Had brunch yesterday with my friend Anqian. An amusing guy, to say the least. He told me, “I’m really a pretty liberal guy. I just have three tenets: I’m anti-choice, I’m anti-gay, and I’m pro-NRA.” Well, leave it to Anqian to proclaim himself a liberal when his three beliefs essentially topple the cornerstones of leftist ideology. Ah well, we didn’t get into it. But I have to say Anqian is a rare breed. He grew up in SH, yet he stays away from the locals. He thinks their hicks– uncultured, unsophisticated, and unhygenic. Anqian is just on a totally different path. Every time I talk to him about teaching and finding more students, he says incredulously, “You’re wasting your education. With a degree from Duke, you should be rolling in the dough, working for some multinational corporation or doing i-banking or SOMEthing.” I explain that I’ve tried the consulting world, and it doesn’t appeal to me. And that though I made peanuts at FMF, I never regretted leaving CDM. Consulting was so emotionally empty. “Who cares? It’s prestigious and you get a lot more money–those are the only two things that are important to me.” Well, at least he’s honest. Talking to Anqian is always interesting.

My father called me the other day. Among other topics (my future, my “plan”, “blood being thicker than water”, etc.), he mentioned that the Gou family was becoming extinct. It was his ever-so-subtle comment on my decision not to have children. Oh well, he can get his legacy fix from Johnny. Anyway, Chinese tradition doesn’t technically consider me a Gou anymore, now that I’ve married an Eshleman.

Sunday: another cold and dreary day. I stayed inside mostly and prepped for my first SABIC class this Wednesday. In the afternoon, I took a break and went to the market. Picked up another bag of edamame and spinach. Also figured I’d try the Japanese eggplant. Throw in some variety to spice up my soybean/spinach/smoothie diet. Next, I headed to my noodle shop. I gotta take pictures one day of the guy making noodles in his little stall. It’s really neat to watch. Boy, on a day like today, with raindrops like icicles, a bowl of hot, curry soup and fresh noodles did wonders.

You’d think pasta and soup would satify my hunger for at least a few hours. Not so. Excited by my fresh produce, I cooked up the edamame, spinach, AND eggplant. All cooked veggies in my house are prepped the same: add garlic, oil, and stir it around in the wok. Turned out pretty good though. I guess I’ll have to return to the market again tomorrow.

I caught some updates for the NCAA tournament. I was surprised the Terps lost to Syracuse. Too bad. But I was happy to see my man JJ Redick is back on track. Awwww yeah! Duke is back with a vengeance. Unfortunately, Yahoo audio doesn’t offer free audio for the Blue Devils… I may be forced to swing by a bar. 🙁

So the Taiwan elections are over. Kind of. Sketchy little “assassination” attempt a few days ago. Now there are calls for a recount. Welcome to a revival of the Bush-Gore election. What a mess.

I’m getting back into my radio listening over here. For you fellow libs, tune in to Democracy Now with Amy Goodman. Good stuff. Telling it like it is!

Oh, I finally took some pix of our new place. Yeah, not so new anymore, considering we’ve been here almost a month. Oh well, check out our digs on ImageStation. Yeah, our complex is called “Harvard Impression.” Don’t laugh.