M.I.A

Surely you all have missed me and my random rants on here. So I've been gone and I'm sure I've lost your dedication. But, I'm sorta back now and I'll just keep it short and simple. To make up for it, I'm going to post a bunch of pics that I've taken while missing. I'll have little captions for each of them.

One day I was hanging out around Ximen District. There was a display of Zombie girls. Yea.. Ximen is considered the "Harajuku" of Taiwan. All the latest trends, fashion, and fake clothes are all found in this district. Also, the Gay and Lesbians feel liberated here in Taipei than they do in other parts.

This girl was a street performer at Ximen. She banged out on the drums in sweltering hot humidity. The was really good, and I gave her a $3usd tip, or 100nt. The kid in this picture was so mesmerized, he went up to the front to rock out on his own.

These are pan fried pot stickers. Half of this batch was a kimchi stuffed set. Really tasty. This whole plate was roughly $3usd. Yum!

This is a mini hot pot. It's stuffed to the rim, and there is a gel fueled fire underneath to keep the pot hot by the time you finish. The was about $4usd.

I had some ShabuShabu here too. This place was considered a little bit more pricey than most because of the posh environment. The food was really fresh and the soup broth used was lightly seasoned. I believe a person costed around $11usd, but we ordered a bunch of other things, such as alligator meat, mussels and sashimi.

The Sashimi

The alligator meat. When cooked, the texture comes out like Chicken. It sorta tastes like it too.

These are the mussels.Extremely fresh ones at that. I honestly don't eat too much of this stuff, but I gorged out on this dinner event.

Porkchop over rice. This was delivered. There are a bunch of veggies underneath it. This costs $2.75usd delivered.

I went to a rave like event in Taipei. It was dubbed the White Party by The Loop Productions. The event had some major headliners. I haven't heard of these artists live yet, so it was a good chance for me to check em out. I sorta killed two birds with one stone on this move. The event, over all, was really nice. Lot's of friendly people, affordable water unlike in the City, and lots of costumed characters roaming around the event.

The White Party included GoGo dancers which was sorta nice. The even was really strict on the fact that you had to wear white to the event, or else you wouldn't be able to go in with your ticket. There was a way though, and that was to pay the penalty price of $30usd. So, everyone inside was wearing white naturally.

This was parked outside of my apartment one night when I went to 7-11 next door to grab a drink. I was thinking about jizzing on the door handle. Well...

This is how they serve drinks at the KTV's in Taipei. Just kidding. They were promoting some cheap ass China beer with that porcelain piss model. I had to take a pic of it in action. The beer really was like piss water. For those of you who don't know what "piss water" beer is, think of Budweiser, Pabst Blue Ribbon or Naddi Ice = Piss water.

'The San Francisco Treat'. WOW.

I got bit by a mosquito and it ended up looking like a friggin' bruise. Really nasty. It wasn't even itchy. It just swelled up and turned red. Gross.

A very small beach in Taipei County. The water was really clear, and the water as warm as the temperature.

Hitting it up and tagging random things onto the sands of Taiwan.

While I was chillaxing on the beach, my uncle caught some fresh crabs that we boiled on the spot and ate. I'm not too big on eating anything with a shell that'll mess up the innards of your mouth, but damn these crabs were really good. The naturally salt from the sea flavored these bad boys.

This is "Gwai Gwai", or Good Good in Chinese (Mandarin). He is one of the horniest dogs I've encountered. He has a thing for my right arm, and only my right arm. He leaves my left arm alone. He humps the shit out of my right arm. He also has a habit of sticking out his tongue at ALL times; usually to his left.

Ok. I'll be back in a few to update. I hope this makes up for the two months that I've been missing!
Hook it up with some eProps, comments, high fives, and ass slaps!

