Monthly Archives: November 2019

Time and Memories

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I checked the date today and realized I had only been back from home for a week. It feels like I had not been home for a month and missing my son so bad.

Is it time that plays tricks on us, or is it our brain?

Sometimes a memory comes into mind, and I would feel it happened just yesterday. Other times I would feel it happened a lifetime ago.

Sometimes I wish I could relive a memory, not just recall it. Like how my son as a toddler, looked at and listened to me when I sang to him, as if I was the most entertaining person in the world, and he was my number 1 fan. Or how he would stop playing and run to me to hug me while I was busy in the kitchen.

Other memories I just want to erase, the same way you highlight a text you’re typing (Ctrl-A) and then press delete. Save. That quickly. But the irony is, the more you want to forget something, the more it rankles in your mind. Memories like these are hard to forget. Is there ever a way to forget?

 

T.

 

 

Christmas in a coffee shop

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I was happy to see there’s Christmas ornaments and merchandise in this coffee shop. As soon as I entered, I heard my favorite Nat King Cole Christmas song. It brought back many memories of Christmas with my parents when I was a kid.

Christmas is not celebrated here the way it is in my country. Here many people confuse Santa with Jesus, and they aren’t as excited about it as we are, which is understandable because they don’t get a 2-week long holiday from school or several days off from work.

Nevertheless seeing the ornaments and hearing Christmas music put me in a nice mood while waiting for a friend. The people here may not share the same feeling about Christmas as people back home, but this place is still nice to look at and the coffee was good! 😛

Have a lovely week!!

T.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Cold

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Canada

Tina’s challenge this week is a real challenge for someone like me who comes from a tropical country! Thankfully I’ve traveled to some places with a winter season. The first image above I have used more than a couple of times on my blog. It is one of my favorite photos because when I took it, it was the first time ever (and this was 2016) I had seen a snow-covered mountain! I couldn’t believe it! It was summer in Canada but there was snow!

Now let me say something about the word “cold” and how subjective that is: when I told my cousin who was then living in Alberta that I was visiting, she got so excited saying, “Perfect! You are lucky. It’s already summer here. Just bring shorts and T-shirts!” My mistake was I just believed her and did not bother to check the weather app.

When I arrived in Vancouver in my summer clothes (luckily I always bring a summer cardigan when I travel because I know in  some planes and airports their A/Cs are just set too low), I was not ready for the 18C (64F) temperature. When I met with a former student, I noticed she was wearing a coat. And we both said, “This is not summer!” 

When I finally saw my cousin in Alberta, she was wearing spaghetti strap top and shorts! And she had the A/C on in her house! I begged her to turn it off and borrowed winter pajamas. She couldn’t stop laughing at me and told everyone in the family how cold I felt.

Well, can you blame me?

The very first time I saw snow though was in my husband’s hometown, in Shandong Province in China. At first I was so excited to see snow. But after a day of being cold (in the countryside their houses do not have central heating), I begged my husband to let me move to the city and said to him, “Please, look at my skin! It’s brown! This skin is not for the cold!” And I’m not being racist about my skin! It’s really brown.

SAMSUNG DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Shandong Province

 

Hope you feel comfortable whether you’re in a cold or warm place!

T.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Cold

Veggies in a Nori

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I’ve been craving spring rolls for two weeks now. I even got my sisters to eat vegetarian spring rolls last time I was home. I was so amazed that they ate them — all veggies, no meat at all! Finding spring roll wrappers back home is not a problem. You can find them in the supermarkets or grocery stores.

I find it ironic that I am having a hard time finding them here in China. So today at the supermarket I bought nori instead! It you ask me why I won’t just eat the veggies without wrapping them, the only answer I can give you is — I just want them in a wrap!

Today I had stir-fried bean sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, cilantro and king oyster mushroom wrapped in nori. It’s not sushi, but has the taste of one without the caloric content of rice.

It was a filling and healthy lunch. 😊

Have a wonderful week!

T.

LAPC: Waiting

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This week’s theme is “Waiting.” Even before I read Amy’s post I knew I would post pictures related to flying — which I do every month.

