How I Survived My Weekend

{In which I lock myself out of the apartment for 20+ hours but managed to get back, with minimal hysterics and plenty of good luck}

(Oops, I didn't expect typing this out to take so long. Sorry about the lateness on email and blog comments and general MIA-ness.  This post explains why on two fronts: 1) I got locked out and 2) I was writing this beast of a post. So yes, this account is kind of wordy. If you want, feel free to skip to the TL;DR version.)

I was planning to have a nice, quiet, relaxing weekend. Work had been more burdensome than usual lately — I stayed past 9pm several nights last week — so I was very much looking forward to recuperating with some alone time during the weekend.

I wouldn't be entirely anti-social for the weekend, though, since Mom's friend had planned a get-together dinner on Sunday night. I checked with Grandpa on Thursday to make sure he was free, since he'd mentioned that he'd be gone on a business trip from Friday to Sunday. Grandpa decided to return to Taipei earlier than planned on Sunday night so he could talk business with Auntie Wenny's husband, and I told him we were meeting at the department store across from Taipei Main Station, sixth floor, the restaurant named Shin Yeh. 5:30pm.

Taipei Flora Expo Part II

{In which John and I are interviewed by a Taiwanese reporter}

Continued from Taipei Flora Expo Part I.

The photos above are from the Korean pavilion. For some reason the Taiwanese seem to hold some prejudice against Koreans. While we were there, a reporter and cameraman from Taiwanese TV station 民視 approached us (well, John, actually). Probably because there was no one else in the area.

Laundry Day

{In which I receive a mysterious message}

As I mentioned before, on this one day a couple weeks ago I did laundry instead of blogging or working on photos. My grandpa doesn't have a washing machine, so I have to lug my laundry ten minutes away to the coin-operated laundromat. Usually I don't stick around and wait, but that night I decided to do some writing.

It was a good idea, except the next day I realized I'd left my notebook at the laundromat.

How to Solve All Your Fashion Problems

{In which I have a silly conversation with Brian}

As many of you know, Brandon and Phoebe are getting married in Taiwan this weekend. I'm so excited for them and am incredibly honored that I get to be there for their big day! :D :D :D

And then of course I started worrying about WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I GOING TO WEAR?! It was quite a quandary.

Why You Should Write Poetry When You're Bored

{In which you get to read poetry I wrote in high school}

One day as a junior in high school, I got incredibly bored at school. This, unsurprisingly, happened quite often; but that day I decided to write a poem about how bored I was (yes, really).

That might have been the end of the story had my mother not found out about some sort of contest at the local library. It was two related contests, actually — one for poetry and one for art. The library was seeking submissions for their annual teenage poetry book. There were cash prizes — $75 if you won first place in either contest, and $50 and $25 if you placed second or third, respectively, in the poetry contest.

New Year's Eve Film Shoot

{In which I make a fool out of myself as an extra at a film shoot}

A few of us from Berkeley ICA decided to meet up over winter break in SoCal, so on New Year's Eve we had our mini-reunion lunch on Abbot Kinney in Venice Beach. Christine's friend had a beach house in the area and needed extras for the web movie they were filming there, and Christine invited us to join her as an extra. So Robert, Tarn (Christine's friend from Thailand), and I tagged along and got to be movie extras for the rest of the afternoon.

How I Got My Job (Part II)

{In which I give a virtual tour of my workplace}

This is Part II of the post. To read Part I, see How I Got My Job (Part I).

I woke up the morning after the interview feeling much better, and applied to a few more jobs, vowing to take any future interviews more seriously.  Then my phone rang again. It was the HR manager calling to ask when I could start working at the earliest, because she was processing my offer letter! I was in a cloud of disbelief. That was when I realized that I maybe should have taken better notes during the interview.

How I Got My Job (Part I)

{In which I describe my job-searching process in Taipei, Taiwan}

I finished teaching English as a TA at NTHU (a university in Hsinchu, Taiwan) in mid-August, and I spent the next two weeks enjoying myself and hanging out with people all over Taiwan. It was great, but my parents were worried about my plans for the future (well, more like the lack thereof). All I had was a vague idea that I wanted to try living in Taiwan for a bit (I'm sure many of you are wondering "WHY????" but that's not the point of this post. Maybe I'll write a "Why I Want to Live in Taiwan" post later or something.)  It was a step up from having absolutely no desire to do anything at all, so maybe that's why my parents didn't forbid it. Still, they weren't — and still aren't — fond of having their oldest daughter bumming around in Taiwan when, theoretically, she could be going to medical school.

I knew if I got a job in Taiwan I'd have a more legitimate reason to stay. My parents also insisted that I do something about finding employment. So one night near the beginning of September I created an account at 104.com.tw (a Taiwan job search site) on a whim and pasted in some information from my resume. I then applied to four openings, which made me feel productive enough to turn to other activities.

How to Get Grandma to Buy You a Car

{In which my grandma reveals she has our best interests at heart}

Many of you may have heard this story before. But since I've been reading lots of fun blogs by doctors/nurses/med students lately that made me laugh as well as think omg I don't want to be a doctor!!, this story came to mind again. So I felt compelled to share it. (And yes, I may have copied it from my final paper for one of my English classes senior year of college. But I promise I changed a few words here and there. Ok fine, I actually changed it quite a lot. That paper kind of sucked.)

Enjoy!

A Good Impression

{In which I discover the reason for my mom's suspicious behavior}

My mom is usually not a fan of makeup and contacts. She always told my sister and me that makeup is terrible for your skin, so you should use it as sparingly as possible — preferably only for special occasions. As for contacts, I first tried wearing contacts in middle school, but it made my eyes really red this one time. My mom was very concerned and declared that they weren't good for my eyes, so I didn't wear them much until college. Even now when I do wear makeup or contacts, she always reminds me to be very good about washing my face and tells me not to wear contacts for too long at a time.

So the day before I left for Taiwan, I was just chilling at home before we left for some errands when my mom came over and said, "Linda, aren't you going to put on your contacts?"