My alma mater, Morrison Christian Academy in Taichung, had a huge make over since my graduation. The entire elementary + middle school section plus the new school library as well as the front office, cafeteria, and an assortment of utility rooms were torn down and rebuilt to California earthquake code. All that plus a 7 story high rise with nearly 100 units of apartments for faculty and dorm students. A figure I espied estimated the cost of the project at some 14 million USD.

The amazing thing is: While shopping for Construction firms, the school asked the bidders to lower their price tags because the school was a non-profit, and one firm out of seven came out with a bid far below that of its rivals, Da-Yi. Da-Yi is a construction industry powerhouse and agreed to do the project at no-profit; they would charge for labor and material but return any amount remaining. Not only did they finish ahead of schedule (11 months), they also utilized high grade materials (tiles, better wood, lighting, etc) above the required specs out of their own pockets. The story behind this is that Da-Yi's head honchos was a poor Taiwanese kid back in the day who was in real bad shape because his family could not afford medical care. An Australian missionary doctor treated him at no charge and saved his life. The guy became a Christian and has been looking to give back since, sponsoring a number of charities, including English education for poor island natives who live in the mountains.

I figure I redeemed the cost of my plane ticket on this trip through a number of measures:
*Having my cavity fixed while in Taiwan, as I do not have dental in the US. The bill in Taiwan was about 15 bucks.
*Having the soles of my classic Rockport boat shoes patched for 9 bucks. A new pair would have been 100. I've had this pair for six years. This will be the third time I patched it.
*Getting a new pair of glasses: My near sightedness is fairly severe so I require the micro-compression lenses.

Still jet-lagging: I woke up last night at 3:00AM and struggled to go back to sleep. I napped 3 hours after lunch. It may be a while before I fully recover.

Take away: Perhaps the biggest resolution I came away with after meeting many family friends, former teachers (including my elementary teacher who taught me 13 years ago), and relatives is: I have got to get in the dating game. I haven't done anything since high school. And considering what little I did in high school, I know for a fact that most sixteen year-olds in America have more experience in relationships than I do. I think the Dark Years at Berkeley damaged my confidence to such an extent that I moved towards becoming an emotional recluse, particularly in relation to the opposite sex. Objectively, my stats are pretty good: Tall, passably fair looking, well-educated, well-traveled, Toyota Camry 2004, excellent career prospects, well-off parents... but ask me to walk into a bar and hit on a girl and I'm helpless.

Am seriously considering hiring a tutor like that Will Smith movie; don't think a book is going to cure my romantic ineptness at this stage. I'm 23. The clock is running out.