Most of the waiting I do now happens at an airport. I often go on red-eye flights because they are cheaper, though the layovers are always longer than the flights themselves. But then again they are cheaper.

So what do you do when there’s air traffic and your plane can’t land because the airport has only one runway! Take pictures of those things that are so commonplace you forget they are there!

I used to look forward to flying, but now I just try not to think about it and simply look forward to arriving. I hope one day teleportation will become real!

Taken just before a 10-minute long turbulence

Waiting for a flight may be exhausting, but at least you know eventually you will get to your destination.

It is less stressful than waiting for something whose arrival is forever uncertain.

—-

Have a lovely week!

T.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Waiting

Christmas in November

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It’s Christmas in the Philippines! Well, it’s been Christmas in the Philippines since September. It’s the biggest and most anticipated holiday in my country. Countdown begins in September and ornaments and Christmas trees aren’t put away until early January on the feast of the Three Kings.

Arriving at the airport after a red-eye flight, I was so excited to see all the ornaments and even a Christmas tree!

Another short flight and I’ll be home, and with my family it will really feel like Christmas in November!

Happy weekend!

T.

Connectedness

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I’ve had this torn page from an old magazine on my office wall for over a decade now. The color has faded, but the words always have the same effect on me: jolting me to reality that every action I make, every word I utter has an effect on something or someone. It creates ripples.

Just a short note to remind all of us (myself included) that it is better to be mindful and to be kind and to smile rather than be angry and glare at people especially early in the morning. A simple smile can brighten a stranger’s day. And just maybe that stranger will be kinder to people around him as well.

Ripples.

Have a lovely morning (or evening)!

T.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

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I had a quite filling yet inexpensive lunch today — two pieces of vegetarian spring rolls.

Ordering these spring rolls before grocery-shopping at Walmart-SM Mall has been a habit of mine for years now (Walmart-SM is on the island, so I only go there once or twice a month.) A friend of mine introduced the restaurant to me at least 10 years ago, and I’ve been going to that restaurant for their spring rolls ever since.

  • These spring rolls have dried tofu, cabbage, celery, cilantro, carrot and peanut sauce.

    • A very simple yet filling and healthy meal.

    There are a number of spring roll recipes online. You can try making your own.

    Apart from finding time to exercise, it isn’t very hard to lose weight. Stick to a healthy diet.

    Good luck!

    T.

    The moon, the moon, the moon

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    For those who follow my blog, you’d probably notice I’ve posted several photos of the moon lately.

    I love looking up at the sky and seeing a beautiful moon. And I thought people feel the same way I do, but one evening years ago walking with my best friend, I said, “Hey! Look at the moon! So beautiful!” And he said, “It’s just the moon. Come on!”

    And then last night on my walk home from the office, taking these photos, two girls passed by and murmured, “What’s she taking pictures of?”

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

    I’m glad I see beauty in ordinary things and occurrences. I am thankful I can still see.

    The soft moonlight makes things look gentler. It hides the ugliness visible in the daytime and makes them mysterious. Guy de Maupassant’s story Moonlight comes to mind.

    May you see beauty around you. 💕

    T

    LAPC: Creepy

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    “Creepy” is a subjective word.

    As Ann-Christine quoted from a dictionary, it causes “unpleasant feeling of fear or unease.”

    So what one finds creepy may be just “normal” to somebody else.

    A few years ago just after my son was diagnosed with Autism, a girl, who I later found out was one of our neighbors, gave my son a look that I thought was mocking. At that time I felt too protective of my then 2-year old son and was quite emotional that I glared at the girl and just walked away with my son. A few days later I saw the girl again and saw the same expression on her face and realized that was really how she looked — her facial expression unchanged.

    That truly taught me lesson — not to be too sensitive. When somebody looks at you, do not think too much about it. It may mean nothing.

    In the same way what you think of as creepy, others may see as harmless or even boring.

    It’s all relative.

    The fish in the photos may be giving you a creepy look — but they don’t have bad intentions! 😛

    Happy Sunday!

