Sorry for the 1-day blogging hiatus.
Your dear Raven was sick at home, recovering from a bad cold.
This meant I had to blow my nose a gazillion times that day till it turned red, cough my lungs to death and just lay on the bed and rested for a couple of hours.
In other words, for the first time, I behaved and stayed home to rest when I should. Usually, when I have a cold, I still find time to go out and hang out with friends, but this time, I stayed put and rested. 🙂
So proud of myself.
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Of course, it didn’t help that I had a pretty crazy weekend, as always.
Last Friday, I went to Zhishan (Tienmu) area to take part of a discovery salsa class, catered to us beginners with two left feet.
It was fun!
There were around 30 of us in the room, and we shaked our booties, twirled around, sashaying to the music. Afterwards, we had a bit of Spanish fare starting with seafood paella, mushroom and olive oil pasta as well as other goodies and drink-all-u-can liquor (which I assure you did nothing to help cure my cold).
A bit tipsy (can u blame me after I drunk a glass of sangria, red wine, margarita and gin tonic each?), I joined my friend to the Bed II where we bid our farewells to Buddy and Yulia, who as I write, are already back in sunny Los Angeles. Ever since meeting them last May, they’ve proved to be good friends, and they’ll surely be missed.
Regardless, my cough was getting worse and being in a smoke-filled room wasn’t helping so I bid my friends an early farewell.
Unfortunately, we bumped into Ericka on our way out (she was with friends drinking at Champagne II) and so we were forced to join her for half an hour before going home.
Frankly, I’ve never been a fan of lounge bars. I feel it’s a waste of time and money drinking and spending tons of cash (on average, one can easily spend NT$500 with 1-2 drinks) with people you don’t really care about. Going to two lounge bars last Friday proved this point and I was so happy to get home and plop to bed.
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Saturday, my throat was in serious trouble. I was seriously coughing and my nose was blocked. Regardless, I trudged out of bed to join Karen for lunch and to watch “Walk the Line” at Warner.
We were joined by her ardent suitor, Willie, who’s funny without even knowing it. Willie is the son of Karen’s old principal and is super-duper Taiwanese. He goes to work and goes home, and even though he works at Anhe Road, it’s his first time to even step in Taipei 101 and the Warner Hsinyi area!
Case in point, here’s a sample of our conversation:
Willie: “I’ve been to around 30-40 different countries.“
Impressed Raven: “Really?! Wow, that’s a lot! Which countries have you been in?”
Willie: “Well, I’ve been to Spain and Sweden, Bali and Indonesia…“
Raven interrupts: “Wait, wait… Bali and Indonesia are the same. Bali is the same as Indonesia!”
Willie: “No, but I have to take a separate trip to Bali and Indonesia!“
Raven insists, “No, Bali is part of Indonesia. Bali is an island, not a contry!”
Willie: “Okay, fine. There’s Singapore, Vietnam, Hongkong, Macau, China…“
Raven: “Wait, wait… Hongkong and Macau are both part of Mainland China! Ever since the turnover in 1997, Hongkong is considered a part of China.“
Willie: “No, it’s not! It’s a different country.“
Raven insists again: “No, at most, it’s a colony. But it’s not regarded as a separate country.“
Willie: “Okay, fine. Phuket, Pattaya, Thailand, Bangkok.“
Raven rolls her eys now saying, “They’re all part of Thailand!” refraining herself from saying, “They’re all part of Thailand, stupid!”
Ahhh, his words are so ridiculous that I deem them as Willie-isms. It’s when you’re stupid without knowing it. And what makes it funnier is this guy’s already 37 years old, and he has yet to know his geography! 🙁
Here’s a guy who spent over a year studying in the United States and doesn’t speak any English!
When I asked him why and how he could’ve survived without speaking the language, he simply said, “I usually don’t go out. And if I do, I make a deal with my roommate — he helps translate what I need to survive while I do his homework.“
Gee, that’s a very VERY smart thing to do.
Anyway, it was Raven Day, meaning, I didn’t really plan anything that night, so I went to PageOne to browse on some books.
I read Elie Wiesel’s 120-page Night in an hour or so.
But then, Eric called me and invited me to a surprise birthday party for James at his apartment so there goes my Raven Day! 🙂
It was fun though, drinking red wine, champagne and eating peanuts with good friends. I left a little over midnight to rest my poor health.
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Sunday was spent meeting up and planning activities for March/April/May. We’re kinda excited. We’re doing another paintball event again because of the HUGE demand as well as a scavenger hunt around Taipei. Oooh, just can’t wait!
Afterwards, went indoor wallclimbing with my good friend Mike S. who had just came back from his 8-day trip from Taipei with his wife Young Hi. It’s always fun climbing with him, especially since he shared to me his exciting stories of Thailand, including being molested by an ugly transvestite and being pined in the bathroom by a hooker!
Oooh, just can’t wait to head over to Thailand this weekend! Yeehaa! 😀
Afterwards, I met up with Wilson, Morgan and Amy and checked out a star-studded concert at the Taipei Sports Arena featuring popstars like Jay Chou, A-Mei, the PowerStation among many others! It was cool, and free, which made it cooler!
I was hungry so Morgan and Amy went to eat some dimsum with me.
Overall, great weekend! My cold’s getting better so this week will be better yet! Cheerio and cya tomorrow!
