Christmas Comes to Justen

WE HAVE INTERNET.

New House Has No Internet....or Furniture

So we've finally bought and moved into the new house. I love the way the sunlight comes through the kitchen window and lights everything up. However, I don't like how we only have 2 pieces of furniture and how the heating goes on and off. Also how there is no internet. But there are no regrets - only compromises!

Sitting now in the North East Seattle Public Library, sucking up their free internet like a parasite.

It was odd spending Christmas without Dad and Geoffrey, the Christmas tree or Christmas anything. It's just me and Mom and the empty house. It wasn't depressing, just odd, like was just any other day. I suppose you could argue the HOUSE was the Christmas gift, and I should embrace it in the spirit of Christmas. And you'd be right - but a house isn't a home when half of your family isn't there, even if it was quite a costly house. Without your family, Christmas is mainly just a "pretty" event. But it's still a good idea.

Dad and Geoffrey did set up the Christmas tree at home - which I saw when I called them with Skype.

Jerks.

Merry Christmas everyone!

In Which Mom and I Walk A Lot

So - we found a house Mom wants and it looks like we are the top bidders. I'm so excited about having a house of our own, I don't care we won't have most of the furniture.

Today was errands-day, we were walking a lot.

We walked past a zoo hidden in a park.

Lisa decided to show us around the big malls in downtown Seattle.

Passed a merry-go-round and a lonely-looking lady

on our way to the mall.

These guys were singing in the mall.

Christmas comes to Seattle.

I Saw This And Now I Am Happy

friggin' love House

This song also makes me happy:

Epic Mom-ness

Mom: "Does this light get any brighter?"

Me: "No, that's the brightest it gets."

Mom: "Well, it's one of these turn-switches, it can get brighter or darker."

Me: "I know, but it's at its brightest now."

Mom: "Well, why don't you turn it brighter?"

Me: "I can't - I turned it on this morning and I know that it's as bright as it gets, now."

Mom: "Well, why don't you try?"

Me: "..........."  (walks across the room and turns the light dark to light)

Mom: "Oh, so that's as bright as it gets?"

Me: "..........Yes."

Mom: "Oh, well, I didn't understand you."

Let the House-Hunting Begin

I'm in Seattle. Am reminded everything about flying that I don't like:

1) People who recline their chairs ALL the way back - who sit in front of me

2) Inedible food

3) Turbulence which causes passengers to chuck half-digested inedible food

4) Some how ending up with everyone's pillows at your feet (I found 4)

Here is a house Mom decided she WASN'T going to buy:

I guess we will have to find a house she WILL buy.

Bathing Apes

I can't believe some one OK-ed this design, but I'm glad they did.

Thursday Bomb

Woahhhhhh - suddenly I'm supposed to leave on Thursday for Seattle and never, ever, come back?!

Yeah, leaving early to help Mom with the house hunting.

On the other hand, I find this old song rather "nice" - gotta love the bagpipe solo:

Rockin' Geoff

Geoffrey in his band, The Back Pages, rocked out at the Christmas Bazaar. Very proud. I think he's looks like Coldplay - that's a compliment, right?

Tarantula

Something I drew while waiting for ......something. Probably the bus, I forget what.

Also, some good, old-fashioned rocking out.

MY MILKSHAKE BRINGS

Maaaaaaaa  MILKSHAKE BRINGS ALL THE BOYS TO THE YAAAARD,

AND THEY'RE LIKE IT'S -

Look at my face - so smug.

And rightly so.

I PASSED MY DRIVING TEST!!!

Oh, and I hate that song.

BBC Merlin

Amanda introduced me to a show by BBC Drama: MERLIN. Now I can't stop watching it which is terrible because I have a driver's test tomorrow.

