I was driving around for no particular purpose today since I was not able to sleep in + didn't exactly know how to sooth myself for the day. This CD by Alison Crockett was playing in my car...not sure if I was really listening, but then this song called "Everything is beautiful" caught my attention. It's really not the 1st time the song got to me, but today it just seems more obvious than ever. I tried to look for the lyrics on line but was not able to find it since she is not a big shot yet + the CD is fairly new. After looking for the whole afternoon I decided to just listen and write down the lyrics by myself even though I think some stuff doesn't sound right with the grammar. So here is the lyrics....
Everything is beautiful when there is nothing going on.
But is everything as beautiful when things are going wrong?
Cuz I found that blessings...not just given to the sweet and strong...They are given to everyone.
Everything seems wonderful when you feel like home.
But is everything as wonderful when you are all alone?
Cuz I found that living life…ain’t about the bling you got at home…It’s about what you got in your heart.
It’s time to live a life just like the sun is always out even when there is rain.
Let’s sober up our eyes and see the beauty in the lives even when there is pain.
Everything is marvelous when you got everything.
But is everything as marvelous when there’s nothing to your name?
Cuz I found that true worth…doesn’t come from your name or your birth…but it comes form the life you have earned.
Everything seems beautiful, wonderful, marvelous, when you got it all.
But is everything as beautiful, wonderful, marvelous, when you are in free fall?
Cuz I found each day we live…has its own special moment…You just got to sing for it.
It’s time to live a life just like the sun is always out even when there is rain.
Let’s sober up our eyes and see the beauty in the lives even when there is pain. (x2)
I want to....really....but my heart is feeling weak and weary. Maybe I need some cardiac stimulant?
Monday, March 31, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Regarding music ???
I was planning to sleep in today cuz teaching schedule starts earlier in the afternoon for Fridays. My plan got destroyed when a friend called to ask me where to find the original version of a translated song by the Christian band Joshua. I have to say....she didn't exactly find the best person to ask since I rarely listen to Christian songs. The best suggestion I could offer was for her to look up info from the Joshua website and see if she can find the original song writers from their power point.
So the incident really got me thinking about why I don't really listen to Christian songs. Well...I guess 1st of all I get bored with same lyrics overly used by majority of Christian song writers, and I get tired of the typical worship music styles. 2nd of all....I believe worship is really not just music on the stage, but in everything we do.....which includes appreciating all kinds of music. To be honest here, Christian music nowadays really does not lead the trend in music thus makes me feel it's pointless to follow what is going on in that particular category.
It's really too bad cuz "once upon the time" Christian music was the pioneer/ dominant type of music in history. Bach, Handel, Mozart and all those famous classical composers all wrote for the God. Black gospel, soul music once lead the trend....even rock song writers wrote about God...but nowadays Christian music is most of the time boring and repetitive....even the type of voice used in most Christian albums sound similar.....
Anyway....I guess musical trend is determined by the majority of listeners. Having that said....it takes time to make changes. I am just not gonna think about it now since I won't be able to make many changes myself. :p
So the incident really got me thinking about why I don't really listen to Christian songs. Well...I guess 1st of all I get bored with same lyrics overly used by majority of Christian song writers, and I get tired of the typical worship music styles. 2nd of all....I believe worship is really not just music on the stage, but in everything we do.....which includes appreciating all kinds of music. To be honest here, Christian music nowadays really does not lead the trend in music thus makes me feel it's pointless to follow what is going on in that particular category.
It's really too bad cuz "once upon the time" Christian music was the pioneer/ dominant type of music in history. Bach, Handel, Mozart and all those famous classical composers all wrote for the God. Black gospel, soul music once lead the trend....even rock song writers wrote about God...but nowadays Christian music is most of the time boring and repetitive....even the type of voice used in most Christian albums sound similar.....
Anyway....I guess musical trend is determined by the majority of listeners. Having that said....it takes time to make changes. I am just not gonna think about it now since I won't be able to make many changes myself. :p
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Freaking expensive high school that is....
Since so many of my high school classmates are getting on facebook, I noticed some of them became fans of the group called "Interlochen Center of the Arts". I got a little curious and went on the website to check out what is diff. nowadays. Well...about 1/3 of the music faculties are still there. I think they probably want to spend the rest of their lives in Michigan. My piano accompanist is now married with my violin teacher's ex-husband. (I think...since the last name is the same now....) I guess everything can change.....
