Chicks dig guys with bikes...

... or so I've been told. Last night, I bought my primary form of transportation for the next x years: a bicycle. It's a silver Giant S165 (hold the applause), 18-speed, front wheel suspension, equipped with a lock, a small bike pump, a red flashing rear light, a bottle holder, and a gay silver basket on the front. It's my speedster. It's my salvation. ... but getting it into the elevator at home was hell. It took a few tries before I realized it wouldn't contort properly going head-first, but rather had to be backed up. Yes, back that thang up. On the way to work this morning, I learned how difficult it was to tilt the bike upright to get it through a winding Tetris-block-shaped gate into the Science Park. This bike definitely isn't one you'd go cross country in. You'd break your back just carrying it on your shoulder.

Remember how I mentioned burping two blogs ago? I did a quick count, and between arriving at 9:02am and 11:03am, I counted 9 burps. Probably 16+ over the course of the day, and mostly executed by the same guy. He's a winner.

Some mornings, on my way to work, I pass a 1-level building with a bunch of old women just outside of the entrance. And each time I pass them, their slouching backs, their dark skin, and wrinkles remind me of the Worms in Men In Black. I have a strange imagination.

Today ends my first week in Hsinchu and my first week of work. It's been a good week, and everyone at the office has been really friendly. I'm not yet sure what I'll do this weekend, but there's a good chance I'll take my Speedster out for a cruise to familiarize myself with the neighbourhood. I'll put the top down so the wind can blow through my hair. And with my shades on, my right hand on the steering wheel, I'll lean back and wave as attract a continuous line of gasps, applauds, and "oh my god, there he is!"'s. Chick dig guys with bikes.

Taiwan: Part 400

Wow, I can't believe I'm on Part 400 already! Time really flights. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me over the years...

Ah, the beginning of yet another exciting day. I spent some time two days ago meeting people and learning their names, and I spent some more time yesterday meeting and relearning the same people's names. Here's what I've noticed: All you Chinese people look alike!!! In Canada, I meet someone, and I can say "oh, that Chinese guy Robert", or white, or Philipino, or etc. Here, they're all Taiwanese, with the exception of one Australian bloke. It really is difficult when you can distinguish people by race.

Learning more and more about digital design, Verilog, and our company's products day-by-day, as you can expect. But culturally, I've learned that Taiwanese people don't seem to consider burping rude. Over the course of a day, I'll be working quietly and hearing a couple people talk, and even mid-speech, one will burp. It'll be like "ching ching chang wang yang wah [burp] jah bah jing chao..." But it's not like it happens once a day, it happens several times a day. It's like being at a swamp during mating season when the bullfrogs show off their undeniable masculinity. Much like bullfrogs. Much.

I think I can get by buying only breakfast and lunch each day. Roughly 35-50nt for breakfast, and about 75nt for lunch. Dinner I can have ordered in at work if I'm here late, and we have a 3 o'clock "Afternoon Tea" (i.e. we get some buns for free). Please see my sponsorship plea below.


Kevin - lives in Taiwan
Minimum $120 per month
[Sponsor Now]

Here is an Engineer awaiting a World Vision sponsor. Kevin lives in a community severely affected by male engineers. In Taiwan, the disease has impacted the entire social structure, creating a generation of lonely men. Kevin needs your assistance to pay for his food each day to get his mind off the romantically inept nature of his surroundings. Kevin has been reserved for you to sponsor, for the next few minutes. Just click on the [Sponsor Now] button, to become his sponsor in less than five minutes. All it takes is $5.00 a day, the cost of a (venti mocha frappaccino) cup of coffee. With your help, Kevin will be able to enroll in Engineering courses until he bleeds from the eyes. He will write you monthly to tell you how much he appreciates your financial love. Also each month, he will send you pictures so you can monitor his progress. Please don't let another Taiwanese Engineer slip through the cracks.

