Must say that it has been a while since my previous post. After reading Hong, CC, and Melinda's blogs, I feel bad about not keeping my friends updated about the life I have now. So from now on, if I could, I'll post more blog articles here, not just in Chinese(my other Chinese blog), English too! : P
Everything is almost settled down now. My life, my apartment, my job, and my volunteering work are all on the right track now. The great part of this is that I get to stop complaining because now I am used to stay with this busy schedule. But the horrible part is that I didn't get to speak English or write in English anymore. That is the scariest part for me since without using any foreign language; one can easily just forget everything they've learned/used before. Every time what I read on Hong or CC's blog, "their English is just like the natives" is the thought that crossed my mind. Look at the sentences and the way they describe things, they're just great. This pushes me to keep on learning and to try to speak more with the English speaker in Taiwan. Hopefully this would help me and the one I spoke to would feel that my English is not bad at all.
This month, everything is going well. My family members are all doing well, except that two of them had a trip to Japan and I didn't get to go with them. : { My dad is doing well, but his left leg was injured. The medical therapy doesn’t help too much, so now he is trying the water therapy, this means he goes to the swimming pool and walks in the swimming pool for 1 or 2 hours. We were kind of worried about him, but it seems like now he has found a way to cure himself. What we can do is being supportive and be there for him when needed.
My job is well also. All the projects are not started yet; probably I'll be super busy from late April. After having staff work progress evaluation with my boss last week, we discussed what I need to do this year and also make up my goal that I'll take an English test and some technical license exams before August. Well, that's going to be a tough task for me to overcome, secretly I am praying that I'll pass them. Secretly... Hopefully...
The apartment is almost settled down. Now, I have 2 new roomies who share my front yard with me, they're cat# 1 ( the white cat who loves meowing all the time), and cat#2 (the yellow cat who doesn't like me too much, but always sits in front of my door, kind of guarding my house). Both cats are street cats, not quite sure that whether they're born as street cats, or they were abandoned by someone. Anyway, they like me now (that's what I think and hope) and ask for 2 meals a day. Every time when anyone of them sees me, their reaction is like “Meow..... Meow...." I never have a cat in my life, only dogs are the ones we raise and live in our house together. So.... not quite sure what the “Meow..... Meow...." means. Is it good or bad??? I must be honest to say that I have no clues at all. However, cat#1, cat#2 and I live peacefully together, except that recently cat#1 really wants to get into my apartment and I always try to stop this happening. Last night, I went to the 24-hour pet store to get a 5kg cat food package and it surprised me that the animal foods are so expensive. Hopefully, cat#1 and cat#2 would've realized how much I want to be friends with them through the very expensive cat food I fed them. : {
So pretty much that's the new update of my current life. Everything is normal like what happens in your life. But mine is a little bit different than yours because that's Angela's life. Everyone thinks his/her life is better than others’, isn't that right?
PS: I found a really good drink, which may only be served or sold in Taiwan, named bubble milk. Since I don't drink tea or coffee anymore, the tea store in Taiwan has another idea. They put the pure milk with buttle tea's buttle together, and it does taste pretty well. You might want to try next time when you stop by a tea shop in Taiwan! The chinese name of the bubble milk is "珍珠撞奶." Try it! I know you would like it as I do. ; P
2009年3月24日 星期二
2008年9月4日 星期四
Start saving money for moving out....
Recently, having the idea of living by myself is getting really stronger than before. If my memory serves me right, the last time I think of moving out is about 3 years ago. By that time, I just move back to Taiwan. I was a new graduates finishing my study and living by myself for 5 years. At first, I was having the idea of moving out, then I got used to staying at home with my family.
But now, for some reasons, I want to move out. I want to have a small space that is mine. No one would come in to make me feel annoyed. I can do whatever I want, have a good sleep until anytime I want to wake up, not because the dog barks, the phone rings, or someone's shouting. Most important, it's not because someone in the family is already awake and having his/her breakfast at the living room.
So now, I need to start saving some money in order to make this wish ( I can't say that it's a dream) come true!
But now, for some reasons, I want to move out. I want to have a small space that is mine. No one would come in to make me feel annoyed. I can do whatever I want, have a good sleep until anytime I want to wake up, not because the dog barks, the phone rings, or someone's shouting. Most important, it's not because someone in the family is already awake and having his/her breakfast at the living room.
So now, I need to start saving some money in order to make this wish ( I can't say that it's a dream) come true!
