I'm glad the Olympics are ending in a couple of days. It's taking its toll on me. I'm not sure how many more nights of sleeping at 1:30am I can take before I start to fall asleep at work. Two nights ago, I watched an exciting Canada vs. Cuba Men's baseball semi-final until past 4am -- knowing very well that I would have the next day off thanks to Typhoon Ally. At this point, the G-S-B medal count sits at 4-5-2 for a total of 11 medals. Hey, I'm a Canadian Taiwanese, so I root for both sides. Damn those American-Chinese with their 137 medals. >:(
Last night, I installed a piece of aluminum in my washroom to block water from spreading from shower area to the rest of the washroom. All it took was a little common silicon caulk, and the ol' index finger. I have to wait for the caulk to cure before I try it tonight, although it should make my post-shower experience all the better. It was a Do-It-Yourself project (or "D.I.Y." as they say here) that really looks like a Do-It-Yourself project. Whatever, I'm happy with it... who cares what you think.
I was extremely pissed off early today when I received some news of my laptop back home - so much so that I was almost shaking from anger. But I guess I'll relate that story in full when it's deemed over.
I've been working for a full month now, and I guess things are still coming along smoothly. It was starting to get a little boring for a short while, but I've been given some work to do, so I'm happy to report that I'm entertained with it. I have a deliverable some 3 weeks from now. Good to have pressure. I can't work in a relaxed environment because there's no incentive to stay motivated. I need more "DO IT or LOSE YOUR JOB" kind of work. :) ... hope I don't lose my job.
August 27, 2004
August 24, 2004
A short update since I'm hungry and ready to go for lunch.
Friday night, I got a ride back to Taipei and went clubbing at Minitry of Sound (MOS) in Neihu in a complicated mish-mash of siblings and cousins. The club, built this year, was pretty awesome, with three floors of different music, and a huge dance hall that was later entertained by a live band/techno group. After clubbing, at 1:00am, we went to the batting cages next door.
My mom and I had my aunt over on Saturday for lunch, and I left in the early evening to stay at E.C.'s place for the night.
Early Sunday, a group of 14 of us drove down to Neiwan in Hsinchu County and had a BBQ down by a stream along with 200 other people. Taiwanese BBQs... packed like sardines.
Anyway, there's a typhoon heading our way, and while a few counties further North and East got the day off, we in Hsinchu County only get the afternoon. :) So, I'm out.
Friday night, I got a ride back to Taipei and went clubbing at Minitry of Sound (MOS) in Neihu in a complicated mish-mash of siblings and cousins. The club, built this year, was pretty awesome, with three floors of different music, and a huge dance hall that was later entertained by a live band/techno group. After clubbing, at 1:00am, we went to the batting cages next door.
My mom and I had my aunt over on Saturday for lunch, and I left in the early evening to stay at E.C.'s place for the night.
Early Sunday, a group of 14 of us drove down to Neiwan in Hsinchu County and had a BBQ down by a stream along with 200 other people. Taiwanese BBQs... packed like sardines.
Anyway, there's a typhoon heading our way, and while a few counties further North and East got the day off, we in Hsinchu County only get the afternoon. :) So, I'm out.
August 17, 2004
Most people I've talked to in the last little while have asked me how work is going, and how I like it. So perhaps I should give a somewhat complete update on the work situation (leaving out anything that I don't think should be posted online).
In short, work is great. This company parallels the many things I liked about Spectrum when things were going well for us there. For those that know me well, you probably also know how much I loved working at Spectrum. The benefits are very accommodating as the company has been doing very well in the last few years. Vacation allowance is better than most, and company retreats seem to be coming a little more often than one expects.
I had a few fears (more concerns, really) working in Taiwan:
1) Extremely long and gruelling hours of hard work
2) Boring coworkers, nerdy and male
3) I'd get out of shape from doing no physical activity
Fortunately, in reality, none of those fears are quite true. We generally work from 9am - 6:30/7:00pm, which is far better than the 9am - 10pm hours I had heard about before coming. Of course, every company is different, and there are some that do do long long hours. I just landed in a company that values life a little more. That said, like at any non-governmental company, there will be deadlines and periods of extra work... but in general, it's good.
