The Move! (After), or "The Wizard's Apartment"

Ok, so I uploaded most of the "Before" shots of the apartment.

Now you can get to see the changes - all of which were done by myself! - since I found out later that Jo has absolutely NO SENSE of decoration, layout or artistic ambiance...haha. She may be logical and direct, but she left the decorating to me (much to her chagrin).

Oh, wait! Damn, maybe she was just being like Huck and tricking me into decorating the whole place my myself.....hmmm, no I think the rolling eyes and the "Are you SURE you want to put that there?" seemed real enough....

Anyway, at one point, as I was trying to improve the ambiance, she shook her head and said - this place looks like a "Wu po de jia." I said "What??!! A Witch's House? What does THAT mean?" (I was already tired from seemingly non stop decorating and moving). She then said that it has so many things to look at; it is a bit confusing and hectic....and then she casually asked; "wouldn't white walls be better?" To which I think I just stood transfixed, ready to faint or throw up or something drastic from all my hard work....

I told her that a witch's house has a bad connotation to me, and was she sure she wanted to say that? She thought a bit and said - "Well, it kida looks like a room from Harry Potter, like a Wizard's House."

On hearing that, my eyes instantly lit up. I liked the sound of that....(from my D&D gaming and all), but I knew I was just baised against witches, I guess. For me Gandalf's home is a VERY COOL idea and well, let's just say I am trying to get in the spirit of that as we tweak and move things around, as well as buy new things.....course it is hard to find space for that damn hat! So I will take the role of Gandalf and Jo will take the roll of the sterotypical nasty witch....haha

image from here

So, without much further ado, here is our apartment for the time being, until we decide to go on yet another adventure....

The Wizard's (and lil' Witch's) Apartment

Welcome to our lovely home! We promise not to cast too many spells on you!

You have just come in and have closed the door (on your left)....

Here is our Living Room and movie watching area - if you notice the mirror is easily taken off and we watch movies on the blank wall with that projector you see on the table...no NOT the cow thingy.....
I told Jo later that there was at least ONE blank wall....

We have now turned you around to look at the front door you came in through.

Wizard's Home? I dunno, but I think it looks cool enough to be called that....

Here is our Dining Room (where we have actually never had Dinner yet....)
Notice the orange cases of wine for our wedding....Good ol' Yellow Tail Merlot.....

Our updated Kitchen

Our Master Wizard Bedroom with The Comfy Chair (Jo's massage chair)....bliss!

Another shot of our Master Wizard Bedroom

Here is the Lil' Witch herself in our computer room....
sure she looks happy now...prolly since she just finished a spell on me....

Our improved Guest Room

We fixed up the bathroom a lil' bit....

Directly in front of our balcony window

Looking down towards the Art Museum

This is another night balcony view of the tallest building in Taichung (I call it The Fin, since it is elliptical...)

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Well, hope you enjoyed our virtual tour (I am lazy to do a video...). Soon Wendy, Mom and Dad will see this for themselves and maybe YOU will too! haha

Jeff & Jo!

The Move! (Before)

Well, we are set for the time being in our new apartment.

After a semi-frantic search the week after we found out we had to move out of our old apartment, we found 2 apartments that we kind-a liked. Jo and I were hemming and hawing about which one was better (one was quite big, but had no furniture, and the other was very big, but old and had weird furniture), when we found another series of apartments online. We went through them pretty quickly since we did not like them, and we (ok, I) was getting frustrated. It was a Friday and we decided that we wanted to make a decision THAT day.

So it was a choice of one of those two previous places.

However, the agent we saw mentioned off the cuff that there was another one that we may like and when we arrived at the building, I felt disappointed since the building did not exude - the "coolness" factor that I was getting used to in my old Qing Hai apartment.

Anyway, we went up and saw the flat.

It turned out to be the one we are in now. Right when we walked in, both Jo and I had a really good impression and we were impressed that such a nice flat was here. It is definately big enough for us (4 bedrooms / 2 bath with a large living room) and the furniture was not cheap looking and the entire place was PDG (Pretty Damn Good).

So we decided pretty much on the spot and discussed with the landlord about the price (something that Jo is invaluable at) and came to an agreement.

Now all we had to do was move (my damn stuff).

Jo is chuckling now I am sure remembering I mentioned that I "did not have that much stuff." Well, OK I ADMIT IT!

I have WAY too much stuff for even a closet case Pack Rat.....

Drawn by patmckenzie

Yes, we had to move a lot of stuff - all of it worthwhile and valuable - by the way! But after the 700th box, I did have a teeny thought that I could prolly throw or give away some stuff.

