The Fastest Elevator In the World

     I went to Taipei 101 with my son yesterday. The weather was slightly cooler than usual, probably because of the two typhoons that blew through the region. It was nice to just spend the afternoon with my son.

     We started the day walking through Warner Village (not called that now actually; I don't know what its new name is). There were a lot of people there, mostly teenagers interested in the comic book exhibition going on at the nearby world trade center. My son was quite happy because we took the bus there. The 912, which we can take from a bus stop near our home,  runs from Shenkeng to the Xin Yi district. It is only about a 15 minute ride now that the new tunnel is open; it's very convenient. We walked along the foot bridge that connects Warner village to the department store New York New York and then to Taipei 101. We then took the 'fastest elevator in the world' to the observation deck on the 89th floor. It only took about 45 seconds. The adult ticket was NT$350 (about 10 us dollars) and Matthew went for free. Matthew seemed to have a good time. The view was spectacular. 

     Afterwards we went to McDonald's, the only place my son actually gets excited about going to other than the zoo. 

     When my wife came home from work (yes, she works on Saturdays) She asked Matthew what he did. The only thing that he said was that he went to McDonald's. It wasn't until further questioning that he admitted to also "ridding in an elevator."

     I am going to cut this short because I have to get up early for some 'quality time' with Justin and Dennis in the morning. 

Summer Return

     I am back (again) in Taiwan. It is really hot. I wish I was still at the beach. It was a nice 20 to 25 degrees in Ventura, I sometimes actually felt cold. Taiwan on the other hand is a sauna. 

     I have been looking on Tealit for work, but I haven't yet seen anything that I find attractive. I guess as September approaches I will be less and less picky. On a good note, Linda at Shi Hsin has managed to get me another class so that now I will have four classes when the semester begins. This means that I won't have to teach as much at a buxiban when I do find a new job. 

     My good friend Mathias was in Taiwan for a few days and my wife wanted me to help her talk to him about selling her company's product in Europe and Thailand. I had to act as interpreter and I have to say it was very difficult. People talk in long sentences and don't usually give you time to translate. Also, more often than not everyone wants to talk at the same time. It was very frustrating at times. I now truly understand how things get lost in translation. I am sure not looking forward to doing that again anytime soon. 

     I am writing this on my new MacBook Pro and I have to say that I am very happy with it. Most people give me strange looks when I tell them that bought a Mac. They don't really understand what it is like. I still have my windows machine but I have hardly touched it since I came back. I am sure I will need it for some tasks (like games) but so far I haven't missed it much. Of course I could always try out Boot Camp and then I won't ever have to use it again. 

     The EBS crew (and alumni) are going out to Odeons next week. I am really looking forward to that. I miss them all very much, especially my students. That's it for now.