Escaping the Mundane

Some of my small handful of readers have mentioned that I haven't posted anything recently. Yes, I've been giving the blog a little break since nothing particularly exciting has happened in the past couple of weeks. The most interesting thing was probably the visit of Christy's colleague from Taiwan, Dexter Wen. Christy and Dexter worked together at Elan, in Hsinchu. We had no idea he lived in Texas until Christy suddenly discovered found him on Facebook, and he was living in Houston. He came out to visit us a couple of weekends ago, and told us that he's quitting his job and moving to Toronto. Oh well, that's too bad. It would have been nice for Christy to have a friend that's fairly close.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter out here. It's now lingering around 100 degrees every day. It can be a struggle sometimes to think of something to do on the weekend. We've been going to different parks, hoping to find something nice, but most of the local parks are pretty bad. It's mostly just a space for people to sit on picnic tables and bar-b-que. And the weather is so hot, I start to feel uncomfortable the minute I step out of the air-conditioned car.

Christy has told me that she wants a better job, and I don't blame her. She's completely overqualified for the job she's doing now. She wants to get into the health care business and learn how to operate an "ultrasound" machine. So she wants to be an "ultrasound technician." I think it's great for her. There's always demand for that sort of job. Healthcare seems to be the one industry that's hiring, and not firing these days.

So that's the latest news. Our second summer in Texas is upon us. I'm not looking forward to it.

(Picture: Christy, the babies, and her friend, Dexter.)

Dragon Boat Festival

Yesterday, the family celebrated Dragon Boat Festival for the second time here in Austin. What is Dragon Boat Festival? Here's a brief summary:

"The best-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BC - 278 BC) of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. Qu Yuan was accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the Chu capital. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month.

It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing."

We didn't go to any dragon boat races, but we did buy several "zongzi", which is basically rice, pork, and mushrooms wrapped in bamboo leaves. We bought some last year from the Chinese supermarket in Chinatown, but they were awful. Somebody simply mixed rice and peanut butter together and called it a "zongzi." So this year Christy went to a Taiwan restaurant called "Wok On Fire" (also in Austin's Chinatown) and bought six. The restaurant charged $3 for each "zongzi."

"Very expensive." Christy told me. "In Taiwan, you can buy three for what they are charging for one."

She's right, but she has to realize that she's not in Taiwan anymore, and if you want a taste of your homeland food, you're going to pay more. I paid a small fortune on one Thanksgiving just trying to get turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. And I frequently had to overpay for American soda as well. While horrible soda like "Heysong Saspirilla" was a mere 12 NT per can, Mountain Dew and Dr. Pepper were always anywhere from 35 to 50 NT a can.

At least the "zongzi" was actually pretty good this year.

(Picture: Kyle, examining his zogzi (rice cake) )

The Formosa Art Tea House

The best tea house in Taiwan (in my opinion) is a place called "Chun Shui Tang" (春水堂 in Chinese, the website is http://www.icetea.com.tw/). Every tea that I've tried at this restaurant has been good, and I particularly like their green tea and their "jen ju nai cha" (bubble tea).

I was a bit surprised when Christy informed me that there was a "Taiwan-style" tea house right here in the Austin area, just a 15 minute drive north in a city called Pflugerville. She told me that the owners were Taiwanese, and they even had their own website (doesn't everyone these days?). I scanned their website, http://www.drinkarttea.com/, and I thought the place looked kinda cool, like the tea houses I used to go to in Taiwan.

So, this past weekend, we decided to check the place out. My first impression was that it seemed out of place in the suburban city of Pflugerville. It was located in one the many small strip malls you see everywhere, next to a haircut shop and a Mexican restaurant. When we walked in, we were the only customers (this was a Saturday afternoon). If they had set up their tea house in Austin's Chinatown, the place probably would have been packed.

The place itself was pretty nice, and had the look of a real Taiwan tea house. We all decided to order the "jen ju nai cha" (bubble tea). Since I've been back to America, I haven't really liked any of the bubble tea that I've tried here. Either it's too sweet or it's watered down or it just simply tastes bad. Unfortunately, I'm sorry to report, the bubble tea at the Formosa Art Tea House sucked. Just plain sucked. It was given to us in a plastic cup like you would get from a take-out tea store. The taste wasn't very good either. I've had better bubble tea at a shopping mall.

To be fair, the Formosa Art Tea House does offer many different kinds of teas, not just bubble tea. They have green tea, "kung fu" tea, and at least a dozen more kinds of teas. Maybe their other tea is good, who knows. So I may give them one more chance with a different tea. My wife seemed to enjoy talking in Chinese to the manager there. I don't really have any idea what they were talking about, except that they both seemed to be complaining about things in America compared to Taiwan. That doesn't surprise me. Whenever I would get together with David in Taiwan, we would always complain about Taiwan.

The manager told us that he worked at Dell Computer during the week, and that was his "real" job. The tea house was just secondary income. Let's hope that Dell doesn't fire him.

(Pictures: 1 & 2. Outside the tea house. 3. Inside the tea house. 4 & 5. Kyle drinking the "jen ju nai cha.)

Texas and Guns

Texans sure love their guns.

