It all happened so fast...

Before I knew it, my half-jar of citron tea jelly had slipped from my hand and was sitting on the floor, a little less intact than I wanted.

As visions of a hot citrony drink to generate warm fuzzies within my unmotivated self evaporated into the humid winter air, I groaned at the thought of having to clean up the gelatinous mess.

So I spent 10 minutes wiping down the floor with paper towels and looking for shards of glass.

And still no citron tea for me. :'(

HBD!

Happy Birthday, Kev!!

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Sun!

And Happy Birthday, Benny!

And Happy Birthday, Vic!

I think that's all....

Sicky poo.

So I took a sick day (half-day) today. But instead of getting chores and errands done, I just slept the entire morning through. Had my coworker not called me during lunchtime, I probably could've slept until dinner. It's almost too bad he did....

A little support here, please?

I found that the frequency at which my laundry "did itself" left me needing more underclothes. So after inquiring with a few female friends, I headed off to the local department store to take a look at what was available.

The salesperson picked out a few different bras for me to try on. She told me to let her know when I'd tried them on, and she'd see how they fit. Um. Well, I suppose we were both women, so that wasn't so bad. Getting another woman's opinion might not be a bad idea.

So I was still a little uncertain about the whole letting-someone-see-me-in-a-bra idea, and I guess I dilly-dallied long enough that she started knocking on the changing room door every minute, asking how I was. When I finally let her in, I had my shirt on. At her request, I very self-consciously removed it.

She assessed the fit and recommended the "proper" size I should be wearing. (What the heck, how many years I'd been wearing the wrong size?!)

And then, gesturing with her hands, she asked me, "Can I help you adjust yourself?"

I stopped short and gawked at her. What, like... you want to TOUCH me?

She stood there calmly with her hands clasped.

Yes, apparently that was what she was asking.

After what seemed like a full minute, I very awkwardly eeped, "Um, NO ?... Can you just show me how to adjust myself?"

And of course she was fine with that and proceeded to show me how to wear a bra "properly". Admittedly I learned a few things I hadn't learnt growing up. All in all an interesting experience.

But there still ain't nobody gon' touch me.

Throw another on the barbie, mate!

Chinese New Year is the big holiday here, and folks get 4 consecutive days off. Add a weekend before and after - not surprisingly, many people take a couple extra days off to vacation during this time.

Since I have my new citizen card, I am now free to travel the world. Hence I decided that I didn't want to spend this coming CNY in Taiwan. Being an inopportune time for my other half to come globe-trotting with me, I decided I still don't want to spend CNY in Taiwan... and so I'm making my own travel plans.

So, my vacation destination is fabulous tied-for-#1-livable-city-in-the-world Melbourne, Australia. Actually I think this year they were #2. Nonetheless! Wonderful city.

(Actually, it was going to be Japan, but my friend there warned me that CNY is at the peak of the cold season, and that the winter is comparable to the Ontarian winter. Well, forget that.)

For the longest time, my Aussie friends and I have been saying "whenever [I] make it down to Australia" - since I started at CompanyA 4 years ago - and while I knew I always wanted to visit, the timing was always undetermined.

Well, this is it! I'm still a little increduled myself.

I already have some basic plans forged out: people I want to meet, places I want to visit... I might not fit it all in! I likely won't get to hit all the tourist sites, but that's okay. My time there will be to kick back and relax, and hang out with my buddy. But, be it a beautiful scenic area or a great watering hole, suggestions on where to go are welcome!

Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait! :D

Gaydom

Back when I was still in Vancouver, I was returning a shirt at Blue Notes, and the cashier had a certain ... feminine air about him. Didn't know quite what it was.

His facial features weren't that feminine. He had short spiky blonde hair, like a "sk8er" might have. And it wasn't really the 3 earrings he had in one ear. He was built - well, thick. I think it might've been the tightness of his T-shirt: it fit him about how a baby T would fit women.

Or maybe it was his French manicure.

"What can I get you?" "Oh, the usual."

