Poagao's Journal

Absolutely Not Your Monkey

Jul 28 2003

I’m filling in at my old company for a couple of w…

I’m filling in at my old company for a couple of weeks, starting today. It was fun to be back in the old office, though I’m on a different, relatively Vampire-free floor now. They’re still using Windows 98 on tiny monitors, and Lotus Notes is still the old, crashy version, but it’s only temporary so I don’t mind too much. Lot of people I knew from before have left, but there are still some familiar faces here and there. As I was walking past the half-finished Taipei101 mall on my way to the MRT station afterwards I realized that the area is looking more and more like a slice of a typical US city these days.

The shoot on Saturday went pretty well. Basic stuff, but fun to do as we’re all friends. I got to see Darrell’s new digs, which are really nice, right along the riverside park. He said I could move into his old place, and I’m considering it, but of course this has prompted an intense reconnoitering of the local rental market over the last couple of days. I’ve come across a few nice apartments as well as some awful ones. It’s funny how blatant some of the agents can be. We’d be standing in an apartment that is literally shaking with traffic noise, and the agent would say something like “Don’t you love how quiet it is?”

Another interesting thing is the widespread belief that single people don’t need entire apartments. Everyone says “Oh, you want just a single room, right?” However, I’ve switched my focus this time from single rooms, which tend to come furnished and with trash disposal services and guards at the main doorway, to looking for entire apartments in older buildings. Oftentimes when I call up someone asking about an apartment with 2 or 3 rooms, they ask how many people would be living there. When I tell them it’s just me, they tend to say it’s ‘not suitable’. So far I haven’t had anyone turn me down upon seeing me in person and discovering that I’m not ethnically Chinese, which is good. Looking for a place is far easier with a mobile phone, but it still takes a lot of walking, especially as many people simply rent places out themselves without bothering with a realtor. Still, it’s a good opportunity to come across neat little areas of town I’ve never come across before.

The Chinese journal is back up thanks to Wayne’s help in the comments section. Now if I could only get the Chinese journal archives working…

The Lady X Wrap Party went well. People arrived in waves, necessitating multiple viewings of the VCD Dean made for everyone. He did a really impressive job on the jacket design. We sat around a munched on things and talked smack about the other episodes until it was time to catch the last train home. I really need to get the DVD version done soon.

posted by Poagao at 8:13 am  

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