農曆年 Chinese New Year

過年前照例活動聚會一堆, 讓我在還沒忘記前把還沒記的記一下吧~

1/2 參加H的婚宴
1/17 老友A來林口拜訪
1/23 和H去聽蕭邦啟蒙講座
2/6 和外公吃飯
2/7 參加P的婚宴, 然後和一些研究所的同學和兩位斯洛維尼亞的朋友聚餐

至於過年本身, 今年我只放五天假, 雖然短, 但還是有機會跟朋友敘舊以及和家人在一起, 很幸福ㄋㄟ~ 慘的是初一和朋友聚完餐再和剛回來的小外甥很high的玩了一天後, 我感冒的喉嚨痛瞬間變成嚴重的失聲, 讓我大過年病了幾天~ 不過ㄚ~ 所謂否極泰來, 沒事沒事~

There are many gatherings and events right before the Chinese New Year. Let me shortly record what I remembered for now.

1/2 Joined H's wedding banquet
1/17 Had my old friend A to visit my place
1/23 Joined a lecture about Chopin
2/6 Had the dinner with Grand Father
2/7 Joined P's wedding banquet and then had the gathering with some RSM colleagues and two Slovenia friends

This year the Chinese New Year holiday was only 5 days for me, but I still had enough time to catch up with my friends at Tainan and to spend time with my family. Unfortunately I got a cold resulting in losing my voice for few days. Well, in Chinese there is an idiom saying that "when misfortune reaches the limit, good fortune is at hand". I always choose to believe it. :-p

騎馬 Horse riding

第一次真正騎馬, 是在澳洲. 依著當地旅遊資訊上騎馬活動的廣告, 一個人租了台腳踏車前往馬場. 出發前教練就口頭交代幾樣, 比如往左拉韁繩是左轉, 反之右轉, 停往後拉, 要走就輕踢馬的小肚肚, 要跑就用力踢, 然後, 一群人就各自騎著馬一隻跟著一隻地在灌木叢裡漫步, 然後抵達一個無人沙灘後就隨意讓馬狂奔了! 現在回頭想其實蠻危險的, 畢竟即使是很有經驗的人都有可能墜馬, 何況是一無所知的初學者. 但是, 我就是這樣愛上騎馬的. :-)

之後陸陸續續在不同的地方騎過, 在台灣的台南, 埔心和龜山的馬場分別騎過一次, 在印尼峇里島曾騎到鄉下去看鄉村風光, 在美國德州頗為乾枯的灌木叢中騎過, 在喬治亞州騎美國家庭自己養的馬, 也曾騎下大峽谷在懸崖邊與綠色的河流之上享受午餐餐盒(這次其實是騎騾). 都是讓人回味無窮的經驗.

終於, 我從上個月開始正式學騎馬, 教練說騎馬要放鬆, 平衡, 跟隨, 目前練習從最基本的慢步和快步 (分為壓浪和打浪)開始, 還沒練到跑步. 每一次去都有新的體悟, 其中感覺最大的差異是在第一次無蹬騎馬, 雙手雙腳完全放空, 隨著馬的節奏快步卻只能用身體保持平衡, 才知道原來以前靠馬蹬施力是錯的. 不過知道跟真的做對還有段距離, 我還有很長的路要走, 教練說的沒錯, 每個人學習的快慢不同, 但在馬上的時間就是一定要夠. 已經開始期待下次的練習了!

The first time I really ride a horse was in Australia. I saw an advertisement about the horse riding for tourists, then rented a bike to look for the horse field. Before the riding, the coach only taught us few things such as the signals for the horses to turn right, turn left, stop, walk, and run. Right after the instruction, we ride in the bush, reached a beach, and run! Now when I thought of the experience, I have to admit that it's a bit dangerous. However that's how I started to love horse riding. :-)

After that experience, I ride few times in other places. I ride three times in Taiwan, once in the villages at Bali island in Indonesia, once in the dried-up bushes in Texas in US, once with the US family's horse in Georgia, once with mules down to a river valley in the Grand Canyon National Park to enjoy the lunch on cliffs above a green river. Each experience was unique to me.

Finally I have started to learn horse riding officially since last month. The coach said that relax, balance, and follow are important. Now I am learning trot and posting trot. Each time I learned something and felt differently. The first time I ride without hands on the halter and feet in the stirrups was really amazing. I could only rely on my body to keep balance, and I realized that forcing on stirrups is wrong. However, knowing the theory doesn't mean doing it right. I still have a long way to go. Every one's progress might be different, but it's for sure that significant hours spent on horses are required. I am looking forward to the next practice already!

