Preparing for Taiwan

Currently I am living with Jess across the street from the college we graduated from. By the end of the month I will be moved into my dad's house. This will allow me to save money (no rent) and I will also be able to help my parents with their projects. My mom is moving to a new house and my dad needs to fix up some things in his place. So now I need to chart out my goals in preparing for Taiwan, and for the next months living here.

• Get a new job to earn money for the ticket and rent in Taiwan.
• Make sure paperwork is in order, I need a renewable Visa.
• Find a place in Taiwan to live, needs to be affordable and near to jobs/transportation.
• Find some prospective jobs in Taiwan, just to get a headstart on getting set-up.
• Review the process, make sure I have up to date info on ARCs and work permits.
• Language training, go over the details of English grammar, as well as learning more basic Chinese.
• Find a good time, get a plane ticket that is cheap and also arrives at a good time in the season.

I'll be adding to this list as I think of more things. Leave me a comment with any other suggestions.

I am also going to try to get a little more in shape, I am still only about 160 lbs which is an OK weight for me, but I am feeling really week. I get gassed after doing really minor physical things, I probably could do with some jogging or bike riding. I am also going to be doing a little freelance web design, hopefully in the next week or so I will be doing an assignment. I created the Galerie Francoise ESF website a while back and will be getting it up to date for the client.

I have a lot to do in the next 6 month in order to get ready but one thing I am not sure about is my 'confidence level.' I am not the MOST independant guy in the world. I like to ask for help with things and can often be really shy in new situations. I think my #1 worry in going to Taiwan is that I won't be bold enough to get what I want/need and deal with some of the more pushy Taiwanese practices. I guess I am hoping that I will just be able to 'do what I gotta do' when the time comes.