台美媽媽 Taiwan Moms Are US

《保庇》 Let the Greater Power Protect Us!

2010-12-11T15:30:00.000-08:00

2010 已經接近尾聲。在此希望所有的親朋好友能感受到神的保庇。在此獻上王彩樺所唱的《保庇》 BOBEE! 好台喔!

Since 2010 is near the end, I would like to wish all the friends and loved ones a happy and prosperous new year! May the greater power protect us all. Enjoy BOBEE (a Taiwanese adapted Korean song) which reflects the spiritual aspects of the Taiwanese life.

公主與王子 Happily Ever After!

2010-11-16T14:09:00.000-08:00

Has it been 30 years since Princess Diana's wedding?! I remember waking up hours before school to watch Princess Diana's wedding. Of course, Princess Diana did not live to see her sons grow up. When Prince William announced his engagement to Kate Middleton this morning, I can't help but feeling happiness for him and his future bride. I will be up and early the day of their wedding so I can watch it on TV like billions of people around the world, wishing them the best to come.

今天一早起來就看到這則新聞。英國的威廉王子及女友 Kate Middleton宣布訂婚,將在明年春夏舉行婚禮。這將又是一場世紀婚禮。準新娘漂亮、身材好、有學識、有氣質。好像一出生就是準備要來當公主的。將來,當她先生登基之後, 她就是女王了。不知不覺的,我也跟著高興起來, 好像看到自己的兒子選到好伴侶的一樣高興。回想三十年前, 我還特別早起,為了就是要收看威廉王子的母親黛安娜王妃婚禮的現場電視轉播。雖然母親的婚姻不甚理想, 希望威廉王子能有個平實、幸福的婚姻。祝福他們了!

台灣的查某人 Women of Taiwan

2010-11-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

I grew up with the values expressed in this short docu-drama--selflessness, frugality, and unspoken love. Even though most of my female relatives never had to work like the women depicted in the film, they were discriminated nevertheless because they are women and/or because they only gave birth to daughters. My own grandmother's name is 罔市 which in Taiwanese sounds to mean "might as well feed her". She was the 4th daughter of a wealthy Taipei merchant. She grew up with servants, but my great-grandfather's obviously wanted a male heir very badly. I am sure that plagued my grandmother and her mother all their lives.

My own mother had 2 daughters and, to this day, she feels insecure about her position in the family (or that my father would have a legitimate excuse to have an affair) because she did not have a son. My mother is in her mid-70s and went to Taiwan University. Being a truly educated and modern working woman in the 1960s and 1970s did not change the way she thinks about the pre-defined roles of men and women in Taiwan. Just to set the record straight, my father remained a faithful husband without a son.

Even after we immigrated to Canada, my mother expected my sister and I to behave a certain way. Things didn't let up after we got married. When my mother found out I was expecting a baby girl, she told me I would need to have another baby, preferably a son, so my husband (and his family) would not have an excuse to divorce me. I told her if my marriage is based on me producing a son, then I would be the one divorcing my husband.

So getting back to this docu-drama, Director Wu's short docu-drama touched me in a different way. I think he was trying to examine the value system behind the role of a woman (or a mother) in a traditional (or even modern) Taiwanese family.

I would consider my own family fairly modern. We also live in the United States, thousands of miles away from Taiwan. But our value system remains the same. Children's needs always get priority. Of course, we no longer have to share a fish, but inevitably, the best part of the fish will be given to the children and the husband. Eating the tail part of a fish becomes second nature to me.

When I was single, I would not hesitate to spend NT$50,000 on a purse or an outfit. But now, I would think twice before buying a pair of US$50 shoes. No, my financial circumstance did not change, but I changed. The frugal aspect of my upbringing kicked in when I got married and became a mom.

Sure, many would criticize that Director Wu's docu-drama only represented a small segment of the Taiwanese population, but I believe the Taiwanese mentality have permeated all aspects of Taiwanese lives across the social-economic strata for over 400 years. Even those of us who have moved away from the island for over 35 years cannot get away from that so easily.

我是台灣出生的查某人。雖然我大半輩子都是在國外生活, 可是卻逃離不了台灣女人的宿命。結婚生子是人生必經之路。可是在我二十八歲那一年,我的 “真命天使” 還未出現,在台灣工作的我面臨了我一生當中最大的挑戰。之後,我花了五年的時間不停的相親。一方面安撫父母親的焦慮, 一方面我也試著在調整自己的價值觀及信念問題。一位有高學歷、高薪、及良好生活機能的三十歲女人需要因為社會的壓力而結婚嗎? 我不知道我去過多少廟抽過多少簽。每個簽都說我沒有尼姑命! 叫我要晚婚。所以我是相信命運的。時間到了,緣份到了,也就嫁了。

婚後,定居美國,所以沒有台灣女人的枷鎖及負擔。公婆是台灣人, 可是很開明, 我完全不用伺候他們。他們只要我們小倆口高興快樂就好。可是當人妻人母之後, 在那氛圍之下, 很自然的就知道要相夫教子、孝順公婆、省吃撿用。我看到很多從臺灣嫁到美國來的媳婦, 每一位都是 "刻苦耐勞" (克服語言障礙、容忍離鄉背井的苦、很耐心的學習美國生活的一切一切、以及很操勞的做司機和台傭)。所以住在美國的每一位台裔媽媽都秉持著台灣查某人的特質及毅力。台美媽媽們加油囉!

超爆笑! LOL!!!

2010-10-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

2010【第45屆電視金鐘獎】三大難高音: 高凌風、吳宗憲、康康
I haven't seen anything this funny on Taiwanese Television for a while. Enjoy!

Silly Bandz!!! 今年美國最夯的玩具!

2010-09-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

The hottest toy this year is Silly Bandz. If you ask any kids between the ages of 5 to 16 what their favorite play thing this year, they will all tell you "Silly Bandz" (http://www.sillybandz.com/). Silly Bandz are a brand of silicone rubber bands formed into shapes including animals, objects, and letters. They are normally worn as bracelets. Essentially, they are colorful rubber bands in various shapes. The company that markets this product is laughing all the way to the bank. They are usually sold in a pack of 24 Bandz (6 shapes, 4 per shape) that will allow the kids to collect and trade. I looked up the internet and they are being sold from $5.99 to $2.50 for a pack of 24. As in any popular items, there are now hundreds of imitations in the marketplace. Most are just colorful rubber bands that will likely melt together in heat or pressure. As Silly Bandz are made of silicone, these bands can withstand heat and maintain the shapes really well.

I was resisting buying these Silly Bandz for my kids because I was not going to pay over $5 for 24 rubber bands, but reality hit last Friday when my 8 year-old son came home with many of these Bands around his wrist. He said a classmate gave them to him--he went through a long story of why this girl would give him so many Bandz. But now I have a dilemma. My 10 year-old daughter has been asking to buy these Bandz for weeks. I kept telling her no because it's a waste of money. But now that her brother has them, she felt life is a bit "unfair" to her. I did my research on-line and found out that there are so many different kinds of colorful rubber bands out there, but the quality of these bands vary. I decided that if I were to buy any for my kids, I might as well stick with the silicone kind.

Anyways, to make a long story short, I went to Toys R Us yesterday and bought 3 packs of Silly Bandz. They only have two kinds of Silly Bandz available at the store--the Princess pack and the Dinosaur pack. It's not like we have a lot of choices, but they were on sale for $4.99 per pack and the promotion was buy 2 get 1 free. I'll probably go to another Toys R Us and see if I can exchange the extra dinosaur pack for a different theme pack. Both kids now think they have the best parents in the world!!!

真的沒想到, 美國今年最夯的玩具是 Silly Bandz, 一種彩色橡皮圈手環! 這個東西真的是從幼稚園夯到高中! Silly Bandz 只是一家最先在美國販賣這種彩色橡皮圈的公司品牌。因為賣得太好, 所以已經有上百種其它品牌流竄在玩具巿場上。巿面上及網路市場到處在賣類似的彩色橡皮圈。比較便宜的彩色橡皮圈是橡膠做的。天熱時, 這種橡皮圈都會黏在一起。品質好的彩色橡皮圈手環是矽膠做的, 所以耐熱也耐壓, 可是就賣得比較貴。 Silly Bandz 這家公司(http://www.sillybandz.com/)賣的彩色橡皮圈就是矽膠做的, 但是一包(24枚裝)就要賣 $5.95。當然我們都是要等到減價時才買。這星期 Silly Bandz 在 Toys R Us 有在減價。雖然貨色不多(只剩兩種),可是一包(24枚裝)才賣 $4.99, 然後買兩包再送一包。這樣子的價錢我還能接受。不過話又說回來, 這只是有色橡皮筋, 竟然可以賣到這種價錢! 業者真的是賺翻天了! 我想今年的聖誕節禮物少不了這個玩藝。還有,如果近期內要去找親朋好友, 而那親朋好友有五歲至十六歲的小孩,這Silly Bandz 可是最好的伴手禮喔!