海地大地震 The earthquake at Haiti

海地大地震, 災情令全球震驚, 大家一起來, 捐多少算多少! (台灣世界展望會, 慈濟 和 紅十字會)

Stevie Wonder在美國一個Hope For Haiti Now的募款活動中演唱經典老歌Bridge Over Troubled Water, 帶著懷念的心情上網找了這首歌的歌詞, 很美.

Another tragedy happened at Haiti, and the condition of the disaster shocked the world. Let's donate whatever we can! (World Version, TzuChi and Redcross)

Stevie Wonder sang Bridge Over Troubled Water in the event Hope For Haiti Now in US, reminding me of the beautiful song. I found the lyrics below from the Internet.

---------------------------------

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel

When you're weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all

I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you

I'll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on Silver Girl,
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way

See how they shine
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
---------------------------------

同時收到我斯里蘭卡小朋友的來信, 感觸特別深. 其實我的小朋友年紀太小還不會寫字, 都是他媽媽寫信和我保持聯絡. (也有可能是媽媽口述義工代筆) 忘了從什麼時候開始, 某種程度上我們早已將彼此視為家人, 很讓人珍惜的緣分.

Meanwhile, I received the letter from my sponsored little girl in Sri Lanka. In fact she is still too little to write, but her mom has kept in touch with me. Somehow we are kind of family, and I appreciate it.

2010新年快樂! Happy New Year 2010!

去年跨年煙火看了, 元旦升旗也參加了, 今年實在有點懶, 只是沒想到國旗圍巾還是把我乖乖拐去參加元旦升旗, 還把L拖下水. 原本想說這條圍巾可不便宜, 專程從林口坐計程車去的呢~ 結果到頭來傳說中的9999條國旗圍巾沒看到幾條, 更別說要拿到一條... 後來看新聞知道有人等四小時都沒拿到, 我們5:30AM到沒拿到好像也沒什麼大不了了. 沒拿到就算了, 但還是希望這些辦活動的人下次可以貼心地安排得專業一點, 新聞上那樣的混亂實在不是很文明~

看啊~ 咱們馬總統脖子上那條就是我想要的啦~ anyway, 整體表演蠻酷的, 還是值得~

Originally I only planned to go to Cai Guo-Qiang's exhibition with L as the first even in year 2010. However since the scarf with the designed national flag is too attractive to let it go, I left home at 4:50AM to join the flag-raising ceremony in front of the presidential palace. The government prepared 9999 scarfs, but we didn't see any when we arrived at 5:30AM. Later I saw the news on TV saying that some people waited 4 hours and didn't get it. Wow... I knew why I didn't get any... :-P

The scarf on the president Ma's neck is the one I wanted! The shows presented by the army afterward still made it worthy.

找間店吃了頓悠閒又豐盛的美式早餐後, 我們才開始今天的正規的行程, 台北市立美術館蔡國強的"泡美術館"展覽!

提到蔡國強, 最為台灣人所知的就是就是"負責北京奧運煙火的爆破藝術家"以及"馬總統女兒的教授", 今天看了他的展覽, 才知道他的藝術的多元性, 除了知名的爆破作畫, 還有更多具有各種意義的創新表達性作品. (關於蔡國強爆破作畫的影片可參考這裡.)

After an easy and great American breakfast, we went for the event as planned originally, Cai Guo-Qiang's exhibition "Hanging Out in the Museum" at Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

Mr. Tsai is known as the artist of the firework for Beijing Olympics, and in Taiwan also known as the professor of the president Ma's daughter in New York. He uses various material and formats to present his art and to reflect the society phenomenon. He creatively paints by explosions. (Click here to see Mr. Tsai's arts, including how to paint by explosions.)

(this photo was copied from here.)

"撞牆"是最讓我感動的一件作品. 99隻真實大小的狼以前仆後繼無人可檔的氣勢往前衝, 直到撞到一面無形的牆的作品. 群體的力量和信仰可以產生極大的感動並達成任何事情, 但忠誠與盲目只是一線之隔, 人類因此造成多少不可挽回的歷史悲劇. 義無反顧地往前跑, 但看清前方是什麼了嗎? 有形的牆看得見, 無形的牆是無法看見, 還是我們不願看見? 旁邊悉悉落落幾隻未跟隨的狼在團體的氣勢相較下略顯孤獨, 但應該是智者吧~

Among the works, I was deeply impressed by the "Head On", consisting of 99 wolves running and jumping toward an invisible wall. While the determination of the following wolves was touched, the shock of the followed wolves heading on the wall was helpless. There is only a gleam of separation between loyalty and blindness, and that's why in the history there have been so many tragedies caused by blindness. Why do people follow blindly? We can see a physical wall, but how about an invisible wall? Can't we see it, or aren't we willing to see it? Few wolves didn't follow, although a bit lonely comparing with the group's momentum. They must be the wise ones.

