typhoon morakot

this past weekend (starting on friday), we were visited by a category 2 typhoon coming from the Philippines that decided to give Taiwan a little visit.

woooooweeeee, was that an amazing storm. needless to say, due to the severity of the storm, going to lab or anywhere else was deemed impossible as the moment i stepped out of the apartment, rain blew horizontally into my face. also, the wind power made it impossible to walk out into the rain without trying to combat the gales of wind threatening to knock me over.

because of this confinement, my friends and i spent the entire weekend in the apartment and watching various tv shows such as, chuck, planet earth, and the entire first season of true blood. we briefly took breaks on it when we decided to just run out randomly into the typhoon and walk around.

that was sooo amazing. it also helped that the first time that i went out in the weather, i was half drunk and tired at 6:30am. =P but the second time.. michael, jeff, and i decided to take a little stroll to the shore by the apartments. ohhh man, it was like... being constantly hit with small pebbles and not being able to walk anywhere because the wind prevent any forward motion. it was insane. when we finally reached the shore, my clothes were mostly drenched and my glasses hindered visibility. i took them off, looked at the water, and was amazed. the waves werent even blowing towards shore, but in a northern direction, where the eye of the storm was. epic.

so now, today, the typhoon finally passed. no more epic rainfall that floods our second floor apartment with water, no random brilliant flashes of lightning at different times of the night. it was fun while it lasted, and now i think i probably have to start working on my final presentation/paper that's due during the lab meeting on tuesday, ugh.

::EDIT::

just got to my uncle's place... and oh man, no wonder people were asking if i was alright. i saw the news just now, and it is absolutely devestating. hearing the statistics doesn't affect you as much as seeing video feed of the trauma that people are suffering through... makes me feel bad for enjoying the typhoon while (now, thankfully) being sheltered geographically while staying in the south.

omgwtfbbq

things are getting worse and worse... and i'm getting more aggravated as the day goes on.

i have to say... the situations that arose have made me EXTREMELY displeased about being here at the moment. i mean, i still love being in taiwan, the environment, the social interactions, and i'll miss them all, especially the grad students with whom i've become friends with. yet i'm very unsatisfied with what's happened. let me start at the beginning.

yesterday, i was informed by tony that i needed to move out of my apartment... ok wtf.

today, i told him everything i was displeased about in regards to housing. yes, EVERYTHING. though i already knew for a fact that he wouldn't understand, but i told him that i was displeased with the situation and that i thought everything was poorly planned. and lo and behold, exactly what i thought would happen, happened. ugh.

then, of course, he also decided to give me "advice" about my project, when it's way too late, and almost useless. this sets me back as usual.. and has discouraged me very much, unfortunately. i've tried salvaging what i can from this, but it seems more and more bleak as time goes on.

whatever, i'm just going to try and enjoy myself, which will be exciting because.... ORCHID ISLAND here i come! =D

taipei mini-trip in 24 pictures

woooooo. so unfortunately, instead of going to orchid island, took a trip to taipei instead. there was a typhoon about 2 weekends ago, and that prevented all the ferries and boats leaving for orchid island to be postponed til this weekend (YAY!) so anyway, as usual, i'll let my pictures speak for my wonderful adventure.

[ximending during the day, an outdoor shopping mall and home to the cinema park]

[the red theater, famous landmark in ximen district]

[taiwanese presidential office building, 1 block down from where my hotel was]

[photo district, every photographer's dream]

[rainbow! it was continuously sprinkling that day]

[the gateway into the memorial hall]

[chiang kai-shek memorial, dedicated to the founder of the republic of china]
[view from the top of steps at the memorial]

[no slovenly dress!]

[danshuei day/night market, constantly filled with people since it's a big tourist attraction]

[fort san domingo, one of the many in danshuei. made by the spanish]

[it's dr. mckay! he was a christian missionary who helped defend the island from british? attack][some weird freak animal show D=]

[night view of danshuei from the riverside]

[dock at yeliou]

[yeliou rock formations. a very popular tourist site]

[candle rocks, and they kind of look like candles with flames as well]

[sitting on a rock formation...illegally??]

[the queen's head. most famous formation in yeliou and literally untouchable because it'll break]

[sun yat-sen memorial hall]

[dr. sun yat-sen, the founder of the chinese nationalist party]

[taipei 101 from the sun yat-sen memorial hall]

[some bike expo near the taipei 101]

[solar eclipse on 7-22, 9:30AM]