So, Christmas was alright, I suppose. I haven't really celebrated Christmas for the past 5 years or so, since I was overseas for so long. It definitely isn't the same as when I was a kid. I got a new watch, which is pretty cool, a sweater, a kitchen table, and that's about it. My grandmother came in from out of town, and it was nice to see her again. The nicest part, though, was having yesterday off work. I wish I'd had more time off, especially since the situation with this Farsi translation pr
Have you ever just had one of *those* days? Ugh ... today was one of those. Every problem or annoying situation that could have come up at work did ... and we had one really annoying problem with a Farsi translation job that we're working on. My boss underestimated the word count by 2,000 words, and promised a much faster turnaround time than was at all reasonable. It's not exactly easy to get Farsi translators, and the ones that we do have live on the other side of the world, so you have to cou
I kind of forgot what cold weather was like since I spent the last 10 years in Taiwan and Florida. I'm thinking I should probably invest in some gloves and a scarf. I like the cold weather as long as I don't have to be out in it for very long. Fortunately, the heat in my apartment works well. I wish I could say the same for my office.
Last night was our holiday party at work. It was pretty fun. We had our "Secret Holiday Friend" gift exchange, and somehow no one got my name, so I was the o
My cats are absolutely incorrigible, and I'm about at my wits' end. Every morning when I wake up, and every evening when I get home from work, they have somehow managed to open all of the lower level cabinets in the kitchen and strewn everything (including cat food) all over the kitchen floor. I can't leave toilet paper or paper towels around anywhere, because they shred them and scatter the shreds all over my apartment. They also tip over the trash can and strew the contents (including kitty li
So, I went to see "Borat" last night ... that has to be one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. I'm a big fan of "Da Ali G Show," and always thought it was pretty outrageous, but this really took the cake. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but ... whew, it was TOTALLY off the chain! I also ran into my boss at this little Thai restaurant near the movie theater which was kind of creepy, but it's all good.
One of my best friends from high school is crashing on my li
Well, I finally made it to my new apartment! It was quite an ordeal, with lots and lots of problems, but I'm pretty much all settled in and have my internet service now. My cable/internet provider was a pain in the ass to deal with, because the previous tenant here never cancelled their account before moving out, and they had an outstanding balance, so they wouldn't set up my account. That was totally stupid, because it's not like that was my problem, and I shouldn't be made to suffer for some o
I'm counting down the days until I can move out of here and get my own place. It's only three weeks away, and I called some apartment places today at work and will go check them out on Saturday. It'll be sooo nice to have my own place again and won't have to listen to my parents complaining about every little nonsensical thing. Since all I brought back from overseas with me were boxes and boxes of books, I'll have to buy all new furniture. I love buying furniture and decorating the places where
It's now officially Fall, my favorite season. My third week of work went pretty well. Our boss wanted us to get out by 4 o'clock on Friday, but we got a big French and Italian translation job right when we were getting ready to go, and the client wanted it early next week, so we had to find translators who could do it and it took a loooong time.
I thought I'd learned my lesson a long time ago about falling for straight guys, but this guy I work with, we'll call him 'Diego,' is just too hot f
Well, Vance mentioned that I haven't done a blog in a while, so I figured maybe I should write something. Work is going pretty good. We had a pot luck yesterday, and I stuffed myself on all kinds of good food. I brought a pasta salad with feta cheese, pepperoni, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes. They usually do that kind of thing about once a month, and we'll be having a chili cook-off next month. I LOVE chili, so that should be pretty fun.
I bought Elton John's new album, The Captain and the K
Well, today was my first day at my new job. The commute is about an hour each way, which really sucks, but I only have to tough it out for a month or two until I can get my own place. That should cut the commute down to 20-30 minutes. The work is actually quite complicated and there's tons of stuff to remember, a complex computer system and series of databases to learn, etc. I'm very familiar with the translation industry and linguistics (which is important for quality control and just knowing h
I just got a call from the translation company I interviewed at about a month ago, the first interview I went on. They called me last week to tell me that they were about ready to bring me on board, but just needed to check out my references. Today, they called me with the official offer to be their new project manager, and will be paying me $40K a year, plus benefits, free parking, etc., etc. I'll be starting next Monday, and I'm VERY relieved to finally have something. It's not what I want to
Yikes, it's been a long time since I've updated this ...
