Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die!

Things I would like to learn

An inspiration from the traveling is that my friend is willing to dedicate a month to learn surfing in Bali. I always feel that I am too old to pick up a new Sports or any kind of activities. However, he inspired me to learn the following activities in the very near future:

1) Ice-skating;
2) Surfing;
3) Cycling (I want to be really good at it.);
4) Butterfly Stroke;
5) Driving a manual car;
6) Speak French;
7) Speak Spanish;
8) Web Design
9) Practice bowling
10) Tennis
11) Darts! (I picked it up when I was in Japan and I love it!)
12) Shooting (I tried it once in Vietnam and I want to be good at it.)

It's a lot but I am going to tackle them one by one. Let's see what I master by the end of this summer.

3 virtues I learned from my traveling

After spending 3+ weeks traveling with a very good friend of mine, I feel like that I am a lot calmer and more patient than before. Since I was with my friend all the time, I had an opportunity to learn how to control my temper and my emotions.

Three virtues I learned from my Asia traveling in May:

1) Patience:
It helps resolve conflicts and allow each person to think carefully before carrying any irrational act. Just give yourself a little time to calm yourself down will go a long way. It does not do any good to be very angry and get too involved in a situation. Believe it or not, many things in our life have been determined by some higher spirit, depending on your religion. Things will eventually follow their own course.

2) Don't be angry at things happened:
It happened and nothing can change it. It's already in the history record and no one can turn the clock back and wish that it didn't happen. Embrace the results and the outcomes, whether they are good or not.

If money can solve the problem, it really isn't a problem because there is solution to it. Just when we feel that there is no option, there is always one, depending on whether you want to accept it or not.

3) Treasure the unpredictable:
If everything goes as planned, there will be no excitement, disappointment, job, and surprises in life. It's good to have things go as planned but the contrary doesn't necessarily mean a disaster.

Thank you my friend for giving me the opportunity to practice the above three virtues. I will remind myself from day to day.

Linkin Park - Leave Out All the Rest

Linkin Park: Leave out all the rest

I dreamed I was missing,
You were so scared.
But no one would listen
'Cause no one else cared.

After my dreaming,
I woke with this fear.
What am I leaving,
When I am done here?

So if you're asking me I want you to know;

When my time comes,
Forget the wrong that I've done.
Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed.

And don't resent me,
And when you're feeling empty,
Keep me in your memory.
Leave out all the rest.
Leave out all the rest...

Don't be afraid,
Of taking my beatings;
Of shit behind me.

I'm strong on the surface,
Not all the way through.
I've never been perfect,
But neither have you.

So if you're asking me I want you to know;

When my time comes,
Forget the wrong that I've done.
Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed.

Don't resent me,
And when you're feeling empty,
Keep me in your memory.
Leave out all the rest.
Leave out all the rest...

Forgetting;
All the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well.
Pretending;
Someone else can come and save me from myself.

I can't be who you are...

When my time comes,
Forget the wrong that I've done.
Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed.

Don't resent me,
And when you're feeling empty,
Keep me in your memory.
Leave out all the rest.
Leave out all the rest...

Forgetting;
All the hurt inside you've learned to hide so well.
Pretending;
Someone else can come and save me from myself.

I can't be who you are,
I can't be who you are.

Linkin Park - Given Up

"Given Up"

Wake in a sweat again
Another day's been laid to waste
In my disgrace

Stuck in my head again
Feels like I'll never leave this place
There's no escape

I'm my own worst enemy

[chorus]
I've given up
I'm sick of feeling
Is there nothing you can say

Take this all the way
I'm suffocating
Tell me what the fuck is wrong
With me
[end chorus]

I don't know what to take
Thought I was focused but Im scared
I'm not prepared

I hyperventilate
Looking for help somehow somewhere
And no one cares

I'm my own worst enemy

[chorus]
I've given up
I'm sick of feeling
Is there nothing you can say

Take this all the way
I'm suffocating
Tell me what the fuck is wrong
With me
[end chorus]

[bridge]
Goddddddd!!!!

