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.

Worshipping at Wu Bai's Feet

OK, I'm back from Hong Kong, and while I wait for my hair to magically turn into a beautiful light copper shade, I'll write about the pub shows I went to on October 27 and 28.

That whole week was pretty busy for me. I had to get all my school stuff finalized (photos, health exam, fill out visa application, school app, etc.). I'd promised to do the daytime queuing since there was no one else available, but then I got a lovely surprise when Kennie ended up with days off and could keep me company.

So, after running my final errands on Wednesday a.m. (this is October 25 I'm talking about), I headed over to 京華城 to join the queue, which had been started by Charlene Tuesday afternoon. A couple others had joined her during the evening, and Kennie had showed up at 9:00 a.m. so Charlene could head off to work. When I arrived at 11:30 a.m., Kennie was all alone, just reading up on the 12th floor outside the Partyroom. We spent a couple hours chatting, after moving to a sofa outside one of the other pubs. The place was deserted, I guess because the shopping center is not really that convenient to get to, and it was a little eerie being all alone except for the cleaning staff and the poor girls at the restaurant that had no customers. Xiao Niu showed up at lunchtime, and she and Kennie took off. I had to run back over to the hospital at 1:30, and it took me two whole hours, just to get another original of my health exam! Sheesh.

Anyway, no one else from other groups showed up to queue until late Wednesday, when Ling Ayi and Mei Xue arrived. Charlene and Nat arrived probably close to 8:00 p.m., and Charlene brought with her the new CD, yay! Nat gave me a ride to the MRT station, and I got home around 9:15 p.m. I quickly converted the CD to MP3, then gave a listen to the CD. I didn't like it much at all, but that turned out to be because I was only using the laptop speakers, which suck. The next morning when I listened to the MP3s on the way back to 京華城, I decided it was quite good.

Charlene and Kennie were waiting for me when I got there, both very cold and tired. Although during the day and the evening we're allowed to queue inside, at night we're booted out onto the street. And then that morning one really pissy floor manager had given Charlene a lot of shit about how they didn't want us to line up there, how messy it looked, how the customers would complain, blah blah blah. However, we all trooped in at 11:00 a.m. as soon as they opened the elevator, and no one said a word to us all day. What a kerfuffle!

Thursday was another boring day of sitting around, but at least I had the new CD to occupy me. I had forgotten to bring the lyrics book with me, so I had to keep borrowing Kennie's. There were now quite a few more folks lined up, and more trickling in occasionally. My friend Kayun showed up in the afternoon, and I went to have lunch with her, then she hung around with us, using Kennie as a resource for some Chinese questions she had. When Nat and Charlene showed up that evening, Kayun and I caught a ride to the MRT with Nat, and once again I was home around 9:15-ish.

Friday it was back to do it all over again, but this time at least there was a concert at the end of the evening! Sharrie showed up early in the morning, after having taken a bus from Pingdong all night. Dino came by early in the morning. He'd been staying at a nearby hotel, the same one I'd stayed at in December 2002 when I was there for the shows at Plush Pub. He chatted with us a bit, told us that rehearsal would be at around 2:00 or 3:00. It's always nice to see Dino, and I really appreciate the way he treats us like friends.

The rest of the day was basically the same boring wait, and then when Charlene showed up in the afternoon, she told us that Nat's boss had taken her off to Xinzhu! It was unlikely Nat would be back in time for the show, but we held out hope until the last minute, then ended up selling her ticket. What a drag :(

Xiao Zhu and Da Mao both showed up around 2:00 p.m., and Dino was already inside. Wu Bai didn't make his appearance until 4:00 p.m., walking in surrounded by his security entourage, as if they expect we'll jump on him or something. Yeah, right. We get hugs and kisses from Dino, and the "don't even think about approaching this man" from Wu Bai's crew. I know it's mostly his wife, but still.....we're not like that, you know? Practice sounded pretty good, and knowing what songs would be performed made it easy to decide which lyrics to try to learn first! Kennie, Xiao Niu, and Sharrie busied themselves making signs, and other fan groups were also working on concert projects. Charlene brought our signs from before, so we didn't have to make any.

Hey, finally, it's time to go in! Ah Ci had come to hold our first place in line while we were inside, since he was only going to the Saturday show. By this time Xiao Huang was there, and P.J., so we had them, Kennie, Xiao Niu, Sharrie, Charlene, Xiu Chun, Shun, and me. We got in, and Charlene, Sharrie, and I planted ourselves right smack-dab in front of the microphone, which was horrifyingly close. I had no idea it would be that close. Wow. Well, I just had to hope Wu Bai would be too busy to notice how terribly fat I'd gotten (not that it matters, since he's going to see me tomorrow during broad daylight at the autograph session, but hey, I worry).

The show was fantastic, even with Wu Bai having to have the words of the songs laid out at his feet since he hadn't memorized them yet. He was more talkative than usual, too, and always laughing and smiling at us. Definitely looking good these days, with that long hair that suits him so well. He's lost weight, too, but I kinda like him a little chubby, because he looks more hug-able. I got my 10 seconds of special attention while he was singing the new song "Cherry Lover" which Charlene got a kick out of and kept nudging me in the side afterwards. All I know is that when he looks at me and smiles like that, I just wanna die. One line in one of the new songs is 我知道我幻想的都不可以 沒有關係 - I know I can't have any of my fantasies; it doesn't matter. That's how I feel, too ;)

After the show I said goodbye to Sharrie, who had to take the bus back to Pingdong, hung around a bit with Charlene, and then I waited for Guoxi to come pick me up, since he had insisted on doing so. Who am I to argue? I ran into Da Mao and his wife while I was pacing around waiting, and he thanked me (and the others) for spending all that time in line. It's nice to be appreciated. I ended up getting home around 1:30 a.m., listened to my pissed off cat chewing me out for being gone so long, took a shower to get the smoke out of my hair and the sweat off my body, fell into bed for three hours, up at 5:30 a.m. and back to 京華城 at 7:15 a.m., where Charlene and Shun were sleeping and holding our place in line.

You guessed it - another boring day in line, this time suffering from lack of sleep. I dozed a bit during the day, but not much. As soon as we got inside that morning, Ling Ayi's group started a big argument with Charlene, because they seemed to think we should give up our first place in line and allow them to stand in front of Wu Bai. WTF? Hey, you wanna get that spot, then YOU show up Tuesday afternoon! They claimed that Sharrie had told them on Friday that it would be OK, and this fight went on most of the day. Charlene was so calm and cool, while the other chick who was carrying on was loud and obnoxious. I told Charlene that I didn't mind standing in the second row as long as no one taller than me was in front of me, but I still thought it kinda sucked that they figured they had the right to ask. But I hate fighting, so I said it was OK with me. Shun was furious, though, and he did a lot of yelling before stomping off somewhere. Eventually, Charlene said they'd worked out a deal for the five of us to stand on the right of the microphone, in two rows, while the 20 or so of them would be on the left. Since Charlene and I were the shortest in our group, we'd get front row. Shun was too angry about this and said he wasn't going at all, which turned out great because Natari got his ticket and was able to see the show. Late in the afternoon Xiao Yu showed up, and she said she'd just wait at the end of the (by now) very long line. It was too hot back there, though, so she stayed with us, only going to the end when we started to go in.

So, there we are, waiting for 8:00 p.m. I'd seen Dino, Xiao Zhu, and Da Mao all go in, but I hadn't seen Wu Bai, and it was quiet inside. Suddenly, Wu Bai's wife came out and took off. Hm, he must be in there, since she rarely lets him off the leash, so why isn't there any rehearsal? Awhile later, Dino came to the door, saying he was waiting for his coffee, and "Oh, there is it now." Here came Mrs. Wu carrying a bunch of coffee. Wow, never figured she'd play gofer herself! The rehearsal didn't actually start until like 7:00 or so, and damned if they didn't keep going until 8:30! We were a bit unhappy about this, and so tired of waiting. But, we finally got to go in.

And more trouble began. We got our agreed-upon spots at the front and to the right, and then the other group wanted to push us over even further. That's when we dug in our heels and said "fuck you, we ain't moving." Sometimes it pays to be a lot bigger than most of the girls in Taiwan, because ain't no way that little bitty gal on my left was going to be able to budge me. Surprisingly, Xiao Yu and her friend managed to fight their way over to us, so at least Xiao Yu could see (she's about 4 and a half feet tall and needs to be up front). Xiu Chun and Ah Ci were behind me, Charlene on my right and Nat on her right. We had a great view of Dino and Xiao Zhu, but could barely see Da Mao. Wu Bai, of course, was right on top of us.

