The man said... 사랑해요 | 我愛你 | I love you

"사랑해요 | 我愛你 | I love you" was what the first Korean man I came across in Korea trying to teach me.... as we spent the night together along for the first time... and ever... whom I spent my first 85,000 won (Korean currency) on....

8-O

Sounds almost like I am going into the direction of the American gigolo scenario... and ratprincess finally got laid once for a change... 8-O lol

That strange Korean man I am talking about is a gypsy cab driver who drives a black van... even got the metering kind of machine inside of the car... although my Korean friend and her friend had no idea about this kind of cabs at all...

So, when I arrived at the Incheon airport, it was about midnight and all public transportations had already stopped running....

I found these three kids from the US, possibly teaching English in Taiwan and Korea now...  Although I had no idea where I was going, I decided to split the cab with them going into town from the airport.... thinking... maybe I would be able to find a cheap hotel to spend the night instead of going to my friend's place at this hour...

On our way to Seoul, I got a hold of my friend and she apparently checked out the hotels all around town... The taxi driver also made a few phone calls to hotels...

Both came back with the same conclusion....

All hotels were fully booked.... (yet, I guess, if I were feeling up to paying 500 or 1000 US dollar a night, I might be able to find a room... 8-O lol)

It was not until the day after did I come to the realization that the situation might have something to do with the fact that.... it was Saturday and the second day was this Korean national holiday called "Liberation Day".... celebrating the liberation from the Japanese.

Before the ride, the driver told us that he would charge 2000 won for each person since it would be a 80000 won trip into town.

When we finally arrived at downtown Seoul, he suddenly raised the price to 25000 won... saying that all cabs would raise the fare by 10% after midnight and he also had to cover the fees for the tolls.

Ended up, we all paid an extra 5000 won (the equivalence of 5-6 US dollars) for the trip between the airport and downtown Seoul... and... to be honest, I found that driver to be really stupid... Unless he had never done it before... why didn't he simply charge 25,000 won in the beginning?  In that case, we didn't even have go through the experience of feeling being cheated....

You see, there is something strange about human psychology... if, inevitably, I have to be cheated, I'd rather be unaware of it... 8-O lol

Since even my friend can not find me any hotel room in town, it might not be any safer or cheaper for me to take one of them ordinary cabs and my friend already has this guy's cell phone number, I decided to take his taxi to go all the way to Bun-dang...

It was during the ride going to Bun-dang did this man started beginning to act... how do you describe it... frisky...

So he asked whether I am single...

So he asked what I think of Korean man?

And, he wanted to be my boy friend.... 8-O lol

Also, he tried to touch my hand...  @#$%&*$%#

Since it was already 1:00 or 2:00 o'clock early in the morning in a country I have never been to and, its language, I had no idea about, provided that we were on the highway, I had to go on  leisurely conversing with him for fear that.... damn... this guy could really drop me right off there this hour in the night....

Concerning his request to be my boyfriend and since he would not decrease the additional fare rate from 60000 to 50000, my only response...

"No 50000, no girlfriend."

He also tried to teach me Korean....

"사랑해요 (I love you)..."

"사랑해요 (I love you)..."

"사랑해요 (I love you)..."

Mister even came up with this proposal... "You go home with me... 0 dollars!"  (Man... he really underestimated my worth... 8-O lol)

And, wow.. man... didn't know that Korean men are so forth-coming and straight-forward.... 8-O

Well... in my much younger years... I had imagined foreign love affair like...

羅馬假期 or Roman Holidays...



東京假期 or Seven Nights in Japan...



OMG... 好悲情ㄚ and so romantic as well!

Except for... man... I am also somewhat royal since I am the Ratprincess... How come my experiences are so much different these other royal pals?  (Perhaps, having something to do with the rat part of my title... 8-O lol)

Yet, looking at the bright, in the ratological version of 韓國假期 or Korean Holidays, at least, I sort have someone serenading me incessantly and tried to make me say to him...  사랑해요... 사랑해요... 사랑해요.... (I love you... I love you... I love you....) though nothing comparing to the following.... 8-O lol



What happened then?

He finally took me to my friend's place and I paid him the 60000 won for the trip between Seoul and Bun-dang.

And, one might wonder... what might I have done to make him acting so?

I swear to God... all that I did was trying to negotiate with this guy about the cab fare... That's all.

I guess... this man might have a thing with women who haggle?  And, whenever I hear 사랑해요 (I love you), I thought of the cab driver, Mr. 사랑해요..... 8-O 8-X lol

粉絲症候群 fensi or Fans syndrome

So, in addition to bronchitis, I also came back to Taipei with this disorder called Fensi syndrome (Fans syndrome)...

For days, I applied the flooding technique to myself...

Listening to 어떡하죠 如何是好 What should I do thousands of times a day... staring at my husband's picture millions of times.... until... now... finally... less feverish.... 8-O lol

The following song.. Good Bye by 张根硕



어떡하죠 바라만 보네요 我该怎么做 只能注视着你
짧은 인사조차 건낼수가 없네요 甚至不能简短问候
시리도록 차가운 내손잡아 주지마 别握我冰冷的双手
이제는 그만 보내야하죠 现在我必须要让你走
어떡하죠 멀어져 가네요 我该怎么做 你已经越走越远
가슴가득 눈물만 차오네요 我满腹泪水
애써 감춰 봐도 멈출수가 없어요 就算努力隐藏 还是无法停止
끝내 잡지 못한 이맘을 어떡하나요 无法停止的爱 我该怎么做

사랑했던 그 기억은 놓지 말아요 请别忘记我们曾经那样相爱
다시 웃게 해줄 다른 사람 만나도 就算遇到另外一个能令你展开笑颜的人
아픈 이별까지도 그대라 다행이죠 离别是痛苦的 但我很高兴能与你相遇
슬픈 눈물 모아서 안녕 收起悲伤的泪水 说再见

