A San Francisco Chinese mom's journal

Smart and Final's Review

2011-12-29T10:36:00.000-08:00

I think I should write the review about Smart and Final since last time. After all, they have done so much improvement. I think they deserve a good rating review. First, they had installed bicycle rack now which I appreciate it the most. And second, they had rearrange the whole store. That's make shopping easier there. And they had hired more staffs and they are very friendly. That kind of service is a high quality store must have. By the way, I am a real costumer not an actress.

Hohoho.......

2011-12-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

It's time updating my blog before the world has forgotten us. Year 2011 is almost over, let's review what had happened in these 365 days. First, we finally had evicted the roommate who had not paying for quite a while. The process was not easy, we had some dramatic moments. Second, I got my new look , that's because of my dental problem, I've got some fixing on my face. Isn't it shaking news? But, oh boy, I look good now. My awful husband even said, I look better than when I first met him. Isn't he so straight forward? Hope everyone had a wonderful year.

Being a Buddhist

2011-08-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

If someone was living in your house as a guest, would you just let this person stay and without paying? I might, I might not. (I'm not trying to say I am generious, the thing is, there are certain things that are not under my control.) That's depends on situation. But there must be a time limit. It cannot be going on forever. I mean, there must be a deadline. You can not just let this go on and forget about it. You have to check on that person's situation. Is he going to find a job? Or is he well? Is the room turning into a landfill? You don't want a dead body laying on your property and turn stink, right? Even thougt you are trying to be a Buddhist. You have responsibility to end this matter.

Solar City Turn Me Down

2011-06-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

I heard about Google is giving 280 millions dollars to Solar City for helping homeowners to install solar panels. I called up Solar City to inquire what is the cost for installing one on my roof, I gave they my address.They asked me what kind of roof do I have,and what was my credit rate, and then they asked me what was the usage of the electricity . And then they had to hang up and call me back . After a moment, they called back and they said I am not qualify. They did not even come to my house, they just saw the image on Google Earth, they said my roof was not sufficient for solar panels. It was because they need 250 square feet of the roof that facing south. And my roof was an a-roof that has a hip in the middle, therefore my roof cannot product enough power for the house. And they said I am not qualify. Is that mean most of the homes in San Francisco are not qualify for this program? Where the Google money goes to? Going back to Silicon Valley? What is the purpose of Google? Helping homeowners in one area? Or Solar City gets to pick and choose?

Mean Gardener in Botanical Garden

2011-05-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

We were in that place the other day because of the field trip. I saw a lot of elementary school kids there. Some were following the flock, some were chasing each other, some were sitting on the lawn. No one was paying attention to gardeners expect the staffs who were leading the tours. We were following a tour which was introducing the plants to us. Some of the kids walked outside the path to see the plants, I knew that we were not suppose to do that, I was trying so hard to stop them, <<< all of a sudden >>> there was a gardener jumped out of nowhere scolding at us like a lion pounding. All the kids were startle by this big version of Yosemite Sam. This made everybody screaming and crying at the same time. I was surprised by such an act. That made me wondering. Would this guy does the same thing to other visitors? If so, I'm sure he will chase away a lot of tourists and ruin the reputation of the city too.

Forgot How To Write English

2011-04-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

I'm not kidding. It's really hard to begin this post. First, it's been almost two months I have not writen any English, and then I have to come up with a topic. my mind was completely block. Actually, I have been reading a lot lately. Books from my kids' school. Right, children books. They are very easy to read, good for a person who speak English as a second language which is --- me. One of the books is call "The Terrible Wave". I think the teacher was inspired by the Japan's earthquake. She has assigned it to my son. I got to read it too, The story occured in late 1800's. There was a rich little girl who had never suffer any poverty before, but one day, there was a big flood occurred without any warning. All of a sudden, half of the people died in her town. The writing is brilliant. I kept picturing it what will it's like if I were there when I was reading it. (That's remind me there was a movie, which play by Gene Hackman. The movie is about a big ship which was capsized and all the people inside were trying to get out of the ship, I forgot the movie's name, but anyway,) I strongly recommend this book to everyone.

Positive Energy

2011-02-25T10:24:00.000-08:00

I don't know why every time when I write about bad things that had happen to me I would write faster. Maybe it because of my mood, I know I should not pass it on to the internet because someone out there may affect by me, sorry. What can I say, I'd tried to write positive things like about my children, that's right, I still have a lot of good things to write, such as how my children do funny things. That's it. There is ton of fun stuff of my children. I keep telling myself be positive, be positive,be positive.........

Smart and Final

2011-01-22T17:41:00.000-08:00

It is such a untruth name. I would say they should be name Stupid and Final. I have be shopping there for years. I have noticed that they don't have bicycle rack for customers who are riding bike. This city is a bicycle city. No matter you are rich or poor. Sometimes you ride bikes, right? There is a store just two blocks away from my home, if I just go there for one or two handy snack, I would just grab my bike and go there. But, after all these years in the business. They still have not install bicycle rack. I had to lock my bike near the shopping carts. Therefore, sometimes my bike was push by the careless staffs or costumers when they put the carts back. Today, my bike was knock down again, and the rear tire had a bump. I told the staff who say he was in charge. He said that he watch the video there was cause by a customer. Therefore, it not their responsibility. I ask them to install a bicycle rack would solve the problem. Let's see how long will it take them to do it.

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-02T06:32:00.000-08:00

After I watched this video, I have to say , Hong Kong really earns it's name as "a pearl of Asia". The spectacular New Year light displays that make everybody want to be there.