I knew the legend of King Arthur, but BBC took some artistic liberties in writing the script, so I was really surprised when "Merlin" showed up on screen, since I was expecting this:

Source: http://www.crystalinks.com/merlinsmile.jpg

Instead, I got this:

 

Source: http://img.listal.com/image/364813/180full-colin-morgan.jpg

Well, not that I'm complaining :)

Mildly Terrified

They're called CSS.

I watched their video and was mildly terrified and very intrigued. Not that that's unusual. Now I can't stop listening to their songs.




The thing about their MV is that it's so indie, it feels sloppy. It's so bad, it's kind of amazingly good. Ahh...CSS - it's like you understand me. At the same time I'm really embarrassed to admit that I like them.

Living the Dream

I drove out onto the REAL ROAD this morning. My instructor barely said a word, even when I felt like I was too close to the motorcycle to my left. I was beeped at, honked at, and the guy on the motorcycle gave me a dirty look - so I guess this morning was pretty good preparation for life in general.

Oh, and my top speed was 60 km/h. !!!!

I didn't even realise how fast I was going until I checked the speedometer, in the back of my head, I was reviewing some childhood memories and thought to myself, I've had a good life, but I'd like to live just a bit longer. So, I didn't go much faster than that.

My test is on the 25th and 26th - so I'm getting a bit nervous.


After my brush with death this morning, I went home and enjoyed some comedy from Ricky Gervais, one of my favorite comedians. He laughs like a trumpet. Love it.




I'm so proud of myself for figuring out how to post videos now.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

Gervais has a blog and podcast........Click Here

My Driving Instructor - a Bed Time Story with Justen

So far, driving is mostly fun - although I'm struggling with the forward/reverse S-shape lanes. 

I like driving, but I'm not that fond of my instructor. He's not a bad guy; he was never meant to be a teacher. That, and the fact that he has one annoying habit.

This is the best approximation to my instructor's face that I could find.

Earring included.

Namely, speaking his own dialect of English. Now, I'm not faulting him for having bad English - Mom teaches English, so I understand how most people have a tough time learning the language. But I do blame him for insisting on using English, when I made it clear that I could understand him perfectly in Chinese. This is kind of hazardous because now I have to decipher what he's saying AND concentrate on driving a car.

I have no idea why he doesn't just use Chinese.

Very confusing.

It was like when McCain announced his running-mate. 

On that particular Thursday, I knew I was going to finally conquer the S-lane.

Then I got stuck the a corner backing out.

 

Like this. But between two curving bits of concrete.

"B-but - how? -" I thought I was following instructions perfectly; I  thought I had timed that turn down to the last millisecond. I had no idea how I screwed up that backwards turn. If I went 1 metre backwards or forwards, the car was going to get scratched. My head is about to explode with pressure.

Before I can ask how I should get the car back on safe ground, my instructor wags his finger at me and starts going off:

"Ohhh! You meka wrong.

You loo 32 poin!

In test, no secca chan (no 2nd chance).

You unnasan (understand)?

You unnasan?

Can't do another affa wrong.

I think you no unnasan me; you unnasan?

You loo 32 poin. You turna too early!

You unnasan? You meka wrong again. This is 32 poin.

No secca chan!!

You unnasan?"

(And no, I'm not mocking the fact that he's Chinese.

That's retarded. I'm half Chinese.)

My mind is going a thousand miles a second (that's a lot) - I'm trying to figure out what went wrong, how I get out of here, and now my brain has to translate something that's half Chinese, half English.

I ask, "I'm sorry, but can we go back to Chinese?"

He heard, "Your barely-understandable brand of English is making my ears bleed."

He opens his mouth.

And a fist comes out to punch me in the face:

"Ms. Wang, you must understand that when you came

to register for classes that the desk workers judged you by

your appearance. They didn't know you could speak Chinese.

You must be sympathetic to the situation, because it is what is it.

It's because of your appearance that they paired you with

the English-speaking instructor on staff."

What, him?

"I used to have a Fillappina student and she couldn't

understand Chinese, so I had to use English. You have to

be more sympathetic, Ms. Wang...."

