Charlene and Craig's wedding

Charlene and Craig got married on Dec 27th. Congratulations! Here are the beautiful bride and handsome groom. :-)

As the bridesmaid, basically my job is to take care and company my good friend Charlene. :-)

I arrived Charlene's apartment at 6:00AM. Charlene's family was all awake already. 8:00AM Craig's family arrived to escort the bride to his family. After some traditional procedures, we arrived Hwa Young for the wedding ceremony.

The place was well decorated, and few staffs took care of the procedures and the bride. Therefore I didn't have lots things to do, except of chatting with Charlene and some friends when they visited. Since the bride was arranged in another room before the relatives and friends arrived, Charlene was curious about the place of the ceremony. Taking my camera, I went to take few photos to show her.

Both Charlene and Craig like photographing. Charlene must want to take few photos by herself. Craig got some chance to take few photos by himself. Thanks Craig for the photo of me.

My friends, wish you love and happiness forever! :-)

2008 ING Taipei Marathon

There were 120,000 people joining 2008 ING Taipei Marathon. Shelby, my younger brother, is one of the members in the core team responsible for this event. As usual, I am proud of him! :-)

Check out the screen in the photo. It took more than 20 minutes to have all the runners to pass through the starting line.

Wen-Jun and I participated in the 3km fun run. I was surprised that it's quite short. Anyway, it was fun to run with so many people. Some people came with families, some people joined with friends, some people run with their dogs, and etc. People cheered up for strangers. One guy run backward for 42km... one old man finished 42km... everyone used his/her own position to participate. Some are professional, while the others are not. However, as long as people try their best, I think the positions are all beautiful!

Where the Hell is Matt?

This is the title of the video about Matt-Harding, a young man showing in the VISA commercials. He danced in a simple style in front of various landmarks and streets around the world, sometimes by himself and sometimes with locals. Because of him, the video spreads a comfortable feeling with pure, consistency, and happiness.

This diffusion reminds me of the movie "Pay It Forward". A simple idea could change the world. Although if I remember correctly, the idea "pay it forward" started from the reality "the world sucks". At the end of the movie, the kid was dead because of executing what he believed. However, his courage and spirit changed and affected the world already.

New ASML building

Recently, not only I am preparing to move to a new apartment, but also my company just moved to a new building.

This is the building we used to work in. It's a nice building as well, but not belong to ASML.

In Dec 2008, we moved to the new building.

By the way, because Christmas is coming, we got a present from the company, as usual. This year the present is a beautiful gift box with a chocolate cake, some chocolate cookies, and chocolate from Black as Chocolate. Merry Christmas! :-)

Christian the Lion

It's an unusual story for sure... :-)
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U&feature=related

new apartment progress

After one year, finally my new apartment, 遠雄未來家, is almost ready. I am busy in checking the quality and preparing the interior design.

2008 July

2008 Dec

So... the ocean is really close!

Linkou, the village I live at now in Taipei county, is actually on the top of a hill. Although the time I moved to Linkou is already one and half years ago, I didn't really have lots time to explore and get to know this village. Today, following the sign to Bali village, I ride my scooter "down" the hill and reached the ocean. It took less than 30 minutes.

Although my poor old scooter might get retired soon, she still completed the mission! Good girl!

The boats at this little port are all painted with faces.

Today it's quite windy, but still many people enjoyed fishing over there. The local village atmosphere was kind of surprising me. Sometimes I feel like a foreigner even in my own country. People could recognize that you are not local easily.

Smiley face in the sky

Yesterday there was a smiley face in the sky! The eyes were the Venus and Jupiter, while the first quarter of the moon presented as the mouth.

