Mona's personal blog...what I choose to share

"Just like back home"

2011-12-07T16:12:00.001-08:00

We are getting a kitchen remodel and they've removed all our cabinets and sink and disconnected our dishwasher.

Even with paper plates, there are a few dishes that need to be washed as well as utensils (as I can't bring myself to use those toss-away items). I've resorted to washing dishes, outside, in a plastic bin...while squatting...just the way my husband dislikes...hahahaha.

I've got a system down now...do it in the warm part of the day so the water isn't so cold and if I rinse big items first, then I toss away only about 2.25 buckets of water.

My cleaning lady came the other day and saw my setup and laughed as she said "just like back home."

I hope the remodel finishes soon...I'm thankful at least I still have a bathroom and shower!

My relationship with money

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

My husband recently finished a book titled "How Rich People Think". After reading it, he said in a matter-of-fact tone, "we're gonna be rich". A wave of fear washed over me...and I was perplexed by my own reaction. After some thought, I realized that I am afraid because I have a disempowering relationship with money.

When I was young, my parents fought constantly about money...and I came to the conclusion that if we had more money, they would not fight and we would be happy. I was convinced that money = happiness until a few years later when I read in the paper that a rich man killed himself. I still recall being shocked by that because I didn't understand how a rich man can be unhappy. So I came to another conclusion...money = death...better be poor...at least you are alive.

So when my husband said that we are gonna be rich, he might as well said we are gonna be dead...that is what made me afraid.

So this awareness of my thought and the realization that I still live like it is true have allowed me to start letting go of my fear of money and my view that it is an evil thing.

Now, I live a blessed life and by no means poor, but I will practice more empowering thoughts about money and I look forward to having more of it (:

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:29:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A moment of silence and love to all the turkeys that died for today and for everyday and for all the animals that suffer to provide for us...

I am thankful for everything in my life, for my spiritual awakening and for everything in this world! I'm especially thankful for the ones that I love and hold dearly in my heart.

I'd love to hear what you are thankful for (:

Connected

2011-11-16T21:18:00.001-08:00

I was at work today, programming away and listening to some music when a thought popped into my head, along with the thought, a wave of emotion overwhelmed me and I had to stop and sit for a bit. The thought is that our deepest desire is not love, our deepest desire is to feel connected.

This deep desire to feel connected manifests itself in so many ways, in wanting attention, in wanting love, in wanting a relationship which in turn manifests in our efforts to be rich, famous, smart, beautiful...anything to be desirable so that we can connect with another...

The Kabbalah (or what I know of it) is right...our whole reason for being is to return to the source...the one...where we are all connected as one...

A new level of love

2011-10-31T23:04:00.000-07:00

I've discovered a new level of love...in this level, love is not about getting it from others, but about feeling it toward others...or put it another way, giving it to others. It has been my experience that when you can reach this level of love for another, the love feels much deeper and more lasting...the more I feel this love for my husband, the stronger and more connected our relationship becomes.

When we are young, we equate attention from others as love. As we get older, perhaps as parents, we start to experience giving love to others and realize that's much more fulfilling to our soul.

May you experience this fulfilling love more and more (:

Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

I feel crushed by the news...I will miss you, Steve...

I left my heart in the forest at Stanley Park

2011-09-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

Last week, we visited Stanley Park in Vancouver. The place is amazing! It is as big as the entire Vancouver downtown area and has forests, gardens, and beaches. It is so wonderful to know that this place has been preserved as a park and see so many people enjoying it. We spent many hours walking around, taking pictures and enjoying the nature. Of all the beautiful scenery we saw, there was one place that caught my heart. It was the forest near the open meadow at the Hallow Tree. There is something about this place...the moment I saw it, it took me away...the trees...there is something magical about the spectacular trees:

I really want to visit it again but unfortunately we didn't have the time before leaving. I thought about that spot every day and yesterday during my shivasana in my yoga class, I realized how much my heart aches for that place and I cried. I plan to return as soon as I can...I already staked out closer places I can stay at...until then, I have the pictures to remind me...

Courage

2011-08-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

“The only courage you ever need is the courage to live your heart’s desire.”
Oprah

Love that isn't personal

2011-08-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

I've experienced an important lesson: attraction is personal, it is about me and what I want. Once I move pass the attraction, there is a level of love that isn't personal...it isn't about me...it isn't about attachment to the other person...

I'm still learning what this level of love is...but what I can tell you so far is that it is about the other person's well being and happiness...about letting go...about finding peace...

I am very grateful for this lesson...for I feel I will need it...it will help me to succeed as I move forward in my life's path...

Do your best...

2011-08-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

"Do your best, let God do the rest"
-- (mother of a "So You Think You Can Dance" contestant)

Publish Post

Power in your life

2011-08-02T08:57:00.001-07:00

Here is what I know for sure...

If you want power in your life...take responsibilities.

If you want MORE power in your life...take MORE responsibilities.

When you don't take responsibilies for your choices and blame others for your life, the result is you put yourself in the powerless victim role. Until you start accepting your responsibility...you will not have any sustainable power in your life.

How much responsibilities should you take? More and more...until you own it all.

This is not a blame game...it is simplying acknowledging the choices you've made and the power you have always had.

Perhaps Love

2011-07-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

Last night we watched a foreign movie called Perhaps Love. I have never seen a Chinese musical before and liked the dance pieces very much. Because it was in Chinese and my Chinese is very bad, I had to read the English subtitle and felt I missed much of the visuals. So today, I watched it again...

I realized that I missed the movie entirely...I am a logical and literal person and that's how I view movies...logically and critically. But this movie is meant to be viewed with the heart and not the head because the movie is full of beauty and emotions. The scenes are so rich in details and so full of feelings...

I watched it again and it made me cry. Takeshi Kaneshiro plays one of the main characters in the movie, Lin, who has lived with the painful memory of a lost love for 10 years, is such a good actor...I can feel the depth of his emotions deep within me.

I realized I have been watching movies with my head...I've been doing most things in my life through my head...perhaps that aura photographer is right...I should stop thinking and enjoy more (with my heart)...and that's how I watched the movie the second time, with my heart...and it is a beautiful movie...

Peace

2011-07-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

"May all beings find peace and be free from suffering. May our thoughts, words and actions contribute to that peace."
(a yoga prayer from my teacher)

Spiritual revolution

2011-06-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

I feel there is a spiritual revolution going on right now. Tradition religions like Christianity and its offshoot are no longer "good enough" for more and more people.

For me, religions never felt right with me...with its "God-fearing" views, its insistence that homosexuality is a sin, its attempt to separate "God's" people from those sinners going to hell, its intolerance to other views...blah, blah blah.

I'd rather feel sorry for those who seem to fear God because it is so angry...they are like an abused child...

To me, it seems that the human race have "grown" from a child that needed to fear a punishing God, like a punishing father, to keep it from doing bad to a more mature adolescent that wants to know and explore for his/herself and find "traditions" to be suffocating and limiting.

I've been studying the Kabbalah spiritual system and I feel that it is inclusive, forgiving, loving and empowering...all the things that I feel God is and would want for us.

And for the first time in my life that I can recall, I actually feel comfortable at using the word "God" because I've finally found a God that is right for me (:

How lucky we are!

