人 不例外地 也竭盡地想把自然帶近身邊

如果有能力的話 來棵樹吧

隱身在巷弄之中曾經是大家的秘密捷徑 如今已被披上圍籬 成為只能用金錢換取的空間  

童年時我們的最佳地點 現在是大家的最佳地點

就和它一樣，我也想奮力地投身於那藍天之中

站在著堅硬扎實的板材上，我卻想起被它取而代之的那總是讓過路人膽戰心驚的橡膠吊橋。

通往那裏的必經之路；牆另一頭傳來的不和諧的國歌詠唱聲，總使我憶起曾經擁有過的率真。

人的自我界線

      

         

一條只能承載一個人寬的小路 卻給人 整個世界的擁有權。

最後 回到人的道路

back to earth

I got myself stuck in a monastery and lived like a monk for the past 40 days ( meaning no phone, no
 internet, no any connection with outside world, and lots of praying and intense meditation)
Although it was quite an experience, I felt it wasn't something I want to spend another three months for.
So I broke the contract with the monastery and moved back.
Now, here i am, feeling super ready to pick up what i left off.
Butt first, someone has to pay for the lost bet.
(before i took off for monastery, Pin bet i wont be able to make it through for the first week there)

This coffee tasted strikingly yummy not only because it's the treat from Pin but also my first coffee in 40 days!

Got my coffee craving settled, now time for some booze!

 It's good to be back on earth.

Trouble shooting part1

It took us almost two weeks to find the right carpenter, but it only cost the carpenters one morning to build the drop ceiling. Before i even had a chance to celebrate my success in getting the carpentry step done, another task had arrived. And I was nowhere close to being prepared for this next step: painting!

The wall in the far back is the one we are dealing with right now: a tiled wall with concrete patches, and that is where the sinks will be mounted on. Its not what one would consider as a nice looking wall, but we both find it attractive. Instead of having carpenters build a false wall to cover it up, we want to keep it as the way it is and give it a new color.

What we didn't know is that painting on glazed ceramic tile isn't a easy task. Paint doesn't like to stick to the slick, shinny surface of tile, and it will peel readily from it. So here we are, facing this new problem.

After visiting several paint supplies stores, we finally found this magical thing called "intermediate coat" which has high adhesion capacity for any type of surface. It would also create a slightly rough ground that is better for regular paint to stick on.

     

bucket, masking tape, roller, bowl, and the bottle of coating

a bag of cement, worth of $1

Tried to make sure i got everything covered. This reminded me of using tape to stretch paper on the masonite board in drawing one.

Mixed the coating and cement together at a ratio of  2:1.  I had to keep stirring the mixture throughout the whole time so the cement wouldn't precipitate at the bottom.  The color is kind of blue-grayish, and it turns into dark brown once its dry.

So this is it! entirely coated with the coating mixture and now ready to be painted!  Just like a gessoed canvas, except its black.

two-in-one

In continuation of my last blog post, the electricians came in today to finish what they had left from Monday. And so did the carpenters!

these were for framing the structure. so-called studs, i suppose?

they built that sawbench all by themselves. it has an electric motor, and it can be taken apart for  portability. I was impressed!

this is where the drop ceiling is going to be

electrician guys' section

wiring

basic frame is done; he was trying to line up the bathroom fan

covered with calcium silicate which is generally used as a fireproofing material

unexpected accident: an old lady next door failed from the stair :(((
 we all came out to help the ambulance getting into the narrow alley. 

maintenance opening

This is the first day and the last day of having carpenters. (unless we come up with something new that requires woodwork.) It was a little hectic for both electricians and carpenters working at the same time because there weren't enough space, but they made it!  Wana say again "thanks for all your hardwork!" 

It's exciting to have progress, but there's still quite a lot of work to be done!

interior conflict?

Today, we finally made the first move since the concrete part completed two weeks ago. The electrician couple came in to get things settled for carpenter to work with on wednesday. They spent all morning installing the hot water heater and the duct for bathroom fan which will be put into place later. Before they went for the lunch break, we had a little final discussion about where all the light, outlet and faucets are going to be. They told me they can get rest of the work done by the end of the day, so I went ahead and called the carpenter to come tomorrow instead of wednesday.

Although there were few problems during the installation, they all got solved in the end. Overall, I thought things are going so well at this point. Unfortunately, I was wrong...

Three hours later, I got a call from the electrician to tell me that he wont be able to come in the afternoon because he got another urgent case coming in hand, and he want to come tomorrow morning instead.. 

Later in the afternoon, I called him up to confirm the time he'l be coming tomorrow.  Unexpectedly, he told me that he has to postpone it again to wednesday. I was shock but didn't know how to react except accepting this bad news as the the way it is.  

On the one hand, I felt I have the right to argue with him because he made the plan with me first and I am on the tight schedule too (I really wouldn't mind if I have a lot of time in hand), plus I already told carpenter to come tomorrow.) On the other hand, I don't know how to stand firmly with my position as a hirer in this case. It has a lot to do with not only the fact that I don't have any experience with negotiating professionally but also I felt pretty uncomfortable to argue with someone elder besides my parents.

Pin asked me to call and try to show them that it really matters a lot whether or not if they can come in tomorrow. She is afraid they might be taking advantage of me because I am not intimidating at all as a commander. In the end, we still got the same answer, "no," but I hope at least that last phone call wasn't just a waste of time.

bring it! summer 2012!

Ever since the typhoon Nanmadol left few days ago, it has been a lot cooler during the day. But that didn't make us cancel our appointment with AC installers today. In addition to the intense heat in the summer, the stuffiness of the house makes ac become a "must-have" for this place to be livable!

love his polka dot sunblock sleeve

i have never seen such a cute warning tape:black + pink!! who doesn't get warned! 

the guy on the left really doesn't know how to make good jokes.

there is a slang in chinese "一個不嫌少，兩個恰恰好"(one is enough but two is just right), describing a traditional chinese view on how many children one should have. And this is exactly how i felt when we were testing them today!

Take one: Intro

No exercises.

No house cleaning.

No gardening.
Not even lunch!

All i did today was run all over town to look for the "right" faucet.

>14, is the exact number of stores i have gone to today.

Today is the last day of August, meaning that summer is officially ended. However, it is the beginning of a new chapter in which i am determined to put a hundred percent into this project.

And with that being declared, here comes the initial move: the first ever post of this long-awaited blog, a space to document every bit and piece of this ongoing project that we started about a month ago.

We are a tiny team of two Tainan natives, Pin and Pei with an enormous heart for life and art.

This project is called the "Socorro Hostel."