"It's like the Swiss flag, only switch the colors."

That's pretty much what's been on my mind recently. That and some other people, but mostly this.

I really think I would have done a lot better job if I hadn't been in Taiwan >.< but it should turn out OK (: just with a low amount of sophs. I really like responsibility though. iono it gives you energy :] but it stresses you [x because you want everything to go well. I just reread this and realized how vague it sounds to anyone who's not Alice XD so here's an explanation. I'm director of Human Resources for Red Cross Club, and I'm in charge of bonding activities, and we're having on at Huntington Beach tomorrow/today (August 28) and I'm pretty much coordinating everything with Shalu & some help from Nandini(you dont' know her). and we have to go to Costco tomorrow to buy stuff. (x

I can't sleep either, but that's because of my spontaneous afternoon naps --x. I slept from 7-10 on accident today...that's how bad it is.

ohoh I have another question. (:

What the heck are animal fries? o.o or something along those lines. cuz people kept talking about them (mostly Alice and Erin), but I'm curious what they are. They are from In-N-Out :/

I get to stay at the beach tomorrow for 9 hours :D doesn't that sound fun? except 5 of them are going to be alone...not so much fun anymore. :[ I hate it when I'm alone, because I have nothing better to do, so I think, and thinking when you're alone is not a good thing, because then you overthink everything, and your imagination goes crazy, and plus you're lonely so it really stinks. I'll try tanning? but I don't think it'll work too well. (x

~Chris

Home is where the heart is.

But I have two homes, so does that mean my heart will always be torn?

Back in the US now, but anyone who reads this anymore knows that already (:

I kinda miss it there =/ mostly the moisture [x but the food, the cheapness, the carefree-ness. It really felt like a vacation (: buy what you want (except shirts, which is like THE WHOLE POINT D: (rant to follow)), sleep when you want, eat what you want. it's nice.

The plane ride back wasn't as good as going. I got one seat, next to some guy and his kid. You know kids get better food on planes?! D: it looks more friendly. and they get pudding :[ I was jealous. anyway, watched X-men, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and Star Trek. Ghosts was actually pretty good. I liked it (: the brother almost made me cry though :O

There really is nothing to do back home though. I've been really busy and kinda stressed with Red Cross planning, but other than that there's really not much else to do. I talk to Tina a lot [x and have resorted to playing Maplestory --x I'm hoping to meet up with Avi and Paley sometime next week though :] so that should be fun. Guy's night out >:O only prob not gonna be at night xD Tina and I planned a beach trip too, so hopefully we can do that :D

Welcome home Sarah Zhang, and good luck reading through all my boring adventures in Taiwan (: the e-mails were kinda interesting, but I can't post about those (;

I'm really out of it though. I loved just being so free in Taiwan, being immature, being stupid, having fun when nothing's funny. Now I get to come home and be serious and do stuff right and concentrate. What a bummer. :]

~Chris

p.s. one last thing. Don't you hate it when people tell you they miss you when they don't? I mean, why do they even bother saying it if they don't mean it, and you're not asking for it?

KenDing Adventures Part 2

Day 2 in the adventures of KenDing (: If you’ve read all of the part one, then I applaud you :D because you’re one of three things. One, you honestly and genuinely care about everything I do in Taiwan and want to know how I’m doing. Two, you’re really really bored, and you have nothing better to do. Three, you’re a stalker who wants to know everything about me O_o but no one I let read my blog is like that x].

Anyways, there’s really really serious thunder here. I don’t know about lightning, but it’s probably right above our heads. >.< It was so loud that it shook our unit. And now it’s pouring. Like POURING o.o I think I’ll go outside and take a video now (: darn -___-‘ as soon as I got to the door, it stopped going super hard, and now it’s just kinda normal rain. (like real rain, not SoCal rain (x )

We had to eat McDonalds for breakfast since we got these free coupons from the hotel, so yeah [x had to go American for a day. It tasted the same as always -___-‘ probably since it’s all frozen and bleh >:P

