Cool as a Cucumber meets Traffic Tales

Today was the day to bite the bullet (try explaining that expression to your Japanese friend) and shell out the dough for the air conditioner. But I did better than I had originally expected. Today I bought not one, but three air conditioners AND a clothes dryer for $750 (you will not believe how tiny this dryer is). Not too bad considering that I thought I'd spend that on just one air con. So Thursday, before the intense heat of summer arrives, I'll have one in the bedroom, one in the living room, and one in the office, so I can a cool chick no matter where I am. Yeah, so the kitchen will probably not get too cool, but like I'm ever in there cooking anyway....

As I walked to Carrefour today to make my big purchase, I must have had at least 8-10 brushes with death. You see, there's no sidewalk, and the road is the only road that goes from Taipei to Danshui, so there is always a lot of traffic. Oh yes, there's a little lane that's titled "pedestrian road" but that doesn't stop the maniacs on scooters from using it. And they not only zip by within inches going the right direction, they sneak up behind you going the wrong way! I swear, there are simply no traffic laws here at all, none. The scooters drive on the sidewalks, and they don't care if you're there first. The scooters pass cars and buses on the right, and they don't care that you're walking in the road.

The City of Chico Code Enforcement division would be having hissy fits here. Public right-of-way? hahahaha! Right.... Try walking down the sidewalk - you'll find it blocked by parked scooters, businesses that have spilled their merchandise out onto the sidewalk, businesses that have BUILT the shops right over the sidewalk, causing one to have no choice but to walk into the road. During the rush hours, there are so many people coming and going (and stopping dead right in front of me to make a purchase from a street vendor) that I'm always far into the road to get by them (I really can't believe that human beings can actually walk as slowly as most of the people do here, it's amazing). Doesn't matter if I walk facing the traffic, because the cars coming from behind are passing other cars and coming into the left lane where I'm walking. And my friends are so nonchalant about it. "Oh well, if they hit you, they'll have to pay you money." "Yes, but I can't spend it if I'm dead." I can't wait until I can actually read the Chinese newspaper (the Taipei Times is "designed" for foreigners and never has the juicy, gory stuff) to see how many die every day from being clipped by an old lady on a scooter who is carrying about 50 pounds of groceries in addition to her Siberian Husky (no lie, I've seen this). Or the guy who is delivering six large (20 kilo) bottles of propane and just can't wait for the Auntie to get across the street but has to veer onto the sidewalk to go around her. Or the mother who has her three children on the scooter, all of them carrying bags with their dinner from the vendors, only the bigger kids wearing helmets while the youngest does without.

But hey, you know what? Taking my chances walking the streets of Taiwan is preferable to driving anywhere in the US ;)

It's a girl!

Please welcome the newest addition to the household, a feisty little kitten who as yet remains nameless (so we can call her Wu Ming for now). She was wailing her heart out at Charlene's home, and Charlene took her in temporarily, calling her Shi San (13) because she'd shown up on Friday the 13th. As of yesterday, she's the queen of my place ;)



So far I've considered the following names: Shan Dian (lightning), Wen Hao (question mark) - these two because she has a crook in her tail, Li Hai (uh huh, I'm bad), Hu Xu (whiskers). Considered calling her Tuxedo Two and using T2 as a nickname (I used to have a black & white kitty named Tuxedo), or Dizzy (which is DZ, the initials of the fabulous drummer, Dino Zavolta). I'm waiting to see how her personality develops before sticking her with a permanent name.
Here's hoping she doesn't destroy the house today while I'm school....

Caged animals

Went to the Taipei Zoo yesterday, mostly because I wanted to get some exercise and it's a nice place to walk around, very lovely grounds. I realize now that I don't enjoy zoos as much as I did when I was a kid. Back then I was oblivious to the fact that these animals are kept in habitats that confine and constrict their movements and in no way resemble their natural habitats. After watching some of the big cats pacing manically back and forth, some of them in nothing more than concrete pits with dead trees, no form of green plant at all, my heart was aching. Oh sure, many of the animals have nice little homes, but the zebras are in what's basically a mud pit with a little grass, and the hippos are in a concrete enclosure with a very shallow pool of water at one end. These are creatures that should be in a river, completely submerged!

What right do we humans have to take these animals and put them on display for our pleasure? Should the day come when some higher civilization discovers our pitiful little planet, how would we like it if they thought we should be a paid attraction?

Saddest thought of all is that at the rate we're destroying the environment and depleting our Mother of her wild lands, eventually a zoo will be the only place to see these animals. Assuming, of course, that we don't blow ourselves to space dust first.....

Fabulous fruit

One of the things I missed most about Taiwan whenever I had to leave to go back to the US was the fruit. In the US grocery store fruit usually has a flavor which strongly resembles cardboard. The only time fruit ever tastes good in the States is during the summers when it can be purchased at the local farmers' markets.

Here in Taiwan fruit always seems to taste great, never as if it had been picked greener than a frog and then shipped miles and miles to a store. Right now the melons are popping out, and there are melons I've never even seen before (including one imported from Japan that would cost me $50 US if I were ever stupid enough to pay that much money for a melon). And we have the coolest watermelons! They're green & white striped on the outside, rather small and round, and the inside is a bright yellow. The taste is almost like the "normal" watermelons, but a little different.

The lychees are beginning to show up at the markets, although they're still a little expensive. The grapefruits here are so juicy that I was a sticky mess after I peeled and sectioned my first one. The wax apples (lian wu) are crisp and juicy, not a lot of flavor, but very refreshing. The dragon fruit (huo long guo) is as much fun to look at as it is to peel and eat (bright fuschia on the outside, looks like scales, hence the name), and the inside is white with tiny, tiny little black seeds. Bananas are very banana-y over here. I hate green bananas, like mine to be very ripe, and that's how they are without being too mushy.

I'll have to take some photos of the many varieties of shui guo (fruit) for all of you. It's too bad we can't get mangosteens here, though. They're dubbed the "Queen of Fruit" and I've only found them in Hong Kong. So, when I'm in Hong Kong, I make sure I eat a lot of those.

