Got a crossbow for Christmas 2006

Me and the comfy beast

No longer a surf virgin

New Year's Eve @ Tapei 101

At an insane temple festival at the southernmost tip of Taiwan with a very small performer.

Please raise a glass for Jess as well.

My own personal Dark Ages (and holiday well-wishings!)

The past six months have been the darkest days of my life. I have no desire to write about any of it right now. I know that at some point I will be ready to... and I know that I will need to... just not now. To put it plainly, I was hit hard. Lost my balance and my breath. For the time being, I wish only to get back up on my two feet and be seen again. No more draggin my butt in the mud like some sort of animal with... something (i got nuthin'). So, hello to all you folks back home, my dear family and friends. Christmas is near and though you're there and I'm here, I wish you the best and know that my heart is with you. This time of year always makes me feel a little warmer inside. Where I realize how lucky I am to have people in my life that love me as they do. It will be very strange for me to be here for the holidays, just gotta play with the cards I've been dealt. My first Christmas away from home... and in Taiwan of all places! Be sure to stay warm everybody and raise a glass of egg nog for me.

Love,
Chris

What happened?

Sorry I trailed off before... the inspiration I had to write of our trip dwindled some. Needless to say, we had a lot of fun, encountered a great deal of obstacles and close-calls, and most importantly we made some memories that will remain etched in our minds for the rest of our lives (i just can't seem to recall any at this particular time). Here's something new though, but please don't take this as a cause of any serious concern. I'm not writing this to worry anyone but I'm also not going to pretend this is all just a big cake walk (what is a cake walk anyway?). Last week, Jesse and I were witness to a couple of serious fights. This past Saturday, I myself was attacked while I was leaving the club with my girlfriend (it's not serious, just a couple weeks so far). Anyway, something had happened in the club, some girls had been trying to get my attention and were not happy I was with someone so there were some words thrown back and forth (most of which I just didn't understand). When we left, 7 or 8 people (including the 3 girls) followed us out. No one was badly hurt, I chose not to fight back for several reasons: I didn't want the girl i was with to be hurt, I didn't want the the few guys who weren't involved to become involved, and as I mentioned earlier, Jesse and I had already been witness to a couple of serious fights that week and I didn't want this to become a "serious fight". I am completely ok. It did shake me up a little though. So I've done something that's perhaps taken me far too long to do and begun training again. Who is my instructor, you ask? His name is Sammy, he's a Chinese man in his mid-fifties or early sixties and he is a former student of Bruce Lee. There are 4 students: a South-African, an American, a Taiwanese guy and a Canadian (that'd be me), and there's also a translator. It's a little expensive but this was something I couldn't pass up (especially not now). I'm stoked. By the way, I'm sorry I've been a bit of a ghost lately. I hope you're all well and safe.

me

At the Bridge of the Three Immortals... we got here at midnight and crossed the bridge (which stretches for ages over the ocean) to a small island with three gigantic rocks and camped there for the night... or attempted to rather.

Off the main road, in a little grove filled with butterflies.

shadow and light (and beautiful green grass)

The Cross-Island Catastrophe (or A Week in the Life of Chris)

Last week was Chinese New Year's. The week started off pretty well... pretty well if you consider losing $5000 in one night of gambling a good night. Not too big a deal though when you remember this is Taiwan money we're talking about here (in translation it's under $200 CAD). I suck at gambling. Jess and I planned to do a tour of Taiwan. We'd start by making our way down to the southern tip of the island, a place called Kenting and proceed to make our way up the East coast to Hualien (the jewel of Taiwan). Did some drinking and dancing till the sun came up, slept a little, and then we set off into the night (it was a late start). Our drive down to Kenting (about a 3 hour trip) was relatively without incident... except somehow my bike fell over and I didn't realize till I was back on the highway that the clutch had completely broken off. Unfortunately it was Chinese New Year, and it was late, and nothing was open. We made it to Kenting anyway (don't ask me how), and in the middle of the city, on the busiest street my bike stopped. Yes, just stopped. I couldn't get it back into neutral so i couldn't roll it. Thankfully Jess was there to give me a hand getting it to the side of the road. Within minutes, a swarm of Taiwanese guys were surrounding my bike and trying to figure out how to solve my problem. Despite Kenting being the big city of the south, it has no repair shop for bikes. After much debate, ripping my clutch to shreds, bending and snapping metal and wires, still no one seemed to sure about anything but as always I put complete faith in them. It didn't work anyway so what choice did I have. Within the hour, I was back on my back. It wasn't pretty but it worked (in a temporary sorta way). The next morning we got it fixed properly by backtracking one town, but before that happened there was a whole night of revelry I've yet to discuss.

