We love you: JD Smith. Appreciation thread

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

Mister JD Smith is going home. He is soon to be off rock.

We often welcome newbies to The Rock, but sometimes, rarely, a person sets foot on the island and they stamp the hell out of themselves while they are there. Our good and trusted friend, Mr JD SMITH is about to bugger off home and I think a long and appreciative clap needs to be ushered in.

I want to be the first to say: Thank you for being there. You’ve seen me through my worst and my best. I’m a better man for knowing you. I wish you the very best. I love you, in some weird way. Go home and be excellent. Build that bike. Noodle that turtle. Make a space for John P.

If anyone would like to weigh in with testimony to JDSMITH/ That bastard who always pokes you/ that guy/ The guy who makes you think/, then go right ahead.

I appreciate you sir, what you have done for me as a friend, what you have done for others, and what you leave as a legacy. I rarely cry, but I have tears right now. You da man.

Bon chance and all that good stuff.

Let it flow.

2

Dude…bye bye.

3

Never met JD Smith in person but I have to say: Bon voyage and good luck in your next endeavor.

4

Never met him, not a clue about him, but I wish him the best in his new adventures.

You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.

5

Sorry to hear JD is leaving the island, but there is a time and place to come or go. Will say I enjoyed his banter on the forum greatly and was always welcoming to any input I had to say. Thanks for the good posts and you will be missed. Should be more people like JD on this forum.

6

For fairness’s sake, shouldn’t there be a JDSlagging Thread?

I can only think of the poor bastard who was suspended yesterday for telling me to go hang myself. What voice, now silenced? :frowning:

7

JD - You’ve got my vote, buddy.

8

Get some!

9

Thanks Tom. You’ve saved me the trouble of starting a seeya thread. You’re a good egg. :thumbsup:

Hello would be better, old timer.

Thanks. I’m pretty much just like this IRL. :laughing:

[quote=“Homey”]Never met him, not a clue about him, but I wish him the best in his new adventures.

You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.[/quote]
Er, yes, you can.

Oh god! Someone recommend this post at once! :bravo:

Yes, there should be a poll. I agree. When it stops raining up here, come camping. :thumbsup:

That has never been a problem, my good sir.

10

Good luck JD.

Things you’ll likely miss:

  1. Food
  2. Food
  3. low taxes/ no capital gains
  4. easy money if you work hard
  5. International expats.

Things you’ll likely not miss about Taiwan:

  1. Taiwan’s education system for older kids
  2. Too many Canadians (although you’ll still be close to them in the US).
  3. Too many Canadians (although you’ll still be close to them in the US).
  4. its urban planning/housing
  5. being suspended for long periods of time for no reason (like me :laughing: )
11

How can one slag such a perfect bastard?

Fuck off JD and come back soon.

12

[quote=“ChewDawg”]Good luck JD.

Things you’ll likely miss:

  1. Food
  2. Food
  3. low taxes/ no capital gains
  4. easy money if you work hard
  5. International expats.[/quote]
    I cook most of the food we eat now, but yeah, I’ll miss being able to run out and get some beef noodles with rice noodles for 80NT$. :lick:
    We have decided to use our Stateside brains to live simply, so hopefully the money we made here, easily and not so easily at times, lasts.
    I may have to expand my FB friendships to fill the vacuum of daily expat sightings. :thumbsup:

[quote]
Things you’ll likely not miss about Taiwan:

  1. Taiwan’s education system for older kids
  2. Too many Canadians (although you’ll still be close to them in the US).
  3. Too many Canadians (although you’ll still be close to them in the US).
  4. its urban planning/housing
  5. being suspended for long periods of time for no reason (like me :laughing: )[/quote]
    Number 1 is the number 1 reason we’re going back.
    Some of the best Canadians I’ve met and become good friends with here have been scuba divers. Hmmm :ponder: :wink:
    I like where we live here, compared to many places in Taiwan, but yes, the great wide open awaits. Rivers, lakes and ponds, mountain trails, gorgeous country roads and not a sausage vendor in sight.
    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the worst part about being suspended is not being able to read the Temp Forum.

How can one slag such a perfect bastard?

Fuck off JD and come back soon.[/quote]
Taiwan, touch my heart. Long Life to you. :thumbsup:

13

Good luck with your plans in the US. May they come together and you love it.

14

Thanks. I do love it when a plan comes together. :laughing:

15

Good luck JD. I don’t know what America is like but Australia was in someways pretty easy to fall back into. I’m overwhelmed with work. I miss but one thing about Taiwan and that was the companionship of like minded people living on the edge of China. Natural beauty is one thing, but all places have ‘it’ and their own ‘it’. However, very many years ago, I overheard a conversation between three very desperate people, sandman, hogan, and malfara, congratulating themselves on how when you’ve slipped through the cracks onto Taiwan you meet others who have done just the same, frolicking in the hinterland between cultures, beholden unto neither nor and learning, learning, learning at a furious pace. I think that is something pretty heady that you get from being expatriated.

16

Best of luck JD.

17

Aw, no! Who’s going to play with me on those long, sad, drunken, lonely late nights now?

I’ll miss you, jd.

JIMBOJDSMITH

18

Hey Fox. I enjoyed reading your seeya thread, and I identified with about 90% of it.

I’ve been asked repeatedly if I am prepared for reverse culture shock. I’m not really sure what that means. I never really had culture shock here. There were times when I wondered why I stayed in such a filthy place. I countered that with scuba diving and camping and traveling around Asia and doing a cross country trip in the US with my family.

I think the whole learning learning learning thing is crucial to getting on wherever one goes. I tried to work less and make more here in Taiwan and pretty much succeeded at that. Getting into the swing of things in NY, for the most part, should be fun. :thumbsup:

CF, thanks.

Jimbo, I don’t want to argue with you and if I had a gift to give you, it would be an intervention. :neutral:

19

I will NOT miss the fucking earthquakes. :raspberry:

20

JD, I only knew you as a poster here on this board. But I always found your posts worthy, intelligent contributions to whatever subject it was. And with the wit with which you combined it they were always a good read.

Bon Voyage and best of luck to you!