We went to the KenDing National Park Forest today. Mostly a lot of walking, and seeing 394832 butterflies, and sweating, but it was fun :D The sweating seriously sucks though --x because it’s so humid here that there’s nothing your body can do, except SWEAT. But since everyone’s doing it it’s not so bad, but very sticky =/

After lunch we went to this lighthouse :D but the typhoon once again ruined our sightseeing, so there was some of it we couldn’t see. It started pouring again (: and I got a better video, but the rain sounds like static, but when you guys see it, it’s really rain =D My grandpa’s kinda out there though --x which means he has nothing better to do than smoke, and we don’t want him to smoke, so someone should seriously take an umbrella out and convince him to come back. (btw he only speaks Taiwanese, so I kinda can’t do it >.<).

I honestly have nothing better to post about, so I’m gonna talk about the storm that just popped out of nowhere. The thunder is like cannons. Like real cannons just in the sky. It must really suck for all the people in the night market a block away. It’s a Saturday night, and a lot of guys were out with their girlfriends. Well, kissing in the rain’s always an option (:

OMIGOSH the night market xD m’kay, so there’s these 3 clubs along the street, and they have like these pictures of these strippers? I think, in there. And there’s this really buff, like overstuffed mattress buff in a speedo, and these 2 stripper girls, but the guy LOOKED SO FUNNY XDDDDD I didn’t wanna take a picture though, cuz my mom wouldn’t get it [x she’d think I was gay or something.

I really miss you guys (: I get internet tomorrow, so I’ll post my Word posts, and hopefully talk to some people =]

~Chris

KenDing Adventures Part 1

We’re in KenDing right now, or that’s the name of the national park. Anyway we’re at the southern tip of the Taiwan sweet potato (: (doesn’t it kinda look like a sweet potato?) so anyways. It’s my Jojo’s family (wife, him, fat cousin) and my grandpa, and the “Mei Guo” people [x So I got to sleep on the way there, since we’re the car of 3, but it hurt my neck -___-‘ which kinda ruins the point of sleeping, cuz sleeping’s to feel refreshed right? [x but I guess it passes time just as well.

So anyway, we finally got there, but we’re not allowed to check into the hotel until 3 O.o so we went to this random restaurant. I mostly ate white rice x] I love white rice =] so if I ever go to your house, and you feel obligated to feed me, make a lot of rice =] it’s cheap too ;D they had this REALLY COOL fish food though (: so it was like a fish stick? Only it just pure fish. They just stick it in a frying pan, and you can eat it whole (: but you won’t see a picture of that for a while xD as usual. Sorry ):

Then we went in this boat thing, with windows on the bottom, and we got to see all this coral and fish! But because of the typhoon the water was really murky, so we couldn’t see as much as they usually can. The funny thing though, was that the Taiwanese Coast Guard had to check our boat, leaving and coming in, to make sure we didn’t smuggle any people in, or ditch any in the water. xD

Buuuttttt.

OH MY GOODNESSS!~!~!~!~! The hotel we’re staying at is BEAUTIFUL!!! But the surrounding environment isn’t exactly all that great >_> but still :D ok. So the interior is like a giant sauna (: it’s ALL wood :D really pretty wood too. And the bathroom is really big and clean. A GIANT shower, and a tile animal thing in the bathroom (x there’s two floors too, so my sister and I are sleeping on the top, and it’s a two person bed too. =D so I’ve gone from a wooden floor thing, to a queen bed to myself? x] life is unpredictable. They even have strings of Christmas lights outside the room (: it’s so cute.

We walked a lot today o.o and that was pretty much my day. Besides that stuff ^. That and my mom yelling at me to get off the rocks xD because my cousin loves me…like a LOT. O_O so he does everything I do, and his mom doesn’t want him on the rocks, so I’m not allowed on the rocks. I don’t like those chain reaction things =[ I still got some really nice pictures though (: and rock climbing is fun. Whitney people would have SOOO much fun there. Mostly cam-whoring, since it’s so pretty, but rock climbing and playing in the beach (: CAN WE PLEASE, SOMEONE AND OTHER PEOPLE GO TO THE BEACH? =] that’d be nice. Not Bolsa though -___- cuz the sand kinda sucks. But planning later x] not now.