2011-06-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Today, I watched a lone Mockingbird trying to defend itself and its babies from killers above (hawks & crows) and killers below (cats)...not to mention other natural and human made destructions...no wonder the Mockingbird is aggressive.

Can you imagine if humans had to worry about huge flying creatures that can swoop down and kill us anytime? Or large creatures that can come into our home and eat our children? Our lives would be very different...and there would be fewer of us.

We are so lucky that we don't have to deal with those kinds of horrifying daily stresses...we just have to deal with ourselves...our own worse enemy.

Catalina Island

2011-06-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

My husband took me on a surprise trip to the Catalina Island!

I was amazed to learn that the island has Bald Eagles and American Bisons! Interesting story behind the bisons...in 1924 or was it 1926, a film crew bought 14 bisons to the island for a film and then left the bisons on the island when they finished! The bison apparently did well and the population grew to over 600. Then a project to return most of the bison to their more native plains in South Dakota brought Native American and environmentalists together. There are still about 150 bisons left on the island...we didn't see any but apparently they are out there (:

To get to the island, you take a ferry...2 youngsters puked on the boat...I kept my eyes out on the horizon and did ok...we even saw 3 dolphins on our trip over!

We docked at beautiful Avalon harbor...

and walked to our hotel which had a beautiful garden with these palms that made a nice picture against the cloudy blue sky...

The island is small and not many cars...the most common mode of transportation is golf carts!

There was a flying fish festival going on the weekend we were there...someone made this amazing sand sculpture:

We walked around the touristy harbor and saw this beautiful succulent tree that I just love and want to plant one in my yard...

This gnarly tree truck caught my attention...

As we walked around, I saw some beautiful blooming plants, like this yellow acacia...

and bougainvilleas here blooms like crazy!

Since we just gave away our Canary Island Palm, this one with a perfect head caught my eye:

We walked to the Botanical Garden and saw some cool-looking plants, like this "fried-egg" flower...

A very tall cactus:

and a short but deadly-looking cactus bush:

The Wrigley Memorial is inside the garden grounds with a nice view all the way to the water...

I loved the lines casted by the afternoon sun and the contrast with the curves of the architecture...

It was a fun trip. Thanks honey!

Self "work"

2011-06-08T11:21:00.001-07:00

I've often heard and have experienced myself the "work" that one needs to do in order to make changes in their lives. I just realized what "work" really means for me. It means to be aware of my thoughts/choices and to challenge or replace it with another thought/choice that empowers me toward the change I want.

This "work" is a daily practice for me...I don't always succeed but I persist...it gets easier the more I do it...less effort, faster result (:

King Gyanendra

2011-05-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

"At the end of every tunnel, there is light. but you never see the light until you walk into the tunnel. You have to move into the darkness to see light."
-- King Gyanendra of Nepal

Halle Berry

2011-05-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

"It is because they lived that I am"
-- Halle Berry on black actress of past generation

Hungarian Rhapsody #6

2011-05-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

Someone recommended that I checkout the Hungarian Rhapsody #6 by Liszt. I found this video of an amazing playing that took my breath away. The entire video is 7 minutes long but if you want to just see the amazing part, fast forward to 5:28...take a deep breath before starting:

WOW!

Bird music

2011-05-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

This is really neat...

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

"Top 25 Videos at Y.....e Play Guggenheim Biennial Festival (I don't dare say that name here).

Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). I knew it wasn't the most original idea in the universe. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.

I sent the music to the photographer, Paulo Pinto, who I Googled on the internet. He told his editor, who told a reporter and the story ended up as an interview in the very same newspaper.

Here I've posted a short video made with the photo, the music and the score (composed by the birds).

Also check my live presentation of Birds on the Wires at TEDx São Paulo: http://www.tedxsaopaulo.com.br/jarbas-agnelli/

Music made with Logic.
Video made with After Effects.

An interview about this and other works: http://biginterview.org/"

Faith

2011-04-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

I am starting to understand what the word "faith" means...for me, it means trust in the greater power that all will be well...we will all make it "home" one day to "paradise"...ALL of us...no matter what we have or have not done. It is an extremely comforting feeling.

There are times when I am unsure of my "faith" but I am feeling it more and more...

Listen to me...I'm starting to talk like a religious person! I want to make it clear that I am NOT associating with any religion...just articulating what I am feeling inside.

Ironically, I consider myself agnotistic...I guess I am changing...

(This blog allows anonymous comments)

Sharbat Gula

2011-04-18T08:00:00.001-07:00

Remember this famous photo on the left? Her name is Sharbat Gula and she was 12 then...she is 30 on the right...I wish her well...

[photo from National Geographics]

Meditation

2011-04-15T08:43:00.001-07:00

Since January I've been working 7 days a week on 3 software projects...each using a different programming languages (Java, PHP, javascript) and different development environments (Liferay, Drupal and Dashcode for iPad). I also stopped meditating and spent most of my days indoors coding. After 3 months of this, I realized that my mind was wedged and I was stressed. My right arm started to bother me...nerves, I think, and I lost my cell phone and sunglasses. I also can't remember things and could not sleep through the night...I would wake up and lay awake until the sun comes up and then feel tired just as a new work day is starting. My husband says I'm edgier/grumpier and distant. One saturday, I was stuck on a problem and he was trying to help me but I literally cannot hear a word he was saying!

My one saving grace was that I continued my ballet and yoga...thank goodness exercise is now so ingrained in my life that I will not give it up...it would be like giving up breathing. However, I started a new, challenging dance class...advanced contemporary ballet and I have a new yoga instructor as my previous instructor went on maternity leave. In addition, I started studying Kabbalah (I will share more about this in upcoming posts). So many new things in my life...also I had never done iPad development and never used Dashcode so this new project has been a big learning experience for me as well.

All these new things plus a brain stuck in coding...I can feel myself going off balance and I knew I could not keep this up...so I forced myself to start meditating again.

I am now experiencing another benefit to meditation...it can unwedge a stuck mind and allow the creative juices to flow again. The benefit of this is huge! Creativity is very important for good and innovative software development and allows me to have a child-like mind to remain curious and open to the world around me. I don't always meditate everyday and I do still have to force myself...for me it will take years of practice for meditation to become as "wanted" as breathing and dancing (:

So this has been an interesting experience for me...seeing and feeling myself becoming stuck in one-direction and going off balance...

In May, there is a big meeting where my iPad software will be demo'ed. After that, the pressure will be off and I can take a short vacation and have my weekends back for other enjoyable activities...like naps, hikes, more fun activities with family & friends (:

"Marriage"

2011-03-11T12:20:00.000-08:00

"So let me get this straight-Charlie Sheen can make a "porn family", Kelsey Grammer can end a 15 year marriage over the phone, Larry King can be on divorce #9, Britney Spears had a 55 hour marriage, Jesse James & Tiger Woods, while married, were having sex with EVERYONE. Yet the idea of same-sex marriage is going to destroy the institution of marriage? Really?"
(unknown)

For me personally, the greatest damage to the institutions of marriage is all the "unhappily" married people...gay or not...

Red Squirrel

2011-02-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

Squirrels make me smile...they seem so comical...hello little fella (:

[photographed by Dorota Walczak, courtesy of National Geographics POTD]

Killing Murphy

2011-02-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Recently I went to a Kabbalah presentation and the speaker talked about how it is "normal" to feel that there is suffering and problems in this life and if we don't have those for a few hours or few days, we feel something is wrong or something is gonna go wrong...maybe even have an anxiety attack. He made references to Murphy's laws such as "If anything can go wrong, it will."