There are still many fruits I haven't yet tried, but I'll be giving them the taste test shortly. I may even try durian melon, which is about the stinkiest fruit in the world (and sometimes you can buy it fried!).

Past the two-month mark

Well, I've been here for two months now. Still love it, but am anticipating some grumpiness as the weather continues to warm up. Shopped for an air conditioner today, looks like it's gonna cost me between $540 and $670. Ouch. But, I believe it's a necessity.

Must express my extreme displeasure with Symantec at this time. I tried to renew my Norton Internet Security subscription the easy way, by downloading the program. Ha, right. Didn't work. Wrote to them, got back completely non-helpful advice. Wrote again, got a response "we are the customer service department, can't help you with technical issues." Fine, then, do some customer service and give me a refund for the product I can't download. I'll just buy the hard copy, sheesh.

Every day last week the weather report said it would rain horribly in the afternoons, so every day I high-tailed it home to avoid the deluge. And every day it didn't rain, so I spent many hours hanging around the house, just sure that if I set foot outside, it would pour. The reports this week also say rain, rain, rain - but I ain't fallin' for that again. I have a life to live, things to do! And hey, if it does rain, so what? I'll get wet. Hey, maybe I'll even get a couple of packages mailed......maybe.

Oh, hey, here's a picture from yesterday, when two of my Japanese classmates, Hiyoshi and Kieko, and I went to Danshui for the afternoon. We stopped at this temple, very old, very beautiful. I managed to talk them into posing for a photo :)



Not much more to say right now. Just waiting for June 11 and the Li Hai concert to see Wu Bai & China Blue again. And very happy it will be inside, with air conditioning!

Catch ya all later.

Slow, rainy, lazy week

Not much to write about this week, that's for sure. It rained. All week. Every day. Sometimes for hours, sometimes for minutes, sometimes a sprinkle, sometimes cats & dogs. Yes, it's the rainy season here in Taiwan. I don't mind so much, because it's keeping the temperature down, for the most part, although today it's supposed to get up to 84 and the forecast for next week says up to 88, and still rain every day. It does curtail the activities somewhat, though.

Finally got out a bit last night, meeting up with Natari, Charlene, Gin (that's pronounced Jean), and Kieko for some food and chat. My three Taiwanese friends were having a rather serious discussion in Chinese, so Kieko, one of my classmates, and I had our own talk. She's from Osaka, Japan and has been here studying Chinese since February. I'm enjoying meeting people from Japan and getting to learn more about their country and traditions. Although I've read many fiction books that deal with Japanese culture, I'm never sure I can believe what I'm reading or if the author is taking liberties. Hopefully, I'll be going to Japan on holiday one of these days, getting first-hand experience. Apparently, visiting Washington state was an eye-opener for Kieko when she saw a sign at a school proclaiming the place was "gun free." The idea that guns would ever be brought into a children's school is simply unthinkable in Japan. Ditto for Taiwan. Americans might have the freedom to bear arms, but just think how many have lost their lives because of that freedom and some unhappy teenager (or even younger child) taking Dad's prized handgun to school and killing his/her classmates and teachers. Sometimes too much freedom is not such a good thing.....

Instead of taking the MRT at the closest station, Charlene, Kieko, and I walked to the farther one, around 11:00 p.m. Took us a little over a half an hour, and thankfully the rain held off, except for some minor sprinkles. Now, I don't believe I'd want to be walking anywhere in the US with just two girls that late in the evening, but here in Taipei I feel perfectly safe. There are always so many people out and about, many of them teenagers (but not the scary sort), and that fear element just doesn't pop up. And by the time my train dropped me at my stop, it was almost 12:30 a.m., and I walked alone back to my place, about 10 minutes, never once feeling uneasy as I went through the narrow streets and alleys. Some young girls, maybe 14 or 15, got off the train when I did, never having to worry some maniac would abduct them and commit rape and murder. I've noticed very young children out on their own, running errands, playing - and no parents in sight. Nowadays, leaving a child unattended in the US is an open invitation for a child molester to grab 'em. What the hell happened to our country?

Anyway, enough of that, let's just say that I'm happier than I ever thought I could be. Let it rain :)

Dreams do come true

Fans came from all over to meet up in Hong Kong for the May 5, 2005 Wu Bai & China Blue "Wild Day Out" concert. Doris and Tommy (Hong Kong fans) arrived at my hotel around 3:00 p.m., then we fetched Sharrie, Xiao Sui (both Taiwan fans), and Angela (Singapore fan) at their hotel. First we went for a quick bite and then off to the M1 Lounge to check out the situation. Uh oh, people already in line, but thankfully only three of them, so we joined the queue at the front around 5:00 p.m. One of the gals who was there was a Japanese fan, Yasuyo, who had been queuing since 3:00. The weather was quite hot, very humid, and we sweated profusely as we waited, not very patiently, for the 10:00 show. We chatted, took pictures, kept running across the street for cold drinks and bathroom usage, just enjoying being with other Wu Bai fans and the anticipation of seeing the greatest band on earth. The line slowly grew longer, but never anything like it is in Taiwan (and I do thank the goddess for that!).

At first we were told that we'd be able to go inside at 8:30, but it wasn't until almost 9:30 that they allowed us in. We were given some cool posters, a cold beer, a light stick, and a whistle. Awesome, I love goodies (but I think whistles should be outlawed at concerts). Once inside, we took our places at the stage, amazingly close to the stage, like only inches away from it. There was a plastic line with some flyers hanging from it separating us about at waist level, but since we were sitting on the floor, and the flyers were blocking our view, we took 'em off. We were so close that we put our bags up against the speakers in front of us, and Sharrie even had her camera on the stage itself. The stage was triangular shaped, with Wu Bai's mike at the point, and that's where we were seated. Unfortunately, we were told we'd have to sit through the whole show, because if we stood, the people in the back wouldn't be able to see. What?! SIT at a Wu Bai concert? Boy, that's weird. Lots of grumbling about that, especially since both Sharrie and Xiao Sui were wearing short denim skirts. A little hard to sit gracefully on the ground in those.

