A Week in Melbourne (Australia: Part 1)

I went to Australia for three weeks this summer... which was winter is Australia, in case you didn't know. I had a great time and saw some amazing things with some amazing people. It has taken me awhile to organize all my thoughts and photos, but finally I am ready to start adding some blogs about my wonderful vacation.

My blogs will be split up into three parts, I suspect, since my vacation was split up that way. I spent my first week in Victoria in beautiful Melbourne, my second week in New South Wales visiting vibrant Sydney, and my final week in Queensland in-and-around the gorgeous Gold Coast and the city of Brisbane.

While I was in Australia, I had a journal with me. I knew that I would want to post something about my trip, and I was worried that memories would become blurry and hazy. Every night, before bed, I tried to jot down a little something about the day and what I'd done. I have turned to those notes from my journal in order to create this blog. I hope you enjoy it!

***************

July 29^th, 2007 (Melbourne, Australia)

I arrived safely in Melbourne after a long and painless flight. I managed to sleep for part of the way, and I was greeted to an amazing sight once we were over the Australian continent: the desert seen from the air! It was awesome!! It looked like huge ripples of mud... a lake of odd colour that stretched on forever... Have you read "Only Forward" by Michael Marshall Smith?

As for my arrival in Melbourne, it was good. Hell, my luggage was with me and I didn’t even have to wait very long for it!

I got the SKYBUS into the city and they had an infomercial playing that gave me some ideas of things to do and see in Melbourne (which I wrote down). When I arrived in the city I went to the SKYBUS ticket office and asked about purchasing a copy of the video, but they said there were none available.

I took a taxi to my friend Tom Dimovsky’s house. We hit it off right away (which was good, since we’d only ever met on-line through AVENUE, the Saint Etienne fan-club mailing list). He’s very animated and talkative, as is his wife Nicki. She was out of town the first night, but when she got in the next day, she and I also got on right away.

Tom and Nicki set me up in a beautiful guest room with a four poster bed and hardwood floors. It was so large, bright, welcoming and spacious that it was a real delight after the personality-deficient cement boxes that pass for bedrooms in Taiwan.

That first night in Melbourne, Tom and I retired to his music room and listened to music all night. He even stocked his bar to accommodate me, and while he enjoyed Bacardi, I enjoyed Canadian Club.

Tom’s music room is unbelievable. It is a converted garage, and stands separate from the rest of the house. CDs line nearly two full walls of the room, and vinyl fills in the rest of those walls. Also stored around the room are posters and other musical paraphernalia. Aside from the shelves which hold the CDs and records; the only furniture in the room are 2 glass cabinets which hold rare memorabilia, a fully stocked bar with a refrigerator, a small table and lamp, and a couch that sits about 6 feet away from a stereo system, which has been arranged for optimum sound quality.

It was awesome. There really is no other way to describe it... of course, like an idiot I didn't get a picture of it to show you how awesome it really is!!! GRRRRR!

***

July 30^th and 31^st, 2007

I spent these two days chilling out and unwinding. Most of the time was spent at Tom’s place with him and his wife, though we did go out and get some fantastic food from the local chippy!!

I also went into town with Tom one day and did some poking around the record stores on Brunswick street, Fitzroy! It was loads of fun and it was a great place to walk around and people watch!!

***

August 1^st, 2007

I woke up really late, feeling relaxed and well rested for the first time in a year. Today was the day we went to Phillip Island to see the penguin parade! We woke up fairly early and headed out. The drive was actually about 2 hours or so, so it was quite a drive!

We arrived at the little town near the Penguin Parade site and got something to eat, then we headed out towards the beach area where we would settle in and wait for the penguins to arrive. We bought our tickets and opted for the slightly more expensive, yet less crowded area. There were only about a dozen or so people there, as opposed to the 60 or more at the main location.

As we waited, we were entertained by the ranger, who informed us what we would be seeing and how the penguins normally behave.

The penguins were out in the ocean at the moment, fishing. Once the sun set they would head back to the beach and make their way past us into the low hills where they have their nests. As we waited, the guide explained to us that the penguins usually drifted in groups of a dozen or so penguins, called rafts. They would drift in towards the beach and cautiously make their way out of the water. The lead penguin would normally act as a kind of marshal, deciding when it was safe for the penguins to begin their march across the sand. This was where they were at their most vulnerable, and it was often the case that they would become spooked and jump back into the water.

This picture shows the beach where the penguins come in out of the ocean. At the top of the picture, you can see the main bleachers, where they can cram in a hundred people of so. At the bottom of the picture is where we were sitting, and there were a lot less of us there that night than there are in this picture. It was really nice.

We were sitting in wooden bleachers, facing the southern ocean off of Australia’s southern tip, drinking hot coffee and cocoa. Then the sun finally set and we waited as the white crests of the dark waves rolled into the beach. Shortly, we were rewarded by seeing the first few penguins waddling tentatively up out of the water and around the boulders, then straight up the beach and within about 10 cm of us! It was a hoot! They were so cute… but NOISY!! They make a nasty terrible racket! HA! It was really cute.

We hung out at the bleachers for about 2 hours, watching them waddle up into the grass and chit chatting. It was a little cold, but despite the prediction of rain, we only got a very mild sprinkle which quickly passed. It was really fun to wait for the penguin rafts to arrive, because you quite literally couldn’t see anything until the penguins stood up! Their black feathers so perfectly blended in with the black of the ocean water that it was always a surprise when the little white oval appears and waddled towards you.

When we decided to walk back to the car for the trip home, we were amused to see all the penguins waddling around the fields to either side of our walkway, and even in amongst the rocks up near the ranger station and cafeteria. We walked back to the car, checked under it for stray penguins (as recommended sue to “incidents” in the past), then headed back to Melbourne. It was an AWESOME day!

I regret that we weren't able to take pictures, but as the ranger explained, too many people forget to turn off their flash and this can seriously injure or even blind a penguin permanently. These pictures were purchased at the gift shop, and all proceeds go towards maintaining and running the place, so it was a good deal for $1.00.

***

August 2^nd, 2007

Went for a drive with Tom and Nicki into town to poke around shops and browse for things. We went to a great little comic book shop where I poked around and found some books I was interested in at a very fair price. (Marvel comic's Exiles #1 to 7!)

I also found a DVD of an interesting BBC mini-series called “The Second Coming” starring Christopher Eccleson, who played the Doctor in the first season of the latest series. I bought it and was looking forward to watching it. (NOTE: I have since seen it and it was EXCELLENT)

Downtown Melbourne was a nice walk this afternoon. We went and got some of the best kebabs I have ever tasted, and then went for a further stroll around the shopping district. I found a couple of cheap CDs and I even managed to find a puzzle mat for my sister Susan. I was especially excited by that: it is a felt mat that you lay flat and use to make your puzzle on. When you want to put the puzzle out of the way, you can roll up the mat and fit it into the special tube it comes with. The mat is made of a kind of felt material that has just enough roughness to it that your puzzle pieces will stick to it and remain where they are as you roll it up. When you want to work on your puzzle some more, just unroll it and all your pieces will be where you left them! How cool is that?

***

August 3^rd, 2007

I went to the old Melbourne Gaol with Nicki today!

Tom wasn’t very keep on doing anything too touristy, and his wife Nicki was… so she and I spent the afternoon together and had a really great time!

The first thing we did was stop for some late breakfast/early lunch. We went to an amazing South American restaurant where we had some delicious food who’s name I can’t pronounce, and the most delicious hot chocolate I have ever had.

I had a big mug of Mexican hot chocolate, done in the traditional way with huge pieces of chocolate placed at the bottom of the mug, before adding warmed milk and sweetener. YUUMMMM! (Did I say I had *a* mug… I actually had two).

Nicki, being adventurous, had a mug of chili chocolate milk, which was also surprisingly good and very, very spicy! It was the same idea as my chocolate milk, but to the whole thing was added a dollop of chili sauce. You take a mouthful of the hot chocolate and it is sweet on your palate, but when you swallow it, it spices up and tingles all the way down: perfect to warm you up on a cold winter day in Melbourne!!

The old Melbourne jail was very cool, though a bit macabre. It certainly reminded me why it is always best to be on the right side of the law. I most definitely would never have wanted to end up in a place like that!

It was very creepy. Every cell of the jail had the desk mask of one of its former occupants, along with their story: who they were, what they were convicted of, as well as why and when they were executed. There were death masks of men as well as women, as the prison used to have separate areas for each.

Apparently, these death masks were made after execution so that doctors could study the lumps and bumps on the convict’s head. It was believed at the time, that criminal behavior could be mapped and traced via the shape of a person’s head, and so whenever a convict was executed, their heads were shaven and a mold was made of their head and face after death. It was all meant to be scientific at the time, but it strikes me as creepy and gruesome.

::SHRUG::

The picture (below) was taken with a very long exposure so that you can actually see the place clearly. In reality is was far darker than this. It was certainly a dark, humourless place.

We saw where Ned Kelly was hanged (it is at the far end of the picture, on the right), and we also saw his death mask and replicas of his costume, guns, and the “armour” he wore over his head (They are in the center at the far end of this picture, on the ground floor).

