tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5436843324436016922024-03-22T06:48:27.898+08:00Taiwan and BeyondLeahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18378734910662016246noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-84777604265113299232012-02-13T05:15:00.002+08:002012-02-13T05:15:35.515+08:00Follow me on <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/blog/leahquinn">Tumblr</a>!Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18378734910662016246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-61425172629102904132012-01-13T03:38:00.002+08:002012-01-13T03:38:17.239+08:00Groupon UK: Doh!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoBzVVyRbQe23BbxF1JR6yP0RMSJv2Ip-439cwRG491OEMylVlGttrK8B6uBySYQ1iSf_oTUXnz42B68fww54Ah0giByK4xrBcTAhbi-cjSNCRhlp4T7Yw-_8NYAyl23303EpJqnAFMPQ/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoBzVVyRbQe23BbxF1JR6yP0RMSJv2Ip-439cwRG491OEMylVlGttrK8B6uBySYQ1iSf_oTUXnz42B68fww54Ah0giByK4xrBcTAhbi-cjSNCRhlp4T7Yw-_8NYAyl23303EpJqnAFMPQ/s200/photo.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd432/leahfquinn/2b7e7644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd432/leahfquinn/2b7e7644.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Meh new hair do'<br />
<br />
I love Groupon! Who doesn't? I bought my first UK Groupon for a haircut last October and it has taken until last week for me to get in gear and use it.<br />
First things first: when using a Groupon you must present it at the time of use. Well, that was my first mistake. We don't have a printer at home, so I went to the library to print out my Groupon along with a bunch of other documents. About a quarter of the way into my walk to the Salon I had a "DOH" moment; I printed out everything BUT the Groupon! How am I going to get a free haircut!? I can't pay for it! Paying full price for most things makes me want to cringe. I figured I could ask the Salon to use their computer to pull up the Groupon. Problem solved!<br />
"Oh no, we don't have internet", says the bottle blond behind the desk. Ok...what to do. I was early for my appointment anyway, so I thought I'd walk around the neighborhood to find an internet cafe- no such luck. There were a ton of letting agencies on the same street, so i channeled all my <a href="http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/">Amazing Race</a> confidence, took a deep breath and walked inside what I thought was the most promising of the agencies. "Hi, I have a strange request, can I use your computer to print out my Groupon"? "Sorry, but our internet is actually down at the moment", says the guy beside me. Shoot! The young girl behind the desk spoke up, "I think my computer is working, come and try it". Awsome! I was able to get my print out and was still on time for my appointment. I kid you not when I say that I was thinking, "what would I do if I was on the Amazing Race?" I know that some people don't even think twice about just asking for something, but not me. I'm shy. I didn't even like going into a new Sunday school class with my older brother when visiting my grandparent's church. My brother and I were shy enough that my dad would have to walk Chad and I into the class.<br />
From now on I will channel my Amazing Race spirit when I need to be ballsy.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18378734910662016246noreply@blogger.com5Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK53.801279 -1.54856753.726258 -1.7064955 53.8763 -1.3906385tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-85560458204541223222011-09-23T01:04:00.002+08:002011-09-23T01:04:53.954+08:00Another year, another city<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs1q4cCm3tIX5E8dzqE5USZmModyBRo4_ijLQYiGh1Xq_yDAMuBF_KCw6VViOJg0lNqgDpw51AEXBy_QYZeMRBTNE1QdDnM-pOcOe362VQrQnaDTbNLRIxKiMlvLynSNw-bt429Fn94l5l/s1600/_DSC9128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs1q4cCm3tIX5E8dzqE5USZmModyBRo4_ijLQYiGh1Xq_yDAMuBF_KCw6VViOJg0lNqgDpw51AEXBy_QYZeMRBTNE1QdDnM-pOcOe362VQrQnaDTbNLRIxKiMlvLynSNw-bt429Fn94l5l/s320/_DSC9128.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Since our almost 4 years of marriage (wow, really!) we have lived in numerous cities and countries.<br />
Year 1, 2008-2009<br />
Hyattsville, Maryland<br />
<br />
Year 2, 2009-2010<br />
Brookland, Washington, DC<br />
<br />
Year 3. 2010-2011<br />
Hsinchu, Taiwan<br />
<br />
Year 4, 2011-2012<br />
Armley, Leeds, England<br />
<br />
<br />
...and year 5 is to be determined since we only plan to be in England for the duration of Steve's studies-- about 1 year or so.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
This has been an exciting year so far and an experience I'll never forget. I've learned and am learning so much...but more on that later. I've just been thinking of where we've been since I'll be celebrating another birthday, in another country, in another city. Here's to 28. Be good to me. Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18378734910662016246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-9710210697891224962011-09-23T00:35:00.001+08:002011-09-23T17:08:00.027+08:00"He's got a dirty nappy!"This is the beginning of a story where I wish Dexter was not my dog. He was a complete embarrassment. This video is right before we left to go outside.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/fjCZGEWzukU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
Dexter and I were hanging out in the living room, me surfing the Internet, faithful pup standing at the window watching all the activity on the street below. He was getting really excited and wanted to go outside (it was about time for a "pee run" anyway). Off we go down the two flights of stairs to the little green patch of grass beside the parking lot. A little boy (7 y/o?) and some other children were hanging out the window playing around and they soon started shouting to Dexter and asking me questions. Dexter does his thing while the little boy steps out the door. He calls to Dexter and Dex immediately changes direction and runs full speed towards the boy who's holding some white mystery ball in his hand. I start to walk over to try to keep this kid from being knocked over, but Dexter is all over the boy and jumps and snatches the white balled-up mystery from his hand. "He's got a dirty nappy!", runny-nose boy says. Oh. No....No! No! No! Nooooooo! Little boy, "I'll catch him!". Right. Good luck with that, kid. They run in circles for a bit till all the humans are fed up and walk away. "Hey! Wait! Don't forget me guys!" Dexter wants to come with us and drops the dirty nappy. Ewe. All the kids are leaving and I am the one left to pick up all the mess, luckily I had a bag for doo-doo...just didn't think it'd be baby doo. Disgusting Dexter.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18378734910662016246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-85488427222469428672011-06-23T22:21:00.006+08:002011-09-20T19:37:10.045+08:00Le sigh** this is an ancient post that's been sitting in the drafts folder since about June- eep! Thought I'd post it and then follow with more recent happenings, since life has changed dramatically since June.<br />
<br />
Ok...so I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that I am a terrible blogger. Not only do I not have sponsers like all the cool blogs, I don't even post once a month! Sorry, I suck. Let's get you updated on Taiwan life, shall we.Back in Feburary I was longing for the warmth of summer, and man is it here! It's hot, hot, hot and I feel like I live in a layer of slick sweat. Poor Dexter is just plain miserable most of the time, but he is still his silly, happy self. What has been a saving grace so far is the pool in the basement of our apt. building. I wish I could take Dexter to the pool and just throw him in, but Steve doesn't think we should sneak him down. I mean, why not! Dogs in Taiwan go everywhere: the grocery store, restaurants, 7-11, and the movie theater (no, I'm not kidding)!<br />
Last Monday was the beginning of Wimbledon and that makes me pretty happy. I love tennis, and although I play terribly I love to watch it. Of course I'm rooting for the Williams' sister and am hoping the Andy Roddick will keep it together. I'm over Federer, he's great and all, but let someone new into the final.<br />
What else...Work is still the same. I get through the days and the weeks go pretty fast. Not much happening on that front. I hope to be around more on this blog. I want to remember our time here in Taiwan. <br />
<br />
**yes, the picture is sideways, guess people don't need to edit things on iPads. Enjoy Dexter contemplating life--sideways. <div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX4PiLWLR25giNS_Mt-pNShqy5Sed-f2wN_b9dg-Ga3oZxVMPr97NVentN6ir8B_6e4MSeSll6k5-72FkZV-ZtZjFN_ofgINV8s2oRQij3KMSOB2Ya1JrbRviX8dnw5vnUYk6boP-RKyu4/s640/blogger-image-1383981565.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX4PiLWLR25giNS_Mt-pNShqy5Sed-f2wN_b9dg-Ga3oZxVMPr97NVentN6ir8B_6e4MSeSll6k5-72FkZV-ZtZjFN_ofgINV8s2oRQij3KMSOB2Ya1JrbRviX8dnw5vnUYk6boP-RKyu4/s640/blogger-image-1383981565.jpg" /></a></div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18378734910662016246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-8623757971137054252010-12-09T11:15:00.003+08:002011-01-16T19:05:27.356+08:00<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;">Well, sitting here in my cold apartment, with the dog snoozing in the chair next to me<br />and Leah off tutoring, I thought this would be a finally put an update up. School has<br />come to an end and work is pretty much done until after Chinese New Years, </span>so I have that odd feeling that I have SOMETHING I need to be doing...but I don't.<br /><br />I didn't realize it had been so long since we had written an update. So many things have happened. We have only been here for 4 and 5 months, respectively, but it feels like so much longer. We have had so many obstacles to overcome, and they seem to come one after the other. I don't think we understood what "culture shock" really was, and at times, when my frustrations boil over, I still don't chalk it up to culture shock. It's an often prayer of mine that I don't lump together all Taiwanese together when I get frustrated with things here, but it is usually what I do anyway. Culture shock invades every aspect of life, and I will expound a bit deeper as I try to sum up our life since our last post.<div><br />Taiwan has been playing some serious havoc on our immune systems. I spent most of November sick, and two of those weeks in bed. After a week with the flu, which I never-ever get, I spent a week struggling through school only to wake up on a Sunday with the worst sore throat I have ever had. This then turned into the worst sinus infection I have ever had. And I am a man who has had a rather storied history with sinus infections. They are like some dirty tramp that comes through town each year between Fall and Winter, sneaks into my widow at night, steals my innocence, and leaves me with her dirty sickness. But, it seems the Taiwanese tramp has been around the block a few more times, because this sinus infection knocked me on my ass for a week straight. It took another 2 weeks for me to completely get rid of it. (I wrote this part earlier, and since I have gotten two more really bad sinus infections),</div><div><br /></div><div>So, being as I was sick for almost 3 weeks straight with two distinct sets of symptoms, I decided to head the doctor to rule out the SARS or the Yellow Fever or a strange Asian cockroach hadn't laid eggs in my head. The doctor office is quite different here. You are usually in the office with several other patients at the same time, unless you need something super personal attended to. So as I sat in the chair, with several local standing around me, the doctor asks the usual questions about my symptoms; sore throat, hurts to breathe, chest congestion, nasal congestion. He nods, and pull out two 8 inch wooden sticks with swabs at the end. He dips them in some orange antiseptic and makes a motion as if he is going to shove them up my nose. I back up into the chair as far as I can, and make a protesting notion with my hands. The doc just looks at me and says "It'll be OK" and crams both stick up my nose. Involuntarily I took a couple half hearted swings at him, and instantly had tears streaming down my face. This was to the boisterous delight of the locals standing around me. For 3 minutes, I had these sticks 8 inches up my nose, scrapping the front of my brain as my eyes involuntarily streamed with tears. The nurse gave me a box of tissues with a look that said "I can get you a skirt and training bra, too". <br /><br />So, culture shock is not what I expected it to be at all. I guess I'm not quite sure what I thought it would be, but my constant frustrations never point me to the fact that I am in a very very different culture. I always lose my temper in traffic. I cannot get over the disregard for personal space. I have a bad habit of tearing down Taiwanese for what seems to be silly cultural actions; wearing masks, the giant fake glasses, short shorts with nylons, hypocritical trash issues (the lady downstairs will ream you for failing to separate your trash correctly, but every receipt you get is literally a book), their shyness, and most of all, their intrinsic, unstoppable need to "save face" (mianzi, look it up). This last part permeates EVERYTHING, such as getting an answer at work as to how a project should proceed (if no one answers you, no one answers you wrong) or getting a 500 word email from a classmate telling you to "eat your own shit" for pointing out flaws in their presentation.