New Roomies
I love, repeat LOVE, my new digs.
The move started around 4 pm today, when Ping, Cherry, and Zhuo went with me to Dr. Yu's office. Ping had a presentation that he was to discuss with Cherry, Zhuo, and Dr. Yu, while I was just there to get the key and bolt (hahaha, that wasn't even intentional). I was planning on waiting until around 8 or 9 tonight to move, but Miss Wu told me I could start whenever I wanted, so I just figured it would be easier to commence sooner than later.
Three loads later, I had just about everything out of my room. There is still a small amount of trash remaining and some knick-knacks, but I plan on picking those up during my check-out tomorrow. After moving my bags into John and Alice's apartment, I made a dash for the gym and thought maybe I would beat them home, as Miss Wu said they normally leave the office around 7:30 or 8.
On the way back I stopped by one my very usual self-serve dinner places, ate quickly, purchased tomorrow's breakfast, and headed back. I was hoping to arrive before them so I didn't interrupt anything, but today was one of the rarer days in which they weren't at lab dining with a guest. Alice heard me at the door (actually there are two doors, and I have quite a time undoing the first, so it was obvious someone was there) and let me in. I walked in, water-bottle in one hand, towel on my shoulder, and ipod on my arm, holding two cups of cereal and glistening with sweat. Most excellent impression, Shannon.
I took my shoes off and Alice and John invited me to join them for dinner. They were actually sitting on the couch and finishing up, so it was much more casual than I had feared and I hadn't too badly interrupted anything. They proceeded to show me the kitchen and fridge, inviting me to help myself to anything I desired to eat. While I was incredibly self-conscious about my appearance and how I must have smelled (hint: probably not great), we started chatting incredibly quickly, and before I knew it I was sitting in a chair over a table with them chomping down on watermelon, Asian fruit, and honey cake.
As I sucked down the fabulously sweet watermelon, the Yus asked me what I have seen, and John commenced with asking me if I had taken the subway.
Hah, have I taken the subway? Have I taken the subway???
I've only been to just about every possible stop and puked in Kunyang...but I didn't give those details, at least not immediately.
With each turn of conversation, I revealed one more place I had been, and they were both totally floored. I had to say I took great amusement in this. It all started with me mentioning to John that I had been to Shilin, and he was quite impressed. All the while I was thinking, 'You know nothing yet.' After that it came out that I had been to two additional night amrkets as well at Longshan and Gongguan.
I later revealed that yes, I had been to the memorial halls and the typical touristy places. John asked if I had been to Taipei 101, and I said yes, 2 or 3 times, actually. And Ximending. And Wulai, Xindian, Yingge, Muzha, etc. etc. etc.
Somewhere in the middle of our conversation, Alice exlaimed, 'Yingge! I haven't even been to Yingge yet!'
The other things that I had forgotten to mention at first were gradually revealed because I was reminded by certain topics that arose. I remembered going to Tianmu and watching the baseball game and the zoo, which seems forever ago. Alice asked if I had visited 228 Peace Memorial Park and the 228 Museum, at which I said, 'But of course.' I also said I had visited the Taiwan Museum in the same park, and they said they took their kids there when they visited last week and saw a very interesting exhibit on the aboriginal and Spanish history.
Alice explained the history and about Santo Domingo, at which point I told her I had visited Danshui and visited Fort Santo Domingo, as well as Huwei Fort, Fisherman's Wharf, and Lover's Bridge.
John exclaimed that I had seen pretty much everything, and I took great pride in that.
Before this all came out, John mentioned that a bunch of scholars were visiting the weekend before I leave, and a tour bus had been booked for them if I would like to join them. I was curious, and said sure, that would be lovely.
About 20 minutes later, Alice told John I probably wouldn't need it, and that 'hell, she could lead the tour if she wanted to.'
That made me laugh.
After that, John took great pleasure in showing me the art around the living room, and I must say I took great pleasure in listening to the stories. It seems every piece had some kind of background, which is how I think it should be. Certain pieces were purchased during trips to Europe. He showed me pictures of La Jolla Shores from 1907 and a picture of The Cove from 1917. It was unbelievable to see. There are also two framed pictures above the television that resemble abstract art. They both challenged me to guess what it was, and I looked closer. They were beautiful designs, but I found the texture to be interesting.