From the application section the school encouraged people NOT TO BE DISCOURAGED at all by the tuition, and mentioned the fee is about 3000-5000 lower than most of the boarding schools across the nation. I was really entertained by that cuz I thought my high school was never famous for being cheap on tuition. I then clicked into the tuition + Fees page, and found out it takes about 40000 to go to the school....and that....does not include personal spendings throughout the year....
So....I was thinking....I will probably never be able to provide a kid with that kinda of education...I don't even freaking make half of the tuition required, and nobody knows if my kid would be talented enough to get any scholarship at all. It sure would suck if I cannot provide my own kid whatever I had when I was a kid. I guess it's not all fortunate to have too much through childhood? Oh well....life....
From the application section the school encouraged people NOT TO BE DISCOURAGED at all by the tuition, and mentioned the fee is about 3000-5000 lower than most of the boarding schools across the nation. I was really entertained by that cuz I thought my high school was never famous for being cheap on tuition. I then clicked into the tuition + Fees page, and found out it takes about 40000 to go to the school....and that....does not include personal spendings throughout the year....
So....I was thinking....I will probably never be able to provide a kid with that kinda of education...I don't even freaking make half of the tuition required, and nobody knows if my kid would be talented enough to get any scholarship at all. It sure would suck if I cannot provide my own kid whatever I had when I was a kid. I guess it's not all fortunate to have too much through childhood? Oh well....life....
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
啦哩啦雜
Well....stressful weekend and that is about all I want to say about it. Concert was fine but weather was super hot. My violin is falling into pieces and the repair guy is back to TW till Oct..yeah....great...Just two pictures to show I really played and there were quite a number of people attending....I think I was just staring at the music before the concert started or something.
I was finally able to sleep a little better last night after so many sleepless nights. Had a weird dream where I have a new house at TW, and in the house there was this room with nice view where I put a keyboard right next to the windows. I wonder what that means....maybe I should buy a house in TW instead of here? That would sure be interesting...
Our new neighbors were extremely loud playing some dance music with heavy beats in the morning.... so I was woken up by that. I asked Santiego if he can nicely have a word with them about that, but he didn't want to get in the trouble. I wonder if that is a part of manager's duty cuz I thought it would be. I guess that is also why when he complains about people smoking in the elevator he does not do anything about it, and those damn kids are still skateboarding in the garage when there says no skateboarding on the wall.
It's interesting how men nowadays just cannot voice out what is imp and they all have to be the nicest person on earth so nothing gets done....and yet....it's not like they really don't have any preferrences. You still hear them complain and say things behind people's backs, but it;s just that NOTHING gets done. That reminds me of the newly elected president in TW. Ok...I know...I am just not into guys with pretty faces who cannot even be sure what they really want to tell others. So I told Santiego to come and fix our facets even though I know he will take forever to come. I think it's just a Mexican kinda thing....time is really not imp to them. Anyway, kinda have to get the rent we paid worth it by asking the things we pay money for to be maintained I guess?
I went to talk to the neighbors since manager cannot/does not want to do it. I think our new neighbors are a semi-old couple from HK (or somewhere they speak Cantonese) with some younger people in the house. The wife didn't really understand a word I said so she asked me to talk in Chinese. Apparently she was probably too deaf to hear how loud the music was. I just told her it's the repeating bass beats that really gets through the wall so maybe just turn that down a little....and it was taken care of.
Lesson of the day? #1. When you want something done, you find ways to get it done. Don't count on others too much, cuz it may take forever for things to get done and often times they don't really want to do it anyway. #2. What you hear and see may not be what others hear or see. People are good at not hearing and seeing stuff nowadays cuz it's easier to leave things that way. As long as they can survive, they are fine with it. #3. Pets really get to act like their masters. Hades hated the dance beats and refused to sleep on the bed right after he heard the loud music.
P.S. Later on when Santiego came to fix our facets he told me his neighbors were very loud last weekend so someone called him and he went to talk to them. I guess it just depends on his mood then....and also how long he has to walk to get it done. What can I say? Everything is all about timing I guess....
I was finally able to sleep a little better last night after so many sleepless nights. Had a weird dream where I have a new house at TW, and in the house there was this room with nice view where I put a keyboard right next to the windows. I wonder what that means....maybe I should buy a house in TW instead of here? That would sure be interesting...
Our new neighbors were extremely loud playing some dance music with heavy beats in the morning.... so I was woken up by that. I asked Santiego if he can nicely have a word with them about that, but he didn't want to get in the trouble. I wonder if that is a part of manager's duty cuz I thought it would be. I guess that is also why when he complains about people smoking in the elevator he does not do anything about it, and those damn kids are still skateboarding in the garage when there says no skateboarding on the wall.
