Tussling with myself...

That dream I had while cooking dinner tonight was still tangling around... will that ever come true by this small potato with no professional experience and connections?

小子能成大器嗎?

It's been a long time I cry in a movie :-) but this true story of five misionaries who were speared in Amazon (the real one of course) turned out to be miracurously positive since the children of the missionaries were baptized by the SAME people who killed their fathers!

沒有愛... 這會是一個什麼的世界?

Have you seen the short promotion clip of 谷歌? I really like it because of its simplicity... 頗喜歡這段:

夢想是大 要奔跑的路更長

Career change at 29+1

Someone said I look like Jamie Oliver hahahaha!


Told 灝哥 and he said: 佢靚仔過你咁多!
Told Wuster and he responded: take off ur glasses, and shave ur beard... maybe... a little

Sigh!

Anyhow, I came across this forum when I went to his website. Looks like not only me has this wild thought of giving up the comfortable relatively well paid career to stand the heat in kitchen!

I've been chatting with a friend who just graduated from Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts and is now working at Hardware Grill in Edmonton. I'm so thankful I got to know this friend, since from the experience my friend shared, I got a better picture of what the real kitchen was like...

Microbreweries in Seattle

Over a dinner with a friend and her fiancee who came from Toronto, we talked about Seattle's microbreweries... and apparently, the friend from Toronto knew more than I did!!

We've talked about visiting all the brewers next time when he is in town.

Hopefully one day I will visit all within Washington!

我看到了另一個世界，在這裡 。

现实生活中的一名左派的网络日志

This blogger is just 21 years old, and he has already developed a very deep 的理想:

我的理想是当一个全中国乃至全世界很有名望的文字创作家，可能是作家，也可能是评论家。此话半真半假。这理想不完全，因为我还期待着一个群众民主并且学术自由、严肃而活跃的环境，我很早就有一种理想，即期待社会有一天如我设想中的古希腊学者的自由辩论景象，而我在其中是众多受人注目的有分量的一位（当时这理想与个人奋斗主义同在）。至今我还存有这样的理想。

According to The Economist, this guy is a student who used to run a Revolutionary Marxism website that has been banned by the Chinese government. He was also harassed by the government because of that.

What's on top of the list in my mind now: Which car I should buy next? Should I stay in my current career because it is more prominent? How much does my house appreciate on paper?.....

Reading his blog, I feel ashamed....

理想??

After the love has gone

After the love has gone
Originally uploaded by solea.

My first blog from flickr :P I like this picture a lot, and the comments are very entertaining too!

珍惜眼前人 + 為生命瘋狂

Read an article about 廖文諾...

趁還在擁有的一刻好好感激珍惜父母...

Just received a message from my sister-in-law. I like what she said:

My little advice to you: life is short – everyone can be crazy -- do whatever you want.

Simon and I and our little Justin will be sure to support your whatever decision – in particular – opening a restaurant and getting us free lunches and dinners!!! You know? Every time, when Justin sees your pictures, he can remember you and call "Boris Sui Sui"..

祝福你 :-)

ho gor's cooking skills have improved a lot! He really takes the time to do the arrangemnet:

失意 = 失敗?

【明報專訊】每年往英、美交流的港生數目眾多，但去年僅 17歲的姚玲就選擇「冷門」的冰島，成為首名赴當地交流一年的港生。會考僅得 6分、英文不及格的姚玲，經過一年磨練，不單英文程度提高不少，更學懂冰島文，看當地雜誌、電視全沒問題。冰島更令她認清自我，希望衝出「小小的香港」，萌起拿著背囊乘火車、當「電波少女」的念頭。

獲全費資助 6.3萬元

身材高佻的姚玲，中學時已是「活潑分子」，身兼學校多個學會的主席，又是運動健將，划艇、攀石等都難不到她。一直希望到非英語國家交流的她，憑著主動的性格，通過 AFS國際文化交流計劃的篩選，獲全費資助 6.3萬元，於去年6月展開冰島交流之旅。

指冰島學習氣氛輕鬆

去年住在冰島首都雷克雅未克（ Reykjavik）的她說，冰島的中學考核包括平日功課，讓學生可在輕鬆氣氛下享受學習的樂趣，毋須面對沉重的考試壓力。相反，她直指本港教育制度失敗，令學生活在壓力下。

在單親家庭成長的她，在港已十分重視與家人的感情。談到離鄉別井在冰島生活，小妮子更視當地接待家庭的成員如同親人，稱呼為「爸爸、媽媽」。叫她最難忘的，莫過於聖誕節與數十名「當地親友」一同享用聖誕節大餐，她更曾充當大廚烹調春卷等中國美食。

淡黃色的溫暖...