'This is going to sound crazy,' I said. 'But honestly, it looks like rock.'
John was shocked. Alice exclaimed, 'Wow!' They briefly appeared as I had just unraveled the centuries-old Rumpelstiltskin mystery.
'That's absolutely right,' John said. He proceeded to tell me how they were slices of natural rocks found in Taiwan, and that many of them were native to the eastern coast of Hualien. They are absolutely beautiful pieces, and they look completely like abstract paintings. The colors are amazing, too, because I would never have guessed that pink, green, white, and black could exist in the patterns they do. I'll try to take pictures and post so you can see for yourselves.
I also inquired about another piece in the living room, which appeared to be a bronzen door of some type. Apparently it is a panel that was present in the hospital in which John's father worked in Tai-tsung. His relatives had uncovered it in a basement or attic a few years ago and notified John of its presence, who got it professionally restored by stripping artificial paint to expose the natural wood frame and metal artwork. It was at that point I found out his grandfather received his medical degree from Tokyo, his father was a doctor, and all his siblings (five brothers) were in the medical industry. The odd one out is a pharmacist, and all the rest are physicians. The Yus have two children: one daughter who is an M.D. and just finished her endocrinology residency and is going to Harvard next year, and a son who is an M.D.-PhD in neurology, also at Harvard.
Cue inferiority complex.
Following our chats, Alice proceeded to do some article review and I went on to my long-awaited shower, and now I'm sitting in the living room looking at a big squarish box that when activated by a small rectangular thing seems to display different pictures with different sounds. I know I've seen one of these before, perhaps in another life, or in a distant dream....
But the only thing that I can understand is CNN, and Bush is currently preaching as usual about Iraq. 'These are challenging times,' he says.
Really??? Well why didn't you say so??? That changes everything!
I'm off to bed, in my new queen bed with plush covers and three ginormous pillows. Beats the thin sheets that come off every night on the plastic-covered twin, I must say.
The move started around 4 pm today, when Ping, Cherry, and Zhuo went with me to Dr. Yu's office. Ping had a presentation that he was to discuss with Cherry, Zhuo, and Dr. Yu, while I was just there to get the key and bolt (hahaha, that wasn't even intentional). I was planning on waiting until around 8 or 9 tonight to move, but Miss Wu told me I could start whenever I wanted, so I just figured it would be easier to commence sooner than later.
Three loads later, I had just about everything out of my room. There is still a small amount of trash remaining and some knick-knacks, but I plan on picking those up during my check-out tomorrow. After moving my bags into John and Alice's apartment, I made a dash for the gym and thought maybe I would beat them home, as Miss Wu said they normally leave the office around 7:30 or 8.
On the way back I stopped by one my very usual self-serve dinner places, ate quickly, purchased tomorrow's breakfast, and headed back. I was hoping to arrive before them so I didn't interrupt anything, but today was one of the rarer days in which they weren't at lab dining with a guest. Alice heard me at the door (actually there are two doors, and I have quite a time undoing the first, so it was obvious someone was there) and let me in. I walked in, water-bottle in one hand, towel on my shoulder, and ipod on my arm, holding two cups of cereal and glistening with sweat. Most excellent impression, Shannon.
I took my shoes off and Alice and John invited me to join them for dinner. They were actually sitting on the couch and finishing up, so it was much more casual than I had feared and I hadn't too badly interrupted anything. They proceeded to show me the kitchen and fridge, inviting me to help myself to anything I desired to eat. While I was incredibly self-conscious about my appearance and how I must have smelled (hint: probably not great), we started chatting incredibly quickly, and before I knew it I was sitting in a chair over a table with them chomping down on watermelon, Asian fruit, and honey cake.
As I sucked down the fabulously sweet watermelon, the Yus asked me what I have seen, and John commenced with asking me if I had taken the subway.
Hah, have I taken the subway? Have I taken the subway???
I've only been to just about every possible stop and puked in Kunyang...but I didn't give those details, at least not immediately.
