22 Oct 2010 – The Fury of Megi

China Airlines, no complains. Cheap Tickets had somehow booked me from HNL via NRT with an overnight in TPE/Taiwan, been thru’ 18 airports the past 3 months! Typhoon=Cantonese/Chinese literally means Big Wind Megi, fortunately did not make it to TPE and after a night@Hotel Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport, the plane took off on schedule and arrived with no delays in hazy SIN. To family & friends in HKG & Guangzhou area, stay indoors this weekend and do not tempt fate by being out with Megi which has been forecast to hit the coast of S China. Also a safe weekend to all.

Been there, done that, was the feeling after reading parts of the book (in Norway) and watched the whole movie Eat Pray Love***being an admirer of Julia Roberts was enough reason to spent S$4! What & why is it that some women, including myself have problems with finding a balance in relationships? In Asia especially, women are brought up to take much consideration to others, so much so that we forget ourselves. Some thrive and live their lifes to please others. Total respect and admiration to them, but people are different and I am certainly not one of those 🙂

Reading Traveling with Pomegranates****by Sue Monk KIDD and Ann Kidd TAYLOR; a mother and daughter’s journeys to sacred places and coming to terms with themselves and with each other. Bought it at HNL airport after discovering that she also wrote The Secret Lifes of Bees and that she lives in SC. Bought some pomegranates when I was in Croatia that sparked off a conversation with some English tourists who has never seen or known of pomegranates! Today the pomegranates are known for the antioxidants effects. The bible has many referral to them and the Chinese associate them with fertility!

Tried the very best to teach my two daughters to find the balance and I believe they are learning and coping much better than their mother ever did. It is thru’ them where I learnt the balance. Thank you Linn & May. Talked about the balance to some of the students in HNL with hopes that they too will find their balance to better relationships with parents, family, friends, co-workers, acquaintance etc.

A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache – Catherine the Great

18 Oct 2010 – Boat People

Sat: Christine & Kevin TRAN met at a Thai refugee camp. As Boat People, both had struggled hard to escape Vietnam in the 1980s… she was then in her late teens and he in his early 20s. Fate brought Kevin to Mississippi and there he worked hard and managed to sponsor Christine over. They got married, built his first fishing boat Capt-Kevin and are blessed with 3 children. Later he sailed to HI on Capt-Kevin. Today they have two fishing boats-Lady Christine I & II, two sons who completed their universities and hold good jobs in CA. Their youngest and only daughter, Jennifer is in HCC and I have faith that she too will good well and complete her studies.

Thank you to the TRANS for sharing their story and for including us to their home-coming and out-going sea-faring ceremony. It was interesting and educational to be on Lady Christine II. May their journeys be smooth sailing and their catch be bountiful.

To Laine TANGONAN (2010 HCC student), knowing how busy her work schedules (2 jobs) and school are, thanks for wanting to take time to stop by. Stay focus in the Present! till we meet again. Good luck and good wealth to her & Jennifer TRAN.

David, Wilki & Patty WONG, their gracious hospitality is most appreciated. LAM cousins, wishing both the very best. With gratitude for their time and attention: HCC 2004 students Huang, Kim, Lisa (thanks for brunch@the Hau Tree Lanai/Kaimana Beach Hotel. Good fortunes to Adriane ALFONSO for his new business with the dental designs: www.esthetichawaii.com  Aloha & mahalo.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day
Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime
Chinese Proverb

16 Oct 2010 – A Perfect Day

Kukanilolo: This 5-acre historical site located in Central O’ahu is one of the most important sites in Hawai’i. Known as the Royal Birthing Stones, where royal women were brought to give birth. Established in the 12th Century by an O’ahu chief for the birth of his son, Kapawa. The wide view of the skies might also have made it a sort of HI Stonehenge. In 2000, a team from UH Institute for Astronomy recorded designs and shapes on the stones that could have been used to track movements of celestial objects for calendrical purposes.

