Cash-whore

I'm on the welfare committee at work. What that basically means is that any company event that benefits the employers, we do. The main event each year is the year end party which is next Monday. Everyone in the marketing department has been busting their asses trying to get donations from our vendors so that we can use them as prizes. The prizes are usually cash or gift certificates, but this year, its all cash baby!

Anyway, today I found out that another vendor will be supplying a whopping amount and my eyes just lit up. Who wouldn't want more cash ya? Even when I told a coworker, her response was a mere 'thats good'. I scoffed, "how can you not like cash??" and left the conversation.

Back at home, as I was sipping some wine, it all of sudden hit me. Money has become an integral part of my life. WTF happened to me? Once upon a time it was about doing the things I love or enjoying the challenges and unknown. But now -- I find myself glued to a job because it pays well, buying shit that I normally wouldn't care for and living day to day without a certain purpose (yeah, the last one sounds a bit harsh-o).

Why am I feeling this way? I just finished the book "How Starbucks Saved My Life." It's about a creative director at JWT that was fired and started from the bottom at Starbucks. The moral to his story that after years of committing to a glamorous job, being promoted numerous times, traveling the world and making great ads, he was happiest as a 'partner' at the local Starbucks.

Who would've thunk?

Nike Aces '83

I'm looking down at my worn out Nikes and I think its time to toss 'em out.

When they were new, they looked like this:

Now they look like shit.

I still remember the time that I got them. I had just received the offer from JWT and as a celebatory gift, bought me self some new kicks at Gong Guan. These baby's have travelled the world with me and it's time to retire them.

So thank you Nike Ace 83's for accompanying me to Seattle, San Francisco, Taiwan, Japan, The Philippines, Hong Kong and China. I'm a bit sad there won't be any more trips, but its time for new kicks, new adventures!

Run, Fat Girl, Run

So its been 2 months since I last had a decent workout session. The vacation did me great. So great that I'm carrying some unwanted holiday weight and tis the time to say adios to unwanted body fat.

I went to my old gym to run and when I left, the guy at the counter said "leaving so soon?" I did a crappy 2 miles and it was like the walk of shame when I left. My gym also has a tanning booth and I'm wondering if I should use it? Hmmm.

Goal: 5kgs.

2009 New Year Resolutions

1. Tone down on the road rage (this is so unlikely, but I gotta try)

2. Eat more fruits and veggies.

3. Save money (unlikely again, but gotta try)

4. Enjoy the now instead of hoping for something better.

5. A ghetto fobulous version of champagne wishes and caviar dreams

Normally I'd have 10 things, but 5 is good.

Bring it on 2009!

Brrrrrr

It's too effin cold to be scootering around the city.

Plus, finally got around to renewing my gym membership today!

New year resolutions to be posted soon.

HAPPY 2009!

Fireworks at Taipei 101 to ring in the new year! Totally partied, VIP style, at RM 18's rooftop with friends and coworkers. Open bar was pretty sweet (even tho it was limited to whisky -- Singleton was the sponsor) and somehow Jenny snagged a bottle of Moet -- sweet, Moet something champagne. Needless to say, that bottle never left my hand.

After the fireworks, we moved the party down to the club where I got some lip burnin tequila from my new suga daddies (3 of them) and ALMOST witnessed some bitch slappin. But I did witness a friend suck face with a local chick and it reminded me of new years past when I was that chick. lol~

Another year has flown by and I'm still in the inferno called Taiwan. This past year has been great. Was very fortunate to have travelled around the world, whilst maintaining a stable job *knock on wood* and enjoying life at the same time.

It's the morning after, aka Jan 1st, and what better way to start it off by waking up at 1pm, linger in bed till 2:30pm and finally heading out to this place called the Diner for some western style breakfast. I am totally craving some pancakes, hashbrowns, bacon AND sausages plus bottomless coffee. Yes folks, they do have the good stuff in Taiwan. ^__^

Before I start on new year resolutions --

OMG... the food the came. Had to break for like 5 mins to scarf down this amazing food. I'm very content right now. Food coma, here I come!

Ok, where was I... so before I start listing new resolutions, I'll be boring and list off the things I was thankful back in 2008. [just inhaled the sausage... they're REAL sausages!!! I mean, USA style sausages!!!]

Top 10 moments of 2008

10. Reaching/surpassing the 1 year mark at my current job. Look how I'm growing!

9. Biz trip to Kunming, China where I had the pleasure of being pampered by suga daddies old enough to be my grandpa.

8. Biz trip Hamburg, Germany. How can you not love an all expense paid trip to one of the most goregous cities in the world? Plus, who would've thunk the red light district would be kid friendly?

7. Moving into a semi loft and being able to afford it -- moving out of the semi loft and in with 2 friends at a more spacious apt with a kitchen to die for (by Taiwan standards).

6. Visiting Seattle to attend Tracy's high school graduation + meeting up with old friends.

5. Loka. Though I couldn't keep him, he's by far the best dog a person could ever have.

4. Family and friends from back home visiting the motherland: Tracy, Carrie, Sophia, Andy, Marcus, Brandon and Stephanie -- not to mention seeing Andrew and Grace.

3. Finally stepping foot into Hong Kong and spending the weekend with Carrie and the Wakabayashi's!

2. Xmas party 2008

1. New years eve countdown and knowing that I'm going to be ok.

Officially on holiday

It's the day after Christmas. I'm up in the mountains somewhere with my friend, Emile. We're both on vacation till Jan 5th and it's pretty awesome to not have to work. This place that we're at now is pretty cool. Its a cafe/wooden lodge that's perched on a hill. We're the only ones here (friday afternoon) and I can't really complain.

Marcus and Brandon were in town last weekend with their parents and had dinner along with Grace. Afterwards, we met up with Andrew at Hooters (out of all the places in Taiwan, he just had to go to Hooters). So the 5 of us chilled at my place for a bit before hitting the local KTV. Ah, how great it was to hear Brandon sing Temptation and Boys II Men songs -- not to mention him groovin to NSYNC. Good times!

Miss HK will be in town this weekend, so I'm totally lookin forward to that.

Current mood: ^_________^

I [Heart] Tequila!

Roommates and I had a pre Xmas partay on Sat. Let's just say it ain't never dull when there's tequila and lil 420 involved.

Most of the pics are posted on facebook. Enjoy!

Turn right and right again...oh, there it is!

Scootering around the city at nite has its perks. For one, less traffic = less road rage. Proving that I do have memory like an elephants, I found my way to Miramar and once I saw that damn ferris wheel, my problems ceased to exist.

That particular ferris wheel has a special place in my heart. I used to go there with Amanda when we were down or couldn't sleep. I can still remember our talks about the future, the many curve balls in life, enjoying the view from atop of the ferris wheel and me getting freaked out cuz I'm scared of heights. (the ferris wheel is perched on top of shopping mall --i wanna say on the 8th floor?)

While our problems were never really solved, just being away (not to mention being stranded in a suspended tin box for a good 2-3 mins) gave me a sense of calm that I needed. And that is exactly how I feel whenever I see that wheel.

There's a Wal-Mart type store right next to Miramar and we would go 'shop' afterwards. I remember this one time -- I think it was like 2AM and we went to look around and Amanda really wanted an ice cream cone. But no one was manning the counter (duh, it was like 2AM), so she reaches over the counter, pulls out a cone and starts doing it herself. Me, being a goody goody, started to panick (they execute prisioners here!). Of course people saw and when I saw them coming over, I yelled "RUN!"... which is exactly what we did. I know stealing ice cream isn't a big offense, but I'd like to think we were rebels that night -- mutha effin rebels.

Pill Popper

Yes, I've become a pill popper. This effin virus apparently evolved or something and now I'm coughing like crazy and I have fluids coming out of my nose. I stopped by the clinic over lunch and the docs like 'oo~ you got worse...'

No shit, Sherlock.

So he gave me hella pills. Its like Skittles but in different shapes/sizes. Oh oh, and this time around, I got a syrupy thang too (tastes like shit). Or maybe bitter, cuz I totally sound bitter right now.

1.5 hours of work to go.

Tis the season!

OMG.... This might be the longest MIA blogging for me. So where to start? I wonder if I should be like that movie, Momento, and start now and work my way back... but that would be confusing huh and I don't think I have the mental capacity to pull it off. So I will be unoriginal and start with 'where I last left off...'

