To be honest I am not totally sure where things stand on this one. She is back in Taiwan to start classes post-Chinese New Year. But she didn't bother to call me when she got back into town or respond to any emails to let me know when she was coming in. In fact, lately unless I call her she will not respond to any communication.
So I called her the day after she got back and tried to find a time we could hang out. She turned that down since she had a friend from Hong Kong in town. I asked if I could hang out with the two of them--no. Damn strange. Next time I talk to her I ask if she was free and maybe I could run out to Linkou where her school is to see her--no, nothing fun to do in Linkou.
By this time I am starting to get a little pissed, you want to go out but not actually see me, it doesn't work like that. Then this weekend I call again and invite her to dinner-no, she is with her friends, can I chill with them-no her HK friend is around and just broke up with a boyfriend so they are just going to talk (notice a trend here by chance?).
After a night at the club I call her, she can't chill since she's not feeling well. Finally, I got her to agree to go to dinner tonight. Basically, I plan to ask what's up and tell her that if she wants to be in a relationship we need to actually see each other and spend time together because it's not ok to say your are in a relationship then change your facebook and call it done. We shall see what happens.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Lava
So I decided to go out last night. I had a friend from Hong Kong who had rolled into town and I went with him and some dudes that he knew. We went to a place called Lava. I have seen the outside many times but never been inside. Well it was good. A couple of the dudes knew some people who work there so I got in free and then chipped in for a bottle of booze with the people I was with.
The place was pretty cool. I mean bars and clubs are pretty much all alike so there really wasn't too much new that they could do. That said it was pretty open which was cool. They also apparently hired several women to get up on stage and dance with little playboy-style bunny ears. I was able to strike up a conversation with two of them. I was surprised that they were actually pretty cool and turned out to be college students.
Me being me I drank pretty hard. So the end of the night got a little fuzzy. Before the place closed down we rolled out to some karaoke place where I fell asleep. When they woke me up and I walked outside it was light out and 7AM. That was quite a trip for sure.
The place was pretty cool. I mean bars and clubs are pretty much all alike so there really wasn't too much new that they could do. That said it was pretty open which was cool. They also apparently hired several women to get up on stage and dance with little playboy-style bunny ears. I was able to strike up a conversation with two of them. I was surprised that they were actually pretty cool and turned out to be college students.
Me being me I drank pretty hard. So the end of the night got a little fuzzy. Before the place closed down we rolled out to some karaoke place where I fell asleep. When they woke me up and I walked outside it was light out and 7AM. That was quite a trip for sure.
Bath
Well I have a bathtub here at my place. So I decided to take a bath for the first time since I was a little kid. If I had a glass of wine it would have been a damn classy experience but since there is a speaker in the bathroom I instead played some Frank Sinatra.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Lost In Translation (I hope)
So I got a MSN message from a Taiwanese dude I know. Before I replied I got up and went to the bathroom. In the meantime, I got a few more messages from him. When I came back the most recent message included the phrase "...I want to play with you."
My reaction was something along the lines of "WTF!"
After I read what he had written, I realized what he meant to say was "I want to hang out with you." The problem of course is that this guy really cannot write English worth anything but for some reason (even though I can read and write Chinese) he always wants to use English if he writes something to me on MSN.
My reaction was something along the lines of "WTF!"
After I read what he had written, I realized what he meant to say was "I want to hang out with you." The problem of course is that this guy really cannot write English worth anything but for some reason (even though I can read and write Chinese) he always wants to use English if he writes something to me on MSN.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Skype
Continuing my flood of posts today...big thanks to Franey he finally got Skype and hit me up this morning. You should all get it, and not just to talk to me for free (although that is a damn fine reason). Skype is the wave of the future. Ride it.
My New Bible
As per the post below, I was finally able to find and purchase the most recent Thomas Friedman book. I really like his work and I always read his articles in the New York Times. I expect this book to be a lot like “The World is Flat.” By that, I mean that he covers the broad trends and nails the picture of the world today with the trends and challenges that we face. But at the same time he makes predictions that are off-the mark or vague. 
He very much has a penchant for nailing the overall trends (globalization is a great thing and will be the biggest story when we look back 100 years from now) but only making vague policy prescriptions.
We shall see if the new book changes any of this.