I have a friend with an incredibly high tolerance for things of a repetitive nature. In this case, I'm talking about food. Ridiculously high. (And since I know he's reading this: sorry, buddy, ha.) And by repetitive, I mean having the same thing for lunch and/or dinner and/or late night snack almost every day. For nearly 2 months.

It's not like the meal was particularly interesting, either: shabu-style teriyaki beef slices on rice. No sides, no nothing; just a bit of sauce. Not even speeecial sauce. *yawn* I'm not saying unpalatable, just booooring.

It got to the point where just the mention of this dish would make me gag.

And he almost started this trend in two other instances as well.... Eateries that I like, that I introduced him to got frequented a lot. I don't go to those restaurants quite so much anymore.

This got me thinking. I know I can be pretty judgemental. More so than I like to think. Or admit. Worse yet, I can also be hypocritical at times. So. Am I really any better? Am I that adventurous in trying out different restaurants?

Hmm. Not really.

I may not hit the same place 17 consecutive nights, but when I return to a place, more often than not I'll order the same few dishes I've had before. I rely on restaurant recommendations from friends and colleagues, so if they don't go to a lot of different places, then I've also limited myself to a select few as well.

In a country where there are as many eateries as there are cars on the street, I should be exploring a lot more, gastronomically speaking.

So I made a decision earlier this week. At least twice a week, I'm going to try a new place or a new dish.

And so far, it's paying off. :) (Er, sample size = 1.)

I heart V

Played indoor volleyball on Saturday for the first time since coming to Taiwan. Company event, with ridiculously modified rules to encourage the participation of women: men had to hit from behind the 3m line, and any ball-over contact in front of the attack line must be two-handed, even if not jumping!

It. was. Heaven.

My serving was stable (but no floaters). My passing wasn't too bad, although not surprisingly, it's deteriorated a bit since the Bonsor/Cambie days (yeah, I shanked a few). And once I told my teammates to utilise me more (being the only one who could attack front row), I got a lot more sets. On a women's height net. Women's height! :D

I didn't try blocking, but I should've, just for the heck of it. Not too many dives, but I saved a ball - and rolled out of it! S would've been proud. ^^ Too bad we couldn't capitalise on that play, though.

It was only a morning of volleyball, but after being away from it for over a year, my entire body aches! But it's a good ache. :)

I've always known how much I heart V, but that morning was a little reminder. I'll have to check if our company rec centre has drop-in volleyball. :D

Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream.

I like to think that I'm a good listener. People seem to open up to me, tell me their problems, their secrets, their fears. And since I think talking and venting is good for one's health, I've always offered my "services" if I sense a friend in need of an ear.

One person took me up on the offer. We used to be very good friends before we went our separate ways, and I hadn't talked to him in quite a while, other than a passing "hi". But that night, we talked for 2 hours. And at the end of the call, he said to me, just as he always did, "Good night. Sweet dreams." Sweet dreams. A sign-off that only he ever used with me, back when we were close.

It caught me a little off guard, and I instinctively replied, "Yep. G'night." (I know, I know, don't roll your eyes at me!). As I pressed End on my phone, it came back to me. That familiar greeting that I had heard almost nightly.

And I smiled.

"Guess what? I'm bi!"

[Editor's note: Photo ID was slightly modified to comply with all the grumblings I received about my information supposedly being visible, even though I'd mosaicked it all.]

Well. I am now officially Taiwanese. On top of being Canadian, that is - dual citizenship. (Don't be ridiculous; I ain't givin' up my Canadian citizenship!)

This morning, in an amazingly smooth transaction unlike all processes leading up to this day, I had a newly minted citizen card in my hands within the hour. That's including getting breakfast while I waited for them to process the documents.

And then, in an equally efficient fashion, I was back in Hsinchu and rented a mailbox, opened a stock account, opened a new bank account to link to my new stock account, and dropped off my application for a credit card. All before lunch was over. Man, having a citizen number makes things so much easier.

