stealgraff_burner's Xanga

so curious

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:26:59 GMT

i am very curious...how do you felt, when once you bought an expensive gift for ur good fren. but all along, ur fren cant remember that gift was from u. i mean, it wasnt a branded bag or perfume. it was something the person like it s much and wanted it. i mean...anyway...i guess ur answer would b..NO BIG DEAL. but..for me..my heart just fell into the drain.. AND I AIN'T KIDDING WITH U..I CAN HEAR THE SOUND OF IT. *pliang* sigh. u mean get the guys to buy gift then its consider precious? then...i rather u return me the gift, i should give to orphan kids in the very first place. *kimmie stand one corner and sulk.

Sabah resort in shortlist for coveted tourism award

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 01:17:12 GMT

Well i found this article from asiaone.com and also you can read it from Sun, Sep 27, 2009 The New Straits Times.

Of course will promote it since its my hometown! =)

Sabah resort in shortlist for coveted tourism award

KOTA KINABALU, MALAYSIA - Shangri La Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa in Kota Kinabalu has been shortlisted as a finalist for a prestigious award on responsible tourism together with several other luxury resorts and community-based tourist operations across Southeast Asia.

The only award of its kind, the Wild Asia Responsible Tourism Awards was created in 2006 to promote environmentally sustainable destinations throughout Asia.

Now in its fourth year, the award is aligned to the United Nations' World Tourism Organisation's Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria.

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After analysing a field of 315 entries from countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka, Wild Asia founder and director Reza Azmi has revealed two finalists in each of the four categories.

Community-based: Andaman Discoveries, Thailand; and Sundarbans Jungle Camp, Bali Island, Indonesia.

- Small: Lamai Homestay, Thailand; and Nikoi, Indonesia.

- Medium: El Nido Resorts, Philippines; and Soneva Fushi, Male, Maldives.

- Large: Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; and ITC Mughal, Agra, India.

Reza said it was critical that tourism operators were recognised and rewarded for their contributions towards a greener environment.

"This award is not only a recognition of their efforts but it's also an award for learning and sharing."

As part of the judging process and to help tourism operators make changes, they are required to submit a self-assessment covering environmental, social and economic factors and a commitment to responsible tourism.

The assessments are then analysed by the Wild Asia Responsible Tourism team before three judges, including for the first time eco-architect Ian Hall, carry out site visits.

Reza said responsible tourism covered more than just the environment but also social and economic responsibilities to a region, such as how a business approached labour issues.

He said claims by tourism operators that they were eco-friendly operations also needed closer examination.

"One of the major criteria is whether or not they give us any confidence that they do understand what their social and environmental impacts are," he said.

"Sometimes they can talk for hours and hours about all these green things but then you get this feeling that they don't actually know what they were talking about."

Reza said many of the tour operators also wielded huge influence as politicians and top businessmen stayed there.

He said people could do their part for the environment by staying at places that carried out responsible tourism.

The winner from each category will be announced on October 29. Visit www.wildasia.org for more information.

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Interesting Site: Dumb Otaku

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:19:59 GMT

Very much regretted. WHY i didn't search online and look for this site before i WENT to japan. can someone just kill me? i was searching up and down the secret to learn japanese or even a simple ones...

Well...i came back from Japan, and just today..suddenly i have the mood to search for ''kawaii japanese blog'' AND to my horror I FOUND THIS SITE! http://dumbotaku.com/. WHY ..WHY...*minami bangs wall. why i didn't found you before i go to Japan!!argh...

anyway...interesting site..please have a peep ya!

How To Learn Japanese

Written by DumbOtaku on May 29, 2009 —

This is a presentation my teacher asked me to do. In this post I am going to write out the whole presentation and walk you through the slides instead of just posting the slides. At the end I’ll have the slides to download too. This is probably going to be long as it is about a 20 minute presentation so typing it out makes it quite long.

This is a how to learn presentation. Often times people don’t learn how to learn so they get stuck in a a situation where they just do the same old thing over and over that so many people do and fail. I am hoping to give you some resources and tips to help you not run into that situation.

I want to start out by saying that I am generally a lazy person. I want to do the least amount of work and get the maximum amount of benefit out of it. That is why I did research into how to learn and this is what I came up with.

There are a few key things that you need to learn to effectively learn and speak another language. Those are:

Vocabulary – Without knowing words you can’t do anything at all in another language
Grammar – You need to actually know to use those words effectively so grammar is important to know
Alphabet – When it comes to using the language a lot of what is needed is written so since a lot of languages have their own alphabet. This is a major priority when trying to learn.
Culture – One thing that some people overlook I have seen in my class is Culture. Others want to learn the language but don’t learn the culture which helps to shape language just as language shapes itself. If you speak English look at all the different dialects of English and knowing a bit about culture helps you understand each a bit better.
Listening Comprehension – while this isn’t exactly something you can “learn” per se. It is something that is needed so concentrating on it early is very important.

Generally there are 4 key things you do to learn new things and be able to effectively understand/use your new knowledge.

Memorization – Unfortunately there is no way around it you have to memorize things langauge is no different. You have to memorize your new language.
Practice – Lets face it if you don’t practice drills and other things repeatedly then you aren’t going to learn it so practice is definitely something you need to do
Use – Using your knowledge is important and lets you make mistakes and learn from them so using should be one of the funnest things you can do especially since it means you learn something
Total Immersion (if possible) – Conventional wisdom says live in the target country and consume it 24 hours a day will help you learn faster so if you can try total immersion

Now I have kind of gone on in such a way that might make all this seem hard and daunting, but the presentation is definitely something to help you accomplish all these things easier. Remember I am lazy and want to put the smallest amount of effort in to get the most out of it.

I call this the traditional way to learn a language or the 20th century way, were in the 21st century now. These are your more stereotypical ways to learn and seem the easiest ways to get started.

First you Listen to Words Over and Over think of the guy in a movie driving down the highway listening to the language tapes over and over. Beyond that you start to Try to find content in your Target Language be it books or newspapers or even local communities. Another way to practice or learn is to try to write in the language and hope it is right. Unfortunately, it can take a while to see if you are correct because you might do this with a pen pal or something so immediate feedback to learn from is more difficult.

After you have learned more and more you get to a point where you could potentially read books or be able to speak to others that know the language well. These are definitely good things to do, but finding books traditionally has been hard. Finding people is more likely even more difficult than books.

These aren’t presented as just traditional ways to learn, but are useful in the 21st century too. Lets move on to that.

Here we are 21st century learning methods or Technology Assisted Learning. We have all this technology now lets use it to our full advantage. We still want to some of the same things as before just using technology to facilitate that learning and make it easier.

