Dry Air and Alcohol

I finally have a dehumidifier! The amount of water it takes out of my room is ridiculously large. Where was all of that water before? And the constant sound of the water dripping makes me have to pee. But now, I hope that it will control the mold growing on my walls, and already my clothes and bed feel a lot drier and warmer.

Tomorrow is Jen’s birthday. We’re planning to have cake and wine at our place, just a small gathering. But the real party is Friday night at a bar. Called A Bar. Clever, isn’t it? I haven’t been, but I hear they have a cat there, and I’m just deathly allergic to them. We’ll see if I make it out alive this weekend.

GMAT Macaroni Chickens

I took the diagnostic practice test for the GMAT this weekend. It was brutal. I missed about half of the questions on both sections, and I didn’t even attempt the essay. At least now I know where I stand and what I need to work on. Geometry, anyone?

I also had Macaroni Grill yesterday, and it was the most amazing and realistic Italian food I’ve had in Taiwan. Tomatoes & Mozzarella and Chicken Milano: it was heaven. The food was probably a bit overpriced, but if they have to import bowtie pasta, then I am willing to pay for the deliciousness.

But I’ll leave you with this picture – there’s something familiar about it.. but not quite right.. Oh, Asia and your counterfeit products.

Tomb-Sweeping Day

Yesterday was Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day. I woke up at 7am to get my daily shot at the hospital, then I hopped into a car with my aunt and uncle to drive to the cemetery. We had to park in a school’s parking lot and take a government-sanctioned service bus to the actual cemetery.


The tombs are mostly located on the side of the mountains, since there is no space in the city for them. We went to sweep my grandfather’s tomb on my dad’s side of the family. Apparently, when I get married, I cannot be buried with the family under my maiden name. I would have to be buried with my future husband’s side because my person would belong to their family’s. We weeded the area around the tomb, swept the dirt and dust, and laid out paper money, food, and prayed with joss sticks (similar to incense).


The day was cloudy, but the rain did not fall. I did learn that you cannot open umbrellas in the cemetery because the ghosts or spirits could hitch a ride in them and go home with you. I hope pictures are different. I just wanted to share the culture, so I hope my ancestors will understand.

E. Coli: Free with Purchase

Fun Fact: I’m not surprised that E. Coli would be more common in a country where night markets and road-side vendors (like people selling meat in the back of a truck in an alley: true story) and the lack of health sanitation requirements are prevalent. Unlike the locals that have eaten that kind of food their entire lives and nonetheless built up some sort of immunity to most strains, I unfortunately have not.

I have been suffering from a urinary tract infection for the past month or so, and it just refuses to go away. I’ve taken three different kinds of oral antibiotics to which, I found out today, my personal strain of E. Coli is resistant. The doctor has now moved me onto antibiotic injections, so now I get to go get shots twice a day for the next five days. Every shot feels like Dwayne Johnson punched me in the arm hard. So after five days, my left arm will probaby be useless.

Word to the Wise: Check out the places you eat at, and try to limit the night market food to once in awhile. Remember the cutting boards. Think of how much stuff has been on them and how often they do not wash them. *shudder* I think after all of this is finally over, my longtime fascination with the night market will be over and done.

April Fools!

Sorry readers, I did not mean to scare you. It was just a harmless prank. Forgive me? :)

I tried pranking my kids today with a lame pop quiz, but they got me back by saying that they put grasshoppers in my bag. I got really freaked out and threatened to take away all of their points if they didn’t tell me the truth about the grasshoppers. I do not find insects funny.

Anyways, the Taipei Times printed this really funny article how the two pandas that Taiwan recently received from China as a gift were not really pandas, but instead they were brown forest bears dyed black and white. It totally made my day.