sicily

I wrote this while waiting for my flight in Rome Fumicino airport. I just flew in from Catania, Sicily. I'm going to Paris to catch another flight for Los Angeles. Three flights altogether before I finally get home. Two weeks ago I was heading the other way, landed in Catania late at night. It was raining and it was cold and wet, I thought, Oh no, this is going to ruin my vacation. My sister in law came on a different carrier and arrived at 1.15 am. The first sight of Catania was terrifying; it's an old and moldy city and in the dark, it looked even more ominous. . We stayed in a hostel which is a dilapidated pallazo. One can almost expect the Adam's family to appear and greet you. It rained the next day too but it didn't stop us. We took the train to Taormina and to Acireale. It was fun. For the next week, we had great weather. Siracusa is a beautiful Baroque city. From there we went to other Baroque towns namely Noto and Ragusa. We had great weather for visiting Agrigento, a city with a long Greek history. We had great weather while visiting the valley of the temples - temples built by the Greeks some 2600 years ago. It started to rain again while we were in Palermo. Palermo has some incredible churches- Monreale, Palatine chapel, La Martorana and a whole host of others. There were all so immense and absolutely gorgeous. The rain didn't relent for our last two days in Catania. We took the train, the circumetna that stopped at all the little villages that ring the bottom of Mt Etna. Mt Etna was covered with snow and in the towns at higher elevations, the rain turned to snow. There was an accumulation of snow. It was so wonderful; everything was nice and green. Mt Etna is a very active volcano; it has erupted many times even recently. There is evidence of it everywhere. There are fields of lava rock all over the mountain side. The villages that was destroyed usually rebuild. Even the railway has to build new tracks. Some even use the lava rock to build houses. The surrounding area are undulating hillside and are all grown with fruits, vegetables and olive tree, The food is so great- pasta, bread, salads, seafood and pastries. I think it is paradise on earth. Sicily is as luscious as the pear we ate that was grown in Adrano, a little village near Mt Etna. I strongly recommend visiting Sicily.

traveling alone

I feel like a gipsy. I love feeling like a gipsy. I was at the farmer's market in Santa Monica again. It is my weekly haunt. Today I went to the bank to get some Euros for my trip. I walked outside the bank and sat on a sidewalk to count the money that the bank teller gave me. Here am I in tatty clothes and tussled hair, counting out E1,000. I prefer to use cash when I travel, so I wouldn't have these pesky credit card bills following me home. I look like a begging gipsy and I love it. I guess that's why I love traveling so much, there's the anonymity. The exchange rate sucks so bad. I don't think the bad exchange rate and high ticket prices have stopped people from traveling. I called Air France just now to secure a seat assignment. The agent told me it's a full flight and all the window seats are taken. Fine with me, I'm an aisle seat person. I remember my first trip to Paris. It was at the same time when I spent Christmas in London with family. I took Eurostar and headed to Paris. It was pretty intimidating, it was cold and gloomy and everything was new. It was a very liberating experience. I watched French people going about their business, I listened in on conversations in French not understanding a word. No matter. Paris is supposed to be a romantic city for couples. It is just as magical being there alone. There has been lots of other first, to Provence, to Sevilla, to Rome, the list goes on. This Saturday I'm embarking on my 14Th trip to Europe, to Sicily for the first time.
Ciao, a tutti!

memories of French food

I never had any budget big enough to eat in restaurants with Michelin stars. Most of my food experiences are in simple restaurants, cafes and street corners. They are, nonetheless pleasant memories of very tasty food. I remember clearly this slice of quiche with an incredible smell and taste to match. The smell of that bacon used in that quiche was so fragrant. It is forever etched in my mind. I will never forget. I remember the young frisee lettuce in Spring found in salads all over France. I took my two young nieces, they couldn't appreciate it, so I ate all their salads and craved for more. "Mesclun" is the name they use. We get them here in our supermarkets but it is nothing compares with their French counterparts. When in France, I make sure, I never pass up the chance of buying some calixsons for personal consumption. They are little cookies made of almond paste with a layer of royal icing. I love them. While in the Dorodgne area of France I tried the delicious 'aligot', a dish unique to that area- it is a mixture of cheese and mash potatoes. It was served with duck confit- the platt du jour that night. In the same town, over lunch, we had already devoured a few servings of 'escargot'- snails, cooked in a delicious butter sauce which we sopped up with lots of French bread. MMMMM good! I remember my first trip to Avignon; there is this patisserie that makes the world's best Florentine cookies, so rich and chocolaty! I've had really incredible rustic food bought at farmer's markets- the homemade sausage, fat and juicy eaten with a rustic farmer's bread roll. In Bayonne, one year, I went to a Moroccan restaurant and had lamb tagine with couscous. That was an fascinating experience. I remember another favorite, french yoghurt. It taste so different from any we get here. It is so much more delicious. It was in Nice that I ate my muesli with yoghurt. I tried to recreate the experience at home but it failed the taste test miserably. I could go to France to just eat muesli with French yoghurt. If you've been in a French supermarket, you can find a vast array of yoghurt in cute little glass jars. C'est bon! Of course, mai oui, there are other memories but these are the standouts! The Caussolet and all the cheeses and tarts and macaroons...........

doodling

Make each day your masterpiece. Life is now. John Wooden

Life is not a dress rehearsal. Unknown

You've got a problem? Good! W C Stone

"Come to the edge', he said.

They said, 'we are afraid.'

'Come to the edge,' he said.

They came.

He pushed them.

And they flew."

Guillaume Apollinaire

"It is our duty to proceed as if limits to our ability does not exist." Teilhard de Chardin.

go confidently

in the direction of your dreams. Live life as you imagined. The daffodils I bought yesterday have all opened. I love daffodils, even the name "daffodil" evokes magic and romance. I took these pictures yesterday and I thought I shouldn't waste them; I should use them like what I'm doing now.

lay not treasures on earth

It has been a tough few months. It is never enough what I do for my job. Lately I have been plotting hard on an exit strategy. I previous days when I felt I still need this job, I would read books like, "How to take this job and love it", plus a whole slew of others on how to enjoy work, how to put more into it, etc. It's hard. Now I read "Your money or your life" plus a whole slew of others on slowing down, on being more frugal so as not to need to work so much. The days ahead are going to be really tough, more is never enough. We can't drink enough coffee (Starbucks); eat enough burgers (McDonald's); drink enough sodas (Coca cola); live in bigger houses with a professional kitchen (Home Depot). These stores need to grow and they are going into every area of this planet earth. Where is the growth coming from? We need more sick people so we can fill more prescriptions (I'm a pharmacist)! The stock market fell more than 400 points yesterday. I'm celebrating, not because I hav no exposure, I do. I celebrate because I know how foolish it is to be so dependent on something so unstable and volatile as the stock market. The time is now to reassess our relationship between work and money. The bible says, "do not lay up treasures on earth which moths can destroy and people can steal, instead lay up treasures in heaven". Doing good for ourselves and others is a divine treasure. I read somewhere that treasures in heaven means our stock of virtue. Increase these stocks- love, kindness, honesty, diligence, patience, wisdom, knowledge, etc- and we can never fail even though the stock market crashes and burn. We can use our wit to climb back up. Emerson said, "There is a silent party to all our bargains". The bible says, "on the mountain of God, it shall be provided- Jehovah-jireh". Emerson also said, "There is no penalty to virtue; no penalty to wisdom; they are proper additions of being.... There can be no excess to love, none to knowledge, none to beauty...." There can be an excess to coffee stores, burger stores, Walmarts and Home Depot's. Decide today how you want to live. Gas prices went up again. Have you changed your driving habits? Are you still deciding on a truck even though you don't need one? Are you still shopping for more stuff? Are you paying for stuff to be stored? Why?

living it up

I used to live my life through Martha Stewart and through magazine spreads. I don't anymore. These days my life is a feast or a magazine spread itself. It is not fancy but it is outright frugal and beautiful. Danny Gregory's philosophy is "every day matters". It does. I have accumulated enough knick knacks which I use in my daily life whether for mealtimes or for leisure and I arrange things so that my life is the epitome of a magazine spread. "Parisbreakfasts" is a blog which has pictures of Paris' stores and coffee shops. Why? Why don't you stage your life as it you live in Europe. A cup of coffee, a few slices of brioch and some freh flowers on a lace draped pine table in my dining room and "viola" I'm transported to France.

living it up

The time is now!