The coworkers, while mostly male, aren't boring nor nerdy on the whole. As Asians generally are, they're fairly playful and chummy, and it's actually pretty refreshing. And, as you'll read in the next paragraph, they're fairly active too. Anyway, there was no awkward moment from the time I started. Everyone was very friendly, and my coworkers have been really accommodating in all aspects of my settling in. But yes, there is a definite unbalance of male to female.
Our building, only 1.5 yrs old, is nicely equipped with a universal gym, some elliptical trainers, stationary bikes, treadmills, a massage chair, two ping pong tables, and half a basketball court which doubles as a badminton court. People play basketball or badminton or ping pong daily, which is awesome, because I'm finding that I've been more active here than I have back home in a long time. The starting times for ball or badminton are around 6:45pm - 7:00pm, so it encourages people not to work too late (unless they really have to).
From a work work perspective, things are also going well. I've been given the opportunity to learn firmware programming and aspects of IC design, which I always had an interest in, but gave up because I didn't have the skills coming out of university. As such, I've been enrolled in a crash (night) course in Verilog HDL at a famous local university, NCTU, to learn these skills. I think, on a whole, the experience I'll get out of working here will be rewarding and valuable.
So, all in all, for just about all aspects of work, things are going very well.
In short, work is great. This company parallels the many things I liked about Spectrum when things were going well for us there. For those that know me well, you probably also know how much I loved working at Spectrum. The benefits are very accommodating as the company has been doing very well in the last few years. Vacation allowance is better than most, and company retreats seem to be coming a little more often than one expects.
I had a few fears (more concerns, really) working in Taiwan:
1) Extremely long and gruelling hours of hard work
2) Boring coworkers, nerdy and male
3) I'd get out of shape from doing no physical activity
Fortunately, in reality, none of those fears are quite true. We generally work from 9am - 6:30/7:00pm, which is far better than the 9am - 10pm hours I had heard about before coming. Of course, every company is different, and there are some that do do long long hours. I just landed in a company that values life a little more. That said, like at any non-governmental company, there will be deadlines and periods of extra work... but in general, it's good.
The coworkers, while mostly male, aren't boring nor nerdy on the whole. As Asians generally are, they're fairly playful and chummy, and it's actually pretty refreshing. And, as you'll read in the next paragraph, they're fairly active too. Anyway, there was no awkward moment from the time I started. Everyone was very friendly, and my coworkers have been really accommodating in all aspects of my settling in. But yes, there is a definite unbalance of male to female.
Our building, only 1.5 yrs old, is nicely equipped with a universal gym, some elliptical trainers, stationary bikes, treadmills, a massage chair, two ping pong tables, and half a basketball court which doubles as a badminton court. People play basketball or badminton or ping pong daily, which is awesome, because I'm finding that I've been more active here than I have back home in a long time. The starting times for ball or badminton are around 6:45pm - 7:00pm, so it encourages people not to work too late (unless they really have to).
From a work work perspective, things are also going well. I've been given the opportunity to learn firmware programming and aspects of IC design, which I always had an interest in, but gave up because I didn't have the skills coming out of university. As such, I've been enrolled in a crash (night) course in Verilog HDL at a famous local university, NCTU, to learn these skills. I think, on a whole, the experience I'll get out of working here will be rewarding and valuable.
So, all in all, for just about all aspects of work, things are going very well.
August 12, 2004
Haven'tposted anything recently because I haven't thought of anything of much significance. Early next week, I'll probably give an update on my work situation since that's generally the first thing people ask me about.
In the meantime, let me report that I have a fang. Just one. It's the third tooth from the middle, on the left side of my upper jaw. One would think there'd be a matching predatory mechanism on the right side, but I think it's been rendered blunt and ineffective from grinding my teeth at night. But let's just focus on the one that is there and is very dangerous.
