Pig Pig Donuts: It's The Best Day of My Life

Sportsws:
How can a guy like me who's been in this
dirty the better half of my life live a clean life?
I was suppose to either end my life sick with no money.

For those of you who have never been to Asia this saying might not mean much to you. Even if your experience with this is only through websites like Engrish.com, I have to say there is nothing like seeing it first hand. This is only a small example or sampling from what is very common here in Taiwan.

We arrived in Taipei, Taiwan at 5:30 AM on Friday morning enduring a short 13 hour flight and losing almost an entire day to the curve of the Earth. After an hour wait in the customs line we met up with our driver and suddenly we were off into the city of Taipei. To my surprise the traffic was light and the streets were clean. Much of what I had remembered and expected to see simply wasn't there.

Katie and I were dropped off at our first hotel concisely named: Chein Tien Youth Hostel and Activity Center. Since we had arrived so early in the morning our room wasn't ready, in fact we had almost 8 hours to kill before we could get in. So the adventure begins...

We left our luggage in the lobby and made our way out into the city for the first time on our own. The humidity here is amazing. Coupled with the tropical sun and 90 degree temperatures, the heat index often goes above 105 degrees. Needless to say we were quite grumpy and covered with sweat after only a few minutes of walking. Luckily we managed to find a gas station selling bottled water (the tap water in Taiwan is undrinkable), bearing the name: "Ionic Water". You see Ionic Water is special, the label on the bottle informed us that "we need trace minerals!" Slightly refreshed and..er...mineralized, we pressed on.

The day was dominated by one simple task: Finding food. We walked for miles and by miles I mean kilometers in search of a mythical place called the "Taipei Underground Mall." After several hours of searching, reading and misreading maps and being helped by a very kind local we found the mall we sought. The "mall" was in no way a "mall" that one would find in the U.S. It was rather a series of underground tunnels with occasional vendors selling things we really didn't need: This was the Taiwan I remembered. After scurrying through the labyrinth of tunnels and electronics stores we found a place to eat. We pointed at the picture of a chicken on rice and the gracious host gave us the best part of the chicken: the fat (and some chopped bones). Needless to say we ate only the rice and went back to the hotel (via train which was AMAZING) and settled for a dinner of Coke Zero and instant noodles ($1.75 total).

We woke up on our second day with a new resolve. We took a taxi to the "Golden China"--the hotel we will be living at for the next 9 days and were pleasantly surprised to find our room ready after only 30 minutes of waiting. Things were looking up. The pains of hunger began to gnaw at us again and we decided to venture back into the city. We took the train to Taipei 101 (the tallest completed building in the world) and were shocked to find a massive basement floor full of food.
The building itself is beautiful and later on this week we plan on going to the top to take pictures. At this point we were distracted by something else, something far more fascinating, frightening, unexpected and sinister: The Disney Channel's High School Musical Dance Tryouts. There really are no words to adequately describe this but I will do my best.

Imagine if you will an infectious tune. You know, a tune that gets stuck in your head and nothing, absolutely nothing you do can drive that tune from your head. Now imagine that the song wielding that tune is being played repeatedly. Not twice in a row, but rather let's say twenty times in a row. What made this bearable was that upon each playing of the song, there was a dance routine performed by some of the cutest Chinese kids you have ever seen.


It was pretty funny and a nice introduction to the Taiwanese obsession with dancing and performance.

We watched 5 or 6 routines but couldn't bear the heat any longer and began the trek home. Thankfully the trains are air conditioned and immaculately clean. In fact we discovered you not allowed to eat or drink once you are on them or you will be fined heavily. This system of trains (which did not exist when I was in Taiwan), is a testament to the Taiwanese resolve to see things always improved and effective. This is something we have seen in other areas of the city as well, and though we have only been here a few days, we have already begun to admire the Taiwanese people.

Tomorrow we will begin our training so we stopped by an infamous Taiwanese stationary store to get supplies...

Zai Jian, America!

And, all of a sudden it was our last day in America. With one last family dinner and a Wii bowling score for me of 199 (100+ more than any score of mine from regular bowling), it was time to say goodbye...again.

