So, am I having a good time? Am I enjoying myself here in my new life? Sure, I guess. Not everything in life is exciting, regardless of where you are. Vacationing is one thing, working is another. When you're on vacation in a foreign land, everything is new and entertaining. When you're working in a foreign land, you take things in slightly differently. You care less about some things because curiosity doesn't knock as often at your mind's door.

On Friday night, I was taken to an all-u-can-eat Taiwanese hotpot place in 永和(Yonghe). It was kind of like the A.U.C.E. sushi places where you pick sushi and whatever else off the conveyor belt - except that what came around on the little train of small dishes were things to go into your boiling pot of soup: beef/pork/lamb slices, meat balls, clams, tempura, dumplings, etc. It was fantabulous. All for only 200nt. After eating 便當s (lunchboxes) during the week, going back to Taipei is always a treat. I think I'll have to do that more often. Not to say that the 便當s are bad; on the contrary, they're quite good - usually consisting of rice, some veggies, perhaps an egg, a fillet of meat, and some other stuff. But everyone has warned me that while I still enjoy them now, I'm going to detest them soon enough. I guess that's something to look forward to.

I also picked up a new toy this weekend. Got a mobile phone over the weekend, much fancier than my last. It's a Motorola C650, which I chose because it was fairly affordable, has tri-band GSM, has a built-in camera with zoom, and all the polyphonic fun one can ask for. The color scheme isn't as nice as the black top, but I'll live. So far, I can only complain that the case is shut too tightly (or jammed), because I haven't succeeded in getting the darn thing off. If you think you might want to call me here, just ask me for my number. It's no secret.

So it was a short return to Taipei, and I was back here in Hsinchu by early Sunday. Came back with lots of good things too, including a hot plate. I actually cooked in my room for the first time, which was nice. It was noodles (which I took from an instant noodles bowl), some added condiments, some beef balls (different from bull balls), some fish paste things, and made myself a simple meal. Would have been better if I checked the instant noodles' instructions before making it because I ended up putting the sauce in the soup instead of draining the soup and adding the sauce afterwards. Ah well. We learn.

Describe your ideal cubicle. What cubicle, desk, or computer position makes you feel most comfortable and at ease? I'm not talking about the regular worker who works his regular 8 hours and then goes home. I'm talking about the other people who excel and do "more than just work".

First, I think it's important to sit facing traffic. Any slightest movement in your peripheral quickly triggers the subconscious ALT-TAB reflex. This is the best situation aside from owning your own office. In this facing-outward case, I prefer my cubicle be the first when entering a row of cubicles. By being situated near the outside, you can slip away from your cubicle as many times as you'd like without coworkers "behind" you noticing. One thing I've noted in that position is how often and how long my coworkers leave their desks. It's an important statistic.

But if you aren't fortunate enough to have your monitor hidden, then of course you'd want to sit as far in the back as possible - preferably so hidden that most people don't realize the office extends that deep. This means that the only people who might pass behind you are those who coming looking for you. In this case your senses and reflexes become indispensible, and heightened auditory acuteness is natural. I notice as I leave my cube, my eyes can't help but to lock onto each monitor I pass -- perhaps out of curiosity, perhaps out of love for TV (and hence naturally drawn to anything ressembling a TV), either way, I know exactly who's working all the time and who's MSNing most of the time.

I am of the bunch whose backs are turned from onlookers, but I sit deep in my row of cubicles. Furthermore I have a concave mirror (like the "Objects are closer than they appear" side mirror of a car) that sits on my monitor keeping me in tune with everything behind me...

... of course, I don't need to worry because I work hard all the time, and if it's not work-related, it doesn't appear on my monitor.

So, how do you like to sit at work?

This past weekend was largely spent reading Les Miserables, a novel my friend gave me in grade 10 or 11. In spite of loving themusical, I'd never gotten around to reading the book I've owned for so long.

Saturday, I went downtown Hsinchu to a big mall called WindDance. 5 hours of walking around, buying a few things (my first clothing purchase in Taiwan: 3 pairs of socks), reading Les Mis at the food court, getting caught by a sudden downpour of rain, reading Les Mis at Starbucks, and then reading Les Mis at home.

On Sunday, I finally decided to go to the lake near my house. It's probably not man-made, but it's situated in the most unlikely of places... which probably meant construction went up around the lake. Again, read Les Mis by the water where parents brought their little ones to feed the fish and turtles. From the angle I was watching, only seeing the reflection off the water and no fish below the surface, the flurry of fish darting at the falling food reminded me much of the suspicious violence at a water's surface beneath which lies some kind of monster in some kind of thriller film. That night, I went home and was educated on what a real truffle was (on TV) -- a truffle of the size of two fingers curled goes for probably AU$800. Ouch. And it's basically a pick-n-sell kind of deal where you find them on the ground!

