Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.

It seemed that just as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen.

He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her he asked, "Darling, what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.

He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

She humbly asked, "What does it mean, Father?"

He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?

I heard the story while doing my MBA and in Serena Yong's (my ex-boss) presentations during one of those forecast review sessions in my days in APJ. It just came to me, that as Christians that we ought to do more than just be affected by life, we ought to influence the people around us - spread His love. Hmm...

Winter preparations

Warm Feet with Australian Lambskin Wool Boots
So tonight I dug my winter indoor furry boots out - UGG boots as the Aussies called them :) They were sent to me courtesy of Uncle Simon last winter from Brisbane, Australia... love that man. Sitting down during the night conference calls can be cold for the feet.

Warm in Bed
Last weekend over dinner Vinny was complaining about having too much stuff and no room in his tiny 8ping apartment (26.4sq meter). So I offered to buy his extra electric blanket off him. It's kinda win-win, he gets rid of the extra one and I get to stay warm and toasty in bed. Last winter I resisted an electric blanket - paranoia about being electrocuted in my sleep. What changed then? Remembering how much I hate being cold, especially while sleeping.

I like to think that I've gained some winter experience now that this is winter no. 2 for me. :)

My 1st weekend as a 38-er

Post birthday dinner with Vinny & GH turned out to be a 2-parter dinner. Yeah, Vinny was nice enough to let me choose the restaurant and I was torn between Persian (Iranian) food and this French restaurant that had pretty good reviews on some blogsites. And he being the foodie, we ended up eating at both, not in the same night of course!

Friday night, it was Persian Heaven.
Address: 1, Ln 61, Hejiang Street, Taipei (台北市合江街61巷1號)Telephone: (02) 2517 1603.

The barbequed meats tasted pretty good actually. And there was meal-time entertainment, this belly dancer whose wobbly bits troubled me.. I like my muscles rock hard and taut please!

Then French on Sunday night, L’Idiot, address: 台北市民生東路3段156號1樓（近敦化北路口）156 MinSheng E Rd Sec 3 Tel 02-25456966. The 8 course set meal was excellent! Saturday was a hang out with the gals evening with GH & Emily - the 3 of us hung out, ate a fantastic dinner GH made (her shepherd's pie was simply awesome), watched DVDs, baked cookies all night. I stumbled home at 2-ish am.

Counter-efforts vs the good food this weekend, I managed a half hour run at the gym after morning mass & also climbed on Sat. Vain pathetic losing efforts against the bulge.

about and around Taiwan

Last Friday, GH and I checked out Ningxia night market - a little known night market amongst tourists, but said to be the best night market food in Taipei. It is really ALL food, unlike Shilin, and very few non-Taiwanese about. Here's the really (REALLY) yummy taro balls for which we queued almost 20mins and endured the rude service for.

And here's a pix of us at some green moss filled lake in Alishan. This was some weeks back, but dear GH just managed to download her camera...

Another year, another birthday

And with that, I turn 38. Time flies, I can't believe it's my 2nd birthday spent in Taiwan. And to quote the very wise Fr Anthony - who was overheard muttering "there is no new/old year, every year's the same"... It certainly does feel the same, between being 37 and now, 38. Hmm...

"Good for you"

What does it mean when someone says "Good for you"?

E.g.
Me - I had a great time over the weekend.
Response - "good for you!"

Now what does that mean?

I always resented it when I get that response. To me, it means, "Yeah really? Well, good for you, cos I don't give a shit!"

So can someone shed some light, does "good for you!" as a response supposed to be taken postitively, have I been wrong all these years?

It's Advent!

Steph was up late (as usual) and gave me this link


And from there, I was led to this...



Enjoy! A reminder of the season - Christ is our Saviour. Amen!

It's officially winter!

It's interesting to have seasons. It's also interesting that now we can dig out our winter jackets again.

What's not so interesting is the feeling of being cold. I had a pre-taste.

Went for a weekend getaway with Emily & Ghee Hwee at the Green Island. It was hot and balmy when we left on Friday - felt like 30degrees in the day. So all I packed was a cardigan. Winter arrived somewhere between dive no. 2 and dive no. 3 ; between Saturday late afternoon and Sunday morning.

Water temperature on Saturday was 27-28degrees C ; Sunday was 25-26degrees C.

The sudden cold front brought with it high waves... The ferry ride out of Green Island made me sick enough to barf. So much for the big lunch I had :(

Blues drove all the way from Taitung back to Taipei. We stopped at Hualien for dinner - ate a big meal again, then started to wind through the mountains. I felt sick all over again.

