Smoke haze in Singapore. 14 tips on how to survive haze / severe air pollution. Her dream home needs to meet 6 criteria

In summer 2013,
air pollution from forest fires in Indonesia’s Sumatra island has choked Singapore.
To make the condition worse, El Niño which tends to produce very dry weather conditions in the region, appears to intensify the effects of the fires in Indonesia.

PSI = Pollutant Standards Index.
PM 2.5 = A reading for airborne particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less – small enough to deeply penetrate the lungs.

PSI Value & Air Quality Descriptor according to NEA:
0 – 50 : Good
51 – 100 : Moderate
101 – 200 : Unhealthy
201 – 300 : Very unhealthy
Above 300 : Hazardous

On 20 Jun 2013 1 PM, the 3-hour PSI Reading was 371 in Singapore.

A friend of mine mentioned that the city looks apocalyptic.

In Beijing in January 2013, the PSI reached the range of 470-490.
Lung cancers are soaring in Beijing.
A friend who works in China shared that many people, if they can afford it, want to get out of China, due to the environmental hazard : pollution.

The U.S. AQI only goes up to 500.

The 19th century London was notoriously known as the foggy city.
The hazy / bleak / fog everywhere London was too distant for me to recall of London.
In my lifetime (the 21st century), my memory of London has been positive (but I do not live there long enough).

Here are tips on how to survive living with haze:

1. Spend less time outdoors.

2. If you have to go out, wear N95 mask, wear hat / carry umbrella, carry a bottle of water.
When you feel a tingle in the throat or start coughing, a drink of water can be helpful.

3. Before you go out, close all your windows and ventilation outlets.

4. Wash your face, rinse your mouth, and clean your nasal cavity, shower when getting indoors.
Blow your nose in a piece of tissue, you will see black particles in it.

5. Children & older adults should remain indoors and keep activity levels low.

6. Close your windows when the condition is severe.

7. If you use air-conditioner, make sure your apartment has enough oxygen.

8. Keep plants with broad leaves at home to absorb dusts. Place a wet mat beneath your doors.

9. Use air purifiers with HEPA filter.

10. Smoke less. Avoid smokers.

11. Eat more fruits, vegetables. If necessary, take vitamin C.

12. Drink more water, milk (especially if you suffer from dry throat). Stay hydrated. Drink at least 2 litres of water a day.

13. Avoid / minimize alcohol / coffee.

14. Go somewhere unaffected for holiday. My husband’s friend D has brought his family for a holiday in Bali.

15. If the haze / air pollution is a constant problem, consider migrating.
A friend who was born in Indonesia,
S shared with me about the criteria for her dream home which I found interesting.
S wants to move to places like New Zealand, Australia, or Canada,
where the air quality (and presumably the living conditions are better).
She told me that once when she was in Toa Payoh, a Hong Kong expatriate shared that Hong Kong people who migrated to US / Canada are relatively richer than those who migrated to Australia / NZ due to higher fund required for the former.

Here are S’ criteria for her desired home:

1. 2nd floor and above, but not too high floor (she was concerned about earthquake & window safety for her children).

2. Why not ground floor?
Bungalows often consist of only ground floor (if not 2-storey high).
S shared with me her experience living in a ground floor house where she suffered annually from the flood (and the risk of electricity through water).

3. Her home must have a bomb shelter, based on her experience living in Singapore, where flats have a bomb shelter that also serves as a store room. An alternative is to have multi-storey with an underground / basement.

4. Entire flat must be well-equipped with air-conditioner, although she mentioned that she would not switch them on daily, as she is aware of the consequences of air-conditioner on our protective ozone layer. The air-conditioner fixtures are meant to survive for severe haze episodes.

5. To have fridge & freezer in her room (so that she can have access to her food).
Perhaps, a well equipped studio apartment (not too spacious) will be easier for her to manage.

6. Yes, but S also wants to rent her rooms for additional income, so she needs a spacious home, unless it is hard to get tenants.

Related:
http://donghuan.wordpress.com/2012/02/25/my-first-day-back-in-china-and-tips-on-how-to-survive-beijings-dirty-air/
http://spotlightxoxo.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/skin-care-tips-during-the-haze/

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How to keep and realize your lifelong dream? inspirations from Ang Lee

Have you watched any the following movies:
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,
Brokeback Mountain,
Life of Pi,
Eat Drink Man Woman
?
If yes, you may wonder who the director is.
He is Ang Lee or 李安.