Another great show, this time with Wu Bai dragging the rest of the guys out on stage to perform a little disco number to "You Are My Flower." The night before, Wu Bai had done it alone, cracked us up big time. Saturday we were trying to do it along with them, but I was failing miserably. I am just not co-ordinated enough. And I was laughing too hard. I also popped in my custom-made vampire teeth for one song, since it was close to Halloween and there was a Halloween party scheduled afterwards. Not sure the guys could see the teeth, but it was fun, and the fans around us got a kick out of it.

Afterwards we went across the street for hot pot, and I can't believe I didn't fall asleep in my food. I decided not to stay at Nat's, since I'd have to sleep on the floor, and I took a cab home. Never had such a slow driver, so of course it cost me more money, and the guy never shut up the whole time. I was barely awake and just not up to a conversation in Chinese, but he just kept yapping. Got home at 2:30 a.m., didn't even bother with a shower, just collapsed on the bed, dreaming sweet dreams of the sexiest guy on earth (yes, this is just my opinion) and the greatest band of all - Wu Bai & China Blue.

ACK!!

Don't expect to see much from me for awhile. Why, you ask?

Tomorrow I go pick up my health report (and boy, that wasn't an easy process, royal pain in the ass, should write a rant about it - but at least it only cost me $20US for the X-ray, HIV test, and the eye exam, try getting that in the States for that cheap), then go to Tamkang University to apply for classes starting 11/20. After that I head over to Core Pacific Living Mall to begin the long days of queuing in line for the two pub shows on Friday and Saturday nights. I'll get to come home in the evenings, but I probably won't feel like writing much and will likely just sit listening to the new CD over and over and over.

Next week I head to Hong Kong Monday evening so I can get my student visa. No, you can't get a visa while you're actually in Taiwan, that would be too easy. You have to leave the country to apply for a visa. I'll be back on Friday afternoon. Doesn't give me much time to hang out with friends there.

Then Sunday the 5th is the autograph session! Yippee skippy, looks as if I'll actually make it to this one. My original plan for going to Hong Kong was leave 11/3 and return 11/9, which would of course have caused me to miss this event.

November 10 is the placement test for the university, then 11/11 is the Airwaves concert, and I won a ticket, yeah!

November 19 there's another autograph session in Taichung, but I probably won't go since I'm going to the one on the 5th.

Took the cat in for her shots (5-in-1, rabies, feline peritonitis, de-worming) today, $1800NT ($54US). Taking her back on Monday to leave her for boarding ($1500NT = $45US) and spaying ($2000NT = $60US). Probably cheaper than the US but still more money than I really wanted to spend. Especially since I'm not making any money this week or next!

Bottom line: I'm gonna be busy. You'll see me when you see me.

Finally, About Singapore

OK, I guess I've slacked off enough and should write a bit about my trip to Singapore before I completely forget what happened. All the photos are posted here: Singapore - October 2006

I arrived at a few minutes before 11:00 p.m. on Monday, October 2. I think about 50 other planes must have landed at the same time, because the immigration lines were packed! The whole room was filled with people of all sorts, and none of the lines seemed to be moving quickly. It took about 40 minutes from landing time to actually getting out the door, where David and Tona had been patiently waiting for me. I felt so bad about making them wait so long and told them to just drop me at the hotel and go home, but they wanted to eat first, so off we went. We stopped at a hawker center that was rather famous in Singapore, but David and Tona hadn't tried it. We munched down some good food and then headed for my hotel.

I'd chosen a place I found on the Internet, the Astro Hotel . The description made it sound quite charming, and I'd asked Lee Ying about the area of town, and she said it was OK. Well.....it wasn't quite as charming as the website made it out to be, and I rode up in the elevator with a guy and his Vietnamese hooker, listening to him giving her instructions on just what she could do for him. Oh swell. However, it was cheap and it was quiet, so what the hell. During my short stay I killed a total of six cockroaches, but they were all little bitty things, not the monsters we have here in Taiwan, so I wasn't too upset. At a cost of $38US per night, I wasn't about to complain.

By the time I actually was in bed, it was after 1:00 a.m., and I was able to sleep in a bit on Tuesday. David and Tona were supposed to meet me for brunch around 10:30, but because there was a heavy rainstorm, David called to say they'd probably be a little late. My room had no window, so I was clueless about the weather. By the time I emerged to do some preliminary exploring, there was no rain, just wet pavement, and the heat was just awful. Singapore has only three seasons, you know: summer, hot summer, and so-hot-you-think-your-hair-will-melt summer. I believe I experienced hot summer this time.

I wandered around the Gelang Serai area a bit. It's the Malay part of town, and since it was the Malay Hari Raya Light-up Celebration, there was quite a bit of activity going on very close to the hotel. Most of it was at night, but there were some things open during the day. I picked a good time to visit Singapore, because it was also the Indian Deepavali (Festival of Lights) and the Chinese Mid Autumn Festival, and every part of town seemed to be lit up with beautiful lights in the evenings.

When David and Tona arrived, we went off to the pork rib soup place they'd taken me to in September. Damn, that stuff is so good! The do-it-yourself seasoning I'd bought was nearly as good. After we had our fill they dropped me off at the shopping center that has books, books, books. I was on a search for some books I'd seen on the last trip. I spent some time there, searching with no luck, then I walked down to Arab Street. It was fun wandering around there, looking at all the beautiful materials and the carpets, but I didn't buy anything. On the way back to the MRT station, I walked through a wholesale market area, where I bought a cheap coffee cup and a spoon, since the hotel had none. Then I stopped for some kaya toast and coffee to give my feet a rest. Um, I love kaya toast!

Walking from the MRT station to my hotel took me through the Malay bazaar, which had all sorts of stuff. It's a bit like the night markets in Taiwan, but not quite. Again, I didn't buy anything. I spent a little time at the hotel before heading off to meet Lilian in Chinatown for dinner. I got there early and walked all over the place looking for a bathroom, because the bathrooms in the Singapore MRT stations are not as easily found as those in Taiwan, and I'd assumed they, like Hong Kong, didn't have them. By the time Lilian showed up, I was pooped!

She took me to a hawker center that specialized in barbecued seafood, and I had stingray for the first time in my life. Oh my. It was so delicious, so tasty, such a shame it's not available here in Taiwan. We also had some clams and squid, and I had a Tiger Draft, which was twice as good because I was so hot and tired. After dinner we drove to Chinatown proper to look at all the lanterns. Sadly, I was too tired to have much enthusiasm, but we did walk around for quite awhile, chatting, and then Lilian kindly drove me back to the hotel, taking a detour through Little India so I could see all the lights (which weren't nearly as pretty during the day, when I went back).

On Wednesday I went alone to the Chinese Gardens in the morning. My friend Li Yan had told me they would be much prettier at night when the lanterns were lit, but I didn't really have any evenings free, so daytime would have to do. I didn't eat any breakfast, because I figured there'd be a place to eat there. Ha, wrong. The teashop was closed, only open at night. So, by the time I finished my two hours of walking, I was famished! I had some pineapple cakes that I was going to give Li Yan, but she never got them - I ate them. But I didn't eat the Kahlua cake I'd made for her, so I'm not such a bad person, right?

Li Yan and I met at 1:00 and she took me to her university for lunch. We ate with some of her friends, including a guy from Shanghai. The food was very inexpensive (I must say here that I actually didn't pay for any of the food I'd eaten so far, because everyone kept insisting on treating me) and there was far too much of it (I got ma po tofu). After lunch we went to the library so I could check my e-mail, then browsed the campus bookstore for awhile. Then Li Yan suggested we go to Haw Par Villa, built by the same guy who had built Hong Kong's Tiger Balm Gardens. She said that although it wasn't as popular as it had been in the past, it was still an interesting place to see and wouldn't be crowded. Sounded fine to me! So, we took a bus (believe it or not, Singapore actually has some non air-conditioned buses, so strange in such a hot climate) and spent about an hour walking around the Villa.

After that Li Yan took me to SunTec City Mall, because there was a used bookstore there. It's a very interesting store. You can choose to just rent the books or to buy them. Each book has two prices listed, and the older books are cheaper than the newer ones. For example, you might pay $15S for the book, but if you bring it back to the shop, they will give you back $12.50S. They had tons of stuff, and I bought quite a few of the books on my list. We walked around the mall a little bit, but my feet were starting to complain, so we didn't stay long.