Seoul Society

So, I'm back from South Korea now. The plane ride was about 2 hours and 20 minutes from Taipei to Seoul. I flew with Asiana Air, and for the most part, they're a Korean Airline. One thing I enjoy about flying with Asian airlines is the fact that their food tastes so much better. I remember flying with United Airlines internationally, and hating the food because it was all so bland. The best thing they probably had were their honey roasted peanuts. Asian Airlines have young and courteous flight attendants as well versus American flight attendants, whom are often stuck up or bitter. Anyways, onto Seoul.

Seoul was interesting! I felt at any given age you're at, there's something for you to do. Old people like to go hiking and trekking, while young people could to go clubbing and drinking. Not into either? There's a bunch of cultural museums and shows for really low prices. Most of the museums I went to were either free, or less than $5usd to get in. Seoul seriously reminded me of Taipei in terms of the way the streets looked, except, with more drunk people stumbling all over the place. The staple drink is that good ol' Soju. Usually when we order Soju in Korean restaurants in the Bay Area, we're accustomed to paying at average $12 a bottle. In Seoul, it's at your local 7-11 for a little over a buck! Dangerous! In the two weeks in Seoul, I've probably drank about four to five bottles. All the Americans/Canadians I've met here are either traumatized or sick of soju. It just gives everyone a "monster hang over".

Korea was quite expensive for some reason. I thought so, compared to Taipei at least. I was under the assumption that Korea would have been cheaper than Taiwan, but it really wasn't. I would like to compare it to being as expensive as the Bay Area! Things like water, chips, and alcohol might be cheaper, but eating out at restaurants and ordering beers were up there in pricing compared to SF. But to me, a vacation is a vacation, and nothing should ever hold you back on having fun, especially if you have the funds. Who knows if you'll ever go back? You might as well make it the best time possible with whatever time you have.

Korean people are very courteous for the most part, except when you get into the municipal station where every ones shoving and pushing one another. I thought people wanted to fight me during the first couple of days! As I observed further, it was just a cultural thing. People shoved and pushed because they didn't want to miss their exits. A couple of other things that struck my attention were grown men holding each other's hands. Women do it as well, but that looks ok. So when a group of men start holding hands walking down the street drunk, I kind of question the motive. After researching and asking a few friends, I found out that they do it in respect to each other. They do it because they care about each other. It's their way of male bonding. However, there was one situation that I had to question. It was half time during a World Cup game with Korea playing. While I was waiting in line for the pisser, a group of guys must have decided that it was a progressive idea to take a piss together in the toilet. How large was this group of guys? Four. Four guys had their dicks out pissing in the same toilet, all looking down making sure not to piss on each other (surely because they were intoxicated). If you saw my face, it was a face full of shock, awe, and disgust rolled into one. So… I wonder if that was male bonding as well.

The amount of English in Seoul was much lower than in Taipei. These are just my statistics from travelling around solo. Most of the people I've run into on the streets couldn't or didn't want to help me in terms of pointing me in the right direction. There's a huge gap in terms of what generations speak English. For example, while going on a few hiking trips, I would occasionally ask a few grandpas If they knew how to get to the mountains. They would reply back with English and we'd all of a sudden engage in some meaningful conversation. They always like to ask where I'm from, where I stay, and how old I am. Being respectful and thankful for their help, I reply to all their questions with a smile. The teenage generation up until college aged individuals seemed to know less or maybe they didn't want to be bothered. The biggest trend for the youth (ages 3-12+) now is to learn English. I asked someone what the reason was behind that, and he told me,

Him: "It wasn't really to just learn English, but it's more of a contest between mothers to show off how wonderful and educated and smart their children were".

Me: "What? So, these Koreans aren't even going to utilize their English? You're telling me that they do it because it's just an undisclosed contest, or jealousy war between Korean mothers to see whose kid was brighter?"

Him: "Yup. That's right".