Put me out of my misery
Put me out of my misery
Put me out of my
Put me out of my fucking misery
[end bridge]

[chorus]
I've given up
I'm sick of feeling
Is there nothing you can say

Take this all the way
I'm suffocating
Tell me what the fuck is wrong
With me
[end chorus]

The above song is one of the my favorites from the Linkin Park's new album "Minutes to Midnight."

I am back!

It's been more than a month since I last posted an article on the blog. Tons have happened:

1) I packed and sold most of the stuff I have in San Francisco;
2) I moved back to Hong Kong.
3) I traveled with my friend, Luke, for 3 weeks in Asia. We ended up going to Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand. I will write more about our trip in the coming posts.

Let me rest for a few days and organize all the pictures I took in Asia. After that, I will be back to show everything I've seen and learned in the past 4+ weeks.

San Francisco Pictures 2007

As my time in San Francisco coming to an end, I start taking pictures of the city wherever I go. Last night, I was walking by myself on Van Ness Avenue and took some pictures. This album will be updated throughout April.

San Francisco April 2007

Amazing Lexus Multimedia Ads

I saw the above ad displayed on the windows on a vacant storefront on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. As a person who is deeply interested in createive arts and advertising, I think it's an excellent design!

快樂不是用追求得 來的，而是發現得來的

I received this through an email from my friend. I think it's very meaningful.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
如果也可以”分期付款”
那我就可以一天快樂一點兒 每天都有一點兒

周末午後，無緣由被點名訓話，
帶著一肚子氣步出辦公室，迎面而來是冷的天氣；
加上陰冷的情緒，心情一下跌至了谷底。

細雨紛飛的站牌下，不禁對諸事不順遂而怪嗔、怨懟起來。
無意識上了公車，
在擁擠的沙丁魚陣中仍為自己的際遇不平而怨天尤人。
想著他人憑著家世背景，一進公司便在眾人之上，
而為公司賣命多年的自己，仍只是別人的出氣筒，想及此，
臉色就更加陰黯了。

快要下車前，走到司機身旁摸索著找零錢，
卻越摸越著急，身上竟沒有半個銅板！
眼看車已靠站，司機、乘客面面相覷，卻沒有一個人準備同情我！
不得已之下，我只好拿出千元大鈔，
顫抖著手準備投入「恕不找零」的投幣口，突然.....
一位婆婆丟進十五元，告訴司機：「兩票」便拉著我下車。

下車後我才知道其實婆婆自己坐是不用錢的，
她身上的零錢只是隨時為有緣人準備；
而且今天也為了我提早兩站下車，
只因看我臉色不佳，想陪我一下而已。
知道這件事後，我滿臉羞赧，
想到婆婆剛才就站在我身邊，而我卻沒有起身讓坐……
後來反倒讓她來幫助我，真令我無地自容，
一小段路程，婆婆一直溫柔地執著我的手，
解開我的眉梢，融化我的怨怒。
臨別前她送了一個晴天小和尚給我，是她親手縫製的，
上面寫著：
「手把青秧插滿田，低頭便見水中天；心地清淨方為道，退步原來是向前。」
婆婆說：
世上本來就不公平，我們際遇不好，卻有人比我們更糟；
我們怨上天不公平，那麼換成我們是老天爺呢？
我們能做得更好嗎？
凡事要多方面想想，其實自己是很幸運的了。

當婆婆說這話時，陽光在她慈祥的背影後綻放，
而我也才發現她的腿不太方便，但竟為了一個陌生人，
辛苦地多走一段路，反倒快樂無比……
我的淚水滑落，自己的任性造成了別人的不便，
原來自己也處處給別人惹麻煩哪！

婆婆謝謝您！您說的話我都聽進去了，
現在的我每天都努力過得很快樂。

快樂不是用追求得來的，而是發現得來的，
凡事總有好的一面，只在於我們願不願意去發現而已；快樂的人懂得惜福，他們從不埋怨自己缺少什麼，
而會去珍惜自己擁有些什麼。
朋友！你發現快樂了嗎?

