Prangster in Chicago

How Tokyo was

My arms are still sore from dragging luggage around Shinjuku, so I'll keep this brief. Tokyo, with all its neon lights, its millions of people walking in any and every direction, its Dragonball Z hairstyles and salarymen footsoldiers, is Taipei to the power of 10. Everything was superlative: crisper and cleaner air, greener tree-lined streets, snappier dressers, much cuter guys. Over four and a half days, Janice and I explored a bunch of different areas, stopping for tea and snacks when our legs needed a break. We saw the last of the season's cherry blossoms, a traditional Japanese wedding procession at the Mieji Jingu Shinto Shrine, ate sashimi for breakfast at the Tsukiji Fish Market at 7am, browsed the fancy boutiques in Aoyama, and watched Swan Lake performed by the Paris Opera Ballet. It was completely beautiful and worth every cent (even though we got lost and missed the first 40 minutes).

Janice picked a really great hotel for us, right in the burning core of Tokyo's "danger zone" -- the Shinjuku entertainment district -- with its many pachinko parlors, karaoke towers and sex shows, plus plenty of creepy-looking thin guys in black suits to avoid eye-contact with. Each day we left the hotel, we were met by our neighbours (weary old homeless guys) and each night we came back, we walked briskly through the vomit-splattered freakshow gauntlet of cross-dressers, drunken Japanese people, and friends of drunken Japanese people, who helpfully propped them up and held plastic bags to their faces lest they blow without any notice.

I should've taken more shots of all the frantic lights and human traffic, but Tokyo's a busy place; so jam-packed with action that I didn't know where to look, let alone point my camera. Instead I took a bunch of photos of great looking architecture, French-style cafés and delicious meals. Here are some snaps from our morning at Tsukiji Fish Market.

Prangster in Tokyo

I'm so happy to be going to Tokyo! I'm going to buy a new camera there and eat shabu-shabu hotpot! With fatty beef that melts in the mouth! And other Japan-only ingredients I can't even imagine right now! Yummm...

Hello creepy

Maybe I sound like an emotionless piece of marble tile for saying this, but Taiwanese couples can be seriously weird. I've seen all the usual stuff: Guys who walk around as their girlfriends' personal butler, carrying handbags, snacks, and drinks. Guys who sit quietly opposite their girlfriends at Haagen Dazs while they inhale ice cream sundaes all by themselves. Idiot guys who wait in line at Mr. Donut in 40 degree heat as their girlfriends go shopping...

Then there's this: The girl who was picking her boyfriend's nose while waiting at the bus stop. And today at the gym, I saw a guy and a girl sweating it up on the eliptical machines holding hands.

Aww? No. Eww! It reminded me of seeing that homeless guy take a shit in a street gutter! I hate that crap! Who's with me?

News: My Canon digital camera has died. It can't read my memory card anymore, and I want to buy one of the brand new Canons, so no more photos until I do. Sob, sob. How heartbreaking this happened just days before leaving for Tokyo.

We're all winners!

Here is evidence that good things do indeed happen to good people. I was out with my coworkers last night -- Yuting, Alex and Everett -- and we won a bottle of Scotch Whiskey during a game of bingo at the bar! The best part was we came second because first prize was a stupid MP3 ambient light and third prize was a Johnnie Walker promotional bag. So useless! Yay for us! We finished off 3/4 of the whiskey last night and kept the rest at the bar.

What a terrible photo, I know.

Countdown to Tokyo: 3 days

Rain and chicken

Today was a very good day for Taipei umbrella vendors, but it was a bad day for my pants. Twenty steps away from the office door and they were already wet up to my knees. We are having bloody floody rain over here.

Here is a photo of lemon chicken frying away! I just ate it all. Very yum.

Countdown to Tokyo: 8 days

Saturdays@DDG

Kanye West is playing on Matt's laptop. I'm wearing the worst combination of ratty clothes I own. This is Saturday arvo at DDG this April 8th.

What the hell am I doing here? I should be sleeping dammit! I'm catching up on work for The Project That Never Ends. We are presenting (again) on Tuesday and I have a brain-numbing amount of writing left to do. Other stuff I've been working on lately: company website articles, client website text, messaging for a new brand of graphics cards (which was all in vain! We need to start all over again next week!), software packaging, and you know, this freaking PTNE.

Countdown to Tokyo: 10 days

The Good Life

 

Hello, my name is Kathy and I'm the owner of more than one motivational book. They're all career guides of some sort; figuring out what's right for me, that sort of thing. (I blame it on my decision to pursue a Communications degree.) One of the books on my shelf is Po Bronson's 'What Should I Do With My Life?'. The title sounds really self-indulgent and desperado, but it's actually a great book. It should've come as a gift-with-diploma at my graduation ceremony last year.

Now that I'm working though, sometimes I can't help but think like a stereotypically restless member of the "Entitlement Generation". I'll ask questions like: Is this what I really want to do? Or is there something more fulfilling out there I could be pursuing? Honestly it makes me want to vomit.

So I'm glad I came across this article in the careers blog of US News & World Report. It sets out the essentials for having 'the good life', and it's snapped my entitled ass right back into reality.

Here's an abridged version of the list.

4 Essentials to Attaining 'The Good Life':

1. A career in which:

• there's value to the work
• workload is moderate, and there's not too much difficulty or stress
• you like your boss and your coworkers, and they like you
• the work environment is pleasant
• there are opportunities to learn and grow
• the commute is reasonable
• you earn a middle-class or higher salary
• you can be ethical

2. Deep relationships: With a romantic partner, parents and children, a mentor or protege, and friends.

3. Gratitude. Appreciate all that's good in your life, from your health to not living in squalor. Plus the small stuff, from that tasty tuna fish sandwich to the smell after it rains. The flip side is the ability to not overreact to life's negatives.

4. Kindness. You'll feel better about your life if you make it a high priority to be thoughtful of others.

And that's it.

I pretty much ticked everything off this list, but I must point out that "the smell after it rains" in Taipei is nothing to be grateful for at all...

Eek! Helen is 25!

Dear Quarter Life Crisis:

Helen turns 25 today. Please be kind to her...just kidding!

Happy birthday, Hel!

Here are some photos from all-you-can-eat hotpot last Saturday night. The fourth photo was taken at a club we went to after dinner. I look like a rat that's got one leg stuck in a mousetrap. What's up with that, right?

Well, it turned out we didn't only accidentally step into Salsa night at the club (which would have been bad enough) but it was also singles night. We had no idea until a guy approached Lien and said we should've come earlier to join in the 'speed dating' festivities.

"Uh, what makes you think we're all single?!" my dear friend shot back.

The guy pointed to a stack of postcards on the bartop. Lien picked one up. It read: "Salsa Singles Night". Hmm.

And that's why I look like a rat.

(Photos come from Lien and Lillian. I was too busy eating hotpot.)

Best in Taipei

Dudes, I'm a big, big fan of shredded pork floss. I eat it straight out of the bag, in a sandwich, on morning congee. I even take some with me on flights. And the best -- I mean the BEST -- in Taipei comes from the Sogo supermarket where they make it fresh. I like it in original flavour without the dried seaweed and sesame seeds.