The time is now, to travel to far away places like China, Tibet or Europe. It is time to save now for such endeavors. The time is now to heal broken relationships. The time is now to plan for a life after retirement. The times is now to prepare to take a year off. The time is now, to be, to do and to take risks. It's another lazy Sunday morning. I love being home, home in this adorable cottage filled with the things I love, my books especially. Books that point the way for me; whether it is the bible or a commentary written by the brilliant theologian, William Barclay or art books or journal writing books or travel guides or travelogues. I love Michel Peissel's books on his travels to the Tibetan plateau or the obscure Himalayan villages. I love Amy Oakley's accounts of her travel in France in the 1920's. I love Robert Louis Stevenson's account of his travel in France with his donkey, Modestine. I love Paul Tournier's book "The adventure of living"; a book that was instrumental in how I live now. Of course the time is now to embark on the adventure of living. The time is now to "think and grow rich" (Napoleon Hill). There's nothing like sitting in a cute coffee or "the" shop in France, it doesn't have to be in Paris though it could be. (Read Parisbreakfasts blog- it's all about Paris). I remember fondly my last day in Toulouse two years ago. I walked around town and found this pretty tea room. I sat down and had a coffee and a croissant and knew that I'm living the life I want to live. When I close my eyes and whisper, Tuscany, I remember the glorious Tuscan countryside and Florence. I was in old town Orange yesterday. It is a sleepy little town in Orange County filled with antique shops. I came home with a picture frame. As I write this piece I'm looking at something I found in a journal writing book, It says: be a collector of all things unique
- thoughts
- ideas
- feelings
-dreams
-favorite things
- memories
Be your own research project.
A letter from my bank arrived yesterday informing me that they will renew my CD for another three months. That's the kitty for when I take a year off to live in France. The time is now to prepare for that gap year. I am in my 50th decade but the time is still now!

How to afford travel I

Polly Evans travels and every trip she takes is turned into a book; whether it's cycling in Spain (It's not about the tapas) or a few months in China (How to eat a fried egg with chopsticks). I have to find a way of paying for my wanderlust besides working at my job. I don't just travel alone, I want to bring along my 2 teenage nieces. Ashley has already made me promise to take her to Tuscany in 2008. So I have to find ways to make more money and also to save more. I'm already so frugal, pinching the penny so tightly that the president on the penny is wincing in pain. I love reading stories of frugal people to see if I can learn new ideas on saving money. Affording foreign travel starts at home:
- brown bagging lunches
- walk, run, no expensive gym memberships
- thrift shops or garage sales for clothes and furniture
- less TV, TV watching increase our need to buy and own
- limit Internet surfing, surfing the net takes up a lot of time
- work more, take up another job
- hold a garage sale
- read more
-write in a journal
- look through old photos
- don't go to the mall
- no movies
-no eating out
- use the car less, walk to get groceries
- wash your own car
- color your own hair
- use drugstore cosmetics, no expensive cosmetics
I am already doing all these and more and it is working.
Now I am going to stop my Internet use. I'm going to sell my Amgen stocks and buy Wells Fargo.
Ciao!

courage

It is not being fearless. I have courage and have felt fear in my life but have gone on to do the things I fear. I have moved out of state thinking it was what I want to do, only to find out I didn't like the state I moved to. I have found the courage to move back. I have traveled to unfamiliar places, with great fear and trepidation, only to realize there were no grounds for my fears. Courage and fear goes hand in glove. Many people are paralyzed by their fears and have not been able to move ahead. They entertained the many unanswered questions,"what if?". Most of the "what ifs" never happen. I have constantly felt fear in my life but have gone on to do the things I want to do, never letting my fears stop me. I plunged into marriage and have found the courage to end it when I felt it will never work the way I want it to. I've quitted my job a few times when the going was too tough and have returned to the same job each time. It's a gutsy move, maybe not a smart one. Life takes guts; it's gutsy people that move ahead. I have invested in stocks not knowing a thing about stock analysis and have done well. Years sgo I decided to move up in my neighborhood. I went to the bank and qualified for a $350,000 home loan and bought a house for $500,00. It was scary; I wasn't sure if I bought at the height of the market. One can never be sure. If we wait to be sure, opportunity will pass us by. Even in today's housing slump the house has doubled in value. I have shown it off proudly to friends who were always too afraid to buy a home. The trick is not to buy too much home and have the payments overwhelm us. There should be the apportionment of funds to varying activities, eg: living and house expenses, gifts, books and travel. This makes for a fun life. Courage takes faith, faith in time. It is hard to get rich quick but it is easy to get rich slowly. Faith in time is the most important ingredient. We are impatient. We refuse to put seed into good soil; nurture our crops and work at it till harvest. As surely as harvest time follow seed time, prosperity will follow diligence. "THe mills of the gods grind slowly but they grind very fine." I have struggled with patience but nonetheless, I need to continue to be patient. Every day is a struggle to go to work; I struggle to be frugal; I struggle to be positive and the list goes on. I'm winning the battle because I do go to work, I do save and I do remain positive and patient. I'm surprised by the struggle. I'm surprised at how tough it still is after all these years; that it doesn't get any easier. Enough time to allow seedlings to grow and fruits to ripen for the harvest. Enough time to make a big mistake seem small as time goes by, like losing $90,000 in a business venture. There are no failures if we are willing to learn. We feel such fools but everyone gets burnt sometimes. They overcome by learning from the mistake and allowing time to rebuild. I have grown and I forgive myself and have the courage to move on and up again.

old books

I own some old books printed in 1910, 1927, 1936, 1945, well before I was born; books written before and just after WWII. Travel books, no less, it's hard to imagine travel in those days but people did travel and wrote about it. Amy Oakley, an American went all over France with an illustrator. I guess it was hard hauling around trunks full of luggage and a chunky camera; it was easier to bring your illustrator with you; he can walk on his own. No matter, the descriptions of their trips were no less enchanting than modern travel. In fact, they were more delightful. She went to more places; more off the beaten path places; I guess in those days, most places are off the beaten path. In the introduction to her book, "Hill-towns of the Pyrenees", she wrote,"The impressions recorded in this book have been amassed by the author and the artist during three summers in these mountains, before, during and since the world war." Places like Amelie-Les-Bains, Castell'nou, Palalda, Andorra, Luchon, Val D'aran, Lourdes, Pau, Tarbes, St. Jean pied de port, Bayonne and Biarritz are not familiar names. Some of us have heard of Lourdes; Catholics certainly have. So really, till today, there are still places yet to be explored. I'm planning to retrace Amy Oakley's trips to the hill-towns of the Pyrenees. I have been to the Pyrenees on the Atlantic coast. The Pyrenees is the mountain range that divides Spain and France. The treaty of the Pyrenees stated that the tip of the mountain range is the boundary between the two countries. It is an interesting mountain range that stretched between the Atlantic Ocean at one end and the Mediteranean at the other. I was interested in the pilgrimage from St Jean pied de port to the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela in Spain and that was what brought me to the Pyrenees Occidentales, to Bayonne, Biarritz and St Jean pied de port. This is the Basques area of the Pyrenees and a very interesting and delightful area. While on the same trip I was in Toulouse and had the opportunity to take a day trip to Foix in the Arriege department of the Pyrenees. I do want to see the Pyrenees Orientales (the Mediteranean side). It is amazing what books can do. They can open up a whole new world, places that till today remains much a mystery. There's still a world out there that begs to be explored!

wolfgang puck

Spring comes early to Southern California. Today is Valentine's day and the farmer's market in Santa Monica was filled with flowers and people buying flowers. I love this time of the year. The sun is shining, it's always shining here but it wasn't too hot. I love going to this market, the wednesday's market because it is lively and busy, reminds me of France. There's always someone with a camera or a group of people shooting a host of some show on a cable show. Today was no different except I knew who the person the camera was pointed at. It was none other than Wolfgang Puck, the famous Austrian chef and chef to the Oscar party. He was shopping for the Oscar party, ordering some 50 bunches of some black radishes which he is going to serve with a caviar dish. I and a whole bunch of other people stood and watched as he chatted with the farmer while his crew was filming. He picked up some pea shoots and started eating and I walked over and said to him, that I didn't know you can eat raw pea shoots. I picked up some and started chewing and remarked how sweet they were. We both laughed and I said I just learned something new today, all on camera. Wow!

