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.