Reflection of 2008 Resolutions & a Look into 2009

Weihnachtsmarkt Düsseldorf

Bogart in Düsseldorf

Bogart believes :)

My 2008 Resolutions:
1. Be a better person
2. Work hard and study hard. but don't over do it. Relax!
3. Keep improving yourself at your job
4. Help others in need
5. Listen to others and care
6. Strive for independence!
7. Make this a positive experience!
8. Settle down
9. Stop talking about yourself so damn much!
10. Study your English grammar
11. Laughter truly is the best medicine! Remember that!
12. Learn authentic Chinese/Taiwanese cooking!
13. Be more active!
14. Don't fall into the trap like Germany

The breakdown:
1. ALWAYS working on that one
2. Trying, but hasn't been working recently...
3. Actually, yes I have
4. Well, I'm trying but not succeeding
5. See number 4
6. Always
7. Trying to, but am getting frustrated with the pollution, traffic, lack of awesome restaurants, lack of reliable public transportation, good music, and most of all frustrated with my Chinese
8. Am going to get a new apartment after my lease is up...and will get a kitchen AND a dog!!! And hoping to get a flat screen TV soon
9. Uhh..yeahh..trying but you have to talk about yourself a little bit in a blog...
10. Yep, and since Hino is studying English that has been a challenge for me to be able to explain difficult grammar questions to adults learning English
11. Always!
12. Ok...didnt succeed in 2008, but Hino's mom invited me over for Chinese New Year and wants me to cook Western food and I hope at the same time I can watch her cook Taiwanese/Hakka/Chinese food!
13. I was exercising from July to August every day but then got the new class and haven't had time at all...
14. This is my biggest fear. I had a nightmare about it when I was in Holland. I can't make that same mistake again!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2009 is going to be a bit of a selfish year for me. I have fallen behind on many of my goals and need to get back on track if I want to succeed!! I need something better as far my lifestyle goes as snobby as that sounds (paid holidays at work, being able to visit my family at Christmas without a HUGE gigantic hassle, being financially secure, having my Master's so that I can get a professional business-like job, having a comfortable European style..or Ikea style home, being able to travel all over, etc, etc, etc)

My resolutions for 2009:
1. Chinese classes at a university!!!
2. New apartment with comfy furniture
3. Save up for my Master's
4. Research Master's programs and see if I am eligible
5. BE A BETTER PERSON
6. Be Tao
7. Try to take better care of myself physically...2008 was my year of feeling like a fat flop so 2009 will be the year that I don't let my weight or my age or stupid skinny ass Taiwanese people make me feel bad!!!
8. Did I mention Chinese?? IMPROVE my Chinese!!!
9. Yeah, yeah...be more active...I want to buy a Wii and Wii fit!!!


Here are my Taichung PAWS 2009 resolutions:
1. Try to find a way to educate my students and other young learners in Taiwan about how to treat pets and street animals POSITIVELY.
2. When I get my new apartment, adopt a dog or foster a dog (I won't have time to adopt AND foster let alone the money since it is VITAL I get my Master's)
Still working on more of my Taichung PAWS resolutions...


As for Holland-I had a WONDERFUL time!! My parents even took me to Düsseldorf to a Christmas market and had the best time! Although, the fresh non-polluted air, the awesome public transportation and wonderful shopping (H&M, Lush, Sabon, Cool Cat/Wonder Woman, etc) of Holland made me wish for more and was a little disappointed when I got back to Taichung. But, I have good friends here and NEED to stay on track to get my Master's and become fluent in Chinese.

OK, I'm running late and need to shower. Hino and I are meeting friends for New Year's and I want to celebrate the rest of 2008 with good friends, decent food(I can't help it-Amsterdam has the BEST restaurants), and hopefully some champagne!! :)

Have a wonderful rest of 2008 and I hope you all have a prosperous and happy 2009!!!

My Letter to Toby

Dear Toby,

Thank you for coming into my life. I wish I could have kept you and taken care of you myself and I'm sorry.

