i guess when you're in vacation mode (which i need to exit), every day feels the same to you.
i started off the day wondering why i slept so much the day before. i think that even though i can still do what i used to do to avoid jet lag, i'm now getting old, so my body still needs that rest, and it all caught up friday night.
immediately after waking up, my friend, who we'll call ShadowBoxer, sent over paperwork for my new company. so i spent some time reading, signing, and sending them back. the wonders of technology-- being able to do all this across 12 time zones.
i then trekked to the city in search of the next great beef noodle. this time i went to a place, lao zhang's, which was voted best noodle soup in taipei, back in 2006. here's an article. it was pretty good. better than pretty much anywhere in the us. their beef is very well braised, and the soup is infused with a subtle flavor. the noodles are just the right amount of al dente. but not as good as the one i had last august. why? i found their food to have a lot less flavor, and i love my flavors. i also think that the recipe has been changed to accomodate modern tastes, as all their side dishes taste watered down, vs. the traditional flavors. nevertheless, it was good. for NT$180 (< US$6), it's cheaper than almost anywhere in the states, but it's a pretty expensive bowl for taiwan, given the cost of living.
after lunch, i went shopping for some stuff i needed. i now have a power extension cord, the kind that gives you 6 outlets, and an additional ethernet cord. i know, geeky, but i needed them, and i didn't bring them from the states. one thing i learned though-- taiwan uses 110v as well, so no power converter needed.
at night, i went and got another stinky tofu. i love that stuff. and then headed to a milonga. it's such a small world. the first woman i danced with, it turns out that she also attended penn, and studied computational biology (i worked at the center for computational biology). just last month at oxygen milonga i met someone else who also attended penn and studied theoretic linguistics (i studied computational linguistics). and for those wondering, computational biology and computational linguistics are related. ask me another time if you're interested. anyway, it's a small world, that's my saturday.
a side note. why does everyone keep bringing up the topic of marriage in conjunction with my trip to taiwan? my parents have asking for a while. my brother kept going at it last week in vegas. and now, my friends are doing the same. my friend TheOptometrist says "I'm excited for you to venture out and find yourself a wifey! hahahhaha". my friend SpanishPediatrician says "Maybe you'll come back with a wife? :-)" gah!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
a (relatively) unproductive day
i can't believe how tired i was yesterday. so, i did nothing for most of the day. but i was still able to take care of the most important things i needed to accomplish
* figured out how to access my taiwan debit card and actually withdraw money. now i just have to transfer my us dollars into that account
* upgraded the unlock on my iphone, which did not fix the data issue. pwnage tool is awesome. though i lost all my non-itunes-store apps, and reloading all my data (music, etc) takes way too long. went to the phone company headquarters, and after going through 3 people, i now have (very expensive) data service. the settings to which they changed my phone was the same as i had last year (but didn't work then), so i think this new upgrade definitely helped. and i was impressed-- the customer service there is incredible. they've got multiple levels of triage, and if the person cant fix it, it goes right to the next person. in the 5 minute i was there (only 5 minutes!), they must have taken care of another 5 people.
* got myself some of the best stinky tofu in taipei. yum.
yup, the 3 top most important things that i should have done on my first day in taiwan. just so i don't sound like a lazy bum, i also did some work, though no programming. mainly research, design, and planning, but that's easy relative to coding.
but for whatever reason, i was so tired. i went to bed at 8:30pm (on a friday no less) and didnt wake up till 7am. i had planned to go check out some bars, but i guess that'll have to wait for another night.
* figured out how to access my taiwan debit card and actually withdraw money. now i just have to transfer my us dollars into that account
* upgraded the unlock on my iphone, which did not fix the data issue. pwnage tool is awesome. though i lost all my non-itunes-store apps, and reloading all my data (music, etc) takes way too long. went to the phone company headquarters, and after going through 3 people, i now have (very expensive) data service. the settings to which they changed my phone was the same as i had last year (but didn't work then), so i think this new upgrade definitely helped. and i was impressed-- the customer service there is incredible. they've got multiple levels of triage, and if the person cant fix it, it goes right to the next person. in the 5 minute i was there (only 5 minutes!), they must have taken care of another 5 people.