So I'm set! Now I can start wearing high heels with jeans and matching a hot pink top with a yellow skirt. And maybe folding excess jean pant leg up. To the calf. On the outside of the pant.

Definitely half empty.

My coworker TJY left on a business trip this afternoon. A 6-month-long business trip. He'll be in California (along with 7 other members of the team) to see a project through to completion.

The thing is, I don't have many friends here, so TJY is 33% of my friends. I got to know him through the hiking club. We lunch and sup together virtually everyday. At 16:00, we meet in the coffee room for our daily apple. I even see him on weekends. He's also helped me with lots of stuff: translating e-mails, explaining company procedures and local customs, etc.

So today, there was a distinct feeling of emptiness as I watched him depart. He has a girlfriend now, but I wouldn't doubt that I feel just as glum as she does.

:(

Jazz Cat

Went to a jazz festival in Taichung over the weekend. I'd been stressing about work and was just tired in general, so I really needed a weekend to kick back and unwind. Listening to jazz in the park, in perfect weather, with a glass of Bailey's and good company - the jazz fest was just the perfect thing.

I took to the jazz and have since changed gears. I listen to one Taiwanese artist in particular: Cat Peng Ching Hui (彭靖惠) who has a wonderfully soothing Norah Jones voice. She started out in pop but switched to jazz about 5 years ago. Her latest album is a 2-CD set with Chinese and English versions (basically). I was especially pleased to find that the English was grammatically correct and virtually without accent.

For those who don't like jazz, her style is not the traditional brassy jazz, but more like Diana Krall's bop-bop-badoo-wop smooth jazz. This is one of my favourite songs - have a listen.

Old-Timers

Some months ago, I was MSN'ing with a friend who was about to get married. I've known this friend since elementary school. He went to high school with a good family friend of mine, and so I always heard bits and pieces of his news. In university, we started staying in touch.

During our conversation, I was figuring out whether or not I knew him or the family friend first, and it suddenly dawned on me that I met him in Grade 2 - twenty years ago! (Upon sharing that revelation, he exclaimed, "And still in school, wtf!" hahaha.)

My earliest memory of him is when we were in a Grade 2-Grade 3 split class back in elementary school. There were only 6 of us, so our desks were arranged in 2 facing rows, 3 desks each. WL and I were in the middle desks. We were colouring an assignment or something, and WL was using crayons. The girl next to him was being mean and saying that I could use her coloured felt pens, but not him. That was the era when felt pens were a luxury. I remember thinking that was really snobby of her, and so I ignored her and used crayons with WL.

Of course, maybe WL remembers it differently: maybe he remembers that I was the snobby one.... It was twenty years ago....

Atlas, but not quite as muscular....

In the past 5 months, I have:

• made my first income tax payment in Taiwan;
  
• climbed 8 or 9 mountains, including 2 peaks over 3000m in altitude (one more to add this weekend);
  
• swum a 3km water reservoir;
  
• organised a company event to swim a lake (although in the end the swim was cancelled due to this year's endless string of typhoons);
  
• "saved" somebody;
  
• mooooooved (Internet and my own bathroom - yay!);
  
• begun the process to obtain full citizenship status in my new country;

... and yet this is the one that breaks my blogging hiatus.

It was our Monday afternoon status meeting. Every week, my goal is not to get nailed to the wall. This week, I eked it out (yay).

And then my manager turned to me.

"Your work here is actually really important. The business unit's year-end meeting is coming up next month. One of the goals we have this year is to improve our technical documentation; of ten items, your work constitutes one entire goal."

In other words, in a business unit of 250 people, I myself am responsible for one tenth of the BU's goals. One tenth of how the BU will be graded in the company, and consequently, how we will be awarded bonuses after the year-end review.

No pressure there.

He continued, "The meeting is in a month, which means we'll have to prepare all our material in about 15 days. Please prepare a report about our status on this matter."

