Monday, September 05, 2005

what can i do

last nite, i went to a nan quan mama autograph-signing event at the gongguan rose records, like the 12 year old girl i am. i was disappointed that i missed their free show at ximen last week, so i had to take this opportunity to see them up close. the channel v pop music concert just wasn't enuf. plus, back then, i had no idea who they were. thus, armed with the cd booklet, i set off with a friend to gongguan.

when we got there, there wasn't really much of a line, unlike the event yesterday at the same location for boyband 5566 (i think all the little girls in all of taipei showed up for that one). hopefully, this was because of the fact that this was nan quan mama's fourth of five stops around taipei city, and not because people don't love them, cuz people should love them; they're great. they arrived unceremoniously a little after 7 in a small gray van. after they got situated, they started letting people in, so we all slowly filed into the little shop and gave them whatever nan quan mama materials we had for them to sign. when i got up to the front, i couldn't help but grin like an idiot. what does one say to pop stars as one is whisked quickly by them as they sign their name for the 1000th time? do i tell them that i really liked their cd? how many times had they already heard that? do i tell lara she's too cute, and dantou that i think he's cool? plus, how does one convey these things in chinese without sounding stupid? i had no idea. i just said thank you and smiled as zhang jie and dantou finished signing their names. all of them looked absolutely exhausted from their day that started at 1, but when i got to yuhao, he pointed to my hair and was like "you have very cool hair." tee hee! after lara finished signing my booklet, i grinned and waved a goodbye to her. she's so adorable.

and then it was over...

they have these sorts of events every weekend, so i wonder who'll be in town next week.

Sunday, September 04, 2005

a little too funky

so on the nite previous, i made me first foray into gay taipei; i visited the club known as funky. the boutique-owner i asked about places to have fun in the area said that this is the main one that everyone goes to, so i figured i had to go at least once.

when we got to the intersection of zhongxiao east and hangzhou south after midnite, it was already apparent we were in the rite area. the sidewalks surrounding funky were occupied with a multitude of gay men, sitting and standing around, cruising, smoking and drinking. why were they doing that outside, you might ask. well, we found out why after we went in. the place is packed fucking beyond full. there is really no room to reasonably move around or even breathe in there, and to get from point a to point b, you have to squeeze between too many sweaty men. it seemed pretty much like all the gay men in taipei were there.

the music they played were basically just pop hits from the charts of taiwan, but "remixed," that is they were sped up two or three times over, which is really unnecessary on some songs, cuz they're already really fast. the drinks were good and strong, tho the bar was far from full. also, to order a drink, you had to go to the door and pay the cashier, who would then give you a ticket with which to take to the bartender in exchange for whatever you ordered. why? no clue. it was like going to a food court in mainland china.

the crowd was mostly taiwanese locals with a few smatterings of (old) white foreigners, but i did run into a schoolmate i had not previously talked to while there, answering my question of whether or not there had been another gay guy doing the program i did. i think most of the people there were in their 20s, but there was a good number of older men too. the percentage of attractive men was just about the same as any club i've been to... low, but some of the boys were truly very cute.

overall, it was pretty fun. we both got pretty trashed, tho one more so than the other. i dunno if i'd want to go back again during this visit to the island, but i'm definitely glad i went.

Friday, September 02, 2005

i don't eat stinky tofu

because it smells like poo.