Thinking thoughts and Listing lists

Sorry guys for not posting more often. For a while, I was on a roll, but now, since I'm not sure which blog I want to continue on - based mostly on the accessibility in China thing - I've been testing out all my options over at the other blog:


eccentriciqi.onsugar.com


The truth is, I don't like it as much, it seems sterile, this one is more homey. It feels more mine. But... it won't feel as mine after I no longer have editing capacity for months at a time. The idea of having a word misspelling and not being able to correct it gnaws at my soul..


I'm leaving Taipei on the 4th and once I land in Beijing. I will make my final decision. For a while, I may just send links from the other blog to this one. 


Trust me, it's for the best. More pictures, polls, links, and possibly videos of me. I've been uber busy in Taiwan and I've bought very many things. I probably shouldn't equate the two, but if you know me... you'd know it's related.


Today, I cut my hair off.... and I did while video chatting multiple people - Greg, Flora, Grace. Hey! I also went to the Hello Kitty Sweets Sanrio authorized cafe here in Taipei. I don't know what I was thinking, thinking that I wouldn't buy anything in Taiwan while I was here. Sure I've overpacked by a ton, but now I have even more stuff!!


I miss hanging out with people my own age. Seeing Nick last week was a breath of fresh air and I might have acted like a complete insane person because I have not spoken much English to someone that I can see in a long time. I MISS YOU, AMERICAN FRIENDS.


NEW THINGS ACQUIRED IN TAIWAN
3 pairs of shoes
2 new necklaces
8 pairs of socks
1 origami craft book
1 Muji notebook...maybe 2, not positive
7 Muji pens
2 Muji markers
2 kirigami craft books
1 book on drawing with ball point pens. 
2 HK folders
10 sheets of stickers
1 new umbrella
1 set of chopsticks and spoon in a soft pouch
1 HK bag in the design of Marc Jacobs - tre cute!
1 USB powered fan in the shape of a tiger
1 pitcher with two cups
1 mug designed by my cousin who is not book smart but kind of good at drawing stuff
3 sets of clips to hang my wet laundry
4 delicate clothes holders
1 yellow beard papa bag


THINGS I LEARNED IN TAIPEI
portable washing machines exist and hello, I will be buying one.


you can swing on a swing in a restaurant at your table, and i have. 


you can chat while having your hair cut, online.


Hello Kitty is everywhere. and i loves it.


arguing with the woman at fujifilm is infuriating. leaving my face for her to stare at as i am planning on never picking up my picture, WIN.


humidity = life in taiwan. can you say, sweatfest? my clothes are continuously drenched in m-f sweat

Love Letter to Taiwan

"From the west to the east I have flown to be near you, I have come all this way, to be close, to be here with you.. and now all my heart, I will lay down precisely at your feet..." The song may be called Love Letter to Japan, but the beginning is also true to me for Taiwan.


The weather may be humid, it has rained every day that I've been here and my skin is permanently damp but Taiwan just has a certain smell that I love. It's a combination of BO, sulfur, mildew, stinky tofu, and delicious delicious food. Damn, the food is good. I'm here now until after the 4th of July and I'm seriously trying not to feast on everything in sight.

Although I did eat this.

Then there's the hair washing. Anyone who is Taiwanese will tell you that getting your hair washed is a complete NECESSITY. Why pay for it when you can do it yourself? Please, fool.
If you're in that sort of frame of mind then you don't need to come to Taipei. Hair-washing, scalp massaging and cheap blow outs are exactly my style. 


Taiwan also specializes in cute things. So far I've only taken food pictures, but I also need to diversify back to cute things. I'll keep that in the back of my mind!


The only drawback of Taiwan is the most annoying of all things, mosquitoes. But seriously, beware of the mosquitoes. Taiwanese mosquitoes are persevering creatures that are beasts of the first order. Their bites are not like those of their American cousins. If you get bitten, it starts as a familiar nip, a rise of the skin, but if you touch, then you're in trouble. Where you touch, the poison of the sucker will spread and before you know it, what started as a needle prick has become an unforgiving quarter welt proudly displayed on your forearm that will not fade for weeks on it. Forget about it if you are careless enough to scratch it. Jesus. Game over.

Brown: A Love Affair

It all started with a reunion with Audrey that happened in the autumn. Audrey and I reminisced of times' past and we ate at the Cheesecake Factory, a tradition a decade in the making....

Providence. I went, I saw, I fell in love. I went for one night only and discovered the glory of Fire water, GCB and sexy Scrabble, the board game of love.

Then, I randomly met Audrey's friends. Her fellow medical students. Take comfort in knowing that all the people that I've posed with in this blog are going to be doctors.

These were not your average bunch of medical students. Bigger (not really, actually they're pretty tiny), bolder (only in laughter), and better than ever (seriously), friends of Audrey's are friends of mine. Now, I'm no med student, but I do know how to have fun. So did they. Work hard, but play as well. My dears - that is my modus operandi.