Recently, I read an article about him from a sharing of my Burmese friend through facebook.
Hearing about the Buddhists-Muslims violence spreads in Myanmar,
made me feel sad,
I can only pray that may peace prevail in Burma,
the land of gold.

Back to Ang Lee, although I do not like his movie Lust, Caution, the biography of Ang Lee is inspiring.

Ang Lee: "In 1978, as I applied to study film at the University of Illinois, my father vehemently objected. He quoted me a statistic: Every year, 50,000 performers compete for 200 available roles on Broadway. Against his advice, I boarded a flight to the U.S. This strained our relationship. In the two decades following, we exchanged less than a hundred phrases in conversation."

Often, people perceive the strong-willed as being stubborn, rebellious, as hard as a stone.
Blueroselady thinks that Ang Lee is among strong-willed people, and only the strong-willed can succeed against the odd.
But being strong-willed alone is insufficient.

Ang Lee: "Some years later, when I graduated film school, I came to comprehend my father’s concern. It was nearly unheard of for a Chinese newcomer to make it in the American film industry. Beginning in 1983, I struggled through six years of agonizing, hopeless uncertainty. Much of the time, I was helping film crews with their equipment or working as editor’s assistant, among other miscellaneous duties. My most painful experience involved shopping a screenplay at more than thirty different production companies, and being met with harsh rejection each time."
Blueroselady: we must have a THICK FACE to master THE ART OF ENDURANCE for rejection / humiliation / insult / fear / failure.

Ang Lee: "That year, I turned 30. There’s an old Chinese saying: ‘At 30, one stands firm.’ Yet, I couldn’t even support myself. What could I do? Keep waiting, or give up my movie-making dream? My wife gave me invaluable support."
Blueroselady: It is never too late to realize our dream(s). Colonel Sanders started selling his fried chicken recipe in his 60s, more twice the age of Ang Lee.
Think of 亡羊补牢.

"My wife was my college classmate. She was a biology major, and after graduation, went to work for a small pharmaceutical research lab. Her income was terribly modest. At the time, we already had our elder son, Haan, to raise. To appease my own feelings of guilt, I took on all housework – cooking, cleaning, taking care of our son – in addition to reading, reviewing films and writing scripts. Every evening after preparing dinner, I would sit on the front steps with Haan, telling him stories as we waited for his mother – the heroic huntress – to come home with our sustenance (income)."

Blueroselady: Behind every successful man, there is a strong woman. I also personally listen to this advice from the successful German / Switzerland entrepreneurs in 2009, 2010.

I pray that my sons, my brothers, my male readers will find a strong woman like Ang Lee’s wife, who love her husband and children.

I am grateful that my father has a strong woman – my mother.

"This kind of life felt rather undignified for a man. At one point, my in-laws gave their daughter (my wife) a sum of money, intended as start-up capital for me to open a Chinese restaurant – hoping that a business would help support my family. But my wife refused the money. When I found out about this exchange, I stayed up several nights and finally decided: This dream of mine is not meant to be. I must face reality."
Blueroselady: Ang Lee is a film-maker, a narrator of life.
Thre is a saying that 人生如戏 , 戏如人生.
Perhaps, only when one knows and experiences what sufferings mean, s/he can makes movies that touch human soul.
Sufferings are not always bad,
of course there are intolerable sufferings,
e.g. victims of the cruelty / crime of others,
but some sufferings enable people to leap / bounce higher than ever possible,
because these sufferings act as a spring with momentum.

Ang Lee: "Afterward (and with a heavy heart), I enrolled in a computer course at a nearby community college. At a time when employment trumped all other considerations, it seemed that only a knowledge of computers could quickly make me employable. For the days that followed, I descended into malaise. My wife, noticing my unusual demeanor, discovered a schedule of classes tucked in my bag. She made no comment that night.

The next morning, right before she got in her car to head off to work, my wife turned back and – standing there on our front steps – said, ‘Ang, don’t forget your dream.’

And that dream of mine – drowned by demands of reality – came back to life. As my wife drove off, I took the class schedule out of my bag and slowly, deliberately tore it to pieces. And tossed it in the trash.

