New Toy

I received my new toy -Gorrilapod SLR. This crazy design redefined the meaning of tripod. You no longer needs to worry the height of the tripod because it clings to almost anything possible. I'm going to shoot some good firework photos with it this year.

Now and Then

We passed by the coffee shop where we shot our wedding album two years ago. For fun and memory, we went to the same spot and took a picture. The diffeence is needless to say...

Unplanned Day Off

This morning when I was driving to work, a motorcycle rider knocked on my window and told me I had a flat tire. Driving on highway in such condition seemed dangerous, so I took the day off to get the car fixed. The cozy chair, music and coffee in Starbucks was perfect to spend some time waiting for the repairment to be completed on such a rainy day. With a good book in my back pack, I couldn't ask for anything more.

Week 15+

Today we had another preridical exam and paid for an extra ultrasonic scan of the baby which is not covered by the health insurance. This week it looks more like a baby, with obvious head and limbs. The spine and femurs were also clearly visible on the monitor. Since it is too big to be seen on one screen, there was no measure of its total length but with separate parts. the widest part of its head was 3.4 cm, which equals 16 weeks. However, its femur length was only 1.5 cm as a 14-week-old fetus should have. Does that mean the baby is going to have a big head and short legs?

Besides looking at the baby, the ultrasonic scan also exams the quatity of amniotic fluid. Next Wednesday we're going to have an Amniocentesis. The law requires the doctors must strongly suggest expecting mothers over 35 years old to do this test. The doctor said that it's very simple and painless, but I'm still not quite comfortable about it. Maybe I'm just worrying what to do if the test result shows something wrong.

Best Year of Baseball

The year 2006 is the best year in baseball for me. Although our national team were disappointing in WBC to start the year, later on we have Tiger Wang grabbing the most wins of MLB and the long underestimated players of La New Bears won the champion title of CPBL. When it came to November, the feast began. La New Bears defeated Samsung Lions, and lost to Japan by one run in the Asian Series to finish in 2nd. A few days later, Chinese Taipei beat Korea and Japan to finish the Inter Continental Cup in 3rd.
Then, the entree, Chinese Taipei won Gold Medal in Doha Asian Games! Bottom of 9th, runners on 2nd and 3rd, one out, one run behind. Next batter came in 0-4 and 2K to face the young prospect who pitched 0.82 ERA in the Inter Continental and will join professional clubs next season. What would you expect? A walk away hit with 2 RBI to end the game? That's what happened. I believe most people who watched the game were very emotional and proud to be a Taiwaner.

Day Off

Not feeling like going towork this morning. Might be the rain, bust weekend, or just recent atmosphere in the office. So I take a day off, staying home to get some rest - physically and mentally. Eden had be draw cards from his Osho Tarot Zen Cards. My first card was "Stress", indicating my current consition. And the second card I got, when asking what to do, was "Empty". It was a major card indicating my recent challenges to overcome. Too much mystery to solve, so let's get back to earth and have a bowl of simple noodles for lunch.

Commander in Chief

Watched the last episode of the great TV series tonight. It's a nice series about the ideals and integrity in politics, and how they are comprimised or threatened by power games. When I finished the last episode of season one, I opened my browser to check if there is season two or when will be. Here comes the irony. There will not be season two. In fact, there was not even a complete season one! It was cancelled before season one ends because the rating was not good (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander_in_Chief_%28TV_series%29).

In the drama, President Allen wanted to seek the next presidency but insisted that she will only do it the right way. That is, no dirty games or exchanges in order to get certain votes or better polls. Everyone knows it doesn't work, but I believe the vewers or supporters of this drama wishes she can make it. However, in the real world, she didn't lived out the first presidency because her numbers were not good enough. A dream is just a dream eventually.

Pica Pica Day

Today is a big day for Allie's company Makalot. They opened the first store of their own brand - pica pica. Almost every manufacturing company on this island is talking about going branding, but very few succeeded to even begin. The philosiphy of OEM/ODM is completely useless in the world of brands. While people see the benefit of going branding, they often ignore the huge risk and determination involved. Believe me, it's not fun. BENQ 's SIEMENS merger is a good lesson for most manufacturing companies to see if they are ready to risk everything in their pockets. If so, you might have a chance.

But hey, I'm not cursing Pica Pica. I wish them all the best, because if they succeed, it will be helpful for my mortgage. Check out the photos of the opening day in my album and if you have extra money to spend, here the map of the store.

