If I seem crabby in today's post, it's because the entire neighborhood was awaken before 6am today by lots and lots of firecrackers. I guess it's tradition to celebrate the "end" of Chinese New Years by pissing everyone else off. It was not just one person, but a series of people all over lighting off your basic brick of Black Cats which can be loud given the tight proximity of buildings in the area. The ones right below us would make it sound like a World War was going. Someone would have them going about every 10-15 minutes all morning. The rain came in around noon, but that only delayed the "celebrations" to about every 20 minutes. It is now after 9:00 and I think it's been about 30 minutes since I've heard any so I hope it's done.
It's Super Bowl Weekend - I almost forgot about it. While they are aware the game is going on, it's not the focus of 100% of the population like it is in the US. It's actually been nice not seeing everything revolve around the game. But with that said, yes - I'll be watching the game from here MONDAY MORNING while at work. Kickoff is at 7am and we have a mini-Monday Morning Celebration planned. As for my pick, I'm going with Arizona. Pittsburgh just won it a few years ago, plus Fitzgerald made me quite happy in Fantasy Football this past year. I'll have the US version on the computer/slingbox so I can comment next week on the commercials (which is half the reason we watch right??
I'm watching the Australian Open as much as I can this week. Currently, the 5th set just started with Nadal and Verdasco and it's been over 4 hours of tennis already. Great TV watching for a Friday night! I've never really seen the Australian Open "live" like I am this week - it's kind of interesting. Usually the US gets delayed broadcasts, plus it's the "lesser" of the big 4 tournaments. I'm pulling for another Nadal and Federer final classic, but I fear that the winner of tonight's semi-final isn't going to have much left in the tank to face Federer.
I did venture out today to see the stores mostly re-opened post holiday. I finally picked up a new digital camera to replace my strangely lost old camera. I snagged a Nikon Coolpix S550 which has an incredible 5x optical (20x digital) zoom on it and is pretty small and easy to handle. It's actually a good camera so far for anyone just wanting an easy to use basic digital camera.
Anyhow - another month has completed which means I'm only 8 or so months from coming home. Not sure how I will handle being back to normal in size ... well - a little more "normal" than I am here!! Have a great weekend!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
@$#&*&# Fireworks
The fireworks are still going on around here. It's past the "humorous" point and the noises in the street at 1am are now to the "annoying" point. I had thought that some of the brighter (but still very loud) ones that go off from 8-10pm nightly were coming from Sun Yat Sen park about 10 minute walk from the apartment. But tonight on the way to go see them, turns out they're actually coming from the top of an apartment building. So in my new amateur photography career..... no comment.... here's my attempt at getting some of the fireworks caught on film. Nothing worth framing, I know.
And of course Chai was loving every minute of it:
And of course Chai was loving every minute of it:
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Songsmith
Beware - today you'll learn of maybe the WORST product to ever come out of the Microsoft folks - Far worse than Windows ME or Vista! Thanks to Chris (papa for the 2nd time - CONGRATS) for the links and laughs.
An actual new product called Songsmith. Here's an extended video/commercial that gives you the jist of how it works.
And if that isn't bad enough - here are some real life examples of some songs you'll recognize, but of course with the addition of Songsmith.
What the....
Anyway - for some good music, I downloaded Offspring's Greatest Hits.... I feel like I'm back in Towers again for our floor parties!!
An actual new product called Songsmith. Here's an extended video/commercial that gives you the jist of how it works.
And if that isn't bad enough - here are some real life examples of some songs you'll recognize, but of course with the addition of Songsmith.
What the....
Anyway - for some good music, I downloaded Offspring's Greatest Hits.... I feel like I'm back in Towers again for our floor parties!!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Random Thoughts for the New Year
Happy New Years! After an evening of many many fireworks going off around town, Taipei is now kind of a ghost town. There were spots of boom (delayed splash) from about 8:30pm till midnight, but right at midnight - LOTS of fireworks going off. People dropping black cats (or the Made in China version) out the windows into the streets. It was loud for about 15 minutes, then a few more till about 2am.
So it's now Year 98 in Taiwan. Took me a while to figure out the whole date thing because it was usually listed as 97-5-28 which would have been May 28th, 2008... or year 97 in Taiwan years. This is the Minguo Calendar - started in Mainland China in 1912 but transferred to Taiwan when they were founded in 1949. 1912 was the year that the Republic of China was founded. Plan on a big party in 2 more years (2011).
We celebrated New Years Eve by going to Yes Man movie with Jim Carrey. I liked it a lot - reminds me of the humor from Bruce Almighty. If you're looking for a good way to pass the cold winter, go check it out. Then since everything was closed (reminds me of Christmas morning in the US) came home and enjoyed some homemade quesadillas.
Other movies I've seen (DVD) that are worth a watch: Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Traitor... movies to avoid: You Don't Mess With the Zohan, Pineapple Express, Bangkok Dangerous, The Mummy 23: These Things Never End (or whatever it's called)....