I thought of myself...I feel I live a blessed life and I have felt that this is the calm before the storm...something to look back to when times are bad...it is one of the reasons why I've been working on developing my happiness from within...so I can be happy no matter what is happening externally.

So this speaker says that Kabbalists believe that a world without problems and suffering is possible and we should strive to kill murphy...that caught my attention and I thought I will give it a try (:

I think Murphy is almost dead...this morning, while driving to work, I felt so happy...just enjoying the music, the cars around me, the beautiful sky, my breath...there is no room for suffering when there is so much beauty and love all around me...bye, bye Murphy (:

Pie Jesu

2011-02-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Recently I heard Marie Osmond sing Pie Jesu on Oprah. She said that she sings the song for her son, Michael, who committed suicide. There was so much love and sadness in her voice. The song captured my heart. I went to iTunes and listened to many renditions of that song. I liked it so much that I bought 4 different artists' version: Marie Osmond, Jackie Evancho, Gregorian, and an instrumental version from Jenny Oaks Baker.

If you've never heard this song, listen here (starting at 1:30 into the video)...by the way, Jackie Evancho is an amazing 10-year old who can sing like nobody's business...what a gift!

There is something about the song Pie Jesu that haunts me. It feels so peaceful and comforting...and familiar...that's the part that's kinda "strange" to me...I've never heard it before hearing it from Marie Osmond, but it is so familiar that it feels like it calls to me from beyond this life...somewhere far, far in my past (life?)...

Nature, the gift of beauty

2011-02-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Nature is a gift to us...its beauty feeds the soul...this is from the Namib Desert:

[photographed by Andreas Koeberl from National Geographic's Your Shot Daily Dozen]

Congratulations Egyptians!

2011-02-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the people of Egypt for the courage and commitment of the past 18 days which resulted in a chance to shape their future in a way they feel will serve them better.

I will send love and light your way as you start on a new adventure (:

I do also wish Mubarak well.

Physicalness

2011-02-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Lately, I seem to be hyper aware of human physicalness (yes, that's a real word, I looked it up)...by physicalness, I mean I notice breasts, muscles, fat, thin, hair, bald, collar bone or undefined neck area, tense shoulders, pigeon toes, handsome/beautiful, ugly or average, body hair or bare skin... This awareness is rather new to me...I honestly never really paid much attention to them before...they didn't even register in my mind...I guess I had completely ignored them. Perhaps because I felt I couldn't compete physically so I put my energy and effort into my intellect and that's what I noticed...how a person thinks, whether they are intellectual or philosophical, open to new things or not, etc. It is how I judged people...yes, I judged.

This new physical awareness is rather annoying to me...I feel it is a distraction...but nevertheless, I seem to have developed this hyper sensitivity to it. I'm not quite sure what to "do" with this newfound awareness...I trust there is a reason...I just don't know what it is yet...

Or it is possible that I did notice these things before but because I was so into my own insecurities, I was not aware of noticing them...I don't know.

Either way, I hope this "experience" will get easier or be useful for something...because right now, it seems to be taking up my energy for no purpose...just when I am much less judgemental and I feel I've reached a point in my life where physical/material stuff don't really matter...why should I develop this hyper sensitivity now?

New design

2011-02-05T23:20:00.000-08:00

My relationship to this blog has changed and it is time to change the look too...hope you like it (:

Here is one last look at the previous design:

Google art project

2011-02-04T14:22:00.000-08:00

Google is a wonderful example of how a large company can serve public good...first with their Google Maps, then Google Earth and now they've created the virtual museum which made "visiting" many museum around the world possible over the internet...enter Google Art Project!

Bless you Google!

P.S. And thank you for hosting such an awesome and free blog site (:

Food limitations

2011-01-27T08:35:00.000-08:00

Recently I had a very nice dinner party with some of my girl friends and one of the things that struck me is the number of people with food "limitations". 20 years ago, when we became vegetarians, we were the only people with food limitations at a social event. Now, at the dinner party, 5 out of the 7 people had food limitations...one person has gluten allergies, another person could not eat soy products, a third person do not consume dairy products and 2 vegetarians. For the first time, I experienced having to be concerned about other people's dietary requirements.

It seems that more people are having issues with the foods that we consume...this is a troubling trend...what are we doing to ourselves?

Self confidence vs. arrogance

2011-01-22T17:14:00.000-08:00

I've heard some people say that Oprah and Tom Cruise are arrogant. That surprised me because I feel they are not arrogant but rather self confident.

Dictionary.com defines arrogance as "offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride."

While I don't know those 2 celebrities personally, I did watch the Oprah talk show regularly when it was on and I've read and watched a few articles & shows about Tom Cruise. They have never exhibited a sense of superiority to anyone...on the contrary, they've shown a strong sense of compassion and caringness toward other human beings. They are passionate about people and about their life. They have a strong sense of who they are and what they want...perhaps some people feel that's arrogant...I don't. If more people were as self confident as them, this world would be a better place (:

Susan Boyle

2011-01-17T10:45:00.000-08:00

I've been sick in bed for over 8 days and during that time, I caught up on the music I wanted to checkout, including Susan Boyle's, the over-night British sensation that appeared on Britan's Got Talent and inspired me to believe.

I can watch this YouTube video over and over again:

What amazes me is how she believed in herself and stood firm in the face of thousands laughing right in her face...and she did it with grace. The kiss she gave to the world before she exited that stage demonstrated such loving grace...she inspires me to be a better person.

If I ever feel hopeless and defeated, I hope I'll remember to watch this video again.

So I went on to Apple's iTunes Store to listen to some of her music and I am blown away...again! Her voice can be so clear and sweet like a little girl's and then in another song be strong and mature like Billie Holiday.

Bless you Susan...thank you for making me believe.

Marie Osmond

2011-01-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

"You marry at the level of your self esteem; make sure you have self worth"
-- Marie Osmond

Multitasking...overwhelmed

2011-01-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

6 years ago, I came to the realization that I was feeling overwhelmed...a constant sense of overwhelm that doesn't go away...and it was causing me stress. I realized that I had been feeling that way for a long time...it took me years to realize how I felt...that's how disconnect I was to myself.

Anyway, I decided that I was going to stop multitasking to see if that was the cause...it took awhile but sure enough gradually the sense of overwhelm went away. For the past 6 years, I have been enjoying an increase sense of peace and I love it. I also learned that many of the things that "had" to be done, doesn't really!

Over the holidays, I decided to multitask again...there was just so much to do that "needed" to be done...and quickly I realized why multitasking makes me feel overwhelmed...multitasking is when I do multiple things at once and since they never finish at the same time, I'm always doing something and I never feel the sense of completion. When I multitask without stopping, after awhile, a sense of overwhelm is inevitable.

A prolonged sense of incompletion leads to the feeling of overwhelm...it really is that simple.

Yep, one (two max) tasks at a time and life is good (:

New TV

2011-01-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

I would like to preface this post by saying that I don't watch much TV...I record Oprah, The Big Bang Theory, Frontline, Nature and Nova. Those are the only shows that I feel are worth my time. Most TV shows annoy me and if it were up to me, I would not have a TV in my home.

