THINGS I HATE ABOUT TAIWAN:
1. crazy drivers - (traffic lights are only for "reference", if there's no lane, make your own.)
2. never being allowed to go anywhere by myself
3. not understand 70% of everything
4. missing my friends
5. how no one ever says excuse me
6. hanging out with my family

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT TAIWAN:
1. night markets
2. buying cute stuff everywhere
3. cheap yummy food
4. working house (a way cute crate & barrel/stationary/accessory store)
5. ice monster (a yummerific shaved ice with fruit place)
6. hanging out with my family

today i am pooped. i don't know if it's the rain, or the fact that i didn't really sleep all that well last night, or maybe some sort of weird reverse or delayed jet lag, but i'm exhausted. i've had a pretty good time for the past couple days, so yay. oh and it's my mom's birthday today, except my sister is busy with her other family (who's mom of the family's birthday is also today... weird huh?) so we're celebrating tomorrow. ordinarily i might be perturbed .. but right now i'm just whatever. i'm back in taipei at my grandma's, so it's just been tons of going out and eating and a little bit of watching movies on cable whenever i can snag the remote. i totally lost track of the days the other day and i couldn't figure out if it was wednesday or thursday, but it turns out it was friday. maybe it's because i can't use my tv shows to gauge what day it is. hah. my sister says that it happens to her too sometimes. mostly just been hanging out with my grandma and my dad. and this weekend my aunt and uncle wanted to take us out since that was the only time they could really spend with us. i've done a LOT of shopping and bought a TON of stuff.. i have no idea how i'm going to be able to bring it al back. but it's so cute, and i just keep buying more! i have like 7 or so bags right now sitting next to me on top of my suitcase... i'm not going to even try to pack it now.

saturday we went to tua lin st (i think) to eat this famou beef noddle soup place. it's was pretty yummy, but super crowded. it was weird to me to be sitting at a table with strangers while you're trying to have lunch and people just coming and going all the time to get customers in and out. my dad said he never wanted to go back because he hated feeling rushed like the manager wanted him to finish in 5 minutes and get out. then we went shopping afterwards to yuan ling st. and then this mall, but it was 7 floors of computer/techno stuff, so we left. i found out today that there's a 12 story shopping center right next to it... we totally missed it. dang. ate at this seafood/shrimp restaurant that had this really pretty lantern lit bridge. and watching my sister freak out by the fish tanks in the front of the restaurant is always a good time :P that night we went to shih lin night market and my aunt, uncle and grandma joined us, and i invited maurene's friend jen along too. haha.. my mom kept asking her all kinds of questions about teaching english in taiwan. but she said it's hard work, and it's super hard because of all the lesson planning and stuff you have to do (as i'm sure sakura is well aware of), so if you don't really want to be a teacher, it's kind of not so fun. hehe.. that was good news to me. because i think if i hadn't gotten a job, i would have seriously considered staying this time around. i bargained for some really good stuff, and ate these awesome steamed dumpling things that i was totally waiting for, i bought one of those match shaped lighter things that nicole's mom bought that i thought were totally cute. so i am excited for that. i'm really hoping they don't confiscate it at the airport though. i swear i won't do anything bad!

today, my grandma's brother treated our family to lunch at this restaurant, on the 12th floor of the shopping center. it was soooo crowded. you'd think a tiny island like taiwan wouldn't be crowded, but i've never seen so many people around. if you thought malls in america during christmastime were bad.. it's seriously nothing compared to this. it's funny though because the store is prepared... they have roped off lines for the elevators, designated by which floor you are going to. and then have elevator attendants, coming, during and leaving. it's like a ride at disneyland, they direct your every move. i only saw levels 1 and 12, but it was a madhouse. like yesterday, i went to most crowded stationary store ever.. it was insane. i'm glad i'm taller than a lot of people here, but it was insane... you couldn't even really get through the aisles. and there were workers standing guard i guess making sure no one stole anything.. but really how could you see? my dad was like "this is a fire hazard, i'm going to shut this place down" hah.. what a nut. afterwards, my grand-uncle, who is a tour guide to japanase tourists apparently took us to "ice monster" which is like the best shaved ice i've ever had. it was so good that i ate it even though it was raining! and it's not like regular taiwanese shaved ice, but like shaved ice, topped with fruit (they had strawberries, kiwi, or mango - but only in the summer, boo. ) and then topped with cremated milk and other stuff, like mango ice cream. they have other vareties with red beans, and taro and other junk. i just got strawberries with mango ice cream.. it was so good. well until my dad who said he didn't want any started deciding he wanted some, but then wanted to mix it with his hot red bean and yam soup (which i'm not the biggest fan of). it kind of got ruined. but it was really good before then.

i totally want to post pictures of all this stuff i'm talking about, because of course i took pictures :P but it'll have to wait. but there's good pictures in the webpage i linked above! :) i want to go back before i leave on wednesday.. is that crazy? haha.. maybe i'll tell my sister i have to take her.. it's sort of near her house. oh and i want to go to the taipei 101 observation deck. it wasn't open yet last june, but i hear it is now. i'll have to go on a day when it's clear. i wish i could have all my friends here and we could all go shopping and sight seeing together because i know they would love it. it would be like chicago, but cheaper, cuter and yummier. part of me wants to stay and part of me wants to go home already. and i feel like this trip has been so much longer than last time, although i think it's the same amount of time. i guess because there is less running around and less busyness. but when i pass the hotels we stayed and today i saw these cars decorated like they were driving the wedding party i get all nostalgic about my sister's wedding and wish it was last june again. but that's another story for another day.

happy birthday to my mommy.

oh and happy belated birthday to jeff, and of course PHILLY. i'm soooooo sorry i didn't say anything earlier.. but i TOTALLY remembered... i just was super busy with the grandpa stuff. and every time after that i kept putting it off thinking of a "good" way to say i'm a shitty friend and forgot about your bday... but there was no "right" way.. so now i just say eff it and happy belated bday. i hope it was awesome, and that you had a great great time. celebrated in true rock star style like you are. :) besides.. i'm sure you don't need me to wish you a happy birthday with your 50 million friends and fans. did you have your own thread at RKOP? hahah. :) *muah*