Pizza Hut in Taiwan

I have been sick with a virus for the last couple of days. It wasn't SARS, but it sucked. My throat looked like I had eaten a bad piece of blow fish. I was in need of some American food so I started with some good ol McDonalds...cheeseburgers to be exact. Then for dinner I requested for some pizza...Pizza Hut was the only choice...so I took it. I figured if I am going to have pizza in Taiwan might as well try it Taiwan style since most likely it will fall short of American standards...even though it is a franchise. So I tried out the newest pizza advertised on TV...the lobster/calamari pizza. Justin was excited about eating something familiar. Nancy got a package that included a large Lobster/Calamari pizza, chicken wings, and waffle fries for $25.00. It was okay...different...but okay enough to eat and eat again the next day. I'm looking forward to going home and the comforts of America. It's nice to get away, but as Dorothy said, "There's no place like home."

Day in Formosa

Nancy's mom was nice enough to treat us for breakfast at one of the best hotels in Danshui...Hotel RegaLees. The food was okay, but you really go there for the view. You get a great view of the entire city of Danshui. Here we are as a family enjoying our breakfast buffet. Here is Nancy's mom having some morning coffee. This was our waiter...very polite guy. Nancy posing for the camera. Here is Justin showing me how to eat a watermelon with a spoon. This is not approved by his parents, but was allowed for the sake of the photo. After breakfast we dropped Justin off at a daycare. Since Nancy is staying two more weeks after I go back to Los Angeles...she wanted to enroll Justin at a daycare his cousin attended so that he could learn some Chinese and she could get some studying done for the CPA exam. He was up for it. First thing you notice besides the obvious (language)...you notice immediately that you are in an Asian daycare...shoes, shoes, and more shoes...and this in only one side of a wall. They issue standard slip on shoes that everyone slips on when they take off their street shoes.Justin thinking what the heck did he agree to. When we picked him up later that day he let us know he had a good time and he was willing to go the next day. After leaving Justin at the daycare Nancy and I hung out at the street markets and roamed around. After a little while Nancy proposed that we go get our hair washed. I passed on it, but I told her she should do it if she wanted to. I asked Nancy's hair wash gal if it was okay to take this picture. I guess it turns out in Taiwan you can go to a hair salon and get your hair washed, dried, and styled for about $4.00 in American currency. The best part of it...which I didn't know and if I did I might have changed my mind...is that they give you a shoulder massage and a complete scalp massage. Did I mention it only cost $4.00. Well, after this she was feeling great. I don't think you would call this a typical day, but maybe it is...at least in Formosa.

Taipei 101

One the good things about having jet lag is that you wake up much earlier than you normally would. Nancy's Mom house is kind of in the mountains so it is very quiet and rural like. You can wake up to the sound of a rooster and these chirping insects. This is about 6:00am. The weather here is overcast and somewhat humid. Below is a video panoramic version of the front yard. It's not a beachfront view of the ocean in the Bahamas, but it's not a bad way to start your day. Assuming you like the natural country feel.

After we all got ready for the day we headed off to Taipei to visit Nancy's father. We took the subway there. As you can imagine, Justin was extremely excited about this. The subway trip took about 40 minutes one way, but it was relatively painless. Nancy's father and step-mom took us out for a great Chinese lunch. It was pretty fancy and Chinese food doesn't ever have that fancy feel to me. The service was attentive which is also not synonymous to Chinese restaurants. This restaurant would do well in Beverly Hills. After lunch her father and step-mom took us to Taipei 101...the tallest building in the world. The elevator is also listed in Guinness Book of World Records as the fastest elevator. It's pretty darn fast...1010m/sec...whatever that translates to English measurements I don't know. I do have to say that as you ride the elevator up to the top you can feel the atmospheric changes in your eardrums. I've been to the top of the Empire State Building and for some reason it didn't feel as tall. It's a beautiful building though...looks like Bamboo. The first image is what it looks like to look out the windows and to look below.The rest of these pics are of us in the observatory of Taipei 101. It looks like Nancy is making a phone call, but she is actually holding tour guide phone. You press a number on the pad and it gives you an explanation of that exhibit. This is me being stupid and forming the last numbers of 101. Family 101 minus Dylan...we left Dylan with her dad and step-mom below.Justin and I were looking through the binoculars. Pretty cool how strong they are. Just another perspective and view of outside. Here is Justin having a Hagen Daas next to his grandfather. It was a long day for everyone. Nancy and I were planning to go out to night market, but I think we are going to put that off to another night.