(Copied from a forwarded e-mail)

Maybe the smile did bring luck, today the government announced to have one more day off, Jan 2nd, during the New Year. ha ha~

Pei-yin's wedding and gathering with Peggy and Sophie

Going back to my home town, Tainan, I joined Pei-yin's wedding at Tayih Landis Hotel on Nov 30th. Congratulation, Pei-yin! It was fun to meet the old friends from senior high school after so many years as well. How many? well... maybe over ten years?... It was a pity that I missed Yen-lin's wedding when I was in the Netherlands. Now finally I didn't miss this one. :-)
In the evening, I had another rare gathering with Peggy and Sophie, my friends from the elementary school. Due to some personal reason, Peggy came back to Taiwan from US for one week. Sophie just came back to Taiwan from UK and flies for business all the time, but this weekend she came back to Tainan as well. I just came back from the Netherlands two weeks ago, and arranged to came back home this weekend. What a coincidence! You could imagine how great talk we had. By the way, I found Domo from Internet, and it is a fairly nice and easy restaurant for spaghetti.

Cape NO. 7

CAPE NO. 7 is a Taiwanese comedic film with neither professional actors nor strong promotional campaign. It is very popular that even my five-year-old nephew could recognize the actors, the songs, and the plot about the movie. The plot consists the stories of two generations, from 1940s to 2000s, and three languages, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Japanese. The story is simple and the roles are local, but it expresses both the esoteric and the ordinary possibilities of lives.

A more than sixty-year ago story came alive when a struggling young man came back to the small village from Taipei. Seven love letters were brought to the grandmother from Japan after her beloved passed away. The director only shot from the sight of the grandmother's back, making it even more deep. Meanwhile the young man found out his way. No matter what our dreams are, about career, love, anything, or everything, it's never too late to pursue them. Have dreams, and make them come true. The sales man in the film shows that earnest is the key. Everyone is small in the world. However with correct attitude and hard working, people would be touched and want to help. It reminded me of the conversation in El Alquimista, "when you really thirst for something, the whole world would help you to get it."

I like the song 國境之南(South of The Border).

[ 國境之南 ] by 范逸臣

詞：嚴云農　曲：曾志豪

如果海會說話　如果風愛上砂
如果　有些想念遺忘在漫長的長假
我會聆聽浪花　讓風吹過頭髮
任記憶裡的愛情在時間潮汐裡喧嘩
非得等春天遠了夏天才近了
我是在回首時終於懂得（也許天氣永遠會那麼熱）
當陽光再次回到那　飄著雨的國境之南
我會試著把那一年的故事　再接下去說完
當陽光再次離開那　太晴朗的國境之南
妳會不會把妳曾帶走的愛　在告別前用微笑全歸還
海很藍　星光燦爛　我仍空著我的臂彎
天很寬　在我獨自唱歌的夜晚
請原諒我的愛　訴說的太緩慢

Cursory Translation of the lyrics of [ South of The Border ] (copied from this site)

If the sea could murmur

The wind fall in love with sands

If my missing were left alone in a long vacation

I would listen to waves whisper

Let the breeze gently swim through my hair

And let the love in my memory be roaring in tides of time

Only when spring goes away will summer be on its way

I wouldn't come to realize until I recalled the past days

When the sunshine once again returns to that drizzling south of the border

I will try to finish the unfinished story of that year

When the sunshine once again parts from that sunny south of the border

Will you give back the love you've taken by wearing a smile before leaving

Ocean is deep blue, and stars are shinning through

I've been still keeping my arms empty

Sky is far from sight, in my lonely singing night

Please forgive me, for conveying my love too slowly

Taiwan - Hualien 2008/11/23 ~ 2008/11/25

Visiting Hualien again! This time I went with my grandfather, my mom, my sister, my brother in law, and my nephew. By the way, visiting Hualien so many times, I didn't know I have so many relatives over there.

We stayed at Farglory Hotel 悅來飯店. On the top of the mountain next to the ocean, the hotel takes the advantage of having an amazing view.

Bruwan 布洛灣山月村 is a tribal village of aborigines. Surrounding by naturals in Taroko National Park.

Lintienshan 林田山 was a flourishing village because of lumbering in 1960s. Now it's a reservation park to keep the Japanese wooden houses, the old railroad, the nostalgic atmosphere, and the natural. It was raining a bit on Sunday, so we enjoyed the tea and coffee in the cafe.

Click here for the last trip in Hualien.