Our TV is about 10 years old. It is a 36" Sony Wega and it is huge and weighs a ton! "It is its own anti-theft device" says my husband.

This Christmas, while shopping for gifts, my husband saw a deal on a new TV that he just could not pass up. TV technologies certainly have come a long way in the last few years. Our new 55" Samsung has all the newest goodies our old TV didn't have...HD, Blu-ray, internet-ready, and 3D! And it seems impossibly thin and oh so much lighter than our old TV.

And I have to admit, after seeing it in action, even I got excited! I can stream movies from Netflix straight to the TV and I'm so looking forward to seeing nature shows, like the Blue Planet, and movies like "The Sound of Music" in huge HD! It uses LED so it will use less energy and has no radiation (:

The downside...or maybe the upside...I never did like horror movies and now I cannot watch them on the 55" HD TV...it is just too scary and nasty.

I can't believe my first post for 2011 is about TV...sigh...

Eat, Pray, Love (updated)

2010-12-29T23:50:00.001-08:00

Last night, I had a wonderful evening with a few good friends...shared some food and watched the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" (:

In the movie, Elizabeth Gilbert, had to leave her life completely (her marriage, job, home, country) to find herself. I feel lucky that I am able to go on a similar "truth seeking journey" while staying in my current life.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the movie:

"Sweetness of doing nothing."

"Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation."

"What am I doing in this family?"

"First rule in India is you never touch anything but yourself."

"God dwells within you as you."

"You lose balance, you lose power."

It takes a lot of courage and work to change one's life in a deep, lasting way. I wish all those on their path much success and love.

10X mirror

2010-12-25T09:14:00.001-08:00

One of my Christmas gift from my husband is a 10X mirror...now that's an assault on one's vanity...or a science project (;

My husband and I kept looking at ourselves in the 10X mirror and can't believe what we are seeing. I've actually got hair all over my face! My teeth are pretty white and the tongue looks like some slimy alien!

I've had a 3X for some time and I think that eased the assault; I remembered being a bit depressed when I looked into the 3X for the first time. This 10X will definitely keep me humble. I don't actually "see" myself in this 10X...I just see projects!

Yep, it has now forever changed how I "view" myself.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Storm photos

2010-12-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

I visit the Telegraph's Earth Picture Galleries website often and this amazing storm cloud photo named "The Mothership" caught my eyes...it instantly made me want to be there seeing the storm with my own eyes and also run and hide under the safety of my blanket:

This one is titled "Red Dwarf":

Don't they just take your breath away?!

They are photographed by Sean R. Heavey and he had so many amazing photos that I figured he must be a photographer. Sure enough, I found his website and there were many other beautiful pictures there, including more of his amazing weather shots. You can also buy his images (:

The Telegraph had a related link which caught my eyes, apparently you can take a storm-chasing tour offered by a husband & wife team, Roger and Caryn Hill. They offer these tours between April and July. Here is a shot of Roger in front of a tornado in Colorado:

Here is one of Roger Hill's pictures:

A storm chasing tour huh? I'll be talking to my husband tonight...

When galaxies collide

2010-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

I thought "when galaxies collide" is only lyrics in a song...but I just found out that it happens literally! What a mind bending concept...see the cool video below which shows 2 colliding galaxies captured by Hubble:

Wanna run for President?

2010-12-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hmm, I have some old posts that didn't get published so I hope you won't mind this outdated (2008) funny thing...

Apparently, I'm running for President...

And you can do the same at http://www.news3online.com/spread.php

350.org

2010-12-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

I don't know how a big environmentalist like myself could have missed 350.org special event on 10/10/10...sheesh!

I just want to share my favorite art piece shot done in Iceland!

[Photographed by Christopher Lund, courtesy of 350.org]

Please help the rich

2010-12-07T08:00:00.001-08:00

I forgot to post this earlier...in case you "forgot" what we went through 2 years ago...it is still funny now...enoy:

[Photo from Matthew Kendig's photostream]

Gift of choice

2010-12-05T08:00:00.001-08:00

Give yourself the gift of choice...everyday.

Job interview

2010-12-03T08:00:00.001-08:00

As I was leaving my work tonight, I looked around at my nice office and thought how lucky I am to enjoy my job. That brought back memories of an interview I went to many, many, many years ago...the interview from hell.

I was interviewing for a customer service job...I don't recall what the company was selling but I do remember 2 extremely embarrassingly incidents that took place during that interview:

The interviewer asked me what I would do if I had to help an irate customer...I didn't know what "irate" meant. A few seconds went by as I tried to guess what "irate" meant...it could be anything...happy, confused, angry, dumb. Finally, I had to ask the interviewer what "irate" meant. He told me but I'm sure that looked very bad for me. I don't recall what my answer was...probably some stupid mumble jumble...I didn't know how to deal with an irate customer.
During the long interview, I crossed my ankles and tucked my legs underneath the chair I was sitting on. When the interview was finally over and I had to get up to leave, my legs had fallen asleep and when I tried to stand up, I fell over. I'm surprised the interviewer didn't laugh...it sure seems funny now!

Did I get that job? Er, would you hire someone like that? I certainly wouldn't. Nope, I didn't get that job.

It is all good (:

Anza Borrego (part 2)

2010-12-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Here are more pictures from our recent Anza Borrego vacation:

I love the coloring on this shot...it looks like 2 separate images placed together:

We saw this big tarantula crossing the road and had to stop to take a look:

Sunset over the Anza Borrego valley:

Morning at Culp Valley:

These 2 plants seem to be in love growing so well together:

I snapped this nice shot of Lake Henshaw as my husband drove:

We stopped at Jaffe Brothers to get some goodies and this pair patrolled the parking lot. The rooster was huge and very beautiful:

Pretty Lantana:

(part 1 photos here)

New health care law impacts

2010-11-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

Yearly at my work, we have a chance to change our health insurance plan and this year the new health care laws made 3 positive impacts. First, there are now no previous illness exclusions, second there is no lifetime maximum benefit limitations anymore, and third children up to 26 years of age can be covered by their parents insurance plans.

THANK YOU OBAMA!

I never understood why people didn't support Obama's health care changes...how could you not want your health care to work better for you?

It is ridiculous to me that the insurance companies are willing to take your money but won't cover you when you need it, after paying for years! What the h*ll is insurance suppose to be for anyway?!

Obama has given some of the power back to the people and I am very grateful to him for taking on this challenge which no other president has been able to do successfully.

White teeth

2010-11-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

I've been told by many people that I have really nice white teeth and whenever I tell them how I do it, they are always surprised. So I want to share it with everyone. It is very cheap (almost free) and actually good for your mouth & teeth.

I rinse with hydrogen peroxide. I combine 1 part hydrogen peroxide and 1 part water in a glass..just enough for one mouthful. Just swoosh it around in your mouth and then spit it out. I usually swoosh it for about 15-30 seconds, twice a day, right before I brush my teeth. It may foam up in your mouth, that's ok.

A big bottle of hydrogen peroxide is only 99 cents from Costco. You can also get it at a pharmacy or even regular grocery stores.

