• Travel

    Can I Fly With Damage to my Inner Ear?

    October 6, 2023 - By 

    The answer, in my case, was “yes”. I did only have mild bruising and there was no damage to the eardrum. As for how this happened, Small Sophie helpfully woke me up with a chopstick in my ear. I grabbed it, pulled it out, fought with her over it and ultimately won (because I am much bigger and stronger than a 2-year-old even while confused and sleepy), and said, sternly, “No putting things in ears!” She cried, probably because I rarely raise my voice. In a short while, she was in her own bed and sad, because she had no…

  • Travel

    Free iTaiwan Wi-Fi in Taiwan

    September 29, 2023 - By 

    Taiwan provides free public Wi-Fi with 8Mbps bandwidth in government-run indoor public areas with the SSID (Service Set Identifier) iTaiwan. The main site to learn about this service is 首頁 | iTaiwan無線上網服務. You need to be near a government office or near some government-run area during operation hours to find the network. For example, the township building probably only runs 9-5 but the train station should run 24 hours a day. It is meant to be indoors, so signal is often weak when outdoors. (And it could be a bad actor trying to imitate iTaiwan to steal your data.) I…

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    2023 US Passport Wait Times

    September 22, 2023 - By 

    In 2023, three members of my family had to get our US passports. The news claimed that passports were taking much longer than usual because of renewed interest in travel post-pandemic. The official website https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/processing-times.html let us know that there were indeed longer processing times: For my family, the time to receive the new passport from mail-in date ranged from 3 weeks (Tremendously quick, considering it was normal service!) to 11 weeks. The one that took 11 weeks of wait time was the last one, so we were getting a bit concerned given the others were so quick! Renewal of…

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    How to Make Pokémon Cafe Osaka Reservations – Japan

    September 21, 2023 - By 

    There are two Pokémon Cafes in Japan: Tokyo and Osaka. They are extremely popular to the point that it is difficult, though quite possible, to get reservations. Pokémon Cafe is known more for the decor and getting to eat curry out of a snorlax’s tummy than it is for the quality of the food. In fact, I have heard rather negative reviews with regards to actual food quality here. Food presentation, on the other hand, is rated high. However, for another incentive, there is “Special” Pokémon merchandise (limit of 3) that can only be purchased during the reservation. In 2023,…

  • Travel

    maidreamin – chain maid cafe in Akihabara

    October 22, 2018 - By 

    When I was in Akihabara, my friend was very interested in visiting a maid cafe. I was a bit curious, too, because I had been hearing a lot about the maid cafes of Japan. We ended up in a chain maid cafe called maidreamin located very close to the Akihabara Station. To find it, you do have to go in what looks like a side door and then up some stairs, but the very large logo on the wall will tell you that you are on the correct path. In 2018, there is a ¥500 cover charge for entry +…