I had plans to meet up with Angela and Taka for dinner, and Li Yan was going with her family. The two of us went back to my hotel so I could pick up the stuff I'd brought for A & T, and Li Yan's father picked us up and drove me to the place I was meeting my friends. Traffic was bad, so I was about a half hour later than I'd planned on being. Taka and Angela were waiting for me, and we just went to the food court at the mall for dinner. I decided on the chicken rice, since it's soooo good. After dinner we just wandered around in the mall, talking. Neither of them had the time to go with me to Little India, and I was pretty tired from all the walking I'd done anyway, so I just went back to the hotel, arriving around 10:00 or so. I watched a little TV, because there were a couple of interesting Chinese TV series on, then went to sleep.

I spent most of Thursday riding the MRT all over creation, searching out the used book exhibitions in the hope of finding the rest of the books I wanted. No luck, sad to say, although I did find a couple others that were cheap, so it wasn't a wasted day. Lee Ying had hoped to get a half day off to spend with me, but she was unable to, so we made plans to meet for dinner. However, Li Yan wanted to hang out again, so she and I made the trip to Little India. It wasn't quite as exciting as I'd hoped it would be, but I think the heat and my tiredness probably had something to do with my lack of enjoyment.

We met up with Lee Ying at 7:00, and Vynson also joined us. After a discussion about what to eat, we decided on pizza and proceeded to the restaurant. As luck would have it, they had a special on, two pizzas for the price of one - cool! We had a lovely dinner, laughing and talking, mostly about Wu Bai, of course. Vynson told the story of how he came to be the "Singapore Wu Bai" and had us all laughing. After dinner, Lee Ying, Li Yan, and I took a cab back to my hotel so I could get the cake and books I'd brought for Lee Ying, and I spend another evening watching Chinese TV series before falling asleep.

Friday it was up early to pack and then a short cab ride to the airport. I had another chicken rice meal there and then wandered around the shops, stopping at one of the free Internet stations to check my mail.

My flight was on time, but I had the misfortune of being seated next to a couple and their little girl, maybe two or three years old. That kid was incredibly annoying. I was in the aisle seat, and it was the very first row, so there was a lot of leg room. This meant said child could walk back and forth, which she did, frequently, grabbing onto my legs, stepping on my feet, keeping me from napping. The flight attendant didn't help, because she was just encouraging her to keep walking over to her. And then some little boy from the other side of the plane kept coming over to check out the little girl, so I had both of them annoying me. Grrrrrr. After the umpteenth time of being awakened, I guess the mother finally noticed my exasperated sigh and offered to change her window seat for my aisle seat. That was a bit better - until we started our descent. Then the kid began screaming at the top of her lungs, because she didn't want to wear the seatbelt. She kept it up, non-stop, until we were on the ground. I hate kids.

Uneventful bus ride/MRT trip back home, and as I walked from the station to my house, I was treated to the wonderful smells of everyone outside barbecuing, because it was Mid Autumn Festival, and that's what one does in Taiwan on Mid Autumn Festival. It smelled so good, but all I had to eat when I got home was a bagel I'd purchased in Singapore. Wah! Poor me, no BBQ this year.

Many thanks to my Singapore friends for making my visit so nice! I hope you'll be visiting me in Taiwan soon so I can return the favor :)

They Just Keep Getting Better!

Howdy folks, back from Singapore, but before I tell you about that trip I want to write about Saturday night's excellent performance by ABS - All Blues and Ska.

See ABS at New York New York for the full set of photos. Maybe one day I'll figure out how to post the videos I took.

Charlene, Natari, and I showed up at New York New York Restaurant at 7:30 p.m., because we'd been told that in order to reserve a table at the front we had to get there early and have dinner. Huh. Guess they didn't tell any of the others that, because the place was virtually empty. Since it's Mid Autumn Festival, most of Taipei was outside barbecuing with their friends and family. Ah well, what the hell. We ordered a few dishes and had a nice meal, waiting for the 9:00 show.

But you know, this is Taiwan, and this is ABS, and we know that they never, ever start on time. It must have been at least 9:30 p.m. before we got any music, but it was worth the wait. The show was kicked off by a solo performance of a guy named Mark, half Taiwanese, half American. My goddess, could this guy belt out the tunes. If I hadn't been looking at him, I'd never have believed he was white. The guy can sing. Dino said he, Xiao Zhu, and Da Mao had played with this guy way back before Wu Bai ever showed up on the scene.

We were actually a little bit sorry to see Mark leave the stage, but Dino promised the audience he'd return for the encore. Then ABS kicked in and all was well. They've added another guitarist, Lao Liu, who we'd seen playing with them at the summer street party. Between him and Xiao Yang (whom Dino calls Stevie Ray Yang) the guitar riffs were flying back and forth all evening. Xiao Zhu's bass and Da Mao's keyboards were smoking, and I thought Dino's drum kit was going to explode from the force of his blows. He's not known as 大力打鼓 Da Li Da Gu (Hits the Drums with Vigor) for nothing!

There was a surprise guest at the show. Xiao Yang's regular job is playing guitar for Bobby Chen (whose "Love You 10,000 Years" duet with Wu Bai can be found on the Wu Bai Live CD), and Bobby was in the audience. Unfortunately, Bobby was doing what Bobby does best - drinking. Wu Bai's song "You're Drunk, My Dear" is aimed at Bobby. He's only gotten worse over the years. He got up on stage with the guys, dragged out his harmonica, and they all did one of Bobby's songs together, with a nice round of applause from the audience afterwards. And then Bobby refused to get off stage. And Dino and Xiao Zhu were getting progressively more pissed off. They tried to reason with him and said, "Later, for the encore, OK?" but he wouldn't budge. Finally, ABS departed the stage and left Bobby up there alone. Shortly, his other two guitar players came up, looking quite embarrassed, and they played while Bobby drunkenly sang another song. Bobby's keepers managed to get him off stage so the guys could return, but he came back up to the front later, stood in front of Da Mao, poking him in the chest and grabbing his keyboard as he was playing. Another keeper, a woman, was able to get him to let go. There was another nutcase who kept getting on stage, too, a guy Charlene said used to be on TV and was a reporter. He ended up with a tambourine in hand and was smashing Dino's cymbals and the movie screen behind the stage. Every now and then he'd pretend his elbow was a camera (you had to be there). Weirdo......

Dino's beautiful girlfriend Carrie was there, along with his son, Alex (who was pretty drunk by the end of the evening, ha). Xiao Zhu's wife Du-du and Da Mao's wife Bee were along for the ride, and the three ladies spent some time in front of the stage, dancing up a storm, joined by another gal who I assume belonged to either Xiao Yang or Lao Liu. I've only said "hi" to Du-du, no conversation, but Bee has always been a sweetheart when I talk to her, and of course Carrie is a living doll (and Dino is one damned lucky man). What a contrast between these three fine ladies and a certain other wife who has nothing but sour faces and glares for the fans and who would never condescend to a friendly conversation. I guess some women are just more confident in their men and aren't threatened by fans who have no interest in trying to bed their boys. Likewise the guys are always very friendly and talkative when we go to the ABS shows. I think they really appreciate the fact that we admire them as musicians in their own rights, not just as a backup band for Wu Bai, which so many people make the mistake of doing.

It was around 1:30 a.m. when things finally ended, after a kickass encore that even got me up dancing around a bit. It was far too late to catch the MRT home, so I stayed at Natari's place, waking up at 6:30 and heading home, where I fell back into bed for a few more hours. I was in kind of a daze most of the day yesterday and didn't do much at all. The house is filthy with cat hair and cat litter, and I really have to clean today! Really. I do. So, Singapore story has to wait.

I'm Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Taking off this afternoon for Singapore, back on Friday evening. Looking forward to Saturday evening and a fine performance from ABS. Also looking forward to the upcoming Wu Bai & China Blue pub shows on October 27 and 28, although not looking forward to queueing in line for three days, mostly alone since the others in the group have to work during the day :(

The new CD comes out this month, and I hope that means an autograph session. I have so many autographed CDs and other things, but not one them I actually got done myself. I think it's about time I stood in front of the guys on my own, huh?

Apologies to everyone I owe e-mail to. I'll eventually get around to it. I hope.

We're All Just a Bunch of Fruit

My dear friend Brandi sent this one to me last month, and I decided I liked it so much that it deserved a place here.

Women are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. Most men don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they sometimes take the apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy to get. The apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality they're amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along, the one who is brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree. Share this with women who are good apples, even those who have already been picked.