Almost immediately after I left, Audrey and I planned for another meeting. Our schedules have been tight and still, it worked!

I arrived on Friday night and made future friends with Axel, then proceeded to have a rolicking good times with the ladies, who incidentally, while I was away, had discovered the power of the CHI.

This, plus two instances of Brunch (...which are always signs of a good time! Think about it, do you eat brunch all the time? Nope, only on special occasions),

GCB games, Eddie Izzard, all a good weekend make.

Hello laaaaaaaaadies. ;)

After this most delightful brunch, Audrey and I attended a little thing called Roller Derby on Sunday, Bloody, Opening weekend, Sunday. At first we didn't understand...

 

Butch ladies in fishnets beating on each other? WHO WOULDN'T want to be apart of that? Evidently, many people agreed with us. Including...

 YES. EVERYONE came!

Not necessarily our friends, exactly.. but..  Seriously. I have a crush on Sky Rocket.

If every life brings to you a roller derby, please go. Brown, I love you.

Christine goes to Seattle! 2010!

What's a more welcome beginning of a trip than a Flight Delight? The person who created this box obvi knows what I like. Thanks, stranger! You know what isn't a welcome treat? Sitting next to an insane woman on the plane. I'm always lucky enough to get on the flight and lucky enough to have a compelling enough face that people feel like they can tell me their story. The woman next to me was a psycho that spent hours telling me about the conspiracy theories of the North Koreans who were shipping lumber into their country from South Korean, that somehow built some sort of machine that was busy shifting tectonic plates around Earth. Chile, Haiti, Taiwan. Earthquakes and other natural disasters, not so natural after all. At least, according to her and didn't I know it? She was hellbent on telling me about her decision to fly down to South America and charter a flight to Easter Island where she and a friend would be saving the world by preventing the shifting of any more tectonic plates................................. RIGHT.

So.. I decided to embark on a weekend wild adventure cross country to Seattle. The city by the ocean. Home of Starbucks, Microsoft and other big companies that I depend on to live... and home of my friend Tree. What's a happy change from sunny, hot, Atlanta? Why not rainy, cold Seattle? Rainy it was.

welcome.

After a short ride into the city, I met up with Tree  (short for Teresa, it's a long story, and I'd love to explain but it's frankly not any of your business) on the campus of UW at Seattle. We proceeded to begin an Asian Food Odyssey like none other. By myself, I enjoyed some Vietnamese style congee. With her, we had sushi and yam fries, Korean rice cakes, okonomiyaki, Thai food, dimsum, and wine to top it all off. I also met a few of Tree's friends and friends of friends. Booze makes people friendly and when I'm friendly, there are photos taken. Shall we take a peek?

I thought you might be curious! First, a glance at a bar that we went to. It had scotch and whiskeys and scotch whiskys.

scotch scotch scotch.

The inside had two things I enjoyed most, books and booze.

The bartender was a bitch, and yet, I still made her take a photo of Tree and me!

Yes, we were carded.

Soon thereafter, I was treated to meeting Youngjoo and some other friends of Tree. Here are some cute pics
.

Also apparently, in Seattle, there is a store called, Utilikilts, a seller of quality men's kilts and various other masculine skirt accessories...yeaaaaah about that.......

I also visited Pikes Place Market, spied really cute Asian babies peering into a window at Beecher's the cheese-makers, and witnessed a giant fish being thrown. Yes, I admit I am a creeper.

Oh hey, LOOK, pretty flowers. (fresh tulips @ PikesPlaceMarket!)

I'm not sure what else to rave about. You KNOW I will be posting more random food porn later. Right now, I need to sleeeep!

Why not honeymoon forever?

In honor of all of my friends that have gotten married in the past few years and for all those kids that plan on getting married in the near future, I have an idea I have been reluctant to share, but feel compelled to do so.



Immediately after you get married, don't you try and tell every customer service representative that you encounter that it is your honeymoon?

Airline counter: It's our honeymoon.

Gate agent: It's our honeymoon.

Hotel check-in: It's our honeymoon.

Restaurant hostess: It's our honeymoon.

Concierge anywhere: It's our honeymoon.

...and when you do, sometimes there are perks. My question is, why use that only once? Obvi, any vacation you take should be met with a "It's our honeymoon." Why not? Many a person that I've met have not taken their honeymoon immediately post-wedding. Why not use it, say... 3 years, 2 months and 1 day, post-wedding? or... 5 years, 4 months, and 3 days, post-wedding?

What an amazing way to put yourself in the honeymood by announcing to the world that it's your honeymoon? Why shouldn't it be?

Things currently on my bed

a camera
8 pairs of sunglasses
2 pairs of eyeglasses
$640 in cash
a copy of my resume
2 mp3 players
4 books of checks
biking shorts
a purse
Hello Kitty stuff
50 unburned CDs
another purse
a copy of Microsoft Office
linen paper
all the makeup I own
a bra
a pair of shorts
4 planners
2 lists of things that I have to pack
my phone
a gym clip
a light bulb
an empty Starbucks bag


Now, do I somehow sort them into some sort coherent categories... or do I just more or less dump them into a small suitcase and shove it into my car? Guess! P.S. I'm driving up to DC in the morning. Who can Happy Hour with me on Thursday?