<br /><br />This last point leads me to my next bit of news. We have decided that we will limit our Taiwan experience to 1 year, and move to the next year to finish school. It was a tough decision, but MCU is just not an institution I wish to be my future on. Besides the above mentioned problem, which manifested itself in other ways, like students refusing to speak or participate in group discussions or seminars, leaving 4 or 5 of us to carry every class (this did get slightly better towards the end), major plagiarism issues not being adequately addressed, a really skewed grading system, and a few teachers who just refused to teach because they "hate lecturing", I just really questioned where my degree would lead me. I can't say it was all bad, I had a couple professors that were very engaged, and a few classmates I learned a lot from; but in general the whole system was paralyzed by a fear of failure. So, we will either be at The U of Leeds in Leeds, England or The U of Edinburgh in Edinburgh, Scotland next year. For the time being, we are going to work our butts off, study Mandarin, and, hopefully, move to a beach town for our last month before we leave. I have plans of a grand vacation leading to the UK, and I really want to take a long trip through China and make a handful of stops in the US. We shall see, though.<br /><br />We finally made it to Taipei for a night of fun. We saw the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial, which is one of the more stunning things I have seen here (front gate):<br /><img alt="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/8/11215092_2e85a753e6.jpg" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/8/11215092_2e85a753e6.jpg" /><br /><br />After words we saw a trio of old school hip-hop DJ's at a small club. Good stuff. I have been listening to nothing but J-Dilla beats since then:<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/seYxVBIsycE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/seYxVBIsycE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />Hopefully we won't be so stingy with our updating in the future. Much love from the Far East.<br /><br /><br /></div>Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-16932314587683606382010-12-06T21:41:00.009+08:002010-12-06T22:00:52.856+08:00Pics for now (Scooter trip and Jhubei Night Market) New Update Soon!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc87jt0UG02bnLypygatNZ1zALW97zRuUBQ-J0z53naYuiEM4jElqhw2DkqO3PuOo6lcJswjBa3mxSQHFjdhrR8uf4aSkBFRBF7hAXsNJdjkCsLdfwU90Fr_4RbgaRDgLFsCWX-nbPoUmr/s1600/jhubeinNM.jpg"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmzcYREOuG4nfGcrDljol2hmv-qi_rUx3jRo_H8VqEHU1LpF2V3GM5ZNPMdIsheidbyV3Wx4qvQ0WLNj7g4pKbrYklzQ-jGGS5dLyDZbm5ofW0qNhBE5GYXcijLo8yny5ePMo2LVAKV29/s1600/jhubeinNM_5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirmzcYREOuG4nfGcrDljol2hmv-qi_rUx3jRo_H8VqEHU1LpF2V3GM5ZNPMdIsheidbyV3Wx4qvQ0WLNj7g4pKbrYklzQ-jGGS5dLyDZbm5ofW0qNhBE5GYXcijLo8yny5ePMo2LVAKV29/s320/jhubeinNM_5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547568399255913106" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_inigqLl56IoxDbxGip7i6dPZXjYVVCgPVj_1OT9Vme1-OZU4HWoL0znmzEPl6C0bMQVAyEnaNmYQKsGcHMCsc4aac0NRD5T5JtBn0sLg2C4Z-r5tx5H8w6BRy3Rliq2NtRZMQjPUJE9/s1600/jhubeinNM_4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha_inigqLl56IoxDbxGip7i6dPZXjYVVCgPVj_1OT9Vme1-OZU4HWoL0znmzEPl6C0bMQVAyEnaNmYQKsGcHMCsc4aac0NRD5T5JtBn0sLg2C4Z-r5tx5H8w6BRy3Rliq2NtRZMQjPUJE9/s320/jhubeinNM_4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547568392463788178" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOR1mb3gJO1YjnMs10nisR9YcFChpFjplnus8qMv_UUp9NE1ONgf8nMbXk3tdjNgXO7CeHhYAlffGIy3GV_lMVGwTfN6__6TyST9VOKJsJXPwON0e9n5fACa7oOyXL5F6XX7S9iq85QmVx/s1600/jhubeinNM_3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOR1mb3gJO1YjnMs10nisR9YcFChpFjplnus8qMv_UUp9NE1ONgf8nMbXk3tdjNgXO7CeHhYAlffGIy3GV_lMVGwTfN6__6TyST9VOKJsJXPwON0e9n5fACa7oOyXL5F6XX7S9iq85QmVx/s320/jhubeinNM_3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547568380690910002" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35oU_Cs16xNT7wh0Y4fWiwMnGQvOwWdOLmKQs-0mxBnBT82oVSSFMlUxR-idVqPTTIeMxjPAoeefK2Q8I8w6zRcGzNxO09zHgoXADILmCaMo8HDaJTFlNKWOiAX9AYWBJPUbxwzO3RQ2D/s1600/jhubeinNM_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35oU_Cs16xNT7wh0Y4fWiwMnGQvOwWdOLmKQs-0mxBnBT82oVSSFMlUxR-idVqPTTIeMxjPAoeefK2Q8I8w6zRcGzNxO09zHgoXADILmCaMo8HDaJTFlNKWOiAX9AYWBJPUbxwzO3RQ2D/s320/jhubeinNM_2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547567912454933634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuNCjBIY9VxcPC9k7EoEVJr5uSRasKOZCQmY4v-pHcwpSc49fW87Rb-f2fgzgo0MuJ98XwZ1vfDIfeRAR03tl4QFLoT8yhOiog-GdYHVW6U8oc9y5_DJaa_eWHyZqHrr944pIovVdRPgm/s1600/jhubeinNM_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvuNCjBIY9VxcPC9k7EoEVJr5uSRasKOZCQmY4v-pHcwpSc49fW87Rb-f2fgzgo0MuJ98XwZ1vfDIfeRAR03tl4QFLoT8yhOiog-GdYHVW6U8oc9y5_DJaa_eWHyZqHrr944pIovVdRPgm/s320/jhubeinNM_1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547567902708167282" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTijPBPAJas-eEE9vwdY-566FIz61i_90FjgIWn0ZM2TuI_Fzgr7xlbSzqKTcld4MNuhigG6Qff-XNDqEmZo-FW_VL9TUZe_IrYCqtTdFX_vf9TXves5Kgnm-LbIBvCxBg5EtK3NwMTkNU/s1600/11_28_10_33.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTijPBPAJas-eEE9vwdY-566FIz61i_90FjgIWn0ZM2TuI_Fzgr7xlbSzqKTcld4MNuhigG6Qff-XNDqEmZo-FW_VL9TUZe_IrYCqtTdFX_vf9TXves5Kgnm-LbIBvCxBg5EtK3NwMTkNU/s320/11_28_10_33.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547567888522346642" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJT0upjvQWXbZ9dcdTFvwDIUYZfr1lcMAxT042z5-KLV3qDoRc2wyWHeB_p2BVo1aXoGRzoHLMcp6ici2xiU4P4NaTWTchcN6JLjwqD5tY8RzkxXhbxc4pShHnzxbdSYXIlvmIEVSvMK-/s1600/11_28_10_32.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJT0upjvQWXbZ9dcdTFvwDIUYZfr1lcMAxT042z5-KLV3qDoRc2wyWHeB_p2BVo1aXoGRzoHLMcp6ici2xiU4P4NaTWTchcN6JLjwqD5tY8RzkxXhbxc4pShHnzxbdSYXIlvmIEVSvMK-/s320/11_28_10_32.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547567887442823794" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzAk4Ra-iQvkfS53txK_PmNbryD4ziShQIY8vxNhZnEFvX22dsDhP_soidn3V1mtf6mwo_h1Zr1LJ7FTc0c6lw5OsFGc_RgzAtyHlpIYYCljnuOuuBrrpIRNdaVUccxM0rpX9auA8NJqA/s1600/11_28_10_31.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzAk4Ra-iQvkfS53txK_PmNbryD4ziShQIY8vxNhZnEFvX22dsDhP_soidn3V1mtf6mwo_h1Zr1LJ7FTc0c6lw5OsFGc_RgzAtyHlpIYYCljnuOuuBrrpIRNdaVUccxM0rpX9auA8NJqA/s320/11_28_10_31.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547567876478465330" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4GijIV9WU_d4vRA4pmevp2mal6ac3JnHtqj6h_igtBaNw8Z1p0AzlthSr6DJIGmnmwqlp6EWASzTS9Bi7m-kDmmKlYpP5QZxjxdkwnlZWaq1DlgEm86lJWy2RWbPnHvew18zPI8qHio-i/s1600/11_28_10_30.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4GijIV9WU_d4vRA4pmevp2mal6ac3JnHtqj6h_igtBaNw8Z1p0AzlthSr6DJIGmnmwqlp6EWASzTS9Bi7m-kDmmKlYpP5QZxjxdkwnlZWaq1DlgEm86lJWy2RWbPnHvew18zPI8qHio-i/s320/11_28_10_30.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547567276361510754" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJupbWY1qociyqlP9nC79E4-8nE8GM247p7xYUXeC4cxpmcPqxQ760H8Jt_Vdr7FEP-kIEwSoJigmoh7izLvy8e-AhyphenhyphenNPZojD8lskIh11Kue1yWyrWUzkMhU-Iy3qFYiIveU90N3Sq4oxd/s1600/11_28_10_29.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJupbWY1qociyqlP9nC79E4-8nE8GM247p7xYUXeC4cxpmcPqxQ760H8Jt_Vdr7FEP-kIEwSoJigmoh7izLvy8e-AhyphenhyphenNPZojD8lskIh11Kue1yWyrWUzkMhU-Iy3qFYiIveU90N3Sq4oxd/s320/11_28_10_29.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547567265922728770" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXXLHSZ5yXvw7Tv7h2rWYKqUgHfZ069zf_FzmLEfGiXbzfkxwICvcYBZqllW5cX0yaJrLcg9iFl2z7RWcF6x42pI3UepHq4v3QTtlA6aUBGVeoHCkFBwxMF56MLWAhQPHp5xNYXei_hbw/s1600/11_28_10_28.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXXLHSZ5yXvw7Tv7h2rWYKqUgHfZ069zf_FzmLEfGiXbzfkxwICvcYBZqllW5cX0yaJrLcg9iFl2z7RWcF6x42pI3UepHq4v3QTtlA6aUBGVeoHCkFBwxMF56MLWAhQPHp5xNYXei_hbw/s320/11_28_10_28.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547567250436859682" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiR0suq-Zsaz5fzTVOn8c2abrjzQIxtV3nIZrJCPe1ctThc72nt0osAO_WJk5p-QLVJkHrKdqS7qyfhZfmfLJYKFL0WmAChA2m6t7SH6UW092NhmEuTDoVH1tXJDmMSXwfXB2ywM3_UXZx/s1600/11_28_10_26.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiR0suq-Zsaz5fzTVOn8c2abrjzQIxtV3nIZrJCPe1ctThc72nt0osAO_WJk5p-QLVJkHrKdqS7qyfhZfmfLJYKFL0WmAChA2m6t7SH6UW092NhmEuTDoVH1tXJDmMSXwfXB2ywM3_UXZx/s320/11_28_10_26.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547567245614473826" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfUribSfkFYe2roACU6fw1r6wsTAJNKG4LgwthcF1i-a480jBBPrPqAaXpKo8riOopAcwOONvPf4PyXm0Ut_K7rPbVzEiyg5fwfIaRi19VAN6DgbAWuRnrDlGu0IGGT8qA6ByNG2QdRle/s1600/11_28_10_27.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfUribSfkFYe2roACU6fw1r6wsTAJNKG4LgwthcF1i-a480jBBPrPqAaXpKo8riOopAcwOONvPf4PyXm0Ut_K7rPbVzEiyg5fwfIaRi19VAN6DgbAWuRnrDlGu0IGGT8qA6ByNG2QdRle/s320/11_28_10_27.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547567237486641698" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIcCl3_XTzLzRUnm6MWqH3eJjQYIbbxaes3inRj52uiVEdsCIJp6nf9andmOCoBLNnqfLNYCo_KiI5ZPNNkW6bzhHeMKUYYOPX5YLXr-hewr7vN6Yjv-mqrhXVgUlkFlMzlIsN3gV4PWf/s1600/11_28_10_25.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIcCl3_XTzLzRUnm6MWqH3eJjQYIbbxaes3inRj52uiVEdsCIJp6nf9andmOCoBLNnqfLNYCo_KiI5ZPNNkW6bzhHeMKUYYOPX5YLXr-hewr7vN6Yjv-mqrhXVgUlkFlMzlIsN3gV4PWf/s320/11_28_10_25.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547566794249349202" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jNBVhEsrpy_qfuluBtYmC-87zUTSUgUu-g40HGknFv1HrMbYvtDSowP4voCADwRXeoog_218HIiqpa8Wkq3tjKbIncoJKfeGofwduyHcb1e0V85zB5H3P3ejT6xUhg_9mrqF45EvQU3J/s1600/11_28_10_24.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_jNBVhEsrpy_qfuluBtYmC-87zUTSUgUu-g40HGknFv1HrMbYvtDSowP4voCADwRXeoog_218HIiqpa8Wkq3tjKbIncoJKfeGofwduyHcb1e0V85zB5H3P3ejT6xUhg_9mrqF45EvQU3J/s320/11_28_10_24.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547566777019689474" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYn8qeI5l_H5Qfg0glXzr05XEj2g-m_YlV9LXkER6O_l8PTh2feA68qZUH_fSJEg83t5dO6kh14QiW5LbU3L4AeByNS1oCjPiWbZCFfFVJxF7elbKepOOAbMav0_1P6lXyZaykEr9NIE47/s1600/11_28_10_23.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYn8qeI5l_H5Qfg0glXzr05XEj2g-m_YlV9LXkER6O_l8PTh2feA68qZUH_fSJEg83t5dO6kh14QiW5LbU3L4AeByNS1oCjPiWbZCFfFVJxF7elbKepOOAbMav0_1P6lXyZaykEr9NIE47/s320/11_28_10_23.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547566770626202850" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjl9PrQFCJKRZsxIXdk2rBpj909lH1KPE0G6zy5xyARk4Or_E83r_8LjsLHONwPZMyd0931ZflgmeeIU8RTiA6Xg6Ci7R5sJUjj55M5rR942gAZRYeIEUgzEcGXFCqeHOxKYL88rWsIMM/s1600/11_28_10_22.