Men are like a fine wine. They begin as grapes, and it's up to women to stomp the shit out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

Happy stomping, those of you who have grapes. And for those of you who are still hanging around the top of the tree, be thankful. You could be rotting into a sodden mush on the ground, within easy reach of some sour grape.

Cops: Taipei

The police in Taipei drive around with the lights on the tops of their cars constantly turned on, revolving red and blue. I've often wondered just how they actually get offenders to stop when they wish them to. Now Johnny Neihu, the funniest writer at the Taipei Times, has cleared up some of the mystery.

Stop! Or I'll shoot you hesitantly

Nag, nag, nag

Awright, awright. I'll write something! I've been getting a little nagging from friends who haven't seen anything new here in awhile. Sorry, but on top of still teaching English every day, I haven't had much excitement in my life to write about! But I can muster up a little bit now.

Best this is that this week, due to a visit from Singaporean friend, David, I got to have dinner with some of my favorite people: Natari, Charlene, Dino, Carrie, and another friend who must remain un-named for the time being. The bonus guest was Dino's son, Alex, who is here visiting from California. Nice kid, 18 years old, looks so much like his dad (despite the bleached blonde hair), and has eyelashes so long and thick that women everywhere (including Carried) were trying to figure out how to steal them. I won't be posting any photos of Alex, because I don't think it's a good idea to put the children of stars into the public eye, but here's a cute pic of David with Dino. Dino is demonstrating how he copes with frustration.

David is a huge fan of Dino's and is currently studying drumming. He was able to pick up a few tips from Dino during our evening out. He also scored a pair of Dino's drumsticks, the ones he used during the Singapore concert at the beginning of the month. As you see, Dino must have suffered a lot of frustration to leave the sticks in this condition!

After eating a little bit at Din Tai Feng, famous for their xiao long bao, we moved over to one of the whackiest restaurants I've ever seen: Indian Jurassic Park. You have to check out the photos of this place: Indian Jurassic Restaurant

It was a very noisy place, and rather smoky, but lots of fun. We had some tasty food there, including fried rice, deep-fried squid, Three Cup Chicken (三杯雞), some clams in a yummy sauce (炒海瓜子), some veggie (空心菜), and some fish. The fish was beautifully presented that I had to take a photo. If you can work your way through the Chinese at the above link, you can see some photos of other food. We of course also had beer.

I was happy to have some time to spend chatting with Dino's son. He was a little jet lagged, so he wasn't too lively, but he seemed to be enjoying himself. We share some of the same heritage, American Indian and Italian. And we've both lived in Wyoming, him in Laramie and me in Cheyenne. He's not too interested in becoming a drummer, but he might want to be an equestrian veterinarian when he grows up. He just graduated from high school, and now he's trying to figure out what he should study in college.

Anyway, that's about the only really fun thing I've done. My Korean friend, Kayun, has begun studying English with me and is coming twice a week. After class sometimes we watch movies, which is fun, especially now that I have the new Pioneer DVD player and surround-sound system. This week we watched a great Korean movie called "Welcome to Dongmakgol." A big thank-you to Cheryl for passing that one along to me. And last week I finally got to see "Old Boy," a movie I've had for over a year and a half but never watched. It was just as intense as all the reviews had said.

Let's see, what else? Well, my friend/student, Aaron, left for his year of study in the UK. His family invited me to a goodbye dinner, and the food was excellent. His mom and dad are both fantastic cooks, and I really appreciated them asking me to join the rest of the family that evening. I'm going to miss Aaron, and I hope he adapts well to life in England. At the end he said he really didn't want to go, but it was too late to change his mind.

I've started trading English lessons for Chinese ones. Ye Ying, one of the teachers who had been at CLD while I was there, is planning on going to Holland to study Chinese culture. Personally, I think that's a bit weird, going to a European country for Asian studies, but she said the school is famous for it's courses. She wants to improve her English, and my Chinese has been regressing, so we're doing a trade. It will be good for me to get back into the study habit before I start at Shi Da in December.

I'll be heading back to Singapore on October 2 for a three-day, four-night stay. I spent some time yesterday online making a list of places I want to see, and I'll mostly be alone on my journeys. But, that's how I like it! I was able to find a very inexpensive hotel (only $156US for four nights), so I won't be spending too much. However, I am a little miffed that I didn't know earlier that Wu Bai & China Blue would be in Macau for a show on 9/30, because I would have gone there instead! Dammit, they never make these announcements early enough. Also, my friend Maddy from Florida will be in Hong Kong while I'm in Singapore! Again, had she told me sooner, I would have gone back to Hong Kong so I could see her. Rats rats rats!

I've completely avoided discussing the political situation here in Taiwan, because I really do hate politics and politicians. I'll briefly say that a bunch of people who have their heads up their collective ass are currently doing a sit-in protest to try to convince the president, Chen Shui Bian, to step down. They're all riled up because of alleged corruption. I think they should read this informative editorial in the Taipei Times: Taiwan's Color-Coded View of Corruption

If I have to choose between two evils, I'll take the lesser, and Ah Bian certainly qualifies as that. No, he's not perfect, but he at least wants Taiwan to be an independent, democrat country, while the Kuomintang would rather give it back to China and lose all the freedom we have. Idiots. And I can't even begin to explain how incredibly stupid Taiwan's vice president is. Root around in the editorial archives of the Times for some interesting stuff, if you have the time.

I'm done now. I have to prepare for my afternoon class now. I'll try to be better about posting, but no promises!

Unimportant Notes

Just a few things I think about and then forget to write about, so I'm finally doing it.

1. I'm making more money in interest now than when I moved here, even though I've spent a lot of money. This confuses me. However, it also pleases me, so I hope it continues.

2. Despite the extremely warm summer and my being at home far more than I was last year and hence using the air conditioner much more, my electric bill for July and August was only $1849NT, or about $56US. Can't complain.

3. I'm buying a new DVD player and a surround sound system. My treasured Malata all-region DVD player began having issues and refuses to play a DVD all the way to the end. So, I decided to go ahead and buy a new one that is bundled with a home theater sound system. I'm tired of listening to Wu Bai concerts through the lousy TV speakers.

4. I finally sold my little refrigerator this week. Did I mention I'd bought a new, larger one? Can't remember. But I did, because I wanted a freezer that I could actually put things into.

5. My Sunday student canceled our classes for the month of September because she's a wedding consultant and has too much going on. Bye-bye $225US. Crap on a rope. Guess this month I'm not making any money, since the guy I've been teaching three days a week is leaving for the UK.

6. Charlene passed along the great news that ABS will be performing on October 7. Coolio, since I'll be back from the next trip to Singapore on October 6. Let's hope they don't change the date to the 6th, because rushing from the airport to the club would be a pain in the ass.

7. The Demons from Hell upstairs have been suspiciously quiet lately. I think perhaps they've started going to school and now are forced to spend their evenings doing homework rather than screaming and pounding and running back and forth. Either that or their parents finally cracked and killed the both of 'em.

That's all, folks.

Singapore Rocks to Wu Bai & China Blue

Let me begin by saying that I understand why a discount airline is called a discount airline. I flew Jetstar Asia to Singapore because the price was right. That price did not include a meal. Oh no, if I wanted food, I had to pay for my meal (and beverage), and no food not purchased on the plane was allowed to be consumed.

Fine, then, I'll buy it. I hadn't eaten since around 1:00 p.m. on Friday, and it was now coming up on 8:00 p.m., and I was starved. The food cart starts down the aisle, not far from me, because I'm in row 8. I can smell it, and I'm getting hungrier by the minute. There were three choices on the menu: Egg Noodle with Seaweed Roll and Mixed Vegetables, Fried Rice with Chicken Teriyaki and Sauteed Vegetables, and Nasi Rampai with Sambal Fish and Sayur Lodeh. The last item was completely incomprehensible to me, and the seaweed roll put me off the first, so chicken teriyaki it would be. The cart reached the row in front of me. Suddenly, the plane began bucking as it hit turbulence, and the captain ordered the crew to return to their seats. The cart was whisked away. Nooooo!!!! I'm so hungry!!!! Finally, after 10 or 15 minutes, the cart returns, and it's my turn. "I'll have the chicken teriyaki." The pretty, perky flight attendant made a little moue. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry, but we're out of that." Huh? How is this possible? I'm in row 8 for crying out loud! "Uh, fine, then I guess I'll have the fish thing." Again with the moue. "Oh dearie me, so sorry, I've just given the last one to my colleague. We have egg noodle with seaweed roll." "Well, what exactly is that?" "It's egg noodle with seaweed roll." "Never mind, can I just buy some nuts and some water?" I'm not gonna pay $5.00 US for something that sounds yucky. If they served it free, I'd try it, but I'm NOT paying for it.