아무것도 해준게 없네요 我没有为你做过什么
못나게도 상처만 남겼네요 却只留下伤痛与你相伴
변해간 맘조차 감싸안아준 사람 你是那个无条件接受我任何感受的人
이젠 보내야할 그대를 어떡하나요 如今必须让你走 我该怎么做

숨이 멎을 만큼 아파와 눈물흘러도 即使这痛会让我停止呼吸 泪水横流
행복했던 그 기억은 놓지 말아요 请别忘记我们曾经那样幸福

닿지 못한 내사랑 이제 보내야 하죠 如今我必须将再不能让你感受的爱送走
오직 나를 웃게 할 사람 그대뿐인걸 你 是唯一的那个 可以让我微笑的人
사랑이 깊어져 마음이 아파와도 爱你越深 痛也越深

슬픈 눈물 모아서 내가 할수 있는일 收起悲伤的泪水 我唯一能做的事 就是说...
안 ~~~ 녕~~~~ 再见......

어떡하죠 如何是好 What should I do: There is something about Jeju

I was supposed to arrived in Incheon airport at 8:30 PM the first day of my trip this time.

The matter of the fact... everybody on the flight was getting all ready for landing when the pilot announced something like...

"We will be landing in Incheon airport within 20 minutes and we are actually ahead of the scheduled time."

So we all sat there like good boys and girls with seat-belt fastened.... waiting... waiting... and waiting to land....

All of a sudden, the plane was going up and down as if I were riding on a roller-coaster.

"Some bad turbulence..." I thought to myself...

I, like the rest of the people, remained seated waiting to land in less than 20 minutes...

And, we kept on waiting.... till... must be 30-40 minutes later...

We heard the pilot broadcasting again....

"Due to weather condition, the pilot has decided to land in Jeju."

Jeju?  Where is Jeju?

I vaguely remember the name of Jeju, especially when I was looking up plausible trips before I booked the tickets for this one.  Yet, I was not quite sure whether what I thought as Jeju was that Jeju the pilot was referring to.

At some point, I asked this American guy from Boston next to me....

"Where exactly is Jeju?"

"It is a small island down south.  To be honest, the only place that really needs air-traveling to get to in Korea." So he said.

"Wonder whether this happen a lot?"

So he replied, "Nope.  I have been taking this route many times.  It has always been a smooth and straight forward flight."

Not until I came on board... I guess... 8-O lol

In my mind, I vaguely remember reading about other airports in Korean...

"Are there other airports in Korea than the one in Seoul and the one in Jeju?"

Apparently, yes... except for... we never found out why the pilot chose the farthest airport to go.....

So we eventually landed at the Jeju airport... around 10 o'clock.... or you might say that Jeju was the first stop for my trip in Korea... with the following two the first two pictures I took of Korea....

When we finally landed and as everyone was making phone call on their to tell their friends about the detour.  Unfortunately, yours truly is one of the last person on this planet without a cell-phone.

In the original plane, upon arrival at the Incheon airport, I would take this airport express bus to Bun-dang where my friend would come pick me up at 10:30.

Since it was already after 10 when I arrived in Jeju, I was very concerned that my friend might be outside waiting for hours in vain.

I spoke with the flight attendant about the possibility of getting off the plane to make a phone call... Unfortunately, no-can-do... especially since it was an international flight and there were immigration issues involved...

Ended up, the wonderful flight attendant of the China Estern airline lent me her cell phone to make the call.... (This is the point when I have to tell you that... there are nice people everywhere.... Amazing world....)

The view of Jeju airport

Interesting bright lights over the water by Jeju island.

Somewhere along this trip... I thought of money...

You see, mama had suggested that I bought some Korean money when we were at the Airport in Taipei except for I thought... why not wait till I arrive in Korean to do since since I would be using US dollar anyways?

Since this guy sitting next to me came from the States, I was wonder whether I could buy some Korean money from him except for... all that he had... a coin or two...

Sitting there... on the airplane in Jeju... not knowing when exactly the airplane would take off... I thought of the trip to Bremem I took almost two decades back...

I took off earlier that day from a small town called...something like... Lorelei am Rhine...

The ferry on the Rhine was delayed... so were the local trains and  ICE (express train)....

In the original plan, by 8:00 PM, Friday night, I was supposed to have changed to a local train in Bremen in order to get to this small town where the family I was going to stay with lives...

Except for...  by the time I was about to get to Bremen, it was going to be around or later than 10 o'clock...  The family told me that they won't be able to pick me up.

This is a city I have never been before... only know that it was a big city... a sea port...

In my head, I ran through all different scenarios...

Maybe I will sleep in the train station?  Apparently, many people have done that before..

Or, since I have this unlimited Europass... I might as well change to a train going down south, switch to another train going north somewhere in the middle of the night and call it a night....

Of course, always the option of staying at an hotel except for... gotta know where to stay first and God know how much it would cost.... only if I knew where the youth hostel might be....

In addition, what was worst off... I totally ran out of Germany Mark.  I was so busy trying to catch the delayed trains and ferries during the day that I didn't have any chance at all to go to the money exchange place to get some cash.... By the time I got to Bremen, the money exchange place would have closed and nothing would be open during the weekend...

I will be along in Bremen for the first time, without German currency, not knowing where to stay..... 18 or 19 years old...

Speaking of....

어떡하죠? 如何是好? What should I do?

A different kind of 어떡하죠.....

Well, don't worry.  Am I not here typing these words out today? lol

Ended up, this guy who had been taking the same trains the entire day heard of my strange planes, called his wife and took me home.  They let me stay in their daughter's room over night.  Second day, he bought my US dollars based on the currency rates reported on the newspaper.