OK... OK.. his armour was nothing more than a tin pot with eye holes cut out of it... but apparently it was considered a pretty cool idea in those days, LOL!

There were quite a few kitschy things too, like the room where you could get your photo taken with a ghost… or the miniature ball and chain for sale in the gift shop!

It was a very strange experience going to a place like that and looking at all of these things. It left me feeling a little creeped out, but it was definitely a novel way to spend the afternoon and very interesting. After our visit to the jail, Nicki and I went and got another cup of hot chocolate, and I stocked up on some candies at the local lolly shop!!

Our last stop before heading home, was a trip to the supermarket to get stuff to make dinner for Tom's birthday!

We celebrated Tom’s birthday with a nice dinner at their house. Members of both Tom and Nikki’s family popped by for dinner, which was an awesome meal, followed by spectacular birthday cake! We had quite a good time, and I was really pleased that I had the chance to be there!

After dinner, when everyone had gone and the place was all tidied up, Tom and I debated going to see a concert in town (one of my favourite bands, the Lucksmiths, who happen to be natives of Melbourne were launching a new album that night and would be performing live…!). It was a heck-of-an opportunity…but in the end we decided to make the most of our last night together and listen to music in Tom’s music room and have a few drinks together one last time before I flew out to Sydney the next day!

I didn’t do a lot in the way of tourist things that first week in Australia, but I saw bits and pieces of Melbourne, and I had a whole week to spend relaxing and getting to know Tom and his lovely wife Nicki. I got to soak up the atmosphere in a beautiful city filled with gorgeous architecture, and had loads of opportunity to enjoy great food. If there is one thing Melbourne has, it is an abundance of delicious food! It was a fantastic start to my vacation!

Mid-July muses and ramblings...

I just had the urge to post something. I haven't done so in over a month!

I suspect that this will just be a quick one before bed, but you never know with me!

Lately I have been busy on the internet finding information about some topics I will be teaching this summer. For the last two weeks I did a mini-course about modern music in the west. I had a ball. I introduced the children to many different styles of music, and had the opportunity to listen to some of my favourite old songs with the kids. We covered popular music from the 50s to the present. Needless to say, since I was teaching to children, I threw in quite a few novelty songs. Two of their favourites were "They're Coming To Take Me Away" by Napoleon XIV and "Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley.

The children also REALLY enjoyed singing "Lollypop" by the Chiffons (Ba-Boom-Boom-Boom) and "He's So Fine" by the Shirelles (Do-Lang-Do-Lang-Do-Lang).

The other big hits of the week were "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne, "Good Times Bad Times" by Led Zeppelin, "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult and "Kung-Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas.

Hmmm... They liked the Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Prog Rock and Disco. How odd... they must have had me as a teacher, LOL!

Most of the kids also liked songs by Blitz, Sex Pistols, Abba and Elvis Presley: it was quite the eclectic selection of music we checked out last week! In the end, I think the children got a pretty broad overview of western pop music. The only thing I didn't really bother with was modern stuff... although we did listen to "Number 1" by Goldfrapp and "Can't Get You Outta My Head" by Kylie Minogue! :)

It was a fun week. I printed up lyrics for all the songs and we read them together before listening to the songs. The kids especially loved "(Don't Fear) The Reaper". One of the reasons they gave in their written reports was the fact that the lyrics were more interesting than most of the other songs. Of course, considering the different ways that this song could be interpreted, I put as positive a spin on it as I could. I think the kids got a positive message from the song. We certainly talked enough about it!

Many of the children saw reincarnation in the song, it being hinted at by the line "the seasons don't fear the reaper", meaning all things die and become renewed again.

In all it was an interesting couple of weeks and I quite enjoyed it.

It is time for a new subject now... the summer marches on!! I am now, for the next two weeks, going to be presenting an eight hour course on various holidays! The holidays we will be looking at and exploring are Martin Luther King Jr. Day, St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, and National Days (Canada Day, Independance Day, Taiwan's October 10th, etc...).

I have been very busy digging things up on the internet to discuss with the children. I found myself especially interested in Martin Luther King Jr Day. I found his story fascinating, and I took the opportunity to watch recordings of some of his speeches. His "I Have A Dream Speech" is rightly listed as one of the most moving and powerful speeches of the 20th century. I highly recommend that you check it out on You Tube... click the link to check it out. This is the full speech (roughly 18 minutes). It is well worth the time.

Before I forget... there was the most AWESOME rainbow today! Sue was at my house and we both ran up to the roof and took some pictures... of course, we didn't think about posing ourselves in any of them until it was too late. UGH.


Well... that's all I really wanted to talk about today. I am off to bed because I need to get an early start tomorrow.

Rainy Days and Mondays...

The Carpenters once sang that rainy days and Mondays always get them down...


It has been raining in Taiwan for the last two weeks. This is what the sky looks like from my apartment most days around noon (click the picture to enlarge). The rain begins every afternoon around 1:30 and ends around 4:00... sometimes it comes back in the evening, but not always.

It is becoming somewhat of a drag for a lot of people, but it isn't really getting me down. I'm not sure why. I don't like driving a scooter in the rain, but so far it hasn't been that awful.
Maybe it is just the timing seems to work well for me. Most days, by the time the rain starts I am already at school, and it generally finishes before I go home. I just use a towel to dry the seat of my scooter and go. Well... whatever the case. I am trying to stay positive about it!

Another thing that is keeping me in good spirits is my upcoming vacation. I am so looking forward to it that I could almost burst. Let me first quality by saying that I am *NOT* a big traveller. I don't travel very well. I don't like being out of my element, and consequently there are very few places that can tempt me to leave my familiar environment. I know, it probably sounds funny to hear me describe myself this way considering that I packed up and moved half-way around the world in 2001... but there you are.

Getting back to my holiday plans: I am going to Australia in July!! I cannot tell you how excited I am. Australia has always been one of those places that I have wanted to go.

It isn't because I have a burning desire to see Australia, or that there is something specific that I want to experience first hand in Australia... I have just always felt a pull to visit it, and I can't wait to finally be doing it later this summer.

Hmmm... Did I say summer? I guess that is a matter of perspective since it will be the middle of summer here in Taiwan, but down below the equator in Australia it will be the depths of winter! I am actually hoping to get a little skiing in down near Melbourne!

If all goes well, I will be flying out of Taiwan during the last week of July and I should be returning before August 16th. The plan is to fly into Melbourne and visit a friend of mine there for a few days, then travel up to Sydney and visit with another friend, then for the last two weeks I will be meeting up with my friends Gordon and Yasmin and travelling North toward Brisbane, where they live. I used to work with Gordon here in Taiwan, as you know, so it will be really nice to see him and Yasmin again!

My friends have graciously offered me a place to stay and so I will have a lot more money for attractions and travelling. Gordon and Yasmin have even promised to show me around some of their favourite places and I am really looking forward to quite a lot of it, especially the Steve Irwin zoo in Brisbane and the Tree Top Walk... I guess I'll have to tell you more about that when I get back!

I have been looking around on-line at what there is to do in Australia and there is so much that my head is spinning. I guess I am only limited by time and money... I know I am still young, as they say, but I honestly see this as my trip of a lifetime and I don't expect to be going back... so I want to do everything! ...or at least as much as I can drag my friends to during my three weeks!

...and if it sounds to you like I'm not really doing very much or going to many places while I am in Australia, please bear in mind that it is a CONTINENT sized country...! Click on the map below to check out the Australia tourism hub!

Quick Visit to Taipei

Well Sue is off for a vacation in Canada.

She was really excited about going home to visit her friends and family! We took the opportunity of her departure to stay in Taipei for a couple of days. We went up to Taipei with our friends Albert and Phillip on Friday night, stayed for two nights and after her plane departed on Monday morning I came back to Chiayi that I could be at work that afternoon.

If her trip seems a little soon to you (it isn't a year since she came to Taiwan, it's only 10 Months), it is due to the unhelpful folks at that miserable institution known as Air Canada.

Thanks to the nonsense at Air Canada she was unable to change the date of her return ticket home. They had promised her at the time of purchase that it would be no problem to change her flight, but now it turns out it's impossible... and nobody can be bothered to help. This left her with two options:

1) Lose the cost of the return portion of her ticket and buy a new return-flight in July when our school has vacation time.
2) Use the return portion, go home now, find a replacement teacher for a couple of weeks, and buy a new flight BACK to Taiwan with a return ticket to Canada dated for sometime next year.

If anyone EVER suggests you fly Air Canada. Don't. Ask anyone who has had the misfortune of doing it. They suck in all respects (especially in-flight... don't get me started on how hungry Sue was when she arrived in L.A. last time).

Anyway... this isn't going to be a bitch-fest Air Canada-bashing blog... so I'll stop moaning about them now.

Susan, Phillip, Albert and I took the Aloha bus from Chiayi to Taipei on Saturday afternoon. We arrived in Taipei around dinner time, found our hotel, jumped through some hoops to get our reservation right, went through some rigmarole when checking in, then dropped our luggage off and went to eat. I will admit to the check-in problems being my own fault. My spoken Chinese is by no means flawless and somewhere in the course of my making the reservation, I booked a single room for four people instead of four single rooms for four people. **SIGH*

It all worked out to our satisfaction, and we got the four rooms we wanted.

