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.