What else? You can say that I went into Korea unprepared. The more I stayed there, the more things I found to do, with less time to actually do. I did two hiking trips, one being Saraksan, and the other Bukhansan. They were both extremely gorgeous locations, full of nature and fresh air. Compared to Taipei, Seoul didn't seem as humid and muggy. I was still sweating bullets, but it just wasn't as humid. Humidity really bugs me a lot. Older Koreans LOVE to hike. You'll see gangs of people fully decked out in thing sweat absorbing clothes, hiking boots, picks, axes, walking sticks, and large backpacks with who knows what's inside. They go full out when they go hiking. I mean, what the hell are they going up there with a pick and an axe for? Not all of them, but I did see a few people.

I do have to share my story with the climb at Bukhansan though. That hike was one helluva adventure! It was more of a climb than a hike. It wasn't your normal trail, that's for sure. There were tons of rocky paths to overcome, paths that didn't lead to anywhere and boulders you had to man handle. It was a good thing I invested in these $1 gloves before going up because if I didn't, my adventure would have been "just another hike". Going up was tiring and I was constantly checking the time and getting worried about making it to the top. I started late at about 4pm, so I wasn't sure how long it was going to take to make it to the peak. Mentally, I just told myself to keep on going as long as the sun was up, and that I did! At about 6:50pm, I reached the absolute top of my trail. Everything I was wearing was fully soaked in sweat, but the feeling of making it to the top was absolutely surreal. I felt like I used up all my energy to reach where I reached with my legs burning and cramping. I spent whatever time I had at the peak just to enjoy the stunning view, fresh air, and surrealism of it all. Checking my clock, I knew the sun sets around 7:40pm, and it gets dark around 8. I decided to head down at exactly 7:10, giving myself 50 minutes to descend to the flatter area with fewer rocks to maneuver over. I was mentally prepared to run, jump, and leap down as fast as I could to reach that time. You could say that the adrenaline junky side of me was coming out, and boy, it fucking came. It was like a countdown for my dear life. I had no flash light and my smart phone didn't have a flash light function.

While flying down, there was a point where I went off the trail and ended up at a small cliff. At this point, I had two decisions: 1 – go backwards and get back on the trail, or 2 – jump down one story and just keep on going down. I spent a good 30 seconds talking to myself. Conclusion? I chose option two and got a good grip on the cliff, hanging my legs down before landing. What helped me with my drop was a Discovery Chanel special about parkour tactics and how they absorbed the impact of their fall. I implemented the idea and it worked, but what I didn't realize was that I had to bounce back up. When that happened, I started sliding down the giant boulder I landed on due to a patch of leaves and bushes. What I had thought was ground, really was another boulder/cliff! This was where my heart started pounding. I was sliding leg first, hands back holding myself up to get a view of where I was sliding down towards. I swear, it was a scene out of Indiana Jones or something. Three seconds into sliding, I saw another dive down. By the 5^th second of sliding, I managed to grab onto a tree root to stop myself from falling down another small cliff. From there, I was able to just probably climb down by grabbing a few trees and leaping onto flatter areas while heading down. No way would I have wanted to dislocate my ankle or even worse, break a bone. I just didn't want to get stranded, that's all.

After all that it was more running, jumping and leaping to the flatter areas of the mountain. I'm glad to have survived and lived to tell about it. I mean, I knew I wasn't going to die or anything but mentally, there seemed to be some type of preparation for it (and no I am not suicidal). So this was by far the most epic adventure I've done, and it was done in Korea of all places. It made me feel young again! When you were a kid, did you ever have that feeling where you were invincible? That you were able to run and jump down a whole flight of stairs with zero hesitation of screwing up and ending up in a face plant? That was the feeling that I achieved. There was just so much adrenaline pumping, it brought me back to feeling like that bastard kid I was. You could say that as a kid, I was always running around China town bullying kids and taking lunch money from other kids.

