This is a shot of the Sun going down. What looks like beautiful ocean waves at the bottom is actually an illusion. It's smog obscuring a complete city (Chang Hua) and the red sun is caused by the light filtering through the airsmut that passes for an atmosphere around here. 

Head shots

Here's a head shot or two of me. Top, is me grinning about some thing or another, can't remember what... I haven't decided how much working out I want to do this time around, but the cardio is doing me some good, evidently.
Here's the before shot. Well, really it's an after shot, that is: 'after six weeks of hard core drinking' shot. hahahaha. I saw this pic and realized I'd bloated a bit, so my roomie Ash and I finally reached a drinking Detente. His nickname, by the way, has been upgraded from FNG to "Indy" - as in indestructible. Mind you his days are numbered as he's pulled in a cute g/f lately. The lovely Joey. 

Vinnie and Moon Festival

Hank, Vinnie, and Joyce. Vinnie is my one of my best friends here. His niece Joyce has sprouted up so quickly it's hard to believe and she's in Highschool already, wow.
Here is some loot from the Moon festival. The moon cakes are from Starbucks and they had to be specially ordered in. They were coffee flavored, of course. I'm not usually fond of moon cakes but these ones were pretty addictive and I wound up scarfing 8 out of 10 of them! Yummy, and the thanks go to Dr. Dennis Chen, a private student I have conversation class with. He was kind enough and thoughful enough to order them for the Moon Festival and give them to me as a gift. To the right is a jar with sweet preserved plums that you take out and add to water hot or cold. Vinnie's mom, sweet Grandma that she is, wouldn't let me leave without a gift and Vinnie showed me how to make the drink. It's sweet and sour at the same time.
Close up of the moon cake. That's a penny sized coin in the background and it was supposed to be so you could tell how big the cake was, but here it looks huge! The taste was huge, that's for sure. 

Jimmy, Luke and the Mountains.

Jimmy! One of my students. Great kid and one of 'the monkeys'. Here, his head looks like a bag of books, a la Mr. Merrick, the elephant man.
Here is a shot from the hill where I live. Those mountains, are right there every day but with the pollution I hardly ever see them. It's tough not to miss Vancouver or Canada on a day like this.
My buddy Luke the Lawyer. Toasting his old and de-crap-itated computer.
Here the computer is more officially toasted. Luke's somewhat maniacal grin kept me giggling for days.

My favorite Pizza

Wow. I love this pizza. Sausage and Jalapeno. Fingas Italian Restaurant, in Taichung, Taiwan. I've been hanging out there quite a bit lately, enjoying myself, I'd say gorging but I'm usually pretty reserved about totals, it's quality that counts. They make their own sausage, too.



This is Taichung on a clear day, after a night of rain. Usually a night of rain doesn't wash too much of the pollution out but sometimes early in the week before the smog from Mainland has drifted in and mixed with our own home grown air smut, you get a great view. The amazing thing is I live on a hill and very rarely see the mountains, certainly not every day. Yet they are right there, so close you can touch them.

Joo Toe, the master of this particular pizza with a nice setting shot, in Fingas restaurant.

Here is a typical classroom and a typical class. Great kids. This is Jau-Ruey's class that I'm subbing in and taking care of. The atypical part (for Westerners) is that this is on Saturday morning. Yes a full class on Saturday morning! Wow, the kids are pretty good about it too. 

New Room View

Thar She Blows. Rearranged my room. Much more space now, though it's still the same little room it has a more open feel. Much thanks to Ash who suggested the layout and always was totally helpful.