(Guess this is part of the reason why...  for me, if people need a roof and they don't mind my small room, they get the roof.  And, yes, sometimes I do wonder how I could live up to this age.... 8-O lol)

Back to Jeju...

Decades later... I found myself in similar situation... I've got only US dollars.... even if the plane took off soon, it might be mid night when I arrived in the airport already....

OMG... all that I've got US dollars only.... 8-X

The plane did take off and I did arrive at Incheon airport... and, thank God, the currency exchange places were still open....

It was not until thereafter did I came to the realization that... after certain hour, especially it was already after midnight.... there were no more public transportation available... no more buses, no more subways, and, of course, no M60 or supershuttle.... other than the Gypsy cabs that would cost me over 100 US dollars to get to where I was supposed to go....

Ok.. for you well-to-do people or people with steady income, only 100 dollars, so what?

Yet, yes, babe, for yours truly... ouch... that is some money... Ok?! 8-O lol

If my life were a drama, this is the point when the song "어떡하죠 | 如何是好 | What should I do" playing in the background with the camera gradually zooming in to my brave face to show my traumatic expression... or... zooming out further and further away to show how minute, helpless and along yours truly felt....

Except for... my life ain't no soap opera and I am no leading character in no freaking idol drama... (Good way to exercise my over-active imagination, at least, I guess... 8-O lol)

Ended up, the first thing I did in Korea was to spend the majority of the first 100 US dollar worth of Korean money on cab fare... the kind of the cabs even the Korean locals had not seen before. 8-O lol

At the same time, still can't quite understand why other people's first impression with Jeju might be something like this...  while, not my Jeju.... 8-O lol

PS.  From now on, I will always have some local currency available wherever I travel... if possible...

Where did you find THAT?

When I called up the office the other day, I could not wait showing people the picture of the love of my life... my painfully beautiful boy (never heard of cougar?  8-O lol)

One response... "You are old enough to be his mom!"  (Come on... not yet so old... 8-X)

Another response...

"What is THAT?" So I was asked.
"My husband."
"Where did you find THAT?"
"I googled it." 8-O lol

At the same time, old lady like me still doing this kinda stuff...

어떡하죠 如何是好 What should I do? (有點太悲情了吧..... 8-O lol)

Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC)

The day after the World Expo, I rested for the entire day to recuperate... Did only one thing... gotten up to the tallest building in Shanghai now... the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC).... 5-10 minute's walk from where I was staying at.

As a matter of fact, looking at the speed at which buildings are getting built up in Shanghai today, you might have to speed up getting to the 100th floor of SWFC soon before it becomes the next Jinmao Tower-- the formerly known as the tallest building in Shanghai... 8-O lol

My sister had told me that you can get a 10% discount if you show them your World Expo ticket.  I didn't get to use this discount though...

At the same time, if you don't quite care about getting all the way up to the 100th floor to see the ground from right underneath your feet... I was told that you could actually get up to the upper levels through the hotel part of the building.

Following are some pictures I took either inside of the SWFC or SWFC pictures I took from different angles or locations.

The waiting area before you enter the room for video introduction

In this room, you will be given an introduction about the building.

This picture was taken on the 100th floor....  The yellow lights you see there are actually street lights etc on the ground... 100 floors below. Unfortunately, I was there too late to see the view in day light...  So far as I am concerning, the main reason to spend all that money to come all the way up here is to be standing on these clear glass floor and see the ground 100 floors below.... 

I think this is the view of Jinmao Tower and SWFC from the "Riverside Park" 河濱公園" in Pu-doing 

This picture was taken by 豫園/城隍廟

The view of the skyscrapers, including SWFC, from the overpass near the Oriental Pearl and the Lujiazu metro station.

The SWFC is designed in a strange fashion.  From certain angle, you would think that the topic of the building is pointed in shape and can't even see the hollow part below the 100th floor.  

This picture was taken from the Bund (外灘)

The SWFC in bright day light...

Pictures taken from the SWFC...

基隆蓮花燈 Lotus Lantern of Keelung (Ghost Festival)

I took the bus to Keelung to see my uncle, a physician, who has been treating me since I was a kid...

On my way back to Taipei, I took route different from the usual... I decided to take the boardwalk by the water...

Coincidentally, today, there is this "Lotus lantern (蓮花燈)" lighting function as part of the ghost festival.

So I went and got a lantern, too, and released it off to the sea... It was not until later did I know that... the lamp I was given randomly was yellow in color... associated with "平安圓滿"-- meaning safe and sound without problems and satisfactory outcome..  Sounds good... I like it...

Although I did not have a camera with me, I did find a video clip to show you what happens during the process of lantern release...




Also, you can check out more pictures of this event such as the following at this blog I found online...

Originally, I had wanted to go to Keelung for the lantern release thing this year... except for I missed the 中元節 or the mid-month of the ghost month for the trip to Seoul and Shanghai.  I had thought that there was no way this wish could come true... coincidentally, today, I had to go see my doctor, decided to take an alternative route and found myself releasing the yellow lantern.... Speaking of... all roads lead Rome in its mysterious way? 8-O lol

上海市磁浮列車 Shanghai Maglev

I had taken the 上海市磁浮列車 or Shanghai Maglev to and from the airport this time... although subway #2 also go directly both to the Pu-Dong airport and Lujiazui (陆家嘴) where I stayed.

On my way to the airport, it took less than 8 minutes for the 上海市磁浮列車 or Shanghai Maglev to go something like 30 KM... with the highest speed as 431 KM/HR.  Apparently, it is even faster than the French TGV....

The regular price for the Maglev running between the airport and the city is 50 yuan (RMB).  However, discount tickets are also available.... As a traveler, you can get 20% off and pay one 40 yuan (RMB) if you show the ticket agent your same-day flight ticket.  Otherwise, paying fare using 'Jiaotong' card (sort of like the NYC metrocard except for there is a 20 yuan (RMB) deposit fee for the card).

