Like a bullet

All of a sudden it seems... we have a big decision to make.

Please pray for us. Josh has an official interview on Monday with Wash U for a fellowship position in neonatology. We were happy to find out that that they are "holding" one of the last spots for him in the program... but unfortunately, this means that we need to decide (much sooner than anticipated) if we want to accept the offer and stay in St. Louis.

I thought we'd have at least two years under our belts before we came across this bridge. And we have to make this decision already?? Yikes, three more years is a big deal. I really wish we had more options at this point, but this offer may not wait for us. This reminds me of buying airplane tickets online - I hate that. You see a great deal, but you wait... because you think a better option just might come along... but then again, if you don't decide soon enough, you miss your chance to click that button.

Sigh... I think we really just need God's wisdom in this matter.
Thanks for your prayers...

the gas man

check out the video on this link - yes, that is our condo complex, and yes, this is happening to us. yesterday morning our thermostat read 52 degrees. hooray.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=112977

if you look very closely during the interview of the black woman, there's a tall guy with a black coat in the background taking out the garbage. thanks to laclede gas, i'm FAMOUS!!!!!

GORGEOUS

At last, here's our final post about our recent trip to Taiwan. This one takes the prize...

For our final adventure in Taiwan, we took at 2.5 hour train ride down the east coast toward Hua-lien, and spent most of the day at the famous Taroko Gorge. Most consider it to be the most beautiful place to sightsee the mountains and waterfalls of Taiwan. To be so close to God's astonishing creation is simply a magnificent experience. We'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

Ooh lala!

We spent the last few days back in Taiwan finishing up work at the hospital (josh) and maping out final places to explore - squeezing as much adventuring out of the island as possible. Here we are a Wu Lai - an eclectic sort of small town - known for its aborigine history, quaint, little store fronts & hot springs, and big scenic landscapes.

We decided to take the trek on foot, through the town, and to the base of the waterfall. Even on a cloudy day, the scenery seemed bigger than life.

We took a giant cable car across the ravine, above the waterfall, and into another place above the mountains. We had to check out this "disneyland" of Taiwan. No teacup rides or ferris wheels, but we had a great time - and really enjoyed the developing, historical, hidden land.

Sometimes a bit of randomness is the most fun. Enjoy the pics!

family weekend

so we're about a week behind in posting, and we're headed back home finally tomorrow morning, but here's an update of what we did last weekend...anyone recognize this famous skyline?

first thing we did last weekend in hong kong was visit my mom's side of the family. aren't these people just spitting images of mrs. nancy tao? on a more serious note, please keep my grandparents in your prayers - some unexpected things have happened health-wise very recently and in the last few years and they need as much support as possible.

the rest of the weekend was spent with the tein/tan cousins - a very "couples" weekend. thanks to jason and emily for taking such great care of us!

jason and his fiance christina took us on a great cable car ride over to lantau island...jeffrey and his wife chloe joining us for lunch with the rest of the family.

and lastly, the three of us boys back together again. brings me back to the summer days of discovery camp and rockets' championships...aren't we all grown up now?

more of our last week in taiwan when we get home - see you all back in the states!!

Week in Review

So much to do, so little time... to blog. =) Here are some of this past week's highlights:

Hot Springs at Bei Tou... pretty sweet.

Yang ming shan - where you can find the highest point overlooking Taipei.

Um...we got very lost...

Toy soldiers at Sun Yat Sen Memorial. Ok, well, maybe they're actually real soldier dudes.

How many men does it take to make a xiao long bao?

the hot place to shop

yes! you can even go bowling here!

here is josh... with miss "turkey" herself

did somebody say Party World?

john and james take it away with some back street boys karaoke.

my birthday!

It was nice to have some friends to hang out with on my bday in Taipei. The Maos were in town! Here's a pic of michelle, kelly, and me getting our boba for the day.

that afternoon, we hung out at the Main Taipei Train station's underground mall... where josh and john were instantly happy at the arcade. they found themselves lost (it seemed for hours) in this baseball game... for dinner that night, josh made reservations at this all-you-can-eat korean bbq place where we all overate. but it was deeee-licious.

...and saving the best for last, we went to Sakura for full-body massages that night. sigh!!! it was amazing. personal TVs, coconut drinks, deep tissue, very hot hot towels, and burly women with very strong hands. after our 1.5 hour painful massages, we goofed off a bit in the room. josh demonstrated the beauty of acupressure on james. kinky? :)

needless to say, i think i'll remember this birthday for a very long time. after all, it's not every year you get to celebrate your bday in Taiwan :)

big in taiwan

ok everyone, the time is now 2 PM here, meaning it's 12:00 AM CST. the date is january 24th, 2007 - 20-something years since the day my wonderful wife was first welcomed into the world. we're celebrating overseas with a few good friends, but it'd be nice to hear from a lot of you out there. send her an email or, if you dare, call her at 09-38767344. =) keep in mind though we're a good 14 hours ahead of you. happy birthday, love!

Worlds Apart

Last monday, Kat took us to Long Shan Temple. Just a stark reminder that we're far away from home, and in a very foreign place. A lot of incense, buddhist gods, counting beads, a lot of burning candles, practicing rituals for good fortune, praying to the god of academics or fertility... it was a dark, eerie place. At the same time, it was eye-opening to see this country in a different light... and recognize its deep, deep need for God.

Then, we went to Ximen - merely an MRT hop away, with buzzing lights and life.... where all the young people hang out.

look, Houstonians! it's lollicup!