Where the fuck did I last leave off? ha~ Oh yeah. So I adopted a puppy. A Corgi/Taiwanese mix. Cute as a button, housebroken, extremely well behaved -- but I found out I was allergic to all his shedding. Who would've thunk? Found him new owners after a week of having him and it was heartbreaking to see him go.

Went to HK for an actual weekend getaway (and not some lame ass transfer flight) to meet up with *drumroll please* Carrie and the Wakabayashi's! Thanks again Carrie lah for letting me crash at your place! It was awesome seeing them in HK and realized that it would be our 10 year reunion next year. Time to start planning for a reunion party!!

Moved apts and now I'm learning to adjust to having roommates again. Yes, there have been some roommate issues -- just reconfirming my decision that Taiwanese guys are immature little girls. But whatever, its all about compromising and I will learn to accept his immaturity, but NOT his irresponsibilty. Plus, out of the blue, I got hit with mutha effin virus and it may be karma telling me to stop talkin shit.

[Hey Karma, totally noted! I will stop talkin schmack.]

AND b/c of this mutha effin virus, I took 2.5 days off of work. Yeah, me takin sick days off! I NEVER take sick days. But it was koo cuz one of my roommates caught the lazy bug and kinda didn't go to work either. lol~

So now it's le weekend. I spent all day yesterday in bed, catching up Gossip Girl - season 1. Felt really nice, but I woke today with a sore throat still. WTF! I mustered up all my energy and took the bus to my favorite weekend hotspot, QK, to write this blog and enjoy a couple hours of me time.

Oh, I'm thinkin about adopting another dog again. This time, I'ma gonna rub my face against his fur and if I don't start heezing/die, I'ma taking him home! I also have a bunch of vacation days coming up and I CANNOT WAIT! Don't really have any planned -- which is nice. It'll be Carpe Diem week for me.

So yeah, I think I've pretty much summed up the past couple of months. I left out a few details, but this is good.

Me = Clumsy

My calves keep getting branded from scooter exhaust pipes! I have a half moon shape burn mark on my right calf and something that looks like an "X" on my left calf. WTF!!!

So much for wearing capris....

Financial Crisis 101

http://biznik.com/articles/financial-crisis-101-the-way-it-works?category_id=money-financing

Kristi sent me this article explaining the financial crisis in lame men terms. Great read!

Thanks Kristi lah!

Boot Camp (ing)

Day 1 boot camp: 26 mins / 3km

Day 2: 33 mins / 4km

Day 3: OT-ing

Day 4: 40 mins / 5km

Day 5: 40 mins / 5km

Day 6: rest

FREEDOM!

I'm FREEEEEE!

Tonite was my last 'business english' class. Some of the students came up to me after class and was like "why aren't you teaching this class anymore? we like your style! you have such a great voice, but we didn't understand what you were saying..." lol!~

so yeah, I'm freeeeeee!

I also told my landlord that my company's shipping me off to China end of Nov/early Dec. Just a lil white lie cuz I'm planning on getting a place with 2 other folks and I want my deposit back (since my year contract ain't up yet).

Now I can start workin out again. Must get back on the mill el pronto!

[...]

I wonder if its possible to be burnt out by doing absolutely nothing.

Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, .... Poe?

Its 12:39am. I want to SLEEP! But I can't. I won't. I hate insomnia!

Carrie recommended flipping through a philosophy book, but I wanna go straight to the pills. Grr.

So here I am blogging -- hoping the rhythmic sounds on the keyboard will slowly, but surely, put me into a deep slumber soon.

Taiwan was hit with another typhoon this past weekend. Can you believe that shit? 3 freakin typhoons in a month. That's gotta be some kind of record?! I got Monday off (which was sweet!) but I'm dreading Tuesday morning and all the unread emails at work.

Woolly Mammoth

There's a woolly mammoth exhibit going on right now at the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. I've been meaning to go for the longest time (its in town from 7/1~11/4) and kept putting it off. I had read in the papers earlier this year about how researchers excavated a preserved woolly mammoth and I found that super interesting for some reason.

Imagine my shock when the exhibit came to Taiwan!

Now that I've seen it, my feelings are split over the exhibit. For one, it was a whole mammoth like I thought it would be. The exhibit had 3 separated body parts. 1) just the head 2) a foot 3) partial head/face of a baby mammoth. I mean, it was cool to see, but I was hoping for something straight out of hollywood (add a few cavemen next to it -- just kidding).

A nice surprise was to see people of all ages enjoying the exhibit. Sure, the little kids were running around and being annoying, but I'd like to believe they learned something.

Another tidbit of my life this week was venting about my teaching performance. Elite English has an online website for teachers and students to log onto to schedule classes and rate teachers. The rating system is a simple (+) for good, (-) for bad. Well, at one point, I was at 2 (which is good), but for some freakin reason, I'm now at -1. WTF!

I dont think I get docked pay, but its like a slap in the face. The (-) points came from my EC1 class on Fridays and yesterday in class, I was like "who gave me a (-)!?" I'm assuming the girl students were the one's giving out the (-)'s cuz it was all boys yesterday. Man, girls are beeyotches. Ha~

The guys in the class last nite said not to worry... they'll log on and give me (+)'s so I won't be (-) anymore. Aw, how sweet.

1 little sheep, 2 little sheep, ...

I survived another typhoon. Go me!

It's 12:51 am and for the nth night in a row, I can't sleep. Having a 3 day weekend didn't really help much to 'fix' my sleeping problem. In fact, I think it made it worse cuz I just slept in all 3 days. So what's been on my mind thats making me an insominiac chica? I have no clue. Or maybe I do and am just too damn stubborn to admit that I need change. So much for stability, normalcy and not living like a nomad.

I am a firm believer in fate and the powers that be, so I know change will come soon. My most recent experience was the idea of getting a new cell phone. I bought my Nokia phone in April and right when I had the date/time set, I was already tired of it. But considering the phone wasn't cheap, I stuck with it. Fast forward to 4 months later, my lovely sister drops my previous phone (sony ericsson) down the toilet and will need a replacement.

Ah, fate works in mysterious forms. Not really knowing if the Sony Ericsson phone was truly dead, I did a price comparison on this new Sony Ericsson flip phone that I've been eyeing. Not cheap, but doable.

And then fate struck again -- this time in the form of a cab door. Friday evening... the weather dreary and typhoony (yes, that's a word). I decided to cab it back home and totally forgot that my phone was in my pocket. Well, the damn phone fell out right when I was getting into the cab and the freakin door slammed onto the screen. (must've been some effin good timing too) So the screen went berserck on me and I had to get a new cell phone. WTF~ I think I was more annoyed than happy at the situation, but regardless, the nokia is being fixed as I type and now I have a new phone.

Fate~

PS. I've decided to fuck the bikes. Going on this fate thang, it ain't THAT hard to buy a bike and for some reason unbeknownst, its a fuckin pain in my arse. So instead, I'm gonna save the money and hopefully head to HK/Beijing in October to meet up with Kristi and Kei! Now that sounds more awesomey than some overpriced bike that'll most likely get stolen -- even if its parked right next to a police station.

Old Skool

Listening to old skool tunes.

Qtip's Westside
Sir Mixalot's Baby got back
Salt n Pepper's Shoop
Jay Z's Big Pimpin
Not really old skool, but I love Twista's Hope [featuring Faith Evans]

Flight Mini, RD 806, Flight Mini, RD 806...

My heart (and wallet) is torn between these bikes.




Flight Mini 0
20 speed @ 20 pounds (!!)
US$600

Pros: lightweight, compact, great for long distances, super uber cool design
Cons: expensive as hell, must be parked indoors for constant fear of being stolen



RD 806
6 speed @ 30 pounds (foldable)
US$200

Pros: foldable, design is cool, easy on the wallet
Cons: heavy (for a foldable), might not be great for long distances/hills (only 6 speeds)

I'm gonna head to the Giant store later and ask the store owners if they have this model in stock:



Flight Mini 1
18 speed @ 22pounds
US$ N/A

Pros: lightweight, compact, great for long distances, cheaper than Flight Mini 0
Cons: still more expensive than the RD 806 (i'm assuming), fear of getting stolen

Sigh... why are bikes all of a sudden so freakin expensive!??!?!

Biker Chick

Kinda splurged and bought me self a folding bicycle!

It's still at the shop and I'm debating if I should switch from the 16in wheels to the 20in wheels and maybe add suspension... Oh, how my life revolves around these life altering decisions~ =P

Back in routine

Its Sunday.

Sunny (finally) and I'm at my regular Sunday hot spot with a cool cup/glass of green milk tea and a slice of thick toast with peanut butter. I can't recall how many Sunday's have started off like this, but sadly, its' been at least 5-6 weeks that I haven't been here.

