"There's one company now you can sign up and you can get a movie delivered to your house daily by delivery service. Okay. And currently it comes to your house, it gets put in the mail box when you get home and you change your order but you pay for that, right.
But this service isn't going to go through the Internet and what you do is you just go to a place on the Internet and you order your movie and guess what, you can order ten of them delivered to you and the delivery charge is free.
Ten of them streaming across that Internet and what happens to your own personal Internet?
I just the other day got, an Internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday. Why?
Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the Internet commercially.
So you want to talk about the consumer? Let's talk about you and me. We use this Internet to communicate and we aren't using it for commercial purposes.
We aren't earning anything by going on that Internet. Now I'm not saying you have to or you want to discriminate against those people [...]
The regulatory approach is wrong. Your approach is regulatory in the sense that it says "No one can charge anyone for massively invading this world of the Internet." No, I'm not finished. I want people to understand my position, I'm not going to take a lot of time.
They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the Internet. And again, the Internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a truck.
It's a series of tubes.
And if you don't understand those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and its going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.
Now we have a separate Department of Defense Internet now, did you know that?
Do you know why?
Because they have to have theirs delivered immediately. They can't afford getting delayed by other people. [...]
Now I think these people are arguing whether they should be able to dump all that stuff on the Internet ought to consider if they should develop a system themselves.
Maybe there is a place for a commercial net but it's not using what consumers use every day.
It's not using the messaging service that is essential to small businesses, to our operation of families.
The whole concept is that we should not go into this until someone shows that there is something that has been done that really is a violation of net neutrality that hits you and me."
And who mouthed these eloquent words?
Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) explained why he voted against the Senate Commerce Committee amendment which would have inserted some very basic net neutrality provisions into a moving telecommunications bill. These provisions would not have prohibited an ISP from handling VOIP faster than emails, but would have made it illegal to handle its own VOIP packets faster than a competitor's. The Committee deadlocked 11 to 11.
If you're brave enough to download the audio file (17:29 minutes long, 9.7M):
http://media.publicknowledge.org/stevens-on-nn.mp3
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Lucky Lately
Back from Hong Kong, where it was simply sweltering. Ugh. Hot. Not that it's much cooler here, but a couple of degrees C can make a diff.
Last Friday was Luke's birthday (he's an old, old 29), so I spent a few hours hanging out with him, Kaori, Hiyoshi, and Long Yan. We went to a nice dim sum lunch, and then we all went over to Kaori's new place, where we met up with Kayun and Tai Xiong. It's a really nice apartment, and it has a kitchen bigger than anything I've seen in Taiwan! And what a pretty light panel in the ceiling, wow. I'm totally jealous. And here's a picture of Long Yan, Luke, and Hiyoshi kicking back on the couch. 
I got to the airport nice and early on Monday. Apparently the flight wasn't very full, because I once again was upgraded to business class! The short-flight business class isn't nearly as impressive as the long haul, though. I only got one glass of champagne, no little goodie bag to take with me, no Godiva chocolate. And the meal was not as tasty, nor was it presented so beautifully. Still, the seats were big and comfy, and the service was as it always is with EVA, exceptional.
Tommy picked me up at the airport, and we listened to Metallica and Scorpions as he drove back into Hong Kong. Kinda cool to have a Chinese friend who digs the old metal music, ha. I tried to convince him to let me pay for the ride, since it's his business, but he wouldn't let me. I didn't have time on this trip to treat him to a nice meal, but next time for sure, both him and Doris.
Doris and I met up at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, first to have a great dim sum meal with her two children, who have grown so big since the last time I saw them! The food was great, although the service was lacking a bit. Poor Doris had to keep flagging down the wait staff, trying to get someone to bring us the food she'd ordered to go for her husband. Finally, everything arrived, and we left, with Doris refusing to let me pay for my share of the food. My friends are all so generous, and it's not easy paying them back for their hospitality!
The kids took off for home, where they would meet up with Dad and then proceed to a demonstration the Hong Kong folks were holding, a protest telling the Chinese government that they wanted their democracy, their right to vote for their Chief Officer. Here's a quote from the news: "Thousands of people marched in central Hong Kong to demand full democracy on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule. Police estimate 19,000 people started the march, but the crowd grew as the demonstrators moved through the city chanting slogans and blowing whistles.
... In 2003 and 2004, half a million or more people joined the march, upset at the weak economy and the government's mismanagement of various issues. But last year after the city's unpopular leader Tung Chee-hwa resigned, the number of participants fell to around 20,000." And to think, there are certain leaders here in Taiwan who would willingly hand Taiwan back to Beijing. Uh huh, then we'd be the ones marching.
Doris and I had a nice trip to Lei Yue Mun, a little fishing village a short ferry ride from Kowloon. It was hot, but there was a good breeze blowing, so every now and then we got cooled off. Too bad we were so full from the dim sum, because there is every kind of fresh seafood you could ever want available in Lei Yue Mun. It's all swimming around in tanks outside the restaurants (and some very large shrimp were attempting an escape from their tank, but were plopped back in by the boss), and you can just pick out what you want cooked, and they'll do it. Next time, maybe.
We then took the ferry over to Hong Kong Island, and Doris took me to the Hong Kong Film Archive, where I bought a book about the Shaw Brothers films and the memoir of Chang Che, one of my favorite directors, both in English! What a great find that was. Then we headed to the shopping mall for some air conditioning and iced coffee. After that, over to Doris's place to wait for hubby and kids to return, then to her mother's home for a marvelous dinner. Wow, her mom is a great cook! Even after I was stuffed, I wanted more. Got back to my room rather late and just kicked back watching the last part of a very stupid movie called Evolution, starring David Duchovny and Dan Aykroyd. Really dumb.
I stayed at a little guest house called the Lee Garden Guest House. The room was miniscule, but very clean, and the air conditioner worked, which was the most important thing. The name of the building in which the guest house is located is quite interesting, the Fook Kiu Mansion. Same to you, buddy.
Sunday I just goofed around, went to the Hong Kong Museum of Art to see The World of the Etruscans exhibit(http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Arts/english/exhibitions/eexhibitions_s_20060401_1.html), along with Auspicious Emblems: Chinese Cultural Treasures - 45th Anniversary Exhibition of the Min Chiu Society (http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Arts/english/exhibitions/eexhibitions_s_20060101_1.html) Both were excellent, but the Chinese art is so much more beautiful. There was a little arts and crafts show outside the museum, but I didn't see anything I wanted to buy. Went over to Harbour City to shop at City Super, but there were so many people that I gave up. Walked around Tsim Sha Tsui until I couldn't take it anymore, went back to the room to rest, went to the jade market, then back to the room for more rest, then hit Temple Street Night Market for awhile in the evening. Went to bed early because it was too hot to keep wandering around, took off early for the airport Monday morning so I could spend time wandering the shops there, got back to my place around 6:00 p.m. DZ was happy to see me.
Back to the normal routine today, and hopefully will get over to Shi Da to sign up for classes this week.
Last Friday was Luke's birthday (he's an old, old 29), so I spent a few hours hanging out with him, Kaori, Hiyoshi, and Long Yan. We went to a nice dim sum lunch, and then we all went over to Kaori's new place, where we met up with Kayun and Tai Xiong. It's a really nice apartment, and it has a kitchen bigger than anything I've seen in Taiwan! And what a pretty light panel in the ceiling, wow. I'm totally jealous. And here's a picture of Long Yan, Luke, and Hiyoshi kicking back on the couch. 
I got to the airport nice and early on Monday. Apparently the flight wasn't very full, because I once again was upgraded to business class! The short-flight business class isn't nearly as impressive as the long haul, though. I only got one glass of champagne, no little goodie bag to take with me, no Godiva chocolate. And the meal was not as tasty, nor was it presented so beautifully. Still, the seats were big and comfy, and the service was as it always is with EVA, exceptional.
Tommy picked me up at the airport, and we listened to Metallica and Scorpions as he drove back into Hong Kong. Kinda cool to have a Chinese friend who digs the old metal music, ha. I tried to convince him to let me pay for the ride, since it's his business, but he wouldn't let me. I didn't have time on this trip to treat him to a nice meal, but next time for sure, both him and Doris.
Doris and I met up at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, first to have a great dim sum meal with her two children, who have grown so big since the last time I saw them! The food was great, although the service was lacking a bit. Poor Doris had to keep flagging down the wait staff, trying to get someone to bring us the food she'd ordered to go for her husband. Finally, everything arrived, and we left, with Doris refusing to let me pay for my share of the food. My friends are all so generous, and it's not easy paying them back for their hospitality!
The kids took off for home, where they would meet up with Dad and then proceed to a demonstration the Hong Kong folks were holding, a protest telling the Chinese government that they wanted their democracy, their right to vote for their Chief Officer. Here's a quote from the news: "Thousands of people marched in central Hong Kong to demand full democracy on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule. Police estimate 19,000 people started the march, but the crowd grew as the demonstrators moved through the city chanting slogans and blowing whistles.
... In 2003 and 2004, half a million or more people joined the march, upset at the weak economy and the government's mismanagement of various issues. But last year after the city's unpopular leader Tung Chee-hwa resigned, the number of participants fell to around 20,000." And to think, there are certain leaders here in Taiwan who would willingly hand Taiwan back to Beijing. Uh huh, then we'd be the ones marching.
Doris and I had a nice trip to Lei Yue Mun, a little fishing village a short ferry ride from Kowloon. It was hot, but there was a good breeze blowing, so every now and then we got cooled off. Too bad we were so full from the dim sum, because there is every kind of fresh seafood you could ever want available in Lei Yue Mun. It's all swimming around in tanks outside the restaurants (and some very large shrimp were attempting an escape from their tank, but were plopped back in by the boss), and you can just pick out what you want cooked, and they'll do it. Next time, maybe.
We then took the ferry over to Hong Kong Island, and Doris took me to the Hong Kong Film Archive, where I bought a book about the Shaw Brothers films and the memoir of Chang Che, one of my favorite directors, both in English! What a great find that was. Then we headed to the shopping mall for some air conditioning and iced coffee. After that, over to Doris's place to wait for hubby and kids to return, then to her mother's home for a marvelous dinner. Wow, her mom is a great cook! Even after I was stuffed, I wanted more. Got back to my room rather late and just kicked back watching the last part of a very stupid movie called Evolution, starring David Duchovny and Dan Aykroyd. Really dumb.
I stayed at a little guest house called the Lee Garden Guest House. The room was miniscule, but very clean, and the air conditioner worked, which was the most important thing. The name of the building in which the guest house is located is quite interesting, the Fook Kiu Mansion. Same to you, buddy.Sunday I just goofed around, went to the Hong Kong Museum of Art to see The World of the Etruscans exhibit(http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Arts/english/exhibitions/eexhibitions_s_20060401_1.html), along with Auspicious Emblems: Chinese Cultural Treasures - 45th Anniversary Exhibition of the Min Chiu Society (http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Arts/english/exhibitions/eexhibitions_s_20060101_1.html) Both were excellent, but the Chinese art is so much more beautiful. There was a little arts and crafts show outside the museum, but I didn't see anything I wanted to buy. Went over to Harbour City to shop at City Super, but there were so many people that I gave up. Walked around Tsim Sha Tsui until I couldn't take it anymore, went back to the room to rest, went to the jade market, then back to the room for more rest, then hit Temple Street Night Market for awhile in the evening. Went to bed early because it was too hot to keep wandering around, took off early for the airport Monday morning so I could spend time wandering the shops there, got back to my place around 6:00 p.m. DZ was happy to see me.
