Thank you Guardian Angels

It is Christmas Season so many of the various local towns have parades, local home-made item sales, etc. Went to one in Watkins Glens tonight. Missed the parade - dinner came first! Wildflower has really good blue cheese burgers. Nice fireworks afterwards and even the weather cooperated; it was not below 30F this time.

Almost did not make it to the parade! I had been waiting to turn left. As the light turned green, I dropped something in the floorboard and decided to pick it up. The car that was going straight did not want to block the intersection so they waited also. Suddenly, after having a red light for almost a minute, a car ran the light going at least 40 MPH! All I can say is 'Thank You' to my guardian angels who made me drop something and not turn and for causing traffic so the oncoming car delayed proceeding also!!

So next time you think about complaining about a delay, just remember that it may have occurred to save your life.

How to Deal with a Monkey on your Back?

Spent some time today thinking about how to deal with a monkey on my back.... Not a real rhetorical question as some may think. Should you deal with a monkey like the fable "The Emperor's New Clothes"? Should you 'turn the other cheek'. Should you do the 'sorority girl' routine - only say nice things to the face then be a B behind someones back? Why do some people think that the monkey is only theirs and is not a neighborhood animal? Why do they not see that it is in the neighborhood's best interest for the monkey to be well fed? Guess some feel that everything should only be information of the current owner and not shared between the interested parties! Or is it protection of their child/adopted child? Maybe I am tired of being stabbed by the owner when trying to work with the neighborhood!

Hocking Hills - Ohio

Sorry it has been so long since I posted anything. Been down since December and just not up to posting. Will try to catch up over the next few weeks.

Visited Hocking Hills area of Ohio for 3-4 days. The area reminded me of Ithaca - Hocking also was part of the glaciers. The inn where I stayed was in the city of Lancaster, chef offers cooking school on the weekends; nice lady whose Dad owns the place. Only downside was that the staff was not happy; got to hear lots of complaints on Sunday night when the owners were 'out'. Food was really good! Many options on which type of room you want. However, there are tons of cabins that can be rented in the area of Logan. Some of the cabins have stables where you can put your own horse or rent one. Canoes and rip line tours too.

Hiking -- fantastic caves, cliffs, and waterfalls. You can walk in the gorges with some of the sites having 'wheelchair accessible' concrete paths in the gorges at least most if not all the way. There are trails connecting the different sites as well as rim trails. In addition to the official Hocking Hills State Park, there are other 'metro parks' and 'preservation areas' which all have great hikes.

My favorite was the hiking. Met alot of interesting people; different ones on each trail. The Russians who have lived in Cleveland for ~ 20 years - a couple who had brought each of their parents/aunts/uncles/as well as kids. A man who had met his three grandsons the week before and was taking care of them for the week when his son was on his honeymoon. The two younger boys (around 12 and 9) hiked with me back from Rock House. The couple who had raised a trout in an aquarium and were contemplating how to set it free now that it was 1 to 1.5 feet long; they were worried that it would not know how to eat 'in the wild'. They also had a couple cats - one of which had 'gone fishing' in their other aquarium and enjoyed some exotic goldfish for breakfast.

Backbone Trail - National Forest Hector NY

Memorial Day was the perfect day for hiking. The selected trail was "Backbone Trail" - 5.5 miles one way; 'easy' category. The trail was also used for horseback riding so watching your steps was a requirement!

In general, the trail was very well marked and cleared except at the end. Was able to see cattle, wild turkey, and deer during the hike. (Hopefully it was not some type of hunting season since I did not wear ORANGE!!) Even the scenes of the pastures were relaxing.



Unfortunately, I was not able to finish the full trail. About 1/2 mile before the end, my hiking boot sole broke. It was a very long (and slow) hike back to my car. But I can highly recommend the area for hiking!!

Watkins Glen on a Holiday Weekend

Memorial Day holiday weekend was beautiful. Gave me the opportunity to bum around Watkins Glen one afternoon and to go hiking for a day.