Help Me

2010-12-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

I can not connect to Hong Kong Yahoo Blog since last night. Not even the entire HK Yahoo site. But I can see other HK sites. Does anyone know why? I ask people in my internet provider company, they said that it's the HK Yahoo server's problem. They could see the site themself from Texas of United State. And I asked someone in UK that they could connect it too. Why is only me has this problem? Can HK Yahoo Bloggers help me ask the HK Yahoo Blog's web editor? Thank you so much.

救命呀！

上網不到香港雅虎呀，甚麼也不能做，打不到卜，看不到卜，更加不能填表格啦！各位卜友打救我呀！是否雅虎把我的IP地址限制了？為甚麼會這樣的？其他香港網址也沒有問題，只是香港雅虎，我的精神食糧來的，請各位救救我這個師奶，向小編輯反映一下，你們也想看我繼續寫卜吧！

Holiday Blue

2010-12-13T10:45:00.000-08:00

I think I am having a holiday blue. All these radio stations are playing holiday music, and the situation in my house is disturbing me. There is no way out. I guess I am not the only one who is having this feeling in the holiday season. Although I just bought a brand new lap top which I was eyeballing for long time, but it seem didn't help me at all. I did not go home happy. Instead of this is worrying. Look back in the 2010, there were a lot of unfortunate things that had happened. Such as roommates' sudden departures and the troubles with my kids. I feel so helpless and lonely. I hope in the new year that will be dissolve.

Native American Heritage Month 2010

2010-11-18T07:25:00.000-08:00

Let's celebrate the Native American Month by singing and dancing the traditional music. We were at the San Francisco City College one evening. It was a full house in the room that people were interested in this event. We got to stand up with the singers when they sang the traditional song at the beginning. Everybody was showing respect to the Indians' ancestors. And there was a video of the Indians' history which show how they were treated when the white men came. It was not a very happy film but I think people must learn from the past to prevent repeating mistakes. Well, I guess there won't be anything like that happen again . Unless there are other people live on the Mars.

October 2010

2010-10-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

(I'm writing in a very noisy environment.So forgive me if I have any writing errors in this post. ) We have been going to a lot of places this month compare to average month. First, we went to City College for an owl lecture which arrange by Mrs G, but unfortunately, we went on a wrong day,so we had to go back three days later, my kids thought it was a nice car ride though. And in the same day, it was the free day for The Conservatory of Flowers. Therefore we were there too. We saw Mrs G and her daughter. Well ,actually, it was a field trip day. we got it all mix up. Poor me. And three days later, we went to the owl lecture, we were sitting with bunch of college students. even some moms and little kids were there. Why? It was because it is open to the public . The guy who did the presentation was Mr so and so. I heard he works in the planning department. How handy, he can decide which place could save for his owl. Just kidding. Oh well , I have learned some new things about owl that day but not my son, he's read all the books about owl from the library before that. And when the lecture was over ,we got to be introduce to Mrs G's son. That's the first time we met him. He's also a teacher in the City College. And after that, I suggested that we go to the cemetery for sweeping my Grandma's grave, because it's the time of the year the Chinese people do that. And after that we ate our lunch right there. Maybe you feel weird, but not me, it's a tradition of Chinese. At the end I was very touching when I saw Evelyn looking at the tomb stone quietly.

Chinese Moon Festival

2010-09-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

Tradition is pretty much like Thanksgiving Day which is the whole family come home for a big dinner, and then sit outside drinking tea and eating moon cakes while watching the full moon. Children play lanterns with candles in it, but nowadays people melt down the wax and make big fire balls instead which is very dangerous game to play. In my home, I would never allow anyone to do that. Happy Chinese Moon Festival.

Standoff in Philippines

2010-08-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

I have something to say after watching the news about Hong Kong tourists were being held hostage in Philippines today. We all have seen action movies about heroes saving hostages before. Everyone knows that you should never provoke a kidnapper during a standoff. Outrageous things could happen when a person who think he is hopeless. Why would a country such as Philippines has plenty of experience of dealing with terrorist had done a lousy job like this ? Is it because they don't care about Hong Kong people's lives? Or they are just plainly stupid?

Summer Days

2010-07-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been another month since I posted last time. Sorry about that, I am really busy during the summer. As you know, all the parents are busy taking their kids to do this and do that. The kids are hanging on ours shoulders 24/7. Luckily, my husband helps a lot, we take a break from home schooling to more physical activities. Such as ,bicycling, riding scooters and playing soccer ball. But they also sitting in front of the computers more. That's why I am short of time for blogging. Maybe after the summer when they are in the new school year, I will have more time to write thing. I really love writing stuff in English.

Mother's Tongue

2010-06-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

As you've been reading my blog for a while then you would know that I insist teaching my children only English. I've been putting off for teaching them Chinese. That's because I always think they only speak English in the US. But I've found out there are a lot of opportunities for people who are bilingual. I went to a store this morning and there was a newly hired employee who was a young Chinese American girl. Not just this one ,they are in every store I go. All of a sudden I was day dreaming about my children looking for jobs. If they knew Chinese that will be much more chance that they will get the job. Now I feel bad about I did not teach them Chinese. I really need to work on that begin from today.