台北出租院是個蠻有趣的專題, 人物的表情和動作維妙維俏.

There was an outdoor area with many fine sculptures of the characters in a novel. The movements and facial expressions were very lively with interesting details.

最後我們不知不覺在這個展覽待了4個小時, 真是個有意義的新年起頭啊~

Eventually we spent 4 hours in the exhibition. It's a meaningful event for starting the new year. :-)

Amanda的家庭感恩禮拜 Amanda's family appreciation ceremony

參加Amanda的家庭感恩禮拜, 非常溫馨的聚會. 尤其是Amanda獻花給她高齡的阿媽時, 那其中對阿媽滿滿的感恩與愛, 讓我又羨慕又感動. 憑著Amanda的信仰與對人生的正面態度, 我相信她一定會堅持幸福的. :-)

I was invited to Amanda's family appreciation ceremony. It's a sweet banquet. The moment when Amanda handed her grandmonther a bouquet of flowers was very touching. I could feel the deep appreciation and love from Amanda. Based on her belife and positive attitude toward the lives, I believe that she will keep the happiness around her.

恭禧姿樺&鈞元結婚嚕~ Wedding banquets of Tzu-hua and Jun-yuan

- 2009/11/21 台南結婚 Wedding banquet at Tainan -


一大早從八九點眾伴娘們陸續抵達新娘家梳妝打扮, 一路忙忙忙... 最後回到家時已經是晚上十點多了, 天啊~ 我才知道原來結婚是朋友比家人還忙... 我弟結婚時好像也是他的眾多朋友們最忙... 感恩ㄋㄟ... :-)

今天我們的主要任務就是陪新娘, 設計新郎來迎娶時的闖關, 幫忙宴會各項事宜等等. 難得我們姊妹這樣一整天在一起, 盡情聊天, 歡笑不斷, 六個人明明穿得漂漂亮亮卻總要照幾張鬼臉照片, 兩位攝影師也樂此不疲, 哈哈, 相信鈞元和姿樺會很幸福地過一輩子的!

Tzu-hua and Jun-yuan got married today! Besides our congratulations, we six bridesmaids accompanied the bride whole day. I arrived Tzu-hua's home at 9:00AM. When I went back home, it was 22:00PM already. After the graduation from the high school, it's the first time that six of us were all together for the whole day. Therefore although we were exhausted, we appreciated the time being together very much. :-)

Our main tasks were to accompany the bride, to design and execut the little games to challenge the groom, and to help in the banquet. Not only the nice photos but also the funny photos with the wry faces were taken. It's a day with lots of laugh. Hope Tzu-hua and Jun-yuan would have happiness together and forever!

- 2009/11/24 林口補請 Wedding banquet at Linkou -


今天姿樺在林口補請, 我第一次當主持人呢~ 自己覺得口條還有待加強, 但能順利完成任務已經相當欣慰~ 姿樺一家人一直感謝我讓我很不好意思, 但也很窩心~ 有機會能幫到好友的忙非常開心呢~

Since Tzu-hua has lots colleagues and friends at Linkou, she arranged another banquet at Linkou. I was the host and it was my first time of being a host on the stage. I was gratified by the completion of the mission, and was happy that I can help my good friend. :-)

新竹出差 Business trip to Hsinchu 2009/10/19 ~ 2009/10/23

這個禮拜到新竹出差, 入住煙波大飯店都會一館, 雖然沒有湖畔主館的景色, 但有離市區較近的地利之變. 這次一起來的還有香港和荷蘭的同事.

I went for a business at Hsinchu for one week, staying at the Lakeshore Hotel. Three colleagues from Hongkong and the Netherlands also participated in this trip.

星期一 Monday

新竹同事帶我們去吃活蝦, 也帶老外去嘗試鮮芋鮮.

The colleagues in the Hsinchu office took us to the restaurant with all kinds of shrimp dishes, and later to a store for local desserts.

- 易鼎活蝦餐廳 -
03-656-5223
新竹縣竹北市光明六路91號

星期二 Tuesday

今天安排和我的好友也是我的大學室友佩真見面, 只是因為有外國同事在我們沒有真的好好聊聊, 只好之後網路補聊嚕~ 那天我指定去民歌西餐廳, 之所以想去民歌西餐廳只是因為有一天突然想到n年前去聽歌的感覺, 於是上網查到火車站前的這間餐廳. 我們聽了兩個歌手, 還不賴, 食物也不錯.