When Wu Bai, Da Mao, Xiao Zhu, and Dino walked onto the stage, I just couldn't believe how close they were. And dang, it's Hong Kong, so I can take pictures! Hell, I can take video! Not allowed to do that in Taiwan, no way. I did get some good pix, but honestly, most of the time I was too busy watching and enjoying the show to worry about photos. And because Wu Bai moves around so much, a lot of the shots were blurry.

Wu Bai was in a great mood, and he was speaking Cantonese to the crowd. Now, I don't speak Canto, so I don't know if he was doing a good job at it or not, but at least he was making the effort. The crowd seemed to appreciate it. All the guys were smiling so big (well, OK, I couldn't see Dino, just the top of his head, but I'm sure he was smiling), and when they launched into the first song, the energy in the room just took off. The sound was excellent, even though I was so close to one of the big amplifiers that I couldn't hear out of my right ear after the show.

There were two small speakers right in front of me, and Wu Bai jumped up on them while playing, almost hitting his head on the low ceiling (I wonder if he even knows how close he came to doing so). The speakers wobbled, and for a minute I thought I might end up with a lap full of Wu Bai. Not that that would have been a bad thing.... And then he came right off the stage and stood in front of Angela and me, playing that guitar. I could have touched him if I'd wanted to, but I'm far too well behaved to do that ;) The second time he came down off stage, he stood right over Angela, partially bent over, singing and playing, and dripping sweat right onto her! I think I got some of it, too. Ah, dream come true - because before I went to my first concert, I said I wanted to be close enough for his sweat to drip on me. It finally happened!

So, of course I'm mostly watching Wu Bai, and trying not to drool too much, but I also can see Xiao Zhu very well (Da Mao is hidden behind Wu Bai for almost the whole show, and as I said, the top of Dino's head is all I can see behind the drums). Every now and then, Wu Bai is looking right at me for a second, flashing that big smile. Then came a time when he looked at me and didn't look away. He just kept looking, and singing, and I was afraid I was going to end up in a dead faint on the floor. That man has the most incredible eyes....add that smile into the mix, and who can resist? I must have gotten a five-second long gaze, at least. Doesn't sound like much, but try staring into someone's eyes for five seconds, it's longer than you think. I still get shivers when I think about it.

Wu Bai may look like a grown man, but he's really just a little boy in disguise. He has this thing about water....he likes to throw it on the crowd. There he was, pausing for a drink of water from his bottle, and the next thing I knew, the water was all over us! What a stinker. But, it did feel kinda good, since we were pretty hot and sweaty by this time. I'll get him someday, you just wait.

At the end of "Ni Ai Wo" (U Love Me), the chorus is "ni ai wo, ni ai wo.......ni ai wo, ni ai wo.....ni ai wo, ni ai wo......" and first he sang in Mandarin. Then he sang in Cantonese. Then he was in front of me, looking at me, and sang in English, "You love me." Aiya! Me very happily embarrassed :) Just to clarify a point here: I do love Wu Bai. However, I am not IN LOVE with Wu Bai, kindly note the difference. And I also love Da Mao, Dino, and Xiao Zhu, so there.

So, I guess no one told the poor security guys what to expect at a Wu Bai concert, because when we'd finally decided that we'd had all we could take of sitting on that stone floor, and we all stood up (which caused a HUGE smile to appear on Wu Bai's face), the security guys couldn't figure out how to make us sit down. Oh, they tried. We just ignored them, even the one yanking on Angela's hand. When the song was finished, we finally let them coax us back down again, but they had extremely frightened looks on their faces. And of course, we did it again. There is just no way in hell we're gonna sit when the band is performing "Ai Ni Yi Wan Nian" (Love You 10,000 Years). It's not possible. Not, not, not. This time we jumped, sang at the top of our lungs, and refused to be seated. And we knew that Wu Bai was proud of us, because he doesn't like to see anyone sitting at his shows. The security folks also didn't like it when some of the fans gave Wu Bai flowers and other things they'd brought for him, but too bad, they did it anyway. Neener neener.

All good things come to an end, and so this great concert also ended, much too quickly. As we were milling around with big goofy grins on our faces, so incredibly high, a guy came over to me and asked me if I would come with him and give an interview for a magazine. He had seen me singing along with the songs, and since I'm so obviously not Asian, he wanted to find out who I was and how I knew about Wu Bai. Doris came along to help interpret, and I ended up with an autographed "Two-Faced Man" CD out of the deal. Here are links to the article (page 2 has me): http://gargoile.chiconet.com/WDOPg-1.jpg and http://gargoile.chiconet.com/WDOPg2.jpg

Angela and I got back to our hotel around 1:00 a.m., and although I was completely exhausted, I still found it difficult to fall asleep, because I just kept reliving those moments of eye contact with the most beautiful man on earth. I think I only got around 4 or 5 hours of sleep, which left me in a semi-coma the next day, but it was sooo worth it, and I can't wait for June 11 and the Li Hai concert here in Taipei!

Here in Hong Kong

I arrived in Hong Kong last night, and it's even hotter than Taiwan. Whee. Not going to write a lot at this point, but wanted to remember that two very lovely ladies assisted me in 1) finding the airport bus and 2) providing "ling qian" for me when all I had on the bus was "yi bai kuai."

Today I'm off to the embassy to apply for my next visa back into Taiwan and tonight is the concert. Won't be back online until Friday, when I return to Terry's place.

Terry's place: wow, hard to believe a single guy is living here, it's so clean. Nifty spot in Tai Po, kinda country-ish. Whoever designed it seems to think people have arms that are five feet long, because the toilet paper holder is on the wall opposite the toilet, rather than being right next to the place where one does one's business. If you forget to grab paper before seating yourself, big trouble. More on Terry's abode later, too.

