It's strange that the Taiwanese are health-conscious without actually taking care of their health. Here, it is important to eat vegetables and fruits, because these are so obviously good for your health (and will give you clear, fair skin). A balanced diet is, as in North America, encouraged. And yet, why are so many people in bad health? The answer seems pretty straight-forward: it's not what they don't eat, it's what they do.

Taiwanese people love stacks. When visiting Taiwan, you must try the snacks. Health and taste are of the utmost importance, and yet they seem to clash violently. When something is identified as healthy, people flock to eat it. But when something is identified as tasty, they eat that too, without regard to how it's made. In the nightmarket, deep fried foods are everywhere. Sweet foods are everywhere. Fatty foods are everywhere. People say "You have to eat the pork leg with fat and skin. It tastes better."

MSG. Why can't people realize that MSG is bad for them? The more I pay attention to it, the more I see MSG in everything I eat. I wrote an email to our receptionist (who orders lunchboxes for us at work) a while ago asking her to ask the lunchbox vendors to not put MSG in our lunchboxes, stating the various illnesses associated with MSG - I cited my resources. I don't think they bother.

But it appears I'm naive in my way of thinking, since it can't be avoided. MSG is a taste enhancement that makes food taste and look better. I'm starting to see this as a flavour on its own. "Hmm... should I have the MSG pork or the MSG chicken? Maybe I'll just go with MSG noodle soup." It sickens me, but the cost of good health is a pricy one - and to avoid this cystal spice means going through a lot of hassle, and paying for meals.

I consider myself a tough guy. I'm not big, but for my size, I'm pretty strong. I have a high tolerance of pain too. So much so that I injured my elbow once in university because I wouldn't tap out in a Hapkido class.

So why can't I take massages like a man? I'm the wimpiest massagee!! Look, I like the concept of a massage - I like giving them, and I think I like receiving them. But as soon as I'm lying on my front and someone is trying to make me relax with their magic hands in my back, I can't lie still.

There are two ways I find discomfort in massages:
1. The pain of the pointed rub: this being when the masseuse is trying to work out the knots in my back muscles with their thumbs or elbows. I feel like they're working their fingers between joints and muscles, and it frickin' HURTS.
2. The tickles: when I'm being massaged just next to my spine, I squirm like an eel and my legs kind of stiffen in some kind of a defensive move. And it's hard to let the body relax under those circumstances.

Because of these two discomforts, in all the massages I've ever had, I've only fallen asleep during one. It was in Cambodia in the dirtiest massage parlor while getting a $4.50 US/hr massage from a blind man. And that was the best massage ever.

Appended:
I guess I kind of figured it out. I don't like massages so much as getting a relaxing rubbed. But the masseuses that come to our company every Wednesday make a point of pushing their thumbs and knuckles into the nerves. Ouch.

Speedos kill.

My swim shorts are a pair of sky blue Ralph Lauren trunks that extend down to the knees. Very North American. But here in Taiwan, people swim wearing Speedos or tight trunks - they cut down on drag. I guess North Americans don't really swim so much as they play in water.

Anyway, I was at the Alexander Health Club this past weekend, and I went for a swim after a short workout. The swimming pool attendent came to me and said that I was not allowed to wear my type of trunks because there are water vents that suck water in along the sides of the pool (assumably to filter the water), and therefore it was a safety concern. But I reasoned with him that I only have this pair and that I'll pay more attention next time, so he let me go.

But will I really change my ways? Not likely. I actually think wearing Speedos would be fine... kind of like walking around the house in your underwear. And a lot of people wear them, so it wouldn't stand out. But I just wouldn't want to buy a pair of shorts that I couldn't wear when I return to Canada.

(I wanted to find a photo of Speedos off Google Image for this post, but my search was met with an overwhelming number of gay guys in Speedos. So... we'll forgo the photo.)