It's interesting how men nowadays just cannot voice out what is imp and they all have to be the nicest person on earth so nothing gets done....and yet....it's not like they really don't have any preferrences. You still hear them complain and say things behind people's backs, but it;s just that NOTHING gets done. That reminds me of the newly elected president in TW. Ok...I know...I am just not into guys with pretty faces who cannot even be sure what they really want to tell others. So I told Santiego to come and fix our facets even though I know he will take forever to come. I think it's just a Mexican kinda thing....time is really not imp to them. Anyway, kinda have to get the rent we paid worth it by asking the things we pay money for to be maintained I guess?
I went to talk to the neighbors since manager cannot/does not want to do it. I think our new neighbors are a semi-old couple from HK (or somewhere they speak Cantonese) with some younger people in the house. The wife didn't really understand a word I said so she asked me to talk in Chinese. Apparently she was probably too deaf to hear how loud the music was. I just told her it's the repeating bass beats that really gets through the wall so maybe just turn that down a little....and it was taken care of.
Lesson of the day? #1. When you want something done, you find ways to get it done. Don't count on others too much, cuz it may take forever for things to get done and often times they don't really want to do it anyway. #2. What you hear and see may not be what others hear or see. People are good at not hearing and seeing stuff nowadays cuz it's easier to leave things that way. As long as they can survive, they are fine with it. #3. Pets really get to act like their masters. Hades hated the dance beats and refused to sleep on the bed right after he heard the loud music.
P.S. Later on when Santiego came to fix our facets he told me his neighbors were very loud last weekend so someone called him and he went to talk to them. I guess it just depends on his mood then....and also how long he has to walk to get it done. What can I say? Everything is all about timing I guess....
Friday, March 21, 2008
Wisdom?
I finally finished reading Psalms and now is on Proverbs for my daily reading. In the material I was reading, there was this interesting definition given on wisdom by Charles Swindoll. He said wisdom is "the God given ability to see life with rare objectivity and to handle life with rare stability". Now....how deep is that?
It sometimes becomes amusing when I watch people "subjectively" think how objective they are. It's truly hard to make people use their brains and think in this age. People are so full of information collected from the internet and media, which did not get filtered or corrected whatsoever. Everyone tends to think whatever one has in the self-centered brain must be the ultimate truth to issues. Objectivity? very hard to obtain indeed.....
Stability gets even more rare in this fast pace world. Economy can collapse any time, marriages can be damaged by various means, friendships vanished with diff. reasons, and even new religions appear in this world nowadays!!! I guess to stay faithful on people/things gets harder and harder everyday, and nothing really stays unless it's "God-given?" Yes....there is doubt in me, and yet God must of put some weird stuff in me so I am still hanging around?
To handle life with stability is for sure not my forte. I get bored with almost everything when I do it long enough. I vaguely remember writing a self description somewhere as "the only thing that does not change about me is how I change all the time". Does that count as being stable? since the trend has been quite consistent?
Wisdom.....surely something that is difficult to own. Did King Solomon live better and happier when he became the wisest person on earth? hahaha....you know the answer if you read the bible....
It sometimes becomes amusing when I watch people "subjectively" think how objective they are. It's truly hard to make people use their brains and think in this age. People are so full of information collected from the internet and media, which did not get filtered or corrected whatsoever. Everyone tends to think whatever one has in the self-centered brain must be the ultimate truth to issues. Objectivity? very hard to obtain indeed.....
Stability gets even more rare in this fast pace world. Economy can collapse any time, marriages can be damaged by various means, friendships vanished with diff. reasons, and even new religions appear in this world nowadays!!! I guess to stay faithful on people/things gets harder and harder everyday, and nothing really stays unless it's "God-given?" Yes....there is doubt in me, and yet God must of put some weird stuff in me so I am still hanging around?
To handle life with stability is for sure not my forte. I get bored with almost everything when I do it long enough. I vaguely remember writing a self description somewhere as "the only thing that does not change about me is how I change all the time". Does that count as being stable? since the trend has been quite consistent?
Wisdom.....surely something that is difficult to own. Did King Solomon live better and happier when he became the wisest person on earth? hahaha....you know the answer if you read the bible....
Thursday, March 20, 2008
What do you see ?
