Saturday Steak Day & Sunday Funday!!

This weekend I :

❤ Laughed at this picture my friend posted on fb..

Early Travel Memories

With the parentals on one of the islands on the way to Antarctica.. I think Auckland Island...

Age 15, and rocking the meanest wraparound sunnies EV-AH!! & Reebok high tops.. Yup-huh!!

Yes, we all have matching jackets... and even trousers!! Coz we're cool like that... Think I still have that jacket somewhere..

I like to think that one of the reasons I love to travel is because we travelled a lot when I was a kid. My dad was as intrepid as they get and loved going places on and OFF the tourist trail...

My earliest memory is riding on my dad's shoulders while touring ice sculptures in Hokkaido. I must only be 3 or 4, still in kindergarten.. I remember complaining that my feet were cold and I didn't want to walk anymore.. I remember playing in the giant castle carved out of ice and that it had a slide. Apparently having a cold ass didn't bother me as much as having cold feet!

Lunch at Link : 麟手創料理

A couple of weeks ago, Mum and I spent about a week in 宜蘭縣 (Ilan County), visiting my great aunt & uncle.. (my gran's sister and her husband).. On the way there, we stopped for lunch at Link : 麟手創料理.. Mum had been there before and thought it was quite interesting and wanted to take me there... We arrived close to 1pm and without a booking, but were told they had seats, tho only the NT$1200 menu was available.

We were taken upstairs and shown to a beautifully set table.. (the table was also HUGE, tho you can't tell in this photo..)

Ginseng tea was quickly served.. in this quirkly little teacup...

{In case you don't know already... PHOTO HEAVY POST to follow!!}

11 Dish Dinner!

Let me just say, the one thing I always miss when I'm away from Taiwan is the food here... Anything you want is easily accessible... at just about any hour of the day... and/or night!! From street stalls to Michelin stars and everything in between, you can be guaranteed that you'll never go hungry!

The momster and I were around 公館 (GongGuan) running some errands and decided to wander around to see what we could find to eat... We ended up eating 10 11 different dishes for dinner...that's right... TEN ELEVEN!!

We started with 大腸麵線 (wiki call it 'vermicelli with large intestine'.. not overly appetising sounding! haha) and 臭豆腐 (Stinky tofu) from a corner street cart... both dishes were delicious! The vermicelli with a splash of vinegar.. the intestine was tender and not overly chewy... the stinky tofu could have been a little bit more crisp on the outside but if you got the bits that hadn't been sitting in the sauce.. there really were no complaints!

Stinky Tofu

Vermicelli

Geocaching in Taiwan

Hey lovelies!

Not sure if any of you remember my last post about geocaching... ALL the way back in December... and not sure if any of you have given it a go??  But I have continued my geocaching adventures on my travels... I did quite a bit of geocaching while I was in Sweden.. I found it can make travelling solo seem less lonely sometimes.. tho at some spots, you really miss having an extra pair of eyes to help in the search!!

Anywhos, I've been on some geocaching adventures since I've been back in Taiwan staying with mum...

The first was in 鹿港 (Lukang) where my gran lives while we were back visiting over Lunar/Chinese New Year...

A photoshake blog post...

Testing out sending to my blog from photoshake..Mum and I went geocache hunting and to admire the cherry blossoms at the Yangming Flower Festival today..

[edit: can't really write a lot as the "caption" ends up being the post title... hmmm... must see how else I can post to my blog from these nifty little apps]

Conversations with Mother #4

I am absolutely convinced that my mother is THE most ridiculous person.... possibly... EVER!