For the afternoon of 'bumming', I parked a few doors down from the "Lake House" that I examined a few weeks ago. Nice easy walk to downtown Watkins from there - maybe 1/2 mile to 1 mile. Watkins Glen has alot more 'junk stores' than I would have guessed. One of them had every imaginable collectible item. They were slowly selling a collection from a landmark Elmira restaurant.

There are also alot of second hand clothing stores; antique clothing? One of them was the stop for a bridal shower party. The goal was to put together a wedding dress (complete!) for less than $100. The actual dress they selected had already been dry cleaned and fit perfectly. The shoes needed to be bleached first - they were a little grey from the dust I guessed. At the end, each person pitched in and the future bride decided she actually liked the dress much better than the one she had found at the dress shop!! Guess it was a good day for them.

After seeing one side of the street, stopped for a break at Wildflower Cafe. Something about that place -- nice music, very very relaxed waitstaff, and always good. More window shopping on the other side of the street before an early dinner at the Harbor. Good seafood!

A good day and more push to make an offer on the "Lake House" so I could enjoy the water, company, and walking to dinner often.

Balcony Flowers

When I decide to further postpone making an offer on a house, I decide I needed to make my apartment more of a home vs 'a place to sleep and store clothes'. The first step was to make my balcony beautiful! Here are the flower gardens that I planted this weekend. Now they just need to survive the frost tonight!

Ninth Graders of Fujian

Foreigners are still a rarity in parts of Fuzhou. As I ordered my lunch, the couple at the table near mine continued to turn around and stare. The three kids pointed and giggled. And the waitresses were skittish to come over. After a few minutes however, the brave kid decided that a single female foreigner must not be too dangerous. She (I cannot read her name in Chinese - will need to get someone to translate it for me later) sat down and talked to me for at least 30 minutes. As I told her, very brave! Here is the photo of her (bluish/greenish shirt) and her two classmates. We have exchanged emails so I hope that one day we will be able to chat again. Although she lives in the countryside, she visits her older sister (who lives in Fuzhou city) occasionally. Very interesting and nice kids.

Japanese Teppanyaki - Fuzhou

Tried another new place in Fuzhou this past Friday. Started out being a group of 13 - which meant two different tables. However by the time we left to taxi to the place, only 8 of us were going - back to a single table. At this teppan place, you can order ala cart or you can have an all you can eat and drink for a set price of 150 RMB. We went with the all you can eat and drink package! Our order was huge! Four different kinds of beef, scrimp, oysters, lamb chops, etc. Definitely a place to go again.

No way to get everyone in one photo. [At least two people must have been having a very serious conversation -- ;-)]

Scenes around Fuzhou

Over the past few weekends, I have been trying to 'find my way' around Fuzhou; was too sick with the US flu last trip over. So far I have found a great new restaurant area - Italian, French, Japanese, Chinese, Juice bar, and coffee shops. A.T. and I went to the Italian this week; Bambino's has good food. We will try to get the group together Friday for the Japanese. When the area was built, the pagoda was left intact.

One of the Carrefore store locations is located in a U.S. style mall. Will go back there one day when it is raining. Four or five stories of stores. And across the street another mall. Yes - I need some place to just walk around during rainy season. The Carrefore mall has more than 4 different SPAs too!

Ever wonder how you would transport an expensive piece of electronics? Well here is the method in Fuzhou. (And other Asian countries too!)

Email Jokes --- The Modern Hello?

Last week I received an email cartoon that really hit home. It explained that forwarding email jokes, cartoons, and maybe other useless information was the modern way of waving to your neighbor just to say hi or to let someone know you hoped everything was okay with them. Made me think about what it means when someone does not acknowledge your "forward" or other meaningless email. Does it mean that they don't care if you say hello? Is it the electronic age 'blow off'? And then think about how you feel when someone even writes "thanks" or "thkx" when you forward them something. Makes you feel 'appreciated' for your effort or thought doesn't it? So to my friends who take the time to send me an electronic 'hello' and to acknowledge mine -- thank you!

Return to Bamboo Park - with Barbeque

Earlier this month, I returned to Bamboo Park (or Forest Park or Botanical Gardens depending on the translation). A last minute invitation to a hike then barbeque. Most of the paths up from the park are stairs, unfortunately they are not good for my knees (it took 3 weeks for them to recover last time) so I only joined the group to the trail beginning then enjoyed rock jumping and resting until they returned.