a lazy sunday

A cup of coffee, a slice of Brioche aux raisins and an old English magazine, the backyard deck and a pillow.... mmmmm this is the stuff of a lazy sunday. Today is super bowl sunday and every one is stocking up with wierd food and beer and loud cheering. I'm staying home and am going to think of travels past and be excited about travels in the future especially the very near future.... like next month! It has been a hard week at work and tomorrow is another start to another work day. Please don't remind me. Let me just have today to work with. I'm going to head to the little farmer's market near my house and buy another loaf of Brioche. This french guy makes good Brioche, as good as the ones in France. It keeps well to, I eat it everyday. I love farmer's markets, it reminds me of Europe and I've been to a few in Europe. My first taste was in Aix en Provence 7 years ago. It sold everything including mattresses, I didn't any kitchen sinks. That first encounter sealed my fate forever, now I want to travel to Europe and wonder around farmer's markets all the time. In Biarritz, I followed some locals on their way to market. It wasn't a market but it was a village square where all the shops were. I went into a cheese shop and bought some cheese, a bakery to buy some bread, a deli for local freshly prepared local cuisine, a greengrocer for some fruits and a cafe for some jus and ... viola... I have a picnique lunch! Then I walked to the beach and sat just outside Emperor Napoleon III's palace and laid out my picnic lunch and ate while watching the waves of the Atlantic Ocean as they lap on to the sand. Wow! What's this got to do with a lazy sunday, everything, it's a time to recall a beautiful and delightful past and to look forward to more delights.

amsterdam

I was in Amsterdam in late August, 2006. I took the train, Eurostar from London Waterloo station to Brussels; changed trains and headed for Amsterdam. It is a town of waterways; there is water everywhere. It is pretty in its own way. Did you know there are mosquitoes in Amsterdam? With all that water, there's got to be mosquitoes. It rained the whole time I was there; 3 days to be exact. Thus adding more water to what's already there. The people spoke incredibly good English and were extremely friendly and that makes up for all the shortcomings of Amsterdam. From the pretty train station one walks down a very busy and touristy street. It was a weekend and it was packed with tourists. To see the real Amsterdam one must venture outside the touristy area. You don't have to go far, just turn outside one canal and you are there. It is a quiet and genteel and absolutely beguiling. You begin to feel like you could live there. There are cafes frequented by the locals and life is slow and unhurried. I took my 13 year old niece with me on this trip and all she wanted to do was to shop. I left her in the hotel room to read so I could explore on my own. It was an extremely pleasant stroll away from the madding crowd; away from the hustle and bustle of the touristy areas. We met some Americans; one couple was so helpful, they taught us how to ride the trams to museum square. I had lots of mussels, never ate so many mussels in my life. My niece was bitten by mosquitoes and had all these welts on her arm. We went to the drugstore thinking we could buy a tube of Hydrocortisone cream for the itching. We couldn't without a prescription. The ironic thing was, we could more easily buy marijuana without restrictions. We didn't go to the redlight district. It wasn't something that would interest a 13 year old. We did see some scantilly clad women in shopfronts from the train soon after we left Brussels train station on our way to Amsterdam. I still like Amsterdam and don't mind returning if just to go back to those quiet neighborhoods and just chill......

finding joy in the mundane

Can you? I guess if we follow a set routine we can live the mundane. Finding joy in it? I don't know. My parents are in their 80's and they live in Toronto. Lately they have become snowbirds and now spend the winter months in Southern California. Every weekend has become a party. I never remember a time when we got together so very often. My 2 brothers, their families and I. I told my brothers that every day my parents are alive is a gift to them and to us. We still have them here on earth. The time will surely come when we will be apart, not just geographically but permanently. We reminisce on our old days living in the jungles of Borneo. Those were very hard days, living in mosquito infested jungle, with no running water, no electricily and no indoor plumbing. We have come a long way, both geographically and in our mindset. With hard work and a lot of prayers one can achieve a life of one's dreams. My life now is filled with interesting pursuits, and active career, lots of interesting books(I found a copy of 'Iberia' by James Michener at a garage sale for $1 over the last weekend). I watched a remake of Jane Eyre on PBS the other evening and I rushed out to Barnes and Noble to buy the book because I want to read it again. I have just finalized all the hotel arrangements for my trip to Sicily in 5 weeks' time. The hotel in Palermo is E65 per night; the one in Catania is E55 and in Agrigento it is E75 for double occupancy because my sister in law is coming with me. Christmas came and went. It was a full house because my sister and family (total of 5) were here from New Jersey. I am continuing to write and to learn to draw. I am looking into places to visit for next year's travel schedule and investigation is fun and exciting. I read the history and find out as many reasons as I can to visit a certain place. This trip will only cover half of Sicily. I do want to find time to finish the other half of Sicily. My life is full and hardly mundane. My joy is overflowing....

travel the world

Air France, Alitalia, Air One, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Rome, Fumicino, Catanaia, Italy. These are words I'll be very familiar with by the time I embark on my trip to Sicily, Italy. I went on the internet and worked out an itinerary for myself. I'll fly on Air France from Los Angeles to Paris, on Alitalia from Paris to Rome and finally on Air One from Rome to Catania, Sicily. My sister in law is coming with me but she's booked on British Airways. We'll be exhausted by the time we reach Catania. I remember a similar trip to Seville, Spain. I remember I was in airports and planes for over 24 hours. I wasn't that savvy a traveler then; I could have worked out a better itinerary. I learned a lot from that debacle. Now I'm really good. With each trip I add on not so much frequent flyer miles (I never know how to use my miles so I don't bother) but greater knowledge about the travel industry. I went British Air's website just now, one can really fly cheaply still during the month of Febrary. So I'll look into traveling in February from now on. March is still cheap. The enigmatic Sicily. Few people has been to Southern Italy and the intrepid ones who's been there come back with as much praise for Southern Italy as for Northern Italy. We were in Southern Italy (the heel) last year and we had so much fun that we decided on Sicily this year. It's fascinating a place with a rich and complex history having been conquered and colonized by a series of different rulers- the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Carthaginians, the Saracens, the French Normans, the Spanish Bourbons, the German Hohenstaufen, and today being an autonomous region of a Unified Italy. Each 'conqueror' or 'conquering power' left their distinct mark on Sicily. A friend said, after hearing about our planned 2 weeks in Sicily," it's a small island". She meant we could zip through it in a couple of days. The truth is my plan involves just half of the island. I have to plan a second trip to finish seeing the rest of the island. That's how packed with notable sights Sicily is. I shall be bringing my digital camera and another cheap 35mm camera, my sketchbook and color pencils. I started learning to draw a year ago. I'm surrounded by art books. I shall come back with drawings of Mt Etna and lots of Baroque churches.
Ciao!

how to save money

I was at my brother's house last night. I brought back a bunch of leftovers which I will eat for a whole week. Well, that's one way of saving money. My sister in law and I were going over the itinerary for our upcoming trip to Sicily. I love reading stories on how other people stretch their dollar. I learn a lot and even though there might not be anything new, the articles reinforces my own commitment to saving money. She asked where I'll be going next becasue she wants to tag along. I said, Beijing and Lhasa in the Fall. Then she wanted to know when I'll go bck to France; we both love France. That set me thinking, next year, 2008 over Easter I want to take my 2 teenage neices to Tuscany. I have already taken them to France. Well, next Fall will be a good time to revisit France, especially the Dorodgne region. I, so love that region especially the quaint little village of Sarlat. I haven't been to Mont St Michel; maybe I'll incorporate Mont St Michel into the trip. The next question is "how to afford all these trips and the many more beyond....?' I really must devise lots of ways to save up. I used to jot down everything I spent. It is very effective, each time I open my wallet, I have to remember that I'll be filling up an entry in this book and it does make me pause to think twice before spending. So yesterday, while I was spending a whole day at home, avoiding the malls and other places of paid entertainment, I was entertaining myself, rereading some of my books and magazines and jotting down this list of ways to save money. This is a list of things I'm already doing. I need to continue reinforcing the message! With the unfavorable exchange rate for the dollar, it is hard to find a bargain in Europe. Saving for trips abroad starts and end at home! Writing this blog takes up time; keeps me occupied and it's freeeeeee!
pack sack lunch
walk
ride the bus
cook and eat at home
do not cook too much- eat leftovers
buy canned salmon for fish cakes
eat more vegetables
eat more fruits
no glossy magazines
don't go to the mall
sew your own summer clothes from old thrift shop clothes
stay at home- write in journal, reread books and magazines
dream on paper
wash car
read about thrifty people
do not save by taking advantage of other people
do not save by living off the largesse of other people
give to charities
avoid favorite websites- Amazon or Alibris, fast from these websites
no alcohol/soda
drink tap water
no movies or rentals
continue to invest in stock market, contnue to send regular checks to Schwab one account
continue to pay down mortgage faster

