9.24.2006 Boredom breeds......this:

Way back when the typhoons were coming, and Meg and I were wishfully wishing that they would hit us so we could have a day off we got creative.

All of the typhoon days I've experienced so far have kind of been exhilarating for someone who has only had to deal with big snow and icestorms. Typhoons, and earthquakes are new.

For those not in Taiwan, typically when a typhoon is coming we know a few days - a week ahead of time. The night before a typhoon day the radio will usually announce whether or not the government is going to shut down the whole city or not. This is usually enough time to stock up on essentials. Like armloads of movies and junkfood.... and I guess maybe some water if you have a free arm.

All of my typhoon days have been spent watching movie after movie and playing card games with Meg. We decided we needed something new and I'd been dying to try and find scrabble but I haven't had any luck finding the classic version.

So we made our own from junk Meg has collected. Plastic album covers, old tile, and permanent markers.



Yes. We are dorks.

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6.16.2006 busy but alive

Life has been more downs than ups lately but it has paved the way for some changes that could be for the better.

I'll post more soon, but for now this is just to let you know I am still alive and I love ya'll.

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4.20.2006 my new watch is cooler than yours

Do you have any idea how much I love this watch? From Shilin night market.

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4.03.2006 sculpture: meet Trevor

I'm not an artist. I don't take myself to seriously. I like to get my hands dirty now and then and have fun and take pictures of my fun. This has prompted a new album in my photography section called "art projects".

In there is my Trevor album. Trevor was created over the weekend from a fallen palm branch found in Gongguan park, some clay, a nut, and a branch of some sort.

Click the image below to go to the gallery.

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3.20.2006 slow with the updates, and international schemes

I've been in a bit of a mental and emotional rut the past while so updates have been slow. Sorry. I'm working on it.

I'm also still really behind on e-mailing back so if you're not on MSN you probably haven't been hearing from me. SORRY.

Part of my whole idea about what I would accomplish while in Taiwan was to live "freely". By nature I'm a very goal oriented person. I have to have something I'm working towards and if I do, it consumes me. Usually this is a very positive thing but while I was being introspective during my planning stages for coming to Taiwan I made a decision. I decided to try to spend my time in Taiwan not working towards the next big step or the next big goal.... to just go with the current for a change and see where it leads me. Even accepting that it may take me off track.

I get very excited about my goals and I usually achieve everything I set out to do. I've been very fortunate but I work very hard to accomplish what I set out to do. This doesn't mean I'm not open to other opportunities. I put my education on hold to go to Bolivia for 6 months, one of the biggest and best decisions of my life.... but I worry now that I'm taking enough time to stop and smell the flowers.

It may be a common experience but I've found that I enjoy periods of my life more looking back on them then I did at the moment I was in them because I was so focused on one particular thing.... usually whatever big goal I was working on at the moment.

Well since I've been in Taiwan I've really struggled with this. I keep going into anxiety about what I should be doing, am I wasting time? what's next? what's next? what's next? Then with the unfortunate events of last year the river veered off onto a whole different path.

I think in writing here, and in sharing my little adventures I'm proving to myself that I am actually enjoying "the now". I'm doing stuff! It might not be important stuff but I'm doing stuff. Stuff that I have as much fun doing as remembering.

Now I want to add a layer onto that. I want to start working on some goals but take baby steps. The most important goals I have right now are: more international development work, seeing all of the world I can possibly see, and more education.

So I've decided to get back to work on my degree with a university back home (through distance learning), spend the summer volunteering in another country, and maybe start taking some Mandarin classes. I'd like to look for some volunteer work to add to my schedule here in Taiwan too but I need to figure out what my calendar is going to look like once I add some studying in.

I've been looking into more and more overseas summer volunteer options. My school is closing regular classes for the summer, which it didn't do last year... and will only be offering summer camp programs. I don't have to teach summer camp so I think I'm going to take advantage of the time and work on both the volunteering and traveling goal! I'm not exactly sure I'll be able to afford it yet but I have some fundraising ideas. Most of the positions I'm currently looking at are in Nepal. Nepal is on my top 5 must see before I die places. I've found various opportunities to teach orphans English and Computer, or to teach to poor kids in small communities. Another interesting opportunity is to teach English to refugee Buddhist monks from Tibet.

Having a few things in the works again has lifted me up quite a bit and I'm feeling on track again. I guess it's not so bad to have goals. I just can't let them consume me so much.

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3.01.2006 updates, updates, updates

I've done some updates tonight.

I stumbled across some more digital Cuba pictures I took that I liked and added them to the Cuba album. Unfortunately my best Cuba shots were done on film and are in a storage locker way back home in Saint John.

Some of my Thailand pictures (one of my favourites too!) ended up in the root of my photography section instead of in the Thailand album. Those have been moved now and are where they should be.

I've added the picture of the pig intestine soup to accompany my old post "Ma, nevermind turkey! Pass those intestines (a.k.a Christmas Day in Taiwan)"

Some more photography will be going up soon in my photography section and the new site design should be up by next week. yaaa!

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2.24.2006 I am alive, honest

The past few weeks have been emotionally and physically trying but I am alive, and there will be a flood of updates to come. If not today.

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12.06.2005 re-design in process

Leaving to head back to Taiwan today. It'll probably be a few weeks before the site is back to it's fullest but the biggest chunk of meat is back. I still need to do a bit of organizational work in the galleries (as far as comments, titles and ordering) but the most important parts are back up. This current design (excluding how the gallery is laid out) should hopefully be temporary because I need to do a new design for the site to replace the old one but I'm too lazy. Anyone want to do a design for me??? :D

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2.22.2005 a genius is dead :(

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-1494604,00.html#startcontent

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