Immersion/AJATT first thing we can do is let technology get us into a total immersion or almost total immersion environment. We want to take a look though at what is a total immersion environment. Well generally it consists of all your audio and visual world being in Japanese. So that means we need to do the same. With technology you can get your media, software, and most of your books all in Japanese.

The AJATT method was developed by some polish dudes a while back that wanted to laern English. They contended that if they “became” english then they would learn English a whole lot faster, thus they turned their whole environment around them to English. Well Khatsumoto, from the AJATT site, took this same method and applied it to learning Japanese.

The first part of the AJATT method is what I call the rule of 10,000. 10,000 hours and 10,000 sentences. The 10,000 hours is the amount of time it takes to get to 18 months of audio which is how long it took Khatsumoto to become fluent in Japanese to go from nothing to conversations with no problems.

The 10,000 Sentences represents how many sentences you should memorize so through the process you will learn grammar, kanji and a lot of sentences. The point isn’t to actually memorize 10,000 sentences, but to learn a number of ways to communicate. One you learn to a certain amount you can start taking sentences t you know and using your vocab to make more sentences.

The AJATT method also suggests getting all your books in Japanese you want to read therefor forcing you to learn and use your Japanese language skills and to increase your immersion.

The same goes for the world around you by maybe putting up Japanese posters or changing the language on your computer to Japanese. The over all point is to immerse yourself in Japanese.

So we have gone over local environment and a couple of key concepts of total immersion and AJATT, but lets look at some fun ways to learn and practice.

Media has to be the best way to learn. I mean who doesn’t like to watch a good show or listen to good music. While this won’t out and out teach you Japanese it will help to tune your ear to Japanese so that you can pick it up easier.

One way it has helped me is by watching more and more J-Drama’s I pick up on subtle nuances of the language and the different inflections on how to say things that give me an advantage in class when we come up on new words or speaking in general. Besides, JDramas are usually better than American dramas, there is actually a story.

So definitely if you can get hold of some media in Japanese and start enjoying the language.

So here is where the lazy comes in. I can use the least amount of effort to learn the most if will use an SRS program. “Spaced Repetition Software”. Spaced Repetition started in the 30’s, but was quickly lost as it was localized and not a lot of information could spread easily. However, it was popularized in the 60’s again and started a new way of learning that quickly picked up speed and eventually lead to software.

It really started with flashcards, however to do it effectively over the long term flash cards became unmanageable. Couple decades later it started to be implemented in software and we are were we are today.

I did start to go into the science and all, but wasn’t to comferatlbe explaining it so I thought i’d let you watch a video from someone who writes an SRS application because they can do it much better than I can. So please watch the screen cast to get a better idea.

http://ichi2.net/anki/screencast1.html

Hopefully, that video helped with what SRS is and how it works.

These are a list of applications that implement the Spaced Repetition that can be used.

SuperMemo – This was one of the first implementations of spaced repetition but isn’t free. It is good from what I have read, but it costing something shy’s people away
Anki – This is a free and open source appliction with a lot of features and one of the most popular SRS apps
Mnemosyne – I use this one I prefer it to some degree when I can’t use iKnow
iKnow – This is the main application for the Smart.FM site formerly iknow.co.jp. I prefer this one because it takes some of the guess work out of doing SRS
Surusu (AJATT) – This is a web version of an SRS app written by the guy that helped to form the AJATT method I haven’t used it but read good things about it
Word Champ – This is an almost direct competitor to smart.fm/iKnow it has a couple of extra features than Smart.FM does, but it is a pay site.

Hopefully this quick rundown of different apps will help you to decide where to start in looking at what application you might want to use if you choose to go the SRS route to learn.

These are sites I try to use regularly to help learn

Smart.fm – I use this as my main SRS application I like it because it makes SRS fun
lang-8 – Lang-8 is for language exchange you can write journal entries and japanese people will fix it for you and help you learn
jisho.org – This is probably one of the best dictionaries ever quick an easy to use takes kana, kanji, romaji, and english
Google Translate – This is great for quick and easy translation of text and sites. Not always the most accurate, but enough to get the idea.

Books are an important part of the learning process I especially like Remember the Kanji to learn 2046 kanji so I can get around day to day easier. By far this has been the simplest way to learn kanji I personally have found.

Along with the book you can get a poster of all those kanji at kanjiposter.com. This is useful as it is laminated so you can mark it up and watch your progress. What thing katsumoto suggests is highlight in red what you have learned and watch it fill up in red....

pay day!

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:08:49 GMT

have u got ur pay yet? mine is YES. i mean not frm the right brain center of course, from my current job. I thnak GOD for the pay.. anyway..right brain center have not pay me yet despite letter issued from the Ministry Of Manpower to give them 2 weeks to settle my salary. I bet when the principal read the letter *ophsss* i mean she need someone to translate of course, because her english half bucket of water. I bet she felt like killing me! o well...thank u Ministry of Manpower. Because of their efficiency. JUSTICE HAVE BEEN DONE. but i just have to wait for them to pay me. anyhow even they dont we will see them in High Court, thats if she still unwilling to pay me. i want to tell u guys! I MISS THE KIDS THERE! haha...

went to sengkang gym yesterday..was quite good after exercise, but packed man! yes, because it was packed, so everyone who use the machines supposedly 20mins then let others to use. the two guys beside me set really bad example man. one is sweating all over the machine. i aint joking but its TRUE! i thought it was the aircon leaking but then seriously it was from the guy beside me. the sweat! all over the machine and handle. >_< i mean if u the next user..will u dare to use it? then another guy on my left side, i m nt trying to say his have odour smell. but he use the machine more than 20mins, i mean even more than that. behind him, is a poor lil girl on the Q, seriously..the guy must be mistaken that the equipment belongs to him. he kept continue again and again despite the machine timer already set to 20mins. social responsiblity please. think of others.

AWARE: work in this company under ur own risk.

