The USA, a nice place to visit, but wouldn't want to live there

Warning, it's a long one!

Day One - Saturday, May 10

I flew out of Taipei at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 10 and arrived at SFO on Saturday May 10 at 7:00 p.m. - I love that time difference, get there before you leave, ha! My flight was on EVA, economy, for the outrageous price of US$1321. I'd been moaning about the fact that I couldn't afford the very lovely business class and dreading the discomfort of economy, but I was pleasantly surprised! The plane was one of the new Airbuses, and it was extremely comfortable. I was in an aisle seat with no one in the middle seat, just a woman in the window seat. Even though she got up to pee frequently, it wasn't a problem, because the distance between rows was much greater than on the last economy flight I took, actually enough room for a person to squeeze past! The aisles were wider, too, so I didn't feel as if I were bumping into every single person on the way to the loo when I went. The seats were very comfortable, and I was able to sleep almost the whole way. Well, at least after the small child who was kicking and bumping into my chair when we first took off was finally seated next to her mother and asleep. I think her mother was a bit shocked when I turned around and asked her in Chinese to please not let her daughter keep kicking my chair. Especially since I don't think she understood Mandarin, ha. They were apparently from Hong Kong and only spoke Cantonese and English, because the flight attendant had to speak to them in English when serving the meals.

A quite troublesome family, actually, as the father spent the flight coughing up phlegm and polluting our air. My seat mate and I kept exchanging disgusted glances as he did this, and sure enough, I ended up sick during my stay in the US. More on that later. About an hour or two before we landed, the little girl was once again wide awake, and the mother allowed her to stomp up and down the aisle. Yes, stomp. She was wearing wooden shoes and delighted in making as much noise as she could when she walked. I was ready to throttle all three of them!

Got through Immigration fairly quickly and managed to find my rental car desk. My knee was still not very stable, so dragging that suitcase around was tiring. I'd reserved a nice economy car, a Chevy Aveo, as I knew gas prices were through the roof. Imagine my surprise when the clerk told me I'd be getting a PT Cruiser. They acted as if it was a bonus: "We've given you a free upgrade!" I don't want an upgrade, I want the economy car I reserved. "Oh gee, sorry, we're all out of them." Hello? Does not making a reservation ensure that you will receive the model you want? Isn't that the whole point? The time to say, "Sorry, we're fresh out." would be when the reservation is made, so the reserving party can choose to try a different company. Grrrr.

I picked up the car, brand spanking new from the looks of it, and proceeded on my way out of the parking garage to my hotel in Chinatown. Or so I thought. As I left through the security gate, I asked the guy manning the gate how to get to the freeway for San Francisco. In his broken English he said said to go out and turn left, which I did. This brought me to an upper level and a different rental car agency. They wouldn't let me out of their gate because they couldn't be sure that I wasn't stealing the car I was in. The man at that gate told me to turn around, then take the first left, which I did. Ended up at a dead end, went back to the man, and he repeated his directions, this time telling me to go right. I said, "But you said
left last time!" He started over, once again saying "left" then changing it to "right" when I asked him to confirm. I gave up, drove off to the right, ended up in an employee-only parking area, got further directions from one of the guys driving a rental back to its berth, headed back the way I'd come, and finally stopped at a booth and asked a WOMAN to tell me how to get the hell out of this place. Her directions actually worked, bringing me back to the first dolt who told me to turn left. He looked at me in surprise when I pulled up (I'd been driving around for a good 15 minutes), and when I told him his directions were wrong, he said, "Well, I meant after you first drive to the right and down, THEN go left!" Oh, thanks. Anyway, I finally managed to get onto the freeway.

Got to the hotel with no trouble, as I'd stayed there in the past and still remembered how to drive in San Francisco. By this time it was close to 10:00 p.m. and I was dying for a beer. I checked in and then headed out to find a nice 7-11 where I could pick up a cold one. Ha, I forgot that I was back in the US, with nary a 7-11 in sight. After walking around the streets of Chinatown and Little Italy for some time, I stumbled across a Walgreen's that was still open, but alas, no beer. I settled for a bottle of soda and a bottle of water, although the shock at the price (over US$3!) dang near killed me. That's at least twice as much as I'd pay in Taiwan. Went back to the hotel and went to bed.

At 2:00 a.m. the assholes in the room next to me came back in, and they were in the middle of a big-ass fight. They were yelling and screaming at each other, the girl crying, and I pounded on the wall. That earned me a "Shut the fuck up!" from them. I thought about calling the desk to complain, but then I thought, "Hm, this *is* America, and lots of people have guns." Decided to just get up and read for a bit, as I wasn't really that tired anyway. Read until the guy left, slamming the door behind him, and the girl called a friend and cried on the phone for a long time. When it got quiet I went back to sleep, only to be awakened at 4:00 a.m. when the girl decided to play music, loudly. Oh fuck it, I might as well just get up. Later in the morning I went to the desk and asked if those people would be checking out that day, because if they weren't, I wanted a new room. The clerk said they were and asked me why I hadn't complained. I mentioned the whole gun thing and he said, "Oh. Well, we have a security guard." Yeah, right. I'd already seen his fat old self and didn't see as he'd be much use.

Day Two - Sunday

Brandi and Lisa were due to arrive at the hotel at 11:00 a.m., and they were staying for one night in another room. Since I was up so early, I headed out to find something to eat for breakfast. It was about 6:00 a.m. or so, and the streets of Chinatown were mostly deserted, which felt so odd to me, as here in Taiwan the early morning hours are when the old ladies go do their shopping, and all the roadside food stalls are selling yummy breakfast stuff. There were a couple dim sum places open, so I just bought a couple pork buns and went back to the hotel to wait. The music was still playing next door, but it eventually went off, and I took a short nap. Eleven o'clock rolled around with no sign of my buddies, and around 11:30 Brandi called to say they were running late. I sat at the little table to read, and shortly before noon I began hearing a thumping sound coming from next door, then some heaving breathing and a girl panting. Oh swell, first I had to listen to them fighting, and now I had to listen to them having sex! I'm thinking, "Jeez, noon is checkout time, what the hell are they doing screwing at 11:50 a.m.?" Then I heard the maid knock on the door, and the guy yelled, "Just 5 more minutes, we'll be out soon!" and they went back at it. Brandi and Lisa showed up, and I made sure to comment extremely loudly on what assholes my neighbors were and how I'd had to listen
to their sexual escapades while waiting for B and L to show up.

It was great to see my two best friends after two years, and we had a lot to catch up on. I still wasn't walking very well, but we headed out to Little Italy to find some lunch and then spent the rest of the day just wandering around lazily and talking, enjoying each other's company. We bought a ton of snacks in Chinatown and sat in the hotel munching on those, even though none of us needed junk food! Dinner was once again in Little Italy, and the food prices were so high that I was choosing the cheapest thing on the menu. When we were splitting up the bill, I had my phone out to use the calculator, figuring each person's meal, plus tip, plus tax. So much easier in Taiwan, no tax and no tip! And it's way cheaper to boot. But it was nice to eat some real Italian food, even though it was pricey. After dinner we stopped into Z. Cioccolato - "The Sweetest Spot in North Beach" to do some fudge tasting, and I bought a tiny box with two flavors. Boy, it's sure hard to choose when there are 65 flavors! If you're so inclined, you can shop online - you won't be disappointed.

Day Three - Monday

The reason I'd stayed in San Francisco was that I need to go to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Organization (TECO) to have them put the stamp of approval on my high school transcripts and diploma, as well as on the bank statement that showed I had enough money to pay for my university education. I also needed to apply for a new visa, as leaving Taiwan negated the visa I was currently using.

We first had a nice breakfast at the Victoria Pastry Company, an Italian bakery which has been in business since 1914. Absolutely scrumptious, and if you go to San Francisco, you must give it a try. Here's their website. We each ordered something different and 
split it three ways so we could try it all. Yummy!

We checked out of the hotel, and they were nice enough to let us leave our cars parked there in their lot. We walked down to the TECO offices, arriving a little before noon. I didn't have to wait too long before a gentleman was able to help me. The first thing I gave him was the letter my bank had given me with its accompanying notary general acknowledgement. He said that it wouldn't work, because it wasn't all on the same page. I asked him what I should do, and he said to find a local notary and just have him or her stamp the back of the letter. OK, fine.....I left and went to find a notary. After inquiring at several banks, I finally located a Chinese notary and told him what the TECO guy had said. He laughed and said that no notary would ever stamp that document and that it was already fine the way it was, just needed to be stapled together. He did so, gave me his card, and told me to tell TECO that it was fine and legal. I headed back.

By this time the man was gone, and I ended up with a woman, hereinafter referred to as The Bitch From Hell, or TBFH for short. From the first word out of my mouth she was rude to me, incredibly impatient, not taking the time to look at any of the papers I gave her, and telling me that nothing I gave her was right. We stared out with the bank letter. Nope! Won't work, I don't care what the notary says, if it's not on the same piece of paper you're shit out of luck. Fine, forget that, let's move on to the high school stuff.

My high school transcripts are in my stepfather's last name, because that's how Mom registered me, but he never formally adopted me, I just used his name from age 7 until 18. My diploma was issued in my legal last name. I figured this might be a problem, so I'd come prepared with my birth certificate, which had my birth date, place of birth, my mother's name, and the same name as my diploma. My transcripts also had my birth date, place of birth, my mother's name, and a note that the last name was that of my stepfather. To any person with half a brain and the willingness to look at the documentation, this was proof that I was that person. But no, "The last name on your passport is different, we can't approve these documents." "Well, yes, but you see, way back when I was in high school, I wasn't married. The name on my passport is my married name. Surely you realize that American women change their last names upon marriage." "Won't work, it has to match!" "Well now, I just don't think that's possible, since I WASN'T FUCKING MARRIED WHEN I ATTENDED HIGH SCHOOL SO HOW THE HELL CAN I GIVE YOU DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE MY MARRIED NAME?" Of course, I was exceeding polite when I responded to her, and did not use any profanity. That was all in my head. She was shuffling through the copies I'd given her, kept telling me I hadn't given her this or that, then I'd say, yes, it's right there. "I don't see it." Well, fucking stop and look, you bitch. Then she told me I'd have to give her my marriage certificates or I could just forget it. OK, I know when I won't win a battle, forget the high school crap, let's move on to the visa application.

