As Kitty mentioned to me in an e-mail (along with the final edit of Ch. 7), "the natives are getting restless." So I'll be posting Ch. 7 on Wednesday evening (which would be Thursday morning for me, Taiwan time ... hehe) It's the longest chapter so far, and I hope everyone enjoys it. It'll be up on my own web site first, and then probably a day or so later on my GA shared member hosting page.

I'm also working on a (long) short story right now. I'm about halfway finished (I think). I'm already way ahead on chapters of SOOTB, so it won't interfere with that, so y'all don't need to get on the next flight to Taipei and lynch me or anything. I've actually been really surprised at all of the positive feedback I've gotten on the story. I never thought it would get much exposure, let alone receive so many e-mails, PMs, and even a certain someone mention it in his blog TWICE! hehe {hi nick!}

My thesis editor sent back the final two chapters of my thesis today, so now I'm just waiting to get my research proposal back from her, as well as a couple of quotes that I needed her to help me translate into Chinese. It's not a good idea to translate from your first language into your second language, so I only do Chinese to English translation ... otherwise it won't look like a native speaker wrote it, and my thesis has to be totally professional and all. I'm hoping to get it published in book form at some point, maybe later this year ... unfortunately it will be in Chinese, so I doubt any of y'all will be reading it ... *sigh*

I have a stomach ache right now because I ate too much. I should move back to the States for the simple reason that I've put on too much weight since I came to Taiwan ... mostly because of eating so much damn white rice, which is chock full of carbohydrates. I'm not "fat" or anything ... I've always been really thin, but I've definitely put on a few pounds and it shows, mostly in my tummy because I'm lazy when it comes to exercising. But once all of this crap with the Ph.D. entrance exam and stuff is over, I've vowed to lose about 10 lbs., start exercising more (I should really get back into martial arts training ... I don't want all the time I spent into getting a second-degree black belt go to waste), and I *really* need to quit smoking. Ugh!

Another thing I need to get back into is my Zen Buddhist training. Mentally and spiritually, I really need it. I need to get myself centered and balanced, especially since I'm going to have to be making some really important decisions within the next few months about where my future is going ... either working in academia here in Taiwan or going back to the States to work in the private sector. Two very different paths. As people can probably guess from my nickname, Buddhism has been a particularly influential philosophy in my life, and it's actually going to play a major part in the new short story I'm working on. I'm curious to see if I get the same kind of reaction I've been getting from SOOTB.

Oh, and for anyone who isn't happy, but wants to learn how to be happy (I think very few people are truly "happy" ... I think we just content ourselves with "ordinary unhappiness"), I strongly suggest reading the Dalai Lama's book "The Art of Happiness" ... he knows what it takes to put you on the path to finding true happiness ... one day I'll get around to trying to put what he says into practice ... haha