remember

It's remembrance day. Get yourselves to a cenetaph. It is weird to think that it is remembrance day. I miss everyone wearing poppies and the uniformed men and women. I miss going to the ceremony in the freezing cold, but I will still remember. I will always remember, I hope you take to the time to remember too.

so, I went beta

I went beta and I'm not sure how I feel about that. I know, I know, there were a few red flags...like I can't post on regular blogger blogs, and the fact that I absolutely can not go back. I haven't really noticed much of a difference other than the blogger search bar at the top of my blog looks different (the black menu at the very top) I am not really sure what it means to be beta, I guess I should find that out. I do know that I was in beta on both hotmail and yahoo and I switched back, but that was mostly because the browser at work didn't support beta so I couldn't check my email...annoying (because yes, we are allowed to check our email at work) Hopefully beta will work out for the best....I'll let you know.

it all changes

I wanted to have this great lovely blog about the US elections and how the Democrats have kicked some Republican ass, but I don't want to offend anyone and I can't actually be that witty about politics, it just doesn't work for me. I will say this...you know things are bad when this is the first time in 12 years that the Democrats have held a majority in the House. hmmm, does that say anything to you? (enter own random "you got yours" here...I had "you got your ass kicked" but then realized I had already written that...hate to repeat myself)
Donald Rumsfeld was fired too! Well, okay, he "resigned" but did anyone notice that the man Bush has nominated for his replacement was "visited" on Sunday. Coincidence? Think he knew it was coming? Poor Donald, guess who's the scapegoat now.

When discussing the change, this right here pretty much sums up the American President. (I read it here, in fact that's pretty much where I get all my information)
"Asked whether his announcement signalled a new direction in the war that has claimed the lives of more than 2,800 U.S. troops, Bush said, "Well, there's certainly going to be new leadership at the Pentagon."

Well, that's what usually happens when someone resigns (is fired) He's a smart one that George W. He can really state the obvious.

already a little lame

I have been waiting all day for inspiration to strike and I could have a great blog entry today. No such luck I suppose. I guess the day was too busy and too stressful to really have time to sit back and look at what is going on in the world (other than the U.S. election of course) Somethings I learned today? I am royally getting screwed because I am a nice person. Isn't life grand?

I love drunk Patrick

the things you miss

I have become accustom to missing out on vital information since being in Taiwan.
Grandfather sick: get told after the fact
This guy gets his house: parents tell me 4 months later (luckily I'm smart and found out when it happened)
Sister gets engaged: okay, I found out the day that happened, but regardless I had no clue her relationship was at that point yet and I haven't even met the guy yet, I mean really.

So I'm sure over the past 3 years there has been more but I can't remember...the point is, the real kicker in all this? I get an email this morning from my best friend who casually informs me that her sister is going to have her baby next week...like what the fuck? She's pregnant??!!! Keep in mind, my best friends sister is also a very good friend of mine. She's pregnant??!! How could I have missed that? How could someone somewhere not told me that??

On the positive side, I just talked to my mother. She claims she didn't know either which is dumb because hello, you live in the same town as these people. It's not that big of a town!! Realistically, she should have been pregnant when I was home last February but I had no clue and I'm sure I didn't just forget this. Man, I feel so out of the loop sometimes.

lunar birthdays

Last week was Piper and Tim's lunar birthdays. Needless to say we went and celebrated in Taipei. I discovered something important about me last night....I have really fucking small hands...


Paul

Piper Tom!!!
Tim
Jacqui
Michala

day four

After a week of being out too late on school nights, we stayed in. A Friday night and we stayed in. All of us. Of course, we are going out tonight for Piper and Tim's lunar birthdays, but all the same. We stayed in. We got pizza in (holy crap Domino's is so much better than Pizza Hut) and we watched Gremlins at mine. I'm sure my neighbours will complain, as they always do whenever I have more than two people here. That and the fact that Dan and Irene were outside talking. But oh well, for the amount of time I actually have people here, they can suck it up. So this post definately lives up to my blog name alright.

ah well

so I screwed up on the email for the nablopomo. Totally sent it to the wrong place and by the time I got the message telling me that, it was way after Nov. 1 11:59. So I didn't make that list, oh well, I'm still going to try and post everyday to try and give this blog a kickstart. Hopefully some good will come of it, I just might not have anyone reading it. That might be a good thing though.