Timing

Today something happened at work got me seriously considering time to leave. This company has been doing poor for many years. What kept me here was that I still felt that there's something I can do, something worth doing. I carried out my ideas and learned from te experiences. The partners were also a big part of the reason. So even though I got a lot of pressure asking me to find a job in Taipei, and I also got some opportunity to change, I did not made such decision. Now maybe it's time to really think about it.

Visit to the Zoo

This Saturday my younger brother-in-law's family and my mother-in-law came to my home and stayed overnight. His two-year-old daughter Shuxin is facinated by trains, so we took her for a ride on MRT after lunch. The most reasonable place to stop was of course the zoo, so we spent the afternoon there. Shuxin was very excited, but the three other females were not as thrilled. Allie is pregnant, her mother is 60-years-old and overweight, and Shuxin's mom still has steels inside her legs and has no knee bones since a severe car accident several years ago. So you can imagine how happy they were when the sun finally went down behind the horizon.

Everybody Goes to China

Yesterday I got a mail from my Korean friend, Kate. She now works in a brand new hotel in Suzhou --The Shilla Suzhou. I just got back from Suzhou three weeks ago, had I received the mail then I could've met her in China!

The Shilla Hotel is part of the Samsung Group, the famous Korean giant company. As far as I know, the Shilla Seoul is one of the best hotel in Korea. I did not find Kate when I went to Seoul in April, and now it's likely we'll be meeting in China someday. Whether you like it or not, China is the focus of the world for the next few decades.

A Lesson Learned...Finally

Last week I got a call from my bank, saying that my loan is going to be due next month. And the clerk also said that it has not been paid for three months. What a good news! I borrowed the money to a friend doing truck business several years ago. I kind of expected such result from the beginning, but years passed and I was hoping that it might land safely. Okay, another lesson about humanity.

Week 11

Ultrasonic picture of xiaoxiaobao at week 11.

Who is This?

Scanned some old photos. Okay, this is me, less than one year old, I guess. Hairy.

Fat Dinner

Tonight's dinner. Chopped sirloin, shortrib and pork seasoned with salt and pepper, quick fried in a pan. Accompanied by grilled Chinese mushrooms and sliced onions, Ceylon spinach, smashed potato, fresh tomato, and boiled carrots. Oh, I almost forgot the cornsoup.

Eden is Back

Today my ex-boss, Eden Lee, is back to Microtek. He left one year ago for not getting along with his boss, the VP of R&D. One year and three jobs later, now he's back to face the same challenge he chose to turn away.

Pumping Pumping Heart

Today is the day to check my baby's heart beat. I am in China now so my mother-in-law accompanied Allie to the hospital. One of Allie's ex-colleague told her their baby did not had heart beat so their doctor asked them to have an abortion or else the mother could be endangered. This of course made us worried, although none of us speak out.

Luckily, a blinking tiny spot on the ultrasonic screen, and strong sound wave patterns appeared. Good job! Now it's 6.88 weeks and 0.918 cm. Keep the good work!

Take Another Look at Suzhou

Today I have a chance to visit Suzhou for sight-seeing. Although I spent five days in Suzhou last week, I saw nothing but the exhibition center. My colleagues and I made use of the public transportation system, which is the main method for the locals. It took about $5 RMB and half hour drive from Wujiang to Suzhou South Bus Terminal, and another $1 or $2 to downtown. City bus system connects every attractions for 1 or 2 RMB each ride, so it's easy to get around in the city. However, the tickets for the attractions are not cheap, especially at hot season (Apr. 16 - Oct. 30). Due to limited time, we only visited the Han Shan Temple and the famous Maple Bridge.

Suzhou eMEX

Today is the last day od Suzhou eMEX, the electronics manufacturer's exposition. My company Microtek spent a lot of money and devoted over 20 people for its first exposition in China. People from Taiwan, Beijing, Shanghai and nearby Wujiang factory gathered at Suzhou International Exposition Center, hoping to have a good start at China for our own TV brand. Speaking of publicity and advertizing, the result is good since we got on the front page of local newspapers and also on Suzhou TV news. But when it comes to real business, it's another thing. Not much buyers or agents came to the show. Instead, the visitors are mostly local folks or other exhibitors checking what's new.

This photo shows our CEO Benny Hsu introducing our products to some high-ranked officials (I was too low-ranked to know and was not interested enough to ask).