2008年8月31日 星期日
Upcoming activities.... ( for the 1st week of Sep.)
Started from this month, I will be super busy with lots of things, works, and lessons to do.
Sep. 1st:
- Need to learn how to use "K2" software well for my work ( training lesson).
- Have dinner with my friends to celebrate Allison's birthday.
- It's becca's birthday --> write a e-card or an email beforehand.
Sep. 2nd:
- Violin day --> prepare for the lessons and also 2 songs for the invited recital. : )
Sep. 3rd:
- A church friend of mine is gettng married on 6th of September. Irene and I will go visit her after work and see if there is anything we can help with.
Sep. 4th:
- The last day of my summer bible study lessones. The next new institute lesson will start on Sep. 18th. We're going to have lots of bible study lessons of the " New Testament".
Sep. 5th:
- After work, host a bridal shower for the church friend. Before that, I need to prepare a small gift for the bride. Also, Irene and I are hosting the bridal shower and I plan to have it at the karaoke room so that we can chat, we can sing, we can eat, and the most important thing is that we can use the room ourselves for 4 hours. How awesome is that!
Sep. 6th:
- Starting the volunteer work at the distribution center.
- Go shopping with Irene at Costco.
- Take the tour bus to attend the wedding.
As I watchiong all those activities listed on my smartphone, I start wondering how can I survive from them?? Please bless me with lots of energy, great attitute and spirit to enjoy everything listed above. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Sep. 1st:
- Need to learn how to use "K2" software well for my work ( training lesson).
- Have dinner with my friends to celebrate Allison's birthday.
- It's becca's birthday --> write a e-card or an email beforehand.
Sep. 2nd:
- Violin day --> prepare for the lessons and also 2 songs for the invited recital. : )
Sep. 3rd:
- A church friend of mine is gettng married on 6th of September. Irene and I will go visit her after work and see if there is anything we can help with.
Sep. 4th:
- The last day of my summer bible study lessones. The next new institute lesson will start on Sep. 18th. We're going to have lots of bible study lessons of the " New Testament".
Sep. 5th:
- After work, host a bridal shower for the church friend. Before that, I need to prepare a small gift for the bride. Also, Irene and I are hosting the bridal shower and I plan to have it at the karaoke room so that we can chat, we can sing, we can eat, and the most important thing is that we can use the room ourselves for 4 hours. How awesome is that!
Sep. 6th:
- Starting the volunteer work at the distribution center.
- Go shopping with Irene at Costco.
- Take the tour bus to attend the wedding.
As I watchiong all those activities listed on my smartphone, I start wondering how can I survive from them?? Please bless me with lots of energy, great attitute and spirit to enjoy everything listed above. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
GrandMa's Birthday Party
My grandma is the only eldest member in my family since two other grandpas (my dad's side and my mom's side) and one grandma (my mom's side) passed away in 1999. This year, my grandma (let's call her “A Ma") is turning 85 years old. In Chinese culture, elders above 80 years old are really special for not only himself or herself, but also for his or her family members. In our case, it's really special for us since A Ma lost her husband almost 10 years ago and now she lives by herself.
Currently, A Ma lives in the south of Taiwan, a city named “Tainan", where is dried and sunny all the time. As for us, we live in the north of Taiwan, a city named “Pingjen”, where is just like Florida, humid and it rains a lot. Started from I remembered my childhood memories, A Ma has a serious knee injuries, which brought her lots of knee ache. This is the most important reason why she doesn't want to live with us in the north. So, this time, we (my dad, Sandy, Irene, and I) decided to drive down to A Ma's house and celebrate with her.
We secretly planned and reserved a date and restaurant with all my uncles, aunts, and cousins. My cousin, Ying, picked up A Ma's favorite Chinese restaurant and bought a sweet potato birthday cake from “Opera" cake shop. Ying told us that Opera's cake is pretty popular flavor is their famous in the south and the sweet potato is their famous flavor. So we have a 8" round cake for A Ma.
At the beginning, Irene and my dad were planning to drive down on Saturday morning (the 30th). Then, Sandy and I will take the high speed rail to Tainan earlier this morning. But my cousin on my mom's side, 書翰, and his wife just have their 1st baby, 智謙. So we didn't drive down on the 30th. Earlier this morning, we woke up @ 6, and started driving to the south. I can’t remember when is the last time we drove to the south as a family trip. We don’t travel a lot in Taiwan because of the horrible traffic jam and the crowds of people. So this time is our 1st family trip after Irene finished her research program at UF.
