my weekend consisted of watching eight man halo on two tv screens. both saturday and sunday. at first i really couldn't understand why everyone was going so nuts that yes the ethernet cable did work and wow we can hook up two xbox's but by sunday night i was a convert. of course i didn't have much choice since there was nothing else to do while the boys played but i found myself getting sucked in. i'd have to say that my favorite is definitely capture the flag.

i even tried to play and participate in the fun but i think my hand and eye coordination isn't all that great despite all the years of training from jon. i had more trouble with moving myself around and aiming at the people that i couldn't really enjoy the full effects of the game. i played two games and each time i was killed the most and had the least number of kills.

i've pretty much decided that i like simple games with one or two buttons to remember. think virtual tennis. even in street fighter i could never do the "all-u-can" and just used chun-li since her two moves really are the fast kicks and the turnaround swoop. now that both those phases are over i'm hoping that the new dead or alive volleygame game will be my new addiction.

quarterlife crisis. i remember browsing on the web one day and saw a book with that same title "quarterlife crisis: the unique challenges of life in your twenties". i briefly flirted with the idea of purchasing it but after reading some of the excerpts decided it was a bunch of mumbo jumbo and that i didn't need a book to tell me others are going through the same thing. i see it around me everyday.

there was a period after college when i missed everything about it. the freedom, skipping classes, not worrying about getting enough sleep. all that jazz. actually i didn't really do any of that stuff except when i went to visit jon in michigan. only then did i experience dorm life and staying up all hours and although it was fun, i don't think i would of enjoyed 4 years of it. but now , i'm over the phase of wishing i was back in college. don't really have the desire of homework and cramming useless knowledge into my head, not saying that i'm not doing the same thing now but you know what i mean.

sometimes i wonder, am i going through a quarterlife crisis? but i think everyone at this age does. i mainly go on passing time but with no real goals in mind. not graduate school. no motivation to add a few more letters behind my name and plus, i'm not very career oriented. so if my goal isn't work-related what else could it possibly be? the usual i suppose. marriage, kids, house. or i've added a new one to my list...to marry rich.

but in all seriousness, i think i can feel myself getting into the phase of settling down. i think about the "future" a lot more. and in craziness, i actually see shopping for furniture and decorating the house pretty appealing. domestic is me. it may be due to the slew of engagements i learned about recently and the george of one year ago never thought about what her wedding would be like or what kind of ring she would want but now i find myself imagining every once in a while. i'm chopping it all up to quarterlife crisis.

jet-lag is catching up with me. as much as i try to lay still and close my eyes and count sheep...nothing is working. i can only read fast food nation for so long before i get sick of reading about how the frozen fry was invented and how the corporations are again ripping us off. just another confirmation of how much i hate corporate america. one interesting tidbit...did you know that the government can't recall contaminated beef but can recall a defective toaster? how fitting.

so it's my second night back from taiwan. i'm still in a state of limbo as to how the trip will stay with me. first time back since love boat. probably had unrealistic expectations but my days and nights were filled with eating, shopping, mosquito bites, visiting relatives including victor's, more shopping, saw louis and je-yi for a total combined time of 60 minutes, national taiwan university which was one of my highlights actually, and watching endless chinese movies with scrunched down english subtitles that i found rather annoying. not to mention the static on that channel which would make the tv blank out in crucial chinese style dying moments.

the glamour shots i could of done without. took them once before and didn't like them. not too sure why i thought this time would be different but this just futher confirms that yes i do have big cheeks and no i am not photogenic. someone please shoot me if i decide to do them again anytime before i get married. i'm convinced by that time, i'll have matured and my cheeks will have magically disappeared. as jon says, as only an older brother can, "i feel as if your face gets rounder each year". nice.

i always used to say that i would love to go back to asia and live for a couple years but now, i'm not so sure. i'm not sure if it's because i'm older and have more habits or if i'm just spoiled. most likely a mixture of both. little things bother me. first and foremost, the no dryer phenom. i can't stand hanging everything and i do mean everything up to only be taken down when it's cold and hard. i made sure to pack myself enough socks and underwear to last the entire 10 days. besides what's the point of hanging clothes outside when the air is dirty? i feel like febreze may be a better investment at times. moving on. no shower curtain. going pee on a wet toilet? not exactly my cup of tea. my showers were spent being very careful to not let too much water onto the floor, much helped by my short hair. finally. no bathroom counters. i just can't get used to only a sink...where do i put my glasses? my face lotion? on the toilet? but that seems dirty.

for some reason, i didn't seem to have these complaints during love boat. even in the sweltering heat and season of mosquitos. i don't remember getting bitten as much as i did this time (during the winter nevertheless) or being less than enthralled with the communal showers at ocean and chien-tan. oh wait, yes i do. never mind...enid's shower was much nicer. and her house was clean clean clean. no cluttering anywhere. i loved it.

but all in all. it was fun. not as much partying as i was expecting. only went to plush (yes it was on wild on e!) once. could barely breathe due to the barrage of smoke everywhere and ever notice how chinese people bop up and down when dancing? quite amusing. enid was really a great host. felt like i could of gotten in a day or two more of shopping but then i always say that. i was pretty amused by louis's "i love taiwan" mentality. reminded of a little kid in a candy store. even went so far as to wake at 6am to visit chian kai shek memorial by himself on the subway. not bad. oh...the subway system is surprisingly fantastic and orderly.

and now the new year is among us. not too exciting seeing how i slept thorugh the countdown only to awake at 12:15am and watch the replay on tv. now i'm back into my normal routine of work, 11 mandatory hour workdays during busy season, and getting as much catch-eye as i can. joy joy.

this could be my longest blog yet. koodos to you if you've made it this far. the wonders of jet-lag.