台美僑胞有口福了! 好吃的豬肉乾! Yummy Pork Jerky!

2010-09-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

My favorite memory of childhood in Taiwan was going on a school field trip. It was never about where we went but what snacks my mother would put in my backpack for our annual school field trip. Back then, snacks were not prevalent and were not sold individually packaged like they do today. Guai Guai were one of my favorites and I remembered they were NT$2. But what I wanted most in my snack bag wast those sweet and savory pork jerkies. I am sure many of us who grew up in Taiwan have fond memories of those square pieces of the pork jerkies.

Over the years, when I visited Taiwan, I would look for pork jerkies to buy. But rumors of bad sources (or unknown sources) of pork made buying pork jerky a "risky" business. One summer I discovered a specialty pork jerky store on Chung Hsiao East Road (near Taipei University), but the pork jerky sold there cost more than a piece of rib eye steak oz per oz. I did buy some to let my kids try, but it wasn't something I can buy in bulk.

Jump to September 2010. Last week while visiting a friend of mine, she excitedly showed me a bag of pork jerky. She said she bought it at Costco!!! She pulled out a piece and let me tried it. We let out a scream!!! It tasted the same as the flavor we had become accustomed to. My friend said another friend saw it at a Costco in Hawaii and bought 4 packages. So when she saw it at a Costco in Hacienda Heights, she had to buy some. She only bought 2 packages though because she wanted to make sure it has that Taiwanese taste before buying more. Well, it tasted exactly as we know it. So when my friend saw it at our local Costco, she had to let all her Taiwanese friends know about it. I had wanted to buy some all week. Today, I finally found the time to make the trip to our local Costco.

So if you have a Costco near you, make the trip to Costco and buy those pork jerkies and re-live your childhood memories. I looked at the package carefully. This product is made in USA. So we don't have to worry about the source of pork. It also does not contain MSG. I can't say it doesn't contain preservatives, but I think it's within FDA standard, so unless one over-indulges, one should not worry about that. At $9.79 (14.5 oz), it's not expensive at all. If your local Costco doesn't carry this product, request it. Happy eating!!!

上星期到朋友家去串門子, 她急著拿出一樣東西要給我看。她說, “妳吃吃看, 這是在 Costco 買的。“ 我一吃, 不得了。我倆大聲一叫,“哪有可能在 Costco 買到臺灣味的豬肉乾!?!?” 我仔細一看,包裝上寫的是 Product of USA 和 No MSG! 我以前都不太敢買豬肉乾, 雖然愛吃,可是怕買到來路不明的豬肉乾, 所以已經有好久沒買了。這下子我可高興了, Costco 在賣豬肉乾,我隨時都可以吃到物美價廉的豬肉乾 (US$9.79, 14.5 oz)。今天特別跑了Costco 一趟, 買了兩包豬肉乾。反正我們幾乎每個禮拜都會去 Costco 買東西, 吃完到時候再買。我準備明天給小孩帶一些豬肉乾到學校去當點心吃。好幸福的小朋友喔! 我很高興我的小孩也願意跟我一起分享好吃的豬肉乾! 想當年我小學遠足時最常攜帶的零食就是豬肉乾! 如果你們家附近的 Costco 沒有賣豬肉乾, 你們可以要求 Costco 進貨。

開學篇 (第二篇: 初中篇) Back to School, Part Two, Middle School

2010-08-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

My 10 year-old daughter will enter middle school this fall. She is so looking forward to going to her new school. She does not want to miss any part of what middle school has to offer. If you ask her what she is most looking forward to in middle school. She will say LOCKERS. Go figure. I guess having her own locker at school makes her feel grown up. I remembered the locker I had in high school--it was like my home away from home. It was filled with shoes, clothes, PE stuff, books, papers, etc... It took 2-3 shopping bags to empty out my locker on the last day of school.

One of those consistent nightmares I would have in my youth was to forget my locker combinations. Back then, I had to buy my own combination lock to put on my locker. The smart thing would be to write down my lock combinations somewhere. But the nightmare would go a step further--I would forget where I had written down the lock combinations. It had never occurred to me to just tell my mom what my locker combinations are and she could have helped me remember.

That was then, this is now. I don't think my daughter will have the same kind of nightmares I had when I was in middle school. The lock to her locker is built-in the locker. Her school keeps each locker's lock combinations in the office. If a student forgets his/her combinations, all he/she needs to do is to go to the office and ask about it.

Speaking of Middle School. In California, elementary schools begin in kindergarten and end in grade 5. Middle Schools include grade 6 through 8. High schools are grade 9 through Grade 12. My sister who still lives in Vancouver tells me that British Columbia no longer has Junior High Schools. My Canadian nieces will only have to attend Elementary School (kindergarten to Grade 7) and High School (Grade 8 to Grade 12). Junior High Schools (or Middle Schools) no longer exist in Vancouver.

Way back in June, before the 5th grade Culmination (a small-scale elementary school "graduation"), all 5th grade parents received information about what we would need to prepare and buy for our new 6th graders. One of the biggest item we need to purchase is a three-inch zipper binder which will contain all the notes from the 6 classes a 6th grader will need to take in Middle School. One day in July, I took my daughter to Target, Staples, and Office Depot to look for one. Some were too small (1" or 2" zipper binder) or too big. Most were flimsily made. I did not want to pay over $20 for a poorly-made zipper binder that may only last a month. We didn't end up buying anything from the stores. We decided to go home and look for a suitable binder on-line. To my surprise, most of the reviews of the zipper binders on Amazon talked about how these binders were not sturdy enough to last a whole semester.

Two weeks ago, at Costco, I found the exact zipper binder that my daughter and I have been looking for. Costco did not have this product in July. The greatest part about it was the price--$12.99!!! Not sure how sturdy this zipper binder is, so I bought 2 just in case one doesn't last a whole semester. Right next to the zipper binders were these Casio Scientific calculators. These scientific calculators were selling for $12.99 each. It was the last item on my daughter's 6th grade school supplies list that I have yet to buy for her. Initially, I was not sure how good a scientific calculator I need to get for her (at what price level?!) But $12.99, I wouldn't feel too bad if she lost it at school. Basically, she's all set for 6th grade.

我那十歲的女兒暑假過後,就要上初中了。在加州,小學是從大班上到五年級。初中是六年級到八年級, 而高中是九年級到十二年級。所以在美國是有十三年的義務教育。有的家長選擇讓小孩晚讀一年的話,還可以上二年的大班(等於是十四年的義務教育)。

上初中對我女兒來講是件令她很興奮也很期待的大事。如果問她對上初中最響往的事是什麼, 她會說 “在學校有自己的鐵櫃櫥 (locker) ”。好像有自己的學校 locker 就代表自己長大了! 想當年我讀高中時也把我比較重要的家當放在學校的 locker 裏。誰會笨到把自己的日記放在家裏?!?! 我媽不讓我穿的高跟鞋以及不准我用的化妝品也都是放在我學校的 locker 裏。學期結束時,我還得在家裏找個地方藏這些私密的東西。誰會想得到一個小小 locker 對少女的成長過程會有如此的影響力!

女兒的新學校已經在學校的官網 po了下學期學生要用的文具用品。最重要的一樣東西是一個有拉鍊的三寸活頁夾。我帶女兒去了三、四家文具用品店都沒有找到適當的活頁夾。不是太小就是看起來不是很堅固。有些還要二十幾塊。我覺得太貴了。小孩子用的東西不應該那麼貴。反正離開學還要一個多月,我就告訴女兒我們再等等看,搞不好再一陣子我們要買的東西就會減價。

八月初,她在 Children's Place 看到一個漂亮(耐看可是好像不太耐用) 1" 大的活頁夾,只要 $7.99。我二話不說先把它買下來想說女兒一開學也還不需要用上三寸活頁夾。結果後來再去Costco時, 竟然看到女兒正需要的三寸活頁夾, 才 $12.99。我一口氣買了兩個 (怕不耐用)。女兒選了銀色及籃色的活頁夾,高興得不得了 (one step closer to Middle School)! Costco 也蠻應景的, 八月份也開始賣 back-to-school 的文具用品。我還順便買了個科學用的計算機給女兒, Casio 牌的才$12.99。反正科學用的計算機也是在她學校的文具用品清單上, 所以早晚也是得買。Costco 賣的產品絕對比別的地方賣得便宜, 所以不買以後一定會後悔。女兒好喜歡她的銀色活頁夾,看樣子有空我得去把她在 Children's Place 買的 1" 活頁夾拿去還。

再兩星期就要開學了。今年暑假過得還真快!

