Happy Chinese New Year folks! The weather in Taiwan finally got cold, and I'm definitely enjoying the cooler temperatures. I've been out the last two nights meeting up with the few friends I have here in Taiwan for dinner, and in turn meeting more people out here that I can hang out with when I get bored.
On Thursday, I met up with my dad's friend's daughters whom I have known since I was a little kid. Our families used to hang out all the time before we moved to the states, but we've kept in touch over the years, especially when Facebook became available over here in Taiwan. Dinner that night was Japanese food, with about 10 courses (there is more to Japanese food besides sushi) and a pitcher of beer that I mostly drank since the girls usually only drink cocktails. I was stuffed, but I went out afterwards to a house party that my friend's boyfriend was hosting with some other people for CNY. They had a gift exchange similar to a white elephant, but without the stealing aspect. There was one other person there that didn't know anyone else except the person that brought them, so I talked with her for a little bit. I felt a bit mischievous, so I took the bag of extra condiments from the pizza that they ordered, and put it in another bag, and set it down next to the other gifts that they were being exchanged. We both got a kick out of it as a few people acted like they were reaching for it, but went for something else. The ruse was up when the participants were sorting through the remaining gifts and someone looked closer at the semi transparent bag and noticed the condiments.
On Friday night, I met up with an ex coworker from AMD for dinner and drinks. We met when he was still working in AMD Austin, then moved back to Taiwan to work at AMD, quit to start his own business, and finally got back into the high tech industry back in October only to be recruited by someone to go back to work at AMD. It's the job position that I was hopeful to get back in September, but he has more experience and is probably more qualified for the position than I am. Definitely no hard feelings, but we discussed my career and what options are available to me now, which is bringing me to an interesting crossroads again. I'm seriously considering scrapping the Shanghai part of my whole move and just staying in Taiwan, especially if I might have a job with AMD again. I already have a place lined up to stay thanks to my dad's friend, which would be really central to everything in Taipei. I've also looked at Mandarin language classes I could take in the evening while working, which is a huge plus considering the whole move was originally to relearn Mandarin anyways. The main factor in all this is of course the possibility of the job opening at AMD Taiwan, which I am being considered for, but have no idea when the headcount will open up, if it all. In the meantime, I have to leave Taiwan by March 5th due to my 30 day visa expiration, which means I need to plan a trip somewhere (Japan, HK, S. Korea, Australia?)
In the meantime, I'm still subject to lectures from my dad, as well as his accordion playing. I've started to develop a headache whenever he starts lecturing, which is not a good sign, but I'm just trying to make it to the end of the month. He's mentioned to me that before I got here, if he had trouble sleeping or woke up in the middle of the night, he would bust out his accordion and then go back to sleep. Thank god he isn't doing that now.
Oh! I almost forgot, I've discovered this delicious new snack in Taipei. Oh. My. God. The last few times I walked through the Taipei Main Station, this fragrant smell just overwhelmed the area, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. My friend and I were walking through last night, so I stopped him and had him point it out for me. It's this bread that's baked with a coffee flavored cream on top, and is so delicious, that mere words would do it an injustice. Seriously, if you're ever here visiting, you MUST try this. I'm starting to crave it as much as I crave/miss Tex-Mex/BBQ/Cajun food/etc.
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