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWjl9PrQFCJKRZsxIXdk2rBpj909lH1KPE0G6zy5xyARk4Or_E83r_8LjsLHONwPZMyd0931ZflgmeeIU8RTiA6Xg6Ci7R5sJUjj55M5rR942gAZRYeIEUgzEcGXFCqeHOxKYL88rWsIMM/s320/11_28_10_22.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547566761815744498" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiSZQdIYkwMV5WGQJIyOKrm1kF2LkF1_7qgcQuutANio7yqHYtnxQfyWKgPvaDrb-2J9_ZPXAtNo8Ad2ov-iHJ4kojpVrxblQmZf_eszQXMITIlJNgtB6VSqX6U8EhAUDJFE4ULoTBKtlt/s1600/11_28_10_21.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiSZQdIYkwMV5WGQJIyOKrm1kF2LkF1_7qgcQuutANio7yqHYtnxQfyWKgPvaDrb-2J9_ZPXAtNo8Ad2ov-iHJ4kojpVrxblQmZf_eszQXMITIlJNgtB6VSqX6U8EhAUDJFE4ULoTBKtlt/s320/11_28_10_21.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547566751496199330" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNgZ8PYHZ4M0PRhlXE17IPQi1UUsGWmn7qk29IIpJDbHstKg9idqJ17_223qjVC1m2zJqRtxfX0Jxdg8VMKMx-IjWYxFNsV8egDHL46rE9a0FQNLt3w2l9urAY3-jiyq5zfSHoi2YjRQL/s1600/11_28_10_20.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirNgZ8PYHZ4M0PRhlXE17IPQi1UUsGWmn7qk29IIpJDbHstKg9idqJ17_223qjVC1m2zJqRtxfX0Jxdg8VMKMx-IjWYxFNsV8egDHL46rE9a0FQNLt3w2l9urAY3-jiyq5zfSHoi2YjRQL/s320/11_28_10_20.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547566113708296514" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCrKw3RkqWkTvEKny1M3PdkbXWgU9ox7P_g1RorXm2QIw9D7RvcV_3EGLMsMelu58Jr-nCEyS8Xqd9Qxp1LTT-dUr3HGp0kOprfpCfSWjn12yA7RVm9tL7xiwHsKvZImjEH0FPdSdXEJu/s1600/11_28_10_19.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCrKw3RkqWkTvEKny1M3PdkbXWgU9ox7P_g1RorXm2QIw9D7RvcV_3EGLMsMelu58Jr-nCEyS8Xqd9Qxp1LTT-dUr3HGp0kOprfpCfSWjn12yA7RVm9tL7xiwHsKvZImjEH0FPdSdXEJu/s320/11_28_10_19.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547566102492672162" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4pXw0L-Voj_CgfGcHTPvmKQGAR98WcriRSjYgt1JkXqhBH7N5jumG-bo2hQ4tipcwuqN6QYSva15tS1X0Uaa2q5BvjuiLO1sJRzKSiCP-23nbw1NRR-dPSM1oL1ST4SUAqYh_JL_9p7Zq/s1600/11_28_10_18.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4pXw0L-Voj_CgfGcHTPvmKQGAR98WcriRSjYgt1JkXqhBH7N5jumG-bo2hQ4tipcwuqN6QYSva15tS1X0Uaa2q5BvjuiLO1sJRzKSiCP-23nbw1NRR-dPSM1oL1ST4SUAqYh_JL_9p7Zq/s320/11_28_10_18.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547566086257765554" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA3Cw7tadMj7trb71oSDRONhofoGu8VKjFlaoBxhj9T0MHdnco5tJQn741M1caxVdHz6GkCumsvW8QHFB8EozQzbUG_eb-9cMagHjjPgmUlwZR4ad5y4YPOMQS4bJgl_iXEISemoZnSwqp/s1600/11_28_10_17.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA3Cw7tadMj7trb71oSDRONhofoGu8VKjFlaoBxhj9T0MHdnco5tJQn741M1caxVdHz6GkCumsvW8QHFB8EozQzbUG_eb-9cMagHjjPgmUlwZR4ad5y4YPOMQS4bJgl_iXEISemoZnSwqp/s320/11_28_10_17.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547566068409078242" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpC2JdXL62xDlk-JOlUvBNcjr7ds0QZL23vxN5xK3_VxBicLr_vfjO0K9u463GmrWQX16Si7uWtTo3SGn02n9ODBFdLirNVLPlc6ZXvCxb3z2M7YdaZTQCswcrNVN8SuHEecG9s6Ja88IB/s1600/11_28_10_16.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpC2JdXL62xDlk-JOlUvBNcjr7ds0QZL23vxN5xK3_VxBicLr_vfjO0K9u463GmrWQX16Si7uWtTo3SGn02n9ODBFdLirNVLPlc6ZXvCxb3z2M7YdaZTQCswcrNVN8SuHEecG9s6Ja88IB/s320/11_28_10_16.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547566060687438322" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2-0rp9zDZ9exT7R3d-PC5_pwWdoT5EHf24FWL9tFrs0LMzntWghLhR3RLnGe7oGS8hMhS13I-75T-_eW2eSy938E4qT62-UIHUPr0lFEpzQTPUqCSjadqu7gwgrHx_8_iAAQ7wO8nNnS/s1600/11_28_10_15.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv2-0rp9zDZ9exT7R3d-PC5_pwWdoT5EHf24FWL9tFrs0LMzntWghLhR3RLnGe7oGS8hMhS13I-75T-_eW2eSy938E4qT62-UIHUPr0lFEpzQTPUqCSjadqu7gwgrHx_8_iAAQ7wO8nNnS/s320/11_28_10_15.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547565617696496674" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiua36pMoH3B-Pw58kC0-nA7rRTRsIaQaJZoo9C1Li3saloM_nUm_-St0yo5B7y7PlZF8oC9TB3fF90wdCyKO7Pj0u7T5ETCdMa-85he4TkVMzTBOrI_J1vYOWtt9O9LkFqaGB1CauaXTtX/s1600/11_28_10_14.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiua36pMoH3B-Pw58kC0-nA7rRTRsIaQaJZoo9C1Li3saloM_nUm_-St0yo5B7y7PlZF8oC9TB3fF90wdCyKO7Pj0u7T5ETCdMa-85he4TkVMzTBOrI_J1vYOWtt9O9LkFqaGB1CauaXTtX/s320/11_28_10_14.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547565595190959154" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjat5vKy1hSZyBgSDJkh8iqTQkfpcKMUYyyOI3Up-I9vqVWiq76XdY0hm2IN2MPJVDBOclvSISiPvAN7V4boPVo5z-QCQChX1_lZi9L2vBzj8Tt31RSeXUzo2IkkPYc_YTvO3FG9MxtcJI7/s1600/11_28_10_13.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjat5vKy1hSZyBgSDJkh8iqTQkfpcKMUYyyOI3Up-I9vqVWiq76XdY0hm2IN2MPJVDBOclvSISiPvAN7V4boPVo5z-QCQChX1_lZi9L2vBzj8Tt31RSeXUzo2IkkPYc_YTvO3FG9MxtcJI7/s320/11_28_10_13.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547565594093433842" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMdyH_jlDmQ8neomGjBSVdcRa3N9Ze9ct3piH7fhk6gr4O0mkG-OcQN8CU-vcjrkR9Q-ugnSX5bIb2bO26NjkJs0MrAoiYR3_cASDfn3qGzV4RHuRvvOWtWQ2H44qGNfTJgabWDyBqVg5/s1600/11_28_10_12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMdyH_jlDmQ8neomGjBSVdcRa3N9Ze9ct3piH7fhk6gr4O0mkG-OcQN8CU-vcjrkR9Q-ugnSX5bIb2bO26NjkJs0MrAoiYR3_cASDfn3qGzV4RHuRvvOWtWQ2H44qGNfTJgabWDyBqVg5/s320/11_28_10_12.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547565584679371922" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRLTxj7_3q6Q5FtNEGl6mawahDVYT1ZrcQp2oZRzuY9r7HHLGSA03H81fYuox9uULOBysHjifs6fAP9chTrZ2zVZ90QqPnYS9DNYxwvA9DxRx8X7Bsni6MthqcIeB4QOoecAi31s4tZAV/s1600/11_28_10_11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoRLTxj7_3q6Q5FtNEGl6mawahDVYT1ZrcQp2oZRzuY9r7HHLGSA03H81fYuox9uULOBysHjifs6fAP9chTrZ2zVZ90QqPnYS9DNYxwvA9DxRx8X7Bsni6MthqcIeB4QOoecAi31s4tZAV/s320/11_28_10_11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547565576699560402" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3xhYXtiULw5FGFZBhKyVQDEAu4N2VWwScj_kQ3Wn19bTOSIoqT7Xsut_RxuwmpbVt5szb28PGR8wniQy0sWSd8uhi6Dmw-tAKFchvmHS3HMauqfZnanbPjz9OmLkuFfn5QhMjevBZUZI/s1600/11_28_10_10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3xhYXtiULw5FGFZBhKyVQDEAu4N2VWwScj_kQ3Wn19bTOSIoqT7Xsut_RxuwmpbVt5szb28PGR8wniQy0sWSd8uhi6Dmw-tAKFchvmHS3HMauqfZnanbPjz9OmLkuFfn5QhMjevBZUZI/s320/11_28_10_10.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547565101228016098" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HrlYgzkbKk8CFY0ni5Vgb9QgRlc4lQqz8HWBlPG-55pvueKq5iVNPn6DvFRHOlOg-XpgmW6B0RKPkiGTW9JmA_3mZAcdT1yxIo0AnH9SvNfx-4XQ00rk4_fO2tTnkzKMuaEQRzsTc-j9/s1600/11_28_10_9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_HrlYgzkbKk8CFY0ni5Vgb9QgRlc4lQqz8HWBlPG-55pvueKq5iVNPn6DvFRHOlOg-XpgmW6B0RKPkiGTW9JmA_3mZAcdT1yxIo0AnH9SvNfx-4XQ00rk4_fO2tTnkzKMuaEQRzsTc-j9/s320/11_28_10_9.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547565094855591106" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXObHrVfXtNNdRBS9B4n2nqJT-SGAAMIKTe9pO_OlHMKWPgG2RQBtNi8V8nCVUiYwkFF1zKI2Qs7sYg0UZ11aDL6kQs_vdXiDjIVJOW83eNDmo0CQ63jRNxNVzyNYTy0wCqUUJnuaVCRL/s1600/11_28_10_8.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUXObHrVfXtNNdRBS9B4n2nqJT-SGAAMIKTe9pO_OlHMKWPgG2RQBtNi8V8nCVUiYwkFF1zKI2Qs7sYg0UZ11aDL6kQs_vdXiDjIVJOW83eNDmo0CQ63jRNxNVzyNYTy0wCqUUJnuaVCRL/s320/11_28_10_8.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547565085365694050" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxN9DSHcxxyDVvaN9AiJ4zdyfxTCUtg2jdErjceejrdcJiHGbsaoaLYBo-KuQ9aNDLsBOCwInqZhyphenhyphen6LSTcsKUQ05hjkG5fpsh85qfiJqSrzaswVypz7TOMJVHid5VrBQTrdxofN6WesTBi/s1600/11_28_10_7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxN9DSHcxxyDVvaN9AiJ4zdyfxTCUtg2jdErjceejrdcJiHGbsaoaLYBo-KuQ9aNDLsBOCwInqZhyphenhyphen6LSTcsKUQ05hjkG5fpsh85qfiJqSrzaswVypz7TOMJVHid5VrBQTrdxofN6WesTBi/s320/11_28_10_7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547565078315325090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwmMGTMRP3ezCj3KMhqC0nKmEFWtsk8wK97d8yPhKpWWdaiBut2lrStMtN2PxWpvDX6KajLPEv8dNGx_IVimF7KVq9Ed1VSHhZYAZ1vW1NtsaYOIxCBnNdbqt59qihUrGV3-dcPgjEG4Ux/s1600/11_28_10_6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwmMGTMRP3ezCj3KMhqC0nKmEFWtsk8wK97d8yPhKpWWdaiBut2lrStMtN2PxWpvDX6KajLPEv8dNGx_IVimF7KVq9Ed1VSHhZYAZ1vW1NtsaYOIxCBnNdbqt59qihUrGV3-dcPgjEG4Ux/s320/11_28_10_6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547565068037274898" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9_BWmhslb20yAlj4T7AfbMcViBgAcqy2gRg1-RfqQArBMlqP7tCtG2qyUqDDwpUAnw57392wIAINQhJ5EnMQQlnHlnie-WIyjO3OEgxW93QF9vxwsUf2Nl8_6pPu9a3NlKNX4IyfcM0J/s1600/11_28_10_5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9_BWmhslb20yAlj4T7AfbMcViBgAcqy2gRg1-RfqQArBMlqP7tCtG2qyUqDDwpUAnw57392wIAINQhJ5EnMQQlnHlnie-WIyjO3OEgxW93QF9vxwsUf2Nl8_6pPu9a3NlKNX4IyfcM0J/s320/11_28_10_5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547564602587244498" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio6Tj6tCIia6rgDdVH0muQ7wuih8oxrBhHId1Id-uGgMYKYvApyZv7bREdonVRw0pR4ltcVzMtaVh3_YDNnr_q33OxoQ7sD81Cgp7Ozh9bMLCfDzKoiMd8ncDGkakC_pE-UzQHPfNflsBd/s1600/11_28_10_4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio6Tj6tCIia6rgDdVH0muQ7wuih8oxrBhHId1Id-uGgMYKYvApyZv7bREdonVRw0pR4ltcVzMtaVh3_YDNnr_q33OxoQ7sD81Cgp7Ozh9bMLCfDzKoiMd8ncDGkakC_pE-UzQHPfNflsBd/s320/11_28_10_4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547564594705777346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKdY3mxNoWQ9rbQba_ajqS6CFXGZJl0Njp0_WqerpzXQYfF9mcRwYl2uaUhiLjKDrd3rY0gvc-byXR3lDWkrdL4VUj6_3PiolXzrtTwV5WiSXu6nAJXGEKqcHy3QEfSTabenjEbBsu389b/s1600/11_28_10_3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKdY3mxNoWQ9rbQba_ajqS6CFXGZJl0Njp0_WqerpzXQYfF9mcRwYl2uaUhiLjKDrd3rY0gvc-byXR3lDWkrdL4VUj6_3PiolXzrtTwV5WiSXu6nAJXGEKqcHy3QEfSTabenjEbBsu389b/s320/11_28_10_3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547564582310926434" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEww6YJztJ3D4Qu1meGjPvI08jZWe2TmDierTCktJuCKUjJgZBiXRKCXjJdFdPssOBIAEfJVbdwkovpwwEkTG3-OxPTS0k_mCH5z2969S46_thLjn5nULtQJwc_GnqtpGMWlS4OzToIwl/s1600/11_28_10_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEww6YJztJ3D4Qu1meGjPvI08jZWe2TmDierTCktJuCKUjJgZBiXRKCXjJdFdPssOBIAEfJVbdwkovpwwEkTG3-OxPTS0k_mCH5z2969S46_thLjn5nULtQJwc_GnqtpGMWlS4OzToIwl/s320/11_28_10_2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547564572852462450" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-zI_y4ueI77sWY-XNSbzZhM7xpciOBq2iTckvoDPjGdkfomT2f-0nbbIqT5D6x72W4LLb7YFkBIUsIDxBonqFoTkn-tEUA8Dp769KRal4MPFPSTaosiVosd1ecUZYhMC5pmRgh4b4l6Ij/s1600/11_28_10_1.jpg"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-zI_y4ueI77sWY-XNSbzZhM7xpciOBq2iTckvoDPjGdkfomT2f-0nbbIqT5D6x72W4LLb7YFkBIUsIDxBonqFoTkn-tEUA8Dp769KRal4MPFPSTaosiVosd1ecUZYhMC5pmRgh4b4l6Ij/s320/11_28_10_1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547564563709051842" /></a><div><br /></div>Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-18548360643597198222010-10-22T14:53:00.006+08:002010-10-22T15:48:38.855+08:00I am yours, You are mineThe wind is howling in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Hsinchu</span>. It has been for about a week. 50 kph wind gusts burst through our windows, making the drapes fly around and causing the doors to spontaneously slam shut (at 3 am sometimes). A typhoon "the size of western Europe" tore through the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Philippines</span>, and has lingered about in the South China Sea for the last couple days. And while it has made life hard for some, it has made <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Hsinchu</span> rather enjoyable, aside from all the rain. I enjoyed my day off by drinking tea and coffee and lying in bed, reading about internships and enjoying the breeze whipping through the house and the weird <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">pre</span>/post-storm light coming through the windows (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">STL</span> people will understand this).