Sicily

I'm going to Sicily on March 10. I searched for months for a cheap fare but the best arrangement I found was Air France from Los Angeles to Paris, Alitalia, from Paris to Rome and Air One from Rome to Catania. My sister in law is coming but she's flying on other airlines for reasons I wouldn't go into here. It's hard finded any thing cheap. The only way to save on trips is to save for it on the home front. The new year means new travel plans. The first trip of the year is to Sicily. In October I'm planning to go to Beijing and Lhasa. I've been reading on all these places for the whole of 2006 and I'm ready. 2 weeks in Sicily. A friend said, But it's a small island! 2 weeks and my plans include sights in half the island. I have to plan a second trip to Sicily to include the whole of Sicily. My books on Tibet is burgeoning, most of these books are out of print books. There is a dearth of recent books on Tibet. Tibet, the roof the world, the land of snows, the land of the snow leopard, the land of the blue poppy. I have a book that had a picture of the blue poppy! Wow! It is a poppy! It is blue! It is so precious! As an English novelist wrote, it's either CB or MMM. That translate into cut back or make more money. I choose to CB- cut back. It is fun, saving money. I don't have the latest gadget in my home, I still have an old TV, circa 1994. I don't have a DVD/VCR or cable. I haven't been in a mall for years. I hate spending money on made in China widgets. I drive an older model car and only for going to work. On days off I walk or take the bus. I've paid for Christmas with cash. When I go to Sicily I will use cash, the pensiones I will be staying in takes only cash. When I return, most the trip if not all is already paid off. The airline ticket is going to be paid today. So it's going to be another year of extreme frugality so I can afford my peregrination. I'm planning for 2008 trips this year. Ciao! A tutti!

rosemary and thyme

Watching last night's show evoked in me dreams of one day buying a house in Nice, in the south of France and living there. This morning I coldn't wait to go to my study and dragged out all the books I have about the south of France and rereading them again. It's visions like this, visions of Europe that keep my juices flowing, that get me out of bed and going to work. I am starring at a section of my boodcases and I see more than 10 books on China and more than 10 books of Italy. When will I get to go to all these places and to think I don't know when I'll return to Venice or Florence. I want to. I have some very old travel books, written before I was born, written around 1936, the quality of writing is different. I tried to look for some more in the same series but they are not available. I hope they are still in private collections and not destroyed. It will be a great loss to humanity if they wouldn't be available anymore. All you people who owns old books, please contact Amazon.com or Alibris.com. Please do not burn any book. You don't know who might be interested. I've bought an old book for $125. There's one I would like to own but at $199 I think I'm going to sleep on it. Is anyone out there as crazy as I am.

London

Passport
Rail pass
E-ticket
Toothbrush
Toothpaste? I have to call the airlines to see if I can bring any liquids on board, any toothpaste, or I have to abandon them and shop for some when I land in London. The rules of packing have changes again with the recent discovery of terror threat in the form of baby food. It is part of the new travel rules but no matter, I am still going to be traveling. I need a change of scenery, so soon, considering I was in Italy almost 5 months ago. Yes, so soon! Los Angeles, California and the USA are wonderful places to work in; there's lots of work for me, but its work, work and more work. I can only work if I can punctuate work with trips to Europe. Today is the last work day before I leave for London, Amsterdam and Brussels. I can feel the relief; I can feel that I'm tired; I heave a huge sigh of relief. I'm coming back to more work but for the next 2 weeks let me lose myself and enjoy myself abroad, sleeping in strange beds and eating strange food. Friends look enviously at me, what a charmed life. It is; it is also a lot of hard work and brutal budgeting, something I have been accustomed to. We were looking at my pictures of Northern Spain; it was only last year when I was in Santiago de Compostela and the French Pyrenees that I was eating Basque food. Some people haven't even heard of the word Basque. Stuart Wilde said, " rather than look at other people's peregrination, think to yourself, that could be me!". If they can do it, why can't I? Rumi said, " Don't be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold/your own myth...." Now back to packing, I must remember the Pur water filters that Auntie Lili wanted. I won't be staying with her this trip. So I'd probably skip buying the bottle of scotch or the carton of Silk Cut cigarettes for her. Or maybe just a bottle of Bell's scotch from the liquor store near her place. I remember the many trips to London and the endless cups of tea at either Auntie Lili's or Auntie Mary's homes. Being in London means endless cups of tea, scones, strawberry jam, clotted cream, clotted cream icecream, Cornish Pasties, Ploughman's lunch and scotch eggs. I shall be taking the train to Brussels and Amsterdam. I have never been to either cities. It's going to be a lovely and new adventure. With me this trip will be my 13 year old niece, Ashley. We are going to have so much fun, as much fun as is legal. She's excited. When she was 10, I took her to France, at 11, we spent a Christmas in Toronto. I used to listen to travel stories told to me by friends and wishing I had some of my own. Now I have joined that club and have lots of travel stories. It means a very frugal lifestyle so I can afford to travel. I drive an older car and on days off, I take the bus or I walk. I eat lots of leftovers and haven't anything new in my wardrobe for a long time. I don't remember when I was in a mall the last time. Mind you, I still pay extra into my mortgage every month and I send $500 every month to my Schwab One account. It's a matter of priorities. Definitely no Starbucks coffee!

bibliography

I love books. I have almost 1000 in my library. I can spend a fortune at any bookstore. I have been known to spend a fortune in used bookstores. Lately I have been trying to get an old book on Alibris.com. I saw it offered for sale at $75 which I thought was exorbitant. I thought no one would want to buy it but I was wrong, it got sold under me. So I waited for another copy to be put on the market. It was and I'm paying $125 for it. I've searched the world for another copy and I was willing to pay whatever amount for it. Wow! When I read a book I like to look at the bibiography to see what other books the author consulted in the writing of that book. Oftentimes I find very interesting references and I go on to acquire those books and have been introduced to a whole other world of other authors. I found out what Bob Kiyosaki read and I found a treasure in Jim Rohn's writing. The list goes on. Sir Anthony Blount is an authority on the Baroque movement and I have started acquiring his books. There's another book in one of his bibliography and I'm trying to get that book. It's $149.00. So I'm holding off for just a few more weeks. "A book is a present you can open again and again".

Traveling with kids

I promised a niece I'll take to her to England. So we are leaving end of August for London. We were to stay with my aunt Lili but I just heard from her, her 50 year old son just broke up with his girlfriend and has moved back home. That's my cousin. I was also to visit his sister in Sussex but that is out also because she and her american husband and children will be in New York and Cape Cod during the time we'll be in England. I called Auntie Mary, my backup place to crash in London. She has been feeling poorly lately and might go to France with her daughter, my cousin, Beci. So I called Beci to see what her actual plans are. If she's going to France, we can take the train from London and be in France too. Cousin Beci just bought a house with a friend in Brittany. I don't mind going there to see it. I've never been in Brittany. Also I'm waiting for news to see if we can crash with cousin Sheena when we visit Amsterdam. At this moment everything's up in the air which is an anomaly with me. All my vacations are planned to the last detail but not this one. It's kind of fun actually. I know when we'll leave for London and when we'll come back. Not what we'll do while there. We'll find something to do.

