tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40389794024724569962024-02-07T02:49:26.873-08:00My WishI wish I get my wish whenever I make one.MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-31044172931148851762010-11-13T15:34:00.000-08:002010-11-13T15:34:20.294-08:00News about this weblogI see cobwebs here. But, I am not the one to be blamed for. Blogger locked me out for the longest time ever. I wrote to get support and no one attended to my inquiries. It was truly annoying I must say. Strangely, I was able to log in today, but needed to change my password. <br />
<br />
Not being able to access my own blog was a pain.<br />
<br />
<br />
Here is the news: You can find me on <a href="http://lorettateng.posterous.com/">posterous</a> now. To follow me, just subscribe to my <a href="http://lorettateng.posterous.com/">posterous</a> posts. So will I ever post here again? Maybe or maybe not. You will just have to check back or visit me at my new home. MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-37714978269292652832010-03-22T18:25:00.001-07:002010-03-23T09:24:48.254-07:00The most difficult place to live for expats??I read this article just now and have the permission to share. Unsurprisingly, UAE is rated as the most difficult place to get adjusted to, again, among many other sources of ratings. Read this:<br />
<a href="http://www.expatexchange.com/lib.cfm?networkID=159&articleID=3542&clk=ok">Expat Exchange - A Rewarding But Challenging Life - Expats</a><br />
<br />
Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com/">ShareThis</a><br />
<br />
Although I was pleased with my accomodation with its location, size, etc., I had a nightmare setting up the place. Everything was so difficult. By the end of the day, I had to deal with both work stress and putting a life together in the Arab world. Let me give you one little example. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoYqFngevnaDSF7GROMOc84hOFbPZGIXLVBfo6K6GCW-VOW5AnNqGJwpX1zYJBnKauhswnnG-dgC00MkH9ykmTltYjwnQSFH2-rZsvX1TH24DIa02SH757LnNDsh-_LONe7s0VFywd_Q/s1600-h/CIMG0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuoYqFngevnaDSF7GROMOc84hOFbPZGIXLVBfo6K6GCW-VOW5AnNqGJwpX1zYJBnKauhswnnG-dgC00MkH9ykmTltYjwnQSFH2-rZsvX1TH24DIa02SH757LnNDsh-_LONe7s0VFywd_Q/s320/CIMG0183.JPG" vt="true" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0AwM-TW-j7LwXCEkXNqrSglFmqB-xIg8LL1nS5Mvu3_AIrD6t94LKkTNZuJHI6mPtmus9WOPA369wxd8rZXijoZiHxXY-lLMymP6P7w9PVJPEZmw670_6pk5ZBPt4tSONwvz3Bu74qwI/s1600-h/CIMG0190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0AwM-TW-j7LwXCEkXNqrSglFmqB-xIg8LL1nS5Mvu3_AIrD6t94LKkTNZuJHI6mPtmus9WOPA369wxd8rZXijoZiHxXY-lLMymP6P7w9PVJPEZmw670_6pk5ZBPt4tSONwvz3Bu74qwI/s320/CIMG0190.JPG" vt="true" width="320" /></a>This was what part of my living room looked like before the windows were covered. Yes I literally would look like living in a fishbowl without curtains. My neighbor Ali, a rich Indian young man took me to the near-by Indian district and I ordered some blinds, or rollers. Two guys came by to take the measurements and promised things would be smooth as silk and I should make the full payment. Luckily I did not because my nightmare has just started. The night the workers came to install, I skipped a get-together inviation to stay home for them. They came, of course three hours late. Quoting my friend Pam's wisdom, "well in this country, if they ever show up, you are lucky. If not, it is normal. Don't sweat over it." I told myself to breathe deeply while waiting. They came by finally with all the tools laid out in my living room and said, "there is a big problem." Then they went on to speak Hindu and ingnored my questions such as "what is the problem?" "Can you install today?" They did not understand what I said obviously.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So they started drilling holes on the wall and I started praying. Then these guys could not fit the pieces to the windows. I started to get nervous. It was 10 p.m. and none of the rollers were up. So I got up from the couch, running around trying to help them. Finally they got two pieces up in one of my rooms, but somehow they left this huge space between two blinds. I asked them to make the space go away and they said, "no, it is impossible." What did they mean by impossible! I did not spend all this money on a lousy job like this. I became angry and called one of the guys who measured my windows. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">"Please, you have to come by now. I cannot communicate with these gentlemen. They won't do what I have ask them to do." I raised my voice.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">"We can't go over now. We are in a different city."</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">"You have to talk to them now because it is mess here." I insisted, and I started crying.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">No they would not want to come but they knew I was crying. I had never fret over little things like this anywhere in the world. But of course this was UAE and things were supposed to be difficult. I called my friend Ali and asked him to come help me. It was during Ramadan and Ali was having Iftar dinner with his family. He came to my rescue and translated for me to those guys. I was sobbing and thanking Ali and I knew he felt really sorry for me.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So finally these men pulled over the rods to make them closer. Then the doorbell rang and these two other Indian guys who took the measurements showed up. I thought they said they were two hours away but whatever happened, they decided to come check it out. Then my friend Allan called to check on me and decided to leave his party early to help me out. So Allan, a tall Scottish man speaking with his firm British tone straightened things out for me. He said exactly the same thing that I wanted to say but he was a male and I was a woman. Having a man in the house made a huge difference, in this part of the world. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">What was I doing in these chaos? Sobbing, blowing my nose and wiping my tears away on the couch. My mind went very blank after Allan came. I let him took over my house and the only thing I heard from then on was Allan saying "see how the lady is upset?" </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">They did not finish the installation that night. They had to come back for two more nights after that, and I could not take that anymore. Allan was kind enough to sit in my house supervising them while I went out walking in the mall. On the last night of installation I came home to relieve Allan as it was very late. Allan dragged me to the kitchen and said, "Lori, let these men to their jobs, okay?" Somehow he was afraid that I might be too demanding (perhaps he thought I had been) and the installation would not be completed. I nodded and compromised. I surrendered to the U.A.E. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Allan gave several bottles of beer to these men and they left after they finished the job. I did not know if it was legal because if these guys were Muslims, they were not supposed to drink alcohol, especially during Ramadan. I crossed my fingers that we would not get arrested.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">So was I pleased with the job they did? What do you think? There was a big space in between two blinds facing the elevator where everyone could see me running around in my living room. My friend Pam decided to lend me her beloved screens to shield me off people's wandering eyes. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-30887448860672508732010-03-16T02:51:00.000-07:002010-03-18T05:46:07.795-07:00Remembering the girl from EdmontonI was surfing the net for Alberta Ministry of Education and all of a sudden I remembered this girl. <br />
<br />
She was probably a college or high school student and was from Edmonton, Canada. We ran into each other at the Detroit International Airport. Obviously due to the storm both of our connecting flights were delayed. I was going to Philadelphia for my graduate school, and she was going home to Edmonton. My fatigue from the international flights was overcome by my excitement to be on the soil of the United States of America, a country I dreamed to flee to since when I was a teenager. And seeing snow for the very first time, on Christmas Eve (don't ask me why I travaled on a day like that) was even more exciting. The Americans were friendly and I talked to a lot of people on my shuttle from the plane to the terminal. I still remember one of the conversations:<br />
Me: Hi, how are you? It is my first time in the States.<br />
A middle aged woman: Oh, is that nice! Welcome to America.<br />
Me: Thanks. <br />
<br />
Hey, someone actually welcomed me to America. Well, back to the Edmonton girl. She was obviouly very scared to travel by herself and was worried about not being able to go home. I did not worry. Like I said, I was too excited to be worried. Oh, back then, I had a fearless soul. The girl begged me not to leave her alone so I promised I would keep her company. We walked around in the airport, chatting and waiting, waiting and chatting. Then we boarded our connecting flights.<br />