We went to eat at the Outback Steakhouse. Phillip had been dreaming of it, and in fact, it was really the only reason he went to Taipei that weekend, LOL! Albert was meeting a friend at the airport Sunday morning; Susan was flying out to Canada on Monday morning and I was accompanying her; Phillip was going to Taipei for a steak. :)

Our meal was excellent and we headed back to the hotel that night feeling sleepy and replete. Susan and I bid Albert and Phillip goodnight and wandered around the shops a little bit before heading back ourselves.

Albert returned to Chiayi the next day with his friend, so Phillip, Susan and I took the afternoon and went to visit the Terracotta Warriors exhibit in Taipei at the National History Museum. We had a blast. The exhibit was very small compared to the last time I had seen the Warriors in TaiChung (2002) but it featured some awesome newly-discovered pieces and was a real treat.

No visit to a museum in Taiwan is complete without the obligatory typo of course, and we found ours on a sign discussing a newly discovered section of the tomb. The discovery is credited as having happened in July of 2007... which was really exciting because it was only May 2007.

I must admit, aside from this one gaff, the signs were excellent. The museum did an amazing job at making themselves understood and at using proper English. Having lived here for awhile now, I have seen how easy it is for mistakes and strange turns-of-phrase to sneak into printed material. I was very impressed with the museum for having done such a good job.

The most striking part of the exhibit was the display of three Terracotta Warriors still adorned with the original coloured paint that it is believed was part of all the Warriors when they were originally created. It is believed that over time the pain faded and disappeared. These three Warriors are some of the only examples of what they all must have looked like when they were new. They were really awesome! The colours were still vivid and added a truly life-like quality to the statues. I can see why grave robbers would have been terrified!

The difference between the coloured Warriors and the plain clay coloured ones that we have all seen is amazing. It is really like night and day. Compared top the unadorned Warriors, these three were really life-like, right down to the expressions on their faces. One of them looks like he would enjoy a good laugh. Another looks stern. The three of them certainly look as though they were modeled after living soldiers.

Here is a scan of the museum entry ticket, which depicts one of the three painted Warriors. As you can see, there is a huge difference between him and the many other unpainted guys we've seen in the past. It is unfortunate that the picture on the ticket doesn't really do him justice, as the colours were far more vibrant in real life. Nevertheless, standing in front of this guy and looking into his eyes, you could feel his spirit. I believe he was honoured to have been chosen to follow the Emperor into the afterlife.

Some of the other recent discoveries at the tomb were court musicians, scribes and clerks, and a pond with wildlife. Originally, when the tomb was discovered, it was believed that only the Warriors were there protecting the emperor. It now appears that the entirety of the emperor's court was recreated for him to be surrounded by familiar things in the afterlife! Archaeologists are really excited by what this means for scholars of the early Chinese society. This tomb is the burial place of the first emperor of China, a man who ruled for a very short, yet very prosperous time. It will be interesting to see what insights this discovery will give into his daily life, and into his society.

When we exited the museum, we posed for some goofy pictures, then we went off to see a movie to get out of the rain that had dogged us since our arrival in Taipei.

We caught the latest Nicholas Cage movie, Next, which we all REALLY enjoyed (despite the fact that the chinless-wonder was the star...UGH! Why is he popular? I don't get it.) then we wandered around a bit more before heading over to Dan Ryan's Chicago style restaurant for dinner.

Phillip headed home after dinner, and Susan and I made an early night of it since we needed to be at the bus for the airport around 7. We travelled out to the airport together and (to my guilty-pleasure) had Burger King breakfast at the departure gate (terminal 2). I had heard there was a Burger King at the airport, but this was the first time I had managed to find it! :)

Susan boarded her plane and took off, thus ending our whirlwind trip to Taipei. I hopped on a bus at the airport which brought me to the High Speed Railway station. I bought a ticket and took the High Speed Rail back to Chiayi from the airport. I was astounded by the comfort and the speed. It was awesome and I highly recommend it.

If it wasn't for the High Speed Rail, I would never have been able to accompany Susan to the airport in the morning and still be on time for work that day. Usually a bus from TaoYuan (where the international airport is) to Chiayi is about three and a half hours. I was home door-to-door in an hour and forty-five minutes!

As you can see by the cost of the ticket (NT$1580) it costs a little under three times as much as the bus. Well, it only costs twice as much if you travel by economy, but this is a first class ticket... in for a penny in for a pound, right? I must admit I was suitable impressed. I can't wait for an excuse to ride the High Speed Rail again...um... When is Sue coming back to Taiwan?? ;)

Laurie's 2007 Trip to Taiwan (concluded!)

Well this has taken a while, hasn’t it?

My sister Laurie came to visit up for two weeks in February/March and I am only now recovered! HA! HA! HA!

We had such a good time and I am still missing her very much! It was really nice to have her around and be able to zip around the country with her.

So where to start?? Well, the evening that Sue went to play her big poker game, Laurie and I went to the Wen-Hua night market and Laurie looked at (hmm… what was she shopping for again? OH! Yeah! I remember now…) shoes.

What can I say? The girl likes her shoes! I must admit I have my preferences as well since I kept dragging Laurie and Susan into CD stores and stores that sell little toys and junk. *SHRUG*

Finally, at the start of the second week, we had a chance to go to Taidong on the East coast. Our trip there was fantastic! The train ride, although it was about 5 hours long, was really not so bad. We were on the train for about an hour and a half and then we got off in Kaohsiung to change trains. I took the opportunity to chill out with a cup of coffee at Starbucks while Laurie and Sue browsed for knick knacks at a cute store they have in the train station. Susan and I had been to that store before and there were some things Sue wanted to look at again.

Our train arrived shortly and we set off on the second leg of our journey. We arrived in Taidong a few hours later, having been refreshed by naps on the train and having been treated to some spectacular scenery as the train traveled from the West coast of Taiwan, through the mountains, and up along the magnificent East coast, with the Pacific Ocean shoreline in full view.

Once in Taidong we took a taxi to our hotel and settled in. We stayed at the Teachers and Public Workers Hotel. It was reasonably priced, decently furnished, clean, and very comfortable. That night we had a little walk around Taidong and poked in a few shops, but the weather was a little colder than we would have liked as a storm front had blown in during the afternoon. We tried to rent scooters, but since we didn’t all have a Taiwanese driver’s license nobody would rent to us. They didn’t care if Laurie had a valid international license or not. “No Chinese? Can’t read it and don’t care what it says.” So we walked a lot.

Although we had a really good time and the trip was wonderful, I think this marred the experience a little in some ways. Taidong is a beautiful city, but with no way to get around except foot-power, it kind of sucks. We spent three days on the same streets (the ones nearest the hotel) when I would really have liked to drive out to some of the scenic areas on the nearby coast. We didn’t even see the ocean until the third day of our trip!

On the second day of our trip I ran into a foreigner and we got talking (while Laurie and Susan were looking at …shoes….). He showed me a little out-of-the-way restaurant called La CASA. I brought the girls there a little later and we had a really nice meal. The owners are an American man from Texas, and a Taiwanese woman from Orchid Island (who speaks AWESOME English). They serve Tex-Mex, bagels (made from scratch!), teas and coffee. There was an interesting desert that we all tried: baked apples with ice-cream! Unfortunately, it would have been better if the apples weren’t cooked in butter that solidified on them when it got cold. Many a bite of ice-cream turned out to be butter. UGH… but on the whole it was pretty good!

The restaurant is really cute. It is half inside and half outside. That first night we sat outside in the garden under the stars and enjoyed some coffee.

On the last day of our trip, the weather finally co-operated with us and we had beautiful blue sunny skies! Originally we had planned to head over to the nearby town of Ju-Ben, which is famous for its natural hot springs, but since it was our last day in Taidong, and we hadn’t been to the ocean yet, that was where we went and we spent the better part of the afternoon down by the water reading our books and relaxing in the sun and the shade.

We took the opportunity to walk down to the sand and collect a little bit for mom, which we put in a small glass vial for her as a memento.

Laurie and Sue managed to get their feet in the water, despite the fact that it was winter. It was still relatively warm and they had a great time. I wish I could write more about this, since it definitely the BEST day of our Taidong trip, but we really just hung out on the beach and chilled. There isn’t much else I can say!!!!

As the afternoon started to turn into evening, we walked back into the town and found ourselves back at LA CASA where we had a late lunch (early dinner?) and spent another couple of hours chit chatting!

As it began to get dark, we decided to head back in the general direction of our hotel. After dropping our stuff off, we found a cute vegetarian restaurant on a nearby street and had a wonderful dinner. We ended the evening by buying and exploding some fireworks in a nearby park and then, exhausted, we returned to the hotel and called it a night. We were a little bummed to have to return back to Chiayi so soon, but Susan’s vacation was over and she had to work on Thursday and Friday.

Thursday and Friday, while Susan was at work, Laurie and I zipped around Chiayi looking at last minute gifts and poking around little stores together. It was really fun… especially on Friday afternoon when we started out looking for a few incense burners and ended up in a complete stranger’s living room drinking coffee.

