jackson died mysteriously as well. Yeah, I know Farrah Fawcett died too, but that was a little before my time. I'm the border of GenX and GenY which means she was too old by the time I was old enough to notice. Now Michael Jackson, I was more partial to the Bad album mainly because I was too young when Thriller came out. But I still appreciate what an incredible influence he was for pop music - for all music! Not many people are as recognizable as he is in this world... even after his seclusion years as of late. CNN International had a MJ marathon all weekend playing all kind of Michael Jackson related clips. No MTV/VH1 here so no marathon of videos for me unfortunately. Sure he was strange in later years, but in 10 years nobody will really remember that - only the musical legacy he created. Same thing happened with Elvis - nobody remembers the years towards the end.
I added another photo album to the right.... we had an organizational outing on a Friday a few weeks ago. We went to an "Eat to Die" BBQ place which also happened to be "Drink to Die". So between the really good food AND an endless supply of beer, it was a good day. Of course everyone wanted to race finishing their beers against me so I was unable to sip my beer and enjoy it. A handfull of us headed to KTV afterwards and had some more fun for a Friday afternoon. And yeah, this was the night I called Sarah at 6:30am her time and then I went to bed right after that:)
And Brett Favre to the Vikings?!?!?!? Hmmmm.... I don't know what to think yet on that one. I had my hopes up for my buddy Sage "Middle Finger" Rosenfels, but we'll see what the Vikes decide to do. Anything is better than Tavaris. Plus I'm still trying to figure out why the Timberwolves drafted 4 Point Guards in last week's Draft....
Ok - have a good Monday. By Tuesday morning your time, I'll be on a plane over the Pacific!
Congrats to Eddie and Juanita in the birth of an adorable baby girl - Sophia!
I'm headed back to the US of A this week! There's a wedding (no, not ours) in Iowa that Sarah's in on July 11th, so I'm headed home to see Sarah, see some family, and see some normal summer weather. For those of you who are complaining that it's over 90 degrees (100+ with the humidity)... welcome to 4 months of the weather in Taiwan!!! Seriously, it's already 105+ heat index here, and will only get hotter for August and September. Sucks....
A weird week last week - Ed McMahon died... but nobody remembers that now that Michael Jackson died mysteriously as well. Yeah, I know Farrah Fawcett died too, but that was a little before my time. I'm the border of GenX and GenY which means she was too old by the time I was old enough to notice. Now Michael Jackson, I was more partial to the Bad album mainly because I was too young when Thriller came out. But I still appreciate what an incredible influence he was for pop music - for all music! Not many people are as recognizable as he is in this world... even after his seclusion years as of late. CNN International had a MJ marathon all weekend playing all kind of Michael Jackson related clips. No MTV/VH1 here so no marathon of videos for me unfortunately. Sure he was strange in later years, but in 10 years nobody will really remember that - only the musical legacy he created. Same thing happened with Elvis - nobody remembers the years towards the end.
I added another photo album to the right.... we had an organizational outing on a Friday a few weeks ago. We went to an "Eat to Die" BBQ place which also happened to be "Drink to Die". So between the really good food AND an endless supply of beer, it was a good day. Of course everyone wanted to race finishing their beers against me so I was unable to sip my beer and enjoy it. A handfull of us headed to KTV afterwards and had some more fun for a Friday afternoon. And yeah, this was the night I called Sarah at 6:30am her time and then I went to bed right after that:)
And Brett Favre to the Vikings?!?!?!? Hmmmm.... I don't know what to think yet on that one. I had my hopes up for my buddy Sage "Middle Finger" Rosenfels, but we'll see what the Vikes decide to do. Anything is better than Tavaris. Plus I'm still trying to figure out why the Timberwolves drafted 4 Point Guards in last week's Draft....
Ok - have a good Monday. By Tuesday morning your time, I'll be on a plane over the Pacific!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Diving in Longdong
Summer in Taiwan - it's definitely here and I don't enjoy sweating every time I walk to the 7-11 around the corner. Thankfully there is either a 7-11, a Family Mart, or an OK Mart or whatever it's called. So for your "convenience" the 2007 data said there were 9300+ convenience stores on the 13,891 square mile island and 23 million people. That comes out to one store for every 2450 people. Not staggering enough of a stat? Considering only 1/3 of the island is actually occupied (rest is mountains or beaches or farmland), that leaves 2 convenience stores per square mile. Now that one sounds like a lot, but come visit Taipei, it's more like 2 convenience stores per city block. I can visit 4 Family Marts all within a 3 minute walk from start to finish.
We did some scuba diving this weekend. It was hot and sunny, but no better way to cool off then to go under water:) We went up to the Northeast part of Taiwan again, near Keelung (port city in the North) but the bay area was actually called "Longdong Bay".... I kid you not! Enter perverted joke here..... Longdong Bay was full of lots of people, other scuba divers, some people learning to snorkel, and other people just swimming and enjoying the water. So I guess you could say there were lots of sea men (and women) in Longdong bay yesterday....
This is the final week of NHL - hopefully in the favor of the Red Wings. It's also the NBA finals, but does anyone really care anymore? Since fan voting doesn't determine the outcome, hard to imagine that people still want to watch Kobe cry after winning a trophy thanks to yet another "big man".
Big week for Birthdays and Anniversaries! I'll try to remember them all - I sometimes get screwed up with the time difference too. Happy birthday tomorrow Jen!
We did some scuba diving this weekend. It was hot and sunny, but no better way to cool off then to go under water:) We went up to the Northeast part of Taiwan again, near Keelung (port city in the North) but the bay area was actually called "Longdong Bay".... I kid you not! Enter perverted joke here..... Longdong Bay was full of lots of people, other scuba divers, some people learning to snorkel, and other people just swimming and enjoying the water. So I guess you could say there were lots of sea men (and women) in Longdong bay yesterday....
This is the final week of NHL - hopefully in the favor of the Red Wings. It's also the NBA finals, but does anyone really care anymore? Since fan voting doesn't determine the outcome, hard to imagine that people still want to watch Kobe cry after winning a trophy thanks to yet another "big man".
Big week for Birthdays and Anniversaries! I'll try to remember them all - I sometimes get screwed up with the time difference too. Happy birthday tomorrow Jen!
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Random Update
I added some pictures from IBM Family Day last weekend. We took a bus down about 90 minutes south of Taipei to a Green Park. It was damned hot in the morning when we got there, but it was a very pretty park that has a lot of natural habitat areas and wildlife to enjoy. There was an ample representation of families as well as some fun animals to observe. You'll see some long snakes in there, they're actually pretty cool. I had Alex ask about how much the python eats and he said they feed it two times a month, each time they give it three whole chickens and that suffices for another 1/2 month. I had Alex then ask about if the python could eat Val, he said no... but then pointed to a little girl who was also standing there and nodded as if to say "yeah, that one he could".
NHL - GO RED WINGS!!! - I've been able to watch most of the first two games thanks to the Slingbox, the next two may be a little tricky with work stuff. I'm hoping for a 5 game series that way I can watch the final game on my Sunday morning.
It's June, which means I come home permanently in 3 months. Can you believe that I've been here for 14 months already?
NHL - GO RED WINGS!!! - I've been able to watch most of the first two games thanks to the Slingbox, the next two may be a little tricky with work stuff. I'm hoping for a 5 game series that way I can watch the final game on my Sunday morning.
It's June, which means I come home permanently in 3 months. Can you believe that I've been here for 14 months already?
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
And The Winner Is....
I predict a Kris Allen win for the American Idol finals..... and that has actually NOTHING to do with the performances. Both did well, but here's why I think Kris will win:
The whole season plotted the Adam fans vs the Danny fans since everyone had them pegged as the final 2 from the get go. This late in the competition, it has less to do with who gets more vote week to week, as it does who has the stronger fan base of teenage girls texting 100s of times in the 2 hour slot.
So from last week, you had:
Fans X that voted for Adam (probably voted for him most of the season)
Fans Y that voted for Kris (probably a growing number throughout the season - picking up the fans of other contestants week to week)
Fans Z that voted for Danny (probably voted for him most of the season)
The winner is whoever gets the most of that Z amount of voters from Danny.
Break down the Danny Z fans as follows:
20% or so vote weekly for who they liked best, so they'll vote differently every week
30% or so won't vote since their boy Danny is out
remaining 50% are the ones who hold the balance of the AI Champion. And since these Danny fans have ALWAYS seen Adam as their competition since week 1, they will continue to not want Adam to win. Thus they will vote Against Adam and vote for Kris. Plus it's natural for people to root for the underdog, which is clearly Kris.
Granted voting AGAINST someone didn't help us win the 2004 presidential election in order to get Bush out of office, but I think it will for American Idol. So there's my analysis.
By the way Kara - your song sucks, but that's typical of the "new hit" that is always written for the AI final.
I had to watch the performances delayed, I was too busy watching the RedWings win in Overtime this morning while working... yeah, you heard me right. Priorities.
The whole season plotted the Adam fans vs the Danny fans since everyone had them pegged as the final 2 from the get go. This late in the competition, it has less to do with who gets more vote week to week, as it does who has the stronger fan base of teenage girls texting 100s of times in the 2 hour slot.
So from last week, you had:
Fans X that voted for Adam (probably voted for him most of the season)
Fans Y that voted for Kris (probably a growing number throughout the season - picking up the fans of other contestants week to week)
Fans Z that voted for Danny (probably voted for him most of the season)
The winner is whoever gets the most of that Z amount of voters from Danny.
Break down the Danny Z fans as follows:
20% or so vote weekly for who they liked best, so they'll vote differently every week
30% or so won't vote since their boy Danny is out
remaining 50% are the ones who hold the balance of the AI Champion. And since these Danny fans have ALWAYS seen Adam as their competition since week 1, they will continue to not want Adam to win. Thus they will vote Against Adam and vote for Kris. Plus it's natural for people to root for the underdog, which is clearly Kris.
Granted voting AGAINST someone didn't help us win the 2004 presidential election in order to get Bush out of office, but I think it will for American Idol. So there's my analysis.
By the way Kara - your song sucks, but that's typical of the "new hit" that is always written for the AI final.
I had to watch the performances delayed, I was too busy watching the RedWings win in Overtime this morning while working... yeah, you heard me right. Priorities.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Catching Up On Photos
Yeah, it's been a long time since I've blogged. Part of that is trying to stay ahead at work (or catch up from being gone some lately), part of that is lacking any creativity when I come home from work. Honestly, it's hard to get back on the computer and blog some days after being on it all day long, then back on at night for my evening calls.
I've posted three picture albums on the right from the week when Brian was here visiting. We had probably the most perfect weather in 2009 to do some site seeing - just before it turned hot and humid. We spent the first 4 days in the Taipei area, so you'll see pictures of some familiar Taipei standards. We then headed south to Kenting (where Sarah and I went last December for a couple of days), but had a totally different experience! With the perfect weather, we rented some scooters and drove around the southern part of Taiwan and had a blast! The scenery is amazing down in that area, driving along the Pacific Ocean on the east side, then through the mountains. Then we returned to Taipei, then back to Hualien on the East coast to go through Taroko Gorge. This was the first time I had made it to Hualien - pictures do not do it justice! Very majestic marble mountains and river valley that we hired a driver to take the 4 of us through. We were joined by my friend/coworker Kirsten and her friend Lily.