Yeah, it was a fun weekend all in. I still feel slightly queasy but it'll pass... or so I hope.

PS I need a thicker wetsuit.. my 2.5mm wetsuit is suitable only for Singapore/Malaysian waters.

Typhoon!

I've been a little busy lately due to my platforms launch dates plus being coordinator for the upcoming marketing summit.

Up to late last night, I was in the office working on a set of slide templates. I wasn't working late alone, GH, Chris and Emily as well. At some point in the night, Chris insisted on booze, GH found a bottle of red wine and they popped it open with a screwdriver (seriously!)... We drank French wine out of little paper cups. Groan... Anyhow, I managed to finish the slides, sent it out and then we went home at midnight. Yet another long day in the office :)

We had a marketing summit sync up meeting this morning at 9am. I did not realise a "typhoon" blew in overnight.

Overnight, the organization was changed - the mini NB team is now part of my boss's organization. Impact to me - possibly reshuffle of platform responsibilities. And, the marketing summit is cancelled. Just like that. All those late nights, that template I worked on just a couple of hours ago..

I was soooo looking forward to meeting Steph! Most importantly!

Jay Chou & Ghee Hwee

Ghee Hwee gave me Jay Chou's latest album Capricorn - complete with my favourite song - Daoxiang.
I was bitching last Monday - stressed from work and also largely from the loneliness. And she wanted to get me the CD to cheer me up, but she was too busy until Saturday to buy it. She gave it to me Satuday night when we met up for dinner.

I was so touched. *sob*

Now happy - have Jay Chou rapping in my ears...

Happy All Saints Day!

After work on Friday evening, I went with Luca and Ghee Hwee for some Italian at Capones. There was a live band playing and as we left after dinner, our bellies full of excellent pizzas, the refrains of Bob Marley's No Woman No Cry rang in my head for a long while - "everything's gonna be all right!"...



Saturday morning, I was awoken by the ADSL guy. He replaced the phone plug, hopefully that helps - my Internet connectivity's been unstable, really bugs me as it takes forever to get TV downloaded! Grr... Spent the rest of the day cleaning house and watching TV until Ghee Hwee called for dinner.

We had some excellent dim sum from Tang Dynasty, then headed for a foot massage. We meant to go to the 6 Star Foot Massage at Bade Road, but saw this other one next door and decided to give it a try.

Walking in, I started whinging to her about why no TVs available... But the place is really different. In front of the massage chairs is a wall with flowing water and get this, live music - a celloist + pianist played through out the 70min massage. It was really out of this world, all you hear is the gurgling sounds of the water feature on the wall and the live classical music. The classiest foot massage place in Taipei - 928 Goldmine Foot Massage, at No. 324, Sec. 2, Bade Rd.

To everyone in Taipei, instead of happy halloween, I wish you all a Happy All Saint's Day!

Taiwan - home

Mom spent 2 weeks in Taiwan. I thought she'll like it here since people here are genuinely nice. And especially respectful of older people.

Plus mom as a shopper is a really difficult one - I believe we got yelled some choice Cantonese words in Hong Kong some years ago - just from her style of shopping. Frankly, I think she sometimes deserves it.

But in Taipei, you can stand in line to buy a latte in the mornings and then change your mind a couple of times and still be served with a smile and an easy 沒關係 (it's ok).

To my chargrin, it didn't quite work out so rosy. She explored as far as my neighbourhood and refused to venture beyond. No taxis, no MRT, no buses. Anywhere on foot she was ok with, but having to take some form of transportation scared her. And this is the same mom who quite happily rode the London double-decker buses to downtown High street during my MBA days not too long ago - alone. She asked around to find out what buses takes her whereever she wanted to go to in London.

Yes, she was scared in a city (Taipei) that is possibly the friendliest in Asia - my sincere opinion.

Despite Taiwan's warmth and genuineness, it could not compensate for the low levels of spoken English on the streets of Taipei.

Mom was afraid of getting lost and then not being able to communicate with anyone. And that fear alone stopped her from venturing beyond the small radius of home.

It is a pity.

It's getting cool here

Today it's 22 degrees. Funnily it got cooler right after mom left. She kept whinging about how hot it gets - it was probably 25 degrees while she was here *roll eyeballs*

I really don't get it when Singaporeans bitch about the warm weather. Comeon already, we're south-east Asians, we live practically on the equator, don't tell me you hide out in an AC room all day. It's such pretentious, phoney behaviour that makes me sick.