I told my friend about this extra weight on my shoulders, and he commented that he carries roughly 25 percent of his division on his back, so I guess I shouldn't be complaining. But I realised today that while he practically reports to the CEO, I'm at the bottom of the food chain. And, well, I don't get paid nearly as much. Not nearly.

*sigh*

Won't even try.

I can't imagine...

...if I'd decided to stay mad at him because of a conflict the weekend before.

...if the Internet had not been available.

...if I'd gone to my meeting on time, missing his e-mail by 7 minutes.

...if I hadn't decided to call when I did.

...if the package he'd posted the week before hadn't arrived exactly on that day. Not the day before, and definitely not the day after.

There are some things that are just too horrible to imagine. So I dare not imagine them.

At least I have some kind of personality...

Okay, so I saw this personality test on someone else's Live Journal, and being the procrastinator that I am, I went and filled in the Advanced Global Personality Test.

My results (below) are fairly accurate, I think. The only thing that really stands out is the 90% physical security grade, which I find rather odd, but I suppose if that includes physical apathy then it's all good. Work ethic of 56% - ha, good thing my boss doesn't read my blog.

Advanced Global Personality Test Results Extraversion |||||||||||||||| 66% Stability |||||||||| 36% Orderliness |||||||||||||| 53% Empathy |||||||||||||||| 70% Interdependence |||||||||||||| 56% Intellectual |||||||||||| 50% Mystical |||||||||| 36% Artistic |||||||||||||||||| 76% Religious |||| 16% Hedonism |||||| 23% Materialism |||||||||||||| 56% Narcissism |||||||||||||||| 63% Adventurousness |||||||||| 36% Work ethic |||||||||||||| 56% Self absorbed |||||||||||||||| 63% Conflict seeking |||||| 23% Need to dominate |||||||||||| 43% Romantic |||||||||||||||| 63% Avoidant |||||| 23% Anti-authority |||||||||||| 43% Wealth |||||||||||| 50% Dependency |||||||||||||||||| 76% Change averse |||||||||||||| 56% Cautiousness |||||||||||||||| 70% Individuality |||||||||||||||| 70% Sexuality |||||||||||| 43% Peter Pan complex |||||||||||||| 56% Physical security |||||||||||||||||||| 90% Food indulgent |||||||||||||||| 70% Histrionic |||||||||| 36% Paranoia |||||||||||| 43% Vanity |||||||||||||||| 70% Hypersensitivity |||||||||||||| 56% Female cliche |||||||||||||||| 70%

Take Free Advanced Global Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Stability results were moderately low which suggests you are worrying, insecure, emotional, and anxious.

Orderliness results were medium which suggests you are moderately organized, hard working, and reliable while still remaining flexible, efficient, and fun.

Extraversion results were moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.

Trait Snapshot:
open, tough, irritable, worrying, does not like to be alone, craves attention, low self control, emotionally sensitive, interacting, sad, very social, aggressive, prefer organized to unpredictable, dependent, social chameleon, suspicious, values the heart over the mind, likes large parties, outgoing, likes to make fun, likes to fit in, mildly phobic, vain, makes friends easily, enjoys leadership, clingy, rash

Feel the love....

MSN conversation with my brother earlier. I couldn't hold off on this one....

K:  my suggestion for product name is in the finals.
K:  Between "Presto" and "Forerunner"
N:  yay! ahaha

Knowing that his dragonboating team before was called the Waverunners, it was obvious which name was his suggestion....

N:  Forerunner sounds better ;)
K:  if Presto gets chosen, I win an iPod. if not... I don't.
K:  damn YOU!!
N:  doh!!
K:  Presto has more MEANING
K:  it's about speed.
N:  Presto sounds cliche!
...
N:  presto sounds kinda cheezy...
K:  man, if I could send you a middle finger right now. :P
N:  you'd get it right back. :)

Practically twins

Some of my coworkers were trying to squeeze my birthdate out of me. I didn't mind telling them my birth year - not a big deal: I've rather accepted the fact that I am - yes - getting old. Just a little bit. I know, it's okay; I've dealt with it.

