Posts Tagged ‘travel’
Things to do at age 32-47 (1.5 precious decade)
- Be grateful. Gratitude can soothe your desire and competitiveness. More importantly, gratitude is the root of happiness.
- Love yourself. Stand up for yourself for things that matter. Get out of a bad relationship.
- Believe that you are beautiful.
- Believe in miracles. “永远相信，美好的事情即将发生”
- Travel and continuously learn and learn how to learn (meta learning). “Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.” ~ God via Robin S. Sharma | Learn new languages by immersion.
- Love your work. If you cannot do what you love, at least love what you do. According to Frankl, “We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by creating a work or doing a deed; (2) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and (3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering”
- Take (at least a big) risk(s) to realize your dreams, step by step strategically. Be courageous to explicitly/implicitly express “I love you”. When you’re old, you won’t care if your love wasn’t returned — only that you made it known how you felt.
- Be thick face enough not to care too much about what other people think.
- Plant kindness. Do your best to ensure that those who are less fortunate than you, believe that there are sunshine and beauty in this world.
- Build connection capital. Connection here refers to genuine and authentic relationships, true friendships.
- Cherish people, use things (not the other way round).
- Appreciate now and here, the moment, the nature and beauty in the forms of visuals, arts, music, delicious cuisine.
- Master the art of endurance.
- View a painful experience as an avenue to increase your wisdom.
- Move / exercise / dance / walk / hike
Ideas are inspired from:
Tips from various magazines
@~@
To reduce commute time:
www.workshifting.com
Personally, commute time can be used for doing other useful stuff.
Relax (when the public transports are not too crowded).
Listen to voice notes of inspirations and ideas.
Read: study materials, news, facebook.
Plan.
@~@
According to Sally Poon (a dietician from Hong Kong Nutrition Association),
food of eating out are high in SALT, FAT & SUGAR,
which increases the risk of obesity, heart disease & hypertension.
Yes, we know all these but many times we choose to satisfy our
Minimize fried food.
Avoid preserved meat, e.g. salami.
For pasta e.g. spaghetti: red sauce (tomato-based) is healthier than white sauce.
@~@
"The more time a person spends on the job, the more conflict there is likely to be between work and family."
Do you agree with this statement?
@~@ Things that I must do:
# live my life to the fullest.
# appreciate what I have.
@~@
Short-listed things that I find interesting to do:
# Learn copywriting. Learn writing to sell a strategic idea.
# read The happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (since January 2012)
# make DIY flash cards. First picture that I found: polar bear of Churchill, Canada. Remember that the cuddly-looking polar bear (thanks to its shaggy fur) can be dangerous. My friend J was given a polar bear soft toy as the first birthday gift from his man, and his man can be cuddly yet dangerous like polar bear!
# attend a Nobel Prize banquet @ Stockholm (since March 2012).
# eat Vosges Haut-Chocolat (chocolate with unlikely flavors like curry, taleggio, and wasabi), partly because Katrina Markoff is an inspiring entrepreneur!
# FIND TIME TO DO NOTHING. BREATHE. An advice by Tim Park, the author of Teach us to Sit Still: A Sceptic’s Search for Health and Healing.
# Remove dust! Dust can cause your TV, computer, laptop to overheat and reduce its life span. When you do house chores of vacuum cleaning, empty the dust bag when it is half-full. With a fuller dust bag, the machine has to work harder and risks overheating.
# To extend the lifespan of your mobile phone, use its appropriate charger, simply because the voltage is different. Do not charge your phone overnight.
# commit to 30-day challenge of writing a book. Thank you Matt Cutts.
# refuse to let work compromise what my body needs: nutritious, regular meals, 7-8 hours of sleep, 3×10-minute exercise.
# hit the road less traveled with a backpack like Paige Chua. She went for her first solo trip to Beijing & Inner Mongolia in 2007. Interesting reflection: city dwellers seek a simple life when travel, but rural dwellers (e.g. of Inner Mongolia) aspire to move to cities (e.g. Beijing).
Quotes that I like:
# "No one shoots you if you’ve got a smile on your face." ~ Alan Wicker, travel journalist.
# "When I visit somewhere new, I always absorb it first as a human being, then photography it as my hobby and then consider if it’s interesting enough to share with other people through Twitter, Facebook or my blog." ~ Ben Southall, Winner of Best Job in the World (2009), caretaker of Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef.
# "Don’t forget that frequent business travellers are often the most frequent leisure travellers." www.businesstraveller.asia
Blueroselady: The next time someone (e.g. CV) tells you and me that he is busy travelling on business trips, he is likely to include sightseeing and leisure activities too!
Decluttering in autumn 2013
I love to remove clutters (declutter),
it cleans my physical, spiritual, and emotional life.