時光不知不覺間溜走...
起來吧，豁達一點，
加快步伐，
「維持熱血勤練兵」!

又是黃偉文腰心腰肺的歌詞

鼎鼎大名
主唱：Shine
作曲：James Ting
填詞：黃偉文
編曲：James Ting

在浮沉著有五六年　別人還未識得祖與占
但平時約企左路前路人還是伸手指與點
藝人名字都數一篇但無人認得出祖與占

大量青春經已付上　但願登天不過未上
有個宗旨卻一樣
仍然同樣樂天之命　旁人沒說久仰大名
還是笑著來回應
天空很大　不怕暫時做暗星
仍然忙著活出生命　維持熱血溶掉兵
或者以後我是大名以後我是大明星　要成名
純粹為高興

舊時留下偉大寓言任何人願努力可承現
近年明白這被困 路程其實開心緊要點
仍然同樣樂天之命　一點輕鬆去遠征
珍惜過程　如不盡情太掃興
仍然忙著活出生命　維持熱血勤練兵
或者以後我是大名以後我是大明星　要成名
還要受致敬

我以後太害怕我自己多不確定
若並未濟身於世界最頂　也要唱快透頂

紅不起也要高興

Last card and garbage bin

No wonder David was complaining about his painful stomach... it was Marise and Felix's trick....



And look at this set! Willis deomonstrated the recommended way of handling candles...

In the Sunday school we were asked to find something from the yard that can represent ourselves...



And looking at these wild flowers, I remember C told me that "環境不會因為你改變" but I need to fight against the circumstances, just like the flower blooms no matter where it is planted... Even though a trash bin can be a trash bin in a stylish way, just like this BinBin, 丹麥出產的塑膠製品 (it just won Japan's Good Design Award and Germany's International Forum Design Award:

沒有愛 這會是一個什麼的世界?

(This was taken at the same time the pictures posted below were taken... What a contrast!
This reminds me that nothing in life should be taken for granted.)

異常晴朗的經歷

I received a few calls from SAM recently asking for donations, and coincidently, I received this postcard from them :-)



It was a beautiful afternoon, so I decided to go to the other side of my office after meeting with C... And I ran into a new couple taking video along the seaside. How sweet!



Also this big family of goose was so cute!



Hopefully, this day won't be too far away from me :-)

飛上雲端 奔向藍天 單純的愛慕你...

New Zealand again...

It's the second time New Zealand popped up in my mind.... Looks like they have a relatively easy immigration process....

Oh, an interesting article Many skilled foreigners leaving U.S.: Exodus rooted in backlog for permanent status

I think that applies to me too :)

Argh, staying in Seattle is good, but as my friend said, the social network is so confined in the "hi-tech" community, which eventually leads to a kind of boring life...

Going back to Canada is another logical choice, since it's closer to my family, especially my aging parents.

Of course, Hong Kong is always on the list.

Nevertheless, a more important question is... what do I really want in my life?

Well, I guess it's easier to answer this question if I had my own family :-)

自殺!

Suddenly, I was thinking of 自殺...

Well, not really 自殺, but thinking 自殺 in general.

I just read an introduction of Job, and his wife questioned "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

I think, 自殺 not only is a murder, it's also declaring untrust and denouncing God at the same time.

Life's difficult, but I'm glad that even though I may lose everything, it's enough to have God alone.

I woke up this morning realizing that I turned 90 degrees while sleeping last night. Do you know that I had 夢遊 once when I was small :p Yeah, I went to the kitchen in the middle of the night, and told everyone that I meant to go to pee, and then went back to sleep again.

But... what happened exactly last night?

I just remembered I had a lot of dreams...

May be... that's the only time I can find my fantasies.

Went to a famouse Korean restaurant in Edmonds. The food is OK lar, for some reasons I like the one next to Edmonds' Range 99 better.

My friend's just broken up with her boy friend, and you know what? The reason was exactly the same as what I had been told by my ex.

Well, at least I'm not the only one.

But finding a life long soul mate is much more difficult then getting a good job or even changing career :P So I'd rather not hurry in love.

New table!

Thank you so much Willis, David, and ho gor for helping me to bring this REALLY heavy glass top table from Mercer Island!

The table looks really beautiful and very comfy! I like it a lot!