The park has an interesting concept for barbeque - wonder if it would work in the US? You pay a certain price per person ($60 RMB) and in return you get a plate (for each person) of food to be barbequed. You also get the "fixings" - barbeque grill with hot charcoal, plates, utensils, sauces, table clothes, bench clothes, etc. The drinks are selected separately; priced according to what you want. And when you are thru, someone comes and cleans it all up before the next group uses the spot! Nothing to haul, nothing to clean, just cook, eat, and leave.





The meal came with a lot of food - squid slices, chicken, pork, beef, fish balls, hot dog, sausage, bread, 1/2 a baby bird (hummingbird size), sweet potato slices, corn on the cob, etc. One of our group (H.H.) bought some bananas on the way back to the barbeque area. So J.F. was able to share his grilled banana treat with everyone after we had eaten the rest of the meal. Fantastic food followed by a sweet dessert. Perfect day in Fuzhou.

Adventures in Acting

One of my mentors was recently retiring. As I went thru my photos selecting some for her retirement albulm, I found photos from my adventures in acting.

Being in the first play was both frightening and exciting. It was one of those things I had always wanted to try but in high school had worried too much about what others would think.

I met some very interesting people that I hope I will always be friends with during my acting adventures! And I did learn that a musical star I would never be ... but comedy ah...

First time in Shanghai

What to do in Shanghai in early March? Of course you must go to the Bund. A little advice -- Do not spend the money on the "Bund Sightseeing Tunnel", unless you are walking and do not want to take the subway across the river or pay a taxi. What a waste! The Oriental Pearl Tower was well worth the cost. Fantastic view even on a cloudy day. Of course there are some traditional shrines; Longhua Temple was an adventure to find and nice to see. My favourite was wandering around and enjoying the combination of old and new -- the old apartment buildings with the high rise buildings in the background -- the power lines forming umbrellas over the intersections.



For my friend that is interested in teapots, please visit Wu Shibao Teapot Museum, open in the afternoons at 88 Damuqiao Road near Zhaojiabang Road. The Shanghai International Tea Cultural Festival is the last 10 days of April each year; www.tea.shzb.gov.cn

Translation Humor - Clothing

Sayings on clothes are often mis-translated in any country. I remember when I was young getting a shirt that had Asian characters all over it. One day someone in my class actually translated it -- quite embarassing for a 12-year girl to be walking around in a shirt that said "I am blooming".
In China we have been seeing some clothing with very amusing saying that could give more than one meaning. Since I love chocolate, I enjoyed the one I saw yesterday - I think it was meant to be "Hershey's". Had to buy the T-shirt even though I will NEVER wear it out of my apartment. Thought others may find it amusing as well ....

Traveling in China via Taxi Hawker

After being in China for a few weeks, I have been feeling stressed from too much structure -- not in my work but in the transportation/ability to move without a schedule! So on my recent return from a business trip to Taiwan, I did not request a scheduled airport pickup! Decided to just get a taxi on my own!!

Similar to Korea, there were "taxi hawkers" at the exit from the arrival hall. Rather than waiting in line (okay pushing in line), I took one of the offers from the hawker. The taxi that was offered was a legitimate taxi/green etc. And on the way we started for the one hour trip to Fuzhou city.

Approximately 10 minutes or so into the trip, the taxi pulls to the side of the road where the migrant workers were waiting for work. After a few minutes discussion, the driver asks me to move to the front and the three additional passengers put their luggage and food in the trunk before they pile into the backseat. At this point, I decided that just in case something happened along the way, I should at least send myself a text message with the guy's license plate. If I was missing maybe someone would think to search phone records??!!

The trip was actually uneventful: The three extras were polite and agreable not to smoke, the taxi driver made alot more money, I actually contributed to being "green", and I can now say that I have at least experienced a typical long-distance taxi ride in China.