It started like this: Laurie had a short list of people that she wanted to buy some nice things for, typically Chinese things. I suggested we go to a Bai-Bai store, where they sell incense and incense holders and various religious supplies for Taoist worship (statues of the gods, ghost money used as offerings, alters etc). This was going to be our first of several stops, so when the owner offered us a cup of coffee, I initially refused.

I wasn’t being rude, I just know that this can lead to hours of chatting and I also knew that Laurie wanted to get to a few other places that afternoon. Laurie, however, didn’t realize that this was an invitation to social coffee, I guess.

In Canada if someone offers you a drink while you are shopping, you say “yes”; they give you a drink; and you go on with your shopping while sipping a beverage. In Taiwan if someone offers you a beverage, it is actually an invitation to stop whatever you are doing and engage in small talk for the next two hours. OK… I’m exaggerating… but you get the gist!

If someone offers you tea or coffee, it is a social thing. It would be rude not to sit and chat for awhile, so when Laurie said “yes” to a cup of coffee, I rolled my eyes, smiled, and made myself comfortable at the little table in the back of the shop.

The owner was a very kind woman who, I would gather, speaks mostly Taiwanese and not Mandarin Chinese. She spoke Chinese with a very thick Taiwanese accent and spoke no English at all, so I was left with the interesting task of interpreting her Taiwanese-slash-Chinese conversation, translating it back to Laurie, and then responding to the woman in Chinese for Laurie.

The woman prepared some coffee for us, which in-and-of-itself was unusual since (as I’m sure you’re aware by now) Taiwan is very much a tea-culture country. It turns out that her friend / brother / sister / cousin / uncle / someone-she-vaguely-knows owns a coffee plantation in one of the nearby mountains and this coffee was picked and roasted this past week. Laurie was impressed (as was I) with the flavour, and amused by the freshness of it!

I don’t believe coffee beans have an optimum freshness in the traditional sense of the word (although they can get stale). I am certain that the coffee we get in Canada is as good as coffee you could buy elsewhere, but it was certainly cool to be drinking coffee that had been on the tree earlier in the week!!

The woman eventually offered us a business card for her friend’s business, so that we might buy some coffee. Laurie was particularly pleased as she thought this would make an excellent gift. The woman tried to explain to me how to get to the man’s store, but in the end she decided that it would just be best if Laurie and I were to follow her.

This is another Taiwanese trait. I have yet to meet a Taiwanese person who will give you directions. They will nearly always meet you somewhere and conduct you to your destination. This is something they do even among themselves, so I was pretty prepared for it when she interrupted herself mid-sentence and stopped giving me directions, insisting instead that she should show us where it is.

We were agreeable to this, we said, but we had some things to do first since there wasn’t much light left in the afternoon and Laurie and I wanted to use the video camera up around the lake this afternoon as it was Laurie’s last day in Chiayi. We agreed to meet her at my school in a few hours and Laurie and I took off.

We zipped around Lan-Tan lake with the video camera, Laurie riding on the back of my scooter, filming, while I provided commentary. It ended up looking and sounding great except for when the camera was turned to the left or the right. As long as the camera was pointing towards the front, looking where we were going as it were, the sound was perfect. The minute Laurie turned it sideways to scan the scenery around us all that the microphone picked up was rushing wind. Oh well! It still LOOKS good!

We ended out trip around the lake in front of the bagel shop. We parked the moped and were about to go inside for a drink when the phone rang. Lynn, my co-worker, was calling to tell me that the woman was waiting for us at the school to bring us to the man’s coffee shop! Laurie and I couldn’t believe how late it had already gotten!

We got back on the scooter and headed over to the school, where we met the woman and followed her to her friend’s “shop”.

It wasn’t until we were halfway in the door that we realized it was someone’s home! We were introduced at the front door then led into their living room where the children were sitting watching television. The kitchen was visible through a doorway directly in front of us, and piled on the floor up against the far wall were huge bags of coffee beans. Despite the lack of lavish decorations, it was clear that this was their home, not an office.

We were asked to make ourselves comfortable on the couch. On the coffee table in front of us, coffee was prepared over an open flame in a vacuum-pressure style glass coffee maker.

It was all pretty surreal to begin with, and then the mother came down the stairs with the baby, whom she handed to Laurie, and proceeded to busy herself with setting up cookies and cakes for her guests. We were offered some traditional Taiwanese cakes to eat, which we both really enjoyed. We sipped our coffee, were regaled with some stories (that I was desperately trying to translate at mach speed) and then we bought some coffee. It was pretty amusing and was a very nice way to end the day! Laurie and I both enjoyed ourselves, and Laurie told me it was a highlight of her trip.

We left about an hour or so after we arrived, and we drove back toward the school.

About a block or so behind my school is a temple that has three of the Chinese gods sitting on the roof: larger than life and formidable looking! I stopped there with Laurie and we did our one and only temple tour of the entire trip! We brought the video camera with us and filmed some of the interior and exterior as we explored.

In true Taiwan fashion, we were invited in to have dinner with the caretakers and several members of the congregation. I’m uncertain about which day it was in the Chinese calendar, but I am pretty sure that it was one of the god’s birthdays and so, unbeknownst to Laurie and I, there was a feast being held at the temple and they wanted us to join in. Laurie and I were tempted, but it was almost time for Susan to finish work, so we thanked them but declined the invitation, explaining that we had to go meet our sister.

We went across the street and waited for Susan in the park. We also took the opportunity to explode the last of the fireworks that I had bought in Taidong! Susan eventually joined us and we shot off the rest of the firecrackers, then we went to dinner.

Sadly, the weekend of Laurie’s departure had arrived and so the next day we made our way to Taipei.

I had had a difficult time finding an inexpensive hotel in Taipei (everything was booked solid) until I stumbled upon a tiny little hotel called the Queen Hotel (located at 226 Chang'an W Rd, behind Taipei Main Station; tel: 02 -2559-0489). We had to drag our luggage up two flights of red velvet carpet because they don’t have an elevator, but they do have air conditioning and television: for less than $30US a night (about $800 Taiwan dollars). The rooms were small, but perfect for a place to dump the luggage during the day, and sleep at night. Some of you may be amused by my description of hotel, thinking that it is some kind of sleazy place, but there were no mirrors on the ceilings or vibrating beds, if that’s what you’re thinking! It isn’t a “love hotel”, as they’re called, but at those prices, I guess it could be! HA!HA!HA!

All I was concerned about was that it was clean, secure, private, and quiet. It was all of the above, so I was very happy to have found it!

Right behind the hotel was a day market, crowded and fun to browse, and we were within walking distance of the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit, or subway).

We did the standard tour of Taipei 101, poked around in the book store, had dinner at a groovy all-you-can-eat “Shabu Shabu” restaurant that I know in the area. Similar to the KOREA restaurant Susan and I went to last year, you choose whatever you want to eat and throw it into your hot-pot or fry it up on the barbeque on your table. After our meal, we went over to our foot massage guy near the train station and the three of us treated ourselves to an hour of reflexology. AHHHH!

After the doctors finished torturing our tootsies, we walked across the parking lot and turned in for an early night at our crazy little hotel with the garish wallpaper. No… I mean it: seriously garish!

At the hotel, Laurie and Susan had one last “girlie night” (consisting of scented facial masques) and then, at 6am the next morning, we took a taxi out to the airport and that was it! Laurie’s whirlwind island tour was over!

As a closing note, I was watching the DVD I made with all the bits we filmed during her visit and it occurred to me that we really did do the tour of the island! We went to Taipei, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Taidong! We didn’t have time to stop at Toroko Gorge in Hualien or the famous resort areas in Kending, but we still managed to circumnavigate the entire country by bus, plane and train!

It was a fantastic trip and it reminded me just how much fun my sisters are!

Laurie's visit to Taiwan (the first few days)

I know it feels like forever since I published my last blog. Sorry about that!

Now: don't think I'm being lazy! In truth, I have been having issues logging onto the internet... of course these problems only arise when I have time to sit and use the computer properly. I have also been under the weather a bit (mild pneumonia, would you believe it? ...I'm fine now, thanks for asking!).

Well, the last few weeks have been a little hectic! Since the last time I wrote anything, a lot of time has been spent getting ready for Laurie's visit. My sister Laurie has come to Taiwan to visit during the Chinese New Year (This year that is Feb 19 to 25). Laurie will be staying until March 4^th, and luckily I have the whole two weeks off. Susan will have to work for two days during Laurie’s trip, but she has the rest of the time off, too, so the three of us are really lucky to be able to tour around and enjoy ourselves! The weather has been unseasonably warm, so we are having a great time so far!

Now… since I need to start somewhere, I figure I'll start with Saturday Night (February 17th) which is Chinese New Year’s Eve, and it is two days before Laurie arrived.

Susan and I were invited to our co-worker Lynn's house for Chinese New Year's Eve. We arrived around 7 o'clock and were treated to some really delicious dishes! We chatted and laughed for a couple of hours, then Susan pulled the poker chips and cards and proceeded to teach some of Lynn's family how to play poker! (I'm telling you: she's obsessed, LOL!)

