Appreciation

First of all I can't be happier about the gas price these days! It's less than half of what it was only a few months ago (just compare that to a couple blog entries back). Great news for my upcoming trips for the holiday. Also I stupidly locked my keys in the car again and luckily found someone with AAA membership to call for help. I'm still one month short of being able to switch my insurance agent and I will switch to AAA for sure when the time comes.

Since last year I realized the so called Black Friday is getting pointless since one can get lots of deals online as well so I don't see why one would brave the coldness, darkness, and sleep deprivation just to save a few bucks. It's shocklingly sad that something like the Walmart trampling would happen here in the USA. I'm a humanist that any similar incidents in the past like the deaths caused by pilgrimage in Islamic Mecca, partying in Lan Kwai Fong a few years back in Hong Kong, and now the "doorbusters" in NYC are simply beyond my understanding. Nothing should take priority over a human life. People really are paying a heavy price for lessons on becoming truly civilized. Ironically I did check out a few items yesterday way after the "early bird doorbuster" whatchamacallit hours. As I was waiting in line to pay I was glad what I saw was the huge turnout of customers were doing their holiday shopping in an orderly manner. The lady behind me in line needed a lift for her bulky merchandize that I was more than happy to give her a hand. And she explained it was for upgrading her mom's bathroom and she was happy about it. So I'm not against the holiday shopping season at all as long as people are making each other happy. But I do think they need to do away the "doorbuster" concept as it will probably bring back bad memories from now on.

Anyway once in a while I like to do a video post with clips I enjoy. These two songs are my favorite lately and Ne-yo and Thicke's albums are the ones I love the most this year.




And the Muppet Show is my favorite show of all time. I still vividly remember how crazily I would LROF as I watched the show as a kid. If you wonder why I use the Swedish chef as my profile pic check these out. They are silly funny but I never get tired watching them and have a great laugh. LOL!

Gratified...

After a sumptuous meal, I feel the need to post this supposedly corny list of things I am thankful for. Here they are...

~My family and their well being, including our little shitzu BB at home, as there have been miracles in this past year and I feel truly blessed in this regard the most.

~My relatively stable job and my amazing class of students. I am really lucked out having such a great class now and I have overcome quite a lot and turned things around when some of my colleagues were openly working against me. Now we are like a dream team. Patience and thick skin do pay off!

~My slightly complicated upbringing and background have proven to be an advantage in many ways. It is kind of funny when many native mandarin speakers including my colleagues find out I am from Hong Kong they would compliment my decent Putonghua (which also is a backhanded compliment stating HKers' mandarin sucks!) I would find myself truly grateful for my parents' having lived in Beijing/Tianjin for a long time and forced us to use mandarin at home when we were little (whether we obeyed or not is another story). I can also relate to people from Indonesia (parents' birthplace and I have lived there for a summer), the Philippines (mission experience), Macau (mission), Japan (minor in Japanese Studies in college), Spanish speaking countries (Spanish in college and lots of spanish speaking students when I taught English), and now Germany and France (trying to learn the languages and be fluent someday). Also when my colleagues are whining about our next topic in the curriculum being medicine and health these days, I am the only one all excited because of my college degree in biology with medical experience. This also comes in handy when I am asked to do translation/interpretation on specialized and advanced subjects.

~All the relationships I have had with people, be it personal or professional, enjoyable or hurting, I truly have gained and learned a ton how to be a better person. Once in a while I would convince myself that I really am not a likable person because of past experiences, but during these past couple years I have learned to let go of a lot of the unnecessary baggage and things that I am now able to enjoy people and things a lot more. I do have true appreciation for genuinely nice and friendly people nevertheless.

~Being able to live and work in this country has been challenging but inspiring. There is no better place in my opinion that presents more opportunities and room for my growth and satisfaction for achieving my potentials.

~My desire for learning and knowledge fortunately haven't subsided since I left school. I am still finding ways to learn new things and ideas.

~My new apartment, car, and all my material possessions. I love the space now I am enjoying along with the ability to travel whenever and wherever I want. I also constantly find myself occupied with the gadgets I play with, i.e. my HDTV, computer/internet, iPods/Zune, etc. Technology rocks!

~My health and even my life is one of the most precious gifts that I could ask for. Learning from the experiences of others around me all I can say is never take a day for granted.

As we are approaching the last month of the year, I am already setting my eyes on next year for new goals: places I plan to visit, major purchases I will be making, projects intended to be finished, and new skills ready to be acquired. I am excited. Once again I can't wait for the family trip before the new year ensues though.

Finally... end of hiatus...

I don't even know why it has been almost 4 months since I last blogged, be it being busy or lazy, I'm just summing it up here the happenings all at once...

Went back to HK twice(!!!) for my own/mom's birthdays as well as Doris' wedding, both were fun and it was surprisingly nice to meet the new family as well as relatives/friends/acquaintances not seen for so long. Things went smooth and memorable... paid off my car!!! Now already setting my eyes on a new one... saw Alicia Keys in concert for my first HK trip... have been reading "The Year of Living Biblically" which is an amazing read... China did host an impressive Olympics, can the "success" last and be extended to other areas? Stay tuned... moved to my new place and it's 3-4 times as big and loving it, not so much the commute in the morning though, and I miss the old place somehow esp. the pool... halloween party at my new place planned for a handful but a dozen people showed up with one whole pizza left over which became my lunch/dinner for the entire week... Nathan visited in July, Emily and then Scott in September, Cindy in October, anyone next? I'm taking reservations now and I've got room (and board)... students are doing great, as long as my lunatic supervisor doesn't meddle with us/them (is she reading this?)... presented on psycholinguistics for the school. I don't know about the audience but at least I learned a lot myself during preparation and I did get good feedback... Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Enchanted, Pochahontas, Godspell, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pippin...) came to perform within five minute drive from my apartment! I was mesmerized by his talent and the singers he brought with... excited about the new President but not so thrilled about the bickering between the LDS and the Prop 8 opponents... really looking forward to the break and the trips in Christmas/New Year...

Those were included in the red pockets/laisees I gave them...

After the banquet.

It's an illusion... the big birds couldn't touch my lunch (with Cassandra and Cindy) because of the glass window.

And we saw something like this... a wild otter enjoying crab in the ocean! Lunch time for all of us...

That's about it. A happy birthday shoutout to Anthony and dad! And I think this is too cute not to put up.