ok. the cockroach story. shudder.

so i come home from the gym at approx. 11 PM last week, feeling fresh and clean and happy after running and sauna-ing and showering. i took off my shirt to change into my PJs when i notice a huge, and i mean, GINORMOUS cockroach (literally 2.5 inches in length. literally.) on the top left ledge of my (standing) closet. gag.

so i jump approx. 10 feet (inches) in the air and am freaking out when it like, notices me and runs across my closet. i go into the bathroom and grab the first thing i can think of to spray it (409... yeah i'm useless, whatever) come back out and spray it, and it falls off the right side of my closet, and i appropriately scream. (obviously)

then i'm thinking it probably fell on the floor/ran under my closet so i'm like what do i do now?!? when all of a sudden it runs on the wall of my closet (yes, it's running horizontally) and i practically trip over myself in my hurry to escape, when..

THE MOTHER FUCKING COCKROACH FLIES AT ME.
(excuse my language)

i really can't handle this kind of fear so i run towards my bed while the dirrrty f-er is like gag hovering on my precious orange Victoria's Secret halter dress and i'm trying to handle my fear while contemplating my next move when...

IT FLIES AT ME AGAIN.

and i hide under my covers when i see it coming for me, and then i grab a shirt, run out of my room and ferociously knock on my neighbor's door to beg her to kill it for me. i'm so terrified i can't even speak straight i'm stuttering like a fool while trying to tell her where it is and she needs to please kill it. i stand in the hallway while she bravely attacks the MONSTER.

after she kills it i asked her to hit it a couple more times and step on it just to be 100% sure (i mean, it was  that big) and then i had to beg her to please wrap it in a tissue and throw it away for me, because the thought of touching it or seeing it at all made me want to throw up.

i couldn't sleep all night out of sheer terror.
can't even remember the last time i was so scared i wanted to jump out of my skin.
and i can't even look at my dress without feeling a little sick. =(

in case anyone was wondering, cockroaches in taiwan can fly.



yeah i don't even want to talk about it.

m a y b e  i'll tell the story later, if i ever stop feeling like puking when i think about it.
GAG

Lifestyles of the Employed and Underpaid

A new chapter in my life, a new blog title. And very fitting.

Yes, I am employed!! Truthfully I am not trying to complain, I'm overjoyed that I have a job, and one I like at that!! But... don't all people who are employed feel like they're underpaid???

Anyway, I am now an employee of Veda International (http://www.veda.com.tw/), a corporate PR company based in Taiwan. We handle some big names, like Microsoft (MSN), Adobe, 3M, Corning for their branches in TW, but the account I'm specifically working on is the Guam Visitors Bureau =)

This means I handle all of the GVB's PR in Taiwan.

Cool beans! I mean, I love to travel, and I have to work, so I may as well do something that interests me, right? Not to mention... the fringe benefits! If I wasn't landlocked on this godforsaken island I could have been on my first business trip ever, in Guam, this whole week! And not just any business trip, but showing media around the island, hitting all the fun hot spots!

If you didn't know, Guam is like the Hawaii of Micronesia. It's gorgeous.

What a step up, y'all!! From a lowly unpaid intern to a real employee with a salary! And a business card! wowowow JJL's growing up fast, look out!

=)

4 days
38 hours of work
7 hours of sleep
and 2 complete presentations later...
i never want to look at another powerpoint again.


but, on the bright side, i'm going to treat myself to all the fattening food i want today and go to bed at 10 PM =)

i have a really intense project for work that i have to hand in in... 10 hours.

which explains why my laundry is done, nails are painted, bathroom floors are sparkling, and fridge is empty.

hmm, what else can i do...?

hello, procrastination, it's been awhile.

hey, you would be avoiding your work too if you had to compile a powerpoint on crisis communication for the military. IN CHINESE.

my boss/uncle's "suggestion" (order) to wake up at 7 AM and go to bed at 11 PM every day is clearly not being carried out very well.

ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

things i miss about college:

1. being 5 minutes away from my best friends at all times

2. pre-cut grapefruit by chef joe

3. comfy pink couch in the Pi Phi rec room

4. living in sweatpants

5. my pink bike.. with pink basket :)


6. buying crisp new notebooks every semester

7. reading the "notes" i took while falling asleep in class

8. bitching at rachel resneck to change the channel during cash cab

9. thursday being the new friday

10. having an excuse to be completely worthless


tip of the iceberg.
god college was awesome.

gmail thread between me and Jane (2):

4/16/10 8:55 PM
Jessica Li: oh my god.
you seriously sent Auntie Olivia and Uncle Jeff to come to the club and do some spywork!?!?!??! i can't believe you.


4/17/10 11:21 PM
Jane Lin-Li: RE: oh my god.
It's a public place isn't it?



GOD, JANE'S SO SASSY I CAN'T STAND HER SOMETIMES.

FOOD PICS

Just a sampling of the AMAZING food I've had here... :)

 

haha just kidding :)

homemade wontons! yum, my favorite thing @ shilin night market!

selection of fresh fruits for fresh squeezed juice, my favorite's watermelon juice :)

dessert buffet, 'nuff said.

taiwanese chicken noodle soup in yilan

desserts @ Joel Robuchon's Salon de The (for all you foodies!)

HOTPOT!!! MY FAVORITEEEEEEE 

"Party in Your Mouth" block toast @ Dazzling Cafe (basically a huge chunk of toast cut into cubes with butter and honey drizzled on the bread and ice cream on top... in other words, heaven)

pork skewers--waited 30 minutes in line for these, and worth it!!

famous soup dumplings at the famous Ding Tai Feng!!

mochi ready to be grilled and then dipped in honey, condensed milk, peanuts and red bean paste

fresh strawberries covered in condensed milk and chocolate

BBQ @ GanBei!

Beef Noodle Soup @ Mr. Chang's!

traditional taiwanese dessert: grass jelly, grass jelly shaved ice, and taro mochi

yep, i did it, the hello kitty cafe!!

SO NOW YOU ALL KNOW WHY I'VE GOTTEN FAT HERE IN TAIPEI!!!

墾丁！KENTING BEACH VACA :)

  

Top: arrived, finally!!

Bottom: our view from the beach :)

AWESOME WEEKEND!

Laying out on the beach all day, wandering around night markets and dancing on the beach all night!

This trip was just a tease, I can't wait to go back to the beach and soak up some more rays, not to mention swim in the beautiful and warm ocean!!! Ahhhhhh hitting the beach really made this California girl so happy :)

So nice to have such a relaxing and fun weekend out of the city! 

It made the return all the more painful when it started raining the next day :(

Never doubting myself again.

went dancing with my girlfriends all night,
came home at 3:30,
took a quick shower,
wrote my press release on deadline,
finished packing,
and still have time to spare before the bus leaves in 40 minutes.

Kenting here I come!!

Praying for good weather...

!)#@*!_%&!_@$*!!!!!!!
April 1, 2010 3:30 AM: official start of mosquito season in Taipei.



My anti-itch cream collection is officially out of the drawer and within convenient reach.
:(

I really want to go to a wedding in Taipei.
It's tradition for the girls to get wedding cookies--although I'm not 100% clear if it's all the girls who go to the wedding, or just the ones in the wedding party... Hm, will have to get that clarified...

The wedding cookies come in this box that basically looks like a big jewelry box, with lots of drawers and compartments for all the cookies, which are all individually wrapped in plastic so they don't go stale. (yeah, not very environmentally friendly, i know.. but nobody likes stale cookies, come on)
They're not just any cookies: they have lemon ones with almond slices, ones with chocolate and almonds, ones with just chocolate, plain vanilla ones, shortbread ones, wafer-looking ones, i mean they really go all out with their cookies.

