Reading Diary: Sha Po Lang/Stars of Chaos Vol 2 by Priest

Here is a brief synopsis from Seven Seas' website:

Four years ago, Chang Geng and Gu Yun parted in anger. When fate draws them together again, Chang Geng, a once-awkward teen, is now an elegant and adroit young man.

But storms lie ahead. As Great Liang faces foreign pressure from without, Gu Yun finds himself embroiled in turmoil within the imperial court. Meanwhile, as the curse in Chang Geng’s blood grows, his feelings for his godfather become more painful to subdue by the day. How much longer can he keep Gu Yun from learning his secret… and what will happen when he can hide it no more?

I read volume two much faster than volume one. The political intrigue has really picked up, and I'm deeply invested now in the survival of the country. It's interesting to see how the policies of the current emperor and his predecessors have brought the country to the brink of destruction.

I'm less invested in Gu Yun's and Chang Geng's developing relationship. This book starts with a four-year gap, during which time Chang Geng wandered around, studying with Liao Ran, a monk, and Gu Yun was off doing various military things, and they don't see each other. The lack of development of their relationship, compared to the development of the political situation, leaves me not really caring about it one way or the other. Which is not to say I'm not rooting for them. We do learn more about Gu Yun's background, and given all that he's experienced, I want him to find comfort with someone who cares about him.

I've pre-ordered volume 3, which is due out May 7, and I have a few other books coming my way to keep me occupied until it's released. I'm really glad I gave volume 1 a second chance because I do enjoy this story.

Taiwan Diary: Earthquake!

By now, you've probably seen the news about the earthquake that hit Taiwan Wednesday morning. I was at school when the tremors reached us. We had a slow start to the morning as we were getting ready for a student work showcase, so I was in the staff office instead of in class with my kids. We got an alert on our phones a few seconds before we felt the quake. The other teachers in the office with me kind of stared at each other, and then, instead of getting under our desks like we should have, we ran down the stairs and outside. Thankfully nothing crashed down on us and we got outside. No one was hurt at school, and the damage to the building that I saw seemed superficial. Cracked and crumbled plaster, some broken cement, damaged air conditioning unit, that sort of thing.

I got a text from one of my new coworkers in Shanghai shortly after the quake. She said they felt it all the way over there, gentle but unsettling. When she learned where the quake was, she texted me to see if I was okay. I thought it was really sweet of her, and it made me feel good about my new job and school.

There have been hundreds of aftershocks since the initial quake. One that we felt in Zhubei happened while we were all gathered on the basketball court outside. We got an alert for that, followed by a tsunami alert. My city is right on the coast, but we are far enough from the actual water that I wasn't worried about a tsunami. There was another noticeable aftershock a few hours later, but it was brief.

Since Wednesday morning, there have been over 200 aftershocks that I counted (scrolling through the government website that lists quakes). Here in Zhubei, I've only felt a few, including one just a few minutes ago. When I check the quake website, the ones that I feel have all been at least 5.0. Last night, just as I lay down to sleep, I felt one aftershock. It felt like I was in a frying pan being gently sauteed, shaking back and forth. It was VERY disconcerting.

The epicenter for the main quake was down in Hualien, on the east coast of the island. When my mom was here, we visited that part of the island as we visited Taroko Gorge. I've seen videos of rock slides in places where we stood just over a week ago. It kind of freaked me out to think about it, but then I realized that even if we had been on vacation on the day of the quake, our tour wouldn't have left Taipei yet, so we would have been okay. Still, I definitely don't want to go back to Hualien again. No offense to the lovely town, but I'll pass.

Last school year, when we experienced a strong quake (September 2022), we had noticeable aftershocks for a few days after, so I hope that by the time we go back to school on Monday, the quakes will be done. And I hope that things stay calm and quiet until I leave Taiwan in June.