I was reading an article written by Ivan with his political views...and I have to say I was quite impressed with his logics whenever it comes to issues he is interested in. It almost felt like the writing style and the way he presents his thoughts can change completely compared to his normal everyday writings. I have a weird bro indeed....not really sure why he was all into politics ever since he was in elementary school....hum....(but I guess I am still quite proud of him to some extend :p)
I have to admit racial issues are very difficult to deal with. You can never really explain your points of view to people who just didn't grow up in the same environment. I don't even bother to communicate with Wai-Sheng people if I don't have to....(just because I basically know what they think and I don't see a point trying to convince them of anything.) You rarely find people who are willing to dig deep and understand the opponent's thinking / culture based on backgrounds which they don't agree with....(and seriously that is why it gets tiring/irritating when people discuss things which they don't really have a thorough investigation/understanding with.) I guess media nowadays play a big role of mixing/messing with information as well. Nobody is truly sure of anything if you ask for my opinion....
My student's parent was asking me if the Green would at least win in the south. (How would I know really?) She told me many people from her fellowship went back to TW just to vote. I was amused about it cuz it's coming from the Taiwanese congregation, and I couldn't help wonder how many of the Wai-sheng people went back to vote for the blue as well. I seriously don't get people who do not consider their own country a country. I don't know why they would not just move back to China since China seems to welcome them nicely....(If China really means what they say that is...) If returning to the roots means so much then I guess all of them should immigrate back to China. If a leader of one country considers his own country a part of greater authority, then why does he even bother to get elected as the president? so he can show his pretty face whenever there is a conference?
I guess the blue will still win this time since most of the TW people cannot look beyond the 8 years which all people had to suffer due to the drastic change in political parties. It's just human to only see things that is right in front of us. After all most of us can't even think beyond lunch....When the economy is bad, everything is bad....not sure how many people can look at it as an opportunity to invest when everything is at the bottom...even when Pastor Jim is talking about it every Sun. We are just humans...kinda depressing but nonetheless true.....
I have to admit racial issues are very difficult to deal with. You can never really explain your points of view to people who just didn't grow up in the same environment. I don't even bother to communicate with Wai-Sheng people if I don't have to....(just because I basically know what they think and I don't see a point trying to convince them of anything.) You rarely find people who are willing to dig deep and understand the opponent's thinking / culture based on backgrounds which they don't agree with....(and seriously that is why it gets tiring/irritating when people discuss things which they don't really have a thorough investigation/understanding with.) I guess media nowadays play a big role of mixing/messing with information as well. Nobody is truly sure of anything if you ask for my opinion....
My student's parent was asking me if the Green would at least win in the south. (How would I know really?) She told me many people from her fellowship went back to TW just to vote. I was amused about it cuz it's coming from the Taiwanese congregation, and I couldn't help wonder how many of the Wai-sheng people went back to vote for the blue as well. I seriously don't get people who do not consider their own country a country. I don't know why they would not just move back to China since China seems to welcome them nicely....(If China really means what they say that is...) If returning to the roots means so much then I guess all of them should immigrate back to China. If a leader of one country considers his own country a part of greater authority, then why does he even bother to get elected as the president? so he can show his pretty face whenever there is a conference?
I guess the blue will still win this time since most of the TW people cannot look beyond the 8 years which all people had to suffer due to the drastic change in political parties. It's just human to only see things that is right in front of us. After all most of us can't even think beyond lunch....When the economy is bad, everything is bad....not sure how many people can look at it as an opportunity to invest when everything is at the bottom...even when Pastor Jim is talking about it every Sun. We are just humans...kinda depressing but nonetheless true.....
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Should I open a consulting firm? lol
Seriously don't know what is up with me feeling tired and yet getting up early. Hades must hate me now cuz he always leaves the bed after I wake up. The sofa arm becomes his 2nd bed nowadays. I guess it's good cuz this way he feels tired and forgets to bite himself.
My distant fake cousin from Malaysia was chatting with him this morning cuz he was trying to finish his HW late at night in SG. It's amazing he is almost done with his studies in SG...just one more year. He was telling me about his newest relationship statues, and I was really perplexed why people seem to have no problem telling me about their relationships no matter how whacked they can be. His is so far so good since nothing is really settled yet, but it amused me that the girl he was talking about was the one we got suspicious on years back when we visited his hometown on tour. Apparently the "jie jie" we were joking about does really like him....6th sense works I guess....lol...
A friend of a friend was also telling me about her relationship issues yesterday. I think it is interesting how "going out with a 'nice' guy" somehow becomes an issue nowadays. I guess "nice" can somehow be related to being "boring" in many cases. I am not sure how many people can really handle boredom well. I know Billy can....cuz he can always stick to things and do them repetitively. I guess I can kinda help de-stress the person talking to me by showing her I understand her frustrations? I seriously don't think I was able to offer much help but somehow she felt better after chatting to me. Maybe she just needed someone to listen and that is all...
