Kia Ora from NZ!

A warm hello from NZ :D. This morning I arrived at Auckland and after having spending some time here, it seems that Auckland is much more influenced by American shops and culture than Australia. New Zealanders have such strong and interesting accent - for instance, when saying 6, they would say 'circuth' (as in circus but with th at the end). I'm now in my hotel feeling quite tired and headachy having only had 4hours of sleep in the last 24hours. I will have to pick up my sister from the airport tonight at 1am (her flight got delayed) in our awesomely small and crappy rental Hyundai Getz.

I hope to blog about our time in NZ everyday so as to remember the experiences but this may not happen. So I will give a schedule of what we shall be doing in the next 10 days. Of course this is all subject to changes especially given that it rains 1 out of 3 days in NZ!

27 Dec - Bianco Off Queen Apartment

Day 1 (Dec 28)
Auckland sightseeing
Drive from Auckland to Rotorua (around 3hours)
Relax (in prep for epic journey) at Rotorua Hot Springs 3pm (Hells Gate Thermal Reserve http://www.hellsgate.co.nz/)
28 Dec - Ventura Inn & Suites Rotorua

Day 2 (Dec 29)
Mountain biking with Planet Bikes at 10am (http://www.planetbike.co.nz)
Drive from Lake Rotorua to Lake Tarawera to Lake Aniwhenua (around 3hours drive)
29 Dec - Lake Aniwhenua Lodge

Day 3 (Dec 30)
See sunrise against Lake Waikaremoana (sunrise at 6am)
Hiking in Te Urewera Forest Park - Onepoto to Panekire Hut (around 10hours return)
Drive from Onepoto (Lake Waikaremoana) to Wairoa to Taupo (around 4hours drive)
30 Dec - Falls Chateau

Day 4 (Dec 31)
Hiking around Lake Taupo - Huka Falls Spa Park walk (around 2hours)
Relax around the lake
Drive from Taupo to Ohakune (around 1.5hours drive)
31 Dec - Manuka Lodge

Day 5 (Jan 1)
Tongariro National Park (Tongariro Alpine Crossing - best one-day hike in NZ http://www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz/index.php?Itemid=27&id=13&option=com_content&task=view)
1 Jan - Manuka Lodge

Day 6 (Jan 2)
Canoeing in Whanganui river at 8am (http://www.whanganui.co.nz/canoe_kayak_trips.php#freedom)
2 Jan - Manuka Lodge

Day 7 (Jan 3)
Drive from Ohakune to Taihape (around 1hour drive)
Horse riding with River Valley at 8.30am (http://www.rivervalley.co.nz)

Drive from River Valley to Wellington through Masterton (around 4 hours drive)
Time to immerse into society a bit, eg check out some bars
3 Jan - James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor

Day 8 (Jan 4)
Drive from Wellington to Egmont National Park (around 5hours drive)
4 Jan - Quality Hotel Plymouth International

Day 9 (Jan 5)
Hiking in Egmont National Park - Waingongoro Track (around 4-5hours)
Drive from Egmont National Park to Hamilton

5 Jan - Wesley Chambers Hotel

Day 10 (Jan 6)
Drive from Hamilton to Auckland Airport (around 4hours)

My first (real) fishing experience and time back home

When I was around 4 years old our family went fishing, I can't remember much - all I can remember was that it was heaps of fun and that we were fishing in a fish farm (yeah no wonder they were easy catch!). This fishing trip has to be my earliest childhood memory!? This time when I got back home I decided it's really time to do some real fishing! After I announced this, my little brothers constantly asked me when will we go fishing? where will we go fishing? will we catch lots of fish? etc etc...

So we went to buy some fishing supplies at a local outdoor store. We got 3 standard fishing rods with reels, a bag of burley, 3 fishing bobber which comes with hooks (2 floats and the other one can do deep water fishing). Burley is used to attract small fish so that it will then attract larger fish - good idea! We confessed that we have absolutely no fishing experience and it consists of me asking stupid questions such as why are there 2 hooks? (so you have 2 chances of catching a fish), should you cast against or away from the current? (away from it otherwise it will come back to you haha). The guy showed us how to hook up the reel and cast the line, I must have looked super confused with the hand positioning during casting so he asked me to give it a try - perhaps not a good idea on his part cos I nearly destroyed their front counter (twice) cos I let go of the reel too soon!

We went fishing twice. The actual fishing experiences themselves were nothing short of disasters. We first went to Fremantle on the North Mole pier which is supposedly a very good fishing spot - but there were tonnes of rocks and the fishing lines kept getting stuck. Then we (ie the children) noticed that there were plenty of crabs between the rocks and started trying to catch some crabs with bare hands. I nearly got one after 3 attempts at 3 different crabs! We were there for perhaps 2 hours along with many other anglers (ha I like this term) whom looked rather pro but they didn't catch anything either! However during this time we have fished, crabbed and ready to leave lol. The second time we went to Port Bouvard bridge in Mandurah which again is supposed to have good fish and no surprise we didn't catch anything - again. It's a good thing that we did take some crabbing gear and got 4 blue manna crabs! mmm We definitely need more knowledge in and patience for fishing - but it's all good fun!

My plane leaves tomorrow afternoon for NZ - the 11 days that I'm back at home has gone by rapidly. Everyday, my mum would ask me - where do you want to go today? what do you want to eat today? (mmm does my mum make delicious food! plus she can make EVERYTHING!) And my little brother Yu literally begs me to play games with him all the time while my little sister Dong has so much to talk about. So yes, the work that I have originally planned to do over the vacation never actually happened lol. I have to say goodbye to my family tomorrow, I hate saying goodbyes. But isn't always like this?! I came back home really happy to see everyone, then I'm sad cos I have to leave, a couple of days later I'll be really happy meet with my sister and sad again to say goodbye! I hate myself for not being able to control this because this missing/nostalgia feeling is not fun. Arghh, human emotions are so hard to analyze let alone control!

Back home

[Dec 14th]I’m now sitting in Auckland airport getting quite bored with 5 hours to kill before boarding transfer flight to Perth. Internet is too much of a rip off so I’ll just get through it by doing random things such as blogging (and posting it when I have internet) and browsing at some books and magazines.

6 suns! (sunrise en route LA to Auckland)

I booked my flight such that I’d be sitting on the side by the sun. The sunrise was amazing - as always :) Check out the pic above with 6 suns (shadows casted into the cloud layers)! There was also a time when the sun cast 2 orange shadows, one on the clouds and another in the ocean. And since I’m flying from LA to Auckland ie from east to west while sun rises from the east - this effectively shortened the sunrise! I remember last time when I travelled with Emirates which flew around the other side of the globe across the Middle East, sunrise lasted much longer. As we approached Auckland, there was a lot of cloud cover so during decent we flew through them! The scenery with the rising sun, clouds, islands and the ocean was just awesome.

Islands off Auckland

I’m hungry now. The plane food sucks and the smell of them being heated up is just plain awful. Arghh I hate flying, the only good thing is the view (the side view from the small window) but that’s not enough to compensate for the crowdedness and more importantly the feeling of being out of control for over 12hours. I feel that I’m stuck on the plane without being able to do anything about it. It’s like something just picks you up and drags you to another place (like a puppet being controlled by the puppeteer). I’d be perfectly fine with flying if I was the pilot of course! I guess that’s why I like driving so much!