開學篇 (第一篇: 課外活動篇) Back to School, Part One, Extracurricular Activities

2010-08-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the summer is almost over. It's time to think about the kids going back to school. Back-to-School means that my life will be "back to normal" and becomes more structured, dictated by my kids' after-school schedules. Now that the kids are older, they have a clear sense of what they like and what they don't like, so they choose the after-school activities that they want to participate in. My 10 year-old daughter will continue with her dance classes and Girl Scout. She had bridged over to be a Girl Scout Cadette in June. My 8 year-old son will do AYSO soccer (www.ayso.org) this fall and Little League Baseball in the spring. He will also do Cub Scouting. He will be a Bear Cub Scout this year. With both kids in Scouting, we will be selling lots of Boy Scout popcorn and Girl Scout cookies this upcoming school year.

I am making both kids do violin. I let them choose between piano or violin and they both chose violin. I think they chose violin because they perceived that playing violin is EASIER than playing piano. Neither of my kids have inherited the musical discipline (or talent) from their father, so they will never achieve the kind of success that many Asian kids have exhibited in music performance. But I want my kids to be exposed to playing music, reading music, and learning about music theory. Mostly, I want them to appreciate music and musical performance. When they go to a concert, whether pop or classic, they will realize how hard those musicians have to work to get to where they are today. Unfortunately for me, getting them to practice violin is like pulling teeth, so they'll likely end their violin career the day I don't feel like nagging them about practicing their violins.

時間也過得真快,八月中,快開學了。開學後,我的生活也就能變得比較規律,可是會更忙碌。我覺得除了要開車載小孩上下課之外,還要載小孩參加不同的課外活動行程。當然還得弄便當及督導小孩的功課。其實也沒什麼,有就學年齡小孩的父母都能瞭解我們現階段在做的事,也很清楚現階段該做些什麼事。

我十歲的女兒將要繼續她的舞蹈課程以及女童子軍(www.girlscouts.org) 的活動。我八歲的兒子會以秋季足球(www.ayso.org)及春季少少棒(www.littleleague.org) 為主,外加男童子軍(www.scouting.org)。

為了能讓我的小孩文武雙全(可能嗎?!?!),我強迫他們一定要學一樣樂器。他倆都選擇小提琴。我想他們大概是認為學小提琴比學鋼琴簡單。其實要好好學任何樂器都很難。除了要有興趣之外,還要有恆心、毅力、及耐心。我的小孩是比不上在美國的許多亞裔青年,各各都能夠拉或彈一手好琴。除非我逼他們練琴,他們是不會自動自發的去練琴的。想當年我媽也逼我練琴,逼到最後母女的感情也搞壞了,琴也越練越糟。我覺得那時是我的心態問題,也正是青少年反抗期, 只要是我媽說的話我都會討厭。最後我媽發現她真的是在浪費錢才在我十一年級的時候終止我的學琴生涯。現在回想起來當然是我不對,可是我的那一段學琴經驗真的是一趟不愉快的人生旅程。三十年後的今天,人生的輪迴,我又要來逼我的小孩學琴,感覺好像不太對。也因為我的過去,讓我對我的小孩學琴這件事想了好久。

我的老公很會拉小提琴。從小沒人逼他學琴。後來是因為我公婆無法開車載他去學琴而沒能繼續學琴。跟我差好大喔! 他的想法是要讓小孩有學琴的經驗,讓他們對音樂有基本的瞭解。因為練過琴才能體會音樂人的才華及辛苦。學琴的出發點有了, 下一個步驟就是要如何激發(motivate)小孩的練琴意願,少讓我用“逼”的方式強迫他們練琴。基本上沒什麼好方法,就是我得花時間陪小孩子拉琴。不是練琴,而是陪小孩子一起拉琴。想當年自己練琴的辛苦,原來就是用要來培育下一代!

來美國玩一定要保險 The Importance of Travel/Medical Insurance

2010-07-31T11:02:00.000-07:00

July is typically the month when many of our Taiwanese friends and families come to the United States for their summer vacation. Inevitably, they will drop by Los Angeles and visit us. I am sure most of us who live in the United States have similar experience when it comes to visitors from Taiwan.

I learned something important this year. Two unfortunate events happened to my family and another friend's family within a day of each other. On July 5 (a long weekend Monday), I found out that the friend's father-in-law passed away from a heart attack while visiting a city about an hour away from home. Her father-in-law came to the U. S. often, so they were on one of their family outings. I didn't ask her what happened afterward, but it's safe to say that many things financial and emotional would need to be addressed after the passing of her father-in-law.

On July 6, a family friend visiting us had a stroke. He survived, but he was burdened with an astronomical medical bill. The ambulance trip between his son's house and the hospital (a total distance of 3 miles) cost more than US$1,600. The first day of emergency and ICU care cost more than US$65,000. Any doctor who visited the patient while he stayed at the U. S. hospital would be charged the doctor's regular hourly rate (at least US$350 per hour). Without medical insurance, the medical bill will continue to increase until this patient is stable enough to be air-lifted back to Taiwan for further medical treatment. This Taiwanese friend did buy travel insurance before he left for Taiwan, but most are accidental coverage for death and dismemberment, and not for catastrophic nor emergency illnesses. He had a NT$50,000 coverage for catastrophic illness. That's not nearly enough to even cover 1 day's worth of doctor's fees.

So a word of advice. If you or your family wants to travel to the United States from Taiwan, please make sure that enough medical insurance is purchased to cover serious illness such as heart attack and stroke for your friend or family. I would recommend travel insurance that include medical care for serious illnesses for people 50 and over. The medical coverage should be around US$300,000 or more. The medical insurance should also include the expenses of air-lifting the patient back to Taiwan for further care.

暑假是台灣親朋好友來美國旅遊的季節。今年也不例外。可是今年七月卻讓我體會到旅遊醫療保險(重大疾病)的重要。好朋友的公公來美國住不到幾天就因心臟病發作而過世。我是沒有問好朋友如何辦妥她公公的後事,可是如果她公公有在臺灣買好旅遊保險,那肯定保險公司將會協助我朋友處理一些相關事物。

在我朋友公公出事的第二天,我的一位親戚也在來美的三天後中風。因為沒有醫療保險, 第一天的住院費用就高達六萬美金!!! 就連救護車的帳單也要美金一千六(醫院和他兒子家的距離只有三英哩)。所以奉勸大家--如果你將有親朋好友到美國來探親或觀光,一定要叮嚀親朋好友(尤其是年紀較大的人)來美國之前在臺灣買好至少有三十萬美金的重大疾病旅遊醫療保險。這旅遊醫療保險最好是也有包括把病人從美國運輸回台灣的費用。當初林志玲在中國受傷時也是用專機運輸回台灣的,她或她的經紀公司肯定有買這一方面的保險。

2010 U. S.Census 美國人口普查

2010-03-11T22:13:00.000-08:00

If you are of Taiwanese origin, when you fill out the 2010 U. S. Census, please don't forget to check off "Other Asians" and WRITE IN "Taiwanese" on Question 9. Please forward this information to all your Taiwanese friends and family living in the U. S. The deadline for mailing in the 2010 U. S. Census is April 1, 2010.

美國的居民應該在這兩、三個星期內會收到2010年美國人口普查的問卷。請大家不要忘記在第九題勾起“Other Asians", 並填寫 “TAIWANESE”。您這動作應該會讓美國政府瞭解台灣人在美國也佔一席之地!

珍奧斯汀的男人Jane Austen's men

2010-03-01T09:25:00.000-08:00

Jane Austen is my favorite author. When I read her as a teenager, many of the nuances of adult relationships kind of went through me without registering much empathy. The focus was always the romance part of her stories. But now that I am in my 40s, Jane Austen's brilliance--in her ability to observe human relationships (not just the male-female ones) and to write them down with such an insight never cease to amaze me.

So I was delighted to see PBS' Masterpiece Theater broadcasting TV adaptation of Jane Austen's novels--Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion for the last 4 weeks. It was a nice diversion from the hustle and bustle of watching the Winter Olympic games.
I actually found the TV adaptation of Emma slightly off. The book was better than the TV production, mostly because they focused too much TV time on the first half of the book and not enough with the second half.

The major theme in any of Jane Austen's novel is for her heroines to marry well. Back in those days, women had no means of supporting themselves. Their financial well-being relied much on the inheritance that they will receive and who they marry. Life for women today is not so different from their counterparts 300 years ago. For a woman to have a successful work/career life, if she chooses to have children and family life, she cannot do it alone. The choice of a husband can make or break a woman's life--who needs to go through divorces?!