We played poker until about 11PM. It was really fun once they all got the hang of it. I had to do all the translating, which was interesting considering I didn't know half the words I needed! I ended up saying "that thing" "and do that thing again" a LOT.

In the end we had a fantastic night and Sue and I were really glad we went.

The next day we chilled a little and we prepared to take out bus to Taipei to collect Laurie and her bags... then our friend Terry called and insisted that he and his wife, Jane, wanted to drive us to the airport and back. He had mentioned it earlier in the week, but we felt it was simply too much of an imposition, however, he insisted, so we returned out bus tickets and got out money back. Terry and Jane came to pick Sue and I up at 3:30am on Monday morning and we set off to the airport near Taipei to pick up Laurie.

The drive to Taipei was terrifying because Terry and Jane had not been able to grab their planned-for nap before departure, so they were exhausted and Jane (who was driving) kept looking like she was going to nod off! We didn't have anything to worry about though, as we arrived at the airport without incident.

Laurie's plane arrived at 6:30am. We arrived at the airport just in time (traffic was crazy because of the Chinese New Year holiday). We expected to have to wait for Laurie as she collected her bags and cleared customs, but instead we found her right away and she told us that her luggage hadn't made it to Taipei with her! Apparently she had to run between flights in L.A. and the luggage didn't make it... so we were good to go. Singapore Airlines assured us they would deliver her luggage directly to the apartment in Chiayi upon it's arrival the following day (which they did, by the way! It arrived at 8:30am).

It was so good to see her! She looks fantastic. Never mind that she just stepped off the airplane, she looked awesome! She is so funny; I know we’re going to have a blast while she’s here!

Before we found her in the airport, Terry and Jane had dropped us off at the entrance and told us to call them as soon as Laurie arrived. They would park and come get us when we phoned. I phoned them and was surprised to discover they had a different cell phone with them, not the one who's number I had! So there we were at the airport, laughing, wondering what we should do, when Sue remembered that they had called her before coming to the apartment to pick us all up. She scrolled through her cell phone's list of recently received calls and dialed the only one that was unrecognized. Terry answered and they came to get us, LOL!

We all piled into the van and headed back to Chiayi, this time with a tired Terry driving.

We drove for about an hour and a half, traffic wasn't too bad. Then we pulled off the highway to get something to eat. We stopped at a rest stop just outside the city of Taizhong. Laurie was hoping for something Chinese to eat, but Sue and I were excited because they had a Subway restaurant, so we had subs!

At this point, we switched drivers and Susan drove us most of the rest of the way home. Terry and Jane slept in the back seat. Sue wasn't used to driving standard, and she wasn't used to the amount of traffic on the highway after nearly eight months of not driving a car, but she did really really well!

We pulled into Chiayi around noon. We settled Laurie into Sue's apartment and then we all took a bit of a nap! We got up in the early evening and took Laurie to the night market for Mongolian Barbeque. We had a ball wandering around the night market and I treated Laurie to a passion-fruit juice while Susan ordered the food and waited for it to be ready. This is harder than it looks when you think about the fact that you need to push through the crowds, find a table to sit at, and listen for them to call your number (in Chinese) when it's ready. I am pretty impressed with how well Susan is doing with her Chinese, actually. She doesn't speak it much (and she isn't even pretending to try and learn it) but she makes herself understood. She is really observant, and she is very good and understanding the gist of things when she needs to.

After the night market, we all agreed that we were exhausted so back to the apartments we went and we all crashed out.

The following day I was woken up early to go and collect Laurie's luggage. The driver didn't know his way around Chiayi very well, but he told me what street he was on and I asked him to wait there. Let me tell you: it is not easy to pull Chinese out of your butt when you are woken up from a dead sleep by the phone ringing! Be that as it may, I went to collect him so he could deliver the luggage. He happened to be near a McDonald's, so I picked up breakfast for the girls and I while I was at it!

The driver followed me back to the apartments and helped us get the bags up into the elevator. The girls and I brought the stuff into Sue's place, ate out breakfast, and then Laurie proceeded with the "gift giving"... distributing all the loot Sue and I had requested from Canada: the stuff we can't get here.

Now don't laugh, but Susan and I each requested about 10 cans of pâté. It's not that we eat the stuff that regularly, but it makes a nice sandwich (or a snack when you have guests) and they don't sell it here for less than about $10 Canadian for a small package. I also asked for a couple of cans of Chef Boyardee Ravioli. I love having stuff that I can just heat and eat, but they don’t sell anything that I recognize here. I got a few tubes of my favourite kind of toothpaste (which they don’t sell here) and I got a pile of comic books that my dad had picked up for me.

As you know, I am subscribed to about a dozen comic books. Right now, though, Marvel Comics is doing a huge cross-over story called CIVIL WAR that involves most of the characters from the Marvel Universe and you need to buy issues from different comics in order to follow the goings on (very clever marketing). Some of the stories get continued or concluded in different books (Part 1 is in X-Men #432, part 2 is in Wolverine #42, Part 3 is in Blade #6: get it?). I am not subscribed to EVERYTHING! I only subscribe to a few select titles, so I was missing a couple of issues to complete the story I was reading. I managed to get them as back-issues from the company that supplies my subscriptions, but there are some issues that I wasn’t able to get from them because they were sold out. Using the internet, I found those issues at a local comic shop in Montreal. They put them aside for me and dad went to get them! YAY! So I was looking forward to getting those from Laurie!

After we divided up the spoils of Laurie’s luggage, we took a nap. We had been up late the night before and early this morning, so we were due!!

When we got up, we went for a nice drive around the lake (I really love the drive around Lan Tan Lake! It's so much fun to drive!). After our drive we went to the bagel shop for lunch. I was glad we were able to do that because I wanted to wish my friends Sean and Jane a Happy Chinese New Year. Unfortunately Jane was not there. She was still with her family (part of the tradition is that married women return home for one or two days during the New Year holidays). Jane's family lives in Tao-Yuan (which is where the Taipei airport is located) so we probably passed each other on the highway, LOL! Sean's family was at the bagel shop, though, so it was nice to see his mom and dad again.

We spent the next day scooting around the city and enjoying ourselves. Then, on Wednesday, we took the train down to the nearby city of Tainan. We went to the old Dutch fort (An Ping Gu Bao) but that was really, just our excuse for going to Tainan. We wandered around the grounds and walked through the crazy market. Laurie and Susan ate some fried wontons and we bought a few presents for folks back home. That evening, we went to eat at a Greek restaurant in Tainan, which the girls enjoyed, but I didn’t like my food at all, so I treated myself to Burger King before we hopped back on the train to come back!

Thursday was a shopping day. The girls were supposed to go to the swimming pool, but got distracted by shoes (again). Friday night, the three of us went to eat at a Taiwanese Aboriginal restaurant called The Hunter. Susan and I invited our co-worker Lynn, who helped Susan and I plan most of our trip to Taiwan’s East coast (scheduled for next week). It was our way of thanking her. The food was awesome and Laurie was really happy that we had FINALLY taken her for Chinese food, LOL!

Friday was another chill out day. The girls again tried to go swimming, but… what can I say… shoes… We went and bought out train tickets for our trip to Taidong and then we went browsing around at a couple of book/stationary stores with Laurie. For dinner, we had traditional Chiayi Turkey Rice!! (See Laurie? More Chinese food!).

Friday ended with a big poker game at Susan’s house, which turned into a social gathering that lasted until well into the night! The poker playing was over by midnight and then the drinking and chit-chat started! Laurie passed out around 2am, and Susan kicked out the last of her guests and went to bed around 4:30!

Today is Saturday and the girls have gone out for a drive and then they are going to spend some time together at the local swimming pool/spa. As Susan put it: 3^rd time’s the charm! I am taking the opportunity to write this while the girls are out! Susan will be playing in her high-stakes poker game tonight and Laurie and I will keep ourselves entertained. Tomorrow we are off to the East coast city of Taitung (pronounced Tai-dong, but for some stupid reason it is always spelled Taitung) for three days by the Pacific Ocean! I will check in with you all later to let you know how that went!

Until then: Happy Chinese New Year!

My comic collection

In case you’re wondering: “comic books???” I though I would mention my recent passion.

I have a subscription to a few comic books (ACTUALLY… I have a subscription to about a dozen Marvel comic books: Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Spider-Man, Astonishing X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, X-Factor, Cable and Deadpool, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, and Exiles being my favorites), they come here every month or so (some are published less frequently). I have also subscribed to a few titles that I don't really know, just to see if I'll like them (the premise sounds interesting and/or I like the writer). The more books you subscribe to, the more of a discount you get, so I don't mind trying a couple. I can also discontinue them later if they are not to my liking.

I get a real kick out of reading my comics and I am even enjoying the art as well as the stories: something I never did before.

Growing up, I was never that fussed about comics. I read the occasional Archie comic or Richie Rich, but that was about it. I tried getting into Batman and Superman, but they never did it for me (I've since realized that I just don't like DC comics. I prefer Marvel Comics. There is a distinctly different feel and flavour to the writing and the story telling).

