my first leap

Back in the internet cafe on Shida Road, near Taipower Building Station. The only difference is tonight, there will be no Sophia to greet me when I arrive at Yating’s place. While I’m on the internet, she makes phone calls. Tonight, I know I can stay here all morning if I wanted to whereas before I know she would worry if I didn’t get back within the hour or so. She told me the first night, when I said an hour and stayed an extra hour, she saw a store nearby close for the night (Shida Night Market – people are still up in the grey ambiguous hour of night/morning) and then open again while I was away. I don’t know, within two hours?! Yating is cool with me staying here another night. And Ling is ready for me to go to her place (original plan) tomorrow night. Yating and Ling have been so very good to me and Sophia, so helpful, so organised, so full of information; they’re pretty amazing friends.

This afternoon after spending my last few hours with Sophia; I found a chemist (we’ve been trying to find calamine lotion in Watsons and convenience stores with no luck) I said to them in my best Mandarin that I wanted to write the name down and bingo, I came out with calamine lotion for my rash. I phoned Singapore Airlines to change my flight. Seb can come out early so I’m meeting him in Singapore in a weeks time. Unlike Singapore Airlines in Sydney where just a phone call is enough to change to an earlier flight; Singapore Airlines in Taipei requires a copy of your ticket. They wanted me to fax them my ticket details. I had 10 mins to do it before they closed for the day at 5.45pm. My first port of call was the internet cafe; they tell me that 7-11 does faxing. Ling later confirmed that 7-11s are major convenient – you can do almost everything there (ATM, fax, photocopy, pay your household bills etc). Faxing at the 7-11 is so simple, so quick. Then I’m on the phone again and bingo, flight changed. Then back to the internet cafe to book a hotel. Bingo, hotel booked. See, when I’m on my own I do okay.

I bumped into Shihmen and 2 of her friends moving her stuff in when I got back to the apartment. The place is a newly built one bedroom (twin beds) apartment and virtually empty except for a washing machine and fridge – most vital stuff I’d say. Tonight I’ll be on my own – would it feel strange not to have Sophia there?

After talking to Ling on the phone, we arranged to meet at University Station, exit no.4 – problem was when I got to the MRT station and found that University Station didn’t exist. I asked the woman behind the counter the nearest MRT station to the University – after 10 mins she still didn’t know. I tried to call Ling but the pay phones in the station (and most stations) are card only. So I asked 2 guys who looked like they could have gone to University and next minute I’m zooming off to Gongguan MRT station. After finding each other, Ling showed me a dark building (I’m blind and it’s dark) where she lived when she attended the National Taiwan University. She hasn’t been in the area for up to 4 years and wanted to show me the sights and foods she enjoyed back then. She tells me that the area is made to accommodate the mass student population and looking at it now, it’s much more trendier and not so simple back in her student days. Ling weaves in and out of lanes to a restaurant called Shun-Yuan where she orders some of her favourite dishes; one of which is pig’s ear. I tried it and if she didn’t tell me I would have happily munched away a little more but she told me and all I could think about are the white lines between the brown bits and think of creases in the ear. After a couple of tries, I left the rest to Ling. Another dish was tofu and black (with a green centre) duck’s egg which I liked and can eat again. It was the first I had congee with not white rice but little yellow rice – the dish is literally translated little rice congee.

We then went to have some fruit tea, tea with floating bits of fruit inside the pot. Nice. Ling tells me about Mr Ma, the present Mayor, a good-looking guy, Harvard graduate, lawyer, who is the opposition that nearly overthrew the President the day I came. It’s a complicated story behind it all. It had something to do with the President’s son-in-law breaking the law, using insiders information to make lots of money but was caught, then they find that the President’s wife did some frowned-upon stuff as well, til the network of corruption weaved and flowed all around the President. In the end, according to Ling, Mr Ma is a gentle man and after losing the parliament vote to have the President kicked off his throne; he decided to calm the whole thing down. According to Ling, to kick out the President, the whole country would have to vote and that could take a lot of time and manpower and also, the fact that his term finishes in 2 years, the opposition decided to not push it in the end. You can see why Ling and Yating think politics is very entertaining here.

After yesterday’s posting and a chat with Ling, I’ve decided to make some changes health-wise, some serious changes and it starts tomorrow.

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To Family: Please check your emails and respond.

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Art Print $25.99 (115 x 82 in)

If you’ve heard this story before, don’t stop me, because I’d like to hear it again. – Groucho Marx. American Comedian, Actor and Singer, 1890–1977

So here it is, Silent Witness the TV series I’m in is playing on the following days. (Thanks Tobias for letting me know.)