Well, I must say that it’s always fun to be with your family member. We had some great spicy sausages in the rest areas on the high way. Also, we had the slurp, the coke style smoothie, at the 7-11 stores near A Ma’s house. It takes us almost 3 hours to the south. Then, by the time we arrived to A Ma’s house she was ready and waited for us. The typical sunny weather in the south makes her lost some weights and now she looks skinny than before. Still, I love her silver hair color and her gorgeous smile.
Here are some photo shots I took at the restaurant.
Currently, A Ma lives in the south of Taiwan, a city named “Tainan", where is dried and sunny all the time. As for us, we live in the north of Taiwan, a city named “Pingjen”, where is just like Florida, humid and it rains a lot. Started from I remembered my childhood memories, A Ma has a serious knee injuries, which brought her lots of knee ache. This is the most important reason why she doesn't want to live with us in the north. So, this time, we (my dad, Sandy, Irene, and I) decided to drive down to A Ma's house and celebrate with her.
We secretly planned and reserved a date and restaurant with all my uncles, aunts, and cousins. My cousin, Ying, picked up A Ma's favorite Chinese restaurant and bought a sweet potato birthday cake from “Opera" cake shop. Ying told us that Opera's cake is pretty popular flavor is their famous in the south and the sweet potato is their famous flavor. So we have a 8" round cake for A Ma.
At the beginning, Irene and my dad were planning to drive down on Saturday morning (the 30th). Then, Sandy and I will take the high speed rail to Tainan earlier this morning. But my cousin on my mom's side, 書翰, and his wife just have their 1st baby, 智謙. So we didn't drive down on the 30th. Earlier this morning, we woke up @ 6, and started driving to the south. I can’t remember when is the last time we drove to the south as a family trip. We don’t travel a lot in Taiwan because of the horrible traffic jam and the crowds of people. So this time is our 1st family trip after Irene finished her research program at UF.
Well, I must say that it’s always fun to be with your family member. We had some great spicy sausages in the rest areas on the high way. Also, we had the slurp, the coke style smoothie, at the 7-11 stores near A Ma’s house. It takes us almost 3 hours to the south. Then, by the time we arrived to A Ma’s house she was ready and waited for us. The typical sunny weather in the south makes her lost some weights and now she looks skinny than before. Still, I love her silver hair color and her gorgeous smile.
Here are some photo shots I took at the restaurant.
* on the left:
A group picture with A Ma (Clockwise from the leftmost): the man with blue shirt is my 1st uncle, Chris; the lady with blue shirt and short hair is my big aunt; the lady with pick shift next to A Ma is my 1st cousin, Ying; The lady with silver hair color who wears the white shift is my grandma, A Ma; the little girl with long hairstyle and the red shirt is my 1st niece; last but not least, the lady with short haircut and the pink shirt is my 1st aunt, Joan.
* in the middle:
A group picture ( from the left most) with my dad, A Ma, my 1st niece, and my 1st nephew.
* on the right:
My dad and A Ma. My dad is the youngest child in his family. I am not sure if my dad is A Ma's favorite kid, but I bet that he is the one who can always make A Ma's dream come true.
* on the left:
My parents! : ) The lady with black shirt is my mom, Sandy. : )
I just love to see my parents together and the big smile on their faces.
* in the middle:
A Ma is cutting the cake and Chris is the only one who smiles and looks to my camera. : P
* on the right:
A photo with Irene and A Ma. Irene is the oldest grand child with "Yang" family name in our family. So my grandpa loves her and Ying( the oldest grand child in my generation) a lot.
2008年8月8日 星期五
My office cubic....
April 15th is the first day I start working. It's quite special for me because I am always a part-time employee. But now, I am a full-time employee and have my own salary, which means I have to pay bills on my own. Well, can't always have free foods. Now is the time to start on my own.
I was quite exciting as a new working class member. On my first day at work, I took some pictures at work. Take a look....
This is a note to people who needs to find me. Every time when I was away from my desk, I put the magnet so people would know where I am now.
This is a side of the company campus. Our campus is quite huge ( not as big as a college campus, but quite big compared to certain companies in Taiwan). Beautiful sunset....
