How hard can it be?

The wedding DVD has already taken endless hours of our time for the past month or so. I just don't really understand how can a small stupid DVD be so hard to make....yeah...and we are not done with it either....makes me super annoyed when there are obviously things to do other than this DVD.

Annie just called and said she cannot make it back on time before I teach. She wanted to come and watch TV at noon and I have been waiting for her since 11:30, thus not eating lunch properly. It's now 1 in the afternoon....I guess I am just not gonna eat. (Annie...DO NOT hang out with Jeff any more cuz you get infected...or if you do...you won't be able to complain about him being late very soon....) I also don't understand why people can never be on time, but I guess it's a habit and priority kinda thing....

I grew up being nagged by my parents about how being on time is a must, and I thought it's normal that people would be on time due to respect for the other party...and guess what? I probably only meet one person out of 20 who can be on time as promised. Everyone is always the busiest thus others have to wait for them. Maybe it's just the lack of ability to estimate?.... not able to estimate how much time one has to spend on certain things...and not able to estimate how long it takes to get to the next appointment.

Louie talked to his GF about getting married....and there is even an approximate date already...but then he said he is NOT going to propose until at least Aug or Sep. I am not even sure if that is really gonna happen cuz last time he said he didn't feel like getting married before 30 (he is like 26 now, and he said that just last month or so), but now the wedding will be around next spring or so.

It's kinda interesting huh? People don't keep their words nowadays. There are some stuff I just don't really understand why it's so hard to accomplish. It's like I never understood why my stupid visa has been getting me stuck here forever....I mean...how hard can it be to give a honest worker like me a proper status? Well...obviously hard enough to get me married at the end...hahaha....I guess God is training my patience through everything around me. Do I like the process? heck not...but I guess it's not up to me but up to the one upstairs...:p


p.s. Annie did come after all....and we ended up eating toasts with jelly...hahaha...man...at least she got her shoes settled...long story....hehehehe

The "ME" generation

I just learned that people who were born after 70s in TW (1981) are called the "ME" generation. They are quite self centered and deeply affected by the internet. Often times the ME generation is not quipped with high EQ cuz dealing with people is not their forte since they often take themselves or what they do as the most important. Me generation is also not very prompt (on time) meeting tasks given to them, but often blames it on the environment or people around them.

Families who have ME generation at home usually only have 1-2 kids, so the ME kids usually obtain a lot more attention from parents compared to the previous generation (which might have 4-5 kids in a family). The use of internet also lets the ME kids live in their own la la land cuz basically they can avoid interacting with people in reality by doing everything on line.

Me generation is also known to have plenty of excuses. They are quite highly educated cuz it's easier to get into college in TW nowadays), thus giving them enough confidence to quit anything at any time. They can find excuses quickly to get out of their troubles, but at the same time not quite willing to fix mistakes they made.

Well....there are still positive sides of ME generation despite of all those talked above....They are very quick at accepting new things and cultuture. A lot of them are not even raised by parents, but grandparents.....thus giving them this ability to change and get used to the environment fast. (wall-head-grass in a way...) They are creative and very direct when communicating. They are willing to try new things without fully analyzing the situation. (I am not sure if we can call that being brave...?)

Honestly, I think everything depends on how people are raised. In TW the ME generation starts with people born after 1981, but they say in US it's with people born after 1970. Concepts can be vastly diff. with diff. countries and environment, but I think the most direct influence we get is from our families. I have seen people who are already around 50 years old acting exactly like the ME generation described, but I have also seen someone 20 something acting very responsible and mature.

I have met many problematic students coming from problematic families. I feel sorry for kids growing up in messed up families, but all I can do is to listen to them. I hope that does release some of their stresses and frustration. I wonder if my request of asking them to practice adds on more stress for them...hahahahaha.....ok....this is really a weird ending to wrap up what I was writing...The TW term "jump tone" would just fit me so well I tell you....

Teaching at Home...

Gloria came to our apartment to have lesson this morning. I guess teaching at home when the student can already drive by herself is kinda nice. She was even a little early for her lesson so I was drinking my coffee while I was teaching. (Very good to be on time....nice and polite..) The whole lesson totally reminded me of my lessons back in junior high with Mr. Zheng.

I would go to Mr. Zheng's apartment at Kaohsiung if it's vacation time, and he would always be drinking coffee. He was probably the nicest teacher I ever had throughout my whole life, but then I don't think I remember learning anything in particular from him. I guess kids really don't learn much from super nice teachers.

Tiffany cracked me up last week when she told me "You know...I told my mom I am not gonna like the substitute teacher if he/she is nice..." I was like..."huh? why?" She said "cuz I never really learn anything when all they say is 'good...that is nice...ok...beautiful...go on...' " I looked at her...and said "you know...they are not that nice....they are just liars....hahahahahaha..." Tiffany went "hey....I do play something nice occasionally right?" I answered "oh well...you just said you don't like nice teachers, so what am I supposedly to say now?...." :p

Ok...I got side tracked...I did like my nice teacher back in junior high, even though I didn't remember much of the whole learning period. The point here is....teaching at home with coffee at hand is quite nice :)

Never ending exchange....

This is a story about a never ending refrigerator exchange....yes....our blackie died again. Billy found out it was not cold at all this morning, and I double checked when I woke up. So I called "Two" the store owner (yeah....interesting name indeed) and he sent his people to give me a temporary substitute again before the new one arrives. Now we have a white little substitute at home and amazingly I can still make my teaching schedule on time with all this messed up incident. I hope the new one will arrive soon and end this never ending story....

So the moral of the story is....people have to pay for their stupid decisions....I chose to get the refrigerator at the place so I have to stand all the inconveniences....oh well...

Wedding Wedding Wedding...

Everything is about our wedding nowadays....Billy is still working on the DVD which seems like it can never be finished...so I am just sitting here uploading some recent pics on what we did on the preparation of the wedding...

