Since coming to Taiwan, I've been watching a lot of National Geographic and Discover channel. There are always shows with people catching and relocating crocodiles, or catching snakes for their venom. A few nights ago, I caught the second half of a show about a crocodile and snake handler explaining and showing footage of a few "oopsie" moments where he gets bitten. The last of such clips was when he was bitten by a cobra, and had to wait about 2 hours before paramedics were able to get an anti-venom to him while the snake's venom ate through his stomach wound making a hole in the flesh. Any longer and he would have died.
Anyway, I had a dream last night that I was handling snakes. Like most dreams, you never know how it got to be that way. But it didn't matter. There was a viper under my blanket (I wasn't under it), and it needed handling. I removed the blanket, and just avoided a quick strike by the reptile. Then, I cleverly did what any person in that situation would do: I copied the professionals. I held its head down by pressing a long object with a flat edge on the back of its neck. And then, I reached down to grab its head. Seen them do that on TV a million times. Sure, it was my first time, but what could go wrong?
Now, I reached down and took a hold of its head, and as I released a bit of pressure off the back of its neck, the darn thing manages to turn its head sideways and sink it's fangs into my hand. The weird thing is, I actually thought I felt the bite on my hand (in real life) and boy it was not fun! With its teeth still buried into my hand, I quickly panicked thinking about what I needed to do. The first smart thing was to flip out and try flinging the snake off me, and that didn't work. The toxins were working their way through my body, and I knew I was just waiting for death. My head felt woozy and I was only able to gather a few thoughts before it happened...
I woke up.
Perhaps I should stop watching these "educational" shows.
February 25, 2005
February 23, 2005
I haven't had time to put a new post up, so this one will just be a few short thoughts.
- Dane Cook's new CD, called Retaliation, will be coming out soon. March something, 2005. Can't wait.
- It's virtually impossible to look cool on a scooter. While in concept, scooters are similar to motorcycles, the image is far from it. I think it's the tight-pucker up-right sitting position.
- I haven't put any hair products in my hair before going to work since getting my scooter. There's no way to put gel in your hair, put on a scooter, and expect to have something stylish by the time you get to work. Unless the matted down look is in.
- I didn't get to play in a foosball tournament last month due to a flu, but I'm sure as heck going to go this weekend. The entry fee is 100nt, and the winner only gets a stupid medal, but I just want to see if I've still "got it". And we have Monday off in rememberance of 228 (Taiwanese history).
- I'm sick of Morgan Freeman's voice. I really liked him in Shawshank Redemption, and it's no doubt he's a great actor. But perhaps I've been seeing too many movies with him in them (Dreamcatcher, Bruce Almighty, and some others), and his voice is starting to annoy me.
- I got the email below from a coworker and found it humorous.
Hi Kevin,
At the end of the show, we usually shout out a word "ancho" to ask the performer to perform more if they are doing good. Do you know how to spell "ancho" correctly?
Thanks,
W_____
- I just caught Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl" music video on TV. I've seen it on a few times, but never really paid attention. Anyway, the video features a few Capoeiristas on the deck of the ship in the video. Neat stuff.
- Dane Cook's new CD, called Retaliation, will be coming out soon. March something, 2005. Can't wait.
- It's virtually impossible to look cool on a scooter. While in concept, scooters are similar to motorcycles, the image is far from it. I think it's the tight-pucker up-right sitting position.
- I haven't put any hair products in my hair before going to work since getting my scooter. There's no way to put gel in your hair, put on a scooter, and expect to have something stylish by the time you get to work. Unless the matted down look is in.
- I didn't get to play in a foosball tournament last month due to a flu, but I'm sure as heck going to go this weekend. The entry fee is 100nt, and the winner only gets a stupid medal, but I just want to see if I've still "got it". And we have Monday off in rememberance of 228 (Taiwanese history).
- I'm sick of Morgan Freeman's voice. I really liked him in Shawshank Redemption, and it's no doubt he's a great actor. But perhaps I've been seeing too many movies with him in them (Dreamcatcher, Bruce Almighty, and some others), and his voice is starting to annoy me.
- I got the email below from a coworker and found it humorous.
Hi Kevin,
At the end of the show, we usually shout out a word "ancho" to ask the performer to perform more if they are doing good. Do you know how to spell "ancho" correctly?
Thanks,
W_____
- I just caught Gwen Stefani's "Rich Girl" music video on TV. I've seen it on a few times, but never really paid attention. Anyway, the video features a few Capoeiristas on the deck of the ship in the video. Neat stuff.
February 17, 2005
CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE!!
