Robert T's Blogs

• Headache III

  by Robert T August 18, 2010
  Because of the Christmas holiday, fewer doctors and hospital staff were on duty.  John was taken to the emergency room, where a neurosurgeon awaited him with a smile.  It was the first time I had ever been to an emergency room in the States.  The room looked a lot smaller than I had expected, and not every doctor looked like Dr. Gree...

• Headache III

  by Robert T July 15, 2010
  Because of the Christmas holiday, fewer doctors and hospital staff were on duty.  John was taken to the emergency room, where a neurosurgeon awaited him with a smile.  It was the first time I had ever been to an emergency room in the States.  The room looked a lot smaller than I had expected, and not every doctor looked like Dr. Gree...

• Headache II

  by Robert T August 10, 2009
  John convinced me that he was all right after seeing the doctor in the morning. He said the doctor didn’t find anything wrong and the same thing happened to him years ago when he was extremely stressed. Christmas was two days away and he didn’t want to spoil our first Christmas together. John cancelled the MRI on the phone after our visit to th...

• Headache I

  by Robert T July 8, 2009
  Never in my life was I so thrilled as to be able to celebrate the first Christmas with my partner in Portland two years ago. We have known each other for years, but we don’t get to spend time together much because of my work. We were both excited about the coming Christmas. He invited more than 20 people to his place for a pre-Christmas party. It...

• Online Banking

  by Robert T April 28, 2009
  Do you purchase things online? Here is what happened to me a couple of months ago. I am not a computer expert, but like most people, I have enough knowledge and experience to use most online services—Web banking, emailing, shopping and chatting online, etc. I have always been careful about updating the antivirus program as well as the Windows fir...

• Taiwan or Thailand

  by Robert T February 5, 2009
  "So you are from Tai-what?” Nationality often comes up as an issue during my conversations with people in America. People ask me where I am from, not because of my strong Chinese accent or bad English, but because of my skin color. It is still surprising to me that Asian communities have long resided in the States for over a century; yet, one’s...

• The Thing in Taiwan

  by Robert T November 1, 2008
       I thought I was going to die that day. It was a decision that changed my life. I was lying on the bed. She was giggling with another woman in the next room. They whispered something but their laughter soon took over the silence in the room. The bed was cold, and the air conditioning was probably too low. I didn’t want to ...

• Review of The Jade Peony

  by Robert T September 21, 2008
  Wayson Choy may be a name not quite familiar for the American reading public. Choy grew up in the Vancouver Chinatown and went to the University of British Columbia to study creative writing. He later moved to Toronto and taught at Humber College. His short stories have been published in numerous anthologies, while his novels are the most ...

• The Tragic Death of a True Taiwanese Baseball Fan

  by Robert T September 11, 2008
  A 74-year-old baseball fanatic who lived in Kaohsiung suffered from his high blood pressure caused by the loss of the Chinese Taipei baseball team to China and died in a stroke. It was a very close match although the Chinese Taipei baseball team had a definite 7-3 lead until the 12th game. China had a tremendous fight back and converted its losing ...