(Please remember that during all of this, WE ARE STILL STUCK)

I let him cool down, and of course I apologize to him with lots of sympathetic smiling. Finally, he turns, and looking straight forward he said, in Chinese, "3/4 left turn in slow reverse."

And like magic we became unstuck. We didn't speak much during the rest of the lesson. I was too terrified and he was too embarrassed.

That's the end of the story.

A story of coming of age, of exotic dialects, of bruised egos and hilarious tantrums.

A story that will last through the ages, I think.

The galaxy may implode, but my story will last.

I've learned that the most innocent words can sometimes bring the most insult.

But I know deep, deep, DEEP down, my instructor is a lovely man. I'm pretty sure.

Dad's Birthday Bike Trip

YOU KNEW THIS WAS COMING ~

What better way to celebrate the day of my father's birth than biking around a lot??

Photos?       Of course.       LOTS.





Dad's Super-duper Biketastic Birthdaytrip

Speed of tiger!

Form of Snake!

Speed of Hipppo! (ok, I gotta stop this)

Me and Geoffrey, waiting for the green light.

I CAN'T BELIEVE WE FOUND WATER BUFFALO

Graves. Stylish graves.

Man retrieving his remote-controlled plane.

Nearby:   water buffalo

An odd monument.

We didn't meet Gollum.

CUZ WE WERE TOO FAST.

Perfect weather. Perfect sunburns.

Proof that we live in Taipei (it's the Taipei 101 Building).

Happy Birthday, Dad!!

DRIVEN

Drove. Past tense.

Am tired. Present tense.

Driving requires so much concentration, but I think I did pretty well. I was scheduled to do 3 lessons today and got through 5. Head light settings, wind shield wiping speeds, Park, Neutral, Drive, Second, First, gas, brake, backwards and forwards and turning, judging distance. So many rules to remember for the test! Later, Dad let me drive around the parking lot, practicing tight corners - I can't tell if there's any improvement, because I can't bloody see how close I am to things. But overall, still pretty exciting!!!!


Oh.

These guys.

 The Bloody Beetroots

They're a techno group. Pretty rad. Yes, that's right, RAD. Check them out.

Favorite song:    Mac Mac

Also, they can jump very high.

Got Driving Lessons?

Have YOU registered to take driving lessons TOMORROW??

Who's laughing now, my American friends?

Actually, seeing as I'm almost 20, this isn't terribly impressive; most people I know got their license when they were 16, 17 or 18. But I AM excited :DDDDD

 How I must appear to my American friends.

Only draw back will be having to bike to the driving course every morning, and leave the house by 6:30.

Change of Name?

Just a quick note about the name of this blog - since I'm not going to Northfield/St. Olaf anymore, will I change the name of the blog?

NOPE.


Too much hassle, and you'd all have to remember a different web address, etc etc etc...

I'll just keep it as a precautionary tale.

Comptuer Fixed + Windows 7

Ahoy thar~

Computer has been down for the last 2 or 3 days - tried to fix it, so I gave it to Dad to figure out. Now I have Windows 7??? That apparently was the solution.

Now my computer is faster and prettier.

I've been doing as much biking as I can in the last few days, but during yesterday and this morning we were attacked by viscous rain, so I haven't been out much. I read that cyclists train for at least 7 ~ 10 hours a week - so that might be a goal for me.

I had a minor accident yesterday, walking out of our kitchen. Mom had left the door to the overhead cabinet open and it was just tall enough that I didn't see it.

BANG - onions flew everywhere, I was on the ground. Afterwards, I found that I had ripped out the lower hinge of that cabinet door. That's what you get for messing with "Jay"!

Here's what I looked like after the scrape:

 

 

Anyways, hope this rain lifts up!

Shilin Cultural Fair

Oh yeah, went to a Cultural Fair near my house on Saturday, where my old Select Choir performed. There were other acts too.

Wow, 2 posts in one day?! I just have too much time on my hands.

