conversation at 8.33pm

Mum: Should I go pay the bill? Do you think the 7-11 is still open?
Dad: It's 7-11!
Sis: You should blog this.

star-shaped sand

One last photo from the Taiwan trip, though technically it was shot after I had returned and unpacked the only souvenir I bought: the fabled star-shaped sand.

All along, we were under the (mistaken) impression that only Okinawan beaches had this geological wonder, so imagine the squeals in the Green Island gift shop when we stumbled upon tiny bottles of it.

No need to go Okinawa already.

on a slow news day

I squared off a piece of rough paper...


Picked up my fat green marker...


Carefully drew dotted lines...


Then folded along those lines...


And a paper crane was born.

non sequitur

Conversation I had this morning while I was getting ready for work, my mum was sweeping up dog hair and doggie was lying in a corner, quietly shedding some more:

Mum: We shouldn't have another dog. One day, our 狗狗 will mati and we will be very sad.
Me: But he is so cute.
Mum: You take care of me, the 老狗, better still.
Me: You not cute.
Mum: But I can do housework.

tinkerbell

I'd forgotten all about his Tinkerbell, who used to pose so prettily on the cubicle divider, together with Tintin (mine, long gone now, snitched by a cursed thief in the office), Coco (of Chanel fame, complete with tweed jacket, also mine) and an ugly alien/spaceman/Transformer hybrid (unknown origin, still standing next to Coco).



He took his toys with him when he packed up and left the paper factory. We drifted apart and then reconnected (hate that word, by the way, it's so Facebook corporate speak), especially over the past month or two, in the drinking-dancing lead up to my lurve's wedding. Somewhere along the way, I don't know when, Tinkerbell lost her head. She came back to me last weekend, just before he departed to work overseas, in a jar with two tubes of super glue.



I tried to fix the decapitated toy, but the glue he'd so helpfully included had hardened over the years. In the end, I dug up a tube of my own and got the job done. With her head firmly reattached to her torso (and my index finger to my thumb), Tinkerbell joined the collection of tiny things on my bedside table.

There's a moral in this story somewhere -- except I'm not sure what it is -- about the ties that bind us.

fun taiwan

Sickly traveller. I infected the two people next to me in this photo before the trip had ended.


I managed to stage a miraculous recovery by Day 3 though. I attribute it to the amazing powers of the pineapple bittergourd soup.


Varying degrees of success in the art of levitation.


Attempting to fly without falling off the cliffs of Mao Kong.


Spontaneous jumping the moment we arrived at the Mayday concert venue.


Post-concert high jumps.


Blown away by the strong winds of Green Island.


Last day on Green Island. Farewell jump with the sporting minsu auntie we called Tian Ma Ma.


You wouldn't have guessed I'm actually afraid of mushrooms.

* I have never actually watched an entire episode of Fun Taiwan because the host, Janet Hsieh, annoys me so much I have an urge to hurl my remote control at the TV. And I really tried, especially before the Taiwan trip, so as to get an idea of places to visit, but I could not tolerate her act-cute voice.

#7

Sorry I don't have a better pix, but I believe the word "jump" succinctly sums up how we spent most of the four hours of the concert (besides singing along in a mass karaoke session with 14,999 other fans, that is).

i want to fly away

1. bunting is a funny word and anyway is this a bunting?, 2. decepticon, 3. plane blue, 4. final sunset, 5. orange clouds, 6. rainbow connector, 7. blue skies ahead, 8. divided sky, 9. the answer, my friend..., 10. where did the bra go?, 11. skylight, 12. men at work, 13. aerial view, 14. suitably modern building, 15. Untitled, 16. 看海的日子, 17. rainbow wheel, 18. morning prayer, 19. a piece of the sky, 20. guten morgen, 21. family outing, 22. 75A, 23. the wires, 24. high & dry, 25. chasing sunsets

how much would you pay for chocolate?*

I am struck by a sudden, intense craving for the Peanut Butter Bonbons from Vosges in New York. I'm pretty sure I have blogged about these sublime treats before (but too lazy to check my own archives), because they are the bestest chocolates I have ever had, no fight.

Because the site doesn't allow me to steal the photo (the chocs aren't that great to look at anyway, just brown lumps), here's the mouthwatering description: "Each bonbon is filled with creamy organic peanut butter infused with pink Himalayan salt, enrobed in 45% deep milk chocolate and topped with a crunch of English Maldon sea salt".

Enrobed, okay. Pink Himalayan salt, not white, okay. English Maldon sea salt, okay. Well, all Maldon salt is English, right, since Maldon is in England? But do not let this detract from the marvellous genius taste combination that is peanut butter + milk chocolate + salt.

At US$27 for nine pieces, they are a mite expensive. However, tag on US$75 for international shipping, plus US$1 per item and US$7.50 for special packing materials to prevent it from melting, and it becomes prohibitive. Le sigh.

* By "you", I really mean "I". And the answer is not US$110.50.
** Why is it a box of four pieces costs US$10, making the cost per piece** lower than for a box of nine?
*** Obviously, my level of obsession with these chocs have reached the point where I have reached for a calculator.
**** It also makes Bacon Candy Bars. Much as I love bacon, I think I'll pass.

travel journal of someone who draws like a five-year-old

* Click on each image to embiggen.