Hello everybody.  It’s been a while.

First of all, I have to apologize to all of you dedicated followers of the patchesweaver.com blog.  For the past 6 months (wow, really?), I have adopted a one-track mindset and a healthy case of tunnel vision.  I have been living under a rock up here and have only come out from my self imposed isolation to run, drink an occasional beer[s] with friends, and to meister it up every day.  This monk-like approach to the daily grind has afforded me the ability to get quite a bit done.  I have to say, I’ve been working my ass off.

The fruits of my labor?  A one way plane ticket to Taipei on June 15th.  I am proud to announce that patchesweaver v2.0 will be released shortly thereafter.

It's official

So for the details:

The Taiwanese government kindly extends the opportunity to study ANYTHING at ANY of their schools to ALL foreigners for AL[most] free.   There are 2 scholarships that they offer, one is for learning the Mandarin language, and the other is for pursuing a graduate degree.  I have chosen to do the first one.  The scholarship includes tuition, housing, and living expenses.  Not a bad deal if you ask me.

I’ve been awarded 9 months and have chosen to do summer school out of pocket.  1 full year of full time Mandarin study.  Nose to the grindstone and brain melting through my nostrils.

As for the school, it is in a cheap/artsy area, has one of the best architecture programs in Taiwan, and is conveniently a little more than a half an hour from Melissa’s house and job.  This is all good.  I’ve already set up an appointment to meet with the chair of architecture.  Vamos a ver que dice.

I’m going to go over and live in a private ensuite (hole in the wall apartment) for the first month or until Melissa and I find a place.

For those of you who would  like to point out that this seems like a crazy plan, please hold that thought for a moment, you are not alone… I’d have to say that I agree with you.  However, moving to Guatemala without having a job or even a solid plan beyond the first few months (or even weeks… wait… or days) was also a crazy plan.  Yet, behold, it was absolutely without a doubt one of the greatest experiences of my life.  With the GT experience tucked tightly under my Q40 counterfeit Nike mercado belt, I have to humbly admit that I have learned a thing or two.  This time around I have done my homework and plan to come out of the gate running.  I can’t wait.

So that’s that.  T minus 2 weeks.

For those of you who’d like to hang out before I peace out for an indefinite amount of time to the opposite side of the world, please email me and we’ll work something out.  I plan to get into NYC on the 11th.  I fly on the 15th.  Let me know.