That said, his work is still nearly at Bible status for me.
He very much has a penchant for nailing the overall trends (globalization is a great thing and will be the biggest story when we look back 100 years from now) but only making vague policy prescriptions.
We shall see if the new book changes any of this.
That said, his work is still nearly at Bible status for me.
A Busy Weekend (for me)
This weekend was pretty good. Instead of sleeping to the late afternoon I only slept to the early afternoon and actually did productive things for a change. For Friday, (just look below) I had a huge ass meal and I was too full to do anything but stay in and watch “Wedding Crashers” after the DVD for “Road Trip” didn’t work. I will always laugh at the motorboat bit.
Saturday I was called and woken up by my two friends (who happen to be sisters) Vanessa and Francy. They took me down to a huge bookstore where I was able to check out some books. I found some travel books about Portland, it is definitely funny to read names of places at home as their Chinese equivalents. We also went to a huge music store. I found CD’s by my two favorite bands for the first time in Taiwan (not the newest ones that I wanted though) by the Dandy Warhols (as an aside, there is an Andy Warhol art show in Taipei this month that I am going to check out) and Less Than Jake. After that we had dinner and had a nice coffee and chat.
Sunday I went with a coworker and his wife to a public gym for $2 to workout. I ran for 30min on the treadmill and did some lifting for probably the first time in a year. So I am a little sore today but not nearly as much as I expected.
On Sunday night I had a nice dinner and chat with my friend Claire. We went to a pasta place that was pretty good—as always I added lots of Tabasco. Then we went to a bookstore where I read a bunch of magazines (Economist, Newsweek, and National Geographic). I also found Thomas Friedman’s most recent book “Hot, Flat, and Crowded.” I have been searching for it since I came here and when I saw it I immediately bought it.
You may notice there is nothing about the ladyfriend. It is a strange situation to be honest. I hadn’t seen her forever over the Chinese New Year since she was in Hong Kong. Then on Monday she came back but did so without calling or responding to any emails or texts. So Tuesday night I called her—yes she was in Taiwan she said, but no she could not see me or hang out. Apparently, she had some friend in from HK that she was showing around town. Could we all hang out? Nope. I was pretty surprised and not sure what to make of it. Hopefully something was lost in translation. We shall see.
Saturday I was called and woken up by my two friends (who happen to be sisters) Vanessa and Francy. They took me down to a huge bookstore where I was able to check out some books. I found some travel books about Portland, it is definitely funny to read names of places at home as their Chinese equivalents. We also went to a huge music store. I found CD’s by my two favorite bands for the first time in Taiwan (not the newest ones that I wanted though) by the Dandy Warhols (as an aside, there is an Andy Warhol art show in Taipei this month that I am going to check out) and Less Than Jake. After that we had dinner and had a nice coffee and chat.
Sunday I went with a coworker and his wife to a public gym for $2 to workout. I ran for 30min on the treadmill and did some lifting for probably the first time in a year. So I am a little sore today but not nearly as much as I expected.
On Sunday night I had a nice dinner and chat with my friend Claire. We went to a pasta place that was pretty good—as always I added lots of Tabasco. Then we went to a bookstore where I read a bunch of magazines (Economist, Newsweek, and National Geographic). I also found Thomas Friedman’s most recent book “Hot, Flat, and Crowded.” I have been searching for it since I came here and when I saw it I immediately bought it.
You may notice there is nothing about the ladyfriend. It is a strange situation to be honest. I hadn’t seen her forever over the Chinese New Year since she was in Hong Kong. Then on Monday she came back but did so without calling or responding to any emails or texts. So Tuesday night I called her—yes she was in Taiwan she said, but no she could not see me or hang out. Apparently, she had some friend in from HK that she was showing around town. Could we all hang out? Nope. I was pretty surprised and not sure what to make of it. Hopefully something was lost in translation. We shall see.
Slow and Pretty Steady
I have noticed I have really been speaking a lot of Chinese recently. I guess I am a little proud since a Singaporean business partner I haven’t seen for a few months told me I was improving—which is always welcome news.
To be sure, I am still not were I need to be or want to be. My Chinese is still too basic and I am lost far too often in meetings. That said I can do pretty well reading stuff in both traditional and simplified Chinese—but newspapers and books are still a challenge.