First obstetrics exam at hospital

Okay, I blew up this photo by inserting it into a hot illuminator. It's the first ultrasonic graph of our baby. We went to the hospital where we plan to have all following exams and give birth to our baby for the next nine months. The doctor was nice, old and handsome. The space in the hospital was crowded. But, it's a hospital with all branches of physiology and medicine, and it's within ten minutes drive from home.

I'm feeling more worried for my wife than excited for the baby. Two weeks later she will have the next examination to check if the baby's heart begins to function. I will be in China at that time.

Baby is Coming

Allie told me she got positive test result last night. A baby is coming. She wanted to have a baby since we married, so she cried when she saw the two pink lines on the tester. I was also very emotional when I heard the news. We will go to the hospital for a formal examination next Monday to confirm the pregnancy. To be happy or to be worried about becoming parents, I can't tell how I feel now. I hope it will be a healthy baby and Allie will not have to suffer too much for this baby.

An Extraordinary Day

This is a strange day. For many people on this island, it is the day to demonstrate their anger for their president and ruling party. This event not only occupies every local news channel, it is also covered by many international media. One hundred thousand people dressed in red gathered in front of the presidential office in Taipei to start the first day of the rally. I basicaly support the event, but usually I'd stay away from such crowded places as far as possible.

However it's not my choice today, because I have to go to the National Theater for a play I've booked 6 months ago. So, despite the crowd and terrible trafic in that area, plus heavy shower in the afternoon, my wife and I arrived at the theater -right on the edge of the demonstration site. People shouted protest words in subway station, and the area was drowned by people in red. The play was as good as I expected, but something funny happened on my way home.

I was called by a middle-aged man (of course in red) on a subway platform. He drove from Taichung for 2.5 hours to join the protest. Because of the traffic control in the area for this event, he parked his car outside the city and was trying to find his way back in the maze of subway system. Since where he wanted to go was two stop after mine, I asked him to follow me and guided him through all the transition stations whilte trying to teach him how to find his way around. I've never thought of meeting with someone so enthusiatic like this guy. That really made my day.

About Life

I haven't post a thing for quite a while. Two weeks ago, the youngest brother of the VP in my wife's department was found dead on his way home after work. There was no obvious reason of his death and he was only 44. This could happen to anybody, but we all hope it does not include us.

Last weekend I went to Kaohsiung to my parents and grandparents. My mother has been a professional nanny for over ten years. In the photo on the left is the eleventh baby (I guess) in her career. And, of course, she prepared a lot of food for us. The traditional market nearby is very famous in the biggest city of southern Taiwan. Fresh, cheap vegetables, fish and meat are fundamental for its reputation, accompanied by lots of delicious ready-to-serve food and appliances.

Step Down Like a President

Italian Seafood Soup

Tried cooking my first Italian style seafood soup. The ingrediants includes garlic, onion, tomato, squid, salmon, pepper, white wine, and some shells. Although I wasn't very sure about the proportion to mix them, the first attemop was not bad.

Free Buffet

Last Sunday was the date of the second yearly meeting of my community. The purpose was to elect new board of management for the community. A year passed so fast, last time we were in a partly finished construction site when we elect the board for the first year. This year we have a beautiful garden, fountains, lobby, and a brand new karaoke center. After the meeting the neighbors had delivered buffet service for lunch. Nice food, and great community.

Burned Hand, One Week Later

This is how my burned fingers look like after one week of treatment by myself. I'm quite satisfied with the result. New flesh and skin grew nicely without any infection in the past week. A few days later it would be hard to tell where the wound was.

By the way, this photo was taken with my new phone. Not good, but handy enough for such events.

New Cell Phone SGH-D528

Another late news. I got a new cell phone last Saturday. My wife and I went to buy new phones because her phone was literally breaking apart. She got the brand new cool phone, LG KG800, or the Chocolate Phone. I got a cheaper one, Samsung SGH-D528, but also much expensive than what I was using (a free phone when I bought my washing machine).

Today's dinner...Me!

I burned my fingers on Monday when moving dishes in my oven. The temperature was not very high actually, about 150 degrees. I moved my dish aside when the oven was preheating. Suddenly I smelled something burned. It was not like meat, but more like the smell of hairs got burned. Seconds later I realized it was my two fingers when the pain began. I put ehm under running water for a while and when used ice to cool them down. I guess it worked because I don't feel much pain or got blisters afterwords. This is how they look like today.