<br />
From then on, I thought about this gril when I heard or read something about Edmonton. It is weird how a distanct memory can linger around for so long.<br />
<br />
Now, I am going to email the Ministry of Education in Alberta and hope someone would reply.<br />
<br />
Wish me lots of luck. I can use it now.MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-91968017890368326692010-03-01T22:01:00.000-08:002010-03-02T06:43:43.253-08:00I am a grandma + and the Latern ShowNo kidding, I have become a grandmother. Or precisely, a grand aunt. In Taiwanese, "grand teacher."<br />
<br />
Students from my early teaching career are those that I miss most. They are very respectful. There is an old Chinese saying for "once a teacher, a life-time father (parent)." One of my former students have become a father, for the fourth time. I met one of his daughters yesterday and she called me "teacher-grandma (grand teacher." The girl, at two, was so darling. She recited four Chinese poems to me. <br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FKBmIiosfLXLzC9e9n1PPwJGrbqqqMVaha5ScQhoXlqAoOJYZWfia__-6wOq-GnsCsLbzSR2UMDMCQfR3G563Cq75iKB5UI6V_9Zc7vGlLJWPjYmseBXA0iHP2zwIl8k7pI8ouKMDB8/s1600-h/Lori+with+horns+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FKBmIiosfLXLzC9e9n1PPwJGrbqqqMVaha5ScQhoXlqAoOJYZWfia__-6wOq-GnsCsLbzSR2UMDMCQfR3G563Cq75iKB5UI6V_9Zc7vGlLJWPjYmseBXA0iHP2zwIl8k7pI8ouKMDB8/s320/Lori+with+horns+II.jpg" /></a>It was a funny feeling to be a grandmother!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And nothing related to the above...I want to share the latern show from the latern fest.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/u7shRbcXtl0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/u7shRbcXtl0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7shRbcXtl0"></a></div>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-22142593762322270782010-02-27T06:30:00.000-08:002010-03-18T05:55:15.121-07:00The last day of the new year<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeqbXp0ExaHcCbzffD5U-jVVEWyDxSN8C7oYepQ5LPw3kwFU9xUBhk902T1EYUlir9rduA_Le91c-XDuvlfM5MnVpx4iYiE7QV3FpfWONfQBBdJiTp6qNQttvW9DpvVxUkjaOvZF5tb8/s1600-h/CIMG0165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKeqbXp0ExaHcCbzffD5U-jVVEWyDxSN8C7oYepQ5LPw3kwFU9xUBhk902T1EYUlir9rduA_Le91c-XDuvlfM5MnVpx4iYiE7QV3FpfWONfQBBdJiTp6qNQttvW9DpvVxUkjaOvZF5tb8/s400/CIMG0165.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The Latern Festival signifies the last day of the new year. Although not a big fan of this type of event, I tagged along anyway and rubbed shoulders with millions of people. It was somewhat summer like today-very humid and I could tell that my body did not like the heat. The dreadful summer will soon be here and I am not prepared for it yet.</div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckdZ_fcuVebgB-xFMpoXcYEVVWhJb7os8IxEqsp3UOO90mJ6PDTaWJJQ7zsvuyEkVjtoxk-uncLElu6-aBWHZJ6tN7rznSyg7gDlOtn5OQqeiE8995Ptsc-ghNF4SM7r0OhOCpjcaGZA/s1600-h/CIMG0183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgckdZ_fcuVebgB-xFMpoXcYEVVWhJb7os8IxEqsp3UOO90mJ6PDTaWJJQ7zsvuyEkVjtoxk-uncLElu6-aBWHZJ6tN7rznSyg7gDlOtn5OQqeiE8995Ptsc-ghNF4SM7r0OhOCpjcaGZA/s320/CIMG0183.JPG" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
If I can wish upon the laterns, I wish for no more earthquakes and disasters, for people to be more forgiving with one another, and for love to heal the wounds of all kinds. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOuY2lbGE9SCYnosd5tGzc41iQH6_SPjfk1lCUz-7eel1gHbkTAMafZ5O4io7t31466F0JaS4NEDRI8z4Q5BzBqNG41rc1zeZPzXnXXkHErySUgzjgiwogv25BkGe7PEj-9wcvjCsmqA/s1600-h/CIMG0178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieOuY2lbGE9SCYnosd5tGzc41iQH6_SPjfk1lCUz-7eel1gHbkTAMafZ5O4io7t31466F0JaS4NEDRI8z4Q5BzBqNG41rc1zeZPzXnXXkHErySUgzjgiwogv25BkGe7PEj-9wcvjCsmqA/s320/CIMG0178.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
God bless Taiwan and all.MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-39215918652142909142010-02-22T21:37:00.000-08:002010-02-22T21:41:35.121-08:00Beware of what you wish forI've gotten my wish. This time, a pair of new-year earrings, from my cousin Bonny. What is more precious is that she made them, among many other items such as necklaces and rings. They are lovely. My cousin is truly talented. Love ya, Bonny. <br />
<br />
I was just thinking about having red earrings before our family reunion. Red is the color for the new year and also a symbol that I am truly a very mature woman now. When you fall in love with the bloody red color, you are officially old. <br />
<br />
Here is the cutie. The photo was taken when the car was moving, hence blurry. I guess red is a good color on me.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirhDQkDdYw9kqacqhyphenhyphen6LXX-BuoLLwkU-qNnyPSyk-hy5xgiQxUpAn7InRVRs97J8N-fUC96l7_ew3kooWOGuPFp0xL4pT5HD5hxXkI3flLV_Wb1g-sEuFd0DX0V2FFgy-t9G0NLeEtW0I/s1600-h/earrings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirhDQkDdYw9kqacqhyphenhyphen6LXX-BuoLLwkU-qNnyPSyk-hy5xgiQxUpAn7InRVRs97J8N-fUC96l7_ew3kooWOGuPFp0xL4pT5HD5hxXkI3flLV_Wb1g-sEuFd0DX0V2FFgy-t9G0NLeEtW0I/s200/earrings.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-24597465034662809122010-02-18T06:09:00.000-08:002010-02-18T06:23:49.570-08:00HolidayHolidays can be joyful yet stressful at the same time. The Taiwanese culture is a group culture, and my family is not an exception. This includes doing things together, multiple conversations going on simultaneously, everybody wants to be a part of everybody's life by giving advice all the time, and making sure that the advice is taken and followed. Whew! As much as I am an outgoing person, I am pretty aloof from all conversations. I just watch and take off when it is too much to handle. I tried many times to be more like my other siblings but could only do so much to accomodate. Having said so, I am trying my best to be involved in family outings and gatherings. In fact, I cherish these opportunities because as time goes by, the chances of doing so will diminish. <br />
<br />
Sometimes I feel like I am living two lives. When I am away from home, especially when I am abroad, I am a totally different person who is more cheerful compared to when I am at home. Therefore, my desire of wanting to be connected to my root often is compromised by my other desire of wanting to be free and happy. There is never going to be a happy medium. <br />
<br />
Enough of the rambling. Here are some photos of my family's recent outings in Taiwan.<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgXEB0zSTyM8EyvtwbzGdNaMoSaKZksdJLrfsBYmCeguRlCR5QQ7x1bFPywKVSGQz8AKe5uHmiWD-yb8kSl-AMKcQl3XFeu1QBhsvQ61JhuOZKPebZ3erhwlUkjxJntf7tLkzPbgyBzI/s1600-h/CIMG0185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgXEB0zSTyM8EyvtwbzGdNaMoSaKZksdJLrfsBYmCeguRlCR5QQ7x1bFPywKVSGQz8AKe5uHmiWD-yb8kSl-AMKcQl3XFeu1QBhsvQ61JhuOZKPebZ3erhwlUkjxJntf7tLkzPbgyBzI/s200/CIMG0185.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>The BBQ from the Chou tribe of Alishan.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLo2HQrC6pJIXIlFpbn9FgXnLxvYrZdzmukTlzSEfywwZD8SJdtAomwbbpsOAX3kTn-TysJkPTFDZ3JznWHVrBRjvL10tT-UJ-nZy5LERN59zS3GL8KYu27qefKyCsovvtDcsVOdodoI/s1600-h/CIMG0193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigLo2HQrC6pJIXIlFpbn9FgXnLxvYrZdzmukTlzSEfywwZD8SJdtAomwbbpsOAX3kTn-TysJkPTFDZ3JznWHVrBRjvL10tT-UJ-nZy5LERN59zS3GL8KYu27qefKyCsovvtDcsVOdodoI/s200/CIMG0193.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>The Taiwanese yellow cows. We don't see them anymore. This wagon was just for the tourists.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8fi3nmctgMI8fX9yTySteiq5ITb6aPUa2tamTPNWJ3T7MkfTU-UOmEa8Y7h_Ryw5h6od1WEFLbGG11dg5kUFXxRuuDelfRP-M4OX9tyW3LwIPtfEw5LBcpHB2Pg4f8AOhI1mktwLfUek/s1600-h/CIMG0200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8fi3nmctgMI8fX9yTySteiq5ITb6aPUa2tamTPNWJ3T7MkfTU-UOmEa8Y7h_Ryw5h6od1WEFLbGG11dg5kUFXxRuuDelfRP-M4OX9tyW3LwIPtfEw5LBcpHB2Pg4f8AOhI1mktwLfUek/s200/CIMG0200.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I loved these Bolivian musicians. Bought two CDs and had their autographs. Maybe they did not understand my Spanish...they had my name wrong. Too bad bloggers took away the video inserting function. Here is a short clip of the performers. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://loriteng.vox.com/library/post/bolivian-performers.html">http://loriteng.vox.com/library/post/bolivian-performers.html</a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Then we went to the mountain for a change of scenery.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fKh3l4wDakHGZ-ewNzKZfkN_MLSO584gTD2PiHmsS6R_jf61F40VX98MzxlrLxY3RMeO1eZyeSoGhGWMl-kVoOL9YVSZ6ZM72jtBdZCPadoLMjgi8FDWtwpXPbnhAf__RDQ3SQcrfO4/s1600-h/CIMG0210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1fKh3l4wDakHGZ-ewNzKZfkN_MLSO584gTD2PiHmsS6R_jf61F40VX98MzxlrLxY3RMeO1eZyeSoGhGWMl-kVoOL9YVSZ6ZM72jtBdZCPadoLMjgi8FDWtwpXPbnhAf__RDQ3SQcrfO4/s200/CIMG0210.JPG" width="200" /></a> I do not know if these were plum blossoms but they surely looked amazing.