This blog is your blog

Alright, let’s do this.  I am going to catch up, damnit!  Of course, this is just another way to procrastinate on studying for the GRE, but I swear I’ll spend some time on Free Rice later!

MARDI, 8 juillet 2008
And I’m leaving, on a jet plane…I don’t actually know most of this song, and the part that I do know, I sing incorrectly, so let’s not go down this path.  There was a hilarious chart at the Eva Air counter, though, of the carry-on luggage you could bring.  At the bottom was: baby.  Number of pieces: 1.  Maximum length: 15 cm (or something that makes more sense; I forget).  Jon spent much of the wait time on the phone.  With a girl!  (Can someone–Allie–please Facebook-stalk him for me?  K, thanks.)  Lee Mama and I checked out the duty-free; she perused the purses; I, the liquor.  We (read: she) decided against procuring any of either, as the former was rather expensive and the latter, kind of a vice.

MERCREDI, 9 juillet 2008
Sea of vomit.  Kind of.  Both Lee Mama and Jon are prone to motion sickness, and as I had one on each side of me, well, you get the idea.  I had some wine.  It was from a box, the kind you can get soymilk or chicken stock out of, but at least it was red.  More vomit.  Not mine, of course.  The nice man across the aisle from Lee Mama offered her (well, me, because she was hurling into a baggie) a small vial of Asian medicine.  You dab it on your temples and/or your navel, I think.  The smell reminded me of my childhood, and kind of comforted Lee Mama, as she mentioned later, although at the time, she was preoccupied with…you know, the vomit.  OH.  I almost forgot.  Thank goodness for the notes in my handy-dandy-notebook.  There was a girl behind me, probably in middle school.  When we got to our row, her friend was talking to her, but in Lee Mama’s seat.  The friend was sitting in First Class, I think, and they were talking about how they could get people to trade with them so that they could sit together.  “But if there’s a hot guy sitting next to me, sorry Linda!”  When they heard Lee Mama talking to us, they started whispering, “His name is Jonathan!”  From my personal experience as a tweener, I do believe one or both of them has some kind of semi-sordid history with someone (or multiple someones?) called Jonathan.  Jon and I were like, kill me now.  Then there was more vomit.  Again, not mine.

JEUDI, 10 juillet 2008
There are black people!  In line at customs!  (My cousin saw me write that in my planner, and was like, “Black-colored people?”  I explained.  And he queried, “But wouldn’t that be black man?”  Dearie me, I don’t mean to be racist.  That’s how the worst of stories begin, isn’t it?)  There was much business to take care of, as Jon was already three days late for his Chinese-language program.  We had unlocked our phones before leaving the country (check out my awesome–not really–voicemail message, guys!), but it appears his phone isn’t on the right frequency for Taiwan.  Mine is.  So, Jon got my phone.  I will be kind of without phone numbers when I get back to the States, for the month that I’m home before Jon gets back, but that’s ok, that’s what the noggin is for!  Sidenote: I used to be Lee Mama’s personal phonebook, because I knew all her friends’ numbers, so she didn’t have to.  We also had a family friend (who was recently released from jail, I believe; we haven’t really kept in touch, but that’s a story for another day) who memorized people’s license plate numbers.  Memorize isn’t quite the right word, as she didn’t actively try to stalk anyone, but she did know which car belonged to whom at parties!  What else?  Oh, Taipei is hot.  As we walked through a night market, I felt like I was about to keel over…but I was revived by bra-shopping!  Hurray!

VENDREDI, 11 juillet 2008
Babe, pig in the city = Cindy, pig in the city!  I’m a little fattie, soon to be big fattie!  There’s a lot of eating, for sure.  Lee Mama tries to apply for insurance (um…I think the system is kind of socialist, as far as I can tell, but it’s unclear to me how it all works), but is told that she needs to have her husband’s (Taiwanese equivalent of Social Security) card to apply.  Also, Lee Papa has been overpaying for his insurance for TWO YEARS, because if you leave the country for over six months, you don’t have to keep paying.  Something for him to take care of later.  It rains.  Hurray!  There’s baseball.  Unfortunately, it’s a Yankees game.  Ugh.  I make known my distaste for them, but am informed that all Yankees games are televised in Taiwan, as everyone is cheering for Chien-Ming Wang.  Hurray for the Taiwanese pitcher, BUT HE’S OUT UNTIL SEPTEMBER!  Give it a rest, people.  But maybe this means I’ll get to watch the All-Star Game.

Ok, that’s it for the time being, because Lee Mama has found old pictures!  Hurray!