KTV (a place where you sing karaoke, for those unfamiliar) is very popular in Taiwan. I don't think I ever wrote about KTV's on my Taiwan blog because I rarely went to them. KTV's are everywhere in Taiwan, even in the small, farm towns where my in-laws live. The Taiwanese love, love, love to sing!
I remember going to a KTV once when I lived in Taiwan. Christy's friends paid for it. It was at this very lavish building that looked like a hotel. We had our own room for about an hour or so. Everyone would take turns singing some Chinese song while all the lyrics were displayed on a giant TV screen. I didn't sing because I didn't know any of the songs they were playing, and the lyrics were all in Chinese anyway. It did look fun, though.
That was an example of expensive KTV. In the smaller towns, you'll just see someone sitting on a small stool, singing into an amplifier that's turned up WAY too loud, looking at a small screen TV in a small garage. It's usually so loud that the song, and the person singing, sounds so distorted that it's painful to listen to.
I never really thought that karaoke was that popular in the states, but it seems to have been reborn with the new video game franchise called "Rock Band." As an early Christmas present, I was given "Rock Band 2" and it's actually pretty fun. Not only can you sing, karaoke style, to your favorite rock songs, you can also play along with drums and a (fake) guitar.
"The Beatles: Rock Band" has become a new favorite in our house. Here's a video I just took, with Kyle (on vocals), Sara (on guitar), and Christy (on drums) playing "Here Comes the Sun."
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Decade From Hell
I just finished reading an article in Time that said the 2000's was the "Decade From Hell." It listed a lot of events to back up its claim: 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Afghanistan, Iraq, the economic meltdown. Of course, I can sum up my displeasure for the decade with a single letter...."W." Referring, of course, to George W. Bush. (my conservative Republican readers might want to skip the next few paragraphs, but I promise it won't be a long rant.)
I remember very vividly when Bush "won" the election in 2000. I was married to my first wife, Amber, at the time. I remember she cried and cried and cried for what seemed like hours when she heard the news that Al Gore had conceded the race. Although I didn't cry, I felt a sense of dread. I knew Bush was going to be a dimwitted, "cowboy" president who would probably lead the country into a war. I thought it might be a nuclear war, but luckily I was wrong in that regard.
It was primarily because of Bush that I wanted to leave America and live in Taiwan. Bush had turned the country into something I could no longer respect. After 9/11 and Bush's invasion of Iraq, we were hated by almost the entire world. To be an American in a foreign country meant to live with a target attached to your forehead. When I traveled abroad, I rarely revealed where I was from, and when I did, I would often tell them I was from Canada. Thankfully, Taiwanese people still loved Americans.
When Bush was re-elected in 2004, I vowed not to come back to the United States until a democrat was back in office. For the most part, I kept my vow. By the time I returned in 2008, I was pretty confident that either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would be the next president. The American people had finally come around to their senses and realized what a disaster the previous administration had caused to this country.
Since I spent half the decade in another country, I don't really consider this the "Decade From Hell" for me personally. It didn't start off well, since I got divorced from my first wife in 2003, but things started to improve dramatically once I left for Taiwan.
I met my wife Christy in April of 2004, and by November of that same year we were married. Sara was born in March of 2005, and then Kyle in April of 2007. I don't really know why everything happened so fast. It just did. I have no regrets, though. Although these kids can be monsters sometimes, I really adore them. They've definitely made my life a lot more richer and meaningful. For me, they're the highlights of this decade.
Once we came back to America in May of 2008, we had a few setbacks. The great job that was promised Christy did not turn out the way it was supposed to. We lived in hotels while we looked for work, wondering if we'd have to just turn around and go back to Taiwan. Thankfully, when we were just days away from driving back to California, Christy found a job. Then, a month later, I found a job too. We were saved from the brink of failure.