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">That was my dad strolling in the gardern. We could see the mountain afar. Quite mysterious and typically Asian. </div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wgVSDFoMvgORgyak3Bn_hFrovARFgprVzJf5kLCKVKnrqHfrC0OOWjDaGPsVsxlXRRcW4aG8JxDz5zHmur1kmk5vaCkeygJGiPKpjzWCY3qWhD7lyBRZcY91z1j5Dbw8jRLZvcPlCFA/s1600-h/CIMG0215.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1wgVSDFoMvgORgyak3Bn_hFrovARFgprVzJf5kLCKVKnrqHfrC0OOWjDaGPsVsxlXRRcW4aG8JxDz5zHmur1kmk5vaCkeygJGiPKpjzWCY3qWhD7lyBRZcY91z1j5Dbw8jRLZvcPlCFA/s200/CIMG0215.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qf_UNCi4Do4F4rypkwfzXrRTKBg67_GAoMvFjLx4WiHlBzgZ0-s8U-Mjg6lz-TatlcsgX1SVG32QDi1D0xSyRQyB67hKf1C-eU7-n4YKN7rAC1_oMVIxTMt7uaOIJlUE2aFCsF-l6qw/s1600-h/CIMG0223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qf_UNCi4Do4F4rypkwfzXrRTKBg67_GAoMvFjLx4WiHlBzgZ0-s8U-Mjg6lz-TatlcsgX1SVG32QDi1D0xSyRQyB67hKf1C-eU7-n4YKN7rAC1_oMVIxTMt7uaOIJlUE2aFCsF-l6qw/s200/CIMG0223.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Here is another shot of the mountain in the cloud. My parents loved this.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpP0BmbnKbjzgS9aFrXs0I9VzB8A_j8fY4q4Ub09vZ5dpItsK5khAKnT4KI884fiJqVToOBz-qlwBMFSxRVXzMrsPmShsp9TEGACtFg1s-uIton_PKAycsAbnZeebRXIGXvFb2E21-B0g/s1600-h/CIMG0230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpP0BmbnKbjzgS9aFrXs0I9VzB8A_j8fY4q4Ub09vZ5dpItsK5khAKnT4KI884fiJqVToOBz-qlwBMFSxRVXzMrsPmShsp9TEGACtFg1s-uIton_PKAycsAbnZeebRXIGXvFb2E21-B0g/s200/CIMG0230.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The tea garden.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3lrAYMXT3AIBR93AWGXRe95HHDiKOryW8aZT51Y4D6V1uV_anrDCbvGq_nbVaaWufHTquUgmun6fts5YZ7kK4YXAaJn7sDNUL4OhwapRPHJ0Zwyx9HruFTcSOPAeGNpx0Ot4JDgM8iqs/s1600-h/CIMG0242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3lrAYMXT3AIBR93AWGXRe95HHDiKOryW8aZT51Y4D6V1uV_anrDCbvGq_nbVaaWufHTquUgmun6fts5YZ7kK4YXAaJn7sDNUL4OhwapRPHJ0Zwyx9HruFTcSOPAeGNpx0Ot4JDgM8iqs/s320/CIMG0242.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It was almost dark when we finished dinner at this unique restaurant that featured a buddhist design. We had a nice day with light rain accompanying us while driving down to the city. I sang "Tomorrow" from Annie to my niece Corine in the car. She sang along and I wish she could learn to sing this song because she had such a beautiful voice. It is one of my all-time favouriate songs among my new Bolivian music collection. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-19451533356593986752010-02-12T06:27:00.000-08:002010-02-12T06:31:34.482-08:00When the year of the tiger comes 新年新希望Visited the old time<br />
<br />
<div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8f1_-HduK6wXLC2TGbJikMhCarrO_tqdknD0Nzq5SPkCBk-s13prCNNkmMz90TNZMHK1mEpb4J1gTeAiRu7sCd8DVxemhROYaZ7lzn4xkYIQN1F0N8vrJ3GT3wsLeyzIpOtvOB2uhWh0/s1600-h/CIMG0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8f1_-HduK6wXLC2TGbJikMhCarrO_tqdknD0Nzq5SPkCBk-s13prCNNkmMz90TNZMHK1mEpb4J1gTeAiRu7sCd8DVxemhROYaZ7lzn4xkYIQN1F0N8vrJ3GT3wsLeyzIpOtvOB2uhWh0/s200/CIMG0069.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Reflected on the past<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCOXuDGTOm8XGQx_bBp8tj_yBzS2cUmFp7MzcyUot1vamjJ95FEKmN14PrhgOMEMogosMoKki_bdZeYbrJJ6MRNY2jyzA_maW8dpVQInkR4yQq5uU4omLQHbaFB206r4HPuFK94TO5qc/s1600-h/CIMG0030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRCOXuDGTOm8XGQx_bBp8tj_yBzS2cUmFp7MzcyUot1vamjJ95FEKmN14PrhgOMEMogosMoKki_bdZeYbrJJ6MRNY2jyzA_maW8dpVQInkR4yQq5uU4omLQHbaFB206r4HPuFK94TO5qc/s200/CIMG0030.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Thought about what could come my way for the new year? </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0x4FNEO-zMS_a8FLynbfXNPQDAiTtn09LAo253Ja9a-64x4_AY8t_AU0A8We_p6IFd9LgFw9mfVESXwZD3UjuoMfOFAU30GLHSmCOHALmEDEGTSHVP3qBEHU8fyIJcSNTS1ZPIY0-acg/s1600-h/CIMG0014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0x4FNEO-zMS_a8FLynbfXNPQDAiTtn09LAo253Ja9a-64x4_AY8t_AU0A8We_p6IFd9LgFw9mfVESXwZD3UjuoMfOFAU30GLHSmCOHALmEDEGTSHVP3qBEHU8fyIJcSNTS1ZPIY0-acg/s200/CIMG0014.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Hoped for the door to lead to light and laughters, and I could be the source of illumination for some.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXF4XQ58vqJtjsXyu9tqPQaNK0b6FwcqV9wyUeUn0AiVceq6jg7mo-sKPiJfx-KQS3jA4dqPFLfa5-wT9yQcvHvz014eTN5UxD9eb4gUd2Zi2AKEXhGKXjnoVepjhvvcx25xjNExBPOMo/s1600-h/CIMG0052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ct="true" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXF4XQ58vqJtjsXyu9tqPQaNK0b6FwcqV9wyUeUn0AiVceq6jg7mo-sKPiJfx-KQS3jA4dqPFLfa5-wT9yQcvHvz014eTN5UxD9eb4gUd2Zi2AKEXhGKXjnoVepjhvvcx25xjNExBPOMo/s200/CIMG0052.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">MW in Tainan, an old city of Taiwan. 台南古城</div>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-14553398927037094492010-02-06T19:34:00.000-08:002010-02-06T19:41:42.596-08:00Ooooh Abu Dhabi<div style="text-align: left;"></div><br />
Here is the famous Abu Dhabi and our dream-like tour to the mosque. The weather was gorgeous and the tour to the mosque was just amazing! We visited a near-by mall and ate at a Canadian restaurant that we had never heard of (didn't even know it was a Canadian chain store). A Syrian museum staff member invited me in for a cup of tea and I spilled it. I also broke a martini glass for an expensive drink in Dubai recently. MW has serious eye-hand coordination problems, just so that I would let you know. <br />
<br />
<div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBuC8TtK9X61QdUnCuAYw6-Fqv92dHe0usUKfXVoVZnDDlZmHjqMJtzaHOw0WKuWjGotF45vlazs_pYGs913NVsl0ObkZ7IANUSmKgGkI8HbFqxmAhTgmVfNH6YuS1hukFqMbk2HZZaw/s1600-h/CIMG0238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBuC8TtK9X61QdUnCuAYw6-Fqv92dHe0usUKfXVoVZnDDlZmHjqMJtzaHOw0WKuWjGotF45vlazs_pYGs913NVsl0ObkZ7IANUSmKgGkI8HbFqxmAhTgmVfNH6YuS1hukFqMbk2HZZaw/s320/CIMG0238.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJvjkM6tZEFBJ-L0KZDznSutgns3ZWl15Sw8gSH3tw-pw3A-cCZAXjPf2Etd_hxVqZJc7be1CA6vSRgBeYxTKJxDOiCDEVQ1ZEhtE9QK42a8-yF52ywSwEeIuWu2Zc82lJl7wp93V5bNY/s1600-h/CIMG0293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJvjkM6tZEFBJ-L0KZDznSutgns3ZWl15Sw8gSH3tw-pw3A-cCZAXjPf2Etd_hxVqZJc7be1CA6vSRgBeYxTKJxDOiCDEVQ1ZEhtE9QK42a8-yF52ywSwEeIuWu2Zc82lJl7wp93V5bNY/s320/CIMG0293.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANlgSxl96QNbxzSjxOQkl6V2JpKbKVsFtinYGK6T5nXDu8s3IIuwyadWw-88ecMzmRWZ4FXOH730TEvMlWKMV-E74yJMPkhzVOjyCt7YMNfCNZGYR59fYVWBHO_i3p8BlROi8a5Ajhm4/s1600-h/blue+mosque+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiANlgSxl96QNbxzSjxOQkl6V2JpKbKVsFtinYGK6T5nXDu8s3IIuwyadWw-88ecMzmRWZ4FXOH730TEvMlWKMV-E74yJMPkhzVOjyCt7YMNfCNZGYR59fYVWBHO_i3p8BlROi8a5Ajhm4/s320/blue+mosque+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl425Xy4mi3A9TcFKwaBwb5US2CRLJr0XHeK90p3VLJtPgyyXQ_O3obhGQcDhc3cTktxcld75EtIMG2wuEhwGbnomCrXPRvUPhoCcvagqbH_UTQJQa5faoNghTgL_dhwilFioUIWnFTQA/s1600-h/CIMG0288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl425Xy4mi3A9TcFKwaBwb5US2CRLJr0XHeK90p3VLJtPgyyXQ_O3obhGQcDhc3cTktxcld75EtIMG2wuEhwGbnomCrXPRvUPhoCcvagqbH_UTQJQa5faoNghTgL_dhwilFioUIWnFTQA/s320/CIMG0288.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgse3HxdCAldi2XrCdzEukIRuO5qT-Q2QUpkauYvx9Frp7V_CwajM_f2hth_NRfhWmBt-Mw8QTXgGGqyA83wpo6UcdLwKhWo0hmX45MjMNeXVaGXiRGB3f9vygkDuI6QNTC-2NFZ_pE_Qk/s1600-h/CIMG0295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgse3HxdCAldi2XrCdzEukIRuO5qT-Q2QUpkauYvx9Frp7V_CwajM_f2hth_NRfhWmBt-Mw8QTXgGGqyA83wpo6UcdLwKhWo0hmX45MjMNeXVaGXiRGB3f9vygkDuI6QNTC-2NFZ_pE_Qk/s320/CIMG0295.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpD716vzxJtcpqi0IMCXY1HCGSxrVqjMbeHYtofgjXPQzQoTCuh40zmFPzxOF1hfdjpX8dMX-EVl4g_bC5_dUg4UHqJ-uHeBYsJ8Qbj3Gon9ZVAc4dFP_7XK1nsTFRai5UrQpqhMq2RE/s1600-h/CIMG0290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpD716vzxJtcpqi0IMCXY1HCGSxrVqjMbeHYtofgjXPQzQoTCuh40zmFPzxOF1hfdjpX8dMX-EVl4g_bC5_dUg4UHqJ-uHeBYsJ8Qbj3Gon9ZVAc4dFP_7XK1nsTFRai5UrQpqhMq2RE/s320/CIMG0290.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl425Xy4mi3A9TcFKwaBwb5US2CRLJr0XHeK90p3VLJtPgyyXQ_O3obhGQcDhc3cTktxcld75EtIMG2wuEhwGbnomCrXPRvUPhoCcvagqbH_UTQJQa5faoNghTgL_dhwilFioUIWnFTQA/s1600-h/CIMG0288.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7RaNdt-cIthY3UMUO8XogU9EYd9TsArVGbmb4Y7jxcq1BAk3Yy9uJcpRWQhEkUanqKW56V29b9bbUwHgfogmA5Stb0Yd2f7JvNjwe4bUPRn83UP3Pfr4jNFx3lv7iSjdanvt_FAe5KY/s1600-h/CIMG0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN7RaNdt-cIthY3UMUO8XogU9EYd9TsArVGbmb4Y7jxcq1BAk3Yy9uJcpRWQhEkUanqKW56V29b9bbUwHgfogmA5Stb0Yd2f7JvNjwe4bUPRn83UP3Pfr4jNFx3lv7iSjdanvt_FAe5KY/s320/CIMG0181.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0TbQGIrljY-ynmd6OT3y1qTfuAHYbX8haerx-liwicsI1yEpKOodPlSoCLxmp3z4dabGmealgGzIdSXZu9bQ5s4ddTMLl_GEZOsVYcAbJEgyCk5v0VbqYIeRU96YluXJ3Mhw4hHj040/s1600-h/CIMG0265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0TbQGIrljY-ynmd6OT3y1qTfuAHYbX8haerx-liwicsI1yEpKOodPlSoCLxmp3z4dabGmealgGzIdSXZu9bQ5s4ddTMLl_GEZOsVYcAbJEgyCk5v0VbqYIeRU96YluXJ3Mhw4hHj040/s320/CIMG0265.