Back home

After three months in the Netherlands, I am back home! This year I have been in the Netherlands for 6 months. Now it's time to make it equal for my home country. :P

In year 2001, I made one book by myself to record all my flights by asking the pilots to sign. One of the pilots, who signed my book today in year 2008, actually signed once before in 2002 already. Such a coincidence!

During the 15 hours in the plane, I watched 5 movies. One of them is Mamma Mia. Last time I saw this musical play was a live show in Taipei. Although this time it's a movie, I still like it and paid more attention on the lyrics.

[ The Winner Takes It All ] by ABBA

I don't wanna talk
About the things we've gone through
Though it's hurting me
Now it's history
I've played all my cards
And that's what you've done too
Nothing more to say
No more ace to play

The winner takes it all
The loser standing small beside the victory
That's her destiny

I was in your arms
Thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense
Building me a fence
Building me a home
Thinking I'd be strong there
But I was a fool
Playing by the rules

The gods may throw a dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear
The winner takes it all
The loser has to fall
It's simple and it's plain
Why should I complain

But tell me does she kiss
Like I used to kiss you?
Does it feel the same
When she calls your name?
Somewhere deep inside
You must know I miss you
But what can I say
Rules must be obeyed

The judges will decide
The likes of me abide
Spectators of the show
Always staying low
The game is on again
A lover or a friend
A big thing or a small
The winner takes it all

I don't wanna talk
If it makes you feel sad
And I understand
You've come to shake my hand
I apologize
If it makes you feel bad
Seeing me so tense
No self-confidence
But you see
The winner takes it all
The winner takes it all...

The various floors of friends

It's a file 朋友的不同樓層(the various floors of friends) in Chinese, forwarded by a friend. Below is only part of the content.

There are around 6 billions of people in the world. How many of them could we hug, how many of them could we hold hands, how many of them could we talk to but without touching, and how many of them would we just pass by? Who could really get into our heart in our lives? Maybe they could be counted within the fingers of our two hands.

The author separated the friends into various floors.

The friends on the ground floor are normally the ones who you might talk within 20 sentences, such as "how are you", "where are you going", "it's nice", and etc. Everyone looks stable and satisfied.

The friends on the first floor are the living room friends who you would like to spend time together to talk about social news, economic situation, fashion, and etc. You might pass the loneliness of everyone, and feel happiness.

The friends on the second floor are the kitchen friends who you share your happiness and sadness. You feel that you are known and understood by them, so you don't feel lonely.

The friends on the third floor are the bedroom friends who you could talk and touch. You want to share all your idea, imagination, and dream with them. The ones who know when and how to adjust the atmosphere for you are your good roommates. Meanwhile, you should learn to be the master of changing the atmosphere as well.

The friends of the balcony on the roof are the ones who stop by sometimes, leave some seeds, but you don't know when or whether it would sprout. Some people stop by slowly while others do quickly. Some people stay short, while others do longer. Later on the wrinkle might remind you the memory and feeling, leading to some stories of experience.

We might spend one second to pass by the ground floor, three seconds to pass by living room, three minutes for kitchen, four hours in the bedroom, and maybe five days on the roof to wait for a miracle. Sometimes with a little touching experience, we might forget the fact about 6-billions people, feeling like having everything including all the friends in the building.

A normal friend never saw you crying. A real friend borrows the shoulder for you to cry.
A normal friend don't like your to call while sleeping. A real friend asks why you called late.
A normal friend wants you to stay and support. A real friend wants to stay and support you.

Could not breath

Have you ever experienced that you couldn't breath?
Later on you would realize that you are alive by finding the breath back...

後知後覺 by 張雨生

It's an old song by a talented Taiwanese singer, who passed away few years ago. I am not going to translate the words of the song... :)

張雨生令人懷念的聲音...

