Welcome to the 2L3B's World...

office life

2011-05-17T10:59:00.003-04:00

below represents how i really feel right now.. smiling yet deep inside me i am verrrrry sleepy and tired..

but that's how it is.. 'gotta work hard, i mean harder in order for us to cope up with the Canadian way of life.. got to face the monthly mortgage, the hydro, gas, phone bills, cable, maintenance, internet, food, insurance for almost about everything, and much much more.. i love the challenge though..

mentioning the bills, i guess, i am fully awake now from slumber.. ;)

weekend?

2011-05-14T10:39:00.006-04:00

i woke up early, excited to start my day blogging yesterday's events but viola! i ended up reading my old posts instead.. such an enjoyable way to spend my weekend indoors now that the light rain starts pouring..

since 2008 and yes, i'm back!

it's saturday morning here in mississauga and here's the highlights of my day:

-blogging ;)
-mulching my garden while washing clothes

-send my daughter to her work at 2pm
-pick up my sis in law and remit
-window shop in square one and buy at least an item or two!
-back home for netflix
-good food in between

boring way to spend a weekend?

yup, you're right..

why?

2011-05-13T13:36:00.001-04:00

i had this post on "tulips"..

it was lost.

i wonder why?

tulips..

2011-05-12T10:06:00.000-04:00

my tulips i guess made me come and visit my long-abandoned blog site.. finally..

for two reasons, to brag about it and to put in words exactly how disappointed i am..
;(

yup, i was really disappointed with the nutty squirrels whom i thought were my friends.. visiting more often now that my tulips are in bloom.. gee, really, they gave me this terrible headache.. i could not terminate them 'coz my conscience would really kill me.. but you see, they are really making me nuts.

how would you feel if you come to visit your garden one morning and suddenly see that the tulips were uprooted with no more bulbs to live by?

terrible..

It's October

2010-10-19T20:26:00.003-04:00

and yes, the last entry I did was June...

i may not be writing as much as i want to, the thing is, i'm always here...

reading, contemplating and admiring those friends out there for sharing their thoughts. they got such inspiring and enlightening blogs.

i wish i could do more..

maybe soon.

after our next move..

yup, we're moving again.. ;)

to our new home.

i mean, to our veryyyy own home.

finally.

Outdoor Wednesday

2010-06-01T12:33:00.011-04:00

Consider this my past life.. I miss our home since we migrated here in Canada. This is what I usually do every time we visit our HOME SWEET HOME.. This outdoor photo shoot out was taken in our patio during one of my best moments with our dogs, Susie and Tsupapi..

The weather in Mississauga is generally cooler and it is such a a gift when the sun comes up and provides the Canadians with their much needed suntan.. not to us though but we surely enjoy the summer heat.. Our new life here offers us a brand new way to enjoy life as vibrant and colorful as my plants you can see in our terrace.

An outdoor shot of my daughter and hubby during our visit to a friend's house in Broomsgrove..

If you would like to join this meme, please visit this link and see other wonderful photo shoot outs from friends all over the world..

http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/2009/01/introducing-outdoor-wednesday.html

Shadow Shots..

2010-05-29T12:52:00.002-04:00

Photo shoot out with my daughter.. and this is one of best reasons why i begun to love blogging.. this gave us the chance to bond and enjoy our weekends together..

If you would like to join this meme, please visit Hey Harriet at the link below:
http://heyharriet.blogspot.com

Why a Mediator with God?

2010-05-23T13:11:00.011-04:00

Hosted by: http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com

I seldom came to school without spending and offering my prayers to Mama Mary. Being borne Catholic and always away from my late mother because of her career, I had always find my refuge in HER grace.. I had graduated and studied in St. Joseph Parish School and I was really glad I did because this made me more closer to HER. My day would had never been complete without glorifying HER in my own special way..

Our Mama Mary

It is more perfect, because it is more humble, not to approach God for ourselves without taking a mediator. Our nature, as I have just shown, is so corrupted that if we rely on our own works, efforts and preparations in order to reach God and please Him, it is certain that our good works will be defiled or be of little weight before God in inducing Him to unite Himself to us and to hear us. It is not without reason that God has given us mediators with His Majesty. He has seen our unworthiness and our incapacity; He has had pity on us; and in order to give us access to His mercies, He has provided us with powerful intercessors with His Grandeur, so that to neglect these mediators, and to draw near to His Holiness directly, and without any recommendation, is to fail in humility. It is to fail in respect toward God, so high and so holy.

From True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort (TAN Books & Publishers, 1985)

Believe me or not, Mama Mary has been the constant companion and guide to all the 2L3B's endeavors..

Past Time

2010-05-20T23:37:00.013-04:00

The weather here in Mississauga is getting warmer.. Other than watching movies, shopping, food tripping and reading paperbacks during weekends, I begun to divert my attention now to gardening.

Gardening has been my hobby when we were still in our homeland. I had invested and planted various ornamental and flowering plants and surrounded our home with its scents and colors. It always warm my heart to see my plants grow. But because our career has moved us to various countries, I was not able to plant anymore...

Luckily here in Canada, families mostly spent their weekends at home and nearby parks when the weather permits. Canada initiates family-oriented lifestyle and this is why I begun to love this country now..

Our home back there sits on a sizable landscape. What I got here is a very limited space.. but this does not stop me from growing my own herbs..

..and my favorite english ivy, geraniums, ground orchids, jasmine, roses, fire crackers, and more..

Gardening now is my favorite past time and I love it.. How about you..?

flash back

2010-05-11T07:48:00.027-04:00

What did you do on MOTHER'S DAY??

I made sure to visit our Mama Mary to pray, praise and thank HER.. The Mother of all mothers and the whole humanity..

Night Out with the lovely moms in Red Lobster the night before Mother's Day.. Hearty meal and laughter with the best moms ever!

Shopping Spree with my daughter in Sherway Gardens.. with papa, our handsome chauffeur of the day..

Attended a seven pm Mass at our Parish Church. We took part in the mass offering and had our blessings from Rev. Father Don McPhee, our St Patrick Parish Priest.

Picked up our sons from work then headed to our ever-favourite Red Lobster for a Happy Mother's Day Family Dinner..

Then thanking the simple yet meaningful gifts from my loved-ones.. I am such a lucky Mom for having such a heart-warming family and friends who never failed to show love and affection..

Thank you MAMA MARY.... We can't never thank YOU enough..

Push

2010-05-04T01:36:00.007-04:00

Dakota Fanning made us bought this DVD movie.. and we never regret it.. such a cool movie to watch. Though it made me miss Hong Kong so much that I want to go back... :(

Push is an American science fiction movie about group of people born with superhuman abilities. They became part of the government's experiment in creating super soldiers using their psychic and supernatural powers. The scenes were mostly taken in various Hong Kong locations. A sci-fi thriller directed by Paul McGuigan starring our favourite child actor, Dakota Fanning.. She never failed to amaze us with her wit and stunning performances. Also in the film are Chris Evans, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Djimon Hounsou and other Hong Kong-based actors.

The movie featured the Hong Kong's famous skycrapers such as the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Building, Bank Of China Tower, the International Commerce Centre, The International Finance Centre, The Peninsula, Jardine House and the Central Plaza..

Hmmnnn, not so long ago I was there enjoying our home, my work, my Hong Kong office including my officemates, our weekly shopping spree and our life back there..

Those were the days..

Lucky..

2010-04-28T23:35:00.004-04:00

I guess I can really consider myself lucky..

Why?

Well, what about having an office with a view..?

The view always perks me up especially now that Mississauga is really having a good weather... The sun shining, the flowers blooming.. hmmn, what more can I ask for..?

pay raise ;-)

sick leave

2010-04-21T02:31:00.002-04:00

the change of weather usually affects me. dry cough, colds and flu always struck me every time the weather changes..

China has four seasons which means i have to suffer four times a year when we were there..

and here i am in Canada, suffering not the same but worst cycle of congestion and pains... :(

'been away from our office since Monday. Thanks God I got a very kind boss who allowed me to stay home 'til I get better.

back to work on Thursday, i supposed?

friends..

2010-04-17T00:04:00.011-04:00

i'm home all alone... 3 kids went out to hang out with friends in M Studio.. hubby just had his gig in the same bar before going straight to his overnight shift..

and here i am in our bedroom... blogging while watching the oldest pilot episode of 'FRIENDS'..

whew, what a life.. :(

------------------------------------------------
for your listening pleasure, watch my husband and his band live every Friday, 7-10pm ETD (eastern daylight time) via live stream: http://www.livestream.com/mstudio

forgotten?

2010-04-03T21:05:00.007-04:00

Nah, it hasn't been missed, actually it has been wonderfully celebrated, gracefully executed and lovingly shared with our love-ones, family members, friends and new-found friends..

It was such a magical day for me and my husband to finally met up in the altar and renew our vows after 25 years of being together as husband and wife..

Thank you Lord and Mama Mary for making our dream come true..

Officiated by Father Mardeo Reyes at the St. Catherine Of Sienna Parish Church, Mississauga, Ontario Canada, on March 21, 2010. Wonderful photo shots were a teamwork of talented husband and wife Raymond and Cristine Santos.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

lots

2010-02-06T11:08:00.002-05:00

lots to say but no time to write.. and when i finally find the time, i got nothing to say or no longer inspired to jot it down..

life is really fun although sometimes it sucks and that's how it goes here in our new-found-land.

finally..

2010-01-03T12:23:00.004-05:00

Yeah, finally I'm beginning to get my grip to this new country we now call our home..

I just got back from the gym and shed 198 calories for a 30-min work-out in my favorite thread mill plus another 20 minutes in a row. I used to jog when we were in CHINA and i could reach over 3 miles jogging my trail along the neighborhood. I was not able to do it here when we first arrived. For many reasons such as getting a job, finding a home and now that everything is in place, i guess i gotta start with my old routine.. I am happy now that we are finally settled in the best home we could start with and finally having the jobs we highly hoped to have. God is so good.

Maraming Salamat Po.

SQ 1, Grants before 2010..!

2009-12-31T11:11:00.003-05:00

On my way to SQUARE 1. It's the biggest Mall here in Mississauga. I need to get some stuff for our friends.

Then off to Grants. It's one of the known chinese/vietnamese grocery chains nearby selling almost all the household needs. All nationalities can pick and buy their foods there noting that they sell even the most exotic type of foods. Good thing that they even carry Filipino stuffs especially our favourite "BAGOONG" and "CHICHARON"..

I'll gonna be there to buy additional stuff for our POT LUCK tonight..
6 kgs of of chicken breast
1 kg. chicken liver
1 box of yoghurt (original)
1 2% fresh milk
olive oil
MSG

Guess what menu we could cook with that..?

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERY ONE!!

Belated Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year to one and all!!

2009-12-29T12:50:00.014-05:00

I haven't been to this site lately.. soooooo many things had happened since my last up-date.. most of them were terribly exciting yet i failed to jot it here.. i guess Facebook really won the hearts of the idle minds like mine.. hehe..

Anyway, so how was Christmas everyone?

We though we'll gonna have a white Christmas. It should be because we were actually anticipating a white one even before we migrated here. It turned out a rainy Christmas yet happy to say it became a really colorful one.. We celebrated it in our niece and nephews' home in Dundas West. And yes, our jaws ached due to so much fun and laughter..

Good food, heart-warming people, gift giving and anecdotes of the past really made the best Christmas ever..!! We're really blessed and we couldn't ask for more..

family in canada

2009-09-07T01:33:00.004-04:00

photo of our family here in canada. we're getting bigger and happier..!

taken during our 3-day weekend get-away in sherkshore resort.

biking around

2009-09-01T13:10:00.003-04:00

i woke up quite late this morning. got nothing to do.. it's my day off so i decided to bike around bristol road and gone out to see the place. biking from bristol to its major intersection in hurontario gave me a break from it all.. such fun.. canada has offered us such clean and invigorating environment.

hubby has been transferred to a much better post, he's now gonna work from 7am to 3pm everyday which means there are more time seeing each other finally.. two sons shall work in their usual grave shifts and they're happy about it. they don't sleep at night though.

daughter is enrolled but we still has to wait for the principal's call to confirm her class schedule. she only has to take 4 subjects during the first semester and another four later before she graduate.

happy and relaxed.. nice, huh?

changes

2009-08-31T12:29:00.003-04:00

just the address though. we'll be moving to applewood at the park on october 1st! whoa, we're all excited....

part of the changes is that my day off will be today and tommorow instead of the usual tuesdays alone.. but only for this week.. :(

the reason is because i have to enroll our daughter to St Francis Xavier Catholic School. Yup, she got to go back to high school and complete the 8 remaining units not offered from her previous schools in china..

gotta go now.. miss you all!

see you later tonight.

Julie and Julia

2009-08-25T22:49:00.002-04:00

Just arrived from Square One after watching the movie with my daughter. Such fun watching our ever-favourite Meryll Streep.. The movie is really fun yet we were dissappointed that Julie and Julia did not end up meeting each other..

This has been my 3rd movie since I arrived here in Canada. Busy, eh? hehe..

This is one of the joys of having my day off during Tuesdays.. Not so many people in the movie houses and malls..

waiting..

2009-08-24T09:11:00.002-04:00

just waiting for my driver from work. 'gotta start early today for the school openings.. gee, i never thought most schools here in Canada patronizes us.. it's exciting though.

see ya! the driver is here.

Home Alone

2009-08-05T00:28:00.004-04:00

Hubby and 2 sons are at work while my daughter will stay overnight in our niece and nephew's home and will come back tomorrow morning. In a meantime, here I am alone in our home and keeping up with my neglected friends on line.

It's my day off today. My hubby and myself had gone out this afternoon and meet up with a new house agent. He showed us a property near Dundas West. It's a high rise condo, the price is relatively low yet the maintenance fee is outrageously high. We love it at first sight considering that the interior design, the number of rooms and the area alone is really lovely but as mentioned, the maintenance fee is not acceptable. Just like paying two homes at a time which is a big turn off.

