New pants!!

Ok, not really. But it sure feels like it. Last week, I brought 7 pairs of pants to have altered. 3 shortened, 4 lengthened. 4 from Canada, 3 bought in Taiwan. 2 bought at that store, 5 bought elsewhere. Came to just 5 x 50nt (totalling around $10 cad).

There's an incredible difference between wearing pants that fit well length-wise and those that don't. As I mentioned in a previous blog, a number of pants had shrunk since coming to this island. Wearing short pants garnered a horrible feeling of insecurity as the hem of the pants swing back and forth just below the calcaneus bone, causing me to deliberately try to push them downwards. Longer pants are fine, so long as they can be folded inwards hiding the extra material. But more often than not, after a little bit of movement, the folded piece does fall out or bunch up around the ankle.

After 250nt well spent, I feel like I can walk freely in what feel to be brand new pants. Oh the glory!

Kevinitis. That's what I have.

In Canada, I was as healthy as I could be. But since the beginning of this year, I've been sick a large percentage of the time here. I find Taiwanese doctors sketchy, but mainly because I feel like the medication I'm taking isn't getting me back to 100% each time I take them. Since February, I've been diagnosed with having a flu (Feb), cold (April), mild bronchitis (the second opinion was that it was just the latter lingering stages of the cold), asthma attack, and now laryngitis. Why does everything sound worse when you add -itis to the end of it? Really, just an inflammation of some body part, but add the -itis and it feels like near-death.

I'm not sure what the cause is, why I'm running on this illness treadmill. Is it the pollution, the dense population, the fact that viruses run rampant in moist and heated climates, or my diet and nutrition? Yes. I'm sure all of it. I feel like I'm constantly on medication here. Poppin' prescription pills isn't something I like nor that I'm used to. And they seem to prescribe this stuff like candy (well, no one REALLY prescribes candy). So I'm on 4 pills and a cough syrup now.

Took a blood test today (upon my request) -- where the blood extractor bludgeoned the vein in my left arm before he decided he couldn't get any blood out and moved to my right arm. After I saw him pull the needle out, re-angle, and re-insert for the 3rd time, I couldn't watch the 4th, 5th, and 6th times. A few days and I'll get the test report. And I also have a full health check-up via work sometime this month as well.

Be well, be healthy.

For those who have met me and know me: do I look younger than my age? If so, by how much?

I've never really had comments about looking young... until I came to Taiwan. Now I get it from EVERYONE.

Tell me.

Fact: If you know someone (including yourself) farted, and you smell that fart, immediately you will react as if you got a whiff of the Devil himself. Then you'd hold your breath and fan your hands in front of you until you thought it was safe.

Question: Have you ever smelt a fart (most likely your own) where you thought, "hmm... if I didn't know this was a fart, I would mistaken it for the smell of food."? I know I have.

I've been testing a design on our system lately. The physical test is to plug a microphone into one jack, speakers into another jack, and when you speak into microphone, you should hear your voice over the speakers (sparing the technical details).

Last week, I ran a couple test vectors on the design, and it looked like the results were correct. And then I did the physical test, plugging in my headset which has both mic and earphones. From that, I could only get noise out of the earphones. After some back and forth with the team in the US, and no obvious solution.

Today, with the US team here for meetings, we tried it again... same result. And then after some quick investigation, the problem was found. My microphone has a little volume and on/off switch. Umm... it was off. DAMN IT.

I bought a new pair of shoes last week. Merrells. I saw them on the display and I said, "Now THOSE look cool." That store, by default, has a 10% discount on everything. But, I decided to hold off that day. Checking the website, I can't even find my model of shoe.

Anyway, I went back a few days later. And originally 2980nt, it was 20% off, then I used 1700nt of gift certificates I got from work, and ended up paying 684nt (just under $30 cad). I so happy. :) Unfortunately, the box doesn't say what the model is... so I still don't know. But I still think they look pretty cool.

There's a question from waiter/waitresses common across western-styled restaurants. Usually it comes when they put down your meal:

"Would you like some pepper in your [salad/soup/pasta/what-have-you]?"

Of course, they always ask this before you've had a chance to taste your food. So, really, wouldn't the appropriate response be:

"I don't know, did the chef not put enough? Or can you wait until I've tried it?"

Along the same line, are you one of those people who would put salt or pepper in your food before taking a bite? Is it normal to just start shaking some pepper on your dish before knowing how much pepper is already there?

Comment.

Eddie Murphy's Coming To America is on TV right now. The funny thing is, a young Cuba Gooding Jr. is getting his haircut in the barbershop where Eddie plays three characters! He has no lines, and only nods his head like a dork, but looks like that's where you need to be before playing Oscar winning roles and giving long drawn out acceptance speeches.

All of Taiwan gets a typhoon day off. This is reportedly the largest typhoon in more than 5 years. Maybe we'll get 2 days off! Unfortunately, the direction of the typhoon has changed and now it's heading South instead of Westward towards China. I find walking outside during typhoons is actually quite a lot of fun. It's windy, it's rainy... but it's nothing compared to a tornado. I want to see a cow fly by.

I want one! I want one!
Having one makes you feel wanted and loved, cared for and adored.
Where can I apply to get one?

Read: CBC News Story