Having had enough of our apartment, on day 18, we decided to hit the town. First thing in the morning, the kids and I rushed out the door to make it in time for the 11:30 showing of Horton Hears a Who. We needed to rush so we'd have enough time for a trip to the Pearl Lady's stand before going into the movie theater (and because I can't seem to drag my sorry elephantine bottom out of bed much earlier than 9:00). The Pearl Lady was fruitful. I'll leave it at that (Mike might be reading this....)
So, after the PL, we rushed to the movie theater. We were the only people in the theater, which was nice, but made the reserved tickets and arranged seating feel, you know, unnecessary. Horton was great. I found myself crying like a baby--probably because we were the only ones there and I could get away with it, and possibly because I was on no sleep and getting a cold. Plus, the whole "I meant what I said and I said what I meant" bit always gets to me. Oh, steady, unwavering Horton!
After Horton we went to Cold Stone, cause lunch just isn't lunch until you top off your popcorn, soda, and churro with a nice chocolate waffle cone. I love the concept of Cold Stone in Taiwan. Who would have thought! That's Tienmu, for you. Tienmu is the area of Taiwan where all the Americans live and where you can get genuine root beer and REAL Diet Coke--not Coke Light, which is an abomination before the soda gods. When I happened upon the import store that carries such things as Dr. Pepper and Diet Coke, I am embarrassed to admit that I got OVERLY excited in front of several people. What can I say? Three months is a long time for some people to go without normal Diet Coke.
Once we had made ourselves sick at Cold Stone, we headed home, where we met up with Mike and continued our Harry Potter reading. Later that night, we played air hockey in the apartment lobby, and spent some time enjoying the Zhuwei night life, which always means making a stop at the fried rice place. I know you are probably thinking that fried rice is fried rice, but this is different. We probably eat it at least three times per week. The people who make it know us well, and have agreed to let us come into their kitchen after hours so we can learn how to make it ourselves. THAT'S how committed we are to this rice. I mean, it has BASIL in it for heaven's sake!
Overall, Day 18 went a lot better than days 20 and 19, probably because I got to go to the movies and eat salty popcorn and buy pretty pearls and eat decadent ice cream.
PS: Am having internet and picture trouble again, hence the tiny pic of fried rice relegated to the top of this post. Hopefully the problem will resolve itself quickly.
Hi! I've usually been a lurker (though I saw your poll about dwindling comments and decided you'd like more comments) and can't remember how I found your blog, but I've loved reading it. You're such an awesome writer and your entries are so fun. The point, though, is when you learn to make the very delicious fried rice, you'll have to share the secret!
ReplyDeleteYour days and nights sound so enchanting. As different as Taiwan may be, your days are very similar to mine: killing time with kids punctuated by exciting and eventful(!) trips to fast food restaurants. The rest is just details--plus you have air hockey.
ReplyDeleteI had an eerily similar day--Horton Hears Stuff, overeating popcorn (and m&ms), then a trip to McDonalds for a hot fudge sundae (and other stuff). It made me physically sick, but fed my soul. After reading your blog, I decided that I, too, live a decandent, enchanted life!
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