A law passed recently here in Texas that will allow students to carry concealed weapons on school campuses across the state. If you find this hard to believe (as I do), here's an article about it:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/legislature/stories/DN-collegeguns_20tex.ART.State.Edition1.4999a31.html

Where does this end? Guns in church? Guns in movie theaters? Guns in hospitals? Guns in elementary schools? I mean, why not just allow guns EVERYWHERE?

The advocates of this law like to point out the massacre at Virgina Tech, and they say that if some of the students had carried guns, the shooter wouldn't have killed so many people. Okay...maybe that's true...BUT....these types of massacres are extremely rare. What's more likely to happen is that you'll see more random shootings. Some student will get pissed off at their teacher, BANG! A guy gets pissed off that his girlfriend dumped him...BANG! That kid who sits next to me just said I was stupid....KILL HIM!

Statistics have shown that people who have guns are more likely to shoot a loved one or family member, than shoot someone that actually means them harm.

I can't imagine the people who crafted the Constitution ever thought it would come to this. As it was originally intended, the Second Amendment was created so Americans could defend themselves from a possible British invasion, which was certainly possible back in the late 1700's. Now we've got kids carrying guns into their college classrooms. Thomas Jefferson can be proud.

Cambridge Who's Who Scam

Like most of you out there, you've probably received hundreds, if not thousands, of scam emails. These days, though, I don't get as many as I used to. Now I just get ad after ad promoting some kind of male enhancement. Right now, for example, checking my spam box, I see an email titled "The Great Sex Secrets of Giving Women Multiple Orgasms - Make Her Scream With Pleasure". This is typical of the spam I get today. I'm not sure why. I'm only 38, and haven't reached that stage yet where I need help in this area.

Before all the sex spam, I used to receive a lot of email from people (usually in Africa) who would tell me that someone with my last name has died recently, and I can inherit a lot of money if I'm willing to give out a bunch of personal information (and probably bank account numbers as well.) These are often referred to as the Nigerian scams. I've also been told I've won the Yahoo! Lottery countless times.

I feel sorry for anyone who has fallen for these scams. They're so obviously a scam that it's funny.

The other day, however, I received something in the mail. It was an actual letter from the Cambridge Who's Who listing, which read:

"Dear Ken,

You were recently appointed as a biographical candidate to represent Austin, TX in the 2009/2010 on line Cambridge Who's Who Registry Among Executive and Professionals.

We are pleased to inform you that on March 29, 2009 your candidacy was approved. Your prompt response is needed to ensure your correct professional information. For accuracy purposes, please be sure to visit your personal website to verify your biographical information. http://www.kenberglund.mycwwapp.com/

If you do not have Internet access, please fill out the form and return the enclosed reply card by June 27, 2009. We've provided the postage for your convenience.

The office of the Managing Director appoints individuals based upon a candidates current position and usually with information obtained from researched executive and professional listings. The Director thinks that you may make an interesting biographical subject, as individual achievement is what Cambridge Who's Who is all about.

Upon final confirmation, you will be listed among thousands of accomplished individuals in the Cambridge Who's Who Registry. Remember, there is no cost to be included. On behalf of the Managing Director, we look forward to your appearance in this year's edition.

Best wishes for continued success."

I have to admit, I was fooled for a few minutes. But only for a few minutes. It was a brief ego boost. I thought to myself "Wow. They want me to represent Austin. Be one of Austin's elite." But then, after thinking about it, it didn't make sense. I've only lived in Austin for about a year, and I've been working here for even less. I have few friends here, and my job is nothing to brag about. Why the hell would they want to include me in their registry? I'm nobody.

So I began to google "Cambridge Who's Who" and found link after link that declared them a scam. Once you send in your card, or fill out the online information, someone will contact you and try to sell you a membership to their website. Membership ranges anywhere from $100 to $1000. The letter claims there is no cost, but apparently that's not true. And what is the value of being listed on this website? Supposedly, it promotes social networking. Uh huh, okay, whatever.

My advice to anyone else who might see this letter: toss it.

Austin On Top Again

So, here it is again, Forbes Magazine ranked Austin #1 for the Best Bargain City.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/13/bargain-cities-america-lifestyle-real-estate-bargain-cities.html

Here's a quote from the article:

"They have the triple-whammy of being a university town, a state capital and a technology center," says Al Lee, director of quantitative analysis at PayScale.com, a salary data aggregator based in Seattle. "It makes for a very robust economy and a great place for people to work."

Four other Texas cities make the list of America's Best Bargain Cities, but none come close to Austin, whose 5.5% unemployment is the best in the country and about half the national average.

Is Austin really a bargain? Yeah, I guess it is. Over the past year, Christy and I have actually been able to save money here. With two kids, I would have thought this unimaginable. Rent, gas, food, and entertainment are all cheaper here, so it is much easier to get by with less.

Finding a job here doesn't seem to be that difficult either. I know two colleagues of mine who recently got fired at the hospital, and they were able to find another job within a couple of weeks. I think as long as you're not looking for some high paying tech or engineering job, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a job here.

Of course, long-time Austin residents are worried about an influx of people moving here because of these types of articles. They want to "keep Austin weird" and they have this idea that all these people moving in will cause the "weirdness" to disappear from the city. They shouldn't worry so much. And as far as my family living here, I think their "weirdness" reputation is still intact.

Video - Queen Mary

Here's my last entry regarding my recent trip back to California. It's just a little video I shot on board the Queen Mary, inside our room.