Back to the normal routine today, and hopefully will get over to Shi Da to sign up for classes this week.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
101 Things You Don't Want Greeting You When You Wake Up in the Morning, Number 1
Yesterday I bought two five-liter bags of kitty litter. Cats use a lot of kitty litter, you know. Shopping in Taiwan isn't really all that convenient sometimes, when one has no vehicle and one must carry heavy items home. Arriving home, deposited said bags in the spare bedroom, on the floor.
DZ was apparently bored out of her little kitty mind last night, because this morning when I got up, I found both bags of litter torn to shreds and litter covering the floor in the spare bedroom. DZ, attempting to play the innocent party, was lounging on the windowsill. Not for long. I grabbed that stupid cat by the scruff of the neck and proceeded to whale on her scrawny ass with the handiest implement, an umbrella. Stupid cat. Just wanted I wanted to do, sweep up litter for the first twenty minutes of my day. Guess who didn't get any canned cat food this morning?
This afternoon I once again did some recording for the cram school who has the textbook with the abysmal English. My recording partner was one of their teachers, nice enough guy named Andy. However.....Andy doesn't seem to be able to read aloud, at least not competently. And I have a very bad feeling that Andy was the author of some of the stuff we were reading, the stuff so loaded with errors I was cringing. Yeah, Taiwan, don't give me a job teaching English, because I don't have the piece of paper that Andy has. Never mind that I very well know the difference between "here" and "hear." I can't tell you how many times we had to stop, because what was written made absolutely no sense, and I had to try to reword it to go on. I volunteered to record almost all of the long speaking passages, because it was just too painful to sit there listening to Andy trying to do it and constantly making mistakes. Does anyone care about this??
I'm leaving for Hong Kong on Friday, returning on Monday. Don't really want to go because 1) I don't need to spend money after seeing how much I put on my Visa card when in the US, 2) Hong Kong is much hotter than Taiwan right now, and 3) Cheryl and Terry will be in the US on their vacation, so I'll miss seeing them. However, the bright spot is getting to see Doris and Tommy, and that really makes it worthwhile, since they're so fun and nice. Tommy, who drives a taxi, is even going to pick me up at the airport! And Doris wants to take me to Lee Yuen Mum, which is a fishing village. Can't ask for nicer friends than that, can you? So, really, no regrets (talk to me after I experience the summer temps in Hong Kong, I might be singing a different tune).
I won't be looking forward to my next electric bill. I'll bet it will be $50US for two months (ducks for cover as folks in US who are paying exhorbitant amounts for electricity throw whatever is handy in my direction)!
DZ was apparently bored out of her little kitty mind last night, because this morning when I got up, I found both bags of litter torn to shreds and litter covering the floor in the spare bedroom. DZ, attempting to play the innocent party, was lounging on the windowsill. Not for long. I grabbed that stupid cat by the scruff of the neck and proceeded to whale on her scrawny ass with the handiest implement, an umbrella. Stupid cat. Just wanted I wanted to do, sweep up litter for the first twenty minutes of my day. Guess who didn't get any canned cat food this morning?
This afternoon I once again did some recording for the cram school who has the textbook with the abysmal English. My recording partner was one of their teachers, nice enough guy named Andy. However.....Andy doesn't seem to be able to read aloud, at least not competently. And I have a very bad feeling that Andy was the author of some of the stuff we were reading, the stuff so loaded with errors I was cringing. Yeah, Taiwan, don't give me a job teaching English, because I don't have the piece of paper that Andy has. Never mind that I very well know the difference between "here" and "hear." I can't tell you how many times we had to stop, because what was written made absolutely no sense, and I had to try to reword it to go on. I volunteered to record almost all of the long speaking passages, because it was just too painful to sit there listening to Andy trying to do it and constantly making mistakes. Does anyone care about this??
I'm leaving for Hong Kong on Friday, returning on Monday. Don't really want to go because 1) I don't need to spend money after seeing how much I put on my Visa card when in the US, 2) Hong Kong is much hotter than Taiwan right now, and 3) Cheryl and Terry will be in the US on their vacation, so I'll miss seeing them. However, the bright spot is getting to see Doris and Tommy, and that really makes it worthwhile, since they're so fun and nice. Tommy, who drives a taxi, is even going to pick me up at the airport! And Doris wants to take me to Lee Yuen Mum, which is a fishing village. Can't ask for nicer friends than that, can you? So, really, no regrets (talk to me after I experience the summer temps in Hong Kong, I might be singing a different tune).
I won't be looking forward to my next electric bill. I'll bet it will be $50US for two months (ducks for cover as folks in US who are paying exhorbitant amounts for electricity throw whatever is handy in my direction)!
Sunday, June 25, 2006
And speaking of Long Yan
I get a real kick out of this guy. He's Japanese, I think around 30 years old, and he's very much into swing dancing, Lindy Hop, the whole Fifties scene. You can watch a video (takes a little bit of time to load) of him and his dance partner, shot in Japan, here (and you'll have to actually cut and paste the whole thing instead of just clicking on it, because I can't get the full link to show us AS as link - it cuts it off after the last dot for some reason):
http://f.flvmaker.com/mc.php?id=nNxcQpY4__GKUTAF6Eq.PMqehLcwBpXKjEYGJBYrPOljkEE6rNFTb7u.cJyoslF2ZW_aaCmmmsniZ5RQ
http://f.flvmaker.com/mc.php?id=nNxcQpY4__GKUTAF6Eq.PMqehLcwBpXKjEYGJBYrPOljkEE6rNFTb7u.cJyoslF2ZW_aaCmmmsniZ5RQ
Just a tad on the sneaky side
Ever been through this? A casual friend or a co-worker says, "Hey, I'm having a little get-together at my place Friday night, want to come? We'll have some snacks and stuff." You don't have anything else to do so you say, "Yeah, sure." You go to the "party" only to discover that you've been roped into an evening of listening to your host/hostess and his/her sponsor talk about the marvels of selling Amway products (or the joys of owning a time-share condo or a membership at 1,000 Trails). Are ya pissed? Damned straight you are, because you've been conned.
On Friday my classmate Kaori asked if I wanted to go to a party at the home of another classmate, one I didn't know, a fellow from Thailand. She said he was going to cook some Thai food and that our other friend, Long Yan, would cook up some Japanese food. We'd have a few beers, some chit-chat, enjoy ourselves. OK, I'm there!
Showed up at the MRT station to meet up with them (them being Kaori, Long Yan, Luke, and the Thai guy, whose name is something like Bosun, but not quite). We hung around waiting to see if another guy from Canada was going to show up, and as we waited, Bosun told me he hoped it would be OK for me (he thought I was a Christian) that we'd be going to his Buddhist worship hall for dinner. "Huh? We're not going to your house?" "No." "Uh, can we drink beer there?" "What? Of course not! Hahaha!" Oh well, no problem for me, I can live without beer, and I don't mind going to a Buddhist place.
We stopped to buy some juice and soda, got to the hall, removed our shoes, whined a bit about there being no air conditioning (OK, I was the only whiner), and Bosun headed for the kitchen area to bring out the food. Along the way it had been determined that there was no need for Long Yan to cook (darn), because there was plenty of food. We greeted the other Thai folks who were at the hall, bowed to a few monks, and carried our trays of food upstairs to a little meeting room (again, no air conditioner, just a huge, noisy fan). Then Bosun tells us that he can't eat with us, because the rule of his sect is that they can't eat anything after noon, just drink. What? The host isn't going to eat with his guests? OK, this is too weird. When he left to get the soup and some ice cubes, Kaori and I discussed this weirdness. She had no idea we'd be going to what is effectively a church for dinner! Eh, make the best of it and start eating.
Oh my, the food was great. No clue what the names of the dishes were, because the only thing I'd had before was the deep-fried shrimp balls with the sweet hot sauce (delicious). There was another dish with shrimp, lemon grass, and cashews that was so firey spicy it cleared the sinuses instantly, but was soooo good. Everything was good. Really. We ate and talked and drank our juice, and when we finished Bosun said he wanted us to meet the head monk.
Back downstairs we went, where they had finally turned on the air (yay!), and we all sat at a big table with the monk and an old lady who was folding up some papers. We were then required to look through a book which was mainly about the tsunami in Thailand in December 2004, mostly photos of many people meditating at the many ceremonies that were held to remember those who died. By this time we all kinda realized that the reason we were there was so Bosun could tell us about his religion, and we were feeling a little uncomfortable. However, no one was at any time pushy or obnoxious, and they were all very gracious, telling us we were welcome to come anytime and eat more good food, especially if we wanted to share the noon meal with them.
Kaori and I figured if we were going to get our desired alcoholic beverage intake for the evening, we'd best make our apologies and boogie on down the road. So, we said bye-bye and thank you numerous times before finally getting out the door and to the grocery store. As we walked to Kaori's place, which was quite close, we all laughed about the strange situation, and Kaori said she was going to murder her friend who obviously had known what was in store for us but had declined to elaborate when she'd talked to him the day before. I said it didn't matter, we'd had a great meal, some nice conversation, no one twisted our arms and tried to convert us, and we should just enjoy our full tummies :)
Spent the rest of the evening hanging out in Kaori's room, got lots of giggles from watching Long Yan demonstrate his Wing Chun skills, as well as his "grappling" ability. He had Luke down on the floor in a position that was so hysterical I deeply regretted not bringing the camera.
I was pleasantly surprised that Luke doesn't freak out when another guy touches him. He's Japanese but has lived in California since he was three years old (he's 29 now), so he's basically an American guy. And most American guys are so homophobic it's pathetic. I asked Luke how he feels about the habit of Asian guys to throw an arm around a buddy while walking, to place a hand on a knee when talking, etc., and he said he was secure enough in his own masculinity for that not to bother him. Good for him, I like hearing that.
Anyway, I got home around 12:30, stayed up until 1:30 reading, got up at 9:00 today. It's too hot to go anywhere or do anything, so today I'm gonna be a lazy bum.
On Friday my classmate Kaori asked if I wanted to go to a party at the home of another classmate, one I didn't know, a fellow from Thailand. She said he was going to cook some Thai food and that our other friend, Long Yan, would cook up some Japanese food. We'd have a few beers, some chit-chat, enjoy ourselves. OK, I'm there!
Showed up at the MRT station to meet up with them (them being Kaori, Long Yan, Luke, and the Thai guy, whose name is something like Bosun, but not quite). We hung around waiting to see if another guy from Canada was going to show up, and as we waited, Bosun told me he hoped it would be OK for me (he thought I was a Christian) that we'd be going to his Buddhist worship hall for dinner. "Huh? We're not going to your house?" "No." "Uh, can we drink beer there?" "What? Of course not! Hahaha!" Oh well, no problem for me, I can live without beer, and I don't mind going to a Buddhist place.