The photo above is the famous Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice), portrayed by Colin Firth.
For years, Mr. Darcy was by far my favorite male character in Jane Austen's novels, but after watching the portrayal of Captain Wentworth by Rupert Penry-Jones in Persuasion, Captain Wentworth (photo below) is now my new favorite Jane Austen man. Men who inherit wealth and men who made their own wealth are different breeds of men. I prefer the latter. Also the fact that Captain Wentworth kept his feeling for Anne Elliot for 7 years even after she rejected him is worth the price of admission. I love a man who is reserved, disciplined, and controlled, but underneath it all, he is as passionate as they come. What woman wouldn't want that in a romantic fiction?!

If you are a Jane Austen fan, go to http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/menofausten.html, you can vote for your favorite Jane Austen men. There is a little write up on each man. It's a lot of fun!

最近這四個星期天的晚上, 美國的公共電視台 (PBS) 連接著播出了由珍奧斯汀的小說所改編的電視劇--Emma, Northanger Abbey 及 Persuasion。這三部小說雖然沒有比傲慢與偏見有名, 可是劇情提材出自於珍奧斯汀, 因此可看度很高。尤其是對從小就很崇拜珍奧斯汀的我來講, 能看到珍奧斯汀的人物顯現在電視的螢光幕上,這真是一件很開心的事。當然每個珍奧斯汀的男主人翁都酷和帥到不行! 大家有機會可以上網去投票給妳最心儀的珍奧斯汀男主角! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/austen/menofausten.html 。

Sale at Hollister 大拍賣!

2010-01-21T21:29:00.000-08:00

The last few days have been cold and damp in Los Angeles. My daughter needs a jacket she can wear to school (without worrying about loosing it). I bought her a ski/snowboard Burton jacket a while back, but I think it's too fancy for school. So today, I went to the mall to look for a jacket she can wear to school. I started at Gymboree, then to Crazy 8, Children's Place, and GAP. I don't think these stores stock jacket for cold weather in Los Angeles, so I didn't find anything that was thick enough for my daughter to wear on cold days like today. My daughter's favorite clothing brand is Abercombie and Fitch, but the mall I went to didn't have A&F, so I went to the Hollister store (www.hollisterco.com)instead. A&F actually owns the Hollister brand. There are so many similarities between the 2 brands that I think they are interchangeable, aside from the logo.

To my surprise, a lot of stuff at Hollister was marked down. Moreover, there was a sale on whereby everything that was marked down already is reduced further by 50%. I found several wintery jackets for $25 (regular price $125-$149). Hollister hoodies were going for $20 each. I was surprised at the size of the inventory. I guess people haven't been to the mall lately because of the recent downpours. I quickly grabbed 6 items and lined up. I waited 1/2 hour before I got to the cashier. They didn't have bags big enough to fit all 6 items. They were going to bag it one item per one small bag. I told them not to bother, I easily draped 4 jackets over my arm and carried the other 2 in bags.

Unfortunately, my daughter did not like any of the 6 jackets I brought home. I think stylistically, Hollister is still a bit old for my daughter. Once the weather clears up, I would have to return all 6 items. It's too bad that I have to return those jackets because they were really good deals. But I guess my fashion sense isn't on the same wavelength as my 10-year old daughter. She said she still likes A&F better!

UPDATE: I returned all the items I bought for my daughter. Luckily my friend gave me some of her daughters' hand-me-down jackets a few days after my shopping trip at Hollister. My daughter loves her semi-new jackets!

如果您家裏有 13歲至 18歲的小孩, 趕快去 Hollister 買衣服 (www.hollisterco.com)。 Hollister 是美國青少年喜愛的名牌。平常它的服飾價位訂得很高, 但是只要有減價就很划得來。 Hollister 現在正在打折。折價後的產品再打五折!!! 一些原價要 $125至$149 的冬天外套只要 $25。本來幫女兒買了六件不同樣式、顏色的外套, 只可惜她沒有一件喜歡。再過幾天等到天氣轉晴後,再去店裏辦退貨。真是麻煩! 女兒說她還是比較喜歡 Abercombie & Fitch 的衣服。 Abercombie & Fitch 是一家服飾上市公司(NYSE: ANF)。其實 Hollister 的東家就是 Abercombie & Fitch。這兩家店賣的服飾還非常類似,只是品牌標識不一樣而已。

說真的,我覺得只要衣服的品質好、價錢公道, 買名牌服飾給小孩穿是 OK 的。最主要還是希望小朋友能融入美國人的社會。在美國長大的小女生很辛苦、壓力也大, 就連穿的衣服也不能太奇怪! 在女兒的五年級班上, Abercombie & Fitch 的服飾就好像是女孩們的制服喔! 當我發現這學生潮流時,我就先告知女兒 Abercombie & Fitch 牌的衣服我一定會買給她的,只是不會馬上買。我會等減價再買給她。我給女兒訂的原則是上衣、褲子、裙子不能超過十元,外套、洋裝不能超過二十元。這樣就保證不會給小孩子買到太昂貴的名牌服飾了。
************
白忙一場! 搞半天我女兒一件 Hollister 的夾克也不喜歡! 好在我的一位住在附近的老朋友在一星期後送了一大包她女兒穿不下的衣服給我。其中有一伴夾克大衣我女兒好喜歡! 剛好派上用場!

Little League Tryouts 少少棒選拔賽

2010-01-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

Now that my son is 8, with 2 years of Little League experience, he is qualified to enter the minors team in his little league. But the caveat is that he has to try out for the team. Parents received flyers for baseball camps before the winter break and because we were going on a cruise, I couldn't sign my son up for it. The boy hasn't played baseball since May, he was a bit rusty at the try out today. Both my husband and I thought our son is a borderline kid--meaning he may or may not make the minor team. He can hit and catch, but he's weak in throwing the ball. One thing going for him is that he is a fast runner between the bases. Like I said he is a borderline kid. If the try outs are for coaches to select the best players, he will make the minors if they need more players to form the teams. So we were keeping our fingers crossed.

The morning started at 9:45AM with his first winter soccer game. There were 2 other boys on the team who were also going to the baseball tryout, so we all left the soccer game early at 10:15AM. They changed into their baseball uniform, then we drove 15 minutes to the Little League field. There were many kids and families roaming the area, either watching, socializing, or practicing. They have sign in first and get a number. Unbeknownst to us, the number did not mean the order in which you will be trying out. The boys were suppose to line up near the home base when it's time for your age group to try out (10:45AM). My son was walking around and watching (I think he was nervous) and didn't know to line up. When I told him to line up, he was near the end of the line. He didn't get to try out until past noon. It was a long wait. Had I known about this system, we would not have left the soccer game early.

At the tryout, each boy gets pitched a ball to hit. He gets 3 tries. Once he hits the ball, he runs the bases. Then after 5 boys have done the hitting, they line up to catch a ground ball, then throws the ball to first base. Once the 5 boys did that, they line up again to try out pitching. Then the next 5 boys is up at bat.

While waiting for my son to finish the try out, I talked to a few moms and realized that the try out wasn't aimed at weeding out the less skilled boys. The coaches from all the teams rate each boy so they can make the teams more balanced. They are trying to avoid putting all the best players in one team.

I think my son did the best he could at the tryout. He was worried that he wouldn't make the minor team. I said he will make it, but the minor teams are harder than farm teams because the boys will be hitting balls pitched by another boy, not by a pitching machine. The chance of getting hit by a fast ball while at bat is very common.

For a boy, growing up in America, playing team sports is a major part of his life. It is where all his social life begins.