Worried

Since I returned to the States, I have quickly gone back to my normal state at work. However, I have been thinking so much about my mum. I wish there were more things that I could do to help her. Sometimes I just want to escape to some places and pretend that I don't know about it and it is just a bad dream. In reality, I do have to face it and see what the best I can do to help allieviate her pain during the kidney dialysis process.

It doesn't help when things at work aren't going as smoothly as I hope. Therefore, everything gets a little bit more complicated at the same time. Anyway, I just hope that whatever happens at work can be resolved soon so that I can refocus on figuring out what I should or have to do to help out my mum.

St. James's Park, London

On my last day in London, I spent the day wandering around the St. James's Park. I got there at around 9 in the morning. I got a coffee and a hot dog (I was really hungry.) at a snack booth at its entrance. It was a sunny day and I spent my entire day strolling along the pedestrian walk in the park. The park reminds me of the Victoria Park in Hong Kong. I still remember spending time there when I was very young; running one-mile twice a year for the physical education (P.E.) exam; sitting there during my lunch time when I started working. I still have pictures at home that my parents took when I was very young. My dad used to take me and my sisters to the park on weekends.

I ended up walking all the way to the Buckingham Palace inside the Park. As usual, it was packed with tourists outside the gate trying to take a peek at the Queen, who is never in the outer countyard. On my way back to my friend's apartment, I ended up running into the St. Patrick's Day Parade near Picadilly Circus. I stopped for a while and took some pictures.

London, I am missing you already!

DANGER! Life's falling apart!

This is another warning sign I saw at Reculver. Look at the sign. I love the graphical depiction of it. Not only is the guy going to plunge to death, the rock behind him is also breaking into halves. With his head reaching the ground first, he is definitely going to die. The sign was actually post on the top of the cliff. I wonder how the guy at the bottom of the cliff can figure out that the cliff may break into pieces.

Hmmm...maybe I should bring a parachute wherever I go. Maybe I should start practicing my 50-meter short-distance run. Hope I can deft the gravity if the rock and still escape without any injuries.

Isn't that just like our life, every one wants to have certainties, wants to have insurance against the unknown. I am going to deft the norms and try everything I want in my life.

Warning Signs

I saw this sign when I was walking along the Reculver's coastal path with my teacher. I got to take a picture of it because I just love the line "Slippery rocks with deep voids". Does that make you feel that every decision you make in your life is basically the same as walking on slippery rocks with deep voids?

There is no certainty in life.

If you are lucky, you can reach the other end safely even though you are stepping on the slippery rocks.

If you are a bit unlucky, you may fall while you are walking on the slippery rocks. However, you won't be falling into the deep voids between the rocks.

If you are really unlucky, you are going to fall through the cracks of the slippery rocks and plunge into the sea.

Just take a moment to think about the philosophy of life. You can summarize it with that sign.

The Peep Show and the British Comedy

I saw that the two characters on the British BBC Comedy "The Peep Show" are on a number of posters in the London tube stations promoting the Apple. The Peep Show is one of my favorite BBC comedy I have seen this year. My colleague introduced the show to me and I just couldn't help laughing after watching the 1st episode.

Some of you have heard me talk about my British colleague at work. I think it's so funny that the two characters, Mark (the guy on wheelchair) and Jeremy in the show, are pretty close reflection of our actual personality in our real life. I can totally see myself wanting to kill Jeremy if I had to live with him. On the other hand, I am 100% sure that my colleague would be like Jeremy if we ever stayed in the same apartment. I am totally the neurotic guy like Mark, who is crazy about relationship, work, and everything; while my colleague is an identical twin to Jeremy, who hangs around and getting the booze and the ladies.

Life isn't fair, isn't it?

By the way, I really want to get a copy of the Apple poster. If anyone of you knows how to get one, let me know!

