Hidden Treasures

Less than 20 hours to go... sigh...

Whenever people asked me what are the must-sees in Hong Kong before, I was never quite sure how to respond. Now I have a better idea, especially if you are genuinely into what the real Hong Kong culture is...

There are more than one SoHo areas that have popped up in Hong Kong. The one in Central is filled with international restaurants and pubs.

Krispy Kreme is here too! I realized they have more flavors here and they are not bad at all. There are already three stores in HK now.

Close to the escalator area of course is Kom Tong, now known as Dr. Sun Yat Sen Museum. It's a great museum for learning more about modern history of China.

The portrait of Jesus Christ at the entrance is now replaced by a statue of Dr. Sun.
It means most to me of course because this is where I grew up in the Church, served my mission, had my first car accident...
...and I was baptized in this very place!!!

Another nice place to visit is the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Shatin. I learned a great deal myself through my first visit. And the huge museum was close to empty on a Friday afternoon when I visited!

The Three Matters of Life

Read this article the other day and liked it.

人生的三件事 The Three Matters of Life

人世間的事情看起來很紛雜，沒頭緒。 但是， 如果我們細細的把它分門別類，其實人生只有三件事：「自己的事」、 「別人的事」、 「老天爺的事」。
Things in this world seem to be complicated and have no solution. However, if we carefully categorize them, there are in fact only three matters in life: "your own business", "other's business", and "God's business".

「自己的事」當然是指跟自己生活息息相關的任何一件事，如：上班、吃飯、睡覺、心情等，自己所能安排的事；「別人的事」是指與自己不相干的事，如：老王愛自誇、老張愛打牌等，操之在別人，屬於他人管轄的事；「老天爺的事」是指天災、人禍、地震、海嘯、命運等，操之在天，屬於老天爺管轄的事。
"Your own business" of course refers to anything that relates to your life, such as work, food, sleep, feelings, etc. which are things that one controls; "other's business" means things irrelevant to you, like "Will loves to brag", "Jack loves poker", etc. which are maneuvered by others; "God's business" are natural disasters, tragedy of man, earthquakes, tsunami, fate, and so on. They are governed by heavens and God.

然而，人煩惱的根源往往是「忘了自己的事」、「愛管別人的事」、「擔心老天爺的事」。打個比喻：忘記反省自己、忘記自己的本分；愛說別人的閒話、愛管別人的閒事；工作怕發生危險，出門怕發生意外等不可預測的事。
Nevertheless, the roots of trouble of man often are "forgetting your own business", "enjoying other's business", "worrying about God's business". Here are some examples: forgetting to evaluate yourself and your responsibility; enjoying gossiping about others and overstepping into others' lives; and worrying about the unpredictables like the danger at work and the possibility of accidents when one travels.

人生的這三件事往往是我們煩惱的根源，如何平衡好這三件事在我們生活中所起的作用是非常重要的。
These three matters of life are often the root of our troubles, so it is crucial for us how to balance these three acts in our lives.

我覺得應該做到「打理好自己的事」，「不多管別人的閒事」（非指遇到殺人放火的事不管），「操之在天的事要樂天知命，順應隨緣」。
I think we should "manage our own business", "ignore others' business" (not meaning ignoring crimes like murder and arsenal), and "things governed by the heavens should be taken as they are".

煩惱經常是自找的，如果你不給自己煩惱，別人永遠不可能給你煩惱，放不下心中的事，才是煩惱的原因。當自己為了甚麼事情煩惱的時候，先釐清是「自己的事」、「別人的事」、還是「老天爺的事」，就知道怎麼處理了，也就能很快的把憂鬱的心情，調適過來了。
Troubles are often self fulfilled. If you do not give yourself troubles, others cannot force them upon you. The real cause of troubles is that you cannot let go. Whenever you are troubled, you need to first distinguish if it is "your own business", "other's business", or "God's business". Once you know how to handle it, then you can easily and promptly readjust from your blues.

文／晨晨 Written by Chenchen and translated by Raymond Pai

More adventure...