We went to Almansor to check on some stuff....It turned out we need to put 12 people in one table instead of 10. So...this is the diagram of the whole banquet room.

We finished making the programs...thanks for Howard's design. The last part is for Annie to tie all the ribbons for us. Here is pics of the front, back, and some finished ones together....

Jay's wife Charlene was giving us a hair try out on Sun. Most likely my hair will just be curly with some fake extensions. Billy's hair will be ironed out straight so it looks a little longer.

Just a proof.....

Just a proof for what I was saying yesterday....here comes an e-mail from one of my ex-boss who was saying "please let me know if you need any help on your wedding" and even replied with a response card reserving two seats for both ceremony and banquet. (Worse than those who never replied in my opinion)...Read the section below which was copied and pasted directly from the e-mail.

"dear TZ

Congradulation on your wedding. You must have been very busy with the preparation...right?

I am sorry to inform you that I won't be able to attend your wedding because I have to go to

Toronto for 2 weeks with Rachel.... We are going to take Singing Water's course for 2 weeks from July 1~13th. We decided to do that in the end of May.... really sorry for that... you know... I am kind of unpredictable.... But OUR PRESENT WILL BE THERE.... Hahaha... God bless

Evan"

Just a proof....talking about disappointing people in life that you meet, one can hardly get better than this. Like I care a damn about the PRESENT, and he really knows how busy I am without ever talking to me at all.....I would not be inviting if it's not just for being polite. I wonder why I am even bothered, but I sure am....cuz it's LAME!!!!!! After all this is someone who I worked with blood and sweat for and then never even got a note or call saying at least "goodbye" while I was leaving the job. Hui-Ling jie had to treat me lunch to celebrate my leaving while she was only a part time staff. How pathetic.

There is a song called "sorry seems to be the hardest word"...but you know what? It is only the hardest word to say when you really mean it...other times....it's just an easy word to use for get ting out of everything. It's the best word to say in fact, when you make a boo boos and don't really feel like fixing it up.....In that situation then "sorry" is the best one to use for an easy get out.

Leaders who can't even keep their words sure makes a big difference in this world. Healing sessions should really be given to those around them who are hurt, not audiences thousands of miles away so they can be praised. "Unpredictable" sure is a word to use. Again....this is just a proof...a proof only...seriously....ok...fine...with my pissed off emotions in it....but still a proof....People who decide to prove themselves un-trustworthy really don't need that many chances given to them.....The results will be all the same.....no surprises, no lucks...the best way is to stay away....:p

"Promise" is such an over rated term...

"Promise" is something not many people actually keep nowadays. It is becoming more like something only a politician would use. The term is only thrown out when people are not sure if they will fulfill what they say, but at the same time wants a positive reaction from whoever they are talking to. I have had enough over promising incidents recently I think people should just stop using the term so it will still mean what it's supposed to mean in the future.

I guess the biggest disappointment came from a dear friend who said he was coming to attend our wedding but backed out. I am really not a big wedding fan (all my close friends know) and don't really care if people come or not if I am not close with the person. (and believe me I am not that close with many people..) I also do not expect people to come to my wedding from overseas cuz I know how much trouble it is if it's just for an one day event.

What bothers me the most is....everyone I know from Asia gets really excited about the whole wedding thing once they heard it, and then they promise to come...only to cancel out at the end. I am the kinda person who would not mention anything if I don't think I would be able to make it. It's ok to not be able to do certain things...(life just gets out of hand anyway)....but it's not ok to promise doing it when you are not sure that you can.

I have had enough training from my previous bosses that I should of get used to all those unfulfilled promises, but somehow it still pisses me off big time when people try to make a good impression saying things which would never happen in the 1st place. It is simply just a very irresponsible thing to do no matter it is out of good intension or just out of stupidity.

My lawyer had to cancel our original interview preparation appt a day before the appt (at 4:30 for an appt which was set to be 4 next day). They had at least more than three weeks to reschedule it but chose to not know their court appt until the last min. Right....when lawyers are so stupid and lie, I wonder why we can't tell if someone is a real criminal...

Jay will probably have to write a song by himself for our "special music" part of the wedding. Obviously the wedding is not special enough for our adopted baba to write a song on time after few months of chasing him for the song by Jay. I should of just leave that "special music" out like I wanted to if I didn't listen to Jay saying Baba would make it. After all his promised deadlines NEVER happened...I don't know what is there for me not to learn my lessons.

Jay also told me Jacob's band (which I escaped from last year) is probably not gonna have anything put together now. Thinking back about all the promises on making an album and all the "great but not so clear" visions, I am glad this is one thing I didn't remain stupid for. (even though I was stupid on hoping something good would happen with the band for at least 2 years....yeah...dumb...dumb....)

I wonder why ministry leaders often times have to "over promise" so everything looks like it's working for God's kingdom? Honestly....I think all the over promising leaders are the reason why our so called "kingdom" is looking like it is right now in most Chinese Christian communities. People are always looking forward to do "big things" but nobody wants to stay down to earth taking small steps... (and maybe keeping their promises would help?...)

My long time friend promised to be my wedding coordinator whenever I get married....and of course that is not happening....(I doubt she ever took that seriously or even remember the promise anyway...) Instead I am having Er-ge who is so busy traveling and raising his family (currently in China too..) to worry about my wedding more than I do....(even though he is not able to do anything much....but it's the heart that counts..oh...and he loves having meeting with us.....)

Annie also helped a great deal making our invitations and now on programs. Jay is stressed trying to pull the band together on top of that dealing with a missing "special song"... Joelle...poor Joelle....she is so busy preparing for her friend's wedding and yet may need to learn a new song next week....(so she can sing with Jay as a duet...) She even remembered my request of asking her to sing, even though I never ask her again cuz I thought it would be too much trouble for her.

I can go on and on and on to show you how "promise" is such an over rated term nowadays, but I am not sure it is a good idea for me to stay in crappy mood now. I guess there are some people who still take promises seriously, and also people who would do what they say...it's just sad that the proportion is about 2 out of 10 people I know.