So she called this morning and after a brief discussion about what she actually called for... we got onto talking about my weight... it is a pertinent issue for her.... much more for her than for me... but if we carry on in this fashion... I may just develop a complex about it... Keep in mind that this is a conversation with a woman who weights herself EVERYDAY... EVERY SINGLE DAY.... yea...

mum: So, have you lost or gained weight lately?
me: Probably gained... I lost some while I was going to the gym, but with having visitors and going to Morocco, I've probably put weight on again...
mum: Well, you really need to be careful about your weight...
me: .....it's hard when people come to visit and we're eating and going out a lot...
mum: So, you're eating lunch AND dinner!?!
me: ...uhh.. yes? (I'm not suppose to starve myself!?!?)
mum: Well, if you eat a big lunch, you should have a small dinner..
me: I can't really expect my friends not to eat...
mum: Then you should order things lower in calories... like things without cheese...
me: Ok
mum: And you should give your food away, SHARE it with people... give people parts to "try", then you can eat less...
me: Generally if you give people some of your food to try, they give you some back to try too...
mum: Well, then just eat less of it... 
me: ......
mum: And it's ok to leave it as well and not eat it...

WHAT!?!?!  So in my mother's ideal world, I'd go out to eat, order something and give most of it away, then leave the rest that I didn't manage to pawn off on my friends! You should all come eat out with me... I'd just order and pay for the food and you can all eat it off my plate!!

me: ...........*more silence*.............
mum: You have to think about your knees, supporting all that weight... and it's bad for your health to be overweight...
me: I'm not exactly HUGE mum...
mum: It's just you said a while ago you were close to 70kg...
me: About 60 odd, 70....
mum: Once you break that barrier into 70kg, it's hard to come back...
me: ............................
mum: You should just make sure you eat less, because the more you stretch your stomach, the more you'll eat, and the more your stomach will stretch, then you'll eat even more...
me: ..................................
mum: So when your friends are visiting, just give them your food...
me: ...................

This is about when she decided to give up on the subject... Seriously, the way she talks about it, you'd think I weighed 10 million pounds... I know I'm not exactly small, and I'm definitely not by Asian standards (I swear half the women there are anorexic... or at least look that way...)  and I know I could do with losing a few kilos but it drives me crazy that she seems completely fixated on the issue...

Anywhos! Has anyone else had any success in getting their mother's to not obsess about their weight??!! :D Maybe I should just tell her I found a miracle cure and I suddenly woke up 20kg lighter.. hehe..

I also asked if she could send me my birth certificate and she asked me where she'd go to get one...!?!?! Is this normal?? Aren't mothers/parents supposed to have our birth certificates safely squirreled away somewhere!?!?! I suggested that we must have needed them when we immigrated to NZ?? She said she would look up the file... hmmmmmmmmmm....

I then tried to explain the concept of Groupon... in an effort to try and explain how I could afford to holiday in Morocco while I'm not working... Although she seem to lose interest in it fairly quickly... but proceeded to grill me about whether I went to the Mosque while I was there... I told her that only Muslims were allowed in the Mosque.. tho she was adamant that she went to the mosque when she was there... it was one of the biggest in the world (or maybe Morocco) and that it was blue and white!... When I questioned what city it was in.. she didn't seem to know... If anyone knows anything about this blue and white mosque... I'd love to know what she's talking about!!

And thus concludes another edition of Conversations with Mother...

Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!!

Conversations with Mother #3

Today's conversations with mother included such delightful topics as... bowel movements.. and the importance of having a bowel movement at least once a day..., AGAIN... not eating anything from China..., the pertinence of working up a sweat to stay healthy... as that's how your body rids itself of toxins... which she has noticed on her daily walks... that some of the more "elderly" smell strongly of medication... than others... therefore, those who smell less like medication = more healthy! I thought it was a bit of leap, but she probably has a point...

She also advised taking a brillo pad to kiwifruit to rid it of its fluff then eating some of the skin.. tho not ALL of it.. because, you have to cut the tips off anyways... but she tries to eat at least 1/3 of the kiwifruit skin.. and it is good at aiding bowel movement if you're having trouble in that department...

Though the absolute gem of today's conversation concerns those days when the weather is bad that she doesn't get to go on her daily walk... and it went a bit like this...