This convincing evidence of food chain superiority angles down from about 2mm above (closer to the root) the surrounding teeth, and sharpens to a menacing point 2mm past its neighbouring bones. Sometimes when I'm alone, I like to look in the mirror and make a threatening face, exposing the marvel-worthy spike, accompanied by a mirror-shaking growl -- in reality, it's really my right hand holding and shaking the mirror furiously, thereby giving it the desired effect. Other times, I like to start from a calm, nonchalant face before lashing out a sudden fury of tooth and hiss. Very feline. Very intimidating. Occasionally, I stumble backwards heart-pumpingly surprised at my own terrifying display of faked aggression.
Everything you wanted to know about my fang.
Fang-kiu very much.
In the meantime, let me report that I have a fang. Just one. It's the third tooth from the middle, on the left side of my upper jaw. One would think there'd be a matching predatory mechanism on the right side, but I think it's been rendered blunt and ineffective from grinding my teeth at night. But let's just focus on the one that is there and is very dangerous.
This convincing evidence of food chain superiority angles down from about 2mm above (closer to the root) the surrounding teeth, and sharpens to a menacing point 2mm past its neighbouring bones. Sometimes when I'm alone, I like to look in the mirror and make a threatening face, exposing the marvel-worthy spike, accompanied by a mirror-shaking growl -- in reality, it's really my right hand holding and shaking the mirror furiously, thereby giving it the desired effect. Other times, I like to start from a calm, nonchalant face before lashing out a sudden fury of tooth and hiss. Very feline. Very intimidating. Occasionally, I stumble backwards heart-pumpingly surprised at my own terrifying display of faked aggression.
Everything you wanted to know about my fang.
Fang-kiu very much.
August 10, 2004
This past weekend was my first weekend alone in Taiwan, and I had no idea what to do ("What ever should I do?", said little Kevin).
Saturday, I took the Speedster out for a spin. Just 10 minutes down the road, there was a Nova, a building of small and mid-sized boutiques selling consumer electronics, mainly computer products, MP3 players, and digital cameras. I shopped around looking at the odd this and that, compared a few prices, and such was my day. In the evening, I made the choice to go to a McDonald's not 5 minutes ride from home. I got a Spicy Chicken meal, and as the documentary recommended, I "Supersized" it for about 20 cents CAD. Along with me, I brought a book by Timothy Ferris, "The Mind's Sky: Human Intelligence in a Cosmic Context", a book that was awarded to me in Grade 12 for excellence in Mathematics (yippee). For some reason, I never cared to read it, so there it sat on my bookshelf until one day I decided to move to Taiwan. Anyway, I stayed in the cool air-conditioned climate of America's top fast-food restaurant for two hours while kids banged away at the bright yellow, red, and blue plastic playground. And such was my day.
Sunday, I rode off on my Road-Warrior to Hsinchu City, a city as boring as it is old and ugly. Haha, well, it's not quite so bad. Downtown is much like any part of Taipei, less the cleansiness - with every street lined with shops and/or restaurants. I spent a good three, four hours walking the streets, window shopping, and consulting my map. In one particular bookstore, I saw the biggest spider I had ever seen in person and non-captive. The body was roughly an inch long, and about as wide as a quarter (Canadian, not US) and each leg extended roughly 2 inches out. Holding my left leg from shaking, I kept my cool. Anyway, there was no reason to fear it since it appeared slightly injured (or drunk) as it stumble across the bookstore floor before being BASHED with a broom and brushed away for disposal. Anyway, big spider. I ended my Sunday with a trip to Chung Hwa nightmarket and with a little more reading.
I started my four-week weekly Verilog course Monday evening, and it was a pretty barable 3 hour crunch of information. The professor seems very well qualified, having worked at GTE, AT&T Bell Labs, and then becoming a professor and doing consulting. With the Powerpoint slides all in English, it wasn't hard to follow the Mandarin lecture. He says "Exclusive OR" as "Excusi OR"... teehee... reminds me of EuroTrip. Anyway, I digress. I finished Ferris's book last night, and decided that while he brings up some interesting points, it's mainly a book of ramblings - as he admits right at the start.
Okay, lunch is over.