Ok, I'm grumpy... I'm coordinating the next Marketing Summit and it has been eventful. Originally planned in San Francisco and then last minute big boss man says move to Houston. And we scramble to change. I hate the mothercity of cowboy state. Hate is a little strong yes, perhaps I strongly dislike. True to form, the cowboys start to whinge almost immediately. Oh, the venue we're considering is too far, the 1 hour commute is too long, oh the place is too dangerous, too expensive... Hello? There's people flying in from France, Singapore, Taiwan, California and Florida - and the Houston people are complaining a 1 hour drive is too far?

I've been sucking it all in and patient. But I lost it on Friday late night, pushed over the brink by this 1 rude cowboy who ironically worked out of the Taiwan office for almost 2 years.

What was Sunday's sermon about? Love. No. 1 love the Lord Your God with all your might and all your soul. No. 2 love your neighbour.

Think happy thoughts... going back to my Alishan weekend. And if you think these photos are gorgeous, well, I shot them. Yeah, me and my lousy skills achieved this - you can imagine how much more majestic in real life the sunrise or the 2000year old cypress trees look (and smell). Oommms!

Of mothers and Alishan

Having my mom visit for 14 days in a tiny apartment in Taipei was perhaps too ambitious. Despite me dragging my colleagues out to eat with me and then even dragging a few of them along with us to Alishan for the weekend, still, it really highlighted the difficulties we've had in our relationship.

I discovered I actually disliked being around her to listen to her whinge, complain, blame... I naturally walk away from her whenever I can. So much so that my colleagues would walk with her and then yell me... a common refrain was, 你又忘了你妈！You forgot your mom again!... Actually I didn't forget, I'm just plain avoiding.

Despite my best efforts at love - the Bible says so, when I see/hear her, I just want to flee.

I would imagine when couples divorce after many years of marriage, citing irreconciliable differences, it's because the hurt's so deep, that you're really beyond caring. Just a simple sentence brings with it a huge wave of anger/hurt that's accumulated over many years.

Don't get me wrong, I do all I ought to. I take her to dinner every night, we visit night markets, I took her to all the places a tourist should go in Taipei. I give her all she needs. When she nags, complains, I remain silent. But I just don't want to be close to her!

At times like these, it would do one well to count our God given blessings :
- mom is healthy
- she lives in Singapore
- I live in Taipei
- my 2 brothers take care of her (thank you 2!)
- my colleagues are really sweet people - thank you Rae especially! You'll make a great daughter-in-law one day
- weekend in Alishan was fantastic. The cypress woods with trees up to 2000 years old.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/sets/72157608210290955/

- and most of all, Jesus loves us all.

“All Prayers Answered”

From Fr Philip Heng's daily reading commentary -

In today’s Gospel, Jesus assures us that all our prayers are answered because God loves us. If we are not convinced of this Truth, then either Jesus is lying or we are “blind” to this Truth. Love and Trust God more and we will experience the Truth of what Jesus has promised.

Thu 10/9, Gospel - Lk 11:5-13
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,’
and he says in reply from within,
‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.’
I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him?”

Diving can be pretty therapeutic...

Went diving over the weekend in Kenting. I had heard the water visbility wasn't as good, plus our original plans was Orchid Island which is the best diving Taiwan has to offer... but typhoons kept wrecking our plans.

Kenting was a last minute decision as well - after the typhoon veered into Hainan narrowly avoiding hitting Taiwan for yet another weekend. Pictures parked here!
http://picasaweb.google.com/kci9kimo/20081003#

I had a great weekend! And I have a happy song stuck in my head...

More bad weather forecasted...

By Shelley Shan STAFF REPORTER TAIPEI TIMES Wednesday, Oct 01, 2008, Page 2

Those who have outdoor or travel plans this weekend may want to reconsider. The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday that a low-pressure system near Guam has been upgraded to a tropical storm and may approach Taiwan this weekend.

The newly formed tropical storm is named Higos, which means “fig” in Spanish.

At press time yesterday, the bureau said the center of Higos was located 610km southeast of Manila, which is about 1,600km from Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻). The storm was moving northwesterly at a speed of 20kph. The radius of the storm was 200km. CWB forecast center director Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said the tropical storm is near the Philippines, and its structure may be damaged by land there.