The nuts didn't go far, and about an hour and a half before landing, the cart came around again. "Would you like to purchase a beverage?" a different perky, pretty girl asked. "Food?" I said hopefully, hoping to score some cookies. "Oh, gosh, gee, I'm so sorry, there is none." And then, as the cart returned to the front, at a speed only slightly slower than the speed of light, I heard the guy who was pushing it saying under his breath, "Drinks? Snacks? Drinks? Snacks?" but before my brain had a chance to say, "Hey...wait a minute, snacks is food!" the cart was gone. WTF? Stupid perky flight attendant doesn't know that nuts, candy bars, and cookies are in the FOOD group?

So, I landed in Singapore ready to chew on the arm of the person in front of me at immigration. Luckily they're quite speedy there, and I was into the baggage check area in no time, grabbing my bag and going out into the mob of waiting people, wondering how the hell I'd find Tona and Lee Ying. I only had to look around for a couple of minutes, though, before spotting them, and the first words out of my mouth were "FEED ME NOW!" We jumped into the car, where David had been waiting for us, and off we went for my first taste of Singapore food. That food was prata with chicken curry, and it was sheer heaven. The restaurant was Muslim Indian, I believe, and was quite crowded even at midnight. I managed not to faint away while we waited for the food. After the meal we drove to Tona and David's place (check out the nice view from their living room window), dropping Lee Ying at her stop on the way, and then hit the sack.

Saturday Tona and David took me for breakfast to a place that serves pork rib soup, known in Singapore at Bak Kut Teh. This is a marvelous broth with lots of roasted garlic and strips of lean pork, along with some sort of green veggie. They told me this is one of Wu Bai's favorite things to eat in Singapore (and this is a photo of his favorite shop), and I see why. I ended up buying some of the do-it-yourself seasoning packets at the grocery store to use here at home. After breakfast we drove around, with Tona pointing out various sites to me. We stopped briefly in Chinatown and walked around, but it was pretty hot, and Tona is five months pregnant and tires easily, so we didn't push it. We went to a shopping mall to meet Angela and Takasan for just a little while, and we went around to some used bookstores but didn't find anything good. Then later in the afternoon we collected Lee Ying and went to dinner for another Singapore specialty, Hai Nan Chicken Rice (along with some fried tofu and veggies and beer for me). The chicken is cooked in a seasoned broth and then allowed to cool, and the rice is cooked in the broth, the special seasoning giving the rice a great flavor. A light soy sauce is poured on the chicken, which is on a bed of cucumbers when it's served. Very yummy, and I bought the fixings for that, too.

After dinner it was off to the concert venue, picking up Lee Yang on the way, where we met up with Angela, Lilian, and the other Singapore fans, most of whom I didn't know (and my memory sucks, so I don't even remember everyone's names). We didn't have to wait outside long before they let us in, and we found our seats pretty close to the front. The front four rows had not even been available to the public for purchase, all reserved for special folks. Too bad, because those folks didn't even bother to stand up during the show. Lame arseholes. Why don't they let the real fans have the good seats?

The first part of the concert was Zhang Zhen Yue and Free Night, along with guest MC Hotdog. I don't mind their music, especially "Wo Ai Tai Mei" and the "oh Mama, wo yao qian" song, but ZZY was a bit down that evening. Not surprising since a couple weeks before his girlfriend (or close friend, depending on the source) committed suicide. It's a wonder he was performing at all. The crowd was rather subdued, and it was obvious that most of us were there for Wu Bai & China Blue.

And then the real fun began, with Da Mao hitting the stage and sitting at his keyboards, and then Wu Bai coming on for the opening number, Summer Night Wind. The rest of the concert was typical Wu Bai & China Blue, great performances, Wu Bai forgetting song lyrics (he blew White Dove soooo badly!), and Dino cutting up in the back while DJ eTurn was spinning his records - Dino was pretending to spin his cymbals. The crowd was mostly standing (and that's a no-no in Singapore), at least where we were (except for those fuddy-duddies in the front rows), and we were all singing at the top of our lungs and waving our light sticks. This concert was like a combination of the Love Power tour of 2004 and the Li Hai concert of last year, a good mix, a lot of favorite songs that I can sing along with. Doesn't matter how many times I hear the same songs in concert, I still love 'em.

The show was too short, of course, and the finale was Wu Bai & China Blue together with ZZY's band and MC Hotdog, a fun song, one I'm not familiar with. Then it was over, and we left. We hung around in front for awhile, then walked over toward the car. We noticed some fans waiting at the back, so we drifted over that way, saw some of ZZY's band come out, then Dino, Da Mao, and Xiao Zhu walked out the back door. I yelled Dino's name, he looked around and saw me, then came over to the barricade, shaking hands with fans and signing autographs. Finally Wu Bai and wife, along with other staff members, came out and boarded the little bus that would take them back to the hotel. We waved as they went by, but I'm not sure if anyone waved back, because I was just noticing that Miss Chen wouldn't even look our way and acknowledge our presence. Hmph.

Sunday the guys flew home, and Lilian and Angela went to the airport to see them off. They got to get their photos with Wu Bai and say a few words. I just can't make myself chase after the guy, you know? I mean, going to the show is one thing, but showing up at airports or hotels just feels wrong for me. If it had just been Dino, Da Mao, and Xiao Zhu, I would have gone, though, because they're just down-to-earth cool guys.

Sunday I went off with Lee Ying to meet Angela, Lilian, Eileen, and Li Yan for lunch, which we had at a shopping mall. I've been online buddies with Li Yan for about six years, and this was the first time I'd gotten to meet her face to face. We all hung around chatting a bit, then Lilian, Li Yan, and I headed off on our own. All we did was go to Carrefour at that mall and hit a couple of DVD shops. Then Lilian drove me to the airport so I could meet up with Tona, who was dropping David off for his flight (he works for Singapore Airlines). Tona and I went for dinner, choosing satay, both chicken and beef. Another yummy food! Then we went to a grocery store and ended up finding a book exhibition that had some great deals on used books (I bought four). We were pretty tired, so we just went back to Tona's and kicked back, watching a bit of TV (did you know there's a restaurant in Australia that's a Clydesdale-drawn carriage? check it out http://www.clydesdalesrestaurant.com.au/), and talking.

Monday morning I was up bright and early, packing all my stuff, and Tona dropped me off at the airport around 11:00. We wanted more pork rib soup for breakfast, but the place was closed, so we decided to wait for next time. I grabbed some sushi at the airport. I was seated in row 2 this time, and I was able to actually get the chicken teriyaki. Too bad, because it was simply awful, half cold and really tasteless. Next month when I go back I'll definitely stuff myself at the airport before boarding the plane!

Landed at almost 6:00 p.m., got on the bus back to Taipei at 6:25, finally hit home a little after 8:00, tired but happy. Now I'm just waiting for the new CD to be released and more concerts!

Life's a bitch......and then you marry one

Let us hope these words do not prove true for our little Hiyoshi. Remember I said he and Lisa were getting married in November? Well, it seems Hiyoshi didn't tell the whole truth. They're getting married tomorrow, one day before he leaves to go back to Japan. It's the civil ceremony, to be sure, but every bit as binding as that big party they'll have in November. I can't help but feel that Lisa felt the need to get those chains on him before he was far enough away from the influence of raging hormones to actually think clearly about what he's doing.

He was still saying today that 1) he didn't know if he loved her 2) he also didn't understand why she would want to marry a man who had never said "I love you and 3) he was worried that she wouldn't be able to adapt to life in Japan

Oh boy.....

I'll be back later with a report on the Singapore trip, but that requires some time at the computer, and this was a brief newscast ;)

Kafka on the Shore

From "Kafka on the Shore" by Haruki Murakami, translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel

"That's it," Oshima says. He taps his temple lightly with the eraser end of the pencil. "But there's one thing I want you to remember, Kafka. Those are exactly the kind of people who murdered Miss Saeki's childhood sweetheart. Narrow minds devoid of imagination. Intolerance, theories cut off from reality, empty terminology, usurped ideals, inflexible systems. Those are the things that really frighten me. What I absolutely fear and loathe. Of course it's important to know what's right and what's wrong. Individual errors in judgment can usually be corrected. As long as you have the courage to admit mistakes, things can be turned around. But intolerant, narrow minds with no imagination are like parasites that transform the host, change form, and continue to thrive. They're a lost cause, and I don't want anyone like that coming in here."