I always liked Spider-Man, but it was never something I would buy regularly. I liked the X-men, but the back story was convoluted I could never follow who was what and what the relationships were between all the characters. Also: I liked the original X-Men (Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, and Marvel Girl) but by the time I was old enough to enjoy X-Men comics, these characters had already been retired from the main team (and I didn't even know how, when, or why), so I didn't recognize any of the X-men and just couldn't be bothered trying to figure it all out... just so that I could sit down for a half hour and read a comic book. It was too much like work!

I started reading comics again almost 2 years ago. It happened by accident. I am a big fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Both of those television shows were created and written by a man named Joss Whedon. I am also a huge fan of Joss Whedon's latest television endeavor, the prematurely cancelled Firefly (and it's subsequent movie Serenity). All three of these shows went off the air within a year of each other, and I was suddenly left with nothing new from Joss Whedon on TV.

Then I heard the rumor that he would be writing a new comic book for Marvel Comics called Astonishing X-Men. Since it was brand new, and I liked the author, I figured I should pick up the first issue and see if I enjoyed it. The way I see it, if I started reading right from issue #1, there couldn't be too much confusing back story, could there?

Well... I was half right. There was still all the back story, but it was only ever hinted at and didn't detract from the book. The main focus of Astonishing X-Men were the characters and their lives and emotions; all written with Joss Whedon's inimitable wit and penchant for snappy dialogue. I was hooked from the get-go.

I subscribed through the Marvel Comics website. While surfing on the site, I came upon an advertisement for a mini-series called Spider-Man India. The more I read about it, the more interested I became. Unfortunately, Marvel doesn't do direct subscriptions to their limited-run series, so I would have to go to a store to buy it if I wanted it. Needless to say, this is a little difficult to do in Taiwan!

As the title suggests, Spider-Man India is a comic about a young boy in India who is suddenly given these amazing "Spider Powers". It takes the original Spider-Man story and transplants it into modern day India, but with a few twists. The comic is complete with all the standard Spider-Man lore, including the instantly recognizable super villains "Doctor Octopus" and "The Kingpin" (though they are based on Hindu gods!). The book was fascinating, and filled with local Indian cultural references which were explained in a glossary at the back of each issue. When I went home to visit my parents last summer, I went out of my way to find the four issues of that book and buy them and I thoroughly enjoyed them. I think that's when it started. I had discovered an enjoyment of comic books!

My boss Emily saw my subscription to Astonishing X-Men and she thought it would be fun to have some American style comics at the school, so I subscribed to a couple of titles on her behalf: she paid for them but I got to read them! One of those titles was X-Men. In case you're confused, there are about 8 monthly comic books dealing directly with the X-Men themselves, each written and drawn by different creative teams, each with it's own cast of characters, very few of which overlap. To make matters even more confusing: at any given time, there are at least 5 different monthly comics with the name X-Men: X-Men, New X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Ultimate X-Men, and Astonishing X-Men.

I was subscribed to Astonishing X-Men and Emily was subscribed to X-Men, Ultimate X-Men, and Ultimate Spider-Man. This was fun in that it allowed me to see the four different styles being presented, and to read the different books.

I immediately fell in love with Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men since they are fresh and new, and very closely resembled the characters and feel of the X-Men and Spider-Man movies. Marvel comics is publishing several titles right now with the name Ultimate... these comics are unique in so far as they don't take place in the same universe as all the other Marvel comics. They take place on a parallel Earth that is exactly like ours, except that since it is NOT our Earth, and so there is no back-story for any of the characters. The characters are fresh and new and have no baggage. A new reader can pick up any one of the Ultimate comics and start to read: there is no need to wonder what they are referring to from the past because the titles are all fresh and new.

Anyway...

I discovered a website that allows you to download comics that have been scanned and uploaded. (yes... yes... I know: pirated comics, go figure!) But it allowed me to get back issues of comics that are not available except at ridiculous collector's prices, and it allowed me to sample some of the recent titles that were on the market today. I started to read some of the other titles. I was having a lot of fun! This led to me really discovering that I liked the short format of the comic book story, and that I enjoyed the monthly cliff hangers!

In a nutshell, I downloaded a lot of comics, read quite a few of them, and then I subscribed to the titles that I really enjoyed. The way I see it, if I enjoy something, I should support it. If I like a comic book, then I should buy it. I feel the same about music and MP3s. If I download an MP3, and I really like it, then I believe it is my obligation to buy the album/single and support the artist. It makes sense to me. Sales generates revenue and revenue translates as something the record company (or publishing house) will continue to produce as long as it is profitable. I strongly believe that I am not alone in that. I have many friends on-line who also purchase MP3s that they have downloaded. I wish the record companies would figure it out... but they don't seem to be looking past their noses.

Personally, I don't think i-tunes or e-music is the solution either. If I am going to pay that kind of money for a collection of songs, I want to actually own a physical product: not just own a digital file that has limits on when and where it can be played. I understand the convenience of i-Tunes, but honestly: why do people buy albums from i-Tunes for $10, when the CD itself costs the same thing at the store (and you can actually play the CD wherever you like, instead of only on one or two computers)? **SIGH**

Anyway... I've strayed off-topic.

I guess I'll just wrap up by saying that I have turned into a comic book geek and I am really enjoying it. If you are ever walking past a comic shop or a newsstand tat sells comics: do yourself a favour: pick one up... and if you're not sure what to read, get an Ultimate title. You'll enjoy it!

Sue and Pierre's Birthday Week!

So this week we celebrated Pierre's birthday on Friday (January 19th) and Susan's birthday on Saturday (January 20th). It was fun and we ended up with more cake than you could shake a stick at, LOL!

Tuesday night was really the only time that we could all get together for a night out, so Pierre, Susan, and I went to the vegetarian restaurant for Pierre's birthday. Susan and I treated him. It was really nice. It was a delicious meal and we had a great time. Everything would have been great if Pierre hadn't been sick all night afterwards, though.

There is a kind of flower that they put in soups here. Pierre mentioned it as we were eating, but didn't think anything of it as he finished his meal. The next day, however, after spending a restless night feeling sick, he remembered that this particular flower doesn't agree with him. At least I'll know for next time.

He felt so awful in fact, that he didn't go to work on Wednesday and I took his class for him. After going to see the doctor, it turns out that he also has a mild case of Gastro. Hopefully he'll be alright in a day or two. I feel awful for him, what with it being his birthday this week.
Susan, on the other hand, has been much luckier this week!

She got a really nice pool cue from Pierre and I. My co-worker Nathan helped me choose it because he is a pool player and I am not. I am so clueless about pool that it's actually kind of funny. We gave her the pool cue on Thursday at school so that she could use it Thursday night (every Thursday is pool night).

Nathan bought Susan a 40 oz bottle of Canadian Club Whiskey for her birthday and we opened it on Friday night at her house. I think this is the first time I ever drank Canadian Club. I was surprised by how smooth it was (I'm used to Jack Daniels). I think I have decided to be a CC fan as well.

As you know, we play poker every Friday night, and for the last few months it has been at Susan's house. This week was no exception although there were a few more people than usual since everyone wanted to come celebrate her birthday with her. Terry, Phillip, and Tavis (the usual suspects) were there as always, but tonight we also had Jen, Adel and Robert playing.

Robert and Adel can't often make poker on Friday because they are so busy setting up their new on-line businesses (I think that evenings and weekends are the only time they have to do it). Jen lives pretty far outside of Chiayi, so it's a bit of a trek for her to come, but they all came and joined us at Sue's house for a poker party. Jen has a class now on Friday nights that ends at 9PM, so she thinks she will be able to make it more often since she is already in Chiayi around the time we start playing.

We ended up with eight players at Sue's house, and we played until nearly 4 in the morning. It was really fun. In the end, however, Robert and Terry were the only ones left with any chips, and they decided to call it a draw and split the pot.

Poor Susan only has about 5 ounces left if her Canadian Club, too... so I guess we'll have to buy her some more, LOL!

Saturday night we went up to a French restaurant on Daya called Le Partager. There were two birthday girls, Susan and Tara. Tara's birthday was Wednesday, but this dinner was to celebrate both their birthdays. The restaurant prepared a piece of cake for each birthday girl and presented them on a big plate with a tealite candle, it was really cute!

After dinner, we all drove over to a new bar that just opened called Sport Bar. Yes: Sport Bar (singular). We decided that means they probably only enjoy one sport... and since this is Taiwan that sport is probably ping-pong. So if you ever need to see the big ping-pong match, you know where to go, LOL! Seriously, though, the place is really nice. They have a big screen TVs that show "the game", as well as a few mini-TVs that customers can change the channel. They have little nooks around the central area and several of these have a computer with internet access in them. They also have air hockey and an electronic basketball shooter game... It's quite the cute place! I left Susan there with the gang around midnight and headed home.

As for today... Sue is off at volleyball and I am taking it easy here writing my blog!!

As I write this, I'm listening to a new CD that I just got in the mail this week.

In the early 1980s there was a skinhead oi band that I really liked called Blitz (click on the link to open their myspace page and hear some tunes). As far as I knew, they released a handful of singles and one fantastic album called "Voice of a Generation". I have loved this album since as long as I can remember, it is loud and obnoxious but has lots of sing-along anthem-style songs.