You have taught me many things these past couple of months. You have taught me how to better take care of dogs, how to better educate people on adopting and that even though there are people who may not care..there are always a couple out there who are genuine friends and help.I have also met so many wonderful people because of you. This has motivated me to save my money to get an apartment that allows dogs, so that I will finally be able to truly help.

I wanted nothing more these past few months for you to have a loving home with a great family, just like Bogart. You remind me so much of him and it broke my heart to pieces to see you in the shelter cage, cold and alone.

I am so happy that you are going to Canada along with Stella, Lucy, Dai Dai and Xiao Hua. I wish you all the best and I know you will be a star there! :)

Lots of huggies
Bre

These are pictures from the dog adoption park last Sunday. These are Toby's friends and... competition

How could Toby compete with cuddly sleeping puppies?!?!

Cesar Millan says to put a doggie backpack on the dog and it makes him feel useful so when he is walking it will make him tired out more and calm-submissive which is what we want our dogs to be.

Why?!

This dog was in a car accident and has been to the dog park every Sunday. This time we saw him mobile in his wheelchair which made me feel better! The lady brings her every Sunday...What a good heart she has!

I think this is a purebred Formosan (Taiwan Tugou). I think these dogs are beautiful but the Taiwanese don't think they are special and dipsose of them as easily as yesterday's trash :(

Toby nuzzling with a young Lucy look-alike

I like dogs, but have a vendetta agianst these brown fuzzballs...Why the Taiwanese buy these ugly ass pet shop things is beyond me...

This is just wrong on so many levels....dogs need exercise and to walk!

But I have to confess...I LOVED this lil hip-hop wannabe..soo cute! :)

Toby is so good wit da kids!

More signs of dogs needing a home

An elderly Dutchman found this dog and brought him here... whoever had this guy was so cruel for making this beautiful creature so ugly and aggressive :(

More of Toby's competition: adorable puppies in kimonos and soccer tees...There is one puppy who looks like a puppy version of Star(from Tsaotun shelter) and I would have loved to have her!!

No Hope for Toby in Taiwan

Tommy: Trent and Tania's golden...Gentle Giant :)

"Dr. Dog" She is so nice!!

The goods table

Caroline, Douglas and da Tobster

Me and da Hino...NO I'm NOT drunk...just showin off my Taichung PAWS tattoo ;)

Yesterday, Taichung PAWS had an event at the Second-hand store on 150 Min Sheng Rd. We had a woman there, "Dr. Dog" as she is called, to come in and give a little lesson to the people on how to train their dogs. We also sold some Taichung PAWS T-shirts and I even tried to sell scooter masks with the Taichung PAWS logo that I made :)

I love when we do events like this!


Then today, we took Toby to the dog park again to try to get him adopted and once again NO LUCK!!!

One Taiwanese guy even told us that basically noone wants a dog like Toby because you can find dogs like him EVERYWHERE here! :(

Hino says that is the attitude of the Taiwanese. They want something different. But what I don't understand is how in god's name buying those pet shop brown poodles that EVERYONE has is different?!?! I say this because literally everyone and their mother here has one of those ugly ass brown poodles. I think I saw about 15-20 of those dogs at the park and I kid you not.

Toby is a wonderful dog! Although he is in his chewing phase, I have discovered that he is amazing with kids!! Whenever a baby or a kid comes up to him to pet him he just sits there and lets them. some dogs HATE children petting them and won't allow it, but Toby is so laid-back.

Toby also seems to be GREAT with other dogs!! When I dogsat for Caroline on 10/10 weekend, Honey(Caroline's dog) was just getting used to having another dog in the house and she was getting annoyed with him, but whenever Hino and I come over to pick Toby up to go to the dog park, it shows that Toby has even grown on her. They get along so well!

And even at the dog park when I walk him around. He just smells the other dogs and wants to play and just sniffs their butts as if he were just passing by to say hello! He's really social and I have yet to see him growl at another dog yet. But of course...I only see him on Sundays, but usually with a dog, what you see is what you get.

Sooooooooooooooooooooo...


I need to get him out of Taiwan and into a LOVING home abroad. I KNOW if he were to go abroad, someone would pick him up and give him a good home and family!