Last Night in Guangzhou

Today is my last night in Guangzhou, and Walter will also leave tomorrow. We tried very hard to be able to finish our tests tomorrow, so we worked overtime today. We got out of the office of ICIC China at 22:00, and then Zhang Chiang, our sales manager in Guangzhou, took us to evening tea.

The Cantonese have a habit of eating snacks after dinner. We were all uder a lot of stress these days, so when we were about to finish our job tonight, Walter asked me if we could go for beers after work. We went to a restaurant nearby. The food was great as most of Cantonese restaurants, and the local beer, Zhu Jiang Beer, was also great.

When we got back to the hotel, Walter asked me if I would like to have more drinks with him. We brought a bottle of local wine, the Great Wall Red Wine which I have just read on magazines and always wanted to try to his room. He received a short message about the terrorism alert in UK. We then talked a lot about terrorism, the world, business in Iran, modern China, and his family and vacations. It was almost four o'clock when we noticed the time and finished the wine. It was great knowing Walter. Byt the way, Chinese wine tastes interesting.

Free Dinner

Tonight we had a free dinner. There is a travel agent who has an office in the hotel we stay. We booked our rooms from him with lower prices, which is 298 each day. My colleague Jason was bugging him to cut the price even lower. He said he can't cut the room price, but he can take us to dinner.

We went to a Hunan restaurant nearby. The food was good. I ordered a snake but gave up the turtle. The price was really high, too. It cost the agent $506 RMB.

Working with German

(c) microform.de
A German arrived at Guangzhou last night. He left home Monday morning in Germany, took a local train for 30 minutes to next town, switch to a train to Frankfurt which is a two hour trip. He then got on a flight of Qadar Airways on 15:20 and landed at Doha 22:25 local time. The connecting flight was supposed to take off at 00:50 which is 2.5 hours later, but was delayed for 4 hours with no reason announced. His plane finally landed at Hong Kong at 18:13 local time, but all trains he planned to take to Guangzhou were already gone. I searched the web and found that there are coaches directly from the airport to Guangzhou. He managed to find one and was on his way at 19:15, but we have no idea where the bus will stop in Guangzhou. We asked him to let us speak to the driver on the phone, and finally got him to the hotel at 10:45. It's already 30 hours since he left home.

The next morning, he showed up on time and was ready to work. No signs of fatigue or jet lag. He just had his 50th birthday last month, and decided to change his life style. Less beer and less sweets. He lost 5 kg in 6 weeks since he travelled to Tehran last month. By the way, his name is Walter and plays bass guitar in a rock band.

Going to China Again...

I'll be going to China again next week. This time I will stay in Guangzhou for one week. Hopefully no more surprises or delays so that I can come back on time.

Chinese Lover's Day

Yesterday was Lover's day on Chinese lunar calendar. No gifts, just a home-cooked meal and a bottle of wine.

Josh & Craig's New Home

Last Sunday we went to Josh and Craig's housewarming party. They bought an apartment after thrown out by their previous landlord. The new home is located at Xindian and has a great view. Congrates to Josh and Craig. To see more about the party and their new home, visit Craig's Album.

(c) Craig Dodge

(c) Craig Dodge

(c) Craig Dodge

(c) Craig Dodge

Unlucky Day

Today I got hit by a woman from behind. I stopped for red light at a crossroad near Tamshui, and suddenly my car jumped forward with a loud noise. It took me a few seconds to realilze that I was hit. I stepped out of my car and walked towards the car behind me. It was a black Nissan X-TRAIL. To my surprise, the driver seemed to have no intention of openning the door. I knocked on the window and finally the door opened. It was a woman 40 or 50 years old, wearing low-cut dress showing off her tits. She claimed that she didn't know that she hit anything. I argues with her for several minutes, but I was in a hurry to go to Hsinchu so I let her go. How can someone say such a lie without any shame?

At moments like this you need good food. The pictures were my dinner last night. I think cooking prevented me from killing people like that female driver today.

Eels in Xin Tai Le

Found some pictures of the restaurant my colleagues took me to in Guangzhou. The name of the restaurant is Xin Tai Le, and is famous for its eels. Its pork and goose are also very delicous. I didn't bring my camera then, so this is the best I can find to share.

Home Sweet Home

On the 16th day, I'm finally home. Finally on my own sofa writing my blog, and most importantly, I can read my own blog now. Two interesting things on my way home. One is to see the new painting of a Cathay Boeing 747 in HKG, and observed a canine officer on duty in TPE.