This weekend I pretty much only spoke Chinese with the people I was hanging out with. The huge plus to that is that now it is pretty normal for me only to speak Chinese when I am with people and this is no longer intimidating for me.
To be sure, I am still not were I need to be or want to be. My Chinese is still too basic and I am lost far too often in meetings. That said I can do pretty well reading stuff in both traditional and simplified Chinese—but newspapers and books are still a challenge.
This weekend I pretty much only spoke Chinese with the people I was hanging out with. The huge plus to that is that now it is pretty normal for me only to speak Chinese when I am with people and this is no longer intimidating for me.
Yuma
On Friday we had a German vendor come in to give us a presentation. After that my boss, the vendor, and I all went to a southwestern place called Yuma and had a great dinner. The place is pretty good. In the US it would be average, but over here with very little in the way of southwestern it’s pretty damn good.
The downside was that after that I was planning to go out to the bars. But I was so damn full there was no way I could possible drink so I ended up going home to watch “Wedding Crashers” and digest.
I am going there again today. This time I am taking another vendor for some beers afterward so I’ll make sure to eat less.
The downside was that after that I was planning to go out to the bars. But I was so damn full there was no way I could possible drink so I ended up going home to watch “Wedding Crashers” and digest.
I am going there again today. This time I am taking another vendor for some beers afterward so I’ll make sure to eat less.
Last Week at Work
Work has been going well. On the plus side I really feel like I am becoming a better businessman (for better or worse). I am thinking more and more in terms of costs and logistics and I have been making my case in meetings more often. And let’s be frank, I am still busy. Given the economic times now this is the most important thing to keep in mind.
So that makes me feel sort of bad if I have any complaints. But the problem I ran into this last week was that things looked fine and weren’t busy in the morning. Then 3PM rolled around—and WHAM! I was slammed with emails and crap to do (which means a day when I was thinking of getting off early then becomes a day when I get off late).
The epitome of this was on Wednesday. I was packing up to leave at 6PM (a little late) when my boss called me. The order I had been working on for our China plant was urgent and I needed to organize it as the only person who speaks English. Well this meant I stayed until 7:30PM talking and emailing with Germany, figuring out payment methods and terms (which ended up being revised twice the next day), and making a PO.
I don’t necessarily mind getting off late. The problem is when I believe there is a chance to get off early—only to have it dashed. That sucks.
Another memorable thing last week was meeting with a vendor, we were discussing problems with the machine they had sold us. The local agents (who are crappy at doing any service were there too along with a new one who was very pretty) were there too. Well my boss comes in. He proceeds to bascially rip the local agents a new one and tells them they suck at service. I was taken aback. I was going to broach the subject at dinner not right in front of them, which makes them lose a lot of face. Oh well.
So that makes me feel sort of bad if I have any complaints. But the problem I ran into this last week was that things looked fine and weren’t busy in the morning. Then 3PM rolled around—and WHAM! I was slammed with emails and crap to do (which means a day when I was thinking of getting off early then becomes a day when I get off late).
The epitome of this was on Wednesday. I was packing up to leave at 6PM (a little late) when my boss called me. The order I had been working on for our China plant was urgent and I needed to organize it as the only person who speaks English. Well this meant I stayed until 7:30PM talking and emailing with Germany, figuring out payment methods and terms (which ended up being revised twice the next day), and making a PO.
I don’t necessarily mind getting off late. The problem is when I believe there is a chance to get off early—only to have it dashed. That sucks.
Another memorable thing last week was meeting with a vendor, we were discussing problems with the machine they had sold us. The local agents (who are crappy at doing any service were there too along with a new one who was very pretty) were there too. Well my boss comes in. He proceeds to bascially rip the local agents a new one and tells them they suck at service. I was taken aback. I was going to broach the subject at dinner not right in front of them, which makes them lose a lot of face. Oh well.
Dry?
I have been pretty dry for a long time. Given my time in college this is not something I ever expected to happen. This weekend I thought I could go out but on Friday I was too damn full and there was no way I could have had anything else. Then on Saturday I was hanging with two friends so that meant no. Well, maybe this weekend.
At the same time, given that I don't exercise a lot this has helped me look mildly fit. So it's not all bad.
