Who doesn't love Twins? Twins are great in so many contexts... firstly, two kids that uncannily alike, how cute is that? The second, I won't mention here because I will likely get slapped. And now a third, a restaurant/club in Taipei called Twins, an all-in-one location for food and fun. Best of all, MRT-accessible.
In celebration of my cousin's birthday, we went to this place recommended to her boyfriend. Upon entering, the darkened room and strategically placed lights provided a nice ambience for a romantic atmosphere or a place for friends to get together. The all-u-can-eat menu of different salads, meats (lamb, chicken, beef, pork) cooked with a variety of delicious recipes, soups, and desserts were a la carte, and were, for the most part, quite satisfying. Over the course of dinner, classic easy listening songs played over the speaker system. For 550nt (roughly $22 cad, an elevated weekend price), you could walk away happy... despite lacking friendly service from the odd waitress.
But wait, there's more! At 10pm, you can stick around when the lights directly above each table dims, the strobe lights over the dance floor start up, and the DJ puts on some nice hip hop tracks at his booth. And at no extra cost, you're engaged in some good nightclub action (while the people who are just arriving paid $599 at the door). The music started great with familiar popular hip hop songs, some oldies but goodies, and eventually turned techno/house, then R&B slow jams, and back to hip hop. A packed dancefloor always makes a party liven up. Again, for 550nt, dinner and dance is a good deal.
But wait, there's more! From 10pm, FREE DRINKS from a selection of juices and alcoholic beverages! On the menu, Smirnoff Ice, Jose Cuervo Tequila (which I wouldn't personally recommend because J.C. is crap), Absolute Vodka, Whiskey, Tropical Jungle, Sex on the Beach, Blue Hawaii, Purple Rain, and more.... And not watered down either!! Now, com'on... who wouldn't pay 550nt for dinner, dance, and all you can drink booze! Not to mention the vomit-sink (really! a sink for the purpose of vomitting! Although someone still opted to use a toilet, while his friends stood around trying to convince him not to fall asleep).
I definitely give Twins a twinful thumbs up, and will be happy to return there real soon. The best place I've spent an evening since arriving in Taiwan half a year ago. Too bad the website on their business card doesn't work.
January 09, 2005
January 07, 2005
"I'm so happy, so very happeeee...."
This week has been a most splendid one. For once in a long time, life hasn't been so stressful (from work and play). I finished work at a reasonable hour on most days (7pm), and managed to get a lot of exercised over the course of the past work-week, also something I haven't done in a while. So the week after work went something like this...
Monday - basketball. I've been playing a spirited game of basketball over the last 3 weeks, getting my shot back and learning to drive a little more. Still gotta work on D! Sucks being short.
Tuesday - course. nothing fun there.
Wednesday - workout (mainly back) and ping pong. Got to use the new adjustable dumbbells for the first time! So excited!
Thursday - ping pong and then a workout (chest and bi's)... I think I'm going to quickly out-lift the new dumbbells. To my surprise (albeit a very pleasant one), I found that I wasn't as weak as I had thought - given that I hadn't done dumbbell presses in some time. Anyway, I'm hoping to hit the max in about 1 month. We'll see.
Friday - More basketball.
I'm exhausted. :P But it's so wonderful to have a week where I can have so much physical activity.
The fun continues this weekend. I'll be going to an RT-Mart tomorrow to check out some scooter models and prices. And hopefully (finally) make a purchase next week.
Tomorrow night will also be a birthday celebration for my cousin. Happy Birthday!
This week has been a most splendid one. For once in a long time, life hasn't been so stressful (from work and play). I finished work at a reasonable hour on most days (7pm), and managed to get a lot of exercised over the course of the past work-week, also something I haven't done in a while. So the week after work went something like this...
Monday - basketball. I've been playing a spirited game of basketball over the last 3 weeks, getting my shot back and learning to drive a little more. Still gotta work on D! Sucks being short.
Tuesday - course. nothing fun there.
Wednesday - workout (mainly back) and ping pong. Got to use the new adjustable dumbbells for the first time! So excited!
