Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all! What an interesting holiday season it's been!

Most of the excitement has been thanks to the largest snowfall in Vancouver in a long long time. It snowed last Wed, and I had the great pleasure (...) of shovelling the snow. Those who have been to my house in the winter know that it's almost as cold inside as it is outside, so coming in from the cold didn't offer much comfort. :(

Anyway, some days of the past week, I was stuck at home, because our car doesn't have winter tires. If that weren't bad enough I'd have to shovel the walkways and driveway a few times a day so the snow didn't build up.

Yesterday I went out. The driveway wasn't a problem, but less than 5m from my house, my car got stuck. Luckily I had the foresight to put a shovel in my car (although I could've just as easily run back to my house), and spent some 20 mins digging out my car before being able to reverse back into the driveway again. I tried the other way down the alley, and then got stuck again at the end of the block! After more digging and more forward-reverse cycles, a kind neighbour from the next block came and helped me get my car going again.

I went to several places and they were completely sold out of road/de-icing salt! Argh!

After running my errands, I came back home, and then 1.5 houses away, I got reeeally stuck. I had to call my dad to come help me out. We dug and revved and dug and revved.... My next-door neighbour came out with his shovel, too, and after more digging and revving and pushing and 40 mins, we finally got the car back into our garage. A day of snow driving training, heehee! :)

I had no plans to go out today, because of the snowy forecast: 10~20cm of wet snow. Well, I woke up this morning, and there was already a good 15cm of snow on the ground. And there was no sign of it stopping. In fact, while I grudgingly shovelled away, it started coming down even harder. 15cm of snow on a wide two-car driveway, plus all the walkways.... That's a loooot of snow. It was rather disheartening to be only 1/3 done the driveway, and to look back and find that the area I'd cleared was already covered. It took me 2.5 hours to clear everything (and quickly run through it again a second time). I was running out of places to pack the snow!

After coming in to thaw out a bit, I headed out to walk down the hill to Superstore to get a roast chicken and pie for our Christmas Eve dinner. A mini feast for my dad and me. :) When I got back (~17:20), I put the bags down and set out to shovel another round. The snow had stopped falling, so it was only 5cm or so, and without the frustration of watching more snow cover your work (and knowing you'll have to come out and shovel again later), it was quite peaceful and beautiful.

So! We had vegetable soup, green beans, roast chicken for dinner. (We were so full we didn't even make it to dessert!) Then an electrician's truck (with cherry picker) got stuck right in front of our house! Its back end had slid into the minivan parked across the street. :( After I finished the dishes, they were still out there standing around, so I went out and asked if they wanted some eggnog, figuring they could use a warm beverage. I refilled their water jug, and got them some shovels so they could dig out the snow, offered to help shovel. The tow truck that was supposed to bail them out got stuck itself at the end of the block. And then it gave up on them and abandonned them!! Poor guys. Getting stuck on Christmas Eve, no dinner break yet, and they still had 3 sites to visit for repairs!! They spent three hours digging out that massive truck, digging and placing dirt in front of the tires, but finally succeeded in driving off without a hitch! And I got a warm fuzzy for helping them out. :)

Tomorrow, we're off to my uncle's (by Skytrain! the Accord stays warm and cozy in our garage) for Christmas Day dinner, then we're staying over, just like in the old days. :)

Merry Christmas!

Through sickness, health and sex change

While looking for an image for my French composition, I came across an article about a couple that was still married after the husband underwent a sex change operation. The article goes on to talk about how marriage laws are a little behind in keeping step with what is acceptable in modern society, and touches on just some of the issues that an untraditional couple might encounter in various states in America.

But what impressed me most? The support that Fran Brunner gave her then-hubby-now-wife, even staying married. Kudos to her!

Not so bright, Part 3

I was under the impression that I'd already posted this 3rd installment, but I guess I hadn't done quite enough stupid things, yet! I've now caught up.

11. When I park at the side of the road, I usually back up and straighten my wheel so I can ride away more easily. One night I was leaving the post office (which happens to be on a slight slope), and as I let my scooter glide backwards... I stopped with a bump. I looked behind... and it was a cop on scooter. Oops. =P
    
    
12. Long ago, at the market in Taipei, I was buying a towel, and the stall owner told me that 130NT was as low as he could go -- any lower would be below cost. Those sales tactics, you know. Well, I made another round through the market before coming back, and discovering that he was gone, I told the stall owner's wife that "someone else had said 120NT". She immediately whipped around and demanded to know which of her kids had given me a 120NT cost, because it *was* below cost. (She was REALLY furious.) But, since I said I'd been offered 120NT, she honoured my dishonourable price.
    