Fujian Museum, Fuzhou China

One afternoon this weekend, C.W. and I visited the Fujian Museum located on the lake in front of the Lakeside Hotel. You can take a walkway bridge to the area or walk around the lake, sorry no lake name is mentioned in English, to access the museum area. The first building we enter was the National History Museum; dinosaurs and such. The second building was the true Fujian Museum. The museum documents the history of the Fujian Province and the large overviews are in English as well as Chinese. There were some very interesting exhibits; clay soldiers, funeral canoe, headstones of a man and his wife (in Arabic as well as Chinese - from hundreds of years ago), etc. We attracted alot of attention from the students that were going thru the museum. One group of girls even translated enough of the headstone for us to understand that hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago, people from Arabic speaking countries were part of the Chinese society.

In the area around the museums, there were petrified tree trunks placed in a garden and some statues which I could not tell if they were old or recreations.

It was a place that I will go back to if given the chance and after I see a few more things in Fuzhou. Couple of notes if you decide to go: Bring your passport if you do not have a Chinese ID card and even though it says no photos, everyone was taking pictures except of the textiles.

Official Lantern Festival Night

The official lantern festival night was Monday February 9th. Fireworks were everywhere. Sometimes firecrackers would pop right at your feet. Luckily no known injuries in our group. The fireworks did burn down one of the new hotels in Beijing; used for the Olympics but no "grand opening" yet. The photos do not do justice to the fantastic and continuous (at least 4 hours) show.

Reality of Economic Downturn

Like many companies in in the current year, my company has been letting people go - either thru early retirement or severance. Sometimes you are let go due to "wrong place wrong time". You may remain for just the same reason; "right place right time". For those in each "place", best of luck. Remember that friendship will remain; that work was just the conduit to the introduction!

Climbing Stairs in Bamboo Park

Bamboo Park in Fuzhou contains the the most variations of bamboo in one location anywhere in the world. There were white bamboo, green bamboo, blue-green, and what I thought was the most unique - gold bamboo! Every different type is label with the scientific name in Roman letters so it is quite easy to read for those of use who have no skill with characters!

The park also has a 1000 year old Banyan tree. It was so large that, in order to get it in one photo, I kept moving back more and more. Very spectacular. Along one of the paths are trees that have a squishy trunk. Very surprising to be able to push your finger into the trunk of a tree!! Forgot to write down the name of the tree so I am sure I will need to edit this post later.

There are three main trails that can be taken to reach the top of the mountain in the park. Left rim, right rim, and middle along the river. All connect so you can take a different path up and down. Be aware that the hike is almost solid stairs - more than 2000 steps I believe. If you take the middle trail, you will see the under-development water hole and cascading water pools -- bet they will be quite full of people come summer. It appears the river has been dug out, cleaned, then cemented swimming hole in the middle of the river!

If you want to visit, you may take bus #802 which has a stop in the parking lot of the Bamboo Park. The bus fee is 1 RMB each direction. Use the front to enter and drop your coin or note into the box by the driver.

Lantern Festival (Opening Night) Fuzhou China

February 5th was the opening night of a new revitalized neighborhood in Fuzhou; coinciding with the first day of the Lantern Festival marking the end of Chinese New Year. The new area is very beautiful; built to resemble an old town.

Sad when you think about the people who had lived there their entire lives; forced out to make way for a new upgraded neighborhood. Easy to see both sided - you want people to have running water, electricity, and inside toilets but you hate to see anyone forced out. It happens in the US also. We just call it "imminent domain"; for the better of the community etc. (I have even seen people forced out just to build a factory that was thought to offer more jobs and tax income for the state or city.)

First US Birthday in almost a Decade!

Realized that it had been about a week since I blogged. This past week was my birthday. Actually, it may have been the first birthday in 8 years or more that I was actually in the US and not "on the road". I was lucky enough that at least one person remembered on my "pre-birthday" as well as my "real birthday". (So thank you!)
In general, the past month has been mentally confusing and emotionally stressful. Still trying to figure out what a friend meant by "so that is how it is going to be", muttered under his breath. Anything else that I could say tonight can wait.