* got myself some of the best stinky tofu in taipei. yum.
yup, the 3 top most important things that i should have done on my first day in taiwan. just so i don't sound like a lazy bum, i also did some work, though no programming. mainly research, design, and planning, but that's easy relative to coding.
but for whatever reason, i was so tired. i went to bed at 8:30pm (on a friday no less) and didnt wake up till 7am. i had planned to go check out some bars, but i guess that'll have to wait for another night.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
i-lan
so my grandparents took me on a day trip to a small town about an hour southeast of taipei, called i-lan. that area is known for its hot springs. the name of every shop and hotel has either "soup" or "fountain" in it. and supposedly, 10 minutes away, there's a surf spot, which i'll have to check out at some point.
so we had lunch there and then walked around. they own 3 properties there, and it's very interesting to see how the area is being developed. their latest acquisition is this penthouse condo that's currently under construction. they showed me the model home, and its quite nice, with its own tub that pumps in the water from the springs. i took some pictures, will post them shortly. sadly, i lost my lens cap, and the autofocus on my cameri is really out of whack now. wonder if there's someplace to get it fixed in taiwan.
we got back pretty late, and then i rushed back into downtown taipei to go for my first tango lesson in a long time. it was a good lesson, with review of some stuff i know really well (overturn ochos), stuff i'm somewhat comfortable with (direction changes, molinetes), and stuff i'm still struggling with (enrosques and i forget the name of the other).
the class goes until 10:00pm, and i head home. on the way, i pass by a group of 8 western girls, headed towards a bar down the street, and i'm tempted to join them. but i was dead tired, given the time change and everything else, so go home instead. another time. i get home and pass out.
so we had lunch there and then walked around. they own 3 properties there, and it's very interesting to see how the area is being developed. their latest acquisition is this penthouse condo that's currently under construction. they showed me the model home, and its quite nice, with its own tub that pumps in the water from the springs. i took some pictures, will post them shortly. sadly, i lost my lens cap, and the autofocus on my cameri is really out of whack now. wonder if there's someplace to get it fixed in taiwan.
we got back pretty late, and then i rushed back into downtown taipei to go for my first tango lesson in a long time. it was a good lesson, with review of some stuff i know really well (overturn ochos), stuff i'm somewhat comfortable with (direction changes, molinetes), and stuff i'm still struggling with (enrosques and i forget the name of the other).
the class goes until 10:00pm, and i head home. on the way, i pass by a group of 8 western girls, headed towards a bar down the street, and i'm tempted to join them. but i was dead tired, given the time change and everything else, so go home instead. another time. i get home and pass out.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
a late arrival, initial thoughts
it was a long trip, beginning in my apt in west la, and ending up at my aunt's in taipei.
* my friend mr. mostfun gave me a ride to the flyaway at westwood
* the flyaway took me to the tom bradley terminal at lax
* eva airways flew me to taiwan international airport in taoyuan
* fei-go bus lines takes me to neihu district in taipei
* taxi takes me towards my aunt's place where i am staying the night.
when we're almost there, i see a teppanyaki place. it's past midnight local time, but i havent slept or eaten the whole (17+ hour) trip. so i ask the driver to drop me off there and i order a combination filet mignon and spicy cod filet. hits the spot, and its only NT$250 (< US$8)!
this morning i wake up at 6am, and head to get my fav breakfast here-- fresh hot soy milk and an onion pancake with egg. it's only NT$55 (< US$2). which brings me to list some of the things i've already noticed that i like and dislike about being back in taiwan
likes
* food
* prices
* market. so much fresh vegetables and fresh fruit. lenbu! starfruit! guava!
* the metro (called the mrt). it's nice, clean, fast, and cheap. what used to take 1.5 hours through city traffic by bus (plus a couple of transfers) is all easily accessible via the mrt.
dislikes
* large keychain-- my relatives require too many keys to get into their place
* cash-- i hate carrying it, but people don't take credit cards here.
* coins. this compliments the bills you carry, and is mandatory, because the smallest bill is NT$100 (~US$3). and given how cheap everything is... well, your daily transaction is likely all in coins.
* the unenvironmentalism. it never bothered me until last year, but there's so much waste going on here. everything you buy, you get plastic bags, plastic utensils, etc. even soup is wrapped in plastic bags. this morning's breakfast, i got 2 plastic bags, a paper cup, and a plastic straw. this is exacerbated by the night markets, where you go to a different stall to eat a different dish, and at each place, you get a new styrofoam plate or bowl, a pair of chopsticks, a plastic spoon, etc.
* not having a data plan. this is probably due to a bug in the unlock of my iphone. my mobile account here supposedly has a data plan, but i've never been able to access it.
that's it for now. lots of errands to do today, like getting my atm card here reactivated so i don't have to keep suffering the exchange rate every time i withdraw cash.