It was unlikely that the storm’s intensity will gradually increase at this stage, Wu said. Nonetheless, Wu said sea temperatures from the east of the Philippines over to the South China Sea are still quite warm at this time of year. Even after the storm sweeps across the Philippines, it is in an ideal environment for developing into a typhoon, he said. Wu said the bureau would be better able to determine the situation tomorrow.

If Higos does approach Taiwan, it would be the fourth weekend in a row that a storm will have threatened the nation. Typhoon Sinlaku hit Taiwan on Sept. 14, Hagupit loomed off Taiwan’s coast on Sept. 21, and Jangmi just left on Monday after battering the nation with strong winds and rain.

The bureau yesterday added that a dry seasonal northeast wind is expected to arrive today and may lower temperatures in the north to 22°C or 23°C.

In related news, the Council of Agriculture said yesterday that Jangmi caused the nation some NT$1.37 billion (US$42.5 million) in agricultural damage. Broken down by sector, NT$1.22 billion in crops were lost, translating into 15,491 hectares of land, with rice paddies being the hardest hit, and grapes, bananas and other fruits also being affected. Nearly NT$5.61 million was lost in livestock and the COA said that almost 110,000 chickens died because of the typhoon.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education yesterday said it would allocate NT$15 million in emergency assistance for schools damaged by Jangmi to help them re-open.Around the country, 56 schools remained closed yesterday because of typhoon damage, the ministry said, adding that it was the worst typhoon damage in recent years.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MEGGIE LU AND CNA

Typhoon Day Holiday Today

Ah the feeling of waking up at 11am on a Monday morning... ZZZ...

Stuck indoors again - typhoon no. 4

Typhoon Jangmi approaches -4th typhoon to hit us this year and also the strongest storm. It made landfall in Yilan, where the Central Mountain Range buffet the biggest impact.

We've had typhoons hit us every weekend in succession. The land's still pretty waterlogged in the mountainous areas and low lying areas. Lots of landslides plus shaky bridges are still unfixed - a bridge in Taichung collapsed during last week's typhoon, rescue workers are still trawling for the bodies of the 4 missing people. May God have mercy on their souls and their bodies be recovered quickly so that loved ones have closure. This time around, the authorities are more conservative and took better preparations. Thus far, things are better.

Jangmi typhoon kicked up winds up to 250km hit northern Taiwan, Hurricane Ike which caused so much devastation in Texas was only up to 233km/h. In Hualien, a tour bus flipped over on its side - just shows how bad the wind was - fortunately no deaths.

Before the typhoon hit, yesterday, I was in Fulong 福隆 yesterday (Sat) with Rae, Alex and Pingfan for some cycling off the North-East coast of Taiwan. A newly restored old train tunnel - the Caoling Tunnel is also the basis of an old Taiwanese folk song. In fact Rae sang almost the entire song as we cycled through it. It's about 4.6km and then we went back to Fulong for the famed Fulong biantang 便當.

Then we cycled in the opposite direction intending to cross a nice drawbridge. But we missed a turn and gave up after the scenary turned industrial. Plus it got dangerous when the traffic around us were mostly semi-trailers.

I was a little wobbly initially - having not cycled in a while. Rae cycled behind me, yelling warnings at me every so often - 小心！Disclaimer - I was preoccupied with the scenary and wasn't watching the front too often. In fact at 1 stage, I got too close to Pingfan and our tires met briefly. All she yelled was, 请不要碰我！The Taiwanese sense of humour is really subtle. Kills me everytime.

Emotions, feelings... groan!

All this Aunt Agony moments I keep having is starting to grate on me. It's either that the girls in the office are younger with an active social life or that I'm just in the office a lot/online so much that I get dumped with these moments.

Looking back, I realise that I've endured that a lot - my whole life in fact, I've spent many hours sitting around and being that listening ear.

The thing is, it doesn't make me feel good - if anything, it reminds me how much I lack in terms of BGR (boy-girl relationships). I only had 1 serious relationship with Hon - and he left me in the end. And late at nights, alone, all these come back to me in the form of inadequacy - how lonely I am and how much I want to have my own family - husband and kids.

Maybe this is mid-life crisis and singlehood for too long - all rolled up into 1 messy me.

Gah! Does the good Lord hear prayers anymore?!

Oh and I finally got around to parking the Snow Mountain trip pictures. Due to typhoon, we weren't granted a permit to climb the Eastern Peak which was the plan. But since we were already there, it became a camping trip. The views of the Snow Mountain area are really spectacular, a pity we didn't make the summit.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8062670@N07/sets/72157607431238395/