Taiwan: Part 399

On Sunday, we were supposed to go watch the final four games of the Jones Cup international basketball tournament, but the good tickets were sold out. So we went to Ling Ku about 40 mins drive to play basketball in a mall. At the mall, they have some courts set up in the middle of a sporting goods complex (where there's a Puma, Nike, Reebok, etc etc store around the perimeter). You pay 70nt (25nt = $1 CAD) and go in and play pick up. We were five people, split into two teams of 3, and were getting killed by the "kids". For the most part, none of us play much anymore and the highschool and university students were much too skilled for us in our old age. Nevertheless, it was fun. I did a lot of sweating, which is good, since I don't sweat enough in Taiwan as it is.

Monday, I awoke at 5:50am to catch a ride with my uncle to Hsinchu. It was a half-move, with a semi-large luggage, a small carry-on luggage, a backpack, and my day pack from MEC. The first day at work was good. The people have been really friendly and helpful, and just about everything was ready for me when I arrived. I was told there was a mis-print on my business cards, so I won't be receiving those until Wednesday. That's fine, I have no one to give them to anyway. I have a decent idea now about the product we're developing, and I'm not finding the language too big of a problem. Although, I'm finding that not reading Chinese is rather tedious and irritating. Consequently, I've scheduled to have my Chinese Windows 2000 and Office converted to English versions on Thursday. My PC is a 2.80GHz P4 with 80 Gb of space, and a ViewSonic 17" ThinEdge VP171s LCD display. So far, everything is to my liking, and I don't have much to complain about. Well, not true. I have to walk outside to get lunch since we don't have a caf. But drinks are subsidized and usually only cost about 10nt.

Living with my manager isn't too bad. Basically, I do as I please and we live our own lives, but if I need anything, he's there to help. My eventual home is only about 8 minutes walk from this temporary home, which means it's 8 minutes closer to work, but 8 minutes further from the bustling street where all the store and restaurants are. With a bicycle, none of this really matters.

On the first day, I was dress pants, my nice shoes, and a dress short-sleeve shirt. I felt anal. My friend joked the other day about the engineering "dress code", where it would be plaid shirts, pants hiked up to the belly button, and black leather shoes (the soft kind). I wasn't close to that, but I wasn't far either. Anyway, I wanted to make sure I looked proper on my first day... today, I'm back to wearing what I normally wear. The shirt's untucked, my Oakley slip-on shoes, and a pair of casual slacks. I feel much better. Now I can do some work. ... which is what I need to do, since I start a weekly evening course next Monday from 6:30pm - 9:30pm on Verilog, Synthesis, and Simulation. Fortunately, only runs until the end of Aug.

That's that! All is well.

pssst... write!

Taiwan: Part 398

I'm tired of standing and walking. I need to sit. The last couple of days have required to much on the part of my feet.

On Thursday, I went to the Taipei Computer Applications Show at the Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC) with D.C.. Basically, it's a show where people can go and oogle at showgirls and by consumer electronics and games for cheap. Similar to the Computex Trade Show I went to a couple months ago, but bigger stages, more dancing, younger attendees, and less nerdy. Since D.C.'s girlfriend was working at the Show, I scored with some free giveaways, including a few sets of chopsticks and spoons that will come in handy after I move. Had a quick lunch at the mall next to the Taipei 101 (Asia's tallest building right now, I think... 101 floors). Then I bought my shower curtains at Working House and had dinner with my mom at a food court in the mall. Mall food courts in Taiwan kick Canadian food courts' asses! Food is cheaper and much tastier than what we have back home, although with less ethnic variety. Thereafter, we went to see House of Flying Daggers at Warner Village Xin Yi. Was it any good? Hmm... overall, it was okay. I really enjoyed watching it and the fight scene were cool, as were the use of colors and landscapes... but the ending fell short of my expectations. I felt it left things too open and messy. I need closure.