話說兒子的少少棒選拔賽,聽起來好像很隆重,可是事實上只是讓所有球隊教練有機會觀察所有小朋友打棒球的能力,好讓教練可以依照小朋友的能力平均分配球員到每個球隊。這樣每個球隊比賽時,輸贏不會差太多。這也是我後來跟其他比較有經驗的媽媽聊天後才知道的。

兒子已經參加了兩年的少少棒,從 T-Ball隊到 Farm隊, 今年他8歲,所以要參加 Minor隊。在 Minor隊發表隊員名單之前,每個希望加入 Minor隊的小男孩都要參與年初舉辨的少少棒選拔賽。知道兒子必需要經過選拔賽的考驗其實我和老公也蠻緊張的。我們兒子的運動神經還算不錯,可是棒球這種東西還是平常得練習。兒子是從五月的棒球季節結束後就沒有再碰棒球了。寒假之前,學校發了一些有關冬令營的資訊, 其中一項就是少少棒冬令營。很多小男生趁放寒假的時間參加少少棒冬令營,一方面在放寒假時有地方去,另一方面可以在少少棒選拔賽之前有所準備。我們利用寒假期間去玩(坐了一趟遊輪),所以無法參加任何冬令營。因此一月開學後,我們對於這少少棒選拔賽也有趨之若鶩的感覺。

今天一早九點就出門。兒子的冬季足球賽今天是第一場。同隊的有其他兩位小男生也要去參加少少棒選拔賽。所以我們 10:15AM 就提前離開足球場,開車前往少棒棒球場。兒子在車上換制服。到了棒球場拿了號碼就等上場。因為這是我們第一次參加少少棒選拔賽,不知道要到本壘後面排隊。快十一點才輪到 Minor隊的球員上陣, 可是兒子因為排在最後, 輪到他時已經中午了。早知道是用排隊上陣的方式, 我們也不用那麼早就離開足球賽了。兒子就一邊排隊一邊看別人怎麼打。我也在一旁跟其他家長聊天。那時才知道這少少棒選拔賽事實上只是讓教練評估每位小朋友的能力。基本上每位來參加這次 Minor隊 “Tryout” 的小朋友都會被分配到 Minor隊。知道後, 我們做家長的就不用那麼緊張了,可是我並沒有把這情報告訴兒子。我想讓他盡力的表現自己。

選拔賽一開始就每五個小孩一組。教練投手投球讓小朋友打。擊不中有三次機會。打中後往一壘跑, 一直跑回本壘。五個小朋友都跑完後,輪流在二壘後面接滾地球,接到後要丟給一壘手。最後一項就是做投手,把球丟給在本壘的補手。這一組的五個小孩都評估完後就歸下一組人馬。兒子也很順利的完成這三項比賽。

原來美國大連盟的球員就是這樣訓練出來的!

有錢人Wealth

2010-01-07T23:29:00.000-08:00

哇! 1410 坪耶! 就算只住一層也有 470 坪! 在台灣,貧富的差距真的很大! 大部份的臺灣人如果有四十坪的房子可以住就要偷笑了! 當然有錢人可以花自己辛苦賺來的錢, 不過低調一點不是比較好嗎?

One of the richest man in Taiwan, Gou Tai-Ming (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Gou), just bought the top 3 floors of a residential highrise (yet to be built) in the Tamshui area of Taiwan. Each floor is about 470 ping (or 16694.825 sq. ft.). That's almost the size of an official NHL ice skating rink. The average Taiwanese people live in apartments that are about 30 pings. It's hard to imagine the mindset of a multi-billionaire. I always thought rich people would want to be low key. It's not like Mr. Gou doesn't have beautiful homes already. This significant real estate purchase sounds like his ego speaking. To each his own.

KOST 103.5

2010-01-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

I have been a faithful listener to KOST 103.5 for a long time. Now, when I drive my kids to school, they also enjoy listening to Mark & Kristin's Morning Show. One drawback about listening to these radio shows is that my kids would constantly try to tell me to call-in to win whatever prizes are offered. It's hard to drive and call a radio station these days, especially in areas where radio reception is extremely bad. Over the last 10 years, it's not from my lack of trying, but I've never succeeded in winning anything from calling in. I was never at the right place at the right time.

Well, I was driving to work today and I heard someone on the radio announcing a 4-pack tickets to Disneyland offered to the 20th caller. What the heck, I will give it a try. I called KOST 3 times and I either got a busy signal or a not-in-service signal. The 4th time, the phone got connected and when someone pick up on the other end, I had to say hello several times, but no one said anything on the other end. I finally said, "am I the 20th caller?" The person on the other end said, "have you won anything from us in the last 60 days?" I said, "NO!" The person then said, "you are the 20th caller! Congratulations, you won the Disney 2for tickets!" I said, "I DID?" The person said, "YES, can I have your telephone number?" I gave him my number and he said, "can you stay on the line?" I stayed on the line and heard Kristin talk a bit and she even mentioned my name, but before I know it music was playing on the station again and the person got back on the phone and took down my address and telephone number. He said their promotional department will be in touch with me shortly about the tickets. I mentioned something about how excited my kids will be when they find out about the Disneyland tickets. Although I didn't get interviewed by Kristin, I was still very happy that I won these tickets.

On a side note, someone from the radio station called me in the afternoon and said that they don't have the tickets yet, but when they have the tickets, they will contact me again. I put this person's name and telephone number on my Outlook Agenda for the next 30 days. I will call her in 30 days if KOST doesn't contact me by then.

I told the kids at dinner that I have something great to tell them. They eagerly waited for me to sit down. But my husband spoiled the fun and said it's about the radio station. My daughter immediately guessed that I must have won something from the radio station. The kids continued to guess what I might have won. They were really excited when they found out we got Disneyland tickets.

My son wants to go to Disneyland next weekend. I had to tell him that I don't have the tickets yet and if we go, it would probably be closer to the Spring Break. At least now we will have some place fun to go to for Spring Break.

我最常聽的廣播電台是 KOST 103.5 (FM)。我只要開車就一定會聽這電台。現在連我的小孩也跟我一起聽。雖然他們還是比較喜歡聽 Radio Disney, 可是 AM 的收訊不如 FM, 所以我們常聽 KOST。小孩子大了, 當然也聽得懂廣播內客,尤其是可以得獎的活動。例如,只要是第二十個打電話進去的聽眾就可以贏某種獎品。今天一早開車上班,因為有點感冒,所以上班的意願不高, 可是還是得去。在途中, 聽到 KOST 早晨節目的主持人宣佈第二十個打電話進去給她們的聽眾就可以贏四張迪士尼樂園的門票。心血來潮就開始撥電話。 KOST 的電話號碼早就已經儲存在我的電話裏了。撥了三次電話都沒接通,本來想放棄, 可是又撥了一次。這次電話通了....

我 "Hello"
KOST (電話是通了,可是沒人在線上。) "....."
我 "Hello"
KOST "......Hello..."
我 "我是第二十位打通電話的人嗎?"
KOST "妳在這六十天之前有在我們這電台贏過任何獎品嗎?"
我 "沒有!"
KOST "那妳就是第二十位打通電話的人!恭喜妳,妳贏了四張迪士尼樂園的門票!"
我 "真的?!?!"
KOST "是的。請妳給我妳的連絡電話。麻煩妳繼續留在線上。"

這是我生平第一次贏到這麼好的獎品。回家後告訴小孩, 他們也興奮不已! 只是現在還無法敲定什麼時候去迪士尼樂園, 因為 KOST 也還沒有拿到迪士尼樂園的門票。他們說票收到後會再通知我! 反正今年迪士尼樂園是去定了!

我認為沒有偏財運的我,在自己開工的第一天贏了這些票, 是個新年好兆頭!

Target Christmas 90% Off Clearance 聖誕節後大減價!

2010-01-05T17:45:00.000-08:00

If you can't be at Target when it opens at 8AM the day when they markdown seasonal items to 90% off, basically, you will miss out on all the good deals. I had a feeling the 90% off markdown happened yesterday and because of my car trouble, I had blocked Target out of my mind. Since I don't have to work today, I did 3 loads of laundry, got gas, returned some stuff at Sam's Club, and then I decided to go to Target anyway knowing full well that there may not be any Christmas clearance stuff left, at 90% off.

Indeed, the 90% markdown of the Christmas items happened yesterday because by the time I got to Target at 1PM, only 1 endcap worth of Christmas items were left. Things go fast when it's only 10% of the original price. I had wanted to buy some Christmas t-shirts for my son, Christmas cards, and ribbons, but they were all gone. Here are what I ended up buying:

1. A clear plastic oval serving plate ($0.39)
2. 2 infant boys (sizes 12M & 18M) short-sleeved PJ set ($0.89). I would prefer it to be 100% cotton, but it's 100% polyester. Apparently, it's law that children's PJ cannot be 100% cotton anymore because it's a fire-hazard.
3. 1 roll of green ribbon ($0.19)
4. 1 adult-size (size XS) Christmas t-shirt ($0.99) Perfect for my daughter to wear next year.
5. $5 black legging. It's on sale (reg. $6.99), but not on clearance. It flares out at the end so it's perfect as my daughter's jazz pants. Most jazz pants in dance store would cost $20+.

Although my total Christmas clearance purchase was insignificant this year, I still managed to get $3.35 worth of Christmas clearance items. I just had to get that clearance bug out of me.