Only one minor accident the week he was here - no, not from sledding, but from the scooter. It's been a while since I've been on anything with 2 wheels (probably 6+ years) and I forgot some basic rules of turning - and ended up hitting the curb at about 5mph while leaving the gas station. Scraped up my leg and elbow a little bit, but nothing major broken. My leg looks like it did when I last slid into 2nd base while wearing shorts. A little blood lost, a lot of pride lost, but scooter worked fine for the next 6 hours of riding around.
Enjoy the pictures - let me know if you want any clarification or stories on some of the pictures. Was truly a great week - Thanks Brian for visiting!
American Idol final week - I wasn't surprised by Kris since I thought he was the strongest performer from the final 3 performances. Should be interesting to see how they drag it out despite the fact that they will all record albums. Hopefully the finale is better than the Celebrity Apprentice finale which is causing me to think about not watching that show anymore.....
Red Wings are up 1-0 in the final 4... GO WINGS!! I'm able to watch this year with the Slingbox, so bring on the Cup!!!
Hope you all have a good week!
I've posted three picture albums on the right from the week when Brian was here visiting. We had probably the most perfect weather in 2009 to do some site seeing - just before it turned hot and humid. We spent the first 4 days in the Taipei area, so you'll see pictures of some familiar Taipei standards. We then headed south to Kenting (where Sarah and I went last December for a couple of days), but had a totally different experience! With the perfect weather, we rented some scooters and drove around the southern part of Taiwan and had a blast! The scenery is amazing down in that area, driving along the Pacific Ocean on the east side, then through the mountains. Then we returned to Taipei, then back to Hualien on the East coast to go through Taroko Gorge. This was the first time I had made it to Hualien - pictures do not do it justice! Very majestic marble mountains and river valley that we hired a driver to take the 4 of us through. We were joined by my friend/coworker Kirsten and her friend Lily.
Only one minor accident the week he was here - no, not from sledding, but from the scooter. It's been a while since I've been on anything with 2 wheels (probably 6+ years) and I forgot some basic rules of turning - and ended up hitting the curb at about 5mph while leaving the gas station. Scraped up my leg and elbow a little bit, but nothing major broken. My leg looks like it did when I last slid into 2nd base while wearing shorts. A little blood lost, a lot of pride lost, but scooter worked fine for the next 6 hours of riding around.
Enjoy the pictures - let me know if you want any clarification or stories on some of the pictures. Was truly a great week - Thanks Brian for visiting!
American Idol final week - I wasn't surprised by Kris since I thought he was the strongest performer from the final 3 performances. Should be interesting to see how they drag it out despite the fact that they will all record albums. Hopefully the finale is better than the Celebrity Apprentice finale which is causing me to think about not watching that show anymore.....
Red Wings are up 1-0 in the final 4... GO WINGS!! I'm able to watch this year with the Slingbox, so bring on the Cup!!!
Hope you all have a good week!
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Visitor From US
I finally uploaded Florida pictures on the right. You'll enjoy some beach pictures and of course pics of Sarah and I around town.
I have another guest in Taiwan this week. Mr. Pitzen decided to come enjoy the offerings of Taiwan with me for a week+ and we've been having a great time so far. Up till now, we've kicked around the usual spots in Taipei, but on Wednesday morning we're headed to the South of Taiwan for beaches and Kenting National Park. Should have more time to enjoy the scenery and (hopefully) beautiful weather.
It's been fun having someone here to entertain and makes me feel "local" since I'm the tourguide!
Anyway - hope you enjoyed your Cinco de Mayo!
I have another guest in Taiwan this week. Mr. Pitzen decided to come enjoy the offerings of Taiwan with me for a week+ and we've been having a great time so far. Up till now, we've kicked around the usual spots in Taipei, but on Wednesday morning we're headed to the South of Taiwan for beaches and Kenting National Park. Should have more time to enjoy the scenery and (hopefully) beautiful weather.
It's been fun having someone here to entertain and makes me feel "local" since I'm the tourguide!
Anyway - hope you enjoyed your Cinco de Mayo!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Update on Sarah's Dad
I'm back in Taiwan - a WONDERFUL week with Sarah in Florida last week. Perfect weather all week with lots of sun and time on the beach. Pictures and more coming soon. I've been trying to catch up as much as possible with work but I'll get the pictures updated soon.
Update on Sarah's dad... he is now out of the hospital!!! Everything is going well again. He has his tubes out and they are staying in Iowa City this week for a few more daily checkups. If all is well, there's a chance that he and Sarah may be able to return to their real home later this week.
Thanks to everyone for their prayers and concerns. We're hoping he's out of the tough stuff finally after some discoveries last week. All is much better now.
Update on Sarah's dad... he is now out of the hospital!!! Everything is going well again. He has his tubes out and they are staying in Iowa City this week for a few more daily checkups. If all is well, there's a chance that he and Sarah may be able to return to their real home later this week.
Thanks to everyone for their prayers and concerns. We're hoping he's out of the tough stuff finally after some discoveries last week. All is much better now.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Leaving On A Jet Plane
I'm about 13 hours from getting on a plane to come back to the US of A!!! This calls for a special celebration.... Ozzy? Can you help me out??
So by the time you put the dishes away for dinner on Friday night, I should be safe and sound to Florida with my one-and-only Sarah for the week. I'll be checking out Tokyo and Atlanta as temporary stops in my journey. And yes, I'm flying on Northworst Airlines in Coach.... this will NOT be fun. Maybe I can tell them I'm off to see my woman and they'll upgrade me feeling sorry for me.
Our plans for those 8 days together?? Enjoy each other's company and the sunny weather while playing in the Gulf of Mexico. Hopefully see some more dolphins like last time.... eat some good food while we're there. I already checked and there is unfortunately no Jimmy Johns nor is there a Chipotle where we'll be.
I can watch American Idol on a REAL TV, and of course witness some Red Wings domination in the first round of the hockey playoffs, something besides Yankees baseball, hear the ocean roar with people speaking ENGLISH around us!!!! Nothing written in Chinese for once... I guess I'm a little worried about culture shock believe it or not:)
I posted some pictures from our gathering last Friday at a traditional hot pot in Taipei. They have coals on the bottom that use the chimney to heat up the water above. You drop your food in and let it boil before taking out and eating. It was AWESOME! Hot pot is both a favorite of Sarah and I.... wonder if we can find hot pot in Florida....
So by the time you put the dishes away for dinner on Friday night, I should be safe and sound to Florida with my one-and-only Sarah for the week. I'll be checking out Tokyo and Atlanta as temporary stops in my journey. And yes, I'm flying on Northworst Airlines in Coach.... this will NOT be fun. Maybe I can tell them I'm off to see my woman and they'll upgrade me feeling sorry for me.
Our plans for those 8 days together?? Enjoy each other's company and the sunny weather while playing in the Gulf of Mexico. Hopefully see some more dolphins like last time.... eat some good food while we're there. I already checked and there is unfortunately no Jimmy Johns nor is there a Chipotle where we'll be.
I can watch American Idol on a REAL TV, and of course witness some Red Wings domination in the first round of the hockey playoffs, something besides Yankees baseball, hear the ocean roar with people speaking ENGLISH around us!!!! Nothing written in Chinese for once... I guess I'm a little worried about culture shock believe it or not:)
I posted some pictures from our gathering last Friday at a traditional hot pot in Taipei. They have coals on the bottom that use the chimney to heat up the water above. You drop your food in and let it boil before taking out and eating. It was AWESOME! Hot pot is both a favorite of Sarah and I.... wonder if we can find hot pot in Florida....
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Coming Home.... Soon!
Less than 48 hours before I get on a plane to head to Florida. I'm excited to see Sarah again - can't remember what she looks like! Not looking forward to the 14 hour plane flight from Tokyo to Atlanta, but it'll be worth it.
American Idol continues to feel crunched into the 60-ish minute time slot. They bring in Quintin Tarantino who is always fun to watch, but exhausting. Feel like I ran a marathon after watching him - same feeling after watching Jim Carrey or Robin Williams. He's actually pretty good at this coaching stuff - too bad the contestants didn't step up! Never a good idea to break out Brian Adams, two contestants did it and may find themselves in trouble because of it.
Keeping with the Movie Theme..... I present my evaluation Wayne and Garth style:
We're Not Worthy!! We're Not Worthy!!
Adam - that was cool yet again. He's better than some live acts that are currently touring!
Shwing!
Danny - Pretty good, worth another week
Allison - I agree, the last girl to hang in to the competition
Ex-squeeze me???
Kris Allen - not bad - what movie was that from??
Sphincter Says What??
Lil Rounds - what the hell was that? She's bringing sass talking back to Simon, but not bringing into her singing.
NOT or Cha... As If
Annop - The classic senior prom song that everyone hates won't win any votes.
Piano Matt - Again, stay away from songs that make people cringe when they hear.... I think your time has run out here.
On a seperate note - I think 1/2 of my coworkers freaked when the Star Trek movie preview came on.
Hockey Playoffs begin tonight!!!! GO RED WINGS!!!!
American Idol continues to feel crunched into the 60-ish minute time slot. They bring in Quintin Tarantino who is always fun to watch, but exhausting. Feel like I ran a marathon after watching him - same feeling after watching Jim Carrey or Robin Williams. He's actually pretty good at this coaching stuff - too bad the contestants didn't step up! Never a good idea to break out Brian Adams, two contestants did it and may find themselves in trouble because of it.
Keeping with the Movie Theme..... I present my evaluation Wayne and Garth style:
We're Not Worthy!! We're Not Worthy!!
Adam - that was cool yet again. He's better than some live acts that are currently touring!
Shwing!
Danny - Pretty good, worth another week
Allison - I agree, the last girl to hang in to the competition
Ex-squeeze me???
Kris Allen - not bad - what movie was that from??
Sphincter Says What??
Lil Rounds - what the hell was that? She's bringing sass talking back to Simon, but not bringing into her singing.
NOT or Cha... As If
Annop - The classic senior prom song that everyone hates won't win any votes.
Piano Matt - Again, stay away from songs that make people cringe when they hear.... I think your time has run out here.
On a seperate note - I think 1/2 of my coworkers freaked when the Star Trek movie preview came on.
Hockey Playoffs begin tonight!!!! GO RED WINGS!!!!
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Top 8
Happy Birthday Wheeler....
Another thought - I see Kumar has "retired" from TV to help the Obama Administration. So the official fast food will now become White Castle Burgers:) Or maybe they rename The White House to "The White Castle"?? Smoke some pot before making government trips!! I need to rewatch that movie tonight....
American Idol top 8... squeezed into an hour... ish! So the results show is now the same length as the performances? That's called "Advertising". At least Megan is gone, she wasn't up to par with the rest of them.
Best of the Best
Adam - Cool name, cool performance again. And who would have thought of doing Tears for Fears???? Nice.
Matt - I did like the performance yet again (hated the JT hat), but he's had a hard time getting fan support lately. I think he has more talent than some of the other ones and I hope he's around for the next few weeks to see what he can do.
Around for a while yet
Allison - Good but not great.
Anoop - Much better... less frat boy and more talent (few pitch issues)
Danny - not the best arrangement but he's proving to have a good fan base despite being the "old" guy in the competition.... at age 29
Kris - I just don't like the song, no matter who sings it. Pretty good though.
Bottom 2
Lil Rounds - she was good, but yeah - very much a Tina Turner cover band. She's one of the more polite and realistic candidates this year though.