Oh, Hong Kong "bi jiao gui" as far as food. That's "more expensive" for you who don't speak Chinese ;) Last night's dinner was the equivalent of $13 US, and we could have had the same in Taiwan for around $7 or $8. Damned good jiao zi and bao zi, though.

Gotta go......

There's been a little change in the weather

Today was hot. Very hot. Sticky, icky hot. But, there was a decent breeze blowing, so it was bearable, although my apartment did get up to 90 degrees. My classmate, Hiyoshi, came to visit at noon, and after we spent a little time munching some cold noodles with sesame sauce (very yum) and watching some Wu Bai concerts, we headed off to Danshui to see if it was any cooler by the river/ocean. It wasn't. Hoards of people there, so we strolled along very slowly, had some very weird ice cream that melted faster than we could eat it, and watched some of the temple celebration parades. Then Hiyoshi said he wanted to go to "leng de di fang" which is a "cold place." So, I took him to Carrefour, whose motto is Tian Tian Dou Pian Yi (Everyday All Cheap)! We shopped as best we could considering the crowd, got me a new floor fan (with Winnie the Pooh on it, soooo cute), some fruit and munchies, and headed back to my place (note to self: take Hiyoshi shopping with me all the time; he carries the parcels and doesn't complain).

Well, my apartment by this time was darned toasty, and the breeze had all but vanished. After more chit chat, a bit of movie watching, and some fresh pineapple (oh, you would not believe how delicious the pineapple is here in Taiwan), Hiyoshi headed off for his two-hour trip back home to Wan Li. Me, I took a shower and left my hair sopping wet, turned on both fans, and settled down for a bit of reading.

All of a sudden, the breeze kicked up again, ahhhh, so nice. Then the breeze became a wind. Then it turned into a very large wind. I started hearing things crashing outside, blowing over. My kitchen balcony door, which is a screen door latched with a loose chain, was banging as the wind buffeted it, and I could hear other doors in the building doing the same. I'm thinking, "Hm, typhoon coming in?" and all at once, it's quiet again. Just a gentle breeze blowing in. As we say in Chinese, "Guai guai de!" (very strange)

Happy May Day everyone :)

Huh, and why am I not surprised?

A little report from the online Taiwan news service today:

Sleeping pills, including at least one controlled drug, were among the most heavily used medicines in Taiwan in 2004, the latest statistics on Taiwan's pharmaceuticals revealed.

Well, dang, if those people have the same kind of noisy upstairs neighbors as I do, I can't say that I blame them!

Yesterday (Friday) I got home around 2:15 p.m., after walking home all the way from Guan Du station (about 45-50 minutes, carrying a backpack full of books and other crap, and the weather was more than a little warm) and thought to myself, "Gee, a little nap would be nice." Oh sure, dream on, dear. A truck was unloading out front, lots of wood, a door, some other things. And very shortly the sounds of construction began. Nail guns rapping, hammers pounding, skillsaws whining. To drown out the sound, I finished watching The Return of the King, turning the volume up to 30 at times (in the evenings I'm watching at level 10 or 11 so as not to bother my next door neighbors). After the movie ended, I realized the construction was still in full swing. Ah well, time to play on the computer for awhile.

By the time 8:00 rolled around, and they had been going non-stop for almost six hours, I had a nice little headache. Still they continued, and yes, it was the family right above me, the curse of my days, family of the Demon Children from Hell Who Never Sleep. Dare I hope that they were building cages for these monsters? Unlikely, what a pity. At 8:30 I left and went to the local 7-11 for some beer (because I don't know where to buy sleeping pills!), chatted with the very nice mother/daughter team who work there (and mom looks more like older sis, love this moisture-filled air here), then went back home, fearful that I'd be hearing banging all night long. I'd already told Charlene that I may be asking her assistance to call up the local constabulary if they showed signs of going on well into the night.

I walked into the building - silence. Up the stairs and to my front door - silence. Went into my apartment - more silence. Am I in the right building? Strange. Watched a bit of another movie and at 10:00 decided that I was right pooped and would attempt sleep. Miracle of miracles! I was able to fall asleep and sleep (mostly) undisturbed until 8:00 this morning! I feel like a new person. But now it's that "waiting for the other shoe to fall" feeling. I can hear them moving around up there, and there are still big sheets of what looks like paneling in the hallways, so I'm guessing they aren't finished. What I'd really like them to do is install wall-to-wall carpeting, preferably six inches thick, so I don't have to listen to those kids bouncing their steel bowling balls anymore!

Methinks I'll be spending most of today out and about, lest the urge to kill overcome me and I march upstairs with my stuffed shark on my head armed with sharpened chopsticks to end my torment.

Only one more week to go

Yay! Next week I'm headed off to Hong Kong on May 4 to 1) attend the Wild Day Out concert, which features Wu Bai & China Blue, and 2) spend some time visiting my good friend Terry and some of the other Hong Kong friends. I'll be missing a couple of days of school, but since I'll still be surrounded by people speaking Chinese, no worries! Yeah, yeah, I know, they speak Cantonese in Hong Kong, but some of my friends there will speak Mandarin to me.

I'm going to attempt to travel light this time, because I'm thinking I may just end up with some movies in Hong Kong ;) So the big decision is: do I bring the stuffed shark with me or not?

The end of the world as we know it

For some people, at least, the world has ended. The big news here in Taiwan is the surprise announcement that Wu Bai and his long-time girlfriend/manager, Ms. Chen Wen Pei, were married in Japan in 2003! The media let the cat out of the bag yesterday, and last night Wu Bai confirmed it on TV, and today the newspapers were full of stories about the secret wedding. While the majority of the fans are extremely happy for the couple, some of the gals are quite crushed and heartbroken. I'm in the happy camp, since to me the man is just a fantasy anyway, so my fantasy Wu Bai remains unhitched :) I mean, gosh & golly, it's not as if I was ever going to actually get him for myself, so why care that he finally married the woman he's been with for over 10 years? I say it's about time he stepped up to the plate.