Thursday - ping pong and then a workout (chest and bi's)... I think I'm going to quickly out-lift the new dumbbells. To my surprise (albeit a very pleasant one), I found that I wasn't as weak as I had thought - given that I hadn't done dumbbell presses in some time. Anyway, I'm hoping to hit the max in about 1 month. We'll see.
Friday - More basketball.
I'm exhausted. :P But it's so wonderful to have a week where I can have so much physical activity.
The fun continues this weekend. I'll be going to an RT-Mart tomorrow to check out some scooter models and prices. And hopefully (finally) make a purchase next week.
Tomorrow night will also be a birthday celebration for my cousin. Happy Birthday!
Thanks to NK, I have this clip I can share so you can see what I saw on Dec 31st, 2004. So you... can see... what I saw. Enjoy!
January 04, 2005
"Party like it's 19... hold up, it is!"
New Year's Eve, like I said in my previous blog, was a cold day. It's not that it was really that much colder than the winters in Vancouver, but it was unexpected arrival of the cold front. The current of cold air swept from Northern China, and brought a drop in temperature of 10+ degrees Celsius overnight. Now, normally I wouldn't complain about yesterday's 4.8 degrees Celsius temperatures... but when houses don't have insulation nor heating, you can bet I was happy to wear my thin sweat pants under my regular pants when leaving the house. Wish I had brought some winter clothes.
Anyway... let's talk about New Year's. I was hesitant to want to return to Taipei for the New Year's celebration - what, with it being to-the-bone chilly, with me still struggling to get over a cold, and with the long bus ride in busier-than-usual rushhour traffic. But I did go, it was chilly (still is), and my cold is worse, but I'm glad I did.
There were two outdoor concerts in Taipei that evening, 10 mins walking distance from each other. The Taiwanese were out in the masses, with in the range of 200,000 out to enjoy the celebrations. Myself, TC, and BH went to one concert, and left after 10 minutes to get a better view of Taipei 101 (the world's tallest building), which would make its opening debut. The second concert was better, in my opinion, with 'the musical stylings of' Machi, Stephanie Sun, and "500" (五佰). It was cool to be out in a New York Times Square environment. Large screens synced up the crowds into a countdown from 60 seconds. Then, at the last 10 seconds, the entirely-lite 101 building turned off its lights, from the bottom up, one section per second. When the clock struck, the 508m building exploded outwards in a fantastic display of fireworks. Then the upper levels continued with a few more outward explosions while some more common fireworks lit up the sky behind. It was a great site, and a nice way to bring in the new year. We even had a few bottles of Bacardi Triple Black -- and without a bottle opener (they weren't twist offs), there are a few scrapes on painted pillars.
But like the Symphony of Fire / Celebration of Lights events in Vancouver, leading 200,000 people away from one place makes for some massive congestion. MRT stations jammed packed, hordes of jaywalkers, and so on.
At the end of the night, the only regret I had was forgetting to bring my camera. Well, guess I'll have to do it all again next year!
New Year's Eve, like I said in my previous blog, was a cold day. It's not that it was really that much colder than the winters in Vancouver, but it was unexpected arrival of the cold front. The current of cold air swept from Northern China, and brought a drop in temperature of 10+ degrees Celsius overnight. Now, normally I wouldn't complain about yesterday's 4.8 degrees Celsius temperatures... but when houses don't have insulation nor heating, you can bet I was happy to wear my thin sweat pants under my regular pants when leaving the house. Wish I had brought some winter clothes.
Anyway... let's talk about New Year's. I was hesitant to want to return to Taipei for the New Year's celebration - what, with it being to-the-bone chilly, with me still struggling to get over a cold, and with the long bus ride in busier-than-usual rushhour traffic. But I did go, it was chilly (still is), and my cold is worse, but I'm glad I did.
There were two outdoor concerts in Taipei that evening, 10 mins walking distance from each other. The Taiwanese were out in the masses, with in the range of 200,000 out to enjoy the celebrations. Myself, TC, and BH went to one concert, and left after 10 minutes to get a better view of Taipei 101 (the world's tallest building), which would make its opening debut. The second concert was better, in my opinion, with 'the musical stylings of' Machi, Stephanie Sun, and "500" (五佰). It was cool to be out in a New York Times Square environment. Large screens synced up the crowds into a countdown from 60 seconds. Then, at the last 10 seconds, the entirely-lite 101 building turned off its lights, from the bottom up, one section per second. When the clock struck, the 508m building exploded outwards in a fantastic display of fireworks. Then the upper levels continued with a few more outward explosions while some more common fireworks lit up the sky behind. It was a great site, and a nice way to bring in the new year. We even had a few bottles of Bacardi Triple Black -- and without a bottle opener (they weren't twist offs), there are a few scrapes on painted pillars.