每年一月初(通常是一月三、四或五日), Target 會把聖誕節的產品減到一折。其實聖誕節一過, Target 就會從減半價開始, 慢慢的減到一折(五折、二五折、然後一折)。重點是我們一定要在八點開門之前趕到搶“頭香”, 要不然可能八點半以後,一折的東西就被搶購得差不多, 東西也所無己了! 昨天因為車子出點問題,而且還要送爸媽去機場, 我沒有心情去 Target 搶買聖誕節的產品。今天剛好不用上班, 就忍不住得跑去 Target 看了一下。一折的聖誕節產品只剩下三個小架子那麼多。我還是找到東西可以買。一折後的清單如下:

1. 一卷包裝用的綠色緞帶 ($0.19)
2. 二套小男孩(12M & 18M)的睡衣 ($0.89)
3. 大人(小號)聖誕圖型的T卹 ($0.99)
4. 橢圓形的透明塑膠盤 ($0.39)

我又順便買了一條黑色的 legging 褲子給女兒,做她跳爵士舞時穿的褲子(100% 綿褲)。因為這星期特價才賣五塊錢 (平常價格是 $6.99)。如果是到舞蹈專賣店去買爵士舞褲子, 那一條褲子最少也要賣美金二十元以上。

我對我今年 Target 聖誕節後大減價的收穫還算滿意!

新年快樂!!! Happy New Year!!!

2010-01-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged much lately. My new year's resolution is to blog more. But my real wish is to de-clutter my house and really make it nice.

I thought the stores are not open today, so I stayed home. Well, Target is open, but I can't go there everyday. I am waiting for it to markdown its Christmas merchandise to 90% off. I have a feeling the markdown will happen tomorrow morning. Hopefully, someone on the Mycoupons forum will post something about it.

January 1 has been a quiet day for me. The winter holiday is winding down to this weekend. All the visiting relatives will be gone and the kids will be back to school. Everything will be back to normal until the next holiday.

Happy New Year everyone!

今年的新年新希望是....把自己的房子整理好。我想把囤積在家裏的東西都處理掉! 可是真的是很難割捨自己買的東西。我曾經看過一篇教導主婦如何整理房子的指南。基本上,任何東面只要在妳購買後兩年之內都沒有被用過,妳就應該把那東西扔了。要我把好好的東西丟掉真的是好難喔! 以前的新年新希望都是圍繞著減肥計劃。我也不知道什麼時候變得比較實際。不管是減肥計劃還是整頓房子,對我來講,一樣都是高難度的願望。

今天是一月一日, 我本來以為商店都沒開, 結果發現只有我常光顧的 Trader Joe's, Costco, 及 Sam's Club 沒有開。我本來想去 Target 逛逛, 可是想想再過一、兩天 Target 的聖誕節產品就要被減價到一折了, 到那時候再去逛 Target。

我會再向大家報告到 Target 血拼的結果。

祝福大家新年快樂!

H1N1 疫苗篇 Getting H1N1 Vaccination

2009-12-07T23:00:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to get my kids H1N1 vaccinated since end of October. My kids' pediatrician said the U.S. government allocates the H1N1 vaccines to various pediatric clinics when it becomes available, but for some reason, my kids' pediatrician never received any allotment of the H1N1 vaccines. We have been on our pediatrician's H1N1 vaccination waiting list. Meanwhile, I have heard that kids at the school have been getting their H1N1 vaccination. I am not sure where these kids are getting vaccinated, but the fact is that our pediatrician will probably not get any H1N1 vaccines before everyone goes on the Christmas holiday. I had thought about getting the H1N1 vaccines through the Los Angeles County Health Department, but like anything free offered by the government, it means long waiting and long lines at the county health offices.

The last time the County Health Department offered any H1N1 vaccination to the public was in October and it was a drive-through event. The organizer underestimated the amount of people showing up to get vaccinated, so the traffic was so congested that a neighboring city complained of providing extra police force to control the crowd and traffic congestion. People had lined up for hours and by noon, the organizers ran out of H1N1 vaccines. So when last Wednesday, my children's school district sent out a mass email informing the parents of a County-sponsored H1N1 vaccination event on December 7, I took notice, but I wasn't so keen of the possible long lines.

But at my son's 8 Year-old annual check up a day later (last Thursday), the pediatrician indicated that they have not received any H1N1 vaccines. So now, that County-sponsored H1N1 vaccination event becomes our only option if I want my kids to be H1N1 vaccinated before the holidays. However, there is a scheduling conflict. My son's 8th birthday party was to be held on December 7 from 2PM to 4PM, so if I want my kids H1N1 vaccinated, we would have to leave directly after the party. Luckily, the Chuck E. Cheese's at Torrance is not very far from the H1N1 vaccination location, so I arranged with my husband to meet us at the party so we can all drive to the Wilson Park's Sports Center in Torrance together.

The birthday party ran late, so we didn't get to the Wilson Park until 4:40PM. I was worried that we might be late and the vaccines would run out. However, today had the biggest rainstorm in recent years, so I am guessing that the crowd for vaccination didn't gather until the rain let up a bit in the afternoon. The line was long and we were at the tail end of it. There were less than 100 people behind us as the organizers promptly closed the line at 5PM.

There was police presence to control the crowd. The city had volunteers and city workers to show us where to go. We were directed to enter a skating rink about 500 yards from where we parked our car. Then the winding line looks like we were waiting for a Disneyland ride. My kids did not enjoy the anticipation of getting the shots, but at least it felt like a "family" outing. After 20 minutes in line, we were told to fill out 2 forms per person. The line moved quickly, but there were many people ahead of us, so we waited another 20 minutes before reaching a row of tables where people checked our forms. My husband and I were worried that we were not qualified for the H1N1 vaccination because we did not belong to the priority groups for vaccination. But I guess with the low turn out in the morning, they had plenty of H1N1 vaccines left to vaccinate everyone who was there.

The ice rink was outdoor and it was cold waiting there. I didn't expect it to be waiting outside, so my daughter was cold in her thin jacket. Another 10 minutes, we were ushered into a gymnasium where tables upon tables of people were getting vaccinated. Once we were inside, we didn't mind waiting, but soon it was our turn to get vaccinated. All four of us got vaccinated. My daughter was fearful of the shot, so my son volunteered to go first. Because it didn't hurt (it felt like a tiny pin prick), my son was able to tell my daughter that it didn't hurt. That put her mind at ease. The woman who did our shots seemed to know what she was doing. The whole process was quick and painless. It was exactly an hour later when we got back to our car.

What a load off my mind to get the family H1N1 vaccinated! To top everything off, it was free! If we had received our shots at the doctor's office, it would have cost us $20 co-pay per person for the visit and who knows how much the pediatrician will charge us for the injection itself (the H1N1 vaccine would be free) because the act of injection is considered an "invasive" procedure. Our insurance pays 80% of most invasive procedures.

The city of Torrance made this H1N1 vaccination event a painless endeavor. Although it was cold, wet, and windy outside, well-organized events like this showed what the Americans are so great at doing -- public service.

暴笑篇: “梁”家婦女 Quanta Women

2009-11-12T23:40:00.000-08:00

自從廣達電腦公司的副董事長梁次震先生在台北的信義計劃區幫太太及三位千金蓋了一座精品購物中心 (Bellavita) 以後, 這四位梁姓婦女在一夕之間變成媒體的焦點。她們四位自然而然的成為模仿節目喜愛的題材。日前, “全國最大黨” 表演了一段有關她們四位的滑稽短劇,非常好笑!! 上面這則新聞就可以看到四位本尊。

Many have said that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. But in the world of television and parody, this may not be the case. A recent opening of an high-end mall in the most exclusive neighborhood of Taipei brought to light a family of wealthy women. The head of the family, Liang Ci Zhen, who is the Vice Chairman of Quanta Computer, bought the land and built a spacious mall from scratch simply because his daughters had the idea of opening an European-style cafe. Unfortunately, they were unable to find a place big enough to fulfill their dream, so they asked their father for help. The result was Bellavita (http://www.bellavita.com.tw/) where many exclusive European brands situate their flagship stores. Most of the Taiwan public were not aware of these women until the opening of Bellavita. With a bit of envy, the press didn't have anything bad to say about the mother and her three daughters. At least they work when they didn't have to. With a proud husband and father looking on at the Bellavita grand opening, the four women became instant media sensation.