We stopped to buy some juice and soda, got to the hall, removed our shoes, whined a bit about there being no air conditioning (OK, I was the only whiner), and Bosun headed for the kitchen area to bring out the food. Along the way it had been determined that there was no need for Long Yan to cook (darn), because there was plenty of food. We greeted the other Thai folks who were at the hall, bowed to a few monks, and carried our trays of food upstairs to a little meeting room (again, no air conditioner, just a huge, noisy fan). Then Bosun tells us that he can't eat with us, because the rule of his sect is that they can't eat anything after noon, just drink. What? The host isn't going to eat with his guests? OK, this is too weird. When he left to get the soup and some ice cubes, Kaori and I discussed this weirdness. She had no idea we'd be going to what is effectively a church for dinner! Eh, make the best of it and start eating.
Oh my, the food was great. No clue what the names of the dishes were, because the only thing I'd had before was the deep-fried shrimp balls with the sweet hot sauce (delicious). There was another dish with shrimp, lemon grass, and cashews that was so firey spicy it cleared the sinuses instantly, but was soooo good. Everything was good. Really. We ate and talked and drank our juice, and when we finished Bosun said he wanted us to meet the head monk.
Back downstairs we went, where they had finally turned on the air (yay!), and we all sat at a big table with the monk and an old lady who was folding up some papers. We were then required to look through a book which was mainly about the tsunami in Thailand in December 2004, mostly photos of many people meditating at the many ceremonies that were held to remember those who died. By this time we all kinda realized that the reason we were there was so Bosun could tell us about his religion, and we were feeling a little uncomfortable. However, no one was at any time pushy or obnoxious, and they were all very gracious, telling us we were welcome to come anytime and eat more good food, especially if we wanted to share the noon meal with them.
Kaori and I figured if we were going to get our desired alcoholic beverage intake for the evening, we'd best make our apologies and boogie on down the road. So, we said bye-bye and thank you numerous times before finally getting out the door and to the grocery store. As we walked to Kaori's place, which was quite close, we all laughed about the strange situation, and Kaori said she was going to murder her friend who obviously had known what was in store for us but had declined to elaborate when she'd talked to him the day before. I said it didn't matter, we'd had a great meal, some nice conversation, no one twisted our arms and tried to convert us, and we should just enjoy our full tummies :)
Spent the rest of the evening hanging out in Kaori's room, got lots of giggles from watching Long Yan demonstrate his Wing Chun skills, as well as his "grappling" ability. He had Luke down on the floor in a position that was so hysterical I deeply regretted not bringing the camera.
I was pleasantly surprised that Luke doesn't freak out when another guy touches him. He's Japanese but has lived in California since he was three years old (he's 29 now), so he's basically an American guy. And most American guys are so homophobic it's pathetic. I asked Luke how he feels about the habit of Asian guys to throw an arm around a buddy while walking, to place a hand on a knee when talking, etc., and he said he was secure enough in his own masculinity for that not to bother him. Good for him, I like hearing that.
Anyway, I got home around 12:30, stayed up until 1:30 reading, got up at 9:00 today. It's too hot to go anywhere or do anything, so today I'm gonna be a lazy bum.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Spoiled Forever
I forgot to mention a couple of things about my trip to the US (blame it on old age). I'd bought a ticket for Deluxe Class this time, since Uncle Sam was kind enough to return $700 of the US income tax I'd paid during my two months of work in 2005. I figured I'd treat myself a little bit for that long, long flight. I got more than I expected. When I arrived at the gate to check in, the young man checking passports and boarding passes gave me a chagrined look and said, "Oh, Deluxe Class is overbooked." This sent my heart into a rapid pitterpat, since I HAD to fly out on the 28th because my visa expired. Then he sorrowfully said, "I'm sorry, we have to upgrade you to Business Class." Sorry? What's to be sorry about? An upgrade is never cause for sorry.
Don't know if any of you have ever flown Business Class on a trans-Atlantic flight, but boy howdy, I recommend it. The seat was huge with tons of leg room and a nice footrest. You could actually recline in the seat, not just tilt your head back a couple of inches. Of course, it's not the full recline you get with First Class, but it worked. The pillow was of a usable size, not the postage-stamp sized ones Economy passes out. The blanket was not a rough, scratchy fabric, but was a very nice comforter, smooth cotton covering.
In Economy, you wait for the food cart to come around, and the flight attendant tells you what your two choices are. In Business Class, you're given a lovely menu with the choices listed, along with an extensive list of all the expensive alcohol you'll be allowed to choose from. In Business Class, you get an appetizer before your meal and Godiva chocolates with your coffee. The flight attendant comes by and takes your order. She returns shortly with a linen tablecloth for your little fold-out tray. When the food tray arrives, it's loaded with real crystal wine glasses, a linen napkin, and beautiful china plates. The appetizer looks as if a chef in a five-star restaurant arranged it on the plate (remember, presentation is everything), and the cutlery is also quite nice.
I had chosen the spare ribs for my main dish, and honestly the details of the meal have mostly faded now (I was just a little bit groggy from the Dramamine I'd taken, give me a break), but I recall it was all quite tasty and that there were fresh vegetables on the side. The drinks cart came by, and I went with the nice champagne that was offered, and yes, I got refills. Knowing that dehydrating alcohol is a bad choice on a long flight, I did not drink an entire bottle. Yay me.
The little free gifty was also very nice, a charming and good-sized travel pouch loaded with some smelly stuff from L'Occitane en Provence (http://www.loccitane.com/), famous here in Taiwan (and other parts of the world) for producing over-priced smelly stuff. Since I hate that stuff, I passed it along to Brandi, who was quite pleased to have it. Also included in the pouch were a lovely eye mask (which I'll be using at home), a tube of Colgate that will last for at least 10 brushings, a decent toothbrush, and a nice folding hairbrush/comb.
The breakfast service right before landing was also fabulous and far too much food. I went with the typical Taiwanese breakfast of 油條 and 荳漿 (deep-fried twisted dough sticks - think doughnut without sugar - and soy milk), which also came with an egg pancake stuffed with tuna and another fried pancake wrapped around the 油條. This was entirely too much fried food for one meal. I ate one 油條, dipped in the 荳漿 of course, and the egg pancake and the fresh fruit. That was enough, especially since I knew there would be more food with Brandi in just a couple of hours!
Sad to say, my dream of getting upgraded on the flight home did not come true. I discovered that Deluxe Class is basically Economy with seats a little bigger and more leg room. Pillow and blankey were eh, food was eh, no champagne, no Godiva chocolate. Big deal, we got glass dishes instead of plastic, but the food was still nothing more than a frozen meal covered with tinfoil, all mixed together in one dish. The croissant with breakfast was a brittle, unchewable blob of bread. I guess I could have had a lot of ordinary alcohol, since the nice Malaysian gentleman next to me was getting beer frequently, but again, I know better than to drink too much on a flight.
All in all, I'd say that choosing Deluxe for any flight over five hours long is probably worth the extra money, just for the comfort. So, that's probably what I'll select for my next trip back to the US, praying all the while for the flight to be overbooked and getting a taste of Business Class once again. I just don't think I can make myself pay the price for Business Class, which is about $800 more than Deluxe (and Deluxe is only a couple hundred more than Economy). However, I'll keep my eyes open for any specials!
By the way, if anyone wants to visit Taiwan in July, EVA currently has a special price of only $753US (pre-tax) from San Francisco to Taipei :)
Don't know if any of you have ever flown Business Class on a trans-Atlantic flight, but boy howdy, I recommend it. The seat was huge with tons of leg room and a nice footrest. You could actually recline in the seat, not just tilt your head back a couple of inches. Of course, it's not the full recline you get with First Class, but it worked. The pillow was of a usable size, not the postage-stamp sized ones Economy passes out. The blanket was not a rough, scratchy fabric, but was a very nice comforter, smooth cotton covering.
In Economy, you wait for the food cart to come around, and the flight attendant tells you what your two choices are. In Business Class, you're given a lovely menu with the choices listed, along with an extensive list of all the expensive alcohol you'll be allowed to choose from. In Business Class, you get an appetizer before your meal and Godiva chocolates with your coffee. The flight attendant comes by and takes your order. She returns shortly with a linen tablecloth for your little fold-out tray. When the food tray arrives, it's loaded with real crystal wine glasses, a linen napkin, and beautiful china plates. The appetizer looks as if a chef in a five-star restaurant arranged it on the plate (remember, presentation is everything), and the cutlery is also quite nice.
I had chosen the spare ribs for my main dish, and honestly the details of the meal have mostly faded now (I was just a little bit groggy from the Dramamine I'd taken, give me a break), but I recall it was all quite tasty and that there were fresh vegetables on the side. The drinks cart came by, and I went with the nice champagne that was offered, and yes, I got refills. Knowing that dehydrating alcohol is a bad choice on a long flight, I did not drink an entire bottle. Yay me.
The little free gifty was also very nice, a charming and good-sized travel pouch loaded with some smelly stuff from L'Occitane en Provence (http://www.loccitane.com/), famous here in Taiwan (and other parts of the world) for producing over-priced smelly stuff. Since I hate that stuff, I passed it along to Brandi, who was quite pleased to have it. Also included in the pouch were a lovely eye mask (which I'll be using at home), a tube of Colgate that will last for at least 10 brushings, a decent toothbrush, and a nice folding hairbrush/comb.
The breakfast service right before landing was also fabulous and far too much food. I went with the typical Taiwanese breakfast of 油條 and 荳漿 (deep-fried twisted dough sticks - think doughnut without sugar - and soy milk), which also came with an egg pancake stuffed with tuna and another fried pancake wrapped around the 油條. This was entirely too much fried food for one meal. I ate one 油條, dipped in the 荳漿 of course, and the egg pancake and the fresh fruit. That was enough, especially since I knew there would be more food with Brandi in just a couple of hours!
Sad to say, my dream of getting upgraded on the flight home did not come true. I discovered that Deluxe Class is basically Economy with seats a little bigger and more leg room. Pillow and blankey were eh, food was eh, no champagne, no Godiva chocolate. Big deal, we got glass dishes instead of plastic, but the food was still nothing more than a frozen meal covered with tinfoil, all mixed together in one dish. The croissant with breakfast was a brittle, unchewable blob of bread. I guess I could have had a lot of ordinary alcohol, since the nice Malaysian gentleman next to me was getting beer frequently, but again, I know better than to drink too much on a flight.
All in all, I'd say that choosing Deluxe for any flight over five hours long is probably worth the extra money, just for the comfort. So, that's probably what I'll select for my next trip back to the US, praying all the while for the flight to be overbooked and getting a taste of Business Class once again. I just don't think I can make myself pay the price for Business Class, which is about $800 more than Deluxe (and Deluxe is only a couple hundred more than Economy). However, I'll keep my eyes open for any specials!