A Family Friend

2010-06-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

The Memory of

Mike

(1975-2010)

Used Car Market

2010-05-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

If you live in San Francisco you will know the situation of parking here. Since our step van has been towed away, we have a parking spot in front of our house. It is a small space which only can fit one small car. If anyone park their big car there. It will be blocking our drive way. Therefore sometimes I see people are scratching their head when they parking their big car. It is a quite funny moment that I almost want to take picture of them. After few months without a vehicle in the family, now I think it's time for us to search for another car. I have been looking at Craigslist for weeks. There are a lot of choices of cheap used cars. some are sale by private parties some are from dealers. I only want the car which is from private party, that's because they are cheaper but sometimes the car that I like is located far away and I don't wanna go too far. But sometimes when the car is near , the sellers won't reply their email or phone call. Or even say the car was sold. Is it mean when economy is bad the good old cars are being sold fast?

Chinese Readers

2010-04-28T20:44:00.000-07:00

My Chinese blog's viewing numbers are really taking off lately. And I have to admit that I have forgotten the English blog pals. But hey, when I look at this blog , I have to say, 'Oh well, I have to write some more English stuff.' You know when I read my Chinese blog pals stuff more , I tend to think about things in Chinese way more. Sometimes when I want to say something to my kids, I almost say it in Chinese, and when I look at their half Chinese and half American faces, all of a sudden I realize that I am on the wrong channel. That's feeling is quite hilarious. Maybe I should teach them to speak Chinese too. Why have I not to do so,? That's because I always think that we live in the America we don't speak Chinese that often, unless someday them might need to work with Chinese people or require by their employer to speak Chinese. Anyway, so far I still think they should learn English as their first language.

Random Attacks on The Streets

2010-04-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

It's sad to hear that there are Chinese Americans being attacked by young African Americans in San Francisco and Oakland in the recent months. Why? Was it because of there is a video that get put on YouTube? The one that show a Chinese woman fought with an African woman on the Muni bus? I think that is inappropriate. It incenses people to use violence. It should be removed. Hope everyone lives in a harmony world!

Spammers Attacking Hong Hong Yahoo

2010-03-28T09:41:00.000-07:00

There are thousands and thousands of spams getting into the Hong Kong Yahoo Blog everyday. It seems like Yahoo can not do anything about it. Why Hong Kong Yahoo being target? It's because they have been very successful. Hundreds of thousands of people are browsing everyday. The spammers put virus in the blog and steal people information. Scary ,huh? And the Hong Kong Yahoo is so stupid. Most of the functions are down for weeks even months. You tell me. Could this be happen in other social networking sites? What a shame! If they don't fix it soon. I'm going to boycott the entire Yahoo service.

How Bad is Our Economy?

2010-03-26T10:23:00.001-07:00

Mr J is a thirty years old guy who just move here from Michigan. He told his roommates that he could not find a culinary job in SF in the past four months. And he keeps telling his roommates that he will come up with the money for the rent by next Friday. There were three fridays has gone by, no money anywhere in sight. But he has cable TV with all the channels in his room and he sits outside the house smoking weed. Where does he get the money for all this? Medical? Food stamp? Is he bullshiting, or not?

Rally For the National School Fund Cutting Day

2010-03-04T19:08:00.000-08:00

I was riding my bike home from the grocer this afternoon, right when I was crossing the Geary St, I saw a group of children and teachers protesting at the corner. The drivers seem support their action. They honked their horn to show support. That made me feel sorry for the children. They are our future. They don't deserve being reduce the quality of the education. The downturn of the economy really affecting every single one of us. Even the US government itself had to cut budget on every departments. But I think education should be the last thing to be put on the chopping board.

Scion XD

2010-03-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

We took a Scion XD from the City Car Share for a spin on the Chinese New Year . The car looks small but actually it's not small at all. The interior is very roomy. And the performance is surprisingly good. The little car with full of people in it, it still can go up hill swiftly. It's my next dream car.

The home of Jazz music ,Fillmore

2010-02-22T19:22:00.000-08:00

I was going to the office of Social Security Administration on Fillmore Street the other day but obviously the government had to cut the budget, so there was no more office any more. We walked along the Fillmore Street and saw the Jazz Club and the Fillmore Plaza. Finally we found the McDonald restaurant. My girls were so happy when I bought them a happy meal.

The Past Month

2009-12-29T08:49:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows being a housewife will be busy in this month. All these shopping ,cooking, house decorating........ so on and so on. Don't mention blogging daily. You know I have another blog in Chinese too. That's why I sort of forgot about this blog. But hey, I will do my best to update this one because you are important to me too. Wish everyone has a Happy New Year. Cheer 2010.

Catch Up Posts

2009-11-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Alright, I know I haven't been updating the blog for almost a month. But I was really busy lately. Evelyn is a first grader now plus we had some business in the house that we had to deal with. That's why you guys did not see me. But ,I haven't forget you. Today I gonna write about things that happened in the past month in one post. Sounds good? Alright, here we go.
10/31/2009
Everyone knew that it's Halloween. We went out for trick or treat just like every year. And this year the result was fantastic. We met some new neighbors and got a big bag of candy at the end of the night. All my kids were having fun. I think it's a very good memory to them.
11/7/2009
The days were getting shorter and shorter. It went completely dark before 5:30 PM. I usually don't have a schedule for grocery shopping. Today we went out before dinner time. The stores were almost close. But that was the time for good deals. There was a store selling mushroom for $0.99 per pound and the lady in that store wanted me buy all her mushroom, I only bought three pounds. That's the maximum amount I could handle.
11/11/2009
It's Veteran's Day. We usually don't do much on this day. We just went to the park. The kids had fun by playing with sand. I took some pictures when I saw a homeless guy had a rooster as a pet. My kids were so excited. They have been eating countless chicken in their lives. But it's very rare to see a live one.
11/13/2009
It is Friday The Thirteen today. I am surfing the HK Yahoo blog just like usual. All of a sudden ,my computer goes freeze. The computer acts like all of the memories are not there. I know that the audio sound funny lately. It's still working but up to this point. The Chinese Window XP is not running at all and I don't have the recovery disc in hand. I only can find the English o/s disc. So I can only type English now. Oh well, if you want a translation. Go to google language tool get it translate into Chinese. 可以用 Google 翻譯回中文! Good luck.
11/17/2009
The neighbor next door mentioned about the blackberry in the park to Evelyn couple days ago. Since then, she's been bugging me for going to the park for blackberry picking. Alright, today is sunny so I bring her and Fanny to the park to see if we could find any. I know it is out of the season, did not have much hope. But we still can find a handful of blackberry. The girls are so excited. They can not wait to show them to Daddy.
11/21/2009
Today is sunny. We go out in the afternoon for grocery shopping. Right when we turn to the corner we see some neighbors doing garage sale. I am not addicted to shopping. Therefore I did not buy anything. Just my kids being curious to see what they are selling. The lady there was generous enough to give them a butterfly napkin holder as a complimentary gift. And she also put some bluster on Evelyn's face. That's give her rosy cheeks. Oh my, I guess there is no free lunch in this world.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T09:28:00.001-07:00

