June 12
1. Can you act?
Nowadays? I have no idea. I studied acting in college, and I was seriously considering becoming an actor in my early 20s. People told me I was good at it, but then again when you're doing that kind of thing and you're desperately looking for approval friends tend to provide it.
Anyone who knows me now is going to have an incredibly difficult time imagining this, but the height of my acting career was playing a gay man dying of AIDS in a play I can't even remember the name of. This event would have occurred in the early 90s, a year or so after I graduated high school.
I was hanging out with a lot of actors at the time, and I suppose that led me to the idea that maybe, just maybe I could act for a living. Then, after a few months passed, I realized I was developing a penchant for exhibitionism, and it seemed to me that putting myself up on stage wasn't exactly nourishing the healthiest parts of my character. Besides, I had other things I wanted to do, and other ways in which I wanted to develop (or be developed) as a person. For this reason acting, and dreams of acting, quickly fell by the wayside.
Do I regret not pursuing acting as a career? Not at all. I'm thankful to my drama classes for helping me overcome my shyness, but being the center of attention in that way seemed to feed something less wholesome in myself, and at the time I had a very strong feeling that acting was not a good thing for me to do.
2. What's your occupation?
I teach English at a public elementary school in Taitung, Taiwan. I have been so employed for two decades, though I've switched schools, regions and even countries several times. I've taught at two elementary schools and one junior high in Taitung, three elementary schools and one junior high in Pingtung, and several elementary schools in the Seattle area, though teaching positions I held in Seattle were a lot more marginal.
3. Where's the clock? (and) Where's the dictionary?
The only clock in this room is in the supply closet behind the classroom. I put it there on purpose. There may be teachers who can use a clock effectively, but I've never found that a clock displayed in any classroom is a good thing. The Windows clock that students can see on the smart TV is bad enough.
The Word by Word picture dictionaries, which I took all of the questions in this entry from, are on two sets of shelves along the wall to my immediate left. There are over twenty copies of this book here. There used to be a set of Chinese-English dictionaries in this room as well, but I banished those to the school library last semester. I regard those things as just about useless in 2026.
4. May I take your order? (and) And what kind of salad would you like? (and) And for the main course? (and) What side dish would you like with that? (and) Would you like some dessert?
Yes, you may. I'd like blue cheese dressing, and if you don't have that some kind of vinaigrette. For the main course I'll have the bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich with the jalapeno bacon, or the hickory smoked bacon if you don't have jalapeno. Dill rye bread. For the side I think I'll go with the French fries. I won't be needing desert.
5. Where are you going? (and) How do you want to send it? (and) Do you want me to mail this letter?
At the moment I'm going nowhere, and no, that's not a philosophical statement. I have class in five minutes so I'm unable to leave.
I want you to send it to Port Angeles, Washington. I'll be joining it there shortly. The letter? No, I shan't be mailing that today.
6. Oh, no! I think I lost my ring! (and) Oh, no! I think I lost my earrings!
I lost my wedding ring in the ocean once. The salt water made it too slippery. The thing just slid right off and disappeared. Up in Dulan, I think. Or maybe Nanwan. It was a while ago.
My older daughter loves earrings. Anytime we're in a new, touristy place earrings are the first thing she looks for.
7. Please seat the customers. (and) Would you like a booth? (and) Do you have any job openings? (and) This restaurant has a wonderful salad bar.
Why am I seating the customers? I don't even work here!
I would generally prefer a booth. Booths are nice.
I don't employ anyone at present. My cats, however, are in the market for a box cleaner and general feeder. If you have experience cleaning cat boxes and feeding cats you are welcome to apply. The pay is a pat on the back every few hours... if I remember to pat you on the back. I probably won't.
I haven't been to a salad bar in ages. The last salad bar I can remember visiting was in the Noble Family Steak House located in Sanxia, New Taipei City, during one of the excruciating multi-day seminars we used to have up there. I remember being very disappointed with the food.