By the way, if anyone wants to visit Taiwan in July, EVA currently has a special price of only $753US (pre-tax) from San Francisco to Taipei :)
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Taiwan's 17th Annual Golden Melody Awards
I attended the awards ceremony yesterday, June 10, 2006, because Wu Bai had been nominated for four awards:
Best Song of the Year: Made In Taiwan
Best Taiwanese Contemporary Album: Two-Faced Man
Best Lyricist: Made In Taiwan
Best Taiwanese Male Performer: Two-Faced Man
I arrived at noon to meet up with Chun and Shun, who had arrived at 11:00 a.m. Our plan was to queue up along the red carpet to watch the stars arrive before going into the venue. Since it had been raining, Chun and Shun decided to hang out at McDonald's instead. Charlene showed up around 2:00, and by the time we walked over to the red carpet area, it was totally packed! No place up close to stand, phooey. We settled for waiting at the railing where the cars would be bringing the stars, just so Wu Bai and the band would at least be able to see us and know we were there supporting them. Since the vehicles all had blacked-out windows, we couldn't tell who was in them, so we kept trying to read the names on the clipboards the staff guys were carrying around as they checked off each arrival. We got lucky and had our guys' cars stop in front of us, and Xiao Zhu rolled his window down to say hello, as did Dino and Da Mao. I'm not sure if Wu Bai was in the same car as Xiao Zhu, since I wasn't able to see the other side, just saw Xiao Zhu sitting on the right. Check out so very cool Wu Bai on the way in: http://www.ettoday.com/newspic/1023/i1023341.jpg
Our seats were way up high and to the right of the stage, giving us a fairly good view. When we got in, Wang Leehom was performing, along with someone else. As the ceremony progressed, I got to see performances from Asia Jump, which turned out to be Taiwan star Vanness Wu (formerly of F4) and Korean star Kangta (formerly of HOT), doing a rather hot little dance routine. I never realized Vanness Wu had such a great bod. Kangta still looks like a girl to me, check their official site at http://www.kangtavanness.com/. Eason Chan, who has one of the finest voices I've heard, performed quite well, despite a news report saying he was off key (I didn't notice at all). Other performers were Jacky Cheung, dubbed the "God of Songs" in Hong Kong but who has never appealed so much to me; Se7en, a young man from Korea who is also nicely built and dances well; and Music Orz, a male/female song and dance group that was just incredible, performing a tribal-style song while decked out in feather headdresses; and MC Hotdog with Zhang something or other, who is apparently a big favorite of Wu Bai & China Blue, since they all stood up and clapped along during this performance. There were other performers as well, but I didn't know them so can't say who they were. As the cameras panned the audience, I saw Karen Mok and Gigi Leung, who had come from Hong Kong to attend. S.H.E. was there (also doing some presenting), and many other local stars. My least favorite person, Xiao S, was on stage far too much for my liking. Motherhood has not made her any less of a whore, IMO.
Wu Bai was one of the presenters, and before he'd gone up on stage for that, some crazy person had gotten ahold of his hair and done bizarre things to it. He looked rather ridiculous. Thankfully, he was back to his normal suave self when accepting his award for Best Taiwanese Male Performer. We were a bit sad that he didn't win in the other categories, but at least he got one. Every time one of his categories came up, we screamed and waved our signs, and Sharrie said she could hear us during the live TV broadcast, so I guess we done good :)
We left before the final presentations, since Wu Bai and crew were already gone. Missed seeing Wang Lee Hom get his Best Mandarin Male Singer award, oh darn. I just don't understand why he's popular.....
It was a long, long day, since I'd gotten up at 4:30 a.m., unable to sleep due to still adjusting to the time change and DZ meowing her fool head off. I got home last night after midnight, totally starved, so I ate a Pop Tart and then fell into bed. DZ again woke me up at 4:00 a.m. with her yowling, but I managed to shut her up and sleep until 7:30 a.m.
Now I have to clean house, because two weeks of DZ hair is everywhere, and I have friends coming over at 1:30 to watch some movies and chat girl-talk.
Best Song of the Year: Made In Taiwan
Best Taiwanese Contemporary Album: Two-Faced Man
Best Lyricist: Made In Taiwan
Best Taiwanese Male Performer: Two-Faced Man
I arrived at noon to meet up with Chun and Shun, who had arrived at 11:00 a.m. Our plan was to queue up along the red carpet to watch the stars arrive before going into the venue. Since it had been raining, Chun and Shun decided to hang out at McDonald's instead. Charlene showed up around 2:00, and by the time we walked over to the red carpet area, it was totally packed! No place up close to stand, phooey. We settled for waiting at the railing where the cars would be bringing the stars, just so Wu Bai and the band would at least be able to see us and know we were there supporting them. Since the vehicles all had blacked-out windows, we couldn't tell who was in them, so we kept trying to read the names on the clipboards the staff guys were carrying around as they checked off each arrival. We got lucky and had our guys' cars stop in front of us, and Xiao Zhu rolled his window down to say hello, as did Dino and Da Mao. I'm not sure if Wu Bai was in the same car as Xiao Zhu, since I wasn't able to see the other side, just saw Xiao Zhu sitting on the right. Check out so very cool Wu Bai on the way in: http://www.ettoday.com/newspic/1023/i1023341.jpg
Our seats were way up high and to the right of the stage, giving us a fairly good view. When we got in, Wang Leehom was performing, along with someone else. As the ceremony progressed, I got to see performances from Asia Jump, which turned out to be Taiwan star Vanness Wu (formerly of F4) and Korean star Kangta (formerly of HOT), doing a rather hot little dance routine. I never realized Vanness Wu had such a great bod. Kangta still looks like a girl to me, check their official site at http://www.kangtavanness.com/. Eason Chan, who has one of the finest voices I've heard, performed quite well, despite a news report saying he was off key (I didn't notice at all). Other performers were Jacky Cheung, dubbed the "God of Songs" in Hong Kong but who has never appealed so much to me; Se7en, a young man from Korea who is also nicely built and dances well; and Music Orz, a male/female song and dance group that was just incredible, performing a tribal-style song while decked out in feather headdresses; and MC Hotdog with Zhang something or other, who is apparently a big favorite of Wu Bai & China Blue, since they all stood up and clapped along during this performance. There were other performers as well, but I didn't know them so can't say who they were. As the cameras panned the audience, I saw Karen Mok and Gigi Leung, who had come from Hong Kong to attend. S.H.E. was there (also doing some presenting), and many other local stars. My least favorite person, Xiao S, was on stage far too much for my liking. Motherhood has not made her any less of a whore, IMO.
Wu Bai was one of the presenters, and before he'd gone up on stage for that, some crazy person had gotten ahold of his hair and done bizarre things to it. He looked rather ridiculous. Thankfully, he was back to his normal suave self when accepting his award for Best Taiwanese Male Performer. We were a bit sad that he didn't win in the other categories, but at least he got one. Every time one of his categories came up, we screamed and waved our signs, and Sharrie said she could hear us during the live TV broadcast, so I guess we done good :)
We left before the final presentations, since Wu Bai and crew were already gone. Missed seeing Wang Lee Hom get his Best Mandarin Male Singer award, oh darn. I just don't understand why he's popular.....
It was a long, long day, since I'd gotten up at 4:30 a.m., unable to sleep due to still adjusting to the time change and DZ meowing her fool head off. I got home last night after midnight, totally starved, so I ate a Pop Tart and then fell into bed. DZ again woke me up at 4:00 a.m. with her yowling, but I managed to shut her up and sleep until 7:30 a.m.
Now I have to clean house, because two weeks of DZ hair is everywhere, and I have friends coming over at 1:30 to watch some movies and chat girl-talk.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Back in the R.O.C.
So happy to be home again :) I'm exhausted, having suffered a 14 hour flight that was supposed to only be 13 hours. No clue why we landed an hour later than I expected, since we took off on time. Weird. Landed at 6:09 a.m., home by 9:00 a.m., unpacked by 11:00, showered by noon. Not bad, huh? Still got a bunch of crap on the bed to put away, though. Slept on the couch for about three hours, fitfully (see below for reason).
Frantic cat DZ refuses to believe I'm home and starts yowling when she can't actually see me. Apparently she spent the entire time I was gone hiding under the covers on the bed in the spare room, unless actively prowling the upper reaches of my shelving where she knows she's not supposed to be, breaking priceless objects like my Grandmother's liquer glasses. Grrrr.
The election will be tomorrow, thank Buddha. The noise level today has been incredible, those annoying trucks patroling the neighborhood, blasting their music and political messages, dragon dances with accompanying music, etc. OK, this is one aspect of Taiwan I loathe (but it still beats being in the US and seeing Bush on TV). Now there's a rally right outside my apartment, with the local supporters raising a ruckus, letting off fireworks, cheering, blah blah, all via loudspeaker. Does no good to close the window, so I'm just gonna go watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I picked up on DVD while in the US.
Frantic cat DZ refuses to believe I'm home and starts yowling when she can't actually see me. Apparently she spent the entire time I was gone hiding under the covers on the bed in the spare room, unless actively prowling the upper reaches of my shelving where she knows she's not supposed to be, breaking priceless objects like my Grandmother's liquer glasses. Grrrr.
The election will be tomorrow, thank Buddha. The noise level today has been incredible, those annoying trucks patroling the neighborhood, blasting their music and political messages, dragon dances with accompanying music, etc. OK, this is one aspect of Taiwan I loathe (but it still beats being in the US and seeing Bush on TV). Now there's a rally right outside my apartment, with the local supporters raising a ruckus, letting off fireworks, cheering, blah blah, all via loudspeaker. Does no good to close the window, so I'm just gonna go watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I picked up on DVD while in the US.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Cha Ching!
Gambling report: Berti, sweet woman that she is, gave me $100 to gamble with. First we had a fabulous buffet lunch, which gave me the opportunity to eat turkey, stuffing, and gravy, having missed that at Thanksgiving, then we headed to the slots. I had my typical bad luck until I planted myself next to Berti, and then I won $150, which I immediately cashed out. As we were leaving the place, I tried a bit more, and I won another bit of change. I left with a total of $169, which is cool, since my normal pattern is leaving minus $200!
Berti, Ms. Magic herself, won over $600 in less than two hours. It's uncanny the way she'll stop and say, "I like this machine." Plunks in a couple dollars and wins $150 or $200. Weird.
Anyway, heading to the airport this evening, home again in Taiwan Friday a.m.!
Berti, Ms. Magic herself, won over $600 in less than two hours. It's uncanny the way she'll stop and say, "I like this machine." Plunks in a couple dollars and wins $150 or $200. Weird.
Anyway, heading to the airport this evening, home again in Taiwan Friday a.m.!
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
What I Did During Summer Vacation
Well, here I am in the US again. I've been here since the evening of May 28, the day my visa expired. Brandi picked me up at the airport, and then we hit Trader Joe's for cereal and coffee creamer, and after that we went to Chevy's so I could get a Mexican food fix. The food was OK, but the margarita didn't appear to have any alcohol in it, although it was flavorful. Back at Brandi's we chatted awhile and then watched most of Pirates of the Caribbean, which I'd never seen (Johnny Depp is soooo cool). About 1:00 a.m. we called it a night.
