Y Lee
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ylee.bsky.social
Y Lee
@ylee.bsky.social
66 followers 30 following 810 posts
A Canadian expat in Taiwan.

Books, movies, coffee/espresso, rum, straight razors, fountain pens, bread, chocolate, Heritage style
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ylee.bsky.social
Two recent pictures of my wife. (Details in the alt text.)

I'll be busy for the next little while, so I'll be less active online. It's not that I'm ignoring anyone.
Two x-rays of the same shoulder. The top one shows a compound fracture where the collarbone is completely broken through into two parts, with the outer piece noticeably lower. The second one shows a metal plate and 9 screws joining the broken collarbone together. Everything is at the same level. For those wondering, she lost her balance while kneeling and moving around on the bed. She spent two nights in the hospital and was discharged on the third day. She has to wear a sling everywhere for two weeks except when lying on the bed. She can't lift her hand above her head tor 8 weeks, and no vigorous activity for 3 months.
October 6, 2025 at 1:03 AM
ylee.bsky.social
What are a couple of teachers going to do on a Teacher's Day long weekend?

#Coffee
A slice of burnt-sugar Basque cheesecake and a brown-sugar steamed milk on a wooden tray in a coffee shop. A layered cookie with caramel filling and a iced coffee on a tray in a coffee shop.
September 29, 2025 at 4:22 AM
ylee.bsky.social
And what better place for a teacher to visit on Teacher's Day than the Confucius temple.

#Taiwan
A Chinese-style gate leading to the Confucius temple. The Confucius temple in Taichung, Taiwan. A closer picture of the Confucius temple A side arcade of the temple with columns on the outside.
September 28, 2025 at 10:32 AM
ylee.bsky.social
If you see this, quote with a flower
A pink Singapore graveyard flower in full blossom. (For those reading this, I park my scooter next to a house that has this out front. It has a delicate, beautiful fragrance. I want to say a little like honeysuckle and jasmine, but those may be the only flower fragrances I know.)
September 23, 2025 at 3:13 PM
ylee.bsky.social
Post a killer you wouldn't run from.
Kate Beckinsale, in Total Recall, running with a gun.
September 9, 2025 at 1:16 AM
ylee.bsky.social
Coconut water, in the shell.

Pull the tab (and straw) out, press the column in, insert the straw, drink.

It's not bad. Pretty refreshing on a hot day.
A coconut with most of the round, green outer portion removed, leaving the portion containing the water. A column has been placed on top, which contains a pull tab and the straw. Same as the previous picture, but from the back side which shows the instructions on how to use it. The same coconut with the column pressed in and the straw inserted into it.
August 31, 2025 at 9:18 AM
ylee.bsky.social
I bought these a while back. I'm not sure if they're still in print. But, damn, are they ever hilarious, you know, should your sense of humor (and lack of human decency) lean that way! 😁

#Books
Two comic books by Andy Riley laid out flat. One is The Book of Bunny Suicides, and the other is The Return of the Bunny Suicides.
August 10, 2025 at 1:54 AM
ylee.bsky.social
In the vernacular of today's urban youth:

New kicks! They are so sick! Yo' boy's got drip!

😁

On a more practical (ie. dad shoe) note, I'm surprised how much leather is on them. I'm curious to see how well they hold up.

#Sneakers #Sneakerhead #Sneakerhead #NewBalance
A POV picture of my one foot on the knee of my other leg. The shoes are New Balance M1906FE.
July 29, 2025 at 7:26 AM
ylee.bsky.social
I am a man of simple tastes.

Cheers! Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

🍻

#Beer #LaChouffe
A bottle of La Chouffe Blonde beer on a desk with some books in the background.
July 27, 2025 at 7:25 AM
ylee.bsky.social
Crème caramel ice cream bar? Yes, please!

#Taiwan
The wrapper for a crème caramel ice cream bar by Poki. A Poki crème caramel ice cream bar on a popsicle stick. The top quarter is a dark brown, and the bottom is a pale golden color.
July 22, 2025 at 8:58 AM
ylee.bsky.social
Martin Cruz Smith, one of the greatest, most literary Mystery writers I've ever had the pleasure to read, has passed away. Standouts from him were Gorky Park and Rose, but anything he published from 1981-2004 was really good. This is such a loss.

#MartinCruzSmith #Books #RIP
A spread of Martin Cruz Smith books: Gorky Park, Polar Star, Red Square, Rose, Havana Bay, December 6, and Wolves Eat Dogs.
July 13, 2025 at 9:35 AM
ylee.bsky.social
"The world doesn't run on logic, it runs on the seven deadly sins and the weather."

