Shannon's Engagement Party

Here's the pictures of Shannon's engagement party. I want the pictures to mainly speak for themselves, but a little background might be useful. The party was held at Shannon's father's factory on the outskirts of Lugang under the truly multi-purpose rainbow tarps. (Weddings, funerals, religious ceremonies, block parties: it does them all.) She was excited for us to experience this custom because it's limited to only the middle/rural areas of Taiwan. As the pictures partially show, you need a LARGE space to hold one. In the first picture, the girl on the left is Emily, the other secretary. The whole shebang lasted almost three hours and featured a 10 course meal. And when I say courses, I mean course. It was a seafood-lover's paradise. I'm not one, but I did my best. Two kinds of fish, several kinds of shrimp, crabs, sea cucumbers(grosser than you are capable of imagining, I promise), three soups, fruit, dessert, rice balls, the list just goes on. Paul shares that his main complaint about the food was not so much about the taste, but the general wobbliness. It went way past uncomfortable levels. Each of the tables with stocked with complimentary gifts of scotch (Johnny Walker Black Label, aged 12 yrs) and cigarettes, in addition to all of the regular food and the very free-flowing Heineken. Paul commented he felt like we were about to bribe some prison guards.

On the stage introduing the couple in the black vest is the Democratic Party Head for the county. I think he was there because Shannon's father is a party captian. This picture was taken after he had let loose a karaoke love ballad. He was a very gregarious fellow, probably good politician.

The boy band was a relative's and it was their first gig. They were amazingly bad. The guitar player and the drummer couldn't stay in the same rhythm and the guitar singer also couldn't sing and play and stay on his rhythm. It was painful. The other "entertainers" have pictures that speak for themselves. Oh, and the woman in the hot pink and black was the emcee. She robbed me of at least half of my hearing, temporarily anyway.

Oh, and yes, there is a picture of Shannon with me, but it is so hideous that I cannot post it even for humor-related purposes.

Sweet Betsy Ross' Ghost! It's Sweet Betsy Ross!

So, Sweet Betsy Ross was finally ransomed from the clutches of Taiwanese Customs for the low, low price of NT$800 (US$27). I did like Cassia's suggestion that they wanted to make sure the laptop wasn't being imported against its will and that's why they asked for power of attorney. Alas, it does not have the ability to travel through time, but it does have a built-in webcam--in case you thought someone had killed us and was photoshopping pictures to make it look like we were still living. Or you're my mom and want to confirm that I do indeed mainly call and write at 3 am in my PJs.

Right now, I'm trying to decide how to decorate Sweet Betsy Ross so she looks more like herself and less like Sarah Plain and Tall (as she does at the moment). Paul offered the extra Guitar Hero stickers, so she might wind up with a flaming skull and crossbones or something. That seems appropriate for a founding myth figure, right?

I'll try to take a picture (ideally using its own webcam and an elaborate arrangement of mirrors) so you can all appreciate its majesty appropriately. It's like a laptop aircraft carrier; it's huge! I'm worried it won't fit in my bag.

A Paul Post

Here's some pictures of our kids along with a picture of the billboard and the David statue.

(P.S. by Jennifer: I wanted this to be called Shotgun Shine for obvious reasons, but Paul said no.)

Today's My Birthday and I Get One Every Year

So today is my birthday and yeah, I do get one every year. I'll admit it doesn't feel so birthday-y without the Bussio Birthday Gaunlet. Apparently, siblings are a vital component of birthday mirth. Nevertheless, we boldly pressed on with festivities and somehow managed to enjoy ourselves.

My big gift this year was the new laptop to replace the greatly ailing Zombie Shakespeare. It's fetchin' sweet, I won't deny it, but I'm having a hard time coming up with a name for it. So far, it's a toss-up between Big Bertha and Sweet Besty Ross. Big Bertha suggests its heft, but Sweet Betsy Ross better captures its awesomeness. Of course, this may all change after it gets here and I actually see it. It was briefly detained in Customs awaiting "power of attorney." I don't know how a laptop could have a power of attorney (or what Customs wanted with mine, presumably), but the situtation seems to have resolved itself without my intervention as it has cleared Customs. On the other hand, its delivery date is scheduled for Jan. 1, 1900 at 12:00 am, so there may still be some problems.

