Change of Plans

Dear Beloved Blog Followers,

I have had this blog for approximately 1 year and have recently found my journalistic writing style to be more of an obligation than a joy. I started this journal in an attempt to document my whereabouts, and to prove to myself that I could commit to something. I am not ending it all together, however I will be greatly reducing the amount of posts I produce. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Stay posted for random new posts from things I think are cool...or a new blog entirely focused on something not so personal.

The Bohemian Heretic,

Rogue

The Lost Week.

Due to jetlag and a busy schedule, I have decided that I am/was too tired to blog for an entire week. I apologize for the inconvenience. I was taking a vacation from life, a vacation from blogging was well needed.

I am about to leave for Florida with Boppy, Derek and Patti. I am pretty freakin excited, but mostly tired. Pictures and events soon to follow.

Taroko Gorge!

Yesterday Cres, Max, Jer and I went to Taroko Gorge. It was an absolutely beautiful and amazing experience. We took a train to Hualien an rented scooters. I have never driven a scooter before. It was totally scary at first, but it was SO amazing once I got the hang of it. We drove for about an hour from Hualien to Taroko on this highway. I ran a bunch of red lights because Jer/Max were going so fast. I made the boys let me ride in the middle so that I wouldn't get left in the dust. Once we got to Taroko it was the most beautiful ride ever. We were on the coast, riding around swervy roads, it was SO beautiful. One of those things that you feel so fortunate to be able to do in life. Ugh I can't even describe how amazing it felt. We stopped a bunch along the way to look at he beautiful scenery and take pictures. I had a really hard time turning my bike sometimes, so that was a bit scary. There were a ton of tour busses rushing past us that made it a bit scarier.

After taking in the beautiful sights and sounds we headed back to Hualien. We got a little lost on our way and had to turn around a bunch while riding in the city. One time when I was turning around I almost fell off, it was a bit scary, but I was going slow and I picked my bike up fast enough that I didn't get hurt. I can't believe how many distractions there were driving in the city; dogs running across the street, some lady got hit by a car and was sprawled out in the middle of the road, weird left turn rules, I really got to ride in all sorts of places on my first day of scootering. I think I might have hit 80mph at some points. Very scary but very liberating. Usually I rode at 60, which is the speed limit in most places (not around the cliffs). After we made it back to Hualien, we stopped at 711 and I burned my leg on my bike. So many people I know have a scar from that, but luckily I only grazed the burning metal briefly so that I won't have a scar. Wow. What an amazing and exhilirating day! I really don't want to go home :(.

Getting Saved From Juifen!

After finding out that there was no way for Amanda and I to get home from Juifen, a big black SUV appeared and a guy got out(he was picking up his friend). Amanda was stating that she might just ask him for a ride back to Taipei. He didn't overhear this conversation and within 5 minutes asked us if we were going to Taipei. We were like 'YES"! So we got in the car. Under any other circumstances, I would not have hitchhiked, however, since I read that hitchhiking is a popular way to get around here, and since I was with Amanda, I figured it would be OK. There was a huge language barrier, however we got some basic information across. We stopped on the way because they guys wanted to get some Beetlema. This is a popular asian pseudo-drug, kind of like chewing tobacco. It is these green nuts that you chew on and spit out the juice from. Amanda and I both tried it. It was disgusting. After we got back to Taipei, we met up with two of these guys friends (So all in all there was Tai, Lim, Ooh and I forget the fourth guys name).

We all went to this restaurant called Indian. There were all these cool dinosaur skeletons all over the place. I felt like I was in a Jurassic park graveyard!! We got a mini keg which we all shared. We played this 'game' called Gambin. This is what you say before you drink and it signifies that everyone drinking has to finish their cup. I ate FROG! I figured it would be appropriate because I was in a reptilian restaurant.

After singing blue moon for the guys at the table, because they asked me to, they all said that we should go to KTV Partyworld! So we went there and got a room and sang our hearts out! We got 3 more mini kegs and we had a lot of fun! YAY!

Jiufen!

Saturday night Amanda and I went to Jiufen. We hopped on a train from Taipei main and arrived at 6. From there we had to take a taxi to get to this adorable maze of local treasures lined with beautiful red chinese lanterns. I had another moment where I could cry. We went and drank high mountain Oolong tea on this quaint balcony and had an amazing conversation. We talked and talked till about midnight. Then found out we missed all the trains and there were no cabs to get us back home. Oops!

Good morning...good night.

Last night, after a delicious indian dinner I came home and started chatting with Bruce online. Later on, Cres, Bernie, Britt and I hung out with Kelly and started ichatting all together. It was a very interesting night. I guess you can say I kinda miss NY.