Saturday, I took the Speedster out for a spin. Just 10 minutes down the road, there was a Nova, a building of small and mid-sized boutiques selling consumer electronics, mainly computer products, MP3 players, and digital cameras. I shopped around looking at the odd this and that, compared a few prices, and such was my day. In the evening, I made the choice to go to a McDonald's not 5 minutes ride from home. I got a Spicy Chicken meal, and as the documentary recommended, I "Supersized" it for about 20 cents CAD. Along with me, I brought a book by Timothy Ferris, "The Mind's Sky: Human Intelligence in a Cosmic Context", a book that was awarded to me in Grade 12 for excellence in Mathematics (yippee). For some reason, I never cared to read it, so there it sat on my bookshelf until one day I decided to move to Taiwan. Anyway, I stayed in the cool air-conditioned climate of America's top fast-food restaurant for two hours while kids banged away at the bright yellow, red, and blue plastic playground. And such was my day.
Sunday, I rode off on my Road-Warrior to Hsinchu City, a city as boring as it is old and ugly. Haha, well, it's not quite so bad. Downtown is much like any part of Taipei, less the cleansiness - with every street lined with shops and/or restaurants. I spent a good three, four hours walking the streets, window shopping, and consulting my map. In one particular bookstore, I saw the biggest spider I had ever seen in person and non-captive. The body was roughly an inch long, and about as wide as a quarter (Canadian, not US) and each leg extended roughly 2 inches out. Holding my left leg from shaking, I kept my cool. Anyway, there was no reason to fear it since it appeared slightly injured (or drunk) as it stumble across the bookstore floor before being BASHED with a broom and brushed away for disposal. Anyway, big spider. I ended my Sunday with a trip to Chung Hwa nightmarket and with a little more reading.
I started my four-week weekly Verilog course Monday evening, and it was a pretty barable 3 hour crunch of information. The professor seems very well qualified, having worked at GTE, AT&T Bell Labs, and then becoming a professor and doing consulting. With the Powerpoint slides all in English, it wasn't hard to follow the Mandarin lecture. He says "Exclusive OR" as "Excusi OR"... teehee... reminds me of EuroTrip. Anyway, I digress. I finished Ferris's book last night, and decided that while he brings up some interesting points, it's mainly a book of ramblings - as he admits right at the start.
Okay, lunch is over.
August 09, 2004
There are many gross things in Asia. Here's one of them.
Imagine ripping a loose thread off a white shirt. Now let's say you were bored, so you decided to play with it; so you twist it back and forth between your thumb and your index finger until it becomes this thick wad of thread, maybe with a loose end sticking out.
I was in a taxi with my manager and another, coming back from an extended lunch. As I looked over at the driver from my back passenger seat, I noticed that he had a white hair about 3 inches long extending from his jaw -- similar to the ones that grow so consistently out of moles, but there was no visible mole. This hair, wasn't quite straight, as it curved here and there slightly like the Trans-Canada Highway coming out of Vancouver.
Now take that curled up piece of string you were playing with, and imagine it attached to the end of the 3-inch hair growing out of this man's face. That's gross.
Imagine ripping a loose thread off a white shirt. Now let's say you were bored, so you decided to play with it; so you twist it back and forth between your thumb and your index finger until it becomes this thick wad of thread, maybe with a loose end sticking out.
I was in a taxi with my manager and another, coming back from an extended lunch. As I looked over at the driver from my back passenger seat, I noticed that he had a white hair about 3 inches long extending from his jaw -- similar to the ones that grow so consistently out of moles, but there was no visible mole. This hair, wasn't quite straight, as it curved here and there slightly like the Trans-Canada Highway coming out of Vancouver.
Now take that curled up piece of string you were playing with, and imagine it attached to the end of the 3-inch hair growing out of this man's face. That's gross.
August 06, 2004
Chicks dig guys with bikes...
... or so I've been told. Last night, I bought my primary form of transportation for the next x years: a bicycle. It's a silver Giant S165 (hold the applause), 18-speed, front wheel suspension, equipped with a lock, a small bike pump, a red flashing rear light, a bottle holder, and a gay silver basket on the front. It's my speedster. It's my salvation. ... but getting it into the elevator at home was hell. It took a few tries before I realized it wouldn't contort properly going head-first, but rather had to be backed up. Yes, back that thang up. On the way to work this morning, I learned how difficult it was to tilt the bike upright to get it through a winding Tetris-block-shaped gate into the Science Park. This bike definitely isn't one you'd go cross country in. You'd break your back just carrying it on your shoulder.