I saw Demolition Man that night. I used to love that movie -- Wesley Snipes' character in particular. He kicked ass. What's funny about this version of Demolition Man is that instead of Taco Bell "winning the fast food wars", it was "Pizza Hut". So "Taco Bell" was dubbed over by "Pizza Hut", and the signs were all placed-over by Pizza Hut signs... not so easy when it's a fast moving action scene and you notice a floating Pizza Hut patch trying to keep the Taco Bell sign behind it covered. They also missed one (suckers). It was fun to watch though.

Today, my coworker came around distributing iced mochas... in celebration of getting his stolen car back. Haha... such is life in Taiwan. Anything you can use to get from point A to B gets stolen... cars, scooters, bikes... shoes. His car was taken the day he was supposed to take me apartment shopping, which would explain why we went by scooter that day. I suggested to another coworker that we steal his car and return it weekly for free coffees. Not sure if that suggestion will fly.

I'm glad the Olympics are ending in a couple of days. It's taking its toll on me. I'm not sure how many more nights of sleeping at 1:30am I can take before I start to fall asleep at work. Two nights ago, I watched an exciting Canada vs. Cuba Men's baseball semi-final until past 4am -- knowing very well that I would have the next day off thanks to Typhoon Ally. At this point, the G-S-B medal count sits at 4-5-2 for a total of 11 medals. Hey, I'm a Canadian Taiwanese, so I root for both sides. Damn those American-Chinese with their 137 medals. >:(

Last night, I installed a piece of aluminum in my washroom to block water from spreading from shower area to the rest of the washroom. All it took was a little common silicon caulk, and the ol' index finger. I have to wait for the caulk to cure before I try it tonight, although it should make my post-shower experience all the better. It was a Do-It-Yourself project (or "D.I.Y." as they say here) that really looks like a Do-It-Yourself project. Whatever, I'm happy with it... who cares what you think.

I was extremely pissed off early today when I received some news of my laptop back home - so much so that I was almost shaking from anger. But I guess I'll relate that story in full when it's deemed over.

I've been working for a full month now, and I guess things are still coming along smoothly. It was starting to get a little boring for a short while, but I've been given some work to do, so I'm happy to report that I'm entertained with it. I have a deliverable some 3 weeks from now. Good to have pressure. I can't work in a relaxed environment because there's no incentive to stay motivated. I need more "DO IT or LOSE YOUR JOB" kind of work. :) ... hope I don't lose my job.

A short update since I'm hungry and ready to go for lunch.

Friday night, I got a ride back to Taipei and went clubbing at Minitry of Sound (MOS) in Neihu in a complicated mish-mash of siblings and cousins. The club, built this year, was pretty awesome, with three floors of different music, and a huge dance hall that was later entertained by a live band/techno group. After clubbing, at 1:00am, we went to the batting cages next door.

My mom and I had my aunt over on Saturday for lunch, and I left in the early evening to stay at E.C.'s place for the night.

Early Sunday, a group of 14 of us drove down to Neiwan in Hsinchu County and had a BBQ down by a stream along with 200 other people. Taiwanese BBQs... packed like sardines.

Anyway, there's a typhoon heading our way, and while a few counties further North and East got the day off, we in Hsinchu County only get the afternoon. :) So, I'm out.

Most people I've talked to in the last little while have asked me how work is going, and how I like it. So perhaps I should give a somewhat complete update on the work situation (leaving out anything that I don't think should be posted online).

In short, work is great. This company parallels the many things I liked about Spectrum when things were going well for us there. For those that know me well, you probably also know how much I loved working at Spectrum. The benefits are very accommodating as the company has been doing very well in the last few years. Vacation allowance is better than most, and company retreats seem to be coming a little more often than one expects.

I had a few fears (more concerns, really) working in Taiwan:
1) Extremely long and gruelling hours of hard work
2) Boring coworkers, nerdy and male
3) I'd get out of shape from doing no physical activity

Fortunately, in reality, none of those fears are quite true. We generally work from 9am - 6:30/7:00pm, which is far better than the 9am - 10pm hours I had heard about before coming. Of course, every company is different, and there are some that do do long long hours. I just landed in a company that values life a little more. That said, like at any non-governmental company, there will be deadlines and periods of extra work... but in general, it's good.

The coworkers, while mostly male, aren't boring nor nerdy on the whole. As Asians generally are, they're fairly playful and chummy, and it's actually pretty refreshing. And, as you'll read in the next paragraph, they're fairly active too. Anyway, there was no awkward moment from the time I started. Everyone was very friendly, and my coworkers have been really accommodating in all aspects of my settling in. But yes, there is a definite unbalance of male to female.

Our building, only 1.5 yrs old, is nicely equipped with a universal gym, some elliptical trainers, stationary bikes, treadmills, a massage chair, two ping pong tables, and half a basketball court which doubles as a badminton court. People play basketball or badminton or ping pong daily, which is awesome, because I'm finding that I've been more active here than I have back home in a long time. The starting times for ball or badminton are around 6:45pm - 7:00pm, so it encourages people not to work too late (unless they really have to).