I've also had some more time for reading since Christmas. I'm still on my Stephen King kick, trying to get through as many of his books as possible and I realize I'm way behind!! So I got through "Carrie" pretty quickly... very interesting read. It was one of his really early ones. I did watch the movie then afterwards and that was equally as good. I finished his new collection of stories as well - "Just After Sunset". Over the past 2 weeks I got through "Pet Sematary" which is now one of my favorites. It was really well done, causing me to have some bad dreams about Sarah's cats and think twice when I was around animals.... Another movie that was pretty well done.
As for the rest of this week? I've enjoyed the time away from work, catching up with Tiger Woods 2008 on Wii... fun times.
Check out the pictures I took of New Years Day around Taipei (within walking distance from the apartment). It's been on the colder side the past few days so it's not the greatest time to be exploring. Perhaps I'll get more ambition this weekend.
So it's now Year 98 in Taiwan. Took me a while to figure out the whole date thing because it was usually listed as 97-5-28 which would have been May 28th, 2008... or year 97 in Taiwan years. This is the Minguo Calendar - started in Mainland China in 1912 but transferred to Taiwan when they were founded in 1949. 1912 was the year that the Republic of China was founded. Plan on a big party in 2 more years (2011).
We celebrated New Years Eve by going to Yes Man movie with Jim Carrey. I liked it a lot - reminds me of the humor from Bruce Almighty. If you're looking for a good way to pass the cold winter, go check it out. Then since everything was closed (reminds me of Christmas morning in the US) came home and enjoyed some homemade quesadillas.
Other movies I've seen (DVD) that are worth a watch: Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Traitor... movies to avoid: You Don't Mess With the Zohan, Pineapple Express, Bangkok Dangerous, The Mummy 23: These Things Never End (or whatever it's called)....
I've also had some more time for reading since Christmas. I'm still on my Stephen King kick, trying to get through as many of his books as possible and I realize I'm way behind!! So I got through "Carrie" pretty quickly... very interesting read. It was one of his really early ones. I did watch the movie then afterwards and that was equally as good. I finished his new collection of stories as well - "Just After Sunset". Over the past 2 weeks I got through "Pet Sematary" which is now one of my favorites. It was really well done, causing me to have some bad dreams about Sarah's cats and think twice when I was around animals.... Another movie that was pretty well done.
As for the rest of this week? I've enjoyed the time away from work, catching up with Tiger Woods 2008 on Wii... fun times.
Check out the pictures I took of New Years Day around Taipei (within walking distance from the apartment). It's been on the colder side the past few days so it's not the greatest time to be exploring. Perhaps I'll get more ambition this weekend.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Last Days of the Rat
Chinese New Year has arrived.... well almost. My "break" from work is here, Chinese New Year starts Monday! Some people travel around Asia during that time. Most people will go to their family's home and spend time with them (similar to the US Christmas). It'll be cold unfortunately here in Taipei. I do plan on taking pictures of the empty Taipei streets since this will be the only time not to see 1000s of scooters and cabs polluting the roads. I'm not sure if there will be a parade here or not!!??!? Nobody has mentioned anything but I will continue to pursue some more traditional celebration activities to partake in.
Out with the year of the Rat and in with the Ox. The Ox is said to bring prosperity through fortitude and hard work. Like one's own vision of a cow or ox, it is said to be steady and strong in character. As for the element, this year is EARTH (as opposed to Fire, Air, or Water).
Anyway - it's an exciting time to be in Asia. I can cross "Chinese New Year in Asia" off my celebrations list. I've done New Years in Time Square, Christmas in Ireland (not that that was famous or anything)... still have many others to hit around the world at some point in life.
Have a great weekend! New camera tomorrow so I should have pictures to share from next week's random travels and activities.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Free At Last....
New President Day.... I am already celebrating in Taiwan! I'm a little amazed at the hype and focus the inauguration is getting. I don't seem to remember all of this in 2001. I'm excited and should make for good TV watching for those who are able. I'll have to watch it tomorrow as I'm not going to stay up till 11:30pm to start watching.
I guess I'm becoming "local" and it's showing. For whatever reason this weekend, I was asked to take someone's photo in 2 seperate instances. Maybe they see me as a friendly face, or maybe they think I'm actually Taiwanese. And the real funny story was that while waiting for Alex on Saturday, I seriously had a Taiwanese person ask me if I knew where the bathroom was. This was while I was standing out front of the Technology Mall.... and I told him no, I had no idea where the bathroom was. Not sure what that was all about.
Scanning through the channels last night, I stumbled across Dora the Explorer again. I was determined to share with you especially since a lot of you have young children who LOVE watching Dora and learning Spanish. In Taiwan, Dora speaks Chinese and helps the kids learn English as you'll see. (Sorry, can't embed this one)
Anyway - short blog today. Happy New President Day!