At the same time, given that I don't exercise a lot this has helped me look mildly fit. So it's not all bad.
Monday, February 16, 2009
My New Place
Here are a few pictures from my new place. You can see the Japanese style room where I sleep. I didn't put in pictures of the laundry area, the bathroom, the other bedroom, the kitchen, and the small bedroom that we use as store room.
Taichung/Taizhong
So last week I decided I needed a change of pace. The weekend routine of wake up late, chill, eat, maybe go to bar, and repeat the next day just wasnt doing it for me. I made up my mind to take the train to central Taiwan (Taichung City or Taizhong depending on your romanization). The problem was that I didnt do any prep as to what I would do when I got there. I knew there was a famous "girlie bar" that was light-years beyond my price range but other than that I did no prep.
So I woke up late caught a train there. Arrived in the evening and found a hotel. The next day I got up somewhat early and walked around the downtown area and tried, without success, to find an art district. Then I came back to Taipei around 4PM or so and met a friend for dinner and coffee and on the way out ran into someone else I know.
All in all, it wasn't too fun. I did the same thing I could have done in Taipei but spent more money to do it. That said, it was a nice change of pace.
Friday, February 13, 2009
No More Winter!
The way I see it I paid my dues for 4 years in South Bend and froze my ass off in the winter. Well that was money in the bank I guess. Here it is the middle of February in Taiwan and it's already in the 80's. We have to blast the AC at work and right now I am in my apartment in shorts and a T-shirt. This is not a bad thing.
Another thing that is not bad is this song I can't get out of my mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7qEivYkgZM.
Happy Birthday Eric and a Happy Valentines Day to everyone else out there,
Another thing that is not bad is this song I can't get out of my mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7qEivYkgZM.
Happy Birthday Eric and a Happy Valentines Day to everyone else out there,
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Funny Story
Maybe this wont be as funny to you as it is to me. But I was going to get a coffee at 7-11 during my lunch yesterday to wake my ass up. Well the guard at the front door asked me to get a him a "baozi" or steamed bun.
He said in an attempt to speak English, what sounded like "new people" which I figured to be a brand of steamed bun. So I set off in search of the new people steamed buns, which I didnt find but I did find a generic steamed bun at 7-11 instead. So I brought him back a steamed bun.
When saw it he started laughing. He told me he wanted a "baozhi" or newspaper--not a steamed bun. The problem is taiwanese people especially older ones like the guard pronounce the syllable "zi" to sound nearly identical to "zhi." Once I realized the mistake I thought it was pretty funny too
He said in an attempt to speak English, what sounded like "new people" which I figured to be a brand of steamed bun. So I set off in search of the new people steamed buns, which I didnt find but I did find a generic steamed bun at 7-11 instead. So I brought him back a steamed bun.
When saw it he started laughing. He told me he wanted a "baozhi" or newspaper--not a steamed bun. The problem is taiwanese people especially older ones like the guard pronounce the syllable "zi" to sound nearly identical to "zhi." Once I realized the mistake I thought it was pretty funny too
Monday, February 9, 2009
This Weekend
So there was some rough things that went down recently. No worries about me, but like the post a little further down it happened to my rommie. He asked me not to talk about it so I won’t until things get totally resolved. That said it really doesn’t concern me other than the fact that it is my rommie and I am pulling for him here.
So…that means back to what I did this weekend. There is an older grandfatherly guy with the local ND club here. He holds breakfast club meetings about once a month. This week he made it a dinner club at a southwestern place. The food was so-so but tasted better since I was a departure from the ordinary.
I had a full rack of ribs and finished without a problem. It was the first meal I ate that day so I was starving. But I have also been able to finish full racks of ribs since I was in grade school so this was not a real deal.
The purpose of these meetings is to meet people and listen to an interesting talk. I met a cool dude with his own hot spring resort that he is trying to start. He was also one of the few non-white dudes there (most are expats with Taiwanese wives or the occasional expat lady). So that was cool. The talks were boring. One was about the wind lion god of Kinmen Island and the other was about Taiwanese popular religion (with a sloppy attempt at a political message). All in all the food was average, the people were mildly interesting, and the presentations were less than riveting. But it still was a decent day overall.
