甜甜圈donut in taipei: July 2009

Last day

Can't believe that one month just flew past like that. The flurry of activity in the newsroom goes on as per normal like any other night I feel as if I will be coming back here on Monday... but that's not the case... To be honest think I'm starting to miss this place already...

Went to the computer fair... third day in a row. Must be some kind of fate.
Though it was tiring lugging back all the freebies (everyone must be thinking I'm so kiasu)
to the studio for filming, it was enjoyable spending time with Wu Jun and Qin Min.
Anw the cameraman got to flim lots of pretty (heavily made-up & scantily clad) show girls.
Though they were saying how tired they were, I bet they were salivating ( at least in their minds)...

"我們等你哦"

The public came armed with their own "professional" equipment
This uncle transported his own ladder using a motorbike.

败犬女王

败犬女王累了

福利真好可以访问美女！

Second last day

Though it's countdown to the second last day, fatigue has overtaken whatever nostalgia I'm supposed to feel. Squeezing in meetings every night, waking up early in the morning (even earlier than when I was having my official internship), running around on assignments has started to take its toll on me.

Today was one hectic day having to cover the computer fair. Though two groups were sent, it was chaos with unclear and ever-changing instructions from the fickle and uncoordinated "up-above". (You hear a lot on the job...)

The staple of all computer fairs - hot babes wearing close to nothing were present at almost every booth. Men of all ages and types (but mostly otakus) clicked away furiously as the showgirls posed seductively. Armed with professional DSLRs it was hard to differentiate them from the media. Admist the chaos, psuedo media cameramen snuck on stage to get a better view of the showgirls. Smart move. Was supposed to do a news clip entirely on these showgirls, but in the end the one above changed her mind... had to change the news angle - the battle of the laptops.

Though today was pretty tiring, to me it's the company that matters. Got assigned (or should I say I asked to go along) with my fav pair (office couple). tbc

Met Meixin for a late dinner at THE Ding Tai Fung. A must-visit place for tourists, the place was packed despite it being a weekday night. Luckily I decided to get a queue number before I headed home for a while. However, I was wrong to think that a half an hour wait could get us in. By the time Meixin arrived we were still 10 numbers away from getting in.

Finally when we were seated, we were treated to a sumptuous meal. Feast your eyes. (to upload photos....)

- xiao long bao with two different fillings: traditional pork and crab meat (xie ke huang).
- double boiled chicken soup
- spinach

They say that the Ding Tai Fung dishes are better here than back in Singapore...
Hmmmm.. to be honest I can't tell the difference. So I kept psycho-ing myself.
"What juicy filling this Taiwanese Xiao Long Bao has... much better than the one in Singapore"
Try it for yourself...

Last Tuesday

This morning followed Zi Ling & her bf out for the screening of a Taoyuan documentary at the Xin Yi Eslite bookstore. There were at least 20 media people present, but no they were not there for the screening... they for a doorstop interview with one of the guests - Quanta's CEO Barry Lim.

When the man in question finally appeared, the media swarmed him. The scene was chaotic as cameramen jostled around to get the best angle, reporters fighting to keep their mikes at the prime spot in front of the interviewee.

We're from a financial station our questions were pretty generic - how's business for the next half of the year and details about their collaboration with MIT. But the question everyone was dying to know was about his rumoured mistress. However, this guy is known for blowing his top should you step on his toes. So...

Have done half of my SOT. Left with the sound bite. Waiting for the cameraman to come back....hope to get it done soon

Countdown

Four days left...
Last night I lay in bed thinking next week I won't be here.
Two days into my trip I already started feeling nostalgic.
But at this moment I'm trying not to think about my impending departure
I just want to savour every moment that's left.

touristy trip

In the afternoon got assigned to follow Ming Le for a news on an local entrepreneur.

Took a 30 mins ride to the outskirts of Taipei called San Xia - a retro tourist spot.

The story was about a obasan who sniffed out a the potential business opportunity in ㄍㄚㄐㄧ bags (roughly pronounced as ga ji)

Formerly associated with aunties, (according to) Madam Zeng says these are the new IT bags.

Designs of all kinds and sizes hang on the wall of her quaint little shop, forming a colourful sight that would attract the eyeballs of customers. Specially decorated with antiques and fitted with retro wooden furniture and items like an old rusty bike, stepping into the shop you feel as if you're transported back in time.

Starting from scratch, she sold her wares riding on a bicycle on the streets of Ying Ge. Seeing how the sales for the cheap (NT50=S$2.50 each) and uniquely Taiwan bags were good, she decided to invest in creating her own brand. From the design, manufacturing (in Taiwan she insists to show how it's truly a Made in Taiwan product) to selling, her family helps out in every aspect.