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:14:31 GMT

so..when you thought u can get ur May salary from ur ex company..i can tell u, stop dreaming. cos i bet my ex company the boss she like people to beg her. then from this way, she will felt she is the Jaguar Queen. no joke people, my friend told me, she tried to talk to the principal and ask when she gonna give us, our cpf. 2months no cpf. she said 'PLEASE CAN U PUT $$ IN MY CPF AC, I NEED IT TO PAY MY HOUSING LOAN N STUFF, PLEASE'' so the drama queen quickly grab her bag and said 'SO-SO..I M GOING NOW' then she went off...but after few weeks nothing in her account. hahahhaha!!!*kimmie whistles* pardon me if i kept repeat the same story but, drama maaaaaaa. then those staff who went to complain or people who nt even involve, she fired the whole batch and she get new staff coming in very fast *cos economic nt so good*

yesterday was a classic joke i need to share. nt that i m hapi or extremely hapi. im pathetic. because since the principal wan me to beg and be like a dog listen to her rules. im PATHETIC. yesterday was a nother court day, which the day before, someone sent me a lawyer letter by hand. *clap* never in my life a receive a lawyer letter. the moment i receive it, i thought she wana sue me for kept staring at her big ass during my period of my work there. but lucky NO. the letter said i delete some copyright work frm their computer. which the letter mentioned is so *aw* kinda feeling. like saying U R A THIEF. U R A MURDERER. U R A RAPIST. U R A MOLESTER.ok...i peed on my pants when i received the letter. my armpit hair all fell off. im scared. my mind still thinking that, the court meeting is this friday, lucky bcos of my anger, i took a chance to dig out the letter from Ministry of Manpower, and to my joy. IT WAS TUESDAY! wohoo..i cant wait. so i went down, waited..i do hope the principal come down n give me a proper explanation about this. why she tell everyone i deleted her ''highly important document'' ITS CALLED TARNISH A PERSON'S REPUTATION RITE?'' but actually i dont have one, because im nt a rich or famous person. so...im one of her dog last time. so in the room, me n judge, stephen, he told me, the principal last min called up, to postpone to another day. in my heart, if everytime postpone how many unpaid leave do i need to apply? im poor eh. im claiming my salary not her property why cant she just gimme my pay? so judge tell me, he reject the proposal of postponing. he dont wana drag the case. =) thank u judge! the judge said the reason they postpone is becos they have a VERY URGENT MEETING TO ATTEND. wow..meaning u never respect the law rite? what imp meeting? liar forever a liar. jaguar car suit her. leopard never change her spot. ahhahaha~ ok...then we both waited for them to appear. someone appeared. but i thought he entered the wrong room. becos i never see him b4. bt he shw the authorised letter frm the school, and he have the power to decide. so ok. and the guy just work there less than a month. and that morning they 'push' this fellow to come. hahah hearing begins :

judge: mr toh do u know ms blablabla?

mr toh: YES I DO *my heart skipped cos i never thought im so POPULAR!*WOOHOO*

judge: so u know ms bla personally?

mr toh: no i dono

judge: then u said u know her?

mr toh: i know her from the principal cos she said she deleted company important info *watever she said, cos i no longer in the company.

judge: do u knw what is ms bla claiming?

mr toh: yes. her pay.

then the judge ask 'AND' ..then mr toh paused for quite a longtime.then judge ask'mr toh, do u knw what is the purpose of u coming down here. mr toh said' i know. i come to negotiate' judge asked' wat is the reason frm ur company for nt paying her salary? mr toh replied' we already prepared the cheque, our prinicipal said bcos of this delete file issue, we need a lawyer to handle this case, and the lawyer currently oversea' judge : but mr toh, im asking u bout the salary nothing to do with the lawyer letter, that is another case, different, do not mix them up' so mr toh..keep quiet. then 'do u knw wat ms bla's claim? he said' i know. may salary, oth dispute' judge ask; AND? mr toh, silent. silent and silent, until we can hear mosquitoes flying around. then he said, 'tats all he knw..and i come to negotiate bout the pay to contra with our lawyer letter' judge said: can u make the decision, bcos since u don even knw what happened here, why are u here in the 1st place? ...mr toh keep quiet and he insisted he came to negotiate. then the judge leave us for 15mins, and let him knw wat is the whole thing about n wat r his terms n condition. so..i explain to him, with my evidence, then after hearing my story, he said 'actually i also dono wats going on, this morning last min, they jus asked me to come down' -----i bet his cab fare canot claim..hahah..bcos theres in no such thing as CLAIM in principal's dictionary, every sales person encounter that b4, im sure he is nt the last-----then i tell him, if the principal said a deleted an important file, that is a bullshit, the file they mentioned, folder under my name. and only few design artwrk, the 4 cards she mentioned, is artwork. why drag until 2weeks later, then tell me, they want to deduct my pay bcos they cant find the folder? the folder is in network drive where everyone can access it. during these period, anything can happen, why me? and if i were to delete, i will choose to delete, all their TEACHING MATERIAL, y only 4 cards that a nt so important? the artwrk they can redo, but if i delete the TEACHING MATERIAL, they spend few months to redo it. am i rite or nt MR? which cost higher? and y 4cards cost me $2k? if so, during my work there, i teach n i design, isnt that my pay should be higher than $6k? i did more than tat. but i never said anything. and ur company lawyer letter said they spend 8 man hours to search for the file. isnt it a joke. im sure, another designer have a backup copy bcos i passed to her b4 for printing. the principal idea is ask me to contra my pay with the lawyer letter and they will forget everything. CONTRA. 1st time i heard this joke. *CHEAP CHEAP BARGAIN BARGAIN..SLAVE HERE..SHOW ME A LAWYER LETTER, AND I CONTRA EVERYTHING FOR U* market is it? contra my pay which means the company no need to pay me anything. i pity him, cos he knw nuts bout the principal n her tactic, yet he come for a war. then he told me, he jus work there less than a month. so after a long talk, i told him, i m claiming for my own pay, nt too much rite? then...the judge came in, so he asked us for a conclusion.

then mr toh, said he offer me one month pay, to forget bout the lawyer letter, and my other shortpayment. then i accept the offer. when judge wana make the conclusion, he asked mr toh, 'so mr toh, for 2weeks duration, ur company willing to pay ms bla a one full month pay, am i rite? then mr toh, 'O U MEAN SHE ONLY WORK 2WEEKS DURING MAY' ---tats wat we were informing him again n again. i tink he needs coffee--- so he said he offer me $1k and ask me to forget everything. no more lawyer letter, dont claim the shortpayment. of course i DO agree NOT. if i do, my family will splash acid n my dog will throw me to the sea, mr bear might chop me into 80pieces. principal have her own bootlicker, who asked me to admit i did delete the thing bcos if principal going to sue me, im in deep trouble. ya..i kill her husband, i rape him. i admit. *ophs* then anyway, i didnt agreed with the offer, the mr toh said the principal mentioned b4 she nt willing to pay me more than $1k. after the judge asked him, he said MAYBE $1K only. judge asked, wat the different with $1k and 300more? and she claim, wat she deserve nt extra amount why nt jus give to her. so..mr toh, said he wan to postpone. judge, said 'sori, canot postpone, bcos we kep on delay' *cheers for the judge!* if im rich girl, i don mind. i m a dog for the principal watever she suck us lastime, i let it be. now WANA SUCK MY SALARY! CONTRA. 666 la! piu. the hearing conclusion is, they have to settle my salary within two weeks time, anyway if they dont wan, we have to go high court. seriously, if nt bcos of this principal, i never have a chance to experience, hw is court like.