    I feel really bad and haven't been back to that market since. =(
    
    
13. I wall-climbed 4 days (evenings) in a row. Aside from a bit of soreness in my forearms, I felt great and was injury-free.
    
    The ginormous bruise on my right knee was 'cause I tripped in the parking lot. >_<
    
    
14. The gas tank warning light was on. Unfortunately it was well after 10pm (after vball) and they had already shut down for the night. I had no choice but to wait until the next day. (I like to fill at the Superstore gas bar near my place, 'cause they give you 6.5 cents/litre redeemable in the store.)
    
    As luck (or bad habit) would have it, I was running late and didn't have time to stop for gas before class. By the time I made it back, the tank must've been reeeally near empty, because the car started stalling. I had to coast down the hill into the gas bar, then shut off the engine while waiting my turn.
    
    When it was finally my turn... yep, you guessed it: I couldn't start my car! I was 3m from the gas pump, and could not start my car just to get to the pump.
    
    I had to ask a nice man coming out of the payment station to give me a little push so the car was within nozzle's reach.
    
    
15. My friends were visiting from Taiwan, and after 3 long days taking them around, driving all over, looking after all their needs before they went to bed and then working on my own things, I was really looking forward to them going on their 9-day Rocky Mountains tour.
    
    That morning, I dropped my dad off to work then drove them to the tour pick-up point. We waited for the tour bus to show up (20 minutes late), got them set, then I was free to go home.
    
    I turned left toward the bridge heading out of downtown, and suddenly this car in the opposite direction started blaring its horn at me, and the suit behind the wheel gave me this nasty bewildered look! How rude! And then, next block over, another car up ahead started high-beaming me. Was there a police car or speed trap ahead?
    
    It wasn't until I got to a traffic light that I noticed 3 lanes of traffic all facing me: I'd turned the wrong way onto a one-way street!

Awww, thanks!

I just completed my Standard First Aid and CPR Level C certification this weekend. In two days of training, we covered a lot of emergency and first-on-the-scene procedures; I highly recommend it!

We were practicing moving a victim from upright position to floor while immobilising for possible head and spine injuries. And as my group member was gently letting my immobilised head down onto the floor, he said, quite simply, "Nice eyes!"

A warm fuzzy from someone I'll probably never see again. How nice! :)

Desolate

I still want to hold your hand, smile at you, send you kisses over the phone....

Standstill

It feels like whenever I move to a new place (all two times), everyone I leave behind moves on with their lives, and I am at a standstill.

When I moved to Taiwan, time froze. I worked and played and experienced a lot of things, but I remained at the same point in my life. All my friends in Vancouver were getting married and having kids. Now that I'm back in Vancouver, all my friends in Taiwan are moving on (i.e. and over my leaving) and I feel like I'm stuck in a rut.

This feeling sucks.

Home. And yet....

I arrived back in Vancouver on Thursday night, closing a chapter of my life, and starting a new one.

It's funny, because it doesn't feel like I'm coming home. In fact, it feels like I left home. The wonderful friends and "family" I built up over the nearly 4 years, my brothers and new sis-in-law... all left behind. :(

Everything I'm coming back to... is different. So, in a way, it almost feels like I'm coming back to nothing, and have to start again.

*sigh*

以前回家的時候總是有回家的感覺。 這次，回國．．． 卻沒有回家的感覺，而是離開家的感覺。 在台灣四年來認識了很多親戚，朋友，同事．．． 成為了一個新家庭。 能認識這麼多優秀特別的好朋友，而受到他們的照顧與關懷，真是我的福氣。 真的很捨不得；回到家一直難過，超級想念他們。 =_=

咳．．． 只能掛在MSN上等他們上線，保持一點點的聯絡．．．。

Not enough time, Part 2

So, in my 3 weeks left, I managed to squeeze in a fair bit, just making the most of my time left.