Okay my stomach is rumbling now. I wonder if they have traditional kiwi food? Shoot, what is traditional kiwi food?!!’

[Dec 16th] I’m now back in Perth. Got up at 5am this morning and went jogging! Of course the kids wanted to come although I’m pretty sure they regretted it half way through! Okay, gotta go to see my littlest brother at his Christmas school play :D

Just another day driving around LA

I was running some errands yesterday and drove down to Orange County. On the way I saw - a flipped over car (first one I've seen in real life actually), an accident involving at least 5 cars all pulled over to the emergency stopping lane, another accident involving 2 badly smashed up cars with many CHP cars and orange cones blocking off the right 2 lanes. Yes, this all happened during a 3 hours drive around LA. I would have been on the list too if I wasn't careful...

As I was cruising along, out of the corner of my eye I saw a car changing lanes into the one next to mine (I'm always on the lookout for those situations) and behold, the car kept coming and was driving straight into me! I beeped as I quickly checked the other lane and swerved just in time. The old woman beeped back at me - WTF?! She failed to check her blind spot and nearly caused an accident and she has the guts to beep?! The Bitch clearly does not realize she made a mistake and therefore cannot learn and is out there causing more accidents as we speak.

Seriously, America probably has the most number of idiots on the road than any other country. Why?! Because you can drive at the age of 16 and driving tests are like child play. It also never ceases to amaze me why legal drinking age is 21 but driving age is 16. Is driving not more dangerous than drinking? I don't care if you drink and screw up your life but please realize that you can drag others down with you when you are being a fool on the road. What people need is common sense - but I guess that cannot be taught...what can help is by enforcing more stringent driving tests and rules on the road.

Breathing problem and Flat tire

This morning I went for a 2 hours hike and I wasn't tired at all, in fact I was leading on the way back! :) The work outs have certainly paid off! I'm also pretty happy given I was having a breathing problem.

For some reason, while I was cantering a couple of days ago, my chest felt very heavy and with each bounce in the canter I can feel the pressure of something crushing down inside me. After that, it hurt every time I take a deep breathe.

Not sure how this suddenly happened, it maybe because of the roller coaster ride that I went on a few days earlier during Halloween inside Knott's scary farm. I walked away from the ride with a hoarse voice, bruised knees and pelvic bones. You think how can someone get this from just a ride, well I was super anxious and tense thus my body must have been rigid and was likely bashing around in the roller coaster cage. Arghh...it really gets to me that I'm can't enjoy roller coasters and other awesome rides. I see others having so much fun and I'm just so damn envious.

Or it could be because of my horse fall a couple of weeks ago where I got winded. And speaking of horse riding, I got a flat tire the other night after a riding lesson.

It was dark and I wanted to get home quickly but thought I'd better change the flat tire so I pulled into a gas station to borrow some light. I have to say that my car jack thing is pretty inefficient (at least how I was using it). A cute guy came and asked if I needed any help, I said no I will be okay although I know I was not, he ended up leaving but came back to make sure I was okay, I just ignored him (I have to stop doing this). Of course, the bolts were rusted and although I hate to say this, I wasn't strong enough to unscrew them, so I decided to risk it and drive home in my flat tire. On the freeway, my car suddenly went stagnant at 50miles/hr and slowly died down as I smelled the horrible stench of burning rubber. Damn! I pulled over to the emergency stopping lane and called Geico. The Geico guy assumed that I must be scared, hm not particularly given I got myself into this mess. 40min later a tire changer guy came but it was too narrow for him to work since I was parked on a bridge. Long story short, CHP (California Highway Patrol) dropped by and stopped all traffic so that my car can safely rumble off the freeway. So yeah, because of my flat tire the 134E freeway was temporarily shut down.

NZ Trip Planning and Other Things

Alright, so we are going to New Zealand for our vacation! It will be a 11 day epic journey! (may not be as epic as Lord of Rings but then again I'm not yet prepared to sacrifice myself for the good of human race) I can't wait for all the hiking, seeing the beautiful scenery, breath in the fresh air and in general just having a good time. I hope to incorporate some horse riding, mountain bike riding and perhaps jet skiing in the trip too. I've literally been counting down the days and thought I should note down how excited I am now because as a mere human being subject to the enigmatic human nature, the excitement of the wait and build up can sometimes overwhelm and diminish the excitement during the actual thing...

I'm watching the Joy Luck Club, I've been meaning to see this for quite sometime! It's a story about the lives of 4 Chinese women raised in China and their daughters who are born in America. The movie does stereotype a few things but there are many things that are very realistic. Like how Chinese families tend to show off their worth through the achievements of their children and the general public display of self criticism. The mother-daughter relationships are portrayed I think almost perfectly here. The parts about why a mother took opium and suicided and why another gave up her twin daughters - when you find out the reasons behind them it will leave you stunned and in awe of the wonderful moms that they are. The significance of 2 sides to every story is depicted very well here! And by the way, all of the men-women relationships here are flawed and so complicated that it makes me happy that I'm not in a relationship. The real reason is probably because I can't afford to get my heart broken. Anyway back on track, all in all, it's a beautiful and candid movie. I will surely watch this again and I do highly recommend it.

On a side note, I fell for the 3rd time while horse riding today. Florida spooked again and I fell off (she was the culprit behind one of my other falls too). I was doing cantering and my instructor was telling me to slow down a bit, which I tried but the spooking process has already began and she didn't listen, we came around a corner while she was doing her kicking thing, I lost balance and fell. I landed on my side and used my arm as support. It didn't really hurt but now I understand what it means to get winded from an accident, because I tried to stand up immediately and discovered that I could hardly breathe! I had to sit back down and take some slow deep breathes! My arm was bleeding a bit, after tacking Florida up etc I went to wash up and sprayed some alcohol ahhh how it stung!

Chocolate/Nut/Fruit Cookie Recipe

I'm glad to say that the cookies I'm baking now are made from scratch. And damn! do they taste good! I realized that the main problem I was having was that I didn't add enough butter (for health reasons of course) but the perfect amount of butter is essential.

So here I have my eclectic cookie recipe. I don't have a measuring cup - so I've described everything in terms of handfuls (very rudimentary I know)

Ingredients
1 stick of butter
1 egg
3 handfuls of normal unbleached flour
1 handful of walnut pieces
1/2 handful of dried fruits (I used mixed berries - cranberries, cherries and blueberries)
1 handful of baking chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate)
a generous dash of brown sugar
a tiny sprinkle of baking powder

melt butter and mix with egg, add everything else and mix together thoroughly, separate into 12 portions on a baking tray and flatten them out (otherwise you will end up with ugly looking golf ball cookies), stick them into a preheated oven at 350oF and bake for 12-15min.

very simple and delicious! mmm

Another year has gone by

I'm writing this on the eve of my 25th birthday. I remember when I was 18 I thought I was already getting old and made a decision that I shall die at the age of 40 because I didn't think I could deal with aging both in terms of appearance and deterioration of health. As I look back on this now I can't help but laugh at my nativity and narrow-mindedness in viewing life.

For the past few birthdays, I've been feeling somewhat bitter-sweet as each one comes and goes. Bitter in that I hoped I have accomplished more than I have in the passing year and also as I come to a greater realization of just how fleeting life is. Sweet in that I have gained more life experiences and hopefully became a better person. Yes, I'm always trying to become a better person, although I can't exactly pin-point what makes one a good person. I guess that definition is rather subjective. But the acknowledgment of one's imperfections is a start and humbleness in dealing with others is also important.