Scott - hmmm... guitar playing not so good. My pick to go home if I had my way.
It's interesting from here out as most everyone can win week to week, and everyone can go home week to week. Could see a judge's save unless it's Kris or Lil.
Another thought - I see Kumar has "retired" from TV to help the Obama Administration. So the official fast food will now become White Castle Burgers:) Or maybe they rename The White House to "The White Castle"?? Smoke some pot before making government trips!! I need to rewatch that movie tonight....
American Idol top 8... squeezed into an hour... ish! So the results show is now the same length as the performances? That's called "Advertising". At least Megan is gone, she wasn't up to par with the rest of them.
Best of the Best
Adam - Cool name, cool performance again. And who would have thought of doing Tears for Fears???? Nice.
Matt - I did like the performance yet again (hated the JT hat), but he's had a hard time getting fan support lately. I think he has more talent than some of the other ones and I hope he's around for the next few weeks to see what he can do.
Around for a while yet
Allison - Good but not great.
Anoop - Much better... less frat boy and more talent (few pitch issues)
Danny - not the best arrangement but he's proving to have a good fan base despite being the "old" guy in the competition.... at age 29
Kris - I just don't like the song, no matter who sings it. Pretty good though.
Bottom 2
Lil Rounds - she was good, but yeah - very much a Tina Turner cover band. She's one of the more polite and realistic candidates this year though.
Scott - hmmm... guitar playing not so good. My pick to go home if I had my way.
It's interesting from here out as most everyone can win week to week, and everyone can go home week to week. Could see a judge's save unless it's Kris or Lil.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Another Monday, This Time It's April
The Braves are in 1st Place with only 161 more games to play - Granted they're 1-0 while everyone else has yet to begin, but hey - it's a start! Yeah, Major League Baseball has begun their season while it snows across the midwest. So instead of rain delays, you'll see snow delays. And they thought it was a good idea to build the new Twins Stadium without a roof... that'll make play interesting when they get back to the post season.
This week marks my 1 full year of living in Taiwan. So 12 months down. About 5 or 6 months left (to be determined). I came to the conclusion that after 12 months, the "thrill" of living in a foreign country is gone. Part of that has to do with being halfway around the world from Sarah, but I now feel like this is "home" and realize that when I do go back after this summer, it'll feel entirely new again despite being back in the US. I also find myself defensive of my "home" if anyone talks bad against Taiwan (mainly due to their ignorance). Similar to my growing up in Iowa. I can make fun of it because I grew up there, but nobody else better rip on it!
It's Easter Week. I did walk by a Christian Church on Sunday morning (with Chai) that was celebrating Palm Sunday. There were 7 or 8 people up front singing with microphones to a CD of music, and about 2 people in the congregation to listen. But they were singing for all to hear the good news that comes with Easter. But Taiwan does not have a fixation on chocolate, and marshmellow bunnies like we do back in the US. No worries, thanks to Jill I did get my fix of sugar coated marshmellows in the shape of chicks.... they were good but after my successful attempt at the Peeps Challenge a few years ago, I have to stop myself at 10 peeps.
But as Christians were celebrating Palm Sunday, it was Tomb Sweeping Day this weekend. Today was actually a national holiday in China (optional holiday in Taiwan). Pretty low key in Taipei, but the traffic in and out of town was HORRIBLE (similar to traffic around 4th of July for people heading North to the cabin).
No chance of winning my Basketball pool - well the one that has a trophy at least. If MSU wins, I win the other league, but do we really want that to happen? I'd sacrifice my pride to make sure the cheating Spartans don't win it all. No, it's been 9 years and I still haven't forgotten.
Anyway -have a good week! I head back to USA in about 10 days!!
This week marks my 1 full year of living in Taiwan. So 12 months down. About 5 or 6 months left (to be determined). I came to the conclusion that after 12 months, the "thrill" of living in a foreign country is gone. Part of that has to do with being halfway around the world from Sarah, but I now feel like this is "home" and realize that when I do go back after this summer, it'll feel entirely new again despite being back in the US. I also find myself defensive of my "home" if anyone talks bad against Taiwan (mainly due to their ignorance). Similar to my growing up in Iowa. I can make fun of it because I grew up there, but nobody else better rip on it!
It's Easter Week. I did walk by a Christian Church on Sunday morning (with Chai) that was celebrating Palm Sunday. There were 7 or 8 people up front singing with microphones to a CD of music, and about 2 people in the congregation to listen. But they were singing for all to hear the good news that comes with Easter. But Taiwan does not have a fixation on chocolate, and marshmellow bunnies like we do back in the US. No worries, thanks to Jill I did get my fix of sugar coated marshmellows in the shape of chicks.... they were good but after my successful attempt at the Peeps Challenge a few years ago, I have to stop myself at 10 peeps.
But as Christians were celebrating Palm Sunday, it was Tomb Sweeping Day this weekend. Today was actually a national holiday in China (optional holiday in Taiwan). Pretty low key in Taipei, but the traffic in and out of town was HORRIBLE (similar to traffic around 4th of July for people heading North to the cabin).
No chance of winning my Basketball pool - well the one that has a trophy at least. If MSU wins, I win the other league, but do we really want that to happen? I'd sacrifice my pride to make sure the cheating Spartans don't win it all. No, it's been 9 years and I still haven't forgotten.
Anyway -have a good week! I head back to USA in about 10 days!!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Special Birthday
Happy Birthday Mom!! She turns 21 today, which makes me 3 years old or something.... Best wishes for a great birthday!!
It's April 1 in Taiwan in a few hours... not sure if it has the "April Fools" significance here or not. We shall see.
It is a big weekend though as it is Tomb Sweeping Day (Qingming Festival) or 清明節 for the Chinese Culture. It's basically a Memorial Day with a better cooler name. It's a time to remember those who have already passed and tend to the graves of family. Some people use it as a Spring Cleaning Day as well - although it doesn't really feel like Spring when I don't remember Winter ever arriving here. It's officially Saturday, so no day off here. Those come in May!! Still haven't figured out why from my Taiwanese peers, but there were people burning things in the street last Friday (a sign of some significant holiday) and some festival floats going up and down the streets. And of course the lovely firecrackers in the streets - luckily these were during the day only.
We went to go see The Watchmen this past weekend (yes, with Mandarin subtitles even though it's brand new). A pretty good movie for those who enjoy the superhero/comic book movies of popularity the past few years. The opening scene is extremely loud - maybe I'm just getting old.
Let's see.... What else to talk about today:
It's April 1 in Taiwan in a few hours... not sure if it has the "April Fools" significance here or not. We shall see.
It is a big weekend though as it is Tomb Sweeping Day (Qingming Festival) or 清明節 for the Chinese Culture. It's basically a Memorial Day with a better cooler name. It's a time to remember those who have already passed and tend to the graves of family. Some people use it as a Spring Cleaning Day as well - although it doesn't really feel like Spring when I don't remember Winter ever arriving here. It's officially Saturday, so no day off here. Those come in May!! Still haven't figured out why from my Taiwanese peers, but there were people burning things in the street last Friday (a sign of some significant holiday) and some festival floats going up and down the streets. And of course the lovely firecrackers in the streets - luckily these were during the day only.
We went to go see The Watchmen this past weekend (yes, with Mandarin subtitles even though it's brand new). A pretty good movie for those who enjoy the superhero/comic book movies of popularity the past few years. The opening scene is extremely loud - maybe I'm just getting old.
Let's see.... What else to talk about today:
- American Idol is down to 9 (8 contenders and 1 wanna-be)...
- Celebrity Apprentice is down to 7 girls and 4 guys with the departure of Mr. Rodman. That guy is still fun to follow!
- Final 4 includes the much hated Michigan State Spartans who cheated in 2000 thanks to referees wearing green and white stripes for that "home" game for MSU. No, I don't forgive them either.
- ISU women made the elite 8, but that's it for them. Who lets one player on the opposite team score 47 points in Women's College BBall?
- Watched the movie Bolt... cute movie and the graphics are getting better and better with these things.....
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Motown Week
First - interesting action being done by our old Larry Eustachy (The Natty Light drinking former ISU coach who was making way too much money to be drinking Natty Light): http://www.cnbc.com/id/29860334
Interesting week for American Idol - still proving it's a good year for this group. I like this part of the competition where they take 120 minute show for 10 contestants. That's average of 12 minutes, more like 6 after commercials and babbling, but still enough time to do a full 3-4 minute song and get feedback.
Top Guns with Maverick and IceMan
Non-Twilight Adam - That was pretty freakin' sweet. As was hearing Smokey tell us what he was writing about.
"Not Just the Piano Guy" Matt - Well played sir... well played
Allison - Only girl to show up and made a believer out of me this week.
Hangin' Around Like Week After Christmas Candy
Guitar Kris - Pretty Good, enjoyable and shows he has potential
Danny - An off week for him but still one of the better performances tonight.
Stock Dropping like it's AIG
Scott - no doubt that he's talented musically.... but not keeping up with everyone else.
Lil - Watch out... she's not standing out like she originally did at the beginning.
Anoop - zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......
Packing up the Skates for the Season (take your pick - hopefully both)
Megan - the last of the "amateur hour" that needs to go home finally. How did she beat out Alexis?? Her voice now annoys me.
Michael - Was thinking "Vegas" the whole time.... anybody else want to meet at NYNY for the weekend???
Observation: Anyone else think Belly Itcher looks kind of like Danny???
Annoying: Randy wearing aqua blue like he's going to a Tar Heel rally.
Very Annoying: Simon bantering of Paula for every single performance
Funny: When Paula has to comment first and she's the only judge that liked the performance.
Overused Expression of 2009 Season:"Singing the Phonebook".... how about trying "could sing the John Deere 6030 User Manual" or "could sing the Chinese Translation of Twilight"???
Ironic: Anyone else notice that BOTH Simon and Ryan wear the same outfit every week? Maybe it's just the Slingplayer reception, but looks like the same every week from Ryan.
Scary: Ozzy and Family with a new show???? Seriously???
Proof for an 80s One Hit Wonder Night:Do we get a "When Smokey Sings" performance tomorrow? That's actually a great song!! 1987 hit from the artist ABC!!
Interesting week for American Idol - still proving it's a good year for this group. I like this part of the competition where they take 120 minute show for 10 contestants. That's average of 12 minutes, more like 6 after commercials and babbling, but still enough time to do a full 3-4 minute song and get feedback.
Top Guns with Maverick and IceMan
Non-Twilight Adam - That was pretty freakin' sweet. As was hearing Smokey tell us what he was writing about.
"Not Just the Piano Guy" Matt - Well played sir... well played
Allison - Only girl to show up and made a believer out of me this week.
Hangin' Around Like Week After Christmas Candy
Guitar Kris - Pretty Good, enjoyable and shows he has potential
Danny - An off week for him but still one of the better performances tonight.
Stock Dropping like it's AIG
Scott - no doubt that he's talented musically.... but not keeping up with everyone else.
Lil - Watch out... she's not standing out like she originally did at the beginning.
Anoop - zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......
Packing up the Skates for the Season (take your pick - hopefully both)
Megan - the last of the "amateur hour" that needs to go home finally. How did she beat out Alexis?? Her voice now annoys me.
Michael - Was thinking "Vegas" the whole time.... anybody else want to meet at NYNY for the weekend???