Have I mentioned I sit right in front of the snack table at work?

Oh, and also that I'm on a "diet" before Kenting this weekend?

Maybe that's why I can't stop thinking about cookies...

"So you and dad have had your talk and I hope you have pissed him off on his birthday if he had chosen to be a mule.

You should follow your heart."



reason #2,639 why i love my mom

福隆 (FuLong)／大溪 (DaXi) HIKE

Another day trip outta the city, this time for a day-long hike with this hiking group I joined when I first came to Taipei... except this was my first hike with them... 7 months later.

Anyway, dragged Leslie with me on this one, since I was too chicken to go by myself :)

FuLong: famous for its lunch boxes, though now after having one, I'm not really sure why...

DaXi: hike up to Eagle Rock (yeah, so original) for a view of Honeymoon Bay. Great view but the hike up and back down--around 5 hours total--was painful to say the least.

Me & Les @ Eagle Rock (see the beak??)

I've come to realize I like hiking, but like hiking for toddlers: no steep climbs and lots of snack breaks in between. And preferably someone to carry me when I get tired.

**Mulberries**
Taste like cherries but about 1/4 of the size. Yummy, but ultimately not worth it.

陽明山 (YangMing Mtn.)

Went to the nearest mountain to look for flowers.

Haha well supposedly it's "flower season" up on YangMing Mtn. so the girls and I decided to go on a hunt for some cherry blossoms--only to find out cherry blossom season is just about over...

So no cherry blossoms. But calalillies instead?

It's cala-lilly season here I guess, even have fields of cala-lillies, and you can pick your own :)
Fun day out of the smoggy city.

平溪 (PingXi) Lantern Festival

Truthfully, still don't really know what the Lantern Festival's all about.. I think it should be re-named Eating Extravaganza for us though, because that's pretty much all we did.

Just a 40-minute bus ride from the last stop on the Subway out of the city, and the girls and I ended up in PingXi, the site for the lantern festival. The lanterns were really cool, obviously (see picture), but equally fantastic was the display of street food, oh my god you would not believe it!

It took us around 2 hours to walk all the way down the one very, very, very long street (alley? road?) with stands and tents of street food (on both sides, of course), since we tried practically everything we saw! There were like asian burritos, fried chicken, fried shrimp with eggs, fried shrimp balls, pork skewers, fried veggie dumplings, strawberries with condensed milk and chocolate sauce, unripe green mangos with sugar, salted and spicy chicken with cucumbers, i think i'm still missing something... haha it was literally a food tour.

We got to the end of the road (quite literally) and found a stand to decorate (de-face) our lantern. With English, Italian, and Chinese written all over it (words and wishes of luck, happiness, and love), our multi-cultural lantern was definitely unique to say the least, and when as it floated up into the sky joining all the other hundreds, maybe thousands of lanterns, we all cheered with delight (partly out of sheer relief that it didn't get caught in any telephone wires or catch on fire).

Oh, did I mention I almost spelled 幸福 (happiness) wrong? (In Chinese, jeez, my English isn't that bad--yet) A Taiwanese guy definitely corrected me and then laughed--so much for all those Chinese lessons, sorry Mom & Dad...

Adventures of a Single Gal

*DELETED*

I just felt too mean.
Too bad, because single gals really do have a lot of funny adventures...

Chinese New Year/Valentine's Day 2010

新年快樂！Happy Chinese New Year!

First day of the new year, and also coincidentally Valentine's Day!

Celebrating CNY was an entirely new experience for me... I've never really celebrated it before to be honest, or at least, not that I can remember, so imagine my surprise when I found out that there are like.. rules to this kind of thing! (Couple days before you spend with Dad's side of the family, couple days after with Mom's)

Mostly all everyone does over CNY is just get together and eat, eat, eat. Talk about my kind of holiday! The only thing is, it's kind of like "required" to bring a gift to whoever's house it is that you're going to. Now usually I'd just grab a bottle of wine and be done with it, but here in Taiwan the rules are a little different... traditional gifts include:

1. Fruit
Yeah, totally weird right?? Apparently it's actually considered a really nice gift if you bring fruit, which sounds so so weird. But when I went to the grocery store I realized why: fruit is FREAKING EXPENSIVE like damn. one (quite very) large asian pear cost like $12US. YES. $12 for ONE pear.