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsL6HO7-TgN5zVCHBxer3_opGbhfGAyhSQUef9bnuK2fy2CE1JttYSfAf9ojV6mEGxFL2pGAzEBJT0nUzRkKbYt0A6hnR_CsIZ6IuSaEPnPIW3jJMpaBHNBDSm7OHc7czibemopxXNELI/s1600-h/CIMG0231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsL6HO7-TgN5zVCHBxer3_opGbhfGAyhSQUef9bnuK2fy2CE1JttYSfAf9ojV6mEGxFL2pGAzEBJT0nUzRkKbYt0A6hnR_CsIZ6IuSaEPnPIW3jJMpaBHNBDSm7OHc7czibemopxXNELI/s320/CIMG0231.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-21673086210113186802010-01-27T05:38:00.000-08:002010-01-27T05:42:01.415-08:00Jordan<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjD7_8bR4mzraR2SmGoC-THrfhwI93dXUm0MDnuNrfjd5H659-9h1nA2xnQNqfZ7orwL3kgUN_fa6PDyn5t8yHY_78OzSNrt8ZpbhxONb5JX2rgOefPDcx8MmPnMjuwqOBjHI0LOMPpOY/s1600-h/Petra+by+night+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjD7_8bR4mzraR2SmGoC-THrfhwI93dXUm0MDnuNrfjd5H659-9h1nA2xnQNqfZ7orwL3kgUN_fa6PDyn5t8yHY_78OzSNrt8ZpbhxONb5JX2rgOefPDcx8MmPnMjuwqOBjHI0LOMPpOY/s320/Petra+by+night+1.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8B5rW-FIdmGwShNBjRVynsPQBBA4ER0tvcgO61iKxE-cgabXDLMn2fJbyttxTuoUVLDkvrx8xW0cJd44cU-_clfS8NbL6hgh4Or_PfP1KeRBxdjo-o5RGVqpDDhTYHEv_oLyxfkuf14A/s1600-h/Petra+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8B5rW-FIdmGwShNBjRVynsPQBBA4ER0tvcgO61iKxE-cgabXDLMn2fJbyttxTuoUVLDkvrx8xW0cJd44cU-_clfS8NbL6hgh4Or_PfP1KeRBxdjo-o5RGVqpDDhTYHEv_oLyxfkuf14A/s320/Petra+3.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrt2T-mrbXpoa6q3pll7jbLynXRXx_0pnTxGWr2RTVHiKsjh6e6_S8eVDv8qlI1nMGfpdbOCDynCD6nnU2AYSG-7rqbZWCktp8J25uMG_gUnWMuha4ZpQUk9ykiE80XgEswW9_vLNWwFE/s1600-h/Petra+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrt2T-mrbXpoa6q3pll7jbLynXRXx_0pnTxGWr2RTVHiKsjh6e6_S8eVDv8qlI1nMGfpdbOCDynCD6nnU2AYSG-7rqbZWCktp8J25uMG_gUnWMuha4ZpQUk9ykiE80XgEswW9_vLNWwFE/s320/Petra+2.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-hb0y0YiWPKzP0QN5oFbjLVUKtddukjfG4QaL2xll1-5d1FelyUuCWVR87jStQmafoEcJKnGHW-j-J0zGrjKp7ZTMBGsYMOsaoqpXdvkhQpxI8Kfo9WJ8Xe0uOJRy4uXTlFNqYZeucM/s1600-h/Jordan+sand.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp-hb0y0YiWPKzP0QN5oFbjLVUKtddukjfG4QaL2xll1-5d1FelyUuCWVR87jStQmafoEcJKnGHW-j-J0zGrjKp7ZTMBGsYMOsaoqpXdvkhQpxI8Kfo9WJ8Xe0uOJRy4uXTlFNqYZeucM/s320/Jordan+sand.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76eQiz9r1eMaUYK9S5B4242VHD_DqWqXOflo5R6iJQtzZdqJn50TwbZG0GVBck8SYVO_gsJpXqYCQFfRT6XIGoJcS6HpTz6zBr8VM334Gj6keu5NuKuwrkeM_Pn5QxzDEnykvGflTVc4/s1600-h/treasury.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76eQiz9r1eMaUYK9S5B4242VHD_DqWqXOflo5R6iJQtzZdqJn50TwbZG0GVBck8SYVO_gsJpXqYCQFfRT6XIGoJcS6HpTz6zBr8VM334Gj6keu5NuKuwrkeM_Pn5QxzDEnykvGflTVc4/s320/treasury.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBAU1Zj51rH6gpyVonljyKFkD8yaSWbmvnQgNv_EHt75Pr_uahIWvkGmc_wqoiUaaHqyq_bWxde6DHieJqV2wChZn4NBqi-dnGPdGySJL4cX6XtPBMhfwI3lGqw4CWLSAOGUH4lTdC8c/s1600-h/hotel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBAU1Zj51rH6gpyVonljyKFkD8yaSWbmvnQgNv_EHt75Pr_uahIWvkGmc_wqoiUaaHqyq_bWxde6DHieJqV2wChZn4NBqi-dnGPdGySJL4cX6XtPBMhfwI3lGqw4CWLSAOGUH4lTdC8c/s320/hotel.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Breath-taking sceneries occupied my time in Jordan. Petra is a must-go and I highly recommend it if you have a chance to visit. <br />
</div>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-12286730929234964842010-01-24T08:16:00.000-08:002010-02-08T22:23:22.169-08:00Trying out the new Dubai metroClean, beautiful station was the first impression I had for the Dubai Metro. Not bad at all. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbTfgeM6_-RiklKOuM1r-KWebKOeYu-3lXqtMDKHsTrmQr6T8vzd0deftBIzNQUh0rexBVWpQ1byd5jGFNqta68k7OViS419ero69k2KZhHWWhuw09wX3vx7wjhD69bF5H0SC9ZlEHSgk/s1600-h/Lori+in+front+of+Dubai+metro.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbTfgeM6_-RiklKOuM1r-KWebKOeYu-3lXqtMDKHsTrmQr6T8vzd0deftBIzNQUh0rexBVWpQ1byd5jGFNqta68k7OViS419ero69k2KZhHWWhuw09wX3vx7wjhD69bF5H0SC9ZlEHSgk/s320/Lori+in+front+of+Dubai+metro.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56c7MliT7YLux25xIaumS9AJ5rLPEtmNAHvC9RyXPyMfSFkiybr8BLPf3FxGlh3eVdFVQtZwX_XXRWQtJiO83YOay69f8efBP-m8wpn9w1tGfRTRf9XaWc3jC94H9osWLf5rtc1K7lQU/s1600-h/Lori+in+metro+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56c7MliT7YLux25xIaumS9AJ5rLPEtmNAHvC9RyXPyMfSFkiybr8BLPf3FxGlh3eVdFVQtZwX_XXRWQtJiO83YOay69f8efBP-m8wpn9w1tGfRTRf9XaWc3jC94H9osWLf5rtc1K7lQU/s320/Lori+in+metro+2.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">I went up and down the escalator just to be silly</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuFwuxAwfvsinaJq3dvH117tKz9J6lV0IFZ1-Xq1u-1MRRB2MS-Xjv0RGn5Ai4eegy0XTeIunTG6nevZx9TT3bA7WSCHn0-Ljhyl0PAcwm4IJfIjnIoR5qU5QxhXTUXgMR2LMf4_rF2o/s1600-h/metro+station.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikuFwuxAwfvsinaJq3dvH117tKz9J6lV0IFZ1-Xq1u-1MRRB2MS-Xjv0RGn5Ai4eegy0XTeIunTG6nevZx9TT3bA7WSCHn0-Ljhyl0PAcwm4IJfIjnIoR5qU5QxhXTUXgMR2LMf4_rF2o/s320/metro+station.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Posing with Susan's mom visiting from the U.K.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0lG2Dir2aqqSKf3xhAyvQ7G4R-DinHELqRaViB5tq7n65FjLOleYYFWL3ox2pUNgglY1__gaSnAZowabJvUPXujwQ4vWVTVyMaQeFv-ld7WJSpq0MlYZQW9kBgPI3nk4oOJc7dK8SUA/s1600-h/hot+station.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0lG2Dir2aqqSKf3xhAyvQ7G4R-DinHELqRaViB5tq7n65FjLOleYYFWL3ox2pUNgglY1__gaSnAZowabJvUPXujwQ4vWVTVyMaQeFv-ld7WJSpq0MlYZQW9kBgPI3nk4oOJc7dK8SUA/s320/hot+station.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">We had to walk a long way to the nearest station..among the construction sites, which are typical in Dubai, or the U.A.E.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmh0L1X8YRqVl9mjWMXE58_pXfv0o3Ws3JPdgOOr83bw-rhP0ePHnB9ap93YPyAIfDWg3lBbC5hgL453YCoXeDN310WSOXLLZ2crb9wbS5iBM-Y84aBu_YxOLL6lh0EP6hpUi9HsH8RQ/s1600-h/ticket+stand+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmh0L1X8YRqVl9mjWMXE58_pXfv0o3Ws3JPdgOOr83bw-rhP0ePHnB9ap93YPyAIfDWg3lBbC5hgL453YCoXeDN310WSOXLLZ2crb9wbS5iBM-Y84aBu_YxOLL6lh0EP6hpUi9HsH8RQ/s320/ticket+stand+1.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Ticket stands</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2BL_FvxKAbZzf32SUNWAn5nPLoZGLwbWzjhQTUWIeBfEFl-i_CkN3ncVvhj5XUPx7j1Q27hHl-rQvVTLJhV5lSRiaMZhJ6MyTow1an6_CNc8BJgYElvjoRrvL4LVQHVSYv7tGZ-FaqGY/s1600-h/CIMG0148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2BL_FvxKAbZzf32SUNWAn5nPLoZGLwbWzjhQTUWIeBfEFl-i_CkN3ncVvhj5XUPx7j1Q27hHl-rQvVTLJhV5lSRiaMZhJ6MyTow1an6_CNc8BJgYElvjoRrvL4LVQHVSYv7tGZ-FaqGY/s320/CIMG0148.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Beautiful station<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7kN8s9j46r07SJnpgicgP7IyryTCwKyaHT4pb8ZLBuO-Wu_KBwz7H_UDkN6hcKh1d8Ydvwg4dYIgeHyFmxdxfY6tgmh_DlOeGOG-3fTBUJUNFuYsm9KkzhUkkdtj_yNld8zbaMXUSEM/s1600-h/CIMG0145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt7kN8s9j46r07SJnpgicgP7IyryTCwKyaHT4pb8ZLBuO-Wu_KBwz7H_UDkN6hcKh1d8Ydvwg4dYIgeHyFmxdxfY6tgmh_DlOeGOG-3fTBUJUNFuYsm9KkzhUkkdtj_yNld8zbaMXUSEM/s320/CIMG0145.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Susan, my reliable friend studying the direction while I goofed around<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5fBDTopTR2S06piz5FusKwM3x42-qmFYcu_1FlOiD_eV8_QePplv7gzt0w7f5WrESLX2n4IvCR5YxC3NcoMJ4Nx_LRjXH6VROzvNKgwqjdkzIoyll80MTwR6XZJrQ1ofP7DkmACjBx8/s1600-h/CIMG0162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif5fBDTopTR2S06piz5FusKwM3x42-qmFYcu_1FlOiD_eV8_QePplv7gzt0w7f5WrESLX2n4IvCR5YxC3NcoMJ4Nx_LRjXH6VROzvNKgwqjdkzIoyll80MTwR6XZJrQ1ofP7DkmACjBx8/s320/CIMG0162.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Fancy decors <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOov0ijm1Y-PrqZa7WZgYYAQnidWm-tS7x9UhKRim-AcE687OkaCzCGgEnFlVXyYIPMRmb-tKJz5jKYR6b0skXDGHNwgODXpRIdAbttS4fQAvybzh8GTlFGfTZCpToi0kfxK9h5LGlZD8/s1600-h/metro+bathroom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOov0ijm1Y-PrqZa7WZgYYAQnidWm-tS7x9UhKRim-AcE687OkaCzCGgEnFlVXyYIPMRmb-tKJz5jKYR6b0skXDGHNwgODXpRIdAbttS4fQAvybzh8GTlFGfTZCpToi0kfxK9h5LGlZD8/s320/metro+bathroom.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The bathroom inside of the station</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-gtDyWnqInrFH3nW460Mk8zkDov9EogCUkGvy9N1EaWsPBtlYetKNh6-fNI7LcjhY1KISbHZ8l5jeGmAVCUQN8Mng3QdJWYbj0kLJhaiVaBzlUXiMpLuuIieRRmVZ8CEsSb97sj-HmU/s1600-h/Lori+in+metro.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-gtDyWnqInrFH3nW460Mk8zkDov9EogCUkGvy9N1EaWsPBtlYetKNh6-fNI7LcjhY1KISbHZ8l5jeGmAVCUQN8Mng3QdJWYbj0kLJhaiVaBzlUXiMpLuuIieRRmVZ8CEsSb97sj-HmU/s200/Lori+in+metro.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Me, little me, finally riding the crowded metro. Where did all these people come from?</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-14795734473491447292010-01-21T21:05:00.000-08:002010-01-22T00:12:12.892-08:00Collecting friends<div align="center" class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">Cool friends in the U.A.E.