I guess I'm becoming "local" and it's showing. For whatever reason this weekend, I was asked to take someone's photo in 2 seperate instances. Maybe they see me as a friendly face, or maybe they think I'm actually Taiwanese. And the real funny story was that while waiting for Alex on Saturday, I seriously had a Taiwanese person ask me if I knew where the bathroom was. This was while I was standing out front of the Technology Mall.... and I told him no, I had no idea where the bathroom was. Not sure what that was all about.
Scanning through the channels last night, I stumbled across Dora the Explorer again. I was determined to share with you especially since a lot of you have young children who LOVE watching Dora and learning Spanish. In Taiwan, Dora speaks Chinese and helps the kids learn English as you'll see. (Sorry, can't embed this one)
Anyway - short blog today. Happy New President Day!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Last Full Day of Dub-Ya
An interesting Super Bowl is set up. We'll be watching from here, on Monday morning..... 7 am kickoff!! The Cardinals made the Super Bowl with Iowa-Boy Kurt Warner???? Didn't they finish 2-14 a couple of years ago? Just shows what the Vikings could do with a real quarterback. Looked online and that leaves only 5 teams who have never made the Super Bowl - Houston Texans (new team), Jacksonville Jags, Nawlins Saints, Detroit Lions, and Cleveland Browns. Too bad the Browns don't get credit for the Ravens since that's where the team went after they left Cleveland. With Phoenix vs Pittsburgh, I'll be watching for the commercials!
A beautiful weekend for weather here in Taiwan. In the 80s, and VERY clear skies. I did some exploring on Saturday with Alex. We went camera shopping (long story) and some other tech gadgets that he was shopping for. Afterwards, he had some time to kill so we went to Longshan Temple which is the largest temple in Taipei. It's part of the "old city" that is close to the river and basically the starting point to grow from for this now very modern city. The temple was packed in anticipation of Chinese New Years - a lot of people praying for a prosperous new year. We start out with some incense sticks for praying. There are three main gods to pray to, so we took three sticks each. You light them (you can see the picture of me lighting the sticks), then you go in front of one of the buddhist gods to pray with the sticks held straight up. When you get done praying, you bow, shake them twice, then throw them into the big tank with the rest of the incense... and lots of smoke! It was interesting - one of the buddha gods was for good grades. They have buddha gods for everything. Since I'm Alex's manager, you'll see him in one picture praying for a good appraisal this year in our PBCs. The temple itself was very neat, old, but still very ornate just the same. I took some pictures of the man made waterfall inside. I even played with the "panoramic" function on my phone.
So the "long story" is that I cannot find my OLD digital camera. I have looked everywhere I can in Taiwan, we were sure we didn't take it home to the US. It's nowhere to be found at this point, so I had to take pictures from my cell phone. They get the job done, but nothing spectacular. I'm camera shopping (again) because I do not want to haul my new SLR everywhere....
After the temple, we went to the Snake Alley Night Market area. It was daytime, so the snakes were put away, but you can still see them. This is a very tourist area, and most Taiwanese will typically pass on attending the shows. You will see some of the big pythons in their glass cage in the pictures at the right. Can you guess what the rabbits are for? They also had mice above the rabbits.... There are also many cages that are for smaller, yet still ugly, snakes. These snakes are part of the menu for eating if you want.
While this snake behavior is more common in main land China, please realize that it is not normal in Taiwan. This area represents a unique tourist attraction area. Think of it like Disneyworld in the US. It's very touristy and most of us that live there don't want outsiders associating the entire US population as walking around in costumes singing "It's a Small World" all the time.
It's MLK Jr. Day in the US, but we don't observe that here in Taiwan. They do understand who and what he contributed to the US culture, just not a lot of "minority" people here... other than me of course.
New President tomorrow.... I'll be watching (and enjoying) this one!!!
A beautiful weekend for weather here in Taiwan. In the 80s, and VERY clear skies. I did some exploring on Saturday with Alex. We went camera shopping (long story) and some other tech gadgets that he was shopping for. Afterwards, he had some time to kill so we went to Longshan Temple which is the largest temple in Taipei. It's part of the "old city" that is close to the river and basically the starting point to grow from for this now very modern city. The temple was packed in anticipation of Chinese New Years - a lot of people praying for a prosperous new year. We start out with some incense sticks for praying. There are three main gods to pray to, so we took three sticks each. You light them (you can see the picture of me lighting the sticks), then you go in front of one of the buddhist gods to pray with the sticks held straight up. When you get done praying, you bow, shake them twice, then throw them into the big tank with the rest of the incense... and lots of smoke! It was interesting - one of the buddha gods was for good grades. They have buddha gods for everything. Since I'm Alex's manager, you'll see him in one picture praying for a good appraisal this year in our PBCs. The temple itself was very neat, old, but still very ornate just the same. I took some pictures of the man made waterfall inside. I even played with the "panoramic" function on my phone.