How come I can't achieve that feeling anymore? It's such a rare occasion to be able to go wild and test my bodies limit without worrying too much. Is it because I've become wiser? Is it because I think too much, and that the consequences of such decisions often prevent me from acting or doing what I really want to? I feel like that's my problem most of the time. As an adult, I just think too much for my own good. It's unfortunate that I can't just be carefree anymore, but as adults, I have many responsibilities now. As children, we had our parents taking care of us, but now as an adult, are you going to return the favor? I know I am.

That's something hard to do with a broken leg or arm I'd say.

I would like to thank Angelique for hosting me! Without her, I don't think I would have gone. Even though she's super busy with work and all, I still managed to have a lot of fun. I hope she makes it into Japan! It's always nice to attain a goal, and ultimately achieving it. It's such a rewarding feeling. For the longest time, I was hesitant on making my move to Taipei, but I did it, and I have no regrets on doing so. I would also like to thank all her friends for showing me around, taking me out to great restaurants and giving me the opportunity to experience the craziest sports game I've ever participated in my life!

So right from returning to Taipei, I reserved my weekend for Frank! It was an awesome weekend, and I'm glad I was able to show him around Taipei this past Saturday and Sunday. This weekend has been one of a crazy one. I was literally running on a few hours of sleep from Friday night until Sunday night.

As Rob would say, "Who needs sleep? You sleep enough when you're dead".

Four weeks into Taiwan

After staying in Taipei for the past four weeks, there are a few things I would like to note. These things are mainly likes, and dislikes thus far that I've experienced.


To begin, let's start with the dislikes:


Mosquitoes - My number one fear at the moment. They've terrorized me to a point where I'm just paranoid every night before sleeping. Currently, on my right arm alone, I have 10 bites. I've begun to lose count. New ones just pop up when I wake up. I've decided to take on counter measures. I've installed an anti-mosquito repellent. It's a scent that's supposed to ward off mosquitoes. We'll see how well that works. I'm also going to be purchasing an electric shock lamp that attracts mosquitoes, but kills them when they touch it. My last resort will be a net that I'll sleep in. It looks like a tent, but instead, made with a net like material. That way, I'll just zip myself up and keep the mosquitoes out while I fall asleep comfortably.

Air quality - The air in Taipei is thick and smoggy, mainly due to the thousands of scooters in any given area buzzing around traffic. Add cars, buses, and factories, and you'll have thicker smog than LA. 

Blue Skies? - I haven't seen much of it, but I know it exists in Taipei City. The skies are dull and gray for the most part, which make me feel dull at times. There's something about the power of the Sun that makes me feel more vibrant about everything. The weather conditions have been wet thus far, but when it's actually dry and sunny, the humidity and heat waves from the sun make me lazy and tired.

Cold hot cold hot cold hot - On the streets, it's hot, but once you step into a big building or restaurant, you'll get cold again from the blasting A/C. I think I've gotten sick because of this. Basically, you'll be walking around sweating outdoors, and then you'll go into a mall with blasting a/c. A few moments into it, and you'll feel like a walking popsicle.

Scammers - Just like in any country, you'll find your scammers operating. The scammers that I've experienced here scam through your cellular service. They'll call you, hang up, and wait for you to call them back. From what my room mate told me, never call back a strange missed call. What they do, is re-route your call to China, and you get charged up the ass while the scammer reaps the benefit of providing the business of calling internationally. I have no idea how this works, or even how much money the scammer even makes, but a scam is a scam none the less.

Drivers - They're reckless here. People die here everyday in scooter accidents because drivers are driving drunk. The scooter riders here are reckless too, weaving in and out of traffic. Every time I'm riding around in a scooter, it feels like the 50cc version of MotoGP. Everyone is out on a race. Everyone is riding around like there is no tomorrow. Pedestrians barely have any right of way. Motorists will just cut you off and come inches to smacking at times. I've seen whole families stuff themselves on scooters. It's ridiculous.


And for the likes!

