A Fan is a Fan is a Fan

After a very normal, boring week of mostly being at home trying to stay cool (not easy, and likely expensive since I used the air conditioner a lot), I finally got a little socialization, beginning Friday. Met up with Kaori and Luke for lunch, and met a new friend, Shuai Feng, adorable little 22-year-old who plays and teaches guitar. After lunch the three of us met up with Kayun and Hiyoshi, hung out until both Kaori and Hiyoshi had to leave to teach Japanese, then the rest of us wandered over to Ximen Ding for mango ice. Luke was desperately trying to find someone to have fun with for the evening, but everyone except me and Shuai Feng had to work. I'd made plans to watch movies with Aaron, and Luke and Shuai Feng tagged along. So we picked up some food and beer and watched Jet Li's "Fong Sai Yuk" together at my place. Luke spent the night again, (and allow me to insert here that it's almost like torture to have a well-built young man running around one's house without a shirt - oh, I think I never mentioned that he spent the night once before, after we stayed up late watching movies. Calm down, he stayed in the spare bedroom, and there's no way I'd be trying to seduce the preacher's son anyway, so just get your dirty little minds out of that gutter.) since there was no way to get back to Taoyuan, and we were up and out the door at 9:30 a.m. Why?

Well, Luke went to Jiu Fen with Long Yan and some others, and I went to go queue in line for a free show featuring Wu Bai & China Blue. Charlene, Xiu Chun, and Shun had gotten there at 9:00 a.m., and there were already other fans camped out, who had arrived at 6:00 a.m. Nat and I made our appearance at 11:00 a.m., and the whole boring routine of queuing began. Thankfully, it was a relatively cool day, we were under some trees, and the shadow of Taipei 101 graciously shaded us from that merciless sun for part of the day. We were at the Taipei World Trade Center, and every time one of the big doors opened to allow the crew in or out, we ran over to catch some of the air conditioning that was flowing out in a blessedly cool stream. When Dino show up he stopped his car, honking and waving at the fans, and after he parked he walked by saying hi to everyone. He's so cool :) Da Mao and Xiao Zhu were dropped off close to the door, but they, too, waved and said hello. I think they truly do appreciate that we're willing to queue for them. I'm sure Wu Bai was hustled in by some back way, surrounding by guard dogs.

This show was a freebie sponsored by Nokia, and before we got to see Wu Bai & China Blue, we had to suffer through eight local bands who were competing for top honors. We also got Zhang Zhen Yue & Free 9 (wish they'd make up their minds, cuz sometimes it's "Free Night") with MC Hotdog, and that was fun. Also the female singer whose last name is Chen who performed with Wu Bai at the concert in 2004. Sorry, I don't like her enough to care what her name is. One of my favorite local bands, Monkey Insane, was one of the contestants, and that was cool. The other groups were OK, a couple decent ones, but the one I thought the worst was the one that ended up winning. Go figure. One band, 孩兒樂隊 (Youth Band), had played at New Year's at Meili Hua. They're the ones who look like girls. The one guy I thought was fabulously beautiful is still that. It's just not fair!

Anyway, we finally got Wu Bai & China Blue, at 9:45 p.m. But....they only played for about 20-25 minutes, and then it was all over, and we'd spent how many hours for that? I just don't think it was worth it, even though every bit of tiredness flees as soon as the guys hit the stage. I don't mind the long wait for a full-on, two- to three-hour concert of just Wu Bai & China Blue, but I'm not sure I'd spend the time doing it again for only 20 minutes. Update 9:30 p.m. As I was thinking back over the show, I remembered one special moment when Wu Bai waved at me. He had come over to our side of the stage for a few seconds, and as he was returning to center stage, he turned around and waved at me. At least, it seemed as if he was waving at me, because he was looking right at me. So, I waved back. Oh, and Nat agrees with me about it not really being worth it to wait so long for so little. She says we're getting too old for this. I think she's right.

I also bought a new refrigerator this week, since the original one I bought was kind of small. I mean, I'm taller than the fridge, and I'm only 5'3". Gah, I think I'm even about as wide as the fridge, but let's not go there. So I got myself a spiffy new model, and I'll stick a photo in here soon to let you all admire it. Now I can take advantage of the sale 7-11 is having, buy three beers and get 21% off. Since they've started carry Guinness and Murphy's Irish Stout, I gotta lay in a stock!

I'm leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow, will be there all week hanging with my homey, Cheryl, and watching movies. Catch ya'll later.

Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall

So, uh, if you know which store sells this product, could you let me know? I kinda need one. Thanks.

Religious Fanatics Frighten Me

Doesn't matter which religion, they're all terrifying. This article gave me creepy-crawly goosebumps all over.

http://www.alternet.org/story/38873/

The most frightening thing: they want that to happen. I know; I remember from the days when I was a member in that kind of church.