Now as we end the decade, we are getting ready to move into our own house. It feels great to know that we arrived here with virtually nothing, with our few possessions in the trunk of my mom's old car, to having a house, a new car, and some semblance of the "American Dream." Who knows what will happen in the next decade. Maybe we'll lose it all and I'll have to move in with my in-laws in Taiwan and teach English in Nantou. Maybe things will get even better. Who knows? Although I'm hoping for the latter...
I remember very vividly when Bush "won" the election in 2000. I was married to my first wife, Amber, at the time. I remember she cried and cried and cried for what seemed like hours when she heard the news that Al Gore had conceded the race. Although I didn't cry, I felt a sense of dread. I knew Bush was going to be a dimwitted, "cowboy" president who would probably lead the country into a war. I thought it might be a nuclear war, but luckily I was wrong in that regard.
It was primarily because of Bush that I wanted to leave America and live in Taiwan. Bush had turned the country into something I could no longer respect. After 9/11 and Bush's invasion of Iraq, we were hated by almost the entire world. To be an American in a foreign country meant to live with a target attached to your forehead. When I traveled abroad, I rarely revealed where I was from, and when I did, I would often tell them I was from Canada. Thankfully, Taiwanese people still loved Americans.
When Bush was re-elected in 2004, I vowed not to come back to the United States until a democrat was back in office. For the most part, I kept my vow. By the time I returned in 2008, I was pretty confident that either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton would be the next president. The American people had finally come around to their senses and realized what a disaster the previous administration had caused to this country.
Since I spent half the decade in another country, I don't really consider this the "Decade From Hell" for me personally. It didn't start off well, since I got divorced from my first wife in 2003, but things started to improve dramatically once I left for Taiwan.
I met my wife Christy in April of 2004, and by November of that same year we were married. Sara was born in March of 2005, and then Kyle in April of 2007. I don't really know why everything happened so fast. It just did. I have no regrets, though. Although these kids can be monsters sometimes, I really adore them. They've definitely made my life a lot more richer and meaningful. For me, they're the highlights of this decade.
Once we came back to America in May of 2008, we had a few setbacks. The great job that was promised Christy did not turn out the way it was supposed to. We lived in hotels while we looked for work, wondering if we'd have to just turn around and go back to Taiwan. Thankfully, when we were just days away from driving back to California, Christy found a job. Then, a month later, I found a job too. We were saved from the brink of failure.
Now as we end the decade, we are getting ready to move into our own house. It feels great to know that we arrived here with virtually nothing, with our few possessions in the trunk of my mom's old car, to having a house, a new car, and some semblance of the "American Dream." Who knows what will happen in the next decade. Maybe we'll lose it all and I'll have to move in with my in-laws in Taiwan and teach English in Nantou. Maybe things will get even better. Who knows? Although I'm hoping for the latter...
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Obama and Afghanistan
There's a new show on TV right now called "Hoarders." It's about people who collect a lot of crap in their house and never throw anything away. In one episode, the adult children of one "hoarder" come to the house with a group of people to clean up the mess. Everyone but the hoarder is wearing a surgical mask. The hoarder wonders what all the fuss is about and thinks she didn't do anything wrong.
I kind of see that disgusting house as America, with George W. Bush as the "hoarder", and Obama as the cleaner with the surgical mask. Obama has quite a mess on his hands to clean up. He's got the unenviable task of having to clean up Iraq, Afghanistan, and the decimated economy of the United States.
Obama is asking for 30,000 more troops and over 30 billion dollars to continue the Afghanistan war. Although I support Obama and most of what he has stood for over the last year, I don't support continuing the war in Afghanistan. I don't think it will make the US any safer, and it's just going to kill more US trips, and lots more Afghanistan civilians.
If the economy were strong right now, and we weren't in a recession, maybe that would make a difference, but I see far too many people struggling here in this country right now. 30 billion dollars (at least) is a lot of money. That money should go right here, to the people who need it. Create new jobs. Improve the roads. Build more light-rail trains. Extend the unemployment benefits for those who need it. Help people who are facing foreclosure on their houses. Give more tax breaks to the middle class. Implement universal healthcare for everyone. Get the picture? My point in all of this is....spend that money here in the US.