The rain pounded really hard while we're on our way to see the condo this afternoon. It was only awhile ago when I heard the news that tornado alert were being activated by Environment Canada and was downgraded to severe thunderstorms at 2 pm today. People were warned early this afternoon without us knowing it.. Gee, isn't that scary..?

sick

2009-08-01T22:57:00.004-04:00

i went home early from work today.. i was not really feeling well this morning that i thought i would never arrive home in one piece.

i'm not complaining though but this 12-hour job i got right now really stressed me out. the actual work is not that hard but the responsibility and the long hours in such a busy place would make anyone feel grumpy and tired.

i miss my 8-hour job in hong kong and china wherein the job mainly requires me to handle the sales, promotion and distribution of plating equipments and related stuff; full time in my office sitting in front of my computer and meeting customers to follow up deals. now that i shifted to food industry made me realized how lucky i was then..

i already got my OHIP Card (Ontario Health Card) last week but we don't have any family doctor yet so i was not able to see one today. i'll try to go to a nearby clinic tommorow for a check up. in a meantime, i'm here in bed and trying to recuperate. the dizziness and joint pains really struck me hard.

About the house? Well, we did not get it.. we tried to offer $213K but failed..

http://www.fibroandfatigue.com/blog

no good news yet..

2009-07-30T23:20:00.003-04:00

we're still in the process of negotiating. i'm not sure how much longer would it take, and if i would end up happy or sad.. :(

this offer and counter-offer we had made to own that house is maddening. this is all new to us.. we built our first home on a cash basis and the process of owning a home here in canada really scares us. we're so naive, we don't even know the jargons they used prior to negotiating with the real estate agent and the terms they used in getting a mortgage; not to mention our minimal comprehension on how it would work on our favor. funny, huh?

our agent who's supposedly protecting our interest is of course on the side of the seller because that's where he is getting his commission. thanks to the good people who are backing us up, they gave us the reason why we're sticking to the price they advised us to offer.

And here's the news: my real estate agent came to my place of work three times yesterday and twice today. He even called my hubby for a meeting tomorrow. I guess this is an indication that the seller is relenting...

Counter Offer

2009-07-30T00:01:00.003-04:00

We just made a counter-offer at 9:30 pm tonight.

I hope tommorow's news would not break my heart..

Keeping Our Fingers Crossed

2009-07-28T23:01:00.002-04:00

It's my day off today. Hubby and myself had gone out for house hunting trip. this has been going on for about a month now and today seemed to be a lucky day. i guess the house in 400 Mississauga Valley Blvd is the best house for us..

It's a Condo Townhouse located in the Heart Of Mississauga, very well maintained with access to garage & fully fenced yard. Close to our daughter's school, shopping, library, community centre, parks & major highway access. Walking distance to Cooksville Go Station, Public Transit and very near my place of work.

We just confirmed our offer two hours ago... few hours from now we would know exactly if 2L3B's would finally find its HOME SWEET HOME here in Canada..

12:35 am

2009-07-27T00:13:00.005-04:00

... and I'm still here wide awake.. just got back from work but still kind of restless. i am not that tired anyway so i decided to visit this highly neglected site and tried to figure out what to write.

i'd been missing my friends here. how i wish i could write more often as before.. hmmmn..

after the transition, we might say that our life here in canada is more solid. china could be considered as a nice place to be but we can never consider it as our final destination. although we highly miss and love china, that place cannot offer the comfort and security we are having right now.

tommorow would be our 3rd full month since our arrival here. during those almost 90 days of staying here, we can safely presume that we really made a wise decision to migrate. Thanks God we made it..

Friday Shoot Outs: Water

2009-05-29T01:17:00.006-04:00

Hi there everyone.. I haven't been to many places yet but I hope you may find some of my shoot outs considerable enough.. Supposedly water but what I got are photos of us with the water as background..

Ontario Lake

Ontario Lake

Ontario Lake

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

Thanks so much for visiting..!!

With Love,
Loida

Transition..

2009-05-25T00:07:00.005-04:00

2L3B's in NIAGARA FALLS

To all our dear friends.. May I apologize for not been able to up-date you for nearly four weeks.. Migrating is such a major tasks. Please note that I'd been missing you all!!!

We had left Shenzhen China for good last April 27, 2009 via Japan. We were able to visit our family in Vancouver before we moved on to our final destination. Now we are settled and having the best times of our lives here in Ontario Canada.

2 days after we arrived, my husband had found a job in Aristokrat Restaurant as a musician while after 8 days, I became employed as store manager to GCF Food Services Inc. We are so thankful to God for this opportunity. We cannot thank the Almighty enough.

My dearest friends, I hope to up-date you as much as I can but living and working in Canada is highly different compared to China and Hong Kong. My work now is more challenging. I cannot use my time mostly to myself this time unlike before where I can up-date you as often as I want. Here I gotta work much harder. But don't worry, I will do my best to see you every night. You're all such important part of my life as always..

See you soon my dearest friends..

Friday's Shoot Outs: Native Foods and Restaurants

2009-04-16T21:32:00.041-04:00

Shenzhen China like any bustling metropolis is a hub to various international cuisines. Since its opening up to foreign enterprise last decades ago, hundreds of foreign restaurants begun to sprout offering its own various specialties. There are lots to shoot about like the famous Steak from the West, The Nasi Goreng from Malaysia, Chicken Curry and Chapatti from India, Sushi from Japan, The Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Adobo from Manila, Tum Yum Kung from Thailand, and a lot, lot more which are just around the corner. You can taste it all here in Shenzhen..!
They got Pizza Hut here..

And even MdDonalds and KFC..

But in this Friday's Shoot Outs, what I wanna show is the authentic Chinese cuisine. NO EXTRA and here it is..

Within the vicinity of this Dongmen Area, you will smell and taste all the foods that you never seen before..

If you want to experience the most exotic food trip, try one of these..

Well known for their Super Hot Chilly Meals. If you're in for a super chilly meals, you must come and try this place.

Chinese Waffles. One of the best to try when walking around Dongmen.. It has different flavours such as chocolate, walnut, peanut and more..

This is not owned by Bruce Lee. They just want to benchmark their own style.. I just wonder what food has to do with the Karate Expert Sign..

Come to this place if you want to try their famous Ngau Lam Mien (Beef Noodle Soup)

Chinese Muslim Foodstuff famous for the Lamb and Mutton meals and known for the best Naan Bread and Roasted Chicken Legs.

Have you ever tried how Chinese Pizza would taste like? Come and join us..

This place offers the famous Chinese Hash Brown.. Gee, it really taste like chineseyy and it's too oily..

Cafe De Coral is a Chinese Franchise Restaurant offering chinese fastfoods such as shrimp dumplings, chinese doughnut and many more..

Hope you had enjoyed the exotic foods from China.. See you again next Friday friends and may you all have a happy and safe weekends ahead! Happy eating..

I'd been tagged!

2009-04-14T04:00:00.000-04:00

I'd been tagged by ever-fashionable scientist and a friend MERVAT of http://thewritinginstinct.blogspot.com/

To keep this going and to know more about your blog friend and new found ones, there are some guidelines to follow such as:

1. Respond and rework. Answer the questions on your blog, replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention; add a question of your own.

2. Tag eight other un-tagged people.

What is your current obsession?
I am currently obsessed in keeping up with my planned future studies. I terribly wish to earn my Masters Degree if not PhDs but I don't think I can be able to achieve this. Money wise and time wise are out of hand. Hmmn, maybe when I reach 60. hahaha!

To replace my friend Mervat's Question: Good fika place? (That would be coffee to us non-Swedes), can I be questioned about a
Good Doughnut Place?
I only drink coffee once a day; only after waking up in the morning and that's all I need to perk me up. What I really need is a good doughnut place.. I cannot find any doughnut here except the chinese version, a deep fried dough rolled in rough white sugar.

Do you nap a lot?
Oh I wish I could.. this 8-hour job i got into is ruining my wishes for an extended nap everyday! Especially now that I'm still not feeling well. I caught this terrible colds and flu 2 days ago and I'm still not in the working mood. Can I take a nap now, pls..?

Who was the last person you hugged?
My daughter, just this morning before I went to my office. Usually it's my hubby but he's away for work and will return today.

What’s for dinner?
Mostly vegetables and meat but right now I'm craving for Japanese Ramen so I might have a dinner in Yifen House just right outside the Hong Kong border. I ought to call my hubby and daughter for a date this evening.. Hmmnnn, good idea..

What was the last thing you bought?
Thermal Underwear.. Yaikks.. Pls forgive me, I'm just telling the truth.. I gotta buy a lot to get ready for the future weather we have to face in the next few days.. My friend Patty kept me worrying about the Canadian weather so please don't laugh at me when I said I bought thermal underwear for the whole family!!

What are you listening to right now?
I'm listening as always to the chinese 'chit chat' from my chatty officemates. They are always busy talking while we're having lunch in our office tables.

What is your favourite weather?
Rain is my favourite only during nightime and whenever I'm in our home in Baras; you can distinctly hear there the raindrops falling on our roof while I am being cuddled by my husband and our children snugged cosily in their own beds..

And Sunny Days too.

What’s on your bedside table?
Most of the time, you can see the reading lamp, book I am currently reading, mini photo frame of myself and my hubby then my children's photos. But not right now. Our house is kind of a Junk Shop, we got to move verrry soon.

Say something to the person/s who tagged you.
Mervat is the rarest kind of person I had ever encountered here in blogland. Not that she's out-of-this-world-person but because she's a scientist! I have a high regard for scientists noting that sci-fi is one of my favorite genres when talking about novels; except that this woman is really wonderful; holding such a noble position in life yet she still able to provide a wholesome life to her family.

She's so caring and soft-hearted. I can feel that she's a kind-hearted person from the way she writes her post and how she comments on anyone. She really mean what she write and I love her for that and for being such a modest person. She never complemented herself considering that she got all it takes to be successful in anything she wants. Be it a writer or a proprietress of her very own fashion boutique..

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be?
Our house is already fully paid and fully furnished in Baras and it would always be our dream house. It's a home that hardwork built and myself and my family would never replace that for anything else in this world.... However, it would be nice to always have a second or third home, right? So we hope to have one too in Mississauga :)

Favourite vacation spot?
I'd been to many parts of Asia, a part of Australia and then we'll soon be moving in North America so it is always our dream to have a vacation in Europe particularly Paris to visit our family there. (gee, that must be awfully expensive..!)

Name the things you can’t live without.
Can I copy your answer Mervat? We mothers are copycats when it comes to those whom we cannot live without.. My HUBBY, 3 KIDS and my computer..

What would you like to have in your hands right now?
A confirmation of our Canadian Citizenship. And our Dual Citizenship later on.

What is your favourite tea flavour?
Cammomile Tea

What would you like to get rid of?
Restlessness..

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Anywhere except inside my office..

What did you want to become as a child?
I wish I could become a Lady Santa Claus. I'm not crazy but please believe me.. when I was a kid, I cannot sleep until I had all my friends and relatives have some gifts from me during Christmas and during their birthdays! I started feeling like this when I was three.. Imagine that..? I always want to give gifts to anyone I befriended with and to my cousins. I always felt lonely whenever I see someone who don't have enough while I have a lot even when I was a kid. And up to now, I always made sure that all the people that I love and those that works for us have their presents. I'm not rich, but I don't know why I always felt like this. Maybe I need a psycho-analyst? Hehe..

What do you miss?
I'm not copying Mervat, but I also miss my late grandmother. She's my maternal gradma who took care of me while my mother was busy working as a Government Employee in our country. I miss her so much as well as my late mother.

What are you reading right now?
DBA Handbook 1: The Course Stage (supplemented by Edinburg Business School, Herriot-Watt Uiniversity). Ironic but I gotta read this so I can explain to my boss how he can proceed with his Doctorate Degree Course.

What do you fear the most?
Heights..

What designer piece of clothing would you most like to own (new or vintage)?
I got some from Chloe but I never wore it. I just love to wear Levis jeans and shirts.

Admit one thing you feel awful about. Once you have written it down, you are no longer allowed to feel bad.
I'm not punctual enough and I hate myself for being like this!

I wish to tag more than 8 good people here so to minimize missing anyone important, may I just invite anyone who would like to get tagged can follow this.

Thanks Mervat. You're such a nice friend. I am always awed at you.

My Hometown: Shenzhen + Europe

2009-04-09T12:58:00.014-04:00

Brace yourself folks! This could be a very long post. This Friday's "My Hometown Photo Shoot Out" would be a blast for me.. We'll be leaving my town soon and I guess I need to cherish this photos as much as you do...

My dear PATTY of Crisfield and Reggie Girl mentioned that GingerV was next in line to pick the subject of this Friday's Shoot Out.

GingerV wrote:
"Here is what we will be shooting: The main four corners, the traffic / cars / people / street vendors / store fronts / alleys /trash bins of the main parts of main street that are your town.."

And as a bonus, may I take you to SHENZHEN and EUROPE at the same time..

SHENZHEN ALLEYS:
Let me welcome you to Dong Le Hua Yuan (Dongle Garden), our home for over a decade. Let me show you why I always admire our backdoor and nearby alleys with its trees and pave roads leading to various places like supermarket, recreational parks and the Main Roads adjoining the newly built freeways..

SHENZHEN PEOPLE:
The people that built Shenzhen and why it became what it is today.. And we're part of it..! (Gee, we're paying our taxes here, so why not..?)

SHENZHEN TRASH/GARBAGE BINS
When I came to work and live in Shenzhen in 1994, I never thought that Trash/Garbage Bins shall be introduced here. Wayback then, roads and alleys were sure to make you go back to where you belong. I'm glad we had stayed. Shenzhen now is far better than most developed countries we used to admire and garnering awards as one of the cleanest and environmentally-friendly city. Now every streets has its dual bins as well as bins in every blocks in our home..

SHENZHEN STREET VENDORS:
You can find these street vendors around the area every Sunday. The Urban District although really strict on controlling hawkers are giving them free time on Sundays to push people to spend more and keep the economy moving..

SHENZHEN CARS:
Shenzheners preferred the imported variety despite of having their very own brands.

SHENZHEN STORE FRONTS:
Let me show you the wonders of living in a place where language is a barrier.. Check this out and tell me exactly what they are selling..

SHENZHEN TRAFFIC:
Kind of lucky when I get this photo, not so busy this time of the day.. But come office hour and I bet you'll gonna swear why you took this route..

Stop, Look and Listen..

BONUS PHOTO SHOOT-OUT (EUROPE IN SHENZHEN)

See the above Road Sign and locate where the Tai An Road East would lead you.. Straight ahead and you'll be in the direction of the Wutong Mountain as seen below..