Me, I was up at 7:15 a.m., because my body was a bit confused about what time it was. I dinked around online until Brandi emerged from her lair, and Lisa showed up around 11:00 a.m. Bless her heart, she'd gotten us some adorable key rings engraved with 1986-2006 - we've been friends for 20 years this summer! Lordy, I can't believe how fast time has gone by and what we've been through over those years. We did a lot of reminiscing during our day together, laughing and recalling some of the very stupid things we'd done, surprised that we'd managed to live through some of it! Spent the day shopping, eating, and talking, which is what we do best.
I went home to Fairfield with Lisa Monday evening, got there in time to say hi to hubby Steve before he went to bed, having to face an early morning awakening. Visited with the cats, Pooh and Max, then Lisa and I both zonked out. Again, I was up early, which was fine because I got to chat more with Steve as he was readying himself for his day. After Lisa woke up and got ready, we took off for my dad's place in Auburn, stopping at the numerous outlet stores along the way to buy things on my shopping list and to have some lunch.
Spent Tuesday with Dad and Berti, had a piece of pie from Baker's Square (yum), and on Wednesday morning picked up my rental car, a bright red little Chevy of some sort. Had breakfast at the Auburn airport with Dad and Berti then headed off to Chico, arriving there at noon. Hey, I didn't forget how to drive! I don't drive like I used to, though. I never went more than 5 mph over the speed limit, and I never felt any urgency to get where I was going. I guess living in Taiwan has calmed me down a little. I also didn't yell at the other drivers when they did stupid things.
First stop in Chico was City Hall, of course, to see my former co-workers. I'd only told a few folks I was coming, because I wanted to surprise everyone, and it was great to see the shock on the faces of the unsuspecting ones. Spent awhile there saying hello, then went to lunch with Krista, sharing half an Upper Crust chocolate dipped hazelnut biscotti with her (I was too full from breakfast to actually eat lunch). Then back to City Hall to catch the ones who had been at lunch when made the first swoop. Tried calling Weiwei on the cell phone that Steve Hogue had gotten for me, and the darned thing didn't work. I could hear the gal on the other end, but she couldn't hear me. So, I just went over to Weiwei's office and made plans to meet her at home after work.
Did some shopping, mostly clothes for my fat ass, which won't fit into anything in Taiwan. Let me tell you, it's a shock to see how grossly overweight Americans are. When you live in it day after day, you get numbed to it. But after a year in Taiwan, surrounded by tiny little Asian guys and girls, it's a different story. Listen up folks: America has a problem! Most of those I saw aren't just chubby, they're morbidly obese! OK, I'm definitely overweight, but I'm small compared to a huge percentage of women and men I see here. Wake up, folks, and stop super-sizing everything. And get out of those cars and try walking somewhere every now and then. I was so appalled by the sight that I decided right then and there that as soon as I get back home, this extra weight is coming off. I figure those little Asians are looking at me the same way I'm looking at the 300 and 400 pounders here, and I don't want that. OK, off the soapbox.
Had a lovely, healthy meal at Weiwei's, some salmon with a great salad. Boy, she and Bob are good cooks. Enjoyed talking with them about all sorts of stuff and really enjoyed getting to sleep on my old couch again! Oh, how I miss that couch. I always slept there instead of in my bed, because it was way more comfortable. I should have paid to ship it to Taiwan, dang it. Weiwei had to work Thursday, but Bob was around in the morning, preparing for a hang-gliding trip, so I got to spend more time with him.
Then more shopping, at Winco. I got 22 bags of David & Sons sunflower seeds! I love those things, and they're way healthier than potato chips when one needs a salty snack. Got some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to bring back to my friends, since they're almost impossible to find in Taiwan, and bought a couple other things that are cheaper in the US or completely missing in Taiwan. After that it was lunch with the City gang at a nice little sandwich shop. I got to meet Steve's fiancee, Dinah, who is just a doll, and my former boss, Trish, came along, too. I guess most everyone was busy doing other stuff, because it was a small group: Cindy, Cris, Annalisa, Krista, Trish, Steve, and Dinah. So, I went back to City Hall afterwards to pass out some of the presents I'd brought.
The afternoon was spent visiting my African Gray parrots in Magalia at their new home with the Moore's. They remembered me, and I only cried a little bit when I saw them. Spent an hour there talking with Ann and playing with birdies, then went to see my former roommate/hairdresser, Terri, hoping she could fit me in for a haircut. She couldn't, but we made an appointment for Monday. Then back up to Magalia to ex-hubby Mark's place to visit with him and Nancy for a bit, finally getting to see their wedding and honeymoon photos. Back to Weiwei's for a quiet evening with her.
On Friday I made the rounds of the used books stores and got reading material. Picked up a few more clothes and stuff, had a great lunch with Earl at Smokin' Mo's BBQ. Oh my, that place is good. Back to City Hall to visit a little more with folks, then off to Weiwei's to unload the car. She'd gotten off work early, so we had more time to visit before I left for dinner with Lesley and Karen at Casa Ramos, the best Mexican food around, with margaritas that pack a punch! After dinner we hung out at their place, Lesley and I watching "Shaun of the Dead" and Karen watching sports. Weiwei was still up when I got back to her house, but we made it an early night with plans for shopping during the day Saturday.
But Saturday morning was breakfast at Hometown Buffet with sisters Wendy and Jenny, my friends from Windy's Chinese Restaurant. I'd shocked them by showing up Wednesday afternoon, and they'd insisted we meet for breakfast at their favorite place. We only had a couple of hours, since they have to work at 10:00, but it was great to see them again. I hope they'll come to Taiwan to visit me.
Picked Weiwei up and we took off to do some errands for her, finally getting around to Trader Joe's, my mostest favoritest grocery store :) I had to control myself there, because it would have been way too easy to buy more than I could carry back with me. Ran into Grace from Peter Chu's Restaurant there and had a nice chat with her, and she said next time she goes back to Taiwan, she'll be calling me.
I packed everything up Saturday afternoon and headed downtown to wait for Wendy (my postal friend) at my old coffee shop, Has Beans. One of the regulars was there, an old guy who I think must live at the shop, and we talked about all sorts of stuff until Wendy was off work. We had dinner at a Thai place and then spent the evening watching TV at her house. Sunday we met up with Rose for lunch at Chipotle and hung out yapping for a few hours, then Wendy and I went to Circuit City and Barnes & Noble before heading back up to Paradise. Her friend Anita had been gone all weekend, but she wanted to meet me, so when she got home around 9:00 p.m., Wendy and I went back down to Chico to visit with her. We had Sierra Nevada beer, pizza pretzels, and good conversation. Anita is a bundle of energy, and I wish she'd bottle it and sell it so I could have some. Got back to Wendy's at almost 2:00 a.m., and poor Wendy had to go to work in the morning.
I spent my Monday morning reading the new Stephen King novel I'd bought at B & N, then went to Taco Bell for a couple tacos and a handful of hot sauce packets to take back with me. Then up to Terri's for a haircut, which she graciously did free of charge because she's so cool. After that it was a two-hour drive back to Auburn and then dinner with Dad & Berti, which I tried unsuccessfully to pay for but lost the battle with Berti. We stopped by her son's place for a very short visit, then hit one of their favorite bars for wine (them) and beer (me). Back to Dad's where I sank gratefully into bed.
This morning it was return the rental car and then back here to Dad's. We're taking off in a couple of hours for Thunder Valley, the Indian casino by Roseville, where Berti will supply me with some gambling money and (hopefully) some of her eerie luck. That woman just doesn't lose. She has the magic touch, and please please please oh powers that be let some rub off on me today to pay for all the stuff I bought on this trip!
Dad's taking me to Fairfield tomorrow afternoon, and Lisa and Brandi will take me to SFO and see me off. Well, OK, they'll dump my butt there and go home, because my flight is at 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, and they won't hang around that long! But I'll get to see them one more time, so that's totally cool. My friend Aaron told me this morning that he'll pick me up at the airport when I get back at 5:10 a.m. on Friday, bless his heart! Sure beats trying to get three 70-pound suitcases on the bus myself, since those damned drivers won't lift a finger to help. And maybe all the chocolate I'm bringing back as gifts won't melt!
Back later with a report on my gambling adventure. Hopefully good news, too ;)
Me, I was up at 7:15 a.m., because my body was a bit confused about what time it was. I dinked around online until Brandi emerged from her lair, and Lisa showed up around 11:00 a.m. Bless her heart, she'd gotten us some adorable key rings engraved with 1986-2006 - we've been friends for 20 years this summer! Lordy, I can't believe how fast time has gone by and what we've been through over those years. We did a lot of reminiscing during our day together, laughing and recalling some of the very stupid things we'd done, surprised that we'd managed to live through some of it! Spent the day shopping, eating, and talking, which is what we do best.
I went home to Fairfield with Lisa Monday evening, got there in time to say hi to hubby Steve before he went to bed, having to face an early morning awakening. Visited with the cats, Pooh and Max, then Lisa and I both zonked out. Again, I was up early, which was fine because I got to chat more with Steve as he was readying himself for his day. After Lisa woke up and got ready, we took off for my dad's place in Auburn, stopping at the numerous outlet stores along the way to buy things on my shopping list and to have some lunch.
Spent Tuesday with Dad and Berti, had a piece of pie from Baker's Square (yum), and on Wednesday morning picked up my rental car, a bright red little Chevy of some sort. Had breakfast at the Auburn airport with Dad and Berti then headed off to Chico, arriving there at noon. Hey, I didn't forget how to drive! I don't drive like I used to, though. I never went more than 5 mph over the speed limit, and I never felt any urgency to get where I was going. I guess living in Taiwan has calmed me down a little. I also didn't yell at the other drivers when they did stupid things.
First stop in Chico was City Hall, of course, to see my former co-workers. I'd only told a few folks I was coming, because I wanted to surprise everyone, and it was great to see the shock on the faces of the unsuspecting ones. Spent awhile there saying hello, then went to lunch with Krista, sharing half an Upper Crust chocolate dipped hazelnut biscotti with her (I was too full from breakfast to actually eat lunch). Then back to City Hall to catch the ones who had been at lunch when made the first swoop. Tried calling Weiwei on the cell phone that Steve Hogue had gotten for me, and the darned thing didn't work. I could hear the gal on the other end, but she couldn't hear me. So, I just went over to Weiwei's office and made plans to meet her at home after work.
Did some shopping, mostly clothes for my fat ass, which won't fit into anything in Taiwan. Let me tell you, it's a shock to see how grossly overweight Americans are. When you live in it day after day, you get numbed to it. But after a year in Taiwan, surrounded by tiny little Asian guys and girls, it's a different story. Listen up folks: America has a problem! Most of those I saw aren't just chubby, they're morbidly obese! OK, I'm definitely overweight, but I'm small compared to a huge percentage of women and men I see here. Wake up, folks, and stop super-sizing everything. And get out of those cars and try walking somewhere every now and then. I was so appalled by the sight that I decided right then and there that as soon as I get back home, this extra weight is coming off. I figure those little Asians are looking at me the same way I'm looking at the 300 and 400 pounders here, and I don't want that. OK, off the soapbox.
Had a lovely, healthy meal at Weiwei's, some salmon with a great salad. Boy, she and Bob are good cooks. Enjoyed talking with them about all sorts of stuff and really enjoyed getting to sleep on my old couch again! Oh, how I miss that couch. I always slept there instead of in my bed, because it was way more comfortable. I should have paid to ship it to Taiwan, dang it. Weiwei had to work Thursday, but Bob was around in the morning, preparing for a hang-gliding trip, so I got to spend more time with him.