For first-time travelers to Shanghai, especially budget travelers like me, if you intend to use the metro or the buses as your major means for transportation, I would recommend you to purchase the Jiaotong card.

You could actually purchase the card directly from the Maglev ticket counter and have them add the money to the card.

What you have to do in Shanghai or China: 足浴 Foot bath

One thing I love the most during my trip... among all other things... is.. 足浴.. foot message or foot bath.

It apparently is something very common in China.. or Shanghai, at least...

For some people, it might sound like 蜀犬吠日... so they say... in 四川 province, there are a lot of clouds and often foggy... at least some part of the province, I guess... it is so rare for doggies to see the sun in the sky that doggies would bark at the sun.

In other words, though there is nothing new under the sun... It is the sun itself that is new?!  Well, interesting.....

Back months ago, when I was in New York, I started doing foot soaking, especially after I was going through the insomnia resulting from the dosage change of Seroquel...  I would add Epson salt and, sometimes, essential oils to the water.  And, I found out that foot soaking really help me falling asleep.

Some days, I would be knocked down so well that I would think I might have taken Seroquel already since Seroquel has also been serving me as sleeping aids due to its sedating effect for all these years.

When I was in Shanghai, my brother in law took me to do foot bath or 足浴.

At the beginning of the session, they would let you soak your feet in some kind of water... with ingredients such as milk or herbs... depending on the where you go.  While you are soaking your feet, they would give you a message on your upper body followed by foot message.

After my trip to Seoul, due to circumstances, by the time I got to Shanghai, my body was in a-piece-of-crab kind of state.  Not only did I have some really bad flu/cold symptoms... knocking me down the entire day the second day I arrived in Shanghai... My back and knees conditions were both in a really bad shape.

My walking was so not very normal that my brother-in-law coined it the "八家將" style.... (please see the following clip for an example of the "八家將" style... interestingly... does have some resemblance... 8-O lol)



In any case, the first time I tried out 足浴 or foot bath was the day after I was struck down by upper respiratory problem and stayed in bed the entire day.  After the 90-minute session, miraculously, I was able to walk better and it was much easier to climb one stair or two--- although my much-easier-state was still consider very八家將 to the others.... 8-O lol   In addition,  at the end of the session, I suddenly started really productive coughs and was able to get rid of much mucus (oops, too much information...)

So, during my stay, I did a few more times of 足浴 or foot bath... with the last time the night right before my departure day...

When the lady was messaging my feet, at some point, I felt her hand stroking on some interesting knots under my feet, I asked her what that was... Apparently, that was the region associated with sleeping problem... She kept on working on that area and... in no time... I was sleepy.. and, that night, I had the best sleep I have ever had for a while.... still so sleepy when I was on the Maglev on the way to the Pu-dong airport (thank God I was awake enough to not get onto the wrong plane... 8-O lol)

Moreover, the time before landing, when the plane started to decrease its altitude has always been a killer if I felt under the weather upon boarding.  Although I did feel sort of uncomfortable when the airplane was landing in Taipei, it was so much better than my trip from Korea to Shanghai... for 20-30 minutes... my ears hurt, my head hurt and I though my head was about to explode... ouch...

In addition, despite the fact that I have been sick to the state that I feel lethargic all over, my body movement has gotten such much better and that luggage of mine also appeared less burdensome to manage.

Although there is no scientific basis, I suspect these changes might have something to do with the foot bath experiences... As a result, perhaps, from now on, I shall go for a foot bath/message session if I have to get on to an airplane while feeling under the weather. 8-O lol
 
Except for... so my sister had me told... foot bathing is so much more expensive in Taiwan... comparing to that in Shanghai...  In that case, I would simply get back to do my at-home-spa treatment called foot soaking... I guess..

In Shanghai, the price might range between 10-20 US dollars for a 60-90-minute session.  This is something I would strongly recommend shall you be interested in taking a trip to Shanghai or China in general.

An Ode to 粉絲 (fans)

Recently, I was granted this fabulous chance to join the 粉絲團 or fan club of my pretty boy... 張根碩... (OMG... yum... yum... 8-O lol)

It's been gazillion years since the last time I was a die hard fan of someone who doesn't even have a clue about my existence.... Ya... I still remember vaguely how, decades ago, I was so crazy about da beautiful boy called George Michael.... (OK... Come on... that boy used to be really really hot... though I haven't followed up since decades... 8-O 8-X lol)

Essentially, what I have been going through is nothing but the recapitulation of teenage... I guess... (and, if teenage could be relive again... I hope... new teeth, too... 8-X 8-O lol)

The psychology of being a 粉絲 of some public kinda figure is a strange one...

It is a real one-way street... unless you are one of the "lucky few"....

You know of them... you can declare your affection towards them... you can even go crazy for them... doing things such as skipping your mid term waiting in front of their house only to see them... but they have no idea at all about your existence...

To them... you are only one of the billion 粉絲...

Yet, everyday... you search and search... for more and more information on the object of your affection... You even join in with the others... those sharing the same kind of passion towards the object of affection. (Sounds like the thing starting with the letter o... 8-O lol)

At the beginning, you might start from liking them as the character of some theatrical production... during the process of information research... You try to learn everything about him... Revisit each every trace he left...

"OMG... He is coming to Taipei!" You exclaim and you want to share your joy with the entire world.... with the same amount of excitement you had when your once-upon-a-time or real-life significant other first fly into town to pay you a visit.

At some point, you eventually come to realize... Oh... this man actually might be someone totally different from who I thought he was... based on the storyline of the drama you are drawn into.... And, you say to yourself... oops... 8-O lol

Regardless, you are in love... You make the person your boy friend, your husband, and your whatever... 

You even want to tell the entire world about this love of your life.... announce it!

You might blush speaking of him.... or not...