Paul also gave me the first season of Star Trek: Voyager, burned from iTunes onto DVDs, the new Flogging Molly CD (buy it!), a fancy aluminum cooling pad for the new laptop, some Sims stuff, and a new computer game.

Useless Poll #2

Dear gentle readers,
The time has come for another useless poll. I call it useless because it is regarding something that Paul and I have only been kicking around.

Poll:
Should Paul and I go to China instead of Russia?

Advantages:
China is closer=less chance of a nervous breakdown on a plane.
Everything will be relatively cleaned up and tourist-friendly for the Olympics.
Exciting cultural benefits for me!

Disadvantages:
Less chance of a nervous breakdown still equals a chance of a nervous breakdown.
Proximity to Olympics means fares jumped US$150 each way.
Paul isn't fluent in Mandarin.
I'm not fluent in Mandarin.
We don't know anyone in China. (Actually, I do have an open invitation--or did two years ago--to crash on a couch in Beijing, but I can't remember their names. And I guess there is Audra's brother, but I'm not sure I want to be associated with a fugitive. He also may or may not be in the country. Informal border crossings are his friend.)

So, what do you think?

Money, Grad School and the Married Girl

Well, I finally received ASU's funding offer and it pretty much blew Boulder out of the water, being better in every way. Better job, better benefits (covered health insurance), bigger block grant/fellowship, renewable for up to 3 years upon "satistifactory discharge of duties."

I also learned that the only good reason to go to Boulder (after not getting funded at ASU) is no longer in the game, so it looks like I'm destined to spend another year in a hot, snowless, daylight-savings ignoring place.

A Beginning: I Did Not Kill Anyone Today

I did not kill anyone today. I find that's a good place to start. I did not kill the person who stole my cabinet--which had finally been perfectly arranged both functionally and aesthetically--and gave me a monstrosity of a shelving thing which cannot be accurately described because it does not exist in America. I did not kill an certain anonymous roommate, even though she has consistantly screwed all of us over this past week and is being mean to an undeserving kid--whose father has now called a parent meeting about unrelated issues for which I will now be forced to give up my lunch half-an-hour. I killed no children, not even the superwhiny ones who chose to spend ten minutes complaining about the gym activity rather than actually do it. I especially did not kill the people at ASU, even though I have still yet to see their funding offer. (In fairness, they did mail it Tuesday afternoon.)

[Breath] However, in a bout of extreme productivity, I did file our taxes for last year even though it was a colossal hassle because we didn't reside in the US for more than six months and earned income overseas. And I chatted with my friend Mary, who had just decided this very morn to backpack through Western Europe and was in line to buy airplane tickets. She might also spend some time in Croatia studying. Maybe I'll visit. I hear there are some killer beaches and prices that can't be beat. Beaches sound nice about now. Now if I could just do something about that aneurysm-inducing fear of flying....

P.S. If all of my complaining left you lacking, you can always high-tail it over to my cousin's blog, Love Comes First. I believe its very title reflects the sunshine and kittens it emits.

Lugang Longshan Temple Slides #1

I Really, REALLY like Lugang

So I conned my roommates into going to Lugang with me again by telling them we were going to visit a tinsmith...which may be the strangest true thing ever written. Apparently, Ellie's parents collect tin sculpture (who knew?), so she wanted to get them something. Anyway, the tinsmith was a big bust. He's old and only works via Internet commissions these days. He also spoke no English, but was very nice. He makes super expensive coffee containers, among other less-touristy items. But, across from the tinsmith was the Lugang Longshan Temple, which was truly stunning. How stunning you ask? Well, someone (not the one with a photography minor) took over twenty pictures of the detail work on the front gate alone. I'm just sayin'. It was hands-down the coolest historical temple I've seen. The interior was the best part-- very minimal, very Japanese--but it was definitely a no-photos zones. So, kill the lights and break out the projector--it's slides time!