So now, we may or may not be going to dinner, and there’s no internet here, so I’m writing on word again. We have to go to McDonalds tomorrow for breakfast to use their wireless internet -___- to find a hotel to stay at tomorrow. Evidently they’re unable to plan hotel reservations for more than a day in advance. That’s alright though. Just as long as there’s somewhere to sleep (: and wireless internet? Please? Pretty please? =]

My mom won’t buy me a calling card =[ which kinda stinks D: I have some people I want to call. You know who you are (;

-Chris

Taipei Bound

my gosh :O so much to write about Taipei -___-x I really wish my mom would have let me bring my laptop there. But I got in trouble =/ so yeah. No computer for 3 days & 2 nights. Not too bad though (: well actually >_> no. I take that back. But anyway :D

m’kay, so I seriously think that in total we’ve spent like $200 US on the HSR alone -____- which is pretty sad. 3 trips. 3 people. =___= less spending money. But anywayyyy (: we’ve saved like………10 hours maybe? So yeah (: like $20/hr for 3 people. So we’re each paying like 6.60/hr saved. So eh =/

So we get to Taipei, and then we have to take a smaller train (Taipei has a metro). =] and then we went to somewhere in Taipei xD then we went looking for this high class Dim-Sum place where we’re supposed to meet with my mom’s friend.

M’kay, so before I go any further, I need to explain our conditions [x So my mom’s friend also went to Taiwan, but we didn’t go together. Anyway, so she has a lot of friends in Taipei, and we’re gonna stay with her friend. So, bluntly, we slept in a complete stranger’s apartment . xD but my mom’s really good at making friends O.o so she got all cozy with her friend’s friends. So yeah x] just thought I’d tell you guys about that.

So we’re the first ones at the restaurant, and I’m carrying our clothes -___- So I totally look like a foreigner. and we’re just sitting at the entrance waiting. Then finally something happens, and we’re finally let into this private room. Blah blah blah they all get there [x So my mom’s friend had a little “gang” in college/highschool. THEY ARE SO STEREOTYPICAL I ALMOST LAUGHED :D but it was really kinda cool that I knew their personalities before I even knew them (: So there’s the leader girl, and she’s rich >.> kinda snobby too. She owns this high-end boutique near her house. Then there’s my mom’s friend. She’s the kinda fat one who is the talker. She’s the center of the conversation, and kinda the most outgoing. Then there’s the sidekick, which kinda doesn’t say much, but is part of the group, and everyone loves her. Then there’s the nice one. She’s the one we stayed with, but I didn’t know that at the time. I liked her the best though =] she’s kinda perfect, sorta. Compared to everyone else. Friendly, prettier, kinda short. ^-^ Pictures should be on Facebook eventually. xD don’t count on it anytime soon though.

Seriously you can SOOO tell the rich lady’s rich, and she flaunts it. -___-‘ you can just TELL. Iono it’s weird [x or maybe it’s just me.

YAY :D typing on Word really saves battery (: I have 1:04hours left :D and I’ve been typing for like 20 mins (x

Sighhh…..this is seriously getting too long >.< so I’ll snip a lot.

THEIR KIDS SUCK D: ok so the lady’s not married, no kids, but yeah. My mom’s friend’s kids -___-‘ oh my goodness. SO PICKY! SO LOUD! SO STUPID! SO SNOBBY! –x and friend’s friend loves them --x there’s two. One small fat girl. One small skinny boy. The boy’s kinda better, but still picky. He mostly plays videogames and plays with his food.

We mostly went shopping in Taipei, and went to DanSuai? Or something. I have pictures XD but it’s kinda hard to post on here. So I won’t try.

So much public transit o_o but it’s really convenient actually. And everyone uses it. Trains, Buses. School kids, businessmen, grandmas, everyone O.o I kinda like it actually :D the bus drivers are as crazy as the taxi people though >< and it’s really bumpy x] the trains are really fast too, and you never wait more than 5 minutes for anything. It’s kinda funny, seeing school girls on buses, wearing their collared shirts and skirts. (x it’s almost too asian, you know what I mean?

