life in general

I would love to recap my life for the last few months. I have let this blog lapse I know, but considering no one reads it, I guess it makes sense. I have been blogging alot on myspace. I'm not sure why this has become my blog of choice. More than likely because people read it. It's easier to blog there than here. I know, I should comment more and then maybe I would get more traffic...but then god forbid, people might actually show up and read me! I don't really know how I could take that haha

a little lame, a little rain

It's raining...no wait, it's not raining, it's fucking pouring! I could be cleaning, but it's raining. I could be doing stuff for work, but it's raining. Why is it when it rains, I let myself have the excuse to do nothing.

I guess my night of drunkeness and my day of sleeping hasn't really helped my motivation at all has it.

life that is work

it has been a crazy month. So much stuff I haven't done yet. We just got new assessment forms for raises at our company. They are completely complicated and stupid but the one thing that is definately new is that as older staff, we have to set professional development goals for us to complete in six months. Now, at first I thought this was a shit idea...what the hell! My job used to be so easy and now they actually want me to do stuff??!!! But after today, I realized I need to set myself some goals. Even if I am only here for another six months. My time management is shit and I'm lazy in my job. I do the least that I can to get by and it is really bad! I always have so much Head teacher stuff to do and I never get around to doing it. I have this weird little thing where I don't actually like people to see me doing work. It's the same as cleaning my house, if I have roommates, I WILL NOT clean when they are around. Everyone has to be gone, I have to by myself for me to do anything. Why is that? I think I am totally fucked in the head somedays.

again!!!

yeah, so that last post was suppose to have pictures and be this really cool little format...I uploaded the pictures but I have no idea what happened to them. Another thing for me to figure out on this blogger space place...it's not nearly as easy as myspace. Guess it just takes practice....but midnight is not the time to be fooling with all of that right now.

Taichung Baby

So we went to Taichung this weekend. I have been there one other time and it was a lot of fun. Well, I learned a lot about it this weekend, namely the fact that I'm probably never going back.

First fun fact - The Aloha bus is the only way to travel. Way faster than the train, and you get to ride in comfort, watch movies or play video games...


The greatest ride ever, I am seriously tempted to just ride it down to Kaoushung for a weekend and then come right back haha.

Fun fact two - I hate house parties. I have no photo documentation of this because I hate them so much. Especially when you don't know anyone and you have to take off your shoes and oh crap, you just bought new suade shoes that day that turned your feet black...yeah, fun! Didn't find out until later that my friend Ivy washed her feet in the bathroom when she got there. I don't think it would have worked with mine anyway, they are still slightly blue.

Fun fact three - Aston Mini's rock and I love the fact that they are all over Taiwan..they are sort of like Beetles in Canada.


Fun fact four - Doremon stamps are dangerous when in the wrong hands




Their hands are still that blue today.....

Fun fact five - glow bracelets rock, even if I am the only one that thought so (I kept stealing them from the bar, I thought I was pretty brave, but I'm pretty sure I was allowed to take them so I guess it doesn't really count)




Fun fact six - Goodbye Ki and Ivy, see you in Vancouver!!

Fun fact seven - always trust your good friends, they will never lead you astray....

Fun fact eight - always trust your new friends - they are just along for the ride



Fun fact nine - never trust your fucking evil friends -


they screw you over and steal your camera when you are completely drunk after going to an all you can drink joint and drinking white russians that I'm pretty sure weren't white at all, just russian. And not even a proper Russian...baileys, cream de cafe, vodka and god knows what else they were putting in my drink...they take pictures of you after you have puked down a sewer drain and passed out in the middle of the road....

(this picture has been deleted for the fact that people do not need to see me passed out in a gutter surrounded by my loving and caring friends.)

I keep forgetting that I'm not still 21....