I'd brought every single piece of documentation I'd thought I'd need - school attendance records, evidence of continued enrollment, a letter from my teacher saying I had a scholarship to continue, six months of American bank statements to show I wasn't working and depositing money in that bank, just making withdrawals to deposit in my Taiwan bank, an airline ticket out of Taiwan to Hong Kong in June, and a detailed letter stating that I'd applied for university to begin in September. I gave her the whole packet, and she proceeded to give it a cursory glance, then started tossing papers back at me. "You already gave me this, you already gave me this." Then I'd say, "No, there's only one copy of each, they look the same but they aren't, they have different dates on them." FUCK! This woman just wasn't going to be helpful if her life depended on it. I finally shelled out US$131, handed over my passport, and left.

I'd kept my smile and my composure the whole time, but as soon as I set foot out the door, I lost it. "Bitch! Fucking bitch! ARGH!" Definitely time for a drink. Brandi and Lisa tried to comfort me, but I had a bad feeling. I'd come all this way and spent all that money, and I couldn't get anything accomplished. What the hell was I going to do?

Lisa headed home to Fairfield, and Brandi and I went to her place in Alameda. We stopped off at Trader Joe's, my favorite grocery store, for some fixings for guacamole and some beer, and I picked up some orange juice and some Airborne, as I was feeling pretty lousy and knew I was getting sick. We had a great evening at her house, watched a fabulous movie called Boondock Saints while eating the guac with chips and drinking beer. Right before bed I discovered that Dad had called and left a voicemail, saying that a woman from TECO had called (I'd given his number as my local number, forgetting that I had the temporary cell phone) and that I needed to go to TECO for an interview. I didn't know if that was good or bad, but figured that at least they hadn't rejected my visa out of hand, so maybe it would be OK.

Despite Brandi's couch being one of the most comfortable places I've ever slept, I could not sleep. I just kept trying to work out what I needed to do, the fear of not being able to stay in Taiwan overwhelming me. Man, I'd die if I had to move back to the US. I got up really early and got online, finding the Washoe County Clerk's website, where I ordered a copy of marriage certificate to Mark, then I tracked down the address of the Yuba County Clerk's office, as I could go there when I went up to Chico. My biggest fear was that there was no documentation anywhere that had my stepfather's last name, other than my high school transcripts.

Day Four - Tuesday

Brandi and I went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant and had margaritas with our meal, then did a little shopping at the second-hand shops in the area. I'd called the TECO office and left a message, and TBFH finally called me back. She told me I had to have an interview to explain why I wanted to go back to Taiwan, saying I'd already studied for two years and that was long enough. I told her that all the schools in Taiwan tell the students that the government allows three years to study Chinese. I made an appointment for Wednesday afternoon (oh swell, I have to drive back to SF instead of going to Dad's as planned). She called back later in the afternoon and
flat out said they wouldn't give me a visa, but if I wanted to give her US$27, she'd fax a letter to the government offices in Taiwan and ask them if it was really three years or two. Oh, right, I'm going to give you even more money! That $131 application fee is non-refundable, and I'll be damned if I'll pay $27 for a stupid fax as well. After I hung up, I decided I'd just go pick up my passport, return to Taiwan for a 30-day stay just using my passport, since I already had the ticket to Hong Kong in June. I knew that once I had the acceptance letter from the university I'd have no problem getting a new visa in Hong Kong. My big problem was getting the transcripts and diploma approved.

Brandi took me wine tasting in the afternoon, and it was really wasted on me, because they were reds, and I just don't like red wine. Well, unless it's mixed with 7-Up or Sprite and had ice cubes in it, ha.

Day Five - Wednesday

Brandi took off for work, and I headed back to San Francisco, parking my car at the hotel parking garage because the fees were comparatively reasonable and it was only a short walk to TECO. When I got there, TBFH was not in sight, and another woman helped me. She was so nice, she already knew about my situation, and she apologized about having to follow the rules. I told her not to worry, I just wanted to pick up my passport and forget about the visa, since having a visa would do no good if I couldn't get the other stuff authorized. I asked her what I could do to get the high school stuff stamped, and she said if my high school would just type "aka (married name)" on them, that would be good enough. She said I'd have to wait for TBFH to get back from lunch, so I hung around waiting. When I saw her in the back, I told Theresa (the nice lady), and she went to get TBFH. As soon as she came out to the front, she started bitching at me, telling me I wasn't going to get a visa, blah blah blah. Theresa told her, no, she's just picking up her passport, she's not asking for the visa. TBFH continued her harangue, and Theresa, with a little more feeling, once again said, "NO, she's NOT asking for a visa, she's JUST PICKING UP HER PASSPORT." Even she was frustrated with her co-worker's bad attitude. I waited again, over a half an hour, mentally tallying the cost for parking my car, and finally yet another woman, a younger one, came out with my passport. She was also very nice and very apologetic. Damn, they should fire that other one, and I'm going to do my best here in Taiwan to complain about her attitude. I know her name!

Back at the parking garage, I forked over $14 for parking fees and headed off to Dad's. Traffic was light, and I got there quickly. It had been quite cool in SF, but the weather started to warm up on Tuesday, and by Wednesday it was pretty darned hot. I'd checked the weather report for the upcoming days in Chico, and it was going to be over 100F (38C) most of the time, yuck. At least Auburn was a little cooler.

Days Five through Eight - Thursday through Sunday

I don't want to detail every little thing I did while at Dad's and while in Chico. Let's just say that I had an enjoyable visit with Dad and Berti, with them insisting on paying for every meal we had. Dad also gave me $700 to pay for the car rental and gas, and Berti gave me $150 for shopping money. I felt so bad that I hadn't been able to do any shopping to bring them presents from Taiwan, but they insisted they didn't need anything. We went to the movies (What Happens in Vegas - bleah), attended one of Dad's retirement luncheons (salad bar!!!!), ate lots of good stuff, and watched TV.

I left for Chico on Saturday and got to Bob & Weiwei's place mid afternoon, where Weiwei had prepared a lovely salad for lunch. They apologetically told me that they had no air conditioning, as they were doing some remodeling and it had been cold up until the day before, so they hadn't worried about getting the air going. No problem, I took off to do some shopping while Weiwei did homework, and I picked up a fan that I could use at night. It wasn't too bad at all. We had dinner at Casa Ramos, and Weiwei and I watched a bunch of "I Love Lucy" episodes. Sunday she and I went out for breakfast and Bob went hang gliding, then we shopped all afternoon. More "I Love Lucy" that evening, really fun.

I'd thought I'd drive to Marysville on Monday to go to my high school, but then decided I'd just go by on Thursday when I headed back to Dad's. I sent an e-mail to the woman there who had helped send me my transcripts, detailing my troubles and asking for a letter from them and amended transcripts.

Days Nine through Eleven - Monday through Wednesday

On Monday I stopped by the City offices to visit with my ex co-workers, then went to my bank to ask them if they could give me a new statement with the notary on the same page. The gal there said no way, the way they did it was the way they always do it and that it was fine that way. She doesn't realize how pig-headed those people at TECO are.

Then I hooked up with Wendy and spent the night at her place that evening. Tuesday I visited with Mark for awhile during his lunch hour. He took me to our old house and showed me all the remodeling that he and Nancy had done, just gorgeous, and gave me a tour of their motor home. Then Wendy and I just shopped around, and I bought myself a nice Sony Viao laptop on sale at Circuit City, only $419! Of course I had to buy some software, Office 2007 and Kaspersky, and a wireless mouse, total came to $719, still way, way cheaper than I could get it in Taiwan.

All this time I was sick, either with a cold or allergies. I was taking antihistamine and blowing my nose all the time and coughing, and my eyes were itchy. My throat hurt and I just felt icky. The wind was blowing at about 50mph (80kph) at times on Tuesday and Wednesday in Chico, kicking up all sorts of pollen and dust. Not fun for me.

I had lunch with Rose on Wednesday at Burger Hut. Man, it had been a long time since I had a good burger! Stopped by the City offices again to see some people who hadn't been there on Monday, and that evening had a nice dinner at Turandot with May, Krista, Trish, Cindy, and Cris. Cindy gave me the new volume two of My Hometown Chico book to go with volume one that they'd all given me when I left. After dinner I went back to Bob & Weiwei's, and I think I kept them awake with my coughing. Kept myself awake, too, so was pretty tired.

Day Twelve - Thursday

I got an e-mail from my friend who works at Tamkang University, telling me I'd been accepted by the Chinese department. I was ecstatic, and I asked Weiwei to print that for me so I'd have it when I returned to TECO on Friday. I stopped by her office and visited with her for a little bit, then for Dad's. Dad had also called to tell me that the marriage certificate from Reno had arrived, yes!

I stopped in Marysville on the way, first at the high school where I was told I needed to come back at 1:00 to see the head counselor, so I went to pick up my copy of my first marriage certificate at the Clerk's office. Got that, headed back to the school, met with the counselor, who of course said the school couldn't alter official documents by putting my married name on them, but they typed my legal maiden name on the transcripts to match my diploma and birth certificates, and they gave me a letter which clearly said I'd attended school under both names and that the diploma was in the legal name.

When I got to Auburn I decided to make one more stab at the bank letter, so I stopped by the branch there. When I told the gal what I needed, she said, "No problem!" and proceeded to give me a new statement with the notary all on the same page. Huh, and why couldn't the Chico branch do that? Dunno. But, I had it, and I was happy. Now I had everything I needed!

Another nice meal with Dad and Berti at a very nice restaurant, with them once again treating me. Tried a new beer called Duvel Golden Ale, a Belgian ale that is bubbly like champagne. It was fabulous, and I've discovered I can buy it here in Taiwan, so I'll be making a run to Jason's soon for some of that.