London Underground

I love the public transport system in London. It's so easy to get around and you can get from point A to point B by bus or underground. They also installed the new Oyster card system, which is similar to the Octopus card system in Hong Kong. Basically, you can just touch your Oyster card whenever you board the tube or bus. It is so easy to use and I have been using that in Hong Kong since 1997 or so. I think it's one of the best innovations in the world. It helps us reduce the spare change that we have to keep in our pocket.

Anyway, one of the bad things about the London underground is that it always has some signal problems that cause delays in certain lines. In addition, for some reason, they have to shut down several lines on the weekend for maintenance work. I somehow wonder why they can't do the repair work at night. After trying out various underground or subway systems in the world, I still give London Underground a positive rating!

Of course, I still think that that Japanese subway and the Hong Kong MTR are the best. Once you try it once, you just wonder why the rest of the world can't build something like that to reduce the number of cars on the road. I am a big proponent of the public transport system!

Train Stations in Europe

This is a picture that I took at the Victor Station in London. I love going to the big train stations in Europe. I still remember the Central Station in Amsterdam when I visited there 7 years ago. It's the architectural design of it makes me feel that I am in a different time period and I am really leaving somewhere to go to another place. I don't get the same feeling whenever I go to the airports.

I think it has to do with the fact that it's a lot easier and more common for people to travel around nowadays than before. Therefore, you don't see people crying at every single train station or airport. Also, the new airport just makes you feel so cold and isolated. You just don't feel the atmosphere that you are leaving a place for good to go to another place. It may also have to do with the fact that I watch way too many Hollywood movies!

Canterbury, Reculver, and Maidstone

During my second day in London, I took the SE rail to go to see my high school teacher in Maidstone. It happened that she was on a term break when I was there. So, I got to hang out with her for a day. She picked me up at the Barming train station and took me to Canterbury to see the cathedral. I have heard of Canterbury before I have never been there before. Of the 2 times I have been to England before, I only got to go to Cambridge, London, and Maidstone. It was the 1st time that I got to see other parts of England as well.

Canterbury is a nice little town in the Southeastern part of England. I won't bore you with the history of it but my teacher did give me a detailed background of the Canterbury Catherdal on our way there. You can see the rest of the pictures I took there on my online album.

We walked around Canterbury for an hour and stopped by the Rupert Bear Museum there. I had no idea what it was but my teacher told me that it was a popular cartoon character in England. Every British kid has heard of it. It's like Big Bird or Cookie Monster in the Sesame Street. We also stopped by to visit a very old hospital there. I was excited to see the countryside of England. It's absolutely beautiful, tranquil, and peaceful. I think I won't mind getting a place there as a vacation house.

After going to Canterbury, my teacher took me to Reculver. It was along the coastline of SE England. It has a breath-taking view along the coastal walk. You got to see the wind power generator standing in the middle of the English Channel. We walked around for about an hour before we headed home for dinner.

I was lucky enough for a second day in a row that someone did gourmet home cooking for me. My teacher was doing the cooking this time and the dinner was so tasty. I still vividly remember how good a cook she is. I love the paella that she made when we were back in Hong Kong. We also had a good chat at the dinner and we were shocked that we have known one another for 12 years. A lot happened between then and now and I am very thankful that she always stands by me when I need her. She helped me a lot when I was having a hard time in high school and when I first moved to North Carolina and then Kentucky for Pharmacy School. Without her help, I probably won't be here at this point in my life.

Thank you Sally! You are the best!

Fire Extinguisher

I took this picture outside my friend's apartment in London. I just found it interesting that they used a honk as fire alarm. I wonder what would happen in case of a real fire. Would you still have time to read the pamphlet behind it and hold the air honk? I guess when you see smoking or a fire, you would be freaking out and trying to run down the stairs as soon as possible, rather than trying to locate the honk and read the notice sheet behind it.

Bravo! I guess that's the British way of fire safety!

London, I love it!

I love London!

I really have to scream out loud how much I love the city after I have been there for 3 times. Even though everyone around me hates London, I still think that it's one of the best cities in the world. People complains about the weather there all the time. Interestingly, I have been there 3 times and everything I was there, the weather was fantastic.

