I love curry; there is no denying it. I prefer a hot, spicy Indian curry to the milder varieties often found in Thailand and Japan, although Thai curry can certainly be fiery. I went to a pleasant little curry restaurant, had a beer, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. This one felt especially well balanced.

The Palace Museum, ranked as one of the world’s five best museums, had just completed a renovation. Since I lived in Taipei, I had no excuse not to see the exhibition. From start to finish, the experience inspired a sense of awe. The Palace Museum building alone was splendid enough to make the bus ride worthwhile, but the true treasures were inside.

I’ve finally taken the time to rotate, crop, and upload the photographs from my trip to China. I posted about 100, along with a few from my previous visit. If you are interested, you are welcome to view them in my gallery. Feel free to email me if you find any of them interesting. I would love to hear what you think.

Luckily, there was an internet cafe next to the hostel, so I bought a membership. For the rest of my time in Shenzhen, I spent much of the day there watching movies. My new roommates, one from Taiwan and the other from Canada but originally from Mali, both snored heavily (and you know how much I like snoring). I enjoyed some excellent conversations with the Canadian, who shared his efforts to secure a better future.

If you flip through my site, you can see that I have had the privilege of travelling around the world. Even though I don’t often experience “culture shock,” I sometimes encounter things that are genuinely unique. This was one of them. One of the first nights after I arrived in Taipei, I was doing something in my room when I heard music. I didn’t quite know what was going on, didn’t really care, and forgot about it. The next night, I heard the music again. By the fourth night, I asked my host, “What is that noise?” She just started laughing. One question I forgot to ask when I moved in was, “Where does all the rubbish go?” In this part of Taipei, there is no …

Life is full of choices. What should I wear today? What goals should I set for this week? What should I eat for breakfast? The third question is easy for me because I know how to order only a few things at the local Morning Burger. Beyond breakfast, however, there are plenty of decisions to make. Recently, I have had to make some difficult choices, and I hope they prove to be the right ones. I made a deal with myself: once my bank balance fell to a certain level, I would find a job. Although I am careful about spending, I still need to eat. I am nearing that point, so I have decided to pause my Chinese studies and earn some money.

When I was younger I hated reading. I mean, I guess I didn’t hate reading, but I always found better things to do. Like dig holes. Times have changed. Throughout middle school I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Xanth fantasy series by Piers Anthony; Dean Koontz was pretty good as well. In high school my teachers spoon-fed me fine literature, with special thanks to Mrs. Bowen-Jones for her AP Literature course. Compared with many people I have talked with at uni, I had the privilege of being exposed to many great works. While the fine details have now somewhat faded, I still remember the overall themes and motifs. At the time I didn’t fully enjoy or appreciate the privilege I had. Indeed, the push from …

I must take a few moments to note that the GRE was completed successfully, one more step in the PhD application process. Interestingly, as I walk along the streets, I am routinely asked: “so, what does @!*% mean?” “Heck, I don’t know!” While I would consider my vocabulary broader than that of the average English speaker, she still asked me some rather random words. As a reward, I agreed to go shopping with her. So, today I woke up at 6:00am, she took her GRE, and by 11:30 I was off to lunch and several shops. Those of you who know me can sympathize with the pain I was in, as you know I don’t really like shopping. At one point she was browsing some shoes, and I sat down on the …

School has started again, and it is very hard, as expected. My class has five students, including me. One classmate is from Korea, and the others are from Indonesia. Today, the teacher mentioned that the Indonesian students already speak some Cantonese, so the tones come easily to them. I admit that I’m a little jealous. Otherwise, the past week hasn’t been too eventful. Matsu was wonderful, as you can read, but being back in Taipei is nice too. Ian and I are, for whatever reason, working towards the MCSE+Security certification, and I am behind where I would like to be. I should soon be able to shift into high gear and finish a few more exams. One may wonder why Kelvin is pursuing an MCSE. He …

Today was rough. For reasons still unknown to me, I decided to “have some fun” and take the ferry back to Taiwan. What was I thinking? I’ve taken several ferries before, some for extended periods. Little did I know this was going to be a particularly bumpy ride. I started playing cards near the top of the ferry, but soon realized that sleep would be a better idea. Somehow I wandered below to my cabin, grumpily crawled in, closed my eyes, and tried to sleep again at 11:00 a.m. Luckily I could, and I essentially forced myself to sleep for the entire trip. Having realized that I am not a sea person, at least not willingly, I was as happy as could be when I arrived back in Keelung.