Mum: Singing is also a good way to work up a sweat...
Me: Sing..ing??
Mum: Yea, I've been singing!! (She has an extra pep in her voice when she says this...) (I should probably also mention at this time that she had a karaoke machine installed and wired into the surround sound... no joke..! We are at times... properly stereo-typically Asian...)
Me: How does one sweat from singing??? (I assume she hasn't also hired a choreographer to help plan some elaborate stage show... tho at times... you never really can tell when it comes to my mother...)
Mum: Well, I sing for up to two hours at a time! (There's that pep again!)
Me: TWO HOURS!?!?!
Mum: Yes, I can work up a good sweat...
Me: *laughter*
Mum: Because you have to sing LOUD.. otherwise you just don't get that "feel"... (she says "feel" in English.. I'm not really sure why... but it makes the whole thing seem so much more hilarious.. [to clarify: we usually converse in a mix of Mandarin and Taiwanese with bits of English thrown in, mostly at my end when I can't think of the word in Chinese])
Me: *more laughter*
Mum: Oh but I only sing in the afternoons! (More pep)
Me: Only the afternoons??
Mum: Yes, I'm not someone with no class! 
Me: riiiiiiight...
Mum: I'm considerate of the neighbours you know...
Me: Uhhh huh...
Mum: I try not to sing on the weekends when I know some of the neighbours might be home.. and I don't sing in the mornings in case people are trying to sleep... or around lunchtime.. in case people are sleeping after lunch... (it used to be common that offices shut down for an hour at lunchtime so the employees could have a little sleep/nap after lunch) So I only sing in the afternoons...
Me: okaaaaay?
Mum: Because during the week, most people are at work, so I can sing as loud as I want!
Me: *laugh* (is there any other response!?!?!)
Mum: Anyway, I asked the doorman if he was ok with it and he said yes and that he enjoyed it!!
Me: Umm... would he tell you even if he didn't like it??? 
Mum: Well... yes I had thought of that, so I asked if he had any complaints from any of the neighbours and he said no! (She seems genuinely excited about this!)
Me: Well, I guess you're ok then!
Mum: Well, it's not like I can sing and run outside at the same time to see how loud I am!!
Me: Well, no....
Mum: But you need a bit of volume... to get the "feel".... (feel, in English again...)
Me: Uh huh..
Mum: I tried to sing quietly.. it just wasn't right... it just wasn't as fun! (I've been in the house with mum singing... she certainly gives it gusto!)
Me: *sliding towards hysterics*
Mum: You need to be holding that microphone, or you don't get the "mood", you know...!!?? (again, mood.. in English... WHA??)
Me: *almost uncontrollable laughter*
Mum: And while you've got the microphone, you just need to turn the volume up a bit.. you know? So you get the "feel"!!! 
Me: *actually in hysterics now*
Mum: But you know??? Don't you ever go to karaoke there??
Me: Umm... no... there's not really karaoke here... (there is.. but not like she's thinking in the way it is in Asia)
Mum: *snort* How boring! (Yes, she actually snorted... like a tv, geek snort! Like.. a rolling of the eye kinda snort... Like having no karaoke = less quality of life!)
Me: *silence* (I really had no response to this...)
Mum: Anyways... sometimes when I'm learning a new song... I'll sing the same song over and over again... coz sometimes you can't always hit the notes, so you need to practice!
Me: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (I feel for the poor doorman!!)
Mum: They should be paying me for the free entertainment!
Me: Maybe you can put a hat outside the front door...
Mum: Like a donation box!

Yup, true story... maybe next conversation she'll tell me how much money she's made from serenading the neighbours with her karaoke practice!!

We also covered "a HUGE new mall or department store that opened in London"... which I had absolutely no knowledge about... Mum seemed shocked and disappointed as it's been in the news over there... her reasoning what that if there's a new mall or department store then the logical thing would of course for me to go shopping there and check out the monstrosity! I asked Sok for verification of such a place's existence.. and she confirmed they have opened a new Westfield in Stratford... so I shall have to find a weekend to go to London to see this thing and maybe give mum's credit card a work out so I can accurately report back!!