So the "long story" is that I cannot find my OLD digital camera. I have looked everywhere I can in Taiwan, we were sure we didn't take it home to the US. It's nowhere to be found at this point, so I had to take pictures from my cell phone. They get the job done, but nothing spectacular. I'm camera shopping (again) because I do not want to haul my new SLR everywhere....
After the temple, we went to the Snake Alley Night Market area. It was daytime, so the snakes were put away, but you can still see them. This is a very tourist area, and most Taiwanese will typically pass on attending the shows. You will see some of the big pythons in their glass cage in the pictures at the right. Can you guess what the rabbits are for? They also had mice above the rabbits.... There are also many cages that are for smaller, yet still ugly, snakes. These snakes are part of the menu for eating if you want.
While this snake behavior is more common in main land China, please realize that it is not normal in Taiwan. This area represents a unique tourist attraction area. Think of it like Disneyworld in the US. It's very touristy and most of us that live there don't want outsiders associating the entire US population as walking around in costumes singing "It's a Small World" all the time.
It's MLK Jr. Day in the US, but we don't observe that here in Taiwan. They do understand who and what he contributed to the US culture, just not a lot of "minority" people here... other than me of course.
New President tomorrow.... I'll be watching (and enjoying) this one!!!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Stayin' Warm
A quick memory for my "little sis" Shelly who passed away 4 years ago today. I still think of you often and look forward to seeing you again in Heaven someday. Keep doing that goofy dance till I get there!
Wow - cold temperatures in the midwest. I see Cedar Rapids is supposed to be -51???? I took a stab at explaining that to some of the Taiwanese in the office, most have never felt temperatures below +40 degrees. I tried the freezer analogy, but that's not right. What I was considering was using the analogy of poking them with a pencil eraser and stating "That is 0 degrees".... then poking them hard with the leaded end of the pencil "That is -10 degrees"...... then grabbing a baseball bat to see if they get the idea. On a positive note, last year when I suffered through the Minnesota freezing cold/snow and was thinking "next winter I'll be in Taiwan"..... well I'm in Taiwan and it's back up in the 70s today. An absolutely BEAUTIFUL day today, windows are back open and the skies were 100% blue. It should be in the 70s all weekend so a good time to go out and enjoy the warm January air. How many times will I get to say that in my lifetime back in the midwest??
Interesting side note - Taiwan is beginning to pass additional and stricter no smoking in public laws. I don't fully understand them yet, but note that the recent trend (and a good trend in my mind) making it more difficult for smokers to pass along the harm to others who don't want it has now arrived in Taiwan. Not a lot of smokers here though - my guess is one in maybe 8? Maybe one in 10? But China... it's well over 50% there I think.
Pictures posted again of yesterday's wedding of Tony. You'll see the work gang in many pictures, one of whom flew up from Singapore to be in the wedding! An array of fancy foods, some good, some ok, some I wouldn't touch. You'll like the chicken picture. The chicken meat was actually really good! But the Chinese folk lore says that if the chicken head points to you, you will be the next one laid off. So we just kind of turned it so it wasn't pointing at anyone in particular. That picture is now one of my favorites so far in Taiwan. They also played a game for a kind of raffle where everyone writes a wedding message on a card (with tape on the back side) to give to the new couple. When they enter wearing outfit #2 (remember, there are 3 outfits), everyone walks up and puts their card on the groom somewhere. Then the MC pulls off three cards at random and those people on the card get a special gift! It was fun, especially since one of my employees was one of the winners! On a side note, the DJ sucked as they were playing about 30 minutes worth of music, the only song I recognized was "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer (from the movie She's All That for those who remember) and I heard it 7 times. The first 4 times as part of the loop, but then during the exit line (outfit #3), the song was played over and over!!! So no, that song will not be played at my wedding now. I will make sure of that!
On a side note - I'm thinking of starting up a wedding dress rental company in the US. Like the Taiwanese, they rent their dress instead of buying it (similar to the groom's tux).... wonder if that would work?? Thoughts?? Would some of you be willing to sell your wedding dress to my new company at a cost much less than you paid for it?? How much is that antique-never-to-be-used-again-nor-fit-into-again dress in the closet worth to you?? This could be my chance.....
Miracle on the Hudson River... kind of a weird situation, but a miracle none the less. There was discussion today at work of the crash in 2002 here in Taiwan of a China Airlines crash on its way to Hong Kong were 225 people were killed. That's a lot of people unfortunately:(
Have a great weekend - for most of you, try to stay warm!!!
Wow - cold temperatures in the midwest. I see Cedar Rapids is supposed to be -51???? I took a stab at explaining that to some of the Taiwanese in the office, most have never felt temperatures below +40 degrees. I tried the freezer analogy, but that's not right. What I was considering was using the analogy of poking them with a pencil eraser and stating "That is 0 degrees".... then poking them hard with the leaded end of the pencil "That is -10 degrees"...... then grabbing a baseball bat to see if they get the idea. On a positive note, last year when I suffered through the Minnesota freezing cold/snow and was thinking "next winter I'll be in Taiwan"..... well I'm in Taiwan and it's back up in the 70s today. An absolutely BEAUTIFUL day today, windows are back open and the skies were 100% blue. It should be in the 70s all weekend so a good time to go out and enjoy the warm January air. How many times will I get to say that in my lifetime back in the midwest??
