Nonsense | Taiwaneers

Its the Simple Things

Michael's Posts, Our Taipei Life, University 4 Responses »

May 172009

Big & exciting news people: In PE class a few weeks ago we all had to take a test. There were several parts to this test:
1. Do as many sit-ups as you can in a minute
2. Do a flat-footed long-jump from a stand-still
3. Reach forward as far as you can sitting on your bottom with your legs out-stretched in front of you
4. Measure your heart-rate after 1 minute of stairs with 1 minute to rest
The results were written on a little paper with my name on it along with my age, weight, height, and BMI, calculated from height and weight. Everyone’s results were then fed into a computer program which calculated the bottom fifty-percent of my class and the top fifty-percent in terms of “physical fitness.” Those in the bottom will have to take a third year of physical education but I won’t BECAUSE I’M IN THE TOP HALF AND WILL BE DONE WITH PE IN A FEW SHORT WEEKS!!!!!! It truly is the simple things in life.

Everyone here in Taiwan boils their water (we do too) or has a water filtration machine. I always assumed it was because the water was not safe. However, this week in Environmental Dynamics class I learned that this is done because of historical habit and for better taste due to the water’s high chlorination. We’ve been living in Taiwan for over twenty months now and I just learned its safe to drink the tap water.

Its been a while since I posted about the cab-driver who pee’d on the side of the road outside our apartment while traffic zoomed by so how about a little culture shock for all of you. I just learned it is a common practice at Taiwanese weddings (not Chinese so this is common in the south of Taiwan but not here in Taipei) to hire strippers as entertainment for weddings. Not the night-before party or anything like that but for the actual wedding party dinner. CULTURE SHOCK!

And finally the Nonsense Shirts Store is still a blast. 2 months after opening we’ve had our first, non-friend (as in stranger to us) customer, schwing! Additionally with the help of friends here I’ve expanded the business to also include custom t-shirt printing service and bulk ordering of our own products.

ubuntu

Michael's Posts, Our Taipei Life 4 Responses »

May 062009

First of all the only proper way to start this post is to say that my wife is a genius.

A few months back Emily was having serious problems with her computer. Her computer’s memory seemed to be shrinking even though she wasn’t doing anything until finally she had nothing. For a few months we just shared one computer, then after researching a whole bunch of different options she found this Linux-based operating system called ubuntu. She put it on her computer hoping that the problem would be solved, however ubuntu didn’t jive with her acer Aspire 5000. For some reason it wouldn’t connect to the internet and in this day-and-age who wants a computer without internet? Well she ended up putting windows back onto her laptop and the problem was solved by just that act of wiping and reloading. End of story, or so we thought.

About a month ago windows gave me a little pop-up thing on my computer. It asked me if I wanted to “verify the authenticity of my copy of windows” or something like that. Even though my copy of windows has been bought and paid for, thanks to my former employer who gave me the laptop (thanks Dick!), its just instinct for me to stick it to the man whenever I can so I told the pop-up “no I don’t want to.” Well the pop-up didn’t like that. I can’t be certain but I think my rejecting that pop-up caused my computer to start doing everything really, really slowly. Just to open up a Word document took enough time for me to go to the bathroom and come back. I stopped using my computer and Emily and I were sharing hers.

Well I suffered through the lengthy time commitment of getting all the stuff on my computer onto our external hard-drive and then I took Emily’s ubuntu CD and loaded it onto my computer, wiping out windows and everything else. Voila the problem has been solved and my computer is back up to running well again!!! The problems Emily’s Acer had with ubuntu don’t seem to be an issue for my Dell. I’m so pleased. The man tried to stick it back to me and because I have a brilliant wife who found really cool free software I was able to say “oh no you didn’t.”

All that to say I’ve been having computer problems but they seem to be lessoning. It is a little difficult for me to get used to ubuntu (aka Linux) not being a geek. I am learning as I go on how I can get the programs I want to operate on it but it can be frustrating at times. In fact the other day, right after I put ubuntu on my laptop, I was telling Emily how it was crap because nothing works on it. Now a few days later I see light at the end of the tunnel. I take my hat off to the open-source world. They have my thanks and gratitude for creating ubuntu and a whole bunch of other open-source software that I have been using more and more, especially since its compatible with ubuntu and a whole bunch of the stuff that you have to pay for isn’t.

Am I becoming a computer geek? Probably not, I can say though that I use Linux. I can’t say I use it because I think its just that cool. I do have to admit that I use it because I don’t really have the money to buy a copy of Windows instead. But at the end of the day I am one of the cool kids with an OS thats not Windows or MAC. How do you like me now Microsoft….you and your crappy windows that tried to sabotage me.

A Kid with a New Toy

Michael's Posts No Responses »

Mar 242009

As our regulars will have noticed we have a new feature up on the menu. Ladies & Genleman…drum roll please…I give you the Nonsense Shirts Store!!! Its official, we’ve launched our first internet-based business selling t-shirts that don’t make any sense.

I’ve been thinking about doing this for a long time now. I’ve always thought the nonsense shirts here in Asia, also known as engrish shirts, were hilarious and I own several myself. I’ve used them on various occasions as gifts to friends and family. Needless to say I think they are spectacular and most of the time people agree with me….except for my Asian friends here in Taiwan who just consider them plain old shirts with bits of English on them.

My very first nonsense shirt was one I bought back in 2001 on my first trip to Taiwan with IBLP’s Children Institute Team! It had one of those stick people going through an exit door (you know the sort of drawing style that is used on bathroom signs and exit signs) with text that said “Reality From Escape”.

Since discovering engrish shirts its always been my dream to spread the merriment and earn a little bank while I’m at it. And its finally reality. Within 48 hours of the store’s launch we’ve had one person try and buy one only to discover a gliche and another person actually make a purchase right after the gliche was fixed. Several other people have been saying to look for their order soon!

I’m like a kid with a new toy. I can’t focus. I just keep on checking my email, and facebook, and Nonsense Shirts Store, and everything else looking for something new to feast my eyes on and think how great it is that Emily and I are now entrepreneurs!!!! I’m seriously out-of-control. I just got done bouncing around our apartment telling Emily how great this is as she tried to calm me down so she could do her homework.

My mind is working feverishly trying to figure out new ways to bring shipping (a huge portion of the cost) down and new ways to get the word out and blah blah blah. I catch myself thinking of all the work I’m creating for myself going to the post office all the time and sending emails and dealing with paypal and then I think: “yeah! Isn’t it great I’m creating all this work for myself!!!” God is so good to me to give me this idea and then give me nice people who are generous enough to think the idea’s good enough to fork over some of their hard-earned money.

I’m so grateful to my dad for establishing in me an entrepreneurial spirit early in life. He helped me start my own business when I was really young setting me up with a snack honor-box at his place of work. He’d take me to Sam’s Club, get me stocked up on candy-bars and salty-snacks and get me down to the office on a regular basis to re-stock and count the dough. He even taught me about keeping records and monitoring shrinkage. Thanks dad for all your training and love!

There you have it! A few days ago there was no such thing as the Nonsense Shirts Store and now it not only exists, it has customers!!!