I recently discovered that there had, in fact, been a second album called "Second Empire Justice". To say that this second album is different from the first is like saying that broccoli is not watermelons. This album is so different that I would never have guessed it was the same band if I hadn't seen the liner notes and credits for who played what instrument.

The first album is straight-up hardcore oi music (heavy guitars, pounding bass and jungle-style drumming with a vocalist screaming his fool head off). This second album is sedate by comparison, uses as many keyboards as it does guitars, has dance rhythms and drum machines. It sounds vaguely like Joy Division, The Wake, Modern English, OMD, or early New Order.

To most hardcore Blitz fans, this was a complete disgrace... I'm really enjoying it, though! 20 years later it still sounds really cool! A lot of the tracks are hit and miss, but there are enough excellent tracks on it to make it worth tracking down. I'm really pleased to have found it and I have been listening to it pretty much non-stop since it came in the mail! YAY!

Due to browsing over on the website Rate Your Music, I have also discovered that Blitz reunited and released a third album called "The Killing Dream" in 1989. Reviews say it is more like the first album, but more mature and less angry. The reviews also say it is a very good album. I can't comment on it yet as I haven't heard it... but watch this space because it's already in the mail on it's way to me.
Blitz have not released anything recently, but they are in the middle of a tour of the United States, so it's nice to know they're still active!

Dinner with friends! A mouth-watering post...

Susan and I, along with my friend Albert and his girlfriend Mickey (whom I have known forever!) were invited to Sean and Jane's house last night for dinner.

Sean and Jane own the bagel shop. Albert and I have been doing an informal language exchange on Tuesday nights with them for the last two years, but Albert has been more and more busy lately, and he can rarely attend. The language lessons have become less and less frequent since just before Susan arrived in Taiwan. I have been busy, or Sean has been busy, or Jane has been busy... the lessons are cancelled or rescheduled... so my Tuesday nights with Sean have fallen by the wayside of late.

This doesn't mean that my friendship with Sean and Jane has lapsed! About two weeks ago, Susan and I were having a snack at the bagel shop and we started talking with Jane. Jane has been attending a government sponsored course in Taiwanese traditional and specialty cooking. She has been really enjoying herself and she wanted to invite us over to her place for dinner! Susan and I accepted, especially when Jane said she wanted to play Mahjong after we ate.

We arrived around 7 o'clock and were treated to some really wonderful dishes. Jane knows how picky Susan and I are, so she was pretty selective in what she prepared!

There was my favourite soup: carrot and turnip (I guess it's a turnip... it might be a radish... I've never seen anything like it in Canada: they are generally as long as your forearm!). Whatever the "turnip" thing is, I love it in soup.

We had quite an assortment of appetizers: There was a special dish made with rice-noodles. It looked like Shanghai noodles, but tasted completely different. There was also a dish made with snap peas, beans, mushrooms, and carrots that was out of this world. There was some Tofu, prepared Taiwan style (with garlic and gravy). There was also some Chinese cabbage smothered in garlic butter with sweet carrots.

No proper Taiwan meal is complete without meat (unless you're vegetarian!) so we had three dishes to choose from: sausages, meat-sauce, and pork chops.

The Chinese sweet sausages were served in the traditional Taiwanese way: with fresh slices of garlic. You are meant to eat a slice of garlic with each mouthful of sausage. This creates a mix of sweet and sour flavours in your mouth. It's a little overwhelming at first because of the garlic being so strong, but it's really good!

The meat-sauce is something called "Lou-Ro", which means deer meat. This isn't actually deer meat, but rather a thick stew-like goulash that has huge chunks of meat in a really delicious sauce. It is meant to be served over rice or noodles as a main dish, but as tonight was Jane's showcase for various things she'd learned, we were treating it like yet another appetizer. There was, of course, rice available, but we were encouraged to eat it over the rice-noodles. This was especially nice because of all the different flavours coming together!

Finally, there were also some fresh Chinese style battered pork chops, which everyone enjoyed.

For afters we had some fresh fruits: apples, oranges and something that looked like green eggs, but were more like apples with a pit in them. I wish I could be more specific but I can't for the life of me remember what they're called in English. Sorry! You eat them like apples, skin and all, and they are quite juicy... not guava... nope. Sorry ...drawing a blank!

Finally, we opened a bottle of Champagne that Susan and I brought instead of wine (we still had it from New Year's Eve and this seemed like a good occasion to use it!). We toasted to friendship and to 2007.

After dinner we played Mahjong, and Susan kicked everyone's butt... despite not having a clue what she was doing at the start of the evening, LOL!

It was a really nice evening. It was especially great to just sit and relax among friends. When everyone was good and tired, we crashed on the sofa and let Sean show off his plasma screen TV and surround-sound in-home theatre system. We watched the last half hour of Star Wars 3 on TV, then headed home.

All in all, it was good night and definitely something to write home about!

Happy New Year!

So here we are in another new year, and I've been too busy this week to post my blog, LOL!

Susan and I spent an awesome New Year's Eve with friends at her place. We got together around 7 o'clock and we hung out listening to music, eating, drinking, and playing scattergories until midnight. Then we went up to the roof of out building and enjoyed a panoramic view of the night sky filled with fireworks! ok...I'm making it sound better than it was. It was actually too foggy out to see too many fireworks, but there were loads of them coming from all directions, so it was nevertheless really fun.

We opened up a nice bottle of bubbly (real stuff, not bloody Baby Duck), and we all had a few glasses as we toasted the new year and enjoyed the view. The night was really mild so most of us were up on the roof in short sleeves. The sky was overcast, but the moon itself was really really bright. It was a gorgeous evening.

There were seven of us there. Susan and myself, Tavis, Kevin, Lenka, Terry, and Phillip. It was loads of fun and we laughed ourselves silly until about 4 am when we just had to call it a night before people got too tired to drive home!

The next day, I spent my time organizing my New Years "best of 2006" podcast. I really enjoyed putting it together and I have been really enjoying listening to it, too. If you have a chance, by all means give it a listen. You can get it here: Avenue Podcast New Year 2006.

Since I am still in a bit of a "New Year" mood, I thought now would be the perfect time for me to post my "Best Of" lists for 2006.

Television

TV Disappointments of 2006:

1) Ghost Whisperer (last season was good, this season has sucked so far. If Melinda cries one more time I'm gonna hurl. It's tuning into a cheesy version of Highway to Heaven, if that's even possible but I definitely love the addition of her new co-worker Delia Banks (played by Camryn Manheim). I love Camryn Manheim, but so far she has been really underused and she is pretty much why I am still watching the show.)

2) Jericho (Started off well... then turned into a typical soap with a cheesy premise. As much as I like Skeeter Davis, I just can't buy him as an ex-mercenary.)

3) Medium (The stories have been great this year, but her boss and partner are constantly mocking her abilities to the point where it's a farce: why are they even working with her if they don't take her seriously? It's distracting and annoying.)

4) The Book Of Daniel (This show aired far too briefly in January, 2006. Although only 3 or 4 episodes ever made it to air, I have since managed to see all the episodes. It was cancelled way ahead of it's time as NBC gave into the pressures of the right-wing minority. A lot of complaints were based on the fact that the main character, Episcopal priest Reverend Daniel Webster (Played by Aidann Quinn) was accepting of his openly gay son Peter (Played by Christian Campbell). If I were to have an objection, it would have been to the fact that two of the church's bishops, one of them married, were having an affair. That upset me much more that the fact that the reverend had a gay son! The show was well written and thought provoking. One thing that I most liked about the show was the fact that Reverend Daniel often had heart to heart conversations with Jesus (wonderfully played by Garret Dillahunt), whom only he could see. Their conversations were often thought provoking and humorous. I would have liked to see more of this show.)

5) Torchwood (This show is a bit of an odd one since it appears on both my Best Of list, and my list of disappointments for 2006! I've added it to the disappointments only because I felt that, as good as it was, it only ever hinted at character development. I also felt strongly that the characters often behaved in ways that were plot driven to the extreme, doing things that were not true to their character, but that looked good on screen. I also felt that the series producer (Russell T. Davies), who is himself gay, took the opportunity to lay the sexuality on a bit too thick. Everyone kisses or sleeps with everyone else to the point where it seemed a little overboard and preachy: "look everyone! There's nothing wrong with being gay!"... true enough, but half the time it wasn't necessary in the context of the show! So... although I loved the basic premise and the storytelling, I was a little disappointed that Torchwood wasn't better than it was... especially the weak-ass season finale!)


TV Best of 2006:

1) Dexter (series 1 on Showtime in the US)
2) Heroes (on-going American NBC network)
3) The Lost Room (3 part mini-series on US SciFi Channel)
4) Robin Hood (12 episodes from the BBC in the UK)
5) Doctor Who (12 episodes and Christmas special from the BBC in the UK)
6) Torchwood (13 episodes from the BBC in the UK)
7) Desperate Housewives (on-going American ABC network)
8) Stargate: Atlantis (on-going from Sky One and the US SciFi Channel)
9) Day Break (already cancelled from American ABC network)
10) The War at Home (American FOX network) / How I Met Your Mother (American CBS network)

Honorable mention for being consistently engrossing, well acted, and well written: Coronation Street (on-going from ITV in the UK and CBC in Canada).

