gmt +08:00

blogging from dial-up. a blast from way back when. having spent years logging on from a land-line, i soooo appreciate the beauty that is dsl, cable, or t1.

ate like a pig for the past how many days?, and now i've mild stomach pains. also slightly queasy. part of the feasting is because food here is So Damn Good, the other part is that it's rude to reject people's offer of meals. honestly? great as all the variety is, i'd be just fine if they fed me nothing but jook and salty preserved dishes for the next two weeks. i'm easy to please.

as expected (and as any seasoned visitor to taiwan would forecast), it's been some crazy, sticky weather here. the fifteenth typhoon of the season passed through just yesterday and it was still hot enough outside in the rain to warrant shorts and a tank-top. the more "fashionable" young ladies of taipei were wandering around in the oh-so-cool peasant skirts currently in vogue paired with the inevitably taiwanese penchant for ornate sandals. me? sweltering in long jeans, tank-top, and sneakers. today's outfit of flimsy skirt and flip flops were a vast improvement on the ventilation front.

for a fast-developing nation full of first-world technology, it's amazing how much of the cities here look like the poor ghetto hovels of mexico. for christ's sake, what are these people doing anyway? schools on every other block and yet it seems that a vast majority of the population have decided to open mom-n-pop shops rather than, i dunno, doing corporate stuff. and the materialism -- my god(!). there are accessories and "cute lil somethings" for every single imaginable item here. cell phone decorations to five billion types of stationary to fifty different designs of slippers to heaven knows what else can often be crammed into a space no bigger than two large dumpsters...a regular "night market" stand in this country. it actually makes me kinda sick looking at the amount of waste and materialism this place celebrates. not to mention the pervasive air of financial desperation underlying all the tiny carts and closet shops. how is this environment "charming" anyway? it's not that i don't like the markets or that there isn't anything i wouldn't buy (in fact, i did)...it's just a good thing that we left when we did. one small dose at a time otherwise i'd descend into that oh-so-popular frustration with humanity.

ending on a happier note: i found cig pants in army green. plus mini teddy bears wearing darth vader helmets. wow.