This time, I got to stay with a very good friend of mine from college in London. She has been working there in the past 3 years for the US Army and she is loving it. I am so glad that I got to see her for the 1st time in 3+ years. We used to hang out a lot when I was in college. I still remember the purple Dodge Neon I drove and we went to many places with our group of friends.

I met up with my friend at the Starbucks outside the Westminster tube station shortly after I landed at Gatwick. Luckily, I still remember how to get around in London so it's not such a big hassle for me to find my way around. Finally at 9:30a.m., she came! I couldn't believe that after being in London for 3 years, she looked so posh and good! I couldn't help but complimenting how good she looked! We sat down for a little while to catch up before I walked her back to her office. We had so much fun in our conversation. We were both shocked to learn that everyone we used to hang out with is married and has kids. She and I were the old single people around. Let me put it this way. She is a bit more fortunate than I am because she is dating a great guy in London. I got to meet him when we had dinner my first night there. I am so happy for her!

I walked around the Oxford Street and the Regent Street during the day and I really had a great time. London is definitely a city that I wouldn't mind living in. I just miss the pace of living in a big city. You can tell that people in London move a lot faster than people in San Francisco. Also, gosh, the Brits know how to dress well. Everyone looks so stylish on the street. I especially like the fact that the streets don't smell like urine. That's one thing I hate about San Francisco. Every morning when you walk on the street, you smell urine. Every time after the rain, you smell urine. The Mayor should definitely do something to resolve the homeless situation in the city. It's just so unhygienic when the only thing you remember is the smell of urine in the city.

I went home that night and bought a cake from a bakery shop on Regent Street for dessert. My friend did a FANTASTIC job of cooking both two types of curry. It was the first time that I actually got to taste her REAL home cooking. Also, she got me hooked on the bread and pate thing. Now, I can't live without some good bread and pate. That's all I need for a meal.

My friend's boyfriend came by and so did some of her friends. We had a great time hanging out in her nice apartment in downtown London. I wish I could afford a place like that in San Francisco. Anyway, I wasn't jealous at all and I am very happy that she got to where she is now.

Anyway, before the dinner was ready. Her friends were trying to use EZ sniper to get a Rugby jersey off eBay. So, we got a few laughs about people frantically bidding on eBay to get what they want. Her friend did end up getting the jersey that he wanted for 30 pounds! I guess EZ sniper works for him.

Shortly after lunch, I felt so tired that I retreated back to my room. However, I didn't realize that I actually felt asleep until the next morning. When I woke up, my friend told me that her buddies dropped by to see me sleeping like a baby. I guess I was exhausted after a long flight and a fun day in London.

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, London and I

As some of you know, I got a chance to visit London during my trip back to Hong Kong. I was not planning to go to London because of the high airfare from Hong Kong to there. However, when I found out that my friend's girlfriend is working as a flight attendant for a new discount airline called Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, I decided to take advantage of the discount program for staff and got a round trip ticket to London Gatwick for HK$ 1,000 (about US$ 130) excluding tax.

I was a bit hesitate to fly with Oasis Hong Kong Airlines since I have not flown with them or heard anything from my friends about them before. To my great surprise, I had a very pleasant trip to and from Hong Kong. The ground staff members and the flight attendants were very polite. In addition, they do have individual TV monitor for each seat. Overall, the plane is very clean. Yes, you may complain that you don't get a free drink and your midnight cup noodles. However, they do give you one drink and one meal before you land. I actually like this arrangement a lot better because the lights won't be on and off all the time inside the cabin and people won't be going back and forth for their cup noodles and hot water. I just wanted to get a good sleep once I got on the plane. Therefore, I like their services a lot and I will definitely fly with them again when I got to London next time. I can't wait for them to expand their services to Oakland, CA later this year. I heard that they are going to fly to Vancouver, Canada starting in June.

Anyway, I am happy that Hong Kong got a second International airline besides Cathay Pacific with great quality services.