Midnight Express.....

There is a movie from the late '70s Midnight Express about an American caught in the US "War On Drugs!" get tough message. Well, it's interesting to see another country's take on it!

The first sign is from Osaka, Japan. It is a layover where the plane is serviced, cleaned, fuelled, and security swept. All of the passengers must deplane with their carryon and go through a screening process. Passports and tickets are checked and counted! One more time through the metal detector and baggage xray. Random people are selected for a more thorough hand wanding and baggage opening! But the sign, despite the translation, politely says excuse us but!....

Now, the second sign is the first thing you see when you step off of the plane in Taipei, Taiwan! No muss, no fuss, no excuse me if you please!!! A very serious approach for a country with a growing drug problem.

(A Note: Taiwan, also know as ROC, Republic of China! Not to be confused with PROC - the Peoples Republic of China! The Great Wall of China! Wal-Mart made in China!)

The Half Blood Prince....

I know who the half blood prince is!!!! With 48 hours of air time and sleep schedule all amok, there is plenty of time to read! I saw three other young people on the way over reading the same book! Quite a controversy in Taiwan! It seems the Chinese version has not been published yet! So people have been translating it directly from english and posting it on their blogs! Ha! That www thing!

I'm Home!!!!!

I'm back! Home sweet home! Like Dorothy said, there is no place like home! Besides all of the obvious familiar things tangible and intangible, it is safe! Home is a safe place! It is important to have that place where your heart is happy! And that place is home! (wherever it may be!)
Now for the details! It was finally nice to be in my own bathroom! Yes! A toilet that wasn't vibrating like crazy and zooming along at 600+ miles per hour! A toilet that flushed with authority instead of some giant blue liquid sucking sound. Ahhhh! The little things! Brushing your teeth after 25 hours in transit! Ahhhh! My own bed! Ahhhh! Mom beside me! (deep rythmic breathing!!!!) Sunday morning roll around with NPR! Ahhhh! Breakfast and shopping with mom! The little things! It is always nice to be home! After a trip, after work, anytime!

They're Everywhere!

The Asparagus Juice is everywhere! They've mutated beyond the juiceboxes! Watch your refridgerator and keep the door closed! Now the Honey Tea was a treat! It's a green tea with Jelly pieces in it! About half the size of a peanut with the consistency of Jello Jigglers! That's okay if you're expecting it, but the first time i had it i wasn't ready and felt this slug headed down my throat! Almost a green tea out the nose experience. Once you knew they're in there, really quite pleasant.

A Prayer

A moment of silence and prayer! It seems strange to be flying into Osaka today on the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

Aunt Dan!

Happy Birthday Aunt Ann! The Glads are for you! I'm sorry that i missed you birthday OOPPS! Anniversary Party!

Ding!

Ding! Order In!

Emergency Use Only!

This is a typical Asian style squat toilet! That much is obvious! But i have some serious reservations and questions! Which end is front or back? How the hell are you supposed to read a book? My greatest fear would be filling my back pocket! If you know what i mean! If not, let me know and i'll draw you a picture! Getting up and down has to be a treat too! I could just see trying to get up and your leg is asleep and you crash through the next three stalls! Now there's a picture that needs posting!!!

No More Late Fees!

I wonder if my card is good here? Hmmmmm?

You Might Be A ..........

You might be a Yun-Lin County redneck if your scooter is on blocks in the front yard!!! Hee! Hee!

In The Hood!

MATSA is in the 'hood now! Yesterday MATSA was upgraded from a tropical storm to a Typhoon! Even though it is still a couple hundred miles east of here tracking parallel to Taiwan headed towards southern Japan and Singapore, the fringe of the weather is here! This morning there was no sky, just gray. A slight drizzle turned into a brief shower. And still no sky! The last Typhoon that went by a couple of weeks ago (Kaitung - Chinese for flower) was tracking the same right up until it turned left and crossed the middle of the island. That's right, right where i am now! The weather forcast had 40' waves. geez!

It's funny how these things have been going on forever. But now all of a sudden, i'm watching the typhoon channel and tracking them. Now i have friends here and am traveling here during the season. Now my family is watching the typhoon channel too because dad's here! We've all watched the weather channel for hurricanes for years. Some we paid more attention to than others. Ever mindful of the "Cousins" in Florida and how it would affect them. If it was going by them, we watched to see when and if the rains would get to us!

You know, somehow i don't think the rain slicker i brought is going to cut it! I probably should have brought a wetsuit! (14" of rain fell when Kaitung crossed the island! - it was even on the US news!) More about this one later!