Observation: Anyone else think Belly Itcher looks kind of like Danny???
Annoying: Randy wearing aqua blue like he's going to a Tar Heel rally.
Very Annoying: Simon bantering of Paula for every single performance
Funny: When Paula has to comment first and she's the only judge that liked the performance.
Overused Expression of 2009 Season:"Singing the Phonebook".... how about trying "could sing the John Deere 6030 User Manual" or "could sing the Chinese Translation of Twilight"???
Ironic: Anyone else notice that BOTH Simon and Ryan wear the same outfit every week? Maybe it's just the Slingplayer reception, but looks like the same every week from Ryan.
Scary: Ozzy and Family with a new show???? Seriously???
Proof for an 80s One Hit Wonder Night:Do we get a "When Smokey Sings" performance tomorrow? That's actually a great song!! 1987 hit from the artist ABC!!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
All Is Well
So far so good for Sarah's Dad. He is eating normal and already walking around with the joys of his new heart. Thanks to all for their prayers over the weekend for an amazing marvel of modern medicine.
Steve thanks everyone for the prayers, but asks us to also remember that our joy is unfortunately also some other family's loss out there. Please keep that family and their grieving in your prayers.
Also, prayers going out to my uncle Milan in another farming accident. I thought farming was supposed to be "safe" in comparison to other jobs in the world yet I know many people with farming accidents now.... PTO... augers.... damn them all. I do know kind of what a PTO is now after some weekend research.
Speaking of farming - I was watching a special on the GPS tractors from John Deere that make the work so much easier for farmers. The only thing they have to do in the combine is turn it around when it gets to the end of the rows. The GPS tracks the speed, position (within 2 inches), and dictates how much energy has to come from the engine to maintain that speed.... pretty easy, even I could do it!
It was over 90 degrees yesterday here in Taipei... and humid:( Back into the 60s today for a few days with light rain.
In case you were wondering, I'm still in it for a chance to win my basketball pools. I was 14/16 in picking the Sweet 16. I have all 8 of my elite 8 still playing and obviously all the teams after that. I picked Louisville to beat UNC in the final... see how I come out;)
Enjoy your Monday!
Steve thanks everyone for the prayers, but asks us to also remember that our joy is unfortunately also some other family's loss out there. Please keep that family and their grieving in your prayers.
Also, prayers going out to my uncle Milan in another farming accident. I thought farming was supposed to be "safe" in comparison to other jobs in the world yet I know many people with farming accidents now.... PTO... augers.... damn them all. I do know kind of what a PTO is now after some weekend research.
Speaking of farming - I was watching a special on the GPS tractors from John Deere that make the work so much easier for farmers. The only thing they have to do in the combine is turn it around when it gets to the end of the rows. The GPS tracks the speed, position (within 2 inches), and dictates how much energy has to come from the engine to maintain that speed.... pretty easy, even I could do it!
It was over 90 degrees yesterday here in Taipei... and humid:( Back into the 60s today for a few days with light rain.
In case you were wondering, I'm still in it for a chance to win my basketball pools. I was 14/16 in picking the Sweet 16. I have all 8 of my elite 8 still playing and obviously all the teams after that. I picked Louisville to beat UNC in the final... see how I come out;)
Enjoy your Monday!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Got The Call
Please pray for Sarah's dad.... he is getting a new heart and will be in surgery Thursday night US time. Hoping all goes well and a successful surgery.
For Sarah
Today's video is dedicated to my one and only Sarah....
lyrics pretty much sum up my thoughts lately:
except for the last part:(
lyrics pretty much sum up my thoughts lately:
except for the last part:(
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
American O'Idol Week
Been a bad day at work - if that wasn't bad enough, I find out American Idol is "Hillbilly Night"???? Day just got worse. Why couldn't they do this with the final 3 or something so I only have to listen to 3 performances. It's St. Patty's Day, why not do U2 night? Or "non-Country" night??
Worth Winning If Decided Only By Tonight's Performance
Adam - LOVED IT! I'd buy that recording - sure, it was messed up, but was worth tuning in for. Kind of like Jim Morrison mid-acid trip.
Anoop - proof that doing a ballad can be gutsy and still GOOD! Not sure he can win it overall.
Middle Crew (in ranking order)
Matt the Piano Guy - Compare him to Scott, Matt played like he's a Billy Joel, Scott was the one hiding behind piano tonight. Well done Matt.
Danny - Pretty good... he'll continue to improve week to week. And I agreed with Simon - Polar Expedition is exactly what I was thinking!
Allison - Actually wasn't painful. Still not sure what to think of her.
Lil Rounds - I thought it was good, not sure why the judges hated it so much. Not her genre, but that's the risk you take with having theme nights.
Kris - had some pitch problems that bothered me and I didn't think it was as good as the judges let on. Yes, I actually do like that song.
Scott - blah.... falsetto part was horrible and honestly, Paula was right for once - nothing "rock star" about him yet, especially tonight.
Michael - Country Night was for him, the harmonica player was pretty good and he was just ok.
Alexis - the middle part was the reason it sucked. Still see her next week though.
See You on Tour... or maybe not (oops)
Megan Joy - nope... goin' home this week
I will say that once they ditch Megan this week, maybe Michael next week... this thing gets really interesting!!
In another note - sorry in advance for any Catholics, but the Pope continues sending the wrong message proving my issue of having a figure head like him speak on current events... when you visit Africa, a continent plagued by AIDS, to suggest that condoms won't help the war on AIDS is ignorant. Yes, I think we should put more emphasis on the abstinence option and making sure everyone understands the only 100% risk free option... but realistically we need to complete the education and encourage them to use modern methods of protecting themselves. Condemning condoms is not cool. I haven't liked him anyways up till now, this one continues to show irrelevant with the times he makes the Catholic Church unfortunately. Not a way to attract people to the Church.
Worth Winning If Decided Only By Tonight's Performance
Adam - LOVED IT! I'd buy that recording - sure, it was messed up, but was worth tuning in for. Kind of like Jim Morrison mid-acid trip.
Anoop - proof that doing a ballad can be gutsy and still GOOD! Not sure he can win it overall.
Middle Crew (in ranking order)
Matt the Piano Guy - Compare him to Scott, Matt played like he's a Billy Joel, Scott was the one hiding behind piano tonight. Well done Matt.
Danny - Pretty good... he'll continue to improve week to week. And I agreed with Simon - Polar Expedition is exactly what I was thinking!
Allison - Actually wasn't painful. Still not sure what to think of her.
Lil Rounds - I thought it was good, not sure why the judges hated it so much. Not her genre, but that's the risk you take with having theme nights.
Kris - had some pitch problems that bothered me and I didn't think it was as good as the judges let on. Yes, I actually do like that song.
Scott - blah.... falsetto part was horrible and honestly, Paula was right for once - nothing "rock star" about him yet, especially tonight.
Michael - Country Night was for him, the harmonica player was pretty good and he was just ok.
Alexis - the middle part was the reason it sucked. Still see her next week though.
See You on Tour... or maybe not (oops)
Megan Joy - nope... goin' home this week
I will say that once they ditch Megan this week, maybe Michael next week... this thing gets really interesting!!
In another note - sorry in advance for any Catholics, but the Pope continues sending the wrong message proving my issue of having a figure head like him speak on current events... when you visit Africa, a continent plagued by AIDS, to suggest that condoms won't help the war on AIDS is ignorant. Yes, I think we should put more emphasis on the abstinence option and making sure everyone understands the only 100% risk free option... but realistically we need to complete the education and encourage them to use modern methods of protecting themselves. Condemning condoms is not cool. I haven't liked him anyways up till now, this one continues to show irrelevant with the times he makes the Catholic Church unfortunately. Not a way to attract people to the Church.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
St. Patty's '09
First off: To the SOBs at AIG if you're reading this.... get your head out of your ass and do what's right, not what's best for your personal wealth. Seriously - this whole thing really pisses me off. I'll ask the questions that everyone is asking, how can a contract be structured to allow someone who leads a company through such a collapse be allowed to get paid to do it? This is further example of how the rich get richer, the rest of us have to get by as best we can.
And while you do hear about the NBA taking out temporary loans, you do NOT hear about professional athletes taking pay cuts, or unemployment rising in the big leagues. It's all very sad actually.
Anyway - my soapbox of the day.
Today is St. Patty's day. I was wearing my green shirt (green dress shirt, couldn't wear my "Kiss Me I'm A Cyclone" shirt from my loving mother) at work, even pulled out the "Kiss Me I'm Irish" button that Sarah sent me. Come to find out, St. Patty's Day is NOT a Taiwan wide holiday. I took some time to explain the history as best I know (patron saint of Ireland was about it) and how on the 17th of March, most of us in the US brag about being 5% Irish or knowing someone who can speak with an irish accent. To celebrate this commonality, we drink green beer and wear as much green clothing as possible. When you explain it to the Taiwanese, it really does sound dumb....
Basketball bracket is set... I'll sleep on it tonight and see if I can pull home a 4th trophy (in 6 years) for a pool at work. Not expecting to win this year since I've barely been able to follow from here and seems that the tournament is wide open this year.
The weather is beautiful here - 70s and no moisture in the air. Gets in the 60s at night so I sleep very well:) Should be like this all week.
Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day!
And while you do hear about the NBA taking out temporary loans, you do NOT hear about professional athletes taking pay cuts, or unemployment rising in the big leagues. It's all very sad actually.
Anyway - my soapbox of the day.
Today is St. Patty's day. I was wearing my green shirt (green dress shirt, couldn't wear my "Kiss Me I'm A Cyclone" shirt from my loving mother) at work, even pulled out the "Kiss Me I'm Irish" button that Sarah sent me. Come to find out, St. Patty's Day is NOT a Taiwan wide holiday. I took some time to explain the history as best I know (patron saint of Ireland was about it) and how on the 17th of March, most of us in the US brag about being 5% Irish or knowing someone who can speak with an irish accent. To celebrate this commonality, we drink green beer and wear as much green clothing as possible. When you explain it to the Taiwanese, it really does sound dumb....
Basketball bracket is set... I'll sleep on it tonight and see if I can pull home a 4th trophy (in 6 years) for a pool at work. Not expecting to win this year since I've barely been able to follow from here and seems that the tournament is wide open this year.
The weather is beautiful here - 70s and no moisture in the air. Gets in the 60s at night so I sleep very well:) Should be like this all week.
Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Why My iPod Needs A Fix
I have a rubber protection thing for my iPod classic that I bought off ebay for $3 (including shipping). Further proof that man should be able to live off of ebay alone. It does the trick of protecting the iPod from scratches and dumb stuff while in my pockets or traveling. I get a lot of usage from my iPod while commuting in Taiwan. The catch is that the rubber extends over the click wheel. It's thinner there, but it reduces the effectiveness of the touch required to maneuver through the menus. So when I want to go quickly through the alphabet, it doesn't work. Now I could disconnect my earphones, slide the rubber off, then do it, but when I'm walking - that's a lot of work and risk. So I suffer through it. One of the "tricks" around this is to select one of the functions by pressing the wheel (this works 100% of the time with the rubber on), then backing out and trying again. Enter my problem that needs to be fixed. By pushing the "Play" button while in the main menu, it automatically starts at the first song by the alphabetically first artist. On my iPod collection, the first artist alphabetically isn't AC/DC.... not ABBA.... but A-Ha (the dash is a lower ascii number than any of the alphabettic letters.... here's an ascii table in case you don't beleive me. My nerd friends will have already known this). It's the same reason that 10.xyz comes before 7.xyz when you are putting files in order.
