New Website

After seven years of blogging, I have finally bought my own website.

I present to you, A Blend of Both.

Please update your subscriptions and links. See you on the flip side!

Dimples

Recently, a friend from high school unexpectedly passed away. He was young, full of life, and had a beautiful smile. I knew him from cross country, and the team was such a close-knit group back then. He was always joking, smiling, full of encouragement, and never seemed to have a bad day. He was the sunshine in the group, and always made the long four-mile treks through the hills in the rain so much brighter. He had a good heart, filled with the best intentions, and everyone couldn't help but to reciprocate in return.

My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. Goodbye, Anderson Skaggs. The world will miss your dimples.

Harry Potter Camp

After teaching indifferent high school kids for the past month, I've forgotten how nice it was to teach kids again. The way they look at me with adoring eyes as I hold their rapt attention makes me feel on top of the world, and the way they genuinely say "Teacher Tina" is like music to my ears.

Of course, teaching the subject of Harry Potter doesn't hurt either. It's Harry Potter camp this week, and we're doing everything from making robes out of garbage bags to making ice cream (potions). We're going to attempt to play quidditch (the non-flying kind) and plant magic herbs (bean plants)! It's a good thing I'm an avid fan. Now I have a way to express my inner nerd. I surprise myself with how much information I can retain from all of the books. Well, I guess reading them each about 45 times didn't hurt.

This morning was sorting them into their houses (only seven kids, only two houses: Gryffindor and Hufflepuff) and trivia, and later I'm taking them to the park to find wands! Pictures later.

Moving!

I know I have been MIA for awhile, and I apologize. Things have been so hectic recently!

1) I found a new studio apartment, so we are in the process of packing, moving my belongings there, and trying to get rid of a lot of stuff from this place.

2) Jen is going to Vietnam tomorrow for three weeks, so the apartment has to be mostly empty before she leaves. Or else I can't do it all by myself when she's gone!

3) We have a lot of stuff to get rid of. A LOT. Does anyone need a TV or a mahjong table?

4) I finally finally have plane tickets to go home. It was stressful for a bit there since I seemed to be wanting to fly when everyone else is going back to school. I would be very mad if I missed the wedding. And to see my parents of course. I will be in the States around the end of August and the first week of September. Tickets were very expensive, but it's going to be totally worth it.

5) I have way too many clothes... but yet still never have anything to wear.

6) We're also trying to plan a weekend trip before I go back to the States, and Michael goes to the Army. (Will explain more on this later.)

Lily

One of my closest friends, Lily, came and visited me in Taipei! She was on a trip with her parents to China, and they decided to stop in Taiwan to visit for a bit. She also brought me my bridesmaid dress. Nothing like a hand-delivered satin gown across the world to say true friendship.

We didn't have much time together, but I took her to get some of the local eateries like vermicelli noodles and mango ice. It was fabulous to catch up and talk and talk and talk again. I've missed my girlfriends very very much.

Pandas!

During the summer, I've been teaching a few high school kids who are home on vacation from Canada. They need extra English help, so they're taking morning classes with me and another teacher to work on reading comprehension, writing, speaking, etc. On Tuesdays, we get to take them on field trips because the new Neihu-Muzha MRT line recently opened, and it's right by our school. Last week, we went to the Fine Arts Museum but there wasn't much to see since they were in transition for exhibits. (The Pixar exhibit starts Aug. 7! We might go back for that.)

Yesterday, I finally convinced them to go to the zoo, so we went and saw the pandas! The weather wasn't bad; it was cloudy so it wasn't too hot. But humidity is always a given here. First you had to get a ticket to see the pandas at a certain time. Sometimes, if there's lots of people, the tickets run out and then you have to miss out. (The pandas are also closed to the public on Mondays.)

Thank goodness there was no line when we finally got to the panda exhibition place. They built this giant indoor/outdoor facility just for these two bears. You could see the setup outside for when the line gets to be quite long and wounds alllll the way down the sidewalk. We walked right in though, zigzagged through the ropes, and then finally got to the glass enclosing. You get about 20 seconds to ooh and aah, take a few pictures, and then the security guards usher you along again. The whole experience takes about 45 seconds. This was all I got to see of the pandas.

Beauty, Unquestionably, is Pain

First in the news, I got my ears pierced. Again. A coworker of mine wanted a buddy so I made the spontaneous decision, "Sure, why not?". And so we went during our lunch break to this cute little shop in an alley by school. It was only $100NT ($3USD), earrings included, and very sanitary and efficient complete with alcohol pads and the earring gun. It was sore for awhile though. I've forgotten how much getting nailed with a needle hurts. The last time I got something pierced was my belly button during my freshmen year in college, and that was sore for like 3 weeks.

Speaking of pain, I went and got a wax. It took me ages and ages to find a decent, non-sketchy, and most importantly, sanitary place in Taipei. I finally found this place called Nude Waxing. So for any females who need to know this important information, I highly recommend this place! It's in an easy-to-find location by the 24-hour Eslite on Dunhua, and the place is clean and soothing with very friendly personnel.