- outdoor climbing at Longdong 龍洞, despite a climber falling to her death a month earlier;
- National Palace Museum 故宮 with my dad;
- wakeboarding 滑水 with my coworker in Taipei county - sooooo much fun!
- more indoor climbing at iClimb (that was a constant!), including helping with a kids' activity, ha;
- SCUBA diving lessons - managed to fit this in, yay! 2 days of diving (6 tanks) off the NE coast 東北角 of Taiwan;
- send-off for the iClimb foreign friends (including myself) that were leaving Taiwan;
- new climbing shoes! and,
- picnic and stinky tofu outings.

It doesn't seem like too much, but SCUBA lessons took up 4 days (2 days of class + pool, 2 days of open water), and I went to the climbing gym almost every day, whenever I could, to climb and to hang out at my second home, with my second family. I also accomplished my goal of finishing the overhang climb (although I did "take"). :)

And that wraps up my time in Taiwan....

I have *tons* of pictures. I'll update this post with picture links when I'm done organising them.

Not enough time

The time's gone by awfully quickly.... Since coming to Taiwan, I've been partly busy with handling some personal business (finances, other loose ends) but also with spending time with friends before I leave the country "for good". So here's the Reader's Digest version of what I've done so far in the last 4 weeks:

- watched dragonboat races for 端午節 (hadn't ever done that in Vancouver even!);
- walked a LOT, in Taipei's basin of mugginess;
- caught up with my cousin whom I hadn't seen in some 10 years (he'd been in Japan while I was working here and just moved back to Taiwan);
- went to 九份 and 基隆 and ate ate ate with 3 girlfriends;
- went to 宜蘭 with 3 friends, to eat, stroll through a forest with "divinity trees" (some as old as 2000 years), watch the sunrise over the 望洋 mountain range, lots of mini-trails - half of the 3-day trip was in rainy weather!
- saw my friend and her hubby and newborn baby (hadn't seen her in 6 months);
- listened to a music performance (of an artist I hadn't heard of), bought his first CD on the spot and got it autographed;
- took my dad to Hong Kong and Macau (that's another post altogether);
- met with my "gifted" cousin;
- helped my brother move (earning my keep!);
- hung out at the climbing gym, and climbed climbed climbed: my friends at the climbing gym were kind enough to extend my pass for the month that I unexpectedly had to give up. I'm going to finish climbing that ceiling before I leave!
- ripped open the skin of my palm, because I just HAD to get one more climb in before gym closing....
- scootered out to Nanliao 南寮 for a stroll by the ocean;
- gone out to Longdong 龍洞 for some outdoor climbing (that's tomorrow!).

Of course there are lots of other little meetings with coworkers and friends and my brothers and sis-in-law and cousins etc.

I've given up on a few plans, like going to Beijing (I would've had free room and board if I could find a plane ticket to fit my schedule) and scuba diving lessons (for PADI/NAUI open water diving certification) seem unlikely now. Not sure if I'll be able to scooter up to Taipei either.

I have 3 weeks left in Taiwan. It still doesn't seem like enough time.... :(

Hot and sweaty

That's how my trip to Taiwan is starting out.

First of all, when I went through Customs, I got selected for a random patdown. The Customs officer was nice enough, though. Asked me if I was wearing a belt ("Um, no, it's just... fat." "Hahah, if you're fat, then what am I... obese? :p") She actually did pat down the entire body, including around all sides of the bra...! and checked the bottoms of my shoes, too.

My 02:55 flight got delayed to 03:40, because the incoming flight from NYC was late. Just trying to stay awake during that extra hour was quite difficult. I always request an aisle seat, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the seat next to me was unoccupied, leaving me lots of lots of leg room and space to put my stuff, and no interruptions from a neighbour to use the toilet.

The Cathay Pacific plane was a new design. The seats are now placed on an arc: to recline, the seat slides forward and the headrest downward, but the actual frame is fixed, meaning the person behind enjoys the same amount of personal space. The inflight entertainment system - wonderful improvement: over 100 movies to choose from, ranging from new releases, to classics, to Disney movies, to Asian films. And then there are tv shows: drama, comedy, documentaries etc. Lots and lots of options. And then of course there are games and other forms of entertainment. There are also power outlets for laptops and stuff! The only complaint I have about Cathay Pacific is that their food is still terrible. (Breakfast is acceptable, but lunch and dinner are horrible.... Eva Air actually has good airplaine food.)

