Women love these fierce invalids home from hot climates

January 7, 2010 by Olivia Wycech

Here I am. www.simplyolivia.com. The warmth in words I have been receiving on my photos and literary works have stimulated me more, more, and more. So this is the next chapter, unveiled. Another relevant chapter is also imminent…

This past Saturday I danced to the Basement Jaxx in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia (détails plus tard) and the Saturday before that was our Aoki party @ LUXY (encore, détails plus tard) and the Saturday before that a magnitude 6.9 earthquake rattled Taiwan. Don’t be too shocked, this little island gets rocked daily, or more. A few months ago, the Taiwan Weather Bureau recorded over 20 quakes in one day. Thus being, I live on ‘earthquake island’. Taiwan is situated in a seismically active stretch of the Pacific basin. This tremor, however, was THE MOST intense earthquake I’ve ever felt not only in Taiwan, but in my life. It was like riding a small boat over mammoth waves. No major damage or casualties were reported. On this island every small earthquake is a reminder of the big one, the 9/21 Jiji earthquake that recorded a magnitude 7.6 when it struck Taiwan in 1999, killing thousands of people and haunting millions to this day. Here is the quake Wiki’ed and here is a photo essay recount of the disaster TIME.com photo special on Taiwans 9.21.99 earthquake.

Following my last post on the Wind Up Bird Chronicles (the best book I have ever read, in my entire life), a friend passed along a fascinating review that looks at the insights on Japanese psyche found prevalent throughout the novel, so especially interesting to those keen on the psychological and cultural correlations within Japan and the themes in the book: The Wind Up Bird Chronicles review from the JUng Page. FOUR of my friends are concurrently reading the Wind Up Bird Chronicles, making me feel as if I should at once read it over again regardless of the fact I’ve only read it months ago (must finish the Fountainhead…). This same friend filled me in on all the rave that is 1Q84. 1O84 is the most recent novel by Haruki Murakami. The first two volumes of this book have already been published in Japan, the third scheduled for the summer of 2010. All only in Japanese. To learn Japanese or wait for the English edition in September 2011.. How unfair. Taipei houses an underground book market which is just north of the Zhongshan MRT on the red line in the underground mall. Most titles are in Chinese, but it’s worth a curious eye. They had a fetching display (or so I heard) on the book….THAT I MISSED. I arrived to find bare shelves and the only apparent trace of the display was a colossal 1Q84 print on the floor. Sad face. Yet now I’m seeing the cover all around the city, HESS’s window disaplys are even covered. Are there so many Japanese people here? Why the whole affair if not even the locals can read it? Perhaps all Murakami fans are as hardcore as I, searching for hardcore novelty..heh.. Anyway. If the title of this books makes you think of George Orwells 1084, well it should. It is an intentional authorial reference to 1984, only in title, not in theme. The ‘Q’ stands for question mark. Interestingly, until publication, nothing was revealed about this book following criticism that leaks had diminished his previous book’s novelty. Unlikely (from a fan perspective).

Anyway, how about a Robbins recommendation, my most recent of his reads..

Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates by Tom Robbins

“You will never forget your first Robbins book.” If you haven’t yet been made acquainted, now you are. You need to read all of his books yesterday. This tale is that of man who calls himself Switters, a CIA agent who is flawed, indecent, and hedonistic, and who is equally as in love with his 16 year old step sister is he is a 46 year old nun. He crosses continents bound to a wheelchair, though his only ail is a ‘curse’ placed on him after he is sent deep into the dicey jungles of South America to release his dear grandmothers (whom he refers to as Maestra) parrot, Sailor Boy. He walks into a jungle of hallucenegenics and emerges again damned to wheelchair (though he certainly doesn’t appear all that damned by his judgement) after a shaman shows him the secrets of the universe…and he makes a serendipitous sacred snack of Sailor Boy. Still, he makes his way into the middle of the Syrian desert and inhabits an oasis occupied by a group of excommunicated nuns where he attempts to decipher the Three Prophesies of Fatima, a series of revelations reportedly made by the Virgin Mary during World War One (strong underlying religious themes are present and almost all of Robbin’s books). I suppose this is more of a synopsis than my thoughts on the book but the story line is pretty amusing to retell, and my opinion should be easy to gather on this one. I got a lot of information about the book to help with the the details (I read it 11 months ago) here. Read this if you like to hear about how king Tom Robbins is.

This year, December had not yet begun and my Christmas cards were written and my presents wrapped. The season was far more festive than the last, full of poinsettias and only lacking in eggnog. Next year, however, I’ll definitely be trading in a rainy Taiwanese December for a snowy Canadian one. I’m going home (hey parents, can someone fund this joyous occasion??)! Being that Christmas is not a national holiday in Taiwan (although there are quite a few Christians) and I worked 12 hours on the 25th, the spirit is certainly celebrated and the whole city was lively and vibrant with Christmas cheer for nearly two months. Thankfully I didn’t miss out on turkey and stuffing and feasted well. Although Easter I spent shaping meatballs into Turkey using cran and gravy at IKEA…

Xmas in Taiwan