Mom was making a comment on our DC trip photos. She said they went to all the places in the photos before. I was like...."Am I supposed to be surprised? I wasn't the one who didn't go to DC ok?".... I consider myself lucky with parents who take us kids to places whenever they can. I guess that is one reason why I am into travel. I kinda wanna share the experience with Billy, but then he does not seem to be interested in traveling much. So far I have always been the one planning all the trips we have and I am not really sure how much he likes it really. I have no idea if the miracle would happen one day and he will tell me that he wants to go to a new place just for fun....on top of that plan for the whole trip himself. I guess this is when diff. background and values in life kinda get in the way of enjoying things together. Sometimes things are just kinda pointless to work on, or you get really tired working on them.....
I think I should eat....Gloria changing her schedule on me last min again didn't really help with my meal schedule. I wonder how much longer I will put up with this kid. If she is not so lost with her decisions in life (at age of 18 already) I probably would just fire her. I guess the only good thing about it is how her parents are not too much in the way. I don't know...maybe they should be more pushy than they are so their daughter can finally find her own path. sighs...food..here I come...
My distant fake cousin from Malaysia was chatting with him this morning cuz he was trying to finish his HW late at night in SG. It's amazing he is almost done with his studies in SG...just one more year. He was telling me about his newest relationship statues, and I was really perplexed why people seem to have no problem telling me about their relationships no matter how whacked they can be. His is so far so good since nothing is really settled yet, but it amused me that the girl he was talking about was the one we got suspicious on years back when we visited his hometown on tour. Apparently the "jie jie" we were joking about does really like him....6th sense works I guess....lol...
A friend of a friend was also telling me about her relationship issues yesterday. I think it is interesting how "going out with a 'nice' guy" somehow becomes an issue nowadays. I guess "nice" can somehow be related to being "boring" in many cases. I am not sure how many people can really handle boredom well. I know Billy can....cuz he can always stick to things and do them repetitively. I guess I can kinda help de-stress the person talking to me by showing her I understand her frustrations? I seriously don't think I was able to offer much help but somehow she felt better after chatting to me. Maybe she just needed someone to listen and that is all...
Mom was making a comment on our DC trip photos. She said they went to all the places in the photos before. I was like...."Am I supposed to be surprised? I wasn't the one who didn't go to DC ok?".... I consider myself lucky with parents who take us kids to places whenever they can. I guess that is one reason why I am into travel. I kinda wanna share the experience with Billy, but then he does not seem to be interested in traveling much. So far I have always been the one planning all the trips we have and I am not really sure how much he likes it really. I have no idea if the miracle would happen one day and he will tell me that he wants to go to a new place just for fun....on top of that plan for the whole trip himself. I guess this is when diff. background and values in life kinda get in the way of enjoying things together. Sometimes things are just kinda pointless to work on, or you get really tired working on them.....
I think I should eat....Gloria changing her schedule on me last min again didn't really help with my meal schedule. I wonder how much longer I will put up with this kid. If she is not so lost with her decisions in life (at age of 18 already) I probably would just fire her. I guess the only good thing about it is how her parents are not too much in the way. I don't know...maybe they should be more pushy than they are so their daughter can finally find her own path. sighs...food..here I come...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Defected memory
I have been having a little problem with my sleep lately. I am not sure if it's because of the time difference between DC and LA. I seem to fall into sleep pretty nicely, and yet through the night I keep on turning. I even woke up before Billy went to work yesterday! I also feel warm sometimes in the middle of the night, and then later feel cold. I am not so sure if Hades sleeping right next to me is helping....He seems to sleep quite well...hum...
I guess life back to normal may be hard to adjust when the week seems a little busier. I found myself absent minded while I was teaching my always-spaced-out student yesterday. I also thought my cooking went a little tasteless compared to before. I even put too much tomato with the eggs so it looked like the majority of the dish was tomatoes. Maybe I am just getting old and having memory problems. I reserved my hair appt for 5:20 when I called my stylist in the morning, but didn't find out I meant 6:20 until I finished teaching around 5:50. Oh well....Billy didn't even notice I cut my hair shorter anyway....so not like it mattered...:p It's now right around my shoulders and hard to control....I should of just cut it super short so I don't even have to blow dry it....