Taiwan or Bust

Flying with 2 boys is a daunting task...even with both parents. Not to mention that Justin has been pretty rebellious these past few month and Dylan has also become a little more high maintenance as his personality develops. We left our apartment around 8:20pm...arrived at Tom Bradley Terminal a little before 9:00pm...got through baggage check and security by 11:30pm....did a little duty free shopping...headed to the gate around 12:15am...departed LAX around 1am...flew for about 14 hours...and arrived around 6:30am. Let me just start off that the flight was crazy. Not because of the airline...Singapore Airlines is a great way to fly...but our kids put us at the brink of insanity. If they act poorly in public at least there is a feeling that we can escape someplace to deal with them, but in a airplane...everybody knows your business and there is no place to hide. You are left to feel like one of those incompetent parents who can't keep their children in check...you know...the ones who we shake our heads at in the lines of the grocery market or the ones at Target who drag their kids and we think to ourselves that we wouldn't place ourselves in that situation. Well, it happens to the best of parents (at least I keep telling myself so I don't feel as bad) and it happened to us.It's not entirely their fault...they are kids afterall...Dylan was dealing with congestion and crying a lot...Justin was overly excited and stayed up till 3am PST watching his personal airline TV and consequently would wake up in a weird semi conscious state crying...that is more our fault for letting him stay up, but we were trying to keep everybody peaceful and the time changes would have jacked everything up anyways. Anyways, here is Justin posing with Stephanie just before we are about to get off the plane after arriving in Taiwan. She is a Singapore Airline Stewardess that helped us out. At the age of 3 Justin is already picking up on airline stewardesses. There was another stewardess named Jasmine who I believe is the head stewardess, but unfortunately I wasn't able to get a picture of her with Justin. I don't know how Nancy is going to make it back to the US by herself with two kids. Godspeed with her. This is about 12:00pm with Nancy and the kids on the roadway path to her mother's restaurant. We are walking over there for lunch. Nancy's mother's restaurant is a mid-sized yet cozy restaurant in the countryside. It has grown a lot since I was here 2 years ago. It is one of the most popular weekend getaway restaurants in the Danshui area. This is one of the many ducks that live on the restaurant property.Here is Justin fishing in a Koi pond with a fishing net. Nancy's mother set up Koi ponds not only because it is aesthetically pleasing, but also for children to catch fish as an activity to keep them entertained. Of course no one ever catches anything because the fish are too fast and smart to be caught, but it sure keeps the kids busy.Well this is only day one and it is only 3:oopm. I'll keep posting as much as I can.

School Pictures

Justin recently took his school pictures from two different photographers. One did an old school sepia tone color style and the other did the modern traditional style. He looks pretty cute in all of them. I especially like the old school pictures. I'm somewhat surprised that the photographer was able to get Justin to pose for these pictures. We were only planning to buy a pose or two, but they all came out so dang cute we had to buy the whole package.


The Lifetouch photos were not quite as good, but they were still good enough to get. Besides, Nancy thought out and bought Justin's outfit...so we had to get a photo out of it.

Mona Dylan Smile

Dylan has smiled since the day he came out of the womb. He has this smile that is so contagious. Nancy would share with me how she would get up in the middle of the night all grumpy and tired to feed Dylan, but as soon as she would pick up him up...all that would disappear because she would see pick up this little baby who would be smiling at her. His smile will definitely be an asset in his life.

Rocky Balboa

I recently watched Rocky Balboa from my Netflix. By the way...for the record I think Netflix rocks. I thought the film overall was actually not bad. It's not going to win awards or gain critical acclaim, but it is what it is. In fact, it carried the essence of the original Rocky. I liked the fact that Rocky Balboa was a has been if not a loser and it wasn't really about winning, but trying his best. The best part of the movie for me was when he was talking to his son about how he used to be able to fit him in the palm of his hand and how it has been a privilege to watch him grow. He breaks it down that life is not all rainbows and sunshine and that life will beat you down and keep you there if you let it. That life hits you harder than any physical human being, but it isn't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward...how much you can take and keep moving forward...that's how winning is done. If you know what you're worth...go and get what you're worth, but you have to be willing to take the hits and not point fingers and blame everybody for your failures. Cowards do that, and that ain't you! You're better than that!. He finishes, "I'm always gonna love you no matter what. You're my son and you're my blood. You're the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, you ain't gonna have a life. I actually started tearing up during this part because I understood it in so many levels. I was the son who was afraid of never becoming somebody and I was the father who only wants to love his son and to be courageous. I only hope that I can teach my sons to be winners...not to necessarily equate success to winners, but to equate taking life's struggles and having the courage to face them and challenge them with all their abilities. For those of you who have the connection or the ability to watch without getting in trouble at work I've added the clip that I'm talking about...check it out...I apologize for the quality, but you get the idea.

I've said my piece and now for the main attraction...Dylan and Justin!!! Here is Dylan eating his starfish...of course he thinks he is eating sushi, but don't tell him otherwise. One of the things that fill my heart with joy is when I see Justin and Dylan playing together. Nancy and I used to worry that Justin would not take on the big brother role, but he is turning out to be a pretty loving brother. Even Dylan who is only 7 month old...one can also sense that he looks up to his brother. One thing for sure...we are glad that they have each other. Once they get a little older they will always have each other to lean on. I just hope Justin doesn't take advantage of Dylan, but then again...that's what younger siblings are for. May God give Nancy and I the guidance and wisdom to raise our boys into men who are pleasing in his eyes and honorable in this world.