My Roommate

I told you I moved into a 12坪 apartment, but what I didn't tell you was that I actually have a roommate. And last night, I outfitted her with a connection to the world: a cable TV subscription. You see, my roommate is my TV.

Every night when I get home, I walk in my place and turn on the TV. That's the first thing I do (after turning on the lights), even before I put my bags down and take off my coat. My TV is by far the most used appliance in the place, and all my furniture is somehow aligned towards it. As Joey mentioned in Friends,

"You don't own a TV? What's all your furniture pointed at?"

It's like I need that kind of background sound in the apartment to keep me company, to make me laugh, to feed little bits of useless banter into the air. Even when I hadn't had a cable connection yet, I would play episodes of Friends or Monk or some movie, just to keep my apartment from sounding like a library during Christmas week.

Just thought I'd share. Are you the same way?

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Side announcement: my upgrade to iPhoto 6.0.3 seems to have resolved my previously hair-pullingly-annoying corrupt iPhoto library issue. That means I can now play catch-up on the past 4 months' worth of photo cataloging. Lovely.

Waiting

There's a document envelope sitting on my colleague's seat (across from mine), delivered by DHL to his home, but then redirected by his ex-girlfriend (because he recently moved out) to the office.

He's on vacation in Europe right now.

The sealed DHL envelope is just sitting there, quietly waiting for his return. And I'm patiently waiting for him to get it, so I can watch him open it and see what happens.

Because I already know what's inside, waiting for him.

An Alternate System

I work with a fair number of foreigners in my office on a day-to-day basis, all of whom have moved to Taiwan in the past year or two. Some are more open-minded and have accustomed themselves to the lifestyle in Taiwan, while others have been less successful at it.

You can see the effects on the latter group by how they are constantly complaining about Taiwan. (Usually their complaints are only quantified by "stupid" or "makes no sense" without a real understanding on the problem.) They talk about how fvcked up Taiwan is, and Taiwanese people are, but the truth is that they're just too closed-minded to see the system that works here.

Sure, Taiwanese people have ways that don't make sense to outsiders, but that's even more reason to try to see why it is. I mean, you don't actually think a whole society does stuff just because that's how they do it, do you? There's some rhyme or reason to it. If you're smart enough, you'll begin to notice why.

I've tried the explanation (education) approach to these people, but after a while, I realize I'm fighting an uphill battle: they're too snobby about how superior they are (even if they don't admit it), and won't really take the chance to understand that this is just a (very) different system.

I want to smack those people.

Because you know what? Nobody is forcing you to stay. Just move away, then, if you don't like it. We'll all be happier that way.

Writer's Block / Blogger's Right

I have something to tell you, but I can't tell you yet, because it's not really something I'm supposed to release yet. In due time, I shall reveal (albeit backdated) the underground workings that will culminate in grounds for my over-working.

But since I can't talk about that, I won't.

I have other things to blog about, topics that have been on my mind in draft mode for some weeks now, but they require quite a bit of planning and writing (and thinking about how to present the topics).

And I'm a bit busy to be doing that right now, so I won't.

Instead, I think I'm going to call on my right as a blogger to say that I just have writer's block and then post something utterly useless. And if you've read up until here, then I have to say that I'm sorry, but there's no way I can give you the past two minutes of your life back. Now go outside and play.

More Unrest

I think something is happening with the lab manager: he told me he's leaving our firm. Not sure yet what the real deal is, whether he's leaving on his own accord, or whether he's leaving because he's been asked to. He just mentioned it to me while washing hands in the bathroom.

And he didn't use any soap.

He hasn't really been at his desk all day; only a few minutes at a time, and then off to hide in the lab. Anyway, I'll have to find some time to sit with him and see what's up.

(And yes, it was a little bit hard to hide my excitement.)

Living Room

So I'm all moved over to the new apartment -- not unpacked, so it looks like a U-STOR storage locker gone to hell, but at least all my crap is in a new place now. Anyway, my search for the new studio got me to thinking about living space and how my conceptions for it have changed in the past year.

And now, faithful readers of 901 posts, I share this with you.

See, in my last apartment, there wasn't any real reason I needed the 12坪 (431sqft) I had, except to put all my things in it. I mean, dammit, 12坪 is pretty damned big for just me. It's not like I actually used the space during living; I just need a good place to chill and watch TV and surf until I go to sleep. The rest of the time, I'm at work, at the gym, or out eating.

And now, I've moved into another 12坪 place, and it's a little bit bigger, because there's another 2坪 on a second half-height level (like a loft).

Right now, most of you North Americans are gasping at the closet I call an apartment.

If you weren't shocked enough, I'll say that I would have been okay even with something like 8坪 (285sqft), if it were a loft with a partial second level (for the bed, e.g.).

See, 431sqft is "big" here, because they design things to be compact and efficient (though sometimes, it's just cramped). In North America, 431sqft is "small" because they make the hallways a little wider, the rooms a little bigger, etc. That takes up room.

But understand that the designs are different: it's all about layout and design. I've seen some places where the design is just awesome (like my friend's place). In 14坪 (500sqft), they have a living room, tiny den, open kitchen, and a bedroom (open loft style) with a walk-in closet under it. It kind of feels spacious, with tons of storage space built into the walls and in every nook and cranny. With sufficient storage and a decent design, it's actually quite a lot of room for a single person, even a couple.

Strike at the Root

This weekend, I got eaten alive by mosquitos. I guess it's that season again.

I read somewhere that mosquitos have a lifespan of only a few days, like two or something. So to me, it's kind of stupid that the bites they give actually last longer than their short little lifespans. It should be that when they die, the bites they left behind should automatically stop itching and die away too. Like instantly. so if the mosquito gets you, and you smack it and kill it, you shouldn't have to suffer the pain and itch of the bite.

Or, even better, like werewolves or vampires -- maybe we could have mosquitos so that when you take out the original, the rest of them die. Someone should work on that genetic project and then let the rest of the mosquitos propagate it through the species. Yeah.