So last night Jacqui, Tom and I went for sushi. Sushi express, it's like the McDonald's of sushi but they have pretty good sashimi so it was worth it. That was about all that was good though. It used to be so good but now, it's kind of crap.

Had the most random phone call in the cab on the way to Keelung though. Dan called. I was like what the hell! He was back in Taiwan after going back to the US and then to Japan. Not really sure why. First Paul and now Dan. It was really weird going out last night because it was such a mix of the old people and the new people, but it was great, I loved it, drank too much for a school night and was out way too late. On the plus side Buxiban caught on fire yesterday so I only have Kindy today.

it's always hard to say goodbye

Since I am doing the posting a blog a day and I missed yesterday, I will post two today. So here is my blog for today.

It was a sad, sad night on Tuesday. I don't think I am ever going to get used to the goodbyes that I've had to endure throughout my time in Taiwan. Everything is just so fluid and changing. It is hard to imagine that people who have been so close, I will probably never see again and I treasure every moment with each of them. They have all had a huge impact on my life. The latest, probably the most. It has been the thread throughout all of my friendships.

On Tuesday, my favourite bar in Keelung closed it's doors forever. Boo Hoo!!!

You are probably thinking, oh yeah, typical. Tobi is sad because a bar closed. Well, yes, it is one less place that I can go and drink but this place was special. It has really had a huge impact on my life in Taiwan.

I had been here for just over a month the first time I went to the Mariner's. I went with a couple of friends from training who came to Keelung to visit me. We had started at the Lucky Star (sailor bar, oh yeah) and after wandered over to Mariners because the owners were the same and we wanted to check it out. I will always remember it because Troy was making fun of one of the hostesses. Probably not the nicest thing in the world to do, but being drunk I thought it was the funniest thing ever.

I never really made Mariner's my home until Cheryl came to Taiwan. Yes, I had been a few times over the first six months I was here after drinking at the Lucky Star but it wasn't until Cheryl and I met Travis that we really started going there a lot. It was located right near the Keelung buxiban (we work in ChiDu remember) so it was a very convenient place to meet up with the Keelung people after they were finished work. Sometimes it would just be the three of us and sometimes Travis would bring people. Mariner's was where I met Patrick, Ben and Paul.

When my parents came to visit me, I even took them to the Mariner's. THAT'S how important this place is to my life in Taiwan.

By the time Tom and Jacqui came to Taiwan we had found a few more places. We spent a lot of time at the Truck because it was cheaper but we always ended up in Mariner's for the free pool and people that gave us hugs and cheered when we walked in the door (seriously, I felt like I was in Cheers some nights) The first night I was home from my great Canadian vacation, we went to Mariner's.

It was one of the friendliest bars I have ever been in and we are all sad to see the end of it. I have seen so many people come and go, but Mariner's has always been there and everyone that has been important to my life in Taiwan has shared the Mariner's experience with me. It is truly the end of an era. The end of my era.

nablopomo

nablopomo - It's national blog posting month. The idea behind this is to post every day in November. Okay, I've missed a day, but technically somewhere in Canada it is still November 1st and to my credit, I only found out about this right now. I have decided that I will take part in nablopomo here rather than myspace. That way I can write about anything including random crap that I really don't care if people read or not and it will be a good jump start for this blog. Maybe if I actuall write something that isn't completely lame, I will actually tell people about this blog. Oh, but then there may be pressure to actually write something that isn't crap. I may have to rethink this...

EDITED: for the record, I'm not actually a "registered" participant of nablopomo. I have sent an email in hoping to have my blog added (crap, people might actually come looking!) but I may have missed the deadline. I am having math issues right now what with the time change last weekend...grrr

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!