I started doing this as a cheap way to keep my breath fresh since it kills bacteria then within a few weeks my brother asked me about my white teeth. My husband is also sold and has been doing it too with same great results (: I am a regular tea drinker and he is a regular coffee drinker...both can discolor your teeth but this little trick keeps that away (:

I've asked several oral hygienist and they've all said that it is safe and actually good to rinse with hydrogen peroxide as it will kill bacteria in your mouth and oxygenate your gums which will help to keep them healthy (:

Try it, do it regularly for a few weeks and you'll love the results!

Happy Tofurkey day!

2010-11-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Tofurkey day!

Bless all the turkeys that died for this day.

Anza Borrego (part 1)

2010-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Recently we visited Anza Borrego Desert State Park with our friends from Japan and had a blast! I think the desert is beautiful, although I would not want to live there.

Here are some pictures to share:

Road trip:

We rented a nice house and this little lizard decorated the front porch:

The house came complete with a wild, free-roaming scorpion that scared the crap out of me in the middle of the night! We let it go outside in the morning:

View from the front porch:

This cactus looks cute and fuzzy but is actually quite nasty...it has barbed hooks at the end of each point and very hard to get out:

I love the shape of the beautifu Octotillo:

I think this is a red barrel cactus:

A group of artists create huge metal statues of various animals and placed them all over the desert for visitors to find:

Rice field

2010-11-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Wow!

[Photographed by Thierry Bornier from National Geographic]

Black-Headed Gull

2010-11-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

What a shot!

[Photographed by Christopher Hoyle from National Geographic]

Painted Hills, Oregon

2010-11-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

It is pictures like this that makes me love photography...the ability to capture a moment of perfection:

[Photographed by Glenn Traver from National Geographic]

Oh stomach!

2010-11-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

I've been dancing for probably 30 years now and I just realized I am completely unaware of my core center and have have not been using my stomach muscles at all!

It is at times like this that one can feel completely discouraged and give up what they've been doing or realize the opportunity to make a breakthrough improvement by continuing...I choose the latter...

Amazing peeing dog

2010-11-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is too funny not to share...enjoy!

The Amazing Peeing Dog brought to you by Videobash

Chuckwalla

2010-11-11T08:00:00.001-08:00

Recently, I went on my first mobile camper trip! Our good friend Doug generously invited us to share his nice camper and we all had fun in the desert. Being in a mobile camper is kinda like being a turtle...you are home whereever you go (: I had so much fun walking around in the desert taking pictures. Here are a few to share:

This is my artsy shot:

I love the light & color in this shot:

The crows cooperated:

Burnt vegetation against the beautiful sky:

Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, Iceland

2010-11-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

Look at this amazing photo!

[Photographed by Sigurdur Hrafn Stefnisson from National Geographic]

Mimic Octopus!

2010-11-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know there is a group of octopi that can "change" their appearance...checkout this fascinating video:

Mimic Octopus!!!!! brought to you by Prank Videos

Momentous night (updated)

2010-11-02T23:07:00.001-07:00

Tonight is a momentous one for me as 2 important people in my life: my brother Justin and my friend Tom, are living quite differently and in a very small way, I've contributed to their changes.

Tonight, my brother told me that he is going vegan. Now, I've been a vegetarian for nearly 21 years and during that time, we've talked about our different food choices and I've felt that he didn't approve of my food choice. So his news tonight was quite a shock. He recently read the book "The China Study" and it gave him the scientific proof he needed to be convinced that animal protein is very bad for human health...it actually causes cancer and heart diseases and fuels their growth. He has not eaten meat since last wednesday...even if he doesn't go vegan, reducing animal flesh will be a good thing for his health (:

The second momentous event is my friend messaged me tonight and said "Ok, I'm off to get ready for my date". Tom and I have been friends for many years now and for the past nearly 4 years, we've been talking about his desire to get into a relationship, get married and have children. He has had a difficult time with this goal but has worked to make positive changes in himself and in the last few months, those changes are netting results...moving him toward his goal with a second date with a lady that he likes (:

It is momentous for me not because I am right or validated...I've long ago given up the need to be right...it is momentous for me because something I've shared which works for me is now working for someone else. I also know that however momentous this is for me, others have also contributed toward their changes and Justin and Tom are the ones who did the really hard work. Good for them!

Ah...life is good (:

Rain!

2010-10-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

Oh windshield wiper
Infrequently I use you
Thank you for being there!

Intelligent life

2010-10-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
- Bill Watterson

Karma (updated)

2010-09-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

"Karma is a bigger bitch than I will EVER have to be!"
-- (unknown)

Probably not something that Buddha or the Dalai Lama would say but I think they may have thought it at some point in their mind (: I'll have to remember this when I'm really mad at someone...it will help me to let go.

Cute!

2010-09-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Can they be cuter?

[Photographer: Katherine Jolly; courtesy Kodak POTD]

Greener grass

2010-09-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

"The grass is always greener on the other side because it is fertilized with bullshit."
-- (unknown)

Cool!

2010-09-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

Near Space Balloon Flight, shot with HD HERO cameras from GoPro from Kevin Macko on Vimeo.

We are a group of engineers/designers from San Francisco. This was our second balloon launch on 6/5/2010. Shot with 2 HD Hero cameras from GoPro. Launched from the California coast near Davenport, landed in Crows Landing 70 miles away. Peak altitude 80,000 feet. Acquired GPS, pressure, accelerometer, and temperature data with a Shadowbox (www.shadowboxlive.com). The payload was tracked with a SPOT satellite personal tracker.

For more info, read this article...

Love rice

2010-09-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

My good friend Enna and I went to a Thai restaurant and we were served the most love-liest rice!

Happy monday!

Succulents!

2010-09-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

I never paid much attention to succulents because I thought they were all cacti and I don't like pokey plants.

Well, recently, my good friend Enna opened my eyes to the world of succulents and I learned that cactus is only one type of succulent and there are lots of other succulents that do not have thorns. She recommended a good succulent book called Succulent Container Gardens and I found a bunch of succulent that I liked (:

I am now a big fan of succulents because many of them are drought tolerant and beautiful. Here are a few that I got recently...

Aloe vera:
I've been buying aloe vera juice to add to our morning smoothies but now I can save some money and grow my own!

Cotyledon macrantha:
They look like big, green clam shells (:

Jade:
This amazing plant started as a small cutting from my mom and I neglected it for years. I just noticed how beautifully shaped this plant has grown over that time. It now has a prominent place on our backyard deck (: Thanks mom!

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana hybrid:

This pot of succulents contains many varieties and I don't know their names. I like the 2 green, thin plants...the one on the right looks like sea asparagus which we ate in Hawaii (delicious!) and the one to the left looks like some underwater tubular coral...very cool looking (: I can just picture Nemo swimming through it...hehehe.

I'm having fun with succulents (:

Hahahaha!

2010-09-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

[photographer: rabosh]

Wow!

2010-09-01T12:27:00.001-07:00

This gorgeous table took my breath away:

[Photo from an ad for David Alan Collection]

Great Ball of Fire

2010-08-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

This stunning image is from Nasa:

"On August 1, 2010, almost the entire Earth-facing side of the sun erupted in a tumult of activity. This image from the Solar Dynamics Observatory of the news-making solar event on August 1 shows the C3-class solar flare (white area on upper left), a solar tsunami (wave-like structure, upper right), multiple filaments of magnetism lifting off the stellar surface, large-scale shaking of the solar corona, radio bursts, a coronal mass ejection and more.