Day Thirteen - Friday

Now, my original plan had been to go to Fairfield and spend my last evening with Lisa and Steve there. However, now I needed to go to San Francisco, which is about an hour farther south than Fairfield. Did I really want to drive back to Fairfield on Friday afternoon, the start of the Memorial Day long weekend? Uh uh. So, Lisa called Brandi and asked if the two of us could stay with her in Alameda, and she said sure. Great, I'd get to see both of them one last time before I came home!

I got to TECO around noon, and was happy to see Theresa at the window. She told me TBFH was off that day. Oh gee, too bad I missed her. I gave Theresa everything, the marriage certificates, the birth certificate, the high school stuff, and explained each and every page. She said she wanted to confirm with her boss that all was in order, and of course that meant I had to wait for an hour for her boss to get back from lunch. More parking fees! No problem, I went for a cup of coffee then came back to the TECO office to play with my new laptop while I waited. Eventually Theresa called me over and said that everything was fine and that they'd be able to approve it all, just not on that day. I'd come prepared with a postage-paid Priority Mail envelope so they could mail it all to Dad, and I'd left him money and instructions to send it on to me Global Priority. Man, what a fiasco getting this done! I swear, if this stuff gets lost in the mail, I'm either going to go on a killing spree or just kill myself.

Hung around Chinatown waiting for Brandi to get off work, got back to her place just as Lisa was getting there, and the three of us went our for Mexican food and margaritas. Then we bought a bottle of tequila on the way home and had more margaritas while we watched a hysterically funny movie called "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra", a parody of the old black and white B movies of the 1950s. I highly recommend this one, and Brandi kindly gave me her copy to bring back with me.

Day Fourteen - Saturday

My flight was leaving Sunday at 1:40 a.m., and I needed to get the car back to the rental agency by 8:00 p.m., or I'd be charged for an extra day. Brandi, Lisa, and I went out for breakfast, then we went shopping in Emeryville. I was afraid my suitcases were already over the weight limit, so I couldn't buy anything else, boo hoo. Then we went to Hangar One for some vodka tasting. I didn't like most of them, but they had a marvelous pear liqueur that I loved, and Brandi bought a bottle for me to take home.

We parted at 6:30 p.m., I drove to the airport and dropped the car off (got a tiny discount for early return, too), then spent many boring hours waiting for the EVA check-in window to open at 10:00 p.m. I'd done the online check-in, so I figured it would be quick and easy. At 10:00 I headed over to the check-in counter, and there was an enormous line already. I didn't see the online check-in window, so I asked where it was. "Oh, we don't have one here." Peachy. If I'd known that, I would have gotten in line sooner! Took me over 45 minutes to get checked in.

When I went through security, they pulled my carry-on and said they needed to inspect it. Apparently the fudge from San Francisco looked suspiciously like a bottle in the X-ray, or maybe they thought it was plastic explosive. I had the carry-on packed with chocolate stuff, because I was afraid it would melt in the suitcase, and that earned a strange look from the inspector. Once they were satisfied that it was edible stuff, they sent me on my way.

Day Fifteen - Sunday in the US, Monday in Taiwan

I had an aisle seat against the bulkhead this time, no way for a brat to kick the back, and loads of leg room plus space to stand next to my seat - and right by the bathroom. Sadly, the young man on my left spent the entire 13 hours of flight time snorting snot up his nose instead of blowing it, so I had to keep my earplugs in the whole time to avoid listening to that disgusting sound. He also coughed a lot, and I expect the funny feeling I have in my throat right now means that I caught some germ from him. Sheesh.

I landed at 6:00 a.m. on Monday, breezed right through Immigration (right, I don't have a visa this time, I'm just using my passport, here's my ticket to Hong Kong next month, thank you very much, goodbye.), and got the limo service back home. Yeah, it's pricey, but I still had leftover money from Dad, and being driven home in a nice clean Mercedes beats wrestling two extremely heavy suitcases onto the bus (no, the driver does NOT help), then dragging them to the MRT station, then either getting them on the little bus or taking a taxi for the last leg of the journey. That method requires about two hours, while the limo service is under an hour. Sometimes that's just worth it.

Got home before 8:00 a.m., unpacked all my crap, bought some groceries, took a much-needed shower. The house seemed very empty without DZ, but I wasn't able to pick her up from Selena's until almost 10:00 p.m. Boy, was she happy to see me. She'd spent the entire two weeks hiding behind their couch and only coming out at night. I thought she might enjoy playing with two other cats, but she just wouldn't warm up to them. Selena said she came out once when Mimi was eating and took a swipe at her, then ran back to hide when Mimi hissed at her. Poor DZ, I guess she's just not well adjusted socially. When we got home, she kept meowing and running from room to room, as if to assure herself that she was home and all was well. She used to sleep at my feet at night, but lately she's been sleeping up by my head.

I've spent this week trying to catch up on the lessons I missed, had a test on Wednesday and actually managed to get 91% even though I'd missed the whole thing and just studied it on my own Tuesday evening, and I have to turn in a composition to make up for missing the mid-term test. So, I haven't had any time to write to anyone, just figured updating the blog would have to suffice.

Well, this has gone on for nine pages, and I'm sure it's not been easy for you to read. I guess I'll just stop here, saying that I'm very happy to be back where I belong, and I'm looking forward to my continued studies here in Taiwan. I should be getting my acceptance letter next week, but I probably have to wait until August to apply for a visa. I'll have to go to Hong Kong in June, July, and August, but that's OK, because I'll get to see my Hong Kong friends.

Ta all!

March Blew Away

OK, I've put off updating my blog for far too long! Let's see if I can actually remember what the month of March was like.

First big news is that I got not one, but two scholarships! The school gave me the monthly one (for 4 months only) that they give to students with high grades. That's NT$12,000 x 4 = NT$48,000 (approx. US$1576). I've already gotten the money for that one. The second one is offered by the government to American students only, and it's a refund of tuition after completing a semester and attending class like I'm supposed to. I'll get at least NT$16,000 (approx. US$525) for that, but I may get it twice (I hope!).

Second is that I'm tickled to have made NT$3228 (US$106) during my first month of business with the landlord. It's easy work, and so far in April I've already made almost half that, so by the end of the month I'm expecting at least NT$5000.

Carol visited from March 16 through March 25, and we had a lot of fun. First we met up in Hong Kong March 13 and attended two Wu Bai & China Blue concerts on the 14th and 15th (I don't need to write about the shows, they were the same as the ones in Taiwan, basically). That was a blast, despite some after-concert stuff that still has me a bit angry with certain people and still in need of some confrontation with one to air it all out. We spent a little time hanging out with Terry and Cheryl, who took us to Sai Kung for the afternoon, and then just shopped around a bit at the jade market and the handicrafts store. It's not easy finding vegetarian food in Hong Kong, so Carol was delighted to find such an abundance and variety here in Taiwan. She said it's a vegetarian's paradise! I took her to Jiu Fen and to Ying Ge, and she graciously paid my way up into the observation deck at Taipei 101 so I finally got to see the city from way up high. We went up just as it was getting dark, and it was fun watching the city lights slowly come on all over.

On February 29 we went to see ABS play, and at dinner before the show I was eating some simple penne pasta with pesto sauce, bit down on a miniscule hard something or other, and broke a piece off my already cracked molar. That was fun. I haven't been to the dentist yet, because the tooth doesn't hurt, and I'm chewing on the opposite side for now. But, I have to go, can't ignore it forever. At the show that night, Nat and Charlene gave me a birthday cake (oh yeah, I had a birthday on March 4, nothing much to say, got older and feel it), which was unexpected. Dino got one, too, but I don't think he appreciated it as much as he liked the bottle of alcohol someone else gave him. I didn't want to spend money on a cab home, so I asked Xiao Zhu if I could catch a ride home with him and his wife, since they live in Danshui, and he said sure, but I'd have to wait a long time. So, Charlene and I ended up going with the guys to some other tiny little bar so they could continue drinking (since Du Du was driving, she abstained, thank goodness), and once Xiao Zhu had his fill, we took off, me in the back seat with Da Mao, who also lives in Danshui. By the way, his little daughter is simply adorable! His phone was full of photos that he proudly showed us. I got home around 4:00 a.m. and only slept for about four hours. I'm too old for this!

On my actual birthday I went out for pizza with Shannon, to the all-you-can-eat place. We stuffed ourselves, and it was great. Other than that, it was a pretty average day.

March 22 was election day in Taiwan, and the KMT party won. Phooey. I hope it's not the death knell for democracy here, we'll have to see what happens. I don't trust the new prez, Ma Ying Jiu, one tiny bit. He takes office in May.

I'm on a semester break this week, and damned if the weather hasn't been sucky since day one! Why is it that every time I have a vacation, it's rainy and cold? I hate being stuck inside. And the weather report says that it will clear up on Sunday and be stinking hot. So far today doesn't look so bad, so maybe I'll get out for a walk. I took a walk on Wednesday and ended up buying a new computer desk, so maybe staying home isn't such a bad idea. :) Yesterday my landlord and his wife took me to Costco, where I loaded up on cat litter (3 30-pound containers) and cheese (5-pound block of cheddar, 2-pound block of pepper jack - it freezes well!). Couldn't resist a box of Act II microwave popcorn, but I managed to NOT buy all sorts of other tempting treats.

I'll be making a trip back to the US in May, as I have to take my transcripts and diploma to TECO in San Fran to get them stamped. Leaving Taiwan will probably mean that I once again will have no visa, but I can just do the monthly trip to HK until I get my acceptance letter from the university and then apply for a new one.

Well, heck, I can't think of anything else right now, and the tummy is saying it's time for food, so I'm outta here.

There's No Place Like Home

I'm back from my short trip to Japan, with a new visa in hand (multiple-entry, good through April 2008, extendable), and it's so nice to be back home in Taiwan. I like Japan, don't get me wrong, but this is truly home and I missed it.