If any of you are reading this and want to adopt Toby, please contact me ASAP! If you are in Taiwan and flying to Toronto soon, you can also contact me ASAP if you are interested in flying Toby abroad. The people at Taichung PAWS(as well as the people at TUAPA and other organizations here) do it all the time so they know what to do.

I need to get him out of here and into a loving PERMANENT home! I want nothing more than for this lil guy to be homed.

Thank you!

Another Weekend to the Dogs...

...literally and in a good way :)

Although...I will express my frustration later:


So last night, we went over to a couple's house, Trent and Tania(hope I'm spelling that right) who are fostering Lucy till she goes to Canada. Lucy is an older dog who was at Tsaotun. Caroline named her after her first dog and is a very sweet dog! It was so sad to see her tied up at the shelter so we have decided to try to get as many of the Tsaotun dogs out as we can!

Trent and Tania had a small gathering at their house and made dinner!! It was soooo good! Trent is Taiwanese and Tania is Indonesian and they made the best food!!! Coconut Rice(I NEED the recipe!!), some type of soupy oyster curry pork dish and god it was soooo good! Pepper Chicken, a tofu dish and and egg and onion dish for the vegetarians there and...wine and beer!! :) They also have a dog, a GIANT of a Golden Retriever with an equally giant heart, Tommy!

So it was a small gathering of us, Tommy, Lucy and Beauty, who is Layna's (another volunteer who was there with me when Toby wandered in the Tsaotun shelter) Tugou(a Tugou is a Taiwanese dog with beautiful black shiny fur-I want one!)

I miss going to small house parties and this one was just so cozy and nice! We all talked and chatted and drank wine and beer and Taiwan high mountain green tea!!

Lucy was sooo happy and content and tears almost came out because I was so happy to see her happy and in a loving home, even if it is just temporary! Trent and Tania are so nice and hilarious and it was so good to FINALLY be in good company! I will ask Caroline to send me the pics of Lucy to put on here, because she looked so good and her fur was so soft and shiny!

So then, since it was Layna's birthday(she's the baby of us, 22), she invited us to the Lion King to go drink and celebrate her birthday. Now I said I would NEVER go to the Lion King, because the Lion King in Taichung is a club and they play hip-hop music and I'm spoiled because I only really like the clubs in Amsterdam. But...after a drink I was on the dance floor shaking my ass!! Even Hino, the man who doesn't drink or who has never been to a club before danced with me! It was a blast! It was what I needed!


And today, I woke up and Hino went with me to the dog park so that Toby could get adopted. I asked him to go because even though I want to bother him since he is dedicated to studying his English and he's on a schedule, My Chinese is shit (I know it's my fault for not studying hard enough) and people ask me all these questions about Toby and I don't know a damn thing they are saying and they leave and then I missed a possible GREAT opportunity for Toby to be adopted!!

It's so frustrating and today I literally cried in the middle of the dog park event. People just walk by and read the sign I put up about him, they pet him and then walk away. The Taiwanese are so damn picky about what they want!! One old man said he wants a really tiny dog and that's what everyone wants.

I had a discussion with an English man yesterday while i was walking Dai Dai. He said it's appalling that the Taiwanese seem to choose dogs that look like fashion accessories and treat them so. They put them in a cute doggie designer bag and never let them play or do anything..their job is to be quiet and look cute :(

Toby is a wonderful dog! He is such a sweetheart and loves to play which means he's not some "Barbie Doll" He's such a happy puppy and seems to have been so good with kids from what I've seen at the dog park! He lets them pet him!

The reason why I cried was because I feel like I'm doing everything wrong and no one wants him! Then Hino and I started arguing and I hadn't eaten lunch so I was grumpy from that as well and was so angry that people won't give this dog the chance he deserves!!!!!! So then tears started to come out. It was so embarrassing and I felt like a fool and was trying to hide it. Hino and I made up of course and he was so good for helping me with this.

I really wish that I could do it myself, but my Chinese sucks. I need to start practicing it more.

As for Toby, no luck yet. I love him so much and hate that he (and I) are a burden to Caroline for him staying there. I'm so grateful to have the Taichung PAWS volunteers for my friends. I finally have met people with something in common!

