once again, i've let the blog slip through my cracks of responsibility. so, here is the may update.
starting off the month, of course, was my birthday. i did my standard birthday; took the day off, relaxed, and later met up with some friends for all you can eat bbq. i held off on the big shibang until the 14th because deadmau5 was doing a show as part of the springlove concert. more about that in a bit, though. the following weekend after my birthday was a small, themed get together in tien mu at a friend's house to celebrate cinqo de mayo. i've never really talked about tien mu much, mostly because it's a part of the city i almost never visit. set in the far north, it's home to what i like to call "little north america." basically, it's the whitest part of the city and feels too much like home for comfort...that said, the party was fun but we wrapped things up early to get home to the dog, then on to the W hotel for a few drinks in lavish comfort.
the next weekend was my turn to celebrate and a big group of us headed off to see deadmau5 perform his set. all in all, the show was good, but not great....the music wasn't high energy enough and truth be told, i enjoyed the dj before and after the main act...however, the light show was impressive and it's always fun to go to a big warehouse show. thankfully, we had sent the dog to a friend's place for a sleepover so we managed to get a few hours' sleep after pouring ourselves into bed.
last weekend, we ended up going to see john selway at the loft. again, not really the show i was hoping for...the music was good, but a little too repetitive for my liking. it felt like someone had logged into beatport and just pressed play on their playlist. it seems that a lot of dj's these days are getting complacent...yes, i'm sure it was very technical what you did, but i don't want to hear the same thing go on and on for 10 minutes. or maybe i'm just becoming an old fart...is that possible when you listen to electronic? i didn't think so, but i'm starting to think it might be.
on a different note, i'd like to say that the dog isn't really working out too well. it has only been about 2.5 months but it feels more like 2.5 years. rounding off the top three on the list of complaints are; the constant whining, the lack of toilet training, and the destruction of personal property. we've been vigilant and have been trying many different ways to address her issues, but honestly, it feels like none of it is working. we're walking here twice a day to give her exercise and social time with us. we're taking her upstairs once an hour to go to the bathroom with little results. we've given her countless toys and things to chew but still insists on biting almost everything. in fact, the chewing has gotten so bad that we've had to move everything upstairs so she can't get at it. my once beautiful, grown up apartment has been turned into a dog pen. and to top it off, all the changes we've made and all the things we do for her and she still pretty much whines constantly.
i have to say that i'm not really seeing the benefits of having a dog...it just feels like something else i have to do in my day that i'd rather not, like taking the bus to work. i don't look forward to going home because i know it's going to be all about her. by the time i've taken her out to go to the bathroom, made dinner, ate and then taken her for a walk, it's 8:00 pm. given the fact that i need to get to bed by 10:00 so i can be ready to do it all over again when she starts whining at 5:30, that doesn't really leave a lot of "me" time at the end of the day.
the prognosis is this: the dog (and us) has a finite amount of time to get things, or she's gone. that might not sound very fair, but i'm trying to see it from her perspective - she is alone a lot and if we don't have the time and energy to take care of, then it's not fair to her to expect her to behave in the manner we want. i wish i could just fast forward to 6 months from now and see how she is 'cos then i would be willing to keep going. that said, we haven't thrown in the towel just yet...she is getting her surgery done next week which should calm things down, and as of june 12th she will have her third shots which means she can finally, finally go to doggy day care a couple days a week. another consideration is that summer schedule at work begins on june 1st so i will be finishing up an hour earlier each day, allowing me more time. hopefully, these changes will be a positive influence in the dog's life and we can continue our co-habitation. i really can't continue on the way i have been...rage bubbles under the surface at all times and i am sick of feeling this way.
there, venting feels good...on a more positive note i have come up with a project that is going to get some creativity flowing once again. i've decided to re-train myself on indesign by putting my old blog into a book form...the plan is to use it as a portfolio, showcasing my writing and design skills. it's a big project and will take up a lot of my free time, but i'm going to finish it come hell or high water. i've been thinking of doing this for almost 3 years, but have never really sat down to do it. plus, i figure it's a better use of my time than playing xbox.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
disillusioned
i feel like a kid who has just found out santa claus isn't real.
let me explain. yesterday, i found out that Greg Mortensen is a sham. For those of you who don't know, Mortensen was a mountaineer with an endearing story about how he started the Central Asia Institute. The CAI's mission is to build schools in underpriveleged parts of Central Asia, specifically remote parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. He co-wrote a book entitled Three Cups of Tea about his experiences. The story is obviously romanticized and exaggerated, but it paints a portrait of a selfless man who wants to provide education to those in need to combat a host of problems. Not only that, Mortensen provided his HUGE fan base and supporters with the tiniest candle flicker of hope in a place where people, both living in these regions and abroad, sorely need. Too much horror seems to come out from that part of the world and anything, ANYTHING positive is warmly received. Well, the candle has gone out.