Fifteen minutes later (yes, they were still trying), the one coworker who knew my approximate birthdate decided, "Hmm, I think I'll blurt out her Zodiac sign, even though she seems adamant about not telling them, and it's completely not my place to give it up", and thus the month that witnessed my world debut came to light.

I drafted a multitude of Ally McBeal scenes in my head as I glared a hole through her, right between the eyes. I do believe that it was served with a liquid nitrogen smile.

One coworker in particular kept hounding me for the exact date, later that day, the next day, night, morning.... He was absolutely relentless. He finally realised that it just wasn't going to happen unless he told me his birth year and month first. Turns out they're the same as mine.

We jostled some more before getting the exact dates out. His birthdate was the day after mine.

But wait ! I was born in the evening... in North America! Which meant that we were actually born within hours of each other! And it turns out that he was born in the wee hours of the morning, making him older than me! MuahAHHAhaha.

Kind of a cool coinkidink, though. :)

Pretty Woman

I'm reminded of an MSN conversation with a coworker, not long after the GND had started at our company. Having slipped my mind that he had been one of her interviewers, I offered to introduce him to the pretty girl.

"Hey, just lookin' out for you. I mean, if you don't even meet her, how will you even have a chance with a pretty girl!"

"You say she's pretty, too?" he asked, somewhat surprised.

"Well... yeah. She is. So... why wouldn't I?"

"That's the first time I've heard a girl call another girl 'pretty'."

"Really...? Why's that??"

"Because women get jealous! They never call one another pretty."

Hmm, now that's silly. I don't know.... Maybe I just hang out with women who are very secure.

Or very pretty. :)

V is for...

Just a quickie:

CompanyM runs about 10 events each year - mostly atheletic (though there was a Big 2 event last month) - where the 4 business units are pitted against each other. All in good fun, of course. This is the third year of activities.

Today was the softball event. Round-robin style, 6 innings per game, and modified rules for women. (Interestingly enough, their co-ed events only need one girl - but apparently recruiting that one girl is hard enough!)

Our business unit has been runner-up the past 2 years, but this morning, under 30-degree weather, we ended the back-to-back champions' streak with a 3-0 record.

V... is for sweet sweet victory. Yay! :D

"Licence and registration, please."

I'd been waiting all day for 18:00 to roll around. Last night was going to be my first time go-karting.

I was just a coatrack the last time, watching from the sidelines in dress shirt, dress pants and heels. I was amazed at the control while my coworkers tore around the track at breakneck speeds, darting in and out at giant slalom speeds, taking the turns as if tethered to an elastic band. Exciting stuff.

We piled into my coworker's car. I was getting anxious. They chattered on about the last race (which I missed altogether): how So-and-So lapped What's-Their-Name twice, and how Who-Was-It-Again ended up in the grassy divide, and how That-Other-Person did a 360 spinout.

As we walked up to the race course and watched another group zip around hairpin turns, the excitement quickly fizzled into nerves. Completely flat soda. But I'd said I was going to race this time, so I wasn't about to bail. No way, no "weaker sex" here.... (Okay, so I was still jittery, but whatever!)

Once I was seated in the go-kart, fitted with a cushy helmet (that actually did fit!), I was in my element. Right, gas; left, break. No sweat.

They came by and started up the go-kart engines one by one, and one by one the karts peeled away from the pit stop. The steering wheel was stiff and suspension was minimal, but it was thrilling. I hoped my forearms wouldn't tire before the 10 minutes were up!

Cars behind were already passing me on the first lap. I rounded onto the straightaway and accelerated. I noticed a bunch of karts along the side. That was the last fleeting thought as I plowed straight into my coworker, propelling him forward 2 meters.

Oh. my. God.

No doubt there was a collective gasp from everyone (save the person I'd just rear-ended), but I didn't hear it. I froze. General bewilderment, lots of looking around, everyone must've been in shock. I'm sure my coworker's first thought was "WTF??", and not the "How did that happen??" that he told us after the race.