Well, Yeah, I Do Listen to Music Other Than Wu Bai & China Blue

Taiwan produces a nice crop of musicians, and I've added a lot of music to my collection since I got here. Wu Bai & China Blue will forever remain on the highest of high pedastals, but I also enjoy the following:

Remember my first student, Zhang Guoxi? His band is Mojo, and this is his band's CD, and a right good one it is.

And before Guoxi had Mojo, he had Tolaku! Like so many bands, they broke up when the members had to do their mandatory military service.

Another Taiwan band I like very much, currently working on their new CD, is Monkey Insane. And their guitar player, Joe, will be heading off for his military duty in September or October. Bye-bye Monkey Insane.

The drummer for XL has already gone off for his duty, so that band is also in limbo at the moment. Thankfully, we do have a CD to keep us entertained.

And no, I don't just listen to rock 'n roll. Once in awhile I'll listen to Faith Yang (Yang Nai Wen), who has a marvelous voice, and I'm so hoping that I'll be able to catch her in concert one of these days

I'm Just a Wu Bai & China Blue Junkie....

It's been my position that Wu Bai's wife deliberately arranges their concert schedule to make sure I won't be able to attend. Sure enough, as soon as I made the decision to enroll at Shi Da University's Mandarin Language Center, classes beginning September 1, the announcement comes that Wu Bai & China Blue will be performing in Singapore on September 2. Do you know for how long my Singapore friends have been asking me to come visit them? And what better excuse than a concert, right? But here's the catch: If I enter Shi Da, then I am applying for a student visa in order to get another ARC. This means I must be in Taiwan for four months straight, studying, unable to leave.

So what does any sane, level-headed woman do when faced with this dilemma? She probably decides that she needs to forgo the trip to Singapore and procede with her plan to enter university. I am obviously neither sane nor level-headed, because I'M GOING TO SINGAPORE TO SEE WU BAI & CHINA BLUE! Ha, take that, Pei Jie. Your sinister plan to keep me away from the greatest band in the world has come to naught. Classes can wait until the Winter Quarter, which begins December 1. Life is for living, and why did I come all the way over to this side of the planet? Why, to be more easily able to attend Wu Bai and China Blue concerts, that's why :) And you know what? If you still have never experienced Wu Bai & China Blue live, you should get your butt in gear and buy the "Li Hai" concert DVD, because it's great, with the added bonus of a nice closeup of yours truly chanting "Wu Bai! Wu Bai!" toward the end of the show. How can you pass that up, huh?

http://us.yesasia.com/assocred.asp?SF3E35D7+http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/

Has it Really Been Seven Years?

Happy Birthday, dear friend! You've gone through so many nicknames since we met: Faijai, Aaron, Sebastian - but you're always simply Aaron to me. Although we've only ever managed to meet in person once, that time you came to California (boy, that was so much fun), we've been good friends no matter how many miles separate us.

I'm waiting for you to come visit me in Taiwan so I can show you all the sites.

MUAH! to you. Love ya always.

Gah, I'm too old for this - aren't I?

Monday: Make cheesecake, despite broiling hot day. Curse stupid idea the whole time.

Tuesday 12:30 p.m.: Pack cheesecake into bag, along with chocolate and honeydew melon candy purchased in Hong Kong. Drop goodies off at Kaori/Kayun/Tai Xiong's place. Wait for Luke to show up, go to lunch with Luke and Kaori.

1:30 p.m. Wait for Hiyoshi to show up. Go to coffee with Luke, Kaori, and Hiyoshi.

3:30 p.m. Wait for Kayun to show up. Hang out at coffee shop and then return to Kaori/Kayun/Tai Xiong's place, after stopping at Wellcome (yes, it's spelled like that) for brewskis.

5:00 p.m. Listen to Hiyoshi explain to Long Yan what food is NOT available at the apartment and what to bring.

7:00 p.m. Meet Caroline at MRT station, cruise over to Shi Da Rd. for some guo tie and more beer.

7:30 p.m. Arrive back at Kaori/Kayun/Tai Xiong's place to find that Ye Laoshi and Emily have made an appearance, bearing pizza. Watch Long Yan and Hiyoshi in kitchen preparing some weird stuff, decide pizza looks like a better bet.

8:30 p.m. Meet James at MRT station and head to Wellcome for more beer.

8:30 p.m. - 3:00 a.m. Drink lots of beer, eat lots of food, take lots of blurry photos (http://www.pbase.com/500fan/kayunbd), chat and laugh with good friends, wonder why the hell I'm still awake.