But like the Symphony of Fire / Celebration of Lights events in Vancouver, leading 200,000 people away from one place makes for some massive congestion. MRT stations jammed packed, hordes of jaywalkers, and so on.
At the end of the night, the only regret I had was forgetting to bring my camera. Well, guess I'll have to do it all again next year!
December 31, 2004
Oh my LORD is FRICKIN' COLD!! Today's weather in Hsinchu (according to Yahoo) sees a high of 13C and a low of 6C - it also states that the current conditions feels like 3C. For a Canadian - albeit one who lives in a not-so-cold Vancouver - to come to Taiwan and say it's cold, it must be fairly chilly. It's cold enough for me to see my breathe - which is an indication of the moisture.
For New Year's Eve, I had been planning on going to Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 (World's tallest building) for a countdown celebration... but given that I don't have my scarf or gloves here, I'm hesitating now. I'll probably still do it because I'm crazy. Besides, I hear that it's going to be a mob of people there, New York Times Square-like, so maybe there'll be lots of body heat.
Anyway, best of luck in the coming new year! See you (online) in 2005.
R.I.P. to those taken in recent natural disasters.
For New Year's Eve, I had been planning on going to Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 (World's tallest building) for a countdown celebration... but given that I don't have my scarf or gloves here, I'm hesitating now. I'll probably still do it because I'm crazy. Besides, I hear that it's going to be a mob of people there, New York Times Square-like, so maybe there'll be lots of body heat.
Anyway, best of luck in the coming new year! See you (online) in 2005.
R.I.P. to those taken in recent natural disasters.
December 26, 2004
Well, that was a long hiatus. But things are winding down and I can finally sit down and blog a little. So, let's backtrack to over 1 week ago...
Last Friday (Dec 17th), after a week of practice and studying, I went for my scooter test. A week earlier, I went to the Hsinchu Motor Vehicle Department to scope out the testing grounds and get some preliminary things out of the way, such as my health inspection. In general, I don't think they try very hard to prevent people from getting their licenses. So, here's the quick breakdown of what's involved:
HEALTH CHECK -- The doctor is an OLD OLD man, and he starts by giving an eye exam (wearing my prescription eyewear) - both eyes, right eye, left eye -- reading some letters through an old machine (but not as old as the doctor). Then he asked me my height and weight and wrote them down. He tells me to do 3 simple movements: arms extended open and close hands, wrist rotations, and a bend down (I bent at my hip and touched my toes, not sure if that's what he was looking for, but I passed). Finally, he tells me to look thru a little hole and tell him what color I see. I saw yellow. He agreed. With the paperwork done and stamped, I was out of there.
WRITTEN EXAM -- I got a rules and regulation book in English which I spent 2 nights on. Basically, 52 pages of multiple choice and T/F questions, with the objective of teaching you the rules of the road, signs, license rules, and penalties. Most of the questions can be guessed correctly, especially the morality questions. They could be characterized in this format:
Are you stupid?
(1) Yes
(2) No
(3) I don't know.
I took my test in English on a computer with audio, while those who can read Chinese did theirs on paper. 40 questions needing 85% and higher to pass. With questions so easy, it didn't take much effort to get 97.5%. I wonder what I got wrong.
ROAD TEST -- The "road" test is conducted under a covered blacktop, and it's one
loop that literally takes < 1 min to complete (unless you screw up). There are 4 sections. At the start, you drive, and a couple meters out, you stop at a simulated "train crossing", then you go, turn left, then you stop at a red light, then you go when it's green, turn left, then you stop at another blinking light thingy, go when it turns green, turn left, back up and straighten out for the last section. So, basically, the first three sections test whether you can stop and go, and turn left. Don't practice right turns.