Alas, another summer is ending and here are my top 10 moments:

1. Moving into my fobulous apt (marks the first time I'm able to pay for shit on my own. lol)
2. Flying home to attend my sisters graduation and visiting folks
3. Kunming biz trip and meeting senior citizens from all over
4. Hamburg biz trip
5. Tracy visiting Taiwan
6. All the layovers at the Hong Kong International Airport
7. Getting 3 extra classes at Elite English
8. Saw Tsai Jian Ya (famous singer) live at Room 18. (she is freakin awesome singing live!)
9. KTV nite with Tiffany, Claire and Emile
10. All the C1O gatheringments

This is only a drill

I stopped by the bank yesterday to deposit a check and right when I gave the teller my deposit slip, loud ass sirens starting going off. I thought I won a prize or something, but the bank manager was like "ma'am, you can't leave the bank for the next 30mins. please take a seat..."

I was thinking to myself wtf is going on? The security guard did a whole lock down and cars/scooters on the street had to park it on the side and most came into the building. It was then that I remembered that the city initiated a practice drill just in case a neighboring country were to attack.

Since I didn't bring my cell phone, I had to use the banks to call the office and let them know I was kinda, sorta held hostage and not skipping out on work. When I told Anny, the marketing assistant, of the situation, she thought I meant the bank was being robbed and I was one of the hostages. Aiya~

So yeah, htat's my exciting story.

Heading out to RM 18 tonite to see 蔡建雅 live! Hope I can get a pic with her.

Hamburg Debrief

Ok, catching up on my blog...

Hamburg trip:

Only one word can sum up my biz trip to Hamburg, which is AWESOME! The product development seminar was 4 days of blending, flavoring and ntm's (non tobacco materials such as filters, paper, package). The objective of the seminar was to create a factory made cigarette that would be accepted by society and garner mutual respect between smokers and non smokers. I'm sure ALL tobacco companies want a product like that. lol~

At at the end of the 4 days, we presented our 'product' to a panel of judges and partied afterwards. Ryan, a brand executive in the Shanghai office, and I were the only Asian people there and when we were at a posh lounge bar after dinner, decided to teach the rest of the folks Chinese drinking games. It was totally awesome. And everyone really got into it.

---- break ----
I'm at a tea shop and there's these 4 girls (jr.highish) and 1 girl has a coach bag and 1 girl has a gucci bag. yeesh~
--- break over ---

I extended my trip an extra 3 days/2 nights b/c I thought the next time I would be in Hamburg would probably be in a really, really, really long time. I met up with my old boss, Oliver, who currently splits his time between Hamburg and London. Him and his gf took me out to a few hot spots and it felt really nice to see him again.

Top 5 moments in Hamburg:

1. Cruisin Reeperbahn (red light district)
2. Teaching "hai dai" drinking game to the Imperial folks
3. Meeting Imperial folks from all over
4. Learnin about blending, flavoring, etc
5. Eating all the cold cuts and bratwursts!

Reboot

Took my laptop to tech support on Monday to get rebooted. Great thing is that it's running a helluva lot faster. Bad thing: I need to find another copy of Office, redownload a bunch of shit (that will probably make my laptop run slower) and figure out what websites were in my favorites file. sigh~

@ Hamburg

If Seattle could be a city in Germany, she would be Hamburg. The port, buildings and weather are just too similar.

Reeperbahn is the best! Imagine the Vegas strip, but instead of casinos, you have strip joints, erotica shops and more. Good stuff~

Hamburg, I'ma Coming!

Sitting in the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge waiting to board. There's free food! Nuff said.

If only they offered free massages as well... sigh~

Har Har

L.A. police chief William Bratton quote the brat pack:

"If you notice, since Britney started wearing clothes and behaving, Paris is out of town not bothering anybody anymore, thank God, and evidently, Lindsay Lohan has gone gay, we don't seem to have much of an issue," L.A. police chief William Bratton pointed out to KNBC-TV as he called a proposed shutterbug crackdown a "farce." "If the ones that attract the paparazzi behave in the first place, like we expect of anybody, that solves about 90 percent of the problem. The rest we can deal with."

I guess the police can be funny~

The Shawshank Redemption

I 'heart' this movie to death. One of my all time favorites.

Morgan Freeman has one of the best narrating voices around and many memorable lines in the film.

Red: [narrating] I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.

Typhoooooon!

Taiwan was hit with yet another typhoon this past Sunday night/Monday morning. Central and Southern Taiwan were hit the hardest-- major flooding and whatnots. I was relatively unscathed from the whole ordeal. Meaning I woke up around 10am (no work!), watched TV, took a nap, watched more tv, got a foot massage, watched some more TV and went to bed. Good stuff~

I went down to Taichung (central Taiwan) on Sunday to visit my uncle. He took me out with his friends for some really good food and during the dinner meal, one of his friends got drunk off of Gao Liang (clearish liquor that's popular in China). Anyway, his friend turns to me and asks "what do think of my son?" (who happened to sit next to me) He then continues with "Do you have a boyfriend? Do you want to be my daughter in law?" Fuckin gao liang!~ Yes, he was drunk off his ass, but it was nonetheless embarassing and yes, I started to panic a lil cuz everyone was chipping in... "yeah, you should consider. how old are you? can you speak Taiwanese? where are your parents? what line of work do you do? etc, etc, etc..."

Needless to say, I was extremely relieved when dinner was over. Yeesh~ if my life could be a sitcom....

Debrief - Kunming

Complete series of Friends.... check!

Muahaha! One of the great things about China is pirated dvd's!! Yes, my collection of movies have grown just a lil bit (didn't want to buy too many for fear of getting shot at immigration).

Ate fried baby bees (apparently full of protien) so I can totally conquer any fear factor event in the future.

Hiked, took a horse, hiked, took a horse carriage and hiked some more (3 miles total up a mutha freakin steep ass hill) to witness the breath taking views on the Western Hills.

Stayed at classy 5 star hotels and ate one too many spicy dishes (Yunan province is known for mouth numbing spices).

Met 4 older foriegn gentlemen at The Hump (its not as dirty as it sounds) for an evening of great conversation.

Tons of pics that are already posted on facebook, but will do a collage for le blog later this week.

Happy to be back in Taipei, but will be prepping for Hamburg, Hong Kong and maybe Macau in the upcoming weeks.

Will post a more detailed entry about my biz trip to Kunming along with the pics.

Tarot Cards

I'm blogging at a park. I feel part poser, wannabe, nomad and chicken shit. Why chicken shit, cuz there's this mini lizard thingy that was on a tree, but is slowly inching towards me. Yes, I'm aware that I tower over the lil fellow, but he's quick! He can totally climb up my leg, hop over my lap top and attack!!!

Anyway, I'm at the park cuz I'm waiting for a friend to arrive (speak of the devil, he's here!)

[2 hours later]

Ok, my friend Vico is a copywriter for an ad agency that I used to work for. He's a great guy and he know's how to read palm and more~ He read my palm about 6 weeks ago and none of the things that were supposed to happen, happened. So to regain his reputation, he said tarot cards would be more precise.

In the span of 2 hours, I pretty much found out my fate for the next 6 months. Keeping in line with the fortune teller my mom nagged me to go to before Chinese New Year, I am a career oriented woman! Most of the cards I picked had coins (which represents money). The point of the tarot cards was to ask about relationships and not surprisingly, there's none on the horizon. Lol~

Keep in mind, I believe in destiny and that things always change, so with the reading, its just for funsies. But yeah, to some extent, the cards were dead on regarding personality, current goals and expectations.

Da da dum!

Travel Bug

Plans are set, tickets are booked, watch out world, I'ma coming!

1. Jul 15-19 Kunming, China
2. Jul 19 HK (just a day trip)
3. Aug 4-10 Hamburg, Germany
4. End Aug HK again

Me likey traveling to all these places.

[muahhahahaha]

TGIF

I am an international death stick marketer! Biz trip to Kunming, China has been confirmed. I will be flying over on the 15th for a quick trip and will stop by HK to visit Carrie and ultimately check off HK on my list of "places where I have been a typical American tourist". It's funny, I've been in Taiwan for 4-5 years and I've never traveled HK -- transferring flights there doesn't really count right?

There's also talks of a workshop in Germany and the company might be sending lil ol me to represent the TW crew. Wassssup!