Yesterday, I went to Yang Min San (Yang Min Mountain) with my mom and aunt. Y.M.S. is a nice get-away from the heat of Taipei. They also have a hot spring there which is piped into private and public baths. My aunt has a place there, so we went there for a bath. The public baths are separated into Men's and Women's. I've never been to a public bath, but it was early enough in the day that there was no one there -- so I took it as a BIG private bath. Unfortunately, my aunt was unaware that they clean the baths on Fridays, so I had about an ankle deep of water to bathe in... but I did it anyway (weird as it was). A little later, another guy came in. (Heads up, graphic description coming) By that time, the water was about 1 foot deep... so he lies flat in the water... but being slightly heavier (not fat, but far from thin), he lies in the water flat. Unfortunately, a one foot deep bath doesn't quite cover a man of his size, so parts can't help but to stick out of the water's surface. I was on my way out anyway, and that was my cue to exit. After that, my mom and I went to Gunther van Hagens' Body Worlds exhibition ("The Anatomical Exhibition of Rael Human Bodies"), a scientific exhibition of live bodies stripped to different extents of skin, muscle, bone, etc. It was a fascinating show, and was done such that you wouldn't be disgusted by it (unlike art, where the bloodier the better). Some of the more interesting displays were:

- "Torso with severely deformed spinal column and body wall"
- limbs of muscle, but keeping the ligaments in tact
- a man where his muscles were removed from his skeletal structure, and were put side by side (i.e. his skeleton was posed in a walking motion, and his muscles were put together in the same walking motion next to it). Silicone rubber is used to give the muscles the ability to stand up freely without the support of bones.
- Male torso with Situs Inversus: case where internal organs are reversed (heart is on the right side, for example). Happens 1/25000 people.
- Action shots: bodies doing some action, and they split up the muscles, ligaments, bones to fan out so you can see them easily
- Configuration of arteries: ONLY blood vessels of certain organs or parts of the body

Anyway, it was a great exhibition to attend, and I would recommend anyone to see it.

Today, dinner with relatives. Tomorrow, an international basketball competition -- 4 games for $24 CAD, so so. Monday, work.

To address living with my boss, I'm sure it won't be bad at all. He's been really accommodating so far, and I'm sure will do all the right things such that we don't have a strained manager-employee relationship at the office. He did tell me, however, that his place doesn't have air con. I'm glad I'm not staying there for long.

I think I'm giving up a lot moving away from Vancouver. The mild weather, the active nature of Canadian friends, the fresh air, and the relaxing pace to name a few, but I think I should mention a few things I like about Taiwan.

Everything is nearby. Restaurants line the streets where stores don't. Convenient stores are actually "convenient". You can pay every bill imaginable at every 7-Eleven, and I've already talked about how many 7-Elevens there are (entry 2 months ago). Flat panel monitors are used excessively in such convenient storse to display your purchase amounts at the till. In Canada, if you don't have a car, you're pretty hooped. In Taiwan, at least Taipei, public transportation finds its way through every major street... and in Taipei, every street is major. You can dress as poorly as you want or as well as you want, and you'll always fit in here. The streets come alive at night with lights and lit banners, and the streets are still fairly crowded until midnight. There must be more, but it's not coming to me at this time.

That's enough reading for you today. Write me. Love me. Love me long time.

Taiwan: Part 397

It's only been two day since my last visit to Mr. Aztec Internet Cafe, but I was bored today, and I already told you what doing nothing at home usually results in.  Today, I rollerbladed to the Cafe, which cut the travel time quite a bit.  But isn't it my luck that when I rollerblade, it starts pouring raining en route?  I hope the rain doesn't last the 3 hours I'm here.  That, and I haven't tried my blades since I brought them into Comor to have them serviced... not sure if they rotated the wheels, but the wear is such that they're really slippery right now. Hmm...

Chinese.  The only language I know where text is written vertically, horizontally backwards and forwards.  This can be confusing if it weren't for the fact that my reading abilities are stellar.

Had dinner at a steakhouse with my Kitsilano school-mates.  A tough 8 oz. (roughly) steak in mushroom sauce, and all-u-can-eat fix'ems for about $6 CAD.  Then we headed over to a "Dante's Coffee" shop, where the drinks were bland and the air con turned up too high.  Good to catch up with old friends anyway.