2. Preserved fish eggs
Think caviar but like dried.. and flattened into something that looks like the shape of lungs. I tried some last night actually, no bueno. Not my thing.

3. Dried sausages and mushrooms
Asians, always practical, right?

4. Various CNY foods including something literally called 年糕 (phonetic: nian gao) or "Year Cake" haha so original... anyway these CNY foods (I can't remember any more off the top of my head haha) are particularly eaten during CNY because their names have something to do with prosperity, good luck, etc.
For example, it's typical to eat fish (the whole fish, not just like... salmon meat) on CNY eve because of a saying in Chinese: 年年有餘 (phonetic: nian nian you yu), meaning "Year after year there will be excess," in other words, you will never be wanting. The last character ("yu") is pronounced the same as the word for fish, so Chinese people eat fish, but typically leave some on the plate for the next day, or the "next year." Get it?

Anyway, Momma Li told me to bring fruit, so I did.. except of course I had no idea what I was doing so I stood in the supermarket for a good 30 minutes trying to figure out which priced basket to bring, if it was enough, if it was too much, if I should get something other than fruit, which kind of fruit to get... WHAT A HEADACHE!

But I must have done well because all parties were extremely surprised that I even brought something at all... not sure if that's a good or bad thing.. haha

VDAY------->
I celebrated Valentine's Day with true love this year, my best gal Miss Daniela Huang :) haha we had a FEAST of Asian food, then got crepes, then almost got doner kebab (turned away bc they were closed, tragic), then got Burger King fries and onion rings instead.

We spent the whole night chatting, walking around Taipei in our tights and boots and coats, window-shopping, laughing and gabbing away as usual :) then we stepped into an arcade for some real date-like activities.. nothing says bonding like shooting dead zombies together, right??

What a lovely Valentine's date, just goes to show, boys really are unnecessary these days, huh? ; )

HOT SPRINGSSSS :)

First day of the new (lunar) year (HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!) and I wake my butt up at freaking 9 AM after a day (yes, not just one meal) of feasting the night before... what a miracle.

Now, under normal circumstances, I'm sure you all know there are few things I would force myself out of bed at 9 AM for, especially during vacation.. but the invitation to a free hot springs session sounded like a good enough reason for me! :)

Soaking in the hot springs is apparently a very popular pasttime here in Taiwan! I guess it's good for your body, and good for your skin? Anyway, my family invited me to join them and I mean, a) I couldn't come up with a good excuse for why I'd be busy on a Sunday morning at 9 AM and b) hot springs, why not, right?

So anyway, they pick me up this morning and we drive up into the mountains on the outskirts of Taipei in a place called Wulai, and the weather was beautiful: clear blue skies, lots of green on the mountains, wide rivers... almost like back home except more tropical.

The place we went to was called Spring Park Spa & Resort, it was suuuuuper nice! I went into the public hot springs... and er, yes it was nude. But I mean, hey, whatever, we're all girls right! haha So it was really awesome: there were five pools: one freezing, one cool, one warm, one hot, and one hot outside right by the river! It was so pretty!

There was also a sauna, a steam room, shower facilities, a "resting" area where you can get massages and facials, they even had really nice face and hair products! For $30US you can pretty much stay in there as long as you want (the only thing is you can only go in and come out once... so if you get hungry tough luck.)!

Mm, in summary, it was super fun and I definitely hope to be going back sometime soon! :) A new Taiwan experience with good results, love it!

My First End-of-the-Year Office Party!!!