the mr toh told me when we r in a discussion, he said 'the principal they don like to come court, bcos of the long hours and long talking, so they ask me to come, i tell him very straight 4ward, i said 'NO LA, U R WRONG, SHE DON WANA COME COURT, BCOS SHE DON DARE TO SWEAR IN FRONT OF BIBLE, SHE IS A LIAR, SHE AFRAID. then i very scared he will sued me for this sentence so i end up with 'ophsss' u see, if u have $ u can sue. issue lawyer letter, i dont have $. i mus save $ for my family n my future. i have no choice.

but i tink, the company accounts mus be not clean, bcos if the principal can drive a jaguar, live in harbour front high end condo facing the sentosa with sea view. with maids. and still she kept suck everybody blood.

well so i heard frm my ex colleague the other, some people frm the court went down to the company to paste a sticker or notice, saying this company owe people $. i not sure whats the exact phrase but ya, and you seriously think the principal will scared of these? hell no, after the people left, she asked the manager tried whatever method, to tear out that thing because if parent were to send their kids down, they will notice it. tra-la-la-la. then the next day, principal suddenly 'woke up' and treat everyone to dinner after work, to me i think its a bribe to seal everyone's lips, just in case. and then.....

never work in this monster company

Tue, 19 May 2009 03:34:03 GMT

u knw if given a chance to warn my fellow friends out there, on which company is a big no-no for them to work in..at least i can save them from click SEND RESUME.

i work in a company which i like the enviroment, i like the kids...but i just dont get it, our pay always a delay. from the rule every month our pay will be credited into our account from the 8th delay till the 19th. But according to the seniors these dates are not the worse, last time they even got in only will 25 of the month. If u working as a part timer there, i can tell u, u might as well beg them for ur pay. DELAY EVEN WORSE.

well for a unknow reason, my principal will suddenly cut our pay and she will say ''i didn't know anything about this! HOW SILLY THAT EXCUSE...accountant will not anyhow deduct pay unless there is a authorise given right? but that is what she said when we confronted her about the salary deduction, if u late on weekends, they will deduct u 1minute 1 dollar. so that time i very 1st month working there, accountant give me a wrong salary so i try to ask him for his advice how he calculate my salary, instead of him talking to u nicely, he was shouting at u like u a COCKROACH!!!! but of course i m a never die cockroach, i kept ask him till he reply my question, so for the past 30minutes when u talk to him, u get a blank answer which he didnt really answer u. and because his stink breath, i felt like telling him to shut up, but then again...I NEED AN ANSWER RIGHT? so he ask me to calcute properly, my method is wrong, i ask other colleagues, all of them given me the same answer. i talk to him, until i cry!!!!arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..i should jus take the chair nearby and WWF him!!! then he try to kick me off by telling me, his calculation is based what principal have given to him, so again i confronted her, again she said ''i don't know anything bout these'' then she ask the accountant again, and guess what he said..''i didnt say principal i said M.O.M (MINISTRY OF MANPOWER) well..he make me sound like im a total ediot. so..then the principal ask me go in to her room, and i told her, i have an outstanding of 180bux. so she said, ''oh, this one blablabla...and total outstanding is only 45bux'' POWER RITE!!!! she supposed to returned me 180bux given her power of reasoning she gave me only 45bux. might as well she pay me 4.50bux as a token for me to buy toilet paper to wipe my ass? i argue with her but no use, she have her own reason, and then, from her room u can hear the monster accountant badmouth me in front of the manager. WHAT A MONSTER! FEED HIM SOME ACID TO WASH HIS MOUTH PLEASE!!!

well..still i like the kids there, i saw many people leave the company as soon as 3days!!!AWWWW..these people i called them..GENIUS. which somehow related to my company name. the sales people leaving one by one *making the sound effect from the harper's island scary voice* and pathetic-ly, she still want to cut their pay, and for the sales she gave one of the person a 2.50bux cheque for his commision, she said out of courtesy. the guy said ''1ST TIME IN MY LIFE I SAW A 2.50BUX CHEQUE''

well, she gave us a company tee shirt and end up deduct our pay without letting us know, and when we confronted her, she said 50bux is for the shirt and end of the day when u leave the company they will refund u the 50bux. im so ediot 1st of heard of this policy. and when i return my shirt, u mean the next person gonna wear my shirt?

ok..everyone who leave told me, they have problem with their salary or cpf. one case, my fren came in complain, the principal hide in her room, hoping the girl will leave. who knows she waited. frm morning till 2pm. the principal still hiding. pretend she really busy, and asked her dog, the manager to check whter the girl left or nt. so..the girl jus went in the staff room to look for the rat (principal) then finally they talk. shortpayment of few hundreds of commision and also cut her pay of $300 for being late. they suddenly have a rules saying whoever late will fine $1 for a min, without informing people. until u clarify, for those for never check their account or the amount, its a bonus to the company, they earn ur $. those who work there, they will suddenly change the appoinment letter, saying u have to work with them a YEAR, if u leave within these period, u have to pay them. *drum roll anyone*?

i mean nt only issue with the staff, but parents did complain too. some wish to pull out frm the course, but bcos they paid the full amount, so ...they have to continue, some even give up the $$ eh...WAT..THEY GAVE UP A FEW THOUSAND DOLLAR FEE. why nt jus donate to me? CASE file. but u think the principal will scared of it? she will not. she is good in pr n talking. when u r rich, she will serve u like VIP. make u felt like..VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT. thats wat the jap do rite, but she is nt a real jap wat. ALAMAK...SHE MIGHT SUE ME FOR THIS. one student who have down syndromes the mummy asked whther these training can help her son, the teachers knw its quite impossible, bt yet bcos of $$ sake, the principal said. OF COURSE YES! giving a mummy a false hope jus bcos they wanted to earn $. they did a trial class, bcos the child is only 2yrs old, he cant even pay attention and when the teacher talk, the child is jus running around. the teacher feedback to principal, maybe ask them come bck when he is older. but..well, she is a vacuum cleaner.

taiwan...!!!!

