Event Report! 老人家紀念會 Laorenjia 17-year Commemorative Event 9/25

So I found out about this event when Wei-chun mentioned it in passing like 2 week ago, and since she said that Laoshi said that if there was one event in the year you should go to, it'd be this one, I decided to go.

Last Wednesday during the Hochi Youth Group cultivation night I found out there was registration involved. I proceeded to promptly forgot about it as I tried to figure out how I was going to get to Taichung with Wei-chun who, at the time, was unsure if she could make it on account of her dad's unstable medical condition (which has improved, if I read the FB message correctly @_@). We decided to take the 通聯 (U-bus, an inter-city bus line) from Taipei Main station.


_{Check out this frog I found on the street on the way back to 北海 Compassion Field after a late-night 7-11 run for toothbrushes and munchies. I was surprised to see it because I assumed that Taiwan's freshwater was too polluted to support normal amphibious life-forms, but this guy looks okay. I took it as a sign to be less germophobic and more optimistic.}

I exercise and some stuff!

Actually, I've been exercising for a while, but recently I've been super-inspired by Gracie's workout posts! Since Tai wasn't home today, I hooked up the wired internet and did some workout videos!!! (Usually I just use workout sheets I download onto my iTouch :D)

我家！

This is what our apartment looks like! We got a 16-ping¹ (~569.33 sq ft./52.89 m^2) rooftop number in a gongyu 公寓 (apartment building/block of flats).

<sup>View from the front door

1</sup>_{What's a 'ping'? It's a unit of measure equal to 2 sleeping tatami², or ~35 square feet. Tatami themselves are variable in size, depending on what part of Japan they come from, so I'm not sure how they decided on a set size O.o}
²_{What's a 'tatami'? A big ol' tile of woven straws. They're what cover the floor in the traditional Japanese houses or rooms. You've probably seen 'em in old samurai flicks, or in video games! :D}

Surprise Day Off!

I totally forgot the kids might have a field trip (weather permitting), so I was surprised yesterday when I learned I didn't have to go in to work today!

Even though I initially planned to spend the day working on a logo for Gracie, we decided the day would be better spent dressing up and fooling around :D

Check out Gracie interacting with the Public Art!

Potted Gardens

Inspired by Hello Sandwich's post on Tokyo Summer Gardens.

Taipei Potted Gardens~

Tonchin

Japanese tonkatsu, ramen, and delicious french fries.

Price: 4/5
Yummyness: 5/5

臺北市大安區敦化南路一段一段187巷36號 トンチン
No. 36, Lane 187, Section 1, Dūnhuà South Rd, Daan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
GoogleMap

Notes:
10% gratuity included
All the drinks are cold O.o
Tonkatsu does not come with rice (NT$50 extra)
The french fries are AWESOME.
The pepper is an aromatic blend of white and black peppers, for ultimate french fry happy time.

Moon Day Barbeque - The New Chinese Tradition

When we arrived in Taiwan during 中元節 (Ghost Month) I was delighted to find that all sorts of barbeque and grilling implements were on sale, especially since Tai was quite keen on getting one for the apartment. We picked up a nice charcoal grill with a cover for NT$168 (~US$5.68) and were quite satisfied. Later (after the jet-lag haze wore off), I figured out the sales were in preparation for Moon Day (中秋節 more commonly known at Mid-Autumn Festival in English; I call it Moon Day 'cause it sounds more festive ：D And once, when I was throwing a party, it occurred on a Monday, and was a convenient mnemonic for the attendees.)

This janky grill, made up of a metal grate suspended by broken bricks over two cinder blocks atop which the charcoal was placed, was set up at the Moon Day party I went to the day before Moon Day :) We were the only people who owned a grill, and with 20-odd people we needed more grilling power.

Unexpected Things Occur

Unexpected thing #1: Woke up late; did not meditate.

Unexpected thing #2: Printed wrong worksheets last week. Last-minute copy-time D:

Unexpected thing #3: I might actually get teacher training?!? :D

Unexpected thing #4: 蛋黃酥 egg yolk pastry. MORE. Moon-Day is already over and we are STILL getting pastries!!! I never thought I'd get sick of pastries, but @_@ so much!!!

Unexpected thing #5: Tai needed to get the household registration for renewing his visa, so we had to go to my mom's house after dinner to get it. = no time for working out or meditation. Now we just got back and showered and it's bedtime. >.<

On the bright side I got an orange jelly treat from my mom :) I LOVE jellies!!! Except basil seed jelly. And meaty jells. Fruity jells are so good!!!