    T.

    Lens Artists Photo Challenge: Creepy

    The Other Side: A Haiku

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    Enigmatical,

    Imagined prosperity —

    Then…reality.

    ——

    The grass is always greener….

    People sometimes imagine a better life somewhere else, unhappy with what they have. They follow their desire and get all excited about their new life only to be disappointed after a while.

    Sometimes it’s not a change of place that’s needed. Just a change of heart. Or mind.

    Happy weekend! 💕

    T.

    Beautiful November Morning

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    I went out for a walk this morning and couldn’t help taking photos as I thought the weather was perfect at 70F and it was breezy with blue sky above and quiet except for the rustling of the leaves and chirping of the birds.

    Life is beautiful.

    I hope you have a beautiful morning (or evening) too! 💕

    T.

    The Sun: A Haiku

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    Do not get too close.

    It will burn you and blind you,

    Farther — gives you warmth.

    —–

    Some people are better seen (or heard) from a distance, too. 😛

    (Btw, the framing of this picture is far from perfect as I wasn’t even looking up when I took the picture! Just pointed my phone camera to where I felt the sun was and click! Hey! It wasn’t too bad!)

    Have a lovely week! 💕

    T.

    Dumplings for vegetarians

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    Egg and leek dumplings

    I am not a vegetarian, but I try to eat more vegetables than meat. Yesterday I had my first (and last) meat dish for the week, so I wasn’t so keen on having dumplings for supper.

    But my husband wanted to have dumplings in a Dongbei 东北 (northeastern) restaurant. Most dumplings have meat in them. Thankfully the restaurant serves leek and egg dumplings (韭菜鸡蛋水饺.)

    Soy sauce + vinegar + red pepper sauce

    Last week I did my dance workout one hour every single day and also did planking and lifting weights and really watched my diet.

    I lost 1 kilogram.

    Though I tend to eat more during weekends when my husband and I eat together, I know if I really want to, I can lose one kilogram again this week with exercise and a vegetarian diet.

    Optimism and discipline. 💪

    T.

    LAPC: Monochrome

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    Huawen Xue Yuan, Jimei, Xiamen

    This week Patti chose “Monochrome” for LAPC’s theme.

    She said, “Monochrome can also add drama, mystery, and emotion to a shot…” and I agree!

    These are some photos I took yesterday when my husband and I went out for a walk.

    Long Zhou Hu (Dragon Boat Lake), Jimei, Xiamen

    Happy Sunday!

    T. 💕

    Lens Artists Photo Challenge:Monochrome

    In search of Gong Bao Ji Ding

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    In my first few years in China, I often ordered Gong Bao Ji Ding (宫保鸡丁 or Kung Pao Chicken) and Mapo Doufu (麻婆豆腐）whenever we went out to eat simply because the Chinese restaurants my friends and I often went to were Sichuan restaurants.
    But as years passed and my friends left in China, my husband and I seldom go out to eat, and when we do we don’t usually eat Sichuan food. So I had not eaten Gong Bao Ji Ding in at least 4 years even though I live in China! Until today.

    We purposely went out to find a restaurant that serves Gong Bao Ji Ding because the restaurant we used to go to no longer serves my favorite dish! We walked about 3 km until we found one that serves it. Though I was a little disappointed it didn’t taste the same as I remembered it, I was still glad I finally got to eat it again!
    Another dish I recalled liking then and ordered today was Gan Bian Si Ji Dou （干煸四季豆).

    This one tasted the same though.
    All in all we had a beautiful morning walk that culminated in a good lunch that brought back memories of good food and fun company.

    Have a wonderful weekend! 💕

    T.

    Circles

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    We move in different circles

    Some wider than others

    But not necessarily happier.

    It doesn’t matter how big or small

    The circle you’re in,

    What matters is who are in it:

    Who are they to you?

    Who are you to them?

    Do they matter to you?

    Do you matter to them?

    Some circles are big but empty.

    Others are small but not petty.

    ——–

    I have a 4-day weekend this week. So, happy weekend!💕

    T.