Also known as "wei-ya" in Taiwan, these are pretty much legendary. I'd heard about these from various (working) friends of mine here in Taipei, a night of getting absolutely hammered with all your co-workers and bosses, eating and drinking and singing kareoke and other drunken shenanigans.

So naturally I was super pumped when I got invited to the office wei-ya this year! (Especially when I heard it was being held at the Shangri-La, one of the most expensive hotels/places to eat in Taipei) In my head I was like "Heck Yes! I'm going to see all these people so insanely drunk, it will be hilaaaaaaarious! Plus, free yummy food?? Count me in!" right?

Until I found out a couple things (conveniently after I had already accepted the invitation):

1. Our wei-ya is always themed. And costume is required.

2. Nobody drinks at our company's wei-ya because the president and his wife don't drink

3. Everyone is required to perform

I was like ".......what." I very quickly calculated the costs vs. gains of this ordeal, and ended up deciding that good food was worth pretty much anything, so I didn't make up an excuse of why I could no longer make it.

For the performance portion, I let the other people in my group decide what to do, because hey, I know nothing about the Taiwanese sense of humor. They ended up deciding to do a re-enactment of Swan Lake (yes, the ballet) with a boy dressed as a swan and a girl dressed as the prince. Storyline: prince chases swan princess for awhile, then a cowboy comes in a shoots them both, then we all danced to a weird cowboy song by Jay Chou (super famous singer here). HAHAHA I know. Sounds so random. And it was.

Anyway, whatever, we came up with it literally the day before the wei-ya. And hey, we ended up winning 1st place (translation: $20 in my pocket)!!

To get back to the story, I dressed as a black cat (not so original, but minimal effort) because it was animal-themed, and we all walked from the office to the Shangri-La on Wednesday for the party!

In short, it was good, clean fun :) I got to see my bosses dance: bellydance, the congo, you name it. The food was excellent--great salad bar, and let me tell you, good, normal salad is not easy to come by in Taipei! Buffet style. HEAVEN.

However, slightly embarrassed when I kept going back for plate after plate, and my co-worker looks at me and goes, "You're still eating??? Aren't you full???"

To which I awkwardly reply (with another forkful on its way to my mouth), "Um... yeah.... well................ it's not everyday I get to eat such a great meal!" slash, I didn't have the guts to tell her I just have like eating...... haha

All in all, it was a great experience! I walked out with about $50 and a full tummy, definitely a win-win situation, what more can a girl ask for? :)

my little cousin & i

90 Minutes of Complete and Utter Bliss

Thank you #90 for your incredibly nimble and soft hands that massaged my whole body for 90 minutes yesterday.

Oh my GODDDDD it was amazingggggg. I can't even begin to describe!

You know how people always tell you, "You have to go get a massage, it feels SO good!" and you think, "yeah sure, but how good can it feel when you know you're paying them an arm and a leg for a stupid massage." Well, let me tell you, I am now a believer.

As a Christmast gift, a friend of mine bought me and my two girlfriends 90-minute massages at this beautiful and expensive massage parlor called Sakura in Taipei, and we finally got around to using them last night! I can't imagine a better time to use it, since my body has been feeling a little beat up lately.

Anyway, we go in, and the ladies all ask us to please take a seat, and they bring out hot towels for us to wipe our hands and faces and necks... oh my god, I'm getting shivers just thinking about those amazing hot towels...

Then one of the ladies escorts us into our room, where we see three massage beds, each with a set of massage clothes and slippers! She takes our drink order (fresh-squeezed juice, or hot tea?) and then we quickly change into our massage outfits and turn on the flat-screen tvs!

The masseuses (sp?) come in, and they're totally not what I expected... I don't know, call me a sucker for stereotypes but I kind of assumed they'd be like younger girls, instead they were really normal looking older ladies! Shocker.