Sometime after, I obtained funding for my screenplay, and began to shoot my own films. And after that, a few of my films started to win international awards. Recalling earlier times, my wife confessed, ‘I’ve always believed that YOU ONLY NEED ONE GIFT. Your gift is making films. There are so many people studying computers already, they don’t need an Ang Lee to do that. If you want that golden statue, you have to commit to the dream.’

And today, I’ve finally won that golden statue. I think my own perseverance and my wife’s immeasurable sacrifice have finally met their reward. And I am now more assured than ever before: I must continue making films.

You see, I have this never-ending dream."

Blueroselady:
Never ever listen to naysayers that belittle our dream.
Perhaps, we do not have someone close to us who has the attitude like the Ang Lee’s wife.
You must protect your dreams.
Share your dreams to kind people who have achieved what you want.
They will share with you how they achieved it.
Do not share your dreams with naysayers.
When everything fails,
remember that as long as you are still alive,
you can fulfill your dreams.
Sometimes,
you may have to struggle for years like Ang Lee,
you may have to take a detour,
but a dream that keep on coming to you,
is a message from God / the Universe on what you are meant to be and to do in your life.

For me,
I re-realize that I love to learn so much
(through reading, socializing, traveling),
then think and analyze,
then appreciate and feel,
and write and share my thoughts.

One of my big major dreams is
to write and share thoughtful, helpful, inspiring writings
to over a million of people
and they benefit (even in a little thing) from my sharing.

In order to achieve my grand dream,
I feel that I need to gain diverse experience,
so that my sharing can be thoughtful.

Sometimes,
as a human being,
I do have the concern of financial security,
because I have dependents,
to feed, to nurture, and to love.
But I decide that I am going to take the risk.

Now,
I am taking care of my baby,
and in a few months,
I will prepare myself for the next career,
in order to realize the grand dream.
Please support me.

See also:
How not to listen to non-constructive criticism?

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On defining, dreamlining, doing, being, and having

I am a BIG dreamer.
I have many dreams.

I am very grateful that I have achieved many of my dreams, from receiving free education in top universities, flying an airplane, to sponsoring my parents for their trip to UK.

Recently, I learned about dreamlining from Tim.
Dreamlining = DREAMs + timeLINEs
It means applying timeLINEs (e.g. 6 months, 1 year) to what most people would consider DREAMs.

In autumn 2012,

Things I dream of HAVING :
happy, healthy and independent children (by 2016)
profitable property (by 2015)
freehold property in the city area (by 2019)

Things I dream of BEING :
entrepreneur (by 2014)
millionaire (by 2019)
author of a New York Times bestselling book (by 2014)

Things I dream of DOING :
increase my income (by 2014), see the target in my pink board
achieve financial freedom and abundance (by 2019)
donate 80% of what I have for charity and live comfortably with the remaining 20% (by 2019)
visit Iceland / Antarctica (by 2014) and see aurora borealis

Tips:
1. If you do not know what you want,
brainstorm on what you do not want / what you hate / fear,
and write down the opposite.
2. convert BEING into DOING (actionable).

See also my bucket list, focusing on a happy and fruitful life beyond a century.

A thought on definition / meaning
Tim Ferriss wrote on p58 of his book The 4-hour workweek that being fluent in Chinese means having a 5-minute conversation with a Chinese co-worker.
In my opinion, one does not qualify to state (e.g. in one’s CV) a fluency in a particular language by merely being able to talk for 5 minutes.
This comes to my awareness that definition / meaning varies among people. I do not blame people, but I am aware that it is natural for human beings to put their PERCEIVED truth in the best light.
Recent complaints by friends (WT, SH) about students and fresh graduates who have good paper qualifications, but end up not as productive / talented as expected, are indeed related to the concept of varying meaning.
Next time when I hire someone, instead of believing what he states as his ability, I will ask for demonstration.
e.g. if someone claims a fluency in a particular programming language, ask the person to write 10,000 lines of code.

Thiel Fellowship allows you to bypass top schools to pursue big dreams

Dreams are extremely important. You can’t do it unless you can imag(in)e it. — George Lucas

If you are so smart, why are you not rich?
If you are so smart, why are you not changing / saving the world?

