Scooter-Mania (The Art of Lovful Driving)

I've been on the streets here in Taiwan for a little more than two weeks now, and I am still overwhelmed by EVERYTHING.  Most of that time was spent on the back of my friends scooter (and once on a girl's scooter - she wanted me to drive her, but after watching a friend dump his girlfriend off of her own scooter that night I decided the bar was set too high and I had better leave things to the pros).  

The streets are a little confusing as there are no limits on signs and lights, scooters zipping all about, and so many people.  (Thats a messed up sentence, I admit)  There are a few videos on you tube that might give you an idea of what I mean.I think I could get used to the driving here - but then I'd never be able to drive in the US again.

With the craziness, my poor sense of direction, and no way to ask people on the street it is very easy for me to get lost.  I thought east was west for the first two weeks.  Ok, not literally, but my 'sense of direction' was completely wrong and I couldn't even decide which way to turn out of my apartment when looking at a map.  Now I can get to and from work and I can navigate little Europe and the Canal District.  I also know how to get myself to some night markets!  I haven't been trying new foods at the same pace that I was in China, mostly because its hard to find new stuff at this point.  I'll give it another go at a night market one of these days.  I'm just waiting for a partner to try stinky tofu with me.

One of my favorite things to do when I'm out is look for silly stickers on scooters.  There seems to be no end to this ... from man boy to the speedy snail clan and on and on.  I just hope my scooter has something awesome on it.  I'm supposed to get one next week!!!  Its even ok with me if its a lie.  A local friend has a scooter that says, "the glaring headlight of a motorcycle," and the headlight on it is junk.

Dude, where's my car?

Yes, I really thought that to myself this morning when I looked outside.  And, sad as it is admit, I did actually watch that movie long ago.

I woke up at 7 this morning and called the weather hotline for my office knowing that we were on severe weather alert overnight.  The office was closed so I dropped the phone on the bed and rolled over and went back to sleep until 10.

This just makes me more excited to go to Taiwan.  It's nice to see winter here, but I think it will be even better to spend my winter on a tropical island.

It's Not Even Winter Yet

It's getting a little colder around here.  With a projected high of 34 today, I think it will be the first time in a couple weeks that it has been above freezing.  Of course none of this matters when I'm at work living in an artificially lit and climate controlled bubble.  But in my 200+ year old house, its a little more obvious.  For example, every morning there are ice crystals on the windows.

There are really only two things that I do outside of work these days and they are cooking and riding.  Cooking, like being at work, is a perfect shelter from the weather.  Riding isn't so much.  I'm still enjoying my commutes and recreation/training rides, but it now takes about as long to dress and undress as it does to get to work.  Its about a 20 to 25 minute ride with 15 to 20 minutes total time to dress and undress.

The real crazy part for me is that I have less than two weeks of this left for the year.  I leave for California in a couple days and I'll be there over two weeks.  Boy am I excited about that!  And then I come back to CT for a week to get ready for Taiwan.  I'll be in Taiwan for about 3 months, which backs up into some personal travel.  So I wont be back to CT again until MAY!  I just can't forget to leave post dated rent checks or I'll be in a real pickle.

Oh, interesting tid bit for urban dwellers ... Our well pump died last night.  This is probably not a concern for most of you, but this is a huge problem here.  We're not really supported like you would be in a city so there is no other way to get water.  We can't find anyone to work on the well until Monday.  Its easy enough to buy drinking water to get by, but the furnace and radiator system needs water too.  I'm getting a little nervous about becoming a popsicle if we have to shut the furnace down.

I think this picture is from our second snow this year. Yes, I still rode to work that morning in sub 20 degree, windy weather ... just to spite those who said I couldn't do it.  Well, actually I'm just doing it for myself.  Every time I ride I feel a little stronger and a little tougher.

Ithaca is Gorges

Ithaca is Gorges.  You should go.  I only stopped by for a day and a half on my way back from Niagara.  The town is beautiful and not unlike San Luis Obispo.  Its a little more how shall we say ... bohemian than SLO or just about anywhere.

Here are some photos that I took in and around Ithaca.  Sadly, I didn't manage to take any photos of the downtown area.  I was always too busy eating :).

Niagara Falls

I took a nice trip to Niagara falls with Andrea back in October.  Its been more than a month now and the leaves have long since fallen.  There's not a lot to report here, you just have to see it.

A Pleasant Food Experiment

You might not believe it but I am actually posting something that I did today!  This might be a first - even other posts that are dated properly were probably post dated weeks after.

Anyway, I'm fresh off of some great experiences with new foods.  In China I ate so many new things that I couldn't even remember all of them, and I still don't know what noises some of them made before I ate them.  That used to be a loose guideline on what I would eat, by the way.  I also got lucky at home making pasta.  It is not quite, but almost as easy as buying it.  Its actually faster for me to make it than to go to the store from home and buy it.

Oh the Huge Manatee

I have recently lost track of the score, but it was something like Connecticut 9 - Aaron 0.  I have now had 1 leech, 1 hornet sting, 1 bee sting (on the neck during a criterium race), and I lost track of how many times I got poison ivy after about 5 or 6.  So if you're coming this way, be warned.

I was feeling down when I came out here with poison oak or some other mystery rash, but I've toughened up a little since then.