[ 後知後覺 ] by 張雨生

你披星戴月 你不辭冰雪
你穿過山野 來到我的心田

你像遠在天邊 又似近在眼前
直到充臆心間 我才後知後覺

你給我安慰 我不致頹廢
你寬容慈悲 我能振翅高飛
你卻功成身退 我不及言謝
你不告而別 我才後知後覺

★間奏★

你披星戴月 你不辭冰雪
你穿過山野 來到我的心田

你像遠在天邊 又似近在眼前
直到充臆心間 我才後知後覺

你給我安慰 我不致頹廢
你寬容慈悲 我能振翅高飛
你卻功成身退 我不及言謝
你不告而別 我才後知後覺

你給我安慰 我不致頹廢
你寬容慈悲 我能振翅高飛
你卻功成身退 我不及言謝
你不告而別 我才後知後覺

我期待 by 張雨生

It's an old song by a talented Taiwanese singer, who passed away few years ago. I am not going to translate the words of the song... :)

張雨生令人懷念的聲音...

[ 我期待 ] by 張雨生

我期待 有一天我會回來
回到我最初的愛 回到童貞的神采
我期待有一天我會明白
明白人世的至愛 明白原始的情懷
我情願 分合的無奈 能換來春夜的天籟
我情願 現在與未來 能充滿秋涼的爽快
SAY GOODBYE SAY GOODBYE
前前後後 迂迂迴迴地試探
SAY GOODBYE SAY GOODBYE
昂首闊步 不留一絲遺憾

我情願 分合的無奈 能換來春夜的天籟
我情願 現在與未來 能充滿秋涼的爽快
SAY GOODBYE SAY GOODBYE
前前後後 迂迂迴迴地試探
SAY GOODBYE SAY GOODBYE
昂首闊步 不留一絲遺憾
SAY GOODBYE SAY GOODBYE
前前後後 迂迂迴迴地試探
SAY GOODBYE SAY GOODBYE
昂首闊步 不留一絲遺憾

It is more blessed to give than to receive...

"Let us complain less and give more!"
It's the content on the last slide at http://spaces.muxlim.com/siecantik/blog/32885/voted-the-best-email-of-this-year-and-deservedly.

Caring what other people think?... what do you think?...
Looking for happiness?... it's inside ourselves...

A man felt frustrate about his situation, and talked to a wise man. The wise man asked the man to put a bucket of salt into a lake, and then asked him to taste the water from the lake. The water from the lake was not salty. "it's not about the salt, but about how wide the lake is. It's not the event itself which makes us to feel sad, unhappy, frustrate, and etc., but the capability which we could take and handle our feelings."

零度 Zero degree

儀表板顯示 零度
聽著 Katie Melua 的 Piece by Piece 專輯
括除 車窗上結冰的霜
冬天 巧巧到來
短羽絨衣下 短袖一件
竟不覺得冷
草坪上 覆蓋薄薄一片雪白冰霜
心裡想著 是否會錯過今年的第一場雪

(Cursory Translation)
Zero degree
It was shown on the appearance of bearing in the car
Listened Katie Melua's Piece by Piece
Scratched the frozen frost off the windscreen
Winter was coming tranquilly
Under the down coat
only one shirt
But didn't feel cold
Snow-white frost put a cover over the grass
Wondered
whether I would miss the first snow this year

New Single "Don't Believe in Love" by Dido

[ Don't believe in Love ] by Dido

I wanna go to bed with arms around me
But wake up on my own
Pretend that I’m still sleeping
Til’ you go home

Oh I can’t look at you this morning
I should probably have a sign
That says ‘Leave right now or quicker’
You’ve overstayed your time

If I don’t believe in love nothing will last for me
If I don’t believe in love nothing is safe for me
When I don’t believe in love you’re too close to me
And that’s why you have to leave

Maybe I slept peaceful on your shoulder
Your arm warm around my side
But it’s different now, it’s morning
And I can’t face your smile

The second that I feel your safe hands
Reaching out for mine
I slip away and out of sight
You’ve overstayed your time

If I don’t believe in love nothing is good for me
If I don’t believe in love nothing will last for me
When I don’t believe in love nothing is new for me
Nothing is wrong for me
And nothing is real for me

When I don’t believe in love why do you care for me?
When I don’t believe in love nothing is real for me
If I don’t believe in love you’re getting to close to me
And that’s why you have to leave
And that’s why you have to leave

If I don’t believe in love
If I don’t believe in love
If I don’t believe in love
Nothing is left for me
If I don’t believe in love
You’re too good for me

Germany - Ibbenbüren - Outdoor climbing - 2008/10/12

With few friends, we went for an outdoor climbing. It's my second time for this sport, but I was doing ok. :P Since Fede is the expert, I was not worried. It's fun to see how the experts climbed up the rocks with beautiful movements, while I saw no way to get up to those places.

