Taiwan: The Journey

Traveling to and from Taiwan is no easy feat, but it seems much more doable as an adult. When I was younger, the trip seemed endless. After working 12 hour shifts and night shifts, being on a plane for 13 hours isn't so bad. I got to watch movies, eat junk food and drink soda. What is there to complain about? :) The only thing that bothered me was developing body aches from not moving much for hours at a time. On the way back, it was much better, because I reminded myself to shift around fairly often and do some periodic stretching.

I am very thankful that Aaron and I took the leap and made the trip. It was time. It had been 5 years since I had visited Taiwan, and 10 years for Aaron. We decided pretty late (less than 2 months before our departure date) that we were going to go, so the trip came up pretty quickly.

 Aaron flew from Lake Charles, LA to Dallas the night before we departed, and we traveled together to Asia. Here is a brief breakdown of our journey.

30 minutes: My condo to the airport.

2 hours: Relaxing in the United lounge (someone -me- insisted that we show up eons before our flight).

3 hours: Dallas to San Francisco

2 hours: Layover in San Francisco. Barely enough time to get lunch!

12 hours: San Francisco to Taipei

Arrival in Taiwan. Hallelujah! 

Pro Tips:
1. In any long flight, it is important think about where you are going, and what time zone your destination is in. We knew Taiwan was 13 hours ahead of Dallas. That meant ideally, we needed to sleep about half of our flight to get some rest, but not sleep too much so that we wouldn't be tired enough to go back to bed when we arrived (we got there at 7pm).

2. Bring your toiletries with you in your carry on. Nothing is more refreshing than having clean teeth and a clean face before settling in to watch yet another Harry Potter movie on the airplane. Use bottled water to brush your teeth. I do not recommend drinking or even swishing with the airplane water. Also, bring face wipes/make up removing wipes for your face.

3. Bring snacks. Some airlines do not serve free snacks anymore.

4. Bring a sweater. Temperatures can get chilly on planes. 

5. Bring your own headphones. Your own stuff is always cleaner.

6. EVA airlines now offers direct flights from Houston to Taipei. Wahoo! Talk about convenient!

7. Taoyuan International Airport will soon open a subway stop in the airport that connects to Taipei City.

Next up: A post all about my family in Taiwan. Stay tuned!

Taiwan: Intro

Hi friends! Aaron and I went on a great adventure to Taiwan last week. I can't wait to tell you all about our family, the food we ate, and all of the new memories we created. We had 7 full days in Taiwan. Traveling to and from Taiwan took about a day each way. We made pretty good use of our week, as we balanced time with family, hanging out in the city, and going on several hikes.

Quick facts:

Photo cred: acunsurba.blog.com

• Taiwan is located in Asia--east of China, south of Japan and Korea, and north of the Philippines. 
• My parents were born and raised in Taiwan. They met and got married in Taiwan.
• East Taiwan is mostly mountainous. 

Jiufen, Taiwan

• Its climate is described as tropical. We were thankful to miss any major rain storms during our visit. 

Observations we took away from our week in Taiwan:

• Driving, walking, and biking in the city is similar to playing Mario Kart, but you only have one life. 
• There are motorcycles everywhere. 
• There is no such thing as yielding to pedestrians. 
• People do not use hand signals when biking.
• Forget saying "to your left." 
• Ride and walk at your own risk. 

Riding around National Taiwan University's campus. 

• Summers are hot and humid. We were not even visiting during the hottest time of the year. 
• Central air conditioning does not exist in most homes. There is usually an AC unit in each room. 

Yes, that's sweat. Yes, we just climbed a mountain!

• People on this side of the world are on their phones 24/7. Just like us. 

My sweet uncles (mom's brothers).

•  Technology isn't all bad. Face timing is fun! 

                                       

•  Taiwan has the BEST food. Also some weird food....

I think I am picking out something I didn't like in the soup and giving it to my uncle. 

• We saw a myriad of signs like this all over the city. 

The signs displayed things from special parking spots for ladies, designated waiting areas for women waiting for the subway at night, to being cautious when stepping over a mirrored floor at Taipei 101. 

I will be sharing more stories and pictures in the coming weeks. I am currently jet-lagged and willing myself to get back on a regular sleep schedule.  Happy Summer, ya'll! 

Train x 4

Train is one of my favorite bands, and Drops of Jupiter is my all time favorite song. Heather, her mom, and I began our tradition of going to Train concerts many years ago. Last weekend was the 4th time we have seen them live. It is always a quick trip, but we have vowed to maybe make the next get together a little longer. We usually meet in Houston for lunch, go shopping in The Woodlands, relax, get ready for the concert, and make our way over to the venue. We always eat a yummy breakfast  (one that makes up for breakfast and dinner from the night before, because we seem to skip dinner due to the large lunch) the next day before we part ways. This year, Matt Nathanson and The Fray opened for Train, but in the past, we have seen Maroon 5, The Script, and Gavin Degraw (among others). I noticed that Train has two back up singers/dancers performing with them, and I'm pretty sure I would be great at that. I can dance to the beat, shake a tambourine, and be buddies with Pat & Jimmy. I could still be a nurse practitioner during the months when we're not on tour. It would be a win win for all.

May 30, 2015

Can't wait for our next concert. I'll start working on my dance moves and tambourine shaking now.

Louisiana Recap

I spent last weekend in Louisiana visiting family, friends, babies, wedding-ing, and eating cake and donuts.

Food time:
These are from Nelson's Donuts (my all time favorite). We decided to branch out and also visit Delicious Donuts, which apparently are just as decent tasting (with more unique kolaches). I might have to perform a formal comparison on the two in the future--but that would require more taste testing.

My mom and I ate lunch at Southern Spice, one of our go-to restaurants. It was very yummy, as you can see. Next time, we are going to try something new, because I am starting to realize there is more to Lake Charles cuisine than I think. There are tons of local places we haven't tried. 

Dog time:

We took the dogs on a sunny walk downtown by the lake. They enjoyed the ride down there, and are happy campers in Lake Charles, because there is always someone around that is more than willing to play and love on them.

Baby time:

Two good friends had babies recently. I got to meet Baby Quebedeaux #2, play with Baby Q #1, and meet Baby Glazier #1 all in one visit. I also saw 2 friends that are expecting babies this October. 

Wedding time:

We attended the Kingsley-Baum wedding on Saturday night, and it was beautiful. It is always great to see old friends.

Cake time:

Aaron's birthday is not until June, but since he'll be in China during his actual birthday, we had some cake in his honor exactly onr month early. Kari made an awesome Rubik's Cube cake, because Aaron is THE Rubik's Cube wizard. He can solve the puzzle in less than 2 minutes. I can't believe he will be 24 this year. That means I will be 29. Yikes!

Post-rain walk time:

Sometimes rain makes for pretty clouds in the sky. 

Taken by Yung

Ice cream time:

Baskin Robbins was well deserved after surviving a torrential downpour on the way back to Dallas, and going to the gym after a 6 hour car ride. Thankfully, there were no tornadoes, but those clouds certainly looked suspicious. 

Here we are. Back to reality for a few days, one more road trip to Houston, and off to Taiwan. Hello Summer 2015!

Being Hip

In the spirit of spontaneity and trying new things, Yung and I finally made it to Stock and Barrel--a restaurant we've been talking about for at least 5 months. It is located in the Bishop Arts District, which will always hold a special place in my heart, because it is where we went on our 3rd date. I had a weekend day off, so we took advantage of trying their brunch. We walk in and were told that the wait was over an hour, but we were offered to sit at the chef's table (basically, it was the bar next to their open kitchen), so we said yes! 

Stock and Barrel selfie

Our seats granted us a special experience at the restaurant, because we had a front row view of what goes on behind the scenes. Here are a couple things worth noting:

• There are a lot of flies buzzing everywhere. It's no one's fault. It's just the fact that the doors keep opening and closing and flies love good smelling food.
• There is an order to the kitchen. There are the cooks, there is someone supervising the cooks, and there is someone calling out orders and checking the food to make sure it looks good before it is passed out (I know there are more people than that, but these are the only people that we could see). I was trying to figure out how everyone just happened to know what to do. The man would call out the order once, and magically, everyone just knew what they were supposed to make, and how many to make. There was very little talking, confirming, and question asking. Everything ran smoothly.

