過年會誰家?

I took earlier leave from the office at highnoon on Tuesday Feb 20 2004. With heart of fixed emotions, of frustration from the year to pass and expectation for the year to come. I put on enough jacket to beat the cold outside and took and MRT ride down to 古亭. I meet Joe Varadi and Vicky at 古亭. Varadi showed us down the basement and headed for his Opel baby. He drove right out from the basement and we stopped at Gongguan to buy some 鍋貼. We drove further down and stopped near the highway entrance to fill up our stomach with 鍋貼 and 豆漿(soya milk). We hurried back to the car after meal as it started to drizzle. Joe stepped on the gas and we speed up the highway. We had great convo during the ride; about Chinese, words, etymology, languages.

We stopped in 台中清水 rest area. We went to the mall, bought the 豆乾, watch the shark fish, and play the "hit the mouse" game. We also went to the peepeetoria. I've never seen a public toilet that big. And we get relieved, I mean released :-) We took on the road again and it was almost 4:30. We kept on talking and riding, while Vicky were sleeping at the back seat with her coco and awu (I don't fancy cats. ) We went over and passed 高雄 's exit and end up near 山地門. "Damn, we're in 屏東 county now." We asked for direction from the guy at the fuel station. He told us to drove our way back to 高雄. I'm much geographically blind, and am not good at reading map. I feel so ashamed to sit on the co-navigator's seat.

We finally arrived in 高雄 district of 左營, but we still couldn't find Varadi's home. It took us so long, finally his wife decided to come out and pick us up somewhere near the Bank of Taiwan. Vicky and I took a taxi ride back to her parents after we bid farewell and 新年快樂 to Varadi and wife.

I do not fancy spending Chinese lunar year there:-( it's all eat eat sleep eat sleep and eat again and sleep again. I called Varadi, and we went to see the Last Samurai on the second day of new year. The only thing I love best the having the 功夫茶 (kungfu tea) with Vicky's dad. My cough's getting worse in 高雄 as the weather gets colder. I couldn't imagine if I were in 台北. Hearsay, it was 5 or 6 degree celcius in 台北 at the same time. It was already freezing cold in 高雄. We had to take motorcycle ride at night beating with the cold winds and see Vicky's brother off to the train station. We left 高雄 on the third day of new year bringing with us memory and comfort of Vicky's parent's care. Another nightmare waiting. Traffic jam over 9 hours on our way back to 台北. We arrived in 台北 at 9:30. We took a cab at 台北車站 and headed straight home. Damn, it's still cold here. :-(

ax