I'm not kidding folks.. At the back of that mountain is a road leading to a pictureque view of Shenzhen and on top of it is EUROPE. Look below and tell me where these shots were taken from.

The above European-inspired architecture is part of my town noting that it adjoins the Road where I live. The European Theme Park is among the highlights of the OCT Interlake Hotel located in the toppest part of the mountain. And my hubby's Entertainment Company had supplied the Bands there.. Isn't it fun?

See for yourself the beauty of my hometown: http://english.sz.gov.cn/ and http://www.octhotels.com/en/

Thanks to you all for keeping up with my very longggggg photo shoot out. I hope to keep up with the town shoot outs later when we finally found our next town we can call our own.. But opps, our home in Baras is still intact. We'll be there to visit and I intend to show it to you later on..

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NEXT FRIDAY'S PHOTO SHOOT OUT:

PATTY of CRISFIELD and REGGIE GIRL of NEWMAN had chosen me to choose the subject for the next Friday's Shoot Out. Thanks Girls.. I had chosen

MY HOME TOWN'S NATIVE FOOD AND RESTAURANT SHOOT OUT..

Any town cannot be considered completely beautiful and worthy to visit if that town failed to offer it's own native food, drinks and a place to hang out, right? So I'm choosing the photo shoot outs of Bars, Restaurants, Entertainment and Recreational Areas including the Food and Drinks it serves.

See you again next week my dear friends..

Smiling as always,
LOIDA

Miss Reading

2009-04-05T12:36:00.000-04:00

Please don't misquote me. What I wanna say is, I miss my reading.. after the sorting, packaging and anything involving our migration, i realized how much I miss my books.

I'd been keeping my dear REGGIE GIRL's "Playing For Pizza" by John Grisham and never turned the page yet... I'll gonna save that prior to our supposed 17-hour flight hopefully end of this month.. No book on hand right now, all were packed and ready to go so I'd better stay cool and take my enjoyment elsewhere.. or better yet, have a dose of one of my favourites: THE READER'S DIGEST..

I'd been a subscriber of this wonderful mini magazine for many years till I stopped. Such a mini yet powerfully packed with all the wholesome information and laughs that would make your day full of fun.

Don't you love this too?

http://www.rd.com

Backyard Wild Life Photo Shoot Out

2009-04-02T12:40:00.014-04:00

As Butler and Bagman suggested, the photo shoot out today is supposedly Wild Life. Patty added that it shall be wildlife in our backyard, so here it goes..

Take a little walk and you'll see the entire building where we live..

This is the photo of our building, and if you look up in those trees especially in the morning, you will see and hear these lovely Wild Birds chirping and playing among the leaves..

As I had mentioned many times before, we are living in a flat so unlike the detached homes in the suburb, there are no wildlife here like rabbits.. Here's how our backyard in China looks like:

I am telling you this because if you will look closely at the red soil below the tree, that was where I got this slimy photo of the Shenzhen Wild Worms:

After successfully taking the photo of the slimy worms, I went back home to get ready to travel to my office. And when I was walking, I got the photo of this stray dog along my way.. Stray could mean wild, right? So consider this lovely little dog the Wild Doggie of Shenzhen:

If you'll visit our home, don't go near this tiled garbage bin. They might look lovely to you but when you look inside, you'll gonna end up meeting this Shenzhen Wild Rat..

Other than this wilds living side by side us, I can't think of any more until I saw variety of exotic wildlife in the cages of a nearby restaurant.. Chinese loves to eat exotic animals such as snakes, scorpions, bettles and other reptiles. I also saw there some exotic variety of fish. I'm not sure how to call it but it all looks scary to me..

These are the wildlife near my backyard.. Some of them looks slimy and yucky but if you will try to study deeply, you'll realize how they are being affected by the modern-day constructions causing the degradation, destruction and disturbance of their natural habitats..

Shenzhen China is a home to thousand variety of flora and fauna. I guess Shenzheners must learn the value of sustainable development.

Chip Tsao

2009-03-30T11:57:00.017-04:00

In case you cannot read nor see clearly what this CHIP TSAO had wrote in his article, I had the displeasure of copy pasting the whole article below for your enjoyment and comment.

"The Russians sank a Hong Kong freighter last month, killing the seven Chinese seamen on board. We can live with that—Lenin and Stalin were once the ideological mentors of all Chinese people. The Japanese planted a flag on Diàoyú Island. That's no big problem—we Hong Kong Chinese love Japanese cartoons, Hello Kitty, and shopping in Shinjuku, let alone our round-the-clock obsession with karaoke.

"But hold on—even the Filipinos? Manila has just claimed sovereignty over the scattered rocks in the South China Sea called the Spratly Islands, complete with a blatant threat from its congress to send gunboats to the South China Sea to defend the islands from China if necessary. This is beyond reproach. The reason: there are more than 130,000 Filipina maids working as $3,580-a-month cheap labor in Hong Kong. As a nation of servants, you don't flex your muscles at your master, from whom you earn most of your bread and butter.

"As a patriotic Chinese man, the news has made my blood boil. I summoned Louisa, my domestic assistant who holds a degree in international politics from the University of Manila, hung a map on the wall, and gave her a harsh lecture. I sternly warned her that if she wants her wages increased next year, she had better tell every one of her compatriots in Statue Square on Sunday that the entirety of the Spratly Islands belongs to China.

"Grimly, I told her that if war breaks out between the Philippines and China, I would have to end her employment and send her straight home, because I would not risk the crime of treason for sponsoring an enemy of the state by paying her to wash my toilet and clean my windows 16 hours a day. With that money, she would pay taxes to her government, and they would fund a navy to invade our motherland and deeply hurt my feelings.

"Oh yes. The government of the Philippines would certainly be wrong if they think we Chinese are prepared to swallow their insult and sit back and lose a Falkland Islands War in the Far East. They may have Barack Obama and the hawkish American military behind them, but we have a hostage in each of our homes in the Mid-Levels or higher. Some of my friends told me they have already declared a state of emergency at home. Their maids have been made to shout 'China, Madam/Sir' loudly whenever they hear the word 'Spratly.' They say the indoctrination is working as wonderfully as when we used to shout, 'Long live Chairman Mao!' at the sight of a portrait of our Great Leader during the Cultural Revolution. I'm not sure if that's going a bit too far, at least for the time being."

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I'm not sure if this man has the proper mind to write such thing.. I don't think this is about the Spratly Island anymore.. His article is way too personal.. I guess his hatred is brought about by his inability to identify himself properly. By his look in the photo above, I guess he's someone who is suffering from identity crisis. I suspect he's a wounded man and is trying to pour out his rage towards what he thought are the lesser kind..

I don't think his fellow countrymen would agree with him. I'd been here for many years and I'm telling you, many of the rich, famous and respectable Chinese has high regard for Filipinos.

I feel sorry for him because he really don't know who he's trying to pull down. Can't he understand that most of the Engineers, Quality Control Managers, Technicians, Architects, Designers and Administrators in almost all the major offices and factories here in China dealing with high-end products and dependable manufactured goods are mostly Filipinos??!

WHY?

Because local and foreign-based company here believed in the Filipino capacity; with their brains and the technical know-how are considered significant. And most of all, the Filipinos have the capacity to identify the high-end from low!

Maybe the watch and shoes he's wearing right now is designed and quality-controlled by a Filipino! Hmmnnn..

I wish I could write more but I'm sorry CHIP TSAO, you don't deserve so much of my time..

Ohh, one last question though, can't he just fight for his sovereign rights without oppression?

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Instead of minding him, I'd better take a good laugh at Mr Ruffy Biazon's post instead:

http://ruffybiazon.wordpress.com/2009/03/29/why-mr-chip-tsao-wrote-that-article/

I do not know if Mr. Tsao is on the brink of turning this into a Filipinos vs. Chinese conflict, but before that happens, I would like to caution our countrymen to not fall into this trap. It’s not really about the Filipinos vs. the Chinese.

It’s about the Filipinos vs. Mr. Chip Tsao. Let’s make it personal.

But still, I would still give Mr. Tsao the benefit of the doubt. Being the patient and understanding man that I am, I am trying to see things from where Mr. Tsao is coming from. I am trying to rationalize why he wrote those things and why he has that point of view.

I have come to some theories why I think he wrote that article. If you have any other explanation in mind, please try to add through your comments.

My theories are:

1. His mother fed him milk which had melamine, produced from their country’s factories that have very low quality control standards.

2. As a child, he chewed on his lead-paint-coated toys also produced from their low-quality factories.

3. As he grew up, he always had siopao which were filled with imitation meat made of cardboard.

4. He was supposed to be aborted by the State, but somehow, the abortion tool only managed to tear off half his brain and he survived.

5. He had psychological trauma because he wanted so bad to join the Chinese Olympic Gymnastics team but he was rejected by the State because he couldn’t tell which was right and left (owing to having only half a brain)

6. He harbors ill feelings towards Filipinos who are given worldwide recognition for being good English communicators while he, even though being educated in a British colony, is still asked to repeat over and over again what he is saying because of the heavy Chinese accent in his English. So, he tries to prove his worth by writing.

7. He has an insatiable lust for Filipinas but he keeps getting turned down because of his revolting facial features, incurable halitosis and extremely small penis.

8. He is trying to gain attention because as a child and even up to his teenage days, he was so insignificant that nobody noticed his existence.

9. His own country ignores him, so he takes a shot at the Filipinos in the hope that we would react to him, finally gaining recognition for his pathetic existence on Earth.

10. He was bullied when he was a kid and always pissed and shit in his pants out of fear but never had the chance or even the courage to fight back. So he picks a fight with his own employee, or people who live overseas, confident that he will not get a fist in the eye for doing so.

This entry was posted on March 29, 2009 at 10:28 am and is filed under Uncategorized with tags china, chip tsao, hong kong, philippines, ruffy biazon, spratly islands. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

NOTE: I'm not much into politics and to this kind of stuff but this man is so FUNNY that I could not resist...

LINKS:
1. http://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2009/0329_cayetano1.asp
2. http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20090330-197052/HK-magazine-regrets-columnists-racial-slur
3. http://hk-magazine.com/feature/politically-incorrect-chip-tsao-vintage-year
4. http://www.indolentindio.com/2009/03/chip-tsao-may-be-a-racist-but-what-are-you/

confusions, replies and up-dates

2009-03-28T12:11:00.021-04:00

CONFUSIONS:
I'm not sure why I cannot post replies to all your kind comments. I'm confused with what's going on with my site. I linked to various favourite sites like The Butler and Bagman Chronicles, it ended up in my post and then suddenly disappears.

Please accept my apoloy my friends for my technical inefficiency or perhaps my sites' inaccuracy..

MY COMMENT TO DEBBY OF MY PINK BIRD HOUSE:
Debby My dearest friend, I'd been trying to send you comments after I read about the shooting scare but I cannot send any comments.. So please accept this:
Dearest Debby,
Please forgive me, I was not able to open my site as often as I want. When I read this, I really felt sad and really worried about you especially about the safety of your children.. Do you think they are safe to come back to school now? I hope and pray that the authority there would be very vigilant and would keep the students away from harm. I am offering you my prayers for the safety of your children and for the comfort that you need.. I deeply understand how hard it must be. I am also worried that you are still not strong enough to stand on your own. Please up-date us my friend and keep us posted. Is home schooling a better option? I hope so.
Care so much,
Loida

MY REPLIES TO ALL THE COMMENTS OF MY POST: THE IRREVOCABLE NATURE OF MAN

My dearest Debby,
Thanks for sharing the dreams with me.. Yes, daydreaming is kind of fun.. It relaxes me although some of it are just funny thoughts. Anyway, I am happy to know that even we lack the financial capacity to actaulize our dreams, we're still happy that we're leading a joyful life far better than those who have..

I'd been missing you my friend.. I am sorry for being late in replying and visiting..

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Dearest Judith,
Thanks my friend for visiting. Hehehe some of my dreams are just crazy dreams just to relieve my stress. But thanks that you believed that some dreams do come true.. Have a safe and enjoyable weekend..

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My dear Doc RJ,
Thanks a lot for dreaming similar dreams like mine.. It's a nice way to relax a bit. In your case, everything is possible especially the 9th. I hope you can reach this and both 10 and 11 too...Please take care always.. Care, Tita Loida
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Dearest Deanna,
Thanks my friend for sharing some of my daydreams. Yes it has been my dream to visit the holy land and Rome since I was small. I always imagine how the people live during the life of Christ.
I'll meet you in your site in just a short while my friend.. Sweet hugs to you and regards to Marshall.

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Dearest Mightydacz,
Hahaha sarap mag daydreams di ba? Pero naku, try not to find Aladdin's Magic Lamp, he would only pester us with 3 wishes. I got 11 so I'll end up wishing for more.. Better yet, let's all just wish for "CONTENTMENT" na lang.. Hehehe.. Miss you all.. Pls. take care always.. Care, Tita Loida

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My dearest Margaret,
Thanks that you understand. It's no big deal.. I'm just trying to relax my mind from stress. And yes if we can be able to cope up well in there, I might consider studying again..
Nice meeting you and pls forgive me for not visiting you these past days.. Have a lovely weekend.
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Dearest PATTY. hahaha..! thanks for waking me up and took me away from my dreams.. i don't mean to wake up in a millionaires' den.. never! that would ruin the meaning of 2L3Bs. Simple people having a simple life although we sometimes dream. our simple life is far better, with challenges and all but joy always lingers.. Daydreaming is just part of self relaxation, a kind of therapy for me.. heheh..
Miss you my friend.. Care, Loida

UP-DATES:
And here's why I need to daydream once in a while.. I'd been stressed out with these baggages.. Good news, we're nearing the end.

irrevocable nature of man

2009-03-27T12:21:00.001-04:00

There are some trivial and not-so-trivial things in life that I wanna experience and achieve but clearly, I don't have the time nor the resources to make it happen. My life is basically focused on my family, my work and the fact that we're just ordinary people living an ordinary life. I am not complaining; actually I am blessed and happy with the life I got right now.. yet sometimes I cannot help not to wish and daydream for more, which is considered an irrevocable nature of man..

There are times when I felt like experiencing and achieving things such as..

1. Taking a flight on impulse and have a family vacation somewhere without minding the airfare price and shopping spree allowance..

