Last Friday night, the newlywed couple Shih-chuan and Chu-chen invited me to play badminton, but the court was fully booked, so we disbanded. Back home, just as I turned on the TV to watch a baseball game, my phone rang—it was Wen-cheng asking if I'd eaten and inviting me to join a group of friends for dinner. Even though I'd already eaten a bit, meeting friends for a chat sounded nice, so I soon headed to Gudu Restaurant on Jinshan Street. I'd been here before with club friends. Though they no longer offer unlimited drinks, I still think it's decent for the price and ambiance. Strangely, for a Friday night, there were hardly any customers—maybe because it was already past 7 PM. Our group of eight chatted about work in tech companies and IT topics while enjoying dishes like fried pork intestine, stir-fried mountain vegetables, three-cup chicken, and more. The bill came to just NT$110 per person. I really can't figure out why it was so empty that night.
Last Saturday evening, I played badminton with Zhi-qian, Zong-wei, and the incredibly strong Li-ren大哥 (he won 15 straight games, even 1 vs. 2 in the last two!). We played until almost 9 PM, then went looking for dinner/supper with Z…