Life is but a dream - time flies by just like that and sometimes you look back and regret the things you've done or worse you haven't done. Yet unlike dreams, we have control over our own paths in life and so my motto for the coming year is, learn from the past, live in the moment and hope for the future....

Updates

I've being living in my new apartment for about 6 weeks now. It took 3 weekends and around $2000 to get everything set up. I have to say that my place is quite beautiful and have a modern yet cozy feel to it. It's seriously wonderful and relaxing to have place to call my own!

An update on my horse riding crusade. I've been going horse riding every Thursday night and I'm progressing on cantering. I'm also supposed to do the sitting trot, I say 'supposed to' because I think it's physically impossible. During this rather uncomfortable ordeal, the horse is hurting me and I'm sure I'm hurting the horse...we'll see how that goes. Btw I'm still eagerly awaiting for jumping...

My Dell Adamo laptop broke on me, long story short - it's a piece of junk from the beginning. So tonight after some serious thought I got a Mac Pro (although I stubbornly refused to before cos I just don't like the look of it). But it's benefits seem to outweigh my initial and hopefully dying prejudice. 3 years later, when I get my signing contract, I'm going to get my beloved Sony Vaio Z series laptop :) I'll just suck it up for now with a Mac although at $1399 plus tax (and $200 applecare) there really shouldn't be any complaints.

Lately, I feel that I haven't being working hard enough. I've being going into work at 9 and leaving at 6. It would all be very well if I was productive, but I think waking up late really kills my day. Then again, it is SO hard to get up early. This can not keep going. I've decided to work from 8am to 6pm from now on and also come in on Saturdays as necessary. As time progresses, I hope to change to 7 to 6 workdays.

Space tourism

It looks like space tourism is becoming a reality within the next decade, with Boeing joining Virgin Galactic in this commercial market. Going to space has been a dream of mine since...forever?! That was the reason why I wanted to become an astronaut when I was small with hopes of exploration and discovery.

Now there are flights available at 200k per person for a 2hour Low Earth Orbit (LEO) ride. Where according to Virgin Galactic you will be a 'future astronaut' haha...This is like calling a passenger on a ship a 'sailor', anyway just one of their marketing strategies aimed at rich arrogant folks. People have been going to space and landing on the moon since decades ago. The only differences now are that this will be LEO flight, where the money comes and goes, and purpose of the flight. I want to go to space for exploration and hopefully learn and discover new things for the advancement of human race - which space tourism does not seem capable of offering. But hey, if I have money sitting around and could not find any better use for it for instance my less fortunate fellow human beings, then why not splurge on this indulgence...

Super sweet chocolate chip cookies

Very random post - but I haven't baked anything (haven't opened an oven) since coming to the states and a couple of days ago I decided to bake some cookies which was quite monumental. I can't exactly say that I made them all by myself cos I got one of those premixed packages. All I had to do was mix a stick of butter and an egg before adding the premix = cookie dough ready for baking. I baked them for 15min cos I like hard and crunchy cookies. The appetizing aroma from the oven was heavenly albeit a bit too sweet. Taste test...what did they put in those chocolate chips!? It has to be the sweetest thing that I've tasted! Nevertheless, I'm very happy with my otherwise tasty and hard cookies and from now on, I shall be making my own cookies rather than buying them. I see some nuts and perhaps dried fruits mixed in in the future and I'll also be making them from scratch.

Trapped Chilean miners

Okay, it looks like the 33 trapped miners in Chile could be stuck underground for another 4 months! Damn, and I complain about being stuck in a plane for 12hours...anyway, the following shows a nice simple schematic of the rescuing process.

First, a 33cm pilot hole is drilled down to the miners' location
Next, the hole is "reamed" with a wider drill to a diameter of between 60 and 70cm. Debris falls down the hole to the bottom
Thirdly, a rescue capsule is lowered down to the men and each is slowly brought to the surface

(BBC news)

and I just saw this headline 'Trapped Chilean miner sends wedding proposal to sweetheart'. WTH?! He doesn't even know if he can get out alive, to put his 'sweetheart' through this has to be one of the most selfish things someone can do.

Imminent collision

Before the smashup (NASA/JPL)

This is an artist's rendition of 'an imminent planetary collision around a pair of double stars'. According to NASA, this type of collision is likely to be common around tight binary star systems where over time, the stars orbit each other closer and closer. The resulting changes in gravitational force is enough to send orbiting bodies out of whack.....(http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA13347)

Isn't this absolutely AMAZING?! It's moments like this that makes me dream about living in the future. People there would be able to travel from galaxy to galaxy and see the wonders and beauty of the universe.

Furniture shopping and thoughts on religion

In prep for moving into my own apartment next weekend, I went furniture shopping in the last couple of days. I set my budget at $1200 for all furniture including mattress. So there are not many places I can afford to go to. Ikea is the no-brainer choice.

A few years ago, I wouldn't believe how excited I'd be stepping into a furniture store! The things in Ikea are SO cheap but flimsy at the same time (there were woks were $4!). It's a good thing that their furniture seems pretty solid. I went around and noted down the furniture that I wanted on a piece of paper and pencil which they conveniently provided. I heard that Ikea is famous for their Swedish meatballs, so I had to give it a try. I was surprised at the number of meatballs for just $3.99 (one can only guess the meat quality). First one, mmm not too bad, second one, tastes better with all the sauces, a few afterwards, this is getting gross, last few, I was tossing up between whether it's better to throw them away or ending up with a high chance of throwing up. I settled on chucking them away. After lunch, there were suddenly tons of people and I had to avoid bumping into people or stepping onto kids, I started to feel like I was at the airport - not good! I quickly went about finilazing my orders, which actually took about 2 hours. Finally I was ready to tell them what I wanted and have those delivered to my apartment this coming Friday (delivery fee is only $49!). But Ikea can only hold on items for you for 2-3 days, so I'll have to go back this Wednesday and pick out my things then.

Today I drove to Fry's in Anaheim (40miles away) to get this microwave which I really wanted from seeing online. Yes, Fry's is the only store that carries it in stores and the closest one that has it is in Anaheim. I got my highly sought-after microwave. I also got this all purpose toolbox for assembling my bed and dresser etc. I'm so looking forward to it! I wonder if I should enlist some help? No, I'll do it by myself, it's going to be a little hard and perhaps frustrating but I'll appreciate my own place all that more!

I then went on a few more shopping assignments. Outside one of the stores. there was a man preaching to everyone and anyone who walked past, 'Jesus Christ is coming, never forget that!' (I wonder how can one forget something that they don't even know). He reverts between this line and the following 'Jesus Christ is coming, be prepared to greet him!' (hmm how shall I greet him? 'Why hello Jesus, what brings you to our humble place?'). I tried hard not to laugh. Do people not realize that most if not all religions are 'mental institutions' conjured up by those who use it as a diversion for their own purposes, namely control and power?! And there is this reward-punishment system of heaven-hell after you die. How convenient! No dead man can come back and prove or disapprove it's existence. You may say that having faith helps people through the hard times. That is only beneficial for those who do not have faith in themselves. Life is what you make it, you can either pray for it to be better and go through the motions, or strive for it yourself.