Then more shopping, at Winco. I got 22 bags of David & Sons sunflower seeds! I love those things, and they're way healthier than potato chips when one needs a salty snack. Got some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to bring back to my friends, since they're almost impossible to find in Taiwan, and bought a couple other things that are cheaper in the US or completely missing in Taiwan. After that it was lunch with the City gang at a nice little sandwich shop. I got to meet Steve's fiancee, Dinah, who is just a doll, and my former boss, Trish, came along, too. I guess most everyone was busy doing other stuff, because it was a small group: Cindy, Cris, Annalisa, Krista, Trish, Steve, and Dinah. So, I went back to City Hall afterwards to pass out some of the presents I'd brought.
The afternoon was spent visiting my African Gray parrots in Magalia at their new home with the Moore's. They remembered me, and I only cried a little bit when I saw them. Spent an hour there talking with Ann and playing with birdies, then went to see my former roommate/hairdresser, Terri, hoping she could fit me in for a haircut. She couldn't, but we made an appointment for Monday. Then back up to Magalia to ex-hubby Mark's place to visit with him and Nancy for a bit, finally getting to see their wedding and honeymoon photos. Back to Weiwei's for a quiet evening with her.
On Friday I made the rounds of the used books stores and got reading material. Picked up a few more clothes and stuff, had a great lunch with Earl at Smokin' Mo's BBQ. Oh my, that place is good. Back to City Hall to visit a little more with folks, then off to Weiwei's to unload the car. She'd gotten off work early, so we had more time to visit before I left for dinner with Lesley and Karen at Casa Ramos, the best Mexican food around, with margaritas that pack a punch! After dinner we hung out at their place, Lesley and I watching "Shaun of the Dead" and Karen watching sports. Weiwei was still up when I got back to her house, but we made it an early night with plans for shopping during the day Saturday.
But Saturday morning was breakfast at Hometown Buffet with sisters Wendy and Jenny, my friends from Windy's Chinese Restaurant. I'd shocked them by showing up Wednesday afternoon, and they'd insisted we meet for breakfast at their favorite place. We only had a couple of hours, since they have to work at 10:00, but it was great to see them again. I hope they'll come to Taiwan to visit me.
Picked Weiwei up and we took off to do some errands for her, finally getting around to Trader Joe's, my mostest favoritest grocery store :) I had to control myself there, because it would have been way too easy to buy more than I could carry back with me. Ran into Grace from Peter Chu's Restaurant there and had a nice chat with her, and she said next time she goes back to Taiwan, she'll be calling me.
I packed everything up Saturday afternoon and headed downtown to wait for Wendy (my postal friend) at my old coffee shop, Has Beans. One of the regulars was there, an old guy who I think must live at the shop, and we talked about all sorts of stuff until Wendy was off work. We had dinner at a Thai place and then spent the evening watching TV at her house. Sunday we met up with Rose for lunch at Chipotle and hung out yapping for a few hours, then Wendy and I went to Circuit City and Barnes & Noble before heading back up to Paradise. Her friend Anita had been gone all weekend, but she wanted to meet me, so when she got home around 9:00 p.m., Wendy and I went back down to Chico to visit with her. We had Sierra Nevada beer, pizza pretzels, and good conversation. Anita is a bundle of energy, and I wish she'd bottle it and sell it so I could have some. Got back to Wendy's at almost 2:00 a.m., and poor Wendy had to go to work in the morning.
I spent my Monday morning reading the new Stephen King novel I'd bought at B & N, then went to Taco Bell for a couple tacos and a handful of hot sauce packets to take back with me. Then up to Terri's for a haircut, which she graciously did free of charge because she's so cool. After that it was a two-hour drive back to Auburn and then dinner with Dad & Berti, which I tried unsuccessfully to pay for but lost the battle with Berti. We stopped by her son's place for a very short visit, then hit one of their favorite bars for wine (them) and beer (me). Back to Dad's where I sank gratefully into bed.
This morning it was return the rental car and then back here to Dad's. We're taking off in a couple of hours for Thunder Valley, the Indian casino by Roseville, where Berti will supply me with some gambling money and (hopefully) some of her eerie luck. That woman just doesn't lose. She has the magic touch, and please please please oh powers that be let some rub off on me today to pay for all the stuff I bought on this trip!
Dad's taking me to Fairfield tomorrow afternoon, and Lisa and Brandi will take me to SFO and see me off. Well, OK, they'll dump my butt there and go home, because my flight is at 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, and they won't hang around that long! But I'll get to see them one more time, so that's totally cool. My friend Aaron told me this morning that he'll pick me up at the airport when I get back at 5:10 a.m. on Friday, bless his heart! Sure beats trying to get three 70-pound suitcases on the bus myself, since those damned drivers won't lift a finger to help. And maybe all the chocolate I'm bringing back as gifts won't melt!
Back later with a report on my gambling adventure. Hopefully good news, too ;)
Sunday, May 28, 2006
There were two sweet young ladies from Indonesia in my class at CLD, Angie and Ya Di, and both of them had to return to Indonesia a few weeks ago, when they found out they couldn't get their student visas extended. They left while I was in Hong Kong, and I had no chance to get any contact info from them. Now I'm reading about all those people who were killed in the earthquake, and I don't know how to find out if my friends are OK. Hopefully the school will have an e-mail address or phone number in Indonesia so I can try to find out.
Not knowing is such an awful feeling.
Not knowing is such an awful feeling.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Lerning Inglish in Tiewan
I was asked to prepare a short demo of my teaching abilities by a local cram school which helps prepare students for their Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) tests prior to their entering universities in English-speaking countries. The assistant at the school copied twelve pages from one of their textbooks regarding the speaking section of the test to help me familiarize myself with it. I was shocked to see how many errors were contained in just these few pages, and I'm here to share my dismay with all of you. I shudder to think what the remaining text looks like.
1. "Raters look criteria including of delivery..." - should be "Raters look at criteria, including delivery...
2. "That said, all most all....." - should be "That said, almost all...."
3. "The characteristic deference's between English...." - should be "The characteristic differences between English...." - Ding 'em twice for misspelling as well as an apostrophe where there is no possession.
4. The word "General" as a heading at the top of one page was spelled "Gernal."
5. "...has some of the best and lest expensive message theorists....." - should be "...has some of the best and least expensive massage therapists....." Well, OK, maybe Thailand does have something called message theorists, but why the hell would that make one wish to go there for vacation?
6. "Its got relaxation..." - should be "It's got relaxation..." (This error is a pet peeve of mine.)
7. "The supporting details prove the topic sentence stratifies the criterion." Huh? I think they mean "satisfies the criterion." But that's just me....
8. "....beaches are the prefect place...." - Now, me, I prefer perfect places. How about you?
9. "...they rent equipment of a variety of activities,...." - should be "...they rent equipment for a variety of activities,...."
10. "Form C strength is that it offers examples." - should be "Form C's strength is that it offers examples."
11. "That is because shrine houses a ghost that...." - should be "That is because the shrine houses a ghost that...." (Those pesky articles are almost as bad as prepositions for speakers of an Asian language.) Here's another:
12. "Therefore, it is duty of every...." - "...the duty".
13. "....travel to....Shrine at least one during our lifetime." - should be "...at least once during our lifetime."
14. "The key to doing the successfully is..." - should be "The key to doing this successfully is..."
15. The word "delivery" was misspelled as "delievery" a total of four times, three of which were section headings.
16. The word "cohesive" was misspelled as "cohesvie" twice.
17. When providing lists of words and phrases the student could use in sentences as transitional devices, some were duplicated (another pet peeve, sorry, it just bugs me).
18. The word "identified" was misspelled as "idenified" once.
19. The word "more" was misspelled as "morer" twice.
20. The paragraph discussing subordinating clauses stated, "Link two related sentences to each other so that one carries the main idea and the other is no longer a complete sentence." However, in both examples given, the sentences were composed of two independent clauses - if the subordinating conjunction were removed, both were complete sentences. Big help, huh?
21. The word "manufacturing" was misspelled as "manufcaturing" twice.
22. In two places two words had been crammed together without the required space: "Taiwanlast" and "wooditems."
23. The word "sightsee" was misspelled as "sight see" right next to "sightseeing," which should have given them a clue how to spell the first one.
24. The word "opportunities" was misspelled as "opertunities."
This list does not include the multiple errors in punctuation, such as missing commas and the like, which also adorned almost every page. This was just a cursory exam on my part, since my main goal in reading it was not to proofread but to prepare for my demo, so perhaps there are even more gems that I've not yet discovered.
Sadly, I am unable to obtain a job as a teacher at this school, as I do not possess the required BA degree (although they were quite happy with the first demo I gave them last week and would have hired me if the Taiwan government had given the official okey-dokey). Perhaps the materials are written by a qualified person who does have that little piece of paper that makes government officials jump and down for joy. Gosh, I wonder if I can get a job as a proofreader......
1. "Raters look criteria including of delivery..." - should be "Raters look at criteria, including delivery...
2. "That said, all most all....." - should be "That said, almost all...."
3. "The characteristic deference's between English...." - should be "The characteristic differences between English...." - Ding 'em twice for misspelling as well as an apostrophe where there is no possession.
4. The word "General" as a heading at the top of one page was spelled "Gernal."
5. "...has some of the best and lest expensive message theorists....." - should be "...has some of the best and least expensive massage therapists....." Well, OK, maybe Thailand does have something called message theorists, but why the hell would that make one wish to go there for vacation?
6. "Its got relaxation..." - should be "It's got relaxation..." (This error is a pet peeve of mine.)
7. "The supporting details prove the topic sentence stratifies the criterion." Huh? I think they mean "satisfies the criterion." But that's just me....
8. "....beaches are the prefect place...." - Now, me, I prefer perfect places. How about you?
9. "...they rent equipment of a variety of activities,...." - should be "...they rent equipment for a variety of activities,...."
10. "Form C strength is that it offers examples." - should be "Form C's strength is that it offers examples."
11. "That is because shrine houses a ghost that...." - should be "That is because the shrine houses a ghost that...." (Those pesky articles are almost as bad as prepositions for speakers of an Asian language.) Here's another:
12. "Therefore, it is duty of every...." - "...the duty".
13. "....travel to....Shrine at least one during our lifetime." - should be "...at least once during our lifetime."
14. "The key to doing the successfully is..." - should be "The key to doing this successfully is..."
15. The word "delivery" was misspelled as "delievery" a total of four times, three of which were section headings.
16. The word "cohesive" was misspelled as "cohesvie" twice.
17. When providing lists of words and phrases the student could use in sentences as transitional devices, some were duplicated (another pet peeve, sorry, it just bugs me).
18. The word "identified" was misspelled as "idenified" once.
19. The word "more" was misspelled as "morer" twice.
20. The paragraph discussing subordinating clauses stated, "Link two related sentences to each other so that one carries the main idea and the other is no longer a complete sentence." However, in both examples given, the sentences were composed of two independent clauses - if the subordinating conjunction were removed, both were complete sentences. Big help, huh?