I practiced a little on the songs I am supposed to play in orchestra this coming weekend. I can't stop wondering how it would feel like to play orchestra for a career. It must be super boring really. One cannot hear the whole song when practicing alone, and rehearsing takes so much energy plus it can get dull and lengthy. I guess with my personality (no patience + crave for changes and new inspirations) I should never become a classical musician anyway. I really wonder how I survived all those years of practicing. I guess if I had no talent everything would of been easier. I can probably end up making more money doing something else....oh well..
Speaking of all the years of classical training...my pathological liar classmate from junior high and high school appears on facebook. It's funny how life develops. I think she was the only person from the high school gang who really followed the destiny of what supposedly classical musicians should do. She married a doctor (I think... if I didn't remember this wrong) right after she graduated, and now has two kids without the oldest one being 5 already.
All that makes me think 10 years from now nobody would care about what happened 10 years ago cuz apparently what she was like does not matter now. Stealing, lying, and all the bad stuff that you do to get you somewhere....will perhaps get you somewhere indeed....All I can say is.... how one is educated in the family DOES matter....can't help thinking about how her mom was like...sighs....none of my business really....just some entertainment for mom to read since my mom and her mom went to the same school for college...fortunately not the same major :p I am glad I didn't have much to do with her in school either. Too bad for CLL who had to go through those crap....
I guess thinking about old times does not help my memory much. My brain gets all blurry when I try to get more details from all those years back....and yet I can't remember much....not even the faces unless I see pictures. I guess that is why I am into photos....cuz I know someday I will just not remember all that...perhaps....
I guess life back to normal may be hard to adjust when the week seems a little busier. I found myself absent minded while I was teaching my always-spaced-out student yesterday. I also thought my cooking went a little tasteless compared to before. I even put too much tomato with the eggs so it looked like the majority of the dish was tomatoes. Maybe I am just getting old and having memory problems. I reserved my hair appt for 5:20 when I called my stylist in the morning, but didn't find out I meant 6:20 until I finished teaching around 5:50. Oh well....Billy didn't even notice I cut my hair shorter anyway....so not like it mattered...:p It's now right around my shoulders and hard to control....I should of just cut it super short so I don't even have to blow dry it....
I practiced a little on the songs I am supposed to play in orchestra this coming weekend. I can't stop wondering how it would feel like to play orchestra for a career. It must be super boring really. One cannot hear the whole song when practicing alone, and rehearsing takes so much energy plus it can get dull and lengthy. I guess with my personality (no patience + crave for changes and new inspirations) I should never become a classical musician anyway. I really wonder how I survived all those years of practicing. I guess if I had no talent everything would of been easier. I can probably end up making more money doing something else....oh well..
Speaking of all the years of classical training...my pathological liar classmate from junior high and high school appears on facebook. It's funny how life develops. I think she was the only person from the high school gang who really followed the destiny of what supposedly classical musicians should do. She married a doctor (I think... if I didn't remember this wrong) right after she graduated, and now has two kids without the oldest one being 5 already.
All that makes me think 10 years from now nobody would care about what happened 10 years ago cuz apparently what she was like does not matter now. Stealing, lying, and all the bad stuff that you do to get you somewhere....will perhaps get you somewhere indeed....All I can say is.... how one is educated in the family DOES matter....can't help thinking about how her mom was like...sighs....none of my business really....just some entertainment for mom to read since my mom and her mom went to the same school for college...fortunately not the same major :p I am glad I didn't have much to do with her in school either. Too bad for CLL who had to go through those crap....
I guess thinking about old times does not help my memory much. My brain gets all blurry when I try to get more details from all those years back....and yet I can't remember much....not even the faces unless I see pictures. I guess that is why I am into photos....cuz I know someday I will just not remember all that...perhaps....
Monday, March 17, 2008
Our March 2008 DC trip, 1st day....
Here is why we took the DC trip....Virgin America had this incredible sale so ticket was super cheap. Their airline is quite new in US since it's really a British airline. We took a flight which flew out from LA at 10:30 PM and then arrived DC before 7 in the morning. With the time change we only got around 4 hours of sleep.....The aircraft was kinda interesting with the light being purple looking like a pub....and you also can do on line chatting with passengers if you know their seat numbers...just some new cool functions :)
After we settled down at the hotel and checked our luggages (we couldn't really check in since we arrived the hotel around 8 in the morning and the check in time was not until 1pm...) we started this incredible 1st day of our trip. Why incredible? cuz I don't think I have ever done so much walking in my entire life. I think even our Florida trip was nothing compared to this.....