Dole: The company traces its origin to the 1851. Including the original pineapple, Dole distributes fresh fruits in the forms of whole fruits, whole vegetables, berries and fresh-cut vegetables. In 2009 the company had about $6.8 billion in annual revenue. It is a publicly traded company on the NYSE(DOLE). Their pineapple whip is one of the best I have tasted.

North Shore: stop@the world-famous surf, sun shopping in historic Haleiwa town. The 2 pieces which caught my eyes are the frog and the glass-sculpture wave@Wyland Galleries and nearly bought a frog, but alas it was not meant to be! Instead got a glass-sculpture whale@Hale’iwa Gallery to remind me of the memorable helicopter ride with Kim over 2yrs ago when I did not take pix that day! Drove by Banzai, Pipeline and Waimea Bay.

Kahuku: quaint post-office and an old sugar mill ruins. Not too far away are the shrimp farms where we bought 2lbs of fresh shrimps.

Laniloa: after taking the pix of the fisherman, he caught a nice size fish and was only there for app 15mins… not a fisherman’s tale but wished I was fast enough to take another pix of him before he quickly vanished! There were some crazy people kayaking out in the rough waves… we heard a scream when the kayak overturned but thank goodness they got on it again. Would hate to have to be calling 911! Passed Polynesian Cultural Center… been there in the 1980s when I met with the USS Missouri following her around the world.

Kualoa Park: has good views of the famous Chinaman’s Hat, ridges and spectacular huge trees across the road. Rainbows have been following me the past 3 months, not so strange here as HI is known as the Rainbow State with this one on the way back to Manoa. Thank you Huang for driving me to these wonderful places and what a perfect rainbow to end this perfect Friday.

The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain –
Dolly Parton

15 Oct 2010 – Happy Reunions

Hope: the worst thing to be without! For the 33 Chilean miners and their families hope was all they had and Faith is their greatest asset. Thank goodness, their Love, the most powerful force in life kept their Hope & Faith going during the 69 days of ordeal being trapped in a copper & gold mine. Congratulations and good job to the recuse team and to the 33 miners, please continue doing what you were doing during your worst nightmares, ie to encourage and support each other.

BEIJING: Oct 14 (Xinhua) – A Chinese professor on Thursday lambasted the Nobel Committee’s decision to grant this year’s Nobel Peace prize to Liu Xiaobo, saying it was part of an endeavor by western powers to push their version of democracy onto China by awarding the prize to a prisoner convicted by a court of justice in China… The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the decision to give this year’s Peace prize to Liu on Oct. 8. China responded by saying that awarding the Nobel Peace prize to China’s Liu desecrated the award and could harm China-Norway ties.

When even a Peace Prize becomes political, then where and what is peace?

Thu: here in Manoa David & I have also decided to do a celebration to life with a steak dinner. Thanks to Akira, Huang, Kim and Cynthia for enjoyable company. Thank you to Jennifer & her parents for stopping by with fresh tuna… one of the most priced fish when the quality is like what we received, indeed a very touching gesture.

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding –
Albert Einstein

13 Oct 2010 – A Stroll before Sunset

Mon: Makapu’u Lighthouse is one of Hawaii’s most familiar landmarks commanding a spectacular view of the Windward side of O’ahu. The lighthouse was built in 1909 and automated in 1974. This 2mi paved trail with interesting vegetation of pears & pencils! (Panini/prickly pear-fruit which is sweet and good for making cactus wine and Euphorbia tirucalli/pencil cactus or milkbush is poisonous) leading to the lighthouse and a fantastic view of the entire coastline and the island of Molokai in the distance.