I don't know what is up with our education nowadays. People can't even be on time you know? Time and deadline promised do not really mean anything now. Is it just because everyone is so self centered they don't understand people can actually be waiting for them? Let your yes be yes and no be no + mean what you say is such a difficult thing huh? I guess it is apparently....cuz I am saying "promise" is an over rated term...it does not mean all that if you think it does....

What are left to do before the big day?

So the big day is about 2 weeks from now....way too soon....Let's see what are left to do....

1. The studio photos we took are not ready at all. We will for sure not gonna be getting the albums on time I think, but then they said we shall be getting the enlarged one and the scroll end of June.

2. We have to pass the vases to the flower shop for our center pieces and wedding favors. I guess we will do that next Sat since they only want it one week before hand.

3. Billy's ring is not ready either, but there is a "possibility" we can get it on time....oh well...we can always use that stainless steel one...or the one that looks like tire if you look side ways....hahaha...

4. Have to try out for hair with Jay's wife Charlene this Sun. Hopefully we can figure out good hair style for both Billy and me.

5. programs are done with design by Howard. I am not trying to print them with my tiny printer, which is really taking forever. After all programs are printed we will have to cut them, emboss them, and tie them with ribbons. I am of course not suitable for the job cuz our handcraft pro friend Annie will be up to the job.

6. Our DVD with photos are not done yet. Billy did finish the parts with our initial designs and they look pretty cool so far. I think he also finished the part with his childhood pictures. We picked few songs for the DVD already, but still need a few more.

7. I am still picking songs from my collection for the use of background music at the banquet. I am not sure if I will be able to go through everything that is in my i tune library. Oh well...

8. Still have to go through details with the Almansor court. It's interesting they never call even though they said they would. We had to go over to book our own rehearsal time too...bad service in my opinion if we are paying that much money on the place.

9. The band is rehearsing this Sun. I hope things will go smoothly for them. Jay even wanted a 2nd rehearsal next week before the wedding. I guess he can't afford to lose face in front of whole bunch of music related guests. :p

10. Have to list out names of workers and relatives who need flowers so maybe Katty or someone else can help giving them flowers.

11. Need to get mic stands, music stands, projector screen before the day and give them to Jay...Hui-Ling jie will be in charge of the laptop and the projector, also playing the DVD.

12. Need to check with Jay how a CD can be played from the sound system.

13. Need to get the camera from Angela and give it to Tony. That shall be done this Sun if Angela remembers to bring it to rehearsal.

14. Need to pick up family from airport Thurs night and get them to the tux shop for measurement Fri morning...and then pick up their tux Fri night or Sat before the wedding.

15. Need to get Joelle to rehearse with Jay if our "special song" from Baba really does come..

Hum...I am already getting dizzy looking at those above...I guess I will think later so my brain does not burn up right now....

What was true yesterday may not be true today....

Do you still remember how everything seemed so rugged and behind in China just about 10 years ago? Well....that may not be true any more...at least not in China's major cities. A lot of companies nowadays (globally) are trying to set up their factories in China, due to the low costs of materials and manpower. Taiwan is also afraid of China's power globally it dares not to declare independence any more with its political proclaims.

I accidentally ran into this China talk show on cable these few days. Not only the set up is very similar to talk shows here in US and TW, they even talk about similar topics. What entertained me was how they had this girl who went to travel at India, coming back to talk about outdated Indian hygiene & establishments compared to China.

The girl complained about how public restrooms are without doors in India, and they do not have enough public restrooms in general (especially for females). I was thinking "man...that is exactly how China used to be described with people who went there a while back....look at what they are talking about now on TV!!!!". (On top of that, I believe most of the rural areas in China are still like what they are describing in India?)

I have always wonder how people in China are educated and brain washed as they grow up. They all seem to be quite confident with whatever they are talking about in general. Maybe brain wash is not exactly the best term, but most of them are quite self centered interacting with others. I guess that has something to do with how they are only allowed one kid in a household....every person was raised as the king or queen of the family thus has this authority in the voice when they talk.

I saw this u tube clip of fake i phone from a classmate's blog last night. China is really good at stealing every idea from other countries indeed. I think they can totally be the king of all piracies (not sure if that is great or not...most likely not...but then I guess it encourages people to develop newer technologies with faster speed :p )

In the noon talk show I usually watch from TW, they are currently talking about how people from China cheat the tourists from foreign countries. You see how amusing this is? Watching talk shows from both China and TW can indeed be inspiring....You learn how people think completely diff. from diff. cultures.

Oh well..all I have to say is...China is no longer the 3rd world country we used to think. In ten years they may be a lot advanced compared to other countries. (even though I have no idea how cultural raised they will be there are plenty of rural people who don't get enough education at all.) Those unsophisticated and honest Chinese people with traditional values are also diminishing. There are more and more people who would do anything for their own profits since the market is so big. Basically.....what was true and valuable yesterday may no longer be all that today...

Stress, Stress, and Stress

I have noticed myself driving without paying too much attention to the surrounding cuz I have too much on my mind recently. I don't know why my brain starts to feel all packed...packed with change of schedules due to students' summer schedules and our trip, upcoming green card interview preparations, and last but not the least... details of the wedding.

All of a sudden everyone (somehow related to the wedding procedure) is starting to ask if we can meet up to discuss details of the wedding...like it's really not my wedding but theirs. I have to say I am very lucky to have friends who want to help so much and actually takes it seriously . We have already had numerous meetings with Jay and William for example, and both of them have busy traveling schedules. Often times I get pressure from that cuz I am actually not too sure what to discuss with them each meeting.

My wedding gown and evening dress finally arrived so I went to pick them up today. Minjee at the wedding salon got all excited that every measurement she made turned out to be perfect. She was so nice that she even "secretly" asked the manufacturer to make the wedding dress ivory so I would like it more. (The originally color was Champagne thus I was worried it would look too yellowish and dirty compared to the guys' shirts. Minjee secretly asked them to use a diff. material so it would look ivory and it turned out quite nice...)