荷蘭同事指名要吃Cold Stone的冰淇淋, 我超愛冰淇淋的, 當然一定要排到行程裡啦~ :-P

I scheduled the dinner with Fareh, my good friend and roommate at the university, at a restaurant with live folk songs. My colleagues also joined us. Upon one of the colleagues' request, we went to Cold Stone for ice cream. (Since I also love ice cream, of course we needed to put it in our schedule. :-P)

- 吉普塞民歌西餐廳 -
03-5257115
新竹市信義街30號2樓

- Cold Stone -
03-5241685
新竹市北區民族路14號1樓

星期三 Wednesday

任維廉教授是我的恩師之一, 在交大時就跟著老師做國科會的案子, 不只在專業知識上, 老師的身教和言教也都讓我受益良多. 畢業後只有一次和老師見面, 之後幾次到新竹都很匆忙, 這次終於又能和老師聚聚實在很開心. 當然, 還有特別從台北下來的靖媛和俊廷, 以及在新竹開戰鬥機的曉榮, 大家好像都變了, 也好像都沒有變. :-)

Professor Jen has been one of my highly respected teachers. In the university he guided me for some National Science Council's projects. I also learned from the way he behaved and talked. Therefore it's always nice to be able to meet him. To join this dinner, Lucy and Jun-ting took the high speed train from Taipei. Leo is an aviator of battleplanes at Hsinchu, so he also joined the gathering. It seems that everyone has changed, but sometimes it seems that everyone hasn't changed. :-)

- 川流日本料理 KAWANAGALE -
03-5589-393
新竹縣竹北市文田街15號
note. 算是價格品質蠻實惠的日本料理~

星期四 Thursday

高中好友玫玲結婚時我在荷蘭錯過了, 現在寶寶剛出來幾個月, 趕快去抱抱~ 本來就很溫柔的玫玲現在更多了母愛的圍繞喔~

今天還有第二ㄊㄨㄚ. 雖然隔天就要去老姊家住, 但兩個小外甥還是吵著要來找阿姨, 當阿姨的當然是很高興啦~ 每次和他們玩完都睡得超好~ 小朋友的體力真的很好ㄟ... :-P

I missed Mei-lin's wedding because I was in the Netherlands. Now she just got the first baby born, so of course I wanted to visit her. After the gathering at Mei-lin's apartment, my nephews asked my sister to take them to my hotel, although I will see them the next day. I always have extremely great sleep after playing with them, the super energetic little guys. :-P

飆未來 Futurism

和麗紋一起去看最後一天的"飆未來: 未來主義百年大展"展覽, 大概因為無法認同未來派藝術的宣言 , 我並沒有對這些畫作產生太大的共鳴或感動. 然而, 他們的堅持與創意還是值得讚許, 畢竟嘗試將速度, 時間, 甚至聲音等元素帶入畫作中算是很突破性的嘗試.

1910年發表的"未來主義繪畫宣言" 表示: "我們將竭盡全力的和那些過時的、盲信的、被罪惡的博物館所鼓舞著的舊信仰做鬥爭。我們要反抗陳腐過時的傳統繪畫、雕塑和古董，反抗一切在時光流逝中骯髒和腐朽的事物。我們要有勇於反抗一切的精神。這種精神是年輕的、嶄新的，伴隨著對不公的甚至罪惡的舊生活的毀滅。" 未來主義者甚至大肆揚頌戰爭, 認為戰爭是藝術最終極的形式.

未來主義試圖將當時剛起步的現代化機械之美容入藝術, 其實是一種活在當下的正面精神, 可惜那負面信仰難免讓人感覺失去了美的純粹, 我還是相信懂得欣賞別人的智慧才是王道; 包容讓人的視野更寬闖, 更寬廣的心靈才會創造出真正美好的事物.

很高興去看了這個和自己認知不一樣的展覽, 就像聽聽不同的想法, 看看不同的世界, 見見不同的人, 也蠻有趣的. :-)

I went to an Futurism exhibition with my friend Li-wen. At the end I was not really touched by those works of art, although I admired their courage to break the normal way of thinking and try to involve the elements such as speed, time, and even sound into the paintings.

I can't echo the statement which the Futurists made for the Futurism. Futurism rejected any love or consideration for past arts, and even promoted wars. While it's good to live at the current moment and try new subjects or techniques, the negative statement unfortunately missed the pureness of beauty. I believe that a wise man must admire others. Toleration can expand our view about the world. A fine work of art must be from a broad and beautiful heart.

However it's still nice to go for the exhibition to get to konw the particular style of art. Listening diverse opinions, seeing different worlds, and knowing various kinds of people are always fun.