Remember how I mentioned burping two blogs ago? I did a quick count, and between arriving at 9:02am and 11:03am, I counted 9 burps. Probably 16+ over the course of the day, and mostly executed by the same guy. He's a winner.
Some mornings, on my way to work, I pass a 1-level building with a bunch of old women just outside of the entrance. And each time I pass them, their slouching backs, their dark skin, and wrinkles remind me of the Worms in Men In Black. I have a strange imagination.
Today ends my first week in Hsinchu and my first week of work. It's been a good week, and everyone at the office has been really friendly. I'm not yet sure what I'll do this weekend, but there's a good chance I'll take my Speedster out for a cruise to familiarize myself with the neighbourhood. I'll put the top down so the wind can blow through my hair. And with my shades on, my right hand on the steering wheel, I'll lean back and wave as attract a continuous line of gasps, applauds, and "oh my god, there he is!"'s. Chick dig guys with bikes.
... or so I've been told. Last night, I bought my primary form of transportation for the next x years: a bicycle. It's a silver Giant S165 (hold the applause), 18-speed, front wheel suspension, equipped with a lock, a small bike pump, a red flashing rear light, a bottle holder, and a gay silver basket on the front. It's my speedster. It's my salvation. ... but getting it into the elevator at home was hell. It took a few tries before I realized it wouldn't contort properly going head-first, but rather had to be backed up. Yes, back that thang up. On the way to work this morning, I learned how difficult it was to tilt the bike upright to get it through a winding Tetris-block-shaped gate into the Science Park. This bike definitely isn't one you'd go cross country in. You'd break your back just carrying it on your shoulder.
Remember how I mentioned burping two blogs ago? I did a quick count, and between arriving at 9:02am and 11:03am, I counted 9 burps. Probably 16+ over the course of the day, and mostly executed by the same guy. He's a winner.
Some mornings, on my way to work, I pass a 1-level building with a bunch of old women just outside of the entrance. And each time I pass them, their slouching backs, their dark skin, and wrinkles remind me of the Worms in Men In Black. I have a strange imagination.
Today ends my first week in Hsinchu and my first week of work. It's been a good week, and everyone at the office has been really friendly. I'm not yet sure what I'll do this weekend, but there's a good chance I'll take my Speedster out for a cruise to familiarize myself with the neighbourhood. I'll put the top down so the wind can blow through my hair. And with my shades on, my right hand on the steering wheel, I'll lean back and wave as attract a continuous line of gasps, applauds, and "oh my god, there he is!"'s. Chick dig guys with bikes.
August 04, 2004
Taiwan: Part 400
Wow, I can't believe I'm on Part 400 already! Time really flights. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me over the years...
Ah, the beginning of yet another exciting day. I spent some time two days ago meeting people and learning their names, and I spent some more time yesterday meeting and relearning the same people's names. Here's what I've noticed: All you Chinese people look alike!!! In Canada, I meet someone, and I can say "oh, that Chinese guy Robert", or white, or Philipino, or etc. Here, they're all Taiwanese, with the exception of one Australian bloke. It really is difficult when you can distinguish people by race.
Learning more and more about digital design, Verilog, and our company's products day-by-day, as you can expect. But culturally, I've learned that Taiwanese people don't seem to consider burping rude. Over the course of a day, I'll be working quietly and hearing a couple people talk, and even mid-speech, one will burp. It'll be like "ching ching chang wang yang wah [burp] jah bah jing chao..." But it's not like it happens once a day, it happens several times a day. It's like being at a swamp during mating season when the bullfrogs show off their undeniable masculinity. Much like bullfrogs. Much.
I think I can get by buying only breakfast and lunch each day. Roughly 35-50nt for breakfast, and about 75nt for lunch. Dinner I can have ordered in at work if I'm here late, and we have a 3 o'clock "Afternoon Tea" (i.e. we get some buns for free). Please see my sponsorship plea below.