Good to see some neighbors decorate their homes for Halloween. That's mean they will treat children who are trick or treating. Happy Halloween.

Colma

2009-10-27T23:57:00.000-07:00

Colma is a little town 10 miles south of San Francisco. There are lots of cemeteries. That’s why some says it a city of death. But actually it is a safe area. The crime rate is very low. They also have car dealers and mobile home parks. Would you want to make a home here?

Home Made Bread

2009-10-24T00:40:00.001-07:00

I enjoy baking bread. In the matter of fact, my kids love it. So, I bake bread very regularly. I am not saying I am a very good baker but be able to make bread from scratch, it gives me pride.

Vegetarian:
How To Make White Bread

Downpour

2009-10-14T09:31:00.001-07:00

It’s been long time we did not have long downpour. It brought us several inches of rain which is good because California is in drought. We needed the rain.

Columbus Day

2009-10-12T22:11:00.001-07:00

I watched this movie (1492: Conquest of Paradise ) to celebrate this holiday today. Anyone has seen this movie before? The film was made in 1992, which was an 500^th anniversary. It is a big Hollywood production but the box office did not do well. I guess Americans know the history well. They don’t need to see the movie to remind them this bloody history.

Fleet Week 2009

2009-10-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

The Walt Disney Museum

2009-10-07T23:43:00.001-07:00

The brand new museum was just opened on October 1. It’s not a theme park. It’s about Mr. Walt Disney’s life. In here, you will learn how this Disney kingdom was begun. If you were a Disney fan, this would be a good place to go. www.waltdisney.org

Charity

2009-10-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

These sections are from Chapter Thirteen of Corinthians 1 of The New Testaments.

4. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5. Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6. Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

~~I hope this will help some of you out there.~~

California Sunshine

2009-10-02T15:05:00.000-07:00

No matter how tough the situation is, when I see this blue sky I will feel much better.

Playing In The Fog

2009-09-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

We went to the Golden Gate Park the other afternoon. The fog was very thick. Actually we were in the mist. But it did not bother the kids. They ran around on the lawn outside the Conservatory Of Flowers. There were very few visitors. Basically we were all by ourselves. See, how free they were. Running and rolling down the lawn hill.

I Kiss A Girl

2009-09-18T09:18:00.000-07:00

May I kiss you everyday. May I hug you everyday. Until my lips are no longer be able to kiss. Until my arms are no longer be able to hold. Just an impulse in the morning made me write this.

Being Visit

2009-09-14T16:24:00.001-07:00

Who’s this delivery guy? Ha, it’s Uncle John. We had a big surprise on September 11 this year. Uncle John came to San Francisco from Hong Kong for a work trip for two days. So, we got to have lunch together and talked about families and friends. The kids were too excited, they only could see him on internet most of the time. Now, they would not miss the chance to hug and kissed him. After that, a few hours had passed, it’s time for him to said good bye. So, we walked him to the bus stop and said bye bye to him when he got on the bus. We miss him already.

Labor Day Hot Dog

2009-09-07T14:52:00.001-07:00

We are not working class but we still celebate this day by grilling hot dog and having potato clips and marshmallows for lunch. The kids love it. What do you think?

Home Birth

2009-09-03T01:48:00.001-07:00

If you had read my profile then you will know I have four kids. Three of them were born at home. My oldest son was the only one that born in the hospital. That’s because I was anxious and lack of information about giving birth. And I broke the water 3 weeks earlier than we expected. After laid in bed at home for 36 hours, I ended up in the emergency room. They gave me drug for induction to speed up the birth. It did not take me long to push. I still remember what my oldest son went through after the delivery. They showed him to me for a peek then took him away for testing right after delivery. It was few hours later until I could get to breastfeed him. And then they needed more time to observed him, he had to stay in the hospital for another 24 hours. I could only visited him at the new born ward and breastfed him there. I still feel sorry for him even now. That’s why I chose to give birth to my other kids at home. I prefer having unmediated labor and deliveries. It was because I had confident that I could handle it. My babies did not need to be drug. And of course, if there were mistakes occurred, the hospitals are not far from my home. There are few points I want to mention to new moms. Stay up right and walk during the labor will help the delivery become smoother. Also have some herb tea for relaxation. And try to empty out the bowel and bladder between the contractions. I guarantee you that you will get the reward after all these pain and exhaustion. That would be the baby laying in your arm.