I was away in mainland for another couple days. Before that I attended the Young Ambassadors' fireside at Homantin. It was like a mini-reunion! In addition to the YAs, Chad and Sue (Boothe) were there which was a pleasant surprise!
Their singing was phenomenal and I personally think they did way better than we did 2 years ago. My singing was ok that year but what went behind the scene was a nightmare... Anyways, it was all like yesterday and sometimes I even imagined if I could relive that experience all over again. It was even a bit difficult bidding farewell again and I have no clue when if I even get to see any of them ever again...
I was gonna get all the YAs from 05 for a snapshot but after the fireside the hall was as chaotic as most firesides at HMT afterwards as usual that the closest thing I got was this: a shot with Chloe with the Boothe's and the Barrington's in the background. Ha! :)

On Monday, I was a bit nervous to reapply for my US work visa but it went a lot easier and smoother than I expected. What's funny was there were 2 singers/movie stars right in front and beside of me in line. Charlie Yeung (楊采妮) was right in the front and Rebecca Pan (潘迪華) was a few more spots ahead but next to me often because of the winding line. Charlie was really pretty without heavy makeup unlike what I saw in Japan that many girls were so "artificial" almost to the point of scary. People in line were "forced" to eavesdrop about their exchanging complains about the hassle of applying for a visa. They are superstars but still had to suffer waiting in line as everybody else. Charlie was turned away once because of her wrong photo size and incomplete address. The staff even pronounced her address out loud over the speaker! As for my case, the consulate was nice enough to chat with me about my job and even asked me to teach him mandarin. I guess my case was approved right away.

The Road Home/Abroad...

It's already been two weeks since I came home, time does fly! Here's a brief picture recap of the events and more to come...

~This is the first time we traveled as a family again in about 15 years. Japan is such a literally neat place and a nice change from living in the always hustling and bustling Hong Kong. I wasn't too into the "cute" culture of Japan before that I always thought people were always living in their dreams as I learned as a minor in Japanese Studies as an undergrad. It's not too bad of a thing after all. People strife to maintain order and natural beauty in all places. Things are way cheaper than I expected because of the economy downfall earlier. The trip included Nagoya, Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, and Wakayama which is the southern suburb of Honshu.

This is actually one of my favorite pictures. It's not me and the Buddhist monk at the Kiyomizudera (Clear Water) Temple was chanting the whole time as he asked for donations.

I was thrilled to visit Universal Studio in Osaka and I'm a ride fanatic. We hopped in the Spiderman rider the day Spiderman 3 came out! It's the best ride of all time! And I think I'm as ugly in the picture as that big lizard from Jurassic Park on my head...

My fam in Japanese robes after visiting the hot spring at the hotel. The hot spring experience was such a cultural shock for me and I'm still recovering from it... It did feel good afterwards though...

I think "bidet" (toilet seat equipped with "seat warmer", "washer", and even "dryer" is one of the greatest Japanese inventions. But this is my first time seeing and using one with a sink on top which you can wash your hand right after you flush using whatever water it comes out on top!

I revisited my alma mater high school for the Young Ambassadors' visit. After all the corresponding and arrangements I'm so glad things turned out fantastic. It's surreal to see the YA's perform on that tiny stage in the school hall of my high school. As Principal Liliana put it, "it's a dream come true!" I wish I had something like this when I attended SGSS over a decade ago.

Randy's giving a presentation on singing at one of the workshops afterwards. The other two workshops are on dancing and acting. The students and teachers totally enjoyed it and I heard nothing but great things from them. Some of them said they had never experenced something like this in their lives.

I hanged out a bit with the cast with a trip to Lamma Island. Here it is me and Meredith (one of the Chinese speakers in the cast who is a Taiwanese RM), Sterling (we auditioned the same year singing the same song and his brother was my mission companion!), Stacia (we were in the same tap class), Peter (a 3-year YA veteran), and Chloe (YA in my year) at an Indian restaurant. It's both awkward but fun to reunite with all the YA friends. Fond memories. Good times...