About Thiel Fellowship
$50,000 / year for 2 years ($4,167 / month)
gives you easy and quick access to the most successful business people in America
aim: to skip college and focus on work, research, and self-education (LEARN BY DOING)
mentors: network of visionary thinkers, investors, scientists, and entrepreneurs, who provide guidance and business connections that can’t be replicated in any classroom.
founded by a VC Peter Thiel (PayPal, Facebook)

Examples of descriptions of the Thiel Fellows:
On experience
"leave Harvard after a single semester and extend his horizons, first by traveling around the world and climbing Kilimanjaro, and now through his start-up"
"has lived and been educated in England, Singapore, France, and the USA."
"began taking college courses at Worcester State in Massachusetts in 3rd grade, and received a certificate in computer science by the time he was 12."
"taught himself programming at the age of 9"
"a home-schooled prodigy who learned calculus at 11, started working in a biogerontology lab when she was 12, matriculated at MIT when she was 14, and now at 17 plans on disrupting the current research paradigm by changing the incentives embedded in today’s traditional funding structures."
"started doing research in a pathology lab when he was 10. By the time he was 12, he had matriculated at the University of Washington. Soon after, he graduated with honors degrees in neurobiology, biochemistry, and chemistry. He was a 19-year-old 4th-year neuroscience Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University when he left early this year to pursue his start-up"
"has worked for Microsoft, Stanford, and Mozilla"
"Has previously worked at iRobot’s Research Group and as a Program Manager at Microsoft."
"In his teens, he built products for companies such as Coca-Cola and Universal Music"
"has designed web interfaces used by millions of people around the world"
"has previously worked for D.E. Shaw & Co., several social enterprises, and a few start-ups"
"founded a vacation rental portal as a high school freshman"
"starting his first business when nine years old"
"co-founded the Electric Vehicle Club at Purdue and was president of Purdue Innovations, the university’s entrepreneurship club."
"began developing her social enterprise when she was 15"
"first worked in a lab when he was 11, interned at Dupont as a teenager, and won the grand prize at the 2009 International Sustainable World Energy Olympiad in Houston."
"run non-profit dedicated to helping the vision-impaired around the world"

On goals / aims
"aims to radically improve our approach to the one thing we all do – shop." / "e-commerce start-up that will revolutionize price comparison on the web" Keyword: radical
"passionate about equipping people with the information to make better decisions." Keyword: information, decision
"interested in helping people protect the wealth they create from the harmful effects of inflation" Keyword: protect
"to help emancipate information around the world" Keyword: information
"to decentralize banking in the developing world with a mobile payment system"
"to create and share online lessons designed to be viewed at home by their own students, leaving class time free for more engaging activities"
"to revolutionize how we develop and demonstrate talent in the twenty-first century."
"to leverage web-based videos and mobile apps to bring the classroom into the twenty-first century"
"to build efficient motor for electric vehicles." Keyword: energy
"to commercialize an invention that enables low cost dual-axis photovoltaic module tracking" Keyword: energy
"to invent a walker-wheelchair hybrid that can provide power to assist its user according to how strong she feels at any moment" Keyword: aging, physically-disabled
"to extract valuable minerals from asteroids, comets, and other planetary bodies" Keyword: resource

Blueroselady thinks that they are very impressive and inspiring. How many people, before reaching 20 years old, have done so much and dreamed do big like them?
The people whom you have worked for also matter.