8. What did you do yesterday morning/afternoon/evening? (and) What did you do last night? (and) What are you going to do tomorrow morning/afternoon/evening/night? (and) What did you do last week? (and) What are your plans for next week? (and) How many times a week do you have English class/go to the supermarket/exercise? (and) What's your favorite season? Why?
Yesterday morning I woke up, turned off my alarm, fed the cats, cleaned the cat box, poured myself a glass of water, used the bathroom, read part of a novel, drove my car to work and then (probably) logged into this website.
Yesterday afternoon I was very bored. I only had one class, and little to do besides that. I remember watching YouTube videos for a while: Rick Beato's interview with Anika Nilles, Rush's new drummer, and other classic rock-type stuff.
Yesterday evening we went to Qilipo 七里坡 because I wanted fried chicken, but the server there was rude to my wife and we ended up walking out. We had beef noodles at Chen Family 陳家 Beef Noodles instead.
Last night I watched The Forty Year Old Virgin for the thousandth time because I had a headache and I didn't want to think about anything. That movie has held up pretty well, though I think in 2026 it works better as a drama than as an outright comedy.
Tomorrow morning I'm going to go swimming in the Flowing Lake if it's not pouring down rain. After that I'll buy a latte at 7-11 and breakfast somewhere else.
Tomorrow afternoon I'll likely be watching Disclosure Day at the local theater. I also saw Backrooms recently and I feel the need to say that Backrooms is awesome - best movie I've seen in a long time. I doubt I'll like Disclosure Day as much as Backrooms, but I feel confident that it will also be good. Spielberg has an excellent track record when it comes to science fiction.
Tomorrow evening I'll be either drinking beers with friends or sitting in my living room, watching movies and drinking beers with my wife. It depends on whether I go out tonight or not.
Tomorrow night I'll be in bed, sleeping. Don't call or text after 10 pm, because I usually forget to set my phone to airplane mode before bed.
Last week I did the same things I did this week, the only difference being that my younger daughter came to visit. We spent Sunday driving up the East Rift Valley, mostly because it had been a while since she'd visited that part of Taitung. On the way to Chrshang we stopped at Luye, where my wife and daughter bought too many crackers, and at Guanshan, where we discovered that the stinky tofu place was closed that day. The lunch we had in Chrshang was not good.
Next week is the Dragon Boat Festival weekend. On Friday we'll drive our cats over to Kaohsiung, where our daughters will watch them until the end of August. My only plan for that weekend is visiting Shanhua in Tainan. I want to take pictures of that area.
Technically speaking I have 20 English classes a week, though I'm not responsible for (directly) teaching all of those classes. For a few of those classes I'm the backup guy, and I'm fine with that.
I go to (Big) PX Mart or Carrefour once or twice a week. If it's twice a week it's because my wife and I decided to have sushi at the (Big) PX Mart after work. That branch of Zhongxian is the most convenient place to eat near her school, and this option becomes even more attractive during the hotter parts of the year.
I try to exercise four times a week, but sometimes things come up and I miss a day. Yesterday, for example, I planned to go running but later began to feel a little sick and decided to stay home. (I'm fine now, by the way.) All things being equal, I go running on Tuesday and Thursday, and swimming on Saturday and Sunday. For a while I was trying to bicycle back and forth to work on Thursdays as well, but the recent weather has made this activity less feasible.
My favorite season in Taitung is definitely spring, more specifically the weeks between the end of March and the beginning of April. It's not cold then, but also not as hot as it is later in the year. It's a good time for getting out of doors.
9. Are you planning to travel soon? (and) How did you arrange your trip?
Yes, I'll be going to the States from July 13 to August 9. I'll be spending the majority of that time in Port Angeles, Washington, where my parents live. I might also venture down to Las Vegas, where my sister's family lives.
I find that a lot of those travel websites don't work well now. I bought my tickets directly from the EVA website, and I bought bus tickets from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Port Angeles directly from the Greyhound website.
I don't want to plan a trip to Vegas now because I want to see how energetic I feel in Port Angeles first. If my wife and I feel up to it I'll probably buy tickets for Vegas on the Alaska Airlines site.