***the pictures are all a little out of whack in this post...since it's in my archives, I'm not going to worry about it right now.

good friends, good music, good beach

Yesterday, the day it all wound down. Graduation. Over. Finished. Rocked. Another year down and what did I do after? The same thing I've done the first too times. Go out and drink to a little taste of freedom. Year one, spend the night in a sailor bar...yeah, I don't remember if there were any actual sailors in there or just "waitresses" There always seem to be a lot more "waitresses" than customers in that place. Year two, it was the Truck. The beginning of my hanging out at the Truck I guess it was only appropriate that we ended up there at that time, armfuls of flowers and gifts included. This year, kick ass rock concert at Fulong beach. Yes, okay, so most of the bands were Taiwanese and I couldn't understand what they were saying, but music knows no bounds right? It was probably the best concert I've ever been too since I didn't know any bands so I wasn't pushing to get closer to the stage to get a good look. I was quite content just seeing them on the big screen and listening to the "wo ai Taiwan" (I love Taiwan) I was feeling very patriotic by the end I have to say. So we were able to sit millions of miles away from the stage, and be closer to the beer, food and bathrooms. I say it all worked out for the better!

One thing that did not compare to at home was the prices. We got beer early thinking that it would be damn expensive on the beach. Not needed...you could buy almost any kind of beer you wanted and it was only 3 for $100NT which translates roughly to 3 for $3.50CAD. Thats just over a dollar a beer!!! Not bad, not bad and the food was even cheaper so we went for all out fare just trying everything. The squid on a stick was the best in my opinion...and it was truely on a stick this time!

Too bad I'm not going back today because a band that I actually know is going to be playing and as much as they may be cool and I actually got to meet them last night with my incredibly drunk friend who said I knew them from myspace, (I'll link them later, myspace is being stupid right now) I am not going back on the train ride from hell (think not moving an inch at all) and getting stuck on the way back (took forever to find a cab) and walking on the beach is a bitch sometimes.

Hot, Heat, Hell

Continue
Have I ever mentioned Taiwan is hot? It is. Very. I mean, yes, it gets hot in Canada...but I am not used to the humidity. Plus it never gets this hot, for this long. A week or two of scorching heat there compared to 3 months of it here. I think you can see the difference. I just can't really think about anything other than how hot it is. It's really sad and pathetic, but it's true.

still learning

I am still learning about this blog thing...bare with me as I play around with stuff. For a great slide show of my friend leaving go here. Although, you may get access denied. I'm really just trying to figure out what a trackback is!

lizards...again

fear is like a box of chocolates (okay, no) Current mood: thirsty
Alright, so as I am sure so many people out there know, I have been having lizard issues. Yes, I call them issues. It is a well known fact as I let the entire world know with my random emails, comments and blogs about the damn things. So I got to thinking tonight, after getting rid of yet another lizard, the third in fact, and I am still freaked out to do my laundry because I am absolutely convinced I will find another one out there, why exactly I am so afraid of the darn things.
So I looked up fear...yes I did...right here at my favourite place to look up things. (although admitedly I just figured out that this place, anyone can edit it, so who knows how much of the stuff that I am looking up is actually acurate) I also looked up scared shitless but it came up with this which I found rather humorous...I personally think I'm a flight. But I digress. So fear...in case you didn't click the link...
1) Fear is an unpleasant feeling of perceived risk or danger, whether it be real or imagined.
Okay, so I can't really say that lizards pose a real danger to me, I am willing to admit that...I guess that my perception of the whole thing is definately imagined..but what if they crawl on me, what if they get into my house!! Oh wait, thats right, while trying to run away yesterday, the thing actually DID get into my house! Yeah, that's when all the screaming started and the neighbours came a knocking...well sort of, it was more of a door opening thing since I had run outside screaming haha...luckily I wasn't the one chasing the lizard or it would probably be sitting somewhere in my knickers. To my defense, I wasn't the only one screaming...when it came in the house there were three of us (girls) freaking out...needless to say, the only guy around was outside with me!
2) Fear also can be described as a feeling of extreme dislike towards certain conditions, objects, people, or situations such as: fear of darkness, fear of ghosts, etc. It is one of the basic emotions and is linked heavily to the amygdala neurons
I have definate dislike going on for the condition of lizards...but the rest of it put me back in bio psych in Uni and, well that's just not a good place to be...amygdala and all!
I still haven't answered the question of why the stupid things freak me out...although the spider I saw the other day outside my house and actually prevented me from getting to my door (yes, it was THAT big...like, my hand size here people!!) freaked me out too (staring at it for 20 minutes before deciding just to go back to work for my 3 hour break...yeah) It is weird because people talk about all the weird insects, snakes, spiders and everything crazy that you can find here in Taiwan..I've been here for 2 years and I am only just now starting to come into contact with them...I think they have sensed either the fact that I am becoming too much a part of this place, or they are determined to help me in my drive to get home by running me out of the country....
But really, why am I freaked of them? I got told yesterday that I looked terrified when the "save Tobi" process was happening, and I was well and truly terrified. It is the weirdest thing....
so that's the end...now remember, comments are fun, comments are good...they also keep me vain, (wow! people actually come and read my blog!) but that's okay too...so if you read, leave me a comment..even if it only to say hi....so yeah, now I've done it and I'm going to get all "hi" messages...ah well, that's okay too!