Things Are Not That Bad

So work isn't that terrible. Check out this fancy Moon Day pastry set the teachers received from a parent. We each received one @_@ Plus another set with four different kinds of Moon Day pastry. Even though I feel it's sort of bribery, it does motivate me to work even harder to help my students be extra awesome. They didn't tell us which parent it was though, so that makes it less bribe-y, I think ^^

The Day of Getting Ripped Off

This excessively unattractive picture accurately portrays my current emotional state. This image was actually taken to portray the feelings associated with getting ARC through marriage, more about that later :D

First off, it was payday and my work did not compensate me for classroom preparation time, even though the hiring person I talked to said they would give me NT$300/hr for up to 5 hours of classroom prep time a week. This is not asking a lot. I have put in over 40 hours (40.86, to be exact -- I keep track) this week alone. I teach for 20 of them. This does not include the 19.8 hours I put in last week, of which only 5 were compensated at the classroom prep rate. Granted, it was the first week of teaching for me, and they didn't give me all the information (or most of the curriculum), so it was kind of hackneyed, but that is not the point. The point is we had a contract and it was not fulfilled. I don't care if none of the other teachers get paid for it, or it's not what they do in Taiwan (which is total bullshit, because another job I applied for totally said they'd pay me half-time for classroom prep), or whatever other lame-ass excuses they're pulling out their asses. I'm thinking a long talk with the HR is in order. Tomorrow.

Secondly, we went to eat at Raohe Night Market 'cause Tai really loves the chicken naan wrap from Ala-Ding, and I thought I'd try the chickpea curry, 'cause I saw it on their sign. Turns out it's NT$200, which is kind of pricey, but it was really really really really really really good. So that was okay. The kicker was the waiter asked me if I wanted an order of naan with it, and i said I didn't, 'cause the dish was already expensive and I'm totally down to eat curry straight, but then the superchill guy at the front, who makes the naan, gave us some anyway, so I thought it came with the order, 'cause why the hell wouldn't it. Then when we went to pay the bill, it was NT$50 more than it was supposed to be, and the waiter said it was because of the naan, which I didn't order. Lame sauce. Fuck that waiter. The naan wrap with chicken is only NT$40, why the hell would plain naan be NT$10 more?! Stupidness. Next time we're just getting the wrap; that waiter guy can go fuck himself. If anyone else goes there, don't get the Chinese waiter. Get the Indian guy.

(Mostly) Day Off!

Since I only had one class today (4:00-5:00) I got to sleep in!!! Which was great, 'cause we were out late yesterday at the Hochi thingy, where we go to munch on all the cookies me and Wei-Chun and Kathy made :3 Also, they gave us each a pomelo! So now we have pomelos for Moon Day. Awesome!

So after waking up at 9:00, I meditated for half an hour, and did some exercises with my (still kinda) new yoga mat :D Breakfast consisted of a poached egg (I'm getting better at it! But there's still wispy bits D:), home-made banana bread and yogurt drink. Nummy! I really want an electric griddle though -- I miss having fried eggs in the morning.

Then I dinked around until lunch-time, when we went out for noodles since we didn't have any more veggies left at home. Also, I showed Tai where the BIG 24/7 grocery store is, in case he can't find it at Kuma Your's Mart or Chuan-Lian. It's a Wellcome, and sometimes the prices are better :)

I also showed him where the huge park is by my work, so that he can go there if he wants. There are lots of trees and old people, and a skating rink, although I have no idea how they would get the ice to stay there. Maybe they just make the floor cold. But that seems inefficient. Whatever.

We also discovered a DIY baking store HEAVEN. It's tiny but there is SO MUCH STUFF crammed into it, and they have all the ingredients I want: philadelphia cream cheese, fresh whipping cream (5 different brands!), huge blocks of butter, real vanilla extract, agar agar, and MORE!!! I am so excited. I will take pictures and find it on GoogleMap so other people can go there too.

Work was okay-good.

Then I went grocery shopping. Twice, 'cause I forgot stuff.

The end.

WORK, I have it in abundance

Today was my first day of teaching. I think I'm going to lose my voice.

Also, I think TPR (Total Physical Response) should count as exercise. I am pretty sure I will be sore tomorrow. @_@

On the upside, pre-school-ers are a-freaking-dorable. Even when they are being filthy little nose-mining twerp-nuggets.

Total hours worked today: 12, mostly classroom prep

Hours worked last week: 19.8, all classroom prep.

Professional Hospitality Materials

Ovens, Refrigerators, Ice Shavers the size of your whole body, Espresso/Coffee machines, etc. The whole street is lined with them.