This past weekend I got to see my first piano recital. I have never played the piano, and in fact, I have very little musical talent to boast of. It always amazes me when I see other people do musical things because it’s so far removed from what I feel I am capable of doing. I also think this keeps me from being able to appreciate it as much as other people, but I enjoy it as much as I can.

I also got to watch game two of the Lakers v. Celtics Finals Championship Series. The first two games were horribly officiated. Ridiculous calls were made on both sides, and it’s hard to tell what the reason for it was. Conspiracy theorists will blather about how the NBA as a business profits more from longer series since there is so much advertising money at stake. There is probably some truth to that, but I think it would be something of a miracle to produce any kind of evidence to support that, or any other related notion. Regardless, I have enjoyed watching the games, frustrating though they may be at times. (more…)

How much would you pay for a price of a smile?

These past couple of weeks I’ve been in a weird mood – neither happy nor sad. I think the best way to describe it is “blah.” I was in a “blah” mood, probably approaching depression, but not quite there yet. Anyway, I was working at an event with my fellow balloon twister, “Balloonloodle”. As we were making balloons for this particular event, we came across a child who was in a wheelchair. (more…)

I’ve been cooking a lot more these days than before. Maybe I’m getting older…or am starting to take this whole global recession thing seriously. Whatever the reason, one great thing is that I have a clearer idea of what I’m actually eating. Or do I? I now have an annoying habit of checking into every little detail of what I’m eating. Where are these apples from? What ocean do these sardines come from? Is my salmon really orange? Wait…what? (more…)

What if life after death was known?

What if we knew with 100% certainty that we would all be going somewhere, even if it was just right back to earth and being reincarnated as something or someone else?

What if your report card was judged by the quality of people who attended your funeral?

What if you were judged by the things they said about you after you were gone? (more…)

A lot of interesting stuff happened this week in terms of people, particularly celebrities, coming out. Ricky Martin announces that he is gay and Anna Paquin announces that she is bisexual as a PSA for Cyndi Lauper’s “Give A Damn” campaign. (more…)

Qingming Festival is coming up. As I am told, it usually falls on April 5th – 104 days after winter solstice. However, the association that we belong to will be celebrating it on the April 18th.

I always find it interesting how many Chinese holidays there are in the year. Most of them I have never heard of, but this one (Qingming) is of particular importance to me. The purpose of the festival is to honor your ancestors – “Grave Sweeping Day,” it is sometimes called. As I have read on Wikipedia, Qingming rites are usually celebrated amongst the farmers and have very traditional rituals devoted to the ancestors. (more…)

Eventually, I will have to face the facts: I am not getting any younger. I can’t do the things that I could do when I was younger. My body is changing, my metabolism is changing, and it takes a lot longer to heal from injuries than when I was younger. I remember those days when a sprained ankle only took a couple of days to heal and then I was back to 100%. Now, sprained ankles take many more days to heal. Back problems seem to be creeping into my daily life. Aside from the physical ailments, I also remember the times when I could eat a mountain of food and not suffer any extreme consequences. (more…)

Over the holidays, I had the opportunity to clean up my room at my parent’s house. There is something that is quite liberating when you can get rid of stuff. It makes you feel so…clean. If you get emotionally attached to things like I do, the thought of letting something go can be quite painful. However, not all things end up in the trash. (more…)

I read somewhere that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. Having spent the holidays and opened the new year with close family and friends, I can say there were a lot of smiles on our faces. It has been an extremely tough 2009 for everyone on all levels and aspects of life, both personal and professional. (more…)

It’s 2010! This last year in particular seemed to just fly by when I think about all that has happened, and all that didn’t happen. There are blessings to be found in both areas for most people, I would think. (more…)