one hitters

Ever wonder what happened to those great tunes that you enjoy, you buy the cd and it inevitably sucks and you never hear from the artist again? Lyss and I have been having comment relations over this fact...yes okay, I had It's Raining Men on my site...but she came back with MC Hammer. So now I have Fastball. To their credit, I don't believe Fastball is a one-hit wonder in the true sense of the word. I remember them having at least a few videos on Much Music before petering out. So now I have gone down memory lane. But what exactly makes a one-hit wonder then? Is it simply the one single song that is released, eaten up by millions and then the artist is never heard from again? Or is it that the artists have released a second single and it sucked...bad. Wikipedia describes it as only one single being released...but then in that case, Fastball isn't a one hit wonder and I'm still cool. It still left me thinking though, what one-hit wonder's are out there and how many would I find nostalgia in. I was surprised with the answers, let me tell you...
Spirit In The Sky - Doctor & The Medics...I actually had no idea who sang this...to think for years I thought it was Mike and the Mechanics..haha, close but not exactly the same thing. My mother actually wants this played at her funeral. That right there made this song completely unlistenable anymore.
She's Like The Wind - Patrick Swayze...remember, from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack? Making this list is not a big surprise.
We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister...what?? Twisted Sister a one hit wonder? Surely not! Can this possibly be true?
Come On Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runner - Too bad this is a one-hit wonder...I love this song! Imagine what they could have done with more singles!
Groove Is In The Heart - Deelight...ah, the beginning of the end people, the beginning of the end.
Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor - Okay, this is another one I am surprised to see on the list....really? but then, I can't actually think of anything else she's done as a single.
Life Is A Highway - Tom Cochrane...surely this is an American List...he's done more than just this song eh? I remember my sisters saw him when he opened for Glass Tiger!
I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred - ah the memories...ah the drunk memories (I think you'd have to be to enjoy this song)
500 Miles - The Proclaimers...I refuse to consider this as a one-hit wonder...My Old Friend The Blue...one of their best songs.
People Are Still Having Sex - Latour...think this would be up there with Deelight.
Chumbuwumba - can't have a one hit wonder list without tubthumping, this and Semisonic, the Verve and good old Jimmy Ray (do you remember that song?) remind me to my uni days...among other things. My roommate actually bought the chumbuwumba cd (hehe)
Sex and Candy - Marcy Playground...I own this cd, I loved this cd...go figure.
Alright, I'm done my list. If you want to take a walk down memory lane, go here and have fun! Personally I love one-hit wonders, I embrace it, I acknowledge it...

Lizard vs gecko

Liz'ard

1. Any of numerous reptiles of the suborder Sauria or Lacertilia, characteristically having a scaly elongated body, movable eyelids, four legs, and a tapering tail.
2. Leather made from the skin of one of these reptiles

Gecko

1. Any of various usually small tropical and subtropical lizards of the family Gekkonidae, having toes padded with setae containing numerous suction cups that enable them to climb on vertical surfaces

Apparently there are differences between Gecko and Lizard. Surely I knew that, I know that I did, but in a moment of panic I said Lizard, whereas perhaps it was Gecko I meant. So why am I bringing up the horrible reptiles? (I'm not one for bugs, reptiles and various rodents)

Well, I needed to do laundry this evening, yes, it's laundry day. I am seriously considering buying a shirt that declares that it is Laundry Day, but I digress. So the laundry, the lizards (sorry Gecko) together equals disaster. I open my washing machine and what do I see? A FREAKING LIZARD (sorry) GECKO!!! Seriously shitting myself here, alone, in my house. What if it comes in? How am I going to get rid of it? I am being such a girl at the moment, but I'm not sure I care at the moment. I have to get someone else to come and get it out, there is NO WAY I am dealing with it.