21. The word "manufacturing" was misspelled as "manufcaturing" twice.
22. In two places two words had been crammed together without the required space: "Taiwanlast" and "wooditems."
23. The word "sightsee" was misspelled as "sight see" right next to "sightseeing," which should have given them a clue how to spell the first one.
24. The word "opportunities" was misspelled as "opertunities."
This list does not include the multiple errors in punctuation, such as missing commas and the like, which also adorned almost every page. This was just a cursory exam on my part, since my main goal in reading it was not to proofread but to prepare for my demo, so perhaps there are even more gems that I've not yet discovered.
Sadly, I am unable to obtain a job as a teacher at this school, as I do not possess the required BA degree (although they were quite happy with the first demo I gave them last week and would have hired me if the Taiwan government had given the official okey-dokey). Perhaps the materials are written by a qualified person who does have that little piece of paper that makes government officials jump and down for joy. Gosh, I wonder if I can get a job as a proofreader......
Friday, May 19, 2006
Ah, the pain of being unwanted.....
Taiwan is a very small island. So small that it would fit right in the space between my old home in Magalia, California and the big city of San Francisco. Yup, that small. Consequently, the Taiwan government isn't too keen on people moving over here and taking up space; and so they have adopted some rules.
If one wishes to stay in Taiwan more than one month, one must have a visa. How does one get this? Well, one must either have a confirmed job here and a work permit to go with it, or one must obtain a special student visa. The catch is that only certain schools are on the government-approved list, and if one does not attend one of those schools, one is S.O.L. Hey, no worries, my school is on that list.
Let me rephrase: my school was on that list. In April the government revised their list, and for reasons completely unknown to us normal people, they removed two of the language centers which have been popular for years. Right, you know it, one of those was mine. I think about 95% of the students at my school are here on student visas. They are not people with jobs who are studying Chinese in their free time, not foreign spouses of people who are here working in Taiwan for a long term. Granted, there are a few of those, but the school makes its living from those of us who need student visas.
We knew there was a problem, but the gals at the desk kept assuring us that the boss was in negotiations with the government, and the issues would all be resolved in May. Some students decided to play it safe and transferred to other schools that had the big thumbs up from the government. Other, more optimistic sorts (like me!), decided to wait and see. And last week I got the news: there is absolutely no way to extend my visa if I continue to study at this school.
Wah! I like my school. The tuition is lower than at other schools, the staff is great, the teachers (well, most of them) are wonderful, and I've made a lot of friends there. I'm comfortable there, and I don't want to change. Crap.
Never mind, I must make some choices. What will I do? I will have to leave Taiwan temporarily, because I can't overstay my current visa. No problem, I had already been planning a summer trip back to California for visiting and shopping. But how can I come back? I have to make some decisions.
I'm in a much better position than some of the students, because I already have money. So, if I choose, I can come back to Taiwan on my passport for a 30-day visit, and at the end of 30 days I just make a short hop over to Hong Kong for a day or two (and I don't even need to leave the airport; I can just wait there a couple of hours and catch a flight back). If I take the passport-only route, I must leave Taiwan every 30 days, and every time I go out of the country, I have to have already purchased the next plane ticket out, because you don't get back in unless you show proof that you have a reservation to leave again!
Second choice: I could hurry up and switch to another language center, getting my current school to give me a referral. New adventures with new classmates. But, my current Alien Residency Certificate is tied to my current school, so I have to start the process all over: be in Taiwan for four months without leaving, and consistently attending class. That would shoot my planned US trip right in the heart and kill it dead.
Third choice: attend university now, instead of a year from now, as I had planned. But, I still feel my ability to listen to and understand Chinese is quite lacking. I'm not sure I'd be able to pass my courses if I enter university now, and I wanted another year of language study first.
After much mulling it over, I have made my decision. I will, at least for a time, use only my passport to come back from my US visit, and I will go to Hong Kong once a month. Hey, I have friends there, it's a good excuse to visit them. Or I might even go to Singapore or Japan and see some places I've never seen. Thailand and Vietnam are also popular spots for the folks who make the regular trips out. I figure if I'm not paying tuition (which would be around $18,000NT at a new school), I can use that money for plane tickets. The price varies - in June one can go to Hong Kong for $4,100NT, but on July 1 the price leaps to $8,100. But that's just one airline, and there are always travel packages available.
Also, if I'm not going to school every morning, I can teach more English. Right now I have a lot of students! And they all like me so much that they keep telling their friends, and more people are asking me about sessions. It's been difficult juggling some of them, but I'd have a lot more flexibility if I didn't have a two-hour class every day.
Finally, the school I've been doing recording for has asked me if I want a job teaching conversational English. I gave a demo lesson yesterday, which went so well that they asked me if I would consider teaching TOEFL classes as well, which are more difficult that the conversation classes. They said if I get a job with them, they can apply for a work permit and ARC for me. Now, this would be absolutely wonderful, but since I've been consistently told that if one has no BA degree, one cannot teach (legally) in Taiwan. The government will not authorize work permits for teachers without degrees. The woman at the school did not seem to know this. I asked her to please check before either of us wasted any more of our time. This is Taiwan, and many times the "official" government regs don't seem to apply, and there are stories of work permits being issued to those sans that little piece of paper, but I certainly won't hold my breath. But I will do a happy dance if I get a thumbs up from the government! Easy job, only one day a week to start, three-hour class, $600NT per hour. The TOEFL class pays $700NT per hour. And, they are evening classes, which leaves the day free for more English tutoring :)
I spent five years getting to Taiwan, and I'm not leaving. Where there's a will, there's a way, right? However much I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends when I head back for the visit, there's no way I ever want to live in the US again. This bullheaded Irish/Italian/American Indian chick won't go down without a fight!
I'll keep ya'll posted on happenings, plans, etc.
If one wishes to stay in Taiwan more than one month, one must have a visa. How does one get this? Well, one must either have a confirmed job here and a work permit to go with it, or one must obtain a special student visa. The catch is that only certain schools are on the government-approved list, and if one does not attend one of those schools, one is S.O.L. Hey, no worries, my school is on that list.
Let me rephrase: my school was on that list. In April the government revised their list, and for reasons completely unknown to us normal people, they removed two of the language centers which have been popular for years. Right, you know it, one of those was mine. I think about 95% of the students at my school are here on student visas. They are not people with jobs who are studying Chinese in their free time, not foreign spouses of people who are here working in Taiwan for a long term. Granted, there are a few of those, but the school makes its living from those of us who need student visas.
We knew there was a problem, but the gals at the desk kept assuring us that the boss was in negotiations with the government, and the issues would all be resolved in May. Some students decided to play it safe and transferred to other schools that had the big thumbs up from the government. Other, more optimistic sorts (like me!), decided to wait and see. And last week I got the news: there is absolutely no way to extend my visa if I continue to study at this school.
Wah! I like my school. The tuition is lower than at other schools, the staff is great, the teachers (well, most of them) are wonderful, and I've made a lot of friends there. I'm comfortable there, and I don't want to change. Crap.
Never mind, I must make some choices. What will I do? I will have to leave Taiwan temporarily, because I can't overstay my current visa. No problem, I had already been planning a summer trip back to California for visiting and shopping. But how can I come back? I have to make some decisions.
I'm in a much better position than some of the students, because I already have money. So, if I choose, I can come back to Taiwan on my passport for a 30-day visit, and at the end of 30 days I just make a short hop over to Hong Kong for a day or two (and I don't even need to leave the airport; I can just wait there a couple of hours and catch a flight back). If I take the passport-only route, I must leave Taiwan every 30 days, and every time I go out of the country, I have to have already purchased the next plane ticket out, because you don't get back in unless you show proof that you have a reservation to leave again!
Second choice: I could hurry up and switch to another language center, getting my current school to give me a referral. New adventures with new classmates. But, my current Alien Residency Certificate is tied to my current school, so I have to start the process all over: be in Taiwan for four months without leaving, and consistently attending class. That would shoot my planned US trip right in the heart and kill it dead.
Third choice: attend university now, instead of a year from now, as I had planned. But, I still feel my ability to listen to and understand Chinese is quite lacking. I'm not sure I'd be able to pass my courses if I enter university now, and I wanted another year of language study first.
After much mulling it over, I have made my decision. I will, at least for a time, use only my passport to come back from my US visit, and I will go to Hong Kong once a month. Hey, I have friends there, it's a good excuse to visit them. Or I might even go to Singapore or Japan and see some places I've never seen. Thailand and Vietnam are also popular spots for the folks who make the regular trips out. I figure if I'm not paying tuition (which would be around $18,000NT at a new school), I can use that money for plane tickets. The price varies - in June one can go to Hong Kong for $4,100NT, but on July 1 the price leaps to $8,100. But that's just one airline, and there are always travel packages available.
Also, if I'm not going to school every morning, I can teach more English. Right now I have a lot of students! And they all like me so much that they keep telling their friends, and more people are asking me about sessions. It's been difficult juggling some of them, but I'd have a lot more flexibility if I didn't have a two-hour class every day.
Finally, the school I've been doing recording for has asked me if I want a job teaching conversational English. I gave a demo lesson yesterday, which went so well that they asked me if I would consider teaching TOEFL classes as well, which are more difficult that the conversation classes. They said if I get a job with them, they can apply for a work permit and ARC for me. Now, this would be absolutely wonderful, but since I've been consistently told that if one has no BA degree, one cannot teach (legally) in Taiwan. The government will not authorize work permits for teachers without degrees. The woman at the school did not seem to know this. I asked her to please check before either of us wasted any more of our time. This is Taiwan, and many times the "official" government regs don't seem to apply, and there are stories of work permits being issued to those sans that little piece of paper, but I certainly won't hold my breath. But I will do a happy dance if I get a thumbs up from the government! Easy job, only one day a week to start, three-hour class, $600NT per hour. The TOEFL class pays $700NT per hour. And, they are evening classes, which leaves the day free for more English tutoring :)
I spent five years getting to Taiwan, and I'm not leaving. Where there's a will, there's a way, right? However much I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends when I head back for the visit, there's no way I ever want to live in the US again. This bullheaded Irish/Italian/American Indian chick won't go down without a fight!
I'll keep ya'll posted on happenings, plans, etc.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Shades of Gilligan
The fun continues in Brian Sack's China Travelogue. Since he is far, far more humorous than I, let's just continue to read his adventures in China rather than my adventures in Taiwan. Those of you not familiar with the old American sit com, Gilligan's Island, won't get quite as much fun out of the description of the trip to Guilin ;)
Guilin Dispatch: A Four Hour Tour, a Four Hour Tour.
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000355.html
Yang Zhou Dispatch: Maogaritaville
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000356.html
And....the WTF?! Photo of the Day award goes to this gem from the snarky bitches at Go Fug Yourself (required daily reading for those of us who are also snarky bitches whenever the opportunity arises).
http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/go_fug_yourself/2006/05/jodie_fug.html
Guilin Dispatch: A Four Hour Tour, a Four Hour Tour.
