I was awakened (not the contrast with "I work up", as waking up generally does not involve loud noises by a variety of drunken hostel guests returning at 7 am after a night's revelry) fairly early this morning and after breakfast decided to take advantage of the very good weather (not warm, not cold, not too sunny, not raining) to do some drawing at the traditional market on Taishun St, one of the places (there are just so many) I used to live. Not only was there a considerable amount of milling around to contend with, the weather kept changing every 15 seconds or so (now I know what "blowing hot and cold" really means!) and the vendors kept coming over to see what was going on when they were slack. At least they didn't want anything...it appears it may be necessary to find a new breakfast destination as the one lady there is pointedly suggesting that I could teach [insert name of child or acquaintance] here English. Um, not. Thank you.

I then thought it was a nice day to go to the CKS Memorial Hall, which has been re-named Democracy Square, but since it's the name of an MRT stop and several bus stops, not to mention a landmark for many years, I don't know of anyone using the new name yet. I walked up through the Yungkang St. corridor to Hsinyi Road and into the park. Sunday morning is evidently the day for Chinese opera wannabes to hook up with a few er-hu players and sing their lungs out in under those deeply echoing stone walkways, judging by the sound of it. None of the divas on display were exactly spring chickens, either. Thinking to escape from this cultural adventure, I went into the main square, only to find that it was filled with people dressed in navy blue and setting up hundreds of "Buddha Blessing Fig. Made in China". Yes, as those of you who can read Chinese can attest, it was apparently Buddha's Birthday. Naturally the locals chose to lead up to the celebration using multiple loudspeakers turned pretty much all the way up and getting the guy with the worst English available to do his mike checks by counting in Engrish.

Needless to say, another destination seemed like a good idea. Heading to Ren'ai Rd., I caught a bus across town to Tunhua Rd. and the Eslite Bookstore, thinking to get a travel guide for some daytrips. I didn't end up buying one just now but have my eye on one or two. I noticed by the time I got out of the bookstore that I was getting hungry, so I started to walk and look. The Tunhua/Chonghsiao area is a pretty trendy one, but aside from McDonald's it doesn't offer much in the line of food establishments with seating. Then it occurred to me -- it was time to visit the Sushi-Go-Round (not its real name!)

After walking about three miles underground (well, it seemed like it) through one of the most odiferous underground food courts on the face of the planet, I finally managed to find the actual MRT station (no help from the signage) and hop a train to Ximen. From there, it was only a few steps from the door to sushi heaven. The prices hadn't even increased: still NT$30 a plate, just take the plates off the conveyor belt as they go by, and have the girl count your plates at the end when you're ready to leave. They do provide some unusual sushi choices, such as corn sushi, but it's always a nice eat and particularly on weekends when they really have the conveyors full of different varieties. You can always order just what you want but it's nicer to wait until it comes around. This picture will probably get me deported if anyone at the Sushi-Go-Round has government connections -- there was always a sign up before "No Photography", although I didn't look for it today, just made darn sure the flash was turned off! Those are the plates loaded with goodies, coming down the long conveyer belt, with people sitting at a lunch-counter arrangement.

That left me in Ximending, so I thought I'd have a look around. Ximending is the playground for the teenybopper and 20-something set, with lots of boutique stores selling decorative junk, food stalls on wheels that flee before oncoming cops, and limited representation from beggars and people trying to collect money for their favorite cause, as well as interesting characters in general. A few of the above that stuck out:

This dapper gentleman is holding a banner that proclaims: "Ma Ying-jeou will be elected in this year's presidential election. This is the Will of Heaven. And Hau Lung-bin will be re-elected Mayor of Taipei." Since the elections are past, I'm not quite sure what his point is. Either he wants to avoid being all dressed up with no where to go, or else he always dresses this way anyway (after observing him for awhile, I could not possibly guess which is correct).

And here is the solution for those of you who hate their jobs: take a look at this guy. Yes, it's My-job-is-to-hold-up-this-sign Guy. Dressed appropriately for blistering Taipei sunshine in head-to-toe black, because you've got to be hip when you're holdin'. This is a fairly common sight these days as the weather gets better, with most of the signage touting either restaurants or new real estate projects. There was one this afternoon on Shita Road who was clearly bored out of his mind (strangely, some of them seem not to be!) and was performing all sorts of contortions to be able to look in any other direction than straight into oncoming traffic, which was where his sign had to be facing. Fortunately he was next to a playground so at least there were some people coming and going to keep him amused.

After this walk around, I figured it was time for a sit-down and a drink, so I got the 235 bus back to Shita Road and went into Vino Vino, a cafe with outdoor seating upstairs that looks down on the playground and park and out onto the road. Strangely it was not very crowded -- the weather really seemed ideal for sitting around drinking tea in the breeze. I had a cafe-priced glass of milk while drawing the action down below. None of the models felt like staying still for any extended period of time (should have drawn Sign Holding Man! he was within view).

I am still very tired from jet-lag, which never affected me this much in the past (I think it may have been having to keep set hours early on, with a videoconferenced interview at a terribly late hour). Sleeping "enough" doesn't do it -- it just takes time to work it out. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel more alert.