Cargo

Part 1  [Monday 10th July 2006, 9pm, BBC ONE]
Part 2  [Tuesday 11th July 2006, 9pm, BBC ONE]

Originally in the script, we were episodes 3 & 4 but there were rumours that it was so good that they wanted to open with it. I don’t know if that is true but here we are. In lots of ways it’s exciting; with the knowledge that over 10 million people will be watching you; but I’m very apprehensive about watching myself so it’s a good thing I can’t. Two things I’m worried about; one, my Chinese accent (did I tell you I do have lots of accents in me but the problem is I can’t control them, quite useless in my mind but unique is a nicer word normally used at first meeting); two, my Cantonese. I’m just imagining my parents cringing at my Cantonese; please lord let them use a translator in the editing so they cut any crap stuff out, please lord hear my prayers. Luckily I don’t have to cringe while watching with family because I am here!! The great excuse that is called ‘Travel’. Anyway, I should say that I’m brilliant and I’m not worried at all! Yeah.

Tonight we watched ‘Superman’ in Ximen; in one of the biggest cinemas, well, I’ve ever seen. I have nothing bad to say about ‘Superman’. It was great. And from Sophia, I get behind the scenes too. It seems that Bryan Singer was sacked from Xmen 3 because he wanted to direct ‘Superman’ as well; that Marvel (Xmen) and DC Comics (Superman) didn’t like it. That’s why Xmen 3, I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it, frivolous fun that it is, could have been much better; it had lots of good ideas that were never really fully developed. Superman though I have no complaints; it was great fun.

This afternoon, Ling took Sophia and I to Taipei Fine Arts Museum to see the ‘New Media Collection 1965-2005 Centre Pompidou’ which was pretty cool and you can get free internet access there (4 computers). Sophia’s last night and I’m at the internet cafe. They’ve been giving me a hard time about my constant need for internet access and cannot understand my obsession. I guess it’s my way of ‘checking in’ to family and I want to remember this, even if it’s censored.

I’ve been invited, along with the others to a U Theatre performance on Friday 7th July, as a member of the audience while they film the performance as part of the film ‘The Drummer’. The U Theatre are a very famous drumming group and I would love to see them but I’ve got to wear something smart, a dress, the production manager Long suggested. Up until now I’ve got used to the idea that I look manky and minging with clothes I’ve brought along because I’m willing to chuck them any time I need to – so not so nice clothes. I’ve got used to looking like I’ve been dragged backwards, sideways and bounced up and down a bit; and walking next to trendy, slim (oh man, you can get a massive complex here in Taiwan – the times I say ‘I’m so FAT!’ I’ve lost count) very pretty girls in short skirts and feminine tops; I’ve got used to it. Anyway, enough of the rant. What I’m trying to say is I don’t have a dress, heels etc and it means I’ve got to buy and dump; and I don’t think I can fit into anything made in Taiwan – I’m going to look so big it might be embarrassing; and nothing goes with a rash; and I’m not going if the others don’t go; and it might take more than 12 hours and being an extra, my agent might murder me. They’re my excuses. The only good reason to go is the opportunity to see this amazing (I’ve been told) drumming group play and I just know they’re going to be brilliant; I heard one of the guys play on set. I’ve been told Jackie Chan’s son and Sinje Lee will be performing as part of the group but they will be pretending to drum being actors.

I have prickly heat (and the only clothes that seem to help are ones that are specially made for outdoor activities, breathable, easy to pack and fast drying) so I’m going to maybe buy some clothes and a UV umbrella to prevent getting more rashes and to hunt down a Body Shop to get hold of calamine lotion to soothe the pumps a little. So at the moment I have the will power of Buddha but also the social and intellectual capacity of an amoeba. The sun, humidity, rash and organised friends can do that to you, make you into a non-talking, non-thinking, non-sociable, total zombie zapped piece of plankton! My friends think I’m totally useless, for example, tonight I say something stupid about catching a taxi back and they had to remind me that the place we’re staying at is just a block away or we’d been walking to a 7-11 and they’d send me on an errand back where we’ve walked from, I had to go back in to ask them which way we’ve come from. See? Non-existent no brain seaweed – actually even seaweed has more intellectual capacity than I have when sun, humidity, prickly heat rash and organised friends are combined in a place called Taipei. And the only cure is being on my own. Blind faith tells me I’ll be okay on my own. Seb, I will try to be in some working condition by the time I meet you in Singapore, I promise. My friends think I’m such a child and they hope I will act more independently further on in my journey! I can! Just not when you’re around. In a group, I’m a follower, okay; it’s easier and I’m lazy! I know, I know, it’s a bad thing not to look where you’re going, I know, I know Nick.

Poster $5.99 (74 x 115 in)

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear – not absence of fear – Mark Twain. American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835–1910