i'm getting tired of junk posts on my blog.
n.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
yet another typhoon day pt 2
Other things-
My old computer finally decided it couldn't go on. I now have a new used computer that is substantially better, so I should soon be able to post photos. Plus, I can actually see my own blog! Wow!
I have a regular workout schedule, and the physical activity is making me feel better. I need it.
Started Chinese class again this week. Going back a few chapters to review. The teacher is good (i think - she taught me bopomofo, the basic phoenetic system for learning chinese in taiwan) though i miss my old teacher. This teacher does allow some english, and occasionally the students just start random conversations. It's hard to hear the lesson when there are 3 loud conversations going on, in english, japanese, and korean while the teacher is speaking. I think it's kind of rude, and certainly annoying, but I don't want to be the guy who tells these assholes to shut up. Hopefully it will get too dificult and they will drop out soon. anyway, i'm excited to be back in class.
Our landlady is going to sell this apt., so we need to move. She is not a great landlady, so we would probably move after this lease anyway. We looked at a new place last night. Substantially cheaper, but smaller too. Secure building, convenient to a pool and a nice place to walk or run. Has its own little park/courtyard. Seems quiet. It's outside of the city, so the air is cleaner. But we need to furnish it (AC, bed, tables, chairs, couch, etc. There is a commute. And expenses are starting to add up right now as my work hours decrease. Still, a change might be nice. It's closer to the mountains and the teahouses in Jiufun. And I do like the clean air.
My old computer finally decided it couldn't go on. I now have a new used computer that is substantially better, so I should soon be able to post photos. Plus, I can actually see my own blog! Wow!
I have a regular workout schedule, and the physical activity is making me feel better. I need it.
Started Chinese class again this week. Going back a few chapters to review. The teacher is good (i think - she taught me bopomofo, the basic phoenetic system for learning chinese in taiwan) though i miss my old teacher. This teacher does allow some english, and occasionally the students just start random conversations. It's hard to hear the lesson when there are 3 loud conversations going on, in english, japanese, and korean while the teacher is speaking. I think it's kind of rude, and certainly annoying, but I don't want to be the guy who tells these assholes to shut up. Hopefully it will get too dificult and they will drop out soon. anyway, i'm excited to be back in class.
Our landlady is going to sell this apt., so we need to move. She is not a great landlady, so we would probably move after this lease anyway. We looked at a new place last night. Substantially cheaper, but smaller too. Secure building, convenient to a pool and a nice place to walk or run. Has its own little park/courtyard. Seems quiet. It's outside of the city, so the air is cleaner. But we need to furnish it (AC, bed, tables, chairs, couch, etc. There is a commute. And expenses are starting to add up right now as my work hours decrease. Still, a change might be nice. It's closer to the mountains and the teahouses in Jiufun. And I do like the clean air.
yet another typhoon - pt 1 parade
Another typhoon today means time to write.
The week of my birthday concluded with a ghost festival parade. Keelung has one of two in Taiwan, and I hear that it is the best. The parades here are one of my favorite things about Taiwan. I took pictures and crappy movies on my digital camera, but I don't think that they truly capture the combination of color, movement, crazy sounds, sacred, and profane themes that go on in a parade, especially a big one like this. Maybe I can upload some of the photos soon. All kinds of trucks go by, some with buddhas, some with smiling beauty queens, some with cheerleaders, civic leaders, etc. Some are decorated like temples, some like wierd outdoor seens, some not at all. The music can be classical chinese, soulless techno, western classical, or pop music, usually pumped exremely loudly out of speakers with extreme distortion. Sometimes the music is live, especially the drum music that I like here. The drums are usually pulled by a truck, on several little train sections snaking behind. Sometimes there are dancers (my favorite was the kids drum and dance team dressed in traditional taiwanese clothes). Frequently there are identically dressed representatives of some political group, who do nothing but look vaguely surly. The giant God costumes have strangely swinging arms and remarkable faces. There were a couple of groups of dragon dancers. There were fireworks, and random firecrackers exploding throughout. At the back of the parade, some kids on racing motorcycles and ATV's just rode around. At a midway point on the parade route, there was a stage set up where a local rock band played. It was very interesting to listen to them play in competition with a marching band, two traditional Taiwanese drum groups, and someone speaking on a loudspeaker. Total aural chaos. August in Keelung is super hot, so a mayoral candidate had people circulating and handing out fans with his smiling, Alfred E. Newman face on them (I kept mine). It was all very interesting. I ran into my boss and he explained to me that this is the one festival where all 3 major religious traditions (Buddhism, Daoism, and the local ancester worship) have a big holiday. He also told me that last year there were african dancers and Thai acrobats. At a certain point, I was very tired and kind of numb from sensory overload so I went home, but I probably missed interesting things.
