Did you know porn in Chinese sounds the same as in English?

"What?"  I am sure that is the question you asked yourself when reading the title.  But seriously, did you?  The reason I bring it up is to tell you of my experience in Taiwan.  I was fortunate enough to travel to this beautiful Asian island in the summer of 2003.  My sister had been living there for the last 10 months, and my mom and I went to help move her back to the states.  I had been at that time lucky enough to have already visited several countries and cultures, so I thought nothing could surprise me now.  Boy, was I wrong!  First off, we ended traveling there during the big SARS scare.  At first I didn't know what to expect, but we ended up only having to wear our masks while on public transportation.  Taiwan is a very tropical climate.  Add to that, an extremely populated city with millions of people and probably just as many cars and scooters, you have a slightly uncomfortable environment.  The humidity is so high that it rains at that time of year, almost everyday.  And when it isn't raining, it feels as though you have been put into some sweaty guys Jockey shorts!  And in a cruel twist of fate, both my mom and my's luggage was sent on to India instead of stopping it's journey with us in Taiwan.  This royally sucked with how hot it was.  By the time we did get our clothes, the one's we had been wearing for 3 days, pretty much could walk on there own!  We had thought about buying clothes for us to wear while waiting, but most Asian's aren't 5'10"!   Here is a picture of one of the side streets. It looks like you could cut the humidity with a knife, and it pretty much felt like that!  But I digress, Taiwan was a very interesting place to visit.  Not only does it have the best Lemonade in the entire world, but right next to the Lemonade stand, you could buy Chicken Feet Soup!  No seriously! But, Taiwan was an amazing place to visit. Here are a few of the pictures we took that can only show about 10% it's true beauty. Enjoy!



My mom even got in on the action!
The Asian culture is very much like our own Western culture, but, for some reason, they have different "rules" to follow while using the restroom.
And to answer the question I posed to you in the title...the hotel my sister got for my mom and I happened to be also known as a "love motel". Meaning you can rent the room by the hour. The hotel in itself was nice, but the odd and very uncomfortable part of it was the mattress truly made you feel like you were sleeping on a slab of concrete! I actually had bruises on my hips from it. But, if it's any consolation, the headboard was padded, and porn on the TV was free!

My mom told me my stories about life are funny...

So the title really says it all.  My mom has always told me that my stories about life are funny, and that I should write a book.  Well, generally publishing companies aren't knocking down the doors of unknown, conservative, sheltered, Midwestern girls, so I thought I would start a public blog.  My sister and her roommate have been doing it for awhile now, and I always find it amusing, so why not! (Check out their site, it is ParMieux Adventures )  

So a bit about me (although I know the only people who will read this are my family and friends and you all know me already).  Basically, I am a 30 year old that is going on 17!  I still do not know what I want to be when I grow-up, and I even sleep with my blanket from when I was a baby.  I'm 4 years into my second career, and am contemplating going onto my third.  I'm not married, nor do I have any children... that I know of.  I love TV, movies, music, going to the beach, surfing and my family and friends.  I use sarcasm and laughter on a daily basis.  My greatest joy is making people smile. Most people that know me think that I am very outgoing, confident and put together.  That is usually just a front to the very shy, questioning, and slightly random girl that I am.  My "laid back" nature only really gets turned into Type A when I am confronted with idiot drivers.  I love to travel and experience new cultures.  I am totally in debt (wow, glad this isn't a dating site!), and with my current career, will not be out of it anytime soon.  So what do I do?  I'm a paramedic.  A what?  Oh, in English... "an ambulance driver"!  So that in itself should explain why my mom thinks my stories about life are funny.  Yes, I see some very awful things, but, I also see a side to life and human nature that not many people get to experience.   I can literally see someone die before my eyes, then an hour later, deliver a baby!  So before you stop reading thinking all of my stories will be "gory war stories", that is not what they will be about.  What I observe and usually talk about are the personalities and situations I see, and how my "slightly demented" point of view translates them.  

So that in a nutshell is who I am and what this blog will be about.  I hope you will enjoy my little posts and please feel free to comment on them if you so wish.