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000355.html
Yang Zhou Dispatch: Maogaritaville
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000356.html
And....the WTF?! Photo of the Day award goes to this gem from the snarky bitches at Go Fug Yourself (required daily reading for those of us who are also snarky bitches whenever the opportunity arises).
http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/go_fug_yourself/2006/05/jodie_fug.html
Monday, May 01, 2006
Lest Ye Be Bored Whilst I'm Away....
Since I'm not writing much, here are some things to entertain you while you wait for my return.
Fun with statues: http://www.pbase.com/mistermattias/statues I found this pbase site because the gentleman left a funny comment at my pbase site, and curiousity got the better of me. I'm glad it did.
The following are all from Brian Sack's (he of the eBay "Leather Pants Ad" fame) great website, Banterist.com, and will have you rolling. I give you, the chronicles of Brian's visit to China (and when you read, you will see why I live in TAIWAN, especially after reading the account of the trouble with train tickets).
And Mao For Something Completely Different: http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000341.html
Shanghai Dispatch: Cabbing Fever: http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000342.html
Shanghai Dispatch: Shanghai Surprise: http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000344.html
Shanghai Dispatch: Effects of Overpopulation, #1: http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000345.html
Shanghai Dispatch: Dove Reaches Out To China's Heavy Gals:
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000346.html
China Dispatch: You Dim Sum, You Lose Some:
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000347.html
China Dispatch: Using the Squat Toilet:
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000348.html
Beijing Dispatch: Where The Party Never Stops:
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000349.html
Beijing Dispatch: She's Even Cuter In Kelvin Klein Briefs:
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000350.html
Xi'An Dispatch: Warrin' Terra:
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000351.html
New on 5/2/06 China Dispatch: Tickets, pleas.
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000352.html
I urge everyone to spend time checking out other entries at Mr. Sack's website. His quirky humor is just the thing to force a smile onto one's face when one is feeling a bit down.
Fun with statues: http://www.pbase.com/mistermattias/statues I found this pbase site because the gentleman left a funny comment at my pbase site, and curiousity got the better of me. I'm glad it did.
The following are all from Brian Sack's (he of the eBay "Leather Pants Ad" fame) great website, Banterist.com, and will have you rolling. I give you, the chronicles of Brian's visit to China (and when you read, you will see why I live in TAIWAN, especially after reading the account of the trouble with train tickets).
And Mao For Something Completely Different: http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000341.html
Shanghai Dispatch: Cabbing Fever: http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000342.html
Shanghai Dispatch: Shanghai Surprise: http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000344.html
Shanghai Dispatch: Effects of Overpopulation, #1: http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000345.html
Shanghai Dispatch: Dove Reaches Out To China's Heavy Gals:
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000346.html
China Dispatch: You Dim Sum, You Lose Some:
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000347.html
China Dispatch: Using the Squat Toilet:
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000348.html
Beijing Dispatch: Where The Party Never Stops:
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000349.html
Beijing Dispatch: She's Even Cuter In Kelvin Klein Briefs:
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000350.html
Xi'An Dispatch: Warrin' Terra:
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000351.html
New on 5/2/06 China Dispatch: Tickets, pleas.
http://www.banterist.com/archivefiles/000352.html
I urge everyone to spend time checking out other entries at Mr. Sack's website. His quirky humor is just the thing to force a smile onto one's face when one is feeling a bit down.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Break Time
I'm back from Hong Kong, and I still have the cold I took on vacation with me. Yay. Enjoyed my visit with Terry and Cheryl anyway, and it was great seeing Doris, Tommy, and Kieko, too. And I've finally (on 4/29) posted the photos here: http://www.pbase.com/500fan/hk2006
I'm going on a blogging break, don't know for how long. I don't seem to have any inspiration to write lately, so I think it's time stop for a bit. I'll make note of anything unusual, but that's about it. OK, so I did have something unusual occur. When I went to teach the little girl on Tuesday the 26th, her mom wasn't home, just the Filipina maid, Lydia. Because the boss wasn't around, Lydia spent some time talking with me. She asked me where I was from, and I said California. She said her parents lived in California, and I asked where. "Chico," she said. "What?! That's where I'm from!" I cried. Can you believe it? Her folks live on El Paso Way, and her sister is a nurse at Enloe Hospital. I may have to drop in on her folks when I go back for a visit.
Feel free to check in once every two weeks or so to see if my life gets any excitement.
I'm going on a blogging break, don't know for how long. I don't seem to have any inspiration to write lately, so I think it's time stop for a bit. I'll make note of anything unusual, but that's about it. OK, so I did have something unusual occur. When I went to teach the little girl on Tuesday the 26th, her mom wasn't home, just the Filipina maid, Lydia. Because the boss wasn't around, Lydia spent some time talking with me. She asked me where I was from, and I said California. She said her parents lived in California, and I asked where. "Chico," she said. "What?! That's where I'm from!" I cried. Can you believe it? Her folks live on El Paso Way, and her sister is a nurse at Enloe Hospital. I may have to drop in on her folks when I go back for a visit.
Feel free to check in once every two weeks or so to see if my life gets any excitement.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Wedding Bells!
Last night's performance by ABS, All Blues and Soul, otherwise known as CHINA BLUE, was just fabulous. Not only were the guys even better than at their last two gigs, we were treated to something incredibly special. During the show, Dino stood up and said, "OK, it's the right time, I can't stand it anymore." He walked off the stage, grabbed his beautiful girlfriend, Carrie, by the hand, and brought her up on stage. After introducing her to the crowd, he fumbled around in his pocket, pulling out some coins and other things, before finally finding the ring he was looking for. He got down on one knee and asked her if she'd marry him.
What a great moment! Carrie was completely stunned, and she began to cry, and the rest of the guys were playing "Here Comes the Bride" while the crowd cheered. Of course, said "yes" to Dino's proposal, and we also got to see a lot of smooching from the two of them.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! We're all so happy that Dino has finally found his love.
What a great moment! Carrie was completely stunned, and she began to cry, and the rest of the guys were playing "Here Comes the Bride" while the crowd cheered. Of course, said "yes" to Dino's proposal, and we also got to see a lot of smooching from the two of them.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! We're all so happy that Dino has finally found his love.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Hong Kong, Here I Come
Sorry for the lack of recent writings. Same old excuse, too busy (and what do I have to write about anyway? Nothing.)
Last night I went to see another Taiwanese opera performance, very good, loosely based on The Phantom of the Opera but set in ancient China. Gorgeous costumes, lovely singing, good story. Best of all, the ticket was free :)
Tonight I'm going to The Wall to see the China Blue guys doing their ABS gig, looking forward to that. Sharrie is coming all the way from Pingtung to see the show, too. I hope there's a good turnout.
Tomorrow I leave for my week in Hong Kong, so it's doubtful I'll be writing from there. Maybe, I don't know. I think Cheryl and I will be having too much fun. However....I have this sneaky feeling that I'm trying to catch a cold, and I hope that's not the case. I will be totally pissed if my week in Hong Kong gets screwed up!
See ya'll after 4/22.
Last night I went to see another Taiwanese opera performance, very good, loosely based on The Phantom of the Opera but set in ancient China. Gorgeous costumes, lovely singing, good story. Best of all, the ticket was free :)
Tonight I'm going to The Wall to see the China Blue guys doing their ABS gig, looking forward to that. Sharrie is coming all the way from Pingtung to see the show, too. I hope there's a good turnout.
Tomorrow I leave for my week in Hong Kong, so it's doubtful I'll be writing from there. Maybe, I don't know. I think Cheryl and I will be having too much fun. However....I have this sneaky feeling that I'm trying to catch a cold, and I hope that's not the case. I will be totally pissed if my week in Hong Kong gets screwed up!
See ya'll after 4/22.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
My Hat's Off to You, Oh Fugly One
http://www.anacam.com/hats/hats2004/hats2004.html
Before you click the above link, please be sure to empty your mouth of all food and beverage, or else said beverage might end up on your computer screen.
Before you click the above link, please be sure to empty your mouth of all food and beverage, or else said beverage might end up on your computer screen.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Taiwan Rocks - and keeps rocking
Edit on 4/5/06 - scroll to the end of this post for more recent earthquake info.
Had a pretty good sized earthquake yesterday, down in the southern part of Taiwan, 6.4, with four aftershocks following within the next few hours. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/04/02/2003300496
I was out for dinner with some friends, including two from Hong Kong. I was just getting ready to take a bite of food when I felt incredibly dizzy, almost like I was going to pass out. I looked up, and across from me Joe from Hong Kong was also looking a little weird. I said, "Wow, was that an earthquake?" He said he felt it, too, that dizzy feeling. No one else at the table even noticed. Charlene said it's because we're not from here, so we're more sensitive. Taiwan folks have lived with earthquakes so long that they only notice if they're in a high building, or maybe lying on a bed when it starts to shake.
Thankfully, there doesn't appear to have been major damage, but lots of stuff in stores got smashed.
I truly hope we are not leading up to the Mother of All Earthquakes.....
4/5/06 - I just checked the latest earthquake stats, and it seems the whole island is rattling. There have been a total of 11 earthquakes since April 1 (as opposed to a total of 8 quakes in all of March), beginning with the 6.4 one in Taitung, and ending with a 5.7 one today. Most of them have been in the south and have been aftershocks from the 4/1 quake, measuring between 4.2 and 4.8 in magnitude, but two have been up closer to me. I didn't notice the one that occurred today at 3:30 a.m., because I was asleep, and it probably didn't shake Taipei County too much, since it was (thankfully) about 107 km out into the ocean.
Anyone interested in reviewing the earthquake data, please check the government link: http://www.cwb.gov.tw/V5e/index.htm and then click on the "Earthquake Report" link on the menu to the left.
Had a pretty good sized earthquake yesterday, down in the southern part of Taiwan, 6.4, with four aftershocks following within the next few hours. http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/04/02/2003300496
I was out for dinner with some friends, including two from Hong Kong. I was just getting ready to take a bite of food when I felt incredibly dizzy, almost like I was going to pass out. I looked up, and across from me Joe from Hong Kong was also looking a little weird. I said, "Wow, was that an earthquake?" He said he felt it, too, that dizzy feeling. No one else at the table even noticed. Charlene said it's because we're not from here, so we're more sensitive. Taiwan folks have lived with earthquakes so long that they only notice if they're in a high building, or maybe lying on a bed when it starts to shake.
Thankfully, there doesn't appear to have been major damage, but lots of stuff in stores got smashed.
I truly hope we are not leading up to the Mother of All Earthquakes.....
4/5/06 - I just checked the latest earthquake stats, and it seems the whole island is rattling. There have been a total of 11 earthquakes since April 1 (as opposed to a total of 8 quakes in all of March), beginning with the 6.4 one in Taitung, and ending with a 5.7 one today. Most of them have been in the south and have been aftershocks from the 4/1 quake, measuring between 4.2 and 4.8 in magnitude, but two have been up closer to me. I didn't notice the one that occurred today at 3:30 a.m., because I was asleep, and it probably didn't shake Taipei County too much, since it was (thankfully) about 107 km out into the ocean.
Anyone interested in reviewing the earthquake data, please check the government link: http://www.cwb.gov.tw/V5e/index.htm and then click on the "Earthquake Report" link on the menu to the left.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