2. Watching Miss Saigon and Les Misérables on Broadway.. (does this still going on..?)

3. Sipping margaritas while lounging in our very own pool with my husband.. (whoa!)

4. Or simply reading my favourite novels while soaked in a warm tub in our very own en-suite.. Now I begun to really dislike the designer of our home again, why he let our master's bedroom bare of my much needed en-suite! **sigh**

5. Taking a helicopter ride around Shenzhen. There is one here but gee, i wouldn't dare spending my RMBY 4,000 for a single 30-min ride..!

6. Having my very own library at home complete with all the book collections in various genres from the works of my favorite writers / novelist; hard bound, neatly catalogized and stacked together in a floor to ceiling solid-oak book shelves. (hehe..)

7. Visiting art galleries and buying work of arts like original oil on canvass and Lladro Porcelain Collections..

8. Having the time and resources to visit food festivals in various countries; eating Mexican and other exotic foods and junks without worrying about adding extra fat to my already extra large tummy!

9. Pursuing my Master's and Doctorate Degree.
I'd actually completed the Master's Degree on Environmental Management and Master's of Science in Manufacturing Systems Engineering many months ago. 'Got really a commendable grades but the diploma was under my boss' name on behalf of our company.. (believe it or not. yeah, that bad..) Aww, I want my very own transcripts and diploma this time but the minimum tuition fees of over HK$70K would make us malnourished..!

10. Having a pilgrimage tour to the Holy Land and the Vatican in Italy with my family of course.

11. and finally, living for good in our home country without the worries nor the need to lean on greener pastures to hopefully reach contentment..

As I told you, these are just dreams which can or cannot be achieved.. I don't care much if not.. the important thing is I am happy with what I got. :)

Hmmmn, the art of daydreaming... :)
Come and join me, it's free..

While I'm busy..

2009-03-25T08:11:00.005-04:00

...please consider me as a thing.
...and when i finish packing, i'll make up for my absences and fill up your blogsite with my comments full of love and longing..

Baggages

2009-03-23T00:41:00.005-04:00

We are now in the phase when we have to sort, throw, wrap, box, huff and puff until our feet, body especially our backs can no longer bear to walk and bend up. I hope there's a way to accommodate all the things that we had accumulated during the entire 15 years of our residency here in China in one single box.. But really, this is the hardest part of moving..

Not yet though, we have to freight all the baggages first; let them take a ship ride to our 'home sweet home' then take another ride on a plane this time before it reaches our 'future home'.. Such lucky baggages.. They just sit there to enjoy their rides never minding the hardship we had fought out before the realization of our dreams had been finally realized.. **sigh**

THANK YOU OUR DEAREST FRIENDS!!

2009-03-22T02:36:00.034-04:00

Everdearest
DEBBY, DEANNA & MARSHALL, SHEILA, PATTY, JOANIE, JUDITH, RJ, JAMI, TAMMY, AMIE, SUPER GULAMAN, SHARI, PATTI CAKES, MIISSY, BLOGUSVOX, MIGHTY DACZ and MARGARET B.

Words don't really do justice to the THANKS we want to say to you all... We really felt FORTUNATE that we have met and known you all somehow..

Our dearest Debby of The Pink Bird House

Our dearest super sweet couple Deanna and Marshall of Timeless Things
Our dearest Patty of Crisfield Maryland
Our dearest JOANIE of Random Ramblings
Our dearest Judith of Judith's Quiet Moments
Our Dearest Doc RJ of Chhok-minders Quill
Our dearest JAMI of Cooke Creek Sheep
Our dearest TAMMY of Queensize Funny Bone
Our dearest AMIE of FAIRWAYS AND BUNKERS
Our dearest Super Gulaman
Our dearest SHARI of the Big Yellow Farmhouse
Our dearest PATTI of the Cottage in the Curve
Our dearest MISSY of Travelog
Our dearest Sandbox of the BLOGUSVOX
Our Dearest Mighty Dacz
Our dearest Margaret and ted of the French Bear

AND FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL GIFTS WE RECEIVED:
From our sweet children Liane, Barley, Baylon and Laila, for the love and thoughfulness they never failed to provide us..

A heartfelt appreciation from the insanely happy couple,
Bayani and Loida

24th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

2009-03-20T12:01:00.016-04:00

It's March 21, 2009.. and today is our 24th Wedding Anniversary.

This is a photo of two persons deeply in love; designed by fate to be in each other's mutual comfort bound together with endless joy and strength in facing the life's challenges... reaping and thanking God's gift as one.

~ Bayani and Loida

China Houses Photo Shoot-Outs

2009-03-19T18:27:00.003-04:00

In the early times, the homes of common chinese people were mostly made of stone, tamped mud or sun-dried bricks reinforced with straw in the north. While in the South, homes were made of wood, bricks or woven bamboo as seen in the old house photo below as sourced from http://www.terragalleria.com

The upper-class Chinese house has a single story, with spacious open air courtyards, tiled roof; adorned with stone lion dogs, stone carvings, ornate carving frames, decorative and colorful latticeworks. Such architecture however rarely exists now in Shenzhen. The old single story homes were replaced by modern design high rise apartments with an average 12 square feet of space, a typical two-room to three-room apartment equipped with hallways, kitchen and bathroom.

When we first arrived here, majority of apartments were mostly 7-story high, but these days, Shenzhen is filling up with newly built 30 to 50th floor apartment complexes and condominiums.

I'm sorry Patty and Reggie Girl, there are no Victorian Houses here. But please find below the photo of the 7-story apartments and flats where I live and newly erected high-rise condominiums few blocks away from our home..

Hope you enjoy my Chinese house photo shoot-outs... Thanks for dropping by..

Johnsons and Johnsons

2009-03-18T09:49:00.010-04:00

I always felt bad when the trusted brands were put under scrutiny considering that J&J has been the most trusted name in baby products since 1886..

According to the Shenzhen Daily News this morning, there was this watchdog from the US stating that Johnson and Johnson's Baby products has found to have contained toxic elements. But the State quality watchdogs however denied an earlier report. There would be further investigation.. The investigation concerns mainly on the J&J's baby bath and baby shampoo products which allegedly containing cancer-causing chemicals 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde.

J&J has been my family's trusted brand even before I was born. I grew up using the one and only "NO MORE TEARS SHAMPOO", and used the product when I had children of my own.. It was really sad that after strings of food safety scandals just few months ago, here comes the bad news again about this famous and trusted brand..

There are many families all over the world trusting this brand.. After over 123 years of manufacturing similar products, why mothers suddenly has to face this kind of distress?

Other links for reference:

1.) http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/formaldehyde-47031201
2.) http://paper.sznews.com/szdaily/20090318/ca2910669.htm

Priorities and Faces

2009-03-16T09:14:00.002-04:00

My Monday turned out to be a day full of priorities..

The First is the PRIORITY MAIL!!!

I finally got one of the friendliest gifts I had ever received.. Have you ever received a gift from anyone you never knew all your life but because friendship blooms anywhere, anytime from the hearts of good people, gift giving just came up? I am such a lucky one, a certain belle from America decided to send me something I will treasure forever..

Thank you so much my dearest REGGIE GIRL (http://midlifeandmenapause.blogspot.com).. Playing for Pizza, Bluesville and the wonderful card with kind words really warms my heart..

Second is to BE WITH MY HUBBY, He only have a couple of day offs every month so we always made sure to be together all alone.. And this Monday, we took a walk as sort of bonding moment from our home to the post office to get my Priority Mail. And while walking, we took turns in taking photos of important people around our neighborhood.

I considered taking the shot of FACES OF GOOD PEOPLE around our neighborhood as part of my Monday Priorities noting that I had promised the good girls of America (Patty and Reggie Girl), that I will show them the faces that made China tick. Opps, Did I say that..? Sorry folks, FACES shots has to be last Friday but it was kind of delayed but anyway here are the photos for you to see..

My favourite photo of the Chinese Soldier, isn't he cute..?
Optometrist taken after my hubby's eye check
Fish Monger when we dropped by the supermarket..
LPG GAS delivery man taken along our way
Mr. Post Man taken when we got my gift from Reggie Girl..
Factory Worker I took before I left our factory
Good old hawker..
Our friendly neighborhood Medical Doctor
Dongle Garden Security Guard, the guy who guards our home
The nearby Bankers
The Road Construction Worker
The Street Sweeper
The nearby Street Food Vendor
Our Traffic Officer

To get more information and for those who would like to join the Friday Shoot-Outs, kindly visit: PATTY of http://crisfieldnews.blogspot.com and REGGIE GIRL of http://midlifeandmenapause.blogspot.com..

WEEDS

2009-03-14T09:23:00.003-04:00

My hubby used to surprise me with gifts when he comes home from work. The current surprise is the complete 4-Seasons of the American dark comedy television series entitled "THE WEEDS"

I can't come to our Hong Kong office without a passport.. So here I am enjoying my blogging time and yes, my WEEDS. You must get one too, just make sure the children are not around. The plot is kind of un-friendly to children and as wikipedia said, weeds is a DARK COMEDY.. I guess I can finish this in one seating.

I got various collections: All available seasons of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, GOSSIP GIRLS, 7th HEAVEN, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, DIRTY SEXY MONEY, GILMORE GIRLS, THE MISTRESSES, SWEET VALLEY HIGH and the love of our life JAMIE, THE NAKED CHEF..

I'm not sure when I could have my passport back but I don't mind, as long as I have another bunch of the best American series. Gotta get the next season of "GILMORE GIRLS", perhaps..? hmmnn..

And oh America, please give us more of the 7th HEAVEN.. the best series for the whole family!

WEEDS, the series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Weeds is an American dark comedy television series created by Jenji Kohan, produced by Lionsgate Television for the Showtime network.

The plot revolves around a widowed housewife (Mary-Louise Parker) from an affluent California suburb who becomes her neighborhood's marijuana dealer to make ends meet. The title is a play on words, referring to both the slang term for marijuana, and widow's weeds. It also refers to the tendency of American suburbs to grow quickly and pervasively, with the dwellings and their residents being almost as indistinguishable as weeds; this is mirrored in the show's theme song "Little Boxes" and opening credits, and is a recurring theme of the show itself.

Weeds currently comprises four seasons that began airing in August 2005. It was the highest rated series for Showtime its first year; its fourth-season premiere attracted 1.3 million viewers to Showtime, that channel's highest-ever viewership; the season as a whole averaged 962,000 viewers.[citation needed] Showtime announced on July 18, 2008 that two more seasons of thirteen episodes each will be produced.[1]

Mary-Louise Parker won a Golden Globe for her performance on the show, and Jenji Kohan won a WGA award for her screenplay for the pilot episode. Season 5 is currently in production and will air in May 2009 according to the official website.[2]

Hearts and Friendship Awards

2009-03-12T12:00:00.003-04:00

I was sitting and evidently bored while browsing in the net when I encountered this site (blogger.com). Just for the fun of it, I decided to join although 2L3Bs already got one in our Friendster.com.. What the heck, so I tried and it was then I realized this is much user-friendly and definitely more exciting! Here I am now, a happy and excited blogger always saying hello to my friends and always excited to meet new friends from all over the world!

Maybe I should give a thousand awards to bloggers.com for giving us a chance to meet wonderful people like Debby of The Pink Bird House.

I haven't met her in flesh but fate had made us closer.. She brought me to her adoptive country and through her, I was able to roam around Germany for free...! See her site in http://thepinkbirdhouse.blogspot.com and you'll know exactly what I mean... Other than the free tour, she also awarded me with this Friendship Blogger's Award.. Thank you my dearest Friend for including me among the 8 awardees on your list..

Upon receipt of the award, the recipient must also share this to 8 wonderful people and keep the friendship blooms all around.. Kindly check the good people I listed below and hope you can visit them as well to make you realize how they deserved this.. At the bottom of the award, you must include the footnote below to make the readers realize it's worth..

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. The kind of blogger that aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of the prizes are cut,even more friendships are propagated.Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight blogger who must choose eight more and include this cleverly written text into the body of their award".

I highly appreciate and accepted this award and as the rules goes, may I pass this to 8 friendly people such as:

1. MS. RENIE of RENIE BURGHART'S WORLD. I believed that anyone cannot write anything good for the soul unless one is sensitive, caring, and loving enough like Ms. Renie. She's a writer, novelist and an author of number of articles published by the famous "Chicken Soup For The Soul".. I really admire highly acclaimed writers whose books and articles were published. Her blogs would also give you a lot of good lessons about life and friendship.. May I award this to Ms. Renie for up-lifting a lot of souls..

2. PATTY OF CRISFIELD MARYLAND. It's rare to find people here in our site who will travel from afar just to show the world how people suffers from war.. An honest, straigthforward, ever courageous yet highly sensitive and talented photojournalist from Crisfield.. I guess Debbie already gave her this award but why not another one?

3. REGGIE GIRL OF MIDLIFE, MENOPAUSE, MISTAKES AND RANDOM STUFF. She's not only super duper friendly to people and human friends but also to dogs and I guess stray animals around.. She always provides comfort to all her friends especially by her constant caring comments and sweet notes of love..

4. DEANNA OF TIMELESS THINGS. She's one of the very first sweet friends I'd ever got during my first week of blogging. I stumbled upon her site when I was browsing on the feedjit live and the rest is history.. She's so sweet the she will bring you to a lot of her Pink Saturday Trips and to many thrift shops that she famously adore..

5. MONA OF WSPRSWEETLY OF COTTAGES. I begun to follow Mona's blog when she left a straightforward comments to one of our common friends. She's so frank and honest. She's definitely the type of person I really want for a friend. I begun to follow her posts constantly and I realized she's such a super sweet and caring person underneath..

6. DOT OF DOT & CO. is one of our life's surprises. I met her when I was browsing via Feedjit live and realized we both came from our neighboring towns and yes, we already met.. Such a beautiful and friendly family. Just like meeting our long lost relatives from afar..

7. BETSY OF MY FIVE MEN. She is such a lovely woman with a caring heart. Having triplets plus the challenges she faces yet there she is, still lovely and compassionate to others as always.. A best friend to everyone and to her lovely family out there..

8. DANETTE OF HAND KNITS THAT BLOSSOMS. She's one of the kindest friend here in blogger site providing even a simple comment that will touch you. She's among the best here that took care of her family especially her lovely grandaughter and a best bet for a best friend to us here in blog land..