So during that flight to HK, I watched The Other Boleyn Girl (Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson) and Horton Hears a Who. Then I watched an episode of CSI and one of CSI: Miami. Then as I was struggling to stay awake (in an effort to minimise jetlag), it finally came time to sleep. I couldn't sleep that well, but I felt okay when we landed in HK. The flight was an hour late, landing at 08:00, and when we stepped off the plane, Cathay Pacific ground staff handed me a ticket bumping me from my 08:35 connecting flight to TPE to 09:10. It was 08:15 when I made it through the transfer area, and I bolted to see if I could still get my original flight. Alas, though the display flashed "Last call", the staff member told me it was too late to board. :( So I sulked to the gate of my new flight, grateful that it was only a 35-min delay. Pulled out my laptop to fire off an e-mail to my family to let them know... except that the laptop battery didn't last 3 minutes after bootup, allowing me just enough time to find the HK airport free wireless internet and enter the e-mail recipients, but not enough time to actually finish the e-mail! Ah well. I'm going to have to get a new battery.

The rest of my arrival went fairly smoothly: took a bus into TPE where I waited 25 minutes to get picked up. Compared to when I took this bus almost 4 years ago when I came to Taiwan, there was a sense of familiarity, and of "home" this time. Had a bit of pizza with my cousins before I hurried off to the District Administration Office to take care of a few things and renew my medical insurance. Hung out with my brother before he left for a weekend in Macau with his wife, and then after finishing a movie, I came back to my cousin's where I'm staying... and sulked. Honestly, walking through some familiar places where I'd been with my mom, finding myself alone - with no internet access.... Couldn't stay up very long, and by 21:35 I was in bed, out like a light.

Today, I was up at 06:30, went out for breakfast at 07:30. 豆漿, 油條, 燒餅夾蛋. Anyone who can read that would understand why that was the first meal I went for! :D Instead of coming back to an empty apartment, I decided to just eat there and watch all the people coming and going.

I'm just hanging out for a bit now, waiting to meet someone; we're going to go watch 划龍舟 (dragonboating) and then go window-shopping with another friend. It's not that sunny outside, but I'm still dreading the heat and the UV rays...!

Blood. It's in you to give.

After thinking about it for several years, I finally took my first step in becoming a blood donor. The radio broadcast an immediate need for O- blood, so I figured why not, this was as good a time as any! (While in Taiwan, I wanted to join CompanyM's blood drive, but hadn't been back from Cambodia (2006) or Vietnam (2007) for a full year.)

Yesterday around noon, I went to the Canadian Blood Services clinic on Oak St. The receptionist gave me a "1st Time Donor" sticker, and the next girl tested a drop of my blood to ensure sufficient iron content. Then after filling out a questionnaire, a registered nurse came and talked to me, measured my heart rate and blood pressure, and then I was off to get a needle stuck into me.

I was in the chair for maybe 15 minutes, and managed to fill a unit, so now I'm 480cc and 610g lighter. No side effects - no dizziness or anything, I felt absolutely fine. (The RN had insisted, 'cause I look so "tiny", to let them know if I felt faint at all and they would stop immediately.)

Had some water and a couple of Peak Freans, and got my 1st Time Donor pin! :D

I'll get my blood donor card in the mail next month. Since I'll be away, my dad will see it first, so I just told him at dinner. Surprisingly, he was pretty okay with it. The only concern he had was that 480cc seems a lot for someone my size. :P

Here are a few interesting things I learnt:

- BC has a constant need for blood; we often have to import blood from the other provinces.
- Three components can be harvested from blood: red blood cells, plasma, platelets. White blood have viruses and bacteria, so they're discarded.
- The shelf life for RBC is 42 days.

So anyway! 56 days until the next time I can donate. :)

Under the table

"King one still there on the whole bar! And I'm in a soundproof room...!"

That was the line that we kids would call out at each meal when we were younger. It was the statement that granted us the deed to the forked legs at each end of the table, so we could prop our feet on them for the meal.

First you had to get your feet on the bar, and then you had to say the whole statement without the other siblings speaking simultaneously. You could throw out one word at a time, but if they caught you right when you were talking, you had to start the whole line over again. When you got the entire line out, then and only then could you claim the table leg rest for the duration of the meal.