Interesting side note - Taiwan is beginning to pass additional and stricter no smoking in public laws. I don't fully understand them yet, but note that the recent trend (and a good trend in my mind) making it more difficult for smokers to pass along the harm to others who don't want it has now arrived in Taiwan. Not a lot of smokers here though - my guess is one in maybe 8? Maybe one in 10? But China... it's well over 50% there I think.
Pictures posted again of yesterday's wedding of Tony. You'll see the work gang in many pictures, one of whom flew up from Singapore to be in the wedding! An array of fancy foods, some good, some ok, some I wouldn't touch. You'll like the chicken picture. The chicken meat was actually really good! But the Chinese folk lore says that if the chicken head points to you, you will be the next one laid off. So we just kind of turned it so it wasn't pointing at anyone in particular. That picture is now one of my favorites so far in Taiwan. They also played a game for a kind of raffle where everyone writes a wedding message on a card (with tape on the back side) to give to the new couple. When they enter wearing outfit #2 (remember, there are 3 outfits), everyone walks up and puts their card on the groom somewhere. Then the MC pulls off three cards at random and those people on the card get a special gift! It was fun, especially since one of my employees was one of the winners! On a side note, the DJ sucked as they were playing about 30 minutes worth of music, the only song I recognized was "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer (from the movie She's All That for those who remember) and I heard it 7 times. The first 4 times as part of the loop, but then during the exit line (outfit #3), the song was played over and over!!! So no, that song will not be played at my wedding now. I will make sure of that!
On a side note - I'm thinking of starting up a wedding dress rental company in the US. Like the Taiwanese, they rent their dress instead of buying it (similar to the groom's tux).... wonder if that would work?? Thoughts?? Would some of you be willing to sell your wedding dress to my new company at a cost much less than you paid for it?? How much is that antique-never-to-be-used-again-nor-fit-into-again dress in the closet worth to you?? This could be my chance.....
Miracle on the Hudson River... kind of a weird situation, but a miracle none the less. There was discussion today at work of the crash in 2002 here in Taiwan of a China Airlines crash on its way to Hong Kong were 225 people were killed. That's a lot of people unfortunately:(
Have a great weekend - for most of you, try to stay warm!!!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Weddings, Cats, and Wei-Ya
It's been an interesting Thursday... the weather is improving (my new watch that regulates the Barometric pressure among other nerdy functions agrees that the weather is "improving") and while most of you suffer through negative temperatures, cars not starting, and wrapping up tight.... I have the windows open again and traveled today without a jacket.
One of the Taiwan employees was married over Christmas, but the reception for friends, family, coworkers was today for a formal lunch. It was a nice wedding on the north part of Taipei. Always interesting to see new foods (note I didn't say "try" new foods.... just take pictures and pass it to the next person). I was all ready to boycott the Shark Fin soup (under Sarah's orders after she saw a special about the Taiwanese killing sharks for soup which is considered a delicacy here) but alas, it was chicken soup. Funny how Sarah (among many others) hate sharks, but they boycott the soup. I just don't really care for the soup so I don't eat it. I did try the cod fish which wasn't the worst thing I've ever had. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm not a huge fan of most seafood. I did enjoy the cheesecake-ish type dessert. It was nice to spend the afternoon with coworkers enjoying company and good food - rather than sitting in meetings!
American Idol started this week. I have them recorded and plan on catching up this weekend. I hope you're as excited as I am for another season of spending 100+ hours watching people try to sing and listening to Paula try to speak in complete sentences. I saw there's a "4th judge" which may make it interesting for the "you're going to Hollywood" rounds. Ahhhh, this show never gets old does it?
I put up new pictures from my new camera. There should be more tomorrow once I have more time to sort through them. The pictures are of Diamond and Diablo - Sarah's cats who missed her terribly while I stole her away to Tiawan. We have never had any really good pictures of them because as anyone with animals or young kids knows, they don't hold still long enough for a standard point-and-shoot camera to capture them. The new SLR is much faster and takes great photos of them as you'll see. Diamond is the white/grey cat and she's a Mackerel Tabby cat. The "M" on her forehead makes her a Mackerel, and it's a pretty clear "M". She's more human then she is cat sometimes, and she has no fear. Diablo is the bluck tuxedo cat (all black with a white neck/belly like someone wearing a tux) and she can be evil... at least towards me. She hisses at me every now and then and usually likes to be left alone. Sarah's mom has bonded with Diablo like we've never seen anyone bond with her. It's pretty cute actually. Diamond and Diablo are sisters from the same litter that Sarah took in after the whole litter was rescued in Chicago. We don't know who's older, but my guess is that Diamond is the elder sister since she acts like it.