May I thank you DEBBY. This has been my second award from you so may I repay you by giving you this FLOWER OF FRIENDSHIP because you really deserve this:

watches

2009-03-06T00:00:00.004-05:00

Are you wearing a wrist watch right now..?

Do you know that before it reach your wrist, watches and its components usually travels from far away land before it became an end-product..?

Try to look closely at its parts such as the crown, dial, bracelet, the clasp, straps, watch case, watch backs, etc. Has it been plated with gold, palladium, platinum or just a flash? Was it coated with Swiss Standard color such as 1N, 2N, 3N, or two-tone color being famous nowadays in 23, 18 and 16 karats gold? Or the modern coating such as the gun color, black, blue, white, gray, tobacco gold, antique bronze, pink gold and lot, lot more?

If it does then there might be a chance that we'd been a part of the process before it became a complete accessory now exquisitely strapped on your wrist.

Our company provides electro and ion plating services to number of famous watch manufacturers all over the world. We are the direct and in some instance indirect supplier to well-known and currently benchmarking watch brands and manufacturers all over Asia, Europe and America. If not plating services, at least the plating machinery, electroplating equipment and plating racks we supplied especially to European countries highly known for high-end watches.

(I'm with the European Component and Complete Watch Manufacturer)

(I'm with the Asian Famous Brand Watch Components Manufacturers)

We are servicing Rolex, Omega, Rado, Timex, Guess and some of the high-end brands. Some parts were mostly plated here in China before it arrives in Switzerland, America, and other parts of the world for the whole mechanical assembly process. The aesthetic parts of the watch were mostly done here to minimize the labor cost.

Believe it or not, but its true..

Church Friday

2009-03-05T17:30:00.016-05:00

'Church Friday' was initiated by one of the respectable photojournalists from Crisfield Maryland USA, Ms. Patty Biegun of http://crisfieldnews.blogspot.com,http://www.breadandsalt.org; and equally respectable Ms. Reggie Girl of http://midlifeandmenapause.blogspot.com, for her dedication to save the dogs by building a "No-Kill" shelter termed as The Newman-Coweta Humane Society. They are actually inviting good friends out there who wants to share church photos..

I took the photo of this church during our recent travel to Macau, SAR last October 2008. Macau is about 3-hour drive from Shenzhen.

This church is highly historical and very close to our hearts because Macau is where our daughter was born and this church is where our daughter was baptised.

SE' CATHEDRAL, MACAU:
History Source:http://www.macau-traveltips.com/cathedral-of-macau.htm

The Cathedral of Macau, also known as Sé Catedral, or simply Sé, is the mother church of the catholic Diocese of Macau, which once included the Catholic parishes in China, Japan and Korea. The diocese was formed even before Macau belonged to the Portuguese. The church has stood on the site of the cathedral going back to as early as 1576, when it was a mere wooden shed built. This was replaced by a more permanent structure in 1622. http://midlifeandmenapause.blogspot.com/

idle..?

2009-03-03T19:30:00.003-05:00

Lucky is the man who can use his time wherever... whenever, whatever, however..... during his office hour.

-who, me?

mugged

2009-03-01T12:11:00.011-05:00

We were having our leisure walk in one of the busiest and known shopping district in Shenzhen when 3 men mugged my son. We were actually a group of five walking aimlessly to get to the subway in a jampacked Dongmen Street. I was near my son and was having a nice chat when suddenly a man from behind dropped a key. He was in the act of picking it when I saw that he was holding my son's left leg instead and that was when I heard my son shouted that somebody had snatched his mobile phone from his jean's right-hand pocket.

It was so fast that we barely saw what happened. Fortunately my son's celfone was attached to a neck chain. The chain made it visible so my daughter who was walking together with our 2 lady friends about a meter behind us saw the neck chain hanging from another man's arm folded underneath his jacket. My daughter pointed and shouted that the man standing between us was the culprit. In an instant, I approached the man and asked him to give it back..

We were so scared but I had to face the man or totally lose the celphone. By then, the man probably noticed that almost all the spectators from the street has been looking at him readily gave the celfone to me and walk away as if nothing had happened..

The muggers were composed of 3 well-dressed men in their early 30's who deem to walk among the crowded streets and pretended to have dropped a key. They were actually well dressed as if just came out from the office. The first man will drop a key from behind to distract the victim, the other one pickpockets while the third person will distract you pretending that he's holding the loot. This 3rd man will actually pretend to walk and run fast at you to make the victim think that he's the one who did it. So if the police happen to arrive at the scene, there will be no evidence to prove the charges.

That Saturday night is one of the scariest night we all had. It happened yesterday but we still felt the fear up to now..

We understand that pickpockets and muggers are everywhere in big cities like Shenzhen. The best way to do is to avoid crowded areas and if possible never to carry anything valuable when you're just having a leisure walk. We love Shenzhen but we cannot deny the fact that it is saturated with negative entities such as muggers, pickpockets and thieves. Shenzhen is a special economic zone which attracts some of the best and some of the worst kind all over China.

Another lesson learned..

Looking At The Sky On Friday

2009-02-27T02:30:00.005-05:00

Initialized by Marytheteach, please see the SHENZHEN SKY in the morning and beyond.

A promising MORNING SKY as backdrop to my budding grape vines taken from my pocket garden at my Home Away From Home.. This also signifies the coming of spring and the start of the new beginning.

Shenzhen's gloomy AFTERNOON SKY taken in another angle on the very same day.. Sometimes things don't end up as we hope to be.. Don't you agree..?

Please see http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/ or http://www.blogger.com/profile/17516961981692076719, if you wanna join...

HAVE I GONE CRAZY..?

2009-02-25T19:08:00.007-05:00

maybe you'll see more photos without labels, words or anything from time to time. I just want to let the world see what beauty we'll gonna leave behind.

have we gone crazy?

all the things that we dreamed of are here.., even the positions we'd been longing to have, the lifestyle, the friendship we had established over the years, the incomparable income we're getting noting that the cost of living here is much, much lower than anywhere in the world...

no i'm not insane, nor a photographer.. i just suddenly felt like clicking my camera to see and realize if migrating to another world is worth or not. to compare our beautiful life here and there when time comes up.

here i am again, the same topic about "questions". But really, musings like this is inevitable especially when you're in a situation wherein you only got eight weeks max to figure out how to freight all those stuffs we accumulated over a decade of living in shenzhen. and how to cope up living in another place; dealing with yet another culture and such..

2009-02-25T17:31:00.001-05:00

shenzhen in bloom

2009-02-25T16:30:00.000-05:00

chanping gig

2009-02-25T10:50:00.003-05:00

rhymes

2009-02-22T04:19:00.006-05:00

Haven't you noticed, I used words that RHYMES most of the time..?

MAYBE there's a chance that I will be a "POET" afterlife..?

OR simply "CORNY" oftentimes..?

Pick your choice...

Funny me,

"T"

2009-02-19T22:48:00.005-05:00

There are so many surprises in blogsworld.. Most of it are fun and exciting... One of those are meeting new friends that initiates exciting games such as tagging... As per request, I was tagged by Betsy of My Five Men, to name 10 things that I love that starts with the letter "T". I'm kind of excited because Letter Game Tagging is new to me. So....here they are!

What better way to represent the letter "T" than this beautiful cross.. This not only reminds me of the letter "T" but reminding me of the faith that will always linger in our hearts..

1.) "T" stands for the number "THREE": If you consider number 3 as a thing that I love, then you bet 'coz it represents the number of children I gave birth, nurture, pampered and love..

2.) "T" for "TERRACE" in our Home Sweet Home.. I terribly love and miss this place.. This is where we used to spend our quality time together with my husband and children savouring the fruits of our labor..

3.) "T" stands for "TEDDY BEAR": Myself and the whole family love this Teddy Bear that we have to carry it everywhere we go...

4.) "T" for "TRINKETS" and Jewelries which my daughter and I love to collect, cherish and adore..

5.) "T" for "TELEPHONES" that I cannot live without... to hear the voice of all the people I love.

6.) "T" for "TEA SETS" that I love to look at.. I got various Tea Set collections in our home and each has a special meaning to me...

7.) "T" stands for "TEXTILES", with its beautiful, rich and colorful textures that is so pretty when trasformed into beautiful dresses, curtains and etsy that my daughter and myself are into lately..

8.)"T" means "TREES"... I begun to love trees when I was six. I used to sit on a large branch of my favourite big guava tree in our farm and there I daydreamed of what I wanna be.. Oftentimes even now whenever I feel blue, I just look out on the trees and melancholy used to turn back out of me..

9.) "T" for "T-SHIRTS" that I used to collect whenever I travel. I have collections of T-shirts from all the countries I had visited..

and finally number...10!

10.) "T" signifies "TRAVEL" which my husband and myself love to take together, not only to various exotic places; travel for us also means journey to the life that we lead hand in hand..

Thanks Betsy of My Five Men.. I really enjoyed doing this. Despite of the hectic work load, I had tried to find time thinking of things to blog about that starts with the letter "T". I hope that you enjoyed my Letter Game too.

If you want to continue this Letter Game, please give me a comment and I'll pass it on to you..

Thanks for taking time visiting us here.. See you soon..

Where..?

2009-02-15T22:13:00.016-05:00

We had a lovely day celebrating the hearts day. Pa gave me 12 red velvety roses and a lily plus brought me to a romantic early dinner at the Bistro Palace; gone to LA Bar for a nightcap before checking-in a hotel because we are in Chanping and to go home back to our kids would be a little too late.. Hmmnnn, are we justifying something here..? You bet, we need to be alone... it's Valentines, right?

Well, the highlights of this up-date is not about us, but about the Filipino Designers we saw during our nightcap in LA Bar.. We overheard the laughing from the bunch of guys quite near our table. They are so loud that you can hear their jokes and also some hints of where they are working. They are all Filipino Designers imported from the Philippines to work with various industries such as Furniture, Shoes and IT Manufacturing Firms here in China. We're not nosy except that you can't miss what they were talking about, mostly about boy's stuff. And with that you can definitely consider them as straight guys.. Not Gays..

But where can you find an ALL-MEN dancing on Valentines?

Fun, but isn't it weird..?

Love from,

Secret

2009-02-11T18:06:00.013-05:00

Nobody knows we were married.... I was then a 3rd year Psychology major university student while my husband was a coed in an electrical engineering field and a budding musician when we tied the knots and swear to love one another till death do us part..

Except that we don’t have a knot to tie us nor rings to bind our love. Actually we were both wearing Hanes t-shirt and jeans when the marriage rites were pronounced by Rev. Aquilino Navarro of the Manila City Hall in Taft Avenue Manila in March 21, 1985... As I told you, we were college students then when my boyfriend asked me to marry him; no fuss, no buzz... Actually it was a surprise, he picked me up in my college dormitory for a date then he brought me there and that was it.. And nobody knows..

For one reason, he married me because he loves me and we deeply love each other.. On the other hand it occurred to me that maybe he thought that the best remedy to a jealous girlfriend is to marry her to shut her up.. Hahaha..

You can’t blame me why I was a jealous girlfriend.. in a very small town such as ours, you are lucky to find a cute guy as handsome, talented and good-hearted as he is.. When I first met him, opps correction, actually when he first met me, he told me that I was running to meet up with my classmates. He said I was wearing my high school fatigue uniform in time for our COCC training.. I never saw him but he saw me.. He said that the first time he laid eyes on me, he felt curious as to who I am.. He said it was kind of 'love at first sight..'

We actually came from the same hometown called Baras, Rizal with a population of not over 24,000 in 1981. Such a small town so everybody almost knows everyone except the two of us.. I was a kind of ‘Home-School-Church’ kind of girl during that time and I only knew those around my circle. While him is one among the famous guys, playing music with his childhood buddies and doing what the 'trying-to-be-bad-boys' does.

Anyway, he found out that I was a choir member in our church and so he became a member too to get to know me. He approached me through his friends and we became acquainted and gradually became friends. He introduced me to his world and I actually became part of his buddies. They had a band called Orchids and d' Rose. They always picked me up during their practice and during those times, he found the courage to court me..(He doesn't know I already had huge crush on him..) He's such a rascal to others but a shy guy when in front of me.. Hehehe, I guess this cute guy really is in love, eh?

Well, that's how our love story goes..

It took a year before our parents realized that we were already married. It was by mere accident when my big brother found our marriage contract beneath my Psychological Testing (4th Edition) textbook by Anne Anastasi.. It was kind of dumb for me to use our secret marriage license as a book marker, but there it goes, the secret revealed.. The worst was, we never faced their wrath but then they decided to arrange a formal wedding in the church instead but we declined..

The confidence of youth.. we thought that we can take care of ourselves.. A trying-hard independent couple wanting to show the world that we can rule out and we can make it… And yes we're right, we did..

The wedding photo below was actually taken to commemorate our 21st wedding anniversary. We haven't had a formal wedding yet up to this date.. But here we are, still very much in love with each other as the times goes by..

We’ll soon be having our grand wedding of our 25th anniversary.. All of you are invited..

May the love flows on Valentines Day.. Happy hearts day everyone..!

This is us, today..

with love,

and BAYANI of caviaoskie (http://caviaoskie.blogspot.com)

wacky..

2009-02-06T00:26:00.014-05:00

2L3B’s are currently facing a major dilemma but despite of the current situation, here we are, still wacky as ever… That’s how we handle our life as a family.. We tend to smile in every afflictions, laugh at any defeat and strive harder together in order to overcome whatever failures or trials we faced. And yes, we always work hard to find the solution… hand in hand condoning every trials given to us..

Anyway, I am mighty glad because each of us is gifted with enough humor and tolerance. With this gift, you can best describe us as a ‘happy bunch’. We do not let any extraneous variables ruin us.

2L3B's is just a simple ordinary family facing common problems; sharing various degrees of ineptness, shortcomings and differences, yet we always stays together in facing life as it is.. Every end of the day, we tend to understand and tried to end up embracing each others’ faults and mistakes.. Nobody’s perfect and we specifically relate that to each one of us..