Since yesterday, three close friends have told me of their engagements (i.e. separate weddings). Add to that another one I heard about 2 weeks ago. You see, normally, you'd expect wedding engagements within a circle of friends (however far stretched) to spread over a bell curve. In this case, I think this would appear on a graph as an irregular spike (or glitch, some would say) up the middle.
Well, we're spreading the joy.
Congratulations to (in order of engagement, with wedding year in parentheses)...
LG & CT (2005)
RT & WW (2005)
VC & ? (2005)
SK & TB (2005)
MP & D (2005)
SW & B (2006)
MH & MS (2005)
CS & N (2006)
But there's a problem with this plan... I may not be able to attend any of them! Unless people are willing to cluster theirs together just for me. Com'on... you're willing, right? OR a group wedding! You know how group birthday parties are that much more fun? A group wedding would be out of this world. And you can share the costs! Share the band, share the banquet hall, share the minister! What a wonderful idea, Kevin.
Sigh... guess I gotta do my part and get myself closer groom status, right?
Anyway, congratulations to everyone.
Since yesterday, three close friends have told me of their engagements (i.e. separate weddings). Add to that another one I heard about 2 weeks ago. You see, normally, you'd expect wedding engagements within a circle of friends (however far stretched) to spread over a bell curve. In this case, I think this would appear on a graph as an irregular spike (or glitch, some would say) up the middle.
Well, we're spreading the joy.
Congratulations to (in order of engagement, with wedding year in parentheses)...
LG & CT (2005)
RT & WW (2005)
VC & ? (2005)
SK & TB (2005)
MP & D (2005)
SW & B (2006)
MH & MS (2005)
CS & N (2006)
But there's a problem with this plan... I may not be able to attend any of them! Unless people are willing to cluster theirs together just for me. Com'on... you're willing, right? OR a group wedding! You know how group birthday parties are that much more fun? A group wedding would be out of this world. And you can share the costs! Share the band, share the banquet hall, share the minister! What a wonderful idea, Kevin
Sigh... guess I gotta do my part and get myself closer groom status, right?
Anyway, congratulations to everyone.
February 16, 2005
February 09, 2005
Selamat Datang!
Just 24 hours ago, my plane had landed in Taiwan after a fantastic five-day trip to Penang and Langkawi, Malaysia. It was a vacation the way I would have wanted a vacation to go. I had gotten over my fever by the end of the first day there, and was good to enjoy the high-20's to low-30's weather. Traveling with me were my cousin TC and her b/f BH. Here are the highlights:
Day 1: In our small group of 9 tourists and 1 group "leader" from the travel agency, we met with the Malaysia tour guide in Penang. The goal for the day was to get to Langkawi, which involved another 4 hours of busing and boating. Along the way was a trip across Asia's longest bridge (13.5km), and a stop at Eagle Square (Dataran Lang) where a massive eagle statue stands poised for flight. Langkawi actually means brown (kawi) eagle (lang). Our night ended with the 10 Taiwanese gathering in one hotel room for drinks, local snacks, card games, and some getting-to-know-you.
Day 2: To start the day, we took a boat to the Langkawi Coral, a catamaran from which we went snorkeling into clear tropical waters filled with a variety of fish. It wasn't until the last hour that we realized the best snorkeling was just a short ways away where we would snorkel with sharks. Now THAT was cool. That evening, we went to our second hotel resort. The resort was on a tsunami-affected island called Rebak, so the once-busy marina was empty, broken in places, and boats were lined up on the docks waiting to go back into the water. The tsunami did more than just take boats out of the water. We needed to change rooms a couple times that night because of some faulty electricity (which cause our room to smoke up), and non-working air conditioning. It was an interesting evening, that's for sure.
Day 3: The third day was mostly island hopping. One for its nice quiet beach (until the other tour groups arrived) and monkeys, another for more monkeys and some swimming, another to see a shallow cave, another for fishing, and a final for lunch. The rest of the day was spent at the resort.
Day 4: On this day, we returned to Penang, saw the Mahsuri Tomb (where a Princess unjustly accused of adultry was buried), went to two temples, to see the Seri Rambai Cannon (a 400+ year old cannon with much history) at Fort Cornwallis, drank Pepsi X (Energy Cola), bought dried lobster meat, had a bicycle rickshaw ride, and dinner in a revolving restaurant. That night, after check-in at our hotel, TC, BH, and I walked to a mall about 20 mins away to look for a Malaysia flag for me to buy as a souvenir. Unfortunately, I came away empty handed.