Thanks to Lise, Adriane and Huang for taking me on this lovely trail and for the delightful company. Appreciations to Lise for getting my teeth checked. Seems like one of my teeth will have to go… ouch

Tue: To cousin Desmond LAM/12uncle John’s eldest son, the only cousin who lived under the same roof as I from 1956-1964@5 Temenggong Rd/SIN- grateful for your being and your time to lunch with me. Stay strong and take good care of yourself.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear – Ambrose Redmoon

11 Oct 2010 – Kaneohe & Manoa

Sun: Wilki & Pattie’s house is in Kaneohe with the guava trees and David‘s property is next to Wilki‘s house. Thank you for the lovely gathering for dinner and such a luxury to be surrounded by greenery.

David‘s house in Manoa has a secret garden filled with fruit trees. Avocados, calamansi, jackfruit, papayas, peppers and my breakfast is either a papaya or avocado freshly and organically picked from the garden… yummy!

With a lily pond, ginger-flowers, huge beautiful trees… this Bird of Paradise, like me certainly feels that heaven is a place on earth 🙂

When the night falls down…

And the world’s alive
With the sound of kids
On the street outside

In this world we’re just beginning
To understand the miracle of living…

Ooh, baby, do you know what that’s worth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth…

We’ll make heaven a place on earth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth –

Belinda Carlisle

10 Oct 2010 –  FB comments

My laptop is in SIN time… it is now 0433hrs in HI. After 4 airports CAE, ORD, SEA, HNL, it certainly feels like zombie time for me! Strange to remember that I first got married on this day 41yrs ago!! Posting some comments from Richard YUNG to confirm that jet-lag has finally caught up with me in paradise on 10-10-10!!! Was good to see cousin’s face when I surprised him. Thanks to all non-party poopers, especially to Huang, Lisa and to Kim who could not make it but yesterday Huang drove us to catch up with her.

• Richard Yung 

  Somehow deducing from your posts in the last few weeks… you went to Alohaland from Limeyland, which means you must have flown OVER and past Yankieland had you flown West! On the other hand, had you flown East from Limeyland, you would have passed over Singyland… and possibly Honkyland and Sukiyakiland before getting to Alohaland?! 

  So… which way did you go? East or West? In any case, you sure collected some serious frequent flyer points… Asia Miles? Am I confusing you? Good… haha
• Amy Lam 

  With my jet-lag, everything seems clear… flown from SIN land to EU where I was lost for 3 months. Swam (in my mind) across to the BIG APPLE where the airports there are really in LOWland!! CAE is an airport for grandmother, with white rocking chairs! Then across YankieLand, now in the middle of some water on top of some volcano 🙂
• Richard Yung
  Dreams….come..true……. in Blue… Hawa…a…a…i
  
  
  All that is gold does not glitter,
  Not all those who wander are lost;
  The old that is strong does not wither,
  Deep roots are not reached by the frost – JRR Tolkien

8 Oct 2010 – Bye for now my adorable grandkids

Thank you Linn & Jeff for putting up with me the past week and thank you to the grandchildren for a delightful time. The art of being a decent grandparent, parent, friend, guest etc is to be positive, help around and NOT to overstay one’s welcome 🙂
A rolling stone gathers NO moss – Proverb

Wed: had lunch with Katy at Irmo Elementary School (Ellie also in the same school but they were having nap-time) and did some shopping. USA is certainly a consumers’ nation with all the choices, varieties and the not so out-of-range prices, especially brand-names at outlet stores. Even Gator got her Halloween outfit!

Thu: Linn chaperoned Ellie’s field trip to the zoo while I took care of JohnW & Sophie. It did not seem that long ago (1986) that May volunteered me to chaperoned a field-trip to Griffith Observatory in LA when she was in first grade in CA. Of course she does not remember that!

Cousin David WONG turned 70yrs 6 Oct, so I decided to surprise him by stopping in HNL/Honolulu. Thanks to Lisa XIAO for offering to pick me up at the airport and thanks to YY HUANG for arranging the pot-luck.