This multi-wavelength extreme ultraviolet snapshot from the Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the sun's northern hemisphere in mid-eruption. Different colors in the image represent different gas temperatures. Earth's magnetic field is still reverberating from the solar flare impact on August 3, 2010, which sparked aurorae as far south as Wisconsin and Iowa in the United States. Analysts believe a second solar flare is following behind the first flare and could re-energize the fading geomagnetic storm and spark a new round of Northern Lights.

Credit: NASA/SDO/AIA"

Seeing the Aura Borealis is on my bucket list...what I wouldn't give to be somewhere where I can see these lights on the next solar flare...

Vegan fashion shoes...mostly (updated)

2010-08-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Since I became a vegetarian 20 years ago, I also stop buying products made with leather, silk and other things that required killing an animal. At that time, non-leather shoes were pretty much limited to canvas sneakers so I also gave up fashion shoes. The only leather thing I bought 15+ years ago was a used pair of boots at a second-hand store.

So when I recently went to Whole Foods and saw a pair of vegan (non-leather) fashion shoes, it caught my eyes. I tried them on and they look...well, very sexy. Rather relunctantly, I bought them. They were the shoes I wrote about in my post titled, Uncomfortable attention. They are Jambu's Oscar:

They are suprisingly comfortable with memory foam footbed and on sale at Overstock.

That got me going, I started looking around for more vegan fashion shoes and was surprised to find quite a large selection...times have changed. I bought these vegan shoes on clearance from Naturalizer:

Those didn't work out too well so I'm returning them. I'm waiting for the following Damita K's vegan pumps to arrive from ModCloth:

Now for the "mostly" part of the title...I mistakenly thought Jambu's Troy shoes were vegan and saw them on sale at Piperlime so I purchased them as well:

When they arrived, I discovered they were leather. I tried them on and they are super comfortable. I considered it for a couple of days and choose to keep them after thanking the cow(s) who died to make them. Vanity won this time. They have now become my go-to shoes for just about everything.

Alright that's it...I'm done! "Sure, Imelda..." my husband teases...

Global warming

2010-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

The other day I watched a TV program where a family somewhere in the middle of United States lives a very wasteful lifestyle. Among their most unbelievable habits, they leave their air-conditioner on all summer long, day and night...whether they are home or not...and during the day they also have their windows open! They leave the TV on for their dogs when they are not home and the husband like to turn the faucet on in the kitchen sink when he is there...just letting the water run down the drain because he likes the sound of the running water! What the... ?

The husband says he doesn't believe in global warming.

Ok, even if you don't believe in global warming, there are so many other reasons to not be so wasteful with our natural resources!

Good news is by the end of the program, they've changed their ways when they realized how much money they can save if they change their habits just a bit...I guess that's as good of a reason as any.

Grand Illusion

2010-08-06T17:47:00.000-07:00

The other day, I listened to Styx's song "Grand Illusion" again and the lyrics hit me clearly for the first time (bold emphasis is mine):

"[...]
But don't be fooled by the radio
The TV or the magazines
They show you photographs of how your life should be
But they're just someone else's fantasy
So if you think your life is a complete confusion
Because you never win the game
Just remember that it's a Grand illusion
And deep inside we're all the same.
[...]
American spells competition, join us in our blind ambition
Get yourself a brand new motor car
Someday soon we'll stop to ponder what on Earth's this spell we're under
We made the grade and still we wonder who the hell we are"

You can hear the entire song here...

Howard Zinn

2010-07-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

I just found out Howard Zinn passed away in January of this year. I was shocked as I just finished watching 2 documentaries about him..."You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train" and "Voices of a People's History of the United States".

To be honest, I didn't know who he was before I watched the documentaries and I don't know how those 2 documentaries got on my Netflix queue, but the universe has given me a gift. Howard is truly a gift to humanity.

Howard is a gift to humanity because he championed against injustice to people everywhere. Most activists will champion a single cause...Howard was an exception. He took on cause after cause after cause, fighting injustices everywhere, empowering individuals...he was an activist for the rights of the poor, the oppressed, students, women, blacks and other minorities. Truly he was a humanity activist.

He was also a historian and a writer and wrote 2 remarkable books ("A People's History of the United States" and "Voices of a People's History of the United States") that gave voices to those whose stories would not otherwise be told.

I am sad that I never had the honor to meet this unassuming, thoughtful and deeply compassionate man.

I hope the light he created in this world will continue to be felt for a long, long time...

Owls

2010-07-28T15:11:00.000-07:00

John Denver

2010-07-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

For many years now I've loved John Denver's music. He is an amazing song writer and singer...when I listen to his songs, I'm often transformed to another state...one of love, peace and beauty.

He has done so many great songs. Here are some of my favorites: Rocky Mountain High, Poems, Prayers and Promises, I'm Sorry, Goodbye Again, Perhaps Love, Rhymes and Reasons, Take Me Home Country Roads, Windsong, Thank God I'm a Country Boy, Starwood in Aspen, Sunshine on My Shoulders, For You, Seasons of the Heart, For Baby.

Today, I heard one of his songs, Love Again, which got me wondering what the back-story is so I went Googling and found some sad and troubling things about John which I did not expect. It is surprising and sad to me that he can be capable of such love and beauty when he has so much darkness inside. Now I listen to his songs with a different ear...considering the darkness that may be hidden in the beauty.

And I wonder about myself...

Freakonomics on parenting

2010-07-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

I already posted an earlier entry about the book Freakonomics and its views on crime. This post shares some interesting things I learned from that book on parenting. The book devotes 2 chapters on parenting--one chapter on whether parents matter in how their child turns out and one chapter on whether the name of the child affects how they turn out.

Let's start on the chapter on whether parents matter or not...that's a pretty provocative question, isn't it?

Take your best guess which of the following 16 factors are correlated to a child's test scores and which are not (for those that are correlated, also guess whether it is positively correlated or negatively):

1. The child has highly educated parents.
2. The child's parents have high socioeconomics status.
3. The child's mother was thirty or older at the time of her first child's birth.
4. The child's parents speak English in the home.
5. The child's parents are involved in the PTA.
6. The child has many books in his home.
7. The child had low birthweight.
8. The child is adopted.
9. The child's family is intact.
10. The child's parents recently moved into a better neighborhood.
11. The child's mother didn't work between birth and kindergarten.
12. The child attended Head Start.
13. The child's parents regularly take him to museums.
14. The child is regularly spanked.
15. The child frequently watches television.
16. The child's parents read to him nearly every day.

Ok, ready for the answers?

#1-8 are strongly correlated while #9-16 are not. Additionally #1-6 are positively correlated while #7 & #8 are negatively correlated. Surprise by some of them? I certainly was. I had thought that most of the non-correlating factors should be, especially #9 & #11.

I want to emphasize, as the authors did, that being correlated is NOT the same thing as being causal...correlated just means they rise and fall together...whether they cause each other or not is not determined.

"...by the time most people pick up a parenting book, it is far too late. Most of the things that matter were decided long ago--who you are, whom you married, what kind of life you lead. If you are are smart, hardworking, well educated, well paid, and married to someone equally fortunate, then your children are more likely to succeed. ...it isn't so much a matter of what you do as a parent; it's who you are."

As for the child's name...let's start with 2 funny stories from the book...