</span><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">I will never forget how exciting it was to meet people that shared part of my life in the UAE and befriended me so much. </span><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh944dGfhPjE8H9l_1TaQ-VkNzskM_4sNLsQgFdIjZ4UYzZTEWPGbY0H73bn2PTZSYfJ1K6Nnt0d_bxiHQtRKpuzPY6RoCUlpoBQT22RotNZucDGHoVhmLpKAWkzp_i5BGf4ofAYbWh8bQ/s1600/Glenda+Lori+and+Lisa+Marie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh944dGfhPjE8H9l_1TaQ-VkNzskM_4sNLsQgFdIjZ4UYzZTEWPGbY0H73bn2PTZSYfJ1K6Nnt0d_bxiHQtRKpuzPY6RoCUlpoBQT22RotNZucDGHoVhmLpKAWkzp_i5BGf4ofAYbWh8bQ/s200/Glenda+Lori+and+Lisa+Marie.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMTAP_kUChI55fTyACNjlLpispgCg-tpeC0pV1SzcTPQtKhk2CgpvOP81N8YSZi6pSBLNUvr1nwGEMOhlVO8KN1Fhjo7GxyXgf7_zrpE_SeIXe5KR9mVO3SfpLDiEQ8q514enuFpn8qg/s1600-h/Lori+and+Ifar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMTAP_kUChI55fTyACNjlLpispgCg-tpeC0pV1SzcTPQtKhk2CgpvOP81N8YSZi6pSBLNUvr1nwGEMOhlVO8KN1Fhjo7GxyXgf7_zrpE_SeIXe5KR9mVO3SfpLDiEQ8q514enuFpn8qg/s200/Lori+and+Ifar.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtweYSV5XdWWDGgnCKjVDrDVWwj0bOcA2i0IgRKFy-HcHwIiD69rvrfRuh1IuV-krGJvknkIAB2sd8OQ0oQ-z1MeVtlDY-eghjUwH3Psd_iZbN50ROJGHWgOX5g-JcjI4M7ePUm6ZuUvo/s1600-h/Lori+and+Sus+the+mates+in+UAE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtweYSV5XdWWDGgnCKjVDrDVWwj0bOcA2i0IgRKFy-HcHwIiD69rvrfRuh1IuV-krGJvknkIAB2sd8OQ0oQ-z1MeVtlDY-eghjUwH3Psd_iZbN50ROJGHWgOX5g-JcjI4M7ePUm6ZuUvo/s200/Lori+and+Sus+the+mates+in+UAE.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfWPm-2NbXVjRWg1t2tyXaZkMRpoQumU7nK8dA8-h7Ff5LyLg583n-MKLjBb5AYAn7qfGMDNN4uvnypndCkwzkmeXsG2ItVOwXq3nrfo63LdWAmrXA7sqDqrdDfezwAhntrxMEBFQGag/s1600-h/Lori+Saeed+posing+heritage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfWPm-2NbXVjRWg1t2tyXaZkMRpoQumU7nK8dA8-h7Ff5LyLg583n-MKLjBb5AYAn7qfGMDNN4uvnypndCkwzkmeXsG2ItVOwXq3nrfo63LdWAmrXA7sqDqrdDfezwAhntrxMEBFQGag/s200/Lori+Saeed+posing+heritage.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Friends who offered to listen to me, check on me when I was not so happy.<br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVl-EXi5p2CIaKiqKtLw6d4xCWALWw5jTZDx2NzI8YQ_4HDcUQ-VnDUfD5-aJOBAgEso-I9g7mwu5YenoIaYHe1IyIRwStkdcZnpPPJN5WQUrUtiD_0CMK6z9hFM1ZRi7I2exRYf2Av0/s1600-h/sara+aziz+and+Lori.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVl-EXi5p2CIaKiqKtLw6d4xCWALWw5jTZDx2NzI8YQ_4HDcUQ-VnDUfD5-aJOBAgEso-I9g7mwu5YenoIaYHe1IyIRwStkdcZnpPPJN5WQUrUtiD_0CMK6z9hFM1ZRi7I2exRYf2Av0/s200/sara+aziz+and+Lori.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97mcK_JFpa_GoNjhMnldcELp7z3wUYmPk3aON4h8s0RWOHZ-OCgX-q_aB7xXthq_oNMKLS3Bfea9VS43_6cOOIfDvR0WvRdnWnGS9jzU-V5DBDLSYQUmAUTbRbVD80MJpBLoYdqyCJGo/s1600-h/Lori+and+Anwar+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97mcK_JFpa_GoNjhMnldcELp7z3wUYmPk3aON4h8s0RWOHZ-OCgX-q_aB7xXthq_oNMKLS3Bfea9VS43_6cOOIfDvR0WvRdnWnGS9jzU-V5DBDLSYQUmAUTbRbVD80MJpBLoYdqyCJGo/s200/Lori+and+Anwar+1.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Friends that I met unexpectedly in the weirest circumstances; and those who opened up themselves to show unconditional support to me. I may not see them again for a long time, but the memories will remain freshly endearing in my heart. <br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdWKhdygniZs7tmgsOM04XIUu86FnKXulqLYeHKzm3w5EfC5zi-7neyWz-wQNFPIbS9xa09FD2HvfgzW0Ro_9C_ogI98lBXowLOPgowSxxfi1XAxIbvE7VWwYIB1-AFPyLXITmRMY7AU/s1600-h/Ag+and+I.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkdWKhdygniZs7tmgsOM04XIUu86FnKXulqLYeHKzm3w5EfC5zi-7neyWz-wQNFPIbS9xa09FD2HvfgzW0Ro_9C_ogI98lBXowLOPgowSxxfi1XAxIbvE7VWwYIB1-AFPyLXITmRMY7AU/s200/Ag+and+I.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkYd8LpcpSKQRwEZ1lO2qc7G09e9j8DO2TVANkQ2HuX1JDMWJeHO8aC8Oev2Rby2TRpsh1TmFNl8SwzZ5NwoWGnqyA9WBWLkgawcGuM42x3DTe1-UPgJs2SaxLsQy9Tw8v6LbVt1wGp0/s1600-h/Andrew+maryann+and+I.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" mt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvkYd8LpcpSKQRwEZ1lO2qc7G09e9j8DO2TVANkQ2HuX1JDMWJeHO8aC8Oev2Rby2TRpsh1TmFNl8SwzZ5NwoWGnqyA9WBWLkgawcGuM42x3DTe1-UPgJs2SaxLsQy9Tw8v6LbVt1wGp0/s200/Andrew+maryann+and+I.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-5GuUemwAte65FFyLRWR2dc5mEPLKZPkgHLEcCS32VuZC8e26CRMyqH-usCRQbLg5ICH1vDpGBbWn5HajDv8k3gwVGyZ6oFy1cSoSB2kt0Hmu0PGIHacnztPwB51Ard2qe1vObS96Gk/s1600-h/Abeer+and+Lori.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ps="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3-5GuUemwAte65FFyLRWR2dc5mEPLKZPkgHLEcCS32VuZC8e26CRMyqH-usCRQbLg5ICH1vDpGBbWn5HajDv8k3gwVGyZ6oFy1cSoSB2kt0Hmu0PGIHacnztPwB51Ard2qe1vObS96Gk/s200/Abeer+and+Lori.jpg" width="195" /></a><br />
</div>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-57676618845318445572009-10-13T08:35:00.000-07:002009-10-13T08:36:07.822-07:00Time for some photos<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_hkEfyli8G7tAMKA7rapQW89PXRFlw4xhl4W9WX7vPFVIu2ZWoPa0692JPqaTaN710YKZ3cctlJ9Buclpm0c_luoNfOoJfJr9WT4GiQRuA_TpWALJ-00TfyIsxa1CLMUUVjQ4yVwQAdc/s1600-h/CIMG0249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_hkEfyli8G7tAMKA7rapQW89PXRFlw4xhl4W9WX7vPFVIu2ZWoPa0692JPqaTaN710YKZ3cctlJ9Buclpm0c_luoNfOoJfJr9WT4GiQRuA_TpWALJ-00TfyIsxa1CLMUUVjQ4yVwQAdc/s320/CIMG0249.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpheeIB6aRYgDMDmJq_wOHJdt9nLxL_TRUXXDXT6KYJBsMBZgHQUZShIsyPQd7-kONQCRGw4nzdWXguFZltgthN57GugLTOmSH1_8j5H0e-R9Bs8ZUl0Fscrv0t3AchYpyZ436H8JSf3E/s1600-h/CIMG0247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpheeIB6aRYgDMDmJq_wOHJdt9nLxL_TRUXXDXT6KYJBsMBZgHQUZShIsyPQd7-kONQCRGw4nzdWXguFZltgthN57GugLTOmSH1_8j5H0e-R9Bs8ZUl0Fscrv0t3AchYpyZ436H8JSf3E/s320/CIMG0247.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">These were taken on the first day I arrived at the new staff orientation. It was the second week of August and I sneaked out to take photos. My friends thought I was crazy to go out in the brazing heat doing this. <br />
</div><div class="" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdouOIrR5SIADyD0UupTnbRG1glsfN4KraFsvDVh55OhdREKWhobsBZtrbgN41efiyV90AkXqezFXtwN6anGxMG_Xjmy3QrWTRowplLIZDK__gCzMLnVP8ucKgzyNJ8y_KYptxFG-rl9A/s1600-h/CIMG0253.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdouOIrR5SIADyD0UupTnbRG1glsfN4KraFsvDVh55OhdREKWhobsBZtrbgN41efiyV90AkXqezFXtwN6anGxMG_Xjmy3QrWTRowplLIZDK__gCzMLnVP8ucKgzyNJ8y_KYptxFG-rl9A/s320/CIMG0253.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0qFAObpjZB6O077fd4v4tZm4xfLxem0DskADZ4Dc3eIl9qh6fhG4V_NdB5US-rToBWFVIR8dNx4PAiw5PnXsV_GFj_BQBTeeDC-gYXihs50-YnCTjw0UsTggoMDsgz820Ckgu7a4mcI/s1600-h/CIMG0232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0qFAObpjZB6O077fd4v4tZm4xfLxem0DskADZ4Dc3eIl9qh6fhG4V_NdB5US-rToBWFVIR8dNx4PAiw5PnXsV_GFj_BQBTeeDC-gYXihs50-YnCTjw0UsTggoMDsgz820Ckgu7a4mcI/s320/CIMG0232.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvT8jQ8Hqb9ma0Bo-goYmhyphenhyphenswlapPMs7lJ_VmbHuIHeh4mZsVNQMP8D1-KPRUTvsk85dZZjUMdZxmTymffD_UbIx6E4KHHvEdRCqykFWi4h25tdgF0_QYxp6xVoWR09ZrH5RkGv5qtAp8/s1600-h/CIMG0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $r="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvT8jQ8Hqb9ma0Bo-goYmhyphenhyphenswlapPMs7lJ_VmbHuIHeh4mZsVNQMP8D1-KPRUTvsk85dZZjUMdZxmTymffD_UbIx6E4KHHvEdRCqykFWi4h25tdgF0_QYxp6xVoWR09ZrH5RkGv5qtAp8/s320/CIMG0234.JPG" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The Taiwanese flag is included in the disply. Rare but exciting. <br />
</div>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-34863586187456114722009-09-13T12:54:00.000-07:002009-09-13T12:54:10.652-07:00Life can be strangeIt has been more than a month since I arrived in the U.A.E. I have only been recently connected to the Internet at home, and still have not subscribed to TV service which apparently is hard to get, along with many other services. It has been challenging to put life together in a new culture. So when my colleagues told me about the recent typhoone damages in Taiwan, it sounded like someone else's story. It was surreal. I coul not believe the world had been turned upside down for many of my country men and women only a week after I left the country. <br />
<br />
I felt like a rebel, and guilty, for not being helpful when this happened recently. It has been a pattern of my absense from major disasters in Taiwan. I was not home in the SARS attack couple of years ago, and I wasn't there when a major earthquake happened in a September. <br />
<br />