I hope to have Lucy's pics soon! I really want to show how happy and content she is!

Another Angry Rant:

Hopefully these will stop soon, but I am in a serious funk and am having a struggle getting out of it.

It's Friday night and I have to teach in the morning and I can't sleep..yet again. I refuse to let myself clear my mind and am aggravated by the tiniest of things.

Right now the only thought on my mind is that I am sick of being called "Fat teacher"

The students don't know any better, it is just that Taiwanese are direct and saying things like that isn't rude supposedly. Apparently, people here are emotionally stronger than I am...or they hide it VERY well.

The things is and I have mentioned this many times...I am NOT fat...Yeah my hips are bigger and my butt is well..."bootylicious" as I have been calling it to make myself feel better about eating the chocolate that I usually eat to make myself feel better. And my cellulite needs to disappear, and my flabby arms, and my chubby cheeks...at least my stomach has gone down!! But this hasn't helped the self esteem I have been trying to raise...

And don't you DARE start on the exercise more crap!!! I have my excuses as to why I'm putting it off and I'm sticking to them!

Actually it goes a lot deeper than this and there is a lot more to it, but right now it's none of your business.

On top of things, I am at a block on how to get Toby adopted...I am doing a crappy job of it and my Chinese is apparently shit and it's frustrating me to no end.

I've been complaining a LOT lately...about the way people drive here (which has brought back my severe road rage), the way people abuse animals and children and other people just turn the other god damn cheek, the fashion here is atrocious, the chicken feet, split ducks heads and pig hearts have made me SERIOUSLY consider vegetarianism, and have been trying (and failing) to convert, The incessant dirty looks Hino and I get because I'm Western and he's Taiwanese which is rare (But YET it is socially OK for a Western guy to be with a Taiwanese girl?? WTF is the difference?!?!)

My mom asks me, "So why are you here?"


And here is why:

• I have a chance to learn an amazingly difficult but rewarding and amazing language!
• I have a chance to go to a decent uni to get my masters and still afford it possibly!!!
• The people are nicer depsite the exceptions above and many have been so kind to me!
• I can't help it...Taiwanese men are sexy! Wang Lee Hom, Pan Wei Bo, Chien Min Wang(Pitcher for Yankees)..and HINO of course :)
• Taiwanese kids are so sweet and sooo smart despite some exceptions calling me "Fat Teacher"
• I love traveling here and being able to travel to beautiful islands and places like Thailand!
• I finally am able to have a job and my own apartment and still be able to afford getting my haircut and colored at Aveda(which can be pricey)
• The clothes shopping can be good too although the quality is lower and I'm a quality girl
• I celebrate Christmas AND Chinese New Year which are two big holidays :)
  
• The temples!! Especially Guanyin temples!
• The snorkeling places in and out of Taiwan
• So much more

So basically, there is more to it than that, but no matter where you go there is good and bad. I really am happy here, despite my recent rut and permanent bad mood, but hopefully things will change for the better and I need to start changing my attitude and stop being so god damn emotional!

Tomorrow is another change to start on my makeover. I need one. I feel like a cow and look like one. Step 1 is turn negatives to positives. Step 2 is hair cut and color...A nice reddish brown like Kate Walsh on Grey's Anatomy

The rest of the steps are something I am still trying to organize...

My Test of Strength in Thailand...

...And I passed!

Here is the blog about my trip to Thailand:

Day 1

Arrived in Krabi with no problem except that I arrived when it was raining. That worried me a bit. My private drivers picked me up from Krabi airport and took me to the hotel. I hired private drivers because I was traveling alone and wanted to be safe and secure. I got to the hotel...Pavilion Queen's Bay....Wow!!! Here is a link:

http://www.pavilionhotels.com/queensbay/spa.php?lang=en

I loved it!!!! I was in heaven! So then after I got my room and stuff, I took a tuk tuk down to Ao Nang Beach where there is some food and shopping. I'm getting better at haggling...I asked the tuk tuk guys how much and they said 40 baht...I looked at them and said but the hotel people said 20 baht(which they did) and they laughed!! So I talked them down to 30 baht...

