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"

1. Sarah (of course). As well as all my family and friends there
   
2. Clean Air - while Taipei is still better than Los Angeles, I miss the air of Rochester
3. No Noise Pollution - same as above, but I enjoy not hearing trucks or jackhammers at 8am on a Saturday
4. Netflix - while I've found a way around this, it is something I miss considering how easy it was
5. "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
   
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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.
   
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Watercooler talk about things like American Idol, politics, etc. You definitely become "out of the loop" with things going on.
12. DVR - I have one on the slingbox back home, but it'd be nice here too.
13. 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.
    
14. Chipotle, Wendy's, Jimmy Johns, cheap Kwik Trip coffee when you need a "fix"
15. Telemarketing phone calls in English
16. 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.
17. Sportscenter
    

Monday will mark the end of Chinese New Year (Technically a 15 day celebration.... take that Hanukkah!!) and it will be the yearly Lantern Festival. Since like most US celebrations that focus on the weekends due to the thing called "work", we will be celebrating Saturday by writing our wish on the lantern that gets lifted to the sky. So I have a wish to give, anyone interested in paying me for it? I'll take lots of pictures of the event and area to the North of Taipei that is famous for this festival.

Have a good weekend! Behave.