absolutwillie

Tag: Taiwan

  • mobile snapshots

    clearing out the cobwebs in my head also means clearing out the cobwebs in daily life :0)
    one of the areas that needed some desperate cleaning was my mobile phone’s memory card. here are some of the better shots that were liberated from the old dear:


    my first night in Taiwan saw me attending a celebration of some sorts. methinks it was a birthday, or something. this is a shot of the principal of my (then new) school and her family. thank Heavens Ben was there as well! Nobody else really spoke any English. 

    i snapped this one for my Dad – who’s a land surveyor back in SA. at home, he needs a big 4×4 to get to all the places he needs to work – here in Taiwan, a 50cc scooter seems more than adequate!
    PoPo (pronounced Puwo-Puwo, not pawpaw) sleeping like a baby – literally!

    a note from one of my students’ communication books. it always tickles me when i see my name – but nobody tells me what it says… so yeah – any ideas?

    for those of you who can read sheet music, this is the tune for “Hansie Slim”, believe it or not! 
    i love some of these signs’ use of English!

  • tie by takeo kikuchi

    yesterday, Peter asked me to buy him a tie to go with the shirt he’s wearing to a wedding today. sounds simple, right? ha! shows what you know *lol*
    i, being the perfectionist-in-denial that i am, turned this request into an expedition.
    first, to prepare, i scoured the internet for advice and inspiration; starting at my favorite style-blogs: the sartorialist and man of the cloth. (for mobile inspiration i always have the Style.com app on my iPod touch.)
    with my mind flooded with über-stylish images, i packed the shirt and hit the shops. as luck would have it – Kaohsiung Arena (my favorite mall) was celebrating the opening of a new fashion store! not only did this bring all the fashionista/os out into broad daylight – but it also coaxed other stores into offering discounts :0)
    after hours of staring, comparing and assimilating of visual information – i had, however, still not found the perfect tie and was bemoaning the fact that i’ll have to choose between a bunch of “almost there” contenders.

    then it happened – a store that i somehow had missed before revealed itself to me. it was beautiful. dark wooden interior, vintage leather wingback chairs and understated displays that, none the less, pulled me in. and there they were: rows upon rows of one-of-a-kind, hand made ties. i was in Takeo Kikuchi – and it was heaven.

    i carefully liberated the shirt from my satchel for the first time and laid it on a counter. the sparkle of approval in the saleslady’s eyes sealed the deal – i would buy here, no matter what! with a little broken chinese/english and a lot of gesturing, we managed to find a black jacket similar to the one Peter would be wearing and started “trying on” some beauties. it didn’t take long for the winner to pop up: a rich brown, 100% silk tie with deep chocolate and bright azure detail. hand made. one of a kind. perfection.

    it came in at about 4 times the budget (what was Peter thinking *lol*), but i happily sacrificed my shoe-budget (i was going to get a pair of converse sneakers, but that could wait) in favor of this masterpiece.
    i was so excited to see Peter’s reaction when he got home from work, that i nearly piddled when i finally heard his key in the door… “Wow, I love it!!”
    he said “love”… *le sigh*
    i can die a happy man :0)

    on his way to the wedding

  • meet the baby

    meet the younger male who’s nonchalantly claimed all attention and affection for himself:



    Peter “rescued” this (super adorable) baby red-bellied tree squirrel from a pet store earlier tonight. the fuss. the oohs and the aahs. the strange parenting instincts.

    we are enamored :0)

  • recipe: Danbin

    Frank J asked, and i thought i’d share what i observed from Peter’s culinary crafts.

    danbin are basically savory omelet-pancakes.

    you will need:
    ready-made crepes (i’m sure Woollies has these)
    one egg per intended danbin
    shredded tuna
    grated white cheese
    method:
    in a hot pan, crack one egg and place a crepe on top almost right away. (looks like a short-cut to an omelet),
    flip when the egg has settled (is that how you’d say it?),
    spoon some tuna in a line down the middle of the crepe,
    add grated cheese,
    fold the crepe into itself (one end over the other),
    cut into bite-size rolls and
    add pepper to taste.
    serve hot ;0)
    the important thing is that the crepe has to stay soft.
    it should NOT turn into a semi-burnt burrito mimic… as mine still do.

  • previously unmentionables: chicken feet

    yup – chicken feet.
    good to eat…
    rich in collagen.
    after posting the *note to remind me to write about some of the food i’ve encountered recently, Peter came home with 4 of the following packets:

    now i don’t have a problem with eating chicken feet. in fact, i’ve actually had chicken feet (processed beyond recognition) before – so i’m not altogether unfamiliar with their taste and texture. and it’s not that i’m squeamish or anything… but actually holding one of these little morsels in your hand is a lot different than picking at translucent squares of cooked skin in a fusion restaurant.
    so how do you eat one of these?
    same way you eat an elephant, i suppose: bit by bit.
    start by picking out the toenails – them be nasty little pointy bits of hardness you really don’t need crunching around your molars.
    now, just open wide and bite!
    if you remember that toes are nothing more than small bones neatly lined up for function – you should be fine. the rest is all skin and tendons – which is actually quite tasty, to be honest. the little red flecks of chillies help to give it some… erm… kick?
    and for all the doubters out there – here’s what remained of my first serving:

    i’ll be having seconds with Peter when he gets back from work.

  • the earth moved, but it wasn't me (this time)

    Central Weather Bureau Web Site

    Blogged with the Flock Browser

    she was a 5.6!!

  • sun drenched afternoon

    i spent the afternoon soaking up some glorious sunshine at the Pen Bay (former military base dating from the Japanese occupation of Taiwan). here are some photos for you:

    http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

    —
    love and kisses

  • Sunny winter days rule!

    looking out from the laundry balcony a few minutes ago, I decided not to go to Kaohsiung today:




    who wants to go to the beach with me?

  • the magic parcel adventure

    after school on friday, i hopped on the bus (not pictured) to Kaohsiung…

    where i took the subway to zouying station,

    where i took the High Speed Rail (up to 300km/h) to taichung,

    where i got on the slow train to Dajia,

    where i picked up the deliciousness from SA! Mom sent me some droë wors, coffee cookies, rusks, scarves, Black Cat peanut snacks, Cadbury’s, my SpringLeap T-shirts – and even a copy of DeKat!! color me crawling on the floor with laughter when i noticed the fruit-cake and the designer tissues *lol* awesome!!!

  • Saturday with the kids

    here are some pics from my 11-hour day with the kids (teachers and parents) from kindergarten last saturday. we went to a “farm” in tainan county, called “cow’s house”:
    doing the loco-motion – everybody’s on the train and ready to roll!
    daywalker – our guide avoided the sun at all costs.
    moving on up – snapped in transit.
    calves – the hungry kind
    we’z gots ta get some!
    note to self: cut out figure on the right…
    standoff: Jocelyn wanted to feed the pony – but she wouldn’t stand any closer.
    Meg loves candy – mom loves coloring.
    my sentiments exactly!
    Dylan made it to my desktop with this one :0)