I took this picture on the first day to work since Angela didn't get the computer equipment from my department yet. So here is a photo to celebrate an empty desk. ; p
As you can see, I started getting all kinds of stuff. The black tote bag is my working bag that I got from Japan before starting working. ; 0
This is my office, actually I shouldn't say that it's my office since two co-workers share this office with me. : ) They are both very nice to me! What can I say? They're awesome people to work with.
Aug 2008, Hong Kong Trip (day 1)
Last Friday, Sandy, Irene, and I went to Hong Kong as our annual mother-daughter family trip.
The reason why my dad is not included is because someone needs to stay home to take good care of that two Yorkshire terriers (Maroko and Dou Dou). So my dad is the poor one who stays home to take good care of the dogs and waits for his souvenirs. ; P
We got a Columbia jacket and a water bottle ( this is for his cycling), 2 hiking socks ( for our hiking trip), and 3 shirts for his business suites ( since we all think that he needs to have some new shirts). As for me, I got tons of shirts so that I can wear them during normal working days. Sandy got a lot of stuff, and the only one who doesn't buy a lot is Irene since she already bought a lot of stuff in the states. So... she doesn't need that much ( quoted from Irene).
We flew to H.K. on Aug. 1st. Sandy and I got a day off and three of us took the earliest flight to H.K. The earliest flight leaves @ 8:20 AM, which means that we need to arrive the airport 2 hours earlier. : ( We slept on the way to H.K. and so energized after arrival. For the Beijing Olympic Games, H.K. hosts for the Equestrian games in Shatin. As we steped out from the luggage claim, tons of Equestrain posters and signs are decorated in the airport. You can really feel the love and passion we Chinese have for the Beijing Olympic Games. We took the aiport express to Kowloon and then the free airport shuttle bus drove us to Sheraton Hotel, where we stayed for 2 nights.
Once we got evreything setting down, we first went to the "小肥羊", a famous hot pot restaurant in H.K.. The one we went for is located in Tsim Sha Tsui, closed to the Mirage Hotel. This restaurant offers really good lamb hot pots and different lamb dishes. This restaurant uses really fresh lamb and offers great chili hot pots. Three of us had a lot, and started walking around after finished this meal. The picture on the left is the appetizer, the fresh cucumber salad.
The picture on the right is the chili hot pot. Even though the red soup looks really scary, and the white soup seems like a little bit oily. Trust me, they're really good! Sandy and I love spicy foods, but this red soup is way too spicy for me. Most of the time, Irene and I shared the white soup. PS: the red soup is named "麻辣湯底" and the white soup is called "白湯底" in chinese.
The rest of the day, Irene stayed at hotel because she is still trying to get over with the jetlag. Sandy and I went out to the downtown Tsim Sha Tsui for shopping and having our dinner. This is our first day in H.K.. PS: some of the useful traveling information are listed in the botton of this blog. Meanwhile, if you purchase the H.K. tour plan from Eva Air and also choose to stay at Sheraton, your check-out time is extended to 3 in the afternoon. What a great news~
PS: MTR route map http://www.mtr.com.hk/chi/train/system_map_pop_up.html
MTR lightrail route map http://www.mtr.com.hk/chi/lr_bus/lightrail_route_popup.html
Happy Father's Day...
Today (August 8th) is not only the opening day for the 2008 summer Olympic games, but also is the Father's day in Taiwan. Well.. the way to celebrate it is to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympics games with my Dad. : p
Tonight, my mom Sandy is going to do workouts in the gym, and my sister Irene is currently in L.A. for the annual AOM conference as a presenter and a section chair. The only ones who are interested in watching Olympic games are my dad, the two Yorkshire terriers, and me. : (
Even though watching TV is not a good way to celebrate the father's day, but I think my dad would be fine with that (since he really loves watching TV). At first, Sandy, Irene, and I were thinking about purchasing a HD screen TV for him as a father's day gift. So, we are going to buy it tonight.
Wish everyone has a great father's day spending with your loved ones. : )
Tonight, my mom Sandy is going to do workouts in the gym, and my sister Irene is currently in L.A. for the annual AOM conference as a presenter and a section chair. The only ones who are interested in watching Olympic games are my dad, the two Yorkshire terriers, and me. : (
Even though watching TV is not a good way to celebrate the father's day, but I think my dad would be fine with that (since he really loves watching TV). At first, Sandy, Irene, and I were thinking about purchasing a HD screen TV for him as a father's day gift. So, we are going to buy it tonight.
Wish everyone has a great father's day spending with your loved ones. : )
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