And it's not expensive at all! I was able to get a bargain and took $100 back :-)

Here's the description from craigslist:

Price reduced on this modern custom made brushed steel dining table with 5/8" glass top and six chairs with arms. Table measures 72" long, 41 3/4" wide and 30 1/4" tall. Metal frame was hand crafted and has a 3" wide by 1" thick perimeter frame with 2" square metal legs. All metal surfaces have been brushed with a grinder and finished with a clearcoat finish. A very impressive table.

The six chairs are black metal with black ultrasuade seating surfaces, and a brushed steel back.

The entire set is in excellent condition.

craigslist works really great! A co-worker of mine "got" his girlfriend from it haha!

Talking about girlfriend, a few of my Indian co-workers went back to India as a single, and got a wife back! Yup, they didn't know each other before...

No wonder the flight ticket to India is so expensive--does an engagement include in the price?

收拾心情再上路

惟 喜 愛 耶 和 華 的 律 法 ， 晝 夜 思 想 ， 這 人 便 為 有 福 ！
他 要 像 一 棵 樹 栽 在 溪 水 旁 ， 按 時 候 結 果 子 ， 葉 子 也 不 枯 乾 。 凡 他 所 做 的 盡 都 順 利 。

I was officially rejected :-(

I don't have a lot of disappointment, instead, I really feel 平靜、安穩與喜樂!

My housemate reminded me that... He's in control. Yup, He is walking with me hand in hand.

I need your prayer support though... if you don't know yet, I'm looking for another team in my workplace. Looks like I need to brush up my interviewing skills.

收拾心情, 再上路!

David asked me a few times what should be the main theme of the concert, and I happened to come across these:

生命，是上帝賜給世人的禮物；
生活，是人類回報上帝的禮物。

花時間在某人身上...

After a call to a company this morning I think I need to redo my tax... but time's running out... um, looks like I need to file an extension again :-)

Haha.. I like a friend's sharing :-)

我愛你不是因為你是誰，
而是我在你面前可以是誰。
(may be this is a good test.. whether I can be my true self when I'm with "you")

不要花時間在一個不會花時間在你身上的人。
(in general I agree ge...)

Finally!!!

Haha, finally, so unexpectedly, I meet you again!

Finally, JJ and Ricky got baptized!



And finally, I have finished up my tax return... and, ARGH!, I owe IRS money--the first time ever in five years!

Sigh...

各自各精彩 :-)

好好戀愛 vs 心淡

歌手：方力申, 鄧麗欣 | 作曲：Horan Chan
填詞：方杰 | 編曲：Gary Chan

曾是日夜期待你　施捨一點同情
這算是固執　做夢或太熱情

＊在世上　沒有多少東西會盡如人意
　多數像諷刺　逐年成長
　必經苦戀故事　我愛你　你扮作不知

　然而假如只得我在
　愛不是場定成敗的比賽 ...

我與你　就算始終不能相愛
這一種情份　可一也都可再
我用心戀愛　下段道路定更精彩

Talking about "在世上　沒有多少東西會盡如人意 多數像諷刺", we didn't find any cherry blossom today, but there were a lot of beautiful things around us...



My friend said that he felt old all of a sudden, since he couldn't finish up a bowl of tempura udon... I had the same feeling too, when I found it more difficult to 做夢...

Losing the courage to take risks for a dream... is that a sign of getting old?
May be.... but getting older also means 更成長 更精彩!

Leaving Seattle has been on my mind for quite some time. But there is one thing that's holding me back...

There was a few hail showers but finally the skies cleared up at the end of the day!



It was really a chilly day so I decided to get a hot pot tonight with Rick and ho gor..

Did I look like one of the waiters :-)



Really like 黃偉文的詞:
心淡
歌手：容祖兒 | 作曲：徐繼宗
填詞：黃偉文 | 編曲：唐奕聰

跌到極麻木　只好相信
又再爬得起　就會有轉機...

由這一分鐘　開始計起　春風秋雨間
限我對你以半年時間　慢慢的心淡
付清賬單　平靜的對你熱度退減

Conflicts!

(between me and another part of me)

What should I do?! I'm arguing with myself...

Uncertainties bring me to this tunnel of darkness... so lonely now, although a few people know what's going on, and are supporting me one way or the other. But I still have to pave my own path...

New Zealand seems like a very good place to live... but I'm sure C will repeat the statements again and again if I bring up the idea of getting a job there.

But this blog is pretty useful, if you share the same wild thought.

We were having devotion together with candles last night :P

咱們三

Last night Dave, ho gor, and I had devotion the first time together. I quite enjoyed it actually, but their feedback wasn't good -- they blamed that the book that I used was too "empty"... doesn't have questions, sharings, etc. But anyhow, I thought it was a good start.