Anyway - so if you know anything about music, you know what song is playing on my iPod when I accidentally hit the "play" button when trying to find something good. Take On Me was cool in 1988. It was funny in the Family Guy. Hearing it at 7:15 as I walk to the bus stop is NOT funny, nor is it COOL. So I must fix this problem after having it happen maybe once every 2 weeks over the past year. Just hearing the introduction is enough to start the day out on a bad note. Literally....
American Idol - no surprises other than Jorge went home maybe a week or two early. I did think the Kanye performance kicked some major ass! That was awesome! Kelly Clarkson was cute and did a nice job, but hard to follow up after Kanye. Sarah's comment was "he needs to pull his pants up" which may be true, but that's the in thing now! New judge rule? I'm ok with it. I still think they should change the format to the "Wheeler Rule" where you vote for the person you want to go home. Makes a bigger difference in these early rounds....
One more thought - I still want to change my English name since they get more time to do that here in Taiwan. Some of the cooler names here are Piano, Eagle, Zoey (girl), Chili, Hawaii, and today I had someone apply who is named Elvis. I'm tempted to give him the job as long as he shows up with a guitar and performs all day. There's a story of a marketing guy who changed his name to Billboard. I could change my name to Godzilla since that's what I'm thought of around here.
Cyclones are done for the season.... no miracle run. Onto next season which will be our 10th "rebuilding" season in a row.
Anyway - so if you know anything about music, you know what song is playing on my iPod when I accidentally hit the "play" button when trying to find something good. Take On Me was cool in 1988. It was funny in the Family Guy. Hearing it at 7:15 as I walk to the bus stop is NOT funny, nor is it COOL. So I must fix this problem after having it happen maybe once every 2 weeks over the past year. Just hearing the introduction is enough to start the day out on a bad note. Literally....
American Idol - no surprises other than Jorge went home maybe a week or two early. I did think the Kanye performance kicked some major ass! That was awesome! Kelly Clarkson was cute and did a nice job, but hard to follow up after Kanye. Sarah's comment was "he needs to pull his pants up" which may be true, but that's the in thing now! New judge rule? I'm ok with it. I still think they should change the format to the "Wheeler Rule" where you vote for the person you want to go home. Makes a bigger difference in these early rounds....
One more thought - I still want to change my English name since they get more time to do that here in Taiwan. Some of the cooler names here are Piano, Eagle, Zoey (girl), Chili, Hawaii, and today I had someone apply who is named Elvis. I'm tempted to give him the job as long as he shows up with a guitar and performs all day. There's a story of a marketing guy who changed his name to Billboard. I could change my name to Godzilla since that's what I'm thought of around here.
Cyclones are done for the season.... no miracle run. Onto next season which will be our 10th "rebuilding" season in a row.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
American Idol Top 13
First off - prayers go out to those affected by the school shooting in Germany. Never an easy thing to hear about, no matter where in the world it may happen.
As for American Idol Top 13... back to the part of the show that actually matters. And a MICHAEL JACKSON night..... Could it get any more exciting for week 1??? I could pull out the Thriller dance at this one:) And thanks to Paula who brought our her stumbling random thought process that we've missed!!!
The talent this year is some of the better stuff I remember. I also love the fact that they couldn't use 1-888-IDOLS-13 since I'm guessing it's a "special" number reserved for people who have their credit cards handy. Hopefully doesn't hurt Alexis's votes this week. Back to 11 next week.
Top 3
Danny - song was strange/unfamiliar but the performance was pretty awesome.
Adam - another awesome performance on a song I've never really liked
Alexis - probably one of my favorite MJ songs and she did it very well...
Next 3
Scott - he's growing on me, I actually enjoyed the performance.
Michael - I was surprised, keeping up with the competition
Lil Rounds - she has a lot more to come, this one wasn't worth a highlight reel
Indifferent
Allison - can't figure out how good she is yet, not sure how "popular" she'll be for the AI crowd though
Matt - looks good behind the piano, but he'll hide there all season
Kris - good but the guitar thing was awkward since he only played the one chord
Jorge - Missed the mark tonight but worth keeping around since he's probably one of the more passionate about being here.
Bottom 3
Jasmine - tone was horrible, she can't compete. She did look hot though.
Anoop - my first pick to go home this week... I call it the "frat boy at a wedding reception" performance
Megan - What the hell was that? The song was bad, then the crow sound at the end? This is an actual Michael Jackson song? My pick to go home for sure.
Random Stuff:
I'm starting to do my research for the NCAA tournament for this weekend - a little more challenging from here since I don't have the 24x7 analysis going on ESPN, but maybe that's a bonus. GO CYCLONES!!!
New legislation to sell liquor in Minnesota on Sundays?!??! YEAH!!! Seriously, what better day to go buy alcohol than on Sunday? Football games are on, Race is on, Monday morning is only 12 hours away, can't think of a better day to drink!!!
Have a good HumpDay!!
As for American Idol Top 13... back to the part of the show that actually matters. And a MICHAEL JACKSON night..... Could it get any more exciting for week 1??? I could pull out the Thriller dance at this one:) And thanks to Paula who brought our her stumbling random thought process that we've missed!!!
The talent this year is some of the better stuff I remember. I also love the fact that they couldn't use 1-888-IDOLS-13 since I'm guessing it's a "special" number reserved for people who have their credit cards handy. Hopefully doesn't hurt Alexis's votes this week. Back to 11 next week.
Top 3
Danny - song was strange/unfamiliar but the performance was pretty awesome.
Adam - another awesome performance on a song I've never really liked
Alexis - probably one of my favorite MJ songs and she did it very well...
Next 3
Scott - he's growing on me, I actually enjoyed the performance.
Michael - I was surprised, keeping up with the competition
Lil Rounds - she has a lot more to come, this one wasn't worth a highlight reel
Indifferent
Allison - can't figure out how good she is yet, not sure how "popular" she'll be for the AI crowd though
Matt - looks good behind the piano, but he'll hide there all season
Kris - good but the guitar thing was awkward since he only played the one chord
Jorge - Missed the mark tonight but worth keeping around since he's probably one of the more passionate about being here.
Bottom 3
Jasmine - tone was horrible, she can't compete. She did look hot though.
Anoop - my first pick to go home this week... I call it the "frat boy at a wedding reception" performance
Megan - What the hell was that? The song was bad, then the crow sound at the end? This is an actual Michael Jackson song? My pick to go home for sure.
Random Stuff:
I'm starting to do my research for the NCAA tournament for this weekend - a little more challenging from here since I don't have the 24x7 analysis going on ESPN, but maybe that's a bonus. GO CYCLONES!!!
New legislation to sell liquor in Minnesota on Sundays?!??! YEAH!!! Seriously, what better day to go buy alcohol than on Sunday? Football games are on, Race is on, Monday morning is only 12 hours away, can't think of a better day to drink!!!
Have a good HumpDay!!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Insomnia and Warhol
I finally finished Stephen King's book Insomnia. It's listed by many official and unofficial lists as one of his "top 10" novels. I'm not so sure on that one. You may recall from blogs of a couple years back how I've started this book at least 5 times. Seriously! For some reason, I think this is one of the slower starting books I've read of his. Also Tommyknockers which I don't think I ever finished either. But Insomnia is 704 pages of what I call a mediocre plot. I will admit that Ralph Roberts is one of the more likable heros in most of the books I've read, but the plot takes about 400 pages to develop. And in the end, the results of the outcome don't really make sense unless you've read the entire Dark Tower series (all 7 novels each running 600+ pages). So I didn't appreciate what Ralph did since I am not able to see how his action saved a book I've never read..... make sense? I did recognize the character "Crimson King" from what I know of the Dark Tower series. Maybe I will have to go back and try reading those again someday. For some reason I just don't do as well with Fantasy as I do with the "horror" genre. This book was far from horror though.
All in all, it was finally good to finish the book. Up next? Cujo which is much shorter and about the rabid dog. Then I only have Bag of Bones left to read here in Taiwan. Reload on Stephen King novels when I go home next month. I did enjoy getting a chance to be reaquainted with Derry, Maine which I have seen mentioned in other books, but not since my first King novel It which unloads the dark secret of Derry.
If you have never read a King novel, about 95% of his stories take place in imaginary cities in Maine. Never has the state gotten so much attention or interest as it has from Stephen King.
As for stuff happening in Taiwan.... we finally made it to the Andy Warhol exhibit (not Xzibit), that is going on through the end of March here in Taipei. LOTS of artwork borrowed from Italy which surprised me that the leader of American Pop Art is owned by Italian galleries, etc.
His famous "Marilyn" was on display and some of the variations/offshoots from that original were also there. Not much on the Campbells soup works. They had a small Elvis original, not nearly as cool as the original life size Elvis at the MOMA in NYC. I enjoyed the exhibit, but it was isolated at the Chiang Kai Sheck Memorial, not near other works of art to also enjoy. Oh well, still neat to say I saw so much of his work. No, it doesn't really inspire me to draw since that's not really what he's known for;)
Have a good Tuesday - weather here today was 65 and sunny in the morning, cloudy by the afternoon but still nice by my standards for March!
All in all, it was finally good to finish the book. Up next? Cujo which is much shorter and about the rabid dog. Then I only have Bag of Bones left to read here in Taiwan. Reload on Stephen King novels when I go home next month. I did enjoy getting a chance to be reaquainted with Derry, Maine which I have seen mentioned in other books, but not since my first King novel It which unloads the dark secret of Derry.
If you have never read a King novel, about 95% of his stories take place in imaginary cities in Maine. Never has the state gotten so much attention or interest as it has from Stephen King.
As for stuff happening in Taiwan.... we finally made it to the Andy Warhol exhibit (not Xzibit), that is going on through the end of March here in Taipei. LOTS of artwork borrowed from Italy which surprised me that the leader of American Pop Art is owned by Italian galleries, etc.
His famous "Marilyn" was on display and some of the variations/offshoots from that original were also there. Not much on the Campbells soup works. They had a small Elvis original, not nearly as cool as the original life size Elvis at the MOMA in NYC. I enjoyed the exhibit, but it was isolated at the Chiang Kai Sheck Memorial, not near other works of art to also enjoy. Oh well, still neat to say I saw so much of his work. No, it doesn't really inspire me to draw since that's not really what he's known for;)
Have a good Tuesday - weather here today was 65 and sunny in the morning, cloudy by the afternoon but still nice by my standards for March!
Monday, March 09, 2009
Time Switch Monday
Thanks for all the "Get Well" wishes and the unique "it hurts when I pee" eCards.... I actually was able to pass the stone and sure enough it came out the following morning. No pain since then though so I think I'm safe now. I do not wish that much pain on anyone though - thought I was giving birth!
Speaking of giving birth - another girl for Matt and Jen!! Congrats and welcome Baby Julia!!
Only 10 more wins till Iowa State claims the National Title in Men's Basketball for 2009!! That's right - 4 straight wins takes the Big 12 Title, then as probably a 16 seed, they need 6 wins in the big dance to bring the crown home!!! Hey - a man can dream right? So after starting 11-4 this season, we finish 14-17? In a weak year for the Big 12??? yuck..