It's the 4th of July and since I'm in TW, no parades, fireworks, American flags, star spangle banner tune... just a cloudy overcast in 90+ degree weather and well, that's it.

Oh say can you seeeee......

Timesheet

Turned in my timesheet for Elite last nite. I only taught 6 hours last month - only 6!!!! Shiet.

I also paid rent and my credit card bill and I'm left with nothing. I'm of course lying, but I seriously need more teaching hours. One of the ladies at Elite asked if I would be available to teach a Biz class on Tuesdays and I jumped at the chance. That's NT4800 extra a month!

Cosmo had an article in last month's issue on how we're always accumulating new things and never taking the time to appreciate the things we currently have. But what if we don't have certain things -- say digital camera, foldable bike, the complete set of Friends DVD, etc? K, I'll admit that I don't really the complete set of Friends DVD (even tho I really want it!) and that I can just use my cell phone's camera and I do have scooter.

But that's not the point. Hmm, I forget what the point is...

UB Marathon

I need new shoes... as in new work shoes.

Le weekend was very relaxing. Had dinner with LB folks and it's always nice to hang with the girls. Sometimes I wish we could all work at the same place (again), but it's never gonna happen for various reasons.

I totally brought back Pizza Sundays!~ Felt like a total bum Sunday morning (as I dragged outta bed at 1pm) and decided to stay in and order pizza! Ugly Betty had a marathon on tv and it was awesome! Pizza, coke and Ugly Betty with limited commercial interuptions was awesome!

Yes, after 8 continous hours of lying on the couch and eating junk food, I felt like a heffer. I wanted to drag myself to the rooftop to to do a lil running (there's a mini gym on the rooftop), but Ugly Betty just kept on airing! What's a girl to do?

And now it Munday... ack

Casa ala Juang

Kristi's been asking for pics of my place, so ta-da!!

Back in the Motherland

The first weekend back from Seattle and it kinda sucks. Lol~ Here's a cliff notes version of my trip.


Day 1.

So I have a funny relationship with my parents. I tell them things on a need to know basis. And me coming home was a bit hush hush cuz I didn't want everyone to find out -- 1) my auntie here probably would've wanted to tag along and I didn't want to be her bitch and 2) my mom would've wanted to me to go out and buy a million and one things for people. I didn't want to deal with it so I just told my sister when to pick me up. My mom even bribed her $50 bucks to squeal when I would be returning. Funny shit.

Day 2.

SITC + Red Robins + Red Mango = Yummy, Yummy and Yummy! Well, Red Mango was aiite. Guess I'm not into the sour yogurt, but it was 'interesting'. ^__^

Day 3.

Samurai Ramen + Tuliap Casino + Seattle Premeir Outlets in the afternoon was pretty sweet. I didn't gamble, but after Jun's tutorial on roulette, I think I'm gonna try my luck at the table next time.

Had a family dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and I think people there are a bit racist. Whatever, our measley $5 tip showed them!

Day 4.

Tracy's high school graduation ceremony at the T-dome. Watching a bunch of high schoolers get their diploma's only reaffirmed one thing -- I'm getting hella old. 4 kids gave speeches and I think only 1 was memorable. Worthy effort.

Met up with flight attendant Neuman for le coffee at Barnes & Nobles afterwards and as always, was nice to chill with him.

Day 5.

I don't think I did anything at all on this day. Lol. Tracy BBQ'd baby back ribs and I watched Law and Order SVU on tv. Good stuff.

Day 6.

Seattle Premier Outlet part deux! I went this time with Tracy and her bf, Frankie. I definitely spent a small fortune there, but its so worth it!

Day 7.

Visited my aunt Susan and was suppose to meet up with Tien, but I crashed around 8:30pm. Tsk tsk.

Day 8.

Action packed day. Fuji Sushi, some donut shop on 5th, Amborsia, Mike's Noodle House, Mariners game(!!!) and sleep over at the Wakabayashis! Cathy joined for dinner at Mike's and saw Jeremy and Amy at the game.

Day 9.

Everyone was Kung Fu Fighting! Kung Fu Panda + Chipotles + Golden Dynasty = one of the best days ever! Dr. Uhm and Danny joined for dinner at the Dynasty it was a great mini reunion.

Day 10.

Father's Day lunch at Todai. Yum! Afternoon shopping at Southcenter and Costco. Took a self tour at Tracy's future school, PLU and dinner at Pho Tai to end my vacation.

10 days in Seattle was definitely NOT long enough. Sigh... Will post pics up soon!

5-7 days

Online shopping is just bad, bad, bad....

7-11 Crawl

Received this 'event' from facebook. Pretty creative!

Fact: There are 4,770 7-11 stores in Taiwan.

Fact: 7-11 has a wide variety of beer and alcoholic beverages.

Fact: Drinking alcohol on streets in Taipei is legal.Considering all this, we are going to go on a Seven Eleven Crawl. Basically we are going to walk a route in Taipei (not set in stone, but we're walking from CKS memorial to 101).

Everytime we come to a Seven Eleven store, we all enter the store and buy one can of beer (or other alcoholic beverage). That can of beer must be consumed before entering the next Seven Eleven store. By my calculations, there will be around 10 Seven Elevens we will be crossing.

Because of the route we are walking there will be sufficient bathrooms, graciously provided to us by the Taipei MRT Company. Feel free to drop out of the Crawl if you feel it necessary, but only the strong and brave will get the glory (and a prize of limited monetary value).

So the plan is to meet at 9:30 at CKS Memorial Station exit 5. I am going Wednesday to map out the route (probably around 4:30, feel free to join). Bring your walking shoes, drinking gloves, and the spirit to party!

Just for funsies

Received this in the email today -- like I'm about to get punk'd. Better luck next time beeyotch!


Dearest,
It is my pleasure to contact you for a business venture which I intend to establish in your country. Though I have not met with you before but I believe, one has to risk confiding in succeed sometimes in life. There is this huge amount of Seven million five Hundered Thousand U.S dollars ($7.5,000.00) which my late Father kept for with a Fiduciary Fund Holder in Abidjan before his death

Now I have decided to invest these money in your country or anywhere safe enough outside Africa for security and political reasons.I want you to help assist me claim and retrieve these fund from the Fiduciary Fund Holders and transfer it into your personal account in your country for investment purposes and my education .

If you can be of an assistance to me I will be pleased to offer to you 20% Of the total fund. I await your soonest response.
Respectfully yours,
Miss. Celine Milan

Peepin

I can look into my neighbors apt. Feels so wrong -- like I'm commiting a felony or something. But I guess it's mutual since they can look into my place as well. Hm, lights off... must be bedtime.

Oh, how I miss walkin around naked...

Engrish Ventie

Taught 3 back to back classes on Sunday and the first 2 classes were great. Some of the students from the 1st stayed for the 2nd class as well and definitely opened up more. It was great to see them more relaxed and confident in speaking English.

The last class was a total dud. I just don't understand why people want to learn a language, but are too afraid to speak it. I always get the 'my English no good' excuse and it's just tiring. If your English was really good, would you be in a freakin Level 1 Basic Conversation class!? Ugh~

George Washington?

I need to retract one of my previous entries. I guess my cousin Jerry IS getting married this December! Who would've thunk? It's like that Conspiracy Theory movie, if you keep spewing random things, one of them will be true. *shrug*

My company co-sponsored a party at Room 18 last nite and time's have definitely changed. I went out to dinner with the DEM folks and met up with my co-workers at the club later on. Apparently while Fanny said hi to Michelle and me taking another shot of whatever, the rest of the DEM girls were chatting with these cute boys. So we walk up and the introductions start.

"Hi, my name is George... like George Bush."

K, out of ALL the George's in the world, why say 'like George Bush'? I mean, there's George Clooney, George Lucas, George Jetson -- heck, even Curious George would've been cute. Ack.

Lrrrrrr~

Rented The Covenant last nite and good golly, I have a new crush!

Steven Strait is hot hot hot!



I had to imdb him and much to my dismay, he's married. Sigh~

New digs

Tokyo Taipei, here I come!!!!

Living in the now

I called Amanda earlier and it felt great to catch up with her. We both felt like it seemed years ago that we were in the same city, but its only been year. That's the thing about great friends -- able to continue our previous schmack talk (months ago) without missing a beat.

After my unfortunate encounter with a flying cockroach last nite, I've made up my mind to move into a nicer apt and enjoy living in the now. Amanda, being the great friend that she is, congratulated me and was happy that I was finally treating myself better.