Random nerd thought - everytime an ambulance goes by outside (which is about 3-4 times a day probably), I am still amazed at the phenominon of the Doppler Effect. It's pretty confusing actually, but I found the Wikipedia overview helpful, especially when they talk about a pitcher throwing a regular cycle of balls at you, but he's moving closer as he does so. That visual helps me at least.
Only 5 more days of Dub-ya.... can you believe it??????? Thought this day would never get here!!!
I'm off to a dinner celebration for work in honor of the upcoming Chinese New Year. It's "Wei-Ya" or 尾牙 and should be a good time! Good food and good drinking!
One of the Taiwan employees was married over Christmas, but the reception for friends, family, coworkers was today for a formal lunch. It was a nice wedding on the north part of Taipei. Always interesting to see new foods (note I didn't say "try" new foods.... just take pictures and pass it to the next person). I was all ready to boycott the Shark Fin soup (under Sarah's orders after she saw a special about the Taiwanese killing sharks for soup which is considered a delicacy here) but alas, it was chicken soup. Funny how Sarah (among many others) hate sharks, but they boycott the soup. I just don't really care for the soup so I don't eat it. I did try the cod fish which wasn't the worst thing I've ever had. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm not a huge fan of most seafood. I did enjoy the cheesecake-ish type dessert. It was nice to spend the afternoon with coworkers enjoying company and good food - rather than sitting in meetings!
American Idol started this week. I have them recorded and plan on catching up this weekend. I hope you're as excited as I am for another season of spending 100+ hours watching people try to sing and listening to Paula try to speak in complete sentences. I saw there's a "4th judge" which may make it interesting for the "you're going to Hollywood" rounds. Ahhhh, this show never gets old does it?
I put up new pictures from my new camera. There should be more tomorrow once I have more time to sort through them. The pictures are of Diamond and Diablo - Sarah's cats who missed her terribly while I stole her away to Tiawan. We have never had any really good pictures of them because as anyone with animals or young kids knows, they don't hold still long enough for a standard point-and-shoot camera to capture them. The new SLR is much faster and takes great photos of them as you'll see. Diamond is the white/grey cat and she's a Mackerel Tabby cat. The "M" on her forehead makes her a Mackerel, and it's a pretty clear "M". She's more human then she is cat sometimes, and she has no fear. Diablo is the bluck tuxedo cat (all black with a white neck/belly like someone wearing a tux) and she can be evil... at least towards me. She hisses at me every now and then and usually likes to be left alone. Sarah's mom has bonded with Diablo like we've never seen anyone bond with her. It's pretty cute actually. Diamond and Diablo are sisters from the same litter that Sarah took in after the whole litter was rescued in Chicago. We don't know who's older, but my guess is that Diamond is the elder sister since she acts like it.
Random nerd thought - everytime an ambulance goes by outside (which is about 3-4 times a day probably), I am still amazed at the phenominon of the Doppler Effect. It's pretty confusing actually, but I found the Wikipedia overview helpful, especially when they talk about a pitcher throwing a regular cycle of balls at you, but he's moving closer as he does so. That visual helps me at least.
Only 5 more days of Dub-ya.... can you believe it??????? Thought this day would never get here!!!
I'm off to a dinner celebration for work in honor of the upcoming Chinese New Year. It's "Wei-Ya" or 尾牙 and should be a good time! Good food and good drinking!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
My Happy Place
Happy Gilmore has been on one of the few English channels the past few nights. I forgot that the movie is already 12 years old, but It's still funny as hell. One of the better moments is when Happy has to find his "Happy Place" as follows:
So I started thinking - what would be in my Happy Place????
It's freezing cold here once the sun goes down. It gets to about 50 degrees at night, with a chilly breeze. I know, nothing to complain about compared to most of you in the Midwest, but I only have a jacket here and no heat. The trick is not to open a window when the sun is up and accidentally leave it open for over an hour. This creates a problem on how to get the apartment warm again considering there is no heat in the houses here. I have a small heater/fan that does the trick for me (Sarah would not be happy with me in this cold), and for the few minutes after shutting the open window, I just turn the stove top on high for a few minutes and let it add as much heat as is required. Primitive, I know. Kind of like leaving the freezer open in the dead of summer to help cool the house off!!! I don't really have a lot of other options at this point and I'm not sure I want to buy a larger heater just for another 2 months.
Chinese New Year is approaching. Out with the year of the Rat (those of you born in '96, '84, '72, '60, '48, or '36) and in with the year of the Ox (or cow) (those born in '97, '85, '73, '61, '49, or '37). There are already noises in the street with people letting off random firecrackers from time to time - as well as all the Christmas decorations still up. How convenient that they serve as deocrations for Chinese New Year as well!!!! I'll share more with what I learn about CNY as it happens.
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So I started thinking - what would be in my Happy Place????