See, I didn't realise that we were supposed to do just one lap of the course and line up Indy-style. :(

The race track staff didn't know what else to do but to wave the flag and start the race.

I managed to pull it together for the race, but guilt and mortification were the theme words of the night. My coworkers joked about me caring for the victim for the rest of his life. I was completely laden with guilt and stricken with fear for any injury I may have caused. And I must've gone red whenever he was near, later back at the office. Couldn't even look him in the eye.

Today, he's been unavailable for comment. And so guilt continues to eat away at my innards.

Which is just as well, because the pre-race weigh-in claimed that Taiwanese food is too oily.

Hark now hear the angels sing....

Lay's Original! Hallelujah! :D

Almost thought they didn't have any normal flavours....

Need a new oil lamp....

We had a four-day weekend. The last longer weekend for a while to come. I went up to Taipei for a day, but was back in Hsinchu in the office after dinner on the Saturday.

And there I stayed.

I spent virtually all of it in the office, burning the midnight oil. With few people in the office, I found the quiet - yet not dead silent - environment conducive to documenting.

What really made the difference was the presence of my coworker. We would work work work, go out to fill our bellies with good food and good conversation, and then come back and toil away again. Work hard, play hard. Play and eat hard, that is. :)

And so working late into the night wasn't even taxing. I was totally "in the zone": the right music, the right darkness, the right entertainment (as needed).... Tunnel vision. It was almost exhilarating (in a demented sort of way), reminiscent of the university days, when I would bang away at a project until the wee hours (and sometimes not so "wee" hours) of the morning.

But the progress and the [demented] exhilaration left me actually enjoying work again. And for the first time in weeks - maybe months, I came into work yesterday and today in the best of moods, "energized" and ready to be productive, despite 13 hours' sleep over 3 nights.

I am a tad tired today, but only mildly; my body - rather amazingly - has been quite content to return to a regular schedule, without collecting on my sleep debt.

Unfortunately I've reaffirmed that my most productive hours are still 22:00 to 03:00.

D'oh.

Take a hike!

About a month ago, my coworker suggested I join the 2-day trip up Yushan (Mount Jade). Yushan is the highest peak in NE Asia (nearly 4km in altitude), and in recent years has become a popular mountain for hikers. I figured the group trip would be a good opportunity to meet people in my company's Hiking Club and to see some of Taiwan. I wouldn't have to pack my own sleeping bag even.

The last time I hiked Stawamus Chief back home was probably close to 2 years ago. So in terms of hiking, I was a little rusty. And thus without too much resistance, I let my coworker talk me into another 2-day hike in Guguan at the end of March. The first day was an easy hike, and the second day would be a tougher one.

That "easy" hike is the most gruelling thing I've ever done! Sure beats out my first day playing ultimate frisbee. Our group of 19 ended up as a leading group and a "lagging" group. And while I was in the lead group, I was in the latter half (back!) of the group and still needed 4 hours to reach the top. My brain literally shut down as I shuffled my lead feet inches at a time - any progress just as long as I didn't stop.

I barely ate lunch at the top. Even though fog had covered the distant mountain peaks, leaving us with not much scenary to photograph, I still felt a sense of accomplishment. (And fatigue, of course.)

As I'd anticipated, my knees were my downfall. While taking only half the time, coming down the mountain was twice as painful as going up. That's when I graciously accepted a hiking stick from my fellow hiker. Hopping into the bus afterward was one of most rewarding things ever!

Day 2, of course, was not going to go away. Being that the entire reason for joining this trip was to prepare myself for Yushan, I decided that I would go hiking the next day, too, despite being in serious pain. A fellow hiker lent me a knee sleeve, which helped immensely, and I was able to borrow a hiking stick from someone who turned back early. The scenary was much nicer and the hike more leisurely (we all decided to hike at our own pace since we didn't have enough time to reach the peak, and to just meet back at the bus at a rendez-vous time). The knees still gave me trouble, but now I had the option of slowing down or stopping as I needed, and so I also took more photographs.