Then there were such exciting topics as my attempts at going to the gym and mum telling me to treat myself to the occasional massage! (Well, don't mind if I do!) Also AS ALWAYS diet and eating more vegetables.. but not too much fruit.. because fruit has lots of sugar and can actually raise your cholesterol! As well as how heavy I am... (I am fat in my mother's eyes... this observation was the first thing she said to me when she saw me after 7 years of NOT seeing me... I said... "Hi mom!", she said "You got fat!", I replied "You got skinny!") She thinks I should weigh myself daily like she does to "keep an eye" on my weight.. I didn't want to tell her I think she's a bit OCD about her weight... last time I tried to tell her she was OCD about cleaning.. the outcome wasn't pretty! Anywhos.... I'm off to check on my rather calorific slow cooked chilli mince dinner! (Noone tell my mum!)

Conversations with Mother #2

So, my mum tried to call last night and I missed her call, then she tried to call me twice today while I was out flea market & charity shopping...  I text her to tell her I was out and that I'd call her tomorrow, but she text back to say she'd call me tonight.. which got me a bit worried, as she's usually more than happy to wait a few days for me to call her back... and as I said previously, we speak very rarely and considering it hadn't been long since our last conversation.. I was thinking it was going to be bad news.... Luckily it wasn't... so after our discussion about what she phoned for.. she asked where I'd been when she called in the morning, so I told her I was at a flea market with some friends.. this is the conversation which followed:

mum: you should be careful about the stuff you buy at flea markets, they are usually not very good quality.
me: well, this is a flea market where people come and sell their stuff.. (I think she was thinking more like Camden markets where it's stalls rather than like a jumble sale)
mum: so you're buying second hand clothes?
me: yes
mum: what did you buy?
me: two jackets
mum: don't you think it's weird to wear other people's clothes?
me: no.. 
mum: really?
me: yes.. (obviously, if I'm buying them..??)
mum: I'd never think to buy second hand clothes.. it's weird...
me: not really...
mum: what if the people have you know... "passed away" (she actually said passed away in English... weird!?)
me: well, then they don't need their clothes anymore!
mum: but what if they come back and are wondering where their clothes went?
me: ummm... 
mum: they might be angry they can't wear their clothes and you know... "pew pew" (she actually made that sound.. like when you make a gunshot sound.. pew pew - NO JOKE)
me: well, they should be shitty at their family members who sold their clothes, and not at me
mum: well they might be confused and wonder why you are wearing their clothes... they might really like their clothes..
me: well, won't they be happy that someone is happy wearing their clothes??
mum: hmmm.. it's weird.. what if they have some kind of disease? or skin problem?
me: well, I WASH the clothes before I wear them.. so they're CLEAN...
mum: it's still weird.. it makes me feel funny... 
me: ok
mum: it gives me the heebie geebies... bleugh (she actually made the bleugh sound...) you don't know anything about who had the clothes before you... it's not like if your aunt takes my clothes because they know I'm clean.. and they know it's because I don't fit the clothes anymore... 
me: ok..??
mum: how much were the jackets you bought??
me: £5 each, so £10 for both
mum: well, that's not very expensive
me: that's kind of the point
mum: why are you buying second hand clothes?? it's weird.. we're not poor, you can afford new clothes
me: yes I know, but I haven't been able to find a jacket, I've had a look in the shops and there's nothing I like..
mum: well, what are you looking for
me: like a trench coat.. 
mum: well, why don't you buy one from Burberry, you live in the UK, surely you can go to a Burberry
me: because their coats are expensive
mum: well, it's an investment... you know you're getting good quality
me: but I schlep around in my clothes and don't take care of them.. so don't want to spend loads of money on a coat...
mum: well, then just find one that's cheaper
me: but I haven't seen anything I like.. and I don't want to spend a lot of money on something I don't really like.. if I get something cheap, I don't care that I'm not crazy about it.. but if I'm going to spend a lot of money, I want to find something I like...
mum: I don't like the idea of you wearing second hand clothes.. £5 isn't a lot, you should give that jacket to a friend and go and buy yourself a new jacket
me: but there's nothing in the shops
mum: how can there be nothing in the shops!
me: everything is expensive!
mum: how much is expensive?
me: like £100
mum: (does the conversion) well, that's not a lot!
me: umm...
mum: why don't you go to like Z..... 
me: Zara?
mum: yea.. they'll have a nice trench coat
me: ok..
mum: if you think it's expensive, then you can put it on my credit card and it will be my present to you
me: ok
mum: but just give away those jackets you bought today.. give them to your friends or something... say your mum.. actually don't say I said.. just tell them you don't like them anymore and give them away...
me: umm.. ok...?? I could take it to a charity store!
mum: Oooh, that's good!! You could be doing a good deed!! 
me: mmm hmmm...
mum: Anyway, I just don't like it... bleugh... why would you buy second hand clothes? that's so weird... you're STRANGE! it's not like we're poor...
me: yes I know... 
mum: well go and buy yourself a new jacket.. buy two if you want... buy a few.. well not like five or six.. but one or two is ok.. put it on my credit card.. it'll be my present.. just give those other ones away...
me: fine
mum: you could go shopping tomorrow, it's Sunday!
me: yes mum...
mum: well good.. it's settled then.. go buy yourself a new jacket tomorrow, don't wear second hand clothes.. it's weird
me: I'll just pop along to LV tomorrow then and buy myself a jacket shall I?
mum: sure, whatever.. just don't wear second hand clothes anymore...


MUAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... Shopping Spree Courtesy of MUMMY!!  - Maybe I should talk to my mum more often!?!?!


I think I'll still keep my jackets.. coz they're quite nice jackets... I decided not to tell her I buy second hand clothes quite a lot and I thrift house wares too.. that would gross her right out... she'd probably fly out here and overhaul everything in my kitchen for fear there was stuff in there that someone else had used before...


shhhhh.. noone tell my mum!! 


Do I have the most ridiculous mother or what!?!?!


side note: the monkey mister just referred to my updating my blog in "google reader and blogLand" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA  it's called blogger!! what a silly!! 

Conversations with Mother...

I spoke to my mum on the weekend.. and while some people I know do this on a daily basis (whether they still live at home or not).. I am not one of those people... It's probably been a few months since I last spoke to my mum... we operate on a strictly "no news is good news" policy, if you will...

Anywhos.. the subjects covered in our 1hr 15min 13sec (thanks Skype!) + 15min (on my cellphone) follow up conversation were as follows:
a) E.Coli outbreak in Europe:
mum: So have you seen in the news all those people who have died?
me: Not really, I briefly saw it in the paper early in the week.. I thought only 4 had died?
mum: NOOO.. LOTS of people have died! {The news I've read suggests about 20 people have died}
me: From cucumbers or something yea?
mum: They don't think it's cucumbers, they think it's salad...
me: So should I stop eating salad?
mum: Well, they don't know exactly what it is...
me: So I'll just stop eating veg for a while??
mum: No... just be careful what you're eating...
me: Ok... 

This then lead on to
b) "You can't eat any food from Taiwan because studies have revealed they have been using things to make plastic as additives" (I suspect she might mean melamide? but I haven't actually read this in the news, so I'm not entirely sure what she's talking about... she didn't know the term in English and I didn't recognise the term in Mandarin...)
mum: have you seen in the news the US are banning the import of food from Taiwan because of this study?
me: no
mum: really? it's all in the news... US are now testing all the food from Taiwan before it's allowed in..
me: erm... ok?
mum: it's in EVERYTHING! from drinks to lotions to shower gels! even X company (a large food distributor in Taiwan) have had their food test positive!
me: ok...
mum: so you can't eat anything from Taiwan...
me: ok... (living in the UK, it's not really that easy to buy food from Taiwan..)
mum: it's a good thing I don't eat any of that processed stuff anyways...
me: yup huh.... 

mum: they've done studies.. and the average male sexual organs of males in Taiwan is 1cm shorter and also slimmer than the rest of the world... they've done blood tests, the levels of X chemical in Taiwanese people has 10% higher saturation than the rest of the world...

me: ok... (thinking, am I really having a conversation with my mother regarding male sexual organs!?!)

mum: it's even in infant formulas, so all those parents thinking they were doing good for their babies were feeding them bad stuff instead!
me: well, how long has it been going on?
mum: AGES... more than 10 years...
me: oh..
mum: in the blood tests they did, the levels here were 100times higher than anywhere else in the world...
me: that's not good...
-the conversations carried on for a bit more, but by the end of the conversation the saturation levels were thousands of times higher than average!