I was very lucky with my dress picking cuz it only took me around 15 min. Minjee was clicking with me alright cuz she also did everything last min on her own wedding which was last year. (and just imagine she works at wedding salon that sells wedding gowns...very ironic...) I had to take the evening dress to shorten it but then that was not too much trouble. I am now all set with the dresses and shoes, even necklaces.

The next thing that shall be worked on will be the program. We will have to print and make them by hand. I am glad Annie is so ready to help out on that too. I hope grand uncle Joseph will be able to give a sermon short enough on the bible verses we picked. Everything would better be done within 45-60 min before the guests start fainting from the California sun.

I have no idea why I still feel stressed even though it seems like everything will eventually be over with soon. People keep on asking me if I will get cold feet the day before the wedding. What kinda of question is that really? I have been cold feet all my life I tell you...sighs.....maybe all the stress will make me lose another few pounds...which would be ok since the dresses don't feel too loose at this point yet. :p

Influences?

I was chatting with Louie this morning and asked him if he can be one of the scripture readers for our wedding. I also had to show that I cared enough, so I asked about their weekly walk last Wed and got updates from him. It just turned out that my prediction of Louie and Vicky getting married next Spring was not too far off at all despite of how he was all saying he is not ready yet. I guess it's 100 % true and known he is not able to make up his mind and decisions once in a relationship.... They are now looking for the date to be May.

I guess the decision was not that surprising with Vicky wanting to be married all along. I hope this is really a good thing for both of them though, not just about making a decision without really thinking through everything. I hope their families will support the idea since families do play a big role toward a successful marriage.....oh well...really not much we as friends can do other than watching and giving help when Louie needs it.

Pauline is probably also got a guy thing going on. Joelle will possibly be married soon? I joked about being influential few weeks back with Nancy, but didn't expect our wedding photo on MSN icon being influential THIS soon...I wonder if anyone can get hooked up at our wedding too...that would really be interesting....at least the wedding then will be useful in some way. :p

Graduation

We went to Billy's cousin Nina's graduation yesterday. The whole thing was super long which made me wonder why people get so excited to go to graduations. I never attended any of my graduations except the high school one, thus I didn't realize how long winded this kinda things can get...

We left home around 3 to have enough time to find parking for the ceremony which was supposed to be at 5. Traffic was kinda crazy cuz it's weekend, and I think the whole town was trying to get to UCLA. We got there and had plenty of time to sit around before the ceremony, and went through the long winded ceremony with boring thesis names. I guess when one is not in the filed you just basically have no idea at all of what they are talking about....

The whole thing finished when it was already past 7. We took photos and stuff...19 family members showed up. (I didn't count....I think this was the number I heard...) This family is pretty tight cuz I see them going to all kinds of occasions together. I am not sure how long I would be able to stand it if I was born in this family. I was only ok with with my cousins since I was the only kid in the family for 6 years till the other cousin was born. I guess it's all good to see cousins hanging out still when they are in college or even when they are working already.

We had dinner at 8:30 at this Italian family style place called Buca Di Peppo. I remember going there whenever I was leaving the country for tours since most of the time my friends would worry that I might not come back to states again. Those good old days....Anyway....it's a good place to go when you have more than 10 people eating together.

It was past 10:30 when we got home. I have to say it's quite tiring to attend a graduation. I think I saved a lot of people trouble by not going to any of my own graduations. It would also be weird to attend when none of my family members were actually around anyway, even though I did have friends....but then I don't like troubling people...oh well...

Here are few photos I took...1st two are where the ceremony was held...The professors were sitting under the shade.

Here are two photos we took with the graduate Nina. The 1st one is Billy's parents with Nina's mom and 3rd aunt. Oh...and...yeah....Nina is that tall...taller than Billy without high heels....I feel short next to all his female cousins in the family....quite crazy...I once thought I am tall...:p

Why Worry????

Woke up at 7 this morning, for no apparently reasons....I guess I was worried about the refrigerator since yesterday, and on top of that also my dental appt. Honestly speaking, it does not help to worry about those cuz what needs to be done needs to be done...yeah...easier said than done.....

I called the appliance shop around 8:40 and the owner sent someone right away. The repair guy was here before 9:30...very prompt...The repair guy figured out there was no gas (or coolant? for some reason the Vietnamese guys called it gas...) installed in the refrigerator so nothing could get cold. He then installed the coolant and the temperature started to get lower...I think...

It kinda feels weird cuz people from that shop are all quite nice. The repair man was here two times already and he was trying his best to help. The owner of the store looks like a gangster but then it does not feel like he was trying to cheat his customers. The two movers who came yesterday went through a lot of trouble taking off the doors so the refrigerator can fit into the elevator and they were all polite still after all the trouble. It just feels kinda strange I had to get defected products both times....hum....

Anyway....I decided to go into the shop and complained a little to the owner even though it seems to be working now. I also told him the top door does not close tight enough so each time I close the lower door the top would open. I asked him if it's possible for me to get a new one so I would not have to feel all annoyed about it. He agreed and told me he would call the manufacturer and ask them to deliver a new one to exchange with me.

Hopefully sometime next week the new one will be ready to deliver. I am able to use this current one for the meantime since it seems to be working now. I guess this problem is solved half way then even though I had to throw out a lot of food. Nancy was so helpful that she even lent me her apartment key to get food and deposit food when I need to.

My dental appt is less than one hour away now. It just needs to be done and it will be done. I just wonder which tooth will be the next one I need to fix....Oh well...one at a time. Why do I get anxious on things that needs to be done no matter what? That is a good question indeed...and I don't have an answer for that :p

Here is how the TV stand looks like....COMPLETE look...with EVERYTHING on it....

My best luck with refrigeratior ever....