Given that there are so many lonely engineers here in Taiwan, I guess $200,000 - $300,000 NTD isn't bad for a bride. That amounts to roughly $10K CDN. But really, does that mean you're getting someone you want to spend the rest of your life with? I wonder how many of these marriages end in divorce.

"There are 350,000 foreign brides in Taiwan, accounting for 20 percent of all newly-weds." Now that's pretty crazy. Will Taiwan become Asia's Melting Pot? If so, I think this puts Taiwan in a really bad position. Based on my assumption that women who agree to this type of marriage are likely of a lesser educational and socio-economical background, the influx of such brides will only pull down the over-all civility of Taiwanese society. This will most probably invoke racism (usually done "behind the back" Taiwanese style) towards these brides and their countries, creating stereotypes that aren't necessarily true. Just like how we might think all Taiwanese people are rich, based on what we see in Vancouver. Not to mention that more immigrants would further saturate an already saturated Taiwanese population. This island is only so big.

They say you shouldn't stick your chopsticks in rice, because it's likened to incense in an incense burner used for praying. Well, if that's the case, should I not pencils and pens in my brush pot/pencil holder?

How much money do you have to put away per year to live comfortably? Comfort is in the eye of the beholder, but how much money is enough to not need to worry too much financially?

This is something I've been struggling with because my master plan in Taiwan hasn't panned out the way I had hoped. So, what's "good enough"? After short-term expenses (i.e. excluding mortgage, car payments, etc.), is $10K cad/year sufficient? $20K? $30K? $40K? Of course, more is better, but what's enough to live the lifestyle you'd want to live longterm? Does saving, say $25K a year put you in good condition? $25K seems like very little.

I believe in living comfortably and spending money where it should be spent. I think shrewd spending is a good rule to follow in general, and that opens up the floor to larger expenses (travel, vehicle purchases, etc) without having to worry about the money. But in short, I don't enough money. Period. If I had a $80K salary, would I still think the same? I get the sense that I will become one of those "it's never enough" kind of people, and it scares me because I realize that I may not ever enjoy life.

How much of my happiness is dependent on money? I just don't know.

For Transformer purists, turn away.

But for the rest of you brave souls, it appears that director Michael Bay has Transformers movie slated for 2007 aimed towards a newer generation of (overweight) kids.

In keeping with the times, Hollywood-style, Bay's given our beloved childhood heros a face-lift. And I mean major face-lift. For example, let's look at Optimus Prime: before and after (altho now his "before" seems rather unflattering in his red jumberlack button-up shirt and jeans). And then there's Megatron: before and after and more after. Megatron, by the way, is no longer a laser-blasting gun, but a "alien jet". And since it wasn't cool enough to be a VW Beetle (what, even Turbonium?), Bumblebee's now a Camero.

Of course, these are speculations floating around the rumor mill. I couldn't say for sure if Michael Bay really plans to put these atrocities into an actual film. But nevertheless, for nostalgia's sake, it's fun to revolt.

Well ain't that something. This year marks the 200th Anniversary of Webster's dictionary. Yes, that is something.

Ah ha! I guess I shouldn't need to feel so bad after all.

If half of the Chinese can't speak Chinese, why should I feel so pressured?

I see some parallelisms between my department at work and the Vancouver Canucks. Last year wasn't great for either team, performing below expectations. As such, changes were made. In the case of the Canucks, their management made the changes. In our case, the workers made their own decisions. In February, we had a team of 11 in Taiwan. Since February, we've had 3 people leave our company, one person transfer to another group, and our department head transfer to a different role. Meanwhile to fill the vacant spots, we have a new energetic department head, we transfered one person in from another group, and loaned a manager from another group for 6 months. We recently had 3 new hires (in the last 3 weeks), and we will have a fourth in a couple more weeks.

So, lots of changes, but I think we've got a pretty happy team. Morale is as good as it's ever been (still, could be better), and we're enjoying ourselves through group activities much more than in previous years.

Let's hope the Canucks have a good year too!