Hey, I know it's been a really, really long time (over a month already??) but I am ready to rock. This might be a long one.

So probably a lot of you have heard by now I didn't get accepted to U of T for teacher's college. My previous 5-year plan kind of started with going to U of T (and sadly, was supposed to end the current 5-year plan), so I am at an impasse in regards to my old designs. I am number 10 on the waiting list for Ottawa, but I don't know about it even if I do get in. I don't want to do something new and exciting, I don't want to explore and meet new people, after being in Taiwan for two years I want something familiar. At the same time, do I want to just push on and keep going with my life goals?

So the planning begins. Rewriting your goals over the next little while doesn't come as easily as overnight, but it's forming. For the next year I think I am going to just find a job. Not a life-changing, future-goal job, but a job where I can relax, make some money to pay my way through, and just take it easy. Yeah, I know that's what I'm apparently doing now, but it's a lot more stressful than you might think. And I want to buy a car! Nuts to this "I can't work there because it's too far" or "I need to find a ride from someone or I can't go". I am well beyond the university stage of my life and that requires a vehicle!

In any case, that's where I am. I will probably come back sooner than later now, but I am just starting to realize how much is involved in coming home. If anyone knows a good place to stay or a job position opening somewhere, please feel free to stand up and let me know about it!

Here's what has happened over the past month:

• Went to some mountain day resort thing where you can hike, lay in hammocks, have a drink, etc., etc. It was comfortable and a good time, but I wouldn't fly back from Canada to go again.


• Heard about a park in Fengyuan that people apparently take their dogs to and set off by foot with directions. After a good hour and a half we still weren't there and we... I mean the dog, was getting tired so we gave up and came home - a three hour plus trip. It was fun though and we got to see a lot of different things (new pictures in the Fengyuan gallery). We took the scooter up the next day and found if we would have only walked another 10-15 minutes we would have found the road that led to the park (which would be another 15-20 minutes to walk to). We take her on a regular basis now, but are yet to see another dog (or person).


• Went to a different part of Miaoli with Regine and her new boyfriend. It was a really small town on top of a mountain a popular street market. There are a lot of pictures in the new Miaoli gallery. I ate a lot of good food like squid and fried milk. I don't really know what else to say about this place other than it was fun and really like any other traditional village (much like Lukang in Changhua).


• Went to Taipei and visited the National Palace Museum. It was interestingenough, but for some reason I couldn't get too into it. I would have loved it a lot more if I had gone near the start of my trip here or during university or something. I felt bad because here were the very things I studied right in front of my eyes, but I just wasn't feeling it. We also went to an underground mall which was decent, but also fairly uneventful. I think we're going back to Taipei soon to visit the zoo. People here can't say the word 'zoo'. It always comes out as 'roo' or 'jhoo'.

The time in between I have been eating all kinds of different food, walking up to the mountain, taking the dog out, going into Taichung for my tooth which I hope will be done soon, just taking it easy I guess. It's been fun, but I can feel it ending, you know?

I look forward to coming back! I am really getting excited!