Updates on what happens tomorrow.

What the hell happened to Kenny Rogers?

Ok, I will admit it, even in Taiwan I've been watching American Idol. I can't vote so I figure it is okay. So this week was country week, and the guest person was Kenny Rogers. What the fuck!! He looks completely different and a little freaky. People have been saying it's the plastic surgery they think he's had. I don't doubt it, there is something up with his eyes...that and the fact that he has a duded up hairstyle. Definately not the scruffy country dude I remember. Either I'm getting really old or he is, I don't know but he sure looks different and not totally in the good way.

decision time...help!

Okay, so I have two weeks to decide if I am going to stay in Taiwan for another year or not. My contract ends in August so essentially it would be to sign for another year and a half from now. I really do want to come back to Canada, I miss it so much and my trip home really showed me that, plus I really really needed to get away from here and have a break. So now things are okay and I am enjoying it again, however, who is to say that six months down the road I am not going to be cranky all the time again and need another break. And then I will still have a whole year left!

So I could go home, but what to do. I really do like teaching english...I think this could be what I actually want to do. I have been looking at Master's programs but I don't really want to do one yet. I am just begining to see the light from my student loans, I don't really want to go back there yet again. I think I need to at least work a couple of more years before I make myself go back to school. At least now though, I know what I want to do. The question is, will schools in Canada want me to do it for them. I absolutely hate having such low self-esteem. My friend told me tonight to just do it and try. I know I should and I have been looking for jobs but I am just so scared that they will think I am not good enough for them. Hmmmm....I just don't know. Yesterday I was staying, today I am leaving, I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Homepages

what is a homepage exactly...is it just any point in cyberspace that says something about you where you try to make yourself look cooler than you are? I have this blog, admittedly no one knows about it yet. Don't know why I am keeping it a secret, writing in it makes me feel like I am either talking to myself or at the begining stages of schizophrenia..hmm I wonder. Then there is my other website that has all my life on it. This one I tell people (well, okay, I tell myself) and the other one I show people through pictures. Suppose I should link it up...how to do that though is a really good question...http://tobilynn.piczo.com I don't have the slightest idea how to link it with just a cool name that directly links it and doesn't have the website address in full. I suppose if I actually told someone about this place then there would be the realm of possibility that they coul help. Ah well, maybe one day.

Stinky Tofu

A very famous dish here in Taiwan is stinky tofu. If you want to try some, all you have to do is follow your nose. It has the very distinctive smell of dog shit. Yes, it's true, and because I had never had it before my friend Anna decided I should try some tonight. Well, I am here to say that it tastes as bad as it smells. It was seriously one of the most disgusting things I have ever tasted and I hope to never have to taste it again. They said it didn't taste like it smelt but oh, it did. So now I have tried everything there is to try over here. After a year and a half I can finally say that I have tried stinky tofu....

Culture shock again??!!

Okay, so I have been in Taiwan for over a year and a half. You would think I would be all over the culture shock thing and fairly used to life here. I thought I was too, until today. Until I had to go to Taipei for a training. Until the train stopped in Shijhir and made everyone get off and I had no clue as to what was going on because of course, the announcements were all in Chinese. Until I was being pushed like a piece of cattle up the stairs and through the turnstile. Until there were so many people around me I almost started hyperventilating (I am very proud of myself, I remained calm) Until from that point it took me 30 minutes to find a free cab. Until it took me 1 1/2 hours to take the train to Shijhir to a point which is only a 10 minute cab ride from my house. Until it took me a grand total of 3 hours to make it to Taipei when it really only should have taken just over an hour to get from my house to my training centre. So that was my morning, getting back was just as trying, it took almost 2 hours but at least I was with my CT and so we took the bus and hung out. All this traveling has made me incredibly tired and all I want to do right now is go to sleep, but no, my life isn't that simple as I have buxiban tonight and a meeting after that. :( So I guess in some forms people are right, culture shock never really goes away. You are always faced with the possibility of encountering it again. Something to look forward to, let me tell you!