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:33:43 GMT

vovoro n the bf going to taiwan for holiday soon, so envy. I WANT TO GO BACK TAIWAN TOO! FOOD! FOOD! NOTHING BUT FOOD!

when u asked why do people lied? will u think u can get a honest reply? and then...everything is so predictable? *kimmie slaps her forehead. and then...

if that day comes

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:42:32 GMT

if one day it really happen, i mean my nitemare come true, i guess i wont cry. becos the rain will wash away my tears. when the day comes, maybe i will give a big 'sigh' becos....

so so missing you...

Sun, 08 Mar 2009 17:56:52 GMT

well...my life cycle have changed, i worked on weekends too. guess what, i SO SO SO miss my online friends and xanga friends. really. it felts like a few century since i chat with them and read bout them. wonder what happened to my friends. but yet im glad for what GOD gave everything i have today. thank god. and and ..and...updates about my job?

my job was quite ''fun'' in a way, because i have to worked with kids but the bad thing is i have to work on weekend! @_@ argghhhh~ i miss going church, seriously. i miss church. =(

ok, 1st of all, currently im still under training, so whenever there is a class, my job is to assist. well, if you saw a lil kid who is younger than the rest and dont want to sit still in class, would you help them pay attention? well, basically thats what i think i SHOULD do. i was helping this boy call letton, who came with a maid. well during our meetings, my friend told us, there is a mom who was very upset and shouted on the phone regarding a ''word'' come from someone who discourage the child, and her child gave up his sketching. we were given advice not to say any negative words to the kids, must always use positive n encourage words. woooow...i didnt even know the complain was actually talking about me until my fren came and tell me!!!!! she said the mom said, i said the word ''SO UGLY...!!'' which refering to the work. to my surprise I DIDNT EVEN TEACH THE CHILD! well, so i was very very moody. but i tell myself i mustn' let this bring me down the whole week. the actual incident is, a boy name 'K' who sits besides the boy that i was attending to, went home and when his mummy ask him to draw some picture for her, he said he like drawing. but then HE DONT LIKE SKETCHING..because teacher said ''my sketching is so ugly'' the mother was so furious, and ask the maid. the maid said ''teacher assistant who said it'' then the mom call the school and dig ..dig ..dig, and found out it was me. so lucky that day was our off day, so..she shouted to a unlucky person and make the person's day bcome gloomy chicken. so well, now i m the bad guy, wooooooooho!!!! but then again, why me? why the maid said its me? because the maid hates long hair teacher or am i too ugly, then she said it was ME! u wouldnt understand my mood that time. every day when lesson starts, i have to stand and kneel again n again, since the student are mostly 2-3 yrs old. well, can u imagine hw mini size is their table n chairs? everyday like praying to god, to forgive my sins. i stand and kneel again n again until end of the day my leg become jelly. but still it was fun working with them bcos i like kids!! yea, just when you think everything went smoothly. you got a scariest complain in the year of 2009! ever! i accidentally saw the note on the desk that wrote, ''miss dolly...teacher assistant, ...say word so ugly and blablabla...parents wants her to apologize n take action against her!'' dont you think when you read these sentence, you felt like you peeing on your pants, bcause such a sweet name, DOLLY but yet, so fierce. well, i waited for the weekend to come and i wanted to see her very much and explain it to her. but guess what, my vice principal told me, he will settle it, and all i have to do is, follow his instruction, so i agreed without knowing what is his instruction YET. well..i asked opinions, they told me explain to the parent if she insisted a sorry just say sorry to her. at 1st i was very stubborn to say SORRY to her, i was thinking, ITS NOT ME..WHY I HAVE TO SAY SORRY!!! then everytime, when i reach home, i recall the incident, and i told myself, if i like the job, why not just say ''STORY'' to her right. anyway if bcos of somethings i didnt do, i quit my job, i think i will might as well, roll down from mount himalaya? what you think?? SO..yea..guess what, on friday vice principal finally have time for me, he showed me a note which it supposed to be written by me, and i have to follow everything in the note and tell the mom, WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAT!!! the more i read at the note, i can felt my own hand vibrating. the note says :''BECAUSE I WAS A NEW TRAINER, SO TO CREATE A BONDING WITH STUDENTS, I TRIED TO MAKE SOME JOKES, AND CASUALLY SAID THE WORD SO UGLY, I DIDNT KNW IT LEFT A BAD SCAR ON YOUR CHILD, WHICH I DIDNT DO IT INTENTIONALLY. blablabla...'' i think why not just slap me, i will not say the word. really. so i ask one of the senior her opinion, she told me, if didnt even teach her child, tell her. if she insist a sorry. well, just said sorry but explain to her what happened. then the vice principal heard it, and i told him. i seriously wont said the story in the note. really. i never do it, why should i create another story? then he told me, ok...maybe jus said you accidentally said it in front of everyone... why why why!?

well..saturday was a very busy day for me, since my fren was sick, she lost her voice, so i have to take over her and teach her class. from morning tilll noon, when i went for toilet break, HOLY GOD!!! I TOT I SAW SOME FREAK ON THE MIRROR!!! but look again, it was me. hair flying around like superfly. tskkk...well, the mom came and about 4plus just before i went for my next class, my vice principal ask me, ''SMILE, AND JUST FOR FEW MINUTES THEN WE ARE OFF!'' ok, i went into the room, and saw DOLLY was playing with the drawing and running around!!! i was like what the!!! then when the vice principal introduce, then i realised, oh...the one running around is Dolly's daughter. during the whole conversation, i cant stop peep at the lil one. so cute!!! awwww.. but then ok. since the mom, was explaining the whole situation in a very nice tone. so i wasnt angry or anything but i just wish to clear my name! after she finish her side of story..its my turn. i asked her, if she can ask the boy in and let him tell me himself. but the boy is having a class. ok..ok..then i asked whther did the boy really mentioned my name? she said YES (but actually no, because since she have to called the school and check my name..meaning he dont even know my name at that time'' ok..so i take a deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep breathe, and take a courage to tell her ''actually i think its better to tell u the truth rather than hiding around the bush...on the day i did not teach your son, why would i said the word to him? i was teaching another boy, which another teacher can be my witness. unless he have illusion(ophss...haha i didnt said to her) but she said ''it was the MAID said ''it was u'' waaaa.....she asked me, ''if u didnt teach my son, who is the one who teach my son'' i dont wan to make it so obvious it was the maid. but i told her '' i tried to help your son with the classwork but the maid said he knows. then i walk to another boy. i dont wan to make it so obvious that her maid is a ''negative vibe'' bcos she told us, the maid been with her even before the son is born, and she tell the maid, never ever said anything negative in front of the child. well...i dont wan to make it so obvious that...the maid is beside him all the while. maybe the maid accidentally said so ugly, but blame it to me. and said ''see see teacher said so ugly'' the more you explain, the more they will think you are trying to cover up something. well...then the mom said, ok since it wasnt u, she want to vice principal to take the matter seriously and find out who is the culprit. *sigh..i serously DONT WAN TO TELL HER ITS THE MAID..i hope she read my blog..heheehehe..and she asked me, why is it that her son's sketching is erased off when he showed it to her? ....i mean how would i know rite? the time, we check everyone finished their work. if later on its erased, i wouldnt know..and the mom said'' it looks like erased of 3 times, i can see the tracing lines..i told her, i not sure about the erasing part, bcos we will make sure all of them finish it and show it to us.. then half way, my fren told me, i need to go for class...so...i carried my heavy ass and out i go.