Decluttering allows us to realize that life is full of delightful treasures, if we take a moment to look around.
Cool stuff:
# DNA-based computers. Leonard Adleman.
# Self-tracking / health-tracking devices. Up wristband.
# portfolio career.
# What heals the soul, heals the mind and body as well.
Interesting quotes:
# Time is most definitely a thief.
Questions: What is the longest yet the shortest? What is the fastest yet the slowest?
Answer: TIME
Useful tips:
# Be careful! Over use of medication (e.g. paracetamol), either intentionally or accidentally, may damage liver.
# To fight pimples and minimize scar, I have used tea tree oil and aloe vera.
# Try to move after sitting for 45 minutes, e.g. while travelling on long-distance flight. In terms of radiation, 7 hour flight ~= an X-ray session.
Inspiring people:
# Bernie S. Siegel
# Christine Ong of UBS Wealth Management Singapore
# Reene Ho-Phang
Some random muses and reflections …
@~@ On life
An event that at first seem to be unfortunate / undesirable may actually provide surprising advantages, e.g. autumn 2007 (that affects the next 7 years).
@~@ On being unique
It is a great thing to be unique or different.
The grown ups often tell any kid (e.g. a 6 year old) that it is great to be yourself.
Be unique.
However, the goal of many grown-ups in life is to fit in.
@~@ On career
A career for life vs portfolio careers.
@~@ On gifts
Some people (e.g. KS) value expensive gifts. In case of KS, he acknowledged the hardship in his early life.
Some people (e.g. KF) value heartfelt letter of appreciation much more than expensive gifts. Possibly, people who are relatively richer than me in material wealth and assume leadership roles (e.g. my direct boss in 2013) have similar perspectives as KF does.
@~@ On travel destinations
Some destinations wow me and are perhaps best to be visited once over a short period of time (instead of residing there) in entire life, due to extreme weather conditions or high living expenses. For example, Cappadocia and Antarctica.
What’s next?
# Deal constructively with criticism. Give constructive criticism.
# What are you going to do for the rest of your life? (A question I wrote in a note taken in Switzerland)
# DO, don’t dream.
Happiness exercise: write a short introduction about yourself
In a series of happiness exercises, I brainstorm novel and creative ideas of doings that can boost up our happiness. Today exercise is simple: write a short introduction about yourself. You can memorize it to remind yourself when you experience negative emotions, to make new friends and build new relationships, or simply to make an elevator pitch.
Here is a brief introduction about myself.
I am an ordinary woman with a BIG dream to give extraordinary service to others.
My love include life, family, stories and writing. I dream of writing a book that is enlisted in The New York Times Non-Fiction Best Sellers.
Everyday, I give my best to live and learn so that I can share useful tips about education and entrepreneurship / business,
that are thoughtful, helpful, inspiring, necessary, and kind.
I am also interested in people, travel, food (especially Asian food and Italian desserts), visual arts, movies and creative ideas.
Counting my blessings, I am grateful for being a mother, lifelong student, storyteller, researcher and marketer; and having good health and more wealth than the yesterday-me.
Thank you very much for being interested in me!
Please keep in touch and feel free to comment.
How to travel while breastfeeding?
How to travel while breastfeeding, either with or without your baby?
How to fly breast milk?
Can I pump or breastfeed on a flight?
Note : The water on some airplanes may have coliform bacteria so please do not use it to clean your pumping equipment or bottles.
Tips :
1. Pre-sterilized your pumping equipment if you need to pump on a flight.
2. request bottled water (but may not be 100% safe as well).
For a 6-day (inclusive of the days of flying in and out) travel.
To bring:
# pre-sterilized breast milk plastic bags. I use Nanny & Medela brands. While traveling, I intend to pump 3x daily, though I pump 4x now, so I prepare 4 x 6 = 24 bags.
# a cloth to cover.
# a copy of birth cert (in the event that the security staff needs further verification).
# baby dishwashing liquid & a foam to wash the equipment.
# universal adaptor (mine also includes a USB port for charging mobile phone).
# power point & fully charged battery (tentatively buy at destination).
# Medela pump.
# a tube & a 1-to-2 homemade connector.
# breast shields, placed in stainless steel container for easy sterilization.
# Royce ice cooler & cooler bag.
# Plan A : If there is a baby who wants my breast milk, I would be very happy to donate to him / her.
Remember the melanin tainted powdered milk for baby? My breast milk is safe.
# Plan B : bring back the frozen breast milk for my baby.
Where are the nursing rooms?