Interesting read

''Bad boy novelist, blogger and racing car driver recently posted some thoughts about Chinese media coverage of the recent school attacks in China, titled "Children, you're spoiling grandpa's fun." The blog post was soon deleted by the blog nannies at Sina.com, but not before Julian Smisek translated it:

Children, you're spoiling grandpa's fun

by Han Han, translated by Julian Smisek

A man hacked up 32 children at Taixing nursery school. It's not clear whether any of them were killed. Because this news came so soon after the last attack on Nanping nursery school, I actually thought it was the same school.

In these recent attacks, the twisted murderers have all chosen to attack nursery schools and elementary schools, believing this to be the best way to exact their revenge on society. It has become fashionable to go to nursery schools and elementary schools and kill people. There, the murderer faces the least resistance and can kill the most people, causing us to feel the greatest pain and panic. This is indeed the most effective method to exact revenge on society.

With the exception of Yang Jia [a man who killed six police at a Shanghai police department in 2008], nearly every murderer has chosen to attack the weak. In a society without an exit, killing weaker people has become their only exit. I propose that local governments across the country send their building security guards to protect nursery schools. A government that can't protect children doesn't need that many guards.

These murders have mostly come about because society is unjust and unfair. Yes, justice should be made more glorious than the sun. That said, the sun doesn't come out every day. Haven't there been a bit too many cloudy days and dark nights? Saying justice should be more glorious than the sun isn't impressive. What's impressive is every minute the sun shines on your head.

News about the Taixing nursery school homicide has been controlled. These children were born at the wrong time [unlucky], and died at an even worse one. According to relevant departments, within this festive atmosphere [the opening of the Shanghai Expo], this incident should be categorized as noise. We know only that 32 children were injured during the Taixing nursery school incident. Government and hospital officials repeatedly emphasize that not a single child died, but word on the street is that many did. Tell me, who should I believe? You say, 'believe the government.' Well, then why have they forbidden parents from seeing their children? Why have have they blocked off the hospitals and the news. There aren't pictures or videos of the kids. Moreover, if a knife-wielding attacker hacks up 32 people and not a single person died, is he a murderer or a surgeon? That's just too careful. You say, 'believe the word on the street.' But, rumors are always exaggerated. We have no pictures and we have no truth. We can't believe those either. I did an internet search for 'Taixing', and the only results that appeared were official government taking points. So, I searched for 'Taizhou,' and the only news piece that appeared was "Taizhou's three lucky blessings." That was on April 30th.

I'm totally astonished. By blocking off information and the hospital, controlling the media, prohibiting visits, and changing the subject, the Taizhou government has successfully diverted our anger from the killer onto themselves. What's the point of all this? You assume they must have some motive. Actually, they don't -- except to conform with the World Expo's "Harmonious Gathering" [a song sung by Jackie Chan and Song Zuying during the opening ceremony]. This is only government inertia. It's just how the government handles similar incidents. They have a seven step process: something happens in the middle of their meal. They cover it up, and pull it aside, get rid of the media, ban mention of it, issue official talking points, hand out some money, and cremate it. They then continue with their meal.

If it's true that no one died, lift the ban on the media and allow the parents to visit their children. It seems that you'll only be happy if this becomes a group incident.

Actually, a lot of group incidents start like this: the government holds in its fist a 1 RMB coin that it took from some ordinary people. The people say they don't want it back, but they want to see that it's there. The government is simply unwilling, no matter what, to open its hand. It says that it's already told them that there's a 1 RMB coin in there. But, the people are worried and say that it isn't a big deal to just show them the coin. So then the government invites its servant, Xinhua News. The servant says that although it too hasn't seen the coin, it can indeed confirm that the coin is there. 'It's enough for you to hear it from me, others shouldn't spread rumors.' After this the government says, 'alright my servant's confirmed it. Now get lost.' The people get angry and call over several friends. The friends then tell passersby that someone has stolen money and is unwilling to return it. More and more people arrive at the scene, with the government standing in the center. It is still clutching the coin in its fist, incessantly saying that it has a 1 RMB coin, and that you shouldn't listen to rumors -- otherwise you might be arrested according to the law. This incites the crowd, which says, 'who are you, as someone whose inner character is that of a thief, to threaten me with arrest?' The law can't be enforced when so many people are violating it. More people are called over. When they arrive they recognize who's clutching the coin. 'He's the guy who's bullied us.' Everyone begins to attack, until -- at the last moment -- the government finally opens its hand and says, 'look!' But by that point it's no longer important whether he has 1 RMB or 50 cents -- the situation is already out of control.

Their method of handling problems isn't more or less noble than the murderer's. It's not surprising that a nursery school hung a banner that said, 'if you want answers, go around the corner to the left and ask the government.' (I can see people objecting, saying that with regard to the news and media, the Taizhou government does not have any jurisdiction. I think everybody knows this. However according to the law, critism of the government can at most go up to the city level (not including directly-government cities), so for now we can only limit our speculation to the Taizhou city government -- with the mayor being the highest person responsible. As long as the city's party secretary doesn't get into trouble, this speculation should be considered correct).

Within the short span of a month, there have been five attacks on school campuses. Within the short span of a week, there have been two, on the 29th of April in Taixing and 30th of April in Weifang. I don't want to investigate the social reasons; I just want to tell everyone that it's only here that it isn't considered social news when a person breaks into a nursery school and hacks up 32 kids. Together, 32 kids is greater than a 100 year-old kid.

Children, you were hacked up and not one newspaper wrote about you because a few hundred kilometers away, a festival had begun. There, hundreds of millions of fireworks were being set off, while at your home in Taizhou, the city celebrated an international tourism festival, trade talks, and the opening of an overseas Chinese town -- the three lucky blessings.

Perhaps in the eyes of those grandpas, you are too depressing.

Pitiful children, you are the ones that were poisoned by powdered milk. You are the ones that were hurt by vaccinations. You are the ones who were crushed to death by earthquakes. You are the ones were were burned to death. Even though it was adults whose regulations caused the problems, you were the ones who were attacked by a knife-wielding adult bent on repaying society. I hope that what the Taizhou government says is true, that you all have only been hurt and that not one of you is dead. After the elderly have lost their jobs and you have grown up, I hope that you not only protect your own children, but also make this society protect all children.''

New Apartment!