<br />I'm still fighting it here. I haven't resigned to the fact that the culture is different here and that I should just assimilate and learn something new. I seem to be on this one man mission to Americanize everything here so I feel more comfortable. A lot of little things bother me. Here is an example:<br />We are required to have printer cards at school. You pay 100 NT and get a card to print out papers and copy things, etc. I have been having this problem where I keep accumulating cards with 15-20 NT on them, and they are useless, because all the papers I need to print out are bigger than 20 NT will buy me. I bring this up to the librarian, and in true Taiwanese fashion, she calls a small meeting of a handful of people to discuss how to fix the situation. She returns to me, looking very satisfied, and says "You need to buy a new one". I explain to her that my problem is that I am wasting 20 NT for every card. So a girl leads me to the printer room, looks at the computers, and then at the printers, and says "You need to buy a new one". I am starting to figure out that this is the only English they can say to me. Which irritates me even more. Not that I expect Taiwan to be filled with English speakers, but that in an international college that is vying for the precious American <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">accreditation</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">NO ONE</span> speaks English in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">administration</span>, the library, or anywhere else (aside from our department secretary).<br />So I threw a small <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">hissy</span>-fit, told them I didn't want a new card, and stormed out. As I made it into my building and toward the elevator, the giggling Taiwanese girls in the elevator did another very Taiwanese thing; they started pressing the close button when they saw me coming toward them. As I have mentioned before, the Taiwanese do everything possible to avoid awkward situations, and riding in a elevator with a foreigner definitely qualifies as awkward. I made it to the door with enough time to shove my arms in and rip the elevator open. I am assuming I looked like some crazed, bald, American Hulk or something, cause when I did this, all the girls cowered into the corner of the elevator like scarred little puppies. They remained silent and huddled close until we made it to the 5<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">th</span> floor.<br />On a happier note, I feel like I can understand a very small, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">minuscule</span> amount of Mandarin, enough to catch a word here and there on the street and get excited cause I know what it means, or to order coffee AND hand them the correct amount of money. School is going really well and I feel like I finally have the endurance I have been looking for. It's really going to be up to me to challenge myself in grad school here. I could get by quite easily by doing the bare minimum. There is a lot of "suggested assignments" that I could skip and not be penalized for, grade wise. But, I want to make sure I am fully prepared to do my thesis next year and for my job when I graduate, so I have to push myself which is not always easy. It feels a little bit <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">like</span> extended undergrad here, which is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">disappointing</span>. I was really looking forward to being academically challenged. The possibility is still there, its just not compulsory.<br />We are finding more places to eat, which is awesome. Leah and I went to "The Mosquito" with some friends last weekend, and we dined on cold beef, ostrich (which was awesome), birthday shrimp, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">gambei'd</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">a lot</span> beers. The table next to us was celebrating a birthday, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">and</span> decided to buy us a large amount of beer. I took one of the bottles (they are like 600ml) over to the table later on to share with them, and it turned into "drunk guy" telling me to tell his wife she was "bullshit!" for agreeing with George Bush. He repeated this a lot, and when I would look at her, she would just shrug. Then I would try to pour a round for the table, and it <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">would</span> end up just being me and this guy, and him telling me that Bush "OK and not OK, but all the time OK? Bullshit!". Eventually I just stood up and said "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Ok</span>....Happy Birthday!" and walked away. It was at this time that drunk guy decided I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">looked</span> like Charles Barkley, and for the rest of the night, I heard "Ba-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">ka</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">ree</span>!". I tried to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">explain</span> to him that Charles Barkley was black, but that just made him say a lot of things in Chinese and then say "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Ok</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">BaKaree</span>!". This guy was a jackass. Eventually all the women apologized as they helped him and his friends out.<br />So I have had these songs in my head that remind me of 2003 when I was at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">MSU</span>. That was a time of such magnitude that I cannot fully explain it here. But, this song has been in my head all day now, so I will close out with its video. Zia <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Jian</span>!<br /><br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/t1WGF5sA-3c?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/t1WGF5sA-3c?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-36913578394556365552010-10-10T21:08:00.004+08:002010-10-10T21:28:13.852+08:00Service at it's finest- or addiction at it's worst.Today I walked into McDonald's for my soda fix. Bottled soda here taste funky- It's missing that bubbly-crack goodness), so I gave up drinking it. I am slightly ashamed to say the Diet Coke is my thing- BUT it's not my fault! I used to work for a family that had Diet Cok stocked in the fridge all the time, so I drank it with food to disguise the taste, then I began to drink it cause it taste good- and that's when the addiction began.<br />ANYWAY, back to McDonald's. It's literally right next to our building (which doesn't help my problem), and I walked in and waited in line. One of the workers waved me over to an empty register and I walked over and tried to say what I wanted in Chinese. "Nihao!" Large Kul La, Please. She smiles and points to the Coke Zero in her hand that she had already poured for me.<br /><br />Now American McDonald's, you can learn from this girl.<br /><br />The End.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18378734910662016246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-58209488173811255662010-09-26T13:41:00.000+08:002010-09-26T14:00:34.560+08:00American Things = $$$Today we went to Dunkin Donuts for some birthday coffee and donuts. Mmm! We are saving money til pay-day so we haven't been able to buy a coffee pot and other non-essentials. So this was my birthday splurge.<br />Dunkin is in the mall where there is a good size grocery store in the basement with lots of American goods. We walked around to see what we could find: a 30$ muffin tin, a box of cheerios for 9$, a jar of peanuts for 9$, Tostitos for 6$ and method laundry detergent for 13$ and a bag of shredded cheese for 6$. So every now and then we'll be making a trip to the American grocery store for a carton of Hagen Daaz ice cream that cost 10 bucks, and we're talking a small carton.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18378734910662016246noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-60035258170518597632010-09-24T19:43:00.000+08:002010-09-26T20:04:23.124+08:00Y tu Hsinchu?I think I often forget that Leah and I take on challenges that people often steer clear of...as if at the beginning I am prepared for the difficulties that lie ahead, but once I get going, I forget, and act all surprised when thing get difficult and irritating. I mean, its the reason most people don't move across the world to live in a different culture. I felt like this when I first moved to D.C. I said so many times "I hate this #$%^&* city!", and then I eventually fell in love with it. <br /><br />Well, Hsinchu has proven to have its difficulties and obstacles, and I think they get the best of me sometimes. Example 1: Asian people stare. It's just not an impolite thing to do here. So when the foreigner gets on the train, it's totally acceptable to stare at him for like 4 minutes straight, even if he meets your stare back. It's not the American stare but don't stare, and then look away if you get caught. It's unabashed gawking. I had this guy at the grocery store stare at me and turn in a full circle as I walked by. Then I stopped and stared straight back at him...nothing. Just kept looking at me, like I was a giant bald leprechaun or something. So, I raised my arms in frustration and let out a "WHAT????"...still nothing. After a few curse words, he finally looked away. I am not proud that my frustrations got the best of me. I guess I can just start going around saying Ni hao to every on who stares...but, alas I am human.<br /><br />I got pulled over yesterday. In typical fashion, I got the treatment that "no one gets" and it "surprises everyone". Usually cops are rather helpful to foreigners, and for the most part they just wave you on once they see that you are not Taiwanese. Well, it seems that Billy Badass was on duty yesterday, and he was having none of my turning left on a green light. That's right, I turned left on a green light. You can drive down the wrong side of the road, you bust U turns everywhere, you drive like a complete maniac with 4 children crammed onto a scooter, but you CANNOT turn left on green if you are on a scooter. Fine, whatever, but dude took 40 minutes to write my ticket. He just kept looking at me and screaming in Chinese. When I would tell him, with increasing impatience, granted, that I did not speak Chinese, he would scoff and start yelling some more. Then he'd get out his cell phone, which apparently had 10,000 numbers, cause he would just start scrolling down..beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep for 5 minutes, call someone, look at me, walk around, look at the ticket, scroll, call, repeat. Anytime I'd ask what going on, he'd scoff and turn his back to me. The other cop wrote tickets for 8 people in the time I waited. I finally got my ticket and got to work just in time. I had my boss read the ticket, and it turns out it pretty much a warning. for some reason that made even more mad, and I was a very unpleasant teacher for my first 20 minutes. It didn't help that my student are catatonic in this class, probably due to the fact that they are in school for 10 hours before they get to me. I get a lot of confused stares and refusals to speak. They're good kids though.<br /><br />In more hilarious news, I met the crazy old guy at the RT Mart. He is awesome. And annoying. And crazy. He is apparently an old teacher from some university around here. According to him I am "Superman" "The most handsome boy ever" "The wealthiest person ever" and Leah is "The Female Jesus" and "like a beautiful baby Asian girl". He then told us how to say thank you in 50 different languages. When we finally politely pulled ourselves away, we realized we forgot some essentials for typhoon preparations (wine and ice cream), so I ran back in. Crazy guy saw me, and started running towards me yelling "Handsome boy! Handsome boy!". I waved and ducked back into the store as quickly as I could.<br /><br />Well, back to reading, which I am totally slacking on to write this post. I am lacking the endurance to read this much so far...hopefully it develops soon.Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-82047414517522715152010-09-15T23:29:00.000+08:002010-09-16T00:26:10.434+08:00Train Ride<span style="font-family: times new roman;">So, I found this small book I wrote for a project I did in 2009 where I rode the subway and wrote a poem during every stop of the Blue Line in DC. I re-read them tonight, and I thought "I should share this with the masses". I wrote these all in about a minute or two. I still find them humorous. I decided to choose a topic beforehand, so I could write quickly and not be stuck thinking too much. Be forewarned; there is a lot of cursing.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Farragut West</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Turkey, I roast you in my oven. </span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I eat you with potatoes and some fucking corn.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I make gravy of your juice.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">McPherson Sq.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Get in my mouth hamburger</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Your so delicately mashed</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">So I can taste your fat and blood</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Metro Center</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Green Beans are for fags, as my Mother would say</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">So I chop them small, so I still feel straight when I eat them</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Federal Triangle</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Pizza. </span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">All communists praise the embalmed corpse of Lenin. </span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">And eat pizza. </span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">But commies use goat cheese. </span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Not mozzarella. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Smithsonian</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">C'mon, eat my taco, you silly bitch.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Put hot sauce on that shit.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Lettuce, cheese, fuck yeah.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">L'Efant Plaza</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I went to France, once.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">In my dreams.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I had powdered cakes and watered down wine.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Then and only then was I able to see the French, as before, they were invisible.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Federal Center SW</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Oh, cheese, you vile mistress.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I will conquer the Mongols for you.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">They are begging for it anyway.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Capitol South</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I put NyQuil in my orange juice in the morning so I can live my dreams during work.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Occasionally I drool on the keyboards, but they are shit, anyway.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Eastern Market</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Squash, Rhubarb, Cabbage.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">These are all things a rich man carries in his knapsack while crossing the great deserts of Arabia.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Potomac Ave.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Little fishes, you have no central nervous system.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Which makes stabbing you with my trident all the less meaningful.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Lie to me, fishes, and scream in pain.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">You are delicious fried and dipped in tar-tar sauce.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Stadium Armory</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Nachos.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Nachos make a man...a man.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Melted cheese.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Boys cannot handle jalapenos until their balls have dropped and grown large.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Benning Road</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Splattered green, flat and explosions on my plate.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Peas...I have vanquished you!!!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Addison Road</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Oh, yes, flower up you uppity bloom of cauliflower.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Nourish my body...Great!</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I am SO fucking thankful for your vitamins. Hooray.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">You snide vegetable, you posh little plant.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Feel good about yourself. </span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Feel good about stealing jobs from broccoli.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Capitol Heights</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">What wonders lie stuck to the sides of my old repulsive microwave?</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">What stories could be told by burnt spaghetti sauce and old Ramen Noodles?</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Those few who made the escape, only to perish in the radiated hell of my kitchen appliance.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Morgan Blvd.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Oh, worthless corn.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">You do nothing for me.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Our affair was brief.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">But you knew it, and so did I.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Now get out.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">There is cab fare on the breakfast nook.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">LARGO</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Little bits of food, I floss you from your temporary home.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I spit you in my drain.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">My gums bleed in grief, but are quickly sanitized with Target brand mouthwash and a stern talking to.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Largo (Return)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">What magic box can cook my bread so perfectly, to make it so warm that the butter melt immediately?</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Toaster, what the fuck would I do without you?</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Ignore those who say "Use a broiler".</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Broilers are bullshit.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Morgan Blvd (Return)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Refrigerator, you squeaky, clunky, metal, old moldy box. </span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Keep my ice cream frozen and my Kool-Aid cold, and keep your mouth shut.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Addison Blvd (Return)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I put my stick of butter in you, butter dish.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Hold those melted juices.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Firm them up in the cold, cold refrigerator.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Capitol Heights</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Stir, pour, on, off, on, off, on...done.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Blender of breakfast, grind up though naughty strawberries.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Benning Road (Return)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">My dull knife.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Cut, cut, cut, cut, fuck, cut, cut, cut, fuck, fuck, cut, shit! shit, damnit! fuck, cut, cut.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Stadium Armory (Return)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">How the neighbors will bow when they behold my mighty dishwasher! </span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">8 cycles, and it warms dishes.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Those peasants will beg to wash their dishes in my kitchen, but I will scoff at them.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Scoff, I say!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Potomac Ave</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Linoleum</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">lino</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">noleu</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">oleum</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">leumli</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">eumli</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">yumlino</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Muelonil</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"> inole</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"> noleum</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"> ole</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"> leumli</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"> eum</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"> um</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"> mue</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Capitol South (Return)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Where art thou, magical machines?</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Of which dreams, and sliders and 1 chop coleslaws are made?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">L'Efant Plaza (Return)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Heated to a mushy texture, your steamy insides scald my mouth!</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Your grade D meat churns the acids of my stomach.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">But I am drunk, and Hot Pockets are delicious when I am drunk.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: times new roman;">Smithsonian (Return)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Given as a wedding gift, you are worthless to me, salad bowl.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">You are giant and wooden.</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I cannot eat that much salad.</span>Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-40901544675555698812010-09-13T11:21:00.000+08:002010-09-13T11:34:06.523+08:00Stir Crazy!I've been in Taiwan almost 2 weeks and still haven't started teaching, which was OK till now. Steve started school today and I'm on my own till he gets back. It would also be nice to be making that money. So my day will be filled with cleaning and settling in to our new place and watching episode after episode of "True Blood".<br />We also joined a "tennis club". I would describe the court as playing on kitty litter. So maybe I'll go play tennis to get my body moving. I still haven't been able to find Bikram yoga, my favorite way to exercise, but there are many other kinds of yoga here to try.Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18378734910662016246noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-27075712342555241122010-09-12T22:12:00.001+08:002010-09-12T22:18:33.661+08:00Pics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczTMLP4IhSa3rFXaW4JEYjCNsxjhyphenhyphenKzZccDQYlW06L0ZrMdBqsTCYRQU5CSH8iVksm9Zr83s2CYUdAbjRbB91wBACCYE_EiAUgjEjg0HlSJOLNVL4nYlj_Npw2yVu1wkqcWvOPT9iTCrM/s1600/Hakka+market_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgczTMLP4IhSa3rFXaW4JEYjCNsxjhyphenhyphenKzZccDQYlW06L0ZrMdBqsTCYRQU5CSH8iVksm9Zr83s2CYUdAbjRbB91wBACCYE_EiAUgjEjg0HlSJOLNVL4nYlj_Npw2yVu1wkqcWvOPT9iTCrM/s320/Hakka+market_2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516031109192265266" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLUFBlUlOLVA8LcfPUBlZhCJJFbL3BNASH6EmsGFKEQ-GKQUHmrEc_zFndGbtCUJLMJsVotviStjvm3YGyabBAFzr50BkoT8xZ85NE7kIj3UNFIfO_1YHzPyC43xWQKDme6lQ_wKz_xqc/s1600/Hakka+market.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLUFBlUlOLVA8LcfPUBlZhCJJFbL3BNASH6EmsGFKEQ-GKQUHmrEc_zFndGbtCUJLMJsVotviStjvm3YGyabBAFzr50BkoT8xZ85NE7kIj3UNFIfO_1YHzPyC43xWQKDme6lQ_wKz_xqc/s320/Hakka+market.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516030990255945410" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyAmzj5RYkyvglQPzQAy39XGNKupprW5OHEgWoxYHR_1jmwbp7Ir-9-V57P6V_jdpgD2VO1qHWRoZ87teCu36U0-HN7gwOGfkfI3nMZfJOuivZ4x88LAnh0NyzfXdc5JPirrsQpM45gN7E/s1600/Leah_helmet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyAmzj5RYkyvglQPzQAy39XGNKupprW5OHEgWoxYHR_1jmwbp7Ir-9-V57P6V_jdpgD2VO1qHWRoZ87teCu36U0-HN7gwOGfkfI3nMZfJOuivZ4x88LAnh0NyzfXdc5JPirrsQpM45gN7E/s320/Leah_helmet.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516030853213815506" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9W5VreqQ1dmd4OwyrLHoOZbnnaLVNnaMk32BWpzQFTGfyYQ6a50cAc_bweMRgyJu2rcVP6scWrAFKe_BrOhvzUpXHobMWLY77B4A4qzFaZ0jSOd3Xtk6yc5FabOdAeVCpyikhh_ks-2j/s1600/RainbowDragon.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo9W5VreqQ1dmd4OwyrLHoOZbnnaLVNnaMk32BWpzQFTGfyYQ6a50cAc_bweMRgyJu2rcVP6scWrAFKe_BrOhvzUpXHobMWLY77B4A4qzFaZ0jSOd3Xtk6yc5FabOdAeVCpyikhh_ks-2j/s320/RainbowDragon.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516030737962692530" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiROGl2HuGlvLobdhVmV0EQOVQQXujIgKYcAUyi7t9gMbaQD6ojv6pcJjI7YkFC2CvcQNqXSJm92F_YX-1XBJMIxsZwvOAqpnoar2YU3H_l_zGdKJZUcB719J9Wa-tXOc3eZHQ6dLC-aGiQ/s1600/Mountains7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiROGl2HuGlvLobdhVmV0EQOVQQXujIgKYcAUyi7t9gMbaQD6ojv6pcJjI7YkFC2CvcQNqXSJm92F_YX-1XBJMIxsZwvOAqpnoar2YU3H_l_zGdKJZUcB719J9Wa-tXOc3eZHQ6dLC-aGiQ/s320/Mountains7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516030593595191394" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqnCV93NKUN4V3Fvl9rNCvrme26OHW2NTLyYW_rJ5BpTmFDn1WGDUgBFNlwbqAvtY9pZDcl1AOk1ZbZ6OKVNX6IL4dkwacC6X40cIszL9qriuKaMgDLC1so34G1QfiTEeodMvtl2Tk8yQ/s1600/Mountains6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqnCV93NKUN4V3Fvl9rNCvrme26OHW2NTLyYW_rJ5BpTmFDn1WGDUgBFNlwbqAvtY9pZDcl1AOk1ZbZ6OKVNX6IL4dkwacC6X40cIszL9qriuKaMgDLC1so34G1QfiTEeodMvtl2Tk8yQ/s320/Mountains6.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516030488879186402" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyxct6N4j_cMi6O4pUlyCPsD3_aVC2WSo-6Vv0ZM5YoruVQxZzYUlIcD2cbp1oUY5IgF3ea8khj12oFttya_5noU6dEfyhFIGk9uTaFzCGUO_I3zpwVd3mLFMlfAlLb5KuRNUpm4Zco0vo/s1600/Mountains5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyxct6N4j_cMi6O4pUlyCPsD3_aVC2WSo-6Vv0ZM5YoruVQxZzYUlIcD2cbp1oUY5IgF3ea8khj12oFttya_5noU6dEfyhFIGk9uTaFzCGUO_I3zpwVd3mLFMlfAlLb5KuRNUpm4Zco0vo/s320/Mountains5.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516030338682887250" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiME_wKjwRvdLYSkPouNJ9eOYKaycm5MQhAu8yRgq8yTCvaO50NVZrrerqVgXToWYnbAB_epOAoVdiKUIHeo8K9GWet1h9O-NkmLUohDgLT8v4UiLkIwrur7ZkTtrn8SUnAg7Aq9ljXkiLi/s1600/Mountains4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiME_wKjwRvdLYSkPouNJ9eOYKaycm5MQhAu8yRgq8yTCvaO50NVZrrerqVgXToWYnbAB_epOAoVdiKUIHeo8K9GWet1h9O-NkmLUohDgLT8v4UiLkIwrur7ZkTtrn8SUnAg7Aq9ljXkiLi/s320/Mountains4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516030217361838754" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVI1BHiHlLpnbk87iUtl2vSPIkx0YDe7nvJwAmbwU2ebBMI2j_kZl9MtxhMsE13uDWeeZY5Y3EuHe-0u3CSF6u3V-yqRJMiS87zny95elA39QWLOA1bqqAFw5Zmu3fXWPkAd6wYpXvvx6s/s1600/Mountains3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVI1BHiHlLpnbk87iUtl2vSPIkx0YDe7nvJwAmbwU2ebBMI2j_kZl9MtxhMsE13uDWeeZY5Y3EuHe-0u3CSF6u3V-yqRJMiS87zny95elA39QWLOA1bqqAFw5Zmu3fXWPkAd6wYpXvvx6s/s320/Mountains3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516030060222493378" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOsWCLX9rzx5TspDOiIg773rBE4aq17ZTqDa-x242kvVPHtCtW1LaCzfGUgLpyN7Q59k5Zl3z5cEGk_N-KuVTwaBz530YawLe4lp1F4MyZVsVl6IYh6euKZwSkpeBn13cJO6xnb11oUXo/s1600/Mountains2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOsWCLX9rzx5TspDOiIg773rBE4aq17ZTqDa-x242kvVPHtCtW1LaCzfGUgLpyN7Q59k5Zl3z5cEGk_N-KuVTwaBz530YawLe4lp1F4MyZVsVl6IYh6euKZwSkpeBn13cJO6xnb11oUXo/s320/Mountains2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516029895902602178" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusBmsSA780pdbHPwTD-b8odLyoAMa3FwEWv5wPXjqgF-l135_3zTPFh3yAsjAEhI9hH39L0-06aDME8I6v2lrLMPzzEjDcJpgBDgPG_d7RVUBP74UIpU_2MMpw84pnBGoe8zwoZbAMpt8/s1600/Mountains1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusBmsSA780pdbHPwTD-b8odLyoAMa3FwEWv5wPXjqgF-l135_3zTPFh3yAsjAEhI9hH39L0-06aDME8I6v2lrLMPzzEjDcJpgBDgPG_d7RVUBP74UIpU_2MMpw84pnBGoe8zwoZbAMpt8/s320/Mountains1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516029784998945410" /></a>Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-21687915437025447762010-09-12T20:25:00.000+08:002010-09-12T22:24:27.181+08:00Pour One Out For One's (Troll) Homies<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0BmOFwHgoHG0-dy4ymF4pMHYG-Mw8XbzPz36Do8aHq3U4VLxPQOGIqTcyZ6FgpGyC1GCPqkzOM4njc9fAfd7q-8EZou1pyJ72a6nQdru-DGyvT9F-OfKOKwMw1VRq4Q1w5naZ4Y94w_i/s1600/Troll.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0BmOFwHgoHG0-dy4ymF4pMHYG-Mw8XbzPz36Do8aHq3U4VLxPQOGIqTcyZ6FgpGyC1GCPqkzOM4njc9fAfd7q-8EZou1pyJ72a6nQdru-DGyvT9F-OfKOKwMw1VRq4Q1w5naZ4Y94w_i/s320/Troll.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516006083184633698" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Tomorrow marks the beginning of my stint as a "professional student", and I must say, its a bit surreal. Being in a foreign country not-withstanding, the idea that I would get a Master's degree one day is still a bit hard to believe. It is really a testament to how much the Lord has changed my heart and focused my energy, and a tribute to how much my beautiful wife has sacrificed for us and how much she has loved and encouraged me. So, now begins long days of commuting, learning Chinese, writing papers, eating sporadically, early morning workouts (blarg), and reading, reading, and more reading.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There is a lot of belt tightening, rice eating and penny pinching going on these days. We only get paid once a month, and that has thrown a wrench into everything. Things will be a little rough for a month or two. While we are confident in God's ability to provide for us, it's hard not to get a bit frustrated and/or depressed and/or stressed out. We ask for your prayers for our provision in getting through these next two months. We also have the puppy's ticket to save up for...so...AH! I miss that guy a lot though, and it will be awesome to have him here. I have to teach him to ride on the scooter. All the dogs do it here. At least all the cool ones. And Dex is definitely part of the cool crowd.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Today was an awesome day. The day started off sort of disappointingly, with a visit to our first church here in Hsinchu. It was not a good fit, to say the least. There are very few English speaking reformed churches here, so to have the first one be a less-than-stellar experience was really disheartening. We are going to keep searching, and hopefully we can find something. After church we took a loooooooong scooter ride into the mountains with a few friends...in the pouring rain. Its been raining off and on for the last couple weeks, and it seems every time we plan a trip into the mountains, the skies open up. Well, today we decided, rain be damned, and we slipped on our hideous rain gear and headed up. With my driving skills still in the novice stage, driving up huge winding roads with Leah on the back in the rain pouring down proved to be a little difficult. The scenery was gorgeous! We stopped to grab food at a Hakka street market (awesome corn!) and then visited a small Buddhist shrine with a fabulous view.</div> <div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Enjoy some pics! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://leahfaithquinn.blogspot.com/2010/09/pics.html">http://leahfaithquinn.blogspot.com/2010/09/pics.html</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0BmOFwHgoHG0-dy4ymF4pMHYG-Mw8XbzPz36Do8aHq3U4VLxPQOGIqTcyZ6FgpGyC1GCPqkzOM4njc9fAfd7q-8EZou1pyJ72a6nQdru-DGyvT9F-OfKOKwMw1VRq4Q1w5naZ4Y94w_i/s1600/Troll.jpg"></a>Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-44764493774987818622010-08-29T17:15:00.000+08:002010-09-05T22:18:20.860+08:00And More<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumMlCYX7XKz5osVtHFCPjK5DijMB0KJKAHxBnIBiqk5Z-RtZhMSbvycjfOrvtra5-jEcM7_9sNejilPjoaJm_UlEtwijKIXfWstK1HwS-cTcYe6-qL-t1UdoVxfOSDa6S33WWYEvtWBGZ/s1600/HsinChuPan.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 83px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumMlCYX7XKz5osVtHFCPjK5DijMB0KJKAHxBnIBiqk5Z-RtZhMSbvycjfOrvtra5-jEcM7_9sNejilPjoaJm_UlEtwijKIXfWstK1HwS-cTcYe6-qL-t1UdoVxfOSDa6S33WWYEvtWBGZ/s320/HsinChuPan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513433569509736354" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPch_G-ggtI-mHsDQttmjziNpQZOTRw5dtn6o-_MLoG3vj15mU6KyWr822qk9VF5KQ9PnAMA087_2_1c7Cwv7Jo9oQC1V7BNF7XqD62p5hrJHHMoS50EW3dSzE0f77XLbOio04lHyDzM79/s1600/select0493.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 82px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPch_G-ggtI-mHsDQttmjziNpQZOTRw5dtn6o-_MLoG3vj15mU6KyWr822qk9VF5KQ9PnAMA087_2_1c7Cwv7Jo9oQC1V7BNF7XqD62p5hrJHHMoS50EW3dSzE0f77XLbOio04lHyDzM79/s320/select0493.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510758416030872418" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Panorama of our view from our "Greenhouse" room</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRCZ9GcsmVkhGU7DSNPScWvz4Aq7QA0e9xQ_ml4YoHmk_6n8QqzRvA88mIqPHPF7nuaOraphzzX7XO2eKmPRjwEeb_zI_baSdKjrUocjWQ0_bgFO_tlBxx8_X4SsrhINoPxDjHnaAk3Yo/s1600/select0491.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 93px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVRCZ9GcsmVkhGU7DSNPScWvz4Aq7QA0e9xQ_ml4YoHmk_6n8QqzRvA88mIqPHPF7nuaOraphzzX7XO2eKmPRjwEeb_zI_baSdKjrUocjWQ0_bgFO_tlBxx8_X4SsrhINoPxDjHnaAk3Yo/s320/select0491.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510758408172363666" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Panorama of our main room (evidence of me being real bored)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL08iCmBsyXIVuTeTtCOO3gA4OV_DuEHry5BNniAfZA2q2pg0PDAiqnONGtWh9A433_UZqqZSKl1DYAEjK0cYBlEULrPa65aXoZdLfLsMHDanMAP9YriWAfwHMJqCS1jgFatXw_kZdRyK/s1600/select0485.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL08iCmBsyXIVuTeTtCOO3gA4OV_DuEHry5BNniAfZA2q2pg0PDAiqnONGtWh9A433_UZqqZSKl1DYAEjK0cYBlEULrPa65aXoZdLfLsMHDanMAP9YriWAfwHMJqCS1jgFatXw_kZdRyK/s320/select0485.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510758393784358226" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">3rd bedroom + tiny bed for guests;)</div>Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-67581849490163779432010-08-29T17:10:00.000+08:002010-08-29T17:14:34.814+08:00More<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8a1gJ9GHrISf_t52mebLMXchtv-TKBlu7esZ8WwQpJ0h4P0iNU55CsXCIN_g5SIFbOplhL9uz3GKtbGNVPYXeSh65MF-Oscn8DiuTC-BuXrixFhUd7o7BN7uUK-TxBDfCj_0g4P5QA3w0/s1600/select0492.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 86px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8a1gJ9GHrISf_t52mebLMXchtv-TKBlu7esZ8WwQpJ0h4P0iNU55CsXCIN_g5SIFbOplhL9uz3GKtbGNVPYXeSh65MF-Oscn8DiuTC-BuXrixFhUd7o7BN7uUK-TxBDfCj_0g4P5QA3w0/s320/select0492.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510757239165070674" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Front of our Apt (Jing Guo Rd)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAX0i0hzxqpGJLRfRuK0FTKHMJSaSo7L1uvkCTBIssD_GfIoQuhPcX9ZKaujpGu3QoG4AAOb5eikuez2mwWSfzX4Qrl1yCRdcNq0J-uNrcK4rwFTvgHzhwKCJ1hjw-nnm5GQ7II5SUpiAd/s1600/select0489.