ONEBUBBLE

So I thought I’ll start doing a quick recap like this every once in a while just to be more current. We still have quite a few more updates in the bag which hopefully I’ll get to in the next few days. As for the past week, I pretty much just stayed home, chilled with my mom, and caught up on all the Chinese movies I have ever missed. It was a needed change of pace after our first two weeks. I can’t say the same for Andy. He has been working his butt off at the summer camp with hundreds of kids half his age. Just so y’all know, I visited him this past Thursday and he’s doing well. The kids love him and he’s doing a great job. In any case, until next post, a few more random thoughts:

• Honestly, I didn’t know karaoke was such a big thing in Taiwan and I’m guessing all of Asia. Here’s a typical routine for a night out: First, you hit up Cashbox with a few friends to get warmed up for the night. Then you meet up with your party people at a trendy lounge such as Barcode (where everyone seems to be ABC) to get a few drinks and check out the crowd. Lastly, if people are in the mood to dance, you make your way to the likes of 18 and Luxe. Apparently, a whole bunch of clubs and bars are all located in the same exact location.
• This past Saturday night, I was invited to a birthday party of a friend of Andy that I have met only two weeks ago. Andy couldn’t make it because of camp so I went solo. The party was at, of course, Cashbox. Basically, I found myself mingling in a small and crowded room with 25 people I have never met before and probably will never meet again, singing songs I have never heard of, and speaking a language that I barely use. It was a great time. Too bad Wonderwall wasn’t on the selection…
• I saw both The Matrix and The Matrix Revolutions tonight. I always thought the third installment was the worst of the three because…well, I don’t remember. Like everyone else, I just thought it got worse and worse after the first one. Anyway, I saw the third one tonight again and thought it was pretty good. Everything made a little more sense. Maybe it’s because by not watching the second one, The Matrix Reloaded, it made the storyline flow better or maybe it’s just that my expectation has leveled off considerably since then. Anyway, here’s a great clip from that final fight scene. Awesome dialogue between Agent Smith and Neo. Don’t ask me why but I got inspired and did some push-ups & sit-ups.
• By the way, I think this is my new favorite movie right now. The commute would be so much more bearable if I have eight of these wild things to guide me.



• Question of the day: Would you break up a fight between two random strangers in a foreign country? Think about it. I had about 10 seconds to make that decision. A few nights back, I decided to swing by National Taiwan University and check out some basketball action. I wasn’t dressed to play so I just found a seat and watched. Out of nowhere, all hell broke loose and some kid went psycho on this other kid because he got smacked in the face. At first, a few teammates got in the way and it looks like everything is calming down. But it didn’t. It escalated. The bigger and stronger kid started to chase down this other kid and he started running my way. Before you know it, they were right in my face and this kid was about to get pummeled. Man, I didn’t know what to do. At first, I was thinking I better not get involved because it might end up with me getting jumped by a group of kids or worse me getting arrested. But then, I thought…dude, I can’t sit idly by while some kid gets beat up right in front of me. Seriously, what would you do? Luckily, before I could do anything, a swarm of people ran over to break things up. Whew…
• I’ll end with this. C’mon people, it’s “Don’t DRINK and Drive“, not “Don’t THINK and Drive“!!