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• Sister's Wedding Day

  Sunday, Mar 30, 2008 6:21AM / Members only

  Well, its been a hell of a long day. My younger sister got married today.

  I left early this morning from Nottingham to get to the hotel in Harrow to join dad for breakfast!!

  Even though it's not my wedding, I felt really excited for some reason. :)

  Early on the weather was great, sunny and bright, pretty warm too. The road was superb, it was pretty much empty, it got slightly busier as I got closer to Harrow.

  The hotel was lovely, very quiet set within a very pretty garden. However as the day went on, the skies darkened and small droplets of water came down! Typical bloddy English weather!

  After breakfast, I had to drive into central London to pick up Auntie Luo, Alan +GF Karen and Tina at Kings Cross. I knew the traffic would be bad before I even went. True to form, it was hellish, it took me an hour and a half to travel 14 miles! Good thing I was in a great mood all day, so I felt fine.

  For some reason the Tomtom decided to take me back to the hotel from Kings Cross via a different route! And on the return instead of an hour and a half, it took me 45 minutes. What a result.

  Betty was late due to the hair salon messing her and her bridesmaid about, instead of arriving at 3pm, she arrived at 3.30pm!! Basically one of the hairdressers had a sickie, and one hairdresser had to do three people's hair!!

  I met Kirk's mom and dad for the first time. Kirk's father was very quiet and didn't give away much. I didn't really speak to either of them but they seemed nice enough.

  My job during the ceremony was to video camera the event and at the end to bear witness and sign the register for them! For some reason, towards the beginning of the ceremony I was very moved, and felt a bit of liquid gather around my eyes.........oh no!

  very embarrassing, anyway I held it back........

  I guess it's just a passing of the times, actually as I am writing it now, I am welling up.............

  stop it Jim, be a man....maybe its the thought of our youth gone, never to return, my little sister married.....and I soon to follow.

  Don't get me wrong, its a joyous occassions and I know Betty is very happy. She wanted to marry Kirk! And he is a good guy. I think he'll do right by her.

  But when I spoke to her about 15 mins ago, she knows what I mean, it's something that can't be described in words, at least not by someone like me.

  Betty and I was very close when we grew up, mom and dad didn't get a divorce, but might as well have done. Dad worked all year in Taiwan, and saw us once or twice a year. And the overall parental dynamics wasn't good.

  Both her and I are very strong individuals, in terms of personality. But when you are young, I guess it must have impacted us somehow................anyway, enough griping, on such a joyous day.

  To Betty and her beau (Kirk)  may you have the happiness of everafter......................

  And here is a photo of me and my sis in our younger days........before we got all old, and life, et stuff.

  
   

  
  
  

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• So bored and now sad...

  Sunday, Mar 23, 2008 5:45AM / Members only

  I am really bored today. I have surfed the web all day...looked for cars, facebook, more cars....even drove to a car dealer and had a look, but the weather was so cold, I came home pretty much straight away.
  
  I finally got round to doing some work on my online business, and my website is down! It's been done at least 3-4 times this year already, I am not impressed. As it turned out, the guy responsible is on holiday....
  
  So now, I've decided to write a little.....
  
  I want to write about how I feel about Taiwan when I watch Eat Drink Man Women, its a great movie, if you haven’t seen it, go watch it now!!
  
  The thing which moved me the most about that movie, was actually not the overall message that the movie was trying to convey (father, daughter relationship - although it was very well done, and I did note it.) but instead it was seeing Taiwan, as something that I had remembered it.
  
  Whenever I watch that movie, it comforts me for some reason, as the Taiwan to which I visit now, is not one that I like, or would live in. Part of which maybe my own personal cultural perception. Or rather how I view things or behave, I even prefer English food to food in Taiwan now, which would have been crazy if someone had suggested that to me when I was younger!
  
  I left Taiwan when I was eight years old, and went back around 6/7 times over the next 21 years of my life.....and each time I went back, it felt as though the home that I had remembered had changed, disappearing further and further from my memory. And indeed it has, the rice paddy fields which I use to walk to school past, are now huge high rise flats. The red dusty earth which I would walk on and the small metallic shanties where you can buy ice pops for a penny have been replaced by concrete and more concrete. The last time I was in Tai Chung I couldn't even place any of those former landmarks near my school apart from when I take a walk down my own memory lane.
  