The Ting Tings in 711

Pirate Shrimping!

Last night we went shrimping dressed as pirates. I really wish shrimping was a leisure activity on LI, like bowling or something. It was actually really fun. When we first got there we all sat down and two minutes later I had caught the first shrimp! Those little creatures are so bratty. About a half hour into our shrimping adventure, some really nice man who had probably been shrimping for hours, handed me a huge bag of shrimp that he had caught. That was really nice. After catching, and de-hooking the shrimps we have to wash them and skewer them, cover them in salt and put them on the grill. They were absolutely delicious.

Is This Serious?!

Ximen and KTV.

Last night, Cres and I went and got Thai food and then went to KTV for Karaoke. Karaoke is a REALLY big deal here. The name of the place we went to was PARTYWORLD. It is kind of like a hotel complex. People were really dressed up and there was room service. The area that its in, Ximen is really cool too. It is modeled after a place in Japan.

A 22 Page Rough Draft.

Since my mind has been so clear, I have been working very well. I think it has something to do with not understanding the language here. Normally, when I overhear people's conversations it allows me to put them in a box, in one way or another and things get boring because of that, because you are able to assume what other people are thinking. I guess that's why reading minds would be a boring superpower because after a while you would be able to predict everything people were about to say. At first, I have to say, I was scared because I can barely read or understand the world around me, but now I have come to find peace in it.

Anyway, this fresh state of mind has allowed me to work on my article what I want to try to get published. I am writing about pharmaceutical direct to consumer ads on the internet. I am looking at the direct and indirect ways of marketing and comparing internet ads to the previous forms of television and print. I will also be looking at these advertisements with regards to gender, age and race and who is most commonly targeted. I will also be looking at the medicalization, or recent surge of made up illness, and the designer drugs that are allowing this pill-popping craze to take over America and New Zealand. So far I have a 22 pg rough draft. It is nowhere near done, but it is nice to know that I am on the path.

First Date?

Anja called me and we met in the park. We smoked a cigg and talked and then went back to her house. We listened to music and talked a lot. It is really great talking to her. She studied sociology and mass media like me, and makes art and has a really beautiful accent. She is from South Africa. She is one of the burlesque girls in that show I went to on Friday night. We talked about our artistic needs, the peaceful mindset in Taiwan, traveling, music..you know..things like that. She is a really beautiful person. We started getting hungry later on and decided to go for a walk and grab some grub. We went to this famous dumpling place with a billion floors and a line to get in. I must say they were the best dumplings I have ever had in my life. They were like, soupy in the middle and had the freshest ingredients. UGh SO good. After filling up on yummy dumplings, we walked around the area and stepped into a few second hand shops, jewelry shops and places with aromatic incense. We then stopped into this place for these shaved ice/ice cream/syrup/fruit things that they have here. I got bannana and she got mango. They were SO good and since its nearly only shaved ice it doesn't fill you up. I totally want to make them at home. So good and So refreshing. After that we parted ways and I met up with Jeremy and Max in Shilin to pick up some souvenirs. I caught the last train home and went to bed.

A Pleasant Change of Plans.

Tuesday I woke up with the intention of getting together with Max to write a song. He didn't pick up my calls or call me back, which I thought was weird, so I bided my time and met up with Amanda and Sway at KGB. I was telling Amanda about meeting this girl Anja at the burlesque night. Anja and I seemed to have hit it off, in a more than friends sort of way. I was explaining to Amanda how she told me she may be able to hang out Tues night, but hadn't returned my text or call. I was actually rather loud in describing her this situation, when I get a tap on the shoulder, and who is it?!?! Anja! I was SOOO embarrassed I couldn't even deal. Out of the 10 people I know in Taipei, it just so happened that the one girl that I had a crush on heard me venting about her. OMG. Anyway, she explained to me that she was busy but would call me later on in the day and that we could possibly get together. I sat in KGB with Amanda and Sway for a few more hours. I rocked out on guitar and gave a sort of performance for them because there were very few people in the restaurant. It felt really good to play for people who appreciate my music. It was like I was a paid performer in there. I have grown to be much more comfortable in playing my music because of this new sense of being I have collected from being here. I look forward to going home and playing at Tula Kitchen (where Kristen works) because they said they would like to have me come and play shows once a week or so. I have to get together a semi-good recording first which may cost a bit of money but I think will benefit me in the long run. I can't wait to go home and get a new guitar that I can plug into amps and start playing real shows!! Anyway, Sway said that listening to my music/sappy love songs helped her out and calmed her down about her current relationship situation. I am glad that my music can help people with that. :)

Pixar.