Birthdays in August

2009-08-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

The family members who are having birthdays in this month are John, Evelyn and………me! The tradition is I made the cake with cake mix and home made icing. It’s not pretty but taste good.

Blowing Bubble

2009-08-27T22:45:00.001-07:00

We were blowing bubble at the mini park the other day. All of a sudden there was a young lady who had an Iphone in her hand came to us saying she want to take pictures of us. I asked her what that for? And she said that she is from sfnpc.org , they just trim the grass this morning, she was glad to see the kids playing there. I said ok but I asked her for the email address, so we could see the pictures.

An Ultimate Nightmare of A Mother

2009-08-26T11:07:00.001-07:00

It would be a new born baby’s identity got mix up in the hospital. It happened in Hong Kong last week. If you were the mother, can you tell for sure which one is your baby when they are put together with other babies? Even it’s only couple hours after delivery. I don’t think so. Some mothers would take pictures of the babies for security reason, but I think it’s still not enough. The nurses should pay more attention to what they are doing. I mean do it by the book. After all nobody wants this happen to themselves. Right?

Immunization

2009-08-20T16:00:00.001-07:00

It’s time for back to school . Evelyn will be in first grade this year. According to the school, we have to bring all her immunization record back. But she did not have any because she was born at home and we did not want her receive any unnecessary shots. But it does require by the school, if we want her to be a first grader then we must need to do so. That day, she received six shots in one time. Luckily, it did not bother her a bit.

Piano Singer

2009-08-13T09:35:00.001-07:00

This was the first time she played keyboard and after her father instructed her how to read the notation. She started to sing while playing the keyboard. She even wanted me take video so that everybody could see her. As a beginner, it sounds ok to me.

San Francisco Zoo

2009-08-07T22:35:00.001-07:00

We have not been in the Zoo for more than a decade. Last time, when we were there, it was before any of our children were born. Nowadays, it would look like a troop of Army matching into the zoo.

The parking lot used to be the Fleishhacker Pool. It was the largest heated swimming pool of the world in the 20’s. But the owner gave it to the City and the City ruined it. This is the first time Fanny seeing the real goats.

More pictures

Happy Birthday

2009-07-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

We have four family members having birthday this month. They are Uncle Patrick, Uncle John, Aunt Dana and Fanny. Little Fanny is four years old now. Happy birthday sweet heart!

Endeavour STS 127

2009-07-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

My hubby has been watching the NASA channel for the past 10 days. I did not pay too much attention to it before, but I found the atmosphere in the space is quite clam to me and then I started to grow more interests to it, I am watching it with him now. More news Defying Gravity

Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Funny Version)

2009-07-25T23:39:00.000-07:00

Wanna laugh your head off? Watch this......

Robert Frost

2009-07-21T15:17:00.001-07:00

The San Francisco native poet Robert Frost said, “The coldest days are in the summer of San Francisco.” It was sunny and hot last week, we went out in out shorts. Today, everybody wearing coat. It is very foggy, windy and cold. Be careful of the tourist killer weather.

Chinese books in US

2009-07-19T16:45:00.000-07:00

The Chinese books collection is rich in San Francisco Public Library. I am surprise to see so many new books there. That’s all because we have a huge Chinese population here. And thanks to the City Government for being so racial tolerance. It satisfies every ethnic group.

Splish Splash Splish

2009-07-17T21:05:00.000-07:00

Please pay attention to your children’s safety when you are bringing them to the water. I took this picture just 10 seconds before she tripped over a rock and fell. She got all wet. It’s luckily I had brought some extra cloth. Somehow I knew she would get wet.

Cardboard House

2009-07-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

I wanna teach her that shelter is very important to people. A life is beginning from a family, and a family is beginning from a home. Freedom is good but you still need a home. Here you go , Mama's giving you a cardboard house.

Happy Life

2009-07-13T17:06:00.000-07:00

A big question. Do you love your life? My answer is yes. I always said it to myself, "count your blessing." Sometimes, things seem not your liking, but think about that you are more fortunate than a lot of people in this world. Then you will be happier.

Michael’s Memorial

2009-07-08T10:18:00.000-07:00

I would not write the detail of it today. You can read it in any media. It is the feeling of mine after seeing it that I am going to write. How come good fathers always die early? I certainly don’t know Michael Jackson personally but through the reaction of his daughter yesterday, I bet he was a very good and kind human being. He was a loving, caring, unselfish and playful father. The lost of the kids is not reversible. All I see is that the kids will have uncles and aunts who will love and care for them from now on. That’s a little comfort for me. God bless Michael Jackson’s kids.
悼念會的觀後感
近來很忙,今天就抽少少時間出來打這篇Blog。昨天一打開亙聯網, 主頁MSN寫著, 『現塲直播米高積遜的追思大會』,立即點擊來看, 一開始已是波姬小絲的感人記述, 她說:『米高是她的童年密友, 鏡頭下他們可以玩得像一般小朋友般, 而米高最喜歡的一首歌, 不是他的名曲, 而是差利卓別零所寫的電影摩登時代主題曲微笑, 歌詞是 ‘儘管你的心是痛, 仍然保持微笑。』看到她面容扭曲强忍淚水, 無不令人動容, 另一段感人的是德州眾議員京的演說, 她大大聲地讀出美國憲法, ‘在定罪前, 人人是清白的。’ 表明對米高的支持, 現塲即時掌聲雷動。最後, 米高的家人安排, 米高的小女兒出來說話, 她說:『Daddy,我愛你!』後泣不成聲, 米高是一位好爸爸盡在不言中,這時我已用了兩包紙巾。 (寫在美國三藩市)