I posted this graphic late this evening. just so you won't worry! missed me! naaa! naaa! (whew!)

Traveling To The Other Side Of Tomorrow!

For my adventure travels, it takes 28 hours from when i leave my house until i check into the hotel where i am staying. I'm a full figure kind of guy! And when i sit in the cheap seats in the 747 sardine can, my hips touch both arm rests! If i extend my forearm at 90 deg, elbow at my side, with my fingers extended, i touch the seat in front of me. If the seat in front is reclined, i loose about 4-5 inches! Anyway, the longest flight leg is 15 hours! It is not very comfortable or relaxing! Sleep is an escape! It's not good sleep, but it's not tearful boredom either. And i dont' want to hear your stories of nobody in the seats beside you so you can lay across all 3 (or 4) seats! I've tried the horseshoe pillows. No good because they are so thick in the back that they force your chin down on your chest. I've tried no pillow, and it's like doing my Joe Cocker imitation with a lot of neck whipping and drooling! (and snoring i'm told!) Well, for this trip i bought one of those cervical foam collars with the velcro strap. MaryJane just kind of rolled her eyes thinking "Idiot". But i have to tell you -- one of the better ideas i've had in a long time. It worked very well! I could rest my chin on the front and it was high enough on the sides to keep my head up. But! Before i head home, i'm going to get a magic marker and write "Wake For Meals". Not that airline food (in the cheap seats) is all about that, but it does offer subsistence qualities! And i hate to miss them like i did on the way over!

We Are The Champions!

That I couldn't carry a tune in a basket is a given! I don't know more than 2 or 3 words to any song. But I do recognize tunes/melodies. Whereas MaryJane knows the lyrics to any song that she has ever heard.
Now a forge shop by a press is never a quiet place. Large motors motoring, fans fanning, things banging and clanging. Not a quiet environment. Well, press crews will be press crews! The one I was working with yesterday had a CD player going full blast pointed at the area where the crew was basically working. If you weren't standing directly in front of the two speakers, you wouldn't have even known it was on! Well, I happened to be in the line of sound when a song came on that i recognized the melody to! Kind of an uptempo version, but I recognized that tune in 5 notes! And then the lyrics started! It was Queen's "We Are The Champions!" Except it was a Chinese all girl band! I'm sorry, but it sounded a lot like the Chipmunks Christmas Album! My apologies to Freddie Mercury!

HOT!

I've spent a career working in a forge shop and in a word, it's really hot in the summertime. In Taiwan, it's REALLY hot! You know that it's hot that when you reach in your pocket for change for the pop machine and the coins are hot to the touch! It may not be hell, but you can see it from inside a forge shop in the summertime. Perhaps the only place hotter is cast iron foundry for unpleasantness!

Doorbell!

Or should i say "Birdbell?"
A cultural thing I'm sure about not being overbearing/intruding. There is a doorbell on the outside of the hotel room door. It's not like I'm expecting any company or Candygrams, but i did want to try it! It certainly wasn't a buzzer or bell, but rather a very pleasant bird song! It really reminded me of the bird recording that Grandpa Richwalsky had in the porch in Sheffield. What a flashback!

This One Is For Kerry!

We have always enjoyed the holidays with Kerry and sharing new food tastes and sensations with her. From the ever popular caviar, shushi, and gefelte fish, Kerry has always been a pretty good sport about it! MaryJane and I were shopping one time and we found a package meat product that looked kind of like grey balogna, but it was made from pig snouts and lips! we thought that we'ld have fun with Kerry and Kaitlin. But were we wrong! It seems that this is a favorite snack for Kerry and Kaitlin and they were very happy for it! So this time I think that I found something very interesting and out of the ordinary! Hmmmmmm! Just something that you don't find at Tops! I'll have to post later how this one goes over!!!

Wrong On So Many Levels!

At the local 7/11 the other night is stopped to pick up some late night snacks and i saw this juicebox in the cooler. I love asparagus now, but I know that I did not care for it as a youngster! It just seemed wrong on so many levels. I just had to buy one! $12NT/$.45US. And what a pleasant surprise it was! A green tea base with just a hint of Asparagus! HMMMMM!

Old school meets new school

This is just to cool! I've been sending fragments of email to so many of you that i must thank my personal technical support team (Michael)for setting this up for me!
All day long i write notes to myself of things that i want to tell mom and the kids! and then i use these notes to tell stories! well, now you will all be subject to my ramblings and musings! i hope you enjoy it! Papa.