October 2nd Week 2026

October 9th, Friday, Sunny

On my birthday, I met Amy Li at the bus stop. We got on Bus 909 together. Amy is 87, in a good health condition. She told me that she has been seeing a young Chinese medicine practicianer regularly.

After morning exercise routine at XinDian Sports Center, I took Bus 918 to visit Brother Jimmy at WuGu Rehabiliation Center. We took Bus 982 to have lunch. After lunch, I came back to XinDian to have my hair permed.

In the evening, my husband and I went to Brother Jimmy’s place for dinner. We sang Happy Birthday song together and have cheese cake.

October 8th, Thursday, Cloudy

I didn’t go to XinDian Sports Center this morning, my husband and I went to the penthouse together to solve the suspended renovation issues. We took Bus Green 13 to GongGuan MRT Station, rode two YouBikes to the penthouse on RenAi Road, me an orange one, my husband a yellow one.

We were lucky to run into the interior designer of my next door neighbor 10F-2*. We were shocked to know that it would cost NT$70,000 to apply for permission of installing a new ceiling with the Taipei City Construction Management Office.

In the afternoon, I went to Wheat Land Centor for Seniors from 1:30 till 3:30. I shared my trip to Busan with the seniors and we sang the main theme songs of “The Butterfly Lovers”, a Chinese legend tragic romance between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai.

Finally, I received the notice that the garbage will be removed from the penthouse next Monday. What a relief! 

*There are three households on the 10th floor, 10F (me), 10F-1, and 10F-2. 

October 7th, Wednesday, Cloudy

I woke up before 6 o’clock this morning, lay in bed contemplating the purpose of life for a while. I didn’t know why I had been anxious and restless these days. I kept procrastinating things-to-do, such as disposing the ceiling and floor garbage of the penthouse. And I came across the bottleneck of Korean language acquisition. I admit that I have difficulties memorizing new vocabulary. As a teacher and a cheerleader, I couldn’t show my frustration in front of my students.

I took Bus Green 7 to XinDian Sports Center this mornring. The morning exercise ritual is ideal to set the tone for the day. I rode an orange YouBike home, got dressed for the birthday party organized by XinDian Women’s Choir.

At 12 o’clock, I arrived at Tasty Steak House near GuTing MRT Station. Seventeen members showed up, four of us had birthdays in October. Each of us was offered a piece of cheese cake and a copy of a group photo as a souvenir.

After lunch, I went to the penthouse, and made a decision to have the garbage removed at the cost of NT$15,000 dollars. I thought about disposing the garbage by myself, but it would be a huge task for me to handle the massive garbage on my own. At the moment, I could only let the nature take its course.

In the evening, I read a 2019 TOPIK I preparation textbook written for Chinese readers.

October 6th, Tuesday, Cloudy

I made it to XinDian Fitness Center before 9 o’clock. After 20 minutes stretching, 25 minutes running, 15 minutes weight training, I had a chance to take a hot shower at the huge bathroom reserved for the disabled. I felt refreshed after shampooing my hair, finished reading a Korean textbook at the Family Mart across the corridor.

While running on the treadmill this morning, I overheard the conversation between two seniors for more than 20 minutes about their pastime, and various perspectives. They spoke loudly enough that I knew them well. People have a tendency to talk with strangers about everything in public area. Me, on the contrary, I didn’t talk with anybody at the fitness center.

I rode an orange YouBike Home, bought a package of 8 Dorayaki (red bean paste pancake) at the PX Mart, had one with ice latte for dessert after lunch.

At three o’clock, I left home to have some fresh air. I took Bus 650 to JingXin Library to return several DVDs, borrowed a few Korean textbooks I requested last week. After spending one hour reading the magazines, I took the bus back home. On my way, I ran into Brother Jimmy on the street, we chatted for 20 minutes about his recent health issues. What a serendipity!

October 5th, Monday, Rainy

What a memorable week in Busan in the past week. The 5 days and 4 nights trip was fruitful and enjoyable. In March, 2026, I took MSC Bellissima to Busan for the first time. In six months, I became more fluent in Korean, I even spoke Korean with a veteran taxi driver this time.

Last Monday morning (9/28), I took Bus 1968 at 4:30 at DaPingLin, arrived at the TaoYuan Airport at 5:30. It has been a long while since I last took China Airline, I felt at ease enjoying the in-flight meal. Friday evening (10/2), I arrived at the TaoYuan Airport at 10:05. It took more than 40 minutes to claim the luggage. I took Bus 1968 back to XinDian. It was 1:30 Saturday morning (10/3) when I arrived home.

This morning, when I saw Bus 909 coming, I hopped on it immediately. It was 8:50 when I walked into the fitness center, started stretching for 20 minutes, running for 20 minutes, weight training for 10 minutes, running again for 15 minutes. I took Bus 909 back home because I didn’t want to ride the YouBike in the rain.

In the afternoon, I watched a few episodes of a Korean podcast, a young Korean educated in Japanese college comparing various social phenomena between Japan and Korea, including politics, economy, current trends. It’s stimulating and motivational to learn the Korean language targeted to Japanese audience.

In the evening, I joined the English reading circle on time, from 9:00 till 10:00. We read the story during the Japanese colonization period. Life was hard!