Another haggling tactic I had and which is one I do when I always go shopping because I'm so damn indecisive is this: I pick soemthing that I want and the shopkeeper gives me a price...then I sit there (yes, I do do this in real life when no haggling is involved) and groan and gimace and say how expensive it is and I can't afford and I stand there FOREVER thinking and/or pretending to think and trying to decide to get it...the shopkeepers get so annoyed that they keep bringing the price down!! Although...I really think they were really OVERCHARGING me...Everybody says you can stuff in Thailand for CHEAP...even the Taiwanese! But everything I bought seemed to be about the same as in a nightmarket in Taiwan so I think they were really overcharging me...Oh well...it was still cheap enough for me :)

I was also so happy to eat Thai food...I can't eat spicy food though because I have a weak stomach and acid reflux but was so happy to have Spring Rolls and Thai Sweet and Sour Chicken and Fried Bananas all weekend!!! :) And the coconut shakes, orange shakes and banana shakes!!! Yum!!!!

The I went back to the hotel and sat on my swing on the balcony and relaxing and enjoying the moment and then had a great sleep!


Day 2
Got up early and decided I wanted to go on a tour but didn't know which one. Well, I didn't get up that early and missed the "James Bond Island Tour" There was a tour place in the hotel and so I asked the lady what they had to offer and she mentioned the "Tiger Cave Temple" which I researched before going and found out they have a Guanyin temple there...so I decided I would go, but the tour for the temple and the rainforest walk had already started so I got a private taxi to take me and wait for me there...1,000 baht..a little pricey, but I wanted to see the temple really badly!!!

When I got there it was so cool! Lots of shrines and temples and people selling temple wares and offerings for you to offer to the gods. It was s o hot, but so awesome! I got pics of the temples and shrines and met one Thai nun whose husband is Taiwanese and lives in Kaohsiung and they go back and forth seeing each other!! She spoke Chinese to me so it was good practice!

She then showed me the Guanyin temple and I went there and prayed. People must think it is odd for an American girl to NOT be Christian and to pray to such gods and goddesses as Buddha and Guanyin, but it just works for me. I'm all about what Guanyin stands for...helping people and other beings on this planet alike. She is the goddess of mercy and it just happens to be something that I believe in.

I also made an offering with a thin gold piece of metal and put it in a box, where an elderly nun gave me a rust colored braided bracelet(which I lost snorkeling :( ) and then I bought a tiny stone statue of some god encased in a tiny plastic box with Thai writing on it...I think it will help me!

I also bought a string of Jade prayer beads from the Guanyin part of the area. It was so cool to see the monkeys there and this whole area is by a cave!! There were dogs there too, but they were homeless dogs and even though the people fed the monkeys bananas the dogs go hungry which made me sad...I wish I had dog food to give them :( I use the prayer beads and count them and chant to help me sleep because lately I have too many thoughts in my head and can't fall asleep....

Then I went back to the hotel...ordered room service-Thai Sweet and Sour Chicken (My ABSOLUTE fave) and iced tea. I ate it on the balcony and then put some pillows on the awesome swing and napped for two hours! Then I got up and had a driver take me to the Krabi nightmarket since none of the other guests were going or taking the bus...The Krabi nightmarket smelled better than Taiwan's-The scents of Jasmine, Lemongrass and curry filled the air!! But besides the smells and the fruit and curry, it was pretty lousy and small.

So then the driver took me back to Ao Nang where..of course I did more shopping :) and then went back to the hotel ate some pre-cut pomelo..I LOVE pomelo and then went to bed!


Day 3 "Four Islands Snorkeling Tour"

On Day 3, I woke up early and had hotel buffet breakfast and then waited for my snorkeling guide. Since I was alone, Hino told me to tell everyone that my "boyfriend" was a BIG STRONG Thai Policeman!! Hahaha! Like anyone would believe that, so I told everyone my "boyfriend"was back at the hotel doing business. Little did they know my poor REAL boyfriend was back in Taiwan!