Now the last section is where most people fail. You have two tries to drive straight between a narrow path at a slow pace and without putting your feet down. It's not that difficult, but people often go too fast or put their feet down. It's basically a length of 20 paces (my paces), and you have to complete it in 7 seconds or MORE. This is where I spent more of my efforts during practice. During the test, I put my foot down only a quarter of the way through, and that kind of shook me up. But my second pass was successful with the help of the shifting knees balancing act. You know, to counterbalance the handle steering. It looks like you're dodging bullets with your knees.
My general impressions of the tests... pointless. After reading the rule book, I notice that at least 1/2 of the rules are broken on the road by EVERYONE. In theory, they talk of "right of way"... in practice, there is no such thing, and you'll get honked by the person behind you if you should ever try to abide by such a silly concept. Lots of people who pass, shouldn't. Tiny girls whose feet can barely touch the ground pass. Old folks who probably shouldn't even walk pass. In many ways, it's a test of luck when it comes to the final stretch of the road test because it depends so much on your start (i.e. when you start the final stretch).
Anyway, I passed. I need to find a scooter now.
Last Friday (Dec 17th), after a week of practice and studying, I went for my scooter test. A week earlier, I went to the Hsinchu Motor Vehicle Department to scope out the testing grounds and get some preliminary things out of the way, such as my health inspection. In general, I don't think they try very hard to prevent people from getting their licenses. So, here's the quick breakdown of what's involved:
HEALTH CHECK -- The doctor is an OLD OLD man, and he starts by giving an eye exam (wearing my prescription eyewear) - both eyes, right eye, left eye -- reading some letters through an old machine (but not as old as the doctor). Then he asked me my height and weight and wrote them down. He tells me to do 3 simple movements: arms extended open and close hands, wrist rotations, and a bend down (I bent at my hip and touched my toes, not sure if that's what he was looking for, but I passed). Finally, he tells me to look thru a little hole and tell him what color I see. I saw yellow. He agreed. With the paperwork done and stamped, I was out of there.
WRITTEN EXAM -- I got a rules and regulation book in English which I spent 2 nights on. Basically, 52 pages of multiple choice and T/F questions, with the objective of teaching you the rules of the road, signs, license rules, and penalties. Most of the questions can be guessed correctly, especially the morality questions. They could be characterized in this format:
Are you stupid?
(1) Yes
(2) No
(3) I don't know.
I took my test in English on a computer with audio, while those who can read Chinese did theirs on paper. 40 questions needing 85% and higher to pass. With questions so easy, it didn't take much effort to get 97.5%. I wonder what I got wrong.
ROAD TEST -- The "road" test is conducted under a covered blacktop, and it's one
loop that literally takes < 1 min to complete (unless you screw up). There are 4 sections. At the start, you drive, and a couple meters out, you stop at a simulated "train crossing", then you go, turn left, then you stop at a red light, then you go when it's green, turn left, then you stop at another blinking light thingy, go when it turns green, turn left, back up and straighten out for the last section. So, basically, the first three sections test whether you can stop and go, and turn left. Don't practice right turns.
Now the last section is where most people fail. You have two tries to drive straight between a narrow path at a slow pace and without putting your feet down. It's not that difficult, but people often go too fast or put their feet down. It's basically a length of 20 paces (my paces), and you have to complete it in 7 seconds or MORE. This is where I spent more of my efforts during practice. During the test, I put my foot down only a quarter of the way through, and that kind of shook me up. But my second pass was successful with the help of the shifting knees balancing act. You know, to counterbalance the handle steering. It looks like you're dodging bullets with your knees.
My general impressions of the tests... pointless. After reading the rule book, I notice that at least 1/2 of the rules are broken on the road by EVERYONE. In theory, they talk of "right of way"... in practice, there is no such thing, and you'll get honked by the person behind you if you should ever try to abide by such a silly concept. Lots of people who pass, shouldn't. Tiny girls whose feet can barely touch the ground pass. Old folks who probably shouldn't even walk pass. In many ways, it's a test of luck when it comes to the final stretch of the road test because it depends so much on your start (i.e. when you start the final stretch).
Anyway, I passed. I need to find a scooter now.
