October 2009
1 post
September 2009
3 posts
bloggering
Tumblr loads really slowly in Taiwan in for some reason, so for writing regular updates I’m going to be using blogger from now on.
http://taiwantingly.blogspot.com/
August 2009
8 posts
July 2009
5 posts
June 2009
11 posts
checked my weight last night
I weigh 68kg (150lbs)
watching tv
I was just watching a Japanese food show on TV. The premise is that the chefs prepare a couple meals, and they invite a bunch of celebrities to commentate and vote for which meal they want to eat.
At one point, a chef took a rice ball and cut it open, inside there was a little egg with a beautifully color yoke. It looked so good, I yelled out loud, “Oh, shit!
I think I’ve been in...
One More Week
I finished my 2,000 character long geography report. Now I just have some exams, an oral test, and a tiny presentation for Taiwan Sociology.
Then I’m coming home!
“Jackson is interspersing clips of “Hellboy 2” into video sessions,...”
– Lakers must stop a monster - Los Angeles Times
National Health Insurance
Cost of getting teeth cleaned: $3US
Arcane Knowledge of the Far East
Your friend says to you,
“Look at her, she just came back from spending a week at home. Her skin looks really healthy. She must have had a lot of sex.”
May 2009
14 posts
barbarian in the dormitory
There’s a foreigner at school. Recently he watches basketball games on TV. When the competition is fierce, the opposing team scores, or the team he supports performs well, this foreigner becomes loud and disturbs others nearby. He claps, hits the table, and shouts words in his foreign language. He is quick. One moment he is unmoving, the next he is risen, prowling back and forth, hitting the...
bought plane ticket
Flying into JFK on June 28. I’m looking forward to going home, but am not looking forward to the flight. Two hours to Incheon, Korea. Two hour layover. 14 hours to New York.
Trying out WolframAlpha
Question: What is the meaning of life?
Answer: 42
Link: WolframAlpha
in the news
Linkou County has the highest amount of stray dogs in Taiwan.
in the news
I saw a newspaper headline the other day. It said that in Taiwan new college graduates on average make NT$27,000 a month. Masters degree students make NT$30,000. In U.S. dollars that is $820 and $911. Currently most graduates are just happy to have work.
My scholarship stipend: NT$25,000 a month.
In a culture where treating others to meals is common, there are plenty of opportunities for me two...
presidential election
So the week before last, when all my midterns were finished, I decided to take a personal ‘post-midterms vacation,” and went down south for about a week, skipping class last Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I thought I wouldn’t miss anything important. I thought wrong. So wrong.
When I came back on Wednesday night, I discovered there had been a meeting to choose candidates for...
Thomas Allen’s Book Art Photography |... →
at the night market
“Do you want to get some dou hua?” he asks you.
“Dou hua is that sweet tofu milk drink dessert thing, right?” you reply.
“Yes, this place is pretty good. Let’s get some. Excuse me, xiaojie, we would like some dou hua. I’ll have green bean with mine. Thank you. What do you want?”
“I’ll have red bean dou hua,” you say.
“Are...
I'm sick.
(-_-)…uuH
in the metro
The international airport and the city central train station are both located along the metro’s red line. It’s a line of departures and arrivals. He is seated near the rear of the car, a young man with yellow sunglasses. A full, heavy backpack rests against his right leg. A girl wearing short shorts sits to his left, her head buried in his shoulder. When she glances upward, you see her...
summer plans
Going to China and wondering around the mountains would definitely help my Chinese. Going to Korea for two months to study Korean for free is a great opportunity. But you know what? Neither of these ideas excites me nearly as much as going home does. I’m always daydreaming about it. My mind is settled. I’ll let you know when I’ll be back after I buy a plane ticket.
April 2009
21 posts
from The Official Whitehouse Photostream on flickr
The Official Whitehouse Photostream.
Writing Midterm
I got a 91 on my writing midterm and am beating myself up so badly. Perhaps I should relax a little.
after watching a video in class
Me: I thought the part where the paper makers have a meeting was interesting. The mentioned they needed to build a temple to Cai Lun — Cai Lun was the first guy to make paper, right? — they said they needed to build a temple to Cai Lun or else people would think poorly of them.
Teacher Lin: Yes. In China most houses have a private alter, where people pray to their ancestors, but some...
respite
Yahoo. After a couple weeks of hurried review and preparation, I finally finished the last of my midterms today. Relieve! Spring has come! Once again I can stay up late without worrying about which chapters need to be reviewed the next day. Now it is time to celebrate and try my best to forget every single bit of information I learned during the first half of this semester. Hoorah for tests!
Now...
Simple English
I like reading Simple English Wikipedia. It’s like Wikipedia, but simpler. There are many articles. The English used to write articles is not difficult. This is good for people studying English. Also reading simple English is very relaxing. The world has many problems. But these problems are not scary when written with simple English.
Look at the following example:
The People’s...
Level Up
Free pilots for the Test of Huayu Proficiency were held last month. We wouldn’t be able to receive any actual certifacation, but I participated after we were all encouraged by teachers to take it just for practice. It’s the Mandarin proficiency test I took back in America when applying for school, except last time I signed up for the beginner level test.
This time I took the basic...
example fail
Me: Music? Recently I’ve been really into this hip-hop group called Kou Chou Ching. Nobody’s ever heard of them though.
Him: I don’t know them either. They must be more underground. Hip-hop? Really? You don’t look like a hip-hop fan. Your clothes look more like a rock and roll kid. You know like indy music.
Me: I like that too. You can’t tell what music someone...