And.... We're Off!

2 days ago, I started a month long journey to Taiwan and China. I am traveling with my good friend Angela who pretty much knows her way around these places. When we first got to LAX and completed the check in, we hung out at the International VIP lounge which is a place for people with business or first class flights to wait their grueling airport escapades. Typically flying economy, we got Dynasty(business) class tickets which meant we could go in and chill. It was a first for me. There they had lots of food from instant noodles, sushi, sandwiches, chips, fruits, to all the drinks you could want including beers and hard alcohol. I just had myself a light meal of a small turkey sandwich, kimchi instant noodles, and some fruit.



The flight itself is about 13.5 hours from LA. I thought it was going to be pretty bad because my flight to France last summer was unbearable. But in the Dynasty class the seats were wide, and leg space was more than plentiful. I could recline pretty low and enough to be comfortable in that position. We were treated with real nice service and airplane food, yes the airplane can still be delicious! During the flight I was able to finish up Jay Helfert's book POOL WARS which is now a book on my "you better read this" list. Angela and I played Pasoy( aka: Pasoy Dos or Big 2) for quite a while with The Action Report match between Shane and Alex in the background on my latop. I saw some Chinese romantic comedy (I had to read the subtitles but the dramatic acting was enough to tell the story), Taken, and The Road to Perdition which just made my top movies list. All in all a decent flight, and next thing you know we are touch down in Taipei.

So upon getting to Angela's house we settled in a bit. It was about 9 in the evening or so which was 6am in LA time. I made some calls to family to on both the home front and in Taiwan to let them know I've arrived, then Angela and I went out to see the city. Being a Saturday night, I wanted to see where all the people are going. So we went to a nearby night market after seeing what appears to be an evening swapmeet down a street I kept seeing the same thing over and over.. cheap bags, clothing, random trinkets, shoes, and of course... the food. After about an hour we got bored to we walked to a pool hall to hit some balls around. This one was on the 9th floor atop the famous nightclub Luxy. The equipment was pretty damn good for the first pool hall i walked into this trip. Gold Grown 4's, blue Simonis 860, and Aramith TV balls.. all well cleaned and maintained. Angela and I played some 9 ball for about an hour or so then we headed back. We hadn't taken a rest since we got off the plane.

The next day (yesterday) we went to Mos Burger for breakfast/lunch. I guess they started in Japan, but it's a burger joint that's open 24 hours. I got a normal burger with fries and an iced tea. Oh my goodness! their portions are so small! Their burger was about the size of a 99cent McDonalds cheeseburger with some lettuce and the fries were also about a small sized. The ice tea was approximately the size between a small and medium cup from McD's. I feel like next time I should order 2 bc at less than 4 bucks for that how meal I really couldnt complain. After lunch we walked to this one spot near a McDonalds were I got an iced coffee from a walk up window of the McCafe. There we met Angela's old high school friend Tami who now lives Taipei. We walked around a bit then ended up at this tea house where we had some cold beverages and played more Pasoy. It's my understanding that this is the card game of choice in Taiwan and the gambling can get a bit crazy. I will let you how it goes if/when I get into that action.

After drinking and playing cards, we went to KTV or kareoke. I was never that great at singing, but I know I can hold my own. However, when you take an American such as myself and give me a library of songs in a Taiwanese kareoke joint... well let's just say I was moreso the spectator for the next couple hours, haha! After Angela and Tami pretty much exhausted their vocal chords, when went back to the same pool hall ( I promise I'll get the name next time I go) to hit some more balls. We played me against them 2 race to 80 in straight pool. I had already gotten to 24 and they only had 4 balls. My longest run was only 10 during that session, but hey I can't complain with the way I was playing. I brought my cues with me and still have yet to bring it out with me. The last two times we were being tourists and on the go so bringing our sticks wouldn't have been all that convenients. I think tonight I will make a trip out to either this or a new pool hall with my cues to play and maybe feel out the action side of things.

I left Tami and Angela at the pool hall to meet with an old childhood friend Ann who lives here to have dinner with her boyfriend Hogan. We had Thai food which turned out to be pretty good. After dinner we met with her friend Jessie who is an actress/singer/model (pretty damn cute too!) here in Taiwan and also the only friend of Ann who has a car. You really don't need a car out here, but it does make things more convenient. She drove this little BMW 120d couple probably small than a Civic and oh my God... I think I had found the epitomy of crazy Asian woman driver! We survived but she drives with a heavy foot, loves to weave lanes, and text message/call at the same time! I was on the edge of my seat and even put on my seatbelt which they all found funny. People only wear seatbelts in the front seat, but I would rather wear one all the time.