A friend sent this to me, and I thought it was appropriately Asian: Feng Shui Motherboard.

My replacement Iron Ring, I hear, has arrived at home.  I hope to have it on my pinky again so that I can lose it shortly thereafter.

Yesterday, I did some Visa / Alien Residency paperwork in Hsinchu and went to Home Depot / Revy's-type store called B&Q to do some preliminary surveying.  Looks like I'll have a spend a few hundred dollars on making my home feel like a home.  Electric fan, shower curtains, laundry basket, toiletries, iron, a few rugs, plastic storage boxes, and a broom are on my list, amongst a few other things.  I'm looking for a comfy chair... something like this one but with a little more padding of my delicate self. Can't wait to go shopping!

I finally finished going through my Second Year CMPT290 course material (in preparation for my new job). Wow, I can't believe how fun digital design could be! Wish I paid more attention to that kind of stuff in school. Now I'm working on reading "Verilog HDL" by Samir Palnitkar, my last big purchase from Vancouver.

Drop some comments! Make me feel loved.

Taiwan: Part 2

Thankfully, my housing ordeal is getting close to being resolved.  With a little bit of work on my part, I think I get my crowded suite with the big washroom. I'm pysched!  It's really weird to be pysched about having what's really a normal sized washroom by Canadian standards, but when you look at the limited options here, you can't help but to be a little relieved (and I expect to spend a lot of time being relieved in that washroom).  The only catch is that this place I'm going to rent isn't ready until mid-August -- they're still building it!  So I will be staying with my hiring manager (is that weird???)  for the first two weeks of my stay in Hsinchu (the city I'm working in).  I'm sure I'll have a good blog about that in due time.

I've been praticing my signature in Chinese, both vertically and horizontally.  I think it's ready to go.  Every two out of five scribbles are very similar.

I cut my last paid Internet usage short, leaving after only 2h10m instead of my pre-paid 3 hrs. I had an impromptu meeting with PS who was leaving Taiwan for Canada on Sunday after a co-op at a Taiwanese company.  That was nice.  Good to see familiar faces in a different country.

Last night, I had dinner with RL, AJ, and MC from SFU Engineering.  That was cool too.  It's been a short while since I'd seen a couple of them (maybe 2 yrs?), so it was great to chill and chat again.

Tonight, I've got dinner with some highschool friends, EC, JC, and DC.  I saw EC at the Computex Taipei Computer Tradeshow about 1.5 months ago, but only briefly.  I haven't seen JC since highscool, and DC since about a year ago.  Should be a good time.

It's frickin' boiling here.  In an effort not to waste electricity at my cousin's place where I'm staying, I have the air con on only sometimes.  So at night, I'd wake up and I'm drenched in sticky sweat (no jokes, guys).  During the day, when I'm at home (where there's no TV), I find myself bored a lot of the time.  There's separate air con in every room, so I usually find the smallest room and sit in there with the A/C on. But there's really nothing for me to do in that room.  So I usually just sleep. I SLEEP SO MUCH HERE!  The heat makes you lazy.  It disables you.  It cradles you in its arms and softly says "you're a lazy bum, just go to sleep again... or I'll poke you in the eyes until you have to close them."  The heat's a jerk.

Girls here?  Lots of them skinny.  Too skinny.  Sometimes you're fooled into a second glace, to be met by noticing arms that wouldn't be strong enough to hold up a candied apple at a fair.  And then there are the girls who seem to have slender (but not too skinny) figures... but for some reason, 50% of them limp or walk like they have major joint issues.  It's weird.  Maybe if they did sports once in a while.  But I'm not here to meet girls.  Let's just make that clear.

Work starts in a week.

Please post a comment.  Give me something to read!

Taiwan: Part I

Finally. Internet. How many days can an Engineer go without internet without twitching like a person bludgeoned into convulsions?  Regardless of that, I paid for 3 hours of access, for 120nt (roughly $5 Cdn)... comes with unlimited drinks.