Oshima points at the stacks with the tip of his pencil. What he means, of course, is the entire library.

"I wish I could just laugh off people like that, but I can't."


I picked up this book because I'd read before that this Japanese author was Wu Bai's favorite. The price was right (and that's always a deciding factor here in Taiwan, where English books are so expensive), so I figured what the heck. I am completely inept at writing book reviews, and all I'm able to say is that this book is a marvelous tale, full of awakenings and insight, and I'm so glad I bought it. Murakami's other books are now on my list.

Prior to the above-quoted passage, Oshima mentions that these sort of people are those that T. S. Eliot called hollow men. ".....people who have no imagination.......People who fill up that lack of imagination with heartless bits of straw, not even aware of what they're doing. Callous people who throw a lot of empty words at you, trying to force you to do what you don't want to." I thought of Bush when I read all of this, and his entire administration. Parasites that transform the host, indeed, hollow men who lack imagination. And like Oshima, I wish I could just laugh them off.....and I, too, am frightened.

Farewell to Another Friend

Went to a farewell party for Luke last night. He's leaving on Wednesday for Japan, where he'll spend a year teaching English. It's been nice knowing him for the last three months, hope he stays in touch.

The party was held at a restaurant called A Plus, which featured California-style Japanese food. It was exceptionally good, but expensive. The food cost me $14US and the one beer I had (a bottle of Kirin) was $5. I guess for a special occasion I don't mind spending so much, but I wouldn't go there on a regular basis, at least not until I get a real job!

I'm going to be ultra busy this next week, teaching and getting stuff ready for the trip to Singapore on Friday. I've been teaching seven days a week, and although the hours are short, it's still a lot of work, because I also have to prepare for lessons and correct compostions and such. The money is nice, I'll say that! I've made about $700US this month, and that was only about 45 hours in three weeks' time. That's more than some of the Taiwan people make in a whole month of working 40+ hours per week. I'll pick up about another $165 next week. I have six students now, but Aaron is leaving for the UK next month, so I'll be down to five. One gal wants to add another day, for a total of three times a week. Everyone else is only one time per week. That should be fine for me, since once I start classes at Shi Da in December, I'll need time for my own homework.

Here's some fun for you, courtesy of Mary, one of my former co-workers. She keeps me supplied with good stuff to make me laugh.

DEEP THOUGHTS FOR THOSE WHO TAKE LIFE WAY TOO SERIOUSLY:

1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.
2. A day without sunshine is like, well . . . night.
3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.
4. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.
5. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
6. Remember, half the people you know are below average.
7. He who laughs last thinks slowest.
8. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
9. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.
10. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.
11. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
12. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.
13. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
14. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.
15. OK, so what's the speed of dark?
16. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
17. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.
18. Every one has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.
19. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?
20. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.
21. What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
22. I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
23. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
24. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering what happened.
25. Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

Ya Just Gotta Let Some Folks Make Their Own Mistakes

I haven't spent much time with Hiyoshi since April. One reason is that I've been teaching a lot more. Another is that we're not longer in the same Chinese class at the same school. But the main reason is that he's someone else's boyfriend, and I don't think I'd like it if some girl spent a lot of time with my boyfriend.

I do see him once in awhile, but almost always in the company of our other friends. Our days of spending hours alone together are long gone. However, I did meet up with him about a month ago, right before I went to Hong Kong to visit Terry and Cheryl, because I was going over to Taipei 101, and I knew he was in that area teaching Japanese. So, I asked if he wanted to meet me at 101 and go to the bookstore together. He readily agreed.

It was kind of nice to have him all to myself like old times. I knew he'd had some issues with Lisa, because he'd mentioned a couple of things before, so I asked him how things were going, were they getting used to one another's quirks, etc. He then proceeded to tell me his gripes about Lisa, which mostly boiled down to the fact that since she's not Japanese, she doesn't act like a Japanese girl, and Hiyoshi doesn't care much for that.

For example, one thing that was really setting him off was that Lisa would say something, and then about a half an hour later, if Hiyoshi mentioned what she had said, she would deny that she'd said it. Hiyoshi swears that he always clearly understood her and that it's not just a language issue. So, he'd get pissed off when she said she never said that, because if she were a Japanese girl, she'd very politely say, "Oh, you're right, I may have said that." rather than outright denying it. Then he said he was starting to think she was a little nuts because this kept happening over and over, and he couldn't understand how a sane person would not know what she had said.

There was also the issue of her being younger than him but still having the audacity to tell him he was wrong sometimes. Oh my goodness, that just isn't done in Japan! Any younger person would never tell an older person he or she was wrong about something, even if it were true. Add into this the fact that when Lisa and Hiyoshi would get together with Lisa's friends, and they'd all chat in Chinese, Hiyoshi would feel left out because the conversation was too fast for him to follow. He felt this was extremely impolite. And then Lisa always being late to pick him up after work (remember, she's the one with the job, and he's just spending his days drifting aimlessly around Taipei), and then having the nerve to give him a reason why she was late (traffic jam, couldn't get out of the office on time, etc.) instead of just prostrating herself on the ground and apologizing.

So, after listening to all of this, I asked Hiyoshi, "Do you love Lisa?" He said he didn't know. I proceeded to give him my advice, which was as follows: 1) Talk to her. Tell her that what she's doing is upsetting you and why. If you don't tell her, she won't know, and she'll keep doing it (and she may not change, but at least give her the option). It's important to talk with the person you're with and not just (in the Japanese way) expect that person to read your mind and know what you want and feel without you having to open your mouth. 2) Realize that she is NOT Japanese, and she never WILL be Japanese, and learn to live with it. If you think you can't accept her the way she is, go find yourself a Japanese woman who already behaves the way you want, and stop trying to make Lisa fit into that mold. 3) Learn what compromise means. Try to meet each other half way. Try to change your way of thinking. Don't expect her to give up her independent personality just to please you. 4) If you don't love her, and you're just hanging out with her because it gives you a place to stay in Taipei and her parents feed you, you're being a total shit and not fair to her, because she's looking for marriage and a family.

Now, I left this conversation thinking there was no hope for this relationship, because I don't see Hiyoshi as a flexible sort of person. I figured he'd continue to spend time with Lisa and then eventually return to Japan and take over his father's job, just as he's been trained, since he has no other skills and no way to get a job in Taiwan and stay here. I figured Lisa would get tired of trying to push him to actually work and would realize it just wasn't going to happen. Imagine my surprise when Hiyoshi told me this week that they're getting married on November 11. OK. Sure. Great idea.

Hiyoshi leaves for Japan on September 8. Lisa will quit the good job she has here, and she will move to Japan, where it is unlikely she will find a good job, because she does not speak Japanese. The happy couple will live with Hiyoshi's family, and Hiyoshi will try to find some sort of part-time job he can do while he's doing the church stuff. Lisa will be plunked down in a culture radically different from Taiwanese culture and will be expected to act like a perfect Japanese wife. Since they won't have any money, they won't be able to afford to have children right away, which is a good thing, because Hiyoshi doesn't really like them all that much. I obviously have misgivings about this. So, once again I asked Hiyoshi, "Do you love her?" And once again he said, "I don't know." I asked him, "Have you ever told her you love her?" And he said, "No." What the hell? And just why does this girl want to marry a guy who has never said he loves her, even if he'd be lying when he said it?

Not many months ago, when Lisa and I discussed the fact that Hiyoshi has a snowball's chance in Hell of ever earning a decent living, she said she felt a handsome face and a kind heart were enough. Hello? Wake-up call, dearie. That ain't gonna put food on the table. I'm all for true love, and if the two of them were so head-over-heels in love with each other they couldn't see straight, I'd wish them the best and encourage them to have a go at it, and I'd keep my doubts to myself. But it seems to me that only one person is in love, and that person is making the mistake so many women make: she thinks she can transform a no-ambition guy into some sort of gung-ho breadwinner who will be the best hubby in the world. I'm not even going to try to talk her out of it, because I know she won't listen. Hiyoshi will be fine, because all he wants is a woman who will take care of him, and if love doesn't enter the picture, so what? I mean, after all, men don't need to be in love to have a nice sexual experience, right? All that's required is warm and willing, and they're good to go.