When I first read Three Cups of Tea, it wasn't because it was on some bestseller list or won some award. I simply saw it on a shelf, read the blurb and picked it up. I was immediately engrossed by his tale. I was so touched by this man's spirit that I have personally recommended the book to hundreds of people. Furthermore, I have written articles based on his experiences to teach people about the grand things he has accomplished. For a time, I simply couldn't stop raving about Greg Mortensen. In fact, I recently recommended that my boss read his book and have based an entire unit in a text book I'm writing around him. This book is for students and I couldn't think of a more positive example of how a human being should behave.
This was all before yesterday. As I was researching a related unit about charities, I came across http://www.charitynavigator.org/ which gives comprehensive information regarding charities all over the globe. I typed in the Central Asia Institute and was looking over some of their stats which seemed amazing. Then, I noticed a small 'advisory' concerning this charity. I clicked on the link and the shitstorm began. Last Sunday, 60 Minutes did a piece on Greg Mortensen and it was nothing short of a scandal. Of course, I was in denial and thought that this is the same network that Dan Rather used to work for so their credibility is in question. I continued to read further and discovered a related essay written on http://www.byliner.com/ by Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild. Krakauer was a staunch supporter of Mortensen at the beginning, but quickly came to realize just how much of Mortensen's experiences were fabrications. Krakauer continues to dissect and disassemble all the facts from the fiction. And there isn't much truth left after sifting through the wreckage.
When I found this out yesterday, I went through all the classic stages; denial, anger, remorse, and then...? well, I still haven't reached acceptance yet. I have to say that things don't look good for Greg Mortensen and I can't imagine what he'll do next. All I really have to say is: why? Why would you do this to people? Not only the people you were supposedly helping abroad, but for the millions who wanted to believe in something good. I know I may have been naive for believing something so wholeheartedly, but I don't want to be that jaded and for the first time in a long time, I actually did believe.
I'm not angry anymore Greg, I'm just not a believer.
let me explain. yesterday, i found out that Greg Mortensen is a sham. For those of you who don't know, Mortensen was a mountaineer with an endearing story about how he started the Central Asia Institute. The CAI's mission is to build schools in underpriveleged parts of Central Asia, specifically remote parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. He co-wrote a book entitled Three Cups of Tea about his experiences. The story is obviously romanticized and exaggerated, but it paints a portrait of a selfless man who wants to provide education to those in need to combat a host of problems. Not only that, Mortensen provided his HUGE fan base and supporters with the tiniest candle flicker of hope in a place where people, both living in these regions and abroad, sorely need. Too much horror seems to come out from that part of the world and anything, ANYTHING positive is warmly received. Well, the candle has gone out.
When I first read Three Cups of Tea, it wasn't because it was on some bestseller list or won some award. I simply saw it on a shelf, read the blurb and picked it up. I was immediately engrossed by his tale. I was so touched by this man's spirit that I have personally recommended the book to hundreds of people. Furthermore, I have written articles based on his experiences to teach people about the grand things he has accomplished. For a time, I simply couldn't stop raving about Greg Mortensen. In fact, I recently recommended that my boss read his book and have based an entire unit in a text book I'm writing around him. This book is for students and I couldn't think of a more positive example of how a human being should behave.
This was all before yesterday. As I was researching a related unit about charities, I came across http://www.charitynavigator.org/ which gives comprehensive information regarding charities all over the globe. I typed in the Central Asia Institute and was looking over some of their stats which seemed amazing. Then, I noticed a small 'advisory' concerning this charity. I clicked on the link and the shitstorm began. Last Sunday, 60 Minutes did a piece on Greg Mortensen and it was nothing short of a scandal. Of course, I was in denial and thought that this is the same network that Dan Rather used to work for so their credibility is in question. I continued to read further and discovered a related essay written on http://www.byliner.com/ by Jon Krakauer, author of Into the Wild. Krakauer was a staunch supporter of Mortensen at the beginning, but quickly came to realize just how much of Mortensen's experiences were fabrications. Krakauer continues to dissect and disassemble all the facts from the fiction. And there isn't much truth left after sifting through the wreckage.
When I found this out yesterday, I went through all the classic stages; denial, anger, remorse, and then...? well, I still haven't reached acceptance yet. I have to say that things don't look good for Greg Mortensen and I can't imagine what he'll do next. All I really have to say is: why? Why would you do this to people? Not only the people you were supposedly helping abroad, but for the millions who wanted to believe in something good. I know I may have been naive for believing something so wholeheartedly, but I don't want to be that jaded and for the first time in a long time, I actually did believe.