Bathrooms suck!!

Yes, it's true, they do. Got locked in mine today so I know what a scary place they can be (yes I made it out okay, I don't keep my computer in my bathroom, as convenient as that would be). Finished my shower and went to open the door and it wouldn't open. Okay, so I turned a bit more and the doorknob came off! I tried to put it back on but it looks like it rusted way too much to make any difference. So here I am stuck. Admittedly I started to panic a little. I can't jump out my window, for one thing probably too small and for another, it wouldn't do me any good as it is really far onto plexiglass and into the abyss of my apartment with concrete walls and nothing to climb (that fell down in the typhoon) Luckily my door has a window in it and as pretty as it was, it's now a broken mess. Really my only way out! Now I have to get that point across to my landlord which I am thinking might be a little difficult as he doesn't speak any English. Hopefully he won't be too upset but seriously, I was shitting myself! Good thing I was in a bathroom I suppose but have now realized the downside to not having a roommate. Not that this experience is going to make me go out and get one. So I'm out, bathrooms are scary and I will be fixing mine before I go back in it. Good thing it's the weekend :)

Ryan Malcolm

Okay, so I have been noticing lately, more so even, that people have been taking the piss out of Ryan Malcolm. Maybe it is just that time of year after Canadian Idol when everyone reflects on years past to see where everyone is, or maybe it is because Ryan is actually doing something (He will be appearing in Snow White and the Group of Seven soon) Or still maybe people just have nothing better to do than to talk about Ryan, which would indicate in a way that he has not dropped off the face of he earth as he is still well remembered. Well, I am here to say that I am a fan, flat out. Yes I am one of those people that had a part in making Ryan our first Canadian Idol and if he was on again, I still would. He has the charisma and honour that I admire in people. Who else would make arrangements to attend his Fan Social Gathering...not just the first one but the one that was held last weekend as well, 2 years after he first won Canadian Idol. That shows how dedicated to his fans he is...I would call that being a standup guy. Period. Full Stop. This is what makes Ryan so great, he totally appreciates his fans and what they do for him. He is an amazing entertainer and those of us who see both sides of him have been lucky. We get the whole package. I guess you have to be a fan to understand this, so go for it, become a fan. Then you can get to understand that greatness that is Ryan Malcolm.

Night out in Taipei

So I still haven't told anyone about this blog, it is my own private thought space for now I suppose. Was Cheryl's last night in Taiwan, she is convinced she is not coming back, everyone else says she will. I am not sure, I think she had a lot of unfinished business that has been resolved on this trip back. Ah well, as long as she is in Thailand for Christmas it is cool. I haven't seen her as much as I would liked but the time has been quality. We went on a pub crawl for the newbies...introduction to Taiwan bars, of course I had never been to half of them either. There were some nice places, some dives. Unfortunately we spent entirely too much time in cabs to really feel a buzz going. When we finally go to Roxy Vibe I felt totally sober but after only 3 drinks there and dancing, I guess the rest of it caught up with me. I was drunk, although the good kind where you are just having a kick-ass time. We didn't leave until 6:30...that's right, 6:30am. I am seriously tired today and won't be doing that for a really long time...I am too old! :) So today, sleeping so I am not a complete zombie tomorrow. Hopefully it will work!

Life as I know it???

Okay, probably an incredibly dumb name however, creating this was pretty much on the fly. Maybe one day I will think of a really cool blog name and change it. If anyone who actually ever sees this thinks of any, let me know. I don't really know much about life, just what I've done and who I've seen. Don't even know where it is going! Maybe I should take the time to figure that one out. I'll go do that right now.