  In the past when I was younger, I would be asked continuously by older oriental folk (you know - parent's friends, guests) will you be returning to Taiwan, do you feel you are Taiwanese or English. Questions such as these troubled me, whilst at the time I felt I was Taiwanese, I had loads of English friends, and perhaps a handful of oriental friends.
  
  About 5 years ago, I went back to Taiwan. It was that first time I was very much aware that this was not the country I remembered. I was up at one of Taipei's hotels, and seeing the cars and the lights shine beneath. I felt an incredible sadness.
  
  It was then I knew I was more English then Taiwanese.
  

  
  

  I want to point out here, that I read a lot of Chinese literature, and speak/listen relatively fluently in Mandarin, I can't write it but can definitely read it. So in that sense I have retained some "culture"

  So maybe that's why I feel sad.......a sense of loss sometimes....does anyone even know what I am talking about?
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  

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• Old post on my trip back to Taiwan

  Monday, Mar 10, 2008 10:27PM / Members only

  Below is a re-post, as I can't work out the blog import process.....it's basically my boring account of my journey from UK to Taiwan......
  
  Gosh, what a journey!
  
  Got up at 5am
  
  Taxi at 5.30am
  
  Train at 6.07am
  
  Train was late, arrived at station around half past 8
  
  Walked to tube and then underground to Heathrow Terminal 3, arrived at 9.30am
  
  Checked in, walked to departures...rushed to gate, as it said final call....
  
  Turned out to be a fib, about 100 people got on before me at the queue, so sat and waited.
  
  Stuck in the middle seat. Quite a chubby guy to the left, and thin woman to my left...
  
  12.5 hours later, arrived in HK.
  
  1 hour ish at the arport.
  
  2 hour ish to arrive to Taiwan!!! Horray, almost there.............
  
  Queue again to get ouf Taiwan airport
  
  Bus to the Taiwan High Speed Train = 20 mins......
  
  35 mins to Tai Chung - tres rapido!! I was quite impressed, apparently it travelled at
  300kph...I'll convert that to miles later.....
  
  20 min bus ride home
  
  10 min walk from bus.........
  
  Door to door, by the time I hit the sack, it was 28 hours!!! Without sleep..........

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• Sister getting married!

  Monday, Mar 10, 2008 10:25PM / Members only

  My sister is getting married!! 29/03/08
  
  Crazy stuff........we're both getting married!! That tells me our youngster days are speeding by!
  
  hmm, just writing this post I suddenly remembered what a horrible dream I had last night:
  
  In the dream, I dreamt that she died of cancer instantly, and at the funeral, I was bawling my eyes out...and then all of a sudden I woke from that dream, and I said to myself thats funny, I am not crying now...(I am still dreaming here) and my face is dry....
  
  hey ho........thank god it was just a dream...
  
  Anyway, back to my sister's wedding - so I emailed her today on what she wanted for their wedding...and she replied vouchers and some dough....which is fair enough.....
  
  however, I am getting married in August, and I want some vouchers and dough...
  
  So....its gonna be, hey Betty, here is £xxx vouchers, but I'll want it back in Aug!!
  

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• Just an update..

  Monday, Mar 10, 2008 10:18PM / Members only

  Well, today, I finally go round to checking out my forum post, and a nice chap by the name of Philip Ng replied...
  
  Read his blog, which was very humourous and enlightening of what an actor's life is like....it got me thinking that unless you hit the mega big time, life is pretty similar for everyone really.....you still struggle and things get to you! As with any occupation, the only difference is - they get to see themslves in a cool movie!
  
  (I am not that bothered about the partying bit, as if you know the right people and have good friends, you'll always have a good time anyway!)
  
  I'll get Katie to look at the posts tonite, that should destress her from her parent evening meetings!! (plenty of Andy On pics there to keep her distracted)
  
  So whats happening.....
  
  Nothing much really.....dossing mainly.....did a bit of car hunting...
  
  Think I'll buy this car soon, chop in the old DC2:
  
  
  
  problem is I can't get hold of any dosh until April......and writing this blog..
  
  
  

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• 
  peachey

  posted on Sunday, Mar 23, 2008 7:47AM  [Report]

  That's a good thing you don't try on make-up or something like that when you're bored. heehee.
  
  Have a nice day!
• 
  SunnyFluffy

  posted on Wednesday, Mar 5, 2008 8:17AM  [Report]

  Thanks for stopping by. Welcome to the AnD siight. There are so many nice people to talk with and wonderful artists. I hope you enjoy the sight as much as I do. Take Care.