I told Hiyoshi they'd be smarter to live together for awhile, giving Lisa a chance to experience life in Japan to see if she could handle it. He says they want to "shi shi kan" which is Chinese for "try and see." He said Lisa is the one who has continued to chase him, and he's so laid back that he just agrees to anything she says. She says "Let's get hitched," and he says "OK, sure, why not?"

They're both nuts.

Um.....

Anorexic Barbie


Gosh darn, she's so purty.

Click the link for more hilarious stuff. But wait until you have a couple of hours to spare surfing around the site.

Slight Rant, With Apologies to Will

To diet, or not to diet: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The rolls and jiggles of outrageous poundage,
Or to take arms against a sea of hunger pangs,
And by opposing end them?

And by this, Dear Readers, you may see that I still fight the Battle of the Bulge. Or, more truthfully, have been waving the white flag of surrender, having long since given up any hope of winning against these impossible odds. I am daily assaulted on all sides by tasty morsels, cheaply priced and conveniently placed directly in my path as I walk the streets of Taipei. Who can withstand such pressure?!

Seriously, I'm fat. I've gained 10kg since I arrived here in March 2005. That's a lot. I eat too much of the wrong food (even though I don't think I eat too much as in quantity of food), and I don't get nearly enough exercise. And let's face it, I'm not a youngster anymore, someone who can shed five pounds without any effort at all. Nope, if I want that five pounds to vacate my ass, I have to mount an attack with all my forces.

And, as Hamlet noted, ay, there's the rub. What's the point of living life if we don't enjoy the life we live? If I have to spend every day in a battle, depriving myself of food and drink that tastes good and eating food that does nothing more than nourish my body, where's the fun in that? Sure, I like vegetables - if they're covered with butter. And salad? Bring it on, if it's drenched with bleu cheese dressing. What? I can't have butter and dressing? Bleah.

And then I have to examine the reasons I want to be thinner. Sadly, the number one reason is not for my health's sake, as it should be, but because being fat has a stigma attached to it. Thin is in, fat is ugly and gross. This was not always the case. OK, so everyone knows that the goddess Venus is supposed to represent love and sex and all that crap, right, ergo she must be beautiful. Well, check out this painting by the Dutch painter, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), titled "The Toilet of Venus" (no, that's not toilet like you find in the bathroom, dudes). This was considered hot and sexy in Rubens' day. I swear, that could be my backside you're looking at!
So, what happened to appreciation for a fully rounded female form, soft and cuddly, the Mother figure that was so revered by peoples of the past? I'll tell you what happened - Twiggy. "'She had the body of a starvation victim and the face of an angel' is a very accurate statement for 1960's model Twiggy. The petite model began her career at 14, weighing a meager 91 pounds with no breasts and bony shoulders." EWWWW! I mean, come on, who seriously thinks that's attractive? Check this interesting website for Twiggy vs Sophie Dahl, an interesting comparison between the scrawny waif who started this ridiculous fad and the current model who hopefully will help change this image.

So I guess I'm holding out for that miracle to happen, when guys will wake up and realize that there's something just a little wrong if they're attracted to women who have the bodies of boys and they'll go back to wanting women who look like women.

Then again.....all this extra weight does make it a bit difficult to get my ass up the many, many stairs throughout this city, so I suppose I'd best quit whining and making excuses and at least get rid of that extra 10kg ;)

Table for Four, Please

Before I left for Hong Kong on 7/31, Dino had called me to say that he was going to be working at a restaurant (English name is roughly "Chrysanthemum") in San Zhi for about 10 days in August, and he wanted to make sure we'd come have dinner there while he was cooking. His fiancee, Carrie, works at this restaurant, and she and Dino have become friends of the owners, a Taiwanese gentleman with a Japanese wife (or vice versa, I can't recall). Dino had cooked some of his Italian specialities for them, and they liked it so much they asked him to run the restaurant while they were on holiday in Japan.

The announcement sign basically says that from 8/1 through 8/12 the restaurant would be under the control of China Blue's Italian drummer, Dino, who would be cooking Italian food and not to pass up the opportunity to eat it!

Dino started cooking while I was in Hong Kong. Among the first guests to partake of the wonders of Chef Dino were Wu Bai, Da Mao, and Xiao Zhu. Dino reports that they were suitably impressed with the fare. He said Wu Bai was so cute, first looking at the English side of the menu, then flipping it to the Chinese side. He jokingly ordered three of everything on the Chinese side, flipped back to the English, and began to order three of everything from that side. Then Dino had to tell him both sides were the same. ;-) Natari, Charlene, Betty, Xiao Niu, Shun, and PJ also made a trip there (and it takes over an hour from Taipei, you know!). I had, of course, whined about being left out, and Nat had promised we'd go when I got back from Hong Kong. And Tuesday night, we went.

Nat made reservations, because she said Dino found it difficult to handle a big crowd and wanted to limit the number of diners in order to better serve them. It was totally cool - we got there a little after 8:00 p.m., and we were the only ones in the restaurant! Dino greeted us with his customary kiss on the cheek and led us inside.

The restaurant is quite charming, with a balcony facing the ocean (but since it was typhoon weather, we ate inside). One of Dino and Carrie's neighbors was playing waitress that evening, while Dino and Carrie handled the kitchen.

There were only four dishes on the menu - Spaghetti and Meatballs (which had been handmade by Dino that very day), Pumpkin Pasta with Pesca (a type of fish), Dino's Famous Eggplant Parmesan, and Meatball Sub. Dino said he also had two other dishes, one of pork fillets rolled around onions and spices and then pan sauteed, and a spicy-sauce pasta dish. The meal included garlic bread, salad, and choice of beverage, and for dessert - Dinomisu! OK, so it doesn't resemble tiramisu, but it was really tasty, and I'm going to try to talk Dino out of the recipe (he owes me, as you will see below). I'd baked a Kahlua cake on Saturday, and I brought along pieces for Dino, Carrie, Charlene, and Xiu Chun. Nat has to wait for hers, because I didn't know Xiu Chun was coming along, and I hadn't brought enough.

Xiu Chun and I went for the spaghetti and meatballs, Nat ordered the pumpkin pasta but requested meatballs in place of the fish, and Charlene decided to try the pork with a side of spaghetti sans meatballs. Dino kindly gave us a couple of the pork rolls to try, free of charge. I was tickled when Carrie told me Dino was using my recipe for the garlic bread. I still laugh when I remember him calling me to ask me how I made it - it's so simple! Soften a couple cubes of real butter, use a garlic press to squish up a whole bunch of fresh garlic, mix it all together, slather it on the French bread, sprinkle the top with some Parmesan (fresh grated is best, but Kraft will do), and stick it in the oven until it's hot.

Let me say a little about Dino's spaghetti sauce. He learned how to cook from watching his grandmother when he was a child. Dino is, as he told us, FBI - full-blooded Italian. Me, I'm only one-quarter Italian, and although I consider that I make my sauce from scratch, I can't come close to Dino's masterpiece. Why? Because he really makes it from scratch! I use canned tomatoes and cook it all day, because that's how Mom taught me, but Dino actually starts with fresh tomatoes. He said he used four kinds in this sauce, cooking them up with garlic, onions, and green pepper before adding the tomato paste and tomato sauce near the end to thicken it up. And the meatballs, painstakingly rolled by hand, were the perfect complement.

The salad (thankfully) came with Italian dressing and not the ever-present Thousand Island that the Taiwanese love so much. It had chunks of what I think was pumpkin and also some jelly-like cubes that Nat said came from a plant. And lettuce, Chinese cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes, naturally!

After everyone was served, Dino and Carrie joined us around the table, chatting and joking. Dino said the new CD is going to be just fabulous, so we're all anxious for it to be released. They've been doing some recording, and the word is a September release, but I think it might take longer. This CD will be in Mandarin, no Taiwanese songs.

Dino is such a funny, entertaining guy, and he was dancing around the restaurant singing along with the music that was playing, making us all laugh, even getting Carrie to join him briefly. I wish we had more opportunities to just hang around with him, because we always have so much fun when he's around. I like Xiao Zhu and Da Mao, too, but they're a little more reserved than Dino and not so much at ease being friends with the fans. And although Dino has told us that Wu Bai is really a fun guy, I just can't imagine him being as silly as Dino. But, maybe he is - not that I'll ever find out!

It was around 10:00 p.m. when we finally left for the hour-long ride home (well, shorter for me, because I live so close to San Zhi). It was raining but still quite warm, the incoming typhoon having done nothing to relieve the heat. Nat dropped Xiu Chun off at Zhuwei station so she could get the bus back to Lu Zhou, and I got car-to-door drop-off service, which I appreciated because of the rain.

