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.

I 'heart' blogs

Every Saturday or Sunday, I mosey into a Starbucks and blog. It’s like a habit now, which I absolutely love. Besides writing tidbits of my everyday life, I look forward to what others have written about theirs.

Astri’s road trip entries should be published in a Lonely Planet book. Debby’s clips (Otters holding hands) and articles (1 laptop per child) are heartwarming and intriguing. And whenever I read Jenn’s blog, it totally brightens up my day.

What’s funny is that both Jenn and Debby posted an article about a woman on craigslist looking for guy. The article is hilarious, but that’s not the funny part. I received an email from a friend with the same article, but translated in Chinese! That woman has been translated in to Chinese. She’s famous now. A billion people in China – I’m sure some Chinese guy would want to bone her.

Anyway, the point of this entry is to thank you all for blogging. Being away from home, it’s nice to read what’s going on in your lives through your own words.

@_@

I have the attention span of a fruitcake.....

Nancy's Law #2: Here's looking at you kid

When you are on the MRT, you will have the uneasy feeling of being watched. You quickly scan the car and with your CSI skills, conclude that the creepy little man standing across from you is literally using his faux xray vision powers and harassing you with his creepy, vomit in your mouth, burning a hole in your head... you get the pic.

What to do?

Option 1: Staring contest! Bring it on creepy little man~
Option 2: Bitch him out... but since you are a lady, you won't make a scene.
Option 3: Turn around, but that gives him booty access -- even creepier.
Option 4: Walk over and with your best Joey impersonation ask him "How you doing?"
Option 5: Zone him out cuz if you switch cars, another creepy little man will stare at you.

Nancy's Law #1: Space invaders

On a bus/mrt/whatever, people will be up in yO space even though there is room if they moved their asses 2 steps over yonder.

Murphy's Law

Murphy's law states that: "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way."



No shit~

Muffin Top

In a city that doesn't sleep, I've been sleeping a lot in the past couple days and it feels so damn good! I think it has to do with the weather. The changing season bringing a dramatic drop in the temperature... If only the leaves were to change colors -- now that would be perfection.

Little Haley Joel Osment once said he saw "dead people". Me? I see skinny people. Not the kind of skinny where you hate yourself for having that extra scoop of ice cream or you look at yourself in the mirror and can't help but think "muffin top". But the kind of skinny where you just want to whisk that person to the nearest buffet and set up camp -- for a month.