Mira Flora

Getting addicted to Chilean red wine + jazz. Not too shabby...

Brr~~

Imagine skiing without gloves. Torturous right?

Now imagine scootering without gloves in effin cold weather. I don't need to imagine, I've been doing it and it [in a soft whisper] hurts....

---------

On a different note, I'm hooked to the mini heater that I placed under my desk. It's so nice and warm -- like a mini fireplace for my feet! The office is under going some renovations -- ok, MAJOR renovations and I can't wait to see the new office layouts. They're starting with the 12fl and slowly working their way up!

Now the bad news... HR will install a security camera by the front entrance and there will be a weekly report to see what time employees arrive to work. Lateness is a big no-no this year. The marketing department is notorious for lateness -- 4 out of 7 folks are always late (and I'm one of them!).

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.