According to the GPS, the place we went to is at

L591 Brochterbecker Straße
49479 Ibbenbüren
Germany

There was one place which we went first. However because of the moss and humidity, it was too slippy to climb. Maybe next time...

K24 Im Bocketal
49545 Tecklenburg
Germany

Since I bought the climbing shoes, I planned to go for indoor climbing every week during this business trip in NL! :)

Netherlands - Landgraaf - Ski - 2008/10/05

SnowWorld is located at Landgraaf, close to Masstricht. There are multiple facilities, but we only went for skiing. For slope entrance, it costs 35 euros for 4 hours, but only 37.5 euros for 8 hours. When you leave the slope for a drink, food, and etc., the clock stops clicking.

Since I didn't bring my ski trousers with me to NL this time, I wore three layers of trousers instead. The socks, the gloves, and the hat were borrowed as well. Thanks for the owner. :) When we felt cold or my fingers/toes were frozen, we just went to the bar for a snack or hot chocolate. We stayed in SnowWorld around 7 hours, skiing for around 5 hours in total. It's my second time to ski, and I still enjoyed it a lot. Maybe next time I should take a lesson to learn the technics better.

Note. My first ski trip is shortly recorded at another blog article.

Netherlands - Vlieland - Camping - 2008/09/27~2008/09/29

Lying in the Wadden Sea, Vlieland is the second island of the chain of islands in the North Sea of the Dutch coast, counting from west to east. It took two hours from Harlingen to Vlieland. We arrived Vlieland at around 4PM.

After finding a good spot for camping and setting up our tents, the guys cooked an amazing delicious dinner. We ate, talked, drank, and enjoyed the incredible sunset. Since it was cold, I actually drank quite a few Vodka to keep myself warm, but didn't feel drunk.

On the way to Vlieland, two DJ's invited us to join a company party. To find the party place, we walked around one hour on the island at night. It was an interesting and successful party with people dressing up in black and white back to old times. Walking back to the camp site Stortemelk at 4 o'clock in the morning, with the stars, the fresh air, and the gloomy street lights, I felt such a tranquil life. It's a strange feeling right after a crowded party.

Since Vlieland is the second-least densely populated municipality in the Netherlands and it's almost the end of the season, it's not crowded at all and the pace is very slow. The only village on the entire island, Oost-Vlieland, is tiny but lovely.

We cycled around the island, crossing the dunes, the bushes, and the meadows. Watching the ocean, walking on the beaches, eating natural cranberry, and etc., I wondered what else would be important in lives. :P

On Sunday evening, we had a nice dinner at a restaurant, played pool, and went to bed early. Waking up with the sound of the rain and the cold on Monday morning, I thought of the regular business meeting with my boss which supposed to be happened at that time. ha ha... the island is for sure much better than the cold office. :P

The guys went for surfing in the early morning, but I took it easy and walked along the coast. Later we had a brunch and more cycling. It's a pity that we couldn't have horse riding because the business was too relax to have it without a reservation. Actually I like the answer "The coach went to the supermarket as planned so can't take the case." The priority is nice.

Netherlands - Eindhoven - Moving to a new apartment - 2008/09/17

Being sick of the hotel feeling at my nice Sofitel apartment, I asked to move to another apartment for a homely feeling. The new apartment is not as big as Sofitel apartment, but I really like the wooden floor/tables/chairs, the balcony, the decoration, and etc. I love it!

Germany - Mainz & Frankfurt- 2008/09/13

To deliver the DVD writer for Dany, I visited my RSM colleague Jenny at Mainz. It's a nice and easy weekend. Taking a walk in Mainz was relaxing. Due to my exchange to UT Austin during MBA study, I actually hadn't caught up well with Jenny for a long time. Therefore I like and appreciate this weekend very much.