Afghanistan is not our concern. We can't continue to be the police of the entire world when we can't even take care of our own people. I know that Obama would like to be seen as a "tough" president who is fighting the terrorists, but the majority of Americans want to see the war end, and I agree. Ten years of war is just too much, and it's taking too big a toll on our economy. It needs to end.
I kind of see that disgusting house as America, with George W. Bush as the "hoarder", and Obama as the cleaner with the surgical mask. Obama has quite a mess on his hands to clean up. He's got the unenviable task of having to clean up Iraq, Afghanistan, and the decimated economy of the United States.
Obama is asking for 30,000 more troops and over 30 billion dollars to continue the Afghanistan war. Although I support Obama and most of what he has stood for over the last year, I don't support continuing the war in Afghanistan. I don't think it will make the US any safer, and it's just going to kill more US trips, and lots more Afghanistan civilians.
If the economy were strong right now, and we weren't in a recession, maybe that would make a difference, but I see far too many people struggling here in this country right now. 30 billion dollars (at least) is a lot of money. That money should go right here, to the people who need it. Create new jobs. Improve the roads. Build more light-rail trains. Extend the unemployment benefits for those who need it. Help people who are facing foreclosure on their houses. Give more tax breaks to the middle class. Implement universal healthcare for everyone. Get the picture? My point in all of this is....spend that money here in the US.
Afghanistan is not our concern. We can't continue to be the police of the entire world when we can't even take care of our own people. I know that Obama would like to be seen as a "tough" president who is fighting the terrorists, but the majority of Americans want to see the war end, and I agree. Ten years of war is just too much, and it's taking too big a toll on our economy. It needs to end.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Thanksgiving 2009
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"Today is family day!" Sara shouted as she ran into our bedroom. "Except for daddy."
Sad, but true. She is right. It's family day for just about everyone today except those of us who work for places that don't close on holidays. The hospital workers (like me), the waitresses, the clerks who have to work at retail stores that are open day (and surprisingly, there's quite a few open today). We're all stuck at work today. Luckily for me, when I work on holidays, it's not the horror it is for those other people. Holidays at the hospital are almost always quiet and uneventful. Out of a 8 hour shift, I might have to actually work for about an hour of that time. There are no scheduled appointments, so the only people coming in are the emergency cases. People choking on turkey bones, car accidents, etc.
As we did last year, since I'm working in the evening, we had our turkey dinner earlier. For some reason, neither Sara or Kyle like mashed potatoes. I don't know why. When I was a kid, the only food I ate at Thanksgiving was turkey and mashed potatoes. I didn't like anything else, but I loved mashed potatoes. I thought kids love mashed potatoes. These kids are strange.
Sad, but true. She is right. It's family day for just about everyone today except those of us who work for places that don't close on holidays. The hospital workers (like me), the waitresses, the clerks who have to work at retail stores that are open day (and surprisingly, there's quite a few open today). We're all stuck at work today. Luckily for me, when I work on holidays, it's not the horror it is for those other people. Holidays at the hospital are almost always quiet and uneventful. Out of a 8 hour shift, I might have to actually work for about an hour of that time. There are no scheduled appointments, so the only people coming in are the emergency cases. People choking on turkey bones, car accidents, etc.
As we did last year, since I'm working in the evening, we had our turkey dinner earlier. For some reason, neither Sara or Kyle like mashed potatoes. I don't know why. When I was a kid, the only food I ate at Thanksgiving was turkey and mashed potatoes. I didn't like anything else, but I loved mashed potatoes. I thought kids love mashed potatoes. These kids are strange.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Another Round of Holidays...