With press came notoriety. People are curious about who they are, what they wear, and how they live. But they are really rich, so they can afford to show to the public only the parts they want to show. The rest remains private. Because these people are indeed rich and they dress and look different from the norm, they are the obvious targets of parody shows in Taiwan. The show "Country's Largest (political) Party", an actor and three actresses imitated the four Liang women. It's very funny. Apparently, the Hermes Birkin bags that these actors were carrying were made from paper! There are 2 parts to the Liang parody:

PART 1

PART 2

孤狗 = Google

2009-11-08T23:50:00.000-08:00

我今天才知道原來 Google 的中文俗稱是孤狗。太有趣了,順便跟大家分享一下中英及英中翻譯所衍伸出的故事。我就曾經看過一本以翻譯失誤為主題的書。書名是 “Are you kidding?你是凱蒂嗎?”。作者是呂安琪。下面這故事是我從BBH的雯雯媽媽家中的日記裏看到的。懂中英文的人一定能瞭解這笑話:

老外學中文的第一堂課就昏倒! 據舊華社報導，一位老外在中國準備長期居留，於是，他報名了專給老外準備的中文課程。第一堂課,中文老師教了兩個英文單字的中文解釋--Wife 和 Husband.

老師的要求是必須記住以下解釋：

Wife=
1.妻子，
2.老婆，
3.太太，
4.夫人，
5.老伴，
6.愛人，
7.內人，
8.媳婦，
9.那口子，
10.拙荊，
11.賢內助，
12.對象，
13.孩他媽，
14.孩他娘，
15.內子，
16.婆娘，
17.糟糠，
18.娃他娘，
19.崽他娘，
20.山妻，
21.賤內，
22.賤荊，
23.女人，
24.馬子，
25.主婦，
26.女主人，
27.財政部長，
28.紀檢委，
29.渾人，
30.娘子，!
31.屋裏的，
32.另一半，
33.女當家，
34.渾家，
35.髮妻，
36.堂客，
37.婆姨，
38.領導，
39.燒火婆，
40.黃臉婆

Husband=
1.丈夫
2.愛人
3.那口子
4.當家的
5.掌櫃的
6.不正經的
7.潑皮
8.不爭氣的
9.沒出息的
10.該死的
11.死鬼
12.死人
13.傻子
14.臭不要臉的
15.孩子他爹
16.孩子他親爹
17.哎
18.老公
19.豬
20.親愛的
21.先生
22.官人
23.相公
24.大人
25.挨千刀的
26.老伴
27.男客

I just found out today that Google's Chinese nickname is 孤狗 (goo-go) and its literal translation is "Lonely Dog". Being bilingual, the process of translating English words into Chinese and vice versa always fascinated me. BBH's "Kirsten & Charlene's Attic" wrote in her Diary that there are 40 ways to say WIFE in Chinese and 28 ways to say HUSBAND in Chinese. Pretty amazing if you stop to think about it.

Many years ago, I came across a book on Chinese-English translation faux pas. The book, "Are you Kidding? 你是凱蒂嗎?”, written by Anchi Lue, showed many examples of Chinese translations of English gone wrong. It's a fun read if you are fluent in both English and Chinese.

王雪峰事件 An Acquaintance From the Past

2009-10-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

This piece of news shocked and saddened me. The woman at the center of this news storm is Wang Xue-Fong. In her heyday, she was once the star Taipei City Councilor, and later, a top Legislator. In April, news surfaced that Ms. Wang was collecting garbage for living. She came out and said that her husband's family is in the "recycling" business and she was just helping her mother-in-law occasionally. Since there is nothing inherently wrong with this line of work, and she said she's very happy and content with her life now, who is to argue otherwise?! I was nevertheless shocked with the disparity in her lifestyle between the time I met her and now. What kind of man can lead a woman down a path of such a degradation of lifestyle change!?

I met Ms. Wang in 1996. One day a friend of mine called me up and asked if I want to have dinner with Ms. Wang. A little naive (and new in town), I had no idea who Ms. Wang was. I readily agreed to the dinner date because the Japanese restaurant my friend chose sounded great (the set menu started at about US$80pp)! There were 4 people at this dinner and 3 of whom were Cornell University alumni. Ms. Wang came with her then boyfriend. Her boyfriend and my friend were buddies. The dinner conversation was pleasant and Ms. Wang was as nice as anyone can be. After dinner, she invited us over to their apartment for a night cap. I knew she entertained us because we were her boyfriend's friends. She was a wonderful hostess. In any case, our paths never crossed again. I left Taiwan in 1997.

The next time I heard about Ms. Wang was on the news. The news of her collecting garbage for living. But soon, with her explanation to the media, everyone left her alone. So when I turned on my computer yesterday, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the headline "Domestic Violence" with Ms. Wang's name next to it! Now, not only do we have to contend with the fact that she collects garbage for living, she is also a victim of domestic violence. The woman fell from heaven to hell in a matter of a decade! Can the situation be any worse?! Yes it can! The latest news is that Ms. Wang had gone back to her husband and they had reconciled. Nobody knows how to decipher the progression of this story. But I have a feeling, this is not the last time we'll hear about this couple.

真害! 王雪峰她又回家了! 夫妻倆之間的事,外人真的無法評論。可是以她的身世、學歷及經驗,她要離開,甚至遠走他鄉也不是難事。那為什麼她不願意離開呢? 我想她一定有她的原因。只是那原因真的是讓人匪夷所思!

十幾年前我曾經在台北安和路上一家有名的日本料理店和王小姐一起吃晚餐。她那時應該是陪她當時的男友 (不是現在這位先生!) 一起出席這場飯局。那時大概是民國八十五年左右吧 (王小姐那時候應該還是立委)! 那家餐廳的套餐是 $2,500 起跳的。同桌有三人都是美國Cornell 大學的校友。大家聊得很開心, 王小姐一點名人的味道都沒有。講話和藹可親, 非常 nice 的一個人。後來她還邀請我和朋友到她家坐坐 (我的朋友和她男友很熟)。王小姐是位很客氣的女孩。她的年紀跟我差不多。當時的我們都有點嫁不出去的感覺。可是我的直覺是,就算嫁不出去, 自己一個人也可以生活得多采多姿。見面一兩次後我就沒有機會再和她碰面了。

再次聽到她的消息竟然是在媒體上--說她在撿破爛! 讓人無法相信人生會有這麼大的轉折! 想說她如果生活得開心、幸福,做資源回收也不是什麼見不得人的事。不偷也不搶,她高興過什麼樣的生活是她的自由及選擇。人世間裏有太多不快樂的有錢人, 但鮮少有像她能從有錢到無錢的還能生活的那麼自在! 我由衷的祝福她!

沒想到事隔不到半年竟然爆出她被老公家暴的新聞!

驚嘆後, 真的無法讓我理解一個女人要如何從天堂掉進地獄裏, 是宿命、人為、還是人的選擇呢?!

臺北巿動物園沙畫完整版 "The Zoo" Sand Art by a Taiwanese Artist

2009-09-10T11:47:00.000-07:00

Art comes in many formats and this one impressed me tremendously. Who knew sand art could be elevated to such a form?! This piece of animated artwork is done by a world-renowned Taiwanese sand artist, Zhuang Ming-Da. Enjoy the video!

藝術是沒有限制的。如何發揮某種藝術形式也需要藝術家本身的個人風格。真的沒想到沙畫也可以提升到如此境界。這個動態沙畫是台灣沙畫藝術家莊明達先生的作品。這位國際級的沙畫大師所畫出的作品真的是讓人嘆為觀止!

快要開學了! The summer is almost over!

2009-08-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

My children's school will begin the 2009-2010 school year exactly a week from today, on September 1. This is the first time in our school's history to have the first-day of school before the Labor Day weekend. Typically, schools begin the day after the Labor Day long weekend, on a Tuesday. So many of our neighboring school districts are still following this traditional and will begin school on September 10. My kids are mourning the end of their summer. I am worried about their morning regiment once the school begins. How am I going to get them to wake up at 7:30 AM again when they have been sleeping until 10 AM, and sometimes even until 11 AM?!

To get them into the swing of things, I took my kids to the library after lunch today. They have been reading over the summer, but nothing really challenging. My 9 year-old daughter have enjoyed the Beacon Street Girls series by Annie Bryant (http://www.beaconstreetgirls.com/) and the Camp Confidential series by Melissa J. Morgan. She has read all of the Beacon Street Girls books, except the two latest books (Sweet Thirteen and Ready! Set! Hawaii!). As for Camp Confidential, she also has read all of the Camp Confidential books that have been published so far. Two more Camp Confidential books are scheduled to be published in the next 7 months--Extra Credit (September 3, 2009) and Politically Incorrect (March 4, 2010). My daughter is waiting anxiously for our library to purchase these books.

Unfortunately, schools don't usually assign these books as reading material. Beacon Street Girls and Camp Confidential are fine for summer readings, but as my daughter is heading into grade 5, these books are not difficult enough to be on the grade 5 reading list. And hence a trip to the library was necessary today. I want her to pick out some books that are more appropriate for her grade level. I steered her towards the Newbery Award winning books (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newbery_Medal), but she wasn't going for them. Instead, she borrowed some Nancy Drew Mysteries. Those are books that she thought I would approve, but realistically, I still think she should go beyond these books as well. At this point, I am not going to push her too much. As long as she gets into the habit of reading, I am happy.