The whole thing was just absolute HEAVEN. She put hot towels on my back and legs, and massaged my whole body: back, arms, legs, head, neck, even butt! (The most awkward part was when she was pulling down my pants in the beginning.. I was thinking "God.. I wonder how far she's going to pull these down...")

There were some times when I really wanted to laugh, since I'm so ticklish, and others when I kind of wanted to cry, because it hurt so bad, but after a while, she said "Ok, time's almost up.." and I kind of cried a little inside.

Bottom line: I'm completely addicted... now I just have to find a job so I can enjoy these awesome massages more often!!!

2010, I'm Lovin' It!

Ok so maybe it's not the best sign that the first thing that popped into my head when I thought of the new year was the McDonald's slogan... but it's just so fitting!!

It's only about two weeks into the new year, and I gotta say, I've been loving every minute of it so far! I have to admit I'm so excited for this year and I have such a great feeling that good things, big things, are going to happen to me this year! :)

New Year's Eve was absolutely insane! I got to see the famous New Year's fireworks off of Taipei 101 from a friend's penthouse rooftop (yeah, crazy I know!!) and it was beautiful! I have to admit, it was just a liiiiittle anti-climactic, as in, I was kind of expecting more, but it was still super pretty nonetheless. The cherry on top was the confusing "Taiwan Up" slogan that lit up on all four sides of the skyscraper.. it's still there every night to this day, 12 days later.. and I have to say I'm still just as confused now as I was then.

Other than the fireworks, it was still a New Year's to remember. Now, granted, every New Year's eve is memorable (usually because I never forget just how sick I feel the next morning, the first day of the new year), but this one was particularly so, since it was my first New Year's in another country!! The city closed off a BUNCH of the main streets surrounding 101 (aka the heart of the city) at 10 PM, so no cars could get in or out of that area. And, in a classic move, Daniela and I were running late from the salon, so... we called a cab from the salon, the cab dropped me off at my place, took Dani to her place, waited for her to change and grab her makeup, picked me up again from my place and took us as close to 101 as he could get. We were in the cab for literally 2 hours and 15 minutes, and our cab fare came to about $20USD (hahahaha). Then Dani and I had to walk the rest of the way to our friend's house, and boy we were a sight to see! The only two people, probably in all of Taipei, walking around outside in the freezing cold with bare legs and high heels, each carrying a clutch and a bottle of wine for our host. They must have thought we were crazy!!!

We literally had to break into a run by the end because I thought we were going to miss the fireworks, so we arrived--a little sweaty and out of breath--at exactly 11:40 PM. Just in time to catch my breath, put on some slippers (so Asian.... haha), go out onto the rooftop, pour out some champagne, and get my camera ready for some action!

Oh, might I add: another disappointing thing about the 101 fireworks? NO COUNTDOWN. I mean, WHAT THE HELL??? One second I'm saying "hey guys how much time do we have left?" and the next second it looks like 101 is exploding with light in like every direction, which only then signals me that "well, happy new year i guess!"

After the fireworks and the crowd (somewhat) dissipated below, we put our coats and high heels back on and went out onto the streets! Man, it was crazy! There were people literally everywhere! Sitting, standing, walking, eating, drinking... and there were me and my girlfriends: bare-legged, in strappy high heels and big coats, screaming and laughing at the top of our lungs, walking to the club. Definitely a first, and hopefully the last..

Going to the club was just like any other night, except about 10 times more crowded, so it quickly became very uninteresting and my friends and I decided to leave and head for home, but not before stopping by a small pizzeria! The owner is a friend of my friends, so they went in to socialize, and, in a very classy move, I fell asleep on a stool, at the bar, with my head buried in my coat (hey, I was really tired!). As we were finally about to leave, I insisted that I would not go home without a pizza, so I ordered a chicken/feta/pesto pizza (yeah it was soooooo good) that was about four times the size of my head.

My friends dropped me off, and I walked home, high heels dragging on the pavement, big pizza box in hand, and completely satisfied with the start of the new year :)