oooh, eow, ouch!

I went surfing again today, this time with my co-worker, Walsh. Today was a lot more frustrating, with many an ignominious moment out on the water: the waves weren't as forgiving, but I can now tell the difference between a 12' long board and a 9' one, and I am bruised, cut, and scraped up all over. I hate doing anything poorly, though, so I will go out again and master this. When I complained to Walsh that today felt off, he told me to get used to it and that surfing is a lot like golf, only more fun.

In any case, the northeast coast of Taiwan was gorgeous today. We went north of Wanli, just past Jinshan.

I definitely need to work out more, though. These past few weeks I've either been too busy or too lazy. I haven't climbed as often as I usually do, my trainer has been busy opening up Alexander's new branch, and instead of going to the gym on Wednesday, Angela and I stayed home to cook up a storm (and eat it all, too!). We also stripped and re-affixed a telephone line ourselves to fix my telephone line and our ADSL connection that had gotten damaged by flooding owing to the typhoon. There's nothing like figuring things out ourselves--instead of relying on a guy--that inspires confidence.

Aere is here

Great news today! Well, not great news for all, but great news for my short-term selfish goals: a typhoon day! I've never had a typhoon day since I started working here, and let me tell you, today is a much needed break. I had such a frustrating day at work yesterday, juggling a multitude of projects at once and not having a moment to breathe. Anyways, got to sleep in this morning, do yoga, and I'll get to putter about the house and read later.

Had an interesting, overall mellow weekend. Not quite sure what to make of it, but I did get to catch up on some sleep and chill. One more weekend in Taipei and then I'm off for a much needed vacation to the States to see family and friends that I haven't seen in ages!

Surf's up!

I went surfing for the first time this past weekend, out in Ilan. Apparently I was quite a natural, as I stood up several times, and twice for a good length of time. I should hope so as I am a) already a strong swimmer, b) have been working on my core strength and balance with my trainer for over half a year, and c) have strong upper-body strength. Anyways, the weather was absolutely gorgeous with clear, sunny skies. Thanks to Wayne and Dave for being my surfing enablers!

Oh my...

Today is Thursday, and I've already worked over 60 hours this week. HOWEVER. I am leaving the office right after this post. Yup, in just a few moments, I am leaving. I was actually quite perky yesterday, after aching all day Tuesday (both head and body). Tuesday night I hoofed it home, turned off my cell, took a multivitamin, extra vitamin C, and some ibuprofen and was in bed before 11:30. Unfortunately, I was in the office until past midnight yesterday. I took a cab home, only to realize I had forgotten my wallet back in the office. The driver was extremely understanding, and I ended up reserving him for my commute today since I didn't even have NT$20 on me to take the subway in the morning. So I got into the office a bit earlier than usual (6:45am) and rushed right up to grab my wallet and pay the poor cabbie.

My highlight of the week is the jazz dance class I took with Angela on Monday. Although I have the strength, I must have the world's worst flexibility, and I'm sure I must have looked pretty ridiculous compared to the other students. But it felt so good to move my body in non-linear directions. Cheers to Angie for introducing us to the dance studio!

Back again

I haven't posted in awhile as I've been caught up in earnings season. My record was a 19-hour workday. Thankfully, I do find what I do incredibly interesting, and rarely notice the long hours. Last Thursday I fully intended to leave work early and perhaps go climbing, but I became so interested in a particular file that by the time I noticed the time, it was already past 10pm.

Just so I don't forget, in the past two weeks we had an ORIENTED Happy Hour at Luxy, I attend an MIT alumni event at an art galery, tried out the new branch of NY Bagel (good ideas, poor execution) with Angie, Jen, Angela, and Felix, had dinner with the girls Friday night, lounged poolside with Eve and Juan yesterday morning, and had dinner last night in honor of both Patty's and Felicia's visits to Taipei. Anyways, I should be off to run some more errands...

A can-do attitude, please?

I was really annoyed today at lunch when I tried to get a side order of multi-grain rice from this organic veggie food stall at the food court. The worker told me sorry, but they only sold full meals. I wasn't interested in a meal; and they lost a sale. That's the problem with service in Taiwan: people haven't quite grasped the concept that the customer is why they are there, and they just don't have a can-do attitude when it comes to service.

Anways, I took my nephew Jason (who is in Taipei for the summer studying Chinese) and his friend Jeff out for dinner Sunday night, then treated them to mango shaved ice, and then took them rock climbing. When it was time to leave, they were running late to make their curfew and so asked me for cab fare...my gosh, am I just a sugar mama to them?!?

These kids - all they had in their pockets was their school ID and CD player - no wallet. Sheesh, such change from the (relatively) older men I usually hang out with (who are able to pay for themselves, and sometimes even generously treat me, not the other way around). And the statement to top it all off, "gosh, thanks, [rock climbing] was really awesome. I had no idea you were so...crazy." (Great, obviously they thought I was a boring old fart before.) I haven't seen Jason in ~3 years -- I can still remember when he was a baby and I changed his diapers!

Honestly, I really did enjoy taking them out, however much it reminds me that I am getting older. As the employed, responsible adult, now is my turn to treat the young nieces and nephews. I already had my turn (and plenty of them, too) to be treated when I was kid.

Of course I would never take money from these kids. I'm just highly amused by the whole incident, as I realize how much my perspective has changed. Just knowing that these youngsters find me "cool" is worth it all. :)

sleepy haze

Fighting through a fog of sleepiness to get through the day. I actually went to bed relatively early last night, but it was not enough to make up for the previous two nights. Hopefully tonight will be better.

At least my room is getting settled in. Yesterday I was able to turn on my floor lamp for the first time, now that I have the correct light bulb. The warmer light of a compact flourescent bulb is so much better than the harsh glare of an ordinary flourescent one. Did a lot more moving this past weekend; I am mostly unpacked. Also put in a good 8+ hours total at work over the weekend; I haven't been as productive this week so far so hopefully I'll make more progress today. Saturday caught up with Joaquin (who was in town for the week), and George, Maria, and Max. Babies grow up so quickly and now Max is feeling bashful - he shied away when I tried to give him a peck on his cheek.