We went to a bar for a drink after dinner. I think this bar could be my favorite bar so far. First of all, it was a church with relatively huge space. Sitting on the couch with the high ceiling, I felt extremely comfortable. Secondly, since Jenny is a wine expert, we got a nice white wine. I love the cozy feeling over there.

Drinking at the balcony, looking at the full moon, smoking cigar, chatting with friends, somehow we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival while we are far away from home. On Sunday, after the great breakfast, taking four bottles of nice wine from Jenny, we were on the way back to NL. Thanks for Jenny and Patrick's hospitality!

On the way back to Eindhoven, we visited Frankfurt. The city itself is OK. Walking along the river in a sunny day surprisingly made me to like a big city like Frankfurt a bit. :)

Belgium - Camping & Kayaking - 2008/09/06 ~ 2008/09/07

Before this camping, I only camped twice before. My first camping was supposed to be cool while I studied in the junior high school. However because an accident happened in another school's camping trip, the trip was executed in the campus at the end. It's fun to sleep in the tent with friends, but in the campus... well... it's not exciting at all... :P The second time I slept in a tent was when I climbed the Jade Mountain. With small rocks under my back on a slop, I couldn't fall into sleep at all. However we couldn't sleep long because we needed to wake up early for the sunrise anyway.

This trip, my third camping trip, with two friends in Belgium was really nice and comfortable in the camp site Le Val de L'Aisne. We even had a bed in the tent. At night, someone played really fine fireworks and it was like a personal show in the sky with stars in the back. How lucky we were!

Next day we went for a 18km kayaking. Once I felt that I could somehow control the kayak, I started enjoying the view and the people along the river. Somewhere in the 18km, when we stuck by the rocks, we took the chance to take out our bread, chocolate jam, cookies, fruit, and etc. to ha ha... that was nice. Although at the end I got a bubble on my hand, I felt very exciting and relaxing.


On the way back to the Netherlands, we had dinner at Belgium. I was surprised at the relatively low price of having such nice food and atmosphere. Maybe I stayed at NL too long... :P
Ristorante - Pizzeria J Giardini
Rue d'Amay 10
4000 Liege
Tel: 04 222 03 64

Netherlands - Eindhoven - Business trip - 2008/08/17 ~ 2008/11

I am back to the Netherlands again for a project. In total this year I would have stayed at the Netherlands for half a year. Knowing the people and the culture a bit, somehow it has become my second home country I think. :)

This time I stayed at the apartment of Sofitel Hotels & Resorts. It's great even with two bedrooms, but I am looking forward to moving to a more homely apartment.

Thailand - Bangkok 2008/07/31 ~ 2008/08/06

I never thought of staying at Bangkok for up to 7 days, but I did stay at Bangkok for 7 days. :)
Actually it's a family trip which is arranged to spend time with my 86-years-old grandpa, my parents, and my brother. We all love traveling, but never traveled together. We took it easy to explore and experience the city.

Siam Naramit is a Thai culture show. The theater was built only for this show, within a culture park around. Before and after the show, people could watch Thai dancing, ride an elephant, take a look of traditional Thai house, taste traditional Thai desert, and etc. in the park.

Sky Bar at the Dome at the State Tower is really cool! Having a drink at the outdoor bar on the top the tower is definitely a special event. The atmosphere is kind of modern but relaxing.

Well, local lives on the streets are always my favorite sightseeing spots. :)

Bodytune is a nice shop for massage. Two hours Thai massage costs only 590 Baht with relatively nice atmosphere.

Naraya is a famous shop for Thai bag. If buying a suvinor is a must, the Naraya bags could be considered.

Dusit Thani Hotel is very fine, but I remain neutral on the recommendation.

For more photos, please visit http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/aprilhsutw/ThailandBangkok2008#

Note. There are some Information recommended by friends, but I didn't use this time...
Resort http://www.sunsetvillage.co.th
Local agent 余美芳 +66873247332

Being considerate of the people you love & holding the world with tolerance

The title of the article forwarded by a friend is "Being considerate of the people you love & holding the world with tolerance"

The article started with a story...

