For the third time in four months, I am back in Taipei again.
The weather here is muggier than last time I was here, cloudy with threat of shower.
I will only be here for 4 days, that's not sufficient time to taste all the tasties, but I will try my best stomache whatever comes my way...

Life needs a healthy dose of bitching from time to time.

I was complaining about the crappy weather we were getting these days, and look what happened today?! Sunny, warm and finally feels like a California spring day!

Despite the weather report still showing:

Being born in China and spent most of my life in US, similar to many other Chinese-Americans, the two utterly different cultures are constantly mix-n-matching and taking turns to dictate my behaviors. Spending a year in Shanghai and getting exposed to the new age Shanghai-Chinese culture only made the matter worse. Upon moments like this, I often regret that I lack the know-how to put my feeling in words.

That’s why when I read other people’s writing that accurately and oh so elegantly describe what I have always wanted to express, my eyes moist and I quickly copy and paste their text to my blog. Eric is a Chinese-American friend of mine living in Shanghai, aside being a Shanghai party prince, hair saloon guru, he is also quite a writer. Check out more of his legendary depiction of the Shanghai party scenes at his site: www.SushiPanda.com

...

I have been here for two and half years, and it felt like for the first time, I was listening in on how this other sub-segment of foreigners really felt. I
couldn't be a part of this discussion. I didn't feel like defending these heinous (italics indicating sarcasm) Chinese practices, but no way in hell was I going to join in on the fun either.

In many ways, I can appreciate the culture shock that these guys feel. Theresa lamented: "I don't want to be THAT American girl, you know. The one who comes in and complains and doesn't make an effort to reach out. I'm really trying."

I thought about what she was saying, and I'm sure she was. And my thoughts wandered to these other co-workers who had now been introduced to my circle of pals. My wonderful friends who don't think twice about taking off their shoes, who burp at will but still grimace when the taxi driver hawks a loogey, who freely dip their chopsticks into the bubbling hot-pot of goodness, who always want a clean table before we sit down. These things are second nature to me; some of them are embedded in me as a Chinese-American, and some things cannot be stripped away from me as an American-Chinese. And while I've poked fun and taken swipes at locals here in previous posts, the fact remains that I chose to came here on my own, and as such I vigilently maintain an open mind and hesitate to criticize, unless phlegm lands on my shoes. I'm proud of the people here. When folks like Theresa come to visit and are totally lost, there are always co-workers who sacrifice their weekends and evenings to take them to the same old Bund, the same old Jade Garden, the same old Xiangyang market, the same old DVD stops. And they do this without complaint. I have a feeling my fellow citizens back in the States would be hard pressed to do this if the situation were reversed.

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(More on this entry)

We have a situation here in California these days. Despite it’s already mid-April, the rain shows no sign of stopping.

My backyard is flooded, there are now more mud than grass; nasty snails and slugs all came out of their holes and “rain-bathing” on my patio and driveway. If you are not careful, you will hear crisp “Cra-a-ack!”, the sound of the snail’s shell shattering under your feet...

What happened to the sunny California weather? We have paid a large premium to live in this state largely because of the sunny weather, I am began to feel like being riped off.

7:08am:
In my sixth gear, flew down southbound 101 on my way to the San Jose airport, I had to catch my 8am Southwest flight to Orange County visiting customers. Nervous as hell, fearing the flight will leave without me.

7:09am:
I dialed Southwest customer service, hoping they can check me in over the phone (wishful thinking in a desperate moment)

My conversation with Southwest airline agent:
Southwest: How may I help you?
Jiaying: I have 8am flight #2339 to catch but am running a little behind, can you check me in?
Southwest: Haha! Yes, I can’t
Jiaying: ... …
(Yes? And can’t? Is she trying to be cute? Make up your flipping mind!)
Southwest: Go to the gate, the agent there will be able to help you
Jiaying: Thanks a lot, you've been very helpful

7:25am:
Parked my car, ran to the terminal and realized the check-in line extended all the way into the parking structure. There is no way I can make my flight.

7:29am:
Called my CTMG travel agent, she re-booked me on another flight at 8:25am. Whewww!

I HATE Southwest, I detest them with a passion!
I HATE the fact that Southwest doesn’t have assigned seats, instead you are assigned a boarding zone, and somehow I am always ended up in Zone-C, the last boarding group.
I HATE their flight attendants’ stale jokes, such a nuisance!

I swear, if Southwest becomes the last airline on Earth, I will probably opt for Amtrak or Greyhound bus.

可恶的Sam大叔!!
我辛辛苦苦赚来的血汗钱，他毫不客气的就拿走了一大块！
很想找人海扁他一顿！

Our usual crew of friends stopped by our place last night unexpectly. Knowing that I didn't want to celebrate my BDay this year, they kept it low key. No birthday songs and no candles on the cake. I did receives nice thoughtful gifts, tasty Blackforest cake and warm hugs.

Just what I needed! Thanx guys!

When is this rain ever gonna stop!?
this is California, we should be showering in warm sunshine, instead of this wet drops...

It is utterly depressing to know that officially I only have 365 more days left before that big dreadful 30 years old mark. For the longest time, I didn’t even believe life existed after 30... Crazy! I am telling you, this is crazy!

On the other front, today is definitely a day worth celebrating, say hello to Duo Forte!

Ok, it is not exactly formed yet, but its corporate application submitted, the EIN for the entity applied, and the domain names (www.DuoForte.com & www.DuoFortes.com) secured.

Vivian and I have big plans our very first company, and the actions are already in motion...

Shhh-hh-h... Just watch...

That's right folks, this won't happen again for another 100 years! (big deal you might scoff...)

01:02:03:04:05:06
(01:02:03am, 04/05/2006)

Yahoo! Is rolling out it new online map system, and guess what? It looks exactly like that of Google Maps!

Can we say lack of creativity?!??! Shame on Yahoo!

By frankly, the live traffic feature on Yahoo! Maps is pretty cool.

Vivian and I just got back home after spending the last three days in Vegas. We drove there this time, which was a 1080 miles round trip. Although it was a bit tiring, we enjoyed the convenient of having a car while in Vegas.

That was my 20th or 30th trip to Las Vegas, but it was the first time for me to go there without doing any gambling!! That’s right! I didn’t shell out any money for Blackjack, didn’t sweat over cards on the Pai Gow table, didn’t mark up the score sheet for Baccratt, and didn’t spend a cent on slots!!

There is a first time for everything!

(See pictures from the trip)