I'm not angry anymore Greg, I'm just not a believer.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
5 years in Taiwan (and still smiling :)
Wow. It's a hard fact to wrap my head around, but I have officially been in Taiwan for
5 years. Sometimes it feels like longer, but most often than not it feels like I'm fresh off the plane. Am I a glutton for punishment, or can I just not get enough of a good thing? I'm pretty sure it's a little of both with a cup of stubborness and a pinch of curiousity mixed in for good measure. Whatever the case may be, it's been....memorable.
5 years. Sometimes it feels like longer, but most often than not it feels like I'm fresh off the plane. Am I a glutton for punishment, or can I just not get enough of a good thing? I'm pretty sure it's a little of both with a cup of stubborness and a pinch of curiousity mixed in for good measure. Whatever the case may be, it's been....memorable.
- open yourself up and the rewards are untold
- humility
- what racism and stereotypes feel like
- patience (an ongoing lesson)
- the value and importance of a support network
- you can go home, but you can never go back
- frustration can be a positive emotion if it fuels the fires of change
- first impressions may be important, but they are not the only impressions that should leave a mark
- it is possible to have a life and be happy doing; in short, to have it all
At times, my time in Taiwan has been trying; the language a pain, the enigmatic cultural differences seemingly insurmountable at times, as well as the sheer amount of obliviousness exhausting. At the same time, I encounter something or someone that brings my joy and wonderment almost daily. That keeps me coming back for more, but more accurately, that's what makes me stay.
Thanks Taiwan; I'm happy to be here and look forward to what else you have in store.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
CNY - part I
just a quick message to say Happy Year of the Rabbit to all my Chinese friends! the holidays are here and so far, just relaxing and taking it easy, snuggling up to our next xbox kinect. actually, feeling kind of sore from playing but that is the whole idea behind interactive games.
xin nian kuai le! gon xi fa cai! will write more after i actually do some stuff during my vacation.
xin nian kuai le! gon xi fa cai! will write more after i actually do some stuff during my vacation.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
the skin i'm in
Skin is a soft outer covering of an animal, in particular a vertebrate. It performs the following functions:
1.Protection: an anatomical barrier from pathogens and damage between the internal and external environment in bodily defense; Langerhans cells in the skin are part of the adaptive immune system.[3][4]
2.Sensation: contains a variety of nerve endings that jump to heat and cold, touch, pressure, vibration, and tissue injury; see somatosensory system and haptic perception.
3.Heat regulation: increase perfusion and heatloss, while constricted vessels greatly reduce cutaneous blood flow and conserve heat. Erector pili muscles are significant in animals.
4.Control of evaporation: the skin provides a relatively dry and semi-impermeable barrier to fluid loss.[4]
5.Storage and synthesis: acts as a storage center for lipids and water
6.Absorption: Oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide can diffuse into the epidermis in small amounts, some animals uses their skin for their sole respiration organ (contrary to popular belief, however, humans do not absorb oxygen through the skin).[5]
7.Water resistance: The skin acts as a water resistant barrier so essential nutrients aren't washed out of the body.
Or at least, that's what wikipedia has to say on the matter. I'm writing this blog to complain about skin, more specifically, my skin.
I have what you dermatologists term sensitive skin. This doesn't mean that it's sensitive to the touch or something like that, but rather that it is sensitive to the environment. This is mostly due to the fact that I have a skin condition called eczema. For anyone who doesn't know what eczema is, allow me to enlighten you: eczema, also know as topical dermatitis,is an itchy rash which forms on the skin in red patches. It can be brought on by changes in environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. It can also be triggered by allergies (food and seasonal) or periods of stress. all sufferers are born with this condition and it can be passed down hereditarily.
i've had eczema my whole life. as a child, there wasn't a winter that went by without me suffering some kind of flare up. the areas affected were usually around my wrists, ankles, behind my knees and the crooks of my arms. as i got older, my eczema became more like dry patchs on my torso, legs and arms. by the time i reached college, i was experiencing full blown bouts that lasted the entire winter months. i particularly remember one winter before coming to taiwan where my upper lip and right eye had eczema around them while i'll patiently waited for a dermatologist appointment. i went a whole winter with a badly chapped upper lip and darkened eye...you have no idea how tired i was of being asked if i was either growing a mustache or had gotten into a fight.
there isn't any cure for eczema. it is something i had to deal with and will continue to deal with for the remainder of my life. of course, this isn't a debilitating disease like many others, but it is something i have to deal with almost every day of my life. i've tried a range of treatments, from naturopathic to strong medical treatments. the naturopathic treatments tend to be tedious and expensive, as well as gradually ineffective. the medical treatments provide tremendous results, but can have some serious side effects, such as skin cancer.