Big week for American Idol - the final 13?!?!?!? I guess I can go for that as long as we're done listening and watching Tatiana who has to be the most annoying AI contestant EVER! GOOD RIDDANCE!!! So far - I'm thinking the strongest group is definitely the guys - expect long life from Adam (the Twilight guy that has a killer 80s hair band voice and will get the 13-18 year old female votes), Danny (the sentimental and all around nice guy), Jorge (who gets better every week... the hard worker... like Elliot Yamin), and Lil Rounds who has the R&B votes and is a stellar performer entering the competition. Megan or Jasmin goes home this week;)
An interesting start to Celebrity Apprentice. Was hoping that Tom Green would go this week since he's as annoying as he was in the 90s with his own show.
Things have been busy, but now that Daylight savings is here (or did it just end??? I can't remember) - I get to go to bed an hour earlier after my nightly phone calls for work! Hopefully a little more "normal" schedule around here.
Have a good week! The future looks good!
Speaking of giving birth - another girl for Matt and Jen!! Congrats and welcome Baby Julia!!
Only 10 more wins till Iowa State claims the National Title in Men's Basketball for 2009!! That's right - 4 straight wins takes the Big 12 Title, then as probably a 16 seed, they need 6 wins in the big dance to bring the crown home!!! Hey - a man can dream right? So after starting 11-4 this season, we finish 14-17? In a weak year for the Big 12??? yuck..
Big week for American Idol - the final 13?!?!?!? I guess I can go for that as long as we're done listening and watching Tatiana who has to be the most annoying AI contestant EVER! GOOD RIDDANCE!!! So far - I'm thinking the strongest group is definitely the guys - expect long life from Adam (the Twilight guy that has a killer 80s hair band voice and will get the 13-18 year old female votes), Danny (the sentimental and all around nice guy), Jorge (who gets better every week... the hard worker... like Elliot Yamin), and Lil Rounds who has the R&B votes and is a stellar performer entering the competition. Megan or Jasmin goes home this week;)
An interesting start to Celebrity Apprentice. Was hoping that Tom Green would go this week since he's as annoying as he was in the 90s with his own show.
Things have been busy, but now that Daylight savings is here (or did it just end??? I can't remember) - I get to go to bed an hour earlier after my nightly phone calls for work! Hopefully a little more "normal" schedule around here.
Have a good week! The future looks good!
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
A Pissy Morning
Nothing like waking up on a Wednesday and going to the ER. I have all the symptoms of a Kidney stone - one of the main symptoms being PAIN. Holy shit did it hurt. Went to the ER, they had me pee in a cup (which about killed me) then did an xray. Ever since peeing in that cup, i've felt ok. The xray didn't show anything, but they gave me some meds and a painkiller shot anyway. I couldn't sit, stand, walk, or do anything for about 4 hours this morning. So stay tuned, not convinced I'm in the clear yet....
At the hospital, I was describing my symptoms which I stated as "unable to pee" (I though the word "piss" was a little too crude even for me and the large amount of pain I was in). She looked confused so I demonstrated through charades, and she said "oh - urinate". Guess I need to take my medical dictionary with me for future appointments to make sure I avoid the slang terms. Is "pee" a naughty word for the parents of 3 or 4 year olds????
Anyway - 8 hours later I seem to still be ok.... for now.
No, I haven't watched the new Celebrity Apprentice season yet.
No, I didn't watch the "controversial" final episode of The Bachelor Whore.... don't care.
I did however watch the 3rd week of finalists for American Idol - much better than week 2. Should be an interesting season of AI. Send through Jorge, L'il Rounds ( seriously STILL hate that song even 4 years later), and Ju'Not. Easily the best three. How does this Wild Card Week thing work?? Von Smith and Scott were pretty good too.
As for the U2 album - it actually grows on you the more you listen to it. It also helps to have good headphones to appreciate the bass action that makes the songs even more unique. You won't hear a lot of the album on the radio - but that's not usually why they record music. They don't need the money, they don't need a new identity, they just want to record music and tour.
At the hospital, I was describing my symptoms which I stated as "unable to pee" (I though the word "piss" was a little too crude even for me and the large amount of pain I was in). She looked confused so I demonstrated through charades, and she said "oh - urinate". Guess I need to take my medical dictionary with me for future appointments to make sure I avoid the slang terms. Is "pee" a naughty word for the parents of 3 or 4 year olds????
Anyway - 8 hours later I seem to still be ok.... for now.
No, I haven't watched the new Celebrity Apprentice season yet.
No, I didn't watch the "controversial" final episode of The Bachelor Whore.... don't care.
I did however watch the 3rd week of finalists for American Idol - much better than week 2. Should be an interesting season of AI. Send through Jorge, L'il Rounds ( seriously STILL hate that song even 4 years later), and Ju'Not. Easily the best three. How does this Wild Card Week thing work?? Von Smith and Scott were pretty good too.
As for the U2 album - it actually grows on you the more you listen to it. It also helps to have good headphones to appreciate the bass action that makes the songs even more unique. You won't hear a lot of the album on the radio - but that's not usually why they record music. They don't need the money, they don't need a new identity, they just want to record music and tour.
Monday, March 02, 2009
No Line On The Horizon
As I write this, I'm listening to the NEW U2 album!! Yeah that's right - No Line On The Horizon comes out on Tuesday in stores everywhere in the US.... but CDs are SOOOOOO 2003 folks! And for those of you who have to wait, let me give you a real time review. If you don't like U2, I'll see you tomorrow....
Track 1 - "No Line On The Horizon"
Good Guitar Intro - not necessarily their usual track 1 intro that is off the beaten path (think Achtung, Zooropa, ATYCLB).... Bono doesn't count incorrectly in some random language on this one either. Sorry to disappoint those fans of Spanish. I like the guitar riffs, but Bono's singing a little too high. Chorus is definitely good, but the verse is kind of boring, nothing to the melody. Definitely
Track 2 - "Magnificent" (dedicated to Adam T. Dickinson)
I swear that's what my CD liner says!!! This is more typical of a random start to a song that builds up to the guitar explosion that we're used to from these 4. Takes Bono 1:16 before he sings something. Catchy tune and much better fitting of Bono's voice.
Track 3 - "Moment of Surrender"
Strange.... not sure how else to describe this one. You knew it was going to be a ballad (every 3rd track on U2 albums are ballads).... write this one up with "God Will Send His Angels" as songs I could pass on them performing live. Again it's 1:17 before Bono sings, and he's back to singing way too high in his register. Note to Bono, you can't hit the 1986 high notes anymore.
Track 4 - "Unknown Caller"
A little space age type song that is just ok. Good chorus though. In the words of Simon... "forgettable"
Track 5 - "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"
Now we're talking - this one is worth listening to. Bono stays under control despite a title that plays to the multi-personality Bono... go figure, the one time we expect randomness, it comes out kind of predictable.
Track 6 - "Get On Your Boots"
The song already on the radio, which to me sounds like it was written for an iPod commercial. Seriously, can you see the green background with the shadow of someone holding a white ipod and headphones bouncing around????? Try again.... It's just an ok song.
Track 7 - "Stand Up Comedy"
I enjoyed this one best so far - good "U2" type guitar and straight forward rhythm part. Bono uses his voice well in this one. Good song all around, may have to come back and enjoy this one again... and again.... and again...
Track 8 - "Fez - Being Born"
I swear we're playing back in the days from Passengers circa 1995. Strange... I guess if you go with the "Being Born" concept, I can hear it... maybe??? Again, we wait 2 min to hear something actually being sung to resemble a "song". Next....
Track 9 - "White As Snow"
This one sounds like it's from a soundtrack, not a studio album! I'm picturing the moment when Clint Eastwood comes home to see his mountain ranch burned to the ground, his wife and son have been kidnapped by the bad guy - so after contemplating what happened (sees it in blurry slow motion), he gets on his horse and starts riding through the mountain snow with only a shotgun at his side. That's the only thing he needs for "justice". It's a slow song that is ok.
Track 10 - "Breathe" (not a Faith Hill remake)
Again, what's with the weird long guitar intros? There are too many syllables to squeeze in onto the melody, but I think that's the point. I actually dig this one though. Well written and catchy. I don't care for the computerized "String Quartet" that sounds nothing like an actual string quartet. This will be one of their encores while on tour! My prediction!
Track 11 - "Cedars of Lebanon"
The Political Track of the CD... you knew they had to have one. And as a lot of the last tracks go, it's strange and very different from the rest of the album. Not sure how they would do this one live. Very very strange....
Overall, a decent album. Not sure it's worth the wait, but then again it's U2. They can do whatever they want and people like me are going to buy it... or download it...
Go get it - you know you want to.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Return of the Bird.....
Rumor has it that Sage Rosenfels is close to signing with the VIKINGS!!! For some, they will focus on Sage bringing some focus on a throwing game for the run-confident Vikings. For others, they will see an Iowa State boy coming back closer to home to lead the Purple and Gold. For me, it brings back a reunion with one of my moments of fame and my best friend to ever play in Jack Trice Stadium.
Have you forgotten? Sage was the one that flipped me off during the Nebraska Game. In case you need a reminder, it's been over 9 years since that day in Lincoln where I put my life on the line to cheer for the Cyclones inside a stadium full of Huskers. That was also the day most of my family disowns me, including my grandma Pat who was sitting next to me but very very ashamed. That was also the day when Pitzen and I made it up on Husker Vision!!! And getting booed by 70,000+ fans (and most of the state of Nebraska) in the process.
Unfortunately not all was well in the Cyclone loss. You'll see my letter to the editor from that time here.
BTW - my letter was originally much funnier than that. The Daily always took the humor out of my submissions. I had a couple of others that were chopped.
After publication, my letter was photocopied and put onto every locker in the locker room. The coaches made a point to state they were to never EVER do something like this again. And that night I got a call from Sage himself to apologize and thank me for being such a die hard Cyclone fan. We resolved our differences at the next game when he showed me a shout-out during pre-game warmups.
Ahhhh... those college days!! I assume he's no longer flipping people off. With the NFL salaries now a days, he can hire someone to walk around and flip people like me off!
Have you forgotten? Sage was the one that flipped me off during the Nebraska Game. In case you need a reminder, it's been over 9 years since that day in Lincoln where I put my life on the line to cheer for the Cyclones inside a stadium full of Huskers. That was also the day most of my family disowns me, including my grandma Pat who was sitting next to me but very very ashamed. That was also the day when Pitzen and I made it up on Husker Vision!!! And getting booed by 70,000+ fans (and most of the state of Nebraska) in the process.
Unfortunately not all was well in the Cyclone loss. You'll see my letter to the editor from that time here.
BTW - my letter was originally much funnier than that. The Daily always took the humor out of my submissions. I had a couple of others that were chopped.
After publication, my letter was photocopied and put onto every locker in the locker room. The coaches made a point to state they were to never EVER do something like this again. And that night I got a call from Sage himself to apologize and thank me for being such a die hard Cyclone fan. We resolved our differences at the next game when he showed me a shout-out during pre-game warmups.
Ahhhh... those college days!! I assume he's no longer flipping people off. With the NFL salaries now a days, he can hire someone to walk around and flip people like me off!
Monday, February 23, 2009
And The Winner Is.....
So I didn't get to actually watch the Oscars, but I'm not surprised by the results. Seems like they were about as predictable as ever.