just when u think this case is closed? no..not yet...my fren who is teaching the class feedback to us, so happened that the class left the boy and the maid. then the maid start the conversation regarding the incident AGAIN, she said she remember very clearly, that day i was standing at which position and one of the parent scolded the son ''why ur sketching so ugly'' then when i walked pass her and the ''k'' boy, i said the same thing to them. and I ERASED OFF HIS SKETCHING 3 TIMES. she remember 3 times!!! would i sit there wait for him to sketch and erased his work 3 times? there is some other lessons too!! mind u! i really have no negative view about maids, i pity them. but this maid is a big liar. she is lucky that her boss is a rich chap. else i bet she must b eating bread crumbs. anyway...during our meeting, vice principal said he will settle the matter, and he advice us not to say any negative words, and when its in front of those HIGH CLASS MAIDS, we must said something BEAUTIFUL to impress the maids..awww awwww

anyway gotto sleep , its 4am here! life wasnt that good today...so confused!!!..............

You know you’ve been in Taiwan too long when…

Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:36:11 GMT

: 1. You can order the entire McDonald’s menu in Chinese.
: 2. You decide it makes more sense to drive a motorcycle instead of a car.

: 3. More than one garment has been ruined by betel-nut spit.
: 4. More than one garment has been ruined by salty sweat stains.

: 5. More than one garment has been ruined by food grease.
: 6. Someone doesn’t stare at you and you wonder why.

: 7. You look both ways before crossing the sidewalk.
: 8. Hsiaohsing Wine tastes good.

: 9. You turn left from the right lane, no matter how many lanes there are.

: 10. 20 degrees feels cold.
: 11. You see three people on a motorcycle and figure there’s room for two more.

: 12. "Squid" sounds better than "steak".
: 13. You don’t notice the smell.

: 14. There are more things strapped to your motorcycle than you’d ever put in a

: 15. Looking at a dog makes you hungry.

: 16. You stop conjugating verbs.

: 17. You speak fluent Chinglish.
: 18. You drive on the shoulder to pass traffic.
: 19. The main reason you stop at a 7-11 is to buy tea eggs.

: 20. You expect a Chinese New Year’s bonus.
: 21. Firecrackers and garbage trucks don’t wake you up.
: 22. You spend two hours and a fortune to eat Western food.

: 23. You can distinguish aboriginal languages.

: 24. Your family stops asking you when you’ll be coming back.

: 25. You consider taxi drivers "good drivers".

: 26. You don’t think beer is expensive.
: 27. You stop and look both ways before driving through a red light.

: 28. You don’t stop or look both ways before driving through a red light.

: 29. "A", "an" and "the" aren’t necessary parts of speech.

: 30. You know when the next "big bai-bai" is.

: 31. Smoking is one of the dinner courses.

: 32. You don’t mind when your date picks her/his nose in public.
: 33. You wear out your horn before your brakes.

: 34. You know which place has the best noodles & duck meat at 3:00 a.m.
: 35. You (male) wear white socks with suits and black socks with tennis shorts. You (female) wear socks with pantyhose in summer. You (any gender) wear polyester and paisley.

: 36. People who knew you when you first arrived don’t recognize you.

: 37. You speak Chinese to your foreign friends.

: 38. You own a karaoke machine.

: 39. You offer directions to locals.

: 40. You leave the plastic on new furniture and appliances.

: 41. Forks and knives feel awkward.

: 42. The shortest distance between two points involves going through an alley.

: 43. You wear blue rubber flip-flops to work.

: 44. Your deodorant stick has cobwebs on it.

: 45. Foreigners smell funny.

: 46. You check that the karaoke machine is working before boarding a wild chicken bus.
: 47. Mando- pop remakes of Western songs sound better than the originals.

: 48. You own a Mando-pop CD.

: 49. You’ve been to a Mando-pop concert.

: 50. You know the lyrics to Mando-pop songs and/or have sung them in KTV.

: 51. You point out foreigners and stare at them.

: 52. You shop for clothes at night markets and the clothes fits.

: 53. You own at least one mosquito tennis racquet.

: 54. The majority of foreigners who have been in Taiwan longer than you have are buried here.

: 55. You find yourself saying, "Oh geez, not ANOTHER Year of the Rat."

: 56. You know which turn signal should be on when driving the wrong way down a one-way street.

: 57. You get homesick for Chinese food when you are away from Taiwan.

: 58. You can name two dozen different types of night market snacks.

: 59. You pray at temples for a winning lottery number.

: 60. At least a part of Christmas dinner is stir-fried.

: 61. Other foreigners give you a funny look when you tell them how long you’ve been here.
: 62. You can’t think of any good reason to leave Taiwan.
: 63. People no longer come up to you on the street and want to be your friend.

: 64. You’re impressed by the safety of Taiwan scaffolding.

: 65. The last few vacations you’ve had have been around Taiwan on company outings.

: 66. Your idea of a barbeque is squatting by the side of a highway.

: 67. You prefer squatting to sitting (including toilets).

: 68. You’ve had a dozen different Taiwan email addresses.

: 69. You’ve had several local cell phone numbers.

: 70. Locals are surprised to find out you can’t vote in the upcoming election.

: 71. Your pets are bilingual.

: 72. Pizza just doesn’t taste right unless there’s corn on it.

: 68. You prefer to park on the sidewalk.
: 69. Most meaningful conversations take place in doorways or on slow-moving motorcycles.
: 70. Sometimes the sight of yourself in the mirror shocks you.
: 71. You think your nose is big.

: 72. You speak Mandarin with a Taiwanese accent.
: 73. You take "ho" onto the end of your sentences.

: 74. You say "hei" instead of yes.

: 75. You can haggle with the best of them.

: 76. You don’t want to sit near the foreigners on the bus or in the restaurant.

: 77. Your English has gone to hell.

: 78. Foreign women look big and fat; foreign men look the same, but also hairy.

: 79. In your home country, you find yourself accidentally speaking Chinese (answer the phone with "wei?")