- Sarah (of course).....
- We're on a beach with blue ocean all around
- 78 degrees, not a cloud in the sky
- Ample supply of Shiner beer and Captain and Cokes (no lime)
- Candy dispenser full of Skittles, Reeses Pieces, Gummy Worms, Gummy Raspberries....
- U2 playing hour long sets
- Elvis playing between U2 sets
- Iowa State winning football games on TV
- Girls jumping on trampolines - I won't lie to you....
- And no need to go back to work... EVER!!
It's freezing cold here once the sun goes down. It gets to about 50 degrees at night, with a chilly breeze. I know, nothing to complain about compared to most of you in the Midwest, but I only have a jacket here and no heat. The trick is not to open a window when the sun is up and accidentally leave it open for over an hour. This creates a problem on how to get the apartment warm again considering there is no heat in the houses here. I have a small heater/fan that does the trick for me (Sarah would not be happy with me in this cold), and for the few minutes after shutting the open window, I just turn the stove top on high for a few minutes and let it add as much heat as is required. Primitive, I know. Kind of like leaving the freezer open in the dead of summer to help cool the house off!!! I don't really have a lot of other options at this point and I'm not sure I want to buy a larger heater just for another 2 months.
Chinese New Year is approaching. Out with the year of the Rat (those of you born in '96, '84, '72, '60, '48, or '36) and in with the year of the Ox (or cow) (those born in '97, '85, '73, '61, '49, or '37). There are already noises in the street with people letting off random firecrackers from time to time - as well as all the Christmas decorations still up. How convenient that they serve as deocrations for Chinese New Year as well!!!! I'll share more with what I learn about CNY as it happens.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Arrival of the Weekend
After a couple of days of struggling with jetlag, playing catch up with email, cleaning up the house, taking care of errands.... I think I'm back to "normal" here. It's kind of cool here... you know, only 50 degrees at night. Funny part is that without heat in most places, they have no way to heat up a house when it does get this cool. Luckily I have a small room heater - plus my apartment is about the size of a normal person's room back in the US.....
I've grown my winter beard since right before Christmas. As if I needed yet another reason to stick out in Taiwan. Now I'm the tallest, bald, fattest, and now the only BEARDED guy in Taiwan. I have been getting lots of complements on my "new look". I'm also getting the standard stares - even saw a guy taking a picture of me on the train yesterday.
Thanks to the power of Slingbox, I was able to watch the BCS championship game last night. I was disappointed in yet another loss by a Big12 team in the championship game, but I also think that neither team really played like the best two teams in the country. I would rather see Texas vs USC now - with my money on USC. The joys of a non-working BCS continues.
Since we extended our stay back in the US, we were not able to check out the fireworks from Taipei 101. Luckily there is a thing called "internet" which helps us catch up with what we missed in the world.
And to entertain you - I took a few pictures of my own tonight with my new camera. Remember, I can walk to Taipei 101 in about 20 minutes!
Plans for this weekend? As little as possible!!!
I've grown my winter beard since right before Christmas. As if I needed yet another reason to stick out in Taiwan. Now I'm the tallest, bald, fattest, and now the only BEARDED guy in Taiwan. I have been getting lots of complements on my "new look". I'm also getting the standard stares - even saw a guy taking a picture of me on the train yesterday.
Thanks to the power of Slingbox, I was able to watch the BCS championship game last night. I was disappointed in yet another loss by a Big12 team in the championship game, but I also think that neither team really played like the best two teams in the country. I would rather see Texas vs USC now - with my money on USC. The joys of a non-working BCS continues.
Since we extended our stay back in the US, we were not able to check out the fireworks from Taipei 101. Luckily there is a thing called "internet" which helps us catch up with what we missed in the world.
And to entertain you - I took a few pictures of my own tonight with my new camera. Remember, I can walk to Taipei 101 in about 20 minutes!
Plans for this weekend? As little as possible!!!
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Ilha Formosa
I made it back to Ilha Formosa in one piece. Few things to share:
1 - Exit Row on International isn't as bad as it could have been. Helped not having anyone in the middle seat. I could stretch out, get up at free will - but I had no pocket in front of me to stash stuff (or leave cameras), and for some reason, people use the "open" space in front of me for calisthenics with about 2 hours left in the flight.
2 - I actually sleep a little easier in a window seat than an aisle seat. Also helps to have a new pillow thing that goes around your neck. They really aren't too bad.
3 - LAX is now my least favorite airport in the world. It was already on the top 5 list, but now it's at the top! I was rerouted through there with my delay, last time I let that happen.
4 - 14 hours is too long of a flight. It's longer to fly to Asia in the Winter, but faster in the Summer. Interesting....
5 - You don't get to claim milage for unused (but still paid for) plane tickets. It also took me about 5 minutes to explain that even though Sarah wasn't riding back, I still wanted to use her milage on my frequent flier program. I still think that should be possible and I will continue to investigate. That's a lot of milage to lose!!!