Overall, I had a lot of fun and got to know some coworkers better, including some from other departments whom I would not meet otherwise. The exercise felt great, that rewarding soreness in the days after. And I have something exciting - a shared experience - for my Taiwan scrapbook. (Just as soon as I make one.)

Now I just need to figure out where to post pictures. :)

Gotta scoot!

I finally got my scooter about two weeks ago. Yes, long awaited for, and then I didn't even blog about it immediately (as I'd planned).

It didn't take too long to narrow the field down to 2 choices, but I hemmed and hawed about that decision for a while. And then it took me even longer to decide between faint gold (like my beloved Acura) and silver. Retarded dilemma of the decade.

Anyhow, after many J-K flipflops, I eventually settled on silver. Since I don't have a camera, yet (that's next on my list), I've borrowed the official website's picture. Of course, I have a black seat, not the Louis Vuitton purse.

I haven't ridden my shiny new scooter much, because I don't yet have a scooter licence, but I use little trips to the store as practice. It's quite exhilarating! :D

Today I rode the scooter to work for the first time. Exciting, and not that difficult, really. Just follow the stream of other scooters. Whee! :)

Friendly Faces, Part 2

I had just decided to which company I would sign my life away. Mom and I were having dinner when she told me, "You have a cousin at CompanyM. His father is my godbrother."

Excuse me??

And she proceeded to tell me about this godbrother of hers, of whom she had never spoken previously. I didn't even know of his existence until that day. She didn't find out my cousin's name until after I had started working. Looking him up in the company directory, I discovered that he was in the same group as I was!

I hadn't met him yet, but it was interesting how I changed that day. Each time he sent an e-mail, I took notice of it. Each person I passed whose name I didn't know, I wondered if they were my cousin. Whenever I walked through the cubicle farm to talk to someone, I looked at all the names on the way to see if I could find his seat. I wondered what this faceless cousin of mine was like.

It wasn't until the company group dinner that I finally found out when fellow employees were toasting with wine and my manager called his name out. A face! A face to the name!

So then I had to find a chance to approach him and introduce myself. I didn't think that, "Hi! I'm your cousin!" would cut it; I wasn't even sure if he knew of my mom (it's complicated). Between lack of opportunities (he was often out of the office at customer sites) and me being busy with work and forgetting, it was over a month before he approached me when I was talking to someone else! His parents had told him that weekend of my existence (revealed through my aunt).

So we've been exchanging a few e-mails, just gathering bits of information to get to know each other. Very nice person, quiet. He's the youngest of three, but still older than my brother; not surprising since his father is about 10 years older than my mom.

His parents have just moved up to Taipei county, so I may finally meet them sometime. It's like finding out I have a whole new family. Can't wait.

It's a miracle!

Yikes, been on a bit of a blogging hiatus. It's a miracle that I finally got off my duff and started this blog.

In fact, it *did* take a miracle. More specifically: miracle fruit. Something I'd heard about in passing once, while sitting at a travel agency with my mother, flipping through a magazine. But this is real, and I got to try it over the holidays last month.

Miracle fruit is an oval red berry, no larger than an almond, whose shrubbish tree rarely grows higher than 5 feet outside its native tropical west Africa. The pit is rather like a small peanut, and the berry itself is rather tasteless.

It is always served with lemon or lime.

This is because sour turns sweet after eating a miracle fruit. Yes, I'll say it again: after having a miracle fruit, the lime wedges I ate tasted sweet. The citrussy flavour was still present, but its sourness was almost completely gone, resulting in a yummy limeade fruit!

Apparently, rubbing the flesh of the berry over the tastebuds causes this change in sensation, and limes and sour key candies will taste sweet for some 30 minutes.

Trippy. It's almost like being on drugs.

Here are some miraculously fruity facts.