matera

When I saw the movie,"The passion of the Christ", I thought the location was so hauntingly beautiful. I did an internet search and found out that it was shot in Matera, Italy - Southern Italy to be exact and I knew in my heart I want to visit this place. I started to research about Matera and found out that it used to be a valley of cave dwellers. The poor farmers carved into the rock surface and made living quarters out of them. Living in caves still goes on in France, Sicily and in China. Matera is special because a lot of these caves have been renovated into modern dwellings. We stayed in a cave hotel which was completely renovated and fitted with all modern amenities, elevators, showers and flash toilets. The Locanda di San Martino is so pretty that it was hard to imagine that a few years ago they were just some dirty caves lived in by poor farmers from the Mezzogiorno. An American lady and her Italian husband started to buy up these caves, one at a time until they had some 24 of them and then the hotel was born. Arriving by train in Matera, I was disappointed because I couldn't see the caves or "Sassi" in Italian. I saw the new town which was some chintzy high rise buildings. The visitors' center pointed us in the right direction, the "Sassi" area is down in the ravine. My first sight was one of total disbelief, it was a sight I'll never forget, it was so surreal and so beautiful. I kept saying, "Oh, my god, oh my god! It was even harder to believe that right in the middle of this mess is this beautiful and modern hotel. It is a breathtaking place, completely unbelievable and must be experienced in person. It took a little planning to get to Matera but it is doable without a car. I took the train to Bari in the Adriatic coast and took the train from Bari to Matera. Bari is a very friendly Italian town. It has 4 rail companies operating out of the same train station. One can take the fast train there from Rome but I took the train from Naples because that was where we were. We had to change trains at Caserta. We stayed the night in Bari and took another train to Matera which had to stop at Alta Mura and we changed trains there. Bari is a good stop to use to visit the region of Puglia, one can go to Alberobello, Martina Franca, Locorotondo, Leece, Brindisi and a host of other places. We left Bari to go to Rome, a 4 hour train ride on a fast train got us into Rome. The Japanese have long discovered Southern Italy and everywhere we went the Italians thought we were Japanese, we are Chinese Americans. The locals were very friendly and truly it showed they have a fondness for the Japanese. We spent a whole day exploring the "Sassi", it is a lot of climbing up and down, some caves have been renovated and lived in, other are still in their decrepid state waiting to be worked on. There were cave churches at every corner, some still has frescoes in them. I shall always remember Matera, it is a truly magical place. I love the mezzogiorno; people are friendlier. Being Asian I have experienced hostility in France. I've never experienced any in Southern Italy. While in Matera we wanted to buy from "frutas", the elderly Italian couldn't speak English and he decided it was easier to close the bus ticket counter, locked up and show us in person the Salumeria next door. That was so sweet.

Invisible guides

Napoleon Hill calls them "invisible princes" or "unseen guides" that guides us in our endeavors. There are invisible guides. I believe in them. I have "seen" them work in my life. Our Lord Jesus said, "it will be done to you as you believe". I believe that the Holy Spirit is more active than we ever imagine or know or understand. With each prayer from the deep recesses of our heart, the Holy Spirit is arranging things in the spirit realm that bring about the thing or event we prayed for. Just as the air we breathe is not inert; it can be stirred up into a powerful force, similarly the spirit realm is not quiet. Prayer stirs up the spirit realm into a powerful force; arranging for events that will bring the answer to prayer. It is comforting to know that every thought, every prayer, whether silent or audible is picked up in the spirit realm. There are invisible guides that carry these desires to the heart of God. I have "seen" them at work in my life. If you believe and let it, you can have these guides work in your life. Your life need not be humdrum and worthless. As we become more spiritually inclined, we will experience things of the spirit more and more and our lives will never be the same. Why don't we enlist their help in our lives? We don't have to struggle. Why don't we let it do for us what it is there for? To assist us in our lives.

the alhambra 2003

They say the sun shines brighter in Southern Spain. It sure did; I have never seen such bright sunshine before; the cold wind was blowing and I remember the bright chilly mornings in Seville. There were gardens every where and it seems from every vantage point in the city, one could see the minaret of the the Giralda. It is a very pretty and unusual cathedral, especially the climb up the minaret; the way up is a ramp unlike the steps up in all other cathedrals in the world. It was built by the Moors (those parts that survived); they used the ramp to ride up to the top on a horse. There were orange trees all over the city and it being spring, there were orange blossoms. The smell was wonderful especially in the evenings after dinner, my sister and I would sit outside at cafes to eat ice cream. The guidebooks said we needed a reservation in order to visit the Alhambra. I tried to do it on the internet at home but had no success. So I told Janne, since I was arriving ahead of her in Seville I would take care of the arrangements while in Seville. I could go to any of the many BBVA, a Spanish bank and they can sell me tickets to visit the Alhambra which is in Granada. That was easy enough; the morning entry tickets sell out very fast, so I secured an evening entry for the both of us. So the day arrived, we boarded a train bound for Granada at 7am for the 3 hour train ride to Granada. It passed through extensive olive fields between Seville and Granada. That morning we toured the Cathedral in Granada where the bodies of Ferdinand and Isabella were laid to rest. It has a pretty, white and lacy interior. After seeing so many Cathedrals, it is hard to have a favorite ; everyone of the major cathedrals has their own charm; the Duomo in Milan or St Peter in Rome. I would say I rather like the cathedral in Siena with its black and white marble interior and exterior; it holds some major artwork inside and its tiled floor is another major work of art. Since we still had time before we can get in to the Alhambra, we decided to climb up the Albazin and head to the viewing area. The Albazin is the Moorish quarter. It sits on a hill across from the Alhambra. The view of the Alhambra with the snow still on the Sierra Nevada in the background was spectacular and awesome. It is so beautiful and its no wonder it is the eighth wonder of the world. The Alhambra should be right on top of everyone's list of most important places to visit; right on top with St Peter Basilica and the Sistine chapel. A trip to these places would definitely change one's perspective on life. The Alhambra was a palace and a fortress for the Moors and later the home of Isabella and Ferdinand. Words can only do so much to describe it; it ran the whole expanse of our view, seeing it from the Albazin. I was too excited after viewing it from a distance; we hopped into a taxi and headed over to the Alhambra. It did not disappoint, it exceeded all expectations, the various buildings and the Generalife gardens were so beautiful and knowing who lived there before added a whole new dimension. It would take volumes to describe in any detail the Alhambra. It was one of many memorable days in my traveling life. Since then I have been adding a lot more.......

the alhambra 2003

life is just so daily

It has been an extremely busy week and a very good one. People say '"do what you love". All the time I was thinking, during the rush, to "love what you do". Also this week I changed my classification from being a union pharmacist to being a manager pharmacist. It is even sweeter because I'm going to get a bonus based on gross sales and I got a substantial pay raise. It is really good. I'm really happy. This means I can pay more into my mortgage and finish paying it in 5 years, a total of 10 years. My sister, at 50 has finished paying off hers. This would free up a lot of money to do more traveling and buying more books. I looked at my credit card bill, they're mostly educational charges; payments to Amazon.com features prominently in them and there are some charges to West Los Angeles College. Last week I took a web page design class and thoroughly enjoyed that. I came back and signed up my name as a domain name on the internet. Eventually I want to set up a website, when I've found out what I want to sell on it. Today I started 6 weeks of French for travelers even though I'm only able to attend every other class. What I learned today is invaluable. I had fun. I had wanted to do Italian but the classes kind of clash with my work schedule. I'm looking for a Chinese class. I'm getting ready to visit China. I figure is I lived to 90, I still have another 40 years. If I don't continue to learn, that would mean another 40 years of ignorance. I read somewhere that said, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance".

