Au clair de la lune

Today is 元宵節, which is the first full moon after the Lunar New Year. It's customary to gather and to light "sky lanterns". On them, you write your wishes and hopes for the year, and then watch the little paper hot air balloons float up into the night sky.... Well, I had to miss it this year. Boooo.

But the full moon was lovely. As I stared up at it, I was reminded of a friend.

See, I haven't talked to this friend for about a year now. We used to talk on the phone (long-distance, I might add) on full moon nights, just about life, about everything, about nothing. We got along great and understood each other really well, especially considering we aren't even on the same continent.

About a year ago, though, we stopped talking (for reasons I'm not at liberty to disclose). Zero contact.

I don't usually think of this friend, not so much anymore. I guess you just have to accept the fact and move on. But tonight as I looked up at the silver moon, I did.

And I wondered when it might be okay again.

Sorry, where am I from again?

My friend brought a beautiful "carrying" case to my desk today, measuring 24"x4"x2.5". Inside, nestled in a bed of... shiny polyester... was a nice champagne flute, and a bottle of ice wine.

As lovely as it was, and as delighted as I was to receive this gift, I looked at my coworker and exclaimed,

"Have you forgotten where I'm from??"

Product of Canada.

Happy V-Day

Sometimes I do get frustrated with being the 3rd, 5th, 7th... wheel.... (Though as my brother says, it doesn't matter, 'cause even with him here, I'll always be odd....)

But sometimes... sometimes, I just miss holding his hand. : (

*sigh*

Happy V-Day, sweetie.

Once was found but now is lost

Have you ever finally found a great product, only to find that the product is discontinued shortly thereafter?

My friend gave me Shiseido FF Planetarium Eyes eyeliner for my birthday. After a bit of practice, it no longer looked like eye black grease for a football game. The brown colour is subtle but with enough sparkle to bring some energy to my eyes. Available at Watson's (like Pharmasave or Shoppers' Drug Mart).

Except that it's not. When I asked about it later on, that same friend told me that it was no longer available! Seems like Watson's decided not to carry it anymore. Boooo.

But as luck would have it, another friend is going to Japan for CNY, so I'm getting him to smuggle some back for me. Yay!

What great product have you found, that you can no longer find?

Bloody Blood Diamond

Two movie tickets were about to expire, so I took the night off and went to movies with my coworker. I'm not really one for war movies (Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, etc.), but I actually really liked Blood Diamond.

No spoilers, but just a few post-movie thoughts:

• Okay, the ending was rather predictable, but that's okay; it was a good ending, and the one I would've chosen for this film.
  
• The movie was focused on the storyline, and didn't stray off too much to preach about politics and conflicts. Yay! "Just enough truth" to provide a realistic setting.
  
• ...But the brutality and goriness weren't any easier to watch. (What, I'm just not very good with savageness.)
  
• Leonardo DiCaprio is quite good in this movie. He does a fantastic African accent when meeting with the colonel near the beginning of the film. Physically he's filled in a bit, in the face and torso, losing the chubby look he was sporting a few years back. So he looks more mature now, instead of the young pretty boy he was before (Titanic, Man in the Iron Mask).

The movie was quite heavy. I guess I personally was opting for the lighter Night at the Museum, but I'm glad I watched this one; I really enjoyed it.

Although, I don't know that the movie will dissuade many people from buying their sparkly engagement rings....

Skin Art, Part 2

Alright, here's a survey: if you were to get a tattoo, what would you ink? and where?

Dead as a doornail

While out to lunch with my brother and his girlfriend this weekend, a comment about yellowing fingernails (because they can't breathe under nail polish/lacquer) spawned a discussion about whether nails are alive.

B: Nails are dead!
M: No, they aren't; they grow.
B: They're dead; that's why you don't feel anything when you cut them.
M: You don't feel anything because there aren't any nerves.
M: Mine are alive.
B: Well, mine aren't.

Skin Art

As if I weren't lacking sleep already, I got hooked on a new (to me) tv show this week.

Miami Ink is in much the style of American Chopper, about a group of 4 tattoo artists. Each episode shows various customers who come into their Miami shop during the week with their requests and ideas.

As expected, many of the tattoos have a personal significance, and it's interesting to hear their stories and the artist's design. Each artist has a specialty, be it portraits, or Japanese style tattoos, and the results are really quite impressive. Very fascinating.

Some of the tattoos I've seen:

• A father, whose 2-year-old daughter has Tay-Sachs disease, got her portrait done on his chest.
  
• A model got a mermaid across the lower back, in memory of her sailor father (who passed away when she was 21).
  
• Two brothers got a Polish eagle together (one on the calf, one on the shoulder) to symbolise their heritage.
  
• A breast cancer survivor had an Alphonse Mucha work done on her arm to celebrate her victory.
  
• Well-known chopper builder Billy Lane (often on The Great Biker Build-Off)! got the traditional "Mom" tattoo on the back of his hand. Now when she sees it, she'll be torn between his tribute to her... and her dislike for the ink.

We get see what goes around in the shop, the tattoo artists' distinct personalities, the team dynamics, and some insight into each of their personal lives.

Great show, but airs after midnight in Taiwan, Tuesday through Saturday.... I am SO so tired.

Drive often?

I must say, I am rather surprised at how many poor drivers there are in Taiwan. I expect that bad traffic conditions would actually hone your driving skills, but that's not what I observe here.

It's amazing how many drivers don't know their own cars. I'm not talking about people who drive once a month, borrowing their parents' car. I'm referring to people who drive every day, some commuting over half an hour to/from work.

The actual driving part is already bad enough, but in comparison, the parking skills - horRENdous. Especially parallel parking. Even with the help of rear bumper radar sensors! One might argue that spaces are smaller in Taiwan, but the starting position and approach angle are wrong altogether. And I've seen equally unimpressive attempts at parallel parking with ample working space.

Sometimes it makes me want to pull the driver out from behind the wheel and park the car myself. Unfortunately, courtesy forces me to suppress my impatience and groan silently to myself. ("Groan silently" - oxymoron?)

Partridge in a Pear Tree

Jeepers, I'm losing it. Literally. I have become noticeably absent-minded lately.

In the past month, I've managed to lose:
- main set of house keys,
- mailbox key,
- my friend's mailbox key,
- backup house keys,
- 1GB SD card and reader,
- 256MB USB key,
- my glasses case and contact lenses (that were inside),
- another set of house keys. (I kid you not.)

WTF. All that's missing now is the partridge.

Anyway, I had to get my landlord to let me in at 8:00 in the morning before I dashed up to Taipei, and upon finding that my keys weren't in my room, I had to bolt to K's to grab the set I'd left with him.

You can bet that on my way to the bus stop, I stopped and had 2 sets of keys cut.

[ Editor's note: And then 2 weeks later, I cut 4 more keys, hid them at work, in my scooter, around my building. I am so NOT getting locked out of my place again. Oh, and turns out I'd left the glasses case and contact lenses at B's place in Taipei. ]