I’ve had so much boba O_O but it’s soooo goood :DDDD I’m so glad caffeine doesn’t really work on me, cuz I drank a 700cc cup at like 11:30pm x] and yeah. Less than a dollar too :D like 90cents for a really big cup :DDDD it’s so wonderful <3

M’kay, well if you wanna hear more about it, ask me XD but you probably don’t, which is why I’m ending the post here. (:

OH! One more thing. Wait….actually I’ll just make it into another post [x

~Chris

Fuego

Two posts tonight, hopefully. >.< my battery is being stupid, and I’m writing on Word again -___-‘ so yeah.

There’s a fire down the street. In one of the older wooden houses in this area. We saw the smoke first. Then the fire truck, then the ambulance, and then a hecka lot more smoke…my battery died >_> so I’m using the other one now, and it says that I have…57 minutes (x so hopefully it lasts. Anyway. Yeah, the smoke’s crept in now, and we have to wear masks in our room because it’s so bad. I seriously don’t know how fire fighters do it, because honestly, if fire isn’t contained. It sucks. Maybe they just really hate it (: so they wanna go put out all fires. Either that or they want to protect the public. Either way, they do a good job :]

The typhoon was really crazy too though =/ 61 people dead, a lot more injured, and it’s now officially the worst typhoon to hit Taiwan in 50 years O_o so yeah. Another reason why it was so bad, is evidently the meteorologists thought it was going to hit the north mostly (near Taipei), so they were all ready for a lot of flooding and whatnot, but instead it hit hardest south, and yeah >.< I’m sure you guys must have seen some of it on TV. It’s nice to know the world still cares about Taiwan ^-^

Alice....

is a clothing brand in a big superstore kinda place. [x

is a friend in America that I miss.

is a girl in a story that has subliminal sexual messages.

is a nasty little bug >.<>

alright here's my post [x

m’kay so I haven’t posted in a while cuz my uncle took it to work and got it fixed (: so now it can read Chinese, and it can close :D so that’s useful. But then the menus are kinda weird --x and it’s not as pretty, but it’s a FOB computer [x and it’s free. T-minus 2 years and counting for my macbook [x

So anyway, we left my aunt’s house 2 days ago (so for clarification, that was my oldest aunt, and my 2 other aunts live with my grandparents (3 and 4.) so yeah (: my mom’s 2. so anyway, yeah the last days I didn’t blog were stay home days. My sister got a haircut though (: and we made new rules in monopoly w/ the speed die [x but the only person who probably cares about that is Alice, cuz no one else likes Monopoly =/ or that I know of. I love that game (:

I’m ALWAYS ALWAYS hungry D: and I don’t know if I posted that before, cuz I don’t have internet right now -___- I really sound spoiled right now, and I guess I am compared to everyone else here =[ which makes me feel kinda sad and really humbled. I love how cheap stuff is though (: ok back to self-fixing. So Aunt 1 is pretty rich, and so are we in Mei Guo (America for Avi ;]) and now we’re here in Beikang, and no wireless internet, and just yeah. Not what I’m used to. But I think it’s really gonna be good for me :] Especially putting up with my cousin [x you’re gonna hear me rant a LOT about him though xD so please put up with me.

We rode on the high speed train from somewhere near my aunt’s house to somewhere near my grandparents’ house, and driving inbetween xD so yeah. The highspeed train is FAST FAST FAST :O like 100+mph x] no lie. You can look it up (: People stared at me in the train too --x I’m kinda getting tired of stares. But better than the pedo stares Sarah gets in China ;D btw…well more of an FYI…she can’t read this, cuz China blocks blogger, and a whole lot of other stuff which I find quite stupid, but that’s communism for you >_>

Wow this post is getting long [x I seriously hope that you’re reading this in your spare time, cuz it must be really boring. Unless you’re skimming, which you probably are, in which case you might not read this. I’m talking weird =.= must be the English and SAT studying coming out.

You know I can’t think in Spanish anymore? It’s all in Chinese XD so if I come back and speak Chinese to you, and you don’t understand (again Avi x] ) sorry.