Don't ask me how that titular statement came to be the way it is. You just can't account for some of the things kids come up with.

In Loving Memory

Excitable and Humorous
Everyone who has met my mother undoubtedly knows her for her playful energy and zest for life. Indeed, Mom was more excited about my first date, about my prom, and convocation than even I was. And she loved to hear about any new activities I was trying – hiking, swimming, rock-climbing. I could always count on her to start deliberating about what I would be wearing to a special occasion months in advance. Sometimes I would find an outfit already laid out for me. Thankfully she was a smart shopper, with impeccable taste.

My brothers and I would often kid around with her at the dinner table. Mom would raise a hand threateningly, but graciously accept the high-fives we offered instead. Occasionally she would retaliate successfully with a well-placed pinch on the thigh... but it was always delivered with a smile. (Though, not necessarily always received with a smile.)


我喜歡妳以前煮的菜
我母親都為家人著想。 這幾年我爸爸很注意健康，也對煮法的要求提高：不能太鹹，不能太油，各個方面的營養要足夠，等等。 我前幾個月跟媽媽講電話，談搬回溫哥華的事。 我說我想念媽媽煮的菜．．．。 隔了幾秒鐘，我又補充了一下："我想念妳以前做的菜。 New cooking 一點都不想念。" 媽媽就笑著說："好啦好啦，趕快回來啦，媽媽煮好吃的給妳吃。"


Favourite Child
Her love for the family was apparent in all she did. We each had a part in her heart: Dad, her partner in life; Ben is the oldest child in the family, Kev the youngest, I the only daughter. We were all special to her. She treated each of us children like her favourite. Mom would slip me earrings that she found to match my dress, she would pay for a jacket that my brother had his eye on, other little tokens of motherly love. She loved us equally, each in our own special way, each her favourite child.

But deep down inside, we all know who her reeeeal favourite was....


最後一聲 "我愛妳"
這三年多，孩子們都在遙遠的台灣工作，生活。 因為工作時間長，活動充實，我就比較少打電話。 媽媽都會哀怨女兒怎麼沒打電話，怎麼都不想媽媽呢；她一直羨幕別人家的孩子常常跟父母聯絡。 去年，得知同事的父親過世後，我就養成了一個習慣：每次講完電話都會跟媽媽說一聲 "我愛妳"。 無論那通電話聊到什麼，氣憤如何，我最後會喊一句："媽，我愛妳"．．． 免得哪一天後悔沒跟她多說了幾次。

媽媽往生的那一天，我在上班接到爸爸的電話。 我父親把電話放在媽媽的耳邊，讓我們跟她告別。 我那時震驚中，只知道跟她說："媽，我們一定會讓妳驕傲。 媽，我愛妳。"

所以，在今天的最後．．． 我也要跟媽說一聲："媽，我愛妳。"


Mom, I love you.

Not so bright, Part 2

6. I met up to shoot pool with a friend in Taipei, after dinner with my aunt. I couldn't find my key to get back into my brother's place, so he left his set with me, and said he would figure out another way. He called me later, rather peeved, because he couldn't get into his parking garage (sensor was with me now).
   
   The next day as we were heading out, I returned his keys. "Where's my mailbox key??" "Oh, I dunno. Ohhh, wait...... that's my set of your keys. Here's yours.... <duck and run>"
   
   I don't get my own set of keys to his place anymore.
   
   
7. I want to be organised. Honestly. So I buy plastic stackable drawers, and paper organisers, and clothes hangers. They now all sit on the floor of my room, alongside the rest of my mess.
   
   My coworker got me a book "No More Clutter" (by Sue Kay) that takes a deeper look into the whys of clutter before the actual riddance. And yes, that book now adds to my clutter.
   
   
8. I grew up drying my laundry in the clothes dryer. I like the extra perk that, if you remove your clothes not too long after drying, they are soft and virtually wrinkle-free. It so happens that one Saturday, I got home unexpectedly late from work, and found my clothes removed from the dryer and scrunched down into my a-bit-too-small bucket. Completely scrunched, dress shirts and all. I was livid. (When I remove someone's clothes from the dryer, I half-fold their laundry - hang shirts and pants over the side of the basket - so their clothes aren't crumpled, because hey, I'm considerate like that.)
   
