Commuter

This more or less symbolizes my Monday through Thursday for the past month or so:

Bike the Oceans

Bren and I biked to Wheaton (or was it East Timor?). I made a video to mess around with the flip camera. I also managed to get myself a decent farmer's tan. In other news, I finally got a computer. Keeping my fingers crossed nothing happens to it/that it isn't stolen.

A tribute to Oanh

Oanh has requested that I take pictures of the food I see/eat in Taiwan, consider this practice:

Fake beef over rice, and red bell peppers and corn simply because they were around.


It was really good.

I am by no means trying to usurp Oanh's fantastic, and much more established/distinguished blog. I'm just making sure I know how to get the right angles for future food pictures. Oanh will always lead the way with food.

One Step Closer to Taiwan

I got my visa today. I made some hasty videos that I stitched together with the flip camera program. The battery was low so I only took a few roughly seven second clips. There are gaps in the time line (mostly due to me not recording while I rode my bike), but it works.

Lone Dancer

I got a flip video camera from a friend which means my blog will now feature videos. Enjoy the first video of some lone dude dancing at a far too loud club.

The Highest Toilet in All the Land

Today I applied for my Taiwan visa. Easy and painless, and surprisingly cheap. Apparently if you're a Taiwan Scholarship awardee you don't have to pay the visa registration fee, thus saving me ~$130.

The view from the Taiwan consulate. Remind me to work in a skyscraper in Chicago.



Afterward Kristina, Chris and I made our way (eventually) to the Sears Tower. Well, as of yesterday the Sears Tower is now the "Willis Tower", or as our mayor hilariously called it "Big Willy".

I can now officially declare two things:
1.) I am still scared of heights
2.) I have urinated in the highest bathroom in the Western hemisphere, or if your prefer the 2nd highest bathroom in THE WORLD.

Minus the 2 1/2 hr wait in the damned unending lines to the observation deck, it was otherwise a good time. If you did not know already the observation deck in the Sears tower added 4 clear cubes that stick roughly 4 ft out from the building allowing you to see in all directions, including the 1,353 ft down (103 floors). Needless to say, I could barely get myself to step out onto the ledge. The look down is a doozy. The night was topped off with burritos and a bonfire. It was a good day. Enjoy the photos:

EDIT: Proof that I actually did go on the ledge, at least for a short while.

Bring on the Budget

Since I never found a summer job, I'll be heading to Taiwan on a very meager safety net. Yes, I will be getting money from the Taiwan scholarship, but after figuring out expenses it seems I'll be budgeting a fair amount when it comes to food and living expenses.

Apparently language programs are the real money makers of Taiwanese universities because the masters is about US$250 cheaper than the language program. Once you get past the first year, though, Taiwan seems to be more forgiving. In addition to getting NT$5,000 more a month during the masters than with the language program, after the first year I can apply for a work visa and work ~16 hours a week. Maybe then I'll be able to save up some money to do more traveling than just the return trip to the U.S. of A. Or maybe more than just the one trip back home.

Before all that though I'll have to find an apartment in a country and city I've never been to, in a language I can just barely get by in. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't get sick or hurt, especially food poisoning.

Here's to adventure and heading into the more or less unknown.

Words of Wisdom

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop once in a while and look around, you might miss it."
-Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller's Day Off