You even get sad, upset, and even jealous when you see your man with another woman... 

"Why does he hang around with that woman?  It is not like she is all that..." 8-O lol

Evolutionarily, it also doesn't quite make sense...

Well, the wish to find someone cute and well-to-do... a tendency beneficial to the offspring.... 

Yet, the devotion of someone who doesn't know jack about your existence... seems to be evolutionarily unfounded.... 

This is something yours relatively veteran delusional couldn't even comprehend....

Yet, so they say....

"Fans are very futile...  They might love you to death today but marry another man tomorrow."

Comparing to the object of affection who doesn't even have a clue about the existence of the individual 粉絲, I guess it is absolutely legitimate for 粉絲團 to proudly admit that... la donna e mobile?!  8-O lol



Speaking of which... seeing my husband always with another younger and cuter girl in public... I am wondering now when I will be ready to denounce him as my ex-husband.... 8-O lol

Anyways, so I decided to search and search for a readily available clip showing the overzealous fans... Unfortunately, most of the clips show only the object of affection rather than the 粉絲團.... Following is a short clip I got from the Korean drama 原來是美男(미남이시네요) showing the 粉絲 spirit or the spirits of the fans....  

An Ode to all 粉絲 in the world... regardless your object of affections...

To Expo or not to Expo... That's the question...

I must have mentioned to you before... What I saw most in the World Expo was... people.... What I did most there was waiting in line....

The people mountain people sea (人山人海) in the World Expo in Shanghai... and for some pavilions... hours of waiting in line... 

Like what a friend of mine had put it, it takes longer time to wait in line than to fly directly to the country... for instance... it took me 2 hours to fly from Seoul, Korea to Shanghai... but it could take you 3,4 hours to get into the Korean Pavilion... Similarly, it took me less than 2 hours to ge from Shanghai back to Taipei... It would have taken me more than 2 hours to get the ticket to Taiwan Pavilion.... Also... might as well travel around in Taiwan now that I am seeing Taipei 101 everyday..... 8-O lol

Korean Pavilion

Yours truly, of course, like many others, took the strategy called visiting only the pavilions without or with only short lines....

Uzbekistan Pavilion

Moreover, even the small pavilions with shorter or no line were crowded with people... which made it pretty difficult to see much...

I did not have the courage, not to mention the strength, to even attempt the path towards the Saudi Arabia pavilion...  Please be reminded... what you see below is only a "small fraction" of the line for the Saudi Arabia pavilion.

All these people in these pictures were waiting in line for the Saudi Arabia Pavilion. The sigh said... over 5 hour waiting time. In reality- on a day when I almost got heat stroke (and perhaps really got it since I was so overcome by my expo experiences that I stayed in all day the second day) and almost passed out due to the heat--- provided me being sick already- these people in the picture had to wait over 6 hours to get in. According to hearsay, it took some people 9 hours to get in.  Such dedication... I have to say... heroic....

Only about 3 hours after I arrived, I had already thrown the white towel in to the world expo.

Sitting on the bench underneath the overpass, feeling the cold water sprinkling down, and in my vacuous head, I must be thinking... too hot, too humid, I am getting sick and I am feverish..... I am about to pass out... Oh, Lord...

Perhaps, also pondering about the clouds overcasting the sky of Pu-Xi... when are you gonna rain down?  God... please let it rain down.... (and, it finally did rain down.  9-10 o'clock in the evening when I finally made it back to my brother in law's...  finally back to the comfort of the AC-ed living room... sipping my water... waiting for the leading character of my life to show up.... and it poured.  Guess my wish really was granted except for quite a few hours too late... 8-O lol)

Back to 2-3 o'clock in the afternoon... just when yours truly-- the self-proclaimed determined disabled and sick traveler-- was there self-pitying while staring at them crowds in awe... gotta be really hot in there.... body heat and stinky sweat.... while still over 6 hours to go.... My God... some real dedication.... I would not be able to survive it for even 5 minutes... 3 minutes... or maybe not even 30 seconds..

It was then when I heard commotion...

You see, even the military were brought in to manage the waiting lines, which were actually were physically divided into sections.

When the time comes for people to move from one segment to the next, the soldiers lined up, arm in arm, building a line or a wall, at the front of the crowd... moving one step at a time in unity... to prevent the crowds from pushing etc and causing accidents.  Over the air, they kept on broadcasting... "Don't push... Don't push...."

I had intended to take video clips of the scene except for... my head was already moving slow and my body moved even slower... All that I had caught was a picture that shows the "outcome" of the event... People already arriving at the next "benchmark"... Continuing to wait...

Days later, as I continued to speak to people about the amazing dedication I observed and my cowardliness, someone told me that... so they said in the news... a lot of people really got heat stroke and needed ER services... (oops... the problem of watching soap opera only but not news... 8-O 8-X)

This was when it clicked... something else I heard in the broadcast over the air... something like... "Your health is very important."

So... I did make it to stay at the Expo for over 8 hours... when I eventually move from zone A, B to section C.... where pavilions for England, America, France, Germany... etc... reside... Though I was already in a state when I was not even sure whether I could make it home in one piece... let along taking any picture.... You might as well check the official website of World Expo for professional photography....　

Before I went to the World Expo, people had me told... this is an event that is... "不去可惜,去了後悔".. essentially, you will regret it whether you go or not... 

Yet, those who have been there also insisted that I should go to the expo since I would be in Shanghai anyways...

After I went to the world expo, I fully came to grasp the essence of the comment... "不去可惜,去了後悔"..

I suppose, like many other things in life... it is better to have lived than to ponder what it would have been like should I have been there and lived it...

Sort of like... das dasein could be declared or made understood but such attempts could never fully recapitulate the dasein itself...

Also, sort of like... 어떡하죠 如何是好 What should I do?....