Food - What can I say? You can eat anything here. It's just like in SF, except cheaper, and possibly even better in quality. From Burgers, to French, to Pho, and Japanese sashimi or ramen, they've got it here. Prices are very competitive due to the neighboring businesses that are competing for customers.

Municipal System - Because of its ease of use, affordability, and the fact that English is everywhere, I've been able to go to parts of Taipei I would never attempt to go. The MRT system is truly what our MUNI underground system should be. The arrival times are very on point. The trains, clean and air conditioned. I have nothing but praise. The only downside is that, when it gets busy, the train may smell like B.O

T.V - I know I stopped watching T.V back in the States, but I love the fact that there are five designated channels that show nothing but movies all day. While I was sick, I was glued to the television for days watching movies.

That's about it. So, I guess there are more dislikes than likes thus far. Don't get me wrong, I’m loving my stay here. I just felt like sharing with you what I'm going through here.
Some of you may wonder if I'm feeling homesick. Well, just a little. I miss my family, and most of my close friends. I miss hearing English, and being able to share what's on my mind with someone. It's hard here, because I can't express certain things in Chinese because my vocab just isn't quite there yet. I feel comfortable talking to people now, but not in terms of holding a full on conversation. Not yet..

I miss being able to drive freely. I miss my stinky dog named Mickey. I miss having the internet at any given moment (smart phones, or at home). Once you've been stripped of the simple things, you realize how much more you appreciate them. Lots of people don't drive here because they can't afford it. It's hard to make a living here, especially in the city where everyone is constantly competing with each other for their jobs. It's hard to understand the concept of "taking things for granted" until you really are left with the bare essentials.

Well, Korea is my next destination starting on the 10th, up until the 24th. I won't be able to update while I'm there, but I plan on coming back with a bunch of pictures of my adventure there. Korea will be my first destination out of Taiwan. Some others on my list include Bali, Thailand, Hong Kong, and finally, Japan as my final destination point before arriving back home. 


Mickey!


Some of the final shots I took in my backyard before departing to Taiwan...


Lance giving the keys to his Evo, and letting me drive it however I wanted for a whole day. Thanks Lance!


The regulars at Goemons, and also a great network of people to know.


Kevin, me and Jerry. Last Thai meal at Baan Thai (Ning's restaurant) before departing.


Kennia, my spunky little co-worker that I've trained.


And finally, a clear shot of the City at night time I took many years ago with my Panasonic Fz-7.

I'm sick right now..

So I'll just post some pictures because I can't think of anything to say. I felt like I was dying yesterday.

I thought this was interesting, because I didn't know dogs wore shoes..


There was a store that displayed a bunch of different fabrics for you to choose to make your own "Chinese outfit".


That nice, Taiwan scenery.


Cool breeze in the mountain side, overlooking the ocean.


Stinky Tofu! I didn't actually order any this time around. The smell was really getting to me.


These meatwads were interesting. The outer layer is doey, and the inside has red meat and bamboo shoots.


This is the meatwad before it gets fried in oil.


And here we have the meatwad consumed by me. A really interesting and tasty treat.


By the shores of Taiwan, you'll find vendors that sell nothing but the freshest seafood at the lowest prices.


Some sea urchins for sale. I'm not ballsy enough to try this delicacy.


An odd looking fish. This things head was abnormally large.


Fresh!


I think this was a King Crab of some sort. It was still alive in the container.