Sibling rivalry has been one of the causes of friction especially for children with similar gender born one after the other. Our first born son who’s just a year ahead his younger brother both had experienced this kind of rivalry. To overcome, we used to buy them similar outfits, similar toys when they were small; send them to similar schools and colleges and we provide them with the same degree of love, care and affection. It works.. And when our youngest daughter came four years after, we tried harder not to make the little boys felt neglected.

But as you can see, there will always some friction among siblings even if you tried hard enough.. It is not unusual for siblings to have this so-called personality differences which is familiar even between husband and wife, or between friends... Anyway, because of unconditional love, humor, tolerance and believing in God above, no amount of upheavals can let us down.

And yes, despite of all the uncertainty we are facing right now, we still have enough fun and laughter to last our lifetime...

That is pa's photo above, taken last Monday during our leisure stroll in Dongmen Beilu.. He's highly talented; an instrumentalist, businessman, musical composer, performing artist and the best husband and father in the world but look at that! gee, he’s weird..

That's our eldest, consider him as our technician and handyman.. He is a graduate of Hotel and Restaurant Management yet he excels better with computers and similar stuff. Believe it or not, he dismantled his PSP to tiny bits and pieces while we were in Pizza Hut… and few minutes later, he re-assembled the poor thing and viola..! The PSP works better than before.. I just can’t imagine how he did that and why..?

There's our second son who is a Business Management graduate yet decided to become a performing artist instead rather than work in the hotel that's hiring him.. Now he’s into photography as a hobby and look who’s his chosen subject… no other than… “ME”

And below is our little girl, (but don’t call her that or she’ll not talk to you again..) She feels she’s already an adult.. but look, this photo was taken right after her tantrums before our meal. Does adult cried over pizza..?? hehehe

Do you believe me now..? Tell me, who’s wackier than the "wackiest bunch”..?

hugs from wacky mom and wife,

back to work

2009-02-03T23:18:00.009-05:00

I had never been so relaxed and ready to dwell on the chaos I'd missed while on vacation. I'm back to work and ready to face the beat.. The Chinese New Year vacation really re-charged and perked me up.

Photo of myself with our CEO and colleagues taken during one of our corporate events

'Gotta work here in our Hong Kong office until February 7, then return to our China Office on the 9th.. Even my officemates are all in the good mood and all excited to meet each other again.. Well, we got to enjoy this moment before the excitement wears off.. hehehe.. Another year to conquer, another numbers to crunch, and yes, another challenges to face.. We hope to keep up with the business..

Swiss Engineering Tanks and Equipment, the company and the products I managed and sell
Confi Metal Ion Plating Production Plant in Henggang China, where our office and factory are located

Glad that I received 3 confirmed PO's from Thailand and Switzerland today. This is good for the company and good for the entire team.. What a productive way to start the new year... :)

Have a nice day everyone..

home away from home

2009-02-02T23:15:00.042-05:00

When we first arrived here in China on March 28, 1994, we were provided with a free accommodation as part of the provisions stated in our OFW employment contract. During those times, the company had provided a room in He Fong Hotel for two long years but we found it inconvenient so we decided to revise the condition and started to live in a flat instead. I am still employed by the same company up to now, while my husband expanded his entertainment business. We were lucky to have been able to live based on our preferences. We first lived in a high rise, 16th Floor of the Friendship Mansion located within the City. We found the urban district too crowded so we decided to find a better flat in the suburb.

I fell in love with the place the first time I saw it. It is not new but it offers a lot of convenience to us especially when our children came to live and study here in China after completing their secondary level in the Philippines. And up to now, we are enjoying Dongle Garden we all begun to love since our move. We considered this our home away from home..

Dongle Garden is an old residential area situated in Lo Wu District near the picturesque East Lake Reservoir. Our home is one among the clusters of 7-story building flats strategically built in a highly conducive location. Flats were mostly owned by prominent Hongkies (Chinese from Hong Kong) in the early days and majority of the residents were from the Shenzhen police force and other related departments. We felt safer after knowing that. Although the building are quite old, we found it highly suitable to our needs and just a walking distance to parks, schools, police station, fresh produce markets, grocery stores and few blocks from high-end department stores.

Our flat is overlooking the Garden's recreational facilities. You'll gonna love to come out and join the senior residents before the sun rises in the morning. You will see them wearing their colorful uniforms doing their morning exercises and taichi, while some elderly are busy playing cards with their pals.

Thanks that our flat is in the 3rd floor because all the buildings in Dongle Garden do not have elevators. And if you come inside our home away from home, you will see there some of my photo frame collections and some display items I had accumulated during my stay here. I had shipped most of our thrift finds to our home sweet home in Baras. Our home there is detached and large enough to accommodate all my collections. I used to buy decors and art stuff to all the places and countries we had visited and yes, I love it all...! I'll gonna post down some photos when I get back to our home sweet home later..

Thanks for dropping by,

Questions

2009-02-01T23:59:00.005-05:00

There are still questions that keeps on bugging me. I understand that most of us think that since we came from a third world country, migrating to western part of the world would provide us with high paying jobs and lifestyle highly privileged than if we stay in our home country.

In our case, our life as an OFW (Overseas Foreign Worker) almost half of our lives has given us enough means and courage to dream and hopefully make it to reality. I'm not sure when but I believe it is getting nearer. However, the question 'if it is really the best move' lingers..

To satisfy myself, I had tried to browse and research on how we could be able to handle the change, or if we can be able to handle it. I highly appreciate what had been written by M. Dawodu prior to my query.

5 Things You Need to Know Before Migrating to Canada
By M Dawodu
In addition to living in what appears to be a life of luxury, there are things all people should be fully aware of before settling in Canada.

#1) WESTERN MENTALITY

Most people in third world countries do not have or may not be aware of credit cards or mortgages. So, if you know or see someone living in a big house or driving a luxury car you can safely make the assumption that they are rich. However, in Canada or U.S. someone driving a luxurious car and living in a big beautiful house may or may not be rich. If you have good credit, you are eligible to get a mortgage, credit cards, car leases which basically means the bank really owns your car or house and you make monthly payments depending how much the loan is. It could take 2-5 years to pay off a car and 20 plus years for a house.

#2) STANDARD OF LIVING

Keeping up with the Joneses is a common phrase used to describe a person who strives to have what their neighbour has. It is very common for a family who might make a combined annual income of $100,000 to be deeply in debt. Most likely, because they are living above their means in order to keep up appearances. A classic example of this, is a person I once knew who owned a beautiful million-dollar home in an upper class community. This house was decorated with elegant furniture top to bottom, big screen TV, and she even drove a brand new Mercedes. A lifestyle enviable by many, but what most people didn't know is she could not afford to pay the electric bill and mortgage. Does that make sense to you? So it is important to understand that not everyone is rich in Canada, our idea of success is unrealistic and we are creating debt while in pursuit of riches.

#3) MONEY DOESN'T GROW ON TREES

In Canada, believe it or not, money is made from very hard work, long hours 5 days a week and for many even 6 or 7 days a week. There are some people who work 3 jobs just to make ends meet. Industrialization in Canada has created many jobs for skilled workers. However, many highly educated immigrants are found working such jobs as, slaughterhouses, taxi drivers, or janitorial jobs that most Canadians consider to be undesirable. These jobs do pay well because nobody wants to do them and they require very little training. Foreign credentials such as: medical, law, or any other degree obtained in a country outside Canada does not guarantee you a job in Canada. Your degree, which you worked hard for, may not be recognized by Canadian standards. To avoid disappointment it is important to understand what level of professional and academic standards you need to meet before you arrive.

#4) DISCRIMINATION & RACISM

If you are planning to migrate to Canada you must know that you may face this issue. Some cities are better than others but here in Alberta it might be the worst. A recent article in the Calgary Herald exposes Calgary as the hate crime capital of Canada. Growing up as an African Canadian in the 80's , at a time when there were few black families I faced a lot of issues with racism. Though there are more visible minorities now, this problem still exists. Recently I met a man from Russia who faces racial slurs daily at his work place, he said even though his skin is the same colour as there's they still discriminate against him because of his Russian accent. The fact that discrimination and racism can be very subtle and even non-verbal at times means that we need to work hard to prove ourselves at all times. Minorities are undervalued and may not have the same privileges as our Canadian counterpart, but we can still require respect in the work place or in school. The anti-harassment and discrimination policy is design to support us in this regard.

#5) CHANGE OF A LIFESTYLE

Canadian customs may be different from what your used to, but there are a few customs you may not be aware of. For example, it is customary to call and make an appointment to visit someone at their home, showing up unannounced is considered impolite. When you arrive make sure it's on time as Canadians value punctuality, don't forget to remove your shoes at the door at all times. Never make a comment about a women's weight if she is over weight, this is considered very disrespectful, you're better off commenting on weight loss as a compliment. In order to guarantee a successful social integration try to socialize with people outside of your cultural group. I notice a lot of immigrants of all different ethnicity's tend to only surround themselves with those from the same cultural background. I understand that meeting with people from the same country you're from is human nature, you have a lot in common such as: language, culture, or religion. But it is equally important to integrate into society by not segregating yourself. Spending time with people from other cultures is a good chance for others to learn about your culture and break the barriers that cause discrimination.

As you can see here, in the western part of the world things are not always what is seems. We may not have smoke and mirrors like a magician but we do a pretty good job at creating the illusion that we live the ideal perfect life. Make sure to prepare yourself by weighing the pros and cons. Now that you have this knowledge what are you going to do about it? Share this article with someone you know and create awareness through education because knowledge is power.

Oh My God, what shall we do now...?

I suppose we have to consider this as a challenge, and yes, part of our gift to nourish.. We consider the things that is happening and will be happening to us is part of God's plan. We have to fulfill this blessing no matter how good our lives here in China is or how our life would gonna be if we return to our home sweet home.. We're not really sure yet if this will actually materialize, but we believe that this might be the best way to give our children a chance to see the other side of the fence.

Confused yet blessed,

greeting cards

2009-01-31T22:22:00.009-05:00

I am sending greeting cards to all my friends whom I'd never met, yet touched my heart one way or another..

To Deanna of Timeless Things who showered me with awards and countless heart-warming comments.. She's the kind of friend I would like to have forever..

To Judith of Judith's Quiet Moments for the award and for the kind comments that never fails to touch me..

To Bonnie of One Designing Woman who had made my late mother's birthday more meaningful..

And to all my blog friends who are mothers, may I send you this..

Advanced Happy Valentines to all of you my sweet cyber friends..

and to Blogusvox of The Sandbox, Happy Birthday to you and your daughter.. May you have many more Birthdays to come.. He is the one who assists me with my technical deficiencies.. Thanks a lot.

night out

2009-01-30T22:04:00.014-05:00

Since we haven't been out for 3 straight days, we decided to take a night out. Pa has to work as well as our second son; so only myself, first son and our daughter who are both on vacation from work and school, gone out to have our dinner in Royalty Hotel to pass the time. Royalty Hotel has one of the cosiest western restaurant outlets in Shenzhen. You can hang around and enjoy their food, drinks, live band or just sit and relax while exploring the net with their free wireless internet access.

The live band by the way in Royalty Hotel is one of pa's bands. He has been supplying bands and providing entertainment services to various hotels, bars and restaurants in many parts of china. In case you need one, please give us a call..

After our meal, we decided to bar hop in Calio Bar. Pa also has a band there so we can always avail the 20% discount on all foods and drinks. I love Calio for its finger foods and cocktails and of course watching the live band because they are so good and yes, because my son is also moonlighting there. See the photo below..

feng shui

2009-01-29T23:48:00.015-05:00

We are definitely not Chinese, but we believe in feng shui.. Feng Shui however is not only for Chinese. It transcends cultural, economic, political as well as racial barriers. According to E. Moran, the term “feng shui” denotes the art and science of living in harmony with nature’s forces. As long as a person believe in God and supreme forces; has an open mind; believe that the world and its people are interconnected; believe that harmony and balance are essential to our well-being; and anyone who believe in a sense of fate and destiny; can be a practitioner or a believer of feng shui like us..

Actually, we’re kind of late to understand its advantages. I just started to read about it when our home was already built. According to some who has an extensive knowledge on feng shui, there are some areas in our home that needs to be modified. But there’s no way we would allow anyone destroy any part of our home.. That’s definitely a “NO!” Our home is a home that hard work built.. It is not leased nor mortgaged; we actually work so hard and save to build that. Thanks, solution is possible without turning our home up-side-down..

When I said our home, I am referring to our home in Baras. We are glad because it sits in the middle of a square lot which denotes stability and balance. Even the shape of our home is square which said to make qi able to flow freely and nourishes its occupants.. The problem lies in the position of doors in some of the rooms and pathways. But I was assured by other experts that it can be remedied if I put some of the following lucky charms in some locations in our home..

Crystals:
The word crystal comes from the Greek word krystallos, meaning "frozen light". Crystals have been used over the centuries for a myriad of purposes - from healing to protection to decoration.

Elephant:
Walking tall with trunk upraised in a traditional Feng Shui good fortune gesture, this decorative elephant statue makes a dramatic decor statement indoors or a fine addition to your Zen garden outdoors!

Dragon:
The symbol of power, good fortune, and wisdom. Other decors such as Chinese Lantern which signifies Peace, Love, Harmony, Joy Characters and Chimes..

Hong Tze Chinese Style Galloping Horses Sculpture made of resin and many more..

Tip:
Never place a mirror where it directly reflects the front door, it serves as an gesture for the non-welcome to the house or the room.

Idle..

2009-01-28T22:22:00.010-05:00

Humans are such complicated creatures.. Like myself for example, I am in a terrible idle mood right now.. Boredom beats me. I am supposedly enjoying my 7-day vacation but suddenly I am longing to work back in my office and return to the normal chaos I used to face at work..

Oh my, isn't this very long holiday is what I had prayed for many times before..? That because I am so burned out with my monotonous office life, I always hoped for the long vacation to change that? Here I am now sitting in my home office trying to figure out how to spend my suddenly "too much" long vacation... hmmn..

Just like complaining when the summer heat makes you sweat and complaining when the very cold winter winds freeze your brains out.. It goes like:

"God it's so hot, I hope the winter season comes soon.."
-or-
"God it's so cold, I hope the summer season comes soon.."

Note: Let's not include the spring and the fall to make my blog more melodramatic.. hehehe ;)

Anyway, thanks so much we have such a cool God up there who always understand our grunts and complaints.. Now I am suddenly ashamed of myself.. I guess I'd better start my day right and enjoy my life as it is..