In addition, some times I wonder... the day I went to the expo, there were supposed to have been something over 400 thousand people at the expo site as well...  Perhaps... within those hours, I might have encountered Chinese coming from all provinces and special area/districts... Well, a kind of added value... so to speak...

Maybe... had I not been sick and disabled, provided there were not over 400000 people in the event and it did not feel like 120 degree on the outside... I would have given you a different story and I might have come up with the same conclusion I overheard as I was struggling to get to the bus stop on my way home...

"What a wonderful and fruitful day!" So said this young lady, perhaps on high heels, to her companions while yours truly was dragging herself one step at a time trying to prevent the feverish me from throwing up in public or from scaring people by the disgusting sound I make when trying to get mucus out (you know that sound....... 8-O lol)

Yet, same event, same environmental condition.... How could the perception be so drastically different between the grunpy old me and da youthful beauty?

Perhaps, the confounding variable... my fortunately unfortune circumstances?  And, looking at the bright side, maybe it was these fortunately unfortunate circumstances that would make this visit memorable-- otherwise... in 10 years... it might simply be... ya... that world expo... think I might have been there before but mostly forgotten? 8-O lol

The one-day visit to the world expo does have its repercussion....

Days after, a friend of my brother-in-law told me that she might be able to get me into the Saudi pavilion through "VIP" kinda entrance...  thinking of the people mountain people sea in the Shanghai heat... and the fact that I took the entire day off the second day after overcome by the expo.... I couldn't not even imagine myself revisit the place again...

In addition, my brother-in-law found out later that his wife's sister-in-law is coming to Taipei for a concert... though, unfortunately, with THAT woman... (Is that jealousy?  OMG... God.. I have sinned... Also, ok.. this is a dream or illusion... not delusion... 8-O lol) The thought of having to be in the "people mountain people sea" already scares the hell out of me... not to mention that tickets might have already been sold out....

Yet, if you happen to be going to Shanghai before the closing of the World expo and would like my opinion on whether to attend the event or not...

My comment would be... the world expo is an event that is... "不去可惜,去了後悔".  However, personally, I believe it is better to regret about having been there than regretting about not even know what to regret about.... (sounds like some real run-on sentence... 8-O lol)

Sort of like... if you have never experience 어떡하죠.... regardless how well the lyrics describes 어떡하죠.... you would still not really understand 어떡하죠- 如何是好- What should I do?.... I guess... Also, just because I tell you that it had always been a tiring and futile event for me to be in love or in a relationship, considering my single status... does it mean that you will then never be in love or be in a relationship? 8-O 8-X lol

What is my style

Can't stop pondering now...

Shall my verbal diarrhea account for some kind of style... was ist das?

Perhaps... style?

Sitting here trying to recover from the trophy of my trip... Bronchitis... (Now I am feeling better... thought I had gotten the bird flu when I was even sicker like a dying doggie....)  The mucus so thick and sticky that one could use it as crazy glue... (oops... really disgusting... lol)

Since I am here so "賢慧" (閒在家裡什麼都不會).... not even having enough energy to start making some money again... might as well start seriously working on a book with my ratological existence as the content since many people seem to have a good laugh about the past... sort of like... dark comedy-- I guess?  8-O lol sigh

For instance, this old friend heard about how I got to be in this piece-of-crap" kind of condition--- because I was at work, in a meeting about elementary education... when the chair collapsed... I fell freely to the ground with a piece of raisin bran cookie... which I don't even really like...

She asked this same question that I asked myself many a time... "If you have to go through with all of these, why didn't you get injured by some dramatic event?" 8-O lol sigh

Ya... sometimes I wonder... would it have made me feel much happier if....

What it be like.... I actually got injured because of some dramatic event...  ummmmm.... 

In my dream... it would have been like dramatic and traumatic scenes you see in action movies such as mission impossible...

As in Die hard...

007..

Or... the beauty and the beast... the gorilla dropped me by mistake... from the top of the Empire state building... 8-O lol

Man... wouldn't the story be so much grander?!

Instead, a fat rat fell flat when a chair collapsed into one piece.... #$&*$#% 8-O lol

Anyways... getting back to the topic...

So I would like to see what I could do to put together something like a book...

And I started to try since yesterday... except for... the Goddess grants no words and the fountain of speech seemed to have run dry...

So I kept on drinking more and more water... other than thirsty...  partially also wish to clean the pipe.... 

And, then I realize... whether you call the blah blah blah above writing or not... In the process of lamenting about my inability to write, speech coming out in the form of words... more or less like... again... verbal diarrhea... Leaving me ponder... such, perhaps, including 8-X 8-O lol sigh, style?  8-O

What I saw most from my trip

What I got most from this trip... I saw people

Taken me by surprise at times because sometimes there were so many and so different from my expectation or imagination.....

For instance, the people mountain people sea (人山人海) in the World Expo in Shanghai...

What you see is a "small fraction" of the line for the Saudi Arabia pavilion.

All these people were waiting in line for the Saudi Arabia Pavilion. The sigh said... over 5 hour waiting time. In reality, on a day when I almost got heat stroke and almost passed out due to the heat provided me being sick already, these people in the picture had to wait over 6 hours to get in. According to hearsay, it took some people 9 hours to get in.

Yours truly, of course and like many others, took the strategy called visiting only the pavilions without or with only short lines....

regression to the mean

I think my body is recovering better....

My life so far... I spent years coping with that head of mine..  later, physical disability and the associated aches and pains etc...

This round, it is the common sickness anybody else could understand, I guess...

All of the symptoms you can find on the introduction chapter of all over-the-counter cold/flu medicine.... Finally went to see the doctor, my uncle told me... bronchitis...