To drown my sorrow, I went shopping for some new reading material. There's an awesome bookstore called Page One at Taipei 101 (you know, the tallest building in the world, that place), and managed to find five good books for my library. I got Volumes 1 and 2 of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is China's oldest novel. Then I found Gail Tsukiyama's The Language of Threads, which is the sequel to Women of the Silk, a novel I very much enjoyed. Keeping with the Japanese trend, I then picked up Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Matsuoka, a novel of Japan in 1861, after Japan opened their doors to the West (boy, I'll bet they're still sorry about that). My last purchase was pure fluff, the latest Spenser novel in paperback, Bad Business. Dang, I love Spenser and Hawk! Robert B. Parker's books are so simply written, and Spenser's wit keeps a smile on my face through the entire book. Yup, I already finished reading it.

The distressing thing about my book purchase is that for these five books, I shelled out the sum of $90 US. Ouch ouch ouch! The Spenser novel was the cheapest, and that was almost $9. Thank goodness I've managed to find one secondhand book store here in Tian Mu, but it's not easy to get to. I'll have to make the supreme effort to go there more often, because I'm an insatiable reader, and I'll quickly go broke buying books here!

Hey, I know that guy.....

Pretty decent weather today in Taipei, cool with just a little bit of rain. This morning I picked up my health cert from the hospital (costs only $35 US for tests, which include blood pressure, eye exam, hearing test, chest x-ray, blood test, and short visit with the doctor - try getting that in the States for so cheap!), got my passport photos from the photo shop, and applied for the university classes which will allow me to get a residency visa.

Since the weather was so nice, I decided to walk a little, took the MRT to Shandao Temple Station and from there walked to a little daily jade market just to look around. On the way back, I stopped at Yong He Dou Jiang to pick up some xiao long tang bao to bring home for lunch/dinner. Yummy stuff.

Headed into Shandao Temple Station and was walking down the stairs to the platform when I espied a fellow heading up the escalator, talking on his cell phone. Ballcap, ponytail, glasses, tiny goatee - hey, I know him! I waited until he was almost directly across from me, just inches away, then spoke. "Xiao Zhu!" He looked at me as he rode upwards, me with a big silly grin on my face, recognized me and smiled back. "Oh! Hi...!" If he hadn't been on the phone, maybe I'd have talked to him a bit. Who was he? Oh, just the bass player from China Blue.... Around here, even the famous guys take the MRT because it's so convenient :)

BBQ, Taiwan style

But also Japanese style. Last night a friend and I went to a restaurant called Kan Pai for dinner. Kan Pai is Japanese for "gan bei" which is a toast in Chinese meaning, literally, "dry glass" or in other words, "Bottoms up!" We sat at the bar, which was the BEST place to be. The workers in this restaurant were mostly young, cute guys (bonus!). The music playing was some pretty damned good heavy metal in Chinese, Japanese, and English, and the guys sang along at the top of their lungs as they worked. Betty and I had our own little grill on which to cook the many savoury items we ordered (and I ate intestines for the first time, hot & spicy ones, not bad, just a bit chewy), and we laughed and talked while cooking our food and eating. At 8:00, one of the workers made an announcement for all the events that were being celebrated, and then everyone was challenged to drink their glasses dry in order to get a free drink. No problem :) Sadly, the beer was Miller, yuck. I highly recommend the cook-it-yourself restaurants here. Some are very inexpensive, like $9.50 for all you can eat. Not a good way to lose weight, though....

And some not so happy news :(

Despite being wild with joy at the prospect of seeing Wu Bai & China Blue's Li Hai concert coming up on June 11, I'm less than pleased at the way the tickets were handled. The normal routine for Wu Bai concerts is to queue in line for a few days to ensure a place at the front, if there is no seating, just standing. The concerts in September/October 2004 were great, because we were able to buy the most expensive tickets, which were seats right up front, so cool! This time, the most expensive seats are NOT close to the stage. And the flippin' stage is going to rotate, so no matter where we are, at times we will not be able to watch the band from the FRONT. So, although we've purchased the expensive tickets, we may still decide to change them for the cheaper ones and queue in line to be up front. Stay tuned for further developments ;)

Happy news :)

Just got a nice e-mail from my ex-hubby (thanks, Mark!!), telling me that he sold my car for me and got $500 more for it than what I was going to sell it to some former friends for! See, all things work out for the best in the end. Maybe you think it's something bad, but it turns out to be something good.

Wu Bai & China Blue in Chiayi April 16, 2005

10:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, April 17. Still feeling quite happy and high from the little mini-concert yesterday at Chiayi, where Wu Bai & China Blue performed 11 songs at the 94 Nian Quanguo Zhongdeng Xuexiao Yundong Hui Xuanshou Zhi Ye - Year 94 National Secondary School (which is equivalent to junior high school, I think) Sports Event Competition. (Taiwan uses a different calendar, and it's currently Year 94.) The event was free, so we decided to make the trek there, even though we knew Wu Bai & China Blue would probably only perform for about a half hour.


It was a very long day, but quite worth it. Charlene and I left Taipei at 10:00 a.m. on a bus bound for Chiayi County, which is where Wu Bai grew up. Traffic was heavy, so it took us a little over four hours to get there. Most of the trip was spent snoozing while listening to Wu Bai & China Blue on my MP3 player. I needed the sleep, since I'd been up since 7:00 a.m. and knew I'd be getting home late.

Arrived in Chiayi with the intent to find something to eat and then maybe take a little visit to the sugar factory where Wu Bai's father worked in years past, but a phone call from Shun changed that. He informed Charlene that Wu Bai and crew had arrived and were getting ready for rehearsal, so we hot-footed it over to the stadium to watch. The stage was set up quite far from the bleachers, so we didn't have a very clear view of the band, but the sound was good. We sat with a few other fans who had arrived early, and also Wu Bai's parents, who were of course there to support their son. Exchanged a few nods and smiles with Auntie and Uncle and proceeded to enjoy the rehearsal, continually kicking myself mentally for leaving my camera at home. Yes, stupid, I know, no need to remind me.

