On the right, the moleskines that I've gone through in the past three years; on the left, two new ones that I received this Christmas from two separate sources.  A testament to how much my family and friends know me.

_Have I yet gushed about how happy I am to be back on the continent of MUJI?

This is the christmas display at the MUJI store that I like to frequent during lunch hours.  I was glued to this table for a good ten minutes looking at every single item.  I want them all, from the whimsical christmas tree down to every last silly sumo skittle. 

(I confess that I am a MUJI-addict.  Perhaps one day I really will go work for Kenya Hara.)

my ukelele's not lonely no more :)

i walked into the music store fully intending to buy a cheap, crappy second-hand guitar. 
really, i should know myself better by now...

On the flight over from Toronto to Taipei, I stayed up to watch a Japanese film called "Hanamizuki", purely because I felt like I've heard of it somewhere before.  I realized halfway through the film that the story was based on a quite lovely song of the same name by Hitoto Yo, the ultra-talented Taiwanese-Japanese singer and songwriter.  (This above version is a duet that she did with Tokunaga Hideaki, another legend in the Japanese pop-music scene.)

Coincidentally, I watched a film starring Hitoto Yo about half a year ago -- "Cafe Lumiere", one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen.

That night, after watching "Cafe Lumiere", I wrote in my journal: "I have a sudden urge to go traveling through Taiwan, and drawing and documenting all the every-day, common things in my native country... like the scooters whizzing by rice fields... like the stickiness in the air in the brilliant light of the night markets... like the humming and rhythmic clatters of the prayer triangles and hymns at a temple... I want to capture it all, and write, and show off my homeland." 

(Not that the movie was about Taiwan.  Well...maybe a little.  But mainly, undoubtedly, the movie is about Tokyo.)

"Hanamizuki" wasn't quite as arresting as "Cafe Lumiere", though a not badly filmed love story and very typically Japanese.  Twenty-four hours later in Taipei, though, I am listening to the song again nonstop, and I can hear Hitoto Yo saying, "Hey sister, you're back in Taiwan now, aren't ya?  Well, this can be your new theme song.  I'll be waiting for you in Japan next.  Good luck!"

They don't call Taiwan the Kingdom of Fruits for nothing.

Visiting Taiwanese fruit shops is a must everytime I come back to this island.  The variety is astounding at all times of the year, and so cheap that I wish I could bring it all back home with me.  Did I really grow up surrounded by all these riches?

Excuse the low resolution of the photos, I've been playing with my father's Canon Powershot and somehow switched the photograph sizes to "small".  Oops.

Buddha's Head, not to be confused with Buddha's Fingers.

One of my favourite winter fruits that is in season at the moment.  It's got many names, but we call it Bell Fruit here in taiwan.

Papayas, which I don't eat...it's good for the skin but I don't take very kindly to the flavour.

Cantaloupes galore!!! YUM.

Only in Taiwan can you find pineapples that are actually labeled "Not so good for eating, use for cooking"!

Dragonfruit, so pretty to look at.

And finally, guavas -- another one of my favourites.  These are of the "Milk Pearl" variety.  ONOMNOMNOM.

orchids are my favourite flowers, a sentiment passed down from my mother, who in turn inherited it from her father.  i still tell my friends the legendary story of my grandfather's makeshift greenhouse of orchids in his little house in Taiwan; he was so good at getting orchids to rebloom year after year that his friends would bring their wilted orchids to him in exchange for a flowering pot.  i still have blurry memories of being in that greenhouse when i was a toddler, held up by my grandfather, and gazing up at all the hanging pots of green and pink and purple and white gleaming in the sunlight. 

sadly, that house was torn down a few years ago by the government to make way for the railway expansion, and my grandparents were forced to evacuate.  the orchid greenhouse now lives only in my memory.

orchids have a reputation as difficult plants to take care of, but really they are quite unfussy.  somehow, intentionally or unintentionally, i seem to accumulate potted orchids - whether gifted or rescued from others - wherever i go.  here are my three potted orchids in berkeley, which have all survived the cold bay area summer, and are all blooming for a second time happily.  they enjoy their quiet, sunny nook in the apartment, in the good company of a painting by my flatmate Hugo, and a topographic model of downtown San Francisco made by me for my thesis project.

i know this blog was supposed to be going on hiatus.  but i couldn't resist posting some pictures of my newest obsession.  after i broke my coffee pot last week, my ever thoughtful and sweet house guest came back the next day with the clever coffee dripper.

i haven't seen this "full immersion" brewing method before.  basically, it works like a drip filter...except the filter miraculously holds on to the water while it's standing by itself.

after four minutes of steeping, simply place filter on top of a mug and the brewed coffee will automatically start dripping! magic!

somehow the coffee always ends up with a bit of foam on the top, which i was super excited to see.  and the taste?  let's just say i've doubled my coffee consumption over the past week...