Yahoo! News – Eatery Offers 6-Pound Burger Challenge

Man, and me stuck over here in Taiwan .. 6 pound burger,damn.. part of that burger is half a head of lettuce and 1.25 pounds of cheese! that’s insane..

I just finished my lunch.. ham fried rice in a box.. it cost a little under $2 (60NT).. it wasnt very good.. made me think of the Tenshin Cha Han at Kiraku in Gardena.. we used to swing by there on the way home from the street races.. I bet that same dude is working in there today.. but J-fried rice is the best.. so flavorful.. the big egg thing on top makes it even better (I guess thats the ‘tenshin’ part)..

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Interacting with the locals in Taiwan, I usually hear a lot of mispronunciation or just incorrect use of vocabulary.. and that’s fine.. I don’t expect perfect pronunciation or vocabulary usage from anyone, much less someone born and raised in a non-English speaking country.. but one of my co-workers here lived in the US for 17 years prior to taking his assignment here in Taiwan.. not to mention that he went to UC Irvine and graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree.. so I still find it a little strange when he comes up with some strange pronunciations or vocabulary.. here are two instances..

Instance #1:
He was telling me and article in the Chinese newspaper about how Madonna has changed her name to Esther.. well, here’s how the converstation went:

Him: “Madonna has changed her name to Ether”
Me: [thinking to myself] “Ether? like wood alcohol? wth?”
Me: “Ether? What??”
Him: “Yeah, right here? See?” [pointing to the article]
Me: “Dude, thats ESTHER (es-ter)!”
Him: “No! Look, E-S-T-H-E-R.. ETHER!”

Ok, so ESTHER is a little hard.. although I think the ‘S’ can’t be played off as being silent.. besides, ether is spelled E-T-H-E-R..

Instance #2:
He was explaining what was inside this Chinese pastry thing.. here’s how that conversation went:

Him: “It has red bean paste and egg york in it..”
Me: “Egg what?”
Him: “Egg york.. york, the yellow part, york”
Me: “You mean YOLK (yo-k)??? What is egg york?” (yes I am being a dick)
Him: “Its not york? How do you spell it then?”
Me: “Y-O-L-K.. yolk.. sounds like Y-O-K-E”
Him: “Really? For 17 years, I always thought it was york”
Me: “See? You have no friends otherwise they would’ve told you sooner”
Him: “But york is a real word right?”
Me: “Dude.. no.”

I didnt think YORK was a real word, at least not a common word in everyday English.. I knew New York was named after somewhere else, liek York, that was probably named after some feudal lord or something.. anyhow, I looked it up.. and I was right

Anyhow, I’m not really poking fun at him.. I give him crap all the time.. its just funny how he’s been in the States for 17 years, yet he still seems so “unexposed” to life in California or the US..

General | 3 Comments »

I think as we approach our SAP Go Live date (July 1st), we, the expats here, have begun to talk more openly about the possibility of going home earlier.. so the idea of a car keeps coming up, since some of us sold our cars before we came to this God foresaken city.. anyhow.. you may have seen my last post about potential cars I’d consider when I get back.. although some of these possibilities would never become reality, its still fun to think about.. ok, maybe ‘fun’ is too strong of a word.. but you get the idea:

1989-1991 Mazda RX7 Turbo II
Yeah, weird huh? Well.. I was thinking.. if I buy a fairly clean 89-91, I would just take off the stuff from my 87, install it on the 89-91 and I’d be good to go.. I could sell the 87 or just donate it.. in fact, the only things on my 87 that I would need to take off would be the exhaust, turbo and manifold, and intercooler kit.. the rest of the parts of have aren’t on the car anyway (new trannie, clutch, flywheel, fuel pump, Emtech E6S (yeah, its old.. I know this), suspension, etc).. the problem is finding a clean 89-91.. also I couldn’t deal with an RX7 as my daily driver because of the poor gas mileage (I used to get 13MPG).. although I could drive it until I switched everything over, then got rid of the 87.. but knowing me, I’d just end up with 2 RX7s and want to buy another car anyway.. then of course, my 87 RX7 is “useable”.. it would just need some bodywork and paint later.. so maybe its not a big deal.. although the 89-91 fuel injection is much better.. by its been suggested that I just ditch the Emtech and go with a PowerFC from Apex.. have to look into this some more.. but the 89-91 remains an option, nonetheless..

Mini Cooper S
I never really imagined myself as a Mini driver.. in fact, writing this now.. I still can’t.. but I dunno.. seems like an OK deal for a new “fun to drive” car.. I made fun of my friend Rob when he was driving one (long term test car for a magazine).. but after a few months, he couldn’t stop talking about it.. saying how it was so fun to drive.. and pretty quick.. this coming from a guy that built like 12 MR2 Turbos and a bunch of 200+ whp Hondas.. my other friend test drove one and said it felt like crap.. like no sound insulation, felt cheap, etc.. but I dunno.. the pics look good.. I doubt I would get a Mini.. I’d still probably rather get a used IS300 over a new Mini..

1978 Porsche 924
Wait wait wait.. before you start asking, “wtf is he smoking?”.. just imagine this..

Guy: “yo man, what do you drive?”
Me: “me? oh.. I drive a Porsche..”
Guy: “whoa! a Porsche? which model?”
Me: “man.. why does it matter what model, its a damn Porsche.. geez”

Ok, maybe not..

Scion xB
This one is for real.. although I must say, I really dont like the shape of the xB.. its so square.. but I can imagine it, lowered with some wheels.. forget the stereo system.. I think I grew out of stereo systems.. just some wheels and maybe a turbo kit or something .. out here in Taiwan, they get the Suzuki Solios.. now, those are cool.. they really just look like a miniaturized van.. I see some fixed-up ones cruising town.. 15″ wheels were made for this van because 15″ wheels look just about right.. maybe some 16s.. lower it a bit.. and maybe a turbo kit (come on, it only makes 89 horsepower from 1.3 liters.. I’d get crushed trying to merge onto the 405).. lots of aftermarket parts for it too.. so, I would really only want a Scion xB because I like the idea of a Suzuki Solio, but can’t get a Solio in the States..

Ok, I better stop now.. my car selections are getting weirder and weirder..

Cars | 1 Comment »