I arrived at Kansai Airport in Osaka the evening of October 14, where I spent a good 45 minutes in line at immigration. They were moving folks through quickly, but there were hundreds of passengers. My dear friend Kayun was there waiting for me, though, with a big smile on her face. After a bit of discussion with a not-too-friendly clerk at the counter and at Kayun's urging, I bought a three-day Kansai Thru Pass which was supposedly good on all the subway and rail systems in the area, unlimited rides to anywhere, plus some discounts at tourist attractions, for about $44US. Now, I usually only spend around that same amount for a whole month of travel on Taipei's system, so I was a bit shocked. Kayun and I both kinda figured that three days was like 72 hours, beginning the first time I used the pass, which was for the 15-minute ride from the station where the airport bus dropped us to her house, and that I'd be using it up through Wednesday evening. Nope, wrong. I got two days of travel out of it, because the first "day" was that 15-minute ride! And it turned out that I couldn't use it on one of the main systems, either! I therefore ended up spending another $21US to see me through the two other days. That was my biggest trip expense - $65US on subway/rail fees plus $40US on the airport bus. Crazy. I guess one must pay for punctuality - you can set your watch by the transit system in Japan, truly amazing.

Luke and Kayun have a nice little apartment located in the country-like suburbs. The neighborhood is quiet, with small rice paddies and gorgeous trees and flowers. I was totally impressed with Japanese toilets and thought the shower area was really interesting. Luke and Kayun don't have a lot of space, but they make the most of it, and Kayun keeps it all sparkling clean. I slept on a comfortable sofa in a little room with a sliding door, and it was sooo quiet at night, not used to that!

Got up bright and early Monday morning, because Luke was taking me to the visa office before he went on to his school. Kayun rode with us on her way to her Japanese classes (every day from 10:00 a.m. to 2:35 p.m.), and Luke and I continued on to Umeda Station, where we had to switch trains. The subway/rail system in Osaka is so ridiculously complicated that one could never, ever find one's way alone. We got off one train, walked a long, long way underground to a different station, and took a different line to a station close to where we needed to go. After I submitted my application, Luke left me at that station, and I decided to explore a bit. Yeah, I explored all right, the underground shopping area that stretches for miles in many directions with confusing signs and no one who speaks English! I was starving, hadn't eaten a thing, so I ducked into a Doufor Coffee for a bite. Part of the menu had photos, so I could pick out a sandwich, but the rest was all in Japanese. I can read it if they use the traditional Chinese characters (kanji), but if they use katakana (used for words that come from foreign places) and hiragana, which they normally do, I can't read a thing. So, I'm trying to ask what kind of cold drinks they have, and the guy points to the Japanese menu. I mutter in Chinese, "But I can't read Japanese." and the girl next to the guy says, in Chinese, "Wow, you speak Chinese!" What a blessing - she was from Fujian, China, and she got me my orange juice. Turns out she is also a Wu Bai fan, so it was fun chatting a bit to her.

After I left there it took me at least 45 minutes to find my way back to the station I needed in order to get to Osaka Castle. I was exhausted when I got there and still had a bit of a walk to get to the castle itself. The park is huge (and Blogger is having photo issues now, so you'll just have to click the links to get to the pix, and then you can see all the other ones, too), very quiet and beautiful. Actually, most of Osaka was very quiet and beautiful, and unbelievably clean. I found a spot to sit and rest for awhile and then continued on to the castle area. Swarming with grade-school kids, it was, as well as high schoolers. Seems to be my luck that any time I visit a museum, I can't see anything because there are hoardes of children blocking the view. The castle itself was packed from top to bottom, but I still went in and all the way to the top for the view. I like the way this building gives the illusion one can see through it.

Kayun called after she got out of class, and we made plans to meet back at the station near her house. Took me forever to get there, as I got lost under Umeda Station again, but I finally showed up. We went for dinner at a great place that had salad bar and fresh bread for about $9US (and Kayun treated). The bread, OMG, the bread! A waitress with a huge basket of various slices of bread made the rounds, and we got to eat a lot. There was this one kind that had figs and nuts in it, totally divine. I do miss good bread, which is next to impossible to find in Taiwan. The Taiwanese like bread the texture of Wonder Bread and about as flavorful, it's just nasty. I brought back two half-loaves from this bakery, the fig one and another swirl type that is just lucious. Probably have them totally gone by tomorrow! The salad bar wasn't like US salad bars, as it actually featured various types of pre-made salads, all very good and probably even healthy. Before dinner we had gone to the grocery store across the street, where I was shocked at the prices for fresh fruit. Actually, lots of prices were very high, and Japanese beer turns out to be more expensive in Japan than in Taiwan because of their taxes. Made the delightful discovery that there's a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop near Kayun's home, so we indulged ourselves there, too. Oh man, it's been a long time since I had Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream! Cost me $3US for their "king-sized" scoop, but I didn't mind paying that. Went back the next day, too, ha.

Tuesday it was up early again and out of the house with Kayun, because I didn't think I could find my way to the station without her. I planned to pick up my visa and then explore a bit on my own before meeting Kayun after her class. Got the visa no problem, but once again ended up wandering around underground, searching for a place my little Kansai Thru Pass guidebook mentioned. Never found it. Finally decided I'd rather just go early to the station where I was meeting Kayun and look around there. Found the airport bus station there and checked what time I'd have to be there Friday morning (7:55 a.m.), looked around the area a bit, then found a Starbucks and sat reading my Chinese book and waiting for Kayun. When she got there, we headed for Kobe for the evening, where we ended up eating in Chinatown, because it's one of the few places a vegetarian like Kayun can manage to find food without meat in it. I got a small plate of guo tie (potstickers) that would have cost me $1.50US in Taiwan but was $5US in Japan (and not as tasty). Then we walked to the harbor area, arriving just as the sun was vanishing for good. Everything was decorated for Halloween, and we just wandered around the shops (best find, the Ghibli Studios shop - Totoro everywhere!) enjoying the evening.

Wednesday, and yet another early rise and out the door, this time to meet Kieko in Nara. This time I didn't get lost at Umeda, because Kayun was with me, on her way to the China embassy to apply for a visa for her Shanghai trip. We parted ways before Namba Station, and there I managed to find the right train for Nara, arriving much later than I'd expected, causing poor Kieko to wait about an hour for me at Starbucks. She's a good sport, though, and wasn't angry about that. We wandered a shopping district for a bit, looking for a reasonably priced place for lunch, found one that wasn't bad, ate and chatted, then headed for Nara Park, home of the sacred deer, which terrify Kieko. Seems she was chased by them when she was a child, so now she doesn't care much for them. They are pushy little things, that's for sure. You can buy deer food for them, flat crackers that are yucky (yeah, I tried 'em) but they love them. The deer will bow their heads to you, and then you feed them.....and then you're surrounding by a troupe of bowing, butting, biting deer. They'll tug on your clothes and get deer snot all over you, but they're so cute! Watch this movie, then pop on over to YouTube for two others, including a mating season battle.


Nara Park is also huge, and there are so many wonderful shrines and temples. We walked and walked and walked, took some rest and ate ice cream (mango for me and "some kind of citrus" for Kieko). The deer are everywhere in the park, and the deer poopie is also everywhere, but as soon as they let fly, some little lady comes out with a broom and dustpan and sweeps it up (at least, in front of the shops they do). I bought some Deer Poopie Chocolates to give to a friend, just chocolate covered peanuts, but they do look almost exactly like what was emerging from the deer's hind ends.....yum. After we left the deer park, we walked around other parts of the area to view other shrines. It's so pretty everywhere, even the manhole covers in Japan are artistic. We walked until we could walk no more (well, I couldn't, maybe Kieko could have), then found a place for coffee and chat. Finally, I had to leave for the two-hour trip back to Kayun and Luke's, so Kieko and I parted. I hope she'll come back to Taiwan for a visit - I miss her!

Luke was already home when I arrived (normally he gets in after 9:00 p.m., poor guy, long hours), and Kayun had made quesadillas, saving one for me. Damn, it was so delicious! She's really a good cook, that girl, using sausage, pork, and gouda cheese to create a uniquely flavored quesadilla. And there was enough for me to have one for lunch on Thursday, too. I definitely need to make a trip to Costco here for salsa and tortillas to make my own Kayunsadillas!

I spent most of that day hanging around at their place, relaxing, finally sleeping in until 8:45 a.m. I went to the 100 Yen Store (awesome shop, so many cool things for only $.87US, wow!) and walked around the neighborhood. I was meeting Kayun in Takarazuka City at 4:00 p.m., so I headed out early to give myself some time to check it out on my own. Lovely little town, home to the Takarazuka Revue , an all-female musical theater troupe. I strolled along the flower road to the river and across, then back to the station, meeting Kayun and walking back along the same route I'd taken, but then in another direction for a different part of town. Honestly, by this time I was pretty tired of walking, so after hitting the 99 Yen Store (one yen cheaper!) for groceries for Kayun, we took a cab back to the station, caught a train back to her house, and met up with Luke for dinner. He treated us to all-you-can-eat BBQ (meat for us, curry and veggies for Kayun), and we were the only customers in the whole place. This was the kind of place where you cook your own stuff on the grill set into the table, and they offered all kinds of beef cuts, some marinated, some not, and chicken and perhaps pork, too. Plus sushi, desserts, curry, takoyaki (not as good as the stuff sold close to Kayun's house), chicken nuggets, too many things to even remember. It was a lot more expensive than the same type of place in Taiwan ( about $18US per person versus about $9US in Taiwan), and we thought it was good, but Luke said the Japanese are picky about quality and likely the reason there were no other customers was that this was not a good place!

Friday morning it was up at 6:00 a.m., to the bus by 7:55 a.m., sad parting from Kayun, and a 90-minute ride to the airport. I was on Cathay Pacific for this trip, nice airline, decent food, very comfy seats - and punctual, too. When I got back to Taoyuan International Airport at 1:15 p.m., I was shocked to see no lines at immigration! I was able to walk right up to the counter and got through in less than two minutes. That has never happened before. Caught the bus back and was home by 3:30 or so, I think. DZ was so happy to see me, and she didn't seem as distressed as she'd been the last time I was gone for a long time. Guess she has now realized that I will eventually come back, so she doesn't panic.

