I stopped by the Land Bank nearby the Chungking Mansions Taipei this morning to open a new account for my upcoming job. I have three bank accounts now, since every company deposits its salaries into a different bank, it seems. It’s not a big deal to open an account here. I also stopped by the nearest post office to get a post office box. I would rather not deal with the apartment’s own mailbox downstairs as it is always stuffed with junk mail.

At lunch Mindcrime came over and we went to lunch at Au Bon Pain, where it’s easy to find people to mock. Usually it’s pretentious business types, but today an MTV crew was there filming something, so the place was filled with mockery targets as well as the kind of slutty girls Mindcrime likes to gawk at, as well as a VJ I didn’t recognize as I don’t watch MTV, or even TV for that matter. One of the slutty girls kept patting her own ass as she walked, as if to make sure it was still there.

The weather is gray and dull, so you know my mood. Dean‘s uncle has sent him another tape full of the sci-fi goodness that is Enterprise, so we are going to have to have an Enterprise Appreciation Party at his home some time soon. Now I just need to stop forgetting to watch Farscape every Monday night.

I think Fast Typing Girl is pissed off at me. Actually, I think she’s pissed off at everyone around here; she never seems to talk to anyone, instead spending all of her time writing on Hotmail. I edited her “proof of internship” letter yesterday, in which she claimed to be an account executive, and made it a bit closer to the truth, although I think I showed remarkable restraint by not inserting the phrase “didn’t do anything at all the whole time except write exceptionally long emails and go to the bathroom” in there. I know, I’m mellowing in my old age.

Tonight I am going to pick up the first part of my advance for my book. It’s not a lot of money, but it’s significant nonetheless. Also, I could use even that small amount. Something tells me that moving is not going to be cheap. Last night several people came over to look at my room, which was annoying, so I went out to drink tea with Mindcrime rather than submit myself to the constant knocking-and-peering in, not to mention the “Oh, your Chinese is so good!” remarks. At one point I would have said thanks, but these days I usually either ignore it or say something incredibly arrogant like “Yeah, so?”

I know that’s not very polite, but fuck, I’m not that mellow. Not yet, anyway.

I’m feeling a bit worried about the move these days. Last night I went over to pay the woman who is moving out of the apartment for some of her furniture. As I ascended the stairs and walked into the hallway, I was accosted by the most foul cloud of cooking gas I’d encountered there yet. It was truly noxious, and I was tempted to call the whole thing off, and instead find a nice apartment way out in the country somewhere rather than suffer in that kind of environment for the sake of my own apartment in a convenient location.

Speaking of which, Doyce emailed me earlier asking what was up with the new place and the new job. It occurred to me that if he is confused, others might be too, so here it is:

———- Original Message ———————————-

From: “Doyce”

Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 10:50:20 -0600

>You’re moving and switching from full-time to part-time? Is the place much cheaper? Is the part-time pay much better? Nosy minds want to know 🙂

My response, more or less:

The place is a bit cheaper. It’s 8k a month instead of the 10k I’m paying now. It’s also larger and closer to an MRT station, there’s no deposit, and it would be my own place, not shared with anyone. It also has a kitchen, and I could have a cat there.

TC

Met up with Dean, Mindcrime and HG Janice at Juke for brunch, as we tend to do on Sundays. Janice was “saving” her pancakes for later and didn’t believe me when I said they were better hot. I couldn’t stand the sight of Juke’s wonderful pancakes getting cold without being eaten, so I ordered one pancake to eat hot, just to reassure myself that there was still order in the universe.

Afterwards we went over to Nanchang St. to look at furniture for Mindcrime’s new lair. I came quite close to falling asleep in a leather office chair Monty Burns would be proud of as Janice bartered with the shopowner. The rain outside felt like a bunch of schoolkids spitting on us as we walked to Grandma Nitti’s for Oreo shakes. A guy from the states named Jeremy had called earlier, wondering if I’d like a look at his Canon XL1, so we went over to the luxurious Howard Suites to meet up with him. The camera was quite nice, but when in 16:9 mode it scrunched up the viewfinder instead of giving a true representation of the shot. I hope there’s some way to fix that; otherwise, how are you going to be able to frame the shot? I’ll have to see how the Sony handles that particular problem before I make my decision on a camera.

Since Taijiquan practice was cancelled, we went over to Zhongxiao E. Road for milk tea and fried tofyu with honey sauce, and then walked up to Fnac to see if the Lord of the Rings DVD was on sale there yet. It wasn’t. I am going to wait for the extended version in any case. Then it was home to computer gaming and sleep, another weekend gone.