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAX0i0hzxqpGJLRfRuK0FTKHMJSaSo7L1uvkCTBIssD_GfIoQuhPcX9ZKaujpGu3QoG4AAOb5eikuez2mwWSfzX4Qrl1yCRdcNq0J-uNrcK4rwFTvgHzhwKCJ1hjw-nnm5GQ7II5SUpiAd/s320/select0489.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510757234794624146" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Living room</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOWZeVodNFhUZeWEN8TzA2KOuE4DtSPY8WRh99NJHp2f7CSDi8I5CIKWiPYPFcGj6RKvgsQoUV_7rSSqiS8iss1YjCa5_bFElJjITFOhbB5XCer1Zq9eetSqX6FKdWgGLhLZvRD3qG7y2/s1600/select0479.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOWZeVodNFhUZeWEN8TzA2KOuE4DtSPY8WRh99NJHp2f7CSDi8I5CIKWiPYPFcGj6RKvgsQoUV_7rSSqiS8iss1YjCa5_bFElJjITFOhbB5XCer1Zq9eetSqX6FKdWgGLhLZvRD3qG7y2/s320/select0479.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510757226013727634" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Kitchen</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimplPPH4YesIpLVZASPG_Xbk6xhQ4oE9Lrk9VqgpFzuz0cuJPTHPibei7Y1EyJvUBxJDKOrHGbddLIsrXuzkLZIqHxkNb7zIjp1DWfL9Nel8eMDJfzotZZU5lFwq47AuKu-Tuo5asXuVGX/s1600/select0477.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimplPPH4YesIpLVZASPG_Xbk6xhQ4oE9Lrk9VqgpFzuz0cuJPTHPibei7Y1EyJvUBxJDKOrHGbddLIsrXuzkLZIqHxkNb7zIjp1DWfL9Nel8eMDJfzotZZU5lFwq47AuKu-Tuo5asXuVGX/s320/select0477.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510757213639764722" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">2nd bedroom (notice the Hello Kitty Closet..Score!)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNyb_LU5I28jKX1Mx_c57FJ_L1AM-h1Uk1oZd5x3VufORMN5Jo5TKlGc393aMkXBZZ1AmkFrL-V222Vov0N_9Mmk6FThHOq8nloOht2C5ZhJKiUJzLV4orGkDlMYLRIP4DWRv9QDVVS2Q/s1600/select0476.JPG"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "></span></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNyb_LU5I28jKX1Mx_c57FJ_L1AM-h1Uk1oZd5x3VufORMN5Jo5TKlGc393aMkXBZZ1AmkFrL-V222Vov0N_9Mmk6FThHOq8nloOht2C5ZhJKiUJzLV4orGkDlMYLRIP4DWRv9QDVVS2Q/s1600/select0476.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNyb_LU5I28jKX1Mx_c57FJ_L1AM-h1Uk1oZd5x3VufORMN5Jo5TKlGc393aMkXBZZ1AmkFrL-V222Vov0N_9Mmk6FThHOq8nloOht2C5ZhJKiUJzLV4orGkDlMYLRIP4DWRv9QDVVS2Q/s320/select0476.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510757206207105250" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNyb_LU5I28jKX1Mx_c57FJ_L1AM-h1Uk1oZd5x3VufORMN5Jo5TKlGc393aMkXBZZ1AmkFrL-V222Vov0N_9Mmk6FThHOq8nloOht2C5ZhJKiUJzLV4orGkDlMYLRIP4DWRv9QDVVS2Q/s1600/select0476.JPG">B</a>athroom</div>Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-42978586695234707902010-08-29T17:01:00.000+08:002010-08-29T17:06:52.660+08:00Pictures<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">bedroom</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8EroVG2lwCWw3ZVFe40bNR3lqo70z1S2Bk2Net29eMtqQ-DjAPpNmq4HXkxyeHCw9LxpDWuoatqaiiuJ1lMRUwshzoBj62eVjlSJrmFblIySh0_Km_sHSJz97wIeUgdXCiheV64OUJCD/s1600/select0474.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8EroVG2lwCWw3ZVFe40bNR3lqo70z1S2Bk2Net29eMtqQ-DjAPpNmq4HXkxyeHCw9LxpDWuoatqaiiuJ1lMRUwshzoBj62eVjlSJrmFblIySh0_Km_sHSJz97wIeUgdXCiheV64OUJCD/s320/select0474.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510754764739067538" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">bedroom</span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlCoQSFWma1c3T2gQqxefsvWSQO66PJWgOwbKv2Y8umIltodUU33JsB6R5y_7Ba0QZ1PZ33tKXQZFiANVvp71FzQDd_5KnXBOQsK6OnhckM5ClrCrqrxinE2cRrJmIQQEwU6zXWL-UM7n/s1600/select0473.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlCoQSFWma1c3T2gQqxefsvWSQO66PJWgOwbKv2Y8umIltodUU33JsB6R5y_7Ba0QZ1PZ33tKXQZFiANVvp71FzQDd_5KnXBOQsK6OnhckM5ClrCrqrxinE2cRrJmIQQEwU6zXWL-UM7n/s320/select0473.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510754759851584098" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Outside front</span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhusD6fGNX1L8ZFxeLxXnqsipDsFSJv3HN5Avb7N76dx6anh55LQB3CcpmUZSgYC8-kWDp4c38_JvAHagblU7VUscp2JBU8HnHBuFD9LvYJrVHCgVXrtWeHrIoUdg5PFggtvcrh27FNRojR/s1600/select0472.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhusD6fGNX1L8ZFxeLxXnqsipDsFSJv3HN5Avb7N76dx6anh55LQB3CcpmUZSgYC8-kWDp4c38_JvAHagblU7VUscp2JBU8HnHBuFD9LvYJrVHCgVXrtWeHrIoUdg5PFggtvcrh27FNRojR/s320/select0472.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510754756352192642" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Inside lobby</span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIW-MamJ1Fe_T0muX5YbWOyYc3pm7R8Y5C_W2p5qXaPDOJIxKZzSUchbTifzcCKkB-Kfp7QBMMfHIeMeB1VmL6Ljw7US1e_lvzIhwWFRGvCNjBeHfGkvblz_SZrfxdDhhenlKuTiZnEou-/s1600/select0471.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIW-MamJ1Fe_T0muX5YbWOyYc3pm7R8Y5C_W2p5qXaPDOJIxKZzSUchbTifzcCKkB-Kfp7QBMMfHIeMeB1VmL6Ljw7US1e_lvzIhwWFRGvCNjBeHfGkvblz_SZrfxdDhhenlKuTiZnEou-/s320/select0471.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510754746975748578" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Inside lobby</span></span><br /><br /><br /></div>Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-14461957257825985372010-08-28T13:28:00.000+08:002010-08-28T18:41:32.163+08:00Leah Got Her Visa! or Metallica Knows No Cultural BoundariesSo after quite the scare, Leah is on her way to Taiwan. Ahh bureaucracy...its like being forced to listen to a drunk girl sing Mylie Cyrus songs at karaoke night while watching The View on mute and having your toenails ripped out with pliers. Except, I imagine Barbara Walters is polite when she robs people of 140 dollars.<br /><br />Things here are coming along swimmingly. I found a church I am going to try out tomorrow morning (church in the morning? Weirdos.). Hopefully I can find it without getting lost. Streets are slowly starting to make sense. Does anyone know any good Lutheran jokes?<br /><br />I taught my first English class Friday night. I am quite sure they are terrified of me; and I went out of my way to try to be really outgoing and fun. There are 9 kids in my class, and they barely said a word. One of the boys started talking to his friend while they were supposed to be doing a writing exercise; all I did was look at him and raise an eyebrow, and he didn't say ANYTHING the rest of the class. Anytime his friend would say something, he would just shush him and continue working. What a difference from teaching in DC.<br /><br />In other news, this place is full of South Africans. And by "this place" I mean the two bars I have frequented the most, which both happen to be cricket/futbol bars. I actually had a conversation in which a South African tried to convince me that cricket's beauty is in it's simplicity, and baseball is too complicated to understand. Has anyone ever seen a cricket game? No. The answer is No. Because its weird. And it can take 5 DAYS to play a game. As residents of two former British colonies, we agreed to disagree, and make fun of the German guy for liking soccer.<br />Later that night, the owner of the bar came up to me and pointed to the computer, asking me to pick a song. This may have been because I was way too into "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi. So I found some old Metallica and played "Master of Puppetts". He got a big smile on his face; "Good?" I asked, "Is very good!" he replied and gave me a cheers. And we are now bonded together for life by 80's metal.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WEL6_SuQCu8?fs=1&hl=en_US"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WEL6_SuQCu8?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >I used to listen to this tape on my walkman while cutting the grass with a push mower in 8th grade</span>.<br /></div><br />I am going to try to borrow a camera, or else I'll just have to wait until Leah gets here. I am not sure why I forgot to bring it with me. Probably because of the soul-crushing stress. I am hoping Leah has now escaped the worst of it and can take a few days to relax before getting here and jumping into the fire. She starts her full time job (Hooray! Full Time Job!) 3 days after getting here. So be sure to pray for her and buy her a drink or two. Or bring her sushi. Or all of the above.<br /><br />Well, probably another night at the batting cages, trying desperately to hit 80mph pitches ( I am so rusty). But its a good work out. Its been hard to find a consistent work out routine here; found a little park to run in today, but our apartment is in a really dense area, and the air quality is awful.<br /><br />I am off to watch more Scrubs (5 seasons down since I left) and maybe nap. My sleep cycle still is a wonky.<br /><br />Interesting Things:<br /><br />Stray dogs almost always cross the street at crosswalks<br />Bad teeth are considered sexy on a girl<br />There is a pastry shop here named "Donuts". It does not sell donuts.<br />Sandwiches are often odd mixes of egg or tuna salad plus ham or turkey. They are pretty good.<br />August 24 th commenced Ghost Month. People put out food and drink as an offering to the ghosts, who have been released from hell for the month. Apparently, ghosts really like Pringles and Supua (Gatorade...kinda).Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-27204540672293307392010-08-22T23:12:00.003+08:002010-08-23T18:37:19.727+08:00Moving Forward, Settling In, Missing Home<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5sMcB1nPWd8OxxLKH9cUcgi2bBVLewOQ6A4dYV3i17lTV1wdWlUz27welIZ-0NYM7avsbtmiF7qZ7Mn_IpSkXD0S6NRqnYpVd-fAi7e9SD2OpwSca3nMfpikJjUulK0fjilpszGFY3Ez/s1600/Photo+81.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt5sMcB1nPWd8OxxLKH9cUcgi2bBVLewOQ6A4dYV3i17lTV1wdWlUz27welIZ-0NYM7avsbtmiF7qZ7Mn_IpSkXD0S6NRqnYpVd-fAi7e9SD2OpwSca3nMfpikJjUulK0fjilpszGFY3Ez/s320/Photo+81.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508552398513513970" border="0" /></a><br /><br />At the moment I am in my big, empty, apartment, alone, listening to Sufjan Stevens and laying on my sheetless bed with only a travel pillow to keep me company. As much as the people here have been super amazing, I find coming home to my own place for the 2nd night a bit lonely. Its at times like this that I really understand what it means to be bonded to someone; I miss my wife tremondously right now. Please pray for her as she is working so very hard to sell our belongings and finish paper work, as well as work extra hours on top of her normal job.<br /><br />In less self loathing news, things have really started to pick up. I moved into our new place on Saturday, bought a scooter, and have now begun to get the hang of driving in crazy Taiwan traffic; although by all accounts I am still very much a beginner. Driving is a lot of fun, though.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCxJMHdQgl4">Here is a pretty accurate example of driving a scooter in Taiwan.</a><br /><br />I will post pics of our place soon. Its pretty sweet. And Odd.<br /><br />Good day today: had some wood fired Taiwanese pizza, and it was delicious. Went out to a pretty decent music festival, had some cheap beer, heard some local jazz/funk/hiphop/aborginal dance music. Went to the Night Market. Good stuff. Lots of cheap food, trinkets, games, carnival kind of stuff, and loads of tiny little turtles for sale. I need them. All of them. Leah will be sure to like the plethera of bracelets and necklaces for 100NT ($3). I can only describe this jewelery as very 'Leah-esque".<br /><br />I am still in search of an English speaking church here. I would appreciate your prayers. The Lord has never ceased to provide for us, and I know He will not abandon us here. That said, I have to find a place where I can understand His word, lol. I may have some leads, so hopefully they turn out.<br /><br />There have been a lot of times here where I have felt my feet are floating above the ground, or my brain is swirling around inside of my head. I owe very much already to the generosity and compassion of the people I have met here so far.<br /><br />Well, the power is running out on the computer, and I am standing out on our weird porch/greenhouse thing stealing WiFi, so it's time for this boy to head to bed.