Would love to consider it is statistics 101.... regression to the mean... with the question... when can I regress to the mean and would it ever be possible for that day to arrive?  Could I ever become that outlying data point that fit the regression line perfectly? 8-O lol

Delusion, illusion and other -sions or not... well... guess... I should be authorized to dream? 8-O 8-X

Shanghai accomplishment

Found a husband in Shanghai and he is coming to Taiwan in October...

Sorry for that outfit of his that I never really learn to like.... and... in case you wonder... ya... the woman next to him is not me.... It should by my should that he rests his hand on... 8-O :'-O lol

What about my picture?

Ya... one of the most blurry head... I guess.... 8-O lol

Ay... what a smile that could melt one's heart.....

Looking at him with another woman, me in the dark, can't be seen... Of course, sadly I thought.... why isn't it me? (especially, when... OMG... I think I am old enough to be that lady in the picture's aunt... 8-O lol)

So I told my sister..... I found you a sister in law in Shanghai...

So replied my dear sis...  something like... "It's better to look at the stars from afar because, when the star is closed by, it is too bright and could be so bright that it hurts.... so they said in the drama...." 8-X 8-O

Taipei

Just got back to Taipei from Shanghai... a pretty quick trip... less than 2 hours... on a presumably... typhoon day....

Checked my blog and realized that... wow... my simple writings did get successfully posted to this blog... cool...

Haven't been able to access blogger or my blog since arriving in China...

So much more could have been done...

Still trying to recover from this thing that hit me like a truck since I got to Shanghai... Part of it, I think might be allergy...

As I was checking the progress of the washing machine after looking up some theme song from a Korean drama I battled to finish watching last night while sipping my cold medicine in the middle of the afternoon...

I thought to myself... so much more could have been done had I not been sick... then... oops... doesn't it speak for the story of my life so far.... 8-O and... wait... seems to be a statement so very generalizable to the others as well... 8-O 

On a second thought, most of the places I have visited so far... I think I might have mostly forgotten.... What makes trips memoriable... I guess... are events with events as such.... 

gotten bitten by fishies in DR... even torn my swimsuit... 

followed bus driver's direction wrong, climbed up a semi-cliff in semi-high heel to get lost in the desert of Alberqueque...  

passport taken by the controller at the border of Austria and Italy...

started my first road trip by car in the North East of the US by walking into a huge hole... landed my right kneel on a rock on our way to Yale B-school, I think...

and ended in Yale hospital with 3-4 stitches... finally gotten the stitches taken off in a hospital near Mackinaw Island where they filmed somewhere in time...

landed in Miami for the first time in pouring rain in the night sick to the stomach... so sick that I had to throw up in the garbage can  first thing I did in South beach while waiting for a bus that never came... had to bang on the door of a closed restaurant to call for a taxi, which took me to a hostel ended up spending the night in a 4-bed arrangement with a broken door to the washroom with 3 strangers... men...  

Just a few examples that came to my mind....

So... in bright daylight, doing laundry, sick in Shanghai and listening to music from a Korean drama I didn't even know till I came to Shanghai... something to remember I guess.... 8-O lol

At least one thing I have learned is this Korean phrase... ho do ka jio... ho do ka jio.... ho do ka jio.... sa ram he yo... sa ram he yo.. sa ram he yo... if Korean can understand... 8-O lol

How much more could I have done... then?  8-O lol

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTMwMDc2MjA0.html



The first song with English lyrics...

Happy Ending

Spent the whole night finishing up the episode I missed at the beginning.... 原來是美男(미남이시네요)

My favorite part of the whole show... Happy ending...

어떡하죠 如何是好 What should I do?

어떡하죠?

如何是好? 

What should I do?

Speaking of my mind right now I guess.... 8-X

My boy friend on stage... what a pretty boy! except for the he was serenading someone else... 8-O #$%&

http://lancyparkedge.blog.sohu.com/155890853.html

I am in love

I decided yesterday that I am in love... with 張根碩..... know him through... 原来是美男

What could be even better... the man even has the same family names as me.... 8-O lol

A bit to old to be doing this kinda thing I guess... 8-O lol

Walking in the Rain

Today is the third day I started my mission to tour around in Shanghai on my feet... (Just in case you wonder... This has always been how I like to see a city... believe it or not... 8-O lol)

Took off earlier since the weather is milder... than... as I arrived at my destination... God granted my wish... sort of..  "let it rain down so that the temperature could cool down..."

Rather, it poured.  8-O lol

Getting a lift

One thing differs this trip from my previous trips is that....

I spent a whole lot of time looking for disability access... escalator, elevator, or taking detour... 8-O lol

One day, I was stuck at a subway station in Seoul because there was no elevator going to the ground...  The gentleman working at the booth found out I was having so much problem bringing myself up them stairs, he graciously pushed me all the way up through all those stairs till I was up to the ground... 

I was and remain extremely thankful to him because, otherwise, I might be struggling to get up till the day break next day.... 8-O 

At the same time... a different definition of getting a lift... I guess... 8-O lol

Accomplishment

Been sick like a dog since I got to Shanghai.... second day I arrived... I laid flat for the entire day... and have been laying low till yesterday.... when I decided to accomplish what I came here for... a determined though sick tourist... 8-O lol

Anyways, finally, I am growing out of this cold/flu thing slowly and sturdily... 

Been able to get out to see the city a bit more... 

Today, I came to the realization...

My biggest accomplishment this trip.... giving directions... 8-O lol

I don't know where I have not been to but I know the roads I have traversed... and... I actually gave people directions at least twice correctly today....

Even in Seoul, Korea, where I was absolutely illiterate...  can't read and understand korean at all... I successfully gave people directions twice... one time in the subway where a lady sitting next to me was looking for the bus station.  

The other time... a lady who spoke no English at all approached me to ask for direction...

Somewhere among the korean sentences I heard something like... "Lotte"...

So I asked, "Lotte department Store?"

Apparently, yes.