The kids are about to celebrate their second Thanksgiving in America. I think we have a lot to be thankful for this year. Last year, the four of us were living in a fairly-cramped, one bedroom apartment. This year, we're in a two-bedroom apartment, and I believe by next Thanksgiving we will finally be in a house of our own. We're still looking at houses in a wide variety of price ranges. There are several houses that are just under 100k here in Austin that look really nice when you see the picture online. Then we you actually go to the house, it's not quite what you were expecting. Our main goal is to to try to keep our monthly mortgage payment low. The lower the mortgage payment, the less stress I will feel about buying a house.
We're thankful that both my wife and I have jobs right now when so many people don't. My (ex) brother-in-law has a page on Facebook where he writes that he has applied for around 150 jobs. My friend Jerry hasn't found a job yet, nor has my ex-wife, who lost her job about a year ago. It's still tough out there. Even though the economy is slowly improving, the jobs still aren't there yet.
We're thankful that both my wife and I have jobs right now when so many people don't. My (ex) brother-in-law has a page on Facebook where he writes that he has applied for around 150 jobs. My friend Jerry hasn't found a job yet, nor has my ex-wife, who lost her job about a year ago. It's still tough out there. Even though the economy is slowly improving, the jobs still aren't there yet.
We're also thankful that the kids are both healthy (and that they survived the freakin' swine flu!)
I'm thankful that I don't have to work this Christmas, like I did last year. Last year I worked both Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. This year, although I'm still working on Thanksgiving, I'll have 4 days off for Christmas.
Because of my rather poor relationship with my brother (and also because we need as much money as possible for a down payment on the house), I won't be going back to California for Christmas. Just the flight alone would have cost us $2,000 to go back this time of year. $2,000 was the entire amount we spent on our last trip there in May, and that included the rental car, hotels, and entertainment.
I tend to think about my relationship with my brother a bit more during the holidays. Now that we're buying our own house, I think about how sneaky he was to get my mom to buy him a house, and then give me and my sister $10,000 dollars a piece, as if to placate us. He's got a $400,000 home. Me and my sister have ten thousand dollars. What I think about now is, if the money was shared equally between all three of us, we could all have bought our own house with it. Sure, it wouldn't have been enough to buy a big fancy house with a pool (like my brother has), but it would have been enough to get something decent (especially here in Texas). I just saw a great house here in Austin for $176,000.
Still, Christy tells me I just need to let it go, and she's right. As the song goes: "If you keep carrying that anger, it will eat you up inside." It's true, and this should be a time to be thankful for what we do have, and not what we don't.
Monday, November 16, 2009
2012: The End of the World?
I just saw the movie "2012" this past weekend. It's based on the Mayan prophecy that the world will end on December 21, 2012. The movie is 2 hours and 40 minutes of mass destruction: earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, and everything but the kitchen sink thrown in.
The director (Roland Emmerich) has made some decent movies in the past. "Independence Day," "The Patriot," and "The Day After Tomorrow," to name a few. He's also made total crap like "Godzilla" and "10,000 BC."
I thought the movie was pretty good. I'd give it about a "7" on a scale of 1 to 10. I didn't particularly like the message it sent: that only the billionaires and politicians of the world will be deemed worthy enough to survive.
**Spoiler Ahead**
In the movie, the only people who survive are those who can pay 1 billion dollars per person to get a seat on an "ark." The "ark" being an enormous ship built within the Himalayas that can withstand the massive "mega tsunami" that's approaching. Is it fair? No. But I guess that's the way it would be in reality. It' all about $$$
**End of Spoiler**
Personally, I don't buy into any of it. Many thought that Y2K would be the end of the world. People were building underground bunkers and stocking up on food and water. What did I do on December 31, 1999? I was at the Eagles concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Yep, I knew (and was right) that nothing would happen.
2012 (the movie and the year) will come and go as well. If there is any possible sign that 2012 might be the beginning of the apocalypse, it's that Sarah Palin might run for president that year.
The director (Roland Emmerich) has made some decent movies in the past. "Independence Day," "The Patriot," and "The Day After Tomorrow," to name a few. He's also made total crap like "Godzilla" and "10,000 BC."