Reflections by Blueroselady:
Those on Thiel Fellowship seem to have a head start in their childhood (e.g. well educated parents, attendance of high schools that teach akin to college / attendance of college – so why would they still want to attend college again), but many children from less privileged backgrounds will find a college education still essential and enlightening.
Personally, I have met people of the possibly equal calibre to the Thiel Fellows, they started businesses / attended university / led beyond school organizations at early teen, while most teens are worried about growing up, peers, relationships, and juggling schools. The formers are ambitious, lucky, talented, hardworking ((they have built their CVs while other kids probably do not know what CVs are for), and most importantly have the right nurturing environment.
To illustrate this point, I shared my own example. When I was 12 years old, I found that the school was boring. My teacher suffered from diabetes and she was often absent. I could read the textbooks on my own. I told my mother that I did not want to go to school. I was happier reading newspapers and books.
When I was 13 years old, I found that some my school (male) teachers are irresponsible. They taught students bad words, touched female students’ hands / arms (and please do not ask me what else). If my parents had to pay for the school fee, I would probably quit schooling. To make matters worse, some of my school mates went astray. Girls were so cruel with words, I was helpless seeing them bullying a not-pretty girl sitting in front of me. My school mates were more interested in gossips (about seniors, juniors, peers, celebrities), hanging out wasting their lives, than in learning. Few years later after I left the school, I heard about a school mate who died from drug overdose, a school mate who got pregnant in early teen and turned into less beautiful (premature aging) than she was, a school mate who died in motorbike accident.
Then, a macro event happened that changed my life forever. I went overseas for the first time and attended much better schools (in term of quality). I learned about things that were forbidden / not taught before and revolutionized my thinking. I changed for the better, I unleashed my inner characters of hardworking, perseverance, and humility. Like entrepreneurs who focus on generating profits, I had clear focus: I was determined to earn the money required for college education through excellent results because my parents would not be able to support me after high school. My hard work and perseverance paid off, I received my college education (in 3 continents, East and West) with full scholarships. Every stage is like climbing to a higher ladder, I meet people who are more talented, creative, diverse than ever (many of them have better a head start childhood than me), and college education allowed me to learn from them. It is true that the higher you move to, the more you can see, understand, and do. As a result, I evolve into what I am today. At the end of my formal college education, I read analytically, write convincingly, think from multiple perspectives, converse fluently in multiple languages (I can mimic American, British, French, Indian, mainland Chinese accents), had traveled to more countries than the years of my lives, understand myself better, and most importantly have germinated the strongest urge (that I have ever had) to better our world.

From another point of view, colleges worldwide are getting very expensive. Students take loans, enjoy their college experience (sadly some focus on hanging out with friends, buying the latest gadgets), and postpone their sufferings of having to pay their loans while working and struggling to meet an end meet after the honeymoon period of college days. This sounds to me like an upcoming education bubble, which is akin to the housing bubble. To make it worse, colleges seem to mass produce workers (who are happy with the good enough), and to produce (in much less proportion) thinkers, innovators, agents of change. The latter are those that refuse to be entirely submissive and driven to the system. Colleagues and acquaintances are complaining to me about the drop in the standard of recent college graduates.

Nothing remains the same because lives are dynamics. My future generations will do things differently from what I did. If they are academically inclined, they can start learning the college materials (through online courses or immersion in labs) at early teen. If they are artistically inclined / entrepreneurial in nature, they can start interning at early teen. I still view traveling as essential, I learned a lot about independence, responsibilities, management, self-control, and survival while traveling and living in foreign countries far from my family. I made strangers my friends and family. I appreciate the values of every place and person. Get more exposure, discover more, and you will discover what your destiny is.

What’s next?
I will be reviewing my plan on progeny.
To research on things kids need (to learn) to be successful in their lives.
To research on homeschooling curriculum (what are not taught in school).

More about the Thiel Fellowship:
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/finding-the-next-mark-zuckerberg/
http://www.creators.com/opinion/john-stossel/the-college-scam-11-07-06.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jmaureenhenderson/2011/06/20/meet-the-teen-who-got-paid-100-000-to-drop-out-of-school/
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203960804577239253121093694.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
http://www.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/bs_collegeROI_0621.html

Dream of love in the spring 2012

What I want for spring 2012
@~@ minority tribe costumes with natural scenery + horse + kungfu.
@~@ Qipao with wooden umbrella + Shanghai collar black suit in ancient town.
@~@ Bridal gown with super long veil in wetland / greenery + water (flying water) + snow mountain.
@~@ colorful gowns (that cover my large lower legs).
@~@ spring flowers (never ending fascination!)

@~@ MOUNTAIN + GREENERY + WATER
Tree immersed in water is SEXY!
REFLECTIONs are always so reflecting.

@~@ COLOR
Why am I in love with TURQUISE CYAN? Jiuzhaigou! see Vision_063
RED is always making you the center of attraction (good with greenery or snow backdrop).
For future project, I can wear something on my wedding gown to create a new fashion! see Chengdu_NanHu_11, for more inspiration.

@~@ FLY
I love everything that can fly.
FLYing WATER: e.g. Chengdu_ChaoYangLake_02.
FLYing GOWN or flying VEIL e.g. Chengdu_Jiuzhaigou_007, Jiuzhaigou_1, Chengdu_Xindu_04.
Do you know that flying gown can make you look like a butterfly?