By the time this posting is circulated, will be en route to HNL via ORD/Chicago (4hrs lay-over), SEA/Seattle (3hrs layover) and over 12hrs of flying time. Lisa will pick me at HNL airport and drive me straight to surprise my cousin at the pot-luck party! Call me on my mobile in USA: +1 97861 54375 if you require more info but please do not be a party-pooper to squeal on me! David thinks I am somewhere in Croatia, so let’s hope that he has a strong heart 🙂

6 Oct 2010 – Recharging!

The past 3 months of traveling must have lowered some resistance from my system… a tooth infection on top of an awful cough and cold. Strangely enough, 4 months hiking on the AT and I was as fit as a fiddle, but that was 5yrs ago! Being in nature without the stress of cities, airport schedules and over-crowding is a healthier way to live. Glad to have a few calm days with Linn & family to enjoy the grandchildren, hoping that some of their energy will rub on to their grandmother 🙂

Mon: Dr Patrick Daley must be one of the best dentists and he is also the dentist for Linn & family. Having been to dentists in SE Asia, Europe and USA, I still believe that USA has the best dentistry. Had a tooth infection in Croatia… thanks to Peggy, a GP who provided me with antibiotic which was great a help. Linn got me a 0800hrs appointment to see Patrick at his new dental clinic which is equipped with the latest high-tech instruments. It was comfortable enough to get X-ray without having to bite into bite-wings which jabbed into your gums. Before getting a shot of anesthetic, the gum is numbed with some gel which helped to not feel too much of the shot. Also a TV screen with your choice of channel to distract you from the fear of any discomfort!

By 0900hrs, the infected tooth which was scaled, cleaned and padded with more antibiotic. Thank goodness, nothing too serious, but I will certainly return to do my teeth cleaning here yearly where they really put an effort to scale and clean the teeth. Thanks Patrick for being such a good dentist in every way.

Tue: Sophie went for her shots, poor baby and she did not even cry until her second shot! Clear blue sky… beautiful weather with cool nights. How blessed to be here with Linn & family. Wished May could be here too.

For there was never yet philosopher
That could endure the toothache patiently –
William Shakespeare from Much Ado About Nothing

4 Oct 2010 – Delta Airlines with D- Service!

Condolences to the LEE Family for the passing of Madam KWA Geok Choo, the wife of Minister Mentor LEE Kuan Yew, SIN’s first Prime Minister and the builder of SIN.

Fri: had a nice lunch@10 Downing**** with Kat before the shuttle pick-up. The traffic was back to back on this grey Fri afternoon. To think that I even worked for Delta Airlines many years ago, today’s service is just appalling. Flight from NYC/Laguardia to CAE/Columbia, SC was first delayed and later cancelled. Unfortunately the airports in NYC are not designed for the comforts of passengers 🙁 Delta claimed that since the delays and cancelled flight was due to weather conditions, they were unable to provide me with a hotel room. As it was I was coming down with a bad cold & sore throat and no sleep for a night did not help.

Sat: Instead of arriving CAE Fri night, I arrived Sat late morning. So much for airlines in the USA. Usually I fly budget airlines and have yet to encounter much delays or such rude service! Had to fly via Atlanta and there are some amazing sculpture displays at the airport near the main terminal: Zimbadwe Sculpture/A Tradition in Stone.

Sun: Struggling to fight my cough and cold but thank goodness for the 4 lovely grandchildren who are giving me a good dose of encouragement. Katy (soon 9yrs) read to me, Ellie (5yrs) served me pancakes for breakfast, JohnW (4yrs next month) making funny faces & jokes, Sophie oh Sophie (18months), she is as cute as a button, Linn’s yummy stew and butternut squash soup – the perfect food for a sore throat. Jeff took the children to Sunday School and church so that Linn & I could catch up. Later he drove to Atlanta (app 4hrs drive) for a Tropical Medicine Conference and he will surely be missed for the next two days.

Cherish your human connections… your relationships with family and friends – Barbara Bush