Comedy Club #3

The mid-point of the comedy series at Clemens Center was reached tonight. Four of us made it to the show; for one, her first. It is fun to see the faces of people who are at the show for the first time. They range from "can I go now" (after the opening comic from the first show and, at least for me, the opening comic from this show) to "this comic is good" (reaction to the headliner from the first and third shows and to the second comic in the second show). The audience was also joined by Sorge's owners who lost their 57 year old business in a December fire. The Sorge's almost fell out of their chairs laughing during the "Irish weds Italian" bit ... gotta love those meatballs.

A friend mentioned that I did not have photos on some of my posts. So here is a photo; and yes, you are correct .... it has nothing to do with this post!

"Hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil" Nikko Japan

Amy's Taiwanese - Kaohsiung Taiwan

Over the two and a half weeks of vacation and holidays, I made time to test a recipe that I received from my favorite restaurant in Taiwan. During my last visit to Taiwan, I begged the chef to give me her recipe for "Clams in Spicy Sauce"; then one of my friends in Tainan translated it to English for me. Over the holidays, I set out to purchase all the ingredients and to create the wonderful dish that I enjoyed in Taiwan.

A few things that I discovered during my purchasing adventure: Buying clams in December in New York was difficult/impossible, mussels are not the same, and mussels need to be kept alive not wrapped in the plastic bag in the refrigerator. Preparation was just as eye-opening: Instructions to wear gloves when handling the peppers should be obeyed! Pots with no oil will still catch on fire. (This happened due to the hot peppers to be honest. The 15 minutes of scrubbing my hands raw to remove the burning left the new wok on the stove too long unattended!) Throwing a pan off a balcony into the snow is a great way to put out a fire!

Eventually, the meal was prepared. Although the canned clams tasted okay in the dish, they did not look as good. The photos are of the 'Clams in Spicy Sauce' at "Amy's". She also makes a very good Pina Colada with ice cream! Or, honey and kumquat juice is always good!!

Modified Plans - Keeping an Open Heart

Developing plans may change ---- And sometimes the new ones turn out to give you more satisfaction than you would have expected! My original thought was to have some friends over this weekend, either Friday or Saturday, for dinner. Food, wine, and interesting conversation. That did not work out - in Florida, still in New Hampshire, at Penn State football game, and lastly - wanting to see kids that had been out of town over the holidays.

Instead on Friday, I completed most of the living room, which included hanging the kimono that was purchased in June. Funny how some things look fantastic on the hanger. They even seem to fit in the shop with the perfect lights and the compliments of the shopkeeper. Reality can be quite different. In this case, my memory and expectation of the kimono in 2008 was not the same as seeing it on the wall in 2009. However, it will still be another reminder of my personal times in Japan.

Today was spent on the ski slopes with three of my favorite people. A very early morning leaving at 6 am, not quite as early as the 4:30 am last January in Japan though, and returning as dusk arrived. The snow began on the way to the slopes and continued until noon. We started out slowly with a couple of beginner slopes. I needed to make sure my knees worked, bindings on my 19 year old skis and boots did not break, and that I could remember how to stop! Surprisingly even after skiing 4 hours (excluding breaks for lunch, purchase of hand-warmers, and for coffee) my knees are not hurting and I only have one new bruise on my shin. Great group to ski and board with; hopefully we'll be able to go again before late February! And too bad the ski trip to Utah originally planned for January 16th just did not work out for any of this small group or the larger group. Now I am back home, have had a long hot shower, and shortly will enjoy something to drink before I turn in early!

Happy 2009

Most people start the new year by writing resolutions. I wanted to start the new year by recalling the past year. Yesterday, last night, and this morning, I was trying to decide how to get on "paper" the year of 2008. Then, thanks to "not plain Jane" I saw the perfect way. (Thanks Jane for letting me "borrow" your blog concept for new years!)

2008 "Good-byes"

1. Stress
2. Always being tired
   
3. Never thinking about my health
   
4. Holding others responsible
   
5. Spending lots of time with my friends in Asia
   
6. Work responsibility for past 18 years
7. Home ownership

What I Found in 2008

1. Happiness
2. Enjoyment of being interested
3. Pleasure from never hiding anything
4. Benefits of routine exercise
   
5. New fit for my skills in same company
   
6. Worry about health
   
7. Possibility

I wish 2009 will bring all of you great things and much pleasure!