This one is for you Susy

Taiwanese Wax Apples! Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

The ripened fruit varies in hue and can be light pink to a dark, almost purple, red. One of the most highly prized and sought after wax apples in Taiwan are "black pearls," which are purplish-red. If it is ripe enough, the fruit will puff outwards, with the middle of the underside of the "bell shape" dented in a touch. Healthy wax apples have a light sheen to them. Despite its rather plain name, a wax apple is anything but plain. A ripe wax apple only resembles an apple on the outside in color. It doesn't taste like an apple. It has neither the fragrance nor the density of an apple. The flavor is a bit like a snow pear. The liquid to flesh ratio of the wax apple is comparable to a watermelon. It's remarkably refreshing and juicy. Unlike either apple or watermelon, the wax apple's flesh has a very loose weave. The very middle holds a seed that's situated in a sort of cotton-candy-like mesh. The mesh is edible but flavorless. The color of its juice depends on the cultivar of the fruit. As well as in its native range, it is also cultivated in tropical regions such as Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. A number of cultivars with larger fruit have been selected. In general, the paler or darker the color is, the sweeter it is. In South East Asia, the black ones are nicknamed "Black Pearl" or "Black Diamond," while the very pale greenish white ones are called "Pearl." They are among the highest priced ones in fruit markets.

And yes, they are THAT delicious.

Lack of Updates

So, I haven't been updating recently because the furniture in the apartment has been taken away. Apparently, the previous tenant left her stuff here, which included stacks and stacks of books, the couches, our TV stand, the big table in my room, and even our living room lamp. Pretty much, she's a prude lady that just left her items in our apartment until she found space elsewhere to store her items. I say crap, because the couches were torn up already, and the padding barely existed. So, she got a moving company to collect her crap because she finally found somewhere to relocate her belongings. The landlord was pretty upset about the move, but he's taking care of things by purchasing new furniture for us.

I don't get motivated to use my laptop when I have to squat on the floor to use it.

Anyways, the past few days in Taipei have been hot and humid as hell. The temperature shot up to about 33-35º Celsius, which is equivalent to about 90-95º degrees Fahrenheit. The humidity just makes things worse. Like, really worse, and once again, the massive amounts of sweating begins. All I need to do is stand still for a few minutes and my chest starts dripping sweat. It's a gross feeling, but the upside to all this sweating is that I've been losing a lot of water weight. Considering the copious amounts of food that I've been consuming, I'm actually still losing weight. I came into Taiwan at around 153lbs, and now I'm about 148lbs. I don't work out, but I do walk around a lot. I'll walk a mile here and there just because I'll have nothing better to do. There's just so much to see in my area that I don't even realize how much I'm walking until my T-shirt gets soaked.

Now, for the juicy bits. There's already been a few crazy, belligerent and drunken stupors. Let's see..

Tuesday night, we went to an all you can drink spot right behind Club Luxy called Q Night.. or something. So, by 4am, my friends were outside getting some fresh air. Alvin, the roomie, was talking to some chick outside, trying to get to know her and probably trying to get her number. From what he told me, I just ran up to the girl and said, "HEY Guuurrrll! My name is BOBO! What's your number?!". I literally just side busted on their conversation. The girl chuckled and gave me her number while Alvin gives me a dirty look since he was doing all the hard work easing her in. I proceed to thank her, and run off into the darkness.

I only knew about this because I checked my call log and noticed a contact that I didn't recognize. So, after asking Alvin, he explained what happened. We all thought it was pretty funny. I actually called her yesterday night and she remembered who I was.

To be honest, I don't remember a slightest bit to what she looked like, so if I bumped into her on the street, I wouldn't even know it... but Alvin said she was cute, or else he wouldn't have been hollering at her.

On the way home from Q night, we were downstairs at the 7-11 next door. This story was probably the best idiotic story I've heard about me yet in Taipei. So, I stumble into 7-11 drunk as shit and I grab two cheese burgers and run out. On the way out, I crashed myself into the mechanically sliding doors because I was drunk and my timing was all off. I bounced back a little and proceeded to dart out when the doors fully opened. Another friend had to say sorry to the worker and paid for my two cheese burgers. I get upstairs, plopped down on a chair double-fisting two cheese burgers and passed out. My friend shook me and told me to hurry up and eat the cheese burgers I ran off with. I took a bite, and passed out with a cheese burger in my mouth.