Day 5: Our final day was less eventful, including visits to a textiles shops, a pewter and leather factory, a tree or botanical garden, a herbal health foods (etc) shop, and the snake temple (which really didn't have that many snakes). Another 5 hour flight, and we were back in Taiwan.
Overall, I had a great time with TC and BH. I thought the food was good (maybe not always authentic Malay food), and the activities were eventful. I was surprised at how many people speak the "Ming Nan" (Fuken) language -- which is the same as the local language in Taiwan. Particularly in Langkawi and Penang, which are high in Chinese population. Things in Malaysia aren't that cheap - cheaper than Canada, but only about on par or just slightly cheaper than Taiwan. Imported things are much more expensive (brand name clothing and imported cars). I'm sure I will want to go back to Malaysia -> Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, and Singapore (ok, that's not in Malaysia).
I always had a problem knowing what to collect as souvenirs, and as pointed out earlier, I think I have found something. Country flags. I wanted to get one this trip, but couldn't find a large enough one on short notice. Unfortunately, that means I have a lot of previously-visited countries that I need to revisit. But now I'll start looking out for them.
Happy Chinese New Year.
Just 24 hours ago, my plane had landed in Taiwan after a fantastic five-day trip to Penang and Langkawi, Malaysia. It was a vacation the way I would have wanted a vacation to go. I had gotten over my fever by the end of the first day there, and was good to enjoy the high-20's to low-30's weather. Traveling with me were my cousin TC and her b/f BH. Here are the highlights:
Day 1: In our small group of 9 tourists and 1 group "leader" from the travel agency, we met with the Malaysia tour guide in Penang. The goal for the day was to get to Langkawi, which involved another 4 hours of busing and boating. Along the way was a trip across Asia's longest bridge (13.5km), and a stop at Eagle Square (Dataran Lang) where a massive eagle statue stands poised for flight. Langkawi actually means brown (kawi) eagle (lang). Our night ended with the 10 Taiwanese gathering in one hotel room for drinks, local snacks, card games, and some getting-to-know-you.
Day 2: To start the day, we took a boat to the Langkawi Coral, a catamaran from which we went snorkeling into clear tropical waters filled with a variety of fish. It wasn't until the last hour that we realized the best snorkeling was just a short ways away where we would snorkel with sharks. Now THAT was cool. That evening, we went to our second hotel resort. The resort was on a tsunami-affected island called Rebak, so the once-busy marina was empty, broken in places, and boats were lined up on the docks waiting to go back into the water. The tsunami did more than just take boats out of the water. We needed to change rooms a couple times that night because of some faulty electricity (which cause our room to smoke up), and non-working air conditioning. It was an interesting evening, that's for sure.
Day 3: The third day was mostly island hopping. One for its nice quiet beach (until the other tour groups arrived) and monkeys, another for more monkeys and some swimming, another to see a shallow cave, another for fishing, and a final for lunch. The rest of the day was spent at the resort.
Day 4: On this day, we returned to Penang, saw the Mahsuri Tomb (where a Princess unjustly accused of adultry was buried), went to two temples, to see the Seri Rambai Cannon (a 400+ year old cannon with much history) at Fort Cornwallis, drank Pepsi X (Energy Cola), bought dried lobster meat, had a bicycle rickshaw ride, and dinner in a revolving restaurant. That night, after check-in at our hotel, TC, BH, and I walked to a mall about 20 mins away to look for a Malaysia flag for me to buy as a souvenir. Unfortunately, I came away empty handed.
Day 5: Our final day was less eventful, including visits to a textiles shops, a pewter and leather factory, a tree or botanical garden, a herbal health foods (etc) shop, and the snake temple (which really didn't have that many snakes). Another 5 hour flight, and we were back in Taiwan.
Overall, I had a great time with TC and BH. I thought the food was good (maybe not always authentic Malay food), and the activities were eventful. I was surprised at how many people speak the "Ming Nan" (Fuken) language -- which is the same as the local language in Taiwan. Particularly in Langkawi and Penang, which are high in Chinese population. Things in Malaysia aren't that cheap - cheaper than Canada, but only about on par or just slightly cheaper than Taiwan. Imported things are much more expensive (brand name clothing and imported cars). I'm sure I will want to go back to Malaysia -> Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, and Singapore (ok, that's not in Malaysia).
I always had a problem knowing what to collect as souvenirs, and as pointed out earlier, I think I have found something. Country flags. I wanted to get one this trip, but couldn't find a large enough one on short notice. Unfortunately, that means I have a lot of previously-visited countries that I need to revisit. But now I'll start looking out for them.
Happy Chinese New Year.
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