Sunday, Jul. 04, 2004 - 2:39 a.m.

Well, that was one hell of a Typhoon if you ask me. I was up til about 4 in the morning last night/this morning listening to the snap,crackle and pop of the thunder and lightning. Not to mention all that damn rain. It didnt stop at 4am, I just finally got too tired to stay awake any longer. I was tired way before that, but was a tad bit on the scared side.

There was serious leakage at my school earlier that night, and I didnt know how secure my apartment building was. What if I wake up swimming in a pool of rain, or worse yet, what if lightning strikes my window and shatters the thing to pieces. These are things that happen during Typhoons. I dont get scared by storms, but the intensity of the winds, rain, lightning and thunder last night had my panties in a knot. And I dont use the word panties everyday!

A friend of mine sent me an article from Self Magazine about Taiwan. It's titled, "Secrets from the Happiest place on earth." I generally love this magazine, it is one of the few health and fitness mags that the US produces that I think has a whole body approach to health.

But this article is NOT congruent with what my local friends share with me and what I observe here in Taiwan. It's a nice article, and its points are well taken. But I DONT think the Taiwanese are any happier than most Americans are. If they were, why would they have such a craving to be like us? Just one of many thoughts going through my head as I read this article.

http://mitarticles.blogspot.com

I have another bone to pick with this article. Its the American media crap that we are never good enough. Can we stop this already? Look everybody, we are depressed and there is a culture that isnt, lets be like them! Look everybody, there is a culture that produces offspring with tails, here are three steps to being like them.

I am exageratting on that last one, but not by much! There is a section to the article that I did not type up that says,"Steal these happiness secrets." They are obvious enough like exercise, laugh, being optimistic, etc, etc. What they dont list is one that I think is WAY needed, ACCEPT WHO YOU ARE AND LOVE IT! Dammit. There is nothing wrong with creating goals and aiming for something, but there is also nothing wrong with YOU picking those goals. Not a magazine deciding what characteristics to be aiming for that month. Okokok. I am off the high horse now. I have to go get my laundry anyway. Ahh, clean clothes, (sniff) how lovely! See how domestic I am!

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