In 1958 Robert Lane, who lives in a housing project in Harlem, named his baby son Winner. Then he named his next son (the 7th and last child), Loser. I'm not making this up! Loser Lane, who did not change his name, went to prep school on a scholarship, graduated from college and joined the NY police department where he was eventually promoted to detective and then sergeant. Winner Lane, now in his mid forties has a lengthy criminal record, including burglary, domestic violence, trespassing, resisting arrest, and other mayhem.

An upset black woman called into a radio show and said that her baby niece has just been given the a name that is pronounced shuh-TEED but was spelled "Shithead"!

Did you know that many girl names, including Shirley, Carol, Leslie, Hilary, Renee, Stacy, and Tracy started out as boy names?

Parents tend to be more adventurous with girl names than boy names.

Unusual & alternate spelling names tend to come from unmarried, under-educated, low-income, black mothers.

According to the book, there is an interesting movement in names:

"once a name catches on among high-income, highly educated parents, it starts working its way down the socioeconomic ladder. ... But as high-end name is adopted en masse, high-end parents begin to abandon it. Eventually, it is considered so common that even lower-end parents may not want it, whereby it falls out of the rotation entirely. The lower-end parents, meanwhile, go looking for the next name that the upper-end parents have broken in."

Uncomfortable attention (updated)

2010-07-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to a nice restaurant for a special event and I got dressed up. First of all, dressing up is a lot of work for me and the process causes me stress. I try on many different outfits, shoes and various makeup and hairstyles but I never seem to be happy or comfortable with the result. Last night was no exception. I wore a new pair of high heel shoes that a friend says is very sexy and a halter top I've never worn...I felt overdressed. My husband liked what I was wearing so I stayed with it. Then during the dinner, I had to walk down the stairs, into the main part of the restaurant to get to the bathroom. I felt people staring at me and I wanted to hide.

Wow, I just realized how insecure I am in this area. Hmm...I think that's why I choose to be a tomboy...I don't get that kind of attention and I'm more comfortable with that.

But since my husband likes it when I dress up, I think I'm ready to tackle this insecurity...I hope if I go overboard, somebody will tell me...hehehehe (:

Hummingbird nest from eggs to empty

2010-07-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Because of The Owl Box, I've been watching other animal videos on YouTube and found this great hummingbird video someone in San Diego put together from eggs to the moment the young ones left the nest (be sure to turn your speaker on so you can hear the music on the video):

After watching that video, I finally have a sense of the expression "the empty nest syndrome"...

The real root of all your problems

2010-06-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

"The real root of all your problems isn't others but you...specifically it is your thoughts. This may seem like bad news but really it is great news because this also means YOU have the power to solve all your problems!"

Kauai

2010-06-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

At the end of May, we went to Kauai with our good friends and stayed at a place that has a 180 degree view of the beautiful ocean just a few feet from our balcony!

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Trying out my new camera's night shot of the moon between palm leaves:

Right outside our unit, we saw up to a dozen turtles bopping their heads in and out of the water and sometimes we can even see their bodies. This large turtle appeared to be "stuck" for awhile until the next wave came a few seconds later:

One day the waves got pretty big and we watched a lot of brave surfers face the waves like warriors out to conquer an adversary...it was very inspiring to watch them, especially after my own humbling experience trying to snorkel:

This was one of my favorite spots...I just love the space and the amazing large trees in it...this was a plantation long ago:

At the end of the huge lawn, before you get to the ocean is this magnificent, old tree:

Hawaii is full of beautiful beaches...this one was exceptionally gorgeous...it really did make me feel like I was in an alternate reality:

(yep, that's my finger, amateur photographer's mistake)

Erik Johansson

2010-06-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Checkout this cool image:

[artist: Erik Johannson]

BP

2010-06-17T22:29:00.000-07:00

I listened to some of BP's CEO, Tony Hayward's responses to questions asked by the member of Congress and he seems to be as clueless about BP's operations and decisions as I am...don't suppose they'll pay me what they are paying him for those "skills"? I'm willing to take less (;

Frankly a CEO who doesn't know what's going on in his own company doesn't really surprise me...most large corporations are run by people who knows very little about their company's actual business...I find that a troubling trend. I often hear a CEO from one industry being hired by a company from a completely different industry...like a CEO from a soft drink company being hired by a car manufacturing company. Often, these CEO's attention isn't on how to run the business better or better serve their customers but how to make money and show a profit.

What does surprise me is that it has been just about 60 days and they still cannot stop the oil gush! All our "expertise" and "intelligence" and we can only sit helpless by and watch the chain of disastrous events unfold. I'm glad we didn't allow oil drilling in Alaska. I know the oil industry is saying that what happened with BP in the golf is an anomaly and oil drilling is safe...um, does anyone believe them? I certainly don't.

What's shocking is that their current plan to "stop" the oil spill is to drill another hole...yep, that's right...let's have 2 holes gushing oil instead of 1...unbelievable! Maybe BP really stands for "Bozo People".

Alright...I need to meditate and let my upset go...sheesh!

2 ways to live your life

2010-06-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
— Albert Einstein

Freakonomics

2010-06-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our good friend Doug loaned me the book title "Freakonomics" over our Hawaii vacation and it certainly presented some very interesting and provocative conclusions based on actual collected data.

According to the book, the #1 reason why crime rates started decreasing dramatically in the 1990s despite many experts predicting the opposite is because of the legalization of abortion. Yep, that's right...Roe v. Wade in 1973 did more to reduce crime rate all across the Unites States than any other "factors" offered by the experts...many of which turned out had no effect on crime rate (i.e. booming economy, proliferation of gun control laws, innovative police strategies). The logic, also backed by data, is that unwanted children face more difficult lives and much more likely to turn to crime as they get older. Therefore, legalized abortion reduced unwanted children and therefore reduced crime rate.

The second interesting thing I learned has to do with capital punishment. Data shows that increase police and tougher crime laws also reduce crime rate...though ironically capital punishment do not. The book said that capital punishment, as it is practiced today in the United States, is not a strong enough incentive against violent crimes because it takes too long for the punishment to be carried out and is therefore ineffective. Hmm...so if we do what China does...a quick trial and if found guilty, immediate death, that would make capital punishment a much more effective tool against violent crimes...interesting proposal...

I am not yet done with this book and I look forward to reading more interesting ideas.

Kenny Rogers

2010-06-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

"[Each of us] are all 3 people...I am who I think I am, I am who you think I am, and I am who I really am. And the closer those 3 people are together, the longer you can last"
-- Kenny Rogers

Humbled (updated)

2010-05-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

Today I felt truly humbled as I tried to go snorkeling...I realized I am a complete idiot when it comes to the open ocean and all that's related to it. I fumbled with the mask, the snorkel, and my fins, and struggled to get into the water. Once pass a few feet of water, immediately I felt unsure of what to do as the water pushed me here and there. I panic several times and had to call to Terry for help as I thought I was drowning. I was unable to control my body, much less all the snorkeling gear that seems to only get in my way of trying not to drown. Quickly Terry realized that I couldn't handle myself so he took me by hand and pulled me along with him. With him holding me, I felt safe and was able to put my face in the water and saw a bunch of colorful fish. How cool! We swam into a group of maybe 30 fish as they weaved in and out between the people. They are so cute and colorful...I just wanna touch one but alas no such luck.