Since I'm subbing now, I have the extra income to pay for rent -- which is also a factor why I want to / am able to move. Everyone's telling me how I should save, save, save.... but while I'm 'saving', I'm not really enjoying my 'now'. Bottom line, I want live comfortable. I want to be able to come home, plop on the couch and not have to worry about flying cock roaches or have these crazy rat dreams.

Plus, I'm going to ultilize the 1/3 ideology. 1/3 of your salary for rent. 1/3 for food. 1/3 to save.

I'm living in the now people! New and improved Nano v2.0.

The kind of bills me likey

My electric and water bill came yesterday....

Water bill: NT22 ..... roughly 69 cents
Electric bill: NT103 ..... roughly $3.22

OMG!

I know my electric bill will go up once I install an air con. But good golly!!

------

We now have a dress code a work. Frick on a stick!

Sugar pie, honey bunch!

I invited the DEM folks over on Sunday for some mj action. I had lost shamelessly couple weeks before at Fanny's place and it was time to redeem myself. I mean, they came to MY turf so I had to represent.

I did not lose face. [muahahaha]

It was fun having them over and it made living in the new place not so bad. ^_^

On to other updates:

New phone, new scooter and new position (maybe)...

Bought a new phone cuz my old one was too bulky for my taste. At least my sister's putting it to good use. Bought a new scooter (used) cuz some bastard stole the license plate off my ride. I mean, who steals just the plate and not the whole package?? Anyhoo, when I reported it stolen at the police station, I found out that my scooter was 17 years old (!!!!!). That's when it dawned on me that I should retire ol Bessie. My new ride (I named him 'black hawk') is pretty sweet. He's younger than ol Bessie and rides great! Whoo-hoo! As for new position, I'll fill folks in if its confirmed or not.

Speaking of work, our schedules are getting jammed packed as we're transitioning with the new management. Lots of projects coming up and it's pretty exciting to see what's in store for us.

Just a tidbit of what I know that's to come:

1. Focus groups in Tai Chung and Kaohsiung 2nd week of May.

2. Marketing meeting in Macau mid May.

3. Early Fridays starting May 1st.

4. Factory / office visit in Shanghai around June.

Stay tuned!

Run, Run, Run!!

Having a huge ass tv has its perks. For one, it just looks so purrrtttty!! But its also making me hella lazy. Since I'm all moved in (minus a couple of appliances), I need to start exercising again.

I've been on haitus for 2 months and it blows. I can feel the tightness of my jeans and it ain't pretty. I'm hoping to get back on the t-mill tonite and start up my routine again.

Couple of new developments:

(1) I've recently been hired has a substitute teacher at a bushiban (English center). The pay is decent enough, unlike Wells English that offered me a local salary -- bunch of cock suckers~ It's a nice gig that's whenever and there's no contract to tie me down.

(2) I've been promoted from contractor to permanent staff at my company. Who knew I'd be kick ass at branding death sticks. But its nothing to get excited about. Its not like I rocked a project -- we're just understaffed and the new GM wanted to make me permanent, that's all.

I've been on a losing streak at mj lately. I'm playing later this afternoon at casa de la nano and I'm hoping to end the losing streak and at least break even. *knock on wood*

Loewe Fashion Show at 101

I forgot to take pics of the models struttin their stuff.

Next time~

Family Legends

2 of my cousins are apparently engaged -- but only in the minds of their parents.

What?!~

Family Legends 1: My Aunt Dana shared with us that her son, Jerry, is engaged to a half Korean, half white girl and that the wedding is in December.

Truth: My cousin Jerry is in a relationship, but with a girl that's black/filipino/white/something. They've been dating since August of last year and knowing him, marriage is the last thing on his mind.

Family Legends 2: My Uncle Tony said that his son Tom (yes, I have cousins named Tom and Jerry), is engaged to a fellow Japanese co-worker and that his wedding is also in December.

Truth: My cousin Tom is single and ready to mingle.

Gosh, I hope my mom doesn't start spreading rumors that I'm engaged or pregnant or whatevez.

Home Sweet Home

I'm all moved in!!!

I'm just lacking an air con and a stove --- but whatever. YAY!!!

And I gotta say, the 42in plasma tv looks so purrrrrty!!

[wiping tears away]

----------------------------------

This guy sitting across from me keeps squeezing his legs together. Like he's using an imaginary thigh master. It's really disturbing and -- good lord, he's at it again. Ugh. This is why I don't date Taiwanese guys.

Taiwanese girls: the new blonds?

Taiwanese girls are stupid.

I went to Carrefour (similar to Wal mart) to buy a cheapie DVD player. I asked the lady which of the DVD players can play pirated DVD's. She said that none of them can play them. The DVD players on hand can only play Taiwan made DVD's.

I'm not an electronic or anything, but I can smell horse shit a mile away. So I asked a guy and he goes "as long as the region is NTSC (or whatever), it'll be okay.

Strike 1 ladies.

I'm in the last stretch of the apt renovation and its down to the toilet. Ol Bertha is 30 years old and leaks water when flushed. It's time to retire ol Bertha. So I go to B&Q (similar to Home Depot) and there are 2 different toilet sizes -- 30cm and 40cm. Like hell I know the difference. (Jeff says since I'm American, I should get the 40cm. Are you trying to say that my ass is 10cm bigger than a local ass? =P)

I asked the wonderful people at B&Q how to measure the size and they didn't know. Seriously!?? Isn't this basic info? Their advice was to call up the local plumber and have them physically come over and measure it for me.

This morning, I called a couple of plumbers and asked them if they could come over and measure or tell me how. 1st guys response was "measure from the wall to the first bolt". Ok, that makes sense. 2nd response was "we have to remove the entire toilet to know the size". Yeah, that comment came from a lady. I checked on the net on how to measure (just to be safe) and the guy was el righto.

Strike 2.

This home deco company posted an ad on tealit and since they have a toilet promotion going on, I called to find out more details. Since the ad said they spoke English, I thought "yes!". A girl answered and I asked if she could speak English b/c its easier for me to communicate what I'm lookin for. She said "sure, I can understand. no problem." After a min of me explaining their toilet promotion and wanting to know further details, she goes "um... don't understand. hold on" and gets a guy with decent enough English on the phone.

Strike 3.

Moral of the story? Taiwanese girls are idiots.

Checklist

This is my favorite part of moving into a new place.

FURNITURE SHOPPING!!!!!
[I gotta say, shopping does put me in a better mood]

Couch ....... check
Bed frame ....... check
TV stand ....... check
Dining table + 4 chairs ....... check
Wardrobe ....... check
4-cube drawer (2) ....... check
Carpet (3) ....... check
Window blinds (2) ...... check
Fridge ........ check
42in plasma tv ....... check (!!!!!)
Air con
Mattress ....... check
Storage racks ....... check
Dvd player ......... check
Floor lamp (2)
Coffee table ........ check
Shoe rack
Kitchen crap
Bathroom crap ........ check
Microwave ...... to be donated by Julia

What else can I afford......

Frenemies

Work has become a MTV reality series. Seriously~ Time to form alliances, speak nothing but lies and sleep with as many co-workers as possible. Oh wait, that would be for US audiences.

Since I'm in Taiwan, it's more like: back stabbing, long lost siblings and an unexpected terminal illness that will make people forget/forgive their petty differences and the world will become drama free once again.

Da da dummmmm!

Village Idiot

If we were living in the 1950's, I'd be the village idiot. Turns out, I didn't need to strip paint, much less buy the paint removal paste. All I had to do was paint over the existing paint with 2-3 coats. I should've realized this earlier, but I thought to myself "the base is a grey and I want to use a lighter color, I probably have to remove the grey first..." That makes sense right? Plus, instead of going 25-30 mins to Taipei county (B&Q), there's a freakin paint shop like 2 mins away. FRICK!

[and the village idiot award goes to ......]

So the past 2 weeks of pain, agony and almost crippling my mah jong hands, were for nothing. Rome was definitely not built in a day and now I know why. But it's all good. I finished the living room, dining room, cleaned and started on the tv room. I should be all done with the painting tomorrow..still have the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom left.

Gunbate!!!

Home Improvements

hands.hurt.from.stripping.paint.

And get this, I'ma going back to Chestnut. @@

The plus side to all of this besides having a place of my own? Toned shoulders and arms. Whoo-hoo!

So much for Chestnut....

Before




After



I'm not really feelin the "Chestnut" color. On the color pallet, it looks like a milk tea color, but when painted, its kinda peachy. Yuck~ I think I'm gonna opt for something darker... like mud. Better color contrast with the yucky yellow partion walls.

