Lying on a Beach Perpetrating a Tan

I have 6 minutes left in my internet time and my emails are caught up on! I havent been reading anyones posts, but I hope you are all well!!

I am having the most amazing holiday of my life. My skin in bronzed and my soul is glowing.

I have had a week on my own where I hung out with locals, had a wee holiday romance, snorkelled, partied, sunbathed, read and basked in the fact it was all mine!

A couple days ago my friends started trickeling in...there are 5 here so far and 3 more are coming tomorrow. I have bonded with people that I wasnt so close with before, and now have holiday memories to share with people. I have got to introduce my Taiwan friends with my Philippine friends. I feel like a local showing them around and having people call out hello to me!!

I am smiling!!

Catch Up

The cruel irony that the busier I am, the less time I have to post but the more I have to post about...Such is life! Sorry I have been neglectful in my comments too...I will be back soon, I promise!

Last week started a bit bleak. Moms left on Saturday night and I was coming off a feeling shitty for sitting up till 6 am with ex drunk talking about shit we don't need to be talking about anymore. I had a good visit with my mom, and I always hate saying goodbye to her. You would think that by my age I would quit crying when I say goodbye to her, but I still do.

Sunday night flatmate and I lamented about the 'boy situation' or lack thereof, in Taiwan. Tuesday, at work, "Jake" showed up on MSN. Things got a bit heated. Far to heated for being at school!! He is looking into flights to come see me in July, then take a holiday together. I am thinking Vietnam. He wants to "web cam" with me. I hesitate....I get shy about really odd things. Like talking dirty-can't do it. It feels contrived and fake. As he said, I am a doer not a talker. I flirt, and allude, but don't ask me to SAY IT!! But Yay!! I might actually get sex...In like 6 months...But at least there is a glimmer of hope!

Speaking of hope, I woke up at about 4 am last Thursday night and realized that I leave for the Philippines in like a week. (3 more sleeps now). I am so excited. Leah can't afford to join me, so I am doing another solo trip. YAY!!! I am going to head straight down to Boracay. The beach, a book, my iriver and a bikini...2 weeks HURRAH!! I have a friend of a friend lives in Manila so I will spend a couple days at the end exploring a new city. I am so excited. I sooo need this.

Last weekend was great too! Friday night I went out for drinks with a boy. We ended up having a 'smoke' and sitting up till all hours of the morning waxing philosophical. I was tired and hung over on Saturday, but smiling! Leah couldn't help but note the contrast to last Saturday when I sat up till all hours with ex and was miserable the next day.

Saturday noon we got on a train and headed up to Ali-shan; a mountain famous for its sunrise. It was amazing. We went through tropical, sub-tropical and temperate forests on the windy steam train up. At the top there were cedar trees reminiscent of home. Sunday morning we dragged our asses out of bed to sprint up the 5km to the summit to watch the sun break over the mountains. We were above the cloudline and the mist hung on the trees. I never thought Taiwan could be so picturesque!

So that is the catch up...I have tags to fulfill, and random rants that I have been dictating in my head. I am off on Saturday, but I will try to give you at least one update from paradise!! HURRAH!!!

New Years ME ME

2005, Year in Review

Two Parts of Your Heritage
1. Dutch
2. Romanian

Two Things That Scare You
1. mediocrity
2. having regrets

Two fears you overcame
1. being a single gal in Taiwan
2. ??

Two of Your Everyday Essentials
1. oxygen
2. water

Two things you are Wearing Right Now
1. mascara
2. birkenstock boots

Two things you wore too much this year
1. flip flops
2. denim skirt

This year's Favorite Bands or Musical Artists
1. The Killers
2. Audioslave

Two Things You Want in a Relationship
1. Passion
2. Trust

Two of your favorite Movies of the Year
1. The Endless Garden
2. Harry Potter

Best movies of all time
1. Shawshank's Redemption
2. Dazed and Confused

Two things You hate
1. Selfishness
2. boredom

Two Physical Things that Appeal to You
1. Broad shoulders
2. height

Two of Your Favorite Hobbies
1. reading
2. walking PaoPao

Two things you learned this year
1. Love isn't always enough
2. It is good to be vulnerable

Two Accomplishments You are Proud of
1. Walking away when I realized I wasnt getting what I needed-even though it hurt like hell!
2. Being able to get by with what Chinese I know

Two Things You Want Really Badly
1. a job that pays well, but doesnt have politics and dynamics that make me want to bring physical harm to those around me
2. to travel most of asia before I leave here

Two place you went this year.
1.Thailand (twice)
2. Canada

Two Places You Want to go on Vacation
1. Philippines
2. Vientnam

Two Things You Want to Do Before You Die
1. have a family
2. have a career

Two Ways that you are a Stereotypical Example of your Gender
1. Love of the other gender
2. Love of pretty sparkly things

Two things that make you stand out.
1. my laugh
2. 'the girls'

Two Things You Normally Wouldn't Admit
1. I have an ear cleaning addiction
2. I spend most of my alone time naked, or nearly so

Two Goals for the New Year
1. Finish my onine course
2. Improve my Chinese

If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged....if you want!

For Auld Lang Syne

It was a perfect New Years Eve; it started with a bit of shopping with a new friend (read "cute boy") for a long over needed new phone. I stettled on a used one in a reliable, durable!! Model. The moms had gone shopping with a Taiwanese friend and Leah had to work. We all arrived home around the same time and decided to take a nap. After a good hour nap we all got up and headed to the hairwash place. This place had mention in my Taiwan top ten! There are five beds in a row, each with a sink on the end of it. You lie down and enjoy 30-40 minutes of scalp massage bliss.

We met up with some friends at a restaurant that should be on Taiwan's top ten list. Miles and miles of buffet, but not just your fried food (although there is a whole table of tempura fried food), vinegar salad variety! On your table are these little numbered tags. You drop them at different stations and they bring to your table freshly prepared sushi, steak, lobster, fish....The list goes on. And the piece de resistance; all you can drink bar. Granted it was only wine and premixed cocktails, but some smooth talking to the bartender got as a ever full jug of wine on our table and spiked gin cocktails!

The friends were heading out to a bar, so moms, leah, lisa and I were going to do a bit of singing at KTV, but there was a 4 hour wait!! We just came home, opened a bottle of champagne and went on to the roof to countdown and watch the fireworks. It was great. We played some madgab, had some good chats, ignored the texts imploring us to come out. A favorite-apparently ex was there with new girl; "I don't mean to be mean, but you are SO much prettier than she is" Always nice to have good friends. It shouldn't matter to me, and it doesn't really, I don't want to be with him, and I want him to be happy. But some really childish, selfish part of me feels really good that all our friends, male and female, have said it. Poor girl! I got a text from him too, just after midnight, just saying happy new year.

We crawled into bed about three and are now having a lazy morning! I am taking mom for for breakfast at a traditional Taiwanese breakfast place (Taiwan Top 10) , taking Pao Pao for a walk, and then GoldClass Narnia (again with the top 10). It is the perfect new years weekend. I spent time with good friends and family, ate good food, pampered myself, got tipsy but managed to avoid the whole social scene! I am so happy to have not been out there. It has been a few weeks and it will be two more. I needed the break! I want going out to be something I look forward to, not another weekend with social obligations...

Enough rambling, time for breakfast. I hope that you had a New Years that felt just as wonderful! Here is to a brand New Year!!!