December 16, 2004
Busy lately. Will post something new soon... but for now, just read this article. It's actually pretty crazy how far technology has come when you think about it. Today's world is starting to look very futuristic.
Kevin
Kevin
December 09, 2004
An email that I found pretty funny.
==================================================
A Marine stationed in Afghanistan recently received a "Dear John" letter from his girlfriend back home.
It read as follows:
Dear Ricky,
I can no longer continue our relationship. The distance between us is just too great. I must admit that I have cheated on you twice since you've been gone, and it's not fair to either of us. I'm sorry. Please return the picture of me that I sent to you.
Love,
Becky
The Marine, with hurt feelings, asked his fellow Marines for any snapshots they could spare of their girlfriends, sisters, ex-girlfriends, aunts, cousins etc. In addition to the picture of Becky, Ricky included all the other pictures of the pretty gals he had collected from his buddies. There were 57 photos in that envelope....along with this note:
Dear Becky,
I'm so sorry, but I can't quite remember who you are. Please take your picture from the pile, and send the rest back to me.
Take Care,
Ricky
==================================================
A Marine stationed in Afghanistan recently received a "Dear John" letter from his girlfriend back home.
It read as follows:
Dear Ricky,
I can no longer continue our relationship. The distance between us is just too great. I must admit that I have cheated on you twice since you've been gone, and it's not fair to either of us. I'm sorry. Please return the picture of me that I sent to you.
Love,
Becky
The Marine, with hurt feelings, asked his fellow Marines for any snapshots they could spare of their girlfriends, sisters, ex-girlfriends, aunts, cousins etc. In addition to the picture of Becky, Ricky included all the other pictures of the pretty gals he had collected from his buddies. There were 57 photos in that envelope....along with this note:
Dear Becky,
I'm so sorry, but I can't quite remember who you are. Please take your picture from the pile, and send the rest back to me.
Take Care,
Ricky
December 05, 2004
Step #6 of Being Taiwanese: Buy a Scooter
So I'm in the market for a scooter. Scooters play a HUGE part in Taiwanese traffic, with a decent variety of shapes and sizes. The Big 3 scooter companies here are KYMCO (intl), SYM, and Yamaha (intl). Scooter sizes are ranked based on engine size: 50cc, 90cc, 100cc, 125cc, 150cc, and a few more above that. The 50cc's are small, and don't require a scooter license (a local driver's license will do), but they're weaker and going uphill with a passenger can be embarrassing. It seems like 125cc's are the most popular size.
Anyway, I'm on the hunt right now, and hope to have both license and scooter in 2 weeks. I've had a few practice runs with my co-workers scooter, and so far the training has gone really smoothly. With my scooter likely to only be used casually (rather than daily), I'll probably pick up a 2nd hand one.
I had a conversation with CS a while ago, that went a little something like this:
Kevin says: yes. I want to buy a scooter.
CS says: yah...lower it, buy a spoiler and install a boom box.
Kevin says: WOOOORD! I'm going to give it a low-rider. And I'll tint the window.
Kevin says: Don't forget the racing stripes
CS says: it'll be a fiiiiiiiiiiine ride my friend...
Kevin says: and the Spoon and Mugen stickers
Kevin says: hmm... where can I hang fuzzy dice?
CS says: on the handle bars. you know...like tassles on tricycles
So, I drafted up a few concepts of what my scooter might look like, if I wanted to go overboard on modifications.
- Here's what a typical scooter looks like...
- Now here's what an American Chopper scooter COULD look like
- Better yet, living in the Lower Mainland, perhaps the Richmond Scooter would be more to one's liking
Of course, I'm only having fun with this, and the chances of me actually supping up a 2nd-hand scooter are thin. But what if I DID...? Would it look like this: 1 | 2 | 3?
Now, if I were to buy a new one, and based only on model name... I think I would have to give extra consideration to this KYMCO scooter. At 250cc's, it would give a new meaning to "Wanna ride my Grand Dink?"
So I'm in the market for a scooter. Scooters play a HUGE part in Taiwanese traffic, with a decent variety of shapes and sizes. The Big 3 scooter companies here are KYMCO (intl), SYM, and Yamaha (intl). Scooter sizes are ranked based on engine size: 50cc, 90cc, 100cc, 125cc, 150cc, and a few more above that. The 50cc's are small, and don't require a scooter license (a local driver's license will do), but they're weaker and going uphill with a passenger can be embarrassing. It seems like 125cc's are the most popular size.
