Typhoon Day!

Yay, another blessed typhoon day, the first of this year. Typhoon Haitang has completed enveloped all of Taiwan, so no school, I mean, work, today. Saturday at the beach was beautiful—the sky was blue and clear, the weather warm and breezy, the waves kicking. A sea warning had already been issued, so right before Eve, Amanda, and I entered the water, the Coast Guard came by to warn us (meanwhile videotaping for their records) that we should not go in. I wanted to point out that they didn't seem to be very persuasive, as there were at least 50 others out in the water, but refrained. Of course we only played for a couple of hours, and were back in Taipei long before the big rains hit.

I've been so caught up in work this past week that if not for my roommate Angela's notice, I've been completely unaware of world affairs, including the terrible bombing in London this week. Anyways, what was supposed to be a relaxed birthday week instead turned to be a mad dash to straighten things up in the office.

I did have a good birthday; went to see Chicago on Thursday night with Neil courtesy of Jen. I hadn't realized it was opening night until I arrived at the theater and saw the press, cameras in hand, waiting for Taiwan's minor celebrities. Minor since I have no idea who they might be, but there were what I'd describe as two divas dressed as characters from the movie Chicago, and also the hip hop guy and his posse. Friday night was dinner at Giorgio's, my favorite Italian restaurant, and then off to the beach house for lots of sleep, the beach, and nothing else in particular—a good way to forget the stresses of the workweek, I say.

Ironic

Looking back at my posts, it's ironic to see me rant and rave about portion sizes and nutrition in America, and then have my next post be on cupcakes. Anyways, tying up some loose ends here.

In Honolulu, I stayed at the Waikiki Sand Villa hotel. Definitely a good value. For less than US$100 a night, my brother and I got comfortable beds, a nice view of the Ala Wai canal and golf course, air conditioning, good water pressure in the shower, and most importantly, free high speed internet access. While deciding which hotel to book in Honolulu, I was overwhelmed by the choices and distance from the beach. Well, Honolulu is not that big. Eminently walkable. So for the record, the hotel is about three blocks from the beach. The U.S. is a big price shock if you're used to traveling in Southeast Asia, but I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

Around the Pacific and back

These past three weeks have been busy, indeed. After L.A. my brother and I went to Hawai'i to attend my friends' wedding. The day we arrived, we went surfing on the North Shore and then admired the Hawai'ian Green turtles lolling about near shore. The following three days, my brother got his PADI SCUBA Open Water certification while I went for my advanced certification. The diving is amazing: I was thrilled to see more sea turtles with nearly every dive, a few eagle rays, and a pillow starfish. Saturday morning, Galen and I got up at 5:30 for a swim with dolphins—out in the wild.



Later that afternoon, we went to the wedding at the Mandarin Oriental. The wedding was beautiful, of course, the warmth of the bride and groom extending to the guests.



Galen came back with me to Taiwan, where we had a whirlwind week catching up with relatives. In the midst of this was Bonnie, Ray, and baby Michael's farewell dinner. Sunday morning I was finally able to treat my brother to a traditional Taiwanese breakfast, complete with fan tuan (rice ball).

This past weekend a few of us celebrated Abi's birthday with another dive at Longdong (??). Diving in Taiwan is definitely not as pampering, but I did get to see some electric blue fish. Sunday started a major cleaning and organization day, which continues...

Cupcakes!

Yesterday I took a cooking class on cupcakes and mini bundt cakes. We made chocolate "peanut butter cup" cupcakes, sunflower decorated cupcakes, vanilla bean cakes with vanilla rum glaze, and banana caramel mini cakes. The teacher said I was a natural with a pastry bag!



Unfortunately, I've lost my sense of L.A. magnitude and when signing up for the class, I didn't realize that the drive from my home to the cooking school in Westlake Village would be such a trek!

back in the U.S.

I've been in the U.S. for nearly a week now. So far my trip has been pretty mellow. I'm trying to avoid my usual pattern of weight gain on this trip. Although I have indulged a bit (an In-N-Out burger for lunch today, for example), I've also been going to the gym. Last Sunday, my brother and I went to Souplantation for lunch, whose salads and muffins I actually like a lot. Other customers had plates with small mountains of salad. No wonder Americans are fat.

Later that day, I went on a tour of L.A. Harbor with my family. Practically everyone at the San Pedro Ports O' Call was overweight. Lots of women with big hair, heavy eyeliner, and stuffed into tube tops and low-rise capris like plump sausages. They were all noshing on huge platters of shrimp, fish, and buttered bread the size of a halved 2 liter bottle of soda.

"The level of material comfort in this country is numbing," said Paul Bellew, executive director for market and industry analysis at General Motors, in a fascinating series of New York Times articles on class in America. That was incredibly obvious in the trip to L.A. Harbor.

As I make my way around L.A. this week, I am continually reminded of the wealth that people enjoy here. Sections of town I remember as shabby and empty growing up are now filled with strip malls and new housing developments. Streets are paved and tree-lined. Yards are, for the most part, well manicured. Circulars in the Sunday paper advertise outdoor patio furniture sets and decked out gas grills with a 24-burger capacity. There are Starbucks gamut, and fresh gourmet produce and foods readily available.

I guess when you no longer have to worry about food, survival—making sure your kids are fed, clothed, educated, perhaps even just surviving war—you can worry about germs at the gym, and good carbs versus bad carbs.

Birds may be behind exploding toads

Bizarre. Last week I saw a bird turn over and over on itself—it looked to be having a seizure, before finally dying upside-down on its head. Gruesomely fascinating. As city dwellers, we're so often removed from nature. Is this how birds usually die? I don't have a clue.