The human toll of Opium addiction

My parents lives in Toronto, Canada. They were here for a month long visit. Oh! The feasting and revelry when they were here. I have become an amateur student in Chinese culture. I'm planning my first trip to China scheduled for next fall (07) and besides reading up on the various historical sites, I am also reading up on Chinese history, the Chinese Diaspora(the migration of Chinese) all over the world and my own family history. We were born and raised in North Borneo, then a British outpost and now part of Malaysia. My grandfather arrived in North Borneo from China, like many others, as "coolies", laborers exported from China. Not all arrived as Opium addicts but many picked up the habit while working as laborers. It was to help them cope with hard labor and lack of family and human comfort, most laborers arrived on their own, having left home and hearth. My grandfather picked up his habit while working for a relative who had arrived years before and have made it. His addiction continued till the day he died. My father has a first hand account of the toll and devastation of addiction. I always took the opportunity of plumbing his brain of whatever he remembers and then writing everything down. He is going to be 81. When he leaves this earth, I and generations to follow or maybe even the world would be deprived of this knowledge. What would it do for anyone, I don't know. I know what it does for me- make me appreciate my life, my family and people and country even more. Being appreciative and grateful, I work harder at everything; at my career and even on this blog. I don't know if anyone reads it but I know it is a repository for all this information and for my writing. It is a form of archive for my writing and rambling. This is before I too forget or leave this world. We've been eating so much the month my parents were here. It was not always the case in my father's life; growing up as the middle child of 8 children. He had an older brother who died during world war II.His brother joined the resistance to fight the Japanese; the resistance were made up of more of a Marxist/Leninist ragtag group of Chinese boys who were ill equipped and inexperienced. They were all to perish at the hands of the Japanese. My father's brother died in the jungle of Malaria trying to join up. No one knew where he died, just stories from friends who said they had to leave him because he was too ill. When he was alive he was mostly in school in China. That left my dad to be the only son and to bear the brunt of supporting a family because my grandfather was an opium addict and used all his money on his addiction. They never saw much if any of my grandfather's money. My dad remembered of just one time, when grandfather threw a wad of cash (not very much) on the table. My dad and my grandmother grabbed the money and went to the store to get provisions. Most of the time, my grandmother worked as a Chinese laundry. In those days the British wore heavily starched shirts and khaki pants that require washings and ironing. The irons were heavy and primitive and were heated by live coals. At 8, my dad remembers carrying heavy bags of laundry, both from their owners to be laundered and back to them after they've been washed and pressed. It is hard and back breaking work for a boy of 8 years old. He remembers the constant fighting between his parents. I have first hand knowledge of my grandfather's tactics. We saw it growing up, we also were the brunt of his abuse(verbal). It is a daily affair, when he needs money for his fix. He took money from whomever would give him or he'll throw such a verbal tirade and wouldn't stop till he gets some. Growing up, my dad never remembers a time when he had enough to eat. He was always hungry and all through his adolescence, he was skinny and underweight. They had to move constantly, at least 3 times a year because they never had money for rent. He, hardly had anything to wear other than the clothes on his back. When he was older, he would chop wood for sale or make into charcoal. They use the wood for cooking and the charcoal for the laundry irons. It is extremely backbreaking work. My grandfather was in the same trade, except every cent he made went to the opium den. There were times when he stole charcoal from my dad. It was hard staying in school when one is hungry all the time. Then WWII happened and the Japanese occupied all of Asia. My dad left school and never went back. He reads and writes English; he is self-taught. The existence of the family was dependent on strangers and my grandmother's father, my dad's maternal grandfather. Things got so bad once, they had to move out os state altogether, to a place south called, Miri. Things in Miri did not improve, it was just as dire. They were in danger of starving to death. The rest of the girls were plagued by Malaria; they were so weak all the time; they were bedridden. My dad had Malaria too but had to work through the attacks of fevers and chills. In fact the girls should have died from Malaria but by the grace of God, none of them did. My dad remembers asking a ship captain to let him on board so that he could return to find his grandfather, to tell him of their plight and to seek his help. He had no shoes, all he had were the clothes on his back. He had no money for the passage. The ship captain let him on board for free. Once his grandfather heard their desperation, he chartered a boat to go to Miri to bring them back. Recently I have heard of other families' tragedies because of opium addiction; of families who sold their kids into slavery. I asked dad if grandfather ever considered that. It was considered but word got to my grandmother's father and he put a stop to it. Auntie Mary has never mentioned this. My parents wants to go to China with me. My dad is going to be 82 then, He is still strong; he dropped to the floor and did 24 modified push ups. Pretty good. Now let me try 24 modified push ups!

Creativity

What is creativity? I don't know why we associate creativity with mostly the ability to create art- a painting, a sculpture or a drawing. Creativity involves all areas of life- whether it be work, play or relationship. I've been reading a lot of books on drawing and journaling lately. All my life I've been made to think that if I can't paint something that pleases my teacher, I'm a dud, an inartistic or non creative person. One can be creative at one's profession. When we are able to use our imagination to find new and wonderful ways to do things better at our profession, then we are creative. We have the mistaken notion that we've got to feel like being creative. We lie and wait and have a "block", waiting for the creative moment to hit and then are we able to create that major work. These moments could be few and far between. No wonder, artists are often poor and starving. We don;t think that we should be able to create little and lots of minor work and prosper this way. Will we be considered as sellouts? I don't think so. I read about this lady who writes for a living, she said, she makes sure at 9 every morning she's ready to write something. I read somewhere that the best way to overcome writer's block is to write constantly about anything and even write badly. It's the same with drawing, to draw everyday. I have come across books written by therapists who tries to get deep into our subconscious in order to help us in the creative process. It's like taking drugs. Most of the things that appeal to me are done by simple and practical people. When we see ordinary folk like us doing simple things, it is exciting and it stirs in us the feeling, "I can do that" or "I could be doing that". Talking about poor starving artists. Reminded me of a book I read recently of how the author met 2 poor artists in Sicily. They brought the author home to see their work. The author thought they had talent but was put off by their poverty, loneliness and lack of regconition. He, the author, realized he didn't want to end up like them. What does that mean? He was not willing to sacrifice for his craft? I don't think so. I don't think we have to. I have discovered that to be creative one must be focused and discipline everyday whether one likes it or not. Then will we be able to produce. We must be dedicated to the task at hand.

Role models

When we think or speak of role models, we always gravitate towards positive role models. My sister, Dawn, told me the other day, she doesn't have any positive role models growing up. All she had was negative role models. That was the first time I've heard of a negative role model. That was what was instrumental in allowing her to be what she is today. She didn't know what to aspire to; but she definitely know what she doesn't want to end up being- like all the negative role models around her. She may not know what she wants but she knew what she doesn't want. I guess this is as strong if not stronger, a motivation. If we have too great a positive role model, we might be setting ourselves up for failure. If we aspire to be like Tiger Wood, Michael Jordan or Michelle Kwan, a lot of us will fall very short of the mark. On the other hand, if we don't do what our negative role models does, we've already succeeded. She knew she didn't want to a stay at home mum like our mother. Our mother never worked a day in her life even though we were so poor. Dawn went on to have kids and a career. Today at 50, her house in New Jersey is paid for, she is an accountant at a Fortune 500 firm in New York making 6 figures a year, own 2 cars (paid for with cash), has 2 sons, the older one is applying to Yale. Her husband is an out of work Methodist minister. We came from a family full of vices- from Opium addiction (our grandfather); compulsive gamblers, alcoholics, chain smokers, philanderers; you name it. Our close relatives has vices that run the gamut. We knew growing up not to emulate them. We went to church at an early age, a result of attending a "mission" school. Schools, when we were growing up, were started and run by the various world churches and it was their missionary obligation; churches like the Roman Catholic church and the Church of England. Growing up poor, we didn't know what dreams were; "what do you want to be when you grow up?" Questions like that were moot. We grabbed what little opportunities there were for higher education. We, never in our wildest dreams, ever saw ourselves living one day in North America; 7 siblings- 3 in Toronto, Canada, 3 in California and 1 in New Jersey. There, by the grace of God go we. Funny expression but apt.

art supply stores

Looks like the yellow didn't come out as clear. Oh well, I was experimenting. I know now not to use the yellow.

Opium

Opium? I had forgotten about Opium; it has been so much a part of my life; not that I am or was every an addict. My grandfather who was from China was an opium addict; he passed away some 30 years ago. There's a belief amount opium addicts that their bodies would be so wrecked by the addiction that there will come a time when it wouldn't respond anymore. They'll suffer withdrawals; withdrawal from opium addiction especially in their case,meaning "cold turkey" would be hell on earth. He felt he has reached that stage or close to it. Rather than face it when it actually arrive, he decided to end it. From what I can gather from stories from family members (I was away in Pharmacy school) he felt it coming and for days he suffered from depression. Finally one afternoon he took the cleaver from the kitchen and tried to disembowel himself. He didn't die right away; he was lying in a pool of blood in the bathroom and was moaning. He died in the hospital from massive loss of blood and a heart attack. He probably didn't feel much pain; he had or always had opium in his system. Why remember grandpa today. In the pharmacy last week, I saw a little boy shopping with his grandfather. I told a colleague, my grandfather used to take me to town; we lived in the countryside. He went to town everyday except Sundays. Some days he would take one of us, kids. We tell the same story; he always have to stop at a certain house first. We would wait outside while he went to the bathroom or that was what he told us. I don't remember how long we waited; as children we had no watch and no concept of time. It was an opium den; he went to use the opium pipe. Opium is either smoked or consumed orally. On Saturdays he would buy opium pills to bring home to consume on Sundays when the opium den was closed. It was when we were older that we found out that the place was an opium den and that he was an addict. It was not unusual for Chinese of his generation to be addicted. Almost the whole population of China became addicted to opium, helped along by the British; that's a story for another essay. When the Chinese men left Southern China as "coolies" to work in hard labor all over the world they brought their habit with them. Opium dens were set up wherever they were. My grandfather left China, not as an addict. He became addicted while working in the fields in North Borneo. He was a typical China man, arriving in the traditional Chinese costume and a long pigtail. He used to say of his pigtail, "we brought our own chains". A relative left years earlier and told of fortunes to be made south of China, "Nanyang" or "the south China seas". He had fields to be cultivated and a contract to blast a tunnel for a railroad. My grandfather left China to join up with this relative; initially as a foreman to oversee the workers. At noontime, he would bring lunches to the workers and also opium. It was part of life, no one thought anything about it. No one knew of the devastation and the human toll of opium addiction. There would be leftovers (of opium) and he would partake of the leftover opium and therefore this led to his addiction and in later years to cause the devastation and the human toll on the lives of his wife and children. We knew him growing up; he lived with us till the day of his suicide. My mother found him dying in the bathroom. Stories of his suicide reached me in college. I remember praying that it was truly a suicide and that my parents had no hand in his death.