I spent the entire afternoon at the UW clinic today. Finally I got a chance to meet Dr. Shen. She looks really young, may be in her mid 30's, and yet she has finished a lot of traning from the best universities already... undergrad at Oxford, PhD at MIT, and MD from Stanford!

I can hardly see the words on my screen now because of the strong dilation.

After all the work, there's going to be another challenge lying ahead of me...

Thursday 4/13.

Went to see C today. C asked me to write down all traits I like about myself.

It's not easy to get to really know myself. May be I should take the short cut by asking around... and get disappointed :P

雲上太陽 一 天光晒...

Finally I'm off call! What a relieve. Had lunch with a friend and we had some rather deep sharing. Thanks so much for making the connections, I'll see if I'm able to make a switch.

Stepping out of the office, the sky was wider and bluer than ever... It's the first time I saw the buildings around me in this angle... and suddenly, I feel His presense :)


"雲上太陽" ... ?



There was a huge protest today in Seattle, and a lot of people marching on the 4th Ave. I think it took at least 20 minutes for all people to pass through.



According to the news, they're protesting a bill that may disallow the illegal immigrants from getting green cards and citizenships. Oh well, I should join them... I have been waiting here for more than five years and my application is still burried somewhere in the file cabinets laying untouched... sigh!

The parade was pretty peaceful, although I found a lot of broken glasses on my way to the bus stop.



Eventually I mowed the lawn! It's been a long while I haven't done this. And guess what, I picked up two bags of dog droppings on my lawn.... I'm 99% sure it's from Daisy the dog my neighbour owns. I've already asked them to train their dogs but they just didn't do their job.

"Love thy neighbours"... I'll probably send them a postcard I got from Estonia and then mention that they should clean up the mess... or better yet, don't allow them to come over to my already messy lawn.

打破框框 粉碎偏見

Read an article in Next magazine titled "鹹 魚 翻 生 　 李 惠 珍". Here are some quotes:

李 惠 珍 生 於 一 個 「 只 睇 得 起 讀 書 人 」 的 家 。 她 父 親 ，上 海 聖 約 翰 大 學 畢 業 。 舅 父 英 文 也 了 得 ， 是 上 海 福 特 汽 車 廠 的 外 交 專 家 。 長 輩 一 致認 為 ， 畫 公 仔 沒 出 息 。 李 惠 珍 窮 一 生 精 力 ， 就 為 證 明 ： 畫 漫 畫 一 樣 可 以 出 人 頭 地 ，並 且 可 以 跨 代 地 紅 起 來 。 「 社 會 老 愛 把 某 些 角 色 、 工 種 定 型 ， 我 要 用 盡 每 一 口 氣 ，打 破 這 些 俗 世 的 框 框 。 」 六 十 多 歲 ， 已 為 人 外 婆 的 李 惠 珍 說 。

一 個 富 麗 堂 皇 的 舞 台 ， 有 人 歡 天 喜 地 站 在 台 上 ， 有 人 垂 頭 喪 氣 坐 在 台 下 ， 老 人 家 從 一 道 門 走 出 去 ， 小 孩 子 從 另 一 道 門 走 進 來 。

「 這 說 話 ， 不 同 年 齡 、 心 智 的 人 看 後 ， 會 有 不 同 感 受 。」

「 人 生 本 是 如 此 ： 總 有 生 老 病 死 ， 高 低 起 跌 ， 有 時 你 是 主 角 ， 有 時 你 卻 只 能 做 旁 觀 者 。 」

「 很 多 人 以 為 創 作 是 天 馬 行 空 ， 創 作 最 難 是 觀 察 和 吸 收 比 誰 都 要 闊 和 廣 ， 才 不 脫 離 現 實 ， 才 引 起 共 鳴 。 」

「 人 們 常 說 ： 唔 識 字 人 才 看 漫 畫 ， 看 漫 畫 的 人 沒 深 度 。 」

漫 畫 的 膚 淺 ... 漫 畫 的 深 度
漫 畫 的 輕 鬆 ... 漫 畫 的 嚴 肅

漫 畫... (and many things else) is superficial but is also deep...

Oh, went to a friend's place and tried out this interesting dish:



I like the sauce a lot! It had "hard cider" added into it. Thank you so much for preparing the dishes!! I feel hungry now when I *think* of it.

Talking about friends, look at this guy!!!



The last time someone did this for me.... was my mom :P

Oh well, I have good excuses not to do this today, since I GOT PAGED AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!! Just when I was all set to mow the lawn, the beeper started yelling at me...