   As it turns out, that person's load was done, and I wanted to unwrinkle my clothes (by putting them through another cycle). So I removed his stuff and scrunched it into his slightly-too-small basket.
   
   I'm such a bad ass. =P
   
   
9. I can swim over 2000m without any problems... but my calf cramped up when I was getting dressed and trying not to let my pants touch the wet changeroom floor.
   
   
10. I can scooter for almost 10 minutes before making a left turn and being rudely reminded that I forgot to flip up the kick-stand.

Still more to come...

-er or -ee?

I was looking up a synonym for the verb "to manage" at one of my favourite sites, Merriam-Webster, and among other definitions, it offered

1b: to treat with care: husband.

Huh? Intrigued, I clicked and found the transitive verb "to husband":

Main Entry: ²husband
Function: transitive verb
Date: 15th century

1 a: to manage prudently and economically b: to use sparingly : conserve
2archaic : to find a husband for : mate
— hus·band·er noun

Interesting..... So, who husbands who in a marriage? Is the man labelled the husband because he husbands or because he is husbanded? Husbander or husbandee.... All a mystery......

You take that back!

So we happened to have the "pleasure" of sitting with my two-up manager, and conversation starts out about marriage and sports, and then the 3 managers at the table start talking about... management. My two-up is saying how different people have different ways of dealing with stress, and each person has to figure out their own method.

"For example, Nk and I have a habit of leaving everything until the last minute, creating unnecessary stress on ourself, and..."

Excuse me, but wtf??

What exactly were you expecting when you assigned me work on Friday afternoon and wanted it by Monday? It was already "last minute" when you assigned it. Did it even occur to you that I might have plans for the weekend? Or is my 24-hours-a-day-7-days-a-week completely at your disposal? And for what -- a few lousy dollars of OT pay, a foul mood, and sleep deficit?

Considering that my work schedule is dictated by everyone else's deadlines and by when work is submitted for review, the latter has a slight impact on when I can complete an assignment.

If you assign a task with a Monday deadline, and by Sunday evening, I still haven't received more than half the slides I need to review, then hell yeah, I'm going to have some difficulty completing the task. Even if you notify the persons a week in advance, if they don't submit their work until the last instant, I'm the one who pays for it. Don't fvckin' tell me that I leave it all until the last minute and then am not able to make the deadline.

Stupid slave factory.

Not so bright

I am, by far, not perfect.

I know, I know. I'll give you a minute for the shock to subside.

Here are a few oh-so-bright moments, most deserving a laugh, some deserving a smack upside the head. (I actually wrote most of this over a year ago, but these have all happened during my time in Taiwan.)

1. Locked myself out of my dorm - with a bag of laundry, and three 10NT coins. No wallet, no phone, no scooter keys to get myself anywhere. At 1AM. I had to drag my big bag o' laundry to the convenience store and borrow the clerk's phone card so I could call someone to come save me.
   
   
2. After recovering from a scooter accident (open wound and not-so-happy ankle), I finally healed enough to swim again. Yay! Then two days later I was running home, and as I sprinted to catch the traffic light, I tripped and sprawled head first into the street (no cars around). And scraped my elbow and knee up nicely.
   
   
3. I was meeting up with family friends. Suddenly realising that the train I was about to board was heading south (wrong direction), it then dawned on me that I had actually watched my train leave just 3 mins earlier. So I patiently waited for and boarded the next train on that first platform. Then the next train stop told me that I'd boarded a southbound train! By the time I made it to my destination, I'd been commuting for nearly 3 hours, instead of the anticipated 1.5 hours. But what a deal for 85NT! =D
   
   
4. My coworker sent out an away-on-a-business-trip notice to the entire department. To which I promptly wished him a smooth trip and good kimchi. Only, I replied-all. (I'm only thankful I didn't jokingly tell him not to ogle too many Korean girls.)
   
   Actually, I've replied-all on two other occasions as well.... Oy.
   
   
5. On a particularly wet and rainy day (cats and dogs and hippos), I rode through the night market in search of food. Someone's scooter horn was blaaaaaaaaaring annoyingly. I scanned the vicinity, like others around me, looking for the source. And 5 minutes later, I found it.
   
   Yep, it was my scooter. Apparently it was complaining of a couple of electrical shorts.

More to come....