Something I realized this weekend

Over the last month I always seem to find myself saying the same thing, "This is so damn hot, I've never been this hot in my life." It was one of the multiple times this weekend that I said that to myself when I came to a realization about my time here. My days are really just long periods of sweating interrupted by work. Gross as that sounds its true, but that's what happens when you live in Asia.

So this weekend I was going to go to Taipei 101, but when I got there I found my camera was out of batteries and it was getting too cloudy to get any good pictures from the top of the tallest building in the world. That meant I went home reloaded on batteries and travelled to the Bao'an temple (I wanted to go to the Confucius temple but it was being renovated). It was pretty ornate and made for a great get away. Then I figured I'm close enough why not go to the Xinbeitou library and park? On my way there I met some cool Korean tourists then hung out in the coolest library I've ever seen. Beyond that it was in a nice park so I got to get away from the city for a little bit, which is nice. I wasn't planning on staying long but they had a book by George Carlin (random, I know) so I was hooked. After that I thought, I'm close, I'll just go to Danshui. So I took the short trip to what is apparently THE weekend getaway for the entire city. It is really just a long boardwalk along the ocean with lots of vendors and no real beach (there was one small area about the size of a sandbox but that had a dead dog floating in it). That said, it was really cool to see all the people out there and sample some of the food as people there love anything with squid in it. Because I went there on a whim I just wandered around the waterfront area until it got dark. On Sunday I got up grabbed my new breakfast, a big wedge of bread with nuts and raisins from a small bakery. Then I explored the college across the way from me. It was a really small campus but it had some good sports facilities and a 200m track, which is better than nothing. I also spent some time studying for the LSAT in the library and trying (unsuccessfully) to meet some of the coeds.

Later on Sunday I went out to the driving range and for under $3 I got a small bucket of balls and a rental club. For that cheap I may just have to go back. Then again, it was pretty humbling since I never was very good and I haven't hit anything for about a year. On top of that, I was using a crappy iron next to some dude with a huge Big Bertha driver. This dude was killing the ball, seriously, he was knocking the thing 200 yds almost every time. Beyond that, he had a small spectator gallery next to him. So here comes the little white dude and I'm lucky to hit the thing half of his distance, oh well, maybe next time I'll be next to a grandma.

The countdown is on. A week from today I leave for a 5 day trip to Bangkok! Whenever I think of that I get the song "One Night in Bangkok" stuck in my head. I keep telling myself this is not a fun trip but a business trip. However, the business load is pretty light since the trip is mainly for me to get to know the contacts we have there and learn from the guy I am replacing. That means its pretty light on meetings. So I should have a limited amount of time to explore the city. That also means my coworker is paying for lunch and dinner most nights! Other than that I am applying for a Chinese visa in Bangkok so when I get back here to Taiwan I'll be able to go to Jinmen Island and cross into Xiamen, China.

For more pictures check facebook.