I took the following shot with the waterproof camera that my husband gave me:

Dr. Seuss

2010-05-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
-- Dr. Seuss

Birthday & Shabu-shabu

2010-05-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, we celebrated my mother's birthday. We went to a Korean restaurant we've been to before and it was full so we put our name on the list and waited...and waited...and waited.

While waiting, I walked to a new restaurant nearby and it served shabu-shabu, Japanese hot-pot. Wow, I've never heard of Japanese hot-pot but it makes sense...it seems most Asian cultures have some form of hot-pot. We all decided to try it and it was terrific! Each of us got our own pot and I ordered vegetarian which came with lots of good veggies and tofu (:

It dawned on me that doing something you've never done before is a wonderful way to celebrate your birthday...I'm gonna do that for my upcoming birthday!

"Stop thinking"

2010-05-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last night, we went to a farmer's market and I had my aura photographed and analyzed. I put both of my hands on this machine which had metal plates where the fingers should be placed. He told me to breath and he clicked a button on the computer. The image showed a lot of white around my head and shoulders and purple to the lower left. The guy told me that I have a lot of spiritual and mental energies. He said that I am gentle and likes control and he told me to stop thinking. He said it is good to have a balance of colors and I need to enjoy more and do more activities...while not thinking. I thought the not thinking part was rather funny. He said it again and also chuckled. Not thinking huh...ok, I'll try that and see where it takes me (:

Kids

2010-05-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

"Kids need to think that you care, before they care what you think"
-- Joy Moore

Owlets

2010-05-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

The owlets are growing up so fast!

This is from about 2 weeks ago:

Then a week later...look how much taller they are standing and we can start to see the feathers (one owlet looks at the youngest sibling, Wesley, who is still sleeping on the ground):

Wesley wakes up and stands up next to its siblings:

Jim

2010-05-05T19:29:00.000-07:00

Dearest Jim:

Thank you for the love you gave us and know that we love you too.

I can see your smiling face so I know you are in a good place and I trust you've found the security and love you wanted.

We miss you and you will always be in our hearts. I look forward to being with you again one day.

love,
Mona

Root canal

2010-04-29T10:58:00.001-07:00

I've been having some teeth issues and one of my teeth may need a root canal. That got me wondering...how did that "solution" come about?

Here is one funny scenery I can think of...if I can draw, it is almost cartoon-like...picture this, a bunch of teeth doctors sitting around trying to figure out what to do about people whose tooth is hurting and one of them says "how about we just remove the nerve from that tooth?" and the other doctors scratch their heads and nod in agreement?

Can you imagine applying that principal to say migraines? Yeah, let's just cut your head open and remove some nerves.

Though I think in pre-root canal days, they just pull the entire tooth out to try to stop the pain...what, you won't miss one tooth...you have like 30 or so of them...hehehehe. So I guess in comparison to that, root canal seems rather "civilized" (;

The Business of Being Born

2010-04-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the United States has the second worst newborn death rate in the developed world? Also, the U.S. has one of the highest maternal mortality rates among all industrialized countries.

Over the weekend, we watched an eye-opening documentary title "The Business of Being Born".

Here is a trailer for the movie:

Back at the beginning of the century, women giving birth was drugged, blind-folded, gagged, bound at the wrist and ankle, strapped to the bed and left for hours and sometimes days in their own urine and feces! Throughout its history, "interventions" in obstetrics have caused problems and continue to this day...watch the first 3 minutes of the following video clips:

Sadly, I learned that birthing in the United States has become a disempowering experience for a lot of women who go through the process with lots of guilt and fear:

"That's one of the great manipulative techniques that are used is when a woman starts to question 'wait, why do we need to do this?', 'wait, is there something else we can do?', the first thing [they] turn to is 'oh, it's for the good of the baby'...whether it is or not, you'll do anything because if you go on and question then you are a bad mom...who is gonna do that?"
-- Elan Vital McAllister
President, Choices in Childbirth

Also, all the chemicals they give you at the hospital can often leave many women feeling disconnected and uninterested in their baby at a critical bonding time...right after birth...because it can interfere with the natural release of hormones that normally starts immediately after birth and helps the mother to bond with her baby. It would be interesting to see if there is a link to postpartum depression.

1 in 3 women now give birth via cesarean, which is really a major operation and a much less desirable way, for the mother and the baby. The movie talks about 2 main reasons for the rise in cesarean operations:

the chain of interventions that is given to the mother at the hospital causes stress to the baby and the need to "save" the baby by cesarean
cesarean is 20 minutes versus the average 12-hour labor so it is much more business-friendly

One woman in the movie described the cesarean process to being hit by a car and then having a new stranger to take care of.

"Many people have described birth as a right of passage and it is certainly a life altering experience and it can be a beautiful, incredible, and empowering life altering experience or it can be a devastating, traumatic, scarring, literally and figuratively experience."
-- Elan Vital McAllister
President, Choices in Childbirth

Also, did you know that the current birthing position women are place in the hospital is not optimal...laying on your back with your legs up narrows your pelvic opening and makes it more difficult for women to use their stomach muscle to push the baby.

The other option the movie offers is having a mid-wife and having the birth at home. Use the hospital and the obstetrician as a backup only in case you need it. This leads to a much more personal experience where the mother and her body get to decide what happens, not the doctor and the medications. If I ever give birth, that's what I plan to do (:

What I learned from this movie is that we women need to reclaim our power, our right, our privilege and our responsibility for one of the most transformative experience a human being can have.

"A woman really doesn't need to be rescued. It's not the place for the knight and shiny armour. It is the place for her to face her darkest moment and lay claim to her victory..."
-- Cara Muhlhahn

Passing the torch

2010-04-21T10:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I received a wonderful gift...I got a message which lifted the remaining sadness I had about letting my friend go. I wrote about the pain I felt in an earlier post.

Last night, as I was sorta meditating, the message I got was that my work with that friend is done. Our relationship ended just as a new relationship entered her life and this new relationship will give my friend what she needs. The universe provided for her so that I can be free to move to on to what I needed...the universe provided for me too (:

Wow, for the first time since I let the friend go, I felt at peace about that...what a wonderful gift...

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

2010-04-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

About a week ago, we visited the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. It was the perfect time as there has been a lot of rain in San Diego and so the hills are green and full of blooming colors. There are many easy trails in this reserve and some go down to the beautiful beach. It was also the perfect day to hike, not hot and sunny but a bit overcast with a warm breeze.

When I was younger, going out to nature can temporarily help me forget my unhappiness. I finally realized how much I miss being out in nature so one of my goals this year is go for more outings (:

We parked along the roadside and proceeded up the hill toward the reserve:

I am not a big fan of cactus but this one caught my attention with its beautiful tree-like shape:

Photogenic views everywhere:

This path looked so inviting...but unfortunately it was closed for repair:

Pretty flowers everywhere and this cute little daisy by the fence caught my eyes...how can you pass up a shot like this:

This cute little squirrel came close to us:

We walked under a grove of trees with a carpet of greenery & yellow flowers...it was a beautiful and serene scene:

There are very interesting bluff formations along our walk and I got this nice shot of a ridge:

We walked down to the beach and saw this small rock nested underneath a bigger one:

Then on the other side of the big rock, another rock seems to have "bonded" with it:

As we left the beach, the rocks underneath our feet caught my attention...love this texture: