Diary of an Asian Kid

5 Feb 2011

5 February 2011, Saturday

Everyone was originally scheduled to get up at around seven, and set off some thirty minutes after. However, for some strange reason (actually, it's because they overslept), I was only awakened at seven forty by Victor. Turns out Mom and Dad forgot to get up, and Victor was the only one who discovered it.

As we were driving there, I tried my utmost best to keep myself as drowsy as possible so I could fall asleep right away when I got on the car. It didn't exactly work, however, as having breakfast delayed my sleeping schedule some.

During the drive there, I plugged my iPod into the car's stereo system (at Dad's suggestion, of course. I'd never had dared to, otherwise. It's his car) and played Speak Now. Because I was rather sleepy already, the tracks all blurred into each other. I do recall Mom saying that Americans still like country music best, because Taylor Swift's so popular. I kind of agree with her, though I was a little disappointed in it.

We met up with uncle Leo and co. when we were almost there. It turned out that they had overslept, too! Ha!

Our first stop was a kind of really large garden area on a mountain. It was tulip season, so it was their main attraction. The flowers were really pretty, but sadly, being to the Flora Expo, twice, has rather decreased my awe regarding flowers. Or most things regarding plants.

Of course, Dad had brought along his camera as well, so he took a lot of pictures, both of us and of the flowers.

Extremely annoyingly, if Grandpa wasn't smoking, then someone else was. I absolutely cannot stand cigarette smoke. I hate the smell, which always makes me cough.

Oh, and because the sun was really bright, I put on my sunglasses that have only been used for a scarce few times. Mostly because I haven't really seen a bright day in months. But the sunglasses were tinted, and as a result, everything seemed like it was dusk even when it was blindingly bright, and all colors seemed over-saturated. I'm not complaining, though. The sun was shining rather strongly.

We went for lunch at a nice half-outdoor restaurant that we'd passed halfway up the mountain. It was quite good, though I actually only had a bowl of French fries and some chicken nuggets. Well, as I've said, I do enjoy fast food.

The sun was shining, the temperature was cool, humidity was okay, I got a good connection on my Kindly and was happily surfing the Net, and generally, I felt pleased with the world.

After I finished my food, I noticed an Alaskan Malamute with an iron chain around its neck loitering outside the gate. Uncle Leo, being the great animal lover/magnet (truly, he is. Most dogs just seem to be helplessly attracted to him. I don't know why), immediately went to make friends with it.

The dog was really well-behaved, not barking or biting anyone once when it came into the garden (we were sitting on the porch, looking into the garden) with Uncle Leo. After a bit, I decided to go pet it as well. Its skin was rather warm, and it's long fur didn't feel half as soft as a rabbits. I think all dog fur is like that, though.

Dad, also kind of a dog lover, went to play with it as well. When he was taking a picture with it, the dog touched him with its wet nose. He immediately yelped and jumped up. Hilarious!

Although Victor is normally terrified of dogs (Especially small ones. Actually, he says that he's only afraid of dogs that bark and/or chase him. The malamute didn't fulfill either requirement, so he wasn't scared of it. Much, anyway), even he got up the courage to tentatively pat the dog on its head. We learned from someone from the restaurant that the dog was a stray, much to our surprise. It did look a bit on the thin side, though.

When we were getting ready to leave, the dog almost jumped into our hatch (Our car's a Mazda 5. It's a hatchback car), but was stopped. Dad said that if it had been a Golden Retriever, he would definitely have brought the dog along. Sadly (Or luckily? We do have a rabbit at home, after all, and I doubt she would take kindly to a dog, especially a big one, that invaded her home), it wasn't. He is always saying that if we came across an ownerless Golden Retriever in the streets, he would take it home. But it hasn't happened yet.

We went mountain climbing next. This is where I discovered that I'd done something really stupid: I'd worn my boots again. As a consequence, my feet hurt like hell. Other than that, it was quite pleasant. And, for some strange reason, the battery in my iPod lasted almost the whole day. I think it's the charge in the car that did it. At home, I normally use my Kindle charger for it, but that charger is lower in voltage/wattage, so that might be the problem.

Uncle Leo had brought along a GPS that had contour lines on it. Victor saw it and said that he was afraid of contour lines (why? Maybe it's because his form teacher is a Geography teacher), so Uncle Leo said, "I'm going to do something which is very much like what you would do." And he shoved the GPS right up next to Victor's face, making him yell. Really! Why would a guy be scared of a few squiggly lines on a GPS? It's beyond me.

By the time we finished, everyone was dead tired. We checked in to a hotel, still on the mountain, after that.

There were two cockatiels, one gray and one white, outside the reception area. They were both either frantically scratching themselves or sleeping, which looked very funny. Actually, I do hope to get a pet parrot one day, they're cute and smart.

During the trip down the mountain (we've been running up and down the same road all through today), we got stuck in a traffic jam (and the road is small. Mostly it's because everyone's going back to Taipei), so I fell asleep for a bit.

Much to my surprise, the dinner (seven dishes plus one soup, for everyone to share) was quite good. As I've mentioned before, I usually dislike Chinese food. Except for a few special cases.

On the way back to the hotel, we saw some people letting off a lot of firecrackers. Dad and Victor, both of them hoping to find some to play with, went and asked them where they got it. We found the traditional grocery store (it felt like it came straight from a few decades ago. Seriously. The drinks and candy were the only aspects that identified it as belonging to the twenty-first century) all right, and the shopkeeper lead us to a storeroom directly opposite it on the narrow mountain road.

They had an entire storeroom full of different firecrackers. Dad said that it was an ammunition bunker, and I quite agreed with him. We ended up getting a few, not including any that could fly.

When we went back to the hotel, we saw Uncle Leo and his wife, Aunt Wen-Wen, sitting in the small café with each of the cockatiels on their shoulders. Victor and I, of course, immediately went inside to look at the animals.

I managed to get the white cockatiel to stand on my arm for a bit. It blinked a bit, and went to sleep. Although it woke right up and started scratching itself soon after.

Mom and Dad came in to play with the birds too. Dad got out his camera and snapped a few pictures.

After a bit, it became apparent that the gray cockatiel was loath to leave Uncle Leo. When he tried to shake it off, the bird clung to his collar. And even after he sat it down on the counter, the bird (both of their wings have been clipped, I think, so they couldn't really fly) jumped, and with the help of its wings, settled back onto his shoulder. The shopkeeper said that he could take the bird back to their room to play with for a while, which he did.

Why do all animals love Uncle Leo so much? He should have studied to be a vet or an animal trainer.

We borrowed a cigarette from Grandpa to use to light the firecrackers, which we lighted on a deserted stretch of road outside the car park. They were really loud, but not all that big, because we'd only got small ones. Still, the Chinese New Year doesn't feel complete without letting off some firecrackers.

There was absolutely no Internet connection there. Neither did the place have cell phone signals. I was horrified. Well, it is halfway on a mountain.

Having nothing better to do, I ended up watching the premiere of the "Avalon High" movie on Disney Channel (how come the TV has signals? No fair!). It's adapted from the book by Meg Cabot with the same name, and I've read it before.

Rather surprisingly, the ending of the movie was completely different from the book. But I guess it has to be, for people to want to watch it.