I'm going to move into my own apartment! I've been wanting to get my own place for awhile now (the main thing that was hard to deal with was sharing a bathroom and the general lack of freedom involved). It's an unfurnished studio around 500ft2 at $800/month. Outside it looks pretty rundown, I don't really care about that - the main thing is the interior - it's recarpeted with newly renovated kitchen and bathroom. After looking at around 7 places the last couple of days, this is quite a good deal! I paid the security deposit this morning and will be moving in a couple of weeks. Someone was moving out and showed me things that he's giving away. They are in v good condition, and I know some people would love to have them for free but I didn't want any of them. This is going to be my FIRST place and I'm going to call it home for the next 3 years so I think spending an extra few hundred dollars to get new things is definitely worth it. After doing a quick calculation, furniture etc are going to be around $1200. And this place allows pets, maybe dogs if they don't make too much noise! I want a German Shepard, but that would be unfair for it now that I'm in a studio and I don't really have much time for it. So I guess I'll have to wait or compromise in getting a small breed.....we'll see. :)

Blood donation after effects and horse riding news

The blood donation has taken it's toll on my body. It's been 3 days and I've been getting tired quite easily. My resting heart rate has increased by around 5bmp to keep up with the oxygen supply and I also needed to sleep more. I checked online that red blood cells take 4 weeks to replenish and it takes 8 weeks to restore the lost iron. I'm helping this by eating more meat. I've also developed a rash on my arm due to the antiseptic - will use a different one next time. Isn't this ironic?! I donated blood to help people and now I need to consume more meat to help with my own health. But I guess this is the unfortunate difference between humans and animals. In general, a person's life is in their own hands, but such cannot be said about animals especially ones raised for human usage (yes, usage is a good term). I can go on and on about this but I'll stop here. Some exciting news! For horse riding today, I decided to change my saddle from 17.5' to 17' to help with my leg positioning. A great idea because my positioning was much better and my instructor pointed out my riding to the others in the class so that they can learn from me. After this, she said that I can change from Intro Adult to Beginner Adult class! In the Beginner Adult class, people have 'mastered' the trot and are perfecting on their canter. I just started with cantering, so going into this class will be challenging but certainly exciting, can't wait!

My first blood donation

Today the Huntington Hospital bloodmobile came on campus. I have been anticipating for this blood donation for awhile. I have to say that it wasn't a really good idea to donate blood just a day after my relaxing turned exhausting (physically exhausting, mentally relaxing if you know what I mean) roadtrip. But since I've already planned it for sometime, I don't want this to be an excuse. So this morning I had a hearty breakfast and a huge lunch, also drank heaps of water throughout the day. I went for blood donation in the afternoon, after filling in all the forms I stepped into the bloodmobile. Before going in, a guy came out because he chickened out at the last minute. Talk about discouragement! But I've set my mind on going through with this. The first thing they did was test my blood for hemoglobin levels. I have been afraid that I might be anemic because it's a common condition in women. Luckily, my hemoglobin level was good at 14.7g/dl. They then measured my blood pressure and heart rate. My heart rate was at 64bpm which was surprisingly low considering I was really nervous (this is my typical resting heart rate). Currently it's at 78 (after blood loss the heart need to work harder). The next thing you know I was lead to a chair, lied down and it began. The nurse told me to not look, which was a good call because I remember getting woozy from just looking at losing a few ml of blood for blood tests a couple of years back. I was dreading the needle but it was actually not that painful and I squeezed a ball to help with the blood flow. After awhile, I can barely feel any pain and dared to look at the blood collection. The needle site was covered (which was good) and blood flowed through a tube to a collection bag that was on a weighing/shaker machine. My blood was flowing slowly and she said we can get away with 350ml which is the minimum, then I relaxed and the blood flowed much easier and I'm glad to say that in the end, I donated 420ml.

My blood type is B and can only be transfused to people of B or AB blood types which are both not so common in the states. I was afraid my blood may not actually get used - that would be a waste! So I took this opportunity to learn from one of the workers there. Though people with type O maybe the universal donor, even in emergency situations blood type tests are always taken and patients are given blood based on their own blood types. So statistically, the demand and supply of all blood types should be similar which is a relief. I also learnt that the hospital does not get enough blood and has to buy it from Red Cross. So to cut costs, it's best to give blood directly to a hospital. The whole process took about 1 hour and I felt a little lightheaded afterwards. I'm fine now except for a needle prick and some swelling in my arm and I'll be taking it easy for a couple of days. It felt good knowing that I have contributed in helping people and this is certainly something that is not hard to do. I will be continuing to donate and plan on giving 2 times a year. :)

Day 2 and 3 Klamath Falls to San Francisco to Solvang

I'm currently in Solvang valley, about 3hours north-west of LA. My plan of going back to LA tonight changed when I calculated that I would be in LA around 9pm tonight. The drive wouldn't be safe and would certainly not be pleasant. As well, since this is supposed to be relaxing, I thought I'd take it easy and stop for the night.

Let me quickly recount what has happened. Yesterday I drove from Klamath Falls to San Francisco. As promised, I got up at 4.30am to see the sunrise, it was amazing of course! I went back to sleep some more - need at least 7hours sleep. During the drive, I passed Mt Shasta then Shasta Lake. One observation, once you cross the Oregon to California state border, the gas price skyrocket by at least 20c/gallon. Interesting in addition to the fact that in Oregon they fill the gas tank for you (and apparently you do NOT have to tip them).

I traveled on the 5 until I arrived at San Francisco. I have to say that the so called 'Bay area' is quite impressive due to the natural bay formation. As soon as I neared San Francisco, traffic started. Crap by the side of the freeway also began. There were tonnes of billboards with all sorts of ads and these seemed to be the only colorful things in an otherwise very grey looking city. Once in downtown, it wasn't long before the roads became very steep which I didn't enjoy. On top of this, pedestrians either race across the street like headless chickens or meditate while crossing the street - I'm serious, they would look at you, maintain eye contact, make sure you stop for them and leisurely walk across. By the way, if the pedestrians are racing headless chickens, then the cyclists are flying headless chickens. So stupid and careless that it makes the drivers in San Francisco look like saints! While I was booking the hotel, I thought I'll pay a little extra to stay in downtown. Not a smart idea, parking cost me $40! - lesson learnt. Still I wasn't happy about it and thought seeing the sunset would cheer me up. I had wanted to see the sunset against the ocean and the bay formation. However, it was cloudy and smoggy that day and no sunlight seeped through. I know it's unfair to judge based on just one evening, but I don't think I'll be returning to San Francisco unless I absolutely have to.

This morning I was happy and relieved to get out of San Francisco. First I drove to Santa Cruz then from there drove along the coast on the famous 1 to San Luis (before taking the 101 to Solvang). It was an awesome drive! I'd like to do that again for sure.

Day 1 Portland to Klamath Falls

Just had a shower and I'm now waiting for my hair to dry. I got a rental car from Avis in Portland airport this morning. This process took over an hour, all thanks to the fact that I don't have a credit card (first priority to apply when I get back). Before I left home, I knew that Avis said something like if you don't have a credit card and are using a debit card, they will take out extra $500 as deposit, I thought sure no worries they can do that. But I didn't read the part that you have to be over 25 years old to use a debit card. And I just happen to be a few months short of my 25th birthday. Luckily, I have a credit card that is linked to my dad's account (which I never use) and flashed it out. However, unluckily, it expired just last month. The lady said she can try to put it in again if I know the new expiration date. To which I had to telephone my dad in Australia (Aus time was 12.30am but dad typically sleeps late so thankfully he was still up). I got the expiration date. It did not work cos unfortunately my dad hasn't activated it yet and he can't go to a bank in the middle of the night. So I asked the lady if she could try my debit card, she was reluctant but still tried. However the card was denied by Equifax. WTH! I wondered if my sister who's at home in Aus has a credit card. I can't think of any other way so I called her and woke her up :( She only has a debit card but has a lot more money in there than I do. I wanted to try to use her card, however as expected, you can't use it unless you are authorized by the owner of the card. So she had to scan her card, driver's license, write an authorization and email it to Avis. Bix told me not to worry. I wasn't actually worried about whether I can get a car or not (I knew I'll surely get one somehow!) - I was more worried that I was causing too much trouble for her!