I just have to make a note of this....I just had the "best" luck with refrigerator today. The supposedly bran new refrigerator I bought yesterday was delivered this morning, and it DOES NOT WORK!!!!!!!. For the whole day no cold air was coming out and it's totally not working. I hope this guy who sold it to me would be honest and responsible enough to take care of this tomorrow.....I am absolutely annoyed about this that I had to call home trying to distract myself from it...and honestly speaking I am still feeling irritated after the call.

I have to see the dentist tomorrow too....maybe that is not helping my irritation either...oh well...

Black and Silver....

Our refrigerator really died on us after the repairman trying to save it. He figured it was the motor causing the problem, and would cost like 300 to change the motor so we may as well just get a new refrigerator. I was kinda annoyed about that so I went to the shop and complained to the owner, knowing he would probably just ignore me...

Well...he said I just had a bad luck with a refrigerator which was only one year old when I got it. It happens in life he said, and he was really sorry about that. He was willing to cut me a deal with a new one for 400 without tax and delivery fee if I pay cash. I was thinking....yeah...new one...I am not so sure about that....and I am not so sure if the deal was indeed a deal since he looks like he is from Vietnam (Ok...my racist nature coming out again....I know...it's bad...). Nevertheless I bought it because I was too annoyed of not having a refrigerator to use at home and didn't know where to put everything....oh...and also I liked how he talked....the attitude was quite nice :P

So now I am sitting here waiting for the delivery of our new black refrigerator. In front of me I am looking at the new TV stand Billy just put together last night. Every thing on the TV stand is a combination of black or silver. The vacuum cleaner standing right next to the TV is also black and silver....so are our floor lamp and nice looking trash can....I just suddenly realized I am slowly approaching my dream of having a very futuristic looking living environment. I used to want to make my own place very metallic and cold tone. I think I am half way there but with some nice shades of purple, red, green at home. I think the contrast is good now. :)

Here are some photos of how the TV stand was put together step by step....1st is how the stand looks like with only TV hanging there.

The 1st tier is for one of the speakers, and later on for receivers of the wireless mouse and keyboard....

The 2nd tire is for our DVD and cable stuff....

Here is how it looks like with the computer.....PS II is still sitting somewhere not on the stand yet...

Wed is not a day to sleep in.....

I think I should put in my calendar to wake up early on all Weds. It seems like every Wed there would always be something that wakes me up early, and I did not escape the fate this morning either. Hades started walking around trying to wake me up before 7, and just when he gave up the gardener came to cut the grass. When Billy was about to leave he found out our refrigerator was not working...so I just decided to get up...no point trying so hard after so many distractions..

Our manager San Tiego came to check out the outlets for me. We tried several times and found out the refrigerator is actually the thing causing the switch to jump. Whatever we plug in other than the refrigerator would work just fine... thus San Tiego concluded something must be wrong or short with the fridge.

So I called the repair place where we bought the fridge from. The earliest time they can come is 1, which will probably make me have to cancel one of my students. sighs...Let's hope nothing terribly bad is going on with it....ar....everything just have to break at the same time like mom always says....

Love at 1st sight....

Guests of the TW talk show were talking about "love at 1st sight" today. I guess that is something which is hard for me to understand. I tend to get my eyes caught on someone after meeting few times and then I would continue my "observation phase" for a while. I just don't think anyone can be trusted and understood during a short period of time, certainly not the 1st time.

The comments on "love at 1st sight" from the show was interesting though. One of the guest (朱衛茵, who was married to 李宗盛 before and is a sister of a big shot pastor 朱植深 in TW) stated we often reflect ourselves on to other people we meet. The reason why we are not able to trust and fall in love at 1st sight is because we do not trust ourselves. People who do not trust themselves to pour out all they have and love someone fully usually hesitate to accept love from others. The situation may come from previous hurt and experiences so one learns to watch out and be careful when it comes to any kinda relationships.

I just thought that was interesting and inspiring. Indeed it is very hard for me to step into anything which I have learned with previous failing results even only through other people's experiences....and yet sometimes I would feel "oh well....fxxk it....I would just do it anyway and see what happens...life is short..." Again that shows my contradictory nature toward dealing with anything in life. I can be super analytical, but at the same time very 任性 when making decisions. (Ho-Ching often told me I was the most 任性 friend she ever had....very amusing...)

This show was so interesting I wish I taped it for my friends to watch. (especially those who cannot ever get over relationship issues....believe me there are plenty of them...) I was broadcasting it on line to Nancy while I was watching it. I think both of us had fun. Miss Chu concluded there are 4 things which better match in a relationship, and I guess she learned it from her previous failing marriage. (...which she did not blame completely on the 3rd person alone. She understood there were problems they did not solve before the 3rd person had a chance to interfere. )

Ok.....here are the 4 things. 1. Religion (I guess most people nowadays don't think this is imp, but it does affect how people think in many aspects.) 2. Race (I totally agree cultural differences make a huge difference.....but it does not seem that imp to people nowadays especially in US.) 3. Values (Don't think I need to go into this much.. It's basically everything...) 4. Honestly (ok....matching honestly is very difficult to achieve....tough lesson right here...what to say and what not to say? it's always the question...)

Why would people want to get together and go through all those troubles? Don't ask me....cuz I always wonder about that myself....I still remember asking my parents at younger age "How can you two stand facing the same person everyday throughout your life time?" It's still a big puzzle for me even till today....

I really hate seeing dentists....

My tooth had been bothering me since middle of last week. My gum was all swollen middle of the night one day and I thought I was just having one of those "fire gas big" days. I started to realize I was probably having tooth problem during weekend and thought I would better take care of it before the wedding and our trip.

I had great trouble deciding which dentist to go because of the insurance plan from Billy's company. I ended up going to this DDS called Thomas Wu because he was the only one who I was able to find some rating and comments on line from the list. Last night I only slept three hours due to the fact I decided to go see a dentist this morning. I was just so stressed over this.