Richmond Branch Library

2009-06-30T20:27:00.000-07:00

The inside of the library is in brand new condition. After the City spent millions of dollars for the restoration. They have brand new furniture, computers, books, DVDs and free Wi Fi. Of course, one of the reason they restored the library is that there is a law they must be disabled people friendly. That’s mean they have to have handicap ramps and elevator. The only thing make me feel good is that it reflects the kindness and prosperity of San Franciscans. My daughters love the elevator ride. They like riding it every time when we visit it. More pictures

French Snails

2009-06-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

They love exploring the nature. I don’t mind that they pet some creatures which they found, as long as it’s not harmful. The other day, they were petting the garden snails. It looked cute at the beginning, but after a while, I found that it’s not easy to clean their hands because of the snail’s mucus got on their skin. I had to use cleanser to scrub it off. I said it to myself, “No more next time!” More pictures

Photogenic

2009-06-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

A lot of people will think she is cute. But I think that she is becoming a little bit of photogenic. Every time when I hold up the camera, she wants to be in the picture. And the camera likes her. Will she become a model or beyond? I have no idea now. Ha, ha.....

California Academy of Sciences

2009-06-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

We went for a field trip with the other kids from the Home Base Education Program yesterday. (More pictures) Mrs G managed to get the free admission for us, so we did not spend a dime for it, it’s just great! The first thing we saw inside the entrance was a food court with a giant skylight and there were two sphere structures on each sides, one on the left was the Planetarium and on the right was the Rain forest. And outside around them were a lot of science exhibits, things like whale bones, inserts, reef fishes and reptiles pools. My kids love the Aquarium and the penguin feeding time. But I love the Planetarium, that’s because the film is a truly virtual adventure. It made me feel like flying in the sky and in the space. https://www.calacademy.org/index.php

Library

2009-06-03T23:21:00.000-07:00

This is our Richmond District Branch Library. They have restored the whole building from in and out. It took two and a half years to finish it and cost tax payers thirteen million dollars. In such a bad economy, I feel terrible about it. But my daughters seem like it there. That what it's count. (Five year ago) (The present)

Rosy Business

2009-05-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

I’ve found this Hong Kong TV show very interesting. It’s a story about a heroine who lived in Qing Dynasty. She married to a man who already had three wives, and she had to adjust into this big family and later on she fell for a guy who was a criminal. That’s create a lot of tension within the family. During this time China was not a stable country because of the Taiping Rebellion and other natural disasters, people were starving. The woman tried to help feeding the people, and at the same time the family also falling apart.
I’m impress by the way the Hong Kong TVB making this show. The production has world class standard. From filming to the set and clothing had improved much more than two three decades ago. If they would put English subtitle on it, it will draw the world audients. I’m sick and tired of the US TV nowadays. They only have murder dreamers and stupid comedies, too much violent and low class jokes. This Hong Kong TV shows could be a fresh breath of air to the US audients. http://www.megavideo.com/?c=search&s=rosy+business

Teacher’s Day in US

2009-05-26T10:08:00.001-07:00

It took place on May 5 this year. We did not know when we went to school to see Mrs G. in the Community Home Base Education. I just wanted to show appreciation to her and her daughter Anna who also works there. Let’s say thanks through the internet. The one on my right side is Mrs G. and the one on my left side is Anna. They’ve been guiding us all these years, now Julius is in 4th grade and John is in 3rd grade. and very soon Evelyn will be the first grader too.

Reduce Stress

2009-05-19T21:45:00.000-07:00

When the stress level is high in these days, the best way to reduce stress is playing with the children. Tickling is one of the games we play. According to the scientists, listening to the children laughter could actually clam an adult. So if you want to be clam. Try listening to Fanny’s wonderful laughter in this video.

John's An Athlete

2009-05-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

Guys have better physical abilities. That’s why they are more physical and tend to show it off. John seems no exception. He had me take a video for him when he was running, he ran like a sportsman. I remember when I was a kid, every time when the teacher had the class to run outside the school in a cycle, I always caught up from the last position to the front. Like mother like son, huh?

Hearty Paws

2009-05-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Evelyn is a very cheerful girl, but sometimes she would become sad after seeing sad movies. Last night, we picked a Korean movie DVD from the box which sent by the Hong Kong relatives to watch. It had kids and dogs on the label, I thought it must be a comedy, but it turn out to be a tragedy, Evelyn could not take it, she cried and cover up her head under the quilt. Tell you the truth, sometimes I just forgot she’s only 5 years old. The sad story in the film was too much for her. All of a sudden, she could not handle the emotion. I had to explain to her it’s only acting, make believe. And later on that night, after she calm down, she told me, “Mama, please don’t show me that movie again!” I was there thinking that last year she cried a little bit when she saw Cinderella, but after she’d seen it dozen times, she seems immune of the sad part. I guess they will grow up and get used to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT7N-6yh4IA&feature=PlayList&p=C327796BD91A0E53&index=0

She Loves Babies

2009-05-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

Alright, she said she loves babies,

so I gave her a doll instead,

she loved it very much,

she brought it everywhere she went,

but, is there any child psychologist here can tell me what this mean?

↓

Ha, ha ,it just a joke.