I also just saw the new BYUTV documentary on our YA Chinese tour 2 years ago and I'm in it again! You can check it out here (look for the program titled "Children of the Dragon" -- by the way, I handpicked that song!) It will be rebroadcast at the following times:
# Sunday, May 13, at 3am
# Monday, May 14, at 7 & 10pm
# Wednesday, May 16, at 3pm
# Thursday, May 31, at 6 & 9pm

HOME

My favorite song of all time-
"Home"

Another summer day
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home
Mmmmmmmm

Maybe surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

And I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
“I’m fine baby, how are you?”
Well I would send them but I know that it’s just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that

Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I’m lucky I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I’ve got to go home

Let me go home
I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home

And I feel just like I’m living someone else’s life
It’s like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me
'Cause this was not your dream
But you always believed in me

Another winter day has come
And gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home

And I’m surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

Let me go home
I’ve had my run
Baby, I’m done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It will all be all right
I’ll be home tonight
I’m coming back home

More Quotes...

INSANITY is doing things the SAME way and expecting DIFFERENT results.
~Barry Bounous (my former vocal coach)

Higher Order Learning in the Foreign Language Classroom
- Didactic lectures, extensive coverage of content, and mindless drill combine with student passivity to perpetuate the lower-order thinking and learning that students have come to associate with school. When students do not actively think their way to conclusions, when they do not discuss their thinking with other students or the professor, when they do not entertain a variety of points of view, analyze concepts, theories or explanations from their own points of view, actively question the meaning and implications of what they learn, compare what they learn with what their experiences suggest, tackle non-routine problems, examine assumptions, or gather evidence, they do not acheice higher-order learning. These students [...] gain little knowledge or insight. Their ability to mature intellectually, their capacity and motivation to learn is stunted.
~Richard Paul
(Amen, Amen! This applies not only to teaching language but any subjects. There are so many teachers not doing what teaching supposed to be. We need to teach students HOW to learn instead of WHAT to learn!)

Freedom isn't a neighborhood; it isn't an afterhour alleyway; it certainly isn't a private club... It's an attitude about yourself that you carry with you wherever you go... The essence of freedom lies in living it.

History repeated... only worse

Even before the killer is identified and the motivation understood in today's tragedy in Virginia, I just can't help thinking why people haven't learned their lessons that weapons have to be banned on campus and under more stringent regulations? Can you imagine people owning guns with their own free will in Hong Kong? How come there are always more and more violent campus shootings in America? What about media? Ringing a bell yet?

In the backyard...

Just watched "Happy Times" (幸福時光) by Zhang Yimou. I did not have high hopes and the first half was as I expected to be typical Chinese humor and to be honest I am often bugged by the Chinese pragmatism and nonstop arguing and yelling on screen. I really enjoy the second half however as the plot focuses on the relationship between the old man and the girl. The old man's action is not as ridiculous and the girl's acting is great. My favorite part is almost at the very end of the movie when the gangs were "recording" the letter while the cassette player was actually playing. It's hilarious and just classic.

Sometimes there are treasures that you are not aware of right in your backyard. I was getting paper work done on campus for my annual leave and I stumbled across these remnants of the Berlin Wall and it's quite amazing to behold.

Also Monterey is also the place where everything about California began. The first California Constitution was signed here and the city hall where it all happened is minutes away from my house.

The well known bear on the Californian flag!

Happenings

My dated and almost vintage DELL laptop has finally given up on IE7 and I can no longer access any secured websites (which require passwords) or even use messengers. So I'm ditching IE!

So from now on you probably won't see me around on MSN or YIM for a while. This blog or my email probably are the best ways to get in touch with me in cyberspace now. Anyways, I switched to Firefox and I am loving it. It works even faster and smoother than IE.