Portland was beautiful, the air was very fresh and I love the evergreens. The people there were very welcoming too. I could definitely see myself living there in the future. From there, I drove to Klamath Falls via US-26E and US-97S. On the way I visited Crater's Lake. The entrance fee was $10. I wasn't particularly happy about it, not that I had to pay money but more because the lake is a natural attraction and people should not have to pay to see it. In any case, I guess the fee was for snow plowing etc.

On a side note, let me tell you a funny but very true series of events which I observed on a shuttle ride yesterday. A lady and I were the passengers and our driver was telephoning in who the passengers were and he asked for our names...for her name he said 'Audrey Asshole'. I tried hard not to burst out laughing cos you never know some people maybe unlucky enough to have that last name (like Thomas Crap's descendants). She repeated her name and it sounded nothing like Asshole. After awhile, she said that she wants to go to Wawa - a place called Wawa? WTH?! The driver then turned on the radio and was cheering like a maniac to some foreign language report (apparently it was the World cup). She asked enthusiastically 'Is this Brazil?', no response on his part, she repeated her question to which he raised his hand to signal her to be quiet. After something like 5min, he uttered one word 'Brazil'. She then asked 'Are you from Brazil?', after another silence he said 'No, this is not Brazil'... This has to be the most crazy conversation I've ever heard. At her Wawa stop, I'm pretty sure she tipped him over 20%. I guess if I generously tip a guy who just called me an asshole and repeatedly ignored me, I would be going to Wawa-land too. (edit: there are in fact convenience stores called Wawa in Princeton)

It's amazing that sunsets here are at 8.40pm and there is still sunlight at 9pm! After checking into the hotel. I went to upper Klamath lake to see the sunrise. Catching the sunrise was so much fun! On the way, there was a 'Rock' sign, after awhile I saw a fluff of dust on the cliff to my right, then I came across a huge rock in the middle of my lane and swerved around it just in time!

I can hear the fireworks going on outside. Too tired to check it out, I should rest for getting up at 4am tomorrow to see the sunrise. In any case I'm not missing out on much since all fireworks look pretty much the same, but I don't know when I'll be in Klamath Falls again to see the sunrise against Klamath Lake!

Wedding in Princeton

I'm currently waiting for a shuttle transfer from JFK to LGA for my flight to Portland and thought I'd blog about what happened recently. Yesterday morning I arrived at JFK for a friend's wedding in Princeton. Before going any further, can I just reinstate my annoyance of plane rides!? I think the thing I hate the most is how crammed it is! Why can't they make more leg space (for economic purposes of course) and I don't like sitting for so long. Why do people sit down the way they do? I mean sit on your butt with knees bent. The Japanese had no such thing as chairs, they kneel and sit on the floor - which makes me wonder how they'd drive a car? They would probably incorporate the accelerator and brake with the hand gears, hm that would be interesting. Anyway, last time I was in NY was for Princeton university visit, gosh that feels like eons ago - but I guess 2 years is a long time. I have to say that I'm glad to have chosen Caltech instead of Princeton. For one thing, Princeton is very small and there are so little people there. I'd like to retire on a farm though, but not that kind of life just yet! Okay, let me get back to the topic...it was a traditional Indian wedding which involved a lot of chants and was very rich in terms of decoration and attire. I felt so happy for the couple to have found a partner in each other to walk through this life with. And I'm just glad to have made it and be there to witness this beginning! After spending the night there, this morning I set off for my flight to Portland. On the shuttle from Princeton to EWR, there was a father and son who sat in front of me. You can tell that the father loves his little boy with his adoring and proud smile, and the boy would lean his head on his dad's shoulder to try to sleep. It was such a sweet sight. I'm now waiting for transfer flight from Charlotte to Portland...okay, I shall take a stroll around the airport before planting myself on the plane sit again - a 5 hour flight damn!
Edit: It's now nearly 12am, and I realized that I have spent the whole day traveling! Princeton to EWR to JFK to LGA to Charlotte airport to Portland airport and now in my hotel. Total travel time 14hours. Needless to point out the inefficiency of it all.

Oil Spill off Gulf of Mexico '10

It's about time that I blog about the oil spill. I wanted to wait till the problem is under control. However, it has been over 2 months and it's still spilling at a staggering 60,000 Barrels/day. Apparently every 4 days equals one Exxon Valdez spill!

This incident was initially downplayed by BP as a minor spill that can be contained very quickly. Yet we all know now what a far cry from the truth that was. This kind of cover up would certainly not have gone unnoticed by the top guy of the company, Tony Hayward. Being the CEO of a company comes with many benefits and with that comes work and tremendous responsibility. Tony Hayward basically denied responsibility for the spill, as he puts it, BP drills hundreds of wells a year and he cannot inspect everyone of them. I think it's this lack of responsibility that has affected how he handled this issue - how can one deal with something wholeheartedly if all he wants is to run away from it?! This wrong approach has deterred the response and likely fueled people's anger towards BP.

The societal consequences including job loss are pretty obvious and made very clear by the press, so I won't go there. Yet the environmental consequences seem to be determined by the amount of shoreline the oil reaches. Wait a moment, what about all the lives who call the sea their home?! Though there are some people out there trying to redirect the path of dolphins but what about the other marine lives. Just because they are not endangered does not make their lives have any less value! People are not god and yet act like they are when it comes to the environment, determining which lives are worth saving and which are not. ALL LIVES ARE EQUAL and people should treat them as such.

Let's see how this unfolds after the relief wells are completed and implemented.

New realization

I guess I've been living under a rock, but I realized only recently that natural or vaginal birth is one the most painful experiences one can go through. Some women are even cut to make the delivery process 'easier' in a practice known as episiotomy (~2 inch cut from the vagina to the anus!! sorry to be graphic). The most frightening part of this is that women generally do not feel this 'cos they are too focused on pushing! Still get shivers when I think about it. The other technique is cesarean section, where they make an incision in the abdomen to remove the baby. Extracting a child by C-section looks like something out of Alien, but then again, vaginal birth looks equally disturbing (yes, I've watched a few on YouTube - needless to say it was an eye opening experience, almost fainted at the episiotomy). And there I was already planning on how many kids I want, will have to rethink that!

I don't understand why there are so many women out there who describe pregnancy and giving birth as a beautiful experience!? The most beautiful experience I think of being a mom is watching your kid grow up, and being pregnant and giving birth is something you have to pay for to achieve that. Maybe this painful experience is what makes moms love their children all that more? After finding this out, I have a newly established appreciation for women out there who are willing to go through this. Especially my mom who went through 4 C-sections to deliver 5 kids (my twin sister and I in one go).

Money can't buy happiness?

Yesterday I cantered 3 laps around the arena! It was so much fun! To ride the canter, you just sit in the saddle and go with the flow. It's not as easy as it sounds though - because your balance has to be perfect and you have to be in sync with the horse. This gait is quite fast at around 15miles/hr so any fall would be bad. So I asked for advice if I was to lose balance and for some reason the horse wouldn't stop (I've witnessed first hand when a girl was supposed to canter but the horse went to a gallop and wouldn't stop, he finally stopped when the girl lost balance and fell off). My instructor said to look for a spot on the ground and jump to it :D It's no laughing matter though, I'm sure I'll have to do that someday! Should be interesting.

As I was driving home, I felt so carefree and overall just happy. If only I could ride more often! But that requires money and currently, I'm pretty much constantly broke. 3 years later when I get a real job and real money, I shall be riding every other day, travel around the world and make up to my parents for all the money they have given me over the years.