Swine Flu

2009-04-28T09:00:00.001-07:00

There is news about swine flu all over the media today. So far, there are only couple dozens of cases in the US, and the symptoms are mild. But the media makes me feel like is the end of the world, even Obama tells people don’t need to worry too much. In fact, there were thousands of people die of ordinary flu every year in the US, but nobody paying attention to it, this time the whole world is watching the swine flu. I think we must not oversight it, all we have to do is increase our immune system and wash our hands more often and stay home when you get it..
Hate to say it, but we, the whole family except me, had flu last month, symptoms were fever,fatigue,body ache,vomiting,diarrhea, we had to drink plenty of sugar and salt water to keep us from dehydrated. It kept on for a week. Luckily, we'd recovered fully now. I wonder if it was swine flu?

Pure Air

2009-04-24T13:51:00.001-07:00

We have Golden Gate Park right at the next block from our house. All we have to do just walk up there, and then we will have good smelling trees and plants all around us. That’s why I love San Francisco so much. By the way, if you want to visit DeYoung Museum don’t go on Monday, it won’t be open.

Sizzling hot

2009-04-22T09:43:00.001-07:00

What a weird weather! There was 50 degree and 90 degree in the same month. How hot was it? Look at Fanny, you imagine it yourself.

Windy Days

2009-04-16T23:18:00.000-07:00

It's been very windy this couple days. I've seen trash cans got blow over a lot lately. And when we went out, we could not keep our hair neat, the wind just blew so hard, we're all having bad hair day. By the way ,we saw this old truck on the other day, it looked like Mater the tow truck in the Disney movie Cars. My kids loved it. They had me take a photo with it.

Easter Eggs Hunt 2009

2009-04-15T09:52:00.001-07:00

It is a routine thing that we do every year. I let them paint the eggs by themselves this year. Luckily they were quite neat, no big mess on their cloths, thank God.

Close up

2009-04-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

I am using a point and shoot camera, it satisfied my needs for causal shooting, its easy and quick. Especially when you are mother of four, really don't have time for being perfect.

All Bad News

2009-04-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

No good news on TV, I am suffocating by all these bad news on TV nowadays and can not take it anymore!!!! God bless Sandra Cantu's family.

Shaolin Monk

2009-04-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

He is Master Yang. We strolled down Geary Blvd on the other day, I found a place which had some martial art weapons behind the windows, it draw my attention so I took some pictures for Evelyn from outside the windows but there was a monk opened up the door and step out to greeted us. He even invited us to get inside for a look. We were so grad that we could go inside had a look for ourselves. There were three Baddish statues by the wall and some big glasses hanging from ceiling to the floor and rubber flooring, I suppose that’s for practicing kung fu. And I took the opportunity to ask the monk to have picture with my children and he even posted a martial art post for me. We all cheered for that. And there was a lady handed me some leaflets. They are teaching kung fu to the public, class fee is quite reasonable. http://www.shaolinusa.us/

Kung Fu Fighting - Cee-Lo

Harper’s Island

2009-03-31T22:40:00.001-07:00

I have been waiting for to see Harper's Island so long. It is because it starred by Irish actress Elaine Cassidy and Christopher Gorham. It’s a thriller. The story sets on an island, there is no way out, when killer started to kill, everybody's trap on the island. They had to face this situation until they were kill one by one. There are 25 characters in the show and it’s total 13 episodes. At the end, they might still not find who's the killer. Scary, huh? And by the way, Elaine had to speak in American accent, it would be interesting to hear what it sounds like.

Urban Jungle

2009-03-28T21:52:00.001-07:00

This place is call Heroes Grove which is inside the Golden Gate Park. Big tree.

Here is the Gold Star Mothers of America Stone.

My Sons

2009-03-25T09:46:00.000-07:00

I have to remind myself that you need my love too. I will hug you every time when you need me . I know some day you will become grown up , but I will still hug you again and again.

My Little Angel

2009-03-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

You are a special angel that sent by up above. I never get tire of watching you. It only makes me increase maternal instinct more and more.

St Patrick’s Day

2009-03-14T09:00:00.000-07:00

We celebrated this day by putting on green clothes and go out to see the parade. I found an Irish dress for Fanny, it fitted her just right, isn’t it great? By the way, she’s not only wearing Irish dress, she also has Irish blood. That’s because her great great grand mother was an Irish.

The Pursuit of Happyness

2009-03-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve found myself very fortunate when every time I see homeless people on the street. There are a growing number of homeless families in San Francisco. Many of them have children. They sleep in the cars, tents and shelters. It’s hard to believe in this richest city of America will have so many people who live like this. It makes me feel lucky. And when I saw this movie : The Pursuit of Happyness , I cried.

Can you read my mind?

2009-03-08T10:05:00.001-07:00

Can you read my mind?Do you know what it is you do to me?Don't know who you areJust a friend from another starHere I am like a kid at a schoolHolding hands with a god, I'm a foolWill you look at me quiveringLike a little girl shivering?You can see right through meCan you read my mind?Can you picture the things I'm thinking of?Wondering why you areAll the wonderful things you areYou can fly, you belong to the skyYou and I could belong to each otherIf you need a friend,I'm the one to fly toIf you need to be loved, (to be loved)Here I am, read my mind!INSTRUMENTAL BRIDGEWill you look at me quiveringLike a little girl shivering?You can see right through meIf you need a friend,I'm the one to fly toIf you need to be loved,Here I am, read my mind!Read my mind!

Time In A Bottle

2009-03-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

God, I love this song.
If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing I like to do
It’s to save every day till the eternity passing away
Just to spend them with you
If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I will save every day like a treasure again I will spend them with you
But there’s never seems to be enough time to do the things….