Today is my last Monday at this job. I start at my new job next Monday, and I should be at least partially moved in to my new place by then as well. Since I am considering getting a Mac for digital video editing, I walked over to the computer expo at the Taipei World Trade Center Complex today during my lunch break. On my way I passed through the parking lot in front of the Taipei101 building and through the scooter parking lot. The pedestrian path was almost blocked by illegally parked scooters. There was a narrow path, but as I approached a couple of girls parked their scooter there, effectively cutting the way off. I climbed over a couple of scooters and then theirs, but as I did so my dark side took control of my hand, which grabbed the throttle of the scooter with the two girls on it, and instantly all three of us were off on a two-second joyride into the nearest parked scooter. “What are you doing?!” one of the girls screamed at me.

“What am I doing? What are you doing?” I retorted. The girls started to argue but I wasn’t having any of it. “This is a pedestrian through-way!” I continued. “You’re not even supposed to park here!” Then I stormed off, hoping that the girls weren’t presenters at the computer show. I could just imagine them reviling me in public in front of thousands of people as they cried out “That guy there tried to kill us just now!” on a flashing Twinbridge stage in between karaoke numbers.

Luckily, I didn’t hear any such accusations as I crept into the show, using the fake press ID I’d snagged with an old namecard. I made a beeline for the Apple display, located in the center of the show. I picked up a Powerbook and almost dropped it when I realized that the the thing’s titanium shell was nearly hot enough to fry an egg. The Ibooks were much cooler, but didn’t have the functions I would need for digital editing. I would like to have something to write on when I’m travelling, but I’m not sure the ultra-expensive Powerbook would fit the bill. I like my eggs over hard, and it’s not quite hot enough for that. I might just get a desktop G4 933 and then save up for an inexpensive PC notebook just for writing. Still, it would be nice to have a Powerbook. Mindcrime is currently planning how many bank heists he needs to pull off to get one. Maybe I can borrow his when his sorry ass gets thrown in jail. Hmmm.

I don’t know why people begin posts with “I woke up this morning.” I realize that I’m guilty of this, but really, is it necessary? Am I typing in my sleep? Am I hovering about somewhere having an out-of-body experience? No, I woke up this morning.

It was a nice day today so I took the MRT to the Fuxinggang Station, near the Political Warfare College where all the Army XO’s graduate. I’d been through there on the back of Harry’s scooter once when we went to a temple in the valley behind it, but I’d never really walked around the area. I really enjoy walking around places I’ve never been before, exploring them. The weather made it an imperative in today’s case.

I was the only one on the train to get off at that stop, and the station itself was empty except for a couple of bored staff members. A bare brick apartment complex stood uncompleted just outside the entrance. It’s been like that for years and years. I walked across the main road, stopping by a 7-Eleven for a snack, and then up the hill beyond. I was surprised to find several abandoned houses just up the hill. It looked like an ideal place, quiet, near mountains with a wonderful view of the Taipei basin, yet the houses had obviously been abandoned for decades, with trees growing through the roofs and broken-down walls. I wonder how much they would charge for rent.

I continued on to find a promotion center for a new apartment complex going up. They obviously had some trouble with the dictionary, for while the Chinese name of the complex is “Aman Journey”, the English on all the banners is “Aman Junkie“. Several rich-looking couples were looking around inside, oblivious to the ridiculous name and startled at my guffaws coming from the parking lot. I felt particularly sorry for the poor guy sentenced to standing out in the street waving a flag with “Aman Junkie” on it. I decided not to ask him for a hit. Instead I walked westwards towards the Zhongyi Station, encountering a crazy kid who wanted to borrow money from me. “Why should I lend money to you?” I asked, stupidly.

“Because you’re a foreigner,” he said.

“Good-bye,” I replied. The area has a surprisingly rural feeling. Lots of old people sitting out in wicker chairs, enjoying the sun. I passed a small temple dedicated to a large tree, several small factories and old traditional houses that looked actually lived in. One old device looked decidedly anthropomorphic. Then I passed the Xingtian Temple, a huge complex, so I popped in for a look. I hadn’t been to a temple in a while, so I lingered, enjoying the smells and sounds and making proper obeisance to the local gods. It was clean, pleasant and peaceful. People were lined up to be blessed by women dressed in blue, who rotated between that duty and praying. As I walked out, I noticed a bright rainbow over downtown Taipei, and all of the mothers in the vicinity pointed it out to their children.

