My Colleagues

Photo taken on our monthly birthday party.

Relieved...sort of

Allie tested positive in the screening for gestational diabetics mellitus (GDM), so the doctor ordered her to do a full test to confirm. The test was done by testing blood sugar level at hour zero as reference, then consume 200 ml 50% sugar solution, and test blood sugar level at hour one, two and three. If any two of the values exceeds normal range, then it's positive.

Last Saturday the result came out. Allie passed. We don't have to worry about all the complications related to GDM, including Preterm Labor and Preeclampsia (or Toxemia of Prenancy). We're safe, for now.

Sense for Art

Allie told me that many parents who send their kids to art classrooms like to compare the works of their children, and thus judge whose kid is "better" in their art "abilities". When I heard this, an idea came to me. I would like to show these paintings to those parents and ask them to give a ranking on these works. If you can't tell the work of famous artists (and whose works cost a lot of money to buy) and the work from nobody (yet), on what ground are you judging the kids?

Answer (click on the letters to see which is which):
(A) A student in Hainan, China
(B) Cezanne
(C) Matisse
(D) A painting teacher in Banqiao, Taipei
(E) Picasso

Short Vacation at Tian Lai

Last weekend Allie and I had a short vacation to Tian Lai Hotel, Yang Ming Shan. We stayed at their new building where each rooms is equipped with a private hot spring pool on the balcony. The wet and cool weather is the best you can ask for when enjoying a cozy outdoor hot spring bath, although the mountains were veiled by the fog. The food was not bad, a lot better than Howard on the Green Bay. Only one hour drive away, it's a great retreat from busy work. We may plan to come back every year.

Moo Refrigerator Magnets

Finally, I made some refrigerator magnets with my Moo cards and a piece of magnet Monica bought for me. It was fun and the result looks good, isn't it?

Death and Life

It's been hard for me recently. Lot of things to take care, lot of problems to solve--mostly regarding the coming baby. It's a time to test how far you would go, and how much you would sacrifice for a new life.

When I'm so preoccupied by things about a new life, Death also showed its presence. I got a call from Gu telling me that Wang Yiqin, an elder sister and old friend of us, died from cancer last week. She had suffered from cancer since she was eight or nine years old. With good medical care and her strong will, she survived many many times, got married, and had a son. When I saw her in NTU Hospital last month, I could hardly recognize her because this time the disease had completely changed her face. She could not hear my voice, could barely see, and was unable to talk. I wish she can finally rest in peace now.

A few minutes ago I saw an article of another young lady who just went through a tough treatment this New Year's Holidays and is still fighting cancer. Most Chinese refuse to look at the fact that we are all going to die, but Death is always on the corner--no matter how young you are.

Time Can Change So Much

An interesting picture was posted on the newspaper. Look what time can do to a man (and woman).