Barbecue Party..

2009-01-27T11:07:00.018-05:00

Our party really rocks! We had such a wonderful time in Donghu Park during our barbecue party last Monday. Every year, 2L3Bs used to host a party for our friends, love ones and extended families here in China. For many years now, we always cherish the fun and excitement we all experienced during those annual parties we had. And this year is kind of extra special for many reasons:

* We had an outdoor party and found it really more exciting and fun than the previous years. We used to celebrate it indoors such as in the hotel or in our home.. But this year, Donghu Park is the place to be.. It has a lot to offer like the amazing scenery's, amusement area, bar and the lake where you can have some fishing and barbecue party at any of their secluded spots.. This is the entrance to the Donghu Park..

* Our party this year coincides with the Chinese New Year.. Thank God, we had booked the venue a week before the actual party because Donghu Park was full of people frolicking around the park when we arrived.

* We had finally met one of our blogmates (dot&co). We're so happy to finally met Grande, Dot and their son Gabe. Such a beautiful family.. We really enjoyed their company. We hope to meet them again soon.. I was so thankful that I found Dot in the blogger.com

* We also had our gift-giving as a way of thanking our friends for all the love and concern they had imparted to us..

Here are the rest of the photos. Some can be found in our friendster site at
http://profiles.friendster.com/51347119

See you again next year folks..! We love you all..

Message from Nam

2009-01-23T22:33:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite past time during my office breaks is to hang out in the bookshops nearby. Since Chinese New Year holiday would mean a 7-day non-working holiday for me while another month for my daughter before her new school term starts, I decided to buy us few paperbacks to pass the time. My daughter requested for the New Moon but unfortunately, the Commercial Press Bookstore in Shatin do not have an english version at the moment so I browsed in the best sellers' aisle and see the latest from John Grisham and Jeffrey Archer instead.. There are lots of new ones and realized I’d been too far behind up-grading my book collections. I haven’t buy any book since August last year.. I almost got all John Grisham’s except the Skipping Christmas, Playing for Pizza, The Appeal and the Pelican Brief.. Jeffrey Archer has a lot of new novels to date but instead buying any of those, I ended up taking my chances with a Message from Nam by Danielle Steel.

Maybe because it is kind of related to what is going on in America right now wherein the new president is still undecided as to what he would do with the war he had inherited from the previous administration; basically quite similar to what had been faced by the presidents in those era, like the two President Kennedys and President Johnson..

Or maybe because I just came from Vietnam few weeks ago on a business trip. I was there and then I realized that I had actually set foot in the exact location where the war had actually happened that caused the lost of so many lives especially young americans and brought insurmountable sorrow to many families all over the world. Note that Philippine troops had been the closest American allies during those times and so our country too had grieved.

Photo of myself with my colleagues and Vietnam Foreign Trade and Investment Director taken during my recent business trip to Ho Chi Mihn, Vietnam

A Message from Nam is an old novel published in the 1990’s yet I found the story too relevant to what is really going on right now. The genre is considered a romantic novel but actually has a lot of historical values. Reading it would make you realize that “history really repeats itself..”

Author: Danielle Steel
ISBN-10: 0385299079
ISBN-13: 9780385299077
Format: Hardcover
Publication Year: 1990
ePID: 153951Publisher's Note
As a journalist, Paxton Andrews would experience Vietnam firsthand. We follow her from high school in Savannah to college in Berkeley and then to work in Saigon.For the soldiers she knew and met there, Viet Nam would change their lives in ways they could never have imagined. For the men in her life, Viet Nam would change their lives in ways hey could not escape or deny. Peter Wilson, fresh from law school, was a new recruit who would confont his fate in Da Nang. Ralph Johnson, a seasoned AP correspondent, had been in Saigon since the beginning. He knew Vietnam and the war inside out. Bill Quinn, captain of the Cu Chi tunnel rats, was on his fourth tour of duty and it seemed nothing could touch him. Sergeant Tony Campobello had come to Vietnam from the streets of New York to vent a rage that had followed him all the way to Saigon. For seven years Paxton Andrews would write an acclaimed newspaper column from the front before finally returning to the States and then attending the Paris peace talks. But for her and the men who fought in Viet Nam, life would never be the same again.

For seven years Paxton Andrews wrote an acclaimed newspaper column from the front lines of the Vietnam War. For Paxton and the soldiers she knew, the war was like a nightmare from which they could not rouse themselves. In thi s monumental work about America's most tragic hour, Danielle Steel creates a powerful portrait of those who were changed forever by the Vietnam War.

Welcoming the Gods of Wealth and Prosperity

2009-01-22T22:34:00.004-05:00

Kung Hai Fat Choi...

As alien residents of China for over a decade, we tend to live and consider ourselves as one of the locals. We can speak their language although not as fluent as we hoped to be and begun to love their foods and enjoy the lifestyle that only the mainland could possibly give…Throughout the years we were able to accumulate and establish good relationships with our kind-hearted Chinese friends, associates and colleagues. We even celebrate their glory, cry on their defeat and begun to embrace their traditions just like the celebration of the Chinese New Year.

We are one among those who are excited because China and all the Chinese people all over the world shall celebrate the New Year this coming Jan. 26, 27, and 28.. These however are just the official dates but basically, chinese here in the mainland shall celebrate the Lunar New Year within 15 days..

The Chinese New Year is an event where families gather together for thanksgiving and traditionally highlighted with the ceremony given in honor of gods of Heaven and Earth. And during the family gatherings, they highly acknowledge the spirit of their ancestors as well as the presence of the elderly by arranging sumptuous array of native foods and delicacies. They basically prepare communal feast to symbolize family unity..

Prior to the celebration, the Chinese families decorate their homes with vases of blooming plants and flowers, platters of oranges, tangerines and a candy tray with eight varieties of dried sweet fruit. Their walls and doors are decorated with red paper decors with happy wishes written on it.

We had our home decorated with all of these.. I had our door and wall decorated with prosperity symbols like Jie Cai Ceng as represented by the above characters. Myself and pa had bought a small tangerine tree with lots fruits and decorate the branches with red envelopes with some coins inside. I actually placed 5 coins each envelopes to signify each member of the 2L3Bs..

Kung Hei Fat Choi everyone!!

a thank you note and a poem

2009-01-21T22:38:00.005-05:00

May I offer this THANK YOU note to the two lovely women..

Deanna and Judith, your comments really means a lot to me and my family and may we send you this little flower of thanks and a poem to express how your friendship means to us..

A Friend Like You
by Merlyn Sprankling

A friend like you is hard to come by,
you’re so dear as you’re always there for me to say hi!
I thank you, as you made your full heart open,
and I pray that our friendship never be broken.
Two cords, they say, are better than one
you and I, and me and you, and it is done!

Happy Birthday Nanay..

2009-01-21T03:55:00.005-05:00

'Nanay' is a tagalog word which means 'mother' in english..

It's my late mother's birthday today. I am missing her so much. I wish I could hug and kiss her, show her all my love that is overflowing right now.. I wish I could buy her all her favourite things and provide her with all the comfort that she might need.. She's supposed to be enjoying her 79th birthday today if Alzheimer's disease did not took her away from us..

A happy photo of my mother with our children when they were small taken in Renaissance Hotel during one of our vacations

My dearest mother passed away last February 2000. She's far from perfect but I would never ever wish for anyone else. We might have had an unconventional family life when I was a kid but for me she'll always be the best and the most wonderful mother in this whole wide world..!

I love you nanay.. I know you're enjoying yourself out there... I sent you my prayer this morning and here's our hugs and kisses... Pa and your grandchildren also misses and loves you so much..

simple little things

2009-01-20T09:26:00.005-05:00

It was pa's day off so he picked me up from work yesterday. We had our chinese lunch in a nearby restaurant. We always cherish the simple little things we do together like walking hand in hand laughing like teenagers gone out on their first date blushing and making some fun..

"Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don't collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don't really mean anything." --Norman Lear

"We can not do great things. We can only do little things with great love."
--Mother Teresa

I'd been tagged..

2009-01-18T22:24:00.006-05:00

Hahahaha I'd been tagged by Deanna.. I actually never imagine being a part of this exciting game in the blogs world..

Here are the rules:
Link to the person who tagged you. Post the rules in your blog. Write 7 random things about yourself. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and link to them. Let each person know they've been tagged.

7 Random Things about myself:
1. I love to collect and display photo frames with memorable photos on it.. My family used to complain because our homes cannot accomodate it anymore..
2. I used to buy signature wrist watches, gold and platinum jewelries for myself and my daughter but we never wear it.
3. I had acquired so many shoes and handbags but I don't seem to need it.. I only use my knap sack and running shoes when going to my office almost everyday...
4. I walk so fast that even my children and my husband cannot out-run me..
5. I like to read and collect books written by John Grisham, Jeffrey Archer, Stephen King, Danielle Steele, Jackie Collins, Barbara Bradford Taylor and Dean Koontz..
6. I am a fan and collector of famous American TV series such as the Desperate Housewife (seasons 1,2,3,4 and 5!), Brothers and Sisters (seasons 1 and 2.. soon 3), 7th Heaven, Gossip Girls, Gilmore Girls and the Mistresses
7. I love to eat well-done lamb steak..

Oh my, I only got few on my list which I love to read. I'm not sure if male and some female bloggers are apt to this.. Hehehe.. Anyway, here are my seven picks. I can't wait to read them:
Judith's Quiet Moments
blogusvox
asouthernrose
cookecreeksheep
Christmas with Skobbore
livinginsaigonvietnam
dot&co.
Thanks Deanna, I also got your mail from my e-mail address.

for our friend deanna and shopping trip

2009-01-17T22:07:00.021-05:00

There are many reasons why it is really a blessing for us to have been able to live and work here in China particularly here in Shenzhen. There are lots of topics to discuss and issues to note but it would take me forever to blog that.. Anyway, my intro for today is kind of uplifting our sweet home away from home because here in Shenzhen is where you can find lots of timeless things that my blog friend Deanna would gonna love to collect.

During one of my shopping trips, I had found a bird cage candle holders so I bought one for myself and one for our new-found-friend Deanna. I hope you would like this as a simple token of our friendship..

NEW TOWN PLAZA SHOPPING TRIP
Aside from shopping trips to hundreds of interior design and thrift shops for home decors here in Shenzhen, we also used to go shopping in Hong Kong for buying clothes, toiletries, apparels and a lot, lot more.. I used to work and submit my sales report every Saturday in our Hong Kong Office.. So yesterday, myself and my daughter after my office hour, had a fun time exploring the New Town Plaza in Hong Kong where we shopped till we drop.. My company being owned by a Hong Kong Chinese descent do not give our bonus during the usual Christmas season, we receive our 13-month-pay during the Chinese New Year which falls on Jan 26,27,28 this year.. And yes, I got mine yesterday so my daughter really had a fantastic day buying gifts for ourselves, for our loveones and friends to be given away on our supposed chinese new year party on the 26th..

This is our Hong Kong Office Building.. I took the shot right after my office hour and meet my daughter so we can do our shopping in New Town Plaza, about 10 minutes drive..

My daughter on our way to the New Town Plaza..

This was taken inside the New Town Plaza, wherein a gigantic chinese lantern is on display to commemorate the Chinese New Year!!

Maybe the reason why they called it New Town Plaza is because it was basically located in an old Shatin Town and had just embraced the latest development.. I had the chance to shoot the photo of the brick houses near the highly-modern New Town Plaza where thousands of people shop.. You can see here the startling contrasts of the old and the new..

This is the way to the parking area of the New Town Plaza in Shatin..

This is the KCR station where the New Town Plaza is located.

We took our time to get our brunch here.. Gosh, we're so tired from walking and carrying shopping bags full of toiletries, clothes, apparels, chocolates and more..

Our brunch.. It's not that yummy though.. The shop offers japanese foods except that the taste are so much Chinese.. hays..

My daughter getting herself a hand cream in Marks and Spencer.. Marks and Spencer Hong Kong are offering 50-70% discount on some of their adorable items.. I bought one shirt there and it's really gorgeous.. I'll gonna wear it on our b-b-que party..We just love shopping there..

We ended our day resting in Ciao Bella Caffe where we had our mint-chololate and vanilla flavoured ice cream before heading back to China... We arrived home at 10 pm and very tired...

picturesque

2009-01-15T22:08:00.006-05:00

The strikingly charming photos below are the sceneries of the East Lake Reservoir which runs from Aiguo Road to Shawan Road I used to travel on my way to work..
Who am i to complain about my daily travels to and from my office? This view is such a gift..

I consider this a blessing, to see the beauty of nature for free.. except that at the end of the Shawan Road, these man-made constructions brought about by the erection of the new Metro Line extension would surely make you swear how monstrous a man could be in order to embrace the so-called development..

My office is in Henggang, actually located in the heart of the new development. According to the update below, the Metro Line 3 shall be completed by 2011.. Gee, few more years of suffering from traffic and distorted view of nature..

METRO LINE 3:
Source: http://en.lg.gov.cn/en-web/LGHJ.aspx?govlid=451
Metro Line 3 (M3) now under construction is one of the alignments enjoying priority for development in Shenzhen Rail Transit Phase II Project. M3 is 41.66km in full length and its Phase I project starts at Hongling Central Road and ends at Longgang Shuangiong Interchange, cutting through three districts such as Longgang, Luohu and Futian via 5 sub districts such as Buji, Nanwan, Henggang, Longgang and Longcheng, The project has begun the stage of its major structure construction and is planned to open to traffic in June 2010. The western extension from Hongling Road to Yitian in Futian District Phase II of the project has started in the late 2007 and is planned to open to traffic in June 2011
The above photo suggests that this is how it would gonna look like when the infrastructure ends.. Hmmmm..

Holy Bible

2009-01-14T22:30:00.009-05:00

I was on my way to my office this morning and a word suddenly comes out of my mind.. Maybe because I was saying my holy rosary that’s why the word “Bible” suddenly comes out.

To tell you the truth, our family is no longer that religious since we moved here in China. Although my husband and myself had actively served as a choir member for many years in our parish back home as well as my children who also served as one of the acolytes, we haven’t had the chance now to become a part of any religious organizations since 1994.