I really don't know why I hate dentists so much....maybe because I have terrible teeth ever since I was a kid. Past experience really piled up to an extend that I would choose not to see any dentist unless I am already in pain...and yes....that is often too late....

It turned out to be the tooth that is hurting needs root canal, and the weird thing is I thought that was already done to the tooth back in TW. Of course the doc said it was not done properly and not all nerves were pulled out, and it seems like that is always the case when something is done in TW....very interesting indeed....

The cost of doing root canal for one tooth is 550 and the cost to crown it is 600. Can you imagine that is how much a crappy tooth would cost? I wonder how much will the insurance cover....hopefully at least half of that. I wonder how many of my other teeth are also messed up. It will probably take me several months to fix them all.

I only got my 1st treatment today and hopefully by next Mon the whole process before crowning can be done. The tooth is hurting even more than before because of the root canal procedure. I am really getting annoyed about this. I still hate seeing dentists even though the doc got all excited knowing I am a musician and can't stop chatting with me cuz he plays violin too...(I don't know how he expects me to answer while he was working on my tooth...)

What do we need to have teeth so they can always get cavities? (I brushed my teeth too...and I didn't eat so many candies when I was a kid....why? why? why?) Man I wish I can just pull the tooth out.....I HATE SEEING DENTISTS!!!!!!!

Doesn't feel like Sat....

Today is Sat, and it does not feel like Sat cuz everything was actually quite relaxing. We went to Macy's to get a few things. Billy finally got his "silver technology" sandals from Kenneth Cole and they look quite comfy. I got my make up remover in preparation for the wedding. I had enough pain trying to clean up my face after the studio shots I have to make sure it does not happen again.

We watched Ocean's 13 with Billy's parents. The movie was only ok but then I got to see both Andy Garcia and Al Pacino in the movie. I think Al is really getting too old for me, but Andy Garcia is still very cute (even though bigger now, the eyes are still charming.....). I think this movie is getting kinda boring since it's basically the same kinda story for the 3rd time now.

After movie Billy's parents went to eat and we were going home cuz I was not hungry at all. Out of the blue Billy suggested in going to Ralph's and see if we can find anything to make food at home. Yeah....like....I can cook....

We got 70+ dollar worth of food and played around with the food after we got home. Here are the photos....

The 1st one is salad Billy mixed. The color is quite nice huh? Billy used ranch dressing and I had my raspberry vinaigrette dressing. I like my raspberry dressing cuz of its sweet and yet not too sweet taste. 2nd photo is spaghetti sauce I cooked with ground beef, mushrooms and canned tomato sauce. It looks like Ma-Po-tofu to me. The third one is corn soup I cooked with a can of cream corn and milk + eggs. The 4th pic is how the spaghetti looks like on our bar with the wine and our bar stools.

Billy also cooked steak with our oven. There looks like neon light inside of the oven huh? cool color right there. So you see how much food we came up with? That is just for the 2 of us....kinda crazy. Of course we didn't finish everything but I am still very stuffed right now. (About 2 hours after we ate....) I totally admire people who "like" cooking. I wonder how many of the moms actually enjoy doing it?

Oh....by the way...we also got our wedding rehearsal time set up with Almansor. We were lucky enough to book our time Sat at 10 in the morning. We will be able to rehearse at the venue and have a lunch at uncle Frank's afterwards....everything worked out well :)

On Motives, Actions, Character, Piety, Virtues....

I was reading the story of Balaam this morning, and on the "life lesson" section all of those listed above were discussed. I thought it is so true that actions don't always represent one's motive, and motive does not always present well with one's action. It is indeed very hard to tell what is the motive behind one's actions at times....but God knows.

Lewis Smedes says character is what we truly are, compared to what we seem to be. I guess we can "seem to be" many things and yet all of those are pretended. Piety is our relationship with God where as character is the quality of each person. I guess everything is all inter-related. Relationship with anyone can always be pretended but then character really shows if one observes long enough.

"Virtue" means "excellence" in ancient Greek. It is interesting to learn the ancient Greeks had four cardinal virtues--discernment, courage, temperance, and justice. Those virtues can also help defining one's character.

"Discernment" is imp cuz unless you can tell what is going on around you with situations, you will always make wrong decisions. Courage is the power to do well under tough conditions. "It is having the character to do well when things are tempting" says Smedes. "Temperance" means being in charge of one's own life. "To manage, to control, to be able to orchestrate all the stuff that is going on inside" is basically what temperance lets one do. "Justice" is one's determination to be fair always, not depending who you are dealing with.

It's obvious finding someone with noble characters is very difficult if you really think about what the virtues are. I guess the ancient Greeks were quite wise, yeah?

There are still good people around who are faithful

Dorcas wrote me an e-mail today. She moved back to HK since 2006 I think....kinda miss her even though I did not hang out with her much except through tours. She was in a tour with Sammi (鄭秀文) recently and shared with me the pictures. I did not know Sammi is a Christian and thought she just recently converted....but Dorcas told me otherwise. Here is what she wrote me after I asked her....

"According to her sharing, she converted some 10 yrs ago but
was not really a committed Christian until these couple of years
going thru some difficult times in life, she has a much closer
walk with the Lord and studying bible with a group of Christian
artists. She sang "I will follow Him" in concert and she shared
if the Him is the "Lord" or "上帝" then He is the one that gives
me the strength and courage to move on. She did not "bai bai"
during the Chinese incense burning ritual and I told her I prayed
for her on every show even we don't bai bai. She said she won't
bai bai because she's a Christian and we both give thanks to the
Lord back stage and on the celebration dinner too even in front
of many non-Christian which is quite amazing. However, she does
need a lot of prayer to support her especially when she is so famous
in Hong Kong, there is lots of attack from the other side of the spirit.
One day during rehearsal while she was going to sing "I will follow him"
on a very high stage, she almost fell off the stage due to some
technical problem and we all prayed very hard that God will protect her
and save her from this accident. She's ok now, only left some bruise on
her upper arm.

Anyway, the 8 shows was really fun.