: 80. You can differentiate different types of tea, even during a hot tea

: 81. You can tell taxi drivers the exact route to take…anywhere.

: 82. You know where to buy anything.
: 83. Wearing shoes in a house makes you really uncomfortable.
: 84. You shower in the evening.

: 85. The smell of chou dofu makes your mouth water.

: 86. You wait until just before Chinese New Year to "pick up" new furniture.

: 87. You walk into restaurants and they know what you want before you order.

: 88. You only know what’s popular back home from the dress and speech of new foreign Chinese students.

: 89. You get all mushy inside when you think about Chinese New Year.
: 90. The best way of spending your free time is sleeping.

: 91. You deflect compliments in the presence of foreign friends.

: 92. You fight to pay the bill.

: 93. You don’t open gifts until you get home.

: 94. You have fond memories of a particular spot in Taiwan…that no longer exists.

: 95. Taiwan beer is your beer of choice and you prefer it with ice.
: 96. You don’t make important decisions without consulting the temple astrologer.
: 97. You can tell what someone wants from what they don’t say.

: 98. ICRT is a "good" radio station.

: 99. Some of your biggest musical influences have been the Carpenters and Air Supply CDs.

: 100. You can tell what is inside a Chinese/Taiwanese cookie without biting into it.

: 101. You recognize old girlfriends.

: 102. You count yourself fortunate to have stepped in dog shit.

: 103. You know the difference between a duvet, duna, and comforter.

: 104. Your mom has a funny accent.
: 105. You look at traffic accidents with indifference.

: 106. You think Taiwan game shows are fucking hilarious.

: 107. You can tell the political orientations of local cable news stations from the way they report the news.

: 108. You think of Tianmu as a place where foreigners live.

: 109. You own a little, yappy dog and carry it around with you.

: 110. You own a shirt with a pig on it.

: 111. You own a buxiban.

: 112. You eat ji pi gu because your complexion isn’t what it used to be.

: 113. You just can’t get that Kenny G song out of your head.

: 114. You can’t remember not having athlete’s foot.

: 115. You get a post-dated check two months after completing a job and still thank your employer.

: 116. You’re terrified that the chicken head will point at you during the annual "wei ya".
: 117. You are in a car with six people and argue with the seventh to hurry up and get in.

: 118. NT$1000 is far less than the equivalent in your home currency.

: 119. Your kids speak better Chinese than you do.
: 120. Steak just doesn’t taste right without an egg, noodles, and tomato sauce.

: 121. When you’re thirsty, you go to 7-11 for a box of tea.

: 122. Someone wishes you a Happy Easter and you remember it’s easter…

: 123. You can keep up with the plot lines of local soap operas.

: 124. You see Taiwanese who resemble your foreign friends and relatives back home.

: 125. You’ve become unconscious of profuse sweating.
: 126. You no longer sweat.

: 127. You know where to buy clothes that fit you.
: 128. You can cook Chinese.
: 129. You know police and tax officials by name.

: 130. You know the visa system better than people in the visa offices.

: 131. You cannot say the number six without an accompanying hand gesture.

: 132. You’d take boiled peanuts over dry-roasted any day.

: 133. The only TV shows you know about from home are those in syndication in Taiwan.

: 134. Money from home looks and feels like "Monopoly" money.

: 135. You feel embarrassed for other foreigners.
: 136. You add syllables to English words when speaking Chinese (eg test-uh)

: 137. You have Chinese input software on your computer.

: 138. You can’t live without dried squid-flavored strips.

: 139. You know the names of Taiwan actors, actresses, singers, politicians, and broadcasters.

: 140. The rate at which you speak English has slowed considerably, and you use simple words.
: 141. Writing an email in English is like doing your tax.

: 142. You start your day with soybean milk and oil sticks.

: 143. You start the day in the park exercising with people your age.
: 144. You have accumulated more stuff than you could possibly take home with you.

: 145. Your savings are in a "hui".

: 146. You’ve started a "hui".

: 147. Internal organs of animals are yummy.

: 148. You casually pick out and discard cockroach parts in your "biandang".

: 149. You take stock market tips from taxi drivers.
: 150. "Meibanfa" or "bukenung" are perfectly acceptable answers to your inquiries at government offices.

: 151. You celebrate your birthday with taro, red bean, and lard.

: 152. You play mahjiang until 4 a.m. with your in-laws on holidays.

: 153. You look forward to typhoons because it you might get a day off work.
: 154. After a couple of beers you jones for a betelnut.

: 155. You stop caring about tones in your Mandarin.

: 156. You’ve taught another foreigner something in Chinese.

: 157. You’ve learned something in Chinese from another foreigner.

: 158. You get a feng shui expert to go apartment hunting with you.
: 159. You can tell the difference between a fresh and a stale betelnut.

: 160. Your friends have gone home, gotten advanced degrees, and returned to Taiwan.

: 161. When someone back home asks you how things are going in "Thailand," you are offended but don’t say anything.

: 162. You dream in Chinese.

: 163. You know just enough Taiwanese to embarrass someone who’s talking about you.

: 164. You have saved money.

: 165. When driving back home, people give you the finger.

: 166. When you’ve been on vacation, you’re happy to return.

: 167. Your police friends feel safe telling you about recent bribes they’ve taken.

: 168. You are a connoisseur of fine brothels.
: 169. You wish desperately you could vote in local elections.

: 170. Your kid is half Chinese, I mean, Taiwanese.

: 171. You haven’t had a dent on your motor vehicle in years.

: 172. Dry weather irritates your skin.

: 173. You realize that everyone is available.

: 174. You’ve used up quite a few health insurance cards.

: 175. You run into former students in bars.

: 176. You run into former students in bed.

: 177. Your porn collection is over 90% Asian.

: 178. You feel like a kid in a candy store at Costco.
: 179. You’ve called gangster friends to help you settle a dispute.

: 180. The credit card you gave your wife is your "get out of jail free card"

: 181. You learn more about the news from what it doesn’t say.

: 182. You piss off locals with running commentary on the local news.

: 183. You know someone who’s died here.

: 184. You drink coffee in the morning and tea at night.

: 185. You could rebuild your entire life in a day.
: 186. You had hair when you first got here.

: 187. New arrivals mistake your sarcasm for bitterness.

: 188. You have a beer taste on a champagne budget.

: 189. You just don’t understand what all those new young Mandarin students are all about.

: 190. You’ve consulted a lawyer.

: 191. You are a lawyer.

: 192. You’ve been in a local hospital more than once.

: 193. You only get gastroenteritis when you return home.