One professor asked the class "I would like to play a little game with you, who would like to participate first?" A girl raised her hand and walked to the front of the classroom. The professor said "Please write down 20 names of the most important people who you couldn't give up in your life." The girl did so, writing down names including her neighbors, family, friends, and etc.
The professor said "Please write off one who is relatively not so important to you." She wrote off one name of her neighbor. "Please write off another one." She wrote off one name of her colleague... At the end there were three names left, her parent, her son, and her husband. Now it's quiet in the room, because it's not felt like a game anymore. The professor said "one more please." The girl struggled, and then wrote off the name of her parent. "Please, one more." The girl got shocked, wrote off the name of her son hardly, and got tears in her eyes... Few minutes later, the professor asked the girl "The closest people to you shall be your parents and child. Your parents raised you, and the child was born from you. You shall be able to find another husband. Why did you think your husband is the last one you couldn't give up?" The girl said slowly "as the time passed, my parents would leave the world before me, my son would leave me for his own life, but my husband is the one who are going to company me for the whole life."

The story doesn't mean to lead to a specific choice among our parents, children, and partner. Instead, it reminded me of the priorities. Spending time with people you love, opening heart to people who care, sharing life with people around the world... We might not encounter the situation of choosing who to survive among the people we love, but we would face the situation that loved ones left the world and us. What is a success life? It could be building a success career, traveling around the world, keeping healthy, or having someone who loves you and whom you love.

Another story just jumped into my head. A successful business man with lots of friends reached the end of his life. Lots people stopped by or sent flowers. However, no one really spent time with him to share his feeling, because he didn't really love anyone or have someone who really loved him.

We keep looking back and right now, and reminding ourselves of the importance of the priorities. If we can't have everything we want, we could set priorities to go for the most important one, and have other things planned around. In this case, we could have the most important item, and enjoy the others sometimes as well. Well, running a business is easier than running a life I think. :P

Taiwan - Jade Mountain 2008/07/11 ~ 2008/07/13

I made it, reaching the highest point of Taiwan, and northeastern Asia! :)

In the Yushan National Park, Mt. Jade Main Peak, 3952m high, is the highest summit in Taiwan. A drawing is required for getting the permission to climb Jade Mountain. Thanks for Zong-Jin's help, Zong-Jin, Shelby (my brother) and I joined the trip with a climbing club three weeks before the depature with permissions, while some people might wait for half a year.

At 8:30AM on July 12th, we started climbing from Tataka (2300m high). Climbing 8.5km, we reached Paiyun Lodge (3402m high) at 15:30PM. I was exhausted. Who told me that it's an easy public hiking trail? Shelby, I won't forget it! :P

Because it was fully occupied in Paiyun Lodge, we climbed another 30 minutes to camp illegally next to the trail. With the small rocks on the back and the weird slope, I didn't sleep at all. Well, actually it's not a big deal. When we went to "bed", it was 20:00PM already, and we need to wake up at 2:00AM next day anyway. When I saw the stars spreading in the sky in the early morning, I couldn't care less.

There are 2.4km between Paiyun Lodge and the main peak. The last 300m is the most steep part. However since there were lots people climbed in the morning, the speed was relatively slow. At 17:00AM, we reached the summit! The view at the peak is amazing with the color changes of the sunrise and the sea of clouds, although the guide said that it could be even much better! While the sky shifted from dark to bright, standing on the top of the world (ok, I know it's only the top of Taiwan...:P), I thought of Simba in the Disney's movie The Lion King. I am the king (queen) of the world! :)

It's easy to climb up, but hard to climb down. In the early morning, we just followed the person in front in the dark. While climbing down in the day time, I couldn't believe that I climbed all the way up. It's beautiful and fun!

After another 2.4km, we were back to Paiyun Lodge and had the second breakfast. Foods in the mountain tests even fresher and better. Taking 3.5 hours down, we finished the 8.5km which took us 7 hours up. Why did we walk so fast? It's because delicious watermelons are waiting! :P

On the way back to the civilization, my muscles started aching all over. Saying goodbye to the lovely natural, I was thinking when I could visit other beautiful mountains in Taiwan.

More photots are available here.