@~@ TIMELESS
Classic e.g. Chengdu_MuGeCuo_68, Chengdu_Jiuzhaigou_002
Probably the secret of being classic lies in the fact that you cannot really see the face, so they are more like representatives of universal lovers.

@~@ CINEMATOGRAPHY
Presenting parts as a part of story.
Macro on flowers / memorables.
half-body of 1 lover + full body of another lover.
e.g. Chengdu_Jiuzhaigou_051

@~@ CHALLENGING
Bride in gown sitting on top of tree, especially tree immersed in water.
Kungfu.
Climb to the roofs of ancient town.
GG carries MM (like what we did in Bohinj).

@~@ FRAMING
Tell your photographer:
1. shoot up
2. shoot 1/3
3. shoot classic (cannot clearly see face).

@~@ POST-PROCESSING
smoke / fog effects always add to the romantic feeling.
strong SUN effect e.g. Chengdu_Xindu_13.
add noise + unsharp mask: gives a sense of harsh environment and strong characters e.g. Chengdu_Xindu_43.

@~@ HAIRSTYLE
2 chopsticks on your head are SEXY!

Above points are based on analysis on love photos:
GuoSeTianXiang: 61 photos
JiuZhaiGou: 88 photos
MuGeCuo: 68 photos
NanHu: 22 photos
RuoErGai: 25 photos
ShangLi ancient town: 20 photos
Xindu Bridge: 68 photos
XiangSong Lake: 17 photos
ShiXiang Lake: 31 photos
and so many others …

Ref:
DK Eyewitness Travel China
my reference folder

Dream: scuba diving

After sky diving, perhaps Blueroselady should try scuba diving.
Thanks to the engineering uncle we met on the return flight from Kota Kinabalu for showing us beautiful fish pictures.
Thanks to National Geography beautiful underwater images.

February 18th, 2011: I dream (in sleep) that my father and I went to a scuba diving shop, we were going to rent the equipment but they do not have the diving goggles for my myopia. How could I see the beautiful fish clearly then? Funny dream.

Dream while sleeping, dream while being awake

Sometimes I got nightmare that I wish to forget.
Sometimes I have beautiful dreams.

February 18th, 2011: scuba diving!

February 19th, 2011: Panda and I are studying together (perhaps we are collaborating on a project recently), we are looking for a site to study. There are so many students and our undergraduate university are expanding. I need to ask people while looking for a restroom. Indeed, I have never been back to my undergraduate university and she has grown so much, she dreams (or perhaps whoever manages her) to be a world-class one. All best!

February 23rd, 2011: Saw the colorful close-up photos of my friend Y, and her wheelchair is smartly invisible. She looks so happy, when she is happy, I am also happy.

What are my dreams while I am not sleeping?
Big-hearted, Beautiful, Brainy blueroselady.
Happy family with a doting husband + kids + dog (like the one who greeted me warmly when I returned from library at 10 or 11 pm), where God and Mother Mary always love and protect us.
Successful entrepreneur (innovation, commitment, inspiration).
Grand plan with Panda.
education fund for needy and hardworking children.
Travel the world with my soul mate (appreciate diverse arts, culture, and people from many corners of the world).

Below are bonuses, I appreciate if I achieve them:
Intern / work at a Fortune 500 company.
My own guest house like Nice Home Sweet Home.
A property in a foreign land (perhaps China near Shanghai).

Please pray for me!
Wish me lucks and blessings.
I love to share my blessings too.

Global dream destinations

Many writers and artists use travel as their inspiration.

Barcelona
Catalan capital
Antoni Gaudi’s still-unfinished church the Sagrada Familia (sagradafamilia.org)
The Eixample district: a groundbreaking 19th-century urban layout where the bold bourgeoisie gave free rein to their avant-garde architects.
Eat the ubiquitous menu del dia (a lunchtime set menu).
Mediterranean Sea.

San Francisco
Gold Rush, Wells Fargo and Bank of America.
Transamerica Pyramid skyline by bay.
Grace Cathedral : Gothic Revival design
Leland Stanford and Collis P. Huntington: both railroad tycoons.
Visited and learned at Stanford. Want to do so at UCSSF and UC Berkeley.