since coming to taiwan, i haven't really had any episodes. this is due to the the humid climate and moderate amounts of sunshine that encourage vitamin d and folic acid. no matter what tho, i have chapped lips about 40% of the time and still feel itchy most days. i've pretty much given up on any kind of chapstick as eventually, it either irritates the skin or my lips become so dependent on the moisture that they stop producing moisture on their own. on average, i pretty much have about 7-10 days a month where my lips are normal, not peeling, inflamed, split or itchy and red.
during my last trip to canada, i experienced a full on attack. it started out being itchy and dry (which i expected given the cold, dry weather) but by new year's eve day escalated to a point where i had no choice but to visit the emergency room and get a prescription for cream that would help things. (at a cost of $94 a tube) within a day of using the cream, the eczema pretty much went away.
sometimes, all i really want is to completely change the skin i'm in. if a skin transplant were possible, i think i would spend just about any amount of money to have it done.
in the meantime, i just have to make do with what i have and get things under control.
1.Protection: an anatomical barrier from pathogens and damage between the internal and external environment in bodily defense; Langerhans cells in the skin are part of the adaptive immune system.[3][4]
2.Sensation: contains a variety of nerve endings that jump to heat and cold, touch, pressure, vibration, and tissue injury; see somatosensory system and haptic perception.
3.Heat regulation: increase perfusion and heatloss, while constricted vessels greatly reduce cutaneous blood flow and conserve heat. Erector pili muscles are significant in animals.
4.Control of evaporation: the skin provides a relatively dry and semi-impermeable barrier to fluid loss.[4]
5.Storage and synthesis: acts as a storage center for lipids and water
6.Absorption: Oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide can diffuse into the epidermis in small amounts, some animals uses their skin for their sole respiration organ (contrary to popular belief, however, humans do not absorb oxygen through the skin).[5]
7.Water resistance: The skin acts as a water resistant barrier so essential nutrients aren't washed out of the body.
Or at least, that's what wikipedia has to say on the matter. I'm writing this blog to complain about skin, more specifically, my skin.
I have what you dermatologists term sensitive skin. This doesn't mean that it's sensitive to the touch or something like that, but rather that it is sensitive to the environment. This is mostly due to the fact that I have a skin condition called eczema. For anyone who doesn't know what eczema is, allow me to enlighten you: eczema, also know as topical dermatitis,is an itchy rash which forms on the skin in red patches. It can be brought on by changes in environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. It can also be triggered by allergies (food and seasonal) or periods of stress. all sufferers are born with this condition and it can be passed down hereditarily.
i've had eczema my whole life. as a child, there wasn't a winter that went by without me suffering some kind of flare up. the areas affected were usually around my wrists, ankles, behind my knees and the crooks of my arms. as i got older, my eczema became more like dry patchs on my torso, legs and arms. by the time i reached college, i was experiencing full blown bouts that lasted the entire winter months. i particularly remember one winter before coming to taiwan where my upper lip and right eye had eczema around them while i'll patiently waited for a dermatologist appointment. i went a whole winter with a badly chapped upper lip and darkened eye...you have no idea how tired i was of being asked if i was either growing a mustache or had gotten into a fight.
there isn't any cure for eczema. it is something i had to deal with and will continue to deal with for the remainder of my life. of course, this isn't a debilitating disease like many others, but it is something i have to deal with almost every day of my life. i've tried a range of treatments, from naturopathic to strong medical treatments. the naturopathic treatments tend to be tedious and expensive, as well as gradually ineffective. the medical treatments provide tremendous results, but can have some serious side effects, such as skin cancer.
since coming to taiwan, i haven't really had any episodes. this is due to the the humid climate and moderate amounts of sunshine that encourage vitamin d and folic acid. no matter what tho, i have chapped lips about 40% of the time and still feel itchy most days. i've pretty much given up on any kind of chapstick as eventually, it either irritates the skin or my lips become so dependent on the moisture that they stop producing moisture on their own. on average, i pretty much have about 7-10 days a month where my lips are normal, not peeling, inflamed, split or itchy and red.
during my last trip to canada, i experienced a full on attack. it started out being itchy and dry (which i expected given the cold, dry weather) but by new year's eve day escalated to a point where i had no choice but to visit the emergency room and get a prescription for cream that would help things. (at a cost of $94 a tube) within a day of using the cream, the eczema pretty much went away.
sometimes, all i really want is to completely change the skin i'm in. if a skin transplant were possible, i think i would spend just about any amount of money to have it done.
in the meantime, i just have to make do with what i have and get things under control.
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