The week of my birthday concluded with a ghost festival parade. Keelung has one of two in Taiwan, and I hear that it is the best. The parades here are one of my favorite things about Taiwan. I took pictures and crappy movies on my digital camera, but I don't think that they truly capture the combination of color, movement, crazy sounds, sacred, and profane themes that go on in a parade, especially a big one like this. Maybe I can upload some of the photos soon. All kinds of trucks go by, some with buddhas, some with smiling beauty queens, some with cheerleaders, civic leaders, etc. Some are decorated like temples, some like wierd outdoor seens, some not at all. The music can be classical chinese, soulless techno, western classical, or pop music, usually pumped exremely loudly out of speakers with extreme distortion. Sometimes the music is live, especially the drum music that I like here. The drums are usually pulled by a truck, on several little train sections snaking behind. Sometimes there are dancers (my favorite was the kids drum and dance team dressed in traditional taiwanese clothes). Frequently there are identically dressed representatives of some political group, who do nothing but look vaguely surly. The giant God costumes have strangely swinging arms and remarkable faces. There were a couple of groups of dragon dancers. There were fireworks, and random firecrackers exploding throughout. At the back of the parade, some kids on racing motorcycles and ATV's just rode around. At a midway point on the parade route, there was a stage set up where a local rock band played. It was very interesting to listen to them play in competition with a marching band, two traditional Taiwanese drum groups, and someone speaking on a loudspeaker. Total aural chaos. August in Keelung is super hot, so a mayoral candidate had people circulating and handing out fans with his smiling, Alfred E. Newman face on them (I kept mine). It was all very interesting. I ran into my boss and he explained to me that this is the one festival where all 3 major religious traditions (Buddhism, Daoism, and the local ancester worship) have a big holiday. He also told me that last year there were african dancers and Thai acrobats. At a certain point, I was very tired and kind of numb from sensory overload so I went home, but I probably missed interesting things.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
birthday
My birthday on the 16th was extremely fun. I drove my new scooter
through the mountains to Fulong beach. The scooter is a 125, so it
has the power to get me up the hill. The air in the mountains was
very clean, cooler, and filled with nice smells. There were beautiful
views of mountains, fog, and the ocean. It really made me feel like I
wasn't wasting my time here. It was a long ride, and I was happy when
I made it to the beach. The beach was ok, not great, but I didn't
wear my swimtrunks (I hadn't planned to go that far) so I just rested
and looked at the water. I rode home along the coast - not a bad
ride, and quicker, but not as beautiful as the ride in. When I got
home, Richard fried up an andouille sausage and handed me a margarita.
I went online to find an interesting restaurant, and finally decided
on a Taiwanese place in Taipei. It was an old house, unusual in
Taiwan, but it was dark and I couldn't see it. Beautiful view of
Taipei though. The food was just ok, but it was pleasant eating
outside and looking at the city lights. Dogs and cats approached us
to say hello and a fan kept the bugs away. We took a taxi to a famous
foreigner bar (Brass Monkey) and had a couple of drinks before heading
home. I got a lot of sun and slept like a baby.
Friday, August 05, 2005
another typhoon
Currently, we are having another typhoon, which means a fairly boring
day. Bad weather, can't do laundry, going to taipei is less
interesting, and half of the stores in town are closed so I can't do
the shopping I need to do. I'm going to try to do some chinese
studying - without class my discipline has been terrible. Also have
some work I need to do at the office, but it's closed so I have to go
in early tomorrow. *sigh* Typhoons are pretty much a waste of time.
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