With each turn of conversation, I revealed one more place I had been, and they were both totally floored. I had to say I took great amusement in this. It all started with me mentioning to John that I had been to Shilin, and he was quite impressed. All the while I was thinking, 'You know nothing yet.' After that it came out that I had been to two additional night amrkets as well at Longshan and Gongguan.
I later revealed that yes, I had been to the memorial halls and the typical touristy places. John asked if I had been to Taipei 101, and I said yes, 2 or 3 times, actually. And Ximending. And Wulai, Xindian, Yingge, Muzha, etc. etc. etc.
Somewhere in the middle of our conversation, Alice exlaimed, 'Yingge! I haven't even been to Yingge yet!'
The other things that I had forgotten to mention at first were gradually revealed because I was reminded by certain topics that arose. I remembered going to Tianmu and watching the baseball game and the zoo, which seems forever ago. Alice asked if I had visited 228 Peace Memorial Park and the 228 Museum, at which I said, 'But of course.' I also said I had visited the Taiwan Museum in the same park, and they said they took their kids there when they visited last week and saw a very interesting exhibit on the aboriginal and Spanish history.
Alice explained the history and about Santo Domingo, at which point I told her I had visited Danshui and visited Fort Santo Domingo, as well as Huwei Fort, Fisherman's Wharf, and Lover's Bridge.
John exclaimed that I had seen pretty much everything, and I took great pride in that.
Before this all came out, John mentioned that a bunch of scholars were visiting the weekend before I leave, and a tour bus had been booked for them if I would like to join them. I was curious, and said sure, that would be lovely.
About 20 minutes later, Alice told John I probably wouldn't need it, and that 'hell, she could lead the tour if she wanted to.'
That made me laugh.
After that, John took great pleasure in showing me the art around the living room, and I must say I took great pleasure in listening to the stories. It seems every piece had some kind of background, which is how I think it should be. Certain pieces were purchased during trips to Europe. He showed me pictures of La Jolla Shores from 1907 and a picture of The Cove from 1917. It was unbelievable to see. There are also two framed pictures above the television that resemble abstract art. They both challenged me to guess what it was, and I looked closer. They were beautiful designs, but I found the texture to be interesting.
'This is going to sound crazy,' I said. 'But honestly, it looks like rock.'
John was shocked. Alice exclaimed, 'Wow!' They briefly appeared as I had just unraveled the centuries-old Rumpelstiltskin mystery.
'That's absolutely right,' John said. He proceeded to tell me how they were slices of natural rocks found in Taiwan, and that many of them were native to the eastern coast of Hualien. They are absolutely beautiful pieces, and they look completely like abstract paintings. The colors are amazing, too, because I would never have guessed that pink, green, white, and black could exist in the patterns they do. I'll try to take pictures and post so you can see for yourselves.
I also inquired about another piece in the living room, which appeared to be a bronzen door of some type. Apparently it is a panel that was present in the hospital in which John's father worked in Tai-tsung. His relatives had uncovered it in a basement or attic a few years ago and notified John of its presence, who got it professionally restored by stripping artificial paint to expose the natural wood frame and metal artwork. It was at that point I found out his grandfather received his medical degree from Tokyo, his father was a doctor, and all his siblings (five brothers) were in the medical industry. The odd one out is a pharmacist, and all the rest are physicians. The Yus have two children: one daughter who is an M.D. and just finished her endocrinology residency and is going to Harvard next year, and a son who is an M.D.-PhD in neurology, also at Harvard.
Cue inferiority complex.
Following our chats, Alice proceeded to do some article review and I went on to my long-awaited shower, and now I'm sitting in the living room looking at a big squarish box that when activated by a small rectangular thing seems to display different pictures with different sounds. I know I've seen one of these before, perhaps in another life, or in a distant dream....
But the only thing that I can understand is CNN, and Bush is currently preaching as usual about Iraq. 'These are challenging times,' he says.
Really??? Well why didn't you say so??? That changes everything!
I'm off to bed, in my new queen bed with plush covers and three ginormous pillows. Beats the thin sheets that come off every night on the plastic-covered twin, I must say.
posted by Shannon @ 10:09 PM
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