Changi Airport
Terminal 1
# Near gate holdroom C24 at Departure Transit Lounge West, Level 2
# Near gate holdroom D36 at Departure Transit Lounge East, Level 2
# Near Kaboom retail outlet at Departure Transit Lounge West, Level 2
# Arrival Hall West, Public Area, Level 1
Terminal 2
# Near gate holdroom E1 at Departure Transit Lounge North, Level 2
# Departure Transit Lounge South, Level 2
# Near Check-in Row 7, Departure Check-in Hall Central, Public Area, Level 2
Terminal 3
# Arrival Hall Central, Level 1
# Near Check-in Row 6, Departure Check-in Hall Central, Level 2
# At both sides of Departure Immigration Central, Level 2
# Departure Check-in Hall North, Level 2
# Departure Transit Lounge North, Level 2
# Departure Transit Lounge North, Level 2
# Next to gate holdroom B1 – B4 at Departure Transit Lounge North, Level 2
# Inside gate holdroom B1 – B4 at Departure Transit Lounge North, Level 2
# Next to gate holdroom B9 at Transit North Pier, Level 2
# Departure Transit Lounge South, Level 2
# Departure Transit Lounge South, Level 2
# Next to gate holdroom A1 – A8 at Departure Transit Lounge South, Level 2
# Inside gate holdroom A1 – A8 at Departure Transit Lounge South, Level 2
# Inside bus gate A6 – A8 at Departure Transit Lounge South, Level 1
# Next to gate holdroom A21 at Departure Transit Lounge South Pier, Level 2
# Outside gate holdroom A16 – A20 at Departure Transit Lounge South, Level 2
# Inside gate holdroom A16 – A20 at Departure Transit Lounge South, Level 2
According to bumblebeemum.wordpress.com,
power point is Available inside nursing room.
China Nanjing Lukou International Airport
According to breastfeedinganywhere.wordpress.com:
apart from the baby-nursing necessities, the nursing room also provides books and toys for the needs of children of different ages. It is located at the Departures Domestic Concourse.
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Travel: Angkor Wat of Cambodia & how it inspires me
When I have no time, $, energy to physically travel,
I love to virtually travel
through high quality documentaries
such as this one produced by National Geographic.
The benefits of documentaries (which sometimes we do not experience while traveling physically)
include:
# bird view taken from e.g. airplane.
# music.
# expert knowledge.
# 3D models.
Moreover, high quality documentaries e.g. by National Geographic,
incorporate artistic cinematography,
e.g. the use of bokeh, framing techniques,
which are pleasurable to the eyes.
Inspirations:
1. water is critical. Civilizations such as Egypt and Khmer Empire relies on Nile and Mekong River respectively.
2. Western restoration methods do not always work for Eastern architecture like Angkor Wat. Similarly, Western ways of doing business may not always work in the East.
3. Angkor Wat is like a gigantic ship floating on the ocean, thanks to the gigantic moat surrounding the temple. However, this ship is made of stones including the magic stone laterite, that can be shaped yet highly durable (for almost 1 millennium) after it hardens.
4. Over-engineering is not good, as it partly contributes to the decline of the Khmer civilization. How do we know if we are over-engineering?
This is a subset / an example of question for a big question from the serenity prayer:
"God grant me
the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference. "
5. The priests of the ancient time are not only spiritually knowledgeable, they also serve as engineers.
It reminds me on the Renaissance men.
Are we living in over-specialized age?
We need human talent who have broad knowledge as well as deep knowledge for a field of specialization.
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A journey to Yunnan
This is a backlog travel note.
@~@
What to bring?
see 2bring4travel.txt in my folder of China2012.
@~@
I make a marking for every (large in amount) RMB note that we bring to China.
Why?
The money changer staff told us that her son was cheated.
Her son gave the shop assistant a large note.
The shop assistant went to look for change.
She came back and told him that there was no change and returned him a fake note!
@~@
Our tour guide to Shi Lin was Mr Wang.
He told us that to travel by yourselves will cost more than joining tour.
Mr Wang said his salary is RMB 1600. A month expenditure is RMB 1000. Therefore, we have to shop, the more we shop, the more commission he will receive.
If one earns RMB 2500 per month, he or she is considered high earner.
The main sources of income for travel company in Yunnan:
1. tourist attractions.
2. air tickets.
3. hotel (we were promised 4* hotel-room but we got a RMB 80 / night 2* motel-room).
4. food (Wang told us to expect the food to be not delicious).
China has 56 tribes.
Yunnan has 52 tribes.
Mr Wang said that fast and dark female are desirable.
女孩十八岁像老太太
老太太像老妖怪
To leave the mountain, the minority people have 2 paths:
1. study well
2. join the army
In his village (Shi Lin), the eldest woman in the tribe is the head. If a man run away to leave the mountain, all family members will be punished.
According to Wang, silver can remove ‘wind’.
To me, A Shi Ma (Yunnan) to greet female sounds similar to Ajuma (Korea).