Not a bad day

Yesterday was a good day, apart from the usual struggle to stay effective at work (headache mostly - I think from my contact lenses). The previous night was our company year-end dinner where cash draw prizes were being handed out like candy. My brother calculated my chances of bettering the consolation prize as one in 4, and it turns out that there were many unannounced prizes as well, so chances were probably closer to one in 3! Alas, my scooter fund was not to be indulged. But it was still a lot of fun, to experience a part of their culture that doesn't really have an equivalent in Western society. (Christmas galas come close, but this was really big-scale.)

And then yesterday, I had my end-of-probation interview with my manager, which went well. Somewhat to my surprise, it was more of a chat than an interview or an evaluation. "How are you settling into the job?" (<- especially applicable to newly transplanted me.) "Anything unclear about your responsibilities, company regulations etc." We talked a bit about some of the things I was working on, pros and cons about my experiences so far. I have to write a brief statement containing my thoughts about the company over the past 3 months, which will be read by my manager, up to the business unit director. The BU Director spent many years in the States, so I actually feel quite comfortable around him. And he has beautiful operatic eyes. :) I kind of see him like a dad, except cooler. :)

The only not-so-fantastic part was an important class that our department was urged to attend. A 3-hour long important class. (And that was just the first of 3 sessions.) As a result, I didn't get to attend a prior engagement (more about this another time). :( Luckily (and surprisingly), even though some parts were a little technical (it'd been 8 years since I'd done that stuff), it was interesting enough that I didn't fall asleep. Even with the help of 2 lattes, that still says a lot!

So! Not a bad day at all. :)

Signs from above

It seems that my coworker's scooter accident isn't the only one to happen. A number of other coworkers have since been in accidents; my mentor's right arm is in cast and sling.

But none of those incidents affected me as much as yesterday morning's.

I was on the shuttle bus, off to work. I caught just a glimpse as we passed the intersection.

A scooter lay sideways in front of a mini truck.
The truck's windshield was just one huge spiderweb.
A man (presumably the scooter driver) lay on the ground, blood on his face, cradled by a person in a blue vest (Science Park crew) talking to him.
Another blue-vested person stood on the sidewalk nearby, talking into a walkie-talkie.

It was an unnerving start to the week. :(

I am beginning to wonder if this is some sort of sign from above, about me getting a scooter.

:(

Oriental palette

One of the best perquisites at my company is the snack cabinet. Yes, filing cabinets around the office with a variety of nutritional-zero goodies, for employees' enjoyment, free of charge. The caretaker staff refill them every morning.

Needless to say, the snacks are all Asian-style: chips, cookies, egg rolls, wafer snacks.... Cool, I liked getting snacks at T&T (Asian supermarket) anyway.

Well, I wasn't prepared for just how Asian when I picked up a mini pack of chips... and discovered they were seaweed-flavoured Lay's Chips. Weird.

Okay, so I just picked a funny flavour. (Sometimes I grab a package without really looking.)

Nope.

In the weeks after, I also came across Onion Crispy Crab, Chicken, and Sweet and Sour Pork. That's just wrong. In fact, the only "North American" flavour I found was Sour Cream and Onion (which I don't like much anyway).

Anyhow, most available snacks are interesting flavours. I suppose I'll eventually get used to them. But then again, maybe that'll shift me toward eating healthier. There's been noticeable gain in the midriff.... :(

From ear to ear

Sometimes, the stupidest things can make you grin.

Like noticing that the colour of your underwear matches the Roots Athletic hoody you're wearing.

But that's not me.

Phantom readers

I recently found out that people actually read my blog. People other than my brothers and the odd person here and there. I had no idea. I'd hoped, but I didn't really know.

That's because these people don't leave blog comments. :(

Now, I enjoy writing. I do. And I don't always require a reader. I've written several poems that people have never seen.

But let's be honest, the whole fun of blogging is reading others' comments. And if people leave comments, then I have more incentive to write. Because what's the point of updating my blog often (when I already have tons of other stuff to do) when no one's going to read it?

So. You people, the phantom readers: leave your mark. Please. :)