A forced family picture was taken with all of us yelling, "Pizza, pizza, pizza cheeeese," so that Jake would look at the camera and smile. Mom's eyes were closed, so Jeff masterfully photo shopped them in. This was the stellar result....parents, myself and Luke, my three brothers and their significant others and our niece and nephew.

Hugs all around, a few tears shed and it was in the car with my dad for the two-hour drive to the San Francisco airport.

While waiting in the looong line to check in, I looked around and lo-and-behold, we were two of maybe four or five non-Asians. And again, while waiting in line to board the flight, looking out over the crowd all I saw was a sea of black hair. It actually felt kind of empowering, as it started to dawn on me that we are doing something new and different.

We took off and after fourteen hours of dozing, watching movies and spacing out we started our descent in to Taipei. Our first sight of Taiwan was its jagged mountain peaks poking out of the hazy early morning clouds. I wish we had a picture, because it was really beautiful and a great first impression.

Later that day and over the following days we ventured out in to Taipei and had all kinds of other impressions. More on that in a bit...

Boat Christening

If you've ever spent any time around boats you probably know that 1) You should never confuse port with starboard 2) You never, ever call a line a rope and 3) You never, ever, ever leave a boat unchristened.

With that in mind, the whole family headed down to Alameda this past weekend for a boat christening party. Sail boats have been a part of my parents' lives since they taught themselves to sail on Lake Michigan many, many, many, many, many years ago (haha...just kidding, mom and dad...you're not that old ; ). Recently, they bought what will probably be their final sail boat. Their plan for it is that it would be a place where the whole family can gather, spend time and enjoy. Maybe even take it to Hawaii some day!

I can't take credit for this picture...it was my brother Jeff who took it.

So, we all gathered on the dock and it was with a hefty swing of the champagne bottle, the inevitable teasing by my brothers and the words, "I christen thee, Lady Kate," (corny, but necessary) the boat was officially ready to take to the seas.

(Once again, Jeff's picture).

This family has a thing with naming sail boats after the youngest child. It all started about 6 sail boats ago, before I was barely able to walk and David said, "We have a Katie and we have a cat...why don't we name it Katie Kat!" Pretty nonsensical, and it probably meant that in David's mind I was on the same level as the cat, but that's OK...I get boats named after me. ; )

The rest of the day was spent hanging out on the boat. Luke and I got to spend some quality time with our nephew and 6-week old niece. Fun times! : )

The Joshua Tree: Better Than U2

If you have never been to Joshua Tree, CA my advice is if you find yourself in Southern California with a full tank of gas, an air conditioner in good working order and a desire to see the desert in its purest form, then this might be a place to simply read about on the internet. Actually, many artists, musicians, and creative-types have found Joshua Tree to be one of the most inspiring places on earth...why? You will just have to find out for yourself.

On the third leg of our road trip went we drove five hours from temperate, cool San Luis to the pleasnt 100+ degree Mojave Desert to visit my brother. The drive was quick and early on Sunday evening we were greeted by two beautiful children running out the front door to greet us.

Ky (7) and Abbey (5) greeted us with hugs and colored drawings stating, "I love Uncle Luke" and "I love Aunt Katie." It was awesome.

The next day Zack and I drove to LAX to pick up my parents from the airport. This was a big deal for two important reasons: 1) The Birge family is rarely able visit at the same time (the last time this happened was at our wedding). 2) LAX was 2 hours away and it was a good time for the Birge boys to bond (including Ky).

We made the necessary stop at the world-famous Happy Cooker in Morongo Valley (equally world-famous as the city of my birth). The Happy Cooker is the only real business to find success in Morongo Valley, most likely due to its strong ad campaign: Beer Tacos.

If you have never been to LAX, don't go and don't use map quest to get directions. We managed to meet my parents in time and the reunion was wonderful. We broke the trip back up by stopping at Denny's in West Covina in order to avoid horrid traffic. Stopping at Denny's is always a gamble and this one was no exception. The air conditioning didn't work and the food was laced in the grease that Denny's has become famous for.