So, I guess if Dino ever gets tired of being a big rock and roll star, he can quit and open a restaurant. I'm sure he'll have good business if he does. Truly though, I'm hoping that day is far, far in the future, because I can't imagine not having him on stage, wailing on those drums.

Complete set of photos can be found here: Dino Does Dinner

Halcyon Days?

That's what I didn't get in Hong Kong. Instead, I got Typhoon Prapiroon. At least that also meant cooler weather.

When I got to Chiang Kai Shek Airport on Monday, 7/31, I noticed a rather large amount of young people there, some sitting on the floor in the entry hallway, up against the wall. I thought perhaps it was some sort of tour group, but it turned out there was a Japanese star leaving Taiwan about the same time I was, and the fans had come to see him/her off. I still don't know who it was, but I heard the screaming start as I was going in to the security checkpoint area. Didn't recognize anyone, though.

I arrived at Terry & Cheryl's place late in the evening, around 10:00 p.m. We spent some time chatting before I whipped out my Rocky Horror Picture Show DVD, introducing Terry to the wonders of The Time Warp and Sweet Transvestite. His eyes were appropriately bugged out the entire time we watched, and I'm sure he was firmly convinced that his girlfriend and her friend were completely insane for liking such a bizarre movie. This was my revenge for having to watch multiple episodes of Little Britain, a British TV show, the last time I was there (it has since grown on me, and I happily watched even more episodes this time).

Poor Terry had to work all week, but Cheryl is still on summer break from her teaching job, so we piddled around, mostly doing nothing. On Tuesday we wandered over the The Wishing Tree to have lunch at a little local restaurant where the workers convene for their noontime munchies. The menu was entirely in Chinese, which was OK, since I could read it, but the waitress had a panic attack when two foreigners walked up to her to ask if they could please order now. Despite the fact that I spoke Chinese to her, she just maintained the deer-in-the-headlights looks for a few seconds before running out back to ask three lunching police officers for help dealing with the gwai lo who had invaded her space. They asked in English if they could assist, I answered in Chinese, pointing to what we wanted, and the waitress exclaimed, "You speak Chinese!" Yes....that's what I was speaking a minute ago. She was all smiles after that, and after a few minutes of discussing our order (I hadn't quite picked up on the fact that we could choose three of the main courses for one meal), she toddled off to the kitchen. Cheryl and I were each served a massive mound of rice covered with barbecued pork and kong xin cai (a green, leafy vegetable), and, in my case, a pork chop, along with overly sweetened iced tea. Had we known how large the portions were, we'd have shared a plate!

We went to the cinema and saw Dragon Tiger Gate, the new movie with Donnie Yen, Nicholas Tse, and Shawn Yu. It's based on a comic book, and it has a very surrealistic feel in parts. I can't say it was an excellent film, but I did enjoy it, largely in part because I was watching some pretty fine looking guys running around kicking ass. Donnie Yen has never appealed much to me, but in this movie he was looking especially yummy, and he's always a joy to watch in action. Nic always looks good, and he must have been doing some body building over the last few years, because his arms have bulked up a bit. Shawn Yu....eh.

I'd also brought my DVD of A Christmas Story with me, since Cheryl said she'd never seen it. To my surprise, she didn't like it much, but Terry was fascinated to the point that he just had to make a copy and then watch it again the next evening. Who would have thought? It remains one of my favorite films, no matter how many times I watch it.

Spent quite a bit of time just kicking back at Cheryl's place, checking out fun stuff on the Internet (like the End of Ze World video: http://www.funnyjunk.com/pages/world.htm) and watching Sex and the City, which I had never seen before. I liked it much more than I ever expected, and now I understand why it's so popular here in Taiwan. I was also treated to some of the funniest moments in Bollywood film, and I can't wait to get the DVD Terry is going to make for me, putting all of those in one place.

So....we heard a typhoon was coming, but Hong Kong was only hoisting signal 3, and 8 is the highest, so how bad could it be, huh? Apparently, Hong Kong Observatory follows certain conventions (namely, the average windspeed as measured inside Victoria Harbor) that have to be studiously followed. Thus, most of the population had no clue that venturing out on Thursday could be detrimental to their health (check out funny short video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EEbrAA50EI). Cheryl and I had plans to go shopping in Mongkok, but by the time we were ready to leave, the rain was sheeting down, and the wind was tossing stuff all over. Rain actually began spurting through the cracks in the closed windows, driven in by the wind. We wisely decided to wait and see if it calmed down. Each time we checked, the weather was worse, but the HK Observatory website still maintained it was nothing much, just a little blow, over soon, hahaha. We had no choice but to leave late in the afternoon, as we were meeting friends for dinner in Kwun Tong. We managed to avoid the Mary Poppins impersonation and got to the bus stop only slightly wet. Dead and dying umbrellas were everywhere outside the KCR station. We got on the KCR, which went only one stop before we were all ushered off the train onto the platform, forced to wait for the next train on the opposite track. No clue why our train was unable to continue, but as news reports state that 559 airline flights were delayed or canceled, 672 trees fell down, and two ships ran aground due to Typhoon Prapiroon, I'm guessing one of those trees might have been the cause of our delay.

No matter, we made it safe and sound to Festival Walk Mall, where I bought a few DVDs and wisely decided against paying the outrageous price of $10US for four pieces of See's Candies, hooked up with Terry, and went on to our dinner with Doris, Twiggy, and Joel in Kwun Tong. Those three had ordered up a marvelous meal which included an appetizer of goose, pork, and lotus root; fried oyster/egg pancake; mushrooms with silky tofu; cabbage; sweet and sour something or other; seafood soup; and the crowning glory, lobster (a whole one, in the shell, but chopped up for easy eating) with noodles. We also had beer and bamboo drink, and it only cost around $14US per person! Dessert was Haagen Dazs ice cream back at Terry & Cheryl's place (it was on sale, only $5.77US per pint - yes, that is the sale price, can you believe it?? Ouch. But, cheaper than the regular price, which is more like $7US per pint.).

Terry and Cheryl dropped me off at the airport bus stop Friday evening at 7:45 so I could catch the 8:00 bus. As soon as they drove off, the sky split open and a million gallons of water poured down for five minutes, soaking me and my suitcase, despite being under the useless bus shelter. Gee, thanks. Eh, no matter, I was dry by the time I got to the airport an hour later.

Checked in at EVA about two hours before my plane was due to take off, and then had to struggle through the crowds at immigration and security. Since so many flights had been canceled the day before, the airport was jammed with travelers trying to get out of Hong Kong. Whatever line I stood in at immigration immediately came to a halt because of some sort of problem with a person's passport. I finally gave up trying to switch to a faster line. It took almost 45 minutes to get from where the bus dropped me to where I was finally in the departure area. My plane was due to board at 10:30 p.m., and I wanted to grab something to eat at the lounge, so I hot-footed it to that part of the airport. Upon arrival, I asked the gal at the lounge desk if a departure gate had been assigned yet, and she gave me the news that my 11:00 flight probably wouldn't be taking off until midnight. What?! Crap. Sent my friend who was picking me up a message telling him I was delayed, and then he called to say he'd checked the website, which said probable departure time was 12:40 a.m. So, I just hung around the lounge being bored. Ate a couple "finger sandwiches" but decided not to order off the menu, because I expected I'd be eating on the plane. I hadn't had dinner, either, just a late lunch with Cheryl in Mongkok. When I went back to ask about boarding time and gate number, I was told now it looked likely they'd begin boarding at 12:10, so I went to the gate to wait. To my delight, I was once more upgraded to business class! I'm thinking that arriving so early at the airport for check-in is a good thing :)

Anyway, it was after 1:00 a.m. when we finally took off, but I got a nice meal and some champagne, so it wasn't all bad. My buddy picked me up, and by the time I got to my house, it was 4:00 a.m. I still wasn't sleepy, which was kinda weird, so I futzed around for an hour unpacking some stuff and playing with DZ, then at 5:00 a.m. I went to bed. Couldn't sleep well, even with the air conditioner, so got up at 11:00 a.m. Spent a spacey day at home yesterday, reading and baking a cake, took a nap in the afternoon, watched a movie last night.

Got up at 6:45 a.m. today because I still hadn't finished preparing for my English class this afternoon. Forgot we'd moved the time from noon to 3:00, shit! I could have slept longer. Grrrrr.

Anyway, that was my week, enjoyed my visit with my friends, but glad to be home again.