展場在中正紀念堂, 好久沒去了, 來兩張用手機照的照片.

The exhibition was held at National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. I took few photos by my cell phone.

倒是我很喜歡這張在捷運中正紀念堂站照的照片, 我覺得蠻符合今天的主題 - "未來"!

My favorite photo of the day is the one which I took at the metro station. I like the feeling of seeing through the wall and it's quite fit today's topic "future", isn't it? :-)

BBQ's

九月19日才到Whye-choy家烤肉, 今天公司又舉辦中秋節烤肉活動. 中秋節即將到來, 不管是家人, 朋友, 同事, 大家來團圓嚕~ :-)

雖然這兩個活動都沒有照片, 讓我放一些平常可愛同事的照片好了. 每次有人生日我們就會有慶生下午茶, 這些照片只是一部分. 最後一張是某一天有個同事突然照我們的中餐, 就也放一下好了~ :-p

On Sep 19th we had a BBQ party at Whye-choy's home. Today my company held a BBQ for the Moon Festival after working hours. Although traditionally the moon festival is for the reunion of the members of a family, let's have it extended to friends and colleagues. :-)

Although we didn't take any photos in these two events, I would like to put some photos of my lovely colleagues, which were taken during the birthday celebrations. The last photo, taken by one of my colleagues, is just a lunch plate in our cafeteria.

Restaurant at Kaohsiung 高雄餐廳 - 義式屋古拉爵

Cafe Grazie 義式屋古拉爵
07-5361390
高雄市三多四路21號12樓 (大遠百12樓)
Note. 之前和朋友光顧過內湖店, 這次則是回台南時和爸媽一起去這家位於高雄的分店. 由於view太好了, 要坐靠窗位的話要11點多店還沒開門時就來排隊喔~

學新東西 Learning new things

今年在社大每學期選不同的課, 繼"經絡拳"後, 我還上了"當馬賽克遇上蝶古巴特-拼貼的藝術"和"有氧舞蹈", 這學期則嘗試"瑜珈", 我要先把所有好奇但還沒學過的都去看一看, 試一試, 學一學. :-)

下面是我拼貼的兩個作品, 一個是用小瓷磚拼出來的杯墊, 一個是用鞋盒做成的百寶箱. 我鞋盒的主題是旅行, 上面的圖案可都是利用各種舊雜誌, 廣告單等自己剪貼拼奏出來的, 我覺得最難的就是找到喜歡或可以利用的圖案了~ 至於做出來的效果, 真是超乎我的期望喔~ :-P

This year I have learned few new things, such as the accupunch, the collages of mosaic and decoupage, the aerobics, and the yoga in different periods. I planned to check, try, and learn what I was curious about but hadn't experienced before.

Below are the two works in the collage course. One is a cup mat decorated with small tiles. The other is a treasure box made from a shoes box. The pictures on the boxes were found and cut from old magazines, DM, and etc. I made this for my traveling documents. I think the most difficult task is to find the proper and nice pictures. In fact, the quality is much better than what I expected~ :-P

父親節, 台灣不快樂 Unpleasant Father's Day in Taiwan

八月八日是父親節, 但很多人失去了他們的父親以及家人. 電視新聞一幕幕都是讓人心痛的畫面, 無法前去災區的我們, 只能努力捐款希望災民們可以走過傷痛重新恢復正常生活. (台灣世界展望會, 紅十字會和慈濟都算直得信賴的組織, 讓我們一起幫災民站起來!)

Aug 8 is the Father's Day, but many people lost their fathers and family in Taiwan. We have seen lots of heart breaking news on TV every day. Although we can't go to the disaster area to help in person, we can donate as much as possible, hoping the victims of the natural disaster can go through the painful experience and back to the normal lives soon. (To help these people, you may donate via World Vision or Redcross for this disaster.)

莫拉克颱風挾帶驚人的龐大雨量侵襲南台灣, 導致嚴重的水災與土石流. 某些地方一天降雨量高達1400毫米, 兩天就累積超過一年可能的降雨量2000毫米. 所有的災情中, 被土石流瞬間掩埋的小林村算是災情最慘重的, 估計全村約400人死亡. 網路上有災前和災後小林村的照片, 難以相信這樣一個美麗的小村莊就這樣消失了, 當時, 他們在慶祝父親節嗎?...