Kevin - lives in Taiwan
Minimum $120 per month
[Sponsor Now]
Here is an Engineer awaiting a World Vision sponsor. Kevin lives in a community severely affected by male engineers. In Taiwan, the disease has impacted the entire social structure, creating a generation of lonely men. Kevin needs your assistance to pay for his food each day to get his mind off the romantically inept nature of his surroundings. Kevin has been reserved for you to sponsor, for the next few minutes. Just click on the [Sponsor Now] button, to become his sponsor in less than five minutes. All it takes is $5.00 a day, the cost of a (venti mocha frappaccino) cup of coffee. With your help, Kevin will be able to enroll in Engineering courses until he bleeds from the eyes. He will write you monthly to tell you how much he appreciates your financial love. Also each month, he will send you pictures so you can monitor his progress. Please don't let another Taiwanese Engineer slip through the cracks.
Wow, I can't believe I'm on Part 400 already! Time really flights. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me over the years...
Ah, the beginning of yet another exciting day. I spent some time two days ago meeting people and learning their names, and I spent some more time yesterday meeting and relearning the same people's names. Here's what I've noticed: All you Chinese people look alike!!! In Canada, I meet someone, and I can say "oh, that Chinese guy Robert", or white, or Philipino, or etc. Here, they're all Taiwanese, with the exception of one Australian bloke. It really is difficult when you can distinguish people by race.
Learning more and more about digital design, Verilog, and our company's products day-by-day, as you can expect. But culturally, I've learned that Taiwanese people don't seem to consider burping rude. Over the course of a day, I'll be working quietly and hearing a couple people talk, and even mid-speech, one will burp. It'll be like "ching ching chang wang yang wah [burp] jah bah jing chao..." But it's not like it happens once a day, it happens several times a day. It's like being at a swamp during mating season when the bullfrogs show off their undeniable masculinity. Much like bullfrogs. Much.
I think I can get by buying only breakfast and lunch each day. Roughly 35-50nt for breakfast, and about 75nt for lunch. Dinner I can have ordered in at work if I'm here late, and we have a 3 o'clock "Afternoon Tea" (i.e. we get some buns for free). Please see my sponsorship plea below.
Kevin - lives in Taiwan
Minimum $120 per month
[Sponsor Now]
Here is an Engineer awaiting a World Vision sponsor. Kevin lives in a community severely affected by male engineers. In Taiwan, the disease has impacted the entire social structure, creating a generation of lonely men. Kevin needs your assistance to pay for his food each day to get his mind off the romantically inept nature of his surroundings. Kevin has been reserved for you to sponsor, for the next few minutes. Just click on the [Sponsor Now] button, to become his sponsor in less than five minutes. All it takes is $5.00 a day, the cost of a (venti mocha frappaccino) cup of coffee. With your help, Kevin will be able to enroll in Engineering courses until he bleeds from the eyes. He will write you monthly to tell you how much he appreciates your financial love. Also each month, he will send you pictures so you can monitor his progress. Please don't let another Taiwanese Engineer slip through the cracks.
August 03, 2004
Taiwan: Part 399
On Sunday, we were supposed to go watch the final four games of the Jones Cup international basketball tournament, but the good tickets were sold out. So we went to Ling Ku about 40 mins drive to play basketball in a mall. At the mall, they have some courts set up in the middle of a sporting goods complex (where there's a Puma, Nike, Reebok, etc etc store around the perimeter). You pay 70nt (25nt = $1 CAD) and go in and play pick up. We were five people, split into two teams of 3, and were getting killed by the "kids". For the most part, none of us play much anymore and the highschool and university students were much too skilled for us in our old age. Nevertheless, it was fun. I did a lot of sweating, which is good, since I don't sweat enough in Taiwan as it is.
Monday, I awoke at 5:50am to catch a ride with my uncle to Hsinchu. It was a half-move, with a semi-large luggage, a small carry-on luggage, a backpack, and my day pack from MEC. The first day at work was good. The people have been really friendly and helpful, and just about everything was ready for me when I arrived. I was told there was a mis-print on my business cards, so I won't be receiving those until Wednesday. That's fine, I have no one to give them to anyway. I have a decent idea now about the product we're developing, and I'm not finding the language too big of a problem. Although, I'm finding that not reading Chinese is rather tedious and irritating. Consequently, I've scheduled to have my Chinese Windows 2000 and Office converted to English versions on Thursday. My PC is a 2.80GHz P4 with 80 Gb of space, and a ViewSonic 17" ThinEdge VP171s LCD display. So far, everything is to my liking, and I don't have much to complain about. Well, not true. I have to walk outside to get lunch since we don't have a caf. But drinks are subsidized and usually only cost about 10nt.