Who said money can't buy happiness? I say it sure can. Though you have to know how to spend it and more importantly, appreciate the things or pleasures it brings. Once appreciation is gone and replaced with taking things for granted, all the money in the world will not bring you happiness. I hope I won't ever lose sight of this - but it's not like I'll become a multimillionaire or something! If I happen to become that wealthy, I would travel around the world helping people. Not in terms of giving out food, medical supplies or shelter but more aiming at setting up education. Sorry to say this but I think it's quite short sighted to focus on the result rather than the cause. Having an education will allow people to survive and provide for themselves and that would a long term achievement. That would be fantastic to do!

My first horse show!

Today I went for my first horse show. I was rather nervous given there was only 3 people in my division (hence the high likelihood of coming last) and I got Wisconsin, my 3rd preference of horse to ride. My first choice, which was Ohio (the easiest horse I've ridden) is in the same competition as me! So yeah, I was quite apprehensive but also full of anticipation going in.

A typical ride starts off with me tacking the horse, so I went off to tack Wisconsin. I couldn't find his bridal and he was not in his stall! WTH? Where is my horse? I asked around and was told that he is currently in a show! This meant that I only have a few seconds to change the tack from the previous rider and use mine. So I carried all the tack with the help of a friend (from Caltech) next to the competition arena and waited there for the show to finish and used the change time in between to put on my tack. I rode Wisconsin for a couple of strides before we were called in to start the competition. The others had a lot more time to warm up - now, a horse needs warm up but more importantly you need to 'warm up' to the horse and he has to 'warm up' to you. The previous rider on Wisconsin probably weighs twice as much as me and Wisconsin needs to take awhile to be warmed up to me. You can see how seriously I'm taking this.

Before I get into the details of the show - just for context, I was in the Walk/Trot 18+ division. These shows are divided into 2 parts, the first part is Equitation where 'the effectiveness of the rider and overall aesthetic of horse and rider combination' are judged, the second is Pleasure where 'the responsiveness of the horse and overall pleasantness of the horse' are judged. In my opinion these two are basically the same thing, you cannot do well in one without doing well in the other.

Walking on beautiful Wisconsin

They first asked us to walk around then to pick up the rising trot. Wisconsin just wouldn't pick up the trot even though I was kicking him with all my might, then I resorted to using my crop. To which he responded by nearly going into a canter - so I slowed him down to a trot all the while thinking, damn it, I just blew this. Anyway, I did the best I could. After 10min they told us to line up so that our numbers would face them (my number was 415). I was smiling and awaited for the last place call. Amazingly, I was 2nd place - I couldn't believe it!

Rising trot

Then the Pleasure part of the show started, they asked us to pick up the rising trot. At this point, Wisconsin was already listening to me and my rising trot pick up was smooth, then we did a change in direction whilst keeping the trot etc etc. We then lined up again, waiting for the placements - they said 1st place, 415! I came 1st! I was so happy...

If I have ridden Ohio, I would have come first in both sections - there is no doubt about that. But under the circumstances, I'm just thrilled to have gotten 1st and 2nd places.

My ribbons

I've just placed my ribbons on my bed post, and there will be plenty more where they came from! Feels like a child doing it, but hey, there is nothing wrong with being proud of your achievements. This made me think about my past achievements, other than academic wise. I don't really recall any other types of awards - maybe a few for sports? But they were nothing like this, at least nothing that I myself wanted to get into. So this is extra special for me.

Sunrise Lake Isabella 052210

This morning I went for a drive because I wasn't feeling well yesterday (thankfully it's all over now, I'm both relieved and glad!) I decided to catch the sunrise at Lake Isabella which is nestled in Sequoia National Park, about 3hours drive north of LA. So I got up at 2.30am and left home at 3.30am. First, I drove up I-5N to Bakersfield - there were so many trucks on the 5, literally the right 2 lanes were full of them. It was also very windy along there. No wonder there are many accidents involving overturned trucks there. I then drove via scenic 178E to Lake Isabella. At one point, I thought I was going the wrong way and there was no signal on my iphone. But I saw that I was constantly following a river (Kern river) and guessed that it's likely an off-let from the lake. Thankfully I was going to right way, it would be a shame to miss out on the sunrise after getting up so early! Finally, I reached Lake Isabella at around 6am. It was a beautiful sight. The lake looks pristine and I love it's peculiar shape and the many little islands within it.

Sunrise, Lake Isabella (West End)

Lake Isabella (East End)

I drove around the lake a full turn and then back on 178E, and afterward along 14S and returned back to Pasadena at about 11am. Not many days have I traveled 400miles before noon! I then went into the lab to plan some experiments. There are many interesting research projects going on and I have planned them - just have to grab my lab coat (correction, I don't wear lab coat but probably should) and goggles and do them!

After about 4hours in the lab, I went for a work out in the gym. In summary, 350 calories on the elliptical (30min), rowing 1km (5min) and cycling 200 calories (20min). As you can see, I haven't been working very hard. But that might have been due to the fact that it has been a long day!

Indeed, I'm starting to feel quite tired now, it's 10pm - a 20hour day! Though I have to say it was a refreshing and fulfilling day.

Bitten by a horse

Last Sunday I got to ride Maryland. She is the dominant horse in the barn and one of the few horses that has to be tacked up in her stall. Maryland also needs to be given treats for anyone to enter her stall. So I expected some trouble in tacking her but off I went with a couple of carrots in hand and into the stall. Oh my! She is gigantic, dark bay colored and very beautiful. As I was brushing her coat, her ears pinned back to show her anger and she kept turning her head around to try to bite me. At that point, I was actually more afraid of her turning around and kicking me than biting me. That's how angry she looked and I was thinking what the hell have I gotten myself into?! The stall was very small and if she does decide to kick me there is no escaping. Suddenly, she chomped on my arm - it freaking hurt! Now it was my turn to be angry, I shouted at her and slapped her on the neck a couple of times. She looked innocent with ears forward no longer angry. I realized that by using a stern voice I can somewhat curb her from trying to bite me (she resorted to biting her food bucket). I have to say though that it was hard for me to do that, I often try to use positive reinforcement but in this case, that obviously was not working out. Later I learnt that Maryland has bitten everyone who has tacked her. But hell, she was a great ride, very responsive and smooth. I took a photo of the bite to remember it by (currently that area is burning hot, I'm guessing the recovery process).

2 days after bitten by Maryland

Road trip 051510

Just came back from a short road trip today and thought I'd blog about it while it's still fresh in my head. I got up at around 7am (was supposed to get up at 5am - next time for sure) and drove to Lake Mathews - around 1 hour south-east of Pasadena. The lake was beautiful with different shades of blue and green. Today was especially nice because it was quite foggy and the lake looked almost surreal.

Lake Mathews

I then drove further east and came across some outlet stores in Cabazon. I decided to go in and take a look. I have to say that there were some heavily discounted clothing stores, but I was good and only got a couple of t-shirts. I have decided to wear conservative clothing in summer such as t-shirts instead of singlets. No matter what, people still reach quick conclusions about you by what you wear (I am guilty of doing that too!) and I should dress appropriately for campus. Also as a bonus, I don't have to worry about applying sunscreen on my back which was always such a pain!