Taiwanese version of Batman.

These girls are much braver than I.

Not sure what culture this is from.

Justin Lu.

Back in Taipei

Arrived home safely on Saturday morning, Taipei time. It was 25'C. Perfect.

 I told Dad that I wasn't really that THRILLED to go back home. I mean, I wasn't sad, I was just open to the idea of sticking around Seattle for a day or two more, if it was up to me. But now that I'm back, I know I was crazy.

Home is great. Home is beautiful. I've already been on a bike ride to Dan Shui ( ) this morning, but the best thing has to be my bed. Having been sleeping on a couch or on the floor for the past month and a half, I appreciate my bed so much more. I never knew it was so comfortable - and I've been sleeping better than ever. Every morning I jump out of bed, doing backflips, beacuse my bed feels SO FREAKIN AWESOME. Heeeeeellllz yeah.

It feels like this.

So now that I'm back, now what? My driver lisence, for one. I was laughed at (gently) in the States for not having one, even though I was 18, so now it's revenge time - haha, no I'm not that petty. Seriously, though, I realised how important it is to have/ be able to drive in the States, after biking around Seattle for 3 weeks. That, and all previous experiences of driving anything (bikes, golf carts, our SUV, horses) makes me think I'm going to love driving cars.

Now I gotta get me a gator. Saw one on my great-uncle's dairy farm - nearly had a heart attack, it looked like so much fun. I wasn't allowed to steer :(  - but I did ride in it a little.

A Gator looks exactly like this. Chopper included.

Ok, left over pictures of my last day in Seattle. Of course, Dad and I went bike riding.

 

 

My Last Day in LaGrange

Well, the last day in LaGrange, at my grandmother's, has been a whirlwind of activities. Once again, photos tell the best stories.

OH PHOTO DUMMMP ~

EW - oh, that's me, working in the garage on the painting. See the sketches on the bottom right corner? The rag around my shoulders helped moped up the mess of paints, and I wore it like a scarf. I finished putting my portfolio together on Friday night at 2am. I like living on the RAZOR'S EDGE OF LIFE - ARRRR!

Going to visit the art school in Atlanta (SCAD) was a truly humbling experience. I've never been in awe of something so much. I realise how lazy I've been, settling and being satisfied with the second-best. The school was virtually vibrating with the intensity of spirit and mind - perhaps it was the wakeup call I needed. I owe my aunt big time, for convincing me to go.

So cool - reminds me of the Wolf Spirit from the Japanese movie Monoke Hime. A shout out from those who've seen it - Hey- yooo!

Um, ok - this is a SELF PORTRAIT. The kids took a picture of their profiles and then a straight on shot and made these. This makes you understand the 3-Dness of faces a whole different way.

From a series about MAPS - from the illustration department. Just look at the details and choice of color - he got it just right.

I WANT THESE - I can't stress that enough. :D

At the end of the visit, I was overwhelmed by the richness of projects - I guess I have something to shoot for.

Dad thoroughly enjoyed the trip, too - but little did he know that there was surprise waiting for him back at my aunt's.

Happy Birthday! Well, it they were 2 weeks early, but my aunt, uncle and grandmother wanted to celebrate it with him, while he was in Georgia.

Cats were there to welcome us.

You may not be able to tell, but they're trying to look bored.

Dinner was steak (expertly grilled by my uncle - left), potatoes, and salad. Chocolate Kahula cake to follow. I'M SO THANKFUL I'M NOT DIABETIC - it was so good. My lovley aunt is pictured, above, right. Oh, and there's my finished painting in the background - my aunt and uncle were good enough to give it much-needed lighting.

It was about as perfect an end to our time in LaGrange, Georgia as it could get. I always feel a bit sad when I leave LaGrange, because, even though it's quite different from Taipei, it has incomparable people (aunt/uncle/grandmother/cousins) and is a truly peaceful place.

Goodbye, LaGrange - see you some other year!