Thus, on Dec 30th and Dec 31st, we spent our New Year's Eve celebrations huffing and puffing up loads of boxed junk to our new pad.

A very big THANK YOU to Jo's friend, Peter, who helped us move all of our (my) junk in his large van (he had a date with his girlfriend that night - of course - but did not leave until we were all set - thanx again! - and Jo and I hope your New Year started of well.....haha).

Anyway, here is what our apartment looked like before and after the move.....

BEFORE:

This is the view upon entering our flat - our Living Room.....


This is our maid that we hired.....Oh Sorry! It is Jo....in our Living Room (can you see the Lil Huskies hiding there?) And yes, that is a FAKE smile since she is tired of nagging me for bringing so much stuff.....although that ugly pink closet is hers....hmmmm.


Another view of our Living Room, standing in our Dining Room


Another Living Room View, this time looking at our front door.


Yet more Living Room clutter....



Here is our Dining Room as we saw it that day....with the tiny table....




And here is our Kitchen, which you can see from the Dining Room


Our Master Bedroom


(Future) Computer Room


(Future) Computer Room with books....(so many! Sigh...)


Guest Room

Another shot of the Guest Room


Storage Room (or as we 'joke': the Baby Room!....). And NO, that hair dryer is not ours; it was the previous renters...as if we did not have enough junk!



Self explanitory....one of our bathrooms...



Here are some of my plants that made the hectic journey (only 1 died....)



One the things that is nice is the view here. We can see the mountains on clear days and have a good view of the city, plus we are within just 2 blocks of a nice walking park and Greenway.



All in all, pretty good.

Now the REAL work begins - to make this pile of junk look nice!

Wish us luck!

Jeff & Jo

Pictures of Us

Here is just a little collection of pictures of us.

We just completed organizing our Wedding Slide Show pictures - where we took pictures of our childhood through when we met and mixed them all together in a slide show that will be playing at the Taiwan Wedding here.

I will also try to put it online either here or in another format....since some of the pictures are hilarious....

Anyway, it is time to change our online picture, so we need to put up some other pics here.

Enjoy,

Jeff & Jo

This was taken by my 'sister' Erin whom will also be our video expert for the wedding. Nice shot! (Couldn't you make me look less chubby, tho?? haha)

This was during our trip to AoWanDa National Park (which I will blog about later).

And this one I prolly put up already, but it is a nice one, so here we go again!

Playing Catch-Up - Xmas Morning with Jeff, Jo and the Lil Huskies!

Merry Xmas!

Well, it WAS a merry Xmas a month ago, even though both Jo and I knew we had to move out in a few days. But that did not dampen the spirit that much and we had a great time.

I DID have to explain to Jo that Xmas is my favorite holiday and very important to me, since in Taiwan - even though everyone knows and likes Xmas - many Taiwanese regard it as a Western Invention (it is) and just know the fringes of the holiday like Santa and Xmas tree and all that, but do not really give presents since Chinese New Year is just around the corner and THAT is much more important to Taiwanese than Xmas.

Plus since families give out Hong Bao's (red envelopes filled with money) to their children, buying presents for another holiday is not common.

I will try to break Jo if this habit and in doing so break our banks since I think Xmas is the most important (with gifts) and Jo believes that CNY is the most important with Hong Bao's. Well, we will just have to spread the wealth around a bit.

Anyway, my family has quite a few traditions for Xmas and while I am determined to make my own, there are some that I do like.

So when Xmas Day came, we opened presents under the tree and Jo was surprised at how many Santa brought her (he must have used strategically sized boxes....). And I got a present from my mom and dad labeled "Open This First" to which I did. And Lo and Behold, there was something edible and something traditional from my childhood Xmas memories staring me in the face: Honey Buns. Jo was perplexed that we were expected to eat something that we had kept under the tree for 2 weeks, but after persisting, she complied (you'll see them later).

So we made a mess - ok, I admit - it was mostly me, but thank god Jo opens presents my way, which is to literally rip it off as fast and as messily as possible (I hate those people who are so delicate with the wrapping paper that it takes them 5 minutes to open up a gift - to (they say) save the wrapping paper! Anyway, we had a little mess which made me feel better....

Jo was happy to get new slippers that look like little Huskies (we both love Huskies)....

A closer look at the Lil Guys....

SoHere is our Xmas breakfast, which upon afterthought, consisted of WAY too much bread and sweet things. Damn, I am getting old! When I was younger I used to put sugar on everything, including sugar.....but now my taste has definately changed and we managed to eat all of what you see (Honey Buns and French Toast), but with difficulty.

And here I had to eat a little more, so I snuck a few chocolate chip cookies that I had made the previous night.

Ho Ho Ho!

