So busy

Will be finished with summer classes this week. Exhausting. Maybe I'll finally have some time to update this blog.

Honesty in reporting

Poor guy; all he wants is to get back to the city, enjoy a latte at Starbucks, and not have to worry about bugs flying in his mouth.

New job and new apartment

Man, I really must keep this more up-to-date.

Briefly, I got a job in Taoyuan City, which is about an hour from where I'm staying in Zhonghe. I'm moving there this weekend. I'll write more once I have internet service in my apartment, or when I'm at an internet cafe. I'll be busy, though, for the next few days.

Almost surreal

My About Me tag, over there to the right, says that I'm "concentrating on completing the necessary steps to be teaching English in Taiwan by 2008." It looks like that will soon be a reality.

I'll be leaving for Taiwan in early April. Once I'm there I will be following up on interview requests. I'll also be roaming the streets, hurling my CV at any and all possible employers.

As I fill out my visa application, things are feeling surreal. I mean, this is what I've dreamed and planned for the past year, and now it's becoming real. I'm indebted to my family and friends here who have supported me in my endeavor. I'm also grateful for my new friends Marc & Zenny, who are graciously providing me a soft-landing in Taiwan. Also Jim, whom I met while in TESOL training in San Francisco, and whom I'm looking forward to seeing again once he returns to Taipei in the summer.

I plan to use this blog as a means of sharing with friends and family my experiences while living and working on "The Beautiful Island." Hopefully I'll become more regular with my postings!

Happy Intercalary Day

There's something fascinating to me about leap year. Calendars represent the passage of time, and time is one of those constant universal laws. Yet, we seem to bend that law every four years by adding a day. I envy those who have birthdays on this rare date. Well, rare for some families, anyway.

With much help from a new friend in Taiwan, I updated my CV yesterday and will be sending it to a potential employer today. I slapped on a suit and tie and had a local friend snap photos of me lookin' "pro-feshinul." There's the result; you can judge for yourself whether I look businesslike or serial killer-ish. I still haven't heard from Hess, so next week I'll start sending out my CV in earnest. My hope is that I have a job before I leave for Taiwan, but I may end up having to go there and pound the pavement.

Although I managed to stay healthy all winter, this morning I woke up with a head cold...bummer. I hope I'm feeling better for Amanda's birthday tomorrow. Ugh, I'm feeling crappier by the moment, gonna go lie down.

Back home in Humboldt

I saw this strange fruit the other day at Safeway. It's called a Buddha's Hand, and is similar to a large lemon, but without much of a pulp. It's used primarily for its zest, and for perfuming homes and closets in Asia. I was tempted to buy one as a table decoration until I found out the price: $14.95/lb! I'll wait until I'm in Asia.

Life is rolling along. I completed the TESOL course on Februrary 1st. We got together at a nearby bar (The Cellar) and celebrated our graduation. As soon as I can figure out who took photos and how to get a hold of them, I'll post some here. I gained a great deal of valuable teaching skills which I'm looking forward to implementing (as soon as I can get a job!)

BTW, The Celler is next door to a relaxing coffee house, and guess who we saw there? Yep, Mrs. Kevin Bacon.

When Theresa and Amanda picked me up from San Francisco, they surprised me with a trip to the Winchester Mansion in San José. I've wanted to see that crazy lady's house since I was 9 years old, when I first saw pictures of it on my Viewmaster. Let me tell you, after seeing the bizarre house that Nutty Sarah designed herself, you'll feel proud of any poorly designed dog houses you've built in the past.

By the way, I got the Amazon problem resolved. I have reservations about ever buying anything through them myself.

I sent my application to Hess on Monday. They wrote back on Tuesday saying that they're going over applications this month for the June 1st intake, and will be contacting me shortly regarding an interview. I'm very excited, but trying not to get my hopes too far inflated.

I came upon contact information for two people with whom I performed the Rocky Horror show back in the early '80s. Greg played Riff-Raff, and now is a very popular morning DJ in Las Vegas. Bonnie, who played Janet, has a MySpace page, but not too much information on it. I wrote to them both yesterday; we'll see if I get any replies.

The spellcheck isn't working on Blogger for some reason, so just ignore my typos.