Taijiquan practice was at 6, or so I thought, so I took the MRT back early. Turns out it was at 7, so I got a biandang and took my time eating it before class. During class we did some form work and then a lot of Tuishou. Hopefully I’m getting better at that; the teacher says so, anyway. I’m so used to it being on Sunday I keep thinking I have work tomorrow. Nice to realize that I don’t. It’s also nice to realize that this week is my last week. Kind of wierd, that, but in a good way. I’m looking forward to the change.

Oh, and there’s a new picture in the photos section.

The weather today is downright bizarre. Light, fluffy clouds graced an otherwise brilliant blue sky as I mounted my motorcycle and took off for work, but before I could get to the first intersection I found myself at the mercy of a sudden, unrelenting downpour.

Cursing, I rode back to my building, parked, went upstairs to put away my helmet, and came down again to find the brilliant weather had returned. I debated going up and getting my helmet again, but it seemed like too much trouble, and besides, the weather was obviously in a mischievous mood, so I hailed a cab instead. Later I was glad I did, as we passed through several patches of heavy rain on the way in.

At lunch it appeared to be pouring down, but then suddenly it was clear skies again. The clouds were really hustling across the sky. It was like Taipei was being visited by the ghost of a typhoon. Confused pedestrians cowered their way through the combination of wind, rain and bright sunlight. The strange weather continues to echo my mood, or perhaps it is the other way around.

I had an atrocious chicken pita for lunch in the middle of yet another movie set. Do directors realize that everything they film at Warner Village looks like everything else filmed at Warner Village? This was a genuine movie, but the exceedingly model-like women I saw being made up lead me to believe that it couldn’t be a very good one. We’ll see, I suppose.

After lunch I went over to Zhuangjing St. to buy lottery tickets. I don’t normally waste my limited financial resources on those things, but I have such extraordinarily bad luck that Kirk implored me to buy at least three tickets, just so he would know which numbers not to buy, thus vastly improving his own chances. Expensive cars were parked all around the lotto center, and obviously well-off people were lined up inside buying simply ridiculous amounts of lottery tickets. Tens of thousands of dollars worth, in fact. I suppose it takes money to make money, but surely even the stock market will give you better chances than the frickin’ lottery.

An uncertain, gray day today, with fleeting bits o’ blue in the sky. It’s almost alarming how much the weather influences my mood. Doesn’t bode well for me living in the city, I suppose, but then again, if I were to be in a more natural environment, perhaps I would be even more at the mercy of the elements. Unless I had a really nice place.

Speaking of places, if not really nice ones, I finally met the landlord of the Chungking Mansions Taipei last night. Or rather, I met his son, who handles all the rent-affiliated matters. He seemed to have no problem with me moving in, or with my questions about re-installing the air conditioner or adsl transferral. Well, the only problem he had was that he didn’t know much, but besides that, he didn’t seem to have any problem. The girl who lives there now showed me the mailbox downstairs, and I decided I probably shouldn’t avoid using it if I can. There’s a post office next door; that might be a better bet. The mailbox is on the first floor and is consequently stuffed with all kinds of junk mail. I think it might be better if I limit my approach to the building to the southwestern side, as that seems to be the cleanest and quietest portion. The absolute worst thing about the place is that everyone’s cooking fans empty out into the hallway, which makes for a rather noxious experience during mealtimes. I can handle the age of the place and the stairs, but I might have to seal the door better to keep the cooking odors out.

All the time I was there, of course, I was wondering if it is the right thing to do, moving there instead of finding a place outside the city, but it seems that, even outside of the city (along the MRT lines, of course) it’s hard to find an independent apartment to call one’s own for a reasonable amount of money. This is a nasty place, but the location is convenient and it’s cheap. Actually, I’m rather surprised, due to the great location, that more people haven’t moved in and rennovated the little apartments into nice places. I suppose you could say the same thing about the original Chungking Mansions, though.

In any case, I’ll give it a shot. If it turns out to be intolerable, I will start looking for a place outside the city, which shouldn’t be too much of a problem as there is no deposit to lose. I’m not quite ready for the hermetically sealed life just yet.

I met up with Mindcrime, Graham and Dean last night at My Other Place. They laughed when I ordered fried rice and poked fun at my Amazon.com choices. Silly pictures were taken and much hilarity was shared before we said our goodnights.