- Alan Furst, Red Gold

#AlanFurst #Books
An e-reader with the above quote highlighted in the text.
June 29, 2025 at 6:12 AM
ylee.bsky.social
Lychee are the most refreshing fruit on a hot, humid summer's day, yay or nay?

If nay, must offer alternatives

#Taiwan
Several lychee in a pile on a table.
June 23, 2025 at 5:51 AM
ylee.bsky.social
Chinese dragons, a pond, and tea plantations at Qilintan near Lugu.

#Taiwan
Two, colorful Chinese dragons facing each other next to a large pond with trees in the background. Another angle of the same dragons, now with buildings and terraces of tea shrubs on the tree mountain in the background. The same pond with buildings and terraces of tea shrubs on the mountain in the background.
May 31, 2025 at 1:30 PM
ylee.bsky.social
What are the chances of finding great specialty coffee in a small, tea-producing village (Lugu)? In Taiwan, I'd say pretty good.

#Coffee #Taiwan
A free-standing coffee shop along the side of the road. Several cars are parked in front. Two cups of iced Colombian coffee on a table and a crème caramel with a small scoop of ice cream on top.
May 31, 2025 at 1:20 PM
ylee.bsky.social
A lunch of fine, thread-like noodles, mushrooms, and barrel-roasted chicken. The wood for roasting the chicken in the barrels is longan (dragon eye).

#Taiwan
A plate of very fine, thread-like noodles with another plate of various fried mushrooms in the background. Half a roasted chicken, all cut up, on a plate with a small dish of pepper and a bowl of chicken drippings, both for dipping. Three stainless steel roasting chambers, insulated with bricks and mortar, with a small pile of chopped longan wood in the foreground, and a larger pile in the background. There are several chickens off to the left, on individual vertical spits, each with a stainless steel bowl under them to catch the drippings.
May 31, 2025 at 1:12 PM
ylee.bsky.social
How's this for a lunchtime view?

#Taiwan
Lush, tree-covered mountains all around, and a river at the bottom.
May 31, 2025 at 12:58 PM
ylee.bsky.social
Expat life:

Going half an hour in the opposite direction from my appointment in Taipei to get a croissant, bismark, & espresso, showing up with 3 minutes to spare. Then another 30 minutes in another direction for a burger, cinnamon bun, & espresso before catching the train back to my city.

#Taiwan
A burger and salad on a cafe table, with an espresso to the side.
May 20, 2025 at 4:52 AM
ylee.bsky.social
On the train.

#Taiwan
Lush rice paddies in the foreground, houses in the mid-distance, low mountains in the background--all under a relatively clear sky. Lush rice paddies in the foreground, houses in the mid-distance, low mountains in the background--all under a relatively clear sky.
May 20, 2025 at 12:20 AM
ylee.bsky.social
Coffee. Or is it?

#Coffee
Iced coffee in a very tall, stemmed wine glass and a piece of cheesecake in a coffee shop.
May 4, 2025 at 6:23 AM
ylee.bsky.social
Some Black Thunder chocolate bars. Top to bottom: Original, possibly Cognac, and Blissful Butter. The original and butter were quite good.

#Japan
Three small packets of chocolate-covered cookies. The writing on them is all in Japanese.
April 25, 2025 at 7:53 AM
ylee.bsky.social
My no-name messenger bag needed to be repaired last year after over a decade of faithful service. Now it's tearing next to the repair. So I thought I'd give Fjällräven a try.

#Fjallraven
A 9L Fjällräven shoulder bag sitting on a chair.
April 22, 2025 at 6:07 AM
ylee.bsky.social
'Nuf said.

#Books #Coffee
A poster on a wall which says, "Happiness is a cup of coffee & a good book".
April 4, 2025 at 10:11 AM
ylee.bsky.social
This is what started my interest in brewing (and eventually roasting) coffee at home. I mostly just use it for iced coffee now, but it is, hands down, the most versatile coffee brewer I know.

#Coffee #Aeropress
The box the Aeropress comes in. The Aeropress. A cylindrical plastic coffee brewer that's not unlike a very large syringe, but with a flat end rather than a needle.
March 23, 2025 at 8:33 AM
ylee.bsky.social
The air was ice, the heavens swept with winter stars, white and still in a black sky.

- Alan Furst, The World at Night

#Books #Coffee #AlanFurst

Crème caramel on a plate with two spoons and an iced coffee in the background.
March 2, 2025 at 4:30 AM