From a work work perspective, things are also going well. I've been given the opportunity to learn firmware programming and aspects of IC design, which I always had an interest in, but gave up because I didn't have the skills coming out of university. As such, I've been enrolled in a crash (night) course in Verilog HDL at a famous local university, NCTU, to learn these skills. I think, on a whole, the experience I'll get out of working here will be rewarding and valuable.

So, all in all, for just about all aspects of work, things are going very well.

Haven'tposted anything recently because I haven't thought of anything of much significance. Early next week, I'll probably give an update on my work situation since that's generally the first thing people ask me about.

In the meantime, let me report that I have a fang. Just one. It's the third tooth from the middle, on the left side of my upper jaw. One would think there'd be a matching predatory mechanism on the right side, but I think it's been rendered blunt and ineffective from grinding my teeth at night. But let's just focus on the one that is there and is very dangerous.

This convincing evidence of food chain superiority angles down from about 2mm above (closer to the root) the surrounding teeth, and sharpens to a menacing point 2mm past its neighbouring bones. Sometimes when I'm alone, I like to look in the mirror and make a threatening face, exposing the marvel-worthy spike, accompanied by a mirror-shaking growl -- in reality, it's really my right hand holding and shaking the mirror furiously, thereby giving it the desired effect. Other times, I like to start from a calm, nonchalant face before lashing out a sudden fury of tooth and hiss. Very feline. Very intimidating. Occasionally, I stumble backwards heart-pumpingly surprised at my own terrifying display of faked aggression.

Everything you wanted to know about my fang.

Fang-kiu very much.

This past weekend was my first weekend alone in Taiwan, and I had no idea what to do ("What ever should I do?", said little Kevin).

Saturday, I took the Speedster out for a spin. Just 10 minutes down the road, there was a Nova, a building of small and mid-sized boutiques selling consumer electronics, mainly computer products, MP3 players, and digital cameras. I shopped around looking at the odd this and that, compared a few prices, and such was my day. In the evening, I made the choice to go to a McDonald's not 5 minutes ride from home. I got a Spicy Chicken meal, and as the documentary recommended, I "Supersized" it for about 20 cents CAD. Along with me, I brought a book by Timothy Ferris, "The Mind's Sky: Human Intelligence in a Cosmic Context", a book that was awarded to me in Grade 12 for excellence in Mathematics (yippee). For some reason, I never cared to read it, so there it sat on my bookshelf until one day I decided to move to Taiwan. Anyway, I stayed in the cool air-conditioned climate of America's top fast-food restaurant for two hours while kids banged away at the bright yellow, red, and blue plastic playground. And such was my day.

Sunday, I rode off on my Road-Warrior to Hsinchu City, a city as boring as it is old and ugly. Haha, well, it's not quite so bad. Downtown is much like any part of Taipei, less the cleansiness - with every street lined with shops and/or restaurants. I spent a good three, four hours walking the streets, window shopping, and consulting my map. In one particular bookstore, I saw the biggest spider I had ever seen in person and non-captive. The body was roughly an inch long, and about as wide as a quarter (Canadian, not US) and each leg extended roughly 2 inches out. Holding my left leg from shaking, I kept my cool. Anyway, there was no reason to fear it since it appeared slightly injured (or drunk) as it stumble across the bookstore floor before being BASHED with a broom and brushed away for disposal. Anyway, big spider. I ended my Sunday with a trip to Chung Hwa nightmarket and with a little more reading.

I started my four-week weekly Verilog course Monday evening, and it was a pretty barable 3 hour crunch of information. The professor seems very well qualified, having worked at GTE, AT&T Bell Labs, and then becoming a professor and doing consulting. With the Powerpoint slides all in English, it wasn't hard to follow the Mandarin lecture. He says "Exclusive OR" as "Excusi OR"... teehee... reminds me of EuroTrip. Anyway, I digress. I finished Ferris's book last night, and decided that while he brings up some interesting points, it's mainly a book of ramblings - as he admits right at the start.

Okay, lunch is over.

There are many gross things in Asia. Here's one of them.

Imagine ripping a loose thread off a white shirt. Now let's say you were bored, so you decided to play with it; so you twist it back and forth between your thumb and your index finger until it becomes this thick wad of thread, maybe with a loose end sticking out.

I was in a taxi with my manager and another, coming back from an extended lunch. As I looked over at the driver from my back passenger seat, I noticed that he had a white hair about 3 inches long extending from his jaw -- similar to the ones that grow so consistently out of moles, but there was no visible mole. This hair, wasn't quite straight, as it curved here and there slightly like the Trans-Canada Highway coming out of Vancouver.

Now take that curled up piece of string you were playing with, and imagine it attached to the end of the 3-inch hair growing out of this man's face. That's gross.

Falling apart

Oh my god, I've done it. After all this talk about burps and belches, I was sitting here eating my lunch, surfing the web, and without even thinking about it, and not even considering my environment, I let out a soundly burp. I'm weak. I'm broken down. I'm won't last a year here.