Going back to our library visit. I actually saw 4 families from my children's school at the library today. During the school year, once in a while, I would see only a family that I know every time we visit the library. So it was rare to see so many parents from our school at the library in one visit. I got to chat with them about their summer break and how everyone was doing. I guess all the parents are trying to get their kids back into the swing of things before the school starts next week.

時間過得好快喔! 再七天就要開學了。兩個小孩已經開始感覺到開學後的壓力了。今天帶他們去圖書館借書。我希望女兒能借一些有點深度的書, 符合五年級的小朋友該讀的書。在美國, 沒有教育局指定的閱讀課本。都是老師採用現有的兒童讀物來教學。小孩子上了五年級之後, 老師就會陸陸續續的介紹西洋英文文學名著給小朋友做為上英文課的題材。所以只要看得懂, 小朋友自己就可以到圖書館借一些西洋文學名著來看。當然這種事, 我的女兒不可能會自願去做的。從五月中, 加州政府的基測 (STAR test) 結束之後, 老師就不再積極的教學生新的課程。小朋友就自由的等著暑假的到來。就在那時候, 我幫女兒在圖書館找到二套系列的書-- Beacon Street Girls (Beacon 街的女孩), 作者是 Annie Bryant (http://www.beaconstreetgirls.com/) 以及 Camp Confidential (露營密事) 作者是 Melissa J. Morgan。這二套系列的書籍非常適合閱讀能力較強的小三女生, 或者是給小學高年級的女生做為輕鬆簡單, 閒暇時可閱讀的書籍。不愛看書的女兒就靠著這二套書過了一個愉快的暑假。

好康逗相報...蛋篇 Great eggs!

2009-08-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

Our family has a history of cholesterol problem, so when I eat my eggs, I always just eat the egg white and throw out the egg yolk. Unfortunately, my kids see how I eat my eggs and they imitate me, to my chagrin! My son loves hard-boiled eggs, so we always have hard-boiled eggs in our fridge (easier for him to snack on). One day, we ran out of eggs and my husband happened to be at Trader Joe's, so I asked him to pick up some. He came home with these Sunshine Farm Grade A Jumbo eggs. I was mad at him. I said these are more expensive than the ones I normally buy. Why spend more money for something that's not going to make a difference?! My husband told me those eggs were the cheapest ones left on the shelves. Well, we did need eggs, so I let it go. It was really a $0.30 difference per dozen eggs!

But to my surprise, these jumbo eggs had the greatest amount of egg white and the smallest egg yolk I have ever seen in an egg. Since we only eat egg whites, these eggs proved to be a better deal for us. For $0.30 more per dozen eggs, I'm sold.

I took some photos of these Grade A Jumbo eggs from Trader Joe's. That's a roll of quarters ($10) next to the single egg, so you can see the actual size of each egg. These eggs are a great deal at $1.79 per dozen!

我們家 (老公除外) 吃蛋時都只吃蛋白, 不吃蛋黃。小孩子長久以來都看我只吃蛋白, 不吃蛋黃。有樣學樣,他們也養成這“不良”習慣 (我老公很不能認同)。可是我娘家有高膽固醇的基因存在, 所以有高膽固醇的食物能不吃我就不要吃。不愛吃肉的兒子喜歡吃水煮蛋, 所以我就時常放水煮蛋在冰箱裏給兒子當點心吃。

有天老公正好在 Trader Joe's 時, 他打電話來問說要順便買些什麼東西回家。我說蛋, 家裏沒蛋了。結果老公回家後,我發現他買錯蛋了。他沒買最便宜的蛋。正要問他時,他說我要買的蛋已經賣完了,所以他只好買貴一點的蛋。沒辦法了,也只好這樣了。結果沒想到, 陰錯陽差老公卻買對了。這打Sunshine Farm 的 Grade A Jumbo 的蛋只有小小的蛋黃, 蛋白卻很多。讓我這個只吃蛋白的人吃得很過癮。其實這些蛋只比我平常買的蛋多 US$0.30, 一打蛋才 $1.79, 真的是物超所值! 好康逗相報!

台灣加油! Devastation of Typhoon Morakot

2009-08-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

Being a Taiwanese, one can not ignore the landslide disaster caused by Typhoon Morakot on August 8, 2009 in southern Taiwan which obliterated many remote hillside villages. The death toll from Typhoon Morakot stands at 160, with at least 500 people missing, presumed dead. This was the worst weather disaster to hit Taiwan in recent history. The political blame game has started and all the rescue operations have ceased and it's now in the phases of recovery and rebuilding. The tasks at hand are daunting and no one has any idea how this aftermath will resolve.

I feel tremendous sadness for those who lived (and suffered) through this disaster. Listen to the first-hand account of 3 survivors in a town where more than 400 people had vanished. It is a testament of the human spirit at its best!

今天看到8/20 的國民大會(天災無情劫後餘生), 非常感動。于美人邀請了在這次受災最嚴重的小林村裡面倖存的47個人裡面的三位村民來節目中描述災難當天發生的事。聽了之後,真讓人動容! 讓我非常佩服台灣人純樸、刻苦、耐勞的精神! 台灣加油!

終於回家了! Finally home!

2009-08-18T22:57:00.000-07:00

I have been inactive on this blog lately. I apologize. I have been away. I was in Vancouver for 3 weeks visiting my sister's family. I am in the process of uploading photos and updating this blog with all the fun stuff my family had done in the past 3 weeks. So be patient with me. My daughter took this photo of Mount St. Helen when we flew over it this afternoon.

終於到家了! 今天下午從溫哥華飛回洛杉磯。我們在溫哥華待了二十一天! 女兒和兒子依依不捨的在溫哥華國際機場跟他們的兩位小表妹說再見! 想起來會有點心酸, 不過我覺得小朋友從小要學習怎麼說 goodbye, 因為世界上沒有不散的宴席。一路小孩子都有點落寞,可是當機長提醒大家往窗戶外面看時,小孩子才暫時忘記離別的難過。他們在窗外看到華盛頓州的火山 Mount St. Helen。女兒想到照相,隨手拿起我的相機,拍下這張照片。到達洛杉磯之後,發現機場的車子好多喔! 下次絕對不要訂晚上七、八點到達的飛機班次! 還好有手機,行李拿到之後才通知老公開車過來接我們。他通常都會把車停在機場外圍的街道旁等我的電話。不過我那有十年車齡的老車,在三個星期沒開之後沒電了。老公只好開他的小跑車來機場接我們。我和小孩的二大件行李差一點載不回家,因為後車箱太小! 最後只好把比較小的那一只大皮箱放在前座,我和小孩坐後座。這樣也拖了十多分鐘才離開機場。才下飛機,狀況還真不少!

如何取個好的英文名字 The Naming Game

2009-08-09T00:16:00.000-07:00

Over the years, I have noticed some strange naming of English names by parents in Taiwan. It wouldn't be so bad if they translated their children's Chinese names phonetically into English. But a lot of parents, in their eagerness to give their children English names, came up with strange names, thinking that those "names" are legitimate English names. A lot of those names looked like mis-spelt names or impossible to pronounce "English" names. Worst names are those of cartoon characters. Just because a parent likes a certain cartoon character doesn't give them the right to name their children after cartoon characters. Well, it's their right to name their children however they want, but think of your children 30 years down the road. How would they feel when foreigners look at them funny at business meetings when they introduce themselves as Snoopy Tsai?!

So I have come up with a few rules if you are Chinese and want to give your child an English name.

1. Use the phonetic translation of your child's Chinese name. For example, 蔡傑熙 can be translated into Jai-Xi Tsai.
2. Use an English name (those on the top 500 of U. S. census names) that sounds similar to your child's Chinese name. For example, 蔡傑熙 can be translated into Jessie Tsai.
3. Use an English name that you like. It doesn't have to sound like your child's Chinese name at all.
4. Use an English name that has the same meaning as your Chinese name. For example, if your daughter's Chinese name has the following character: 愉、悅、樂, you can use the name Joy which is what those Chinese characters mean.

If you still have trouble coming up with an English name for your child, you can leave me a message and I will see what I can do for you.

這幾年,我看到很多台灣的父母親幫自己的小朋友取英文名字,可是取的英文名字都很奇怪。很多名字看起來像是拼錯的英文名字。所以各位爸爸媽媽如果想要幫寶貝取個好的英文名字,你們必需要注意幾個取英文名字的原則:

1. 用中文名字直接音譯成英文。請用護照上的正式拼音。有漢語拼音法(中