Dorcas"

I guess through all those crappy ministry experiences I still got to meet some cool people. There are still honest and faithful musicians and artists who do what they do and remain a good servant of God through their career.

I guess being a good Christian is more a down to earth everyday kinda thing rather then putting up "big and holy" shows for people. I totally appreciates those who can come down from the stage and do the most ordinary things helping out those in need. I think it's much better than trying to climb up the stage and does things which will not last long other then fulfilling one's desire of fame.

Anyway...I was glad to hear from Dorcas and hopefully she will be able to come to the wedding after their shows with Sammi.

Very considerate God....

Just want to make a note that God has been quite nice to me this week. I was expecting to teach 4 students both on Tue and today, but feeling very annoyed about it. (those two days' schedule happened because of the kids' end of school schedules...) However, both on Tue and today I had one student canceling so I only have to teach three per day. I guess it's really not that big of a difference but due to the combination of students each day I really feel much better teaching one less. Yeah...I can get home by 6 today...feeling great about that...:)

Freaked out....

I was totally worried about the car re-inspection this morning I didn't sleep much last night. I woke up around 7 and then Hades kept on trying to wake me up while I try to sleep again cuz I woke him up. I was expecting for the inspection guy to come around 8 like last time but he didn't show up until 10ish.

I even had a nightmare about the whole inspection process, which really amused me when I woke up. In the dream I passed the re-inspection in no time, but while I was trying to back the car out of garage I ran into the wall and totally destroyed the bumper. I was thinking (in the dream) "oh well...I will just tell Leo to put a new bumper on since the inspection is already done anyway...but it sucks cuz the bumper will cost another 500..."

I guess I was getting all anxious on returning the leased car it shows even in my dream. When I saw the inspection guy this morning I kinda freaked out even though I remained very calm on the surface. I was thinking....what the....cuz he is a black guy just like it was in my dream!!!!! I passed the re-inspection in like 2 min since I told him what was wrong before and showed him the report. I decided not to touch the car afterwards so no crashing would happen like what was in the dream....

I know...I kniw...this is quite entertaining....but my neck and shoulders are really tight now because of all the stress and lack of sleep. I really have weird reactions to some stupid things in life apparently. I ended up finishing my laundry cuz I had so much time left in the morning, and I even went to the lawyer to check up on stuff we need for the interview.

I didn't even know we will actually have an attorney going to the interview with us. I guess the interview preparation will be kinda interesting since we will have to sit down and get prepared by an attorney I never met before. The preparation appoitment is now set to be 22nd of June, about two weeks before our wedding....looks like everything will be happening in the months of June and July...sighs....need to think of some ways to relax myself....

What do you mean? I think ALL THE TIME!!!!

I was doing this test from a magazine the other day, and one of the question was "Do you think about weird things when you are half asleep at night?" (or something like that....can't remember the exact wording...) I just thought about that today before I opened up my blog....I am pretty sure I think about weird stuff all the time that is why I always end up writing stuff which are kinda scattered...

I have been watching two talk shows from TW recently. Both of them touch diff. topics everyday so I can stay in tact with whatever is going on with TW. (thanks to our cable service...) What I found interesting is how everyone tries to talk with English words inserted in their sentences. What amuses me even more is how the words they use are often not pronounced correctly. I guess Asian people just love the western world. Majority of the Asian countries are trying to copy Japan which even has a set of characters used for terms from foreign countries.

The talk show I am watching right now is hosted by 沈春華. It's quite amazing how she started as a news host when I was a kid and went on to do other programs till today. In the today they are teaching people how to save money when shopping. There are tips given for buying food and stuff at traditional markets, supermarkets, and other types of shops. I think Clement would really love these tips cuz he is such a stingy kid. I often wonder how we happened to have this kinda kid in the family...hahaha....but it's better than wasting money for sure.

Talking about families...Tiffany was telling me about her dad and family in lesson yesterday again. It was quite sad she even used the word "axx hole" to describe her dad even though later she tried to explain she didn't mean that in a super negative way. (come on...if you have to use that word, then you mean it no matter how serious or not serious you are....)

I guess no matter how sweet a kid is, he/she can still get hurt and turn bitter if they grow up being left out all the time. It's also interesting to see how kids interact with family very differently from how they interact with friends and others. What I notice from kids who have problematic families is that they try very hard to please and blend into crowds, just so they can feel accepted. All I can say is that there are always reasons behind everything.....

Ok...I just jumped through three diff. topics already...gonna take a hot bath and relax my muscle now. The cloudy weather is not helping my muscles... I wonder if it's gonna rain or it's because I am thinking about my students for today....:p

Happiness?

I was reading something and came across to this info...."As Abraham Lincoln once said, 'Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be.' " I wonder how he made up his mind to be since rumor has it Lincoln had depression. I guess people who try to persuade others to be happy are not exactly persuasive sometimes. It is very interesting how everyone is talking about how to stay happy nowadays. I often doubt who is really able to define the term happiness anyway?

The article I was reading also said "One route to more happiness is called 'flow,' an engrossing state that comes during creative or playful activity, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has found. Athletes, musicians, writers, gamers, and religious adherents know the feeling. It comes less from what you're doing than from how you do it."

I wonder if that is why most musicians and those included above are usually addicted to work. Is it because they are happy doing what they do? or is it because they are addicted to the flow cuz it stops them from thinking or being unhappy? Is that why once the flow is interrupted (losing job or motivations sort to speak) they would feel doomed?

Just some weird thoughts to throw in since it's Mon. It's kinda weird the temperature is high while the sky feels a little cloudy. That almost reminds me of summer days in TW with the typhoons and all. I have one more hour before I have to start my teaching schedule for the week....better enjoy it now before the 1st three hours of teaching of this week starts. :p

Teaching on Sun...