So yea.. the lesson is: DON'T TAKE ME TO ALL YOU CAN DRINK PLACES. My other roomie Jason thinks I'm some sort of crazy comedian and asked me if I've ever been on TV before for doing balls out shit. He's watched JackAss before, so he thought I was affiliated with them (probably because I told him that I graduated in the film industry). I just told him, "this is how we roll in the City"! Now, he has the fear of losing me in the future while drunk because I might wreck havoc in Taipei.

I think he might be right.

Taiwan has been pretty epic thus far. Once again, the people are friendly, food is cheap, and English is praised upon! I didn't expect myself to wild out here this quickly, but I'm glad that I have people watching my back and taking care of me in these moments.

Well, let's move onto pictures! Everyone LOVES pictures. Right?

Here, you get to choose your choice of meats. You select, put it on a plate, and the guy will BBQ it for you. The prices were between $2usd to $3usd. Very very affordable!

This is the guy doing his thang! mMMmm Tasty!



This part of Taipei is called Xindian. There's a cable suspended bridge that sways on windy days. It's neat, and I plan on walking across it the next time I'm back. It's fairly short at about 1/4 mile I'd say.



This is on the bottom of the bridge in Xindian. Notice the bicycles and swan boats. You can rent them and just cruise around the area. If I remember correctly, it was about $4usd for an hour on the boat. I didn't get to check the prices on the bicycles, but I'm sure it's just as cheap for probably an even longer amount of time.



Here, you see a guy hustling at the Shilin night market. Shilin night market is considered one of the larger night markets in Taipei. Once again, the food was awesome! For the most part, everything is deep fried in oil.



After hanging out and Xindian, we went to a famous restaurant that we had to make reservations for about three days in advance. The area was around the MRT stop called Xiaobitan, off the green line to the yellow line. The pork, was probably some of the softest, most tender pork I've ever stuffed in my mouth. There were left overs, so I dumped it into a bowl of instant noodles, and wow, epic.



A picture from a MRT stop, showing how the train system flows across Taipei. They go above ground, and also underground.



Ahh, a good ol' home made dinner. Fresh fish from the market, fried chunks of chicken, a whole roasted chicken, veggies, and marinated ground pork. Everything was delish!



That plate of noodles? It's a popular staple food for workers and students on a budget. It's pronounced "Liang mein", and means "cool noodles". There isn't any meat, but the noodles are al dente, and the sauce is thick and pasty. Just mix it all together with the sliced cucumbers, and the simplicity just blows the mind away. I can't explain how good it is, but you just have to try it. I haven't been able to find this any where in the City, but I wouldn't mind bringing a great item like this to the Bay Area. This runs you about $2usd.



This dog is named Cash! She belongs to Emily, who is Dan's girlfriend. I know Dan back from San Francisco when I used to help out at his bar called 'Underdogs', also known as 'The Taco Shop @ Underdogs'. I'm sure most of you reading this know of it, or have been there before. Cash is a pretty awesome dog. She's super friendly and he has a weird stance because her rear feet are.. slanted.




At Emily's place on the 5th floor, you can literally see an amazing view of Taipei 101, once dubbed the worlds tallest building. It lost its title a couple years ago to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.



Meet Anastasia. I met her inside Club Luxy through Alvin. I had to question her on her choice of name because I've NEVER met anyone named Anastasia. She explained that her teacher gave her that name because she was a "princess". On weekends when we're free, I'll be practicing my Mandarin with her while I teach her how to write complete paragraphs. She says she wants more practice with grammar and punctuation, so I proposed the idea of exchanging some knowledge. She's a pretty friendly girl who is an accountant at the moment.

Most of the pictures were shot with my Blackberry 8900. I don't carry my DSLR around as much unless I know I'm going somewhere worth shooting. Actually, that's a bad statement because, for the most part, I wish I had my camera with me at all times. It's been raining recently, and my camera doesn't appreciate hanging out in humid conditions, and also it's been raining frogs out here.

That's about it! I'll be posting more often when I get a table, and some seats in my room!