Last of Taiwan

This post consists of two diary entries. They were first stored in OneNote on my laptop. I thought of writing a Facebook Note but was too busy (not really, just lazy) to do the formatting during the semester.

I did my summer intern at ITRI, Taiwan. This was my first trip abroad (If you wanna apply, click here) and it turned out to be a wonderful experience

  Here I am (No, actually the building in which I worked was right in front )

                                                                                                         

July 17,2010

I have fear of writing, technically graphophobia. Sitting 1000 feat above air, with a lady in white beside me snoring, now I wonder who the hell cares, instead of stalking (and watching more episodes of House), lets write [time to decide - 4 previous nights]

  ITRI Cares "for real"

                                                                                       

Poetry !!! err... I start with accomplishments for this summer

1.  Made the mentor pronounce my name with weirdest of accent (but it was still pretty well and worked through out the summers)

   

   co-workers

   
   

2.  From snails to octopus (my spanish friends may not like that), I have tried eating nearly every possible thing, we mere mortals can consume

   

   The Lunch Spot

   
   

3. With probably more than 4 hours Facebook open a day (in office time), I managed to be in good books with my mentor (Also show some decent results which may be put to use after 10 years :) )
4. Awesome trips with my AWESOME International Friends that covered I guess 90% of the tourist sites of Taiwan
5. Karaoke/Hiking/Pool/TT/Tennis/Baseball/Softball/Swimming (without knowing swimming)/Hiking/Basketball/Cards/Badminton and some Matlab - 2 months can't get better than that
6. Getting lost without know-how of Mandarin on a land more than 4500 km away from home. Only words in the Vocab - Ni Hao (Hello or literally- You Good) and Xie-Xie(Thank You) and manage to get back some-how
7. Who came first- hen or egg? Who the hell cares. I love the BIG fried chicken steaks. May more and more eggs grow up and die to become big fat chickens.
8. Chops-Sticks !! I totally forgot :D ... I am a proficient user now

Colors of Kenting

lazying at "Fulong"

                                                                                                

Gorges Taroko, Hualien

Mis-achievements

1. Corrupted my religion by eating what not :D (Dharam bhrasht)
2. Clubs (I am definitely not club-type)
3. Cant make a single sentence of chinese on my own
4. I did not eat snakes :)
5. I did not get to eat chocolate at the chocolate exhibition :(
6. I did not attend a Taiwanese wedding (although 3 of my colleagues are getting married this year)
7. I solemnly swear I hate stinky Tofu or Oyster Pancakes

If I owe someone money ... ummm ... better try to forget that (or wait till we meet 5-6 years later), if someone owes me money mail/chat/call me, I'll be happy to share my bank details

Battery of laptop is dying, So thats it for now

 "881" to 89 :(

August 2, 2010 

I don't know if Brian is actually gonna write a book. I don't if Allen would ever catch that plane. I don't know if Jose would ever be too old to travel. But I know iin these two months I met some of the most wonderful, colorful and AWESOME persons in my life and I am going to miss being with them (a lot). I will miss beaches of Kenting, gorges of Taroko, fun of Fulong, Yehliu, Yilan and Taipei. I will miss planning weekends, stacy's colorful mails, rooftop party, slumber party, pizza party, Karaoke, doing laundry (may be), sea food (not really), my cubicle (a lot), jogging with my mentor (not really), Yo-ho club, Dorm and Dan King (seriously)

If you read all of this, hope you are not sleeping. 

Cutest girl (and guy?) on the trip

up in the air (in cable car)

D300

Why to Blog and Why Not

I love numbers. I am lazy. I have nothing to do. I don't know whether one should blog or not. So I made a list of pros/cons, rated them and here I am
6 points why you should not Blog

• It takes you away from pen and paper. I don't remember when I last wrote in Hindi. I spend more than 80 hours a week on laptop. I don't know if it is bad but it is not good
• It doesn't earn money. You are not going to be A- list blogger as soon as you start. No one is going to pay you to put their adds on your blog. At least not soon
• You are bound to write by the rules of the blog platform.
• Where to write? I have spent a crazy lot of time - Blogger, Open Diary, Dead Journal, Live Journal, Xanga, Typepad, Wordpress, Tumblr or Facebook Notes. For more comments from friends, you should obviously go for Facebook. For a more public blog, choose anyone. Every blog has some drawbacks. (I haven't tried all of 'em, So wont comment/criticize). I am pro-Google. So I chose Blogger :)
• What to write? There have been books written on the subject. People have a whole lot of mad opinions about what to write and how to write. They tell you rules. They define you by your blog. What the heck!
• It consumes time. You have better chores to do. Play, Go out, Draw, Meet people, Read, Cook, Dance, Gym, Study - Discover and Explore Life (sounds clichéd  but whatever)

6 points why you should Blog

• You learn writing. Particularly those who can't write 3 lines in exam by themselves without using any mathematical expression. Writing is important. They say word > swords. They say a work is a waste if not expressed properly. I agree
• Express Yourself. I have tried to keep diary (atleast 6 times, from class 5). Blog might be a better option
• Share. I am not very much into tweeting or status update on Facebook. Besides I guess its a good platform to share as you learn/write
• Connect. Gives you a possibility to find new friends
• Public Opinion. Anonymity in comments can be useful when you want an unbiased opinion and have a large following
• Travel, Literature, Videos, Photos, Technology, Art - Blogosphere is huge

I won't disclose my points distribution :). I hope the post encourages many new bloggers.