Ever since Friday the 13th a couple of weeks ago, I've been interested in rewatching all of the old HBO Tales From The Crypt episodes. Did you know there were 7 seasons?!?!?! I've made it through the first season and realized how much I loved these "horror" flicks that only last 25 minutes! Talk about a genre that appeases to my short attention span!!! And who could hate the Crypt Keeper? Sure, he's a Jim Henson creation, but I don't think anyone would rather hug him over Kermit the Frog. I remember this show being the reason I was happy when my folks added HBO to our cable selection while I was in High School. It was on late at night on Wednesday Nights I think.... some of these are familiar so far.
A somewhat uneventful weekend around here. The weather was absolutely beautiful though, 90 degrees and sunny. But a bit too much on the humid side for my taste. I was walking around all weekend in shorts and t-shirt (even at night) receiving the stares of people everywhere. They think it's "cold" or something like that still. The neighbors and I did celebrate by grilling some brats (local guy who home makes them) and enjoying some Captain N' Coke. It'll start picking up in rain though starting next month. The mosquitos are also everywhere right now and they annoy the HELL out of me.
A couple of more weeks till Daylight savings ends... or is it begins? Either way, I get to go to bed earlier at that point because my evening phone calls will begin at 8pm rather than 9pm and hopefully done by 11 rather than midnight.
Have a good Monday!! March Madness begins very soon!
Ever since Friday the 13th a couple of weeks ago, I've been interested in rewatching all of the old HBO Tales From The Crypt episodes. Did you know there were 7 seasons?!?!?! I've made it through the first season and realized how much I loved these "horror" flicks that only last 25 minutes! Talk about a genre that appeases to my short attention span!!! And who could hate the Crypt Keeper? Sure, he's a Jim Henson creation, but I don't think anyone would rather hug him over Kermit the Frog. I remember this show being the reason I was happy when my folks added HBO to our cable selection while I was in High School. It was on late at night on Wednesday Nights I think.... some of these are familiar so far.
A somewhat uneventful weekend around here. The weather was absolutely beautiful though, 90 degrees and sunny. But a bit too much on the humid side for my taste. I was walking around all weekend in shorts and t-shirt (even at night) receiving the stares of people everywhere. They think it's "cold" or something like that still. The neighbors and I did celebrate by grilling some brats (local guy who home makes them) and enjoying some Captain N' Coke. It'll start picking up in rain though starting next month. The mosquitos are also everywhere right now and they annoy the HELL out of me.
A couple of more weeks till Daylight savings ends... or is it begins? Either way, I get to go to bed earlier at that point because my evening phone calls will begin at 8pm rather than 9pm and hopefully done by 11 rather than midnight.
Have a good Monday!! March Madness begins very soon!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Birthdays and Oscars
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - first to my nephew Elliott... he's getting old already! And also to Claire who is WAY old! An important day for the birthday tracking webpages out there!
Laptop harddrive has been reloaded and seems much happier. Problem is that downloading large applications from US to Taiwan takes longer so the process is more painful. That plus I have an install disc in Rochester for a program I use some of the time. I may have to try to download it and use my serial number, etc to "trick" it....
The Academy Awards are this Sunday (US time) and I have watched all the movies that I'm going to watch in order to prepare for the ceremony. Here are my thoughts and who I want to see the awards:
Movie of the Year:
Supporting Actor: NOT Robert Downey Jr please!!! I have a feeling this one is an easy one for Heath Ledger... and probably well deserved ALTHOUGH I thought David Kross should have been nominated for his role in The Reader... not Kate Winslet.
Supporting Actress: NOT Marisa Tomei - seriously, that was a HORRIBLE performance. I actually liked the movie, but the acting was very sub-par including her just walking around naked (which seems to be the theme to get nominated this year) on film. I did appreciate the role played by Taraji Henson in Benjamin Button but I would be surprised if she wins.
Best Director: Give it to Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Animated Feature Film.... KUNG FU PANDA!!!!
That's all I have to say about
Laptop harddrive has been reloaded and seems much happier. Problem is that downloading large applications from US to Taiwan takes longer so the process is more painful. That plus I have an install disc in Rochester for a program I use some of the time. I may have to try to download it and use my serial number, etc to "trick" it....
The Academy Awards are this Sunday (US time) and I have watched all the movies that I'm going to watch in order to prepare for the ceremony. Here are my thoughts and who I want to see the awards:
Movie of the Year:
- Benjamin Button - the reason for the LONG delay in releasing The Time Traveler's Wife. The movie was interesting and pretty well done, but I don't think it'll win. Mainly because I was a bigger fan of the book The Time Traveler's Wife.
- Frost/Nixon - Better than I anticipated. Another movie that you more fully appreciate if you do a search on Wikipedia for the history of the plot and then follow along.
- Milk - More boring than I expected. "Based on a true story" type movies aren't my favorite though sometimes.... I seriously did not think this movie was "MOVIE OF THE YEAR" material.
- The Reader - A surprisingly decent movie
- Slumdog Millionaire - A VERY good movie and my pick to win. A believable and very well written story line. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it cause it will win.
- Brad Pitt - besides being his usual self that acts by not saying anything (very similar to his Joe Black character), the performance was just ok.
- Frank Langella (Nixon) - Probably the one I would like to see win
- Sean Penn - A good job playing the role, but I still did not enjoy the movie
- Richard Jenkins - I admit, I haven't watched The Visitor yet
- Mickey Rourke - seriously, I could have played the same role with about the same effect
Supporting Actor: NOT Robert Downey Jr please!!! I have a feeling this one is an easy one for Heath Ledger... and probably well deserved ALTHOUGH I thought David Kross should have been nominated for his role in The Reader... not Kate Winslet.
Supporting Actress: NOT Marisa Tomei - seriously, that was a HORRIBLE performance. I actually liked the movie, but the acting was very sub-par including her just walking around naked (which seems to be the theme to get nominated this year) on film. I did appreciate the role played by Taraji Henson in Benjamin Button but I would be surprised if she wins.
Best Director: Give it to Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Animated Feature Film.... KUNG FU PANDA!!!!
That's all I have to say about
Monday, February 16, 2009
A Hakka Experience
Proof that there are idiots all over the world... this one was seen about a block from my office in NanKang as I was walking from the train stop to my fishbowl-cube for the day. And to think that if I'd have just taken the bus instead, I would have missed walking behind a clear example of the lower IQ:
Anyway - can't all be perfect I guess! GO CYCLONES!!!
I was invited by some neighbors to attend a Hakka BBQ on Sunday. I gladly accepted (despite the 8:30am departure time on a Sunday) and we loaded up the mini-van (7 adults, 2 dogs) and headed south! We arrived in a small Hakka village that caters to groups wanting to visit and enjoy the food. Hakka are a branch of the Han Chinese and are a heavy population here in Taiwan. They speak Hakka language which is one of the 4 pronunciations of every train stop while riding around Taipei (the others being Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English for us ignorants). The BBQ process was take a brick oven, light a ton of wood inside to heat it up, take the coals out to grill on top of, while inside the oven you put a chicken wrapped in foil, sweet potatoes, and corn to cook for a while. The grilling part was good, but very work intensive... for those who did the work:) Some of us went on a cart ride pulled by a bull and enjoyed some of the other farm animals that the village had to offer..... turkey, goats, pigs, pigeons.... felt like I was back in Iowa!!
The food was great - weather was warm and humid (it was in the 80s most of last week and this weekend, back around 70 today with light rain) - but overall it was a wonderful day. On the return home we drove up into the mountains to see the cherry blossoms. They are in full bloom this time of year here, meaning the trees are bright pink (perfect for Valentine's Day right?), plus the weather in the mountains is much cooler (and I loved that part). Then a car ride back to Taipei (with non-stop Christina Aguillera all the way unfortunately... long story).
Once I figure out on a map where we went, I'll let you know. Till then you'll have to enjoy the pictures to the right.
A busy week as always at work. Today is President's Day in the US - surprisingly it isn't celebrated here in Taiwan. Maybe Columbus Day will be celebrated....
Hope everyone had a grand Valentine's Day. I will celebrate this holiday in April with Sarah.
Anyway - can't all be perfect I guess! GO CYCLONES!!!
I was invited by some neighbors to attend a Hakka BBQ on Sunday. I gladly accepted (despite the 8:30am departure time on a Sunday) and we loaded up the mini-van (7 adults, 2 dogs) and headed south! We arrived in a small Hakka village that caters to groups wanting to visit and enjoy the food. Hakka are a branch of the Han Chinese and are a heavy population here in Taiwan. They speak Hakka language which is one of the 4 pronunciations of every train stop while riding around Taipei (the others being Mandarin, Taiwanese, and English for us ignorants). The BBQ process was take a brick oven, light a ton of wood inside to heat it up, take the coals out to grill on top of, while inside the oven you put a chicken wrapped in foil, sweet potatoes, and corn to cook for a while. The grilling part was good, but very work intensive... for those who did the work:) Some of us went on a cart ride pulled by a bull and enjoyed some of the other farm animals that the village had to offer..... turkey, goats, pigs, pigeons.... felt like I was back in Iowa!!
The food was great - weather was warm and humid (it was in the 80s most of last week and this weekend, back around 70 today with light rain) - but overall it was a wonderful day. On the return home we drove up into the mountains to see the cherry blossoms. They are in full bloom this time of year here, meaning the trees are bright pink (perfect for Valentine's Day right?), plus the weather in the mountains is much cooler (and I loved that part). Then a car ride back to Taipei (with non-stop Christina Aguillera all the way unfortunately... long story).
Once I figure out on a map where we went, I'll let you know. Till then you'll have to enjoy the pictures to the right.
A busy week as always at work. Today is President's Day in the US - surprisingly it isn't celebrated here in Taiwan. Maybe Columbus Day will be celebrated....
Hope everyone had a grand Valentine's Day. I will celebrate this holiday in April with Sarah.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Random Friday Thoughts
For the single people, today is BLACK FRIDAY! So Happy Black Friday to all of us spending the holiday working. As for Saturday and Valentine's Day - happy Singles Day for those of us spending it alone:( And happy Friday the 13th - watch out for people in hockey masks.
Price of stamps going up again? Seriously??? There isn't enough junk mail floating around from Citibank or MBNA to keep them in business? They should up the postage rate for BULK mail, we'd all benefit from that. So it is even more rediculous to consider that I can mail a card from Taiwan to the US for about 70 cents but it is costing well over 40 cents to mail that bill from your house to the other side of town. Who uses the postal service anymore?
I'm doing pretty well on my goal of watching all the academy award nominee movies before the award's ceremony. I'm about half way and I have to say the movies are pretty good. Expect a full summary next week.
It was in the upper 80s today here in Taipei - and very blue skies! So warm in fact that I had to turn on the Air Conditioning last night to sleep, and it's on now. Should be back in the 70s for the weekend so hopefully some good exploration weather.
Have a good weekend!
Price of stamps going up again? Seriously??? There isn't enough junk mail floating around from Citibank or MBNA to keep them in business? They should up the postage rate for BULK mail, we'd all benefit from that. So it is even more rediculous to consider that I can mail a card from Taiwan to the US for about 70 cents but it is costing well over 40 cents to mail that bill from your house to the other side of town. Who uses the postal service anymore?
I'm doing pretty well on my goal of watching all the academy award nominee movies before the award's ceremony. I'm about half way and I have to say the movies are pretty good. Expect a full summary next week.
