Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Break Time

I'm back from Hong Kong, and I still have the cold I took on vacation with me. Yay. Enjoyed my visit with Terry and Cheryl anyway, and it was great seeing Doris, Tommy, and Kieko, too. And I've finally (on 4/29) posted the photos here: http://www.pbase.com/500fan/hk2006

I'm going on a blogging break, don't know for how long. I don't seem to have any inspiration to write lately, so I think it's time stop for a bit. I'll make note of anything unusual, but that's about it. OK, so I did have something unusual occur. When I went to teach the little girl on Tuesday the 26th, her mom wasn't home, just the Filipina maid, Lydia. Because the boss wasn't around, Lydia spent some time talking with me. She asked me where I was from, and I said California. She said her parents lived in California, and I asked where. "Chico," she said. "What?! That's where I'm from!" I cried. Can you believe it? Her folks live on El Paso Way, and her sister is a nurse at Enloe Hospital. I may have to drop in on her folks when I go back for a visit.

Feel free to check in once every two weeks or so to see if my life gets any excitement.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Wedding Bells!

Last night's performance by ABS, All Blues and Soul, otherwise known as CHINA BLUE, was just fabulous. Not only were the guys even better than at their last two gigs, we were treated to something incredibly special. During the show, Dino stood up and said, "OK, it's the right time, I can't stand it anymore." He walked off the stage, grabbed his beautiful girlfriend, Carrie, by the hand, and brought her up on stage. After introducing her to the crowd, he fumbled around in his pocket, pulling out some coins and other things, before finally finding the ring he was looking for. He got down on one knee and asked her if she'd marry him.

What a great moment! Carrie was completely stunned, and she began to cry, and the rest of the guys were playing "Here Comes the Bride" while the crowd cheered. Of course, said "yes" to Dino's proposal, and we also got to see a lot of smooching from the two of them.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! We're all so happy that Dino has finally found his love.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Hong Kong, Here I Come

Sorry for the lack of recent writings. Same old excuse, too busy (and what do I have to write about anyway? Nothing.)

Last night I went to see another Taiwanese opera performance, very good, loosely based on The Phantom of the Opera but set in ancient China. Gorgeous costumes, lovely singing, good story. Best of all, the ticket was free :)

Tonight I'm going to The Wall to see the China Blue guys doing their ABS gig, looking forward to that. Sharrie is coming all the way from Pingtung to see the show, too. I hope there's a good turnout.

Tomorrow I leave for my week in Hong Kong, so it's doubtful I'll be writing from there. Maybe, I don't know. I think Cheryl and I will be having too much fun. However....I have this sneaky feeling that I'm trying to catch a cold, and I hope that's not the case. I will be totally pissed if my week in Hong Kong gets screwed up!

See ya'll after 4/22.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

My Hat's Off to You, Oh Fugly One

http://www.anacam.com/hats/hats2004/hats2004.html

Before you click the above link, please be sure to empty your mouth of all food and beverage, or else said beverage might end up on your computer screen.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Taiwan Rocks - and keeps rocking

Edit on 4/5/06 - scroll to the end of this post for more recent earthquake info.

Had a pretty good sized earthquake yesterday, down in the southern part of Taiwan, 6.4, with four aftershocks following within the next few hours. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/04/02/2003300496

I was out for dinner with some friends, including two from Hong Kong. I was just getting ready to take a bite of food when I felt incredibly dizzy, almost like I was going to pass out. I looked up, and across from me Joe from Hong Kong was also looking a little weird. I said, "Wow, was that an earthquake?" He said he felt it, too, that dizzy feeling. No one else at the table even noticed. Charlene said it's because we're not from here, so we're more sensitive. Taiwan folks have lived with earthquakes so long that they only notice if they're in a high building, or maybe lying on a bed when it starts to shake.

Thankfully, there doesn't appear to have been major damage, but lots of stuff in stores got smashed.

I truly hope we are not leading up to the Mother of All Earthquakes.....

4/5/06 - I just checked the latest earthquake stats, and it seems the whole island is rattling. There have been a total of 11 earthquakes since April 1 (as opposed to a total of 8 quakes in all of March), beginning with the 6.4 one in Taitung, and ending with a 5.7 one today. Most of them have been in the south and have been aftershocks from the 4/1 quake, measuring between 4.2 and 4.8 in magnitude, but two have been up closer to me. I didn't notice the one that occurred today at 3:30 a.m., because I was asleep, and it probably didn't shake Taipei County too much, since it was (thankfully) about 107 km out into the ocean.

Anyone interested in reviewing the earthquake data, please check the government link: http://www.cwb.gov.tw/V5e/index.htm and then click on the "Earthquake Report" link on the menu to the left.