: 194. You own more travel guides than places you’ve been to.

: 195. You have a favorite pair of flip-flops.

: 196. You think the best gifts are practical.

: 197. You think the best gift is money.

: 198. You laugh when people say the word "illegal"

: 199. You are attracted to the parents of your students.

: 200. You think a half-hour car ride is an excruciatingly long time

: 201. You haven’t learned a new word of Chinese in years.

: 202. You’ve bought the same thing a dozen times … and will buy a new one when this one breaks.

: 203. You get all weepy when you hear Christmas music.

: 204. You have more money in your pocket right now than you’ve ever had back home.

: 205. You spent more money today than you ever did back home.

: 206. There’s at least one room in your house you seldom use.

: 207. The pages of your Chinese phonebooks are yellow.

: 208. The Lonely Planet guide of Taiwan is so shallow.
: 209. You’re amazed at how low-tech everything is back home.

: 210. You have a giant wedding photo on your wall

: 211. You’ve had a giant wedding photo on your wall.

: 212. You own something cute.

: 213. You bake in a toaster oven.

: 214. You drink the water.

: 215. You can de-bone a piece of chicken in your mouth within seconds.

: 216. You can shell shrimp in your mouth within seconds.

: 217. You speak English in hotels to get better service.

: 218. You’re always the one who hold the door open button so others can get on.

: 219. Under no circumstances would you ever give up your seat.

: 220. You cut off gravel trucks and those blue Varica trucks.

: 221. You practice s-curves on the freeway at 120.

: 222. You answer either/or questions with yes.
: 223. You watch those late-night girls in bikini shows.

: 224. You cover your mouth when you pick your teeth.
: 225. You know what DM, POP, AE, XO, WC, and AV stand for

: 226. You golf.

: 227. All your air tickets are round trip.

: 228. You pay close attention to traffic reports.

: 229. You’ve been on television.

: 230. You have a stuffed animal in your car.

: 231. You’ve been through several cell phones, computers, and business cards.

: 232. Over half of your software is pirated.

: 233. You call your wife on your cell phone just to let her know you really are out with the guys.

: 234. You make up a really good excuse otherwise.

: 235. You forget to leave tips when back home.

: 236. You don’t buy anything unless you can get a discount.

: 237. You accept business cards with both hands, and inspect both sides without reading them.

: 238. You’re afraid of dogs.

: 239. Bread is thick, mushy, and sweet as hell.
: 240. You’ve tasted things that are too sweet.

: 241. You move to be within walking distance of the MRT.

: 242. You move to be within driving distance of the freeway.

: 243. You’ve picked up a few words of Japanese from TV.

: 244. You carry an umbrella with you for much of the year.

: 245. You dust-mop your floor.

: 246. You try to tell people back about Taiwan, and are angry when they look bored.

: 247. You have nothing to say to people back home.
: 248. You smile when you’re embarrassed or angry.
249. When you start to think that a $5 dollar dinner is too expensive

stealgraff_burner's Xanga

so curious

Sabah resort in shortlist for coveted tourism award

Interesting Site: Dumb Otaku

Very much regretted. WHY i didn't search online and look for this site before i WENT to japan. can someone just kill me? i was searching up and down the secret to learn japanese or even a simple ones...

How To Learn Japanese

pay day!

AWARE: work in this company under ur own risk.

never work in this monster company

taiwan...!!!!

if that day comes

so so missing you...

You know you’ve been in Taiwan too long when…

: 149. You take stock market tips from taxi drivers.
: 150. "Meibanfa" or "bukenung" are perfectly acceptable answers to your inquiries at government offices.

: 151. You celebrate your birthday with taro, red bean, and lard.

: 152. You play mahjiang until 4 a.m. with your in-laws on holidays.

: 153. You look forward to typhoons because it you might get a day off work.
: 154. After a couple of beers you jones for a betelnut.

: 172. Dry weather irritates your skin.

: 173. You realize that everyone is available.

: 174. You’ve used up quite a few health insurance cards.

: 175. You run into former students in bars.

: 176. You run into former students in bed.

: 177. Your porn collection is over 90% Asian.

: 178. You feel like a kid in a candy store at Costco.
: 179. You’ve called gangster friends to help you settle a dispute.

: 180. The credit card you gave your wife is your "get out of jail free card"

: 181. You learn more about the news from what it doesn’t say.

: 182. You piss off locals with running commentary on the local news.

: 183. You know someone who’s died here.

: 195. You have a favorite pair of flip-flops.

: 196. You think the best gifts are practical.

: 197. You think the best gift is money.

: 198. You laugh when people say the word "illegal"

: 199. You are attracted to the parents of your students.

: 206. There’s at least one room in your house you seldom use.

: 207. The pages of your Chinese phonebooks are yellow.

: 208. The Lonely Planet guide of Taiwan is so shallow.
: 209. You’re amazed at how low-tech everything is back home.

: 232. Over half of your software is pirated.

: 233. You call your wife on your cell phone just to let her know you really are out with the guys.

: 234. You make up a really good excuse otherwise.

: 235. You forget to leave tips when back home.

: 236. You don’t buy anything unless you can get a discount.

: 237. You accept business cards with both hands, and inspect both sides without reading them.

: 238. You’re afraid of dogs.

: 239. Bread is thick, mushy, and sweet as hell.
: 240. You’ve tasted things that are too sweet.

: 241. You move to be within walking distance of the MRT.

: 242. You move to be within driving distance of the freeway.

: 243. You’ve picked up a few words of Japanese from TV.

: 244. You carry an umbrella with you for much of the year.

: 245. You dust-mop your floor.

: 246. You try to tell people back about Taiwan, and are angry when they look bored.

: 247. You have nothing to say to people back home.
: 248. You smile when you’re embarrassed or angry.
249. When you start to think that a $5 dollar dinner is too expensive

250. When you stick toilet paper in your pocket before you go out- just in case

251. When you are not surprised to find footprints on toilets seats

252. The footprints on the toilet seat are yours!!

253. When you no longer bother with the past tense when speaking English.

254. When you’ve visited every county in Taiwan including the offshore islands.

255. When you prefer betel nut to coffee as a start-me-up.

256. When you have a large collection of Hello Kitty and Snoopy toys (and you think they’re cute).

257. When the noise the garbage truck makes doesn’t remind you of ice cream anymore.

258. When you drive with your jacket on backwards

259. When you never bought a microwave, but if someone asks you if you have one you say yes, that is, I use the one across the street at 7-11.

260. When you’ve actually worn your plastic bathroom slippers out for a quick food run in the morning.

261. When you are not afraid of cockroaches anymore, just the ones that fly