Zai Jian Taiwan

The tourism office here prints signs with the slogan: "Taiwan: Touch Your Heart." I'm not completely sure what it means, but I do know this: the students I met here have touched mine. Tonight, two, Victor and Stanley, kidnapped me for tea and conversation on the steps of the library; last night, I went out with a larger group for dinner, and afterward we all gathered in my hotel room for conversation (read: gossip), photo-sharing and doughnuts.

How did I spend my first free day after finishing my thesis?

I visited the library, of course.

Yep, I'm hopeless.

Other discoveries these last two days have included delicious Egyptian sandwiches, crafted by an authentic Egyptian who also frequents Dante Coffee, and an outdoor, permanent computer swap meet called something like "gong hua" near the NTU Technology campus. It's techie heaven: sort of Fry's Electronics gone mad and spread out over several city blocks.

Tomorrow: a 24-hour flight back to Los Angeles.

Good news--my editor approved my writing my next column on bathroom innovations. I knew something would come of the talking toilets.

What I'm listening to as I (inevitably) delay packing: "A Place Called Home," by Kim Richey. It's the song used in the Angel episode "A Hole in the World"-- in which Fred dies -- for a montage flashback scene of her character first striking out for California and her unexpected destiny.

I had a chance to settle down / get a job and live in town / work in some old factory / [but] I never liked a foreman standing over me / no, I'd rather walk a winding road / rather know the things I know / see the world with my own eyes / no regrets...

What I'm munching on: well, I was munching on wasabi peas. But I finished the whole bag. So much for in-flight snacks.