10. I'd like a ______, please.
We'd all like a ______ now and then, but be advised that a _____ is illegal in some countries. Please _____ responsibly.
June 14
11. I'd like a ______, please.
Well that's very naughty. Where would you like it?
12. I think we need a new refrigerator.
As it happens I do actually need a new refrigerator. Our old one still works but it's starting to make odd, unrefrigeratorlike noises. We've been to Carrefour, (Big) PX Mart and 全國電子 (does that place even have an English name?) to look at new ones, but we can't make up our minds. For that matter we also need a new washing machine. Our old washing machine is making even odder noises than the refrigerator.
13. Where are you? (and) What are you doing?
At the moment I'm in my apartment typing this. To my left is a set of sliding glass doors, and beyond these sliding glass doors I can see the western half of Taitung City stretching east to meet Liyu Mountain, which is just visible behind the hotel that sits on Ss Wei Road. It's not yet hot and the sky is full of clouds.
June 15
14. What's the weather like today?
It's rainy and very, very moist. I swear, when the typhoons start coming through here (whenever that is), it's going to be BAD. Like, disaster level bad.
Yesterday was a little better. The weather was hot and windy, which is my least favorite kind of weather, but at least I was able to get outside for a bit. I went swimming in the morning, had lunch at a coffee shop, and I met a friend at Burger King for dinner.
15. Excuse me, I'm a new employee. Where's/Where are the _____? (and) Where's Tony?
Are you S****? I heard you (finally) got hired for that English school bus thing. You seem a little confused about the difference between that program (in which you work for the County Government) and my program (in which I work, however distantly, for the Ministry of Education), but I think the differences will become obvious in time.
The weird thing is that your former coworker, the friend I met at Burger King, was talking about you yesterday and then, almost immediately after that conversation, I ran into the guy you're replacing at the Carrefour.
I don't know that much about the English school bus, but it seems like it could be a good gig. I've known the guy you work with, A*****, for years, and he seems like a reliable person. The office hours at Tunghai Junior High School are probably going to suck, so hopefully there will be less of them as time goes on.
I don't know where the _____ is. Perhaps you left it in the _____.
Tony? I don't know anyone named Tony. I knew an Anthony back in the day, but I think he went back to South Africa.
16. May I help you? (and) How do you like this _____ tie/shirt/skirt? (and) What size are you looking for?
Yes, you may help me. I should probably fill out/file U.S. tax returns soon, but I'm lazy to do it.
I like those ties, shirts and skirts just fine. But why are you dressed as a schoolgirl? I've never had that fantasy, and your being dressed in that manner while I sit in a public elementary school is very alarming.
I usually wear size XL T-shirts. I've never worn a skirt, but my waist is a 32 or 33 so maybe that helps.
17. Could you get me that/those ______? (and) Watch out for that _____. (and) Do we have enough _____?
No, I couldn't. I have to go find some fifth graders soon. They need to finish their workbooks.
I will definitely watch out for the _____. Someone should call animal control.
Do we ever have enough? Maybe enough for now, but in the long term? Most of us are so driven by our perceived needs, which are usually only wants anyway. Does happiness lie in fulfilling a need or want, or in reducing and/or overcoming those same needs and wants?
June 16
18. I'm going to the supermarket to get some milk. Do we need anything else?
What kind of beer do they have? I'm a little tired of Taiwan beer, the cheaper American brands and the usual Japanese labels. If they have anything more exotic I'd like a few.
Oh, and Absolut vodka if they have it. The Kahlua I bought doesn't mix well with the Polish vodka I bought in Hengchun. I need something more neutral.
19. What's your favorite color?
Most of the time it's green, but if I'm buying a vehicle I always choose red. I still think about getting a red and black road bike sometimes. My Cannondale has served me well, but I'm not a big fan of its color.
20. Can I help you?
Naw, I'm good. I have an easy schedule today, and the only difficult part of my day is not drinking coffee. I'm trying to cut down on my caffeine intake, and Tuesdays and Thursdays are slightly more difficult to get through for this reason.
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