It was in the upper 80s today here in Taipei - and very blue skies! So warm in fact that I had to turn on the Air Conditioning last night to sleep, and it's on now. Should be back in the 70s for the weekend so hopefully some good exploration weather.
Have a good weekend!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Holiday Weekend Ahead
Big weekend for holidays - Friday the 13th is first. I had to explain who "Jason" was to some folks today. I also had to explain where the term "slasher" comes from.... also the difference between "slasher" and "flasher". Funny how that single letter changes the reference of "slasher flick" into "flasher flick". Both are shown on USA channel late at night I guess.
Saturday is Valentine's Day. I'm boycotting again this year after a successful celebration last year with Sarah. We'll pick back up next year when we're back together in the same country. She did send me a rather large fix of homemade valentine's day cookies, cherry sours, jube jells, and Penut Butter Cup heart. What a woman! They do celebrate Valentine's Day here, but they do so 3-4 times. This is at least the 3rd holiday for lover's here and it's just as much a publicity to buy things and stimulate the economy as it is in the US. The last Taiwan Valentine's Day in Taiwan I think I bought Sarah her cell phone:) You know how good I am at the Valentine's Day gifts!!!
Sadly, no shovel this year for Sarah. She still has the really good one for the car from last year!!!
And Sunday marks the 1st Annual International "That's What She Said" Day. Michael Scott will be proud as those of us who already overuse the phrase, get to try to over use it even more! Don't believe me? Look it up.
It's been a long week of battling a cold and sore throat. Cookies don't really help the sore throat, but they help my attitude! Luckily tomorrow is Friday with very little official plans for the weekend. It's back up towards 80 degrees here - just turned the Air Conditioning back on.
I am caught up on American Idol... mostly. i'm ready for the "real" stuff to start. The over dramaticized episode last night was way too boring. But overall I think the talent this year shows a lot of promise. Hopefully having Kara on the show will indeed keep it interesting and we can listen to some productive thoughts rather than random thoughts that make no sense from a drunken Paula. I'll do my best to keep up with AI week to week with my usual predictions!
Have a good Thursday!
Saturday is Valentine's Day. I'm boycotting again this year after a successful celebration last year with Sarah. We'll pick back up next year when we're back together in the same country. She did send me a rather large fix of homemade valentine's day cookies, cherry sours, jube jells, and Penut Butter Cup heart. What a woman! They do celebrate Valentine's Day here, but they do so 3-4 times. This is at least the 3rd holiday for lover's here and it's just as much a publicity to buy things and stimulate the economy as it is in the US. The last Taiwan Valentine's Day in Taiwan I think I bought Sarah her cell phone:) You know how good I am at the Valentine's Day gifts!!!
Sadly, no shovel this year for Sarah. She still has the really good one for the car from last year!!!
And Sunday marks the 1st Annual International "That's What She Said" Day. Michael Scott will be proud as those of us who already overuse the phrase, get to try to over use it even more! Don't believe me? Look it up.
It's been a long week of battling a cold and sore throat. Cookies don't really help the sore throat, but they help my attitude! Luckily tomorrow is Friday with very little official plans for the weekend. It's back up towards 80 degrees here - just turned the Air Conditioning back on.
I am caught up on American Idol... mostly. i'm ready for the "real" stuff to start. The over dramaticized episode last night was way too boring. But overall I think the talent this year shows a lot of promise. Hopefully having Kara on the show will indeed keep it interesting and we can listen to some productive thoughts rather than random thoughts that make no sense from a drunken Paula. I'll do my best to keep up with AI week to week with my usual predictions!
Have a good Thursday!
Monday, February 09, 2009
2009 Lantern Festival
Chinese New Year is officially over - the 15th day is reserved as the Lantern Festival. Since it falls on a Monday this year, the celebration was this past Saturday. The famous area is in Pingxi (pronounced PING-shee, or close to that) where thousands of people show up in a small village for the releasing of thousands of lanterns to the heavens.
We traveled by SLOW train (compared to the High Speed Rail) and took about 90 minutes to get to our destination. "We" being my wonderful neighbors Zach/Alisa, as well as Angel (our Taiwanese connection who got us around) and her boyfriend Ryan, then me tagging along as the 5th wheel. The town is just that, a town. But on the one day every year reserved for the Lantern Festival, it erupts full of vendors selling food, souvenirs, and of course paper lanterns. The object is to buy a paper lantern (at around $3 a pop), write your wishes on the outside of it, then you light the paper underneath allowing the warm air inside the lantern to want to go up and up into the sky. It's an amazing thing to watch actually.
I have some pictures to the right - warning though, there are a lot of them! And honestly, the pictures don't really do it justice. It was raining all day, not heavy enough to keep people at home, but enough to have an umbrella (-ella, -ella, -ella) out all day (hey hey hey). During the day, you can see the lanterns with the wishes written on the sides, lifted to the heavens in hopes of getting the wishes granted in the new year. Before you judge this tradition, I think the same thing is done in the US with New Year's Resolutions... you list a "goal" that eventually turns into a "wish" and you let it go to fade away into the sky!!
We did buy a lantern during the day and filled it with wishes - you will have to view the pics to see our wishes. Success for our lantern. About 1% of them burn up, or the fire goes out, or they don't have enough juice to get up in the air but rather fall into the river. Surprisingly, we were rooting for these 1% situations for other people's lanterns (not for ours of course). This is very similar to a NASCAR race where you want a huge accident, but not involving your driver. Ours was successful in joining the windstreams and disappear out of site. All throughout the day there would be lanterns released from the town (they continued through the night actually) and they would fill the sky with wishes.
In the evening, we headed to the mass area where the group releases occur (the famous one) and among the 500 or so tripods, there is an area (I call it the VIP area) where you are escorted when it is your turn, then they give you the color of the round, light together, then release together. It's very well coordinated and they would release about every 15 minutes. With entertainment of different kinds in between. The president of Taiwan was even there! We went about 2 hours into the night events and had our chance to release with everyone else. By then, the rain had stopped, the wind had died, so our lantern went straight up and was visable for quite a long time. At night, the entire sky in each direction was filled with specks of light - amazing.
I put my videos on youtube for you to get a better appreciation of how beautiful it was when they would all be released.
We traveled by SLOW train (compared to the High Speed Rail) and took about 90 minutes to get to our destination. "We" being my wonderful neighbors Zach/Alisa, as well as Angel (our Taiwanese connection who got us around) and her boyfriend Ryan, then me tagging along as the 5th wheel. The town is just that, a town. But on the one day every year reserved for the Lantern Festival, it erupts full of vendors selling food, souvenirs, and of course paper lanterns. The object is to buy a paper lantern (at around $3 a pop), write your wishes on the outside of it, then you light the paper underneath allowing the warm air inside the lantern to want to go up and up into the sky. It's an amazing thing to watch actually.
I have some pictures to the right - warning though, there are a lot of them! And honestly, the pictures don't really do it justice. It was raining all day, not heavy enough to keep people at home, but enough to have an umbrella (-ella, -ella, -ella) out all day (hey hey hey). During the day, you can see the lanterns with the wishes written on the sides, lifted to the heavens in hopes of getting the wishes granted in the new year. Before you judge this tradition, I think the same thing is done in the US with New Year's Resolutions... you list a "goal" that eventually turns into a "wish" and you let it go to fade away into the sky!!
We did buy a lantern during the day and filled it with wishes - you will have to view the pics to see our wishes. Success for our lantern. About 1% of them burn up, or the fire goes out, or they don't have enough juice to get up in the air but rather fall into the river. Surprisingly, we were rooting for these 1% situations for other people's lanterns (not for ours of course). This is very similar to a NASCAR race where you want a huge accident, but not involving your driver. Ours was successful in joining the windstreams and disappear out of site. All throughout the day there would be lanterns released from the town (they continued through the night actually) and they would fill the sky with wishes.
In the evening, we headed to the mass area where the group releases occur (the famous one) and among the 500 or so tripods, there is an area (I call it the VIP area) where you are escorted when it is your turn, then they give you the color of the round, light together, then release together. It's very well coordinated and they would release about every 15 minutes. With entertainment of different kinds in between. The president of Taiwan was even there! We went about 2 hours into the night events and had our chance to release with everyone else. By then, the rain had stopped, the wind had died, so our lantern went straight up and was visable for quite a long time. At night, the entire sky in each direction was filled with specks of light - amazing.
I put my videos on youtube for you to get a better appreciation of how beautiful it was when they would all be released.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Finishing Chinese New Year
There were a couple of technical difficulties this week. My laptop is back in the "warning" zone with being happy - going to fix that next week. Plus I found out that even though you don't get a physical bill from the telephone/internet company, you still have to pay it. Kind of difficult to pay if you don't know what you owe, nor do you speak Chinese. Once we figured out why I had a red light on the modem, bill was paid earlier today and I'm back to being online here at home.
I get asked a lot - by both people back in the US as well as here in Taiwan - "What do you miss the most from the US".... Well I do have moments of food cravings often (Chipotle is a daily craving), but there are other things I do miss. And after just finishing another showing of Miracle (with Chinese Sub-Titles of course that probably bash the Soviets just as much as the movie itself does), I'm in a very "Pro-USA" mood... hard not to be after that movie.
So here are the things that come to mind when asked "what do I miss from the USA"
Have a good weekend! Behave.
I get asked a lot - by both people back in the US as well as here in Taiwan - "What do you miss the most from the US".... Well I do have moments of food cravings often (Chipotle is a daily craving), but there are other things I do miss. And after just finishing another showing of Miracle (with Chinese Sub-Titles of course that probably bash the Soviets just as much as the movie itself does), I'm in a very "Pro-USA" mood... hard not to be after that movie.
So here are the things that come to mind when asked "what do I miss from the USA"
- Sarah (of course). As well as all my family and friends there
- Clean Air - while Taipei is still better than Los Angeles, I miss the air of Rochester
- No Noise Pollution - same as above, but I enjoy not hearing trucks or jackhammers at 8am on a Saturday
- Netflix - while I've found a way around this, it is something I miss considering how easy it was
- "Free Shipping" from ordering on the web - now I have to shop and have it shipped to me requiring $$$ or I pick it up on one of my trips back to the US
- Shopping with multiple stops where you can drop things off at the car in between stores. One of the few downfalls of not having a car
- Along that line - I do miss driving a car as most of the 16 year olds back in the US are driving more than I am
- Stars - although this has more to do with living in the city than it does in Taiwan. Only one I see is the big orange one during the daytime.
- I love observing people (this place is great for that), but not being able to eavesdrop makes the observation process a little less exciting at times. I miss being able to overhear people talking in English.
- Along that line - I miss being able to casually talk to strangers, making jokes or something weird like I usually do when I'm out and about.
- Watercooler talk about things like American Idol, politics, etc. You definitely become "out of the loop" with things going on.
- DVR - I have one on the slingbox back home, but it'd be nice here too.
- Water from the tap..... which you can make your own ice cubes from rather than buying bags of ice every couple of days and a 2 gallon thing of water every few days.
- Chipotle, Wendy's, Jimmy Johns, cheap Kwik Trip coffee when you need a "fix"
- Telemarketing phone calls in English
- Junk mail..... actually, mail period. I usually get about 2 things a week, 99% of the time it's a bill or an advertisement in Chinese that our security guy failed to screen.
- Sportscenter
Have a good weekend! Behave.
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