I thought the movie was pretty good. I'd give it about a "7" on a scale of 1 to 10. I didn't particularly like the message it sent: that only the billionaires and politicians of the world will be deemed worthy enough to survive.
**Spoiler Ahead**
In the movie, the only people who survive are those who can pay 1 billion dollars per person to get a seat on an "ark." The "ark" being an enormous ship built within the Himalayas that can withstand the massive "mega tsunami" that's approaching. Is it fair? No. But I guess that's the way it would be in reality. It' all about $$$
**End of Spoiler**
Personally, I don't buy into any of it. Many thought that Y2K would be the end of the world. People were building underground bunkers and stocking up on food and water. What did I do on December 31, 1999? I was at the Eagles concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Yep, I knew (and was right) that nothing would happen.
2012 (the movie and the year) will come and go as well. If there is any possible sign that 2012 might be the beginning of the apocalypse, it's that Sarah Palin might run for president that year.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Health Care Rally in Austin
A few days ago I received an email from President Obama (okay, it was just a computer generated email, but still...it had his name on it!) He informed me that there was going to be a big healthcare rally at the Austin Capitol this afternoon, and that I should attend to show my support for reform.
Normally, and regrettably, I rarely attend these kind of things. I'm not a very political person, although I do have very strong opinions and often voice them (as I have on this blog numerous times.) But as for going to some big rally and holding signs and shouting...well, that's just not me. This time, though, since we're only about 15 minutes from the capitol building, and because I do feel very strongly in favor of healthcare reform, we decided to go.
To be honest, I was expecting massive crowds there. I was expecting maybe 20,000 to 40,000 people. I even parked about a mile away from the capitol, since I assumed it would be crazy as we got closer.
Man, was I wrong. So very wrong. There were maybe, at most, 1,000 people. There was ample parking everywhere. Either this thing just wasn't advertised very well, or Austin isn't quite the liberal mecca it's made out to be.
Still, it was interesting listening to people rip into Governor Rick Perry, Senator (and traitor) Joe Lieberman, and all the tea-baggers going around protesting the public option. Why do people hate the idea of a public option so much? Because they don't like the idea of government running healthcare? Well, if that bothers you, don't buy into it. It's just that simple. Keep whatever crap health insurance you have, like Humana (the one I have). Then there are those who think it will cost too much money, yet have no problem with the continuing wars we have going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. My God, if we took all the money we've spent on these two pointless wars, and put it into healthcare instead, there wouldn't be a single living soul in this country without health coverage.
(Pictures: The sparsely attended healthcare rally)
Normally, and regrettably, I rarely attend these kind of things. I'm not a very political person, although I do have very strong opinions and often voice them (as I have on this blog numerous times.) But as for going to some big rally and holding signs and shouting...well, that's just not me. This time, though, since we're only about 15 minutes from the capitol building, and because I do feel very strongly in favor of healthcare reform, we decided to go.
To be honest, I was expecting massive crowds there. I was expecting maybe 20,000 to 40,000 people. I even parked about a mile away from the capitol, since I assumed it would be crazy as we got closer.
Man, was I wrong. So very wrong. There were maybe, at most, 1,000 people. There was ample parking everywhere. Either this thing just wasn't advertised very well, or Austin isn't quite the liberal mecca it's made out to be.
Still, it was interesting listening to people rip into Governor Rick Perry, Senator (and traitor) Joe Lieberman, and all the tea-baggers going around protesting the public option. Why do people hate the idea of a public option so much? Because they don't like the idea of government running healthcare? Well, if that bothers you, don't buy into it. It's just that simple. Keep whatever crap health insurance you have, like Humana (the one I have). Then there are those who think it will cost too much money, yet have no problem with the continuing wars we have going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. My God, if we took all the money we've spent on these two pointless wars, and put it into healthcare instead, there wouldn't be a single living soul in this country without health coverage.
(Pictures: The sparsely attended healthcare rally)
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