hey! happy 4th of july everyone! im well aware that its actually the 6th of july right now, but these guys celebrate it for a whole week (or 3 according to the dates), so...
...my boss is in germany for two weeks which means i get half of my week off for the next two weeks. this lead me to make plans for taipei this weekend. i hopped a train sunday afternoon and chatted with a dentist for most of the ride north. he advised me to get my wisdom teeth x-rayed and probably taken out before they become a problem. he then proceeded to assure me that the clicking sound my jaw makes is actually quite common and shouldnt be a problem that will need attention. so after exchanging numbers and getting an invite to stay with his family if im ever in his neck of the woods (Taitung) we parted ways in taipei. after hiking it to my friends' place, we celebrated the 4th as best we could with some Sam Adams (a recent addition to the beer selection at 7-11) and some grillin and chillin. we wanted to blow off some fireworks and cause an all-american disturbance throughout the neighborhood but none of us took the initiative when it came to actually getting some prior to the celebration. it was a good time nonetheless. the next day i woke up and decided to walk around taipei city for the afternoon before catchin my train back down south. nothin new in that area, just wanted to see some old sights.
the train ride back was pretty standard...oh wait, except for the crazy girl sitting next to me (i actually thought it was a dude until her phone rang and she started talking). anyway, this chick started freakin out the minute i sat down in the seat next to her (as was assigned by my ticket). heavy breathing, shaking, crying, huddling up to the window as far away from me as she can possibly get considering the situation. my first thought of course was "whoah". obviously something is off with this one...i even caught her punching herself in the forehead at one point (im assuming in attempt to calm herself?). she had to take some medicine, so i knew it was something she couldnt help, rather than an all out disgust for me. needless to say i kept to myself and tried not to do anything to tip her already unbalanced scale. i say tried because i cant help, like everyone falling asleep sitting in an upright position, if a limb uncontrolably falls forcing me to wake up and readjust. so after a few head collapses i finally get balanced enough to fall into a comfortable nap...thats when my leg fell slightly to the right of itself and brushed against hers. big mistake. youd think i had grabbed her ass the way she glared at me. i thought she was gona hop out of her seat and start whailing on my face. i just looked at her for a second and then looked straight ahead. i remained this way for quite sometime actually...afraid that if i fell asleep again i might cross over into her zone and get the business end of a knife in my gut. after she finally exited the train a good hour later, i was able to relax and enjoy the rest of my trip.
the train ride back was pretty standard...oh wait, except for the crazy girl sitting next to me (i actually thought it was a dude until her phone rang and she started talking). anyway, this chick started freakin out the minute i sat down in the seat next to her (as was assigned by my ticket). heavy breathing, shaking, crying, huddling up to the window as far away from me as she can possibly get considering the situation. my first thought of course was "whoah". obviously something is off with this one...i even caught her punching herself in the forehead at one point (im assuming in attempt to calm herself?). she had to take some medicine, so i knew it was something she couldnt help, rather than an all out disgust for me. needless to say i kept to myself and tried not to do anything to tip her already unbalanced scale. i say tried because i cant help, like everyone falling asleep sitting in an upright position, if a limb uncontrolably falls forcing me to wake up and readjust. so after a few head collapses i finally get balanced enough to fall into a comfortable nap...thats when my leg fell slightly to the right of itself and brushed against hers. big mistake. youd think i had grabbed her ass the way she glared at me. i thought she was gona hop out of her seat and start whailing on my face. i just looked at her for a second and then looked straight ahead. i remained this way for quite sometime actually...afraid that if i fell asleep again i might cross over into her zone and get the business end of a knife in my gut. after she finally exited the train a good hour later, i was able to relax and enjoy the rest of my trip.
today i cruised around in the mountains on the scooter again. its kinda becoming a once a week ride for me. its a good way to zone out and take in my surroundings. im heading down south on saturday for a couple of nights to kenting. this is the big beach destination of taiwan so ill have more stuff for you guys to go through when i get back.
heres some stuff to look at...
heres some stuff to look at...
im legal now!
101
lookin up
garden around the CKS memorial
bridge path
turtles and koi fish
chang kai shek memorial
the man himself
to the left
to the right
down the middle
the gate
cool garden
takin a rest from trottin in the ridiculous city heat all day
this is in my town...its a memorial type deal of whats left of a building that suffered collapse in the midst of a famously devistating earthquake that hit taiwan in 1999
kid castle library
on my way to the mountains
i had to sneak into an orchard for this one
on the road
above the city
check it out
nice little veiwing area
nice little red flower
pathway into the palm jungles...i walked in nervously thinking about green tree vipers, rat snakes, colorful fist-sized spiders, face-sized shiny black spiders and wild camera snatching monkeys...i made it out ok though
see!
man-made waterfalls
deez banana trees!
check it
up in the hills
innit
from the roadside
cool
the view
lookin down from the mountain
oh yeah!
clouds comin in
from the roadside
cool
the view
lookin down from the mountain
oh yeah!
clouds comin in
Congrats on the ARC!
ReplyDeleteNice photos. Don't you love the mountains of TW?!
Take care,
-Melinda