Nothing to report except that it took like an hour to set up Chinese highspeed internet [x so yeah. But it needs a cable, so that’s why I’m writing my blog post on Word. So I can copy and paste later (: aren’t I genius? :P

M’kay so now I have to think of something to make this post worthwhile, because I’m sure I’m going to lose what few readers I have to boredom. I’ll serious post tomorrow, because I have a lot on my mind, no one to talk to, and probably nothing to write about tomorrow. In Beikang, we don’t really do much, so yeah. Went shopping today though. My sister’s growing up. She wore short shorts for the first time (x

Music’s pretty much the only thing that keeps me white at this point [x that and my smell and the stares. Can’t get rid of 2 of them, but I like the 3^rd one, so I guess I’ll keep it (:

~Chris

p.s. Sorry for picking on you all the time Avi (: Mandarin isn’t that great (;

p.p.s. Alice, thanks so much for the extra music [x it gives me something to do without internet. But not having cover art and album info kinda kills my OCD.

Lucky I'm in love with my best friend...

cute song (:

You know who else are lucky? (does that make sense grammatically? doesn't sound right.) Taiwanese drivers -______- seriously. if you ever go to Taiwan, you'll be amazed at how close people get, and how fast they drive, and how much they cut each other off. and no accidents O_o kinda cool xD

OK, so today was just a chill day, and then my aunt decided we're going to this restaurant called Lavender Cottage. It's like an hour away in the mountains. >.< there =".=">

Then we go back home, and get some beef noodle soup. The shop's closed for the week >.> so we finally have lunch at like 3pm. that's like what? 12am for you guys [x anyway, so we finally eat, and everyone's tired.

OHOHOH I beat my cousin at foosball today :D hehehe like 3 overtimes [x cuz u gotta win by 2.

I'll be posting about something more.......interesting later (: expect it. but right now I've got to shower :D

The Big City. (8.1.09)

So every morning, it's like a tradition now I guess [x my cousin Tony and I play foosball [x and he's super good. but this morning I got up to 9:8, but then he beat me 9:11 =[ but it was super close :D alright, enough of that. So I ate a HUGE breakfast today [x I had the same thing I had yesterday, only I was still really hungry, so I walked over to 7-11 and bought more food xD the guy didn't give me a funny look though :D I think it's cuz I spoke to him in chinese, so he prb though I was an exchange student or something.

TAIPEI TODAY :DDD

So we decided to go to see Harry Potter today [x (yeah I already saw it), so we went all the way to Taipei. Evidently it's like the most popular place on the whole island to watch movies. So we got tickets.....oh my goodness the lines were SOOOO LONG!!! D: and then we went to go eat lunch [x so we went to this big building called A9? and we went to this really expensive looking Japanese restaurant. We had like a 6 course seafood lunch O_o it must have been soooo expensive!!!! but it was sooooo good [x I have some pictures of it [x but I kinda don't know how to put pictures on my blog [x oh wait. ok so yeah I'ma put them on the bottom (:

After the super expensive lunch, we saw Harry Potter. You know that in Taiwan u get free popcorn and soda w/ ur ticket? :O and they have kettle corn too :D and churros [x i love the little things. So yeah. The theatre was packed, and they have assigned seatings cuz it's so full. o.o

Then we drove around, and around, and it took a long time [x and then we went to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial, and it's really pretty (: and we saw some white people :D a teen girl and her mom =] Then we went to a NIGHT MARKET :DDDD

You know that jeans at department stores are like $15? =] I got some at this one place you've never heard of [x Giordano. we got them custom tailored too [x hehehe so much food =]]]] and cheap clothes. this one shoe store was having a sale. The entire store was 95NTD. that means......about $3 for anything in the store? not bad right? (: it was mostly girl shoes though, and their shorts were very FOB. My sister isn't much of a girl >.> she couldn't find anything she liked out of maybe 200 stores. they were all cheap too. oh well.

then we went home. and I was dead tired >.<>

~Chris

p.s. Taiwan's not so bad is it Alice/Sarah? ;D

Taipei 101. Ex?-tallest building in the world.

our lunch (: