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Dozo II

Yesterday was Chinese Valentine’s Day. Thus, when BH went to get us reservations for Dozo, they were all gone. The hotel did some negotiation on our behalf and with a commitment of NT$6000 as a minimum for the evening, we had a table. The commitment was no problem. Our group had done that the first time, and we were one larger now (hence going back).

I wasn’t feeling too hot, so I would have skipped dinner, except that there was a promise that we’d go to Snake Alley afterward. However, in a way that I have noticed as a pattern, once we are somewhere where drinks are copious, the period of time we spend there gets longer and longer…and before long it was midnight and thus too late to go to Snake Alley. If there’s anything I regret on this trip, I regret that I spent so much time waiting for other people to be done drinking in bars. There’s been no dancing, no fun…just sitting and watching other people drink. Blah. But, this is a work thing, and thus, bailing too much could have a negative effect for me.

But, that was the least of my concern, as I’d been having stomach trouble ever since we got to Dozo. It finally came to a head around 12:30. I didn’t get sick (even though I tried), but I felt like I would at any moment. I’d gone easy on the drinks, covertly ordering virginal items, so that wasn’t at fault. We’d had KFC for lunch. Yeah, I know. BH told me that our vendor always brings in some kind of American food when we visit for a full day (as we did yesterday), no matter how many times they’re told that we would be happier with local cuisine. So, it’s always McDonald’s, KFC, or Pizza Hut there. The odd part being, of course, that none of these things are exactly like the versions at home. For example, the Big Mac at McD’s has a rice patty instead of the middle bun. For KFC, the chicken was all spicy and it had an unusual coating. The chicken sandwiches were dark and white meat mix, although not like a compressed chicken patty. That part was odd. I also think it might have been a chicken sandwich that did me in. I didn’t realize when I first bit into it that it had mayonnaise on it. The mayonnaise tasted odd, too, so at first I thought it was just the chicken. But, once I realized, I scraped it off. Mayo is one of those things that you just don’t eat abroad…hell, I don’t eat it in the US for much the same reason. At any rate, I suspect that the mayo did me in. If not that, it wouldn’t shock me if one of those chicken pieces were to blame. I know it wasn’t the Dozo food, because well, for one thing, I ate there before with no problem, and for another thing, I felt sick there before I ate anything.

At any rate, after a failed visit to the restroom to try to get the impending doom over with, I made my goodbyes (with almost complete honesty that I was sick and needed to go now) and high-tailed it for a cab. One NT$85 cab ride later, I was at the hotel and on my way to my room. Once I was in a “safe” bathroom, the impending doom got its doominess over with, and I felt much better. A Diet Pepsi with Lime both soothed my stomach and got rid of the post-doom mouthfeel, and not long thereafter, I was out like a light in bed. I woke up around 4am with a desperate need to go to the bathroom and an extremely stiff back. Getting out of bed took effort and concentration, but there was no doom remaining in me. When I got back into bed, I went to sleep pretty quickly again. I guess I’ve finally adjusted to the time change…just in time to go home.

I woke up at 8am, feeling fresh and fit. My back was even feeling alright. It still hurts if I stretch in certain ways, but mostly, I’m feeling good.

Oh, and I should say…my camera is AWESOME. I’m still a little sad that I got one with only 3.6x optical zoom, but the 10x optical zoom one was so much thicker and heavier, and I need a compact camera. It has an intelligent mode that attempts to determine the best settings for the situation, as well as a mode that lets you select from any of a number of “scene” settings (e.g., fireworks, night scenery, pets, sports) to get an optimal picture. The controls are very intuitive. I haven’t had to consult a manual yet…not that I could anyways, because my manual is not in English. I should also note that I went with Panasonic because of excellent reviews among point-and-shoot enthusiasts, and supposedly, their lenses are the best ones in the point-and-shoot arena. I’d been scoping for a new camera for awhile. My rule is that if there’s a cellphone in the mid-tier that has the same megapixels as my digital camera, it might be time to upgrade. My Canon had 3.2MP, and 3MP is pretty darn common in cellphones now. Granted, megapixels are far more irrelevant than people think, but that’s my rule of thumb as to when I should start looking for a new one.