Bless Shun, who went on a food/drink run for us and returned with some really good xiao long tang bao and some fresh dong gua cha. That's little meat dumplings and winter melon tea ;) Was able to exchange a few bantering words with Dino when he walked underneath us, giving him the thumbs up for growing his hair back. Since I was the only wai guo ren (foreigner) in sight, I got a lot of stares from the kids. The various bands and cheerleading groups were constantly going back and forth in front of us, carrying water and other supplies, and some of the security folks seemed to be amazed that I was singing along with the songs during rehearsal. OK, so I don't speak Taiwanese, but I can fake it pretty good when it comes to singing! I've listened to these songs for years now, so some of it has sunk in, although I'm never quite sure I'm saying it correctly, since determining the proper pronunciation from a song is a bit difficult. Still, I have to sing along, can't help it.

Lonely Bird and his girlfriend, Jane, showed up to join us, and poor Sharrie arrived just after rehearsal was over, so she missed it all. We wandered around for a bit, checking out the venue and watching the police scrambling around getting ready for the arrival of the Taiwan president, Chen Shui Bian. Eventually located a suitable spot to eat and hung out there for awhile. Two other foreigners appeared (even though one was Chinese, he was from Canada and was therefore wai guo ren), and they sat with us for awhile. They were Mormon missionaries, and I felt compelled to try to convert them to the worship of Wu Bai & China Blue ;) Nice kids, enjoyed chatting with them, felt sorry for them when they said that as missionaries they are not allowed to listen to music. Told them that if they just happened to be strolling by the stadium later in the event, they couldn't help but hear the music......hope they did.

Since the bleachers were crammed full and so far away from the stage, we decided to wait until the music portion of the evening began to see if we'd be allowed to go onto the field, right in front of the stage. Sure enough, our wait paid off, and we all made the mad dash for the front as soon as security gave us the go ahead. We got to watch a few of the La La Dui (cheerleading squads) perform, and these kids were amazing! The groups consist of guys and girls, and the girls are routinely tossed up into the air and perform marvelous balancing feats propped up on their teammates hands. It was pretty darned cool to see, very talented group of young people here.
The opening music act was F.I.R., a very popular Taiwan group (two guys, one girl), and the press of people trying to get to the front was unbelievable. There were so many teenaged boys and girls in that crowd, all of them intent on getting as close to this group as they could, that I finally have a very clear understanding of the idiom "packed tighter than sardines in a can." Even though the evening weather was quite cool, with a great breeze, it was so hot in the crowd that I felt as if I'd been dunked in water. My glasses kept fogging up from the humidity, and none of us smelled very good at that point. My hair was dripping, and I got even wetter when one of the Wu Bai fans had had enough of the pushing and shoving and emptied her water bottle on the folks around us in an attempt to get them to be reasonable. Some of those little Taiwanese girls are so tiny that I was worried they'd be suffocated by the press of bodies around them. You could almost smell the testosterone in the air when the boys were trying to get the attention of the cute little female singer, and the young girls were swooning over the pretty boys on stage. Thankfully, some people departed after seeing their schools' La La Dui teams perform, so Charlene and I kept edging our way closer and closer to the front, hanging onto each other for dear life, trying to find the rest of our group. I thought perhaps all the squashing might end up making me a size smaller, but it didn't. Damn it.

At long last, Wu Bai & China Blue made their appearance, and the crowd's energy skyrocketed. All the songs were in Taiwanese, except for Beidong (Passive) at the very end, because this was a celebration of being TAIWANESE. The band did quite a few numbers from the new CD (and the music is even better live, as I had expected it would be) as well as a good selection of classic tunes from the past. By the end of the show, Charlene and I had managed to get to second row from the front, and I'll bet a lot of people in Taiwan saw me on TV, because it was being broadcast live :) The sound was magnificent, so much better than what they had at the show in San Francisco. The performance was perfect, and I'm just sorry I didn't get to see much of Da Mao. We were right in front of Xiao Zhu, and I could usually see Dino and Wu Bai pretty good, but poor Da Mao was hidden on the other side, mostly by the camera crew who kept getting in the way. All the guys looked as if they were enjoying themselves immensely, big smiles all around. Wu Bai was pretty funny, at the end of their set telling everyone goodbye, as if they wouldn't return for encores. Yeah, right. Are we going to let them get away with that? No way! We only got one encore, though, two songs, and then we had to leave.

Sharrie drove us to Chiayi city, where we boarded the Aloha Bus back to Taipei at 11:30 p.m. Now, this bus was impressive! It was like being on an airline, for crying out loud. There was even "flight attendant" who served drinks and snacks and blankets. The interior of the bus was emerald green, with huge seats (OK, so not like an airplane) that had motorized foot rests and back adjustments, as well as vibrating back massage (ooooh, nice). Sure, it was a little more expensive than the other bus, but what the hell, comfort is worth paying for. It only cost $25 US for the trip there and back, and then I had to take a cab from Taipei to Zhuwei (about $10.50) because the MRT stops at midnight, and we arrived back at 2:30 a.m. (much faster when there is no traffic on the road!) - try getting those prices in the US! I was home by 3:00 a.m., where I kicked back with a beer and a book for awhile, since I'd slept on the bus.

So now it's just waiting for May 5 in Hong Kong, where I'll see the boys again at Wild Day Out, and then June 11 for the Li Hai concert here in Taiwan. Why did I move here? You figure it out..... ;) Wu Bai & China Blue three months in a row, yeah!

Week 3 update

Hello everyone!
Well, I'm into my third week of living in Taiwan. Today is a holiday here (it's Tuesday the 5th in Taiwan), the day families go to the cemeteries to clean the graves of the ancestors. So, no class today.