Anyway, so I've been watching the Little League World Series. The final game was today, and Team USA (from Columbus, GA) defeated the team from Kawaguchi, Japan, with a final score of 2-1. I was pulling for the team from Oregon to win (since that's where Kitty lives! ), but they were defeated in the US Championship game. There were a couple really outstanding players from both teams, and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw them in th
I had a phone interview today with a large translation firm. They're looking for a Project Manager. The interview went well, and they asked me to go in on Tuesday afternoon for an in-person interview. The pay isn't that great, and it would be a lot of work, but it might be a good place to start, and the benefits are pretty good. If I get the job, I'd have to go through a government background check for a security clearance, since about 50% of their work is government contracts. I shouldn't have
Elton John's new album, "The Captain & The Kid," is coming out in September, and the first single, "The Bridge," is now available on EltonJohn.com -- you have to be a member of the official fanclub to go to that part of the site, though. It's an interesting choice for a single, since the track is only Elton's vocals and piano, no other instrumentation. It's a beautiful song, with very touching lyrics, but not very commercial. The whole album is a concept album, the sequel to his 1975 "Captai
This has been quite an interesting week. Unfortunately, no requests for interviews yet, although I have gotten a couple minor nibbles. I'll have to wait and see if any of those pan out. In better news, the other day, one of my high school classmates (who I haven't talked to in about 10 years) called, looking for my parents, to try to find out my current address so they could send me info on our 10 year H.S. reunion, which is coming up this fall. My parents weren't home, though, so she got me ...
Last night, Rigel from GA treated me to a wonderful meal at an Ethiopian restaurant. It was my first time eating Ethiopian food, even though some people may have thought I had, since I wrote about that in a previous chapter of SOOTB. The actual experience was pretty much as I described it. The food was spicy, which I love, and the Sam Adams beer washed everything down nicely. Rigel and Mrs. Rigel were also excellent dinner companions, and I enjoyed meeting them and chatting. So, thank you for a
Now into week two of my return Stateside ... still nothing ... it sucks when everyone tells you how incredibly marketable you are and will have no trouble finding a job ... and now they say that I probably won't hear from anyone for a few weeks ... at least ... Well, I don't like sitting around ... it totally bites.
But anyway, I've posted a picture of my new car ... the only good thing to come out of this move so far.
I got my new karate uniform in the mail yesterday, along with the
So, I've now been back in the States for a week. It's been quite an eye-opening experience in some ways, very boring and frustrating in others. Not much has been going on the past few days, although I went and bought a suit today ... Calvin Klein, dark gray, much more conservative than I'd like. I was thinking more along the lines of a flashy Versace suit, maybe like a fireman's red vinyl suit ... but it was explained to me that that wouldn't go over so well in a job interview ...
The plan
Well, there were about three days of peace at home until today, and then I got into a huge fight with my parents. I really can't stand them sometimes ... okay, a lot of the time, actually. They always try to play these little power/control games with me and talk down to me like I'm still a teenager. It REALLY pisses me off. So, I REALLY need to get a job as soon as possible so I can get the hell out of here before I go nuts. I've submitted my resume to as many sites and companies that I can thin
Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm back in the States, safe and sound. My wireless connection isn't working yet, but my parents' friend is coming by on Saturday morning to check it out, and hopefully it'll be ok by then. In the meantime, I'm using my parents' computer. I just would rather use mine, because it has all of the Chinese software and stuff I need for my "work," as well as the WS_FTP software I use for updates and all of my files and stuff. Anyway, hopeufully it will be resolved
It is sooo friggin' HOT here today ... UGH!
Anyway, I'm leaving in less than two days, so this will be my last blog entry until I get back to the States. I knew Taiwan wouldn't let me go without a fight, and today was like the Battle Royale. So, I went to school to pick up my last installment of scholarship money ... I get to the cashier's office, and they didn't have any cash!!! Hello?!?! Grrr ... fortunately, I bitched at them long enough and told them I wasn't leaving until they gave m
One week from right now, I'll be on a big ass plane, flying over a big ass ocean ... I just hope I don't have a stomach bug on the plane like I did when I flew back to the States from mainland China back in '98 ... that was a horrible experience, and one that I shall not go into details about!
Anyway, today had to be one of the most tiring days of my life, plus it is FRIGGIN' HOT here in Taiwan right now. Today was my last day of work, and after work, all of the staff in our division went
I can see very well
There's a boat on the reef with a broken back
And I can see it very well
There's a joke
And I know it very well
It's one of those that I told you long ago
Take my word, I'm a madman, don't you know ...
Fabulous song! *wipes sweat away from forehead* Whew! I had a busy morning! I had a doctor's appointment at 9 AM, dentist at 11 AM, my final trip to the post office, and I had to stop by the vet to get the date changed on my forms for the cats. So, anyway, when I w
I pitched a bunch of stuff last night, and my apartment is looking emptier and emptier. I also made what was probably my last trip to the supermarket here ... I can safely say that that is one thing I won't miss about Taiwan. But there are a lot of things that I will miss. Despite my seemingly constant bitching and complaining, this place has been my home for over five years, and it's what is familiar to me. So much has changed in America since I've been gone, it's going to take some time to adj
A little over two weeks to go before I head back to the States. It's kind of hard to believe that I've been here for over five years ... it really doesn't seem like it's been that long. I've still got a bunch of stuff to get done to prepare for my departure, some people I need to say goodbye to, and stuff like that. Fortunately, I got an early start on shipping boxes home (which my parents have told me have already started arriving) and getting stuff taken care of for my cats. I still have a bun