Besides the classic red, green and blue netted bags, to attract the younger crowd they made bags with modern designs like leopard prints and skulls. (These designs do look like they can be found on the shelves of shops in trendy Ximending)

We got interviews from customers young and old. The old woman said how nostalgic it was to see the bag she carried in her younger days, two young teenagers said how they would not hesitate to buy the once thought to be unfashionable bag and that it was cool coz it was really "tai". (Note: they said all these while the lady boss was standing next to them..... )

Anyway the lady boss was one spontaneous interviewee. Asked to shout to promote her wares, ride a rickety old bicycle down the brick road... nothing was too embarrassing for her. Really admire her tenacity. All the ups and downs she has went through to get to this point in her life. Before her successful venture into these uniquely Taiwanese bags, she mostly dabbled in selling souvenirs. Albeit many not-so-successful tries, she finally struck gold :) It helps that her bubbly personality would make her a media darling. And did I mention that it's a family business. It's so heartwarming to see her son and daughter pitching in to help their mum.

Covering lifestyle news was a great respite from the usual dry financial news that I usually have to cover. I wonder what's install for the next few days.

P.S: Oh no... I "modelled" the bag for our competitor TV station and got caught by my supervisor. Imagine your full Chinese name shouted across the cubicles...

度小月 & ice-skating with Yi Fan

Following the "sacred" markings on the Taipei map given by THE foodie Wai Tze Yan,
I finally made the trip to 度小月. Yifan & I ordered 担仔面、炸卷、花枝丸& 油豆腐 .
Though it's in a restaurant setting, the food is not bad and the price reasonable. All together the bill came out to about $10 plus per person.

Ice-skating
Wanting to master the skill of skating, I made a second trip to the Taipei dome's skating ring.
The place was teeming with "durable" kids who could take any amount of hard knocks on the ground, "uncles" showing off their superb skating speed and stunts in a bid to get attention and at the the same time prey on first-time skaters = 小妹妹s (not surprsing), couples skating hand in hand and 跛脚 skaters like me.

It's not joke trying to navigate amidst a sea of people, not to mention with the pro-skaters skating zooming pass you causing you to lose ur balance. (After a while you realize falling down isnt that bad, it's getting up that's hard)

Not sure when's the next time I'll put on a pair of ice-skates back home... anyone up for a skate tell me :)

The most important thing we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can't be learned at school.

-Haruki Murakami, What I talk about when I talk about running

NT10 for a NT 32,000 diamond

Went out to cover a departmental store's closing down goodie bag giveaway. Pay a mere NT10 (Singapore currency: 50 cents) to get a chance to win a NT32,000 diamond! The store prepared 880 bags with gifts ranging from sunhats, cups, t-shirt to the big shiny rock. The raging noon sun was not deterence to the sunray-averse Taiwanese. They were prepared for the UV rays that beat down on them mercilessly, armed with umbrellas and caps.

The media was all ready to capture THE moment - when would the lucky winner appear? Queue numbers jumped from 001 to 200, 300, 400.... just as I was about to join the queue, a commotion erupted from the tent. THE BIG WINNER emerged. And who would have guessed that the winner was a reporter.

It was pretty hilarious. She was totally lost for words. Shocked with disbelief. Fellow cameramen and reporters huddled around her, rushing to get her comments. "Who will interview me. Interview myself?" With trembling hands she opened the envelope with the voucher that would lead to her big prize. Congrats!!! Bet she'll be bagered into giving treats to the whole office. But what's milk tea and toast compared to a valuable rock.

the lucky reporter receiving her rock

ok i admit... i queued haha

where is the diamond?

queueing under the scorching sun

os

Probably have to do a voiceover later at night... shivers

it may be a good day after all

today may be a good day after all
sometimes if u wish hard enough
u get what you want

a heart to heart talk

Another thing we talked about is how cliques are formed and kept together out of convenience. Out of obligation we do things together, have to include every single person (if not face their fury should you leave them out), hold the mandatory celebrations.
Yet when you are troubled, you find that the person who is supposedly close to you, you cannot bring urself to tell them ur worries.
A good friend in name I would say.

On a sidenote, I've realized the conclusions I've come up with after my observations are quite accurate.