Japan: quiet, clean, good air quality, cars that yield to pedestrians, people who actually wait for passengers to get off the train before trying to get on, coffee shops playing quiet background music. Taiwan: noisy, not so clean, air full of smoke from people burning ghost money, cars that try their best to run you over in a crosswalk, people who push and shove to scramble onto the train hoping for a seat, coffee shops blasting music so loud one must yell to be heard across a table.

Japan: somber people dressed in neutral tones, homes that are beautiful and serene but lifeless, residential streets that have no people in the evenings, old people standing on trains because they get insulted if someone would offer a seat, silent subways and railways packed with people afraid to look at one another. Taiwan: people dressed in a riot of mismatched colors and patterns; homes that are decorated with colorful banners and plants - and laundry drying on the balcony; residential streets full of life - kids, dogs, chatting neighbors; people more often than not yielding their seat to older folks and them grateful for it; trains crowded with laughing, happy people madly chatting away to each other.

Japan: a nice place to visit, but wouldn't want to live there. Taiwan: full of life and loudness, annoying at times but oh-so-preferable to a life of stilted politeness. This is my home, and I love it.

Japan Ho!

Having survived both Super Typhoon Krosa (which really pounded us) and the last hectic week of the semester (3 tests), I am now ready for my trip to Japan. I'm leaving on Sunday the 14th on a 4:00 p.m. flight, which puts me in Osaka at 7:40 p.m. I have all my visa application documents ready to go, including incredibly bad photos taken at the automatic photo both last week, right after I had my hair cut. Scary, really scary. In the mirror I don't look so old, but in photos? OMG. It sucks when your only choices are 1) be fat and look younger or 2) be thinner and look old. I'm not sure I want to continue to lose weight now!

I spent over six hours on my day off Wednesday preparing for my semester final, and it paid off. I got a 93 on it! And miracle of miracles, the test on Monday, where the teacher reads sentences and we have to write the Chinese correctly - for the first time I got them all right! I used to get 100% on the tests Miss Wang gave, because she didn't use words I hardly ever write, but Miss Cao is always using weird words that we've forgotten how to write. So I was dancing around the classroom after that one, yelling "終於!" That means, "Finally!"

I've been looking over my tests for the semester, and I did well on all but one. Scores are:
89, 89, 95, 97, 92, 89, 80, 92, 95, 89, and 93. Those scores plus the fact that I turned in every bit of the homework, and some extra stuff on top, will hopefully get me a high final score, which I need for the next scholarship application. The teacher wrote me a very nice letter to take to the visa office, telling them how studious and self-motivated I am and what a pleasure it is to have such a great student. :) I felt warm and fluffy all over when I read it. So yeah, visa office, I'm a good girl and study hard, please let me continue!

So there I was Wednesday evening, studying hard, when I got a phone call from Natari. She said my landlady called her (she signed the original contract) and said I have to move, because her family is moving back to this apartment. Now, I've been talking about moving for some time, because those little shits upstairs are still incredibly noisy and annoying, and I've been thinking I should find a cheaper place anyway. But now that I have no choice, I'm a bit sad! I really love this apartment and the location. Hopefully I can find something just as nice in this area, maybe for less. My friends are helping me look around online, so I expect when I get back from Japan I'll start going to check out places. My contract is through March 6, but the landlady said I can move sooner if I want, and she won't keep my deposit. It sounds as if she'd prefer the sooner the better, so I'll try to oblige. Sorry to everyone who didn't have a chance to visit me yet, because I may not have much room in the new place, and visiting me may not be nearly as comfortable as it is now! But hey, ya'll had your chance, so pfffft to you. :)

Autumn is finally here, with lovely cool weather that has the Taiwanese wearing jackets and sweaters and me still working up a sweat after walking for a few minutes. But the breezes are nice and the evenings are lovely. This year perhaps we'll have a proper winter, since we sure didn't last year.

Charlene and I decided we're going to Hualian for the Wu Bai & China Blue concert, trading the two tickets I have and can't sell for two Hualian ones. She found a hostel for $37US a night, and split between us that's cheap. The train fare is $24US, not bad. Charlene will buy one of my tickets, and my total cost to attend this show will be $127. I'd rather pay that than return the tickets for only a 70% refund! I mean, what the hell, I'm here in Taiwan, I might as well attend every concert I can, right? Charlene and I joked that we'll just eat instant noodles for a few weeks, ha. So, wow, four Wu Bai and China Blue concerts coming up, how great!

Hopefully I'll have some fun stuff to write about Japan after I get back, and some photos to share.

Getting Krosa to You

Once again we have a super typhoon paying a weekend visit. This time it's Krosa, and it's been krosing in on us for a few days, putting panic into the hearts of many, who say it's one of the biggest, baddest storms in the last 100 years. Jury's still out on that one, since it seems to me that typhoons in Taiwan always remind me of the little boy who cried "Wolf!" all the time. However, it's better to be prepared, so I have a bathtub full of water to use for flushing toilets should our water supply be cut off (apparently this happens) and boiled water to make coffee and for drinking. I think the water problems are more apt to happen in areas like Taichung, though. We had a typhoon on September 17, and everyone got the day off work and school. It hardly even rained in my area and it was sunny most of the day! The wind was howling at times, but not that bad. Didn't even stop the workers from continuing on the buildings that are going up close by.

So, right now I have rain, rain, rain, and then there's a little rain on top of that. Wind is still pretty mild, but I don't guess I'll be hanging my laundry on the balcony to dry today. Nope, the dryer will be put into use (as long as the electricity doesn't go out).

Next week is the last of the semester. Wednesday is a national holiday. Monday I have a small test, Tuesday I have a bigger test, and Thursday I have my semester final. Gee, the teacher just loves tests! We had a four-day holiday for Mid-Autumn Festival, Saturday through Tuesday. The Friday before she gave us four pages of homework to complete and told us we'd have a test on the first day back. So, I spent most of my holiday time studying. Paid off, though, because I did well on the test. I have no idea which teacher I'll have next semester and what the textbook will be like. Part of me is hoping for less homework, but another part of me knows that being pushed is good for me and helps me make progress. I'm a lazy soul and if no one prods me, I tend to not do anything on my own.

I still haven't gotten a working ATM card. The password never did arrive for the first one, so the bank cancelled that one and issued a new card pre-pinned with a password I'd selected. That one arrived, but when I tried to use it at the bank, no luck. Wrote back to the bank asking what the problem was, and got the reply that apparently foreign banks don't accept US cards with passwords beginning in zero! Would have been nice for both me and the patient woman who's been helping me to have this knowledge in advance. So, she sent yet another card, pre-pinned with a different password that I know. That was on 9/21, and it's still not here. What worries me is that I just received my September credit card statement, and stamped on the front was "Missent to Bangkok Thailand." Oh, hooray for the US postal service, which doesn't know one country from another! My friend Wendy, who works for the USPS, once mailed a package to Nigeria. It got sent to Nicaragua instead and took a whole year to finally get to Nigeria! So who the hell knows if my ATM card ended up in Thailand? Thankfully the card for the second account is still working, or I'd be SOL for sure.

My trip to Japan is set for October 14 through 19. I'll arrive very late on the 14th and will return on a 1:00 p.m. flight on the 19th, so really I'll just have four days there, and two of those will be used for visa application and (hopefully) pickup. Kayun is so sweet, she's going to meet me at the airport because she's worried I'll get lost. I think I'd be OK, but it will be nice to have someone to talk to on the hour ride to her part of town. I'll meet up with Kieko, too, and might spend one night in Kyoto at a guest house that's pretty cheap. I'm not looking forward to spending all the money for this, but I need the visa, and the Hong Kong office most likely won't give me one, so it's to Japan I go. And of course I'm very happy about seeing Luke, Kayun, and Kieko!

I'm still on the diet, but I haven't lost much more. The total lost is 9kg, not too bad, but for the last two weeks I haven't gotten as much exercise as I'd like, so the weight ain't budging. Nat and Charlene are doing so well on the Herbalife diet that I'm tempted to try, but I don't think I have the discipline to not eat in the evenings. We'll see, maybe I'll try it for a month or something.

I'm really bummed that Carol can't come for the Wu Bai concerts. Now I need to sell the tickets I got for her, and if I can't, Charlene and I might just go to the Hualien show, because we can exchange the tix for that venue. Originally, we had decided it would just be too expensive, because there's no way to get back at night and we'd have the expense of the hotel. But what the heck, we may do it anyway. If I return the tickets for a refund, I only get back 70% of the cost, so I kinda hate to do that. And besides, I've never been to Hualien yet! But dang, I really wish Carol could have come, since I didn't have a chance to see her when I went back to the US last year, and it's been five years since she's been to Taiwan for a Wu Bai concert!

Another friend, Krista, is mulling over the idea of perhaps coming for a visit during Chinese New Year. I have two weeks off, and even though so many places are closed, there's still a lot to do and see. She thinks perhaps she could come during the last week and then stay on a bit longer when things are back to normal. It sure would be nice to have company, because I'm always so bored then. Maybe I can talk Cheryl into coming over for the first week! Or maybe I can actually go to Hong Kong to see her (depends on what sort of visa I can get).

My friend Ye Ying, who went to Leiden, Holland, to study is finding that the Dutch are not very friendly. Her boyfriend, Xuan Yi, went with her and stayed a couple of weeks, and they traveled to Brussels and to Amsterdam, and he said they ran into some incredibly rude people. It's quite sad, really. I find the Taiwan people so friendly and helpful, always willing to assist me, asking me if I'm lost if I'm looking at a map at the MRT station or on the street. I recall how the first time I needed to take the airport bus from Minquan W. Rd. station, and I couldn't figure out where it was, a complete stranger went out of her way to walk with me and ask people where the bus stop was, making sure I got on the right bus before going on with her own business. I hope Ye Ying will soon be accustomed to the unfriendly atmosphere in Leiden and not let it bother her so much.

I miss my language exchanges sessions with Ye Ying, and next week will be the last language exchange I have with Xuan Yi, because now that he has graduated, he needs to move out of the dorm and go back to Tainan. Then he needs to do his army service before looking for a job. He's going to help me find a new partner. I get to see Shannon sporadically, which is nice, but she's working every single day, not even one day that's completely free, so it's not easy. She's going to spend the night Tuesday, since we have Wednesday off, and that should be some fun (but I have to spend a lot of time Wednesday afternoon and evening studying for my final!).