Real looking dead things freak me out

A recent trip to the Museum of Natural History exposed me to wild animals all around the world. What I couldn't understand was, were they stuffed a la taxidermy style or merely replicated? Should I know this already? Is this a strange question to wonder instead of basking in the intrigue of seeing so many animals in one place? I have to admit. It does help that they weren't alive, better for the picture taking. The kind scientists that arranged the animals were brilliant enough to place them in action poses, to make it almost seem as though this Natural History trip was one to the Zoo.

Night at the Museum anyone? I still have yet to see the 2, I bet it's good!

Butterfly Envy

On a recent trip to the Smithsonian's Natural Museum of History, I paid money to go to the butterfly exhibit. There, I was an object of covet and adoration, more so than I ever have in my life.

It happened quite casually, actually. I walked in alone, with a small party of people, there were perhaps no more than 15 of us. The majority of the party was little girls. I walked in, camera in hand, ready to capture some butterflies. I would post them on facebook, but I haven't decided yet if anyone cares to see butterflies landing on leaves. Instead, I'll upload a choice few here, so you have no choice.

But - back to the story, I walked in, and almost immediately a butterfly lands in my hair. It latches on and decides to stay the entire duration of my time in the butterfly exhibit. I was first informed by a staring girl, who looked at my hair as she spoke to me. "You have a butterfly in your hair!" she said while touching her own. "Do I have one in mine?" she asked her nanny hopefully.

my friendly butterfly

Her nanny and friend shook their head no, while the girl moved away. Two minutes later, another girl walked up to me and grabbed my arm. She was also excited about the fact that there was a butterfly in my hair. Over the period of 20 mins, the same 5 or 6 girls came up to me to update me on the status of my friend. Whenever the butterflies would fly over them, they would stand very still, hoping that they would receive the same treatment.


The long and short of this story is that it's nice to be coveted by such guileless youth. They don't try to hide behind some distorted artifice!

COOL vs. HOT

This image of my friend Mikey and me is cool. Fallingwater is housed (ha!) and running in the background (ha on so many levels) and we're framed by delicious lush green trees. It's summer time. It's cool.


But this image, while taken in winter, is paradoxically white hot.

I don't even need to explain why. OMG. Gah. Which do you prefer?

Tastes from Turkey

Midye Dolma. Mussels stuffed with rice that has been fried with onions! According to Lonely Planet, these things have the most bacteria, but easily were the most delicious things I ate in Istanbul. Found in Sampiyon Kokorec, they are the fast food of Turkey. I am jealous!

Manti. Turkish ravioli stuffed with lamb in yogurt sauce. This dish looks like Chinese dumplings and tasted like it, but not as delicious.
Turkish coffee. I don't understand what makes this so popular. It's small and thick, like an espresso but with grainy bits, like an espresso not made correctly. My theory is that the native people of Turkey only drink Nescafe and that Turkish coffee is actually for tourists to be charged at an exorbitant rate. Laugh away, you Turks. I tried it at a blasphemous 6 lira at Havazlu, a tourist trap at the Grand Bazaar. Deliciously overpriced indeed.
FIGS. What an explosion of flavor! Stuffed with roasted pecans and topped with clotted cream. This cream had a consistency that was a mix between ice cream and whipped cream. All of it was soaked in honey. This was just an OD of sugary sweet heaven!

Don't think this is all I ate. It's the middle of the night. I will post more food in the morning!

Since I can't "do Earth"...

My friend has just begun an around-the-world trip with friends, I am jealous so I will do the same but in photos...(not the same). What is remarkable about these photos is that I took them.
This is in Abu Dhabi. It is a view of the Arabian Sea from Emirates Palace, the hotel that cost $3 Billion to build. All that glitters is, in fact, 24k gold.

A view of the ocean at the Cape of Good Hope, Capetown, South Africa.

Some giraffes. This is not the Animal Kingdom at Disney. Safari, SA.


Cape Point, South Africa

Florence, Italy

Hamburg at night, Germany

Burj al Arab at dusk, Dubai, UAE

Fjords in Oslo, Norway

Prague, Czech Republic

Bund, Shanghai, China

Mendoza, Argentina

From the Met, NYC, USA, USA, USA

Where in the World...?

I was searching through my Europhotos and came upon this panorama that I stitched together! Enjoy! Frederiksborg Castle, Hillerød, Denmark. Summer 2005.

READ ME

This blog showcases a taste of my eccentricities, obsessions, and notions of who I am and what interests me. Read: FOOD and TRAVEL with a generous splash of pop culture. This blog also ensures that my brain doesn’t rot and allows me to write in complete sentences with proper punctuation. I'm not sure what this is yet, but this is no diary.

Warning: Yes, there will be lots of stream of consciousness. Get ready for some tasty delights!