God bless Taiwan and the rest of the <strike></strike>world.MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-19923244238353277312009-06-16T09:07:00.000-07:002009-06-16T09:46:04.305-07:00SentimentsFlowers make people happy<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KT6CcjAZSEuCpUxOLee3KZys2Iu7jYd4LEs33Lg4ONGMVopHPv4zi6jtEJ7QMlFzmmQYNnC2iV0PQuTzN5uFT-7x9HI9jNLMLMQs4mOtS9qO0qdq9OA9j9frWxD48XsywS9atuMvNH0/s1600-h/roses+night.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KT6CcjAZSEuCpUxOLee3KZys2Iu7jYd4LEs33Lg4ONGMVopHPv4zi6jtEJ7QMlFzmmQYNnC2iV0PQuTzN5uFT-7x9HI9jNLMLMQs4mOtS9qO0qdq9OA9j9frWxD48XsywS9atuMvNH0/s320/roses+night.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347958821596983922" /></a><br />especially when they are free <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvxUb94kGPJgCC2NamHJhzBu-V-aPVvz7A4aMOQPkuzIXxfRcWKnatlj0JySqwIAr7wuc2oADkRbLVAAB_4DxTceoy32FiqGnLD2qnQ9gn8cHNjjzmbmAcTBbMtSGj3wu1pSDjsaiOXI/s1600-h/roses+day+2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvxUb94kGPJgCC2NamHJhzBu-V-aPVvz7A4aMOQPkuzIXxfRcWKnatlj0JySqwIAr7wuc2oADkRbLVAAB_4DxTceoy32FiqGnLD2qnQ9gn8cHNjjzmbmAcTBbMtSGj3wu1pSDjsaiOXI/s320/roses+day+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347958037508527714" /></a><br />and received unexpectedly <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghSQkLfCo_K8Tn_36-B7bDozF6a3BmLWk0JnKE1AAzQWBpqhTvDlJWLVbZ_g8kU7Q9PVMkUnLC7ftqRpktNhb5ApDcktVwaEabjLiya-v-2QwAvHbtEkodjZrop_zrB8dUU1K5omsdJsw/s1600-h/Lori+2009.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 306px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghSQkLfCo_K8Tn_36-B7bDozF6a3BmLWk0JnKE1AAzQWBpqhTvDlJWLVbZ_g8kU7Q9PVMkUnLC7ftqRpktNhb5ApDcktVwaEabjLiya-v-2QwAvHbtEkodjZrop_zrB8dUU1K5omsdJsw/s320/Lori+2009.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347959735753577666" /></a> <br />But they don't last...just like people, things and life..<br />They wither, in a day or two..so will my memory..with these and more..<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoOmKkmzDbGu23st-COuCKmOtmhCvKJd7cfrgeb54LEr-V6kVZ5dqvQTB_O8Qq9jWonjCmclXo1eL-6dk3DvxhpKc1ZCkrww3kGKl4sQs0lF18u10uCsmOhNk1bGeA5mcHIUxruvIpCE/s1600-h/Lamp+that+I+am+saying+goodbye+to.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 178px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqoOmKkmzDbGu23st-COuCKmOtmhCvKJd7cfrgeb54LEr-V6kVZ5dqvQTB_O8Qq9jWonjCmclXo1eL-6dk3DvxhpKc1ZCkrww3kGKl4sQs0lF18u10uCsmOhNk1bGeA5mcHIUxruvIpCE/s320/Lamp+that+I+am+saying+goodbye+to.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347962200585350690" /></a><br />Goodbye..<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAtvrOaeGYC6xFU7k5QP1viDmR93GyqByl6_9WP5lLt-OjQaiAVQA7gCe2bZb7N_OqW6GnVx90MebU5qWsRxB9w9kstE4WHYLJZB7EM1FCHXvuToThMbukAAjle9zTtiLQYpAz6t1rEQ/s1600-h/dining+table+2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAtvrOaeGYC6xFU7k5QP1viDmR93GyqByl6_9WP5lLt-OjQaiAVQA7gCe2bZb7N_OqW6GnVx90MebU5qWsRxB9w9kstE4WHYLJZB7EM1FCHXvuToThMbukAAjle9zTtiLQYpAz6t1rEQ/s320/dining+table+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347962535001807106" /></a><br />Thanks for being with me..may your values be recognized and cherished wherever you go<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvekRITW7q4oQbhRS30QUE7xeWxMcTtJad8znoplYwuCAAQxKjoL2bqm6H2drGDozd-bld0QxFHMeCwHkSreEwGUy3FCtbX9mgvAVMLN4NQP9E-VbIUxe_cpd8Jm0alSq0NW5DQZ5NQmU/s1600-h/yellow+chair.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 172px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvekRITW7q4oQbhRS30QUE7xeWxMcTtJad8znoplYwuCAAQxKjoL2bqm6H2drGDozd-bld0QxFHMeCwHkSreEwGUy3FCtbX9mgvAVMLN4NQP9E-VbIUxe_cpd8Jm0alSq0NW5DQZ5NQmU/s320/yellow+chair.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347964369981663170" /></a>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-10954833746517760052009-06-14T23:38:00.000-07:002009-06-14T23:40:34.068-07:00DownsizingDownsizing my clothes, <br />Downsizing my belongings,<br />Downsizing my needs, and<br />Downsizing my life.MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-20120435540649680762009-06-04T06:52:00.000-07:002009-06-04T21:04:32.806-07:00Faith<em>I have to write, I need to fly, if only I can find..<br /><br />Risks, chances, the two faces..<br /><br />Pounding my heart, streaking a cut, devouring me in the dark..<br /><br />The throbbing veins, my conscious gain, accompanying me to the end..</em>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-44703892261552561822009-05-19T01:29:00.000-07:002009-05-19T08:20:24.592-07:00Singapore<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6LQvJvv_3u7ngAD_sMfgxAiiA1FgaxJOJbGqw5r4yAlxV2l44agomVx_B_vuugoFEBocvWll2xoT6sU3jQGDuBTQxwq1Lyjq1-m_sNF2a3ukUeAp-8MZ6DkvTUz0ozfN7ZR3c4R5NhE/s1600-h/CIMG0210.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6LQvJvv_3u7ngAD_sMfgxAiiA1FgaxJOJbGqw5r4yAlxV2l44agomVx_B_vuugoFEBocvWll2xoT6sU3jQGDuBTQxwq1Lyjq1-m_sNF2a3ukUeAp-8MZ6DkvTUz0ozfN7ZR3c4R5NhE/s320/CIMG0210.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337477275161404850" /></a><br />It is almost half way through the year and I have not documented my last trip to Singapore yet. <br /><br />I went there in January of this year, for the e-CASE 2009 conference. Besides presenting a paper and chairing a session, I was one of the four speakers in an international forum. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Q44-2lsYuqLol1sHluceVM1wEVLRhR4j8zr6j8pRJKM7YaE__JE3ko1Y9Kf7nKw1Et8St1M_kuLTUc-hIW-vVulLRWl9CZ4QRn7HjI4N773sMk88RjqUThx8jQjwCLalh6UvqdGxivk/s1600-h/CIMG0239.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Q44-2lsYuqLol1sHluceVM1wEVLRhR4j8zr6j8pRJKM7YaE__JE3ko1Y9Kf7nKw1Et8St1M_kuLTUc-hIW-vVulLRWl9CZ4QRn7HjI4N773sMk88RjqUThx8jQjwCLalh6UvqdGxivk/s320/CIMG0239.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337474148628911890" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoIE8lu60ldoKY5vafzVKBx2I5KR86xbUxYHkzU5JsYsZ3i1Lm1OhLzFfkHjAFLL5g-zEYSwHZFCMpvBUQKRZsbcBuKAYepK0Q5tQSheAi_L1nR26ilj4qDQ8rZyW1eaOy447OxQ9oYQ/s1600-h/CIMG0252.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMoIE8lu60ldoKY5vafzVKBx2I5KR86xbUxYHkzU5JsYsZ3i1Lm1OhLzFfkHjAFLL5g-zEYSwHZFCMpvBUQKRZsbcBuKAYepK0Q5tQSheAi_L1nR26ilj4qDQ8rZyW1eaOy447OxQ9oYQ/s320/CIMG0252.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337474702475468258" /></a><br /><br /><br />Singapore is hot all year round. It is small but full of cultural attractions. Mandarin Chinese, English and Fokkian are spoken by many people there. Fokkian is similar to Taiwanese so I was able to communicate with many food vendors. Cantonese is well received there too. Actually Singapore and Malaysia share many cultures, including the languages and accents.<br /><br />Here are some snapshots of Singapore:<br /><br />Had a cocktail here. It was late into the night:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2CrRcyFSfWUPFBK6-NfaIxGt-deMr20FTmV7UwLmajOovdnAlDftuPA7VcOLq4sGUW0BM0BLfNOf-jouYUWn3lYAYFNHrbG97BqibIT-nISNOK2jSbPkq3qb-rfHaH-UzEaS2b70sBP4/s1600-h/CIMG0300.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2CrRcyFSfWUPFBK6-NfaIxGt-deMr20FTmV7UwLmajOovdnAlDftuPA7VcOLq4sGUW0BM0BLfNOf-jouYUWn3lYAYFNHrbG97BqibIT-nISNOK2jSbPkq3qb-rfHaH-UzEaS2b70sBP4/s320/CIMG0300.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337476243284150674" /></a><br /><br />From a cable car in Santosa island <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOt9GZ0sQjE4apszw3A44M1JzXw2QX9QRGxeXdB422bfah_2XBmsmvF9rupuZwVAzD-HAJ_GtKcEfeYKMenXSOtYxAxzO7iV4mLHSZI_NCN_aFECeW0CjgKB4FkxQfCI2Rj86Y1WO-XzQ/s1600-h/CIMG0161.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOt9GZ0sQjE4apszw3A44M1JzXw2QX9QRGxeXdB422bfah_2XBmsmvF9rupuZwVAzD-HAJ_GtKcEfeYKMenXSOtYxAxzO7iV4mLHSZI_NCN_aFECeW0CjgKB4FkxQfCI2Rj86Y1WO-XzQ/s320/CIMG0161.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337478604004035570" /></a><br /><br />Taking a train in Santosa<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDYCiJ06Tg_QbEBfmoueWuuFZscIx3LSTuUu9JM6bDHgX62U232oj2Y_SN_iOu7-Yq6HftzXPv3-ZEhG5JDOG0gQ33BwOrnXcLk0G7XUnHri4PHf_ebcf4X6BPsOvnbfWxreEm2E-A6BU/s1600-h/CIMG0104.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDYCiJ06Tg_QbEBfmoueWuuFZscIx3LSTuUu9JM6bDHgX62U232oj2Y_SN_iOu7-Yq6HftzXPv3-ZEhG5JDOG0gQ33BwOrnXcLk0G7XUnHri4PHf_ebcf4X6BPsOvnbfWxreEm2E-A6BU/s320/CIMG0104.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337479535237793314" /></a><br />I wasn't too interested in this: beach at Santosa.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy4EkAB5v9jc8gCJi8iXN6N_s-v9Ef_Q7-hDydSWly6nLmZcoZyDY_k-9ijVoi7gqdZx4ermN1_c_j26oniX8_OEuNDUktesLl2kTz3tvplXvfTtV16pSRypM99W7NeywU8py3D7VEpg8/s1600-h/CIMG0114.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy4EkAB5v9jc8gCJi8iXN6N_s-v9Ef_Q7-hDydSWly6nLmZcoZyDY_k-9ijVoi7gqdZx4ermN1_c_j26oniX8_OEuNDUktesLl2kTz3tvplXvfTtV16pSRypM99W7NeywU8py3D7VEpg8/s320/CIMG0114.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337480014273307954" /></a> <br />Clarke Quay: Had dinner here on the first night <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDLI2odQwUAA9AQ4vF3B0snp1Nf0VJAokDIa6Mh2kpIINqH-z3J7GjicOwNUuv29PE3VWBChKvFZJvnK2YJCSjEIQcmbcxSFTgB0a_LpP3RB3kLufCdnQqsfluHct1p_Ey34T5a44URo/s1600-h/CIMG0019.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDLI2odQwUAA9AQ4vF3B0snp1Nf0VJAokDIa6Mh2kpIINqH-z3J7GjicOwNUuv29PE3VWBChKvFZJvnK2YJCSjEIQcmbcxSFTgB0a_LpP3RB3kLufCdnQqsfluHct1p_Ey34T5a44URo/s320/CIMG0019.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337481192628640818" /></a><br />Lots of shops for tailored Chinese dresses <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUlHEZwUeTQ6RaPNyWjkSenyiHPG1c-ZhCAg8sNUZTl45WAbC80eNir2HqCOR_mU7fFz1zGtpYVWzWBh07x76_fD18T3ZIKsbRzyH5Iyco5bLDdY1Wirua2hw9KLWA8z0Td6FZ5EwWvY/s1600-h/CIMG0039.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUlHEZwUeTQ6RaPNyWjkSenyiHPG1c-ZhCAg8sNUZTl45WAbC80eNir2HqCOR_mU7fFz1zGtpYVWzWBh07x76_fD18T3ZIKsbRzyH5Iyco5bLDdY1Wirua2hw9KLWA8z0Td6FZ5EwWvY/s320/CIMG0039.