Typhoon Morakot brought extraordinary level of rainfall to the southern part of Taiwan, leading to serious floods and mudslides. Some area got 1400mm rainfall within one day, and over 2000mm within two days, which might be an annual rainfall in some region. Shiao Lin village is the one having suffered the most because the whole village was buried in the mudslide. Around 400 people in this village might have died. Below are the photos showing the landscapes of this village before and after the typhoon. It's hard to believe that the beautiful village just disappeared. Were they celebrating the Father's Day when the mudslides arrived?...

(Shiao Lin village before and after Typhoon Morakot. The photos were copied from Internet.)

台灣人的可愛與善良總是令人驕傲. 善款不斷湧入, 義工也進入災區幫助災民清理家園. 有個住在鐵皮屋裡的老先生每天拾荒賺不到100元, 卻捐出存款50萬. 是怎養的無私可以做到這樣? 想起那句話"如果你無法愛你看到的, 又怎能愛你看不到的?" 如果一個人無法愛身邊的人, 怎麼可能為陌生人付出? 如果我們看到別人受苦都不伸出援手, 又怎會有愛心幫助世界上某個看不見的角落需要幫助的人?

I am always proud of the kindness and charity of the Taiwanese. Many volunteers have gone into the disaster areas to help the victims to clean their homelands. People have donated materials and money as much as they can. An old man, living in an extremely old house and earning less than 100 NT dollars per day by picking trash, donated his saving 500,000 NT dollars. How selfless can make this possible? One used to say "If you can't love what you have seen, how can you love what you can't see?" If we can't love the people around us, how can we do good things to strangers? If we don't give a hand when we see others suffering, how could we help people in need in an invisible corner of the world?

同時, 台灣也很感謝來自世界各地的援助. 其中所羅門群島一個部落的捐款最讓人感動. 他們的收入很低, 但卻由200個家庭共同捐出大約4,000台幣的善款, 並由族長乘超過5小時的船親自交到台灣技術團手上, 他們說"以前台灣來幫助我們, 現在輪到我們來幫助他們." 金額不大, 但心意卻很重!

Meanwhile, the support from the other countries is appreciated. Among them, Taiwan has been deeply touched by a 120 US dollars donation from a tribe in Solomon Islands. The income there is extremely low, but 200 families in the tribe donated around 120 US dollars in total. The head of the tribe rode a boat for more than five hours to deliver the money in person to the Taiwanese mission. They said "'Taiwan used to help us. Now it's our turn to help them." The amount is not huge, but the invaluable regard is far away beyond the amount.

台灣加油!

Taiwan, go! Go! Go!

Party at Paula's home

Paula invited us for the party at her and Ted's home in Taiwan. She prepared some delicious American food. Besides, we finally saw the rolling machines they took all the way from US and NL to Taiwan. Rolling definitely requires significant strength.

Paula準備了一些美國食物並邀請我們去她和Ted在台灣的家, 我們也終於見識到和他們一起從美國到荷蘭再到台灣的rolling machines (我不知道中文翻譯是什麼, 但就是一種用來練習划船的健身器材), 感覺rolling真的需要很大的力氣ㄟ.

弟媳婦文君歸寧 Wedding party of Jasmine's family

今天文君歸寧, 所以我們連續第二個禮拜回台南. 不過因為不是主場所以基本上只要出席就好, 唯一附加價值就是偶爾幫忙搞定一下我的兩個寶貝小外甥嚕~

我的第一個英文老師 (很小的時候去玩的那種不算) 也是媽媽的好友曾老師也來了, 以前我雖然比較調皮但也還算個好學生~(這個是自己說了算吧~ :-p) 至少老師一來就有要找我~ 老師可是個自助旅行高手呢~ 此外, 即將步入紅毯的姿樺和鈞元也來見習~ 幾個月後我又有另一場婚禮要幫忙嚕~

Traditionally two parties would be held for a wedding. One is mainly for the groom's family and friends, and the other is for the bride's. Therefore we had the Jasmine's party today. I don't have specific task assigned for this party, but just help to take care of my two lovely newphews sometimes.

My first English teacher Ms. Zeng, my mom's good freind, came to the party as well. Since she hadn't seen me for a long time, she was looking for me when she just arrived. It's fun to talk to her again. She has still traveled a lot. Besides, Tzu-hua and Leo came to "practice" for their coming wedding, so I will need to help on another wedding few months later. :-)

社大同學聚餐 Gathering with the classmates

一學期結束了, 同學們到家裡聚會, 說好一人帶一到菜, 結果每個人都多帶, 看著滿桌子菜感覺好像過年一樣, 超級豐盛的菜色好幸福喔~ 已經在期待下次的聚會了.

It's the end of the Spring semester, so we arranged the gathering at my place. The idea was that each of us should prepare a dish. On that day everyone brought more than one dish plus drinks, cakes, and etc. Having all the dishes on the table, we felt like celebrating the Chinese New Year~ We were expacting next gathering already.