Last Friday I had one of the most memorable teaching experiences of all time. We were going through routine grammar drills and it was the last class of Friday. I was getting tired of the text book exercises myself so I asked the class if they felt the same. Of course the response was a unanimous "yes" (whey did they ever say they were NOT tired anyways?) I decided to do an impromptu game activity "Big Wind Blows". For you Hongkongers you know what I am talking about. The class sits in a circle and one person stands in the middle and gives a statement. If the statement is true to anyone in the group those people are "blown by the big wind" and they have to find a new seat competing with the person in the middle. The person that is left without a seat becomes the new spokesperson and so on. We were learning the Chinese perfective so it is a nice game to practice through playing. Well, they made quite a scene and lots of noise in the game. It was almost funny to see these soldiers in uniform in action (pun intended) during the game. But boy, didn't we all have fun. We were so loud that it concerned our department chair and the MLI that they stopped by and checked on what we were doing. By the time the dept chair got here we were done playing and all she saw was a messy classroom while the class was trying to catch a breath and working on their grammar again. I was both embarrassed but proud by the scene! I felt like I had my "Dead Poets Society" moment of my life! :)


Another random quote of the day:
Whatever product you're putting out, make it the best product you can make. Whatever your job is, [try] to challenge yourself every day.
~Ellen DeGeneres

Random Quotes

Choose your next words carefully, Leonidas. They may be your last as king.
~ Persian messenger from the movie "300"

Pain is temporary but the film (outcome) is permanent.
~ Arnold Schwarzenegger in the Apprentice Season 6

The world is fast learning that of all forms of slavery there is none that is so harmful and degrading as that form of slavery which tempts one human being to hate another by reason of his race or color. One man cannot hold another man down in the ditch without remaining down in the ditch with him.
~ Booker T. Washington

Completely random...

Can't believe it's already April and I've started counting down towards my annual leave (which means trip home and travel and eat and play, woahoo!) These past couple weeks these following things either happened or somehow ended up in my thoughts...

~ I thought I would never really liked the weather here in Monterey as it was often gloomy, humid, and cold when I first arrived. But when it's warm and sunny and approaching summer, weather in Cali is REAL NICE! We often just decide to have class out in the sun and now I'm used to the humidity here as well.

~ I can't be happier about the place I live! It has actually been quite a hassle when they are doing the huge remodeling work around my building, and it's hard to even find a way in and out of my apartment while they are repaving the ground. It happened a couple times utilities were interrupted (sorry Victor about the water the day you were here!) but Diane told me they would give me a $300 credit for my rent that I was quite happy. And then a few days later they even decided to give me a month of rent free! Quite a few people told me I've been paying a little too much for my rent but I absolutely love my place with its excellent location and facilities. Despite the "inconvenience" I pretty much got my air ticket home paid for without doing anything and the ground work didn't really affect me that much since I'm out of the house most of the time during the day. So people, it's a place you LIVE and you gotta love it first and it will pay back! :)

~ This probably sound pretty lame but I thought I'd post it here anyways. The website HumanForSale has been up quite a while but I stumbled across it again and I figured my current price is $1,625,038. The sad thing is I'm still cheaper than most houses in this area... but the good news is that I'm still "smarter" than 89.67% of all people according to the Am I Dumb web site... no worries, I'm not taking these seriously, um, maybe I'll change my mind when I'm worth more...

~ I have put up the counter and the stats for this page and I found it very intriguing. I always wonder who have been visiting my site (or stalking me, whatever you may call it), I don't mean to spy on people but it is quite fun to guess who those people are (you!) At least I know when they come visit and where they are from. Feel free to leave me a word or two!

~ I came across this definition of "unconditional love": you love someone no matter what and the other person does not have to love you back. It's simple and straightforward enough but it just dawned on me now. If Christ has unconditional love for everyone and we are commanded to emulate Him, I doubt if I have achieved 1% of what we are required to do... sigh...

~ At last, more pictures I (or others) took for fun in the past month...
Lake Tahoe is heaven-like...

A 100-year old Rolls Royce!!!

Another old car (with an old man) in the National Automobile Museum in Reno, NV

Everything in America has to be ranked #1 somehow...

Upon entering the Valley of Death...

I was very close to the lowest point in America!

6 months!

I just realized I've hit my 6-month mark of living in Monterey and working at the DLI. I have not much to complain and I'm loving my job, especially my students. They are such fun and awesome people.