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Maybe I'm strong as stone, Even though the bird has flown</span> (I heart you Allison Krause)Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-3817851880539911642010-08-17T14:59:00.000+08:002010-08-17T15:13:06.707+08:00Happy Things Today<span style="font-size:100%;">I signed the lease for the apartment today. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, lots of A/C. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">So, we will have PLENTY of room for visitors. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Landlords seem like really sweet people. Its been quite the challenge to communicate everything that needs to go in signing a lease between two people who do not speak the same language, but we managed to get everything done.<br /><br />Other awesome things:<br /><br />Kid wearing a T-shirt with a giant orange basketball on it that said "Baseball!"<br /><br />Mike's older Chinese friend wearing a G-Unit shirt.<br /><br />Sign reading : Hair Cum 200NT (hair cut)<br /><br />I can eat rice with chopsticks.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-56530722682684907252010-08-16T08:27:00.000+08:002010-08-16T09:57:07.508+08:00Formosa Infiltrated!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTiOhc7mPE9dXTgammIFYmM2X2kZzRFT_o4oS29GCE6CYLErzLH7bBmTU0LDq1rNqaW60FYv-iUIR93CoQWNo7_dImGiFlw_ADObVf3Hw2ObH40Nv-_6CqEB8vErSh3DNjTikSoQdOvFgu/s1600/Photo+72.jpg"><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vZ8IEhqIlOnq9beE1ehFsSUxNC2FUN3iMmEVT6vgh3gEgiDb_NEfbMc6bDlPhQEP1bNWtr9Yapz0bhfhMeJb2NyEeo5zTud3ffpJCono6uAxl3RAL84KaQB3FCOob08iFcP_hR31DyAf/s1600/Photo+75.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 172px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-vZ8IEhqIlOnq9beE1ehFsSUxNC2FUN3iMmEVT6vgh3gEgiDb_NEfbMc6bDlPhQEP1bNWtr9Yapz0bhfhMeJb2NyEeo5zTud3ffpJCono6uAxl3RAL84KaQB3FCOob08iFcP_hR31DyAf/s320/Photo+75.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505818991839837330" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Evil Steve Invades Taiwan!<br /></span></div><br /><br />My first few days here have been fast and furious, to say the least. The 25 hr flight consisted of several documentaries on the flora and fauna of Asia (production value via 1970), mystery meat dinners (I guessed chicken with a side of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">sashimi</span> and potato salad), Harry Potter <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">audio books</span>, reading a good chunk of The Fellowship of the Ring, blinding stomach pains, and some nice drug induced sleep (with a little help from my friends). Aside from the knots in my stomach, I arrived feeling surprisingly well.<br /><br />Here's the thing about Asia. There are Asians everywhere. Who knew? Also its hot. Real hot. Like Taiwan is a giant bathroom, and God is taking a hot shower all day. "But Steve," you say, "obviously its a tropical island and you should have expected it. Plus, it was pretty hot here in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Amrrrica</span> when you left." All I would have to say back to that is, shut your mouth. Its hotter and more <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">humiditer</span>-er than anything ever, shut your face.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrj7T35xkdZ7YguauGGFphXmz5UmwBHM8q8BwfbpPGb65PkyyEEwfY1c0BaVJM_pwBMzRdLGiqSA-qekdaiMzIN1Td2nAI-VUHXd6lDeBwrkdk0HorU8bqm_LQU2NjEz7gcGRSGeRxfqWV/s1600/Photo+72.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 185px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrj7T35xkdZ7YguauGGFphXmz5UmwBHM8q8BwfbpPGb65PkyyEEwfY1c0BaVJM_pwBMzRdLGiqSA-qekdaiMzIN1Td2nAI-VUHXd6lDeBwrkdk0HorU8bqm_LQU2NjEz7gcGRSGeRxfqWV/s200/Photo+72.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505820107765923042" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >A view from our soon-to-be apartment building<br /></span></div><br /><br /><br />Back to Asians everywhere. Taiwan is the size of Maryland and Delaware combined (or for my Mid-Western friends, exactly half of Missouri). There 28 million people here. Did I mention that only about 20% of the island is inhabitable? There are <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Westerners</span> here, but you wouldn't know it, cause when you walk around, there is much pointing and giggling and picture taking. And gift giving. They are cooking, eating, thinking about food, and you need to eat it, too. A lot of it. Seriously, here is a bowl full of it, take it with you. They have a fine niece for you to take home, who may or may not be 14 years old (Is it racist to not be able to tell ages of Asian girls well?). You have a beard; they need a picture holding a thumbs up next to it. Is that your motorcycle? Take a picture of me doing a B-Boy stance on it. In all seriousness, everyone here has been very generous and eager to help. And the food is awesome. Except those little cake things that taste like fish. That's just not right.<br /><br />Friendly tip: When you come to a new country, and you have friend(s) waiting for you, those friends and all of their friends will buy you an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">extraordinary</span> amount of alcohol. Which makes for a very, well, hazy/interesting/???? night. Jet lag + tons of free drinks= arguing the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">futbol</span> style of Holland v Spain with a complete stranger, meeting an old one-legged South African former <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">mercenary</span> who immediately tells you a story about crapping his pants the night before, breaking up to 3 of your toe nails in painful fashion, going to 7-11 for Cheetos (there is no escape from American food), and somehow hanging on the back of a scooter long enough to plop down on your bed and sweat yourself to sleep (we have no a/c ).<br /><br />I took a trip to the lower mountains on Sunday. Beautiful. Swam in some cold springs, well, waded in some cold springs, impressed the locals with my chest hair, and lost all feeling in my lower extremities from a very long ride on the back of a scooter. Taiwan is a beautiful place, and apparently I seen nothing yet.<br /><br />All in all, its been a fantastic first 5 days. Tons of great food. Meeting new friends. I am forever in debt to Mike for helping us get everything set up. Which was A LOT. Hopefully I can do the same for someone else out there interested in an Asian adventure. Good night/Good Morning for now.Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07927594309336934491noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-84494250939432054182010-08-13T10:55:00.000+08:002010-08-13T11:24:43.855+08:00We're Moving to Taiwan!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZUNeExBT3M9JeCvHZLCZ7wy0eby13hF_Yy8vl2oGK_grQ6qlpkM7ELZyL2uq4Q9PuUuQfvATha0YjQH7GKSHAl8jLtbld749l3DyYZL7sgYBMkzoqCwmk9ueJzD8r7eIsfsLTVVEBPcb7/s1600/_DSC7850.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZUNeExBT3M9JeCvHZLCZ7wy0eby13hF_Yy8vl2oGK_grQ6qlpkM7ELZyL2uq4Q9PuUuQfvATha0YjQH7GKSHAl8jLtbld749l3DyYZL7sgYBMkzoqCwmk9ueJzD8r7eIsfsLTVVEBPcb7/s400/_DSC7850.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504730175992185362" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Things have taken quite a turn. First, we thought we were off to law school. Then we thought we'd just stay in DC; now we're headed to Taiwan! <div>Steve is going to grad school to study "International Affairs", I'll study Mandarin full time. He arrived in Taiwan this evening in DC time, but 6 in the morning Taiwan time. The time change is 12 hours. </div><div>I'm still in DC taking care of things till I leave September 1st. And boy did that cute hubbers of mine leave a loooong list! I'm slowly crossing it off little by little. Needless to say, the apt is a wreck. I like to call it "organizing". Can't get clean till ya get a little dirty, eh.</div><div><br /></div><div>This picture was taken on his last day in DC. Dexter has been a bit clingy since Steven left. Let's hope it calms down. He's almost 50 pounds and really thinks he can sit in my lap. uh, no.</div>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18378734910662016246noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-80271629834889744932009-05-25T07:52:00.000+08:002009-05-25T08:06:27.700+08:00One Year and a lot to celebrate!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehuGlC5tiowGs8evyYda2UEwVd7CsOo9nBgxYd60wh7UcEmHvSpYx8iq5r92M55xrdMw0ce8Q59naSYRI0Z-XMKCgVN7UXYZQXm7GgBYsBgt0KzSvhYW6eT86XUTWar-VmtSsJwgDt0FM/s1600-h/DSC_0365.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiehuGlC5tiowGs8evyYda2UEwVd7CsOo9nBgxYd60wh7UcEmHvSpYx8iq5r92M55xrdMw0ce8Q59naSYRI0Z-XMKCgVN7UXYZQXm7GgBYsBgt0KzSvhYW6eT86XUTWar-VmtSsJwgDt0FM/s320/DSC_0365.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339544933049208786" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">It' been 1 year since we've been married and it was the best year of my life! May 17th was our anniversary and then we celebrated Steven's birthday on the 22nd and then his graduation from the Corcoran on the 23rd! It was an awesome few weeks. Tim Gunn was the speaker at his </span><span style="font-family:georgia;">graduation. Tim was a graduate from the Corcoran and had a lot of good things to say. I was skeptical at first but he did a great job. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtwSQDIz2e-6aZ5fd_zFQASqoWijuI1m24r54HRGSdATxHV_6-flRZmMUnd4dkgDc75wRAk3tvxUBbGD1hyYhD-n_IJOmvtlTLpYK7vmcpLPj7MgyhpbdpMStFt2r5HJpBbrcWoAS7GpV5/s1600-h/DSC_0286.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtwSQDIz2e-6aZ5fd_zFQASqoWijuI1m24r54HRGSdATxHV_6-flRZmMUnd4dkgDc75wRAk3tvxUBbGD1hyYhD-n_IJOmvtlTLpYK7vmcpLPj7MgyhpbdpMStFt2r5HJpBbrcWoAS7GpV5/s320/DSC_0286.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339545905312129538" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0RsHjU-LaoAzra9qQ6QZY4HFuC8BPFJ-16IADG8rU4xDNxJTIZC5CeoL4eys3i_4SxLwoTGflDwsDU-NFzY1t-uU0yAYlcQWWG67K3g5kBxBM8060CWIFeRAC89MbH57dyHspOUGCHLPk/s1600-h/DSC_0340.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0RsHjU-LaoAzra9qQ6QZY4HFuC8BPFJ-16IADG8rU4xDNxJTIZC5CeoL4eys3i_4SxLwoTGflDwsDU-NFzY1t-uU0yAYlcQWWG67K3g5kBxBM8060CWIFeRAC89MbH57dyHspOUGCHLPk/s320/DSC_0340.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339544924490554898" border="0" /></a>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18378734910662016246noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-543684332443601692.post-88338185019180336832008-03-11T15:02:00.000+08:002008-03-11T15:36:28.705+08:00here it goes...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYL7di6P13vBS0i99FyIVtzGJ0sRXOs56ns3s3sBz1aua3PxMdLhuRKWcMkLUM565uvsTGxa1chtA15B15DWSzhg1mY1Rtwr8MoEdg3m2Vz8rjhpdeUWVjK5Z7eJP-MveapRqUKtWpgT0o/s1600-h/sl.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYL7di6P13vBS0i99FyIVtzGJ0sRXOs56ns3s3sBz1aua3PxMdLhuRKWcMkLUM565uvsTGxa1chtA15B15DWSzhg1mY1Rtwr8MoEdg3m2Vz8rjhpdeUWVjK5Z7eJP-MveapRqUKtWpgT0o/s320/sl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176384634980065154" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"> This is my first blog post...so, it's a little weird to just talk about myself and everything in my life- but i guess that's the point.<br /><br />I live in Manhattan, New York. I go to the School of Visual Arts in the Gramercy Park area of Manhattan. I've lived in NYC since August 2007 and I already think it's the greatest city ever. My financé says that i'm a NYC snob already ;)-- oh yea, I'm engaged too! Steven and I are getting married this May! Planning a wedding and going to school are quite a task...esp if your fiancé lives in Washington, DC. That's where I'll be living next year. i'm pretty bad at reminding Steven about how i'm making the sacrifice to move from the greatest city in the world to DC- the not-so greatest-city-in-the-world. sigh...but he's worth it!<br /></span>Leahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18378734910662016246noreply@blogger.com0