Xtreme Home Make-Over

I've become Martha Stewart/Ty Pennington/Tim Allen rolled into one. Why Tim Allen? Cuz I'm doing everything myself and I know I'm gonna screw up somewhere/somehow. Lol~ Where's Al Boren when I need him?

After months of searching for an apt, my god dad tells me that he has an empty 2 bedroom place not too far from my grandmas. The only catch is that its hella old --- and its on the 5th floor without an elevator.

I've been 'renovating' the place to the best of my abilities and fundings. Stripping paint is not fun. Painting is fun. Glancing at the ghetto ass kitchen and bathroom makes me a lil nauseated. But replacing the toilet and stove will make me get that happy place.

I have an electrican coming on Wednesday to install track lights for the bedroom and living room. Can't wait! I'll post before/after pics soon.

Filipino! Filipino!

Pics are up!

The rest of the pics will be posted on my msn space.

Sand Everywhere

It's my last day on the island. I've come to respect the lifestyle the locals have. Most, if not all, are simple farmers/fishermans. All smile and wave whenever I walk past them on the street. They say that I am beautiful, but the fact is, nothing is more beautiful than the geniune warmth these folks possess. It's quite infectious, but I know once I get back to Taiwan, no one will smile back or wave hello to me... I know I'll miss the people here.

The solitarity of the past 4 days has given me a sense of peace that I haven't felt in a long time. Problems ceased to exist and because it was so quiet and calming, it took a while to get used to. Hot water, tv, internet and a working toilet are pure luxury items that for the most part, I went without during my stay here.

I can sit on the beach and stare into the ocean for hours -- almost like living in my own world. But the laughter from the kids playing the water will bring me back to reality and I'll look around and smile to myself how lucky I am to be on this oasis.

I leave tomorrow morning back to Cebu, where I'll stay for 2 nites before heading back to Taipei.

Will post pictures once I'm back!

Stuck in paradise

eImagine an island off the northern coast of Cebu called Bantayan Island. Yes, I'm on this little paradise -- its goregous, the locals are really nice and there's absolutely NOTHING to do! I sure know how to pick em... lol!~

It's a great place for peace and quiet and that's pretty much it! No moon light parties or bars that open late, this is the real deal if you want nothing but peace. It's my 2nd day here and I'm already going nuts! This only reaffirms taht I am a city girl at heart. Oh how I miss the skyscrapers, subways and Starbucks.

Side note: it is pretty endearing to see little flippino boys sing "love makes me suicidal" on the beach.

Dirty Mistress?

Ok... Impulse purchases are bad~

I've decided to sell my iPod Classic. Didn't even last a week with me... sigh~

I had the most interesting cab ride to work this morning. Interesting is a nice way to put -- I was sexually harassed. Lol~ I'm laughing cuz it was funny/annoying/why me sorta thing. So I was running late for work and missed the bus so I hailed a cab. The driver asked if I had a bf. I said that work was my bf. (deja vu anyone?) He said that I should find a nice boy and date, blah blah blah. Then he goes and says "Wanna be my mistress?" o.O"

You can imagine the rest of the cab ride...

Driver: Come on, be my mistress. But you can't tell my wife. (a second later) I'm kidding by the way...

Me: yeah, whatever.

Driver: Going anywhere for CNY?

Me: Philippines.

Driver: Really? Can I come too? You need a man when you go on trips like this. But my passport is expired. Call me next time and I'll go with you.

Me: Ok, I'll make sure to tell your wife.

Driver: *chuckle chuckle* You can't tell my wife. This is between you and me. Btw, I'm kidding. Just joking with you.

Me: Sure.

Driver: You must be rich, going to the Philippines. How much do you make a month?

Me: nope, not rich. Its just cheaper to go the Philippines.

Driver: You are something. You should find a nice boy. How old are you? 20 something?

At this point, I'm more annoyed than entertained....

Driver: You should get a bf, seriously. A nice girl like you should be with someone. I'm available if you want. I'm 180cm. That's tall enough for you right? How tall are you? 150something? Girls like to wear heals so my height is perfect... especially if we wanted to kiss.

Me: *rolling my eyes and trying hard not to gag* Um, yeah, 180cm is good. My ex was around 180cm.

Driver: Oh really? Your ex was that tall? Then you'll consider me right? I'll treat you nice. But can't let my wife know. Wow, Philippines, must be nice. Do you know how to swim?

Me: nope.

Driver: Really? That's a shame, cause I can take you out some time and go swimming. I can even teach you. But remember, its between you and me cuz if my wife finds out, she'll kill me.

Me: right.

Driver: When are you going to the philippines?

Me: tomorrow.

Driver: Wow! Too bad I can't go with you. Give me a call when you leave.

Me: Ok, I'll make sure to tell your wife.

Driver: Ha-ha......


After 30 mins of 'this', I was finally at work.

Seriously.... >.<

Cough~

I think I'm coming down with something. EVERYONE has been getting sick and I feel its like the plague. I'm drinking "British Spearmint Tea with Honey" at this hole in the wall coffee shop. Tea + a plate of bread is hella expensive! Oh well.... Free wireless is what brought me here.

I made an impulse purchase yesterday. I bought the iPod Classic (80G) and I'm thinkin about selling it. Lol~ Its a nifty lil thing, but I hate how everything has to go through iTunes. I thought it'd be nice to have on the trip -- watch a lil Lost or Sex on the beach.

10 things you didn't know about women part II

Esquire mag rocks!

SuChin Pak:

1. We always notice your shoes. Not because we're judging your size by theirs (although there is some merit to that) but because we're wary of anything adorned with buckles, tassels, or faux leather stripes.

2. When we say, "Just tell me the truth. I won't get mad," we're totally lying.

3. If you won't hold our hands in public, we won't blow you in private.

4. Yes, we would sleep with your best friend.

5. And yes, we too are afraid you're going to lose your hair.

6. Cologne is for frat boys. Showers are for men.

7. If you're dating a woman over thirty, she will have envisioned your wedding halfway through the first date -- even if it's going horribly.

8. Don't be a pussy: A text message, e-mail, or instant message does not replace a phone call.

9. Nothing is less sexy than a man who counts his carbs. Skip the gym and work it out in bed.

10. If I have to ask for it, go fuck yourself.

-------

Sandra Oh:

1. If you want to date an Asian sister, do not do the following: (a) Tell me about your trip to Asia and how you taught English there. (b)Tell me how much you just looove Chinese food. (c) Practice your Japanese on me. I'm Korean.

2. When we're fighting about the toothpaste cap, we're not really fighting about the toothpaste cap. We're fighting about that thing that happened three or four months ago at what's-his-face's house when you neglected that major issue we have — which, by the way, is fundamental.

3. When we have been pleasured and you haven't yet (and it's your turn), no matter what we say, make it quick.

4. We have an infinite vocabulary for colors. Fuchsia is not pink, nor is it red. Khaki is not green, nor is it brown. There is more than blue and green on the color wheel.

5. If it's over, just tell us. If you're sitting around afraid of hurting us, it only makes the relationship so unbearable that we have to break up with you. We're actually stronger than you think, so even though we may cry more than you do, we're way more resilient.

6. When you ask us if we're angry and we say we're fine, we're lying.

7. This one I can't tell you.

8. It doesn't matter how big the bauble, how fabu the restaurant — the time you spent on that pencil drawing of our eye or that haiku written on the vintage hotel stationery you found in Omaha is what truly steals our hearts.

9. You know that coworker of yours with the huge boobs whom you've fantasized us having a threesome with? Ask her.

10. So, you want to know the surefire way to get laid? Start by cleaning the house.

Take my breath away....

"Borrowing" a quote from one of Deb's blog entries.

[Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away...]

Makes me wanna break out in song by singing "Take my breath away~~~~" and also acting out the famous line "No, you can be my wingman..." lol~

But seriously, the article is worth the read itself. http://soyouwanna.blogspot.com/2007/12/life-101.html

Lookin for a place to squat

I've been on the hunt for an apt. Its a slow and painful process. I could show you pics of places that I've seen, but it would only depress you. I saw this awesome apt last nite. It was a loft and had an AMAZING view of the city. The price was a bit too steep for me and the landlord lady wouldn't budge on the price. Sigh~ Such a shame.

2 more weeks till Chinese New Year! We only have 6 days off this year which I thought was horseshit cuz we had 9 the previous years. But after googling Bantayan Island, I turned my frown upside down. Can't wait to frolic my pastey white ass on the soft white sandy beaches. [insert happy sigh]

Track Team

How silly of me to not mention the funniest thing that happened over le weekend.