Return of the...

It's been some time now since I've seen any of the people that really matter to me, but in only a couple of weeks, nearly a year after my departure, I'm due to be returning to Canada in order to see my dear family and friends. I picked up my tickets just yesterday, and it's the same as before (just the reverse, of course); I'll be flying to Taipei, then Tokyo (where i'll be staying for 24 hours), and then straight on to Chicago, then home. I should be arriving back in Toronto on Thursday, December 15th at around 1:51 pm (approximately). I feel anxious for some reason, perhaps even a little scared (but don't bother asking me why, because i couldn't tell you... or if I could then it'd be a long story). I don't know how much I've changed over the past year, or if it's been for the better or worse. I'm worn, I know that much. My stay is not indefinite, though I do not have return a return ticket as of yet. I expect to stay no more than 3 weeks, as I'll be leaving my job and a great deal of possessions behind (including my apartment, motorcycle and hampsters). I just hope that I can juggle seeing everyone and still manage to relax a little with them as well. Truth be told, I've never let many people close, so it shouldn't be too hard i guess. I can't talk now in any case. I'm at my school and should be teaching at this very moment. I don't really have the words right now anyway (perhaps not at all), but I'm really looking forward to seeing your faces again. Be well. See you soon.

Superstar

The other night I went out with one of the teachers I work with and a couple of her friends visiting from out of town. We chose to go to a place none of us had ever been, a place called Superstar Disco. Let me run you through it. We get there and take an elevator to the sixth floor as instructed. The outside was decorated up very much like a Las Vegas strip club. A casino downstairs and plenty of bright neon flashing lights reaching up to the stars themselves perhaps, but of course, you can't see those cuz of the smog, and lots of girls dressed up like... not so reputable women. The entranceway is a brightly lit mirrored hallway, somewhat lavish in appearance (though perhaps not so lavish as Louis' Hall of Mirrors). There is a window with three prices listed, men $600, women $400, foreigners $300. My immediate reaction is good, with a slight hesitation at the thought that this might be yet another "foreigner hangout". When we walk inside I find that it is indeed as I had suspected, but not quite as I had expected. There are tons of people seated around a two-tiered stage in a very large room. On the stage, are a trio of scantily-clad Taiwanese girls singing English songs (they were cute so I had no problem with it). It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust, and just as they are coming around, Nicky leans over to me and says "Hey Chris, there are a lot of white girls here". There certainly are, I think to myself, more than I've seen in one place at one time since coming to Taiwan... and they are dressed precisely like those women of ill-repute I mentioned earlier. They were all tall, good-looking, blond-haired and walking around in tiny little mini-skirts that barely covered much of anything at all. As for other white guys, however, there is not one in sight. As we sit down and order some beers, one of these girls walks by and runs her hand across my back and it's not long before I'm sitting down and having a drink with her. I find out that she's Ukranian, as are many of the girls there, though the majority are Russian. Her English is OK at best, and she tells me she's only been in Taiwan for a month. Nicky and her friend get into a conversation with another of the girls right behind me, in Russian (the Taiwanese English teacher that I work with is having a conversation in Russian... man I gotta get more skills). I end up getting physically dragged by some Taiwanese guy over to his table and promptly have another full drink in my hand... a pitcher in fact, but I opt for a glass. These guys barely speak a word of English, nor do the Russian girls they're with, so I'm thankful when the singing stops and the stage is swarmed with people eager to dance. There was good music and plenty of smoke and lasers. After another hour or so, there's another live performance and the singer keeps looking at me (she was cute too). Had I been more of a man, perhaps more would have come of it, but let's face it, I'm not much of a man in that department. There was a fascinating dance-off between a Taiwanese B-Boy and a big black stripper from Ghana. Later on that night, I found the stripper freestyling in the little boy's room and he decided I was his good friend. Later still, he took it upon himself to show me a few moves (which I'm unlikely to ever do again, in public). Nearing the end of the night, a Filipino band came out to perform and yet another cute girl, though she pulled me on stage to dance, and there I spent the rest of the night. I even sang the chorus to the ever-popular Bon Jovi classic, "It's My Life" (I had no choice, the mic was shoved in my face). In the end, as is my way, I went home alone. How do I do it? It's my gift - I'm a superstar.

At DNA, nearly morning. Utah, Cindy, and Dolly, and myself... I don't really know who Utah is, but there he is.