* my friend mr. mostfun gave me a ride to the flyaway at westwood
* the flyaway took me to the tom bradley terminal at lax
* eva airways flew me to taiwan international airport in taoyuan
* fei-go bus lines takes me to neihu district in taipei
* taxi takes me towards my aunt's place where i am staying the night.
when we're almost there, i see a teppanyaki place. it's past midnight local time, but i havent slept or eaten the whole (17+ hour) trip. so i ask the driver to drop me off there and i order a combination filet mignon and spicy cod filet. hits the spot, and its only NT$250 (< US$8)!
this morning i wake up at 6am, and head to get my fav breakfast here-- fresh hot soy milk and an onion pancake with egg. it's only NT$55 (< US$2). which brings me to list some of the things i've already noticed that i like and dislike about being back in taiwan
likes
* food
* prices
* market. so much fresh vegetables and fresh fruit. lenbu! starfruit! guava!
* the metro (called the mrt). it's nice, clean, fast, and cheap. what used to take 1.5 hours through city traffic by bus (plus a couple of transfers) is all easily accessible via the mrt.
dislikes
* large keychain-- my relatives require too many keys to get into their place
* cash-- i hate carrying it, but people don't take credit cards here.
* coins. this compliments the bills you carry, and is mandatory, because the smallest bill is NT$100 (~US$3). and given how cheap everything is... well, your daily transaction is likely all in coins.
* the unenvironmentalism. it never bothered me until last year, but there's so much waste going on here. everything you buy, you get plastic bags, plastic utensils, etc. even soup is wrapped in plastic bags. this morning's breakfast, i got 2 plastic bags, a paper cup, and a plastic straw. this is exacerbated by the night markets, where you go to a different stall to eat a different dish, and at each place, you get a new styrofoam plate or bowl, a pair of chopsticks, a plastic spoon, etc.
* not having a data plan. this is probably due to a bug in the unlock of my iphone. my mobile account here supposedly has a data plan, but i've never been able to access it.
that's it for now. lots of errands to do today, like getting my atm card here reactivated so i don't have to keep suffering the exchange rate every time i withdraw cash.
Monday, March 15, 2010
packing
it's amazing how hard it is to pack your life into 2 suitcases. all the things i would usually not pack for a trip, i have to pack for this extended trip to taiwan.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
vegas, the high life
was in vegas this past weekend, and it was the first time i actually was sad to leave. like any other place, vegas can be raw debauchery. but it can also be a place to have good clean fun and enjoy the finer things in lfe. a recap of the weekend:
friday
* arrive vegas early morning
* check into the palazzo. the suites are quite nice, to say the least.
* eat at zine in the hotel. its a chinese restaurant, right next to the pai gow tables. very expensive, but great service and extremely fresh ingredients
* drinks at dos caminos. really hot crab stuffed jalapenos. really hot waitresses.
* dinner at daniel boulud. really good bottles of wine. great food. service a little spotty. people smoking sucked. freaky water show every 15 minutes.
* craps, lavo, and more craps, until 6am. i didn't gamble, just hung out with people who did.
* chicken tenders and eggs over easy at the gran lux cafe. the waitress was too cheery for 6am.
saturday
* brunch at the wynn buffet.
* nap, then got some work done
* dinner at another chinese place. this time a cantonese noodle house. it's amazing that vegas has better chinese than west la, albeit at really high prices
* ka at the mgm grand. an amazing performance.
* sushi samba back at the palazzo. 3 bottles of very good sake, and all the best nigiri sushi-- ama ebi, uni, toro, kanpachi
* craps table. my brother was on a streak, and up a few hundred dollars (he started with $100). left around 3am because i'm old.
sunday
* brunch at bouchon
* worked the rest of the day
* caught the last flight out of vegas
friday
* arrive vegas early morning
* check into the palazzo. the suites are quite nice, to say the least.
* eat at zine in the hotel. its a chinese restaurant, right next to the pai gow tables. very expensive, but great service and extremely fresh ingredients
* drinks at dos caminos. really hot crab stuffed jalapenos. really hot waitresses.
* dinner at daniel boulud. really good bottles of wine. great food. service a little spotty. people smoking sucked. freaky water show every 15 minutes.
* craps, lavo, and more craps, until 6am. i didn't gamble, just hung out with people who did.
* chicken tenders and eggs over easy at the gran lux cafe. the waitress was too cheery for 6am.
saturday
* brunch at the wynn buffet.
* nap, then got some work done
* dinner at another chinese place. this time a cantonese noodle house. it's amazing that vegas has better chinese than west la, albeit at really high prices
* ka at the mgm grand. an amazing performance.
* sushi samba back at the palazzo. 3 bottles of very good sake, and all the best nigiri sushi-- ama ebi, uni, toro, kanpachi
* craps table. my brother was on a streak, and up a few hundred dollars (he started with $100). left around 3am because i'm old.
sunday
* brunch at bouchon
* worked the rest of the day
* caught the last flight out of vegas
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)