Anyway, that was our Xmas. We moved out a week later into our new place and are trying to get things organized here...

Now we can't wait and see what will happen THIS Xmas!

Jeff & Jo!

Playing Catch-Up - Xmas Party with The Study Family

Jo and I had a great time at The Study Family's Xmas party, which was a buffet, play, activity and general gathering of ALE members and friends in a wonderful event.

Kudos (thanx) goes to the organizers of the party - many of whom will be at our wedding - for putting on a great show and keeping the vibe high and making an excellent day!

And for those of you who don't know, The Study Family are a group of very active and hardworking ALE members that have taken things into their own hands to learn English. They regurally meet to teach each other English and offer encouragement. To me, this is one of the BEST ways to learn English (or any language for that matter) - especially if you are in a country that does not speak the language you want.

Congrats to all and thank you for the effort you all put in!

See you next year!

Jeff & Jo

Taiwan Tips For Newbies....(part 1)

As mentioned in the previous post, my parents are coming over and I thought it might be a good idea to give them a head's up of Taiwan.

To that end, I have compiled a small list of things that may be different from the life in America and Taiwan. I am not judging better or worse; just different. Hopefully this list will help you prepare for the trip here, have as much fun as we do, and make things as comfortable as possible for your stay here with us.

(Oh, if people reading have anything further to add, please do so!)

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Taiwan Tips for Newbies!

Transportation and Traffic (the bane of my life here for so long...now accepted...)

There are lots of motorcycles. Wendy found this out. Just think little mosquitos buzzing all around you (I have a large mosquito).

The rules of the road are getting more organized, but still confidence is key and the bigger vehicle usually wins.

There are few sidewalks in Taichung, so often times we will be walking in the street - best with oncoming traffic since motorcycles usually are on the right side of the road and are good at dodging people.

If there are sidewalks, they are cluttered with shop wares and items so at times walking in the street at times is preferrable (although Jo knows I dislike this)

Crosswalks are by and large meaningless - see the "confidence is key" above - basically if you have the chuchacha's to walk in front of a car, they will often stop, if not, they will not let pedestrians by. I often put on my "Don'y Try It" face if I need to walk through the city and that seems to work.

Jo has a tiny car (her Little Bu Bu) but this is very practical in the city since parking is tough, even for motorcycles at times.

There are many small intersections with no traffic lights (there are no 'stop' signs here), so yet again, confidence is key prevails.

Traffic lights are still 'guidelines' but with new laws, this is getting better.

Police cars and ambulances will keep their lights blinking to let people know they are around - if a situation develops, they will turn on their sound.

Traffic fines are mailed to you from pictures taken by cameras on the side of the road or by policemen doing 'photo-shoot-bys' They do not always have to stop you to give you a ticket. That is why you may suddenly see cars slow down without 'reason' until you notice a little camera on the side.

There is no right turn on red here ( I have been pulled over about 7 times for this....)

Emergency is 119, not 911

Ambulences are bascially little vans with minimal equipment to get you to the hospital (there are many). They are very uncomfortable.

I will have blindfolds in the car for any that want them.....haha

Eating (the BEST part of Taiwan!)

Brushing up on chopstick skills? Good, but there should be plenty of forks and knives....

Restaurants are basically the same - just with better Chinese food - much better.

Usually we share dishes with each other, unless we are sick.

There is a lot of great food here (albeit some weird things) and my motto is "Try it first and THEN ask" ( I am saving more Stinky ToFu for Wen...)

Although letting us know your allergies, if any would be better....

We rarely have cereal for breakfast - instead loving to eat Omlette cakes and other funky things with Soy Milk. Again, we will try a variety of things and see which ones you like. Wen can offer opinions here as well...

Jo makes great coffee so we will be lucky to have good coffee most days!

There are numerous stalls near the side of the road selling everything. Often this is where the best food is. We live right by a maket area now and you will see how stalls take over the street, basically not letting cars through.

Oh, speaking of market areas, there is a word for a place with many many people all hustling and bustling about buying and selling things: Re Nao (Rih Now). In Chinese, this is a good thing since selling or buying is brisk. To many westerners, it is just 'crazy' but you will get a glimpse of this.....

Jo does not eat after 2 pm since that is part of her wish, and I have followed suit by not eating after 2 on some nights (M,W,F) so there will be some nights that we will only drink with you while introducing you to some great food.

Jo also chooses not to eat meat at breakfast, but lunch is eat-anything.

You need to let us know what you are allergic to or don't really like in terms of food.

Jo and Family

Jo's mom does not really speak Chinese that much so communication will be basically around Jo's translating and body language.