Churchill, Canada
Polar Bear Capital of the World.
lies on the rim of Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada.
Northern lights.

Besides traveling in space, one can also travel in time through imagination.
Golden Age of travel between 1900 to 1940.

ALEPPO
northern Syrian city.
has the longest covered suq in the Middle East.
What is suq? a teeming stretch of alley ways connecting mosques, inns, hammans.
See WHIRLING DERVISHES performances (originated in Turkey) at the restored (but not operational) 14th century psychiatric hospital of Bimaristan Arghan (itself worthy of a visit).

@~@
LEBANON
Byblos: (1) home to many Maronite Catholics, (2) was where our alphabet originated: a hieroglyphic version that read from right to left and which the Greeks reversed.

From Manhattan to Trollhattan

@~@
NEW ZEALAND
Northern Light

@~@
ARMENIA, a hot spot between Turkey and Iran, thus people are tough as nails and full of grit and determination. After our hot Turkey trip, should we consider visit Armenia? The Kite Runner.

@~@
SPAIN, PORTUGAL
2 weeks for Madrid – Toledo – Zaragoza – Barcelona – Montserrat – Pamplona – Burgo – Leon – Santiago – Porto – Fatima – Santarem – Avilla – Azpeitia.
Inspiration: St Teresa Sep11.

PS: beware of pickpockets in Spain. A friend of mine (EL) lost her wallet (Spain, winter 2011).

In dream, I am a conductor

We were performing, men and women were dressed in elegant black. I could not remember the environment, but the backdrop is black too with yellow light litting up the stage. Why am I the conductor? So nervous, and trying her best to follow the tone, but honestly she is a tone-deaf.

My dream dog 傻喜

I told myself that I am going to end the work last night at 1am, and to go bed as I was tired. Yet, I only managed to sleep at almost 3.30am. Not because I am insomniac, but I was hooked by lovely dog pictures and the stories of taking care it.

It’s quite unbeliavable, for a dog-fearing person like me. When I was in high school, I went to Dad’s friend home in the weekend, and I was chased by dogs. But I guess like persons, there are really lovely and nice dogs out there, I am sharing a house with one now. She is so thirsty of love, wants people to caress her so much.

I want a labrador, white and creamy, with long eyelashes, like Sassy. I called her in this intonation: 傻喜, reflecting her personality. The 傻 here means innocence. Sometimes I would add the surname of Darling (in Mandarin), to imagine she is part of the family.

I want to name my future labrador Sassy too! Darling will have the opportunities to groom a ‘President’s Dog’, who can speak five different languages, and perform excellent acts. It is Darling’s way to irritate me, as I have a lot of plans for our future progenies. For me, I just want Sassy to be given my love ❤

This images portrays the 傻 quality of my 傻喜.

This is just reminding me on the scene Sassy chasing away the black cat who wants to eat my fish.

Waking up from my day-dreaming, I realize that there are so many issues to deal with:
# I am so nomad that I haved lived in over 20 rooms/houses scattered over 5 countries, in the over past 10 years. In fact, I am going to live in California this summer, then I am moving to little red dot after summer. Who will be taking care of Sassy if I am required to be away for job?
# Spaces are very expensive in the little red dot. It’s not wise to let Sassy to live in a tiny compartment. The neighbours are likely to complain too, unless I live in a private accommodation.
# I am not rich. I remember my former landlady bought a Jack Russell for S$900 two years ago, but that Jack Russel is so untrained, shitted in my room. Then, we have to bring Sassy to vet, which are most likely affordable by the rich. There are also pet-care, must teach Sassy how to swim, how to socialize (she is by nature a social one), how to be a pretty dog.

I remember a China official, if I’m not wrong he’s Premier Zhu, was interviewed if he likes pets. His answer strikes everyday-people-like-me, it’s already very challenging to raise a child. Not everyone has sufficient resources to groom a child, people are struggling to provide food, clothing, shelter, education for their child/ren.

Yet, I still want a Sassy ❤
Perhaps I should learn to be contented, to be happy without having it.
Yet, if you have a white creamy labrador puppy to give away, I will be willing to accept (most likely after I am having a permanent house). Read permanent as staying for more than three years, without the need to move away due to renting contract expiration. Best if the land and the house is under my name.