Ok...let's get started...We took the metro from Union Station (2 blocks from where we lived) to where George Washington University is. I think the station was called "Foggy Bottom" (just for those who wants to find out how FAR we walked), and walked all the way down to Lincoln Memorial....and then all the other walking activities for the 1st day are listed below.....
Washington Monument looked really small from Lincoln Memorial. We were kinda still happy and energized by this point :)
We walked all the way from Lincoln Memorial to Washington Monument. Along the way there were a lot of trees and also the water of the pool was nice. The squirrels were good at posing and the Canadian geese were good at walking around :)
I think this was the WW II monument or something....Each one represents a state and territory of US.
Billy took the 1st one and I took the 2nd one....I guess I liked the tree more and he liked the flags more...
We really tried hard to get White House in the photos by taking the photos from FAR AWAY.....just because I was too lazy to walk all the way over there....:p By then I was already faking my smile.....
This was just at this metro station. A stranger next to us insisted on taking a photo for us after we took the 1st one...He took two and only this one came out alright. I guess I was already grouchy and didn't really want him to touch my camera.....:p
Does this place look familiar? It's the Library of Congress where they shot "National Treasure II". We also took a pic from outside cuz it's right across from the capital.
We passed by Supreme Court and Billy took a pic of it. The 2nd pic is to show you where we were living...in the "historical district"....and guess what? We walked from the capital back to our hotel !!!!!!
We got out of the hotel again after shower and dragged our dead bodies around just to use up the value of our one day pass + take some night shots of stuff. So here are the night shots of Washington monument and the capital taken from the Smithsonian Station.
Well.....that concludes the 1st day of the trip. We slept around 10 pm and actually did not wake up until 10 AM next morning.....Even with that much sleep we still felt tired 2nd day. I guess we are no longer young......
By the way....thanks to the tripod Ivan gave us back in Feb we were able to take photos without asking any help from strangers who passed by us. :) I am glad only one person volunteered this time. I guess DC people are all too busy to help anyway. hahahaha
After we settled down at the hotel and checked our luggages (we couldn't really check in since we arrived the hotel around 8 in the morning and the check in time was not until 1pm...) we started this incredible 1st day of our trip. Why incredible? cuz I don't think I have ever done so much walking in my entire life. I think even our Florida trip was nothing compared to this.....
Ok...let's get started...We took the metro from Union Station (2 blocks from where we lived) to where George Washington University is. I think the station was called "Foggy Bottom" (just for those who wants to find out how FAR we walked), and walked all the way down to Lincoln Memorial....and then all the other walking activities for the 1st day are listed below.....
Washington Monument looked really small from Lincoln Memorial. We were kinda still happy and energized by this point :)
We walked all the way from Lincoln Memorial to Washington Monument. Along the way there were a lot of trees and also the water of the pool was nice. The squirrels were good at posing and the Canadian geese were good at walking around :)
I think this was the WW II monument or something....Each one represents a state and territory of US.
Billy took the 1st one and I took the 2nd one....I guess I liked the tree more and he liked the flags more...
We really tried hard to get White House in the photos by taking the photos from FAR AWAY.....just because I was too lazy to walk all the way over there....:p By then I was already faking my smile.....
This was just at this metro station. A stranger next to us insisted on taking a photo for us after we took the 1st one...He took two and only this one came out alright. I guess I was already grouchy and didn't really want him to touch my camera.....:p
Does this place look familiar? It's the Library of Congress where they shot "National Treasure II". We also took a pic from outside cuz it's right across from the capital.
We passed by Supreme Court and Billy took a pic of it. The 2nd pic is to show you where we were living...in the "historical district"....and guess what? We walked from the capital back to our hotel !!!!!!
We got out of the hotel again after shower and dragged our dead bodies around just to use up the value of our one day pass + take some night shots of stuff. So here are the night shots of Washington monument and the capital taken from the Smithsonian Station.
Well.....that concludes the 1st day of the trip. We slept around 10 pm and actually did not wake up until 10 AM next morning.....Even with that much sleep we still felt tired 2nd day. I guess we are no longer young......
By the way....thanks to the tripod Ivan gave us back in Feb we were able to take photos without asking any help from strangers who passed by us. :) I am glad only one person volunteered this time. I guess DC people are all too busy to help anyway. hahahaha
2nd and 3rd days of our DC trip....
We obviously got too tired from the 1st day so as time passes our photos got less and worse in quality. It's interesting how that always happens with our trips. I think next time we just have to do less in the 1st day so things get balanced out. :p
We started our 2nd day of the trip by going through museums which we passed by in the 1st day. The Smithsonian castle looks pretty cool and is the most obvious landmark if you are walking through the National Mall. (Yeah....there is really no mall....just whole bunch of museums. I guess you can shop in the gift stores if you want....hahaha)
This is inside of the Smithsonian castle (the information center really). I have no idea why they would want to put his remains in there....kinda disgusting....