Since I spoke no Koren, I walked her to the corner of the block and pointed to the big sign on the building down the Road... "Lotte."

She was happy and appealled to be thankful... 

So I thought... Did I just give directions to a Korean lady who I could hardly understand in a city I hardly know? 8-O lol

 

朱家角

Brother in law went to play golf with his friend today... and he dropped me at 朱家角.... 

The first thing I accomplished after I arrived at the front entrance... I made a great entrance...  I took a really ugly fall and got this not so nice booboo...

Then I got up and kept on going.... 8-O lol 

Sick in Shanghai

Arrived in Shanghai late in the day yesterday... supposed to be working on touring around by now... except for... been sick and... gotten really sick overnight... chest congestion, nose running, my head all stuffed up, and, in addition to the pain associated with my neck, back and knee conditions, another kind of ache and pains... I think that is what they call the body aches...

Thought I was about to die when I saw the color of munus coming out when I first woke up in the morning.....  8-O lol

If you ask me at this specific moment, it is far worse to have a cold or flu like this than to be suffering the disability associated pains.... 8-O lol sigh

Yet, I have been working really hard on popping whatever pills I could pop to get myself feel better soon.....

(Trying to see whether I will be able to get this message posted through blog-by-email from Shanghai)

On my way to Seoul

On my way to Seoul... free internet access at the airport....

12.25 mg

Dosage has gone down again... now... since over two weeks ago because I was zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... most of the times....

Somewhere around 12.25 mg of Seroquel since it is impossible to really cut the pill in half or in quarter with pill cutter...  Haven't been on dosage this low since... I guess... 7-8 years ago..... 8-O

So I went to see a psychiatrist here... already twice since I got back on the 20th of July... he seems to think that I am doing pretty fine.

The added benefit of doing nothing more than... walking, exercising, TV watching and eating.  Not using my head too much, I guess. 8-O lol

In addition, I have an interesting observation... when it is too hot, my head also starts to get overheated and being in a cool place cools my head down.   Also,  when things get on my nerve... the head would start running and running and running.... I would let it run its course in my head and it does run through eventually.... 8-O lol

Sleeping problems did resurrect for... like two days.... I went back to my lavender etc tea or essential oil body product and it worked...

Regardless, I, again, realized... all these years of busy trying to devise a efficient way to cope while trying to live my life and pursuing the goals I have already forgotten....

The most strangely efficient way so far... do what others do for all these times. 

Nothing new. Sort of like... regression to the mean... I guess... 8-O lol

Why did I have to go running around in circle before getting back to this conclusion?  God knows... I guess... 8-O lol

Travel

I haven't gone traveling since January 2007.

OK, I did travel between Taiwan and the US in 2008 and three weeks ago.  Yet, that is called transportation.  Not travel.

Finally, I will be going traveling for the first time this Saturday.

Seoul first and Shanghai second.

Why Seoul and Shanghai?

Also.... free accommodation available and the cheapest most economic way to fly...  8-O lol

The only problem... give me a road and I could keep on walking till the cows come home provided there are restrooms available.... 

Yet, I can not carry weight.... It slows down my speed and causes problem to my back and, then, the whole body.

For instance, before I left NYC, I had to move some stuffs and it killed my body so bad that... 5:00 AM, curb side, outside of JFK... People in the airport had to pick me up with a wheelchair..... and, from there on, they carried me all the way back to Taiwan...

Well, I WAS really in pain and it really was sort of miserable then... especially having to deal with excruciating pains on a 25 hour trip....  Sounds pretty funny now since, 3 weeks later now, I am back to walk relatively fine and mostly pain-free again.... 8-O lol

Since I intend not to waste too much time recovering... I have to travel.... REALLY light to prevent any potential damages... while... since not making any money.... budget traveling.... 8-O lol oops...

In addition, although I now can "walk"---- 80 Manhattan blocks or more kind of distance--- I still have problems and mucho problems with stairs.  Unfortunately, based on the pictures I have seen for many of the tourist attractions, there are stairs and stairs.... slopes and slopes....  Well, it is not until I became disabled did I come to realize that... this world really is not designed for people with disability.... 8-O lol sigh

At the same time, if I can find ways to walk in NYC and in Taipei, I should be able to walk in Seoul, Incheon, Suwan or Shanghai.... After all, walking is walking, right?  8-O lol

Regardless, it would be really interesting to see what it would be like to travel on a budget, disabled.

And... this would be the first time I go traveling with my strange kind of disability....

Ain't like it is the kind of "first time" experience I would like to have... Yet, well... even if my body could heal till I could carry some ordinary weight and do stairs like a robot, for the time being, I want to travel and I will learn to travel my way again.

What is even better... my brother in law will be on his business trip while I am in Shanghai... I will have a two-bedroom apartment all to myself for a week... could finally through a house party... though not gonna have too many people to party with in Shanghai... 8-O lol

鬼太郎

樱桃小丸子 Chibi Maruko

小丸子今天不回家
http://www.56.com/u35/v_Mjg5ODkxNjA.html

小丸子 plays yoyo

Under the Taiwan Sun

At least two days in a role, it hit over 100 degree here in Taipei...

According to the forecast, it would already start to "feel like" in the 100s as early as 9:00 AM tomorrow morning.... ouch....

http://www.weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/TWXX0021

In addition, radiation is bad....


http://tw.weather.yahoo.com/uvindex.html#01

As a result of the combination of heat and radiation, yours truly would 撐洋傘抗UV even when walking in the shade as early as 8 o'clock something in the morning.... 8-O lol

Regardless, when in Taipei and taking my walk, I now either take it to the underground shopping mall (東區地下街) or the Sogo department store right across the street....

An avid participant of the national sports called... 美白 frenzy...  8-O lol

If you ask me, the Taiwanese sun seems to be much scarier than that in NYC though... um... should be the same one.... 8-X