Wednesday 3:30 a.m. Attempt to sleep on couch while Kayun, Kaori, Emily, and cute Korean guy whose name I have forgotten keep on with noisy discussion in dining room. Fail miserably at sleep.

5:00 a.m. Wonder why in hell Kayun is cleaning the apartment.

6:00 a.m. Drag sorry ass to MRT station, catch first train back to Zhuwei.

7:00 a.m. Fall into bed with fan and air conditioner on because it's already unbelievably hot. Sleep fitfully for four hours.

11:00 a.m. Get up, make coffee, slowly wake up, vacuum filthy, cat-hair-covered apartment, take shower, go to Taipei and teach for two hours. Return home in time to eat dinner before 8:30 p.m. student arrives.

10:00 p.m. or thereabouts Give up and go to bed.

Thursday 4:00 a.m. Get up because already wide awake. Dink around on computer for an hour. Go back to bed and sleep until around 8:45 a.m.

8:38 p.m. Realize that I had a pretty good time this week, despite lack of sleep and arrival of severe tropical storm Bilis, which at least brought some cooler air to us.

Wonder what Friday will bring me? Will I go to see Pirates of the Caribbean with Luke and gang, or will I be stuck in my apartment because of torrential rain?

How do I turn off my brain?

Every night it's the same. I go to bed around midnight, sometimes a little later, sometimes a little earlier. All night long I toss and turn, sometimes waking up every hour (I know this, because I look at the clock). Every time I wake up, my brain is going a mile a minute, frequently replaying bits of songs, sometimes repeating Chinese phrases, sometimes just thinking about stuff in general. I don't wake up in a blur, like, "Wha....where am I?" but fully conscious and THINKING. Then usually around 5:00 a.m. I sink into two or three hours of heavier sleep before finally getting out of bed. I feel as if I haven't had a good night's sound sleep since I moved to Taiwan - but it doesn't seem to be affecting me adversely. I'm not run-down during the day, I seem to have the normal amount of energy, and I don't fall asleep while teaching my students. That's good, huh? Huh?

My habit in the US was to get to bed by 10:00 p.m., then get up at 4:45 a.m., so I was only getting 7 hours of sleep on the average. Weekends were another matter, and I could cheerfully snore away for 10 or 11 hours. The house was dark at night, because I lived in the mountains. No streetlights outside, just the moon and stars. We're talking dark here, like can't see anything, just gotta feel your way down the hall to the bathroom if you gotta pee. Then there was the silence factor. Magalia was peaceful at night, barring the occasional barking dog. I didn't need to run the fan to drown out noisy upstairs neighbors, just popped in the earplugs and heard nothing the whole night. And I had the most wonderfully comfortable place to sleep - my couch. Ah, how I miss that couch, and what a joy it was to spend a few nights on it again when I stayed at Weiwei's house. This couch cradled me, hugging my ample curves so gently, and not giving me room to thrash around.

So here I have a double bed that is OK for comfort but comes nowhere close to the bliss of that couch. I have light everywhere, 24-7, with never a completely dark night (well, unless a typhoon knocks the power out for a little while, which is rare). I finally got some dark drapes for the bedroom after more than a year without drapes, and that helps, but it's still quite light in there. Even if I use the sleep mask, light leaks in underneath.

So, what's keeping me from sleep? Is it the light? Is it the noise? Is it the bed? Am I just noticing my sleeplessness more now because it's so incredibly hot and I have to have not only the fan but also the air conditioner on at night, both producing background noise? Am I just a statistic in the annals of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services? "Insomnia tends to increase with age and affects about 40 percent of women and 30 percent of men."

Maybe I should go to bed even later than I am, because much of the time I don't feel sleepy when I hit the sack, I just figure it's late and I should hie myself off to bed. Perhaps if I stayed up long enough to feel the sleepies creeping up on me, then I'd sleep better. I dunno.

Suggestions welcome, but don't ask me to drink warm milk. I don't care how much tryptophan it has in it, Taiwan milk is just nasty when heated up. Ewww. Hey, wait......chocolate and peanuts also have tryptophan. AHA! The solution is to eat more peanut M&Ms! Eureka, I have found it!

Imagine.....

President George Bush performs John Lennon's "Imagine"
http://cal-tv.net/imaginethis.html

And if that don't make you just break down and cry, I don't know what will.

This discovery comes to you via Tim Carroll's blog, POLITICAL JUNKIES AND CONSPIRACY THEORISTS (http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-sebjzCklcqvPoFHgM9Qc6MmkC0XBS__uKrh.LUTM7OZdlA--?cq=1)

AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!

Some days I'm happy I'm fat.

http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/go_fug_yourself/2006/07/fugrates_of_the.html#more

Huh, Come Again?

"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

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.

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)!

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

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.

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 :)

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.

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.

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.!

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 ;)