Monday morning Amanda, Max, Cres and I met up for brunch at this really great burger place called Forkers. Afterward, Max, Cres and I went to the Pixar exhibit. It was really interesting to see the processes of animation and how characters and storylines come to life. There was this one part that had a zoetrope which spun really fast with strobe lights to give the optical illusion that the characters were moving, when in fact they were just being spun at rapid speeds. After the exhibit, the three of us were pretty tired and Cres and I went home to watch Coraline. It was an interesting movie, but I don't think it was very cohesive. It was like a stop-animation version of Pan's Labyrinth. I understood what they were trying to do, but I guess I just didn't appreciate it as much as I thought I would. After watching Coraline, we met up with Esteban for Indian food in ShiDa. Esteban is one of those people you just meet and feel an instant love for. We got to talking and I found SO many different ways in which our lives have crossed paths. He used to go to my beach, he grew up off the road I live off now, AND he used to live off the same stop I lived off of in Brooklyn. After some delicious Indian food, Jeremy met up and the 4 of us got some drinks and hung out in the park. Sway and Max met up and we all chilled and talked for a bit. I really, really like all my friends here. It will be hard to leave them. I know I have really wonderful friends back home, and that if I lived here maybe I would see the people here differently, I just have to express that I am really happy and have been really benefiting emotionally from this trip.

Productivity.

After my awesome day to myself, I woke up the next morning with a vigorous start. I went to KGB and got a delicious burger and started on my assignment. I am trying to get published an article about pharmaceutical direct to consumer ads on the internet. I e-mailed my advisor and am on my way to being published in either ASA, SASE or ESS. I spent hours at my computer, wrote about 10 pages and did ethnographic research. It felt really really good to get this assignment underway. I came home to a sleeping Cresensio and talked to Boppy for an hour. We then got food and chilled for the rest of the night. I did yoga! For one of the first times here. I need to start doing it everyday again. I will when I get home, its just hard here because I do not have my own space. I just learned though that strength comes from within. I am capable of anything if I use my strength from within.

Playing Solitaire

Saturday I didn't quite feel the same. I had a great night and really enjoyed meeting a bunch of people. I just had to have this really introspective moment, where I stayed at home while everyone went to this really awesome all-night jungle, drum and bass party. I know I totally would have enjoyed it. I wrote and I watched the L word. I recharged my batteries, I gained a new way to look at the world, I did my tarot, I found a new way to approach life. I am less certain than I once was, I am learning to reconstruct myself by way of avoiding my demons. I am in a good place. I am happy, really happy.

Burlesque!

Friday night we went to a burlesque show. Cres, Max and I wore out our best wigs, extensions or moustaches and watched some girlies and one guy dance in pantyhose around a stage. Great times! I got a little too silly though and felt like poop the day after. My extensions are a hit! I really want to get real ones now.

2/28 park and Chang Kai Chek

This morning Cres and I went for a delicious Vietnamese lunch and then headed out to 2/28 park. We wound up going to the museum there because they had a Darwin exhibit that I wanted to see. After the museum, Max met up and we walked around the park and then to Chang Kai Chek. Standing in front of the memorial I had one of those moments when you feel immortal or infinite or an 'aha' moment. I sat in the middle of the square and meditated for a couple of minutes. It was absolutely beautiful. A bunch of Korean girls asked to take a picture with me and I let them. They were so cute. After seeing the memorial, we went to do some DIY/Pirate costume shopping. Tonight we are going to a burlesque show. I am pretty stoked! :)

Hufanpu.

Last night, Sway and I got a late start on our days. I watched 4 episodes of The L Word (GOD I love that show) and we met up at the train station around 7. We went to this crazy huge market to get really cheap clothes. I got SO many great finds, including a shirt with boobs all over it, a black leather fanny pack, and a couple more shirts. We were very indecisive because there were SO many great options. Everything was so cheap and amazing. I wish there were more places like that in America. After snacking and shopping, we went to another area to get snacks and then called it a night. Life here is so simple. I can totally understand how people move here and never move back home.

Swan Boats and Hot Pot.

Yesterday at around 3, Sway and I met up at the end of the green line and took out some paddle boats. There were so many gorgeous views. Sway and I did psychological tests on each other and had a really good time getting to know each other better. After the boats, we walked across the bridge to this cute little area with some artsy shops, farm stands and carnival games. We played this fun little pinballish game and won bubbles and face glittery stickers. We then got some Hot Pot which was amazing. I tried pigs blood! They mix it with rice, into a cube. It actually tasted really gross. As I am sure you can imagine, blood is salty and irony tasting. Afterward, I met sway's parents. They were so cute and saw their apartment. They live on the top two floors of one of the tallest buildings in the area, pretty cool. After hanging out there and playing a little piano, we headed back to Cresensio's where him and Jenna were covering their macbooks with DIY metallic squares. I played some guitar hero 4 with Bernie and we all hung out on the balcony and then I called it a night. I keep having these great days and nights here. This is a truly awesome adventure.