First let me say that class is quite interesting. This is my second week, and the other students have all been studying for some time. I began with lesson 20 in the book, since I already knew most of the words and grammar that had previously been covered. However.....the teacher doesn't speak English. The entire class is given in Chinese, and although I can read quite a bit and form sentences, I'm not at all used to LISTENING to Chinese and translating it, so I'm missing some things. I'm amazed at how much I do understand, though. Even when the teacher is using words I don't know, I can usually figure it out from the context that I do know. She speaks enough English to understand and answer some of my questions, though. I'm very grateful that there is a student from France, Nicolas, who speaks fine English and is able to help me when I'm totally lost.

The class seems very informal. Students arrive when they feel like it (I'm always the first one there) and don't think anything of walking out during the class to answer their cell phones. I think I was the only one who was there every day last week. We have a Korean woman, Yun; a pregnant Japanese gal, Keiko; another Japanese girl, Natsuko; a Japanese guy who only started last Friday, Ri Shan; my good buddy Nicolas from France; and one day there was a girl named Katy from Canada, but I haven't seen her since. I do think the teacher is pretty good at getting her point across, using a lot of drawing on the board and gesturing. I'm struggling a little with her Taiwan accent, because it's not what I'm most used to hearing. Taiwan Mandarin and mainland Mandarin are quite different, so I need to get accustomed to hearing it. Funny, we're supposed to be learning the standard Beijing Mandarin, which employs what is called the retroflex "R" sound at the end of many words, but our teacher isn't able to make that sound! Thankfully, I had a marvelous teacher in Weiwei, and she taught me how to do that (thanks Weiwei!). Although I may be far behind in terms of listening and speaking, I have to say my pronunciation is the best out of all the students, and again I have to thank Weiwei for that.
So, what have I been doing for the past two weeks? Shopping, mostly, it seems. I needed so much for the apartment that I've been cruising around Ikea and Carrefour on almost a daily basis. Last week it rained quite a bit, and it was rather cold, so a few days I just went to class and then home to putter around here. But no matter how cold (or hot) it is outside (and it gets down into the 40s this time of year, colder during December and January), my apartment stays around 66-69 degrees, which is great. It never feels damp in here, either. I hope this is a good sign for summer, since I don't have an air conditioner.

Sunday March 27 was a gorgeous day, so a little before 9:00 a.m. I took the MRT to Danshui (two stops up the line) and walked from the station to Danshui Fisherman's Wharf. It was about a 40 minute walk, and it was very crowded that day, because there was some sort of event going on. The walk back was better, no people! That afternoon my friend Natari and I went to the flower market so I could get a few plants. I got three gorgeous orchids for around $3.00 US each, plus two green plants, a lucky bamboo, and a cute little potted plant, along with a very nice wooden plant stand. Photos of the new members of the family are posted, along with other new pix, at http://www.pbase.com/500fan/xinfangzi. Just ignore the big pile of cardboard on the living room balcony - although I finally figured out where the garbage truck stops, I haven't gotten all the boxes from everything I've been buying thrown away yet! If I'm not home at 9:00 p.m., I miss the truck. Or if it's pouring rain at 9:00 p.m., I miss the truck. Or, if I'm too lazy to take out the trash....you get the idea.

I still haven't explored my neighborhood, other than the walk to the MRT each day. Again, there was so much rain that I didn't want to be outside, but now that the sun is out, I'm more inclined to just walk around looking at things. I've discovered some great places to eat for cheap! Almost every day on my way to school, I stop to get two shui jian bao for breakfast. It costs me about 44 cents. These are about the size and shape of hockey pucks, dough that's like potsticker dough, filled with vegetables and glass noodles. Very tasty with some soy sauce and chili (yes, for breakfast). Another street vendor on the way to my place serves up some yummy ge li tang (clam soup with ginger), chao fan (fried rice), chao mian (chow mein), and kong xin cai (a tasty green vegetable). Again, the price is very cheap. When Natari and I ate there the other night, we were stuffed to the max, and it cost us $3.30 US each.

It can be very inexpensive to eat in Taiwan. Last night I went with some friends to a place known as a Chi Dao Bao - literally "eat until full" which is what they call buffets here. This is not your ordinary buffet. It's a Japanese style place with each table having a griddle for frying and a pot of boiling water to cook in. You order all kinds of things from a checklist, and the waiters bring them to you. Then the cooking begins! Here's just a sample of what we ordered last night: sliced beef, sliced lamb, sliced chicken, squid, prawns, clams, a few varieties of fish, a few varieties of mushrooms, tempura, mochi (a kind of dough ball the Japanese use as noodles), cheese balls (mochi filled with cheese), tiny sausages, intestines (no, I don't eat those, but my Taiwan friends like it), fish balls, tofu, potatoes, miniature yams, and some stuff that I don't even know what it was - and we didn't even get half the stuff that was on the menu. There were four of us, and I was done eating about 45 minutes before the other three! I don't understand how these tiny little Asians can eat so much and stay thin. And after the main course, there was Haagen Daas ice cream, all we wanted, and that stuff ain't cheap in Taiwan. The price for all of this was $399 per person - that's $12.63 US. Doesn't matter how much you order, same price. I'm afraid if we bring Betty there, the place will go broke ;) I was kinda hoping I'd lose some weight here, but not if I keep going to those places!