This then lead on to:
c) a debate over the size of fish which is safer to consume due to the Japanese nuclear fallout...
mum: oh, you should only eat fish that are small
me: WHAT?
mum: because big fish eat more radiation
me: yea, but you would have to eat MORE little fish to get full as opposed to one big fish...??
mum: but big fish eat more little fish...
me: yea but... would you not be eating the equivalent radiation eating more little fish to one big fish?
mum: no
me: why not (I take pleasure in goading my mother sometimes... I did figure out that she meant that big fish already eat radiation, then they eat more radiation eating little fish who have also eaten radiation, hence I guess the effect compounds exponentially, but I just like having senseless debates with my mum sometimes)
mum: BEEECAAAUUSSEEEE (said like a young child biding time trying to make up an excuse for something) the big fish already eat the radiation then they have to eat all the little fish... you know??
me: yea ok...
mum: do you really get it? or are you just saying ok so I'll stop going on about it?
me: I'll stop eating vegetables, nothing from Taiwan, and only small fish... got it!
mum: not just small fish... like baby fish.. but fish that don't get too big.. like those ones we have at the Japanese restaurant.. you know?? (she then lists off some other "small fish")
me: Right.. small fish, no veges & nothing from Taiwan or China... we'll all just starve to death! (she has this thing against anything made in China because of melamide poisoning and lead poisoning etc.. I hardly ever buy anything made in China anyways)... 
mum: *sigh* - I can sense her eye rolling at this stage... hehehe...

But by far my favourite part was this:
mum: Are you going to London again anytime soon?
me: in July, why?
mum: Well, I borrowed your bag the other day..
me: What bag?
mum: the one from that department store..
me: ok.. (she means Harrods)
mum: It's really handy when it's raining because I don't have to worry about anything getting wet!!
me: ok...
mum: so I was on the tram with it the other day... and I saw another person, an elderly gentleman.. well, actually he was probably younger than me! (who calls someone elderly then says that person is younger than themselves!?!?!?! anywhos..) HE had one that was quite brightly coloured... and the more I looked at your one, the more I thought it was a poo colour (she actually said "poo colour")
me: So, what you're telling me is, you went into my room, "borrowed" one of my bags.. and now you're complaining that it's a POO colour???
mum: well, it IS... browny... it's a poo colour...
me: you don't HAVE to use it you know?? if it's a POO colour...
mum: but it's so HANDY when it's wet out!
me: So I suppose you would like another one that is NOT a poo colour...
mum: Yes, something bright and colourful, especially for summer! maybe with flowers on it or something?
me: What size is the one you've got? All their flower ones are like granny flowers... (I actually don't remember the bag she's talking about, I know I have one, but couldn't tell you anything else about it... tho apparently it's poo coloured!)
mum: quite big... & I don't want granny flowers...
me: how big is quite big? how about dogs?
mum: like one of the ones you get from the department stores... just something bright...
me: but they have little ones and medium ones and GIANT ones! so no dogs?
mum: medium ones.. like bigger than an A4 page.. you know?? 
me: yup, ok... 
mum: so do they have littler ones too??
me: yes mother
mum: well, a smaller one might be quite handy for days I don't need so much stuff...!!
me: ok, I'll go get you some, brightly coloured bags in a variety of sizes, but not granny flowers, next time I'm in London..
mum: oh, only if you're in the area... don't go especially...
me: I'll just go anyways...
mum: but I suppose if you're not coming back anytime soon...
me: there is such a thing as POST? it's not like they weigh anything, I'll just send them to you..
mum: oh ok then!


Various other more mundane things were discussed.. but those were defo the highlights... in some horrendously juvenile way, I delighted in making my mother repeat the word poo.. hahahaha...

How often do you talk to your mum?? What kind of things do you talk about?? Does she ever borrow your stuff only to tell you all the things that are wrong with it upon its return??!!


Happy Monday!!