Jo's mom, sister and brother's family live in San Chong, about 10 min from Taipei. The other brother lives about an hour away and the eldest sister lives about an hour south of Taichung.

Jo's father was originally from China and came with the exodus of KMT troops after WWII. Thus, he was a "Wai Sheng Ren" which means Outside Province Person. I am a "Wai Guo Ren" which means Outside Country Person.....

There are some cultural differences between people who were born here and those that were not (of course).

Bathroom Facts

Most Taiwanese take showers at night and think taking showers in the morning is strange. Anyway, I still do this - old habit.

Oh, taking a shower here will be no problem, but there is hot water for only 20 minutes before it automatically shuts off. That is no prob since we just stop for a min and start it up again. But I would suggest when you are all here - to do 2 at a time (we have 2 bathrooms) and then take a small break while the other 2 can shower later. Or if you want to take a shower at night that is fine too! Or hell, both morning and night is ok!

Also, more info about bathrooms: you will notice little trashcans next to the toilets. This is for the tissue paper or toilet paper to go in since the septic system is not able to work well with loads of tissue. So please try to remember to use the trashcan - but this will take some getting used to.

We will take our shoes off in the house and wear slippers, but this is flexible.

Often bathrooms are made to get wet - I mean the whole place, so often they do not have curtains. We do, but since Jo likes to clean the bathroom (god bless her!) sometimes wearing flip flops is necessary since the floor will be wet.

Misc Cultural items

Everyone and their mother has cell phones and uses them too often.

Many stores close at regular hours - 8-10 pm ish, but often many stalls or other stores are open 24-7

There are 7-11 stores almost on every streetcorner

This is only a small list but I hope this helps!

Just remember to have fun and smile......you are on the other side of the earth now!

See you soon!

Jeff & Jo

Mom and Dad....Are You Ready?

My parents are in for a little 'Culture Shock!"

My parents are due to arrive in Asia on Tuesday and they will visit my sister and husband in Okinawa, Japan for a week and then pop back down to Taiwan to spend another week with us, to be part of the wedding!

I am very excited since I have been here for over 10 years and they have strategically tried to wait me out, most likely secretly hoping that I would return to (at least somewhere) in the West at some point. But, regardless if I am a "Lifer" here or not, Taiwan will always have a special place for me, not only since I have met a wonderful woman, but almost 1/3rd of my life has been here. And a good life it has been.

So, my parents are coming and I am sure they are nervous and excited, anxious and enthusiastic. In other words, my mom is prolly going crazy with worry and excitement (haha) and my dad is trying his best to plan for every contingency and have 45 back up plans in case those contingencies don't go as expected.

Well, all I can say is that....Taiwan is a weird and wonderful place, and you will have to experience it to believe it.

I promise that Jo and I will be good tour guides and hosts, but there will be some things that will leap out at you once you are here and we will do our best to explain and protect!

See you soon!

Jeff & Jo

Quick Recap!

Wow!

It has been awhile since I have had the time, energy or inclination to post, so for that I apologize (to the 3 people that look at this blog....).

Let's do a Quick Recap:

• Jo & I learned we had to move out of our apartment on Qing Hai Rd on December 15th by the bank. They also told us that we had 15 days to move (well - 16 since Dec 31st was the last day). This was due to our idiot landlord taking our money and not paying the bank.
• Jo & I also learned at around Xmas that her visa to the States would be processed late since we had to provide more information that I was not - in fact - bringing her to there just for a green card. This prompted us to postpone the US wedding that was supposed to take place in mid Feb.
• Then, after the Xmas rush - for me mostly, since it is not really a big holiday here - we just casually wanted to check with our Taiwan's reception place to make sure everything was in order....and we found out that it was not. They basically ignored or forgot our contract and decided to go ahead with largescale remodeling.

I made jokes later that almost all of our plans had changed, except actually marrying Jo! Well, that IS the most important thing anyway, right?

And, throughout all of this, Jo gave me a lot of good energy basically saying that my worrying was meaningless since she is damn lucky and we would find other even better things.

By Golly, we did!

Our apartment turned out to be very nice, going to the States ideally in late May will be much better, and the reception place we found (on a moments notice) turned out to be much nicer and have much better food than the original.

Before I just thought that Jo was blabbing when she talked about being lucky, but now I know it is true. Hey - Wait! - she is marrying me - Damn! She IS lucky!

Anyway, we have been busy lately, but we have also been having fun within the madness.

That is the trick to a happy life, I believe and I am so happy to share it with Jo.....

In the days to come, I will try to update past adventures and attempt to get caught up so I can post some pics of the wedding reception here at least a few days after the event! Well....we shall see....

Later!

Jeff & Jo