"Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."
- Michelangelo
Showing posts with label Taipei 101. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taipei 101. Show all posts
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Taipei 101 still wins
Although Taipei 101 has recently lost the title of "Tallest Building in the World" to Burj Dubai (just barely, see graph below), the bamboo-shaped building in Taiwan's capital city still has a few things left to boast about.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
100 Years*
A bit of history to make up for the posting drought? Why not?
As witnessed by TONS of people (just ask Karen) on the streets in Taipei, there were some pretty impressive fireworks to celebrate the opening minute of 2011.
Worldwide, the eve of 2011 was just another night of partying in preparation for another year for failed resolutions.
For some, 2011 was more significant.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
The highest I've ever been
As usual, I leave things to the last minute.
On January 2, it was brought to my attention that on January 4, 2010, there would be a new tallest building in the world. Since 2004, Taipei 101's grandiosity has been at the top of the list.*
Since last March, I've been living in the shadow of Taipei 101, eating Subway at its basement food court, buying books at its bookstore, and looking at it from my balcony everyday, but I've never gone the vertical distance and looked over Taipei City from its observatory 1,285 ft. above the ground. Going to the top is something that I deemed "I'll do before I leave," which meant I didn't have to do it until I had plans to leave.
But now, practically visible over the horizon from Taipei 101 itself, Burj Dubai has crept up and is poised to take Taiwan's claim to fame right out from under it. With less than 48 hours to take advantage of the fact that I live only a train ride from the tallest building in the world, I was overcome with a sense of urgency. Must...go...up....
Unfortunately, I was alone in my principles. After a few phone calls, I realized that everyone I know has either been up it already or just doesn't care as much as I do.** That didn't stop me though, because I don't see myself traveling to United Arab Emirates to see the tallest building in the world. My desire to go up 101 was purely for ceremony and not for the view (as proven by my pictures). So alone I went, and faster than I can count to 89 in Chinese, I was on the 89th floor.
I spent a surprisingly long time in 101, despite the Perma-fog that blankets Taiwan. And although I couldn't see very far, I did see the spot on the street that I watched the New Years fireworks from! I basked in the glory of the building and stared into the mist from the Outdoor Observatory on the 91st floor until I saw a patch of blue sky and what appeared to be the sun. Then, at nearly free-falling velocity, I took the elevator back down, bought a book, ate Subway, went home and stepped out onto my balcony to look at the lame-duck tallest building in the world, one last time.
It was a good run, Taipei 101.
*Please do not bother me with your BS definition of "tallest building." I don't make the rules, I just read them and follow them.
**I was pumped to go to 101, and every phone call I made was met with negativity. My favorite was people arguing that it's not even the tallest building. Obviously Burj Dubai is taller already (and has been for a few months), but it doesn't open for business until Jan. 4, and therefore does not claim "tallest building" status yet. And whatever needles, antennas, towers, etc. that might be closer to space than 101, I'm not really concerned with. What I will go by is whatever the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats has to say.
On January 2, it was brought to my attention that on January 4, 2010, there would be a new tallest building in the world. Since 2004, Taipei 101's grandiosity has been at the top of the list.*
Since last March, I've been living in the shadow of Taipei 101, eating Subway at its basement food court, buying books at its bookstore, and looking at it from my balcony everyday, but I've never gone the vertical distance and looked over Taipei City from its observatory 1,285 ft. above the ground. Going to the top is something that I deemed "I'll do before I leave," which meant I didn't have to do it until I had plans to leave.
But now, practically visible over the horizon from Taipei 101 itself, Burj Dubai has crept up and is poised to take Taiwan's claim to fame right out from under it. With less than 48 hours to take advantage of the fact that I live only a train ride from the tallest building in the world, I was overcome with a sense of urgency. Must...go...up....
Unfortunately, I was alone in my principles. After a few phone calls, I realized that everyone I know has either been up it already or just doesn't care as much as I do.** That didn't stop me though, because I don't see myself traveling to United Arab Emirates to see the tallest building in the world. My desire to go up 101 was purely for ceremony and not for the view (as proven by my pictures). So alone I went, and faster than I can count to 89 in Chinese, I was on the 89th floor.
I spent a surprisingly long time in 101, despite the Perma-fog that blankets Taiwan. And although I couldn't see very far, I did see the spot on the street that I watched the New Years fireworks from! I basked in the glory of the building and stared into the mist from the Outdoor Observatory on the 91st floor until I saw a patch of blue sky and what appeared to be the sun. Then, at nearly free-falling velocity, I took the elevator back down, bought a book, ate Subway, went home and stepped out onto my balcony to look at the lame-duck tallest building in the world, one last time.
It was a good run, Taipei 101.
*Please do not bother me with your BS definition of "tallest building." I don't make the rules, I just read them and follow them.
**I was pumped to go to 101, and every phone call I made was met with negativity. My favorite was people arguing that it's not even the tallest building. Obviously Burj Dubai is taller already (and has been for a few months), but it doesn't open for business until Jan. 4, and therefore does not claim "tallest building" status yet. And whatever needles, antennas, towers, etc. that might be closer to space than 101, I'm not really concerned with. What I will go by is whatever the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitats has to say.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Do NOT try this abroad
It's not really fair to try to convince you that everything over here is easy as pie. You'd be silly to believe it, anyway. I've been twelve timezones away from my home for a whole month, I speak the bare minimum of the native language, and for awhile, I didn't have a cell phone. If only Dave was black, I'd have 90% of a comedy screenplay written. But Hollywood or not, with these ingredients, something was bad was bound to brew. Let's turn back a few pages, right at the part where I thought I knew Taipei City like the back of my hand...
I had received an email from Julie, my agent, with the time and location of my initial interview so she could begin pimping me out to the best schools in Taiwan as soon at possible. 3:00 pm? Keelung Road? Section 1? XinYi District? Shoot, that's right near Taipei 101, and I had been there once in my life. Not to mention I'm practically best friends with a guy who knew a guy whose brother dated a girl's cousin whose grandfather worked for the friend of a civil engineer that helped design the road system in Taiwan. All that means is that I was ready to brave Taipei City without a map. Word of advice: do not try this abroad.
I got off the subway, came up from underground and surveyed the scene. After a few weeks in Taiwan, it turns out that I have an above average sense of direction. I gauged the wind and started walking in the estimated direction towards my destination. I checked my watch; and because I planned to have a time cushion, I had about 25 minutes until my interview. Strolling along, confidently making lefts and rights at seemingly appropriate places, I started to get a little nervous. I had a few street names stored in my memory that I knew exactly what to do upon seeing them, but it had been 10 minutes and I hadn't seen any of them, which was a problem. I looked around and saw that I was in the shadow of the tallest building in the world, looming above me in all its collosal glory. At the next corner there was a map.
Aha! I was walking the wrong direction! I walked in another direction for a few minutes before I started to get the feeling that I was still not headed the right way. It happened to be that I was at the base of Taipei 101.I knew the compass direction from Taipei 101 to my interview, but an unfortunate fact about Taipei is that it glows. That is, there is always a very thick layer of smog and/or rainclouds covering the sun, giving the city a fluorescent light effect. No shadows, no distinct source of light. I found another map on a corner. Within the next 10 or so minutes, I had graduated from a casual, confident walk, to an "oh no, I have 2 seconds left to cross the street" sprint. The occasional map on the corner was like finding pit stops in The Amazing Race, and I said a silent prayer before approaching each one, hoping that the "You are Here" bubble was closer to Julie than the last one. The minutes ticked by, 3:00 came and went, and frustration and panic ensued, accompanying an already existing large amount of perspiration, fast running, and a cornucopia of curses (FYI- there is an automatic 2 points added for every use of the word "cornucopia" in everyday conversation).
Naturally, I blame two things other than the stupidity of not bringing a map: Keelung Road stops being Keelung Road for awhile. It turns into another road that brings you to a place that is not Keelung Road. What's up with that? And the other thing: North is not always "up" on the maps on the street. I was used to reading maps that followed a universal, logical pattern, so I was making lefts that should have been turn around, go 3 blocks and make a rights.
Sure enough, I made it to my interview, and only 15 minutes late at that (Julie was very understanding*). Let this be a lesson to Taiwan-goers: always write down the address in Chinese, always carry a map, never say "near a 7-Eleven" as a serious point of reference, and never assume Up is North.
*considering she told me her office was on the 13th floor and the elevator only went up to 12. Talk about a panic attack to interrupt the sigh relief when I found the building...
I had received an email from Julie, my agent, with the time and location of my initial interview so she could begin pimping me out to the best schools in Taiwan as soon at possible. 3:00 pm? Keelung Road? Section 1? XinYi District? Shoot, that's right near Taipei 101, and I had been there once in my life. Not to mention I'm practically best friends with a guy who knew a guy whose brother dated a girl's cousin whose grandfather worked for the friend of a civil engineer that helped design the road system in Taiwan. All that means is that I was ready to brave Taipei City without a map. Word of advice: do not try this abroad.
I got off the subway, came up from underground and surveyed the scene. After a few weeks in Taiwan, it turns out that I have an above average sense of direction. I gauged the wind and started walking in the estimated direction towards my destination. I checked my watch; and because I planned to have a time cushion, I had about 25 minutes until my interview. Strolling along, confidently making lefts and rights at seemingly appropriate places, I started to get a little nervous. I had a few street names stored in my memory that I knew exactly what to do upon seeing them, but it had been 10 minutes and I hadn't seen any of them, which was a problem. I looked around and saw that I was in the shadow of the tallest building in the world, looming above me in all its collosal glory. At the next corner there was a map.
Aha! I was walking the wrong direction! I walked in another direction for a few minutes before I started to get the feeling that I was still not headed the right way. It happened to be that I was at the base of Taipei 101.I knew the compass direction from Taipei 101 to my interview, but an unfortunate fact about Taipei is that it glows. That is, there is always a very thick layer of smog and/or rainclouds covering the sun, giving the city a fluorescent light effect. No shadows, no distinct source of light. I found another map on a corner. Within the next 10 or so minutes, I had graduated from a casual, confident walk, to an "oh no, I have 2 seconds left to cross the street" sprint. The occasional map on the corner was like finding pit stops in The Amazing Race, and I said a silent prayer before approaching each one, hoping that the "You are Here" bubble was closer to Julie than the last one. The minutes ticked by, 3:00 came and went, and frustration and panic ensued, accompanying an already existing large amount of perspiration, fast running, and a cornucopia of curses (FYI- there is an automatic 2 points added for every use of the word "cornucopia" in everyday conversation).
Naturally, I blame two things other than the stupidity of not bringing a map: Keelung Road stops being Keelung Road for awhile. It turns into another road that brings you to a place that is not Keelung Road. What's up with that? And the other thing: North is not always "up" on the maps on the street. I was used to reading maps that followed a universal, logical pattern, so I was making lefts that should have been turn around, go 3 blocks and make a rights.
Sure enough, I made it to my interview, and only 15 minutes late at that (Julie was very understanding*). Let this be a lesson to Taiwan-goers: always write down the address in Chinese, always carry a map, never say "near a 7-Eleven" as a serious point of reference, and never assume Up is North.
*considering she told me her office was on the 13th floor and the elevator only went up to 12. Talk about a panic attack to interrupt the sigh relief when I found the building...
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