SIGH. My dinner plan was all blown up. Sorry...

Tomato night., summer 2005

 

A picture taken last summer... For some reasons I don't have the "mood" going to sleep tonight?! 

Beauty and the beast

  
(taken by MJ)

滿肚腸肥!

I haven't been to the gym for quite a long time! Argh! My past few month's training is all wasted!

Today is another Friday I want to stay home instead of going to fellowship. I should feel really tired now since I slept for less than three hours last night... but may be its that pressure that keep me awake until now, 13 hours straight.

And then I thought I have all decided to stay home finishing off the project, I received a call from a friend asking me if I'm going to fellowship or not.

Isn't this interesting? Every time when I want to quit going to church because of work, someone will just appear and change my mind...

沈黙は承諾のしる

(Silence gives consent.)

Found out this interesting photostream on flickr tonight when I'm wrapping up my work. Very good captions and the photographer captures the best out of everyday things!

I'm currently looking for a dining table... the one I used to have was moved away by my friends last Saturday (in fact, my ex's stuffs were all taken away...)



Tonight it's my first time trying out this new restaurant in Bellevue. The food is pretty OK, but I don't really like the sauce... it's too thick and too similar.



And then after I got back home, ho gor told me that he had prepared lunch boxes for us! What a surprise!



Sassy was sneezing all the time! Hopefully it's not because of a cold... or does she have allergy?

The weather was awesome these two days in Seattle!

kлассная....!?

This picture is very interesting!!

And now, compare it with this picture...

(they're both taken by the same Russian photographer :)

My Indian coworker says Mani Ratnam is the best director of southern India, so I bought my first Indian DVD that was directed by him today...

123456, this will never come back again...

Make a wish at this moment!

My friend finally made up his mind and will get baptized next week!! This is such a wonderful news, congrats!



(courtesy of Why...)

I've been chatting with another friend over IM today for over an hour... and my friend's very logical analyses helped me clear up things in a great deal. I never discovered that part of my friend's quality :p Thank you!

Cambodia or not?

Inspired by a friend on a Saturday night dinner, and the pictures from flickr look really great... should I go there... solo again :-)

I tried the new China Town Vietnamese restaurant Green Leaf twice last week! The taste of the food is average, but the presentation and service are the best in China town!



The owner of Green Leaf (Peter :) has a full time job, and he usually go to help out during dinner time. His wife, who is bearing an 8-month old, takes care of the entire restaurant!

They treat their customers super good. How so? We ordered the Vietnamese pan cake:



but then my friend ate a deep fried paper towel!!!! yuck, I know, but Peter apologized many times, and gave us a new dish, PLUS a free dessert Grilled Banana Cake, which was super good too!

They also have this rare dish Stuff escargot meat & pork meat, which I think can be kind of time consuming to make:



Oh, my friend told me that their drinks were not that good, so I did skip it. Let me know if you find surprises though!

And then on Saturday night, a bunch of us went to Typhoon. I heard good things about them for a long time, so I decided to give it a try.

Overall the portion is pretty small (well, may be that's because 9 of us shared only 6 entrees and three appetizer). I highly recommend their Miang Kum. From their description:

Wrap a pinch of toasted coconut, shallot, ginger, lime, peanut, dried shrimp and Thai chili in a spinach leaf with Bo's signature sauce, then pop in your mouth to burst in a medley of flavors

The texture and flavor were really different, exciting, and refreshing!

Also you can't miss their Drunken Noodles and Royal Duck Curry!

Heee... I guess I had too much Nordic food last week :)

陶的美...

Went back to the lab to pick up the last few pieces. I still have some cups left unglazed. I guess I'll finish them next time when I get an opportunity.

I think I started to like this art (isn't this sounds familiar :) Here's a plate made by intrustor Ken Turner.



陶器, 真逗人喜愛!

Oh, I found this wall clock one evening when I took the bus back home from work...



Suddenly, the house seems to be 空空的...

Haha, look at me a week ago... so silly, so excited :P

shall we....

dansu?

Just finished watching it tonight. A very sweet movie with a lot of inspiration. Some quotes are on the same line of thought of C when we met this morning....

"No hesitation... that first step is so important... The leader must commit his whole body to convey to his partner the tone of the entire dance."

"A weak first step transmits nothing."

"Be confident, you must stride."

"... to the end he tried to protect his partner."

"I really felt like giving up. But if I had, I would have been everything you accused me of."

"Of course, it's true... that affection for you... was what brought me to the class."

"The start is everything. Take a deep breath."

And, never leave your loved ones alone!