Brooklyn Farmer Video Shoot

After coming home from our fun fun fun night, Cres and I took a photo shoot on the balcony. Yes, we took sleeping pills. Yes we are amazing. I fucking love it here and don't ever want to leave. I have two weeks left. I wish it were two months...or years.

Shilin

Last night Cres and I went to Shilin, which is probably the most well known night market of Taipei, or Taiwan alltogether. I can't even describe how amazing this place was. So much good food and cheap fun shit. Just look at the pics and you will understand. I got a bag, sunglasses, a watch and hair extensions for well under $100. I mean, of course everything isn't the best quality, but that's the fun of souvenirs. I must go back to get everyone fun shit from there.

Hot Springs

Yesterday Amanda and I met up at the bus station at 10:30 to go to a hot spring/hike. We got a delicious breakfast kind of food with fried egg and sweet delicious sauce and waited for bus 260. Bus 260 came and went without us, so we decided to take an alternate route to the Beitou stop. We got some directions from a guide and started walking toward where we thought the spring was. It was an uphill climb and we got thirsty so we stopped for a few beers at this adorable little shack next to a bubbling brook in the hillside. We had an amazing heart to heart and found out that our love lives are very similar. After enjoying cold beers in the sweltering heat she climbed a tree and I took pictured. We then found what we believed to be the public hot spring. We dipped our toesies in and could barely take it. The water was approximately 250 degrees. We were severely disappointed. We walked around a bit and found a hot spring museum and took a quick tour. After the tour, we started walking to get food and some guy stopped me to take a picture with me! It was really funny. I totally stick out lie a sore thumb, especially in the suburban area we were at. At that point, we found a Sushi Express, which has delicious sushi on a conveyor belt. After eating we went to the REAL hot spring and soaked in acidic sulfuric water. It was a really interesting, cultural experience. There were a lot of old people soaking their aching muscles and arthritis ridden limbs. It was a lot like public hot tubs, with tiers indicating the level of hotness. I could barely dip my toe in the top tier. I suppose it is good for people with joint and muscle aches, however I couldn't really handle the heat. After soaking, we went to Shadaa to visit Sway at work. She works at a Kiwi burger place. The spaghetti gang came and met up and then Cres and I went to Shilin, the most amazing night market in Taiwan.

We Are Golden!

Hand Spider

I keep having dreams that these are under my blankets, and I don't even think they exist here, ughh.

Solo Excursion #2

Today I went out by myself to Shadaa. I went to this coffee house called insomnia, got some lunch and tried to get started on my applications. I decided that I will be applying to 6 programs. 6 is my lucky number, and applying to more than that would seem like too much to me. If i get into one program i have a 50% chance of moving to California and a 50% chance of staying in NY. I also have 2/6 chance of doing a media studies program instead of a sociology one. This is the stats if all programs are equally likely. Who really knows. I ordered curry chicken for lunch and the chicken had a lot of bones that were unfamiliar to me. I wonder what part of the chicken my meal was made of. Anyway, after finally buying a face mask for the unruly smog conditions, I took a train to the Taipei 101 building (aka the tallest building in the world). I went to this amazing book store eslite and found the tao te ching, which I had been meaning to get since I got here. I also did some other research and decided that if I get into a media studies program, I want to do my dissertation on Facebook and privacy in the age of the internet, and the changing cultural values brought about by celebritism. Now I must get ice cream and water and take ambien with Cres. <3

Shadaa!

This morning, after a good 12 hours of sleep, Amanda and I headed out to Shadaa to check out a new apt for her. I really like that section of town. For some reason it is way less complicated than the area of town that I am staying in. There are a lot of cute clothing shops and food vendors and coffee houses. We did some shopping and I got a sweet straw fedora, ownl necklace and couple of shirts. I also got a sim card for my cell phone! I am feeling a lot more comfortable in my environment. Amanda showed me a cute little coffee shop with wifi. I am going to go there tomorrow to get some work done. I rode on the metro today for the first time. I was amazed at how clean it was. I am also amazed at how cheap everything is here. A 1000 dollar bill here, which seems to be the equivalent of about 50 american dollars is actually only worth 30.44 american. Most decent meals run around 5 or 10 dollars american. Expensive pocketbooks can run around 60 american dollars. It is so weird. I feel like a baller!