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337482141080584978" /></a><br />The famous Hainan Chicken and Rice <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpg77vdU9EHccyU-dX0RuLzdDdd0vEaHAagdRAW9miJl_X8NZj5hRGYwr7TIIl5NXd21yN86kUyiO1NTLj4u55eMDl2sktrP3iIH2S-TYAEE43pGg1XXaRSExvGAO5_-1QBJPLbGYbSJQ/s1600-h/CIMG0072.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpg77vdU9EHccyU-dX0RuLzdDdd0vEaHAagdRAW9miJl_X8NZj5hRGYwr7TIIl5NXd21yN86kUyiO1NTLj4u55eMDl2sktrP3iIH2S-TYAEE43pGg1XXaRSExvGAO5_-1QBJPLbGYbSJQ/s320/CIMG0072.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337482649809793826" /></a><br />Apartments are numbered. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVzaPypLhyphenhyphenajSmH3Dx_38KQ6wAI1U9jwQj_EJ1p-iVwj2cbIEdYDQdTP17RYOPVGBhemjav2bNdaK8ZU48yYmrDq3aX56Ym8PmxZiimBIhwwIRssRUD72A_FHcZWireSN4nNfbC20-II/s1600-h/CIMG0329.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVzaPypLhyphenhyphenajSmH3Dx_38KQ6wAI1U9jwQj_EJ1p-iVwj2cbIEdYDQdTP17RYOPVGBhemjav2bNdaK8ZU48yYmrDq3aX56Ym8PmxZiimBIhwwIRssRUD72A_FHcZWireSN4nNfbC20-II/s320/CIMG0329.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337483554563302322" /></a><br />Not a bad idea to hang clothes out systematically.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHj_4yZ1B6p2BJw2vmVn1jDQCVgSuU4t_yRaZrfzlgrWSiVMFTVZ6X5Prj7Usc-uiUDaP2l-8rpukyv8ITTtT2uTvoVYivuRghkGqEfEGdFWXif9N3J-CCiP963g0m7_8_sFxs2ylVBZg/s1600-h/CIMG0331.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHj_4yZ1B6p2BJw2vmVn1jDQCVgSuU4t_yRaZrfzlgrWSiVMFTVZ6X5Prj7Usc-uiUDaP2l-8rpukyv8ITTtT2uTvoVYivuRghkGqEfEGdFWXif9N3J-CCiP963g0m7_8_sFxs2ylVBZg/s400/CIMG0331.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337484892324597602" /></a><br />China Town <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPlfWUIcR1gfC4nD1zRkwKoXUxumrJ22gi_a4bDV_8DSy312YSVizJ7tPQGYJCoZQJTyL0yaJtJJ2HE0QA5Y-rN0QMQwvRrU5Ab3vdt02Z1oxONu21I1TQcb3kGnjG1M_vRjt7osBTUc/s1600-h/CIMG0075.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiPlfWUIcR1gfC4nD1zRkwKoXUxumrJ22gi_a4bDV_8DSy312YSVizJ7tPQGYJCoZQJTyL0yaJtJJ2HE0QA5Y-rN0QMQwvRrU5Ab3vdt02Z1oxONu21I1TQcb3kGnjG1M_vRjt7osBTUc/s320/CIMG0075.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337493712253926930" /></a><br /><br />Sneaked into a school open house and got some free gifts.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXM8F1i-kupLZVVfWJTZCa7eEYRW_xh5eCo9cAT7oZ_JHPmj2Up5OGCYQTH7b5blWl5FERKN9DEWX9mIS86T4BppI_DOZoKPB2cafGDi-QiDSBzf8lhrioK6_LEXKrTgaY8F1cHtlDUm0/s1600-h/CIMG0306.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXM8F1i-kupLZVVfWJTZCa7eEYRW_xh5eCo9cAT7oZ_JHPmj2Up5OGCYQTH7b5blWl5FERKN9DEWX9mIS86T4BppI_DOZoKPB2cafGDi-QiDSBzf8lhrioK6_LEXKrTgaY8F1cHtlDUm0/s320/CIMG0306.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337487332600045522" /></a><br />A simulation on the college tour <br /><br /><OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-3b56e96a569635fa height=266 width=320 contentId="3b56e96a569635fa"></OBJECT><br /><br />Singapore is a litter free country<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUWWDr-th3RG0Dr-O7PZZGBN6NC9IRMUHPTyHws9D-n02tcAxzeJk2J2D69JszJiFRgDOr815t7A0eQlBkB8xaGYMVKUfluJObb56W9f0be58NQECKSNeybni8hBH-7Qru3d-XzDlZiY/s1600-h/CIMG0040.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUWWDr-th3RG0Dr-O7PZZGBN6NC9IRMUHPTyHws9D-n02tcAxzeJk2J2D69JszJiFRgDOr815t7A0eQlBkB8xaGYMVKUfluJObb56W9f0be58NQECKSNeybni8hBH-7Qru3d-XzDlZiY/s320/CIMG0040.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337492690129006114" /></a><br />A taste of Singaporean flavours<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYWQZoNl7Uu1AudUOpI9Z4X1zxnW3zCgsQ-6-21vpzvcxxrCwJURKkfk_SqvQD5Vd6gjqyPXQzQ03WexdVp4ot8g5tjFOGgt0GTjYIjE1QAciMAOW93cVdlxEf5DaK2zcRXXNjNl1UZIo/s1600-h/CIMG0340.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYWQZoNl7Uu1AudUOpI9Z4X1zxnW3zCgsQ-6-21vpzvcxxrCwJURKkfk_SqvQD5Vd6gjqyPXQzQ03WexdVp4ot8g5tjFOGgt0GTjYIjE1QAciMAOW93cVdlxEf5DaK2zcRXXNjNl1UZIo/s320/CIMG0340.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337495121857975890" /></a><br /><br />Singapore is an ordered society with multicultural people living in harmony. But I wonder if Singaporeans feel cold easily because they have only one season to experience? My friend Ron, his son and I posed with two interesting new friends-Emre and Zumrut, the nice couple from Turkey. Zumrut, Emre and I have kept in touch ever since. I just love making friends.<br />(photo: courtesy of Ron)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_xfDG20VVm1aHi3CC75H0lLpe9YUYe2D_bt3gILo_qPcGvScSyIM58IRY4O7k8GTbFEFnGUV2Jica661z7CCJHGsVVNXlgYSyHA6tm4-eM1a4WBCJgRXdFXeMqV3z4hlYQ5TmBuhXswk/s1600-h/Ron+Charlie+Emre+Zumrut.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 170px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_xfDG20VVm1aHi3CC75H0lLpe9YUYe2D_bt3gILo_qPcGvScSyIM58IRY4O7k8GTbFEFnGUV2Jica661z7CCJHGsVVNXlgYSyHA6tm4-eM1a4WBCJgRXdFXeMqV3z4hlYQ5TmBuhXswk/s320/Ron+Charlie+Emre+Zumrut.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337554196649994386" /></a>MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-37261418163807633442009-05-02T01:49:00.000-07:002009-05-02T06:20:26.878-07:00More on the fluI was not happy to hear Joe Biden being referred to as a dope, for his advice to the public on coping with swine flu. I agree with what he said 100%, and I feel sorry for those who are taking this situation lightly. Moreover, snickering at Mexico's health care system (as I have read from some North American online forums) is not a noble act. Feeling lucky over people's misfortunes is not admirable. <br /><br />This is a global threat and we are all in the same boat. It is not the job of the WHO or local health agencies to keep us safe; we need to look after our own safety by being sensible citizens. <br /><br />The suspected case in S. Korea has now been confirmed, and Hong Kong has its first confirmed case from a Mexican tourist. This morning, my heart twitched in reading this news: a number of Taiwanese tourists who shared the same plane ride with this Mexican tourist had just returned to this island.<br /><br />Traveling inter-continently is going to speed up the spread of virus for sure. If I had the authority, I would shut down the air and sea ports, observe the situation for at least two months before re-opening them. Travel warnings to the affected areas are not going to stop the plaque. People should stop traveling to and from places for a while, just to allow the virus to be marginally contained.<br /><br />Men and women are not almighty conquerors. In the midst of the global crisis, we should relearn to be in awe to what we cannot control and live in harmony with the nature and all creatures. We need to be humble.MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-16799402464728827092009-04-28T06:59:00.000-07:002009-04-28T07:13:32.227-07:00EpidemicI strongly suggest suspending all traveling plans if you can. Think about the viruses you may contract in airplane cabins and the number of people you are likely to get this deadly virus from just by being in the airports. <br /><br />Keep exercising and keep the immune system strong. And if you can, keep the stress level down to the lowest as possible as stresses are the number killer of our immune system.<br /><br />According to BBC News Channel, the confirmed cases are as follows as of April 28, 2009:<br /><br />Mexico: 152 suspected deaths from flu - 20 confirmed cases <br />US: 50 confirmed cases<br />Canada: 6 confirmed cases<br />New Zealand - 3 confirmed cases<br />UK - 2 confirmed cases<br />Spain: 2 confirmed cases<br />Israel - 1 confirmed case<br />Countries with suspected cases: Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, Australia, and South Korea, and seven EU states<br /><br />This is very scary, people. I hope we can all escape this epidemic. We are indeed powerless as human beings. Everyone, please take care.MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-25567638652112837282009-04-18T07:02:00.000-07:002009-04-18T08:21:24.921-07:00Meet the new rice cooker<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtw_kuuEJzoeunmNUFZBuT_b6tUsNpCl2UiDZzt0yeENlMg8ebXUdaW2uvCb1zz8DQP0Zm922mL1ixb-nilFTq1DbMbQaWj_K_e2znfK_Yf-WzML5Y2bgwvmZM-Kx0dFEJ3WIbkohyphenhyphenXj0/s1600-h/CIMG0019.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtw_kuuEJzoeunmNUFZBuT_b6tUsNpCl2UiDZzt0yeENlMg8ebXUdaW2uvCb1zz8DQP0Zm922mL1ixb-nilFTq1DbMbQaWj_K_e2znfK_Yf-WzML5Y2bgwvmZM-Kx0dFEJ3WIbkohyphenhyphenXj0/s320/CIMG0019.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326046589931303714" /></a><br />Well, I have to admit that this is the very FIRST rice cooker that I bought for myself, in my life, so far. Celebrate, celebrate. It cooks up to six cups of rice. Thinking back, the other brand new one that I've received as a Christmas gift from my friend Jeannie was a miniature cooker with only a basic function to click and cook. It felt apart quickly. This one is different. It was made in Japan and with it, I get to choose to cook different grains of rice. Unlike myself, I dashed to one store without a second thought, skipped the comparing prices part, paid 4990 NT (over 100 USD)and grabbed it home. <br /><br />The story was that I went to see this interesting traditional healer, or more or less a Chinese medical healer. He is not licensed to practice medicine and only advises people on diet. I told him my problem and he recommended brown rice with peaches and prunes for meals. He said that I needed more "solid" food. Besides advising against veggies and fruit from now on he also suggested more meat for my body.