The next day Katie and I went camping in the desert with Zack and his wife, Charla. Now there are several ways to camp in Joshua Tree. The first is to go into the National Monument and pay for a plot near some enormous rocks and other campers. The second is to pay for another plot elsewhere in the desert off the road somewhere. The third is to drive as far as you can into the desert in a 4-wheel drive truck and then, upon finding a suitable spot, setting up your campsite. The third option is the only way my brother camps and we were anxious to try it out.

I have only tried to camp in the middle of nowhere once before (and it ended badly with a man yelling at us as we inadvertently wound up on his front lawn--long story), and I was excited to try it with some pros. We found a spot near a natural spring north of Joshua Tree. The desert has its own unique beauty and it is amazing to see what just a minimal amount of water can accomplish.

These trees are unique to this area and really quite amazing in real life.
Here is the spring of water, enjoyed by my brother in true Birge fashion.

Camping in the middle of the desert was quite an experience and a little unnerving at night. All in all, it was really fun and I hope to make it a tradition every time we head out to see my brother.

The day we got back was swimming and homemade pizza day. A swimming pool is one of the only ways to spend a large amount of time outdoors in the desert. Ky and Abbey made us proud by their fearless attitude toward the water and we had a great time swimming with them. Now a note on the pizza: The Birges make things from scratch. As far back as I can remember I was told that making things was always better than buying them. So with my mom making her famous bread as the crust, the rest of us piled on the toppings of our choice and enjoyed some always-good-for-you gorging on pizza. There are fewer finer things, and we Birges enjoy only the finest things.

The next day Katie and I had to leave. It was emotional to say the least. The kids were sad to see us go, and we were sad to leave knowing that we would not see my family for at least another year. We did manage to get a family picture.

So mom, dad, Zack, Charla, Ky and Abbey, when you read this just know that we love you very much!

CA Road Trip - San Luis leg

After sailing, it was on to "The Happiest Place on Earth, " according to my brother. No, not Disneyland...San Luis Obispo! I went to college here and, in my opinion, it's probably one of the best places to go to college...Go to classes when you want, no job, the beach is ten minutes away, 75 degrees all year round...it doesn't get much better than that. : )

I still have some friends who are living there (lucky them!), so it was great to see them and spend some time there before leaving for Taiwan.

Friday night, we went to Concerts in the Plaza. A funky reggae band was playing that night and all the old hippies in San Luis came out. It was great!

This guy and his lady friends were really getting in to it...

And, of course no trip to San Luis would be complete without a trip to the beach....

Then, it was Sunday and time to say goodbye for a whole year. : ( Here are my friends that still live in town. Love you girls!

CA Road Trip

With Washington behind us, it was on to California for a week-long road trip and spending time with my family.

First stop...San Francisco where I got to meet Luke's grandpa Art. We had a great time visiting in his apartment, fixing his piano with butter knives (there weren't any screwdrivers the right type/size so we had to be resourceful) and Art being our "tour guide" around all the great shopping in his neighborhood. It was sad to say goodbye, but it was so nice to finally meet him.

My parents just bought a sail boat that they keep in Alameda so we went sailing with them the next day. Here is my dad, "The Captain." Arrrgh...all he needs is an eye patch and a parrot. Can't you picture it?


And my mom, the "First Mate."

And us..."the Landlubbers."

And, here's a picture of a ferry going under the Bay Bridge.

Goodbye, Seattle

So, with our apartment packed up, last days at jobs completed and parties over, it was time to say goodbye to Seattle. It ended up being very bittersweet for both of us. As much as I had resisted making it my home for the past almost two years, it ended up being that for me anyways. Once again, the saying that you don't realize what you have until it's gone (or you have to say goodbye) holds true. I think we realized how connected we have been and how blessed we were to have some really good friends. Though we don't know when we'll be back or where we'll end up, we know that Seattle will always be a place that will feel like home. It was where we met, where we fell in love, where we had our first little apartment and will always have a special place in our hearts.

It was a perfect summer night in Seattle when we left, so we took the opportunity to take some pictures while we were waiting for the ferry to take us over to Poulsbo.