Living with my manager isn't too bad. Basically, I do as I please and we live our own lives, but if I need anything, he's there to help. My eventual home is only about 8 minutes walk from this temporary home, which means it's 8 minutes closer to work, but 8 minutes further from the bustling street where all the store and restaurants are. With a bicycle, none of this really matters.
On the first day, I was dress pants, my nice shoes, and a dress short-sleeve shirt. I felt anal. My friend joked the other day about the engineering "dress code", where it would be plaid shirts, pants hiked up to the belly button, and black leather shoes (the soft kind). I wasn't close to that, but I wasn't far either. Anyway, I wanted to make sure I looked proper on my first day... today, I'm back to wearing what I normally wear. The shirt's untucked, my Oakley slip-on shoes, and a pair of casual slacks. I feel much better. Now I can do some work. ... which is what I need to do, since I start a weekly evening course next Monday from 6:30pm - 9:30pm on Verilog, Synthesis, and Simulation. Fortunately, only runs until the end of Aug.
That's that! All is well.
pssst... write!
On Sunday, we were supposed to go watch the final four games of the Jones Cup international basketball tournament, but the good tickets were sold out. So we went to Ling Ku about 40 mins drive to play basketball in a mall. At the mall, they have some courts set up in the middle of a sporting goods complex (where there's a Puma, Nike, Reebok, etc etc store around the perimeter). You pay 70nt (25nt = $1 CAD) and go in and play pick up. We were five people, split into two teams of 3, and were getting killed by the "kids". For the most part, none of us play much anymore and the highschool and university students were much too skilled for us in our old age. Nevertheless, it was fun. I did a lot of sweating, which is good, since I don't sweat enough in Taiwan as it is.
Monday, I awoke at 5:50am to catch a ride with my uncle to Hsinchu. It was a half-move, with a semi-large luggage, a small carry-on luggage, a backpack, and my day pack from MEC. The first day at work was good. The people have been really friendly and helpful, and just about everything was ready for me when I arrived. I was told there was a mis-print on my business cards, so I won't be receiving those until Wednesday. That's fine, I have no one to give them to anyway. I have a decent idea now about the product we're developing, and I'm not finding the language too big of a problem. Although, I'm finding that not reading Chinese is rather tedious and irritating. Consequently, I've scheduled to have my Chinese Windows 2000 and Office converted to English versions on Thursday. My PC is a 2.80GHz P4 with 80 Gb of space, and a ViewSonic 17" ThinEdge VP171s LCD display. So far, everything is to my liking, and I don't have much to complain about. Well, not true. I have to walk outside to get lunch since we don't have a caf. But drinks are subsidized and usually only cost about 10nt.
Living with my manager isn't too bad. Basically, I do as I please and we live our own lives, but if I need anything, he's there to help. My eventual home is only about 8 minutes walk from this temporary home, which means it's 8 minutes closer to work, but 8 minutes further from the bustling street where all the store and restaurants are. With a bicycle, none of this really matters.
On the first day, I was dress pants, my nice shoes, and a dress short-sleeve shirt. I felt anal. My friend joked the other day about the engineering "dress code", where it would be plaid shirts, pants hiked up to the belly button, and black leather shoes (the soft kind). I wasn't close to that, but I wasn't far either. Anyway, I wanted to make sure I looked proper on my first day... today, I'm back to wearing what I normally wear. The shirt's untucked, my Oakley slip-on shoes, and a pair of casual slacks. I feel much better. Now I can do some work. ... which is what I need to do, since I start a weekly evening course next Monday from 6:30pm - 9:30pm on Verilog, Synthesis, and Simulation. Fortunately, only runs until the end of Aug.
That's that! All is well.
pssst... write!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