Billy did a good job taking my pic pushing the monument....apparently I was not able to budge it at all....lol
The cherry blossom festival is supposed to be next week. Since we were there early we didn't get to see too much....but here is a little taste of it.
We went to the air and space museum and I just thought I needed to take a photo of the space ice cream for Ivan since he remembers everything he ate....Can you believe we found the big M there too? It's actually hard to find McDonald's in DC area...
This is as close as we got to the Capital. I was just too lazy to walk over there. Maybe next time then :)
At the National Art Gallery....right between the two buildings.
End of our 2nd day journey my friend Angela abducted us to her house from downtown DC. She lives in Virginia so we had to ride for around 1 hour to get to her house and meet up with her hubby and baby. I forgot to take a photo of Steven, but here is their daughter who is almost 2. She wasn't even married when I met her many years back through one tour. Their kid has a very interesting face that she puts on whenever she prays....I have no idea why she does not look like either of her parents. I had crab cakes for dinner once again and it was pretty good....
Took a photo of the hotel we stayed at for this trip before we left. It's called "Washington Court Hotel" near Union Station and right on Capital Hills in case any one of you guys are interested.
Last day of the trip we didn't go to that many places. We kinda took it easy by waking up late, eating breakfast at Union Station, went to Spy Museum (which was the only museum that we paid for the whole trip....and it was BORING!!!!!), and then Smithsonian Reynold Center. We actually finished all that before 3 pm and our flight was 8:40. After all our rides with metro and bus we still got to the airport three hours before the ride!!!!
This is at the Smithsonian Reynold Center where they had some American contemporary art. I think the wooden horse was trying to eat Billy alive...lol
I think the glass garden was the only thing I was impressed with at the Reynold Center.
China Town in DC really looked kinda weird....It's a lot of American stores which Chinese signs on them.
One last sight of Union Station before we headed to the airport back home.
This is what happened to my shoes after the trip....just to show you how much we walked...lol
We started our 2nd day of the trip by going through museums which we passed by in the 1st day. The Smithsonian castle looks pretty cool and is the most obvious landmark if you are walking through the National Mall. (Yeah....there is really no mall....just whole bunch of museums. I guess you can shop in the gift stores if you want....hahaha)
This is inside of the Smithsonian castle (the information center really). I have no idea why they would want to put his remains in there....kinda disgusting....
Billy did a good job taking my pic pushing the monument....apparently I was not able to budge it at all....lol
The cherry blossom festival is supposed to be next week. Since we were there early we didn't get to see too much....but here is a little taste of it.
We went to the air and space museum and I just thought I needed to take a photo of the space ice cream for Ivan since he remembers everything he ate....Can you believe we found the big M there too? It's actually hard to find McDonald's in DC area...
This is as close as we got to the Capital. I was just too lazy to walk over there. Maybe next time then :)
At the National Art Gallery....right between the two buildings.
End of our 2nd day journey my friend Angela abducted us to her house from downtown DC. She lives in Virginia so we had to ride for around 1 hour to get to her house and meet up with her hubby and baby. I forgot to take a photo of Steven, but here is their daughter who is almost 2. She wasn't even married when I met her many years back through one tour. Their kid has a very interesting face that she puts on whenever she prays....I have no idea why she does not look like either of her parents. I had crab cakes for dinner once again and it was pretty good....
Took a photo of the hotel we stayed at for this trip before we left. It's called "Washington Court Hotel" near Union Station and right on Capital Hills in case any one of you guys are interested.
Last day of the trip we didn't go to that many places. We kinda took it easy by waking up late, eating breakfast at Union Station, went to Spy Museum (which was the only museum that we paid for the whole trip....and it was BORING!!!!!), and then Smithsonian Reynold Center. We actually finished all that before 3 pm and our flight was 8:40. After all our rides with metro and bus we still got to the airport three hours before the ride!!!!
This is at the Smithsonian Reynold Center where they had some American contemporary art. I think the wooden horse was trying to eat Billy alive...lol
I think the glass garden was the only thing I was impressed with at the Reynold Center.
China Town in DC really looked kinda weird....It's a lot of American stores which Chinese signs on them.
One last sight of Union Station before we headed to the airport back home.
This is what happened to my shoes after the trip....just to show you how much we walked...lol
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