Saturday evening

It's almost six in the evening and all is well. My daughter went to her first appointment with the dentist. Her teeth were perfect and I actually took pictures. Here in Taiwan, some of the children have the nastiest teeth I've ever seen in my entire life. I mean, three and four year old with little stubby black nubs. Poor things must have to eat soft food. I want to slap the mothers and fathers upside their heads. I try to reconcile the fact that it's a cultural thing, but damn, your kids teeth will make a difference in their entire lives. OK, maybe it won't make that big of a difference, but I don't want to take any chances. This is just one of those love/hate things I have with living here.

Things I Hate
1. The way people pull out in front of you and drive like total assholes. I mean, I know I don't have a driver's license, but don't honk your horn if I don't feel like breaking the speed limit or hitting the woman in front on me who is riding a scooter with her three kids, groceries, dog, and no helmet.
2. People who get on the subway and they haven't bathed in over a week. It's this smell that is like dirty unwashed butt, cigarettes, and motor oil. Lovely!
3. Betel Nut stains everywhere. Most people don't know what this is, but it's a mild narcotic that really low class men chew here. They then spit the bright rust colored juice on the ground. The first week I was in Taiwan, I thought it was blood.
4. The massive amount of three legged dogs that hop around the area where I live. Stray dogs are a big problem here and I'm always afraid that one is going to come up and tear a chunk out my leg.
5. Public bus drivers. They suck! One slammed on the brakes and my daughter and I went flying across the floor.
6. Pollution. This is really bad when people are burning paper (fake) money to their ancestors. EPA would have a fit, but it's a tradition that is stupid as shit, but it's their culture.

What I Love
1. The people I work with. They come and go, but the core people have been there for years and I've now been there for about five.
2. My daughter's school. She loves it. It's convenient and she's learning Chinese.
3. The weather. Oh, we get the occasional earthquake and typhoon, but we get a lot of warm weather and great days when the sun is just perfect.
4. My neighbors. They don't bother us a lot and when they do, it's just for my daughter to play with their daughter.
5. We have great grocery stores.
6. The day market. Fresh fruits and vegetables.
7. Taipei 101!!!! Fantastic place to visit. Great shopping. Wonderful bookstore. Incredible grocery story. Food that is out of this world.
8. It's safe. Never been bothered by anyone. Can go out at two or three in the morning and I'm not worried about getting mugged.
9. My car. I love being able to zip around the city when I want.
10. Cheap Internet connection.
There are lots of things and I'll list more of the things that I love and hate later.
Here are some pictures I've taken over the past few days. I'm loving my little Nikon Coolpix.