Honorable mention for being fun to watch despite inconsistencies and plot holes: As The World Turns (on-going daytime drama from American CBS network).

Honorable mention because I don't watch them but Susan keeps insisting they're fantastic: Grey's Anatomy (on-going from the American ABC network... Susan's choice for #4) and House (on-going from the American FOX network... Susan's choice for #5).


Books:

I didn't read as many books as usual this year, so I have fewer to choose from than usual, LOL!

Here are just a few books that I read and thoroughly enjoyed (I didn't take the publishing date into consideration).

1) Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code (shame about the movie)
2) Daren Shan's Lord Loss and The Demon Thief.
3) Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series (four books: The Eyre Affair, Lost In A Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots, and Something Rotten. A fifth book, First Among Sequels is due out in July 2007)
4) Dianna Wynn Jones' Howl's Moving Castle and it's sequel Castle in the Air.


Anime and Comics

Anime: want to check out some spectacular story telling and great fun stories? Try something from my top 10 These are 10 Japanese animated television shows/movies that I watched this year and absolutely loved! Most are suitable for mature children, but all are well written and do not treat the audience as children or as idiots. The dialogue is clever and snappy, and the stories were engaging and had lots of twists and turns. Titles marked with an asterix (*) are NOT suitable for children. More information about any of these titles can be found at the Anime News Network.

1) The Twelve Kingdoms (Fantasy epic set in a world that resembles ancient China. A young girl is ripped from her home in modern Japan and thrust into the twelve kingdoms. Available with excellent English Dub)

2) Fullmetal Alchemist (Science meets magic! Brothers Edward and Alfonse travel the land trying to find the mystical philosopher's stone. With it they hope to regain something they've lost... available with excellent English Dub)

3) Scrapped Princess (Not everything is as it seems! A prophecy claims that the princess will destroy the world on her 16th birthday, a date which is fast approaching! Available with excellent English Dub)

4) Mushishi (Mushi are a type of elemental lifeform that most people cannot see. A Mushishi is a teacher and a doctor who studies mushi. Human interaction with mushi is usually inadvertent, and often dangerous. Sometimes, the mushishi can help.... expected to be available in English dub sometime next year, but so far only available in Japanese. I saw it with subtitles provided by fans).

5) Tie: My Neighbor Totoro/Spirited Away (My Neighbor Totoro is an excellent full-length classic film from 1987. I'd rate it higher, but I thought some of the newer shows deserved a chance! This classic film tells the story of how two girls meet their forest dwelling neighbor. It is distributed in the West by Disney. Available with 2 different English Dubs. I prefer the old one, not the Disney dub!) (Spirited Away is the 2002 Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature Film. It tells the story of a young girl who, along with her parents, inadvertently wanders into the world of the gods. She must find away to save her parents and return them all to our world. Distributed in English by Disney with excellent dub! )

6) Rozen Maiden (Living dolls fight to the death! The dolls were created by a master craftsman and each comes to life with the help of a medium. They fight in what is called "The Alice Game", a game where the winner will not only be allowed to meet their creator, but will also become Alice, no longer a doll, but a real person... only available in Japanese, I saw it with English Subs supplied by fans. A second series called Traumend is available but I haven't seen that one yet!)

7) Witch Hunter Robin (Robin works as a sort of police officer, tracking down witches in modern Japan. Funny thing is, she is also a witch. Plot twists and conspiracies galore in this excellent series... available with excellent English Dub)*

8) Hellsing (Vampire cops!! This is the story of the Hellsing foundation in England, a quasi-religious organization that fights vampires, with the help of two vampires! Available with decent enough English dub)*

9) Chrono Crusade (Set in what seems to be America during the 1930s, this is the story of a religious organization, The Magdalene Order, who train their priests and nuns to fight against demons.... using big bombs and guns, of course! Our hero is sister Rosette, who has the most unusual of companions, a demon named Chrono who befriended her as a child. This wonderful series is available with an excellent English Dub.)

10) Elfen Lied (A man made species of human-like killers seek to take over the world... Excellent storytelling, but definitely not for the squeamish. There is enough blood to supply the red-cross for a month. This is also borderline hentai, and the main character often wanders around without wearing any clothing... the nudity is pointless and distracting, but the story itself was compelling enough to make it into my top 10. DEFINTELY NOT FOR CHILDREN)*


Comic Books: Looking for some light reading or something fun to while away some time? Check out my top 5 comic books. Most are available as collected works in trade paperbacks.

1) Tie: Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Spider-Man A couple of years ago, Marvel Comics created an alternate universe, known as the Ultimate Universe. In that universe, all the characters and super heroes are the same, but without all the baggage and back stories of the regular Marvel Comics Universe. In a nutshell, it means that a first-time comic book reader can pick up an issue and read it without having to know all the intricacies and backgrounds of all the characters... simply because they haven't been written yet! I have been REALLY enjoying the ultimate comic books! They are highly recommended, and a subscription for a year is only about $20 USD.

2) Tie: 1602/Spider Man India In 1602, Marvel Comics presents an 8 part mini-series showing what would have happened if the super heroes of today had actually lived in the year 1602. It was created and written by Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert. It features the X-Men, Spider Man (Peter Parker), Nick Fury, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Captain America, and many others. This is phenomenal, and worth tracking down. Spider Man India tells the story of a Spiderman who is not an American named Peter Parker. What if he was a teenage boy from India? Really cool story! This is another marvel comics mini-series that is worth finding.

3) Keroro Gunsou (AKA Sgt. Frog) This is a very funny on-going manga (Japanese comic book) that tells the story of frog-like alien invaders on Earth who end up befriending the very creatures they were sent to enslave. Highly amusing for both kids and adults. Available in English, but the books are all black and white, as is the norm for Japanese comics. There is also an excellent television series based on these books, but to date it isn't readily available in English (I watched it in Japanese with fan subs)

4) Astonishing X-Men This series has just started it's 3rd year. It is written by Joss Wheadon (creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly) and drawn by John Cassaday. The story has been really good so far, but as should be expected with Joss Wheadon; what looked like it would be a 3 or 4-issue story line has actually turned out to be one long story arc that has not yet resolved. Rumour has it that this year will see the conclusion of the Wheadon/Cassaday story arc. Great reading, loads of fun, but a very complex plot. I strongly suggest that you pick up the back issues if you want to read this comic. The back issues are nearly all available as trade paperbacks that collect multiple issues together in one book.

5) X-Men First Class This is a really cool on-going mini-series from Marvel. It is about the first group of students to become the X-Men: Cyclops, Iceman, The Beast, and Jean Grey (Marvel Girl). This mini-series takes us back to the original team of X-men and what they were like as teenagers. It's been loads of fun so far! There are 4 left in the series. I hope they turn out to be as good as the first ones have been!


Music:

Here are my top 10 favourite Albums of 2006 (in order):

1) I'm From Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends
2) Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country
3) Morrissey - Ringleader Of The Tormentors
4) Beatles - Love
5) Cansei De Ser Sexy - CSS
6) BWO - Halcyon Days
7) Muse - Black Holes And Revelations
8) Saint Etienne - Tales From Turnpike House (US Edition)
9) Belle And Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
10) The Pipettes - We Are The Pipettes

Honorable mention:
11) Vanessa And The O's - la Ballade D'O
12) Nouvelle Vague - Bande A Part
13) Asian King-Fu Generation - Fan Club


My Favourite EPs of 2006:
Secret Shine - Elemental EP
Secret Shine - Beyond Sea And Sky EP
Sambassadeur - Coastal Affairs EP

Reissues that I was *very* happy to see:
Nitzer Ebb - Body Of Work (2 CD Collection)
Brighter - Out To See (featuring many previously unreleased tracks)
Weeping Willows - Singles Again (2CD collection)

Finaly, here are the songs that rocked my world in 2006 (AKA: Most plays in my iPod)
Fosca - I've Agreed to Something I Shouldn't Have
The Legends - Play It For Today
Radio Dept. - Pet Grief
Depeche Mode - Precious
Depeche Mode - Lilian
Asian Kung-Fu Generation - Rewrite (Theme from Fullmetal Alchemist)
I'm From Barcelona - We're from Barcelona
Pale Sunday - Twiggy Superstar
Young Tradition - California Morning
The Honeytraps - Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)
Lily Allen - Smile
Lily Allen - LDN
Lily Allen - Nan, You're A Window Shopper (unreleased Demo)
BWO - Chariots Of Fire
BWO - Temple Of Love
Saint Etienne - Milkbottle Symphony
Pipettes - I Love A Boy In Uniform (School Uniform) WHY Wasn't this on the damn CD?!?

Most of these songs can be checked out on my Avenue Podcast, and all can be purchased from my favourite on-line CD shops:

Poppolar Records One stop shop for Indie Pop!
CD-Wow Free shipping worldwide, good selection, low prices
CD-Baby Good Service & decent selection of some hard-to find CDs.
CD-Japan Great site for Japanese imports: low prices, lots of freebies!

Once again... Happy New Year... and if you've actually read this far: bless you! ;)