Thursday, Aug. 05, 2004 - 1:59 a.m.

Am writing way too much lately. haha. Double post days are becoming a common thing. Oh well, if i am leaving soon there will be no posts, so I betta get it outta my system.

Here is what Jonathan Cainer said in my Cappy horoscope today:

http://www.cainer.com

"In some clever novels, you find that the events and characters in one chapter have no relationship to those in another. You read on in a mood of puzzlement. It is almost as if you are looking at two different books. Slowly but surely as the story unfolds though, the threads come together. You get to see how vital they both are to one another. You begin to feel glad that you stuck with what seemed, at first, like a journey that was getting you nowhere. That analogy will soon apply to the disparate dramas now unfolding in your life."

Actually, it is yest's scope, but who cares. It resonates with me, dats all that really matters!

I got an email today from an Irish man considering moving to Taiwan to teach for a bit. He said some really nice things about this blog (thanks!), but he also said some things that made me think about the tone of this puppy. Let me see if I can find the comment that grabbed my knickers....

Here it is...

"... after reading it(my blog) that time I didn't know what to think about Taiwan. I don't know if you put me off the idea of going there in particular."

and

"Taiwan sounds strange, maybe I wouldn't enjoy it, and I don't really know any better after reading your stuff. I thought I'd love a place like that,but I wonder..."

At first I wondered if I had unfairly influenced his opinion about this place. But then I remembered this very dilemna during the life of the first 4 months of this blog (which are not available online right now.) I feel this is a good time to reiterate this.

Please DO NOT base your ideas about coming to Taiwan on any one person. Even someone so clever and smooth with the wordage as I am. (lol).I have very consciously listed at least 1/2 a dozen expat Taiwan blogs on my links page so you can get views of this place from many diff views.

I made a promise to myself to talk about things in Taiwan that other people didnt. A lot of the times this means things that are weird, odd, different or generally fucked up. I want that. I dont wanna sound like a guide book. I dont wanna repeat what is already out there. What the hell is the use in that.

My tone is blunt. I am bitter. I dont like it here. These are all true. BUT, I will also never pull the wool over your eyes in an effort to make my life seem like something it isnt. And I will always remind you that this is my experience in this place (Tainan) at this point in my life.