So after brunch, Queenie wanted to do a lil shopping but had to stop by her office real quick. I, too, had to stop by my office to pick up my ride and since my office was closer (well, not really) we decided to hop on a bus.

Bus 214 goes straight to my office and as we were crossing the street, I saw bus 214 rounding the corner and franticly looked for the damn bus stop. I saw it -- 15 yards away and the bus was creeping up fast! So what did we do? We ran like like Forrest! I think the bus driver saw us running from a far cuz when I got on, he looked at me and goes "You're on the track team huh?" o.O"

Funny shit.

Side note: I went back to the apt thats in my fav nite market... Had to see again in daylight. I think I'ma take it! I was calculating the costs and for that location + water + gas + cable + internet + trash, its a pretty sweet deal. Home, sweet home?

Mocha + Apple Pie

Computer fixed! I can type all the 'd's my lil heart desires! ho ho ho　

Now that my 'd's fixed, I can't seem to type in Chinese. Fuck a duck. I think its time to retire ol Mac and opt for something else. I've been eyeing the ASUS EEPC, but I also want something that has a bigger hard drive/memory. Maybe a Dell?

My company had its year end party last Friday. It was held at the Westin Hotel and boy was it ghetto fabulous! LOL~ Apparently we hired dancers that looked and dressed like strippers and it was just ghetto. Food was pleasant enough and the red wine just kept on coming. I know you're not suppose to down wine, but everyone kept saying "cheers" and when people say "cheers", you down that sucker.

The dinner ended around 10:30pm and our lovely marketing director (who I assumed was intoxicated) moved the after party to his much loved Barcode. I mean, there's nothing to complain about cuz we dont' have to pay for shit. The place was packed as usual and we had champagne and Grey Goose and it was just bad bad bad. I don't know why the locals love to down everything, its not like we were taking shots.

Anyhoo, after one too many glasses of champagne and second hand smoke, I snuck off with a couple of the girls and we went to NY Bagel to unwind.

Saturday was a bit of a blur. Had brunch at Grandma Nitti's with some LB folks and spent the afternoon running errands. It's Sunday now and I think I'm still recovering from Friday nite.

Oh, apt update. I saw this really cool studio near my favorite nite market and I'm thinkin about taking it. It's not too big -- I'd say 300sq ft and it has a mini kitchen! Rent is decent cuz it includes all the utilities +trash + cable + internet. The catch is that its on the 6th floor without an elevator.

tick tock.....

Izzle Tastic

Sometimes it surprises me at how small the city is. I think there's roughly 3 million folks cramped up in the greater Taipei area and people are just everywhere! They're like cockroaches -- in every street corner, alley, MRT...

I had lunch, more like afternoon tea, at my favorite sushi place yesterday. I noticed a white couple sitting across from me. This might not seem out of the norm in the states, but in a place where everyone looks alike, white people stand out. Fast forward 5 hours later, I see the same couple at a second round movie theater. Ain't that something? 3 million people in the city and I see the same folks twice in the same day at two different locations. Maybe they're stalking me? Nah, its not like I'm rich and famous....

Things to do today:

1. Get my damn laptop fixed. My "d" doesn't work so I've been copying/pasting it for the past 2 months. Plus, I think poor Mac has a virus. No, I did not visit any porn sites.

2. Apt hunt.

3. Hit the gym.

4. Get a new wallet.

So many things to do, so little time. Its already 1:18pm and so far, I've done absolutely nothing.

Wow, I actually saw a cute guy walk by. Who would've thunk.... In the past 30 seconds, I just saw a pirate wannabe, balding guy that was majorly nippin, interestingly mixed/matched colors, folks wearing hella layers, folks wearing t-shirts and shorts... ah, the joys of having a window seat at the local Starbucks.

Saturday Afternoon

After weeks of no avail, I finally got a seat at MY Starbucks. This isn't my favorite Starbucks in the city, but its the one with the best seats for people watching. This place is so packed that being the nice person that I am, allowed 3 different peeps to sit at MY table while they waited for other tables to open up. I should start chargin per seat.

I'm lookin at ticket prices to Singapore next month and it is HELLA expensive! I think I may have to change my travel plans and head to the Philippines instead. LOL! Either place is fine with me. I just need the sun and a beach.

I've been apt hunting lately and it is freakin hard to find a decent place. The apts here are really different than the one's in the states. There's no kitchen for one thing and most places, its just a bedroom + bathroom. The room itself is small and not that I need hella room, but I'd like my own kitchen or something roomier than a 12x12 room. I saw this really cool rooftop pad last week. I'd say its roughly aroun 550sq ft, which is HUGE, but no kitchen. OIY!

Happy 2008!

Facebook has Oregon Trail. I died from exhaustion right before finishing. That's just horseshit.

Anyhoo, its time for new year resolutions!!

1. Exercise more. New gym. New workout routine. Bring it on!

2. HK, Malaysia, Japan, Seattle, SF and Bali. Watch out world, I'ma coming!

3. Surround myself with positive folks cuz life is short and who needs negativity bullshit.

4. Tone down on the road rage. There will always be stupid drivers and one of these days I know I'm gonna get a whoopin by callin some mafia dude a fucker for cutting me off.

5. Try not to have any kind of rage.... Its kinda hard to keep calm when you're walking down a street and the people in front of you are walking in Matrix-like slo-mo. And when you move left/right to pass them, they too, move left/right. It's like they can read minds! I wonder if they can read my mind now. Fuckers~

6. Try not to make fun of the locals as much. I think this was one of my resolutions from the past. So why am I posting it again? I was at the nite market couple nites ago and this prissy girl stopped mid-track and started hyperventilating/hissy fit cuz she thought she a saw a cockroach. Lady, come on now! Its the freakin street! I felt bad for the bf.

7. I've always wanted to take a cooking class and now that I have the income/time, tis the year to make it happen!

8. Try not to succumb to these little death sticks. I gotta admit, its a bit hard not to lite one up when I'm surrounded by them 24/7. Ugh.

9. Read ... at least A BOOK this year. I'm starting Amy Tan's "Saving Fish From Drowning". Was never really into the whole "Joy Luck Club", but I'll give Amy another chance. I also bought Nicholas Sparks' "Dear John". His books are my ultimate guilty pleasure. Lrrrrr~

10. I'm gonna leave this as a open-ended resolution.


Happy 2008 everyone!

Sob Story

My scooter got towed yesterday... apparently I had parked it in a tow-riffic place. [shit happens] But that's not my sob story. Enroute to the compound, the cab driver (a lady) and I made small talk. She asked if I was working on a Saturday and for kicks, I said yes. She also assumed that I had a bf, but for more giggles, I said work was my bf and that in this big bad world, you can only depend on yourself. She looked at me in the rearview mirror and said "you're from America huh?"

I politely smiled and nodded and this is where she started her sob story. She has a son that's 30 years old. He met a girl when he as 23 and fell head over heels for her. They married soon after and tried for many years to have a kid -- which they eventually did. But soon after, the wife filed for divorce and left. Everything, from the house to the car to whatever valuable was in her name. She took it all and left the kid (now a year old) with the husband. When she left, she didn't look back or say anything to her baby... she just kept walking.

I know there are 2 sides to every story. And that whatever happened between the wife and husband is soley between them. As listeners, we can never really understand the emotions/history, even if we tried. I'm sure the wife had her hardships and moments of weaknesses. But to just leave your kid and not look back -- that to me is a sob story.

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Its almost 2008! Which can only mean 1 thing: Fireworks at 101 and New Year Resolutions!!! (ok, so that's really 2 things)

Once upon a time

As a kid growing up, I wanted to be a lot of things. Doctor, lawyer, FBI agent, chef, movie producer, writer, professional house sitter... but what had eventually happened was advertising.

I'm not in advertising anymore and man, do I miss it!

I don't know what it is about advertising that's so appealing, so alluring, so addicting... guess you gotta be in it to know. The funny thing is, its not all fun and games. Account management folks are at the bottom of the ad barrel. We get bossed around, lectured, our opinions are asked for by accident, we pay for the cabs (we get reimbursed later), we go to press checks at 1 AM, we wait for the creative team, we wait for the client, we wait for vendors, we wait into the wee hours of the nite....

So why do I love it so much? Cuz it feels so damn good at the end of the day when you see a kick ass ad. Nuff said.

