HP and Part III

The dentist tells me that my teeth move at a speed that's higher than average. He proceeded to talk about it being a good omen, but I was jus secretly hoping that it didn't mean that they will take a very short while to move back into their original (crooked) positions once the braces are off. *fingers crossed* Well anyway I got light green bands for a change. Not too bad.

Current entertainment: If you are an avid reader of Harry Potter books then it might be highly entertaining to visit one of the many fan sites (e.g. Leaky Cauldron and MuggleNet) and take a look at the furore of speculation surrounding Book 7 - from its title to how Voldemort will be killed. It can get very hilarious coz it's like this massive brainstorming session where all kinds of random thoughts just pour out and reading some of them really made me chortle and bend over with amusement. I'm into this coz I just completed my second re-reading of Half-Blood Prince and it's quite intriguing thinking about what can happen next. Realised that I'm quite a fan of HP stuff compared to those around me...hmm...Yea well come to think of it JK Rowling's kinda like living the dream of a lot of people (including thy humble self) - getting published and not only that to achieve worldwide fame and riches. I doubt she ever even dreamt of it herself. What a fantasy.

So...I need to get on with Part 3 (finale) of Taipei trip, before the details slip my mind completely...

Note to self: Never again take part in guided tours around Taipei. The only benefit I got out of it was that I managed to catch a few winks in the coach to salvage my sleep-deprived body. Went Martyr's Shrine (it does have this awe-inducing aura about it) --> Jiufen (now this is a real nice place but our time there was limited and to cap it all off, it rained. Chilled to the bones coz we were at a rather high altitude, but still nothing beats top-of-Eiffel-tower experience) --> Miramar Ferris Wheel Mall (yes there was a huge ferris wheel there) --> Beitou hot spring (I was the only one who opted out, and Ig and J came out looking rather choked by the steam) --> Shinlin Night Market (a real disappointment I must say coz it looked like it was starting to evolve into XMD - din even bother to take pics there but I must say the food section wasn't too bad, din not appear as er, unclean as the other night markets) ...then last stop was Huaxi Night market (where I got this cute bag for a mere S$5, and found out later from mom that she saw a similar one that costs $24.90 in bedok?? unbelievable. Ventured into seedier regions where they had shops selling sex toys and inflatable penises, complete with little tots sitting in the shops. As in, real little kids, not that they are a part of the toys :P. Also worth mentioning is the sight of a partially-gutted snake hanging from a binder clip and writhing furiously, its tiny bean of a heart laid out for display and still pumping steadily. Quite terrible)

Yep and we woke up at a very disgustingly late hour of 10 am the following morning, and only had time to take a look at Taipei 101 from a distance, and also roamed around Eslite Bookstore a bit, marvelling at, once again, the variety of cute stuff on display. For the first time in my life I saw Tintin merchandise for sale. Darn cute manz. Love the stuffed Snowy...Then there was the fascinating automated toilet seats which moved at the touch of a button, and..get this - seats that warm themselves up so that our poor butts dun suffer the chill of cold ____ (whatever material they use to manufacture toilet seats). Really man, gotta give it to the Japanese (it's Japanese-owned i think) for creativity. Not that I think my butt needs it, in fact I think it may even be the most resilient part of my body. The most cushion, you know..ahem ahem.

During return flight started fantasising about living in Taipei (the quitter monster rears its ugly head), and checking out the mountains and stuff. Would really love to do that. On my next trip there. whoa ho!