4 a.m Random Thoughts & Sunrise Pics


Welcome back to Taiwan.

 SKOUT, Lip Sync Battles, & 4 a.m wake-up

4 a.m. Inside 170 Qing Mei Road Apartment #3, Liuying, Taiwan, darkness filled all four walls.  The front door could have been entered with just a shoulder budge.  

To match the calm of the darkness, the noise of the brand new A/C slightly purred. The purring rhythm held my sleep for six and a half hours

An alarm clock did not snap me out of this peaceful rhythm. Two simultaneous itches popped me out of bed.  

Frustration quickly set in.

The frustration did not come from the early wake-up.

The frustration came because I quickly realized I missed LL Cool J’s Lip Sync Battle at 8:30 last night. I looked forward to that all day. 

I thought about how I missed the show I wanted to see so bad yesterday. I remembered that last night I found myself in the midst of some casual texting via SKOUT with a new lady friend.

That kept my attention until 8:15. But, she became busy, and I fell asleep before my show.

Dating in Taiwan makes me feel like a goldfish swimming in its bowl after a six year old child won it at the carnival. Dating here is better, with a bit of experience, than swimming in the tiny cup that the goldfish originally swam in. However, the goldfish still swims in the bowl with no exit. The culture clash presents what feels like no exit from the bowl.

Corn Hub & Heart Stompers

The source of my skepticism about dating comes from last June when a girl shattered my heart into a million pieces.

After she shattered it, she kept on stomping on it while the pieces covered the floor. She stomped harder with each passing day until I eventually fled.

After a few months, I picked the pieces of my heart off the floor. Each day, I attempted to glue them back together individually.

Some of the glue came from anger, by yelling  “FUCK YOU _____ at the top of my lungs in random places I could find myself alone in Tainan city.

I glued others back with the relief that comes from exercise.  

Some pieces also glued back together with booze.

Luckily, I did not glue as many back together with booze as I would have when I was 25 years old.

Luckily, the heart stomper doesn’t jump into my head very often.

The clue to how she pops in my head rhymes with Cornhub.
Don’t think too hard about that one.  

4: 20 a.m- Babe Catchers

Anyway, I looked forward to riding my bike early today. I had been resting for two days since my 24 mile walk from Fenggang Taiwan to Dawu, Taiwan last weekend.

I was so ready for this ride that I abandoned my daily usual early morning ride routine. 

Early bike rides usually require me to roll over, and reach for my half-broken lap-top to play one of my favorite motivational videos. Today  I felt the excitement to just get up and go. I just played the video  while I was in the bathroom.

I stumbled out into the early morning air. 4:20 a.m air in Taiwan feels like the air when you stand by the oven.

The roosters sang their usual ditty, Cock a doodle doo.

A pack of dogs barked into the not so distant east valley.

The sound of the pack surprised me since the stray dog population is relatively under control in my village.

My bike sat wedged in the back seat of my station wagon. I also call my station wagon the Babe Catcher. Judging on its catching ability, the Babe catcher might need a visit to the shop.

 I tugged and jerked with the back seat of the Babe Catcher. I didn’t swear. I am used to this struggle.
The back seat of the Babe Catcher could not hold onto the bicycle much longer.

The Pack

After my victory, I peddled for 750 meters. The chain on my bicycle stuck together a few times.  I forgot to oil it for a while now.

I quickly met the noise previously coming from my left. Six dogs harmlessly screamed at each other in front of the train station. They presented no danger to anyone.

The Ride

Strava (my new phone APP) told me the ride continued for 26.9 kilometers. I rode very slow this morning. I wish I had an excuse. But, I always ride slow. Also, I spent most of the morning taking pictures of the sunrise. The sunrise is by far my favorite time of the day.

Thanks for listening.








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

5 Reasons Why I Joined The TIE Mastermind Group

Image
So, I recently decided to invest the time and money to join a Mastermind group. Many years ago, I read about Mastermind groups in one of Napoleon Hill's books, Think & Grow Rich. The idea to either start my own Mastermind  group, or participate in one, always intrigued me. I am playfully looking it as bootcamp for the mind.  The Mastermind group officially kicks off tomorrow night at 9 p.m., with our first group call on Zoom.  Here are five reasons  why I decided to do it. #1 Trust Although I live about three hours from Taipei by train, I have observed the actions of the group, Taipei Impact Entrepreneurs , over  the last year and a half or so. My instincts have been that everyone in the group is extremely friendly , professional, and supportive. I never would have joined if they did not have that opportunity to establish a strong sense of trust within the community that hey are jumpstarting.  # 2 Accountability   One of the things that helped persuade me to invest the time an
Read more

The RKD (Reflection Kills Depression) Movement Is Coming!

Image
The Dangers Of Talking Without a Filter Via Social Media What could possibly go wrong with an idea to come home every night and tell one unfiltered story of what happened that day, on Youtube? :) I know I am walking into dangerous territory when I start talking without a filter, especially given the current climate. People have perfected their ability to be offended. However, I also realize that if I don't look deep enough inside, and let some dark and unfiltered stuff out of the gut and the heart, it will just be another generic dude telling stories for the sake of popularity, which misses the point. The Birth of The Story of The Day Last week, I just had a gut feeling that it would be a good thing for me to take a few minutes every night and tell one story from something that happened that day. I decided to go with it even though I don't have the first clue about setting a room for proper lighting, nor do I know anything about sound editing. Finding A Movement After the third
Read more

A WTF Tinder Date (In The Philippines)

Image
A Rocky Start    The buzz of an airport's The airport's midnight buzz may even aggravate those with the most patience. Could it ruffle the red and yellow of the Dalia Lama's robe?   Burger King grease scented the air to help rumble restless stomachs. The bench's jagged edges poked from the spine through the rib cages and into the  of the resting travelers. The midnight buzz of Manila stayed in its place. In Manila, , The speakers cracked above my head.  My eyes felt like rocks.  Sun heated The Puerto Princessa  Airport pavement. Dogs slept under the benches. The blind massagers at The Manila Airport stayed behind. Their plastic chairs also stayed behind. A sign advertised the benefits of eating crocodile. I decided to walk. I always make this decision. I distrusted my surroundings. I Want To Walk- Oh Shit, I’m in a Trike ***Trike- attach a side car to a motorcycle taxi. *** Trike driver: “Excuse me sir, wh
Read more