When I am boss, I will never...

A piece of advice I read in a recent issue of Real Simple magazine was to record workplace frustrations in a journal. Not only would this provide relief, but presumably some day when I am boss, it will remind me of employee perspecties.

So. In that vein, when I am boss, I will remember that my employees don't always make arbitrary deadlines because they are too busy playing catch up and putting out fires in the normal course of business to actually have time to develop a long-term vision. That might me than as boss, I should think of new ways of organization and labor division so that my employees can work more efficiently. Or, of all the tasks I throw out at them, prioritize.

What will you never do when you become the boss?

Unbelievable! This is not butter!

...actually, if you've ever had marigold margarine in Taiwan, it's completely believable.

Just another example of how the Taiwanese copy a good idea, but don't get it quite right.

to Turtle Island and back

The waters around Daxi have been flat, flat, flat this weekend. So yesterday Neil decided it was perfect weather to take the jet ski out to show me Turtle Island. Turtle Island is a few miles off the coast of I-lan County that is off-limits to regular folk as there is a military installation there. The cool thing about Turtle Island, besides just getting to see it up close instead of from afar, is that it was formed by sulfurous vents in the ocean. So many of the rocks are mustard yellow, and part of the ocean that surrounds it is a Peptol-Bismol aquamarine. Apparently there are large sea snakes that live below, but we just went around and back.

Cheesy Chinese Pop

Hmm...now that's a title that might appeal to over-sugared kids. Sweet soda pop? Salty and cheesy snacks? Unclear but intriguing...alas nothing so interesting. I'm actually listing to the cheesy Chinese pop music that is on my iTunes, deleting stuff I will never willingly listen to again so I can free up space on my hard drive. Now that I've joined the many who are proud iPod owners, the possibilities seem endless. I can listen to salsa! pop hits of the '80s! rock! classical concertos! books on tape! How wonderful it would be to have recordings of dialogues and vocabulary words from my Chinese lessons...although I then realize aeven better would be to be out there, in the midst of real-life dialogues.

another typhoon swept by

Alas another typhoon has come and gone since my last post. Became dreadfully sick after the last typhoon—the worst sore throat ever—but all was not lost as I had the latest Harry Potter to see me through the weekend. And a good installment, too. I was a bit worried that Harry's teenage diatribes would continue in Book Six, but thankfully he's matured and there were no more tirades. The trademark Rowling humor was out, but the series has definitely matured and has bits of sadness, like the last season of Sex and the City, when you realize that these four crazy women have grown and are no longer as silly and carefree as they once were.

The following weekend was family weekend at the beach house, with plenty of cute kids, and mommies and nannies to look after them, too. Lots of yummy grilled food. Too much, but oh so good!

Then this typhoon came upon us rather suddenly. I had not expected a typhoon day last Friday, and it definitely realized how much I've let work take over my life. I couldn't properly enjoy the surprise holiday until I had checked our daily revenus in the morning. I definitely need to put work far, far away after I've left. All in all, a good, quiet, restorative weekend.

Oh, and another delicious-as-always dinner at Din Tai Fung, thanks to Matt and Tina's visit. 'twas a good reason to get a few people out last Thursday to show our foreign guests the best of Taiwan's dining scene, which they (like almost all visitors to Taiwan), get plenty of exposure to while here!

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.