So we went to the the top of this mountain just outside of the city and I wish I remembered the name of it. But we ended up at this lounge called The Top which is nestled near the summit with a beautiful setup and scenic view. There I had an iced hazelnut coffee which was made rather well. I practiced my shitty Mandarin as much as I could while they learned about my life here in the States. There a black cat was roaming around one of the cabanas and then we saw a spider with a diameter of 5 inches. No joke... it was huge! As soon as the flash to my camera went off, it ran from the planter 5 feet away to under the table we were sitting at, which then scared the girls, which caused a funny little scene, which pretty much was perfect timing to leave, haha. So we headed back down the mountain to the city once again. There we went to what is said to be the most famous night market in Taipei. Once again, sorry for my lack of Chinese skills but I forgot the name of it. If you ask anyone in Taipei, they will probably take you there. There we roamed around getting little things to eat like salted papayas and cantelope among a sea of people doing the same. There was alot of funky stuff too like insides of pigs, ducks, and cows... I duno, not too interested in that department. We stopped by this indoor section with a pet store. Jessie loves animals. She's got 4 dogs at home and I think she'd probably get more if she could. She was basically "ohh I want him!" to a rabbit, a buncha dogs, a gerbel, and then a goat in the back. HAHA. I think she'd open a mini zoo if she could.

Now in this night market, I guess its comprised of a few streets, then the vendors on the street are in the middle of it. I didn't know, but I guess the street vendors arent allowed to be there. Because when we came out of the pet store, the street was pretty much cleared minus the shops physically on the street. I was confused. I was told that when the cops come, they pack up and go... actually no. They roll away and hide. Then when the cops are gone, they come back and open up shop. Within 5 minutes, the street is crowded with people again. It's such a crazy thing! The 4 of us went to this shaved ice parlor and we got ourselves a mango shaved ice and a peanut shaved ice. Yes, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into but damn it was delicious! The evening then boiled to an end and it was time to go home. Jessie dropped off Ann and Hogan then me to Angela's place. So far I've been very moved by the hospitality shown by all the people I've been around. I was going to write this blog before bed, but I knocked out in the middle of backing up my pictures, hehe. So now is 9:38 am and I have just about finished here.

Not too much jet lag, I lived a nocturnal life in LA anyway. In less than 2 days, We are flying to Shanghai for a week. Stay tuned!

NOTE: I can't get my pics to upload right now. And since words are only half the story, I promise to get them up when I can.. time for breakfast!

Photoshoot gone bad.

So today my friend Daniel and I were asked to be subjects for a photoshoot taken by a talented friend and photographer by the name of Hamesh Shahani at Mr. Pockets a local pool hall in the South Bay. We were all dressed up in nice shirts, ties, and vests to give it a classy look. We were both taking shots and just posing for him and all was going well. He then tells Daniel that he wants to take some breakshots of him. Instead of literally breaking a rack he just broke the cue ball straight into the cross corner pocket. Since they were drop pockets, I was just fetching the cue ball and returning it to him standing directly in his line of sight. Well the KINO light was in his face so I guess that was blinding to him. Of course I was looking at Hamesh take the shots so I wasnt watching the ball. After the 10th or so shot, Daniel just whacked at the cue ball and for whatever reason(not chalking, getting tired, jacking up on the cue... who knows) the freaking ball shoots straight into my forehead.

FUUUUUCK I yelled. I just grabbed my head and bend down. I initally head laughter, which is fine because it is funny, just not when it happens to me. I looked at my hands to realize there is no blood and then I calmed a bit. Everyone rushed over to me and told me to sit down and whatnot. I mean it really hurt, but not to the point of me passing out or anything. The thud was pretty loud. They all said they could hear the cue ball's impact on my domepiece. With that we took a short break while I got some ice to put over my head. I usually have great reflexes. I mean I was a hockey goalie for years. But the normal overhead light was off bc H wanted to control his light better and I just wasn't looking. Had that overhead light been on, I woulda seen that white ball shoot at me and I would have either caught it or dodged it. Too bad it was neither. I know Daniel didn't mean it. But shiet jamofo! You just threw a rock at my head! haha. Moments later we were back at it, but I kept poking at my bump to see how badly it swelled. It swelled alright, but not as bad as I thought it would. We continued shooting, and then Hamesh started taking close up shots of my face. I hope those pictures don't accentuate my bump.

Overall it was a good shoot. I still can't believe it happened to me though. This is the first and hopefully last time I'll ever take a cue ball to my head. Yeah, they can jump off the table and maybe bump into someone's leg or something. But I've never seen that happen. Too bad it wasn't filmed bc it surely woulda been online by now. My head still kinda stings when I touch it. But I think the swelling should be gone by tomorrow. sigh.... what a day!

I'll have more blogs about past events later.. Just had to put this one out first.

It's About Time...

Hello there,

Today I have finally decided to get on with the blogs through a new venue. Blogspot seems to be the more widely accepted and easier to handle site for this kinda stuff. Those days of Livejournal(yes, were YOU there?) and Myspace are over. On February 22nd, or a day close to it, I opened this account, and over 3 months later I have gotten my lazy ass to restart these short stories and ramblings of my life. So without further adue, here it goes... enjoy!