I'm here.  My new home.  What's odd about this whole "move" is that there really wasn't an emotional moment.  Sure, I'm sad to leave my friends and my Canadian life behind, but I didn't feel like I would miss anything.  Perhaps the back and forth from Asia in the last few years have prepared me mentally. So I'm looking forward to what lies ahead, while cherishing what was left behind.

I looked for housing, and I'm not so excited about my living conditions.  After visiting 7 places, I decided on a place, but it's not fully settled.  I found a building being built (not ready until mid-August) that's around 10 minutes walk from work.  Perfect location.  Last night, I decided I liked one room, but didn't want to rush into anything.  The rooms aren't big, but the washrooms in these types of rentals are generally pathetic.  A typical washroom would be the size of a washroom equipped with a toilet and a sink.  Now put a shower head (with the hose) and a faucet on the wall somewhere and add a drain.  There is absolutely no separation between the shower and the rest of the washroom.  NOW, while the one room I liked was a little smaller than I would have liked, it had a long washroom where the shower was at one end (still, no shower door or anything), slightly separated from the toilet and sink.  THAT, I liked.  But when I called the owner at 10am this morning, she told me it was already rented out.  This means I'm going to have to settle on a sh.ttier room with a sh.ttier bathroom.  ARGH.

Aside from being very close to work, this apartment building is also about 3 minutes away from a little lake (where I got 12 mosquito bites yesterday) and some outdoor basketball courts, a swimming pool, and lots of restaurants.  Location is key, right?  I can always shower at work.

At work, there's a small universal gym (new), stairclimbers and stationary bikes (who does cardio anyway?), two ping pong tables, and a half-court for basketball which doubles as a badminton court.  So, I won't be far from physical activity here... which is something I was worried about.  I've been ghetto the last three days, using a bucket of water as weights for doing bicep curls.  I feel like Jackie Chan.  The one thing I want to complain about: NO FOOSBALL TABLE!

Overall, things are okay here.  I feel comfortable in my new surroundings.  I'm going to meet up with some university and highschool friends today, Sunday, and Monday.  I didn't have a chance to meet up with anyone on my last trip, so it will be good to see some old faces.

And that's that.

Leave a comment for me to read!

I just finished watching "Welcome to Mooseport" with Ray Romano and Gene Hackman. I thought the movie was kind-hearted and humorous in a Ray Romano kind of way. After the movie ended, I decided to see what the critics thought and found this comment by Roger Ebert, who gave it a thumbs up:

"We question that such a naive and innocent town could exist in America, and are almost relieved to find that the movie was shot in Canada."

I don't know whether I should be offended...

Maybe you have enough friends. Maybe Friendster just doesn't do it for you. Maybe you should sign on to Fiendster.

It was a couple days with the boys - to chill, to hang out, to reminise. We went to VY's for a BBQ, then jumped in the hot tub for an hour, and ended the day off with a game of Risk - which surprisingly ended after 3+ hours (first time our games have been so quick... I died first)! We stayed overnight, DL staying in VY's room, and GW and myself sharing a room with RS's enormous snore. In the morning, we had some leftover BBQ meat (there're STILL leftovers, even after our late breakfast) and played some pitch & putt. I'm not sure what the final scores were, but I would guess it would have been in the order of RS, GW, VY, DL, KK. I always go for the higher score. Then we did the Grouse Grind, which took 1h09m, longer than what I remembered it taking; on the other hand, I'm no longer a young, fit Kevin, and my quads have been put to a lot this past week already. Took some pictures at the top of Grouse and took the Gondola down. To wrap it up, we went to Ebi Sushi (Granville & 41st) for some 9:30pm All U Can Eat Sushi and talked about how we first got to know each other, our first impressions, our stories of each other, and our stories of other people back in the Engineering Days. It was good for the guys to be guys around guys without any need to hold back.

Happy Canada Day!