Journaling

It's been a very busy week. Today was supposed to be my day off but I went to the dentist for my 6 monthly cleaning and checkup. Everything is ok in my mouth. Scott, my dentist, likes to hear about all my trips abroad. It seems every 6 months I have something new to tell him. How did this happen? How is it I can make so many trips abroad? By saving very hard. I haven't even worked any extra shifts. It's mostly by being very very frugal, nothing but. I always pack a sack lunch to work. I cook once or twice a week and eat leftovers all the time, even when I go to my brother's house for dinner. I bring leftovers home and I could eat for days on it. I don't drink Starbucks coffee. It's too expensive, I make my own. I don't go to the mall at all. My biggest expenditure are books but they last forever. A book is a gift you can open again and again. A stack of books did arrive for me yesterday, 3 of them from Dan Price about journaling. I found out about him from Danny Gregory's books; 2 were about China. I'm preparing to visit China next fall. I just finished "Opium, a history" by Martin Booth. I have 2 more on China, "The Taiping Rebellion" and "The Opium wars". Why Opium? I'll write about Opium when I have time. I came back from the dentist and an indication light came on on my dashboard. I called Marina Del Rey Toyota, they tell me I have a blown taillight bulb. I was going to run over there to have them fix it for probable $100 when I saw my neighbor working on his RV. He said he could fix it and he might just have the right bulb for it. He did and I paid him $20. I washed the car and I'm now writing this blog. Next I'm going to cook dinner and go through some of the books that came. Dan Price's books are a lot of fun. It'll keep you busy for a very long time. Nothing in your life will be trivial; you will be more observant; every relationship will be important; you'll notice every leaf that falls- I'm exaggerating. After reading Danny Gregory's books, I notice I don't have the patience and lack concentration. To do more detail artwork requires focus, discipline and concentration. I now know I lack these qualities. Not that I can't change. I can and I want to. It's almost like being lazy. My writing initially was superficial and it's a sign of laziness. So I'm changing. I'm forcing myself to write more details. To do that requires sitting longer at the computer and requires reading a lot more. Phew! I'm only blogging! I guess a lot of us have become lazy. We prefer to unwind in front of the tube where all we do is watch. To participate in life requires involvement and work. It's hard after working at a fulltime job but I'm forcing myself to have a life after work instead of lying on the couch and watching the TV screen. I've cut my TV viewing down a lot. There's nothing on TV, I don't have cable but I've seen cable shows, there's too much superfluous programs just to fill up airtime. So I read some more and save and travel. I have a trip to London coming up and I'm writing down all the things I'm going to do there, food I'm going to eat and places to see. I've been there many times. I love shopping in London even though I can't afford anything. I love the British style; it's more chic than anywhere else.

Drawing

I've not drawn anything since grade school; since my art teacher made me cry. She really did a number on me and for almost 30 years I never drew again. I've seen art books, watercolors books and have passed them by, thinking I shouldn't waste my money. She was also my needlework teacher too. I cried in that class too. She would make unpick and redo everything. But in adulthood, I would go on to sew for myself, sew for nieces. I went on to do fancy lacework, smock and embroider. I sewed all the drapes in my house, all the quilts on the beds and all the decorative pillows. I could sew anything. Draw? I never took it up again till one day, in a whimsy moment, I bought Danny Gregory's book, "the creative license". He started drawing pretty late in life and looking at his work and with his encouragement, I made a few feeble attempts and I loved it. Here are some examples. He said, "draw anything, draw what's in front of you". I loved the print on my pajama bottom; its so pretty; it makes me feel pretty when I have it on. I decided to draw the fabric print. I still can't get over baroque architecture. I just realize I'm a very girlie girl. I love pretty things and it stands to reason why I would fall so hard for baroque architecture. I have read guide books denouncing it as "over the top". For me, I can't get enough, the more the better. I've been trying to find an out of print book called, " Sicilian Baroque" by Sir Anthony Blunt. I saw one on Alibris.com for $75. I hesitated and it was sold. When I was ready to buy, it was sold. Maybe there's someone else out there who has discovered their passion for baroque architecture. I am going to Sicily next year. I might have to write my own book........

proverbs 16:20

"He who gives heed to the word will prosper and happy is he who trusts in the Lord". The word of God is a goldmine. Everyday I mine the word of God for nuggets of gold in the form of spiritual nourishment and encouragement. To set me up on the right relationship with the Lord and therefore the right relationship with the world. The right relationship with the world leads to an industrious life which leads to more and more money in the bank. It is actually very simple. I didn't say easy. We must be diligent in reading and meditating on the word of God. We must be diligent in applying the word of God to every area of our lives. Our life's work would be one of excellence. This leads to promotion and a bigger paycheck. I started writing 6 years ago. It started with reading the word of God and living it out in every area of my life and documenting everything. I have accumulated an immense collection of books. I have reread all these books many times. This is a labor of love; a love for God and a love for the life He has given me. We need a diet of words everyday. This is more important than food and clothing. We need a diet of bible verses everyday that empowers and embolden. Without it, we will be lost in this world of negativity. The word of God becomes your shield to protect against negativity and becomes a weapon to rid our lives of negativity. God then inhabits us to bring into our lives the fruits of our labor. We then become spiritual warriors.

Life is so daily

My prayer- not for ease, for fulfilling work, for interesting travel, for compelling and exciting leisure, for enlarged group of friends-all encompassing. This is my life, my daily life; all my prayers are being answered, daily. I have nothing to rant about, but everything to be thankful for. Every negativity is dealt with in prayer- to squeeze out of it every benefit. Napoleon Hill said, " every adversity carries the seed of equivalent or greater benefit". Everyday is different, no one day is the same as another. Every day brings its own gifts. Be open to receive daily. Daily life doesn't have to be boring or bland if we have a life plan. A life plan, an unlimited life plan, is a fantastic way to get through each day. How do we want to live our lives? What would we rather do for a career? Where would we rather go? Who would we rather associate with? What classes would we take? For those out of school, has learning stop? Each day then is a step or a few steps in the fulfillment of our life plan. Enjoy each day while we're at it because they say its the journey of getting to our destination that counts. Stop and smell the roses or the coffee. Enjoy and savor each day for however awful or good the day is, it is soon gone and we cannot have it back. Enjoy each encounter with everyone and every situation. Someone said, "time flies whether or not you're having fun". To that I say, "try to have fun always". Today begin with a blank sheet, "tabula rasa".... Write down your life plan. While being realistic, don't be too timid. When I bought this house, I told myself to be a little more ambitious and looking back I'm glad I did. Choose the best location you can afford- I asked myself where I'd really want to live, the answer, as close to the ocean as possible. Friends had advice for me but beware of well meaning friends. At $491,000, it was scary. What if I bought at the top of the market? Today (after 5 years) its more than doubled. When we reach beyond our comfort zone, its scary and hard. We don't know our resilience or our adaptability. Your life is too important to just leave to chance. This is the only life we'll ever have. Be careful what you wish for, you might get it. How wonderful!