Kodak

2009-02-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

“You press the button, we do the rest.” is the Kodak company’s slogan in the early 1900. They claimed that they invented the roll film , therefore photographing became common activity. But later on some former partner suited them for infringement act and won, Kodak had to pay millions of dollars, but they already were successful company by then, that’s just an expense of running the company to them. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/eastman_hi.html

Dog

2009-02-26T21:37:00.000-08:00

We went to the little park today. We see dogs there all the time. This time we saw one dog there, it seems friendly to me so I allow my daughters go ahead play with it. They chased each other all over the place. And the owner was a nice lady, she said that dog was 9 years old, it even kissed Fanny on the cheek.

Why Sally Hawkins did not win Oscars?

2009-02-23T10:52:00.001-08:00

I wanted to watch the Oscar ceremony last night, but I had to give it up because of my children had to do homework. I only saw the beginning and the best screenplay award which go to the film that was not my favorite. My favorite one was Happy-Go-Lucky, it was starring by Sally Hawkins. She already won several awards from around the world last year. She is one of the best actresses that I love. Her stunning performance in Fingersmith and Persuasion which caught my attention is unforgettable. I think she is brilliant. Her eyes and even eyebrows could talk when she was in the passionate scenes. Someday must win Oscars.

Sunbathing

2009-02-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

We are fortunate enough to be the Californians. I can not complain too much about the rain of the last week anymore. Compare to the weather in the back East, we are in heaven. So when the sun came out yesterday, we went out to the park to sit around and built sand castles. If the time frozen device is exist in this world. I will choose to freeze this moment.

Winter storm

2009-02-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

It was raining on and off in the past week. The rainy days in North California seems too cold to me, as an immigrant who came from subtropical zone, I used to go out in the rain just by carrying an umbrella, it won’t bother me even I got wet, but if you got wet in the rain here, I can tell you that you will get freeze in a very short time. That’s why we put on gear when we go out in the rain. No one wants to get the pneumonia.

Spring is near

2009-02-10T15:27:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful day here today. The neighbor’s tree is full of pink blossom. We went to the little park for sun bathing. Look at what she has found, it’s an earthworm, I took the opportunity to teach her science. I even let her hold the worm in her hands, but accident happen, that poor thing came apart easy. It turned into four pieces. Oh well, it’s still good for the garden.

Two sisters

2009-02-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

They seem having fun here. This park is located right outside the police station of Richmond District San Francisco. We call it dog toilet that’s because people bring their dogs here for…you know. Fortunately, most of the people will pick up what their dogs left behind.

Traffic safety

2009-02-01T02:16:00.001-08:00

As you know that motorists have to yield the right of way to the pedestrians, but there is a law that allow motorists make a right turn when it’s red light, it gives most of the drivers a mistaken idea that they can go ahead make a right turn even when it’s time for the pedestrians cross the street. I’ve ran into this kind of situation before. Every time when I come to the intersection. I have to stare into the drivers’ eyes, make sure he or she will stop before I cross the street. Yield to pedestrian, please! Here is a nice driver letting John cross the street.

Lucky envelopes

2009-01-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

Here was what happen in the first day of the Chinese New Year, I got up early in the morning, without doing anything to myself I went straight to the kids’ room and got my four children up, I said “It’s Chinese New Year now!” Everybody was so excited, they hurried up wash themselves, and then we got to the kitchen table for the breakfast. We were having Chinese New Year food today. Before everybody started to eat, I reached in my pocket and got out a pile of red lucky envelopes, I handed them to my children one by one. At this moment, I had a flashback in my mind, I felt like I was my mother, doing what she was doing decades ago. But this time, it was happening in a different generation.

Chinese New Year

2009-01-26T00:00:00.000-08:00

Kung Hei Fat Choy ! Today is the first day of the year of Ox. We’ve been busy shopping traditional food such as candy, deep fried dumplings, dried melon seed and tangerines. We went to Chinese store yesterday but it’s very crowded, everybody was in a hurry buying things for New Year preparation.

Clean up

2009-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Three more days will be the Chinese New Year, the tradition is clean up the house before it, so my daughter is very eager to help, she even use a vacuum cleaner, but wait a second. That's a toy! Alright, it's the thought that count.

Returning goods

2009-01-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

You can take a lot of advantage when you being a consumer in this country. I did not say that is bad, but sometimes people are very stingy, they return things that are after being use and the merchants can not refuse, because of the law. I’ve witnessed that there was a lady who was driving a Mercedes, she wanted to return goods after she parked her car in their parking lot for a prior of time, (It’s very difficult to find parking spot in San Francisco) obviously she was shopping around in the near by stores. But unfortunately, the store refused her request because she bought dairy product. See how people are even they are driving a decent car. And talking about shopping, my husband bought two 350G hard drives last week, which are totally useless to us because you need to reload everything in the computer when you install a new hard drive. And we just don’t have that kind of time, but he’s not going to return them because he doesn’t want to. I guess we will keep the two hard drives.

Recycle trees

2009-01-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

People toss out their Christmas tree mostly in January. Fortunately, the city will recycle them and use it as the gardening materiel.

Soccer mom

2009-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

I am an official soccer mom now, see this picture? According to the experts say, children who are active on sport are smarter. That’s why I would bring them to Ross Playground as much as I can.

Airship ride

2009-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you a secret. I can see Golden Gate Bridge from my window. Although it only a small part of it, but we are luckier than most of the neighbors. I found another new thing flying by the other day, it’s an airship for the tourists, and I bet the view from up there must be spectacular. http://www.airshipventures.com/index.php

The Street of San Francisco

2009-01-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

Here we have a funny looking picture of my daughter, that’s because I was using a point and shoot camera. It has a wide angle but will make the close up face look funny. Well, heck with it. One thing I know, you can not look beautiful all the time.