The White Peril 白禍

Disconnected thoughts that may prove to have been better left unexpressed:

Am I the only one who's afraid the new Janet album is going to suck? I actually liked 20 Y.O. She sounded relaxed. She seemed to be having fun. Yeah, she was ripping off herself and everyone else, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating. "Feedback" sounds great while you're listening to it, but I forgot I'd even downloaded it a day or two after it was released.

I'm enjoying Taipei, but it's a very...intimately-scaled place. Over the first few weeks I was here, I was introduced to three or four guys in the Family ("Ooh...I have a friend you'll just LOVE! He's gay, too!") and met a few others separately out and about. When I got back last Saturday, I was invited to a party. They were all there and all knew each other. It was kind of cute. Good thing I live a simple life, or the moment of realization might have been a little sticky.

And the weather in this place! Rain, sunshine (briefly) smog, mist, more rain, the temperature going up and down wildly. The friend I'm staying with lives part-way up a mountain. It's still officially Taipei City, but it's not urban at all. There are hot springs. The wind howls constantly, often flinging rain at you. Going for a run is great; the steepness of the roads makes it feel like you're doing stadiums. It's all nicely primordial...and she has cable! So yeah, things are going fine. Just busy.

Added 25 February: Another thing that's struck me since I've been here: Taiwan is full of South Africans. Canadians, too. In Japan, you get used to every third foreigner you meet's being Australian. Australia and Japan (touchingly, considering their war history) have very good relations nowadays, they're comparatively close together, and Australians like to knock around other places. In Taiwan, I think I've met one Australian in six weeks. Just about everyone from North America here seems to be Canadian. Handful of English. And lots of South Africans. This appears to be one of the places it's easy for the young and adventurous to make money away from home.

No, I'm not dead--thanks to those who've asked. I'm forcing myself to follow the primaries, mirthlessly, and I have little to say about pesticide-laced gyoza or the latest alleged criminal behavior by our military personnel in Japan--not because there's nothing to say about them, but because my attention is distracted by other things. My project in Taipei requires a lot of attention. That's mostly a good thing, but it means that at the end of the day, I'm not exactly champing at the bit to spend more time at the computer. I may have more breathing room next week. Until then, I hope everyone enjoys the weekend.

It's Chinese New Year's Eve, if that's the word for it. I'm about to leave for a party that I'm hoping is going to be pretty non-traditional--my experience in Asia has led me to the conclusion that when food is described as "auspicious," you can reliably substitute "tastes bad." (Well, soba noodles are good for longevity, and they're pretty toothsome, but that's about it.) I plan to spend the evening hoping that its being the Year of the Rat doesn't portend anything for this year's presidential election (not that you'll be able to tell anyway). For others celebrating, have a happy new year. I'm back in Tokyo for a week starting tomorrow.