After that I thought about going to Palm Springs, but it's all desert and I don't like deserts where everything seems dead - I like mountains, lakes and lush forests much more. Anyway, I checked my always helpful iphone and decided to cut down south across Mt San Jacinto via 243 and 74 to Lake Hemet. Driving up and around mountains is always nice and soon before I knew it I was already 6000ft above ground level (or was it sea level?). Along the way, I saw many people on motor bikes wearing what looked like skiing goggles and they looked rather strange...can't quite explain why but they looked like they were from the 60's. Also, I thought I saw an ant eater by the side of the road and was about to grab my camera, but upon closer examination it was just a wheel cover. So yeah, there were many random car parts on the road which lead me to be cautious for my tires when I saw a shiny thing just ahead across the road. As I swerved around it, I realized that it was actually a snake slithering away! Soon I arrived at Lake Hemet, there were so many campers there and their tents were literally side by side covering the entire east end of the lake! I think this defeats the purpose of camping not to mention I can't take nice photos with all the campsites in view. So yes, I was somewhat disappointed about that.

Driving on 243 (San Jacinto)

I then headed back home while the sun was setting. Overall, it was quite a nice drive. (I'll get up early to catch sunrise next time - I promise!)

Sail away from the safe harbor

Last week, James Cameron the director of Titanic and Avatar came on campus to talk about whether Pandora is possible. One comment which I thought was well put by Cameron was when he said that there are people who imagine things and there are people who imagine things and pursue their imaginations. This reminds me of my favorite quote: 'Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.' by Mark Twain.

Explore, dream and discover provide the ultimate satisfaction to one's curiosity. And I am so lucky to be born in this modern era where I can pretty much do as I please and pursue anything I want. If I was born in say, China hundreds of years ago and as a girl....probably, make that most definitely I would have been married off somewhere, stuck in a loveless marriage and do housework or knit all day.... my gosh I'm certain I would have suffocated. Just thinking about this possibility makes me cringe - I think I would ran away from it all. But wait, if I was born into a middle class or higher family - my feet would have been bound. Alright, just googled foot binding - it's considered 'intensely erotic' (no need for adjectives but 'WTF' would not suffice). Probably erotic to men in the sense that 'Whoa, this girl is so fragile and can't walk properly and needs me, the oh so manly man to take care of her and this makes me feel so masculine.' Yes, I would have died a slow death of suffocation not to mention boredom. Thank heavens I'm here in this modern time!

Alright let me get back to the topic, here is a list of things that I want to try out or achieve

1. Gallop on a horse in the wilderness, jump over rocks and creeks
2. Help the world in anyway I can (a little out of context but very important to me)
3. Go to outer space (may not be possible but I'll see what I can do)
4. Travel the world (and yep this includes Antarctica)
5. Scuba diving in Great Barrier Reef and other wonderful places
6. Kayaking in South America
7. Go semi-pro in skiing (need to keep toe nails short!)
8. Fly around the world

The list is endless!! Life and the boundless adventures are good!! XD

My horse riding journey so far

Okay, it's about time I blog about one of the things that I enjoy most - horse riding.

Let me recount - I started this hobby about 9 months ago, August 2009 to be exact. In the first lesson I couldn't believe how big the horses were! I guess the few horses I've ridden in my childhood back in China were of a smaller breed. He was so big I felt like I was on a boat rocking back and forth! It felt wonderful to finally start horse riding which is something I have always wanted to get into since small.

After the first lesson, I began trotting. Gosh, I have to say that if you don't know how to trot - it freaking hurts ('cos your ass literally smashes against the horse's back at high frequency and intensity - hm sounds a little wrong but whatever) and I couldn't walk properly the following days!...thankfully that's all behind me! Now getting into the rhythm is pretty much second nature to me and quite effortless too (pat on the back! haha).

Now I'm starting cantering, which is the 3rd gait (walking, trotting, cantering and galloping). I won't lie, I do feel somewhat tense and apprehensive given how fast the horses go at this gait. But once the pure joy takes over the fear, the wind in your hair, the going at high speed on a live animal and yes the feeling is awesome.

The slight fear in cantering maybe due to the fact that I've fallen off a couple of times. The first time was when I was relating to my instructor of how apparently you have to fall off over 100 times to genuinely call yourself a real rider. And no surprise, I fell off that lesson. The horse that I was riding, Florida if I recall correctly got spooked and did this jumping thing during which I lost balance and fell off. I actually landed on my feet - like these gymnastics finishing off on the rings (I would have probably scored a 2 out of 10 on that landing). The second time was when I was on a horse whose goal it seemed was to buck me off, tried to do it about hm 4 times and was successful on her 5th try. That fall hurt. After the lesson, I went ahead to give the horse carrots which is something I do after each lesson. A guy whose daughter was also learning to ride said how nice I am to treat her even though she throw me off. That was interesting 'cos the thought of not feeding her never crossed my mind. I guess to me giving them carrots does not mean treating them, but more as a thank you for allowing me to ride them. Come on, horses are not here just so that humans can ride them!

There is something nice and sweet about horses, they are such simple animals - their lives seem to revolve around carrots and food in general and they have so much love to give. It's so calming to brush their coats and after each lesson, to give them big gracious pats on the neck - which they love by the way (in the beginning, I'd pat them very softly afraid that I'd hurt them but then I realized that they are huge and the gentle pat probably felt like tickling). Yep, I love horses.

Okay, I have to sleep now - will be getting up at 6am for tomorrow's lesson, looking forward to it! I shall give an update of this journey in the not too distant future.

On the misadventures of my toenails

In chronological order of falling off,

1. A door slammed into my toenail - probably one of the worst pain I've ever experienced (lesson: check that my foot is not in the way when flinging a door open to escape some reeking rubbish bin chute)
2. Hiked on the destroyed part of Great Wall for 10 miles (lesson: never try out new shoes when hiking)
3. The nail fallen off due to incident 1 grew back crooked so had to surgically remove it so it can grew back anew (lesson: double check advices given by doctors working for public institutions, such as Melbourne university)
4. Went skiing at Mammoth, the nail which grew back quite nicely due to incident 2 is currently in the process of falling off - again (lesson: keep nails as short as possible)

I don't know if it's because my toenails are too fragile or that I'm just too not careful at times - hm probably a combination of both.

A great Buddy indeed

German Sherpards are known for their loyalty and intelligence. I'll have to get one one day! :)

On the matter of Man, Technology and Nature

The recent volcano eruption in Iceland caused airports to shutdown all around Europe for nearly a week and resulted in thousands of people being stranded. It's rather incredible to see how disorganized the airports gotten not too mention the thousands of lives it has affected - with people crying, complaining and some cursing about the situation. Was there any contingency plan? Nope. Our dependence on technology was made quite apparent here, maybe it's about time that we come up with backup plans before a system fails?! Volcanoes and other natural disasters can be devastating, yet I think we do need reminders now and then that the planet is alive and be grateful to be living on her and see her beauty everyday. The planet will be here long after mankind has gone and I just hope, although I doubt highly that it won't be left in ruins - I digress. In any case, this event signifies how fragile mankind is, our reliance on technology and the power of mother nature - which is a very humbling feeling indeed.

My attempt at getting bix into blogging

the benefits of blogging

1. so that bix can read back on her trips and experiences etc
2. so that I can see what bix has been up to
3. so that I can be amused

the 3 above alarmingly convincing arguments will lead bix to blog about her trip to Europe