庭瑋和文君結婚嚕! Shelby and Jasmine are married!

庭瑋和文君今天結婚嚕! 一早大家起床準備, 親戚朋友陸續抵達, 人緣好的老弟有一堆朋友都來組織性的幫忙, 八點多出發前往新娘家迎娶. 歡迎文君成為我們家的一份子! :-)

Today my brother Shelby and my sister in law Jasmine are getting married! It's a huge event in our family of course. In the morning we woke up early to prepare, and the bride and groom's friends arrived to help. Some of us went to the bride's home with Shelby to escort Jasmine to our home. Jasmine, welcome to our family! :-)

宴客請在中午, 地點在台糖長榮酒店. 親朋好友從各地趕來分享這對新人的喜悅, 三姨和三舅特地遠從澳洲回來, 庭瑋的學姊暫時放下印度的工作趕回來, 很多人也從北部坐車下來, 我最高興的是看到奶奶生前最好的朋友陳奶奶, 她永遠都是那麼高雅搭配親切的笑容. 奶奶如果還在的話今天她一定是最開心的那一個人. 我想庭瑋和文君一定很感謝大家的熱情參與, 讓這場婚禮格外有意義.

The wedding banquet was held at noon, and people came from everywhere to send their congratulations and share the happiness. My aunt and uncle came from Australia, Joyce came from India, some relatives came from Hualian, and lots of the guests from Taipei. I was so glad to see my grandmother's best friend, Mrs. Chen. As usual, she is always very elegant with beautiful and kind smiles. If my grandmother were still alive, she would be the happiest person. I believe that Shelby and Jasmine must be very happy with so many grateful greetings making their wedding even more meaningful.

我和老姊念的高中都剛好是老媽任教的學校, 所以很多學校老師都認識我們或曾經是我們的老師. 今天很高興又和看到這些有趣的叔叔阿姨們, 回想起那段青澀的歲月. :-)

Since I used to study in the senior high school where my mom taught, lots of my mom's colleagues/friends knew me or were my teachers. I liked seeing and chatting with these interesting people again, reminding me of those old days. :-)


下面是他們美美的婚紗照~

There are some of their nice wedding pictures.

社區大學成果展 Achievement exhibition of the community college

我四月到六月在林口社區大學上課, 今天是學期末的成果發表. 藉由社大我認識了一群有趣的在地人, 活到老學到老的精神處處可見. 我這學期上的是經絡拳班, 我們的成果發表就是上台表演如何拍打以及義診. :-)

In the past three months I learned the accupunch in the Linkou community college for fun. I like it because there are many interesting local people in the class. Today we have the achievement exhibition, presenting the basic punch technique and providing volunteer clinic.

其實學了一學期還是很弱, 比如我幾天前在公司消防演習時因為玩逃生垂降導致肌肉些微拉傷, 整個手臂痛痛怪怪的, 我自己敲打兩天都沒用, 結果一位老師幫我打一下不到15分鐘經絡就全部鬆開, 只能說太神奇了~ 不過要謝謝老師賞了個精英獎給我~ 拿得有點心虛~ :-P

In fact three months arr too short to be good at the accupunch. For example, my arms were hurt by rappelling in the fire and evacuation drill in the office few days ago. I used the punch technique learned, but didn't heal myself. Today one teacher treated it within 15 minutes. Amazing~ By the way, thanks the teacher for awarding me by the Elite Award. :-)

另外要謝謝阿水兄帶我看他們書法社的成果, 並大方贈送他的一幅筆墨給我, 他的書法功力是在社大學了七年的成果~ 利害吧!

Besides, special thanks to a classmate who has learned calligraphy in the college for 7 years. He kindly showed me their club's exhibition and gave me one of his best calligraphy pieces. You can see how beautiful it is.

高中好友來過夜 A visit of the good friends from the senior high school

繼爸媽, Fareh, 麗紋分別來寒舍住過之後, 這個週末四位高中好朋友來住一宿 (原本是五位的, 但神經大條的阿萍居然完全忘了這檔事... 其所遭受之語論撻伐可想而知.. ha ha..). 畢業後大家落腳台灣各地, 但我們六個人每年都在過年的時候一定相約吃早餐, 這次我的新家落成, 大家可是難得過年外的團員呢!