A Shi Ma 阿诗玛 means diligent and beautiful.
To greet male, A Hei Ge 阿黑哥 / A Bai Ge 阿白哥 / Hei Bai Ge 黑白哥 aka A Hua Ge 阿花哥.
Lake is called Sea.
River 河 is called Jiang.
FOOD that we tried:
@~@ flower pastry. We love it (JiaHua brand).
@~@ over-the-bridge rice noodle.
@~@ The eight treasures of Yunnan. Too sour for me.
@~@ Wild mushroom banquet. Thank you to our tour guide Wang for driving us there (for free), he said he stayed near there. The waitress was also honest to return a forgotten phone.
@~@ Hui cuisine. The wild vegetable was unique, my first time eating such kind of vegetable.
@~@ 青稞饼 (barley bread).
FAUNA
@~@ grazing yaks (black, white, brown) : Zhongdian / 中甸, Blue Moon Valley
@~@ sheep
@~@ horse riding, LaShiHai / 拉市海*. It costs us RMB 350 / person, latter someone told us that you can have the ride for RMB 100. My travel partner was happy for the first time riding horse.
* When I prepared for the trip to Yunnan, 拉市海 seems so tranquil like Lake Bohinj, but when we visited 拉市海, it was hot and crowded (especially at the horse riding sites). The tranquil site was frequently visited by couples taking pre wedding photos.
Be careful of:
pickpockets / bag slashings.
Avoid barber shops, massage centers (con involvement).
police num: 110
Black Dragon Pool / 云南黑龙潭
The front cover of my favorite travel book: DK Eyewitness of China features the Black Dragon Pool with Yulong (Jade Dragon) Snow Mountain and its reflection.
When we were there, the pool was dried that we could see the cracking soil and smell the unpleasant fishy odor.
Sometimes, virtual travel (through travel books / documentaries / videos) seems, sounds and smells more relaxing. Personally, this is possible if only we have experienced similar things before, so that we can imagine and re-feel. If not, we have to travel our lives!
Many times, we have to travel indeed.
Lijiang 丽江 to Zhongdian 中甸:
terraced fields (reminded me on the journey to Sapa in Vietnam).
the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
@~@
See also:
https://blueroselady.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/dream-of-love-in-the-spring-2012/
https://blueroselady.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/plan-for-our-love-photos-china/
https://blueroselady.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/travel-china-sichuan/
https://blueroselady.wordpress.com/2012/01/26/asia-regional-travel-ideas-2012-2014/
Blueroselady’s travel
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Great cities where I want to visit
Cities listed as the 16 greatest cities where I have been to:
New York City.
London.
Constantinople / Istanbul, where I had a romantic banquet overlooking Bosphorus.
Rome.
Beijing.
I am so lucky!
Many of the cities are no longer existing.
Booming cities where I have been to:
Guangzhou.
Hong Kong.
Shanghai.
Possible next travel destinations:
Jericho / City of Palm Trees.
Rio de Janeiro.
Sao Paulo.
Buenos Aires.
Mexico City.
Moscow.
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.
What are the masculine and feminine qualities to adopt for success?
In the summer 2005, I went to pay a tribute to the Statue of Liberty for what she symbolizes: immense vitality, strength, and beauty. Do you notice that her face shows her inner masculine strength and determination?
In the summer 2004, I did not manage to see the Michelangelo’s statue of David in Florence, but I believe that one day in the future I will be able to go around Italy with a lover.
David represents the highest perfection of man. Though he has muscled body, he also possesses sensitivity.
Based on the responses of the all-women participants in CNC’s seminar, here are what many intelligent and open-minded women think of as
MEN’S NEGATIVE QUALITIES
arrogant
demanding
egotistical
immature
insensitive
lazy
chauvinistic
patronizing
self-centered
ungrateful
WOMEN’S NEGATIVE QUALITIES
bossy
emotional
envious
gossipy
indecisive
insecure
moody
perfectionist
petty
timid
MEN’S POSITIVE QUALITIES
adventurous
analytical
bold / confident / courageous / risk-taker / audacious
focused
generous
in control
logical
open-minded
straightforward
strong
WOMEN’S POSITIVE QUALITIES
adaptable
committed
creative
empathetic
independent
intuitive
passionate
practical
resilient / bend but not break
sensitive
Well, if we look carefully in real world, certain women have many masculine qualities, and vice versa.
Sun Tzu teaches: Whether you should be more masculine or feminine depends on the situation / circumstances / environment / people you face. Do not be locked into a style or another. Be flexible.
Our fashion can help.
If you feel that you are too harsh / aggressive, wear a pale scarf or sexy lingerie beneath your power suit.
If you feel that you are too passive, wear a dark banker’s suit.
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