Anyway, I was just considering a thought that maybe the reason why the word “bible” popped out is because I really enjoy praying the holy rosary. Other than my wish to thank and praise our Mama Mary and our Lord by offering my daily prayers, I highly enjoy saying it maybe because I had been fortunate enough to have had read the holy bible during my younger years. I was lucky to became a recipient of a two-volume-cartoon-version of the holy bible when I was 10. In my belief, Holy Bible and the Holy Rosary co-exists because you have to re liven the story of the life Christ and Mama Mary in every mysteries when praying the holy rosary.

My late mother who was then a government employee for 38 years worked in a Psychological Service Department of the National Center For Mental Health in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. She used to bring me to her office during my entire primary school summer vacations. My late mother’s office mates were mostly single then so I always end up playing with the oldies during their spare time and while they were at work, I had no options but play with my dolls or read my Bible.. Lucky there were no computers then so I only got the choice of changing the clothes and braiding the hair of my walking dolls or read..! I preferred mostly to read that was why at the end of the summer which starts from April and ends first week of June, I was able to read the complete two versions of the Bible comprising of the Old and New Testament..

Believe me, I was 10 and I terribly enjoyed reading the Holy Bible because it is in realistic cartoon form.. And you know what? As of today, every time I say my rosary, the same image of the life of Christ and Mama Mary as seen in my comic bible vividly comes back to me in each of every mystery.

When my children were younger, I bought them similar bible and I was kind of happy because they read enough of it, especially our daughter, to make them understand the life of Christ. Although I’m not that joyous, I don’t know if I have to blame it on the new technology where children has now a lot of options how to use their spare time or maybe because the children of today no longer brace their religions; my children however prays and never forget to thank their blessings.. And I’m thankful for that...

I just hope that baby boomers of today can find the way to buy their children the simplest bible version during their younger years and if possible in a realistic-cartoon form because I’m telling you, it works..

“We call a child’s mind “small” simply by habit; perhaps it is larger than ours is, for it can take in almost anything without effort” (-Christopher Morley, 1890-1957)

thanks deanna

2009-01-13T23:25:00.005-05:00

for the uplifting balloons..
it really made my day..

caricatures

2009-01-13T22:19:00.003-05:00

I was actually not in the mood for anything yesterday. Although I had accomplished vast amount of my workloads during the first half of the day, i became sleepy when the second half starts.. so what i did was logged on to my blog spot, post a bit of my thoughts then checked the feedjit live to see if there's something from the shenzhen blogter's list that could interest and wake me up..

It took several number of hits from the supposed shenzhen feedjit live blosgters list when i encountered the SandBox posted by blogusvox. I thought all bloggers from shenzhen lists were really from our area but i realized i was reading from someone who is in Saudi Arabia.. I took my time to read this one because of the caricature he embedded in his post 'Buhay Buhangin'.. It fascinates me because it is very true, noting that we used to be in that kind of situation more often than we anticipated..

Since his post has roused me from slumber, i decided to jot him a line.. he responded back and you know what? i'm glad i did.. I suddenly found the substance i needed to start my day right..(o 'yung 'humility' wag lilimutin, huh?) hehehe...

See you again blogusvox..

Another blogs that keeps my day brighter are those from Deanna and Judith..

Have a great day everyone..!

funny..

2009-01-12T23:30:00.004-05:00

when i had our very first family blog in our Friendster site (http://profiles.friendster.com/51347119), lots of thoughts and ideas used to pop out of my head longing to get written all over our blog site. It was so frustrating because fs blogsite is not easily accessible to users unlike this one... So i begun to collect all my thoughts and jot it down on a weekly basis.

Have you ever experienced having a lot of thoughts and ideas on almost about anything but you have no outlet, no one to talk to and nobody wants to hear it..? it's unnerving, isn't it...?

As i had mentioned before, i'm supposed to get thankful now that we finally have this http://www.2L3Bs.blogspot.com from blogger.com, wherein you can jot down all your thoughts and ideas any time, anywhere without fuss and buzz.. BUT you know what? It seems that because up-dating is now easily accessible anytime, anywhere, my enthusiasm begun to fade...

it's like dreaming of owning a new state-of-the-art thread mill you just seen on tv.. you begun to see yourself using it everyday to shed pound and pounds of fats but when the threadmill is at your finger tips, you suddenly realize it's not that exciting anymore..

funny yet ironic..

impatience

2009-01-11T23:01:00.006-05:00

We may have offended someone due to our impatience. I hope I can disclose who this person is but I cannot. He is one of the most important persons in 2L3Bs lives especially at this stage wherein achieving our ultimate dream still remains detached. He provides unwavering support and assistance to us and we consider him as the key person why we still has enough reason to keep our hopes high.

Please LORD and MAMA MARY, help us make him understand that we only e-mailed him because we are trying to find some answers to our questions and doubts. Please forgive us... I hope that we'll not be forsaken for the impatience we had imparted.

This is one lesson learned:
"Patience is really a virtue..."

twinkler's party

2009-01-09T22:09:00.007-05:00

i'm here in my hong kong office until 1pm and i gotta hurry back to china to travel from shenzhen to guaming to attend the twinkler's party.

twinkler is a company that manufactures and distribute high-end christmas lights, fun impulse premium products and lighting accessories all over the world. every year, my pa's company used to supply them with entertainers to perform live during their annual dinner gala and party for their staff and employees. this has been our 6th year now and we are mighty glad they always uses my pa's entertainment services every year. as part of the crew, myself and my family are included in the list of the attendees. they're like family the way they welcome us and every year you'll see the same jolly faces of people we met wayback years ago.

have a nice weekend everyone..

sunny

2009-01-08T21:45:00.004-05:00

the word alone makes me smile..

it's cold yet i'm happy unlike the past days wherein the weather really seeped-in even to my very soul; making me melancholy and sad maybe because the past days before the new year had been cloudy all along..

it's a sunny day today and this made me believed that 2009 will be a sunny year for the 2L3Bs. the bits and pieces of the old year still lingers but i'm sure our 2009 would be the year of change. i'm no longer sick and doing well with my sales load; papa's business might be hibernating for a while but we're confident it would kick in later this month; our eldest shall start a new career with a bang on march; our second born finally got his diploma and transcripts from raffles and i guess would inspire him to focus on his future this time; our daughter after receiving her certificate from GUFS shall start schooling again after the chinese new year.

i like it when it's cold yet there's the sunshine to keep you warm. sunny days really makes me more optimistic in facing life as it is.. :)

Blog Awards

2009-01-08T00:31:00.005-05:00

I was surprised after receiving a mail from my dearest blog friend Deanna stating that I am one among those blog awardees. I am so happy to receive such awards from you Deanna. You made blogging more fun and interesting. And as a tribute, I had placed all the awards I had received in our blogspot layout. Here are the best among those you had awarded me:

This award you gave me added extra touch to our blogsite.Thanks a lot again Deanna...

back to work

2009-01-07T21:58:00.003-05:00

Although I would surely miss the pampering at home, I chose to come back here in my office today instead. I miss working after 7 days of being away for sick leave. I'm feeling better now. I'm tired of resting.

Thinking that the Chinese New Year is fast approaching, more holidays are at hand. Too much holidays, don't you think? Yeheyy..!

recuperating

2009-01-06T20:41:00.010-05:00

Women in their 40s tend to suffer from hormonal imbalances in various degrees. I had suffered from it since middle of October last year and so I was advised by our dearest Ate Vernie, one of the well-known OB Gyne back home, to take Primolut N since December. Bleeding is anticipated after 10 days of medication.

What we had not anticipated is the time when it would occur. To our dismay, I had mine exactly on the New Years eve so the entire 2L3Bs and our extended families here spent our 1st day of 2009 in Shenzhen Hospital. Although I had suffered from excruciating pain, I still feel highly blessed because I was finally cured and most importantly, I had felt all the love and concern of those around me. After receiving a clean bill of health from my Chinese OB Gyne, I am finally home now and recuperating.

I am supposed to jot down how we had celebrated our new year before the bleeding but I guess I gotta do that later. May I in this instance thank all the people that had extended their love and concern during my ailments. My dearest loving husband who never left my side, my dearest children, our kind-hearted Ate Vernie (MD), Dr. Sau Hau Tau, Dr. Anita Sun (my OB Gyne in Hong Kong), Amy, Jerah, Laila, Susan R, Leah, T2 Tiny, T2 Elvis, Grace, Cristy, Roger, Jerome, Susan C and our pangyaw. And above all, may this be the time for me and my family to ceaselessly thank MAMA MARY and our LORD. Words ain't enough to express how our hearts were deeply touched by YOUR mercy..

Media Noche

2008-12-30T23:12:00.004-05:00

We'll gonna have Roast Pork with Glaze, Menudo, Embutido, Roast Chicken, Sopas, Vegetable Salad and Egg Sandwich.. And for desert, we'll gonna have our favourite cheese, fruit cake and sticky rice bibingka plus 8 kinds of fruits to welcome the New Year!!!

We'll be in Meilin Hotel at 7:30 to 9:30 then head to Shekou before mignight. 2L3Bs shall celebrate the Media Noche in our home... :)

Happy New Year everyone... May love, peace, compassion and harmony linger in our hearts forever and may the coming year be filled with Godliness, hope, good health and prosperity...!

Cloudy

2008-12-30T02:02:00.009-05:00

It's cloudy here in Shenzhen. The weather is 15C with occasional drizzle. Maybe because of the weather that's why I'm feeling blue somehow. I don't feel right. I just want to stay in bed and let this black spell expires on its own.

I'd been sitting in front of my office computer with nothing to do. Not so busy this time of the year. All of my overseas customers seems away or on vacation. I don't feel right at all. I'm not even excited about what we're going to prepare for tommorow's midnight feast. I hope this bad mood simply dissapear when the new year comes.. and pray never to come back forever..

Or maybe I'm having this so-called mid-life crisis? Hmm..

I guess I have to extend more prayer of thanks to the LORD and MAMA MARY for giving me a husband and children like mine who understand and cheer me up especially in times like this. 2L3Bs are not perfect at all. Actually, we're more of a dysfunctional bunch in a hippie kind of way... but God, I'm so glad I have this wonderful family to thank for. Maraming Salamat PO..

I love you papa, your text messages really made my day.. (tears of joy is flowing...)

FACTS ABOUT MID-LIFE CRISIS
(source: By Cathy Meyer, About.com)
A midlife crisis is experienced between the ages of 40 and 60. It was first identified by the psychologist Carl Jung and is a normal part of the maturing process. Most people will experience some form of emotional transition during that time of life. A transition that might cause you to take stock in where you are in life and make some needed adjustments to the way you live your life. Most seem to come through the process smoothly without making major life changes.

For some a midlife crisis is more complicated. It can be an uncomfortable time emotionally which can lead to depression and the need for psychotherapy. Those who have a hard time with this transitional stage might experience a wide range of feelings, such as:

-Unhappiness with life and the lifestyle that may have provided them with happiness for many years.

-Boredom with people and things that may have been of interest to them before.

-Feeling a need for adventure and change.

-Questioning the choices, they have made in their lives and the validity of decisions they made years before.

-Anger at their spouse or children and blame for feeling tied down.

-Unable to make decisions about where they want to go with their life.

-A desire for a renewed and passionate, intimate relationship with spouse.

According to Wikipedia, midlife crisis is a term used in Western societies to describe a period of dramatic self-doubt that is felt by some individuals in the "middle years" of life, as a result of sensing the passing of youth and the imminence of old age. Sometimes, transitions experienced in these years, such as aging in general, menopause, the death of parents, or children leaving home, can trigger such a crisis. The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day to day life or situation, such as in career, marriage, or romantic relationships.

Many middle aged adults experience major life events that can cause a period of psychological stress or depression. Researchers have found that midlife is often a time for reflection and reassessment, but this is not always accompanied by the psychological upheaval popularly associated with "midlife crisis".

Christmas Vacation

2008-12-28T08:00:00.036-05:00

We're back from our emotionally-filled yet joyful Christmas vacation.. We had spent wonderful time exploring the sights and sounds of Chanping; found ourselves somehow; enjoyed the company of friends and relaxed to our hearts content during our 5 days of fun.. Such a meaningful way to spend Christmas with the family.

We arrived in Chanping near midnight so we decided to go directly to the LA Bar to cheer the birth of Christ with friends at 12. Then gone to book ourselves to a local hotel later where I became too emotionally struck. After awhile, we refreshed ourselves then headed straight to the party for Kris Kringle. The exchange gift was really fun. Since 2L3Bs plan to minimize accumulating bulky stuff this year, we prepared our suitable gifts for each other and this time everyone received signature perfumes.

The most exciting part is trying out some of the gourmet and local foods around.We had our Christmas dinner at the Gordon King Steak and Grill, Christmas Lunch at the Bistro Palace, various food outlets during lunch and had a wonderful time in LA Bar every night. Yes, we don't find the time to eat our breakfasts during our entire stay because we always end up sleeping at 4am and usually start our day at 3pm..

Other than food trips, we also enjoyed the party and received some gifts plus some time spent at the game slots in the LA bar... We also had the chance to roam around in computer shops, starbucks and various malls where we enjoyed our shopping spree.

The vacation too became an eye opener to us as couple and parents to our children. Pa and myself had the chance to touch the very core of how much we felt for each other including the fundamental issues about our lives. Such a surge of emotions.. I guess we really deserved this out of town trips once in a while..

See more of our Christmas Vacation 2008 photos in our Friendster site: http://profiles.friendster.com/51347119

nativity and noche buena

2008-12-23T21:56:00.007-05:00

Take time to be aware that in the very midst of our busy preparations for the celebration of Christ’s birth in ancient Bethlehem, Christ is reborn in the Bethlehems of our homes and daily lives. Take time, slow down, be still, be awake to the Divine Mystery that looks so common and so ordinary yet is wondrously present.

The 2L3Bs won't be having our noche buena in our china home this time of the year.. we shall celebrate the birth of Christ in Chanping instead.. We already packed all our belongings and gifts for our Kris Kringle..Whoa, we're kind of excited.. :)
but nothing can replace the Christmas celebration inside the comfort of our home.. we will highly miss pa's roasted chicken and the sumptous meals we used to prepare.. got no choice but to enjoy hotel meals instead.. Being together counts most anyway.. ;)

May you have a blessed Christmas everyone!!!

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree is the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other (-Burton Hills)