Here is our food--plus french fries that are not pictured. Avocado toast with Spanish chorizo, pork cheek hash with poached eggs, and cheese grits with mushrooms and over easy eggs. The restaurant had a new-American-trendy, yet casual feel to it.  I am convinced that the lone diner sitting next to us was someone famous. In Yung's words, "I think that guy is popular." He really was. The supervising chef knew him, and he had at least 2 other people come up to him to talk to him and ask for a selfie. Our waiter must have thought we had VIP status as well, because it literally took 5 minutes for our food to be delivered to us. Not too shabby!

Taken by Yung

All in all, it was a great experience. The food was good, but it will not be going on my absolute favorite list. I did, however, feel very hip to be out with the brunch crowd. We rounded out our hip afternoon by sipping lemonade and cappuccinos at PIRCH, and looking at kitchen, bath, and outdoor appliances that we will never be able to afford. Did you know that you can get a sauna built into your house? 

Mirror selfie at PIRCH

Craziness.

But I secretly want one.

Here's to being hip.

Much love always,
Necon

Spontaneity

Last week, Yung and I were planning to go on a pizza date. We were on our way to the restaurant, when we began driving through a part of town that I had never been to. I saw a sign that said Lao/Thai food and told Yung we would have to check that out one day (we love Thai food and we're leaning about Lao(s?) cuisine). He asked, "Do you want to go there now?" I did, but then again, I didn't, because we were planning on pizza for at least 36 hours, and we had already passed the restaurant. But at the same time, I am trying to be more "spontaneous," so I made the split second decision to say "Yes! Let's do it." (I'm becoming more and more Type A as I near 30. I'm actually thinking about getting a planner that has space for each waking hour of every day. Would that be going overboard?)

So we made a u-turn. It was a good decision, because we loved our food, and we've already been back once again. It turned out to be a low key, hole-in-the-wall, that apparently no one else has discovered, as we were the only customers. We got yummy egg rolls--3 for $1. Score! I ordered safe and got the pad kee mow (drunken noodles, ya'll!) with tofu, which I did not photograph. Yung got the laab beef. He takes photos of everything, which is perfect, because then I can borrow his photos and share them here.

Taken by Yung

I know all of you are about to run out to do something spontaneous now. Life is short. Go out and try something new--whether it be a new dish, a new hobby, or making a new friend. The pizza will always be there, but you never know when new opportunities may pass you by because you didn't make a u- turn.

Cheers to spontaneity!

Love,
Conisha Fay Lin 

Currently: May 2015

In the blink of an eye, it is the middle of May. Man oh man. I will never cease to be amazed how quickly time passes. I graduated just about one year ago.  (Already?!?) Here is what is currently going on with me--

Reading: I'm looking for some new summer reads. I've been reading "Something Borrowed" on my kindle for about the 10,000th time. 

Eating: Dairy and wheat free most days. Except when this hunky man shows up, and sweets talks me into burgers and cheese fries. Just kidding! But not really. 

Planning: May-June-July-August. Many fun things coming up, including, but not limited to: a trip (or two or three) home to Louisiana, a wedding, a baby shower, friends to visit, babies to visit, Houston to see Train, Taiwan with Aaron, New Orleans to round out the end of the summer. And possibly getting my last 2 wisdom teeth out in July. Possibly. 

Saying: "Hi, I'm Connie, the nurse practitioner! I'm going to come see you today! *smile*" I've been working some extra shifts, and I am proud to announce that I am finally able to glance at an immunization record and determine whether the child is under immunized or up to date on their vaccines. It only took me 8 months, but I've been doing a lot of check ups lately, so I'm getting plenty of practice in. I still keep all my cheat sheets with me, because my memory often fails me.

Needing: New tennis shoes. I have worn holes into my current pair. 

Learning: How to use the machines at the gym. I've tried nearly all the group workout classes, and now I have moved onto the machines. Yung walked me through a bunch of the machines last week, because I don't really know how to use them. Is anyone else intimidated by using the machines? Or maybe it's the muscle-y men that always congregate around them? Who doesn't think the Hulk is a little frightening?

I also took my first Pure Barre class yesterday. Another item checked off my 30 before 30. It was a very good experience! I am planning to commit to a personal Pure Barre challenge later this year, so I'll blog about it separately then.

Feeling: Ready to tackle the summer. Just living the life and not turning back. 

Much love always,

Conconlin