<br /><br />According to him, I have to change my diet totally now. Rice is never my favorite and I prefer noodle over rice. As an Asian, it is somewhat rare that I do not even have a rice cooker in the house. I usually make one cup of rice and have it last for several meals. Sometimes, I even forget to eat it. And because I use a pot, not an Asian rice cooker to make rice, it does not come out that tasty. This has in turn affected my appetite for rice.<br /><br />The other thing is that I have been somewhat scared of eating meat. The thought of the unknown amount of hormone and antibiotics injected to the meat makes me want to turn away from it. I've quit red meat for a while, and have been careful in selecting the types of fish or seafood that are marginally safe to consume. <br /><br />I also have quit my favorite milk recently. I read that milk accelerates the formation of osteoporosis. Coffee is a no no for now and I only drink herbal tea containing no caffeine. <br /><br />I am trying to stay away from food made of flour. Bread, cookies, crackers, pastries, and noodle are now rare visitors on my table. I only eat soba noodles. <br /><br />I have to say that rice made out of a real cooker is unbelievably delicious and I am glad of my investment. But if eating meat can make me healthier, I'll try some.MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-69997360791796505852009-04-02T08:10:00.000-07:002009-04-02T08:29:45.359-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFfW5vI8kc5twwTEbupBCsOuNhpHUKEuljj5-3TWW5THogVE3ipFKlho2IuTK658Rr6RaPhWoeJe_zwuvg4eo-okpVIDd3JamS9M7wTWb7E8sTNvYHTKVke-MElOnRJPXInph_ZaTvPk/s1600-h/IMGP0518.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFfW5vI8kc5twwTEbupBCsOuNhpHUKEuljj5-3TWW5THogVE3ipFKlho2IuTK658Rr6RaPhWoeJe_zwuvg4eo-okpVIDd3JamS9M7wTWb7E8sTNvYHTKVke-MElOnRJPXInph_ZaTvPk/s320/IMGP0518.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320116347900368002" /></a><br />The sense of loneliness follows me everywhere. The feeling of not being understood, not being appreciated, and not being able to feel grounded scares me. And I do not want to live the rest of my life feeling scared. All throughout my life, I have been educated to believe that challenges are growing experiences. However, at this stage of life, I do not want to believe in that. I want to be freed and to live for myself, not for what others believe would be good for me. What right do they have to do that to me? To live like this would be a new experience for me. It take a lot of courage and self confidence. Perhaps I wasn't a rebel after all. Perhaps I was seeking a way out, for myself, which I rightly deserve, don't I?<br /><br />It takes so much courage to break this vicious cycle, and I need all the strength I can get to move on.MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-44317322720465655012009-02-03T05:54:00.000-08:002009-02-03T06:11:29.961-08:00The story of a spoon<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlAZYR1_EQHFzJouFirL_uDfehbALI-g87IEo43NcRnXVpijOhsSW0kVcL1pQDhT7TEuDZxP0hG5sc8Yo_b4nCtiopUSA9gt6tluJW46pf9_mFZp91y38isehvPCtbsWD6-e_T2SN2Ao/s1600-h/CIMG0050.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlAZYR1_EQHFzJouFirL_uDfehbALI-g87IEo43NcRnXVpijOhsSW0kVcL1pQDhT7TEuDZxP0hG5sc8Yo_b4nCtiopUSA9gt6tluJW46pf9_mFZp91y38isehvPCtbsWD6-e_T2SN2Ao/s200/CIMG0050.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298571943293518402" /></a><br />I got the tea spoon when I came home for a visit from California many years ago. It was only 10 NT each from a market stand and I was delighted to buy four of them. The stand has long been gone and I couldn't find these anymore. I remember inviting the ladies to a lunch and tea party and my friends Renee and Linda adored them. <br /><br />They got bent in the dishwasher and one was lost somewhere- Probably was beaten up in my old dishwasher. <br /><br />These are traveling spoons and they are meant to travel again. I am taking them with me to my new destination.MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-64025749553243608852009-01-12T20:55:00.000-08:002009-01-12T22:26:25.666-08:00To be or not to be<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xqeOHRNsV7c&hl=zh_TW&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xqeOHRNsV7c&hl=zh_TW&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />I have been undecided about my future, since day one when I returned here. With a hope to reconnect to the land and home that I was born to and escaped from, I yearned for acceptance from my own country-or my own acceptance of the country and culture. It has been difficult here, for opportunities are slim for growth, professionally and personally. The job has been a dull case with meaningless requirements that kill one's soul and body. Sometimes I hate that I am not one of them who can tolerate and suffer for things that bear no meanings at all. Last year, I was denied for my promotion after two and half years' of non-stop preparation and sacrifice of pleasure in life. I've learned that for a nobody here in Taiwan, hard work alone isn't enough for getting recognized. The development of connections is the key to it. Unfortunately, I was naive to believe that I should give it a shot no matter what. At this point, I am trying very hard to convince myself that I am of value with all these rejections. Rejections from getting grants, and rejections of being considered to enter the Taiwanese scholarly world.<br /><br />But on the other hand, I do not like the narrow-mindedness of the so-called Taiwanese academia. I need to be involved in discussions, to find allies and comrades whom I can work with. And I feel so alienated here. With the number of newly increased higher ed institutions and decreased birth rate, competition is fierce in this part of the world. The severe evaluation system drives me nuts everyday. Philosophically, I do not buy in the "holding hand" policy of student advising. Seriously it is a heavy load for instructors aside from their research and teaching responsibilities. Like I said, if I can be more like the others, I can do this blindly and believe that it is my fate. <br /><br />I am forced to look elsewhere-to move abroad again. It is somewhat sad and hard, to leave my family again, to fight alone in a foreign land with visa problems. But I am not sure what I should look into this time. Should I take up administration again in a system that I was familiar with; would I be inspired for growth with the familiarity, or should I take more time to look for something that could be innovative and interesting, yet at the same time tolerate the boredom and sadness that kills me everyday here in Taiwan? Should I go with the Asian principle of tolerance and numb myself to believe that something better will come along, or should I stop the torture for something else. How can I be sure that this something else is not a false alternative which can drive me further apart from my homeland? Or perhaps I can take up the role of a world citizen again, and set out to venture for something new without binding myself to certain geological premises. I do not know what to think, and I do not have peace with either direction that I choose to enter. The only thing that I look for is to leave my current job and at least have some peace of mind in being myself. I am a carefree person who believes in the goodness of humans and dislikes meaningless structures. How can I set myself free without taking a wrong step? I am not a young bud anymore who has the time to waste in life.MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4038979402472456996.post-46559176543881843132008-12-27T01:47:00.000-08:002008-12-27T02:03:28.231-08:00Wishing all of my family and friends a bright year aheadHere is to you (to me, too) an incredibly awesome year and many more.
<br />
<br /> <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=5,0,0,0" width="550" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://c.123g.us/flash/CardShell.swf" /><param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="false" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="wmode" value="Transparent" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="FlashVars" value="ldrName=http://c.123g.us/flash/branded_loader.swf&crdName=http://i.123g.us/c/ejan_ny_happy/card/107916.swf" /><embed src="http://c.123g.us/flash/CardShell.swf" width="550" height="350" menu="false" wmode="Transparent" allowScriptAccess="always" FlashVars="ldrName=http://c.123g.us/flash/branded_loader.swf&crdName=http://i.123g.us/c/ejan_ny_happy/card/107916.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object>
<br />MW (My Wish)http://www.blogger.com/profile/04141740195601027064noreply@blogger.com8