One thing I find very odd here is the willingness of these folks to queue in line for hours for new food fads. There's a donut shop, Mr. Donut, where people will stand in line for up to three hours to buy donuts! What the heck? And last Friday some friends from the south part of Taiwan came into town on some business, and the two of them queued for an hour and half at this new place that makes sandwiches with fried pork pieces. It's a Japanese fast food shop that's all the rage right now. We got to share the five Sharrie bought for us (she took five back home with her for her hubby & kids), and it was just a sandwich.....a bun with some tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and a nice piece of battered pork. It was good, but it sure wasn't worth standing in line for! I'll probably never get to taste those donuts unless some other crazy friends stand in line for them.
My neighbors.... I have a family upstairs, right above me, who at times seem to have 20 children. In reality they probably only have two or three, but these kids never go to bed. They are up until sometimes 3:00 a.m., running back and forth (and not barefoot, either), bouncing lord knows what on the floors, dropping heavy objects - and I'm trying to sleep! I finally got a long pole off the balcony and started banging on the ceiling yelling, "Wei! Wo bu neng shui jiao!" which is "Hey, I can't sleep!" but it hasn't stopped them from doing it again. I haven't decided if I should confront them in person or simply leave a nice note on their door (which Weiwei so kindly wrote for me). Other than those people, it's actually fairly quiet here at night. I'm not near a main road, so not that much traffic, and the other neighbors hardly make any noise at all.
I'll be heading to Hong Kong May 5 for a Wu Bai concert (yay!) and staying there for a couple of days to visit with my friend Terry. When I come back, I'll apply for the university class that my school offers so I can get a residency visa and won't have to keep applying for monthly extensions. The cost is a little more, $408 per semester as opposed to the $313 I'm paying now, but I won't have to leave the country as often, and that will save me money. The whole visa ordeal seems very complicated, but I'm hoping it's not as bad as I think. The school will help me when I apply for my extension, which is great.

Paying bills here is also different from the US. You can actually just transfer money from your checking account to another person's account by using your ATM card or just by going to the bank. So, when I pay my rent I just go to the landlady's bank and deposit the money into the account. The water bill I'll be paying at the 7-11, not sure about the phone and electric bills. I've opted not to get cable yet, but I might in the future. And I'll need to figure out how to get another tank of gas. Will probably have my friend order it for me until my Chinese is a little more fluent. I've also discovered that in addition to the monthly rent, there's a charge for "maintenance" of the building, so my total rent output will be around $490 per month. Still a darned good deal for a place this size!

I made my second trip to Costco, on Sunday. Bad idea. If you think Costco in the US is insane on weekends, try shopping here! My goodness. But, I'm happy I went, because the coffee is way cheaper there - and that's where I can buy a clothes dryer! Although I have to say that it wasn't too awful drying the clothes outside. They weren't as wrinkled as I thought they'd be (but the socks are like cardboard, must get some fabric softener), so perhaps I can live with a dryer, but they're only around $200 if I decide it's a necessity. Too bad Costco is in an area where there is no MRT and no buses. I won't be able to get there unless my friend drives, and she's not all that fond of the place.

That's about all for now. I hope some of you will eventually be visiting me one of these days and experiencing all this for yourselves!

Zai jian, bai bai, catch ya later,
Ma La

It's starting to look like home here in Taiwan

Hi gang,
I've been here in Taiwan for four days, and I've managed to get my apartment looking like someone lives here, although I'm still without any living room furniture and a lot of other furniture that will make life easier (but I did score a 29" flat screen TV for $285). I took some progress photos and posted them at http://www.pbase.com/500fan/xinfangzi if you want to take a look.

There's a lot to get used to here, as some things are very different than in the US. For instance, the garbage truck comes every evening, playing a song like the ice cream truck, and when you hear it, you're supposed to run out and give them your trash. Sadly, I haven't yet figured out where they're stopping at what time! So, things are sorta piling up ;) I also have the boxes from all the stuff that was delivered today, since if I need to return anything, I have to have a box. Anyone need a refrigerator carton?

I have a little tank of gas on my balcony, which heats my water. I just open the valve (only when I'm home, I close it when I leave), and there's a very small hot water heater on the wall. That only turns on when the tap is opened for hot water, and the heater turns on and within about 30 seconds, I have hot water. I was a bit skeptical whether I would have hot water throughout my shower, but I did. I guess it just heats it so fast that it never runs out. I think this is a much better way than the US does it! The gas is also for cooking, but since I have no pots and pans yet, I haven't cooked.

The weather is still pretty cold, and no one here has heat in their apartments. Mine isn't too bad, just chilly, but OK when I put on warm clothes. My friend loaned me a couple blankets that have kept me toasty at night. Within the next week it should be getting warmer, and I'll probably be wishing for this colder weather. At least up here where I am, close to the ocean, I get a nice breeze and it's not as hot as Taipei city itself. I got myself a great floor fan, and I'm hoping that will be enough in the summer, that I won't have to get a window air conditioner.

Another thing for me to get used to is no clothes dryers. Can't find 'em. Here everyone washes their clothes and hangs them outside on their balconies to dry. This means I'll have to actually iron my clothes now, yuck. Oh well, I bought an iron, but still need an ironing board. So, they won't dry their clothes here, but they have electric appliances for drying their dishes. Go figure. I'd rather dry the dishes with a towel and not have to iron!

I've met some of my new neighbors, and they are very friendly. One woman was so nice, she gave me a book she had just purchased. It's in Chinese, but I'll be able to read it soon, I hope. It has some lovely illustrations. The people at the shops have been very patient with me as I've shopped, although there have been a few problems, like neither of my credit cards working at the one store where I was making major purchases. And both credit card companies swear they didn't deny any charges, so I have no idea what happened. Keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't happen again!

Got to visit the Costco here, and it's almost identical to the US, same stuff. This was cool, because I know I can go there for things I may not be able to find other places, just in case I simply have to have something from the US. Today was the first day I had a soda since I left the US, and it wasn't even a US brand. It was a Taiwan sarsparilla called Hey Song, pretty tasty stuff.

Tomorrow I'm going to try to find my way to the school to make sure I know what I'm doing on Monday when classes start. I'll probably get lost! At least I can find my way to and from the MRT station to my apartment. It's a pretty twisty_turny way to walk, and I had to look at the written directions the first few times. Now I just do it without thinking. It's easier to get to by car, but afoot takes some effort.

Well, that's all. Most of you are just waking up, or maybe on your way to work. I'm thinking about bed, even though it's only 9:25 here. I keep getting up early because I don't want to spoil myself. However, it sounds as if the people upstairs are remodeling their apartment, so I'm not sure I'll be able to get to sleep just yet. Might just read for a bit.

Take care, everyone! I'll let you know when I have more pix of the place.
Marla