absolutwillie

Author: absolutwillie

  • a walk in the park

    there is nothing quite like a beautiful day in the park. having lived in a conservancy in SA (i.o.w. being surrounded by nature), i pretty much took parks for granted. here in Taiwan, though, parks are embraced for the jewels they are. everybody comes out to play with the kids and each other, fly their (many, gorgeous) kites, walk the dogs and just have a gorgeous time in nature. it really is a magical experience – one that i should indulge in more often.
    i am fortunate enough to live right next to an amazing park – the one surrounding the Kaohsiung Museum of Modern Art :0) and today i too strolled through it’s loveliness on my way to take in the Andy Warhol “Pope of Pop” exhibition.
    it was fantastic! i thank my patient parents’ indulgence of my forays into art studies at Pretoria University (where i perfected vacillating into an expensive 3-year play-date) for the background necessary to enjoy the comedy of Warhol’s genius. seeing his works up close was brilliant! i think some of my fellow exhibition-goers might’ve been concerned about my sanity, though. not only do i look funny (super big & tall, fair fur covering my exposed flesh) – but i also frequently chuckled and giggled for no apparent reason. (is the Campbell’s Soup box with Warhol’s signature on funny? crazy foreigner…)
    after wandering through the other exhibits, i decided to take a different route home. the main route *lol*
    and boy was it fun! all the vendors and local artists peddling their wares, wonderful and weird locals cycling, skating, strolling around and taking many, many photographs. i regretted not taking my camera earlier (i was going into the museum, after all). Kaohsiung City government really did an excellent job with the grounds – and the little café-setup within strolling distance from everything has turned into an oasis of flavors and vibes.
    i did snap this with my phone. it’s in Engrish, but in that moment it didn’t matter:
    i wish Peter could’ve joined me – but i’m sure Tokyo is a blast!

  • the IDAHO Challenge

    http://youtube.com/v/Xmjk7ma6nPk

    odd… i typed up a whole supporting post to accompany this video when I sent it from YouTube… wonder where it went?

    anyway, what i wanted to focus on was: why? why should anyone participate in these projects? well, there’s a nicely formatted answer on gays.com’s IDAHO page, for starters.

    my main sentiment is an echo of that offered by Harvey Milk in his Hope Speech. too many people all over the world have to live in the shadows for fear of persecution. conversely (or perversely, rather) too many people all over the world believe that homophobia is a God-given virtue. the first group fear their hearts – the second group hardly recognize the role of the heart in this matter.

    both groups NEED to realize that LGBTIQ people are normal human beings – and that they probably know, love and respect at least one of us. i firmly believe that each face in the light touches scores of faces in shadow. i believe that coming out and living openly is the best way to give hope to the oppressed – as well as shining light into the hearts of those who would vilify us. and like Harvey Milk:

    “I use the word “I” because I’m proud. I stand here tonight in front of my gay sisters, brothers and friends because I’m proud of you.” (along with my heterosexual family and friends who walk with me in light and love – i am proud of you too!)

    so why do i want to participate in public representations of gay pride?

    because we have to give them hope.

  • bristling

    … that about sums up my mood yesterday. bristling – like a big brown bear with a headache. who knew that my sugar free diet of green and oolong teas was also feeding an addiction to caffeine? bugger!

    to all those who got a less-than-friendly snarl yesterday, my apologies and a warning: caffeine withdrawal symptoms don’t disappear over night. so although I am aware that I’m unneccesarily snappy – please take note that I feel worse today. I might very well bite.

    this has been a public safety anouncement. now get busy.

    Posted by ShoZu

  • tea free boi!

    it ain’t east being green (ribbit), erm, I mean bipolar. not that I want to go off about any Beeper symptoms today. nay, today’s far more vanilla than that. today’s lamentation concerns my diet…

    I’m not allowed tea anymore.
    *sob*

    no teas, coffees or chocolates! most soda’s are no-go too… baddies include caffeine, sugar, aspartemine (and a bunch of other “ines”) and most chemical additives that make snacking an extreme sport these days.

    *sigh*

    is there a dietician out there who can give me a list of what I can have in stead of what I can’t?