Change

A friend once told me "people dont change, its the way we view them that changes..." It's debatable... people changing vs our views of them, but bottom line, something changes. When this happens, are we allowed to judge? For better or worse, there should be at least some level of loyalty committed to the friendship that garners 2nd, even 3rd chances. But given too many chances and still the same ol shtick, would it be overly harsh if we cut our losses short by cutting them out of our lives?

Onto something less dark & twisty...

I've been making excellent on my scooter to work lately. I think my record thus far is 3 songs. It usually takes around 20 - 25 mins, depending on traffic lights and stupid drivers. But its not all happy trails, apparently a cop snapped a photo of me in the 'bus only' lane. Come on! I had to switch lanes to beat the bus. Anyhoo, that's 35 bucks I'll never see again. I gotta watch out for the po-po's. They be hella sneaky, hiding out in the skybridge. I wonder if there's more.... fuck shit mother fucker fuck shit >.<

Blah

Brain is mush. Thought I could be productive on a Sunday afternoon, but no... Worthy effort though.

I had an innovation workshop majigga at the Royal Chiao Hsi Hotel/Spa/Resort in Ilan last Thursday/Friday. I gotta say -- it was such a waste to book a workshop at the Royal Chiao Hsi because we were stuck in the damn workshop from 9am-6pm (both days) and didn't really have time to enjoy the facilities.

I LOVED my room (we each got our own rooms) and the bathroom had a HUGE tub and it was just fabulous. I wanted to steal everything! I think I was most impressed with the wireless... simple pleasures, I guess. If only we stayed another nite.

Thank you Royal Chiao Hsi Hotel/Spa/Resort!

The notion of striving for something 'better' has been embedded into our dna at an early age. Better grades, better college, better major, better job, better boyfriend, better apartment, better car, better.... Is 'better' really what's best for us?

I had a conversation with Amanda last week about how we're slowly evolving. We're both doing things we ought/should instead of things we're passionate about and I'm starting to wonder if the things we should be doing equals to happiness. (Ultimate happiness is another topic in which Kei would be the ideal guy to talk to)

It's a push-pull scenario. Career that I'm passionate about, but low pay vs career that I'm okay with, but higher pay. Which is better? Which is best for me? Which will make me happier?

I guess the point of this entry is that when we're on the road to something 'better', why can't we seem to enjoy the things we have now? Our lives/lifestyles can't suck that much for us to fail to appreciate the now... right? Yet we're always striving for something more... will we ever just be content with now?

Scootering in the city is a treat in itself. I think I said the same thing about people watching at Starbucks. Well, its a whole different (but same) story on le scooter. The other morning, I saw this older gentleman that looked 50ish, but was probably 60ish, riding next to me. I was particularly intrigued b/c he had this red mesh bag filled with live birds. At first, I thought they were rats, but he got kinda close and instead of being freaked out by a bag of faux rats, I just shrugged it off -- like it was a normal, everyday sighting.

Then there's the lady with the Jordani's. Nuff said.

Guy with 2 adult golden retrievers.

Girls with short shorts / ass cracks.

A family of 4.

But I think the award goes to the older gentleman with the live birds.

Tower Bloxx

Addicted to the Tower Bloxx application on facebook.

Damn the creater of Tower Bloxx! (but also thank you too, cuz without you, I'd have to find another way of entertaining myself at work)

I miss...

Sometimes -- just sometimes, I feel out of place here. Don't get me wrong, Taiwanese people are great, but sometimes with the cultural differences, its just harder to relate.

I miss Alice and Amanda. I miss the sushi express afternoons followed by RT Mart excursions. I miss the late nite massage runs. I miss wine/movie nites. I miss Friends playing in the background pretty much 24/7. I miss laughing at stupid things and bringing it up again 5 mins later. I miss converting the dining room table into a computer lab. I miss spending x amount of hours at Ikea without purchasing a damn thing (unless you count the cafeteria coffee w/free refills). I miss that when I rant about things, they don't question it or me about it.

I miss ... them.

Taiwan was less of an inferno and was pretty much home when they were living here.

Current mood: blah~

Free ride

I was lookin for a parking spot earlier today and thought this lady was leaving... but as it turned out, she just parked and was taking her sweet time, grabbing her belongings and whatnots.

Well, dumbass lady left her keys in the compartment lock. I was gonna tell her, but found myself laughing instead. And in the spirit of things, took a pic to show all y'all.

I see this all the time here.



Seriously!? Is it that hard to remember your keys? Seriously....

Pulau Rawa

The time has come (yippeee!) to travel once again!

This is why I absolutely LOVE, LOVE Asia. My next destination is Pulau Rawa – an island off the coast of Mersing, Malaysia. Out of all the SE Asian countries/islands, Malaysia is my fav. I passed by the island last year enroute to Pulau Tioman and was absolutely mesmorized. If you close your eyes and picture a secluded island [key word being secluded] with white sandy beaches and clear water as far the eye can see, then you, my friend, are picturing Pulau Rawa.

I’m debating if it’ll be a solo trip or a groupie thang. Most likely, my route will be similar to Tioman’s. I’ll fly into Singapore, take a bus to the Malaysian border, switch to a taxi to get to Mersing and finally a speedboat to a lil piece of heaven. Seems like a lot work, but its really not. It’s just how you roll backpacker style in SE Asia.

I can’t wait!!!

Interesting

My building doesn't have a 4th or 13th floor button in the elevators. I wonder if that's to accommodate both Eastern and Western superstition....?

Hmmm....

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On a different note, now that I'm working and can once again afford food, I've been excerising my right to yummy goodies of all forms and been feeling 'extra healthy' lately (code for fat). Last nite, I decided to walk my ass to the video store instead of scootering. I purposely didn't bring my wallet cuz there's just TOO MANY food stands enroute. But I had NT$50 on me ($1.50).... just in case~

Well, I was REALLY good on my way there, but succumbed to all the bright neon lights and totally caved. A bottle of green tea, a bag of sweet pototoes and a bowl of red bean soup later, I was finally home.

Where's my self control? Aiya....

Please come again

No fancy soiree or dropping it like its hot. Just plain ol American black coffee with cream and sugar on the side at a nice lil cafe with Gangsta and Power Puff. That's just how we roll.

Good luck in the land of opportunities Jeff! I'm sure you'll be back soon. Your many wives, concubines, mistresses, lovers, girlfriends and random Japanese tourists will miss you dearly.






PS. Not too soon, cuz I gained like 10 pounds from all the food we ate. =P

Asia Rocks!

My bud, Jeff, is in town. He and I have this incredible passion for Asia. He's more eloquete with words, so check out his blog as well. [insert jeffrey link] With him in town, Asia rocks even more!

1. It was my friend's farewell party couple nites ago and I'm proud to say that it was made possible in hdtv by Tequila. We had around 20 folks, but only a handful drank (what's up with that?). Needless to say, Jeff and I (the only ABC's there), got drunk off our asses. Tequila is like a wonderous drink. Goes down like water and BAM~ hits ya when you least expect it. I don't remember being buzzed -- I think I skipped that step. I know I made a fool out of myself many a times throughout the nite, but I don't care cuz we totally rocked taht party. I 'heart' Tequila!

2. 'Gu Zen'. That was the phrase of the nite yesterday. Jeff and I decide to check out Mao Kong via mrt/gondola. We met 2 japanese tourist at the top and ended up at this hole in the moutain tea shop. Even though it was cold, windy, wet and the view was so-so, the conversation was kick ass and I couldn't have asked for better company. 2 ABC's and 2 Japanese chicks conversing in English, Chinese and Japanese! How freakin awesome is that?

Gu zen is Japanese that roughly means fate, destiny, chance and serendipity all rolled into a nice lil package. In Chinese, we say 緣分 [yuan fen]． Meeting those girls last nite was 緣分． Meeting Jeff a year ago in Taiwan and again now is also 緣分．緣分is an awesome thing.

3. I am now part of the elite mod squad. If you guys don't know what that means, please head to your local blockbuster and rent Thank You For Smoking. Yes, I will see most of y'all in hell.

4. Road rage is is a 6 letter word--sometimes 7. Or I can be fancy, like today when a Mercedes cut me off and I gladly belted out 'cock sucker!' But most of the time, I just stick to my 6, sometimes 7 letter word, 'fucker[s]'.

5. I hate scootering in the rain.

6. Perry and his friend came to visit a week and a half ago. I'm glad they came. I like it when people visit. Next on the list is Heather, then Jenn for the rest of November.

7. Apt hunting is a beeeeyotch.

8. Looking forward to pay day.