Teaching on Sun is such a drag, and usually Tiff is the only person who makes me do that. (Or maybe I should say most of the time her mom makes me do that...) I totally over slept this morning so when I woke up it was 9:45 already. I washed up and drove to Tiff's house in 15 min. I was actually on time!!! I guess people who are usually prompt just tend to stay on time no matter what.

Billy went back to his church this morning. He said he wanted to check and confirm the names of people coming to our wedding, but I think he just wants to go back and visit. He finally found a chance to visit since we went to Faith last night. He said he would be done around 11:30 and I knew that was not gonna happen...so that is why I am sitting here writing my blog + drinking my coffee. Oh well...attachment issues which I have don't have a say about.

The flowers we got yesterday are all opening way to wide according to my preference now. I guess flowers are supposed to open up, but I just like the ones that don't go all the way. I think Roses look the best when they are only open slightly. I wonder if that means I do not want life to go all the way to the end....Ok...maybe I am just thinking too much....

We went to order our "square" wedding cake too. I took a very blurry pic of their sample photo so that I can show our flower shop how to decorate the cake. Here is the photo....
The cake will have to feed around 280 people, and we pay for the icing and the ribbon on the cake which was around 105? The cost of the cake is actually included in the banquet charge or else it would be 2 per person if we order by ourself. I think it's crazy to pay 560 for a cake if we do have to buy it ourself... Once again, I am in awe of how much people waste on weddings.

We bought a very cool vacuum cleaner at Fry's. The one I wanted to get before was no longer there so I ended up picking a Panasonic one which I think is a lot cooler. This machine has the "dust detction" function which would adjust the suction power according to how dirty your carpet is. The cleaner is also bagless so it would be easier to clean and won't cost anything for dust bags. I am kinda excited about this new toy we got....at least it's not a waste of money cuz we will be using it for a long time (hopefully).

Cake tasting before dinner was kinda interesting. We decided to have three diff. types of cake and fillings for the three tiers of cake we have. The 1st tier will be rum with cream, 2nd tier marble raspberry, third with mocha something. I can't remember the exact combination so I am just writing whatever I remember....I wonder if the guests will actualy notice they are eating diff. cakes...most likely not...:p

I think Billy is addicted to the vacuum cleaner cuz he has been stuck in the room cleaning for more than 10 min now. I told him we should just do an approx. cleaning for the 1st round and in the future go deeper so the light on the machine will stay green....but it seems like he wants it green right now. I guess I married a very persistent guy indeed. (Or maybe he just likes new toys like I do too? cuz now he is cleaning the nails he cut off with the vacuum too...hahaha)

Long Saturday....

I think we did a lot of things today. I got a call from the flower shop in the morning and went to pick up the center piece sample before we went to pick up my car. The flowers didn't exactly turn out to be how I would like it to be, but then I guess it's not that easy to get things perfect with our test tubes, vase, and arrangement. Anyway....it's not too bad if you look at it long enough, and I think it would still be special enough for each person to get their own flower and test tube after the dinner. Here is the photo....

Leo did a pretty good job repairing that scratch on my car door. The only problem is that he gave me a free car wash ..and because of that some minor things which were covered by dust became more obvious. I hope the inspection guy coming on Wed won't give me any trouble and find extra problems....really have to pray for the re-inspection to go smooth or else this repair at Leo's would not be worth it.

We went to Er-ge's place to go through wedding program and run down of the banquet. He seemed to be pretty satisfied with our preparation so far. I guess we will have to fine tune some details but at least we are close to being finished...one more month and I will be free from all of these troubles.....oh...but then there is the interview...sighs..

Ikea was our next stop. We got 28 vases (The ones you see in the photo) cuz by now we have more than 28 guests. It was a big task transporting all the vases cuz Ikea does not provide any packaging with the stuff you buy. We had to steal one of their half cut box on display to successfully get everything back home.

We had dinner around 5 cuz church service is at 6:30. This week we have to go to church Sat night due to my student's competition tomorrow morning. I think this is probably only my 1st or 2nd hamburger of the year. It's hard to imagine how I used to eat Burger king almost everyday while I was living close to USC...just because I was too lazy to cook and didn't want to think about where to go for food. I guess I just had too many hamburgers back then so I don't feel the need to eat those any more when I don't have to. (but then it does not bother me if I have to either...I guess I am really not that picky on food except the stuff I absolutely don't touch)

Pastor Jim was talking about how families and homes should be heaven on earth, and also a haven for everyone. He mentioned how his own family is always the 1st priority for him, even before ministry. He said nobody would be able to manage anything if he cannot even manage his own family. I could not amen with him more. I guess I was educated to think the same way, and I have seen the opposite and know the opposite does not work for me. I just don't think people who don't take care of their families are good testimonies.

I was lucky enough to grow up with parents who put us in the 1st place. I am sorry for those who did not get the same treatment in their families. (I know it's the majority of people nowadays...) I hope there are more people who will take their families seriously in the future, cuz that is probably the only way we can see heaven on earth indeed. I guess everything that we want it to work in life needs our efforts in it....

Leo the bodyshop guy

I dropped my car off at the body shop this morning and Leo was able to cut me a good deal again. Instead of the 210 I would have to pay Nissan for repairing that small scratch, Leo is gonna only charge me 100 cash. I hope this will satisfy the re-inspection guy next Wed.

Mexicans are indeed interesting....They are here in the states for a good reason if you are dealing with honest ones. It's easy to do business with them and usually much cheaper. Hopefully the car will really be ready by tomorrow so I won't have to trouble people to give me rides.

Annie is having her Fri off again so she is my driver for the day. She is very bored at home because of her ankle and gets very annoyed because of her mom. She is telling me this and that in her life while the TV is on. I just thought it's funny how I am not very good with listening to two things at one time.

I often wonder how people keep on talking on the phone when someone else next to them are talking loudly as well. I guess we are just trained in the family to shut up while someone is on the phone or in a conversation. I thought it's normal people would know to do that but then noticed not a lot of people pay attention to it.

Anyway...gonna go get some tix later. Hopefully traffic won't be too bad then....