So…that means back to what I did this weekend. There is an older grandfatherly guy with the local ND club here. He holds breakfast club meetings about once a month. This week he made it a dinner club at a southwestern place. The food was so-so but tasted better since I was a departure from the ordinary.
I had a full rack of ribs and finished without a problem. It was the first meal I ate that day so I was starving. But I have also been able to finish full racks of ribs since I was in grade school so this was not a real deal.
The purpose of these meetings is to meet people and listen to an interesting talk. I met a cool dude with his own hot spring resort that he is trying to start. He was also one of the few non-white dudes there (most are expats with Taiwanese wives or the occasional expat lady). So that was cool. The talks were boring. One was about the wind lion god of Kinmen Island and the other was about Taiwanese popular religion (with a sloppy attempt at a political message). All in all the food was average, the people were mildly interesting, and the presentations were less than riveting. But it still was a decent day overall.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Super Bowl Monday?
Congrats to the Steelers. I really had no dog in this fight but I would have liked to see Arizona pull out the upset. It was strange to get to work and have to follow the game on ESPN gamecast through live updates. In the last few years it has been a day long event in the dorms complete with game-watch parties and tons of great food (pizza, pizza, pizza). This year I was at work. Man, things do change.
The Chinese New Year
Most days of the 9 day Chinese New Year break (this is X-mas for Chinese and Taiwanese people) were pretty boring. Not much was open and not much was going on. That meant I finished moving into my new place. Other than that there was a lot of sleeping (I would go to bed at 4am then wake up at 3pm and stay in bed for a few more hours) and lots of playing Starcraft.
So the interesting parts. The two days before the break I was at the office 13 hours and 14 hours, respectively. Then on the first day of the break I went in at 9am on 4 hours sleep to confirm a package was being sent out before sleeping the rest of the day. We were doing an important project for our Thailand customer and thankfully everything turned out ok. The day I was at the office 13 hours I had to leave so fast and rush to the airport with my boss that I forgot my keys and didn’t find out until 1am. So I spent the night at Nicks (I am now officially moved in).
On that Saturday my boss took me to dinner at a great prime rib place called Lawrys. The prime rib was killer, then again most prime rib would be great after such a long hiatus. I stuffed myself. The highlight of the evening was getting there. My boss offered to let me back his car, a Benz, out. I accepted. Then once we were in the car he said just drive to the restaurant. I will say I was less nervous than I should have been. I was on roads infested with motor scooters, in a foreign country, without a legal license, and in someone else’s (expensive car). To be honest, I have never been a car guy. But that was still the nicest car I have driven.
The next night my boss and his parents invited me and Nick to their place for a dinner. It was a nice gesture since it is only supposed to be family on the Chinese New Years Eve. No matter, we had a huge homemade meal, did a Chinese dice gambling game, and played some blackjack. Needless to say my poor gambling skills have not improved.
Other than that the only major excitement was going to the bar and the “fight” described below and having a dinner with Nick’s Taiwan mama.
So the interesting parts. The two days before the break I was at the office 13 hours and 14 hours, respectively. Then on the first day of the break I went in at 9am on 4 hours sleep to confirm a package was being sent out before sleeping the rest of the day. We were doing an important project for our Thailand customer and thankfully everything turned out ok. The day I was at the office 13 hours I had to leave so fast and rush to the airport with my boss that I forgot my keys and didn’t find out until 1am. So I spent the night at Nicks (I am now officially moved in).
On that Saturday my boss took me to dinner at a great prime rib place called Lawrys. The prime rib was killer, then again most prime rib would be great after such a long hiatus. I stuffed myself. The highlight of the evening was getting there. My boss offered to let me back his car, a Benz, out. I accepted. Then once we were in the car he said just drive to the restaurant. I will say I was less nervous than I should have been. I was on roads infested with motor scooters, in a foreign country, without a legal license, and in someone else’s (expensive car). To be honest, I have never been a car guy. But that was still the nicest car I have driven.
The next night my boss and his parents invited me and Nick to their place for a dinner. It was a nice gesture since it is only supposed to be family on the Chinese New Years Eve. No matter, we had a huge homemade meal, did a Chinese dice gambling game, and played some blackjack. Needless to say my poor gambling skills have not improved.
Other than that the only major excitement was going to the bar and the “fight” described below and having a dinner with Nick’s Taiwan mama.
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