#40: Ahh Symantics, Perspectives, Metaphysics.

Nine times outta ten, most people would probably say that they wish they could have total freedom. But when given such freedom for real - be it winning the lottery, absolvement of responsibility, retirement etc. - nine outta ten of those people would probably find themselves at a loss as to the next step.

A student I once taught in Japan was a successfully retired businessman, 59yrs old and horny in that way only randy old men could ever get away with. He told me that pretty much most of his old buddies all died within the first few years after retirement. Probably outta boredom, there's only so much golf a soul can take.

A blank slate is just that, a whole buncha nothingness with nowhere to go. So when we say we want freedom, what we really mean is we want the freedom to define our own boundaries, and even then - most of us would require some perspective to figure out just what the limitations of those boundaries themselves are. The strong in mind are really just those who already know what they wanna do, they've already set their own path.

If you're ever lucky enough to get your own sense of "freedom" in your mailbox. Make sure you open it with a plan. Coz it might just be the death of ya...

#39: The Win/Win.

You'll love the good students coz they're hilarious to teach, they do the work, they never give you any trouble.

You'll [eventually] love the bad students coz you work that much harder at getting through to them, there's that whole process of finding the middle ground, the tangible measure of mutual respect coming from survival of battles well-fought.

It's foolproof! What could go wrong?!

#38: The Value Of Nothingness.

My secondary school RE teacher once said something that had an unexpectedly profound effect on my life when I was younger. He also had a nack for steering any particular discussion of the week towards that of pornography, but thats neither here nor there.

Anyways, he once told us that, "Only boring people get bored."

I took that to heart, since then I've been absolutely determined to never be bored. Whether thats made me less boring to others or not is questionable at best, but the main thing is that in my own head, there's never an idle moment. The flip-side is that after years of constant self-stimu...*ahem*... self-MENTAL-stimulation is I now find it extremely hard to switch off.

Taipei does nothing to relieve this effect. I noted 6months after arriving in TP that it was amazing that every weekend - there's always something to do, people to see, somewhere to go. That is as true now, a year and a half later, as it was then. Crazy. This is Taipei, not even Tokyo matched this level of activity.

Which so leads me to my Sunday afternoons with The Marshmallow. Sometimes I'll go out hiking or go-karting, but on the days when I have nothing. We'll just hang out in the apartment, or goto the Starbucks down the road, and we'll do very little. We'll read a book, play a some DS, muck around with the laptop, watch some bewildering Chinese singing contests on TV. Yup, very little.

That damn RE teacher made it so that I always felt like I had to find something to do, something to think about. The Marshmallow reminds me to chill out, that its ok to slow down.

For that, I'm grateful.

#37: In A World... Where One Man... Will Make A Difference...

Managed to keep this "At Least A Sentence A Day" thing going on just over a month now... and just browsing over previous entries, it looks like all those years in the video shop looking over the covers of 80's and 90's movie titles had quite a lasting effect.

They just don't name movies the way they used to.

#36: Mmmm... Smokey.

I was so tired after work today that I was halfway home before I realised I'd been riding while eating an apple at the same time. Evidently I don't need to use my rear brakes as much as I thought I did.

I remember wondering that this particular apple felt a bit more moist than normal...

#35: Observations From Scootering Around Taipei.

Before Taipei, I had never ridden a motorbike before. In the past two years since I started riding around, I've come to learn a few things...

• Yes, that gap is absolutely wide enough.


• Rain, is an absolute bastard.


• When riding in said-rain plus freezing conditions, the exhaust fumes of the bus/truck in front are a precious source of heat and warmth. Plus a great exercise in lung capacity.


• Don't be fooled by that car who just indicated right, he's not going anywhere.


• Don't be fooled by that car who's not indicating anything, he's either turning left, right, or just stopping in the middle of the damn road.


• The average 125cc scooter, with its ability to simultaneously carry a family of five, the weekly groceries and the family dog, has just as much capacity as any standard full size people carrier, and with more headroom too.


• There are no speed limits, only speed suggestions.


• The baseball cap is only considered adequate head protection when used in conjunction with a plastic hard hat. Using either one by themselves is just plain dangerous.


• When riding behind a local, watch out for flying cigarette butts.


• When riding behind a coach, watch out for flying wing mirrors.

#34: Bleary Eyed And Belly Rubbing.

Time to pack away that winter insulation! In preparation for the next intended mountain climb... I'll be heading back to the gym... tomorrow... maybe.

Two resolutions down, the third one is gonna take a lil longer.