    I’m on a maintenance regime of Depakine and Cipram, overweight (still) with a family history of cancer and heart disease. Blood type: A-, balding 30-something, Caucasian wearing a size 10 (44 or 45). me no drink or smoke no more – long time.

    cheers

    Posted by ShoZu

  • honey, I'm home!


    remember Fred Flintstone and his joyous declaration at the front door?well, those of you who do, would’ve been excused for thinking that was him coming home from school last night :0)

    I nearly jumped out of my skin when I opened the door and found Peter smiling on the other side! he’d prepared dinner (an improved version of Sunday’s recipe) and topped it off with my current favorite oolong beverage. now what could be better than being met with a beautiful smile on the face of your loved one – and a gastronomic feast to boot? nothing that I can think of right away, that’s for sure!

    I’ll post some photos when I get home tonight. meanwhile, have a glorious Wednesday!

    xoxo

    Posted by ShoZu

  • styling

    ‘sup y’all…

  • Housewarming

    facebook
    Willie Knoetze
    05 April 03:29 nm.
    Housewarming
    To absolutwillie’s “enjoy your life café”

    Here’s a link to Joanne’s pictures
    of Saturday’s visit ;0)

    Willie has shared a link to an album with you.
    To view the album or to reply to the message,
    follow this link:

    http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=705880526&k=3YC6Y2R3VW3M5DLDXB42T4

  • a knight in shimmering armor

    y’all know this week was not the easiest I’ve had in a bit. but thanks to scheduling requirements for my a/c installation, I got to take a day’s leave from school on Friday :0)

    and Peter did not let the opportunity to sweep me off my feet slip by! Friday afternoon he bundled me into his car and whisked me off past Cishan mountain, to track down the first peaches of the season. (and he says he isn’t romantic!) en route, we checked out a place called ‘Holy Mt Zion’ – this is their gate:

    from the looks of it, Mt Zion is what you’d call a faith based, self reliant, semi-autonomous community. (see how i didn’t say sect? oops…) very impressive and very big – it really takes up a biggish hill. but a bit creepy, so no other photos to share.

    yesterday, the girls from the buxiban came ’round to “warm” our apartment. Peter had made a reservation at our favorite Japanese BBQ for all of us – no dishes for me! *lol* to top it all off, he took me to see ‘the reader’ after everyone went home.

    and today he’s taking me to a mulberry farm to pick the first mulberries of the season!

    every day, I thank God for Peter. is it dificult to see why?


    update: on the drive home, we stopped and got some pineapples next to the road. back in Kaohsiung we stopped at a market for fresh chicken and an (as yet) unidentified vegetable. when we got home, Peter started dinner: Chicken and Pineapple soup!

  • Monday and Tuesday

    … were crazy. here’s a summary of the rest of Monday:
    • brand new student (first timer, not a word of English) enrolled 4 months before the end of the school year,
    • Joey fell during playtime – bit through his lower lip! stitches for lunch…
    • co-teacher freaked out about the speeches.
    • GEPT private student postponed after I’d been waiting for 15mins
    • finished the speeches at 7am, Tuesday.

    Tuesday:
    • my schedule at kindergarten was inverted – two strenuous classes ended up back to back…
    • co-teacher freaked about the speeches; too long/difficult,
    • asked to record (butchered) speeches,
    • mountain of communication books dumped on my lap,
    • t i r e d
    • printing orders from SA bouncing through mailboxes.

    overslept this morning. still haven’t recorded or written the communication books. did what I could about the orders. still tired.

    c’est la vie, n’est-ce pas?
    *grumble*

    Posted by ShoZu

  • MRT musings, take two

    alright, so the spectacular post I tapped out on the underground this morning… is lost. neat as this Shozu app is, it does have some drawbacks. no autosave being one. I attempted to tap the ‘save’ button, but must’ve hit ‘clear’ or something.

    anyhoo. these things happen.

    yesterday was a whirlwind. it started with a simple To-Do list:
    • pick up April bus ticket (save NT$400),
    • buy black cartridge for printer,
    • send postcard to US, get stamps for SA mail,
    • change scooter’s oil,
    • pollish resume,
    • contact schools with advertised vacancies for next semester.

    I forgot about the speeches for my primary school class at the buxiban. there’s a reading and speech contest on my birthday – and 5 of the girls from my TCE class are participating.

    I realized that I’d forgotten the speeches as I woke up on the bus to Donggang. then I realized that we’d already passed the town!

    the bus dropped me next to the road. I had to walk back! very Indie plottish, I’m sure.

    Monday started.

    Posted by ShoZu