Someone once told me if you feel this way about something or someone, there's a high probability others feel the same way too.

office gossip

Met Yifan yesterday for cake at Shida
(the tiramisu was horribly bitter)
Had a heart to heart talk with her
It feels great to be able to speak
freely and have
so much in common with someone
We both interned at the same place
but at different timings
( I interned one year after her)
Through the "info" we exchanged
realized there is more that meets the eye
gossip about flirts that prey on
interns every year
who all fall into the same pattern (small sized, kawaii)
the office romances (or failed attempts)
the good vs bad? (ok i admit i may be a lil bias)
the enthu, friendly XX who
seems popular on the surface
but is disliked by many

nothing is what it seems

through a talk with a friend
we came to the conclusion that
human relations here seem
much more complicated than back home
for one reason or another
not sure if this theory is true
but for one...

the media industry sure is complicated

holiday's over...

the temporary relief is over.
now the end is drawing near
i want to cherish everyday
but today ...
time passed slowly..

it wasn't painful
but yet it wasn't like the past two days

i guess that's the difference between
getting along with someone
and clicking with someone

DRAM & Volkswagon (the latter is so much easier to understand and write)

FORGOT to bring my camera battery and phone out! So no photos :(

Was greeted in the morning by information overload about DRAMs and government strategies to save the dying business. From what I understand the cost price to manufacture a RAM cost more than the sale price = LOSS. Reason being local companies have to fork out millions every year in technical know-how copyright fees to Japanese and American companies .
Lucky for me the reporter Qin Min was patient enough to explain everything to me, even drawing a diagram. (think he's strangle me if he finds out i didn't write my copy in the end)

Second news was about the World Games cars sponsored by Volkswagon. There's a high possibility that the cars will be sold at a 20-25% discount after the World Games. The car is practically new (driven for over 10 days) Interested car owners in Taiwan should keep their eyes peeled for this offer.

Bentley luxury cars & a world famous Japanese economist

Early in the morning we were treated to the sight (& taste) of caviar, oyster and champagne. Of course I only tried the caviar, and to be honest the crumbly taste of the biscuit overshadowed any trace of exotic fish eggs. And probably coz I'm no food connoisseur. Back to the main point, I was there (of course not for food) but for the opening of the luxury car Bentley. A rich CEO scored the exclusive local dealership of the NT158,00000 cars (value equivalent to the price of a house). Think times are bad.. well apparently there is still a market for these luxury cars. The first shipment has been sold out! The cars are all made-to-order, so customers have to order the cars from a catologue!?

Super reporter Victoria: She found out that the the dealership owner's dad was the former CEO of a bank. And even managed to get an interesting anecdote from him.

The office couple- xiao lu & zi ling

oyster

caviar

THE car

被夸构图很漂亮

Kenichi Ohamae's talk

"Taiwan has only one year left to enter the China market"

Media pass!

Credits to the cameraman (xiao lu)

posing with mr ohamae

Now i realized what she means by "we're drawing stares"

*see the old man behind.. his OS must be tsk tsk

设计对白:干吗这样看我！

Pet exhibition, a trip to the dentist and my cameo on TV

Covered the pet exhibition this morning... omg you should see the range of pet products and services available -cheese sticks, wedding photography, newest oxygen spa treatment, diamond studded bikinis to Hello Kitty dog prams (ironic huh).

Pets especially dogs lead an extremely good life here in Taiwan. I remember once when a stray dog entered the Family Mart convenience store, not only did no one react - make any attempt to chase it out, scream, stare at it with contempt - the cashier even greeted it by saying "hey XX you're here again". The next thing I knew the dog had its paws on the cashier's table, it's eyes locked on my breakfast. (my breakfast was saved.)

There are a lot of perks on the job esp freebies. Since it's a pet show... they gave us pet vitamins, dog biscuits and matching human clothes. (You know couple tee-shirts. There are dog-owner matching shirts) I wonder which unfortunate dog would wear the same neon pink striped shirt as me. (The "orbit" shirt goes at an exorbitant price of around S$50!)

In the afternoon, it was news about the growing potential of the TOOTH business. Made my first guest appearance on Taiwanese TV! (ok and in one my teeth made a cameo, though no one would know since i was all covered up)

Had to pose as a patient in need of teeth implants for a news on the growing foreigner customer base. Apparently it costs about 50% less to do ur teeth here in Taiwan as compared to countries like America and Japan! Might as well take a holiday and go home with gleaming white pearlies.

台中之旅

Over the weekend, I made a trip to Taizhong and was lucky to have a fellow Dong Sen intern and Taizhong native host me. Unlike the action-packed trips that I went on during my exchange, this trip was a leisurely one. Took a coach down to Cao Ma, Tingyi's Ang Moh cousin drove down to pick me up.

LV ash tray @ her aunt's house

Made our way to Tingyi's aunt's house. The adults were having their X-rounds of mahjong, boy was it addicitive coz by the time her auntie was done it was already 2am! Passed our time playing with her 5 year old cousin, their English- golden retriever Mitsu, talked to their Filipino maid Wilma (she's chrisitan, and she was watching City Harvest's Kong Hee on TV. Apparently you can catch him here in Taiwan!), watched Lord of the Rings etc... By the time we went to bed it was already 3am in the morning. Tingyi was kind enough to let me have her bed while she took her parents'.

The next day we met her childhood friend for a all-you-can-eat barbeque and steamboat lunch...