And since I was alone for the tour, they put me in with another group, but still had my private snorkeling guide. So when I got on the tuk tuk to go to the tour I got on and said hi and smiled to everyone and they all just glared at me (Mostly western tourists). I thought it was such a shame that Western tourists and expats in Asia are so effin grumpy!! No one here EVER looks happy...EVEN in paradise like this!!!

So then we got on a Thai longtail boat and headed out for the islands. On our first stop my snorkeling guide took me around and showed me the coral. By then I mentioned I had a boyfriend and he seemed disappointed (which grossed me out because he could have been my dad!!!!! Blech!) so then he started asking where my boyfriend was and I said he was her on business and then my guide said "On a Saturday?" And I said yes, that the Taiwanese work every day...which is actually true!! Then later two Thai guys were like "Hey! You got a boyfriend??" And I said "Yeah, but he's doing business!" They didn't believe me but everyone else on the tour thought it was so TERRIBLE that my boyfriend was working instead of being with me-hahahahahaha!!!

So anyways...at the first island..there were a school or two of fish in the shallow end of the beach and it was so cool because they'd just swim around everyone!

On the second island we didn't get off...we just snorkeled right off the boat close to the island...it was Chicken island...

The third island we had shrimp fried rice and that was when I relaxed and hung out with some girls from Malaysia on the tour...they were pretty cool!

The fourth island was Railay and my snorkeling guide insisted I get my money's worth and show me the cave and the rock climbers and stuff...by then I was tired and the whole point was just for me to snorkel and lay on the beach, plus I am surnburnt from head to toe...It is Tuesday now and I'm STILL in pain!!! Hahaha! (Need to invest in a wetsuit!) but it was cool to see the stalgmites and stalactites and East Railay...then we got back on the longtail boat and headed back. After that where did I go?? Of course! Ao Nang for more shopping and eating!!! ;)

I also ended up getting a head, leg and foot "After Sun" massage and a manicure and pedicure for only 550 baht!!!

Day 4 Back Home

On the last day I ended up having to stay in Bangkok airport for 6 hours!!! Thank god it's new and there is lots of shopping!! Everytime I have a connecting flight it is in Bangkok!!!

Oh! And I loved Thai Air! Their female flight attendants had the prettiest Thai sarong and uniforms and the seats reminded me of my parents'Christmas tree a couple years ago...pink, gold and purple!! And they smelled so good!! I wanted to buy Thai perfume at the airport, but wasn't sure if I would be allowed to take it on the plane since they don't allow anything over 100 ml...:(


I will NEVER forget this experience and have decided that when I have enough money, I will buy a vacation house there and...would LOVE to get married there!!!!!! It was so romantic!!! There were times where I really wished Hino was there to share it with me...like on the snorkeling trip, but we have plenty of opportunities!

As for right now, I'm back in Taiwan and my sunburn hurts like hell, but it was so worth it!!!

Now I'm going to go take a nap for bit and catch up on sleep again!

Khap hoon khap or however you say thank you in Thai! :)

P.S. I will try to have another Thailand slideshow soon!!

No News But Puppy News!

This past 10/10 (Taiwan's Birthday) I dogsat the puppy, Toby and one of the volunteer's dog.

Toby is doing very well! He is newspaper trained, got medicine for his skin, should be getting his vaccinations soon and is getting used to living inside. I think he enjoys it :)

He loves to play and loves cuddling!

We are going to take him to Jinguo park one of these Sundays and try to get him adopted!!



As for me, I've been reading "The Secret" I need to make some attitude changes in mylife as well as other changes.

I really like the book! although it does get a bit "infomercial"on ya, but you just take what you can out of it and apply it!

Hino and I went to this second-hand store on Min Sheng Rd. 150...they help Taichung PAWS and even the name of the store is something to do with loving animals :)

I bought the English version of Herman Hesse's "Sddhartha" for only NT$50(€1,13) and a travel Chinese Chess set for only NT$10(€0,23) which I will be bringing to Holland so that we can play iton the way to German Christmas Markets :)

I plan on donating a bunch of stuff and if you have stuff to donate, that'd be great!!

I love second-hand stores!!! I wish there were more here :(

Wow...I'm so boring...I know nothing...

I hope my next blog entry will be better :)