It's already more than a month into Chinese new year but I came across this list of tips for a Powerful Chinese New Year that I really like. It's a great reminder that I need to take better care of myself (esp. before my trip home!!!)

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.
3. Buy a TIVO, tape your late night shows, and get more sleep. (Or use BT, Worthy, right?)
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement: My purpose is to___________ today.
5. Live with the 3 E's: Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.
6. Watch more movies, play more games, and read more books than you did in 2006. (I like the idea!!!)
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, qigong, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake. (I thought I have been doing that too much...)
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less foods that are manufactured in plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water and eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds, and walnuts.
12. Try to make at least 3 people smile each day.
13. Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk, and let new and flowing energy into your life. (No wonder I keep feeling my energy is low... it has been sucked by all the trash in my house!)
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts, or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime. (I do like algebra though...)
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card. (The reality is I have all three meals with more than one maxed out charge card...)
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.
18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. (Really? Are you serious?)
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. (Where can I find fancy lingerie for me? I'm a newbie to this area...)
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
27. Forgive everyone everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. (Ok, I'll find time to give time time...)
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch. (I don't want my friends touch me when I'm sick though...)
32. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful, or joyful.
33. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
34. The best is yet to come.
35. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
36. Do the right thing.
37. Call your mother and father often. (Or have them call you often in my case...)
38. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished____________.
39. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
40. Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. (This one is for Amy, ha!)

Weekends

It's been a fun couple of weeks and I can't believe I survived a more than 2000 mile drive for the past couple of weekends. Let's see...
With Joanne upon (re)entering Chinatown

Live lobster! Look at Joanne's face!

Dead now but delicious!

Gei Gei and Joanne came down to San Francisco to handle some personal business and visited me by the way and they became my first official visitors here in Monterey!!!So I drove up to San Francisco to pick them up. It was pretty late at night when I got there because of bad traffic but we managed to have a nice but pricey dinner in Chinatown.

17-mile Drive in Pebble Beach... breathtaking view!

I love this restaurant... Bahama Billy's in Carmel

Then it was my turn to return to Provo last weekend to run my own errands and we (re)visited Aspen Grove and Sundance...
Just goofing around on the mountains...

I got my own lift in Sundance!

Avriel scared the crap out of me (pun intended!) when he found this and threw it on the floor!

Ok, we played a little fear factor there and obviously I was the winner!

This is going to be weird... mind you...

I got tagged by Matt

The rules of the game:

1. Find the nearest book to you.
2. Name the book and author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page.
5. Copy out the next 3 sentences and post to your blog.
6. Tag three other people.

Book: Chinese Basic Program Unit 1
Author: Some Chinese speakers
Page 123, fifth sentence:
张：他的电话号码是多少？
刘：他的电话号码是2342138。
张：你们连长呢？
刘：我们连长是孔福春同志。他的电话号码是5075891.

Yes, I am at work, that's why. I tag Dixon, Nathan, and Xinyi.

I thought it was going to be an ordinary fun day of eating and shopping with friends but it turned out to be rather adventurous and eventful. Sophia, Xinyi, Xiao Tang (Little Soup) and I first took a walk along the coast to Pacific Grove's Lovers' Point (too bad I'm not with my lover) and the weather is finally back to gorgeous yesterday. There were people scuba diving and I wonder when I'll be able to do that again. I still have my gears though.

Gorgeous scene and the gorgeous...

The DLI BYU gang: Xinyi, Sophia, and yours truly

I'm not a picky eater but I'm so tired of my own "cooking" that I was excited to finally enjoy some real Chinese food in Milpitas. We went Chinese grocery shopping and loaded the trunk of my car like we were smuggling food from China! On our way home I got a flat tire on my car somewhere on highway 101. I almost panicked but called my insurance company and relieved to find out the expense can be reimbursed and Ms. Sophia happened to have AAA membership (I cancelled mine, stupid me!) that we got free roadside service! Lucky me!

After all these I ended up with a cold now. What happened to the flu shot I took?