6 - Taiwan is back to "wet" but still not cold enough for a coat (for me at least).
7 - I really feel horrible the whole day upon arrival from the US. Might be easier if I didn't have the 4 airports/3 flights mess to deal with.... I know there will be a few people who would vote for us moving to San Fran or Seattle.
8 - The next time I see snow will be at the end of 2009 and I will probably be married by then and back in US for good. How scary is that? That is unless I go up into the mountains here like I want to....
My 550 Square Foot Apartment still feels small in case you were wondering. It will do for now. Over half way done over here - time really flies!!
A last minute Texas win. I will take another Big 12 win, but was hoping this one wouldn't have been that close.
Anyway - off to bed - enjoy your Tuesday.
1 - Exit Row on International isn't as bad as it could have been. Helped not having anyone in the middle seat. I could stretch out, get up at free will - but I had no pocket in front of me to stash stuff (or leave cameras), and for some reason, people use the "open" space in front of me for calisthenics with about 2 hours left in the flight.
2 - I actually sleep a little easier in a window seat than an aisle seat. Also helps to have a new pillow thing that goes around your neck. They really aren't too bad.
3 - LAX is now my least favorite airport in the world. It was already on the top 5 list, but now it's at the top! I was rerouted through there with my delay, last time I let that happen.
4 - 14 hours is too long of a flight. It's longer to fly to Asia in the Winter, but faster in the Summer. Interesting....
5 - You don't get to claim milage for unused (but still paid for) plane tickets. It also took me about 5 minutes to explain that even though Sarah wasn't riding back, I still wanted to use her milage on my frequent flier program. I still think that should be possible and I will continue to investigate. That's a lot of milage to lose!!!
6 - Taiwan is back to "wet" but still not cold enough for a coat (for me at least).
7 - I really feel horrible the whole day upon arrival from the US. Might be easier if I didn't have the 4 airports/3 flights mess to deal with.... I know there will be a few people who would vote for us moving to San Fran or Seattle.
8 - The next time I see snow will be at the end of 2009 and I will probably be married by then and back in US for good. How scary is that? That is unless I go up into the mountains here like I want to....
My 550 Square Foot Apartment still feels small in case you were wondering. It will do for now. Over half way done over here - time really flies!!
A last minute Texas win. I will take another Big 12 win, but was hoping this one wouldn't have been that close.
Anyway - off to bed - enjoy your Tuesday.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Happy New Year!!
A happy new year to everyone! This is my final full day in the USA, I head back to Taiwan on Saturday, arriving Monday morning Taiwan time (yeah - Sunday just doesn't exist for me this year).
An update to what has been happening and what will change in the year to come:
Sarah's dad has been in the hospital with some heart issues. We are now at the point where he is waiting for a heart transplant. His spirits are well and he is otherwise doing great - but at this time he requires some additional help and support and will for the near future. So Sarah and I have talked about this option for about a month now, even more so since we've been home. Sarah will stay here to help her family at this time while I return to Taiwan. So yes, we'll be back to the long distance relationship thing again for a while. We've done it before, we can do it again.....
There are lots of benefits to this solution - besides the obvious one of helping her dad and family, she can also start planning our wedding!!! We're getting closer to establishing a date and location, just have to make a few calls next week and we can get all that information out to everyone. She will be closer to her cats who I know missed her very very much while she was gone. The only bad thing is that she and I will be apart, but it happens.....
We have been driving between Marion, Iowa (where my parents live) and Iowa City Hospitals daily to see her dad and spend time with him. Even snuck in some beer and watched the Iowa bowl game yesterday with him! He should be going home next Monday for the time being. Please keep him in your prayers!
I hope everyone starts the New Year out safely! Next update from me will be from the other side of the Pacific!!!
An update to what has been happening and what will change in the year to come:
Sarah's dad has been in the hospital with some heart issues. We are now at the point where he is waiting for a heart transplant. His spirits are well and he is otherwise doing great - but at this time he requires some additional help and support and will for the near future. So Sarah and I have talked about this option for about a month now, even more so since we've been home. Sarah will stay here to help her family at this time while I return to Taiwan. So yes, we'll be back to the long distance relationship thing again for a while. We've done it before, we can do it again.....
There are lots of benefits to this solution - besides the obvious one of helping her dad and family, she can also start planning our wedding!!! We're getting closer to establishing a date and location, just have to make a few calls next week and we can get all that information out to everyone. She will be closer to her cats who I know missed her very very much while she was gone. The only bad thing is that she and I will be apart, but it happens.....
We have been driving between Marion, Iowa (where my parents live) and Iowa City Hospitals daily to see her dad and spend time with him. Even snuck in some beer and watched the Iowa bowl game yesterday with him! He should be going home next Monday for the time being. Please keep him in your prayers!
I hope everyone starts the New Year out safely! Next update from me will be from the other side of the Pacific!!!
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