A 5 year plan

I have just mailed off a resume. I thought I'd explore the prospect of changing jobs. Anyway the prospect of making $170,000 a year was too good to pass up. I don't know if I'll take the job if it's offered to me. It's with a correction facility; but I've decided I will go as far as the interview process. I'm not sure if I'm ready to give up my current position, even for that kind of money; about $40,000 more. There must be something about that job if they're willing to offer such a lot of money; something not good. Anyway I was thinking about the interview process. What questions would be asked? Do you have a 5 year plan? My answer would be "No!" I only have a 5 day plan. I have a sort of plan to get through the week. Things are changing too fast in the world; today with more information I think differently from yesterday. What I liked yesterday, I've already disliked today. What was important yesterday is not important today. Yesterday I was sure I'll change jobs but yesterday the boss has already implemented a pay and bonus structure for me that a new job is not so attractive today. Yesterday I was sure I'll take the job if it's offered to me. Today I'm only willing to go as far as the interview process. Who knows how I'll think tomorrow. I'm not flighty but some jobs are worth keeping and staying at. Not all jobs require a grand 5 year plan. Some jobs would prefer you to stay and grow with. With stability comes consistent service. I can't even say when I'll retire. I'll take it one day at a time. I'll continue to be prudent with spending; continue to invest in upgrading my skills; continue to save and invest; continue to travel and have fun doing all these things.

italy on my mind

I can't help it. I still have Italy on my mind. The visit to the Baroque city of Lecce in Southern Italy was an afterthought. When I got to Bari on the Adriatic coast I still wasn't sure if I was to take the daytrip to Lecce which was a 2 hour train ride away. Rough Guide described the Baroque as "over the top". Every building in the old city was in the Baroque style that one can gag. I didn't. In fact I fell in love with Baroque, with the moldy, honey colored old buildings. My only regret was I didn't spend enough time there or even spend the night there. I heard there are a lot of Baroque style cities in Eastern Sicily and I'm really excited. My digital camera ran out of power in Lecce added to my regret.

hakka- on being hakka

My Chinese ancestry is Hakka. There are thousands of different Chinese dialects and the people of the same dialect usually are found together in different parts of China-each speaking their own dialect and eating their own cuisine. There is an official dialect which is mandarin and only one form of written Chinese. The amazing thing is the written form could be read in any dialect. It is not a special thing to be Hakka, in fact, it is almost shameful. Hakka people are peasants and are classless. Growing up, I have other Hakka people who told me in whispers they were also Hakka and in the same breath, say that they don't speak Hakka. If possible, you'd rather not be Hakka. Who are the Hakka people of China? Lynn Pan, in her book, "A history of the Chinese Diaspora" said it the best that I can't improve on it. "The Hakkas, whose name means 'guest families', have been described as the gypsies of China, people who live side by side with speakers of different dialects in enclaves scattered across six Southern Provinces, without a homeland of their own. They were a rugged lot and even their women had to be hardy. Little wonder that the Hakkas were the only Chinese to refrain altogether from binding their daughters' feet into the 'golden lilies' that were de rigueur everywhere else. One thing Hakka women were not was dainty". These remarks, rather than incensed me, actually excited me. I am proud to be of Hakka stock. I am a Hakka woman, a hardy Hakka woman, as Lynn Pan called us. She is Shanghainese, from the North. Northerners always felt more superior to Southerners. It gave her more confidence growing up. She has gone on to be a successful author. I have some of her books. Apart from being both Chinese, we share a more common background in that we spent a good part of our lives in than British North Borneo.

A Bat mizvah

It's Ashley's Bat Mizvah today. It's a beautiful Saturday morning. I came early to the Synagogue and am right here at the venue about 5 minutes drive from where I live. What is a Bar Mizvah or a Bat Mizvah? It is a rite of passage for Jewish children. At 13, they pledge their taking a personal interest in the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible ascribed to Moses' authorship). The Torah is the central part of the Jewish faith. It is the word of God given to the Israelites.
......... It was a beautiful service. Being Christian, this is the first time I've attended a Shabbat service. They were very successful in creating a sense of community by incorporating families into the Torah reading. The whole focus was God, His word(Torah) and the community. Everything was in Hebrew. My sister-in-law, Rivka, is from Israel. She read part of the designated Torah passage in Hebrew, so did other relatives, as did my other niece who is raised here but spoke only Hebrew before she went to school. Ashley read her part of the scripture passage in Hebrew and gave a little speech on what it meant to her. She did well, she's a natural born perfomer with no fear of an audience. She loves being in the spotlight. There was a kiddush reception after Shabbat and I found this congregation to be very warm, friendly and welcoming. I was impressed. One of Rivka's aunt is a holocaust survivor. She was 12 when she was in Auschwitz. Being christian, I am grateful we share the same God and a common heritage, the Old Testament,

Father's day

A few years ago I decided to write my father's life story. Throughout my life I have heard spits and spats of his growing up at the dinner table. It wasn't till a few years ago as I looked at him, a man approaching 80 and still with such physical, intellectual and spiritual vigor that I realized when he leaves this earth, he takes with him these stories. Unless I take up the gauntlet and document these stories for posterity, they are going to be lost forever. I will be too busy doing other things that I, too, who was told these stories, would forget. Even if no one else in the world wants to know of this man, I should memorialize these stories for the next generation and the generations to follow. Were his stories unique? My mother lived in the same village and just a few years younger never has such stories of survival to tell. My father's siblings does not have the s\same stories either. They were unique stories of immense struggle for mere survival. A life of being the only surviving son in a Chinese culture where sons are supposed to be worshipped but wasn't the case in my father's life. It was a life of extreme poverty combined with tremendous abuse on the part of my paternal grandfather and the cherry on the top was WWII with a Japanese invasion and occupation, culminating in the landing and occupation of Allied Forces after the defeat of the Japanese. All these contributed to the hardships in my father's adolescent years, seen by very few in the history of mankind. It reeks of Frank McCourt's tales in "Angela's Ashes". It was shared suffering in Frank McCourt's life. In my father's case, he bore the brunt and the full force of the pain and struggle. Unless we read of survival stories and I don't mean the television series on "Survival", we will continue to sleepwalk through life. We will continue to live a very shallow existence. We will continue to be bored and be boring.There has been lots of holocaust stories and there should be. We must not forget. We must not be complacent. While WWII raged on in Europe, there was another war in the Asian front-the spread of Japanese Imperialism. They had a rhetoric, not unlike the Nazis. In fact, the Japanese Imperialists and the Nazis were collaborators. Here's to my father.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Hollywood

I am a Chinese American and in Europe, I am mistaken for being Japanese. I try to tell people I'm from Los Angeles or California but most people don't know where either one is. When I say I'm from Hollywood, then I see the regconition in their faces and everyone will say "Oui" in France or "Si" in Italy or Spain. I was at the train station in Santiago de Compostela last year, waiting to take the train to Hendaye, the French town at the border with Spain. There were a whole bunch of pilgrims taking the same train to go home. I was seated next to one of them. I asked if he finished the 500 mile Camino. He said, "Ja". He sounded German but he said he was from Austria. So I told him I was from California and that our governor is from Austria. He said' "Ja, the terminator" in an accent that sounded exactly like Arnold's. We both laughed so loud that everyone in the train station began to look our way. I use Arnold Schwarzenegger's notoriety all the time in Europe.

The wheel of fortune

All through my house I have little reminders, little pictures and inspirational words to encourage me to continue in this mindset. The feeling of worthiness comes from inside. Emerson said, "Great hearts send forth steadily the secret forces that incessantly draw great events".Someone else once said,"your outer life is a reflection of your inner life. So the question is, "How do you live? Is there beauty in your life? Are you living the life you want? The first thing to change is your thoughts because these thoughts will ultimately become your expressions; Metaphysicians call it "demonstration"- same difference. It is so important to write down our goals. There's a greater chance of achieving our goals if they are more concrete; if we can express them in writing. Another way of memorializing our goals is in the form of a picture; a wheel of fortune. On it we could paint or paste pictures of the house we'd like to own, the places we want to visit; maybe stick on it a check written to ourselves for $1m. If we should get lazy or depressed, we could look at that picture wheel again to remind ourselves of what we want to achieve in this life. I have all kinds of reminders all over the house. I am not a collector of souvenirs but I do have some, 2 cafe au lait bowls from Nice, France; 2 cake plates from London; an embroidered shawl from Seville, Spain. I buy all my shoes from the Doc Marten store in London. They're a daily reminder of the blessedness in my life. I am truly grateful. When things get tough at work I remind myself and I say "Italy" under my breath and I could handle anything!

Laws of prosperity

I have a book by Catherine Ponder called, "The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity" which has been instrumental in my getting into the path of prosperity. I remember one lonely night, after realizing that I've just lost $80,000 in a business venture with some family members, I went on my knees and I prayed, "Lord, I want to prosper, prosper me!" I remember I laid the blame solely on my own shoulders and did not apportion blame on anyone else. I went to Amazon.com and typed in "Prosperity". This book by Catherine Ponder was among the hundreds that stood out. I've read and reread the book many times. It is one of the many books that set me on the path to prosperity. What it did for me was it made me feel worthy to be rich, successful and prosperous. Often times we sabotage ourselves and our success by feeling unworthy. I had to readjust my mindset. Once I did, I was well on the road to prosperity. It's an incredible feeling.