virtualberta

A quick rundown of my weekend:

Felicia came up from Kaohsiung Friday night, so after clearing up at the office, I picked up two shirts from the tailors at the Lai Lai Sheraton and then met Felicia, Mei, and James (a.k.a. Benecio). We ate a late dinner at the Zhongxiao East Road branch of the legendary Din Tai Fung, and then met up with David Okano and Doug Wardlow, new friends of mine, at Q Bar. I met the two last Sunday at brunch through Jen, and already Doug, a law student at Georgetown, is going to return to the U.S. on Tuesday. Such is the case of meeting people here in Taiwan.

Saturday I woke up early to go workout. Afterwards, Felicia met me at the salon, where I got a pedicure and she got a manicure for Flora's wedding banquet. Rain was pouring out of the sky in sheets when we were done, so Wayne kindly picked us up. We had just arrived at the parking garage in the Westin, where Flora's wedding was being held, when Judy pulled up behind us. We all arrived at the banquet fashionably late (but dry), and enjoyed a fine meal. Flora and John were glowing and good sports about playing along with the games--apparently a "tradition" at Chinese wedding banquets--thought up by Patty. Patty, naughty wedding games notwithstanding, made an excellent MC.

I had very much wanted to go to AmCham's Independence Day Celebration, but fatigue got the better of me and I took a nap. I was so glad Felicia was there to help me get ready for my birthday dinner at Mr. Paco's Pizzeria. Present at dinner were TC, Pei-Pei, Jane, Hubie, David Shen, Lester and two friends, Jean, Jen, Eugenio, Gordon, Annie, Grace, and Felicia.

Many more people were waiting at OZ when we arrived after dinner, including Vicky, who staked out the area with her godbrother, Paul. Also present were my cousins Franklin, Jay, Bai-yun and friends, and Jenny. Mike and his girlfriend, Patty, James, Bing, Benson, Flora, John and his friend from Japan, Wayne and his friend Anne, Jay, Jeff, Crystal, Sherry, Luis and his housemate Ricardo, Marcus and friend, David Okano, Doug and their pals, all showed up. I was really happy to see Judy when she arrived, as she did a great job acting as a liaison between Xiao An, the OZ manager, and our group. Afterwards, a few of us went to Plush, where I bumped into my co-worker Richard. Quite a full night.

Sunday was a quiet brunch on the patio at United Mix. Jeff and friend, TC, Felicia, Wayne, Eugenio, Jen, and I chatted under the shade of the awnings, which shielded us from the warm sun shining in the clearest, bluest skies I have seen in Taipei. Later on in the afternoon, James graciously used his family's membership at the Grand Hotel's country club so that Wayne, Felicia, and I could go swimming. All that swimming made me hungry, and Angela's dinner of chicken parmesan, pasta, and salad was yummy. Jean, Felicia, and I went over to Angela's place (the poor woman had to work all weekend for the upcoming Taiwan premiere of Men in Black II, and so was not able to make it to my other birthday events), where we ate and had girl talk till late in the evening.

Yes, a jam-packed weekend. Now it's Monday. I have the "fun" part down of having fun and relaxing weekends, I need to work on making the "relaxing" part a reality.

Also, one of these weekends, I will find myself an internet connection sans firewalls and proxies, so that I can ftp some photos onto my site instead of having to rely on Christine's site, the ever helpful reference to Taipei's social scene. (I know Christine's going to say, "Berta! LOL! You can't call me a 'reference to Taipei's social scene'!" in her charming Southern drawl.)