Anyway, I'm on the hunt right now, and hope to have both license and scooter in 2 weeks. I've had a few practice runs with my co-workers scooter, and so far the training has gone really smoothly. With my scooter likely to only be used casually (rather than daily), I'll probably pick up a 2nd hand one.
I had a conversation with CS a while ago, that went a little something like this:
Kevin says: yes. I want to buy a scooter.
CS says: yah...lower it, buy a spoiler and install a boom box.
Kevin says: WOOOORD! I'm going to give it a low-rider. And I'll tint the window.
Kevin says: Don't forget the racing stripes
CS says: it'll be a fiiiiiiiiiiine ride my friend...
Kevin says: and the Spoon and Mugen stickers
Kevin says: hmm... where can I hang fuzzy dice?
CS says: on the handle bars. you know...like tassles on tricycles
So, I drafted up a few concepts of what my scooter might look like, if I wanted to go overboard on modifications.
- Here's what a typical scooter looks like...
- Now here's what an American Chopper scooter COULD look like
- Better yet, living in the Lower Mainland, perhaps the Richmond Scooter would be more to one's liking
Of course, I'm only having fun with this, and the chances of me actually supping up a 2nd-hand scooter are thin. But what if I DID...? Would it look like this: 1 | 2 | 3?
Now, if I were to buy a new one, and based only on model name... I think I would have to give extra consideration to this KYMCO scooter. At 250cc's, it would give a new meaning to "Wanna ride my Grand Dink?"
December 02, 2004
A Few Thoughts...
Ode to the Blog
Given that you're reading my blog, I figure it's fitting for me to announce that the most online-looked-up word of 2004 is, in fact, "Blog". Apparently, news articles about how blogs were affecting the voting outcome of the US Presidential Election drove people to look it up.
Ode to Earth
The day after watching a so-so The Day After Tomorrow disaster movie, I came across a news article that spoke a more real tale, that had eerie similarities to the movie. It's worth a read.
Ode to Sly
With 7 or 8 English movie channels, I get my fill of decent recent blockbusters. And then there are re-occuring movies, or movies that get shown based on their stars. For example, I've seen broadcasted so many Stallone movies since coming, that it's almost embarrassing. Rambo 1, 2, 3, Rocky 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Demolition Man, Get Carter and more. But while some of you may get on my case, Stallone's actually not a bad actor!... at least in some movies. For example, when I watch the Rocky movies, I actually think he passes for a GOOD actor. He's natural, he doesn't overact, and he actually plays a good down-to-earth kind of guy. So, I looked him up on IMDB and found out that one of his first movie gigs was a porno called The Party at Kitty and Stud's (where he played Stud). This movie was later re-released under "The Italian Stallion", after his Rocky success. Go figure.
Ode to the Blog
Given that you're reading my blog, I figure it's fitting for me to announce that the most online-looked-up word of 2004 is, in fact, "Blog". Apparently, news articles about how blogs were affecting the voting outcome of the US Presidential Election drove people to look it up.
Ode to Earth
The day after watching a so-so The Day After Tomorrow disaster movie, I came across a news article that spoke a more real tale, that had eerie similarities to the movie. It's worth a read.
Ode to Sly
With 7 or 8 English movie channels, I get my fill of decent recent blockbusters. And then there are re-occuring movies, or movies that get shown based on their stars. For example, I've seen broadcasted so many Stallone movies since coming, that it's almost embarrassing. Rambo 1, 2, 3, Rocky 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Demolition Man, Get Carter and more. But while some of you may get on my case, Stallone's actually not a bad actor!... at least in some movies. For example, when I watch the Rocky movies, I actually think he passes for a GOOD actor. He's natural, he doesn't overact, and he actually plays a good down-to-earth kind of guy. So, I looked him up on IMDB and found out that one of his first movie gigs was a porno called The Party at Kitty and Stud's (where he played Stud). This movie was later re-released under "The Italian Stallion", after his Rocky success. Go figure.
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