阿昵參加完喜宴從台中前來, 姿樺從台南趕回來, 曉萍在台北當講師剛下課就過來, 雅盈則才從蘇格蘭回來一下飛機還沒回家就先被我們綁架來林口團聚再說. 我這個主人更是從早就開始打理, 先是去家樂福和市場採買"一家子"的食物, 肉, 蔬菜, 水果, 土司, cream cheese, 冰棒...等等, 然後整理一下家裡, 該煮該切的處理一下. 忙完坐在沙發上, 想想自己好像是第一次這樣忙, 畢竟之前一大群朋友或同事來都是下班後叫外賣, 也沒有住宿, 這樣忙到也是挺新鮮的.

在這短短兩天一夜的聚會中我們天南地北的聊, 關心彼此的近況, 而姿樺也帶來以前的照片, 發現我們高一還真是去過蠻多地方玩的, 包括學校的活動, 班上的活動, 和我們自己的活動等等, 那時的我們都還在找自己(這一直都會是進行式吧... :-P), 引用姿樺說的"那時候的我們明明就很年輕, 卻又要裝一副大人樣; 現在的我們是這麼的成熟, 卻又希望自己可以年輕一點", 感謝的是身邊的環境和師長朋友, 我們笑得好開心~ 過去是, 現在也是~ 　

After the stays of my parents, Fareh, and Li-wen, this time four good friends from senior high school came to my place to stay overnight. After the graduation, six of us went to different cities for the studies, but we have kept the tradition of having a breakfast gathering during Chinese New Year each year.

This time it's a very special opportunity for us to get together from everywhere, and not in Tainan. Jenny came from another gathering in Taichung, Tzu-hua came from Tainan, and Hsiao-ping came from Taipei. Nana just landed from Scotland and was picked up directly to Linkou. Absent-minded Ivy totally forgot this event, although the e-mails were flying over just 10 days ago... Since she already came up a plan to make up for this, let's don't blame her too much here... :-P

Although I had few groups of visitors before, we just simply ordered take-outs after the work. This time I started to clean the house, went to the supermarket, and cooked in the morning. I felt like having a big family while buying so much food. It's quite interesting.

During the weekend, we caught up with each other, talked a lot, and laughed a lot. Tzu-hua took some old photos. We played much more than we remembered. There were the school activities, the outings, the summer camps, and the trips arranged by ourselves. We were looking for ourselves. (It's a forever "ing" I think...) The comments Tzu-hua had for these photos were that "We were so young, but pretended to be matured. Now we are matured, but hope we could be younger." ha ha.. thanks for the environment and people around us. We enjoyed our lives so much, and now we do, still. :-)

New Arrival~ Giant Freeda Plus! 新貨到~ 捷安特 Freeda Plus!

今天特別請Renee載我上班, 下班後直接去牽我的Freeda Plus腳踏車! 這台是捷安特專爲女性設計的城市休旅車, 也是我在尋尋覓覓後一眼就愛上的車款.

Today I asked a ride from Renee to the office, so right after the work I could pick up my bike, Freeda Plus! This bike was designed for female by Giant, and I love it at the moment I saw it.


爲了能一車兩用(可以外出騎也可以在家騎), 我決定也買個自行車訓練台. 考量到一般固定後輪的訓練台都很吵可能會吵到鄰居, 我最後選擇的是比較有挑戰性但聲音相對小的滾輪式訓練台Elite Parabolic Rollers. 雖然控制不好會摔出去, 但不害怕的話很快就熟能生巧啦~ :-)

To be able to ride it outside and even inside the apartment, I decided to buy a training station. Considering the noise the normal training station which is bound to the frame of the wheel would make, I bought Elite Parabolic Rollers. Because the wheels can slide freely on the training station, the user might fall out of the rollers, making it more challenging. :-)

阿勃勒花 Golden Shower Tree

這次我們回台南全家團聚算是剛好慶祝端午節, 延後慶祝母親節, 提早慶祝老爹的生日. 一劍三貂. :-P

老爹帶小外甥安安到台南大學和南師實小爬樹屋是每次姊姊一家回來的固定爺孫行程, 這次按照慣例爺孫兩滿頭大汗回來, 說著爬樹屋的點點滴滴, 還有阿勃勒花多美多美, 老爹一直要我去看, 於是我就騎著摩托車載小安安讓他帶阿姨去賞花嚕~

This time my family got together to celebrate the Dragon Festival, the late Mother's Day, and the early Daddy's birthday. ha ha... killed 'three' birds with one stone...

When my sister's family comes back to my parent's home, going to the Tainan University next to my parents' home is always a "must" trip between my dad and my nephew . This time as usual they came back home, sweating and describing the details of climbing the tree house and making new friends. They mentioned how beautiful the Golden Shower Tree was and suggested me to take a look. Therefore taking my excited nephew with me, I ride the motorcycle heading the nice scenery.