My Wednesday afternoon brother and sister students flaked out. Pisses me off, because I met with them first, told them that learning English wasn't something that could be done in a once-a-week, one-hour lesson! I told them they'd need to spend time themselves working on it. The brother is just too busy with his business, and since he was paying for the lessons, both and his sister have quit. Now I'm only teaching Claire for one hour on the weekend, and her friend Jessica is supposed to start, also for one hour on the weekend. Meaning: no money coming in. I guess it's OK, because I do need a lot of time for my own studying. I've decided that I'm going to be picky about students. Just like I pay for three months in advance and if I don't go to class, I don't get any money back, any new student is going to have to do the same. I want a commitment out of them! If they aren't willing to do this, then they aren't serious about learning, so forget it. I hate wasting my time, no matter how much someone is paying me. This way I should weed out the flakes for sure.

Oh, here's an ad I happened across, can't even recall where:

"Don't strees any more over which tense to use and how to rearrange your sentences on your college application essay. Let a Berkeley graduate help you to create the best written expression of your qualifications and get into your dream school. I'll get into your head and help you turn your cognition into English. A coheret and fluid essay makes a vast difference!! $2/per please contact via email (removed)

Rather pitiful for a college graduate to produce such a poorly written advertisement with spelling and grammar errors. I can't figure out what her actual charges are, either. Per word? Per essay? Huh? But hey, she could get a job teaching English in Taiwan, because she has a degree!

My friend Aaron is back from England, yay! So nice to see him again, and so funny for him to be talking about how fat he got there. Yeah, right, if he walked outside today, the typhoon would blow him away. I'd be surprised if he even weighs 140 pounds! His sister's wedding celebration is today, and I'm afraid it's going to be ruined by the typhoon. Part of it is supposed to be in Keelung, and that's on the coast and getting battered severely right now. Relatives from Hong Kong were supposed to fly in this morning, but I'm sure they weren't able to. He said when his other sister got married, there was a typhoon that day, too!

I guess I've written enough. I should be doing homework, but I can't get into it right now. Still, the wind is picking up, and the power might not last, so I suppose I'd best get to it while I still have the 'puter to use.

Safe for Another Two Months

Got my visa extension yesterday, no problems, so I'm good through August 20. The guy said it should be no problem to extend another two months, through October 20, and then I'll have to leave Taiwan to get a new visa. So, I'm hoping it will work out to go visit Luke and Kayun in Osaka! My semester ends October 12, and the next one starts October 22, so I'll use that week to get the visa.

The ticket for the Golden Melody Awards arrived today, so that's all set. Hope it's not pouring that day, because we want to go early and watch all the stars arrive. Be no fun in the rain, that's for sure.

And ABS will be playing a beach party on June 30 for Canada Day, so of course we're going to that!

Plum Rainy

Let's see, it's been steadily raining for about a week now, with very few breaks. We've gotten 5 inches of rain so far today, and I was wading in deep puddles getting from the bus stop to the MRT station at Jiantan this afternoon. This is the 梅季雨, the Plum Rains season. The nice part is that the weather is much cooler, even though it's still quite warm during the day. I'm continually drenched with sweat, and I'm really tired of my paper sticking to my arm when I'm in school and trying to write. Still, I'll take this over California winter rains any day!

Observation: no matter how flippin' hot it is (with a RealFeel of 103 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit), you will see these teeny, tiny Asian women wearing long-sleeved sweatshirts, denim jackets, and other various forms of warm clothing. I'm not sure if it's because they're so damned skinny they freeze to death when the air conditioning hits them or if it's because of their unreasonable dread of a single drop of sunlight falling on their skin. There was actually an article in the Taipei Times awhile back stating that Taiwanese women were often deficient in vitamin D because of their vampire-like dread of sunlight. When my teacher went to Thailand over Chinese New Year and came back with a beautiful tan, her Western students complimented her on how lovely and healthy she looked, and her Asian friends started back in shock and exclaimed how dark (and therefore ugly) she was. Me, I'm envious of the beautiful color of her skin when she tans. I just end up turning a very funny color when exposed to sunlight, not pretty at all.

Got my official grade from last semester, and it was 93. I surely hope this means I will get the scholarship next time. Gimme money, gimme gimme gimme. I'm doing OK so far this semester, getting in the mid to high 90s on my tests (Wang Laoshi doesn't actually give a grade on compositions). I truly enjoy her classes, and I'll be sad when the semester ends on July 20. She'll be going to the actual university to teach beginning in September this year, so maybe I'll be lucky enough to have her again when (and if) I start at Tamkang proper.

Was going to go apply for a visa extension today but because of the torrential rain decided to wait until Monday and hope it lets up. If they say "no" then I guess I make an emergency trip to either Singapore or Osaka for a new visa. Osaka will cost more, but if I go there I can see Luke and Kayun, and everyone says it's never a problem to get a visa in Japan. Some folks have had issues with the Singapore office. Well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

More than minor annoyance: my friend Carol was kind enough to do some shopping for me, as I'd checked the US Postal Service's shipping rates online and decided just how much I could spend for some stuff. She ran all over and got the things I wanted and then went to ship it, only to be informed that as of May 14 the post office has discontinued economy surface shipping internationally, everything is now priority mail and hence much more expensive. Like costing about $5US per pound expensive. WTF? So poor Carol had to return a bunch of the stuff, since I wasn't willing to pay $5 to ship a box of low-fat Cheez-its! As it was, it cost me $37 for the small 7-pound box I got, but at least that was all stuff I just can't get here, important stuff like earplugs, ibuprofen, and hair color in lighter shades.

Hm, what else? Well, next Saturday I'll be going to the Golden Melody Awards, IF I get my visa extended and don't have to leave the country. Wu Bai's official website was giving away 50 tickets, and of course I got one. Being a foreigner does have its perks. Wu Bai & China Blue will be performing, and Xiao Zhu has been nominated as best producer for an indy band. Hope he gets it. Then the following week is the concert, also looking forward to that. The new CD came out today, and I was going to pick it up this evening but decided it wasn't worth a trip out in the rain. I'll go get it next week.

The diet is going well, losing weight albeit slowly. I've lost 8.4 pounds (today, Saturday, was weigh-in day, so even though no loss last week, at least there was this week!), and I feel better already. If I could get more exercise, I'd lose more, but until my foot is better, I just can't walk much. If I ever manage to get the home gym I bought in November put together, then I could use that, but I haven't found anyone who can help me yet. So, it's still in pieces in the spare room. What a waste of money, huh? I guess I should just sell it.

On Wednesday I got together with Sherry, the woman Hiyoshi used to teach Japanese to. I hadn't seen her for over a year. Last week I got on MSN, which I hardly ever do, and she was there, so I started to chat with her. Apparently she'd called a few times, but every time must have been when I was out of the country, because my phone never showed any missed calls. She thought maybe I'd left Taiwan. She's the one who told me about Hiyoshi's baby, and she said he had never contacted her, either. Because she's going to Tokyo next month, she called him to ask him a question, and then he told her about the baby. I was very happy to connect with Sherry again, because she's really cool. Hopefully we'll be able to meet regularly now. Oh, and here's an example of just how straightforward the Taiwanese are. We were at Sherry's house chatting, and her husband was there working (they have a home business). I was bemoaning my weight, trying to refuse the snacks Sherry was pressing on me, and she said I hadn't gained weight. Then hubby piped up with, "Oh, yeah, much fatter than before!" Gee, thanks, I needed that. There is such a thing as too much honesty. Never mind, continue to diet.

Next Wednesday our class is going to the museum to see the special exhibit of the Terracotta Warriors. If you don't know what they are, just click the link. Someday maybe I can visit the museum in China to get the full effect of the magnitude of this amazing project.

Can't think of anything else right now. DZ is fine and is still misbehaving whenever she gets the chance, although she hasn't torn up any posters lately. Life in Taiwan is still great, despite the summer heat and all the rain. I still love Wu Bai as much as I ever did, despite wanting to give him a good hard whack on the head sometimes. And...that's all. :)

Good Things, Bad Things

Good things:
1. Got a 92% on my test yesterday. Surprised the hell out of me.
2. Got my visa extension today without a hitch. Surprised the hell out of me.
3. Met with Xiao Zhu last night to discuss his son's classes. Discovered Vincent is not actually a child but is a small adult and should be treated as such for best results. Duly noted, and this Saturday will attempt to teach him to play poker and chase women instead of giving English lessons.
4. Tomorrow is a holiday.

Bad things:
1. Without Cheryl here the noise from the monsters above is all too clear. Must teach DZ to talk so said noise will be less noticeable.
2. Stupid US bank has an irrational fear that my Visa card "may have been compromised" which "may result in counterfeit cards being made and used" so they have issued a new one that, of course, has not arrived yet. And the old one "will no longer be valid as of March 2, 2007." Idiots.

Well, hey, there are more good things than bad, so no worries.

2007 - So Far, So Good

Once again I begin with an apology for not writing much. I wish I had more excitement in my life to share with you all, but.....I don't.

So, the party on 12/23 was a success, we had fun, ate lots of good food (including some homemade hot and sour soup that Ye Ying and Xuan Yi made), I drank lots of beer, my Korean friend Kayun drank too much pear cognac and fell asleep on the couch for awhile, and the tiramisu was awesome. So awesome that I made a second batch, which turned out not quite as good since I used too much espresso. Next time I'm experimenting with making my own invention, Kahluamisu.

Kayun stayed with me for a few days last week. She had to give up her apartment on Wednesday, so she showed up at my front door Wednesday a.m. with her huge suitcase in tow and stayed until she left yesterday at 5:00 a.m. Silly girl had booked an 8:30 a.m. flight back to Korea! So, she had to take a cab to Yuanshan MRT station to get the airport bus. I hope she made it on time, haven't heard from her yet. I'm really going to miss her.

Oh, getting the visa extension was a bit of a kerfuffle this time. My visa was due to expire on January 2, so I went to the Taipei County police department in Banqiao the week before, on Wednesday. The last time I went there, there was no MRT, just a bus, so taking MRT I wasn't sure if I needed to go to the police station close to the Banqiao station or the one at Fuzhong (they are very close), so I tried Banqiao first. Nope, the folks there said I needed to go to the one close to Fuzhong, so Kayun (who kindly accompanied me) and I walked there. After arriving at that police station, they said, "Nope! You need to go to yet another station." Well, OK, we don't mind walking, finally got to the place I'd gone to before, and I got a form and started to fill it out while Kayun went to get a number. They had a sign posted there, only in Chinese, not in English, telling foreigners that if their visas expire after 12/29, they have to wait until January 2 and go to a new office to get their extensions. Kayun was trying to figure out what the sign meant (we both read Chinese pretty darned well but this was complicated), but she didn't quite understand it all and finally asked a clerk, and he told her. She was shocked that they would post such an important notice only in Chinese and expect foreigners to be able to understand it, and she proceeded to tell them how stupid that was (not exactly the best thing to do, but she was right). I didn't know any of this was happening; I was still filling out my form. We were very confused, and the clerk drew us a little map and told us to go to the new location. OK, so we walked a little way, went past number 168, which looked like a police station, looking for number 166. There was a brand-new office being worked on, still not open, and we asked the workers if that was number 166. They pointed back the way we came. We returned to 168, where we found a police officer. Asked him where 166 was, he pointed back at the workers. WTF? Finally, we just walked back to the police station and told the guy there that the office at the address he gave us wasn't open yet. "Right," he says, "you have to come back on January 2." "But that's the day my visa EXPIRES. Isn't that cutting it a bit close? What if I'm sick that day? Can't I apply for the extension today?" He goes and asks some other guy, who finally explained to me that the government was moving the handling of visa extensions to the immigration department, and that the police department will no longer be responsible, and that there is simply no way I could apply for the extension until January 2.

I was really worried about having to wait until the last day, because one other person told me that when her friend waited until the final day, he was told he had to leave the country and apply for another visa! But I had no choice but to wait until the 2nd and was afraid they might tell me "no" when I went. I thought about buying a plane ticket to Hong Kong on Tuesday just in case, but then decided I should just hope for the best. Everything turned out fine. Kayun and I went bright and early because we figured there'd be a crowd. The office was a madhouse, tons of others who had had to wait all piled in, the poor workers hadn't been provided with essentials, like calendars, so they had to count on their fingers to figure out dates for visa extensions, and the woman helping me kept her cool despite being so overwhelmed.

So now I'm good until March 3, when I will be applying for the Alien Residency Certificate (ARC) to avoid having to keep leaving the country. That will also propose a problem, since I have to apply two weeks before my visa expires. Here's the hitch: school closes February 10 through February 25 for Chinese New Year. They, and all government offices, will also be closed February 28 for a national holiday. So the week before my visa expires, there are four working days. I have to have all the paperwork from the school before I can apply for the ARC. I have to wait three days from the day I ask the school for the paperwork before I can get it. So, if I ask on 2/26, I can't pick them up until 3/1, which would again be cutting it way, way close. But applying before the holiday closure is probably too soon, so who knows what I'll do? Not me, that's for sure.

Taiwan finally got some cold wintery weather. We went from balmy days in the upper 70s to upper 40s, low 50s. It's still not super cold, especially inside the house, but I now need to wear a jacket. Been a bit rainy, too, which always makes it feel colder than it is. The long-range forecast says we'll be back to high 60s, low 70s by the 13th. Maybe, we'll see. I just hope it's nice in February when Cheryl comes to visit.

Doris from Hong Kong arrived Thursday, and Nat, Charlene, Betty, Xiao Niu, and I joined her for a wonderful dinner at Shanghai Dumpling. I love that place, especially since we get such a great discount, as it's owned by the company Nat and Charlene work for. I passed on going with Nat and Doris to Miaoli yesterday. They were going to go to the hotspring, and I don't do hotspring, plus they were spending the night. I can't afford to spend much money now, since I'm not making any. What I have in the bank has to carry me through four years of university, so I'm saving the bucks for Wu Bai & China Blue related stuff!

I managed to waste all of my Saturday yesterday, doing absolutely nothing except dinking around online and reading, with a tiny bit of timeout for meeting with a young lady named Vivi who wants some help with English. Her family owns the convenience store by my house, and I've chatted with her off and on since I moved here. She truly wants to study English but can't figure out how to pronounce words she doesn't know, so she gets intimidated. I told her I'd try to find some phonics stuff online to help out, because I don't understand the method they use here in Taiwan to try to teach the kids English pronunciation.

Need to get my hiney in gear and accomplish something today, so zai jian, see ya, toodles, ta, and all that.

Merry Christmas!

Hallo everyone! I wish each of you a very Merry Christmas, and of course a very Happy New Year. As happy as I am here, I do miss my friends back in the US, and I'm sorry I can't share the holiday cheer with you in person.

I'm also sorry I haven't been writing much lately, but there just hasn't been anything to tell. I've been going to school every day, doing lots of studying and homework, doing language exchange two days a week, and spending some time with my friend Kayun, who will be leaving in January to go back to Korea. I'm going to miss her a lot, so I'm taking advantage of what little time she has left here in Taiwan. My three-day-a-week student, Kitty, is in China this month, so I'm only teaching Funck on Wednesday evenings, not making any money at all :( Boo hoo. I don't want to find new students, though, because I need my own time to study. Jennifer, the three-hours-on-Sunday student, should start up again in January, and Kitty will (hopefully) be done with her family's business stuff in China and be back in January, too.

Tomorrow I'm having a Christmas party, starting at 2:00 p.m. and going on until we get tired of partying. I really don't know how many people will show up, maybe only a few, but I made tiramisu for the first time ever, and I have a Kahlua cake, too. I discovered that it's danged expensive to make tiramisu in Taiwan. The savoiardi cost me $6US, the mascarpone cost $9, and the amaretto (should probably have gotten cognac, but I'll drink amaretto as a drink and I won't drink brandy, so cognac it is) was $16. Of course, that bottle should make quite a few batches of tiramisu :) I hope it tastes good, because I didn't spend the $18 for real Italian espresso like the recipe said I should use. I just used plain old Barista Seattle Espresso blend. The recipe was cute, it actually says: Make the espresso and poor it into shallow flat-bottomed bowl. Add one shot of cognac, one teaspoon cocoa, and allow to cool to room temperature. If at this point you've decided to use coffee instead of espresso, take the coffee you've made and drink it. Then make espresso.

I just made some spaghetti sauce, too, not real sauce, just using Classico jarred stuff (it's really not too bad) and adding ground beef, onions, loads of garlic, mushrooms, green pepper, and red wine. However.....I have a feeling that bottle of red wine made the change to something resembling vinegar over the last 10 months that it's been in my fridge. The sauce smells a little strange, and it doesn't taste quite right. Oops, guess next time I'd better taste the wine before dumping it in. It's edible, though, just not super great, bit of a tart tang to it. Good thing I was only making it for me and not to serve at the party!

Let's see, anything else? Well, DZ has gotten a bit chubby since her operation. I guess it's partially being spayed and partially bulking up for winter. Not that we actually have winter.....the temperature has been quite nice, around 68-75 during the day, but a bit chilly at night. It's still not as cold as last year was, and some days I don't even wear my jacket in the afternoons. The Taiwan folks are all bundled up in ski jackets, and I'm in shirtsleeves. They must think I'm nuts. But I have a nice big layer of fat to keep me warm, and they don't.

The Taiwan postal service is pretty good. My dad sent a Christmas card, and he didn't write my actual street on the envelope, but they found me anyway. Probably not that many foreigners living in Zhuwei, they could figure out the street from the alley and lane numbers.

Last week I had a notice in my box that I had a parcel at the post office. I was all excited, thinking "Christmas present!" so I headed to Danshui Sunday morning to pick it up (yeah, they're open on Sunday, can you believe it?). The weather was beautiful, so I walked along the river to the post office. Sadly, it was not a Christmas present. It was a free gift from Hinet for upgrading my ADSL service. Unfortunately, it was a handy little device to help one learn English. Not exactly what I need. I think I'll give it to one of my friends - regift!

Yesterday I needed to apply for the next semester of school in order to get my visa extension. My visa is only good until January 2, so I have to go to the police station next week for sure. The school told me I had to wait until 12/21 to apply, so in the morning I picked up the forms. The assistants at this school aren't nearly as friendly and helpful as the gals at CLD were. The one who gave me the forms yesterday never smiles at all, always looks like she's sucking on a lemon. I told her I'd bring the forms back in the afternoon, so Ye Ying and I stopped at the counter after lunch, before our language exchange. That little bitch looked at my form and said, "The teacher needs to fill out this part." Well, you twit, why the hell didn't you tell me that this morning??? It was too late to catch my teacher, she was teaching another class, so I had to wait for this morning. Now I have to wait until Wednesday to get the confirmation letter from the school. That's just cutting it too close for me, and there had better not be any problems, or I'm gonna strangle that twerp.

I guess I've rambled enough now. Again, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I Can Never Wash This Hand Again

Well, folks, yesterday was the big day, the day I stood right in front of Wu Bai for the first time in the over five years that I've been a fan.

Autograph Session Photos

The autograph session was held in a little plaza across the street from the new MRT station at Fu Zhong. Charlene and I got there at 11:30 a.m. to get in the line, joining Ah Ci and Xiao Niu. Caroline came later, after she was through with her class, and Nat showed up late, too, which meant going to the end of the line, since we'd all been given consecutive numbers and no one could cut in. Didn't matter that we weren't right at the front this time, though. The session was due to start at 2:00, so we just chatted and watched the sun slowly eating the shade we were in. By the time 2:00 came around, we were all in full sun, and it was hot.

The guys performed a few songs before starting the signing, and that was cool. Have a look at this video one fan uploaded to YouTube: WuBai's "Flower" Dance

I wasn't able to get super close to the stage, and there was a really tall guy in front of me and Caroline, so I had to keep moving around to try to see. I attempted to take a video, but lame-brain apparently had her camera on the wrong setting, so all I got was a photo of Wu Bai's backside. Eh.

After the mini-concert, the signing began. I had wanted my lyrics booklet signed, since the only pix of China Blue are inside that. But no, The Powers That Be had decreed that the only thing that could be signed was the outside box of the CD, nothing else. No posters, no scrapbooks, no photos, nothing. One CD per person, thank you very much, and please move along quickly, don't ask to take photos with Wu Bai because you know he's so shy, yada yada yada.

As I climbed up on the stage with CD in hand, Charlene tugged my arm. I turned to find a girl with a video camera by my side, wanting to shoot my tattooed ankle. Oh great, just what I want. I told her it wasn't finished, that I still needed to get "and China Blue" added to the 伍佰. Then she ran the camera up my body - crap! I hate, hate, hate having photos of myself taken, not to mention a video camera in my hot, sweaty face! I guess the novelty of having a foreign fan who's this crazy about Wu Bai & China Blue hasn't quite worn off yet.

I bantered a few words with Dino, who was on the end of the table closest to me. Then came Da Mao, who greeted me with a big smile and a "nice to see you" in English, then Xiao Zhu, who calls me 老師 (teacher) since they know I'm Guoxi's English tutor. I asked him if his English was improving and he laughed, saying it was non-existent. I love these guys!

Then the moment I'd been anticipating and half-dreading: face to face with Wu Bai. I was so worried he'd say something in Chinese that I wouldn't understand, because I still have this problem of not understanding when people talk to me sometimes. I managed to squeak out, "Over five years, and I'm finally standing here." in Chinese. He then shocked me completely by asking what my name was. I mean, dude, how many foreigner fans do you have who queue in line for days to stand right in front of you at concerts? And I'm pretty sure your mom must have mentioned me to you a few times, hm? So, my tone of voice when I said, "I'm Ma La!" was a bit incredulous. However, he didn't hesitate at all when writing "To 瑪拉" on the CD, and since there are quite a few ways you could actually write those sounds and he knew the correct one, I eventually convinced myself that he was probably just making 100% sure I was who he thought I was (you know, we white folks all look alike, and I'm not blonde like I used to be, got red hair now). Then he asked me where I lived. What, not gonna ask for my phone number? No, I guess with the guard dog (i.e., wife) standing at his back that wouldn't have been a good idea. ;) And then I got the beaming smile (damn him for hiding his eyes behind those ridiculous sunglasses) and the handshake. Awwwwww. Later, as I checked other fans' CDs, I saw that no one else had a personalized one, so I felt kinda special. Of course, there might have been some that I didn't see, but still. He wrote my name .

We waited around for Nat and Xiao Niu to get through the line, then decided we'd stay until the end just in case they were going to perform again. Caroline hadn't gotten her CD signed, so at the last minute she decided to go up at the tail end of the line, and I went along with her, taking another CD with me. Dino laughed when he saw me again, and I think Wu Bai was a little surprised, too. Well, that look on his face could have been leftover from seeing Caroline's ample bosom in the low-cut tank top, ha. I'll bet all the guys appreciated that! If she had been wearing a nurse's uniform, she would have made Wu Bai's day. You know he has some weird obsession with women in nurse's uniforms, don't you? Well, you do now.

So, how do I feel about finally touching the man I think is the most beautiful creature on Earth? Well.....it's weird. I don't know if I expected sparks or something, but it was so very ordinary, no pounding heart, no drool escaping down my chin. Perhaps it was just the quickness of the whole thing, a few fleeting seconds of contact. I get more of an afterglow and a high at the end of a concert! I can't say it was a letdown or anything, but it certainly wasn't what I'd imagined it would be. On some level that soothes me, makes me know that I'm not so caught up in a fantasy that I can't see reality. I think I'm sort of happy that I felt so comfortable in front of him, not really nervous, just as natural as I am with Dino, Xiao Zhu, and Da Mao. I think that means that Wu Bai is the sort of person I could be friends with. Despite the way his management wants to promote him as the "Emperor of Rock," he didn't give off those "I'm so much better than you." vibes, and watching him as he signed CD after CD, smiling at his fans, sharing a few words with them, just made me happy all over.

OK, right then, now I need to tell you how much friggin' trouble it was to get a visa.

The whole fiasco of getting a health exam done could take up pages. Let's just say that it wasn't easy, and I ended up making three trips to the hospital before I managed to get it done. I had my letter of enrollment from the school, I had my letter from my Taiwan bank stating that I had almost twice the required amount of cash to support myself during my study, I had my visa application completed with photos attached, I had my letter explaining why I was studying Chinese and why I didn't need to work because I had the money from selling my house to support me for years to come. I was ready.

Got to Hong Kong on a late flight on Monday the 30th, after dropping DZ off at the vet for boarding and spaying. By the time the airport bus got me to Tai Po and Terry and Cheryl picked me up, it was close to midnight. Thank goodness for friends who are willing to go out of their way for me! Stayed up chatting with Cheryl, who was off work that week, but Terry had to hit the sack.

Tuesday Cheryl and I headed over to Hong Kong island so I could apply for the visa. Found the visa office, after getting off on the wrong floor and a bit of slight panic when the office was not there, and there was no one waiting. Cool. Got right up to the lady and handed her all my stuff. Then she asked for my driver's license from the US. Uh....I don't have it with me. I don't drive in Taiwan.

Her: "But you need to have proof of your US address."
Me: "But, I moved and don't even have the same address as on my license." (I'm using my dad's address as my US one since I sold my house.)
Her: "It's one of the requirements. Where are your bank statements?"
Me: "What? I have the letter from the bank showing how much is in there."
Her: "That's not enough. Do you have your bankbook?"
Me: "Yeah, here. Most of my money is still in my US bank."
Her: "Can you bring a bank statement?"
Me: "Well, yeah, I can print it from the website this evening."
Her: "Fine, bring that back tomorrow. And since you have the same US address written on your HK immigration form and inside your passport, we'll take that."
Me: "OK, thanks.

Wah! Stupid, I was so stupid. I completely missed the "proof of residence" on the instructions, because I got sidetracked by the "HK ID photocopy not required for non-Hong Kong residents." That was an idiotic thing. But the bank thing? I thought I had that covered.

Back at Cheryl's that evening I printed my last statement. Then I decided to print the prior two months, just in case. Good thing, because when I went back on Wednesday and said I'd brought the statement they wanted, the lady asked me if I had three months' worth! Then she told me to wait. So, Cheryl and I waited. And waited. And waited.

Eventually, a door opened and a woman called me in to a little room. Then the third degree commenced. Why haven't you been in school since the end of May? I had to explain about my prior school saying they thought they could work out their problems, and I was hoping to be able to return there. Where does your money come from? Well, like I wrote in the letter, I sold my house. How much did you sell the house for? I told her how much, not that that was how much I received, but hey, she didn't ask me that. Why do you have all these daily deposits of $15,000NT or $16,000NT? Because I can only take out $500US per day from my US account, so I go get the cash, then I walk into the bank and deposit it. Just look at the bank book and compare it with my bank statements, and you'll see they're done on the say day. Duh.

Then she told me that I'd already studied Chinese for a long time, and why did I need more. Excuse me? One year of studying Chinese doesn't even scratch the surface! I told her that I want to attend university here to pursue a degree in Asian studies and language, but that right now I'd never be able to understand the instructions. Also, I have aspirations to be an interpreter, and that requires years of study! By this time my stomach was in knots, and I was sure they were going to tell me no. She even asked me why I didn't go to Mainland China. Since I wasn't sure she was actually a Taiwan national, I didn't want to tell the truth, which is, "My god, that's a communist country with zero freedom, why the hell would I go there?" So, I told the other truth, which is that Mainland China has no Wu Bai & China Blue. Guess that worked, because I did get my visa.

Now, Cheryl and I hadn't eaten yet (those cheese Ritz didn't count), and it was after 3:00 p.m. The day before we'd gone to a great Mexican restaurant called Coyote for lunch, and we knew they were having happy hour now, so we headed over for some celebratory margaritas and food. It was expensive, $289HK, which is about $37US, but it was worth it. I can't get decent Mexican food in Taiwan, and a real margarita? Sppff, no way. We then went over to Marks and Spencer, where we had quite an enjoyable time making fun of the clothes, almost as much fun as we'd had in Starbucks the day before, looking at the Elle Magazine fashion photos. Almost giggled myself off the chair a couple of times with that. Most laughable were the bras, so heavily padded for those teeny little mosquito bites that pass for breasts on so many of the Asian gals.

The rest of my Hong Kong visit was spent watching Bollywood and Korean flicks with Cheryl, interspersed with a bit of the second season of "Little Britain." Met Doris for dinner on Thursday and had some good Shanghai-style food that was pretty inexpensive. Took off early Friday morning with Terry so he could drop me at the bus stop, landed in Taiwan at 1:00 p.m. Had to go to the visa office at the airport to get the actual visa attached to my passport, and that little delay resulted in me being stuck in a crowd of Japanese tourists waiting to get through immigration. Lordy, six planes must have landed at once! It took over an hour to finally get through, and my suitcase was sitting forlornly next to the luggage carousel when I got there. Got the bus back into town, took the MRT from Yuanshan home, dropped my suitcase (which, by the way, had been damaged and now the pull handle barely works) off, and headed to the vet to get DZ.

This was DZ's first time away from home. I didn't have much choice, can't keep asking friends to travel half an hour to feed my cat, and she needed to be spayed. Vet said she was a wild bundle of claws every time he went near her, which resulted in said claws being clipped. Also, their two cats were very curious about DZ and kept going over to her cage, which agitated her, so instead of locking their cats up in their cage, the vet put newspaper over the front of DZ's cage, so she was always in the dark. Gotta tell you I'm not real happy about that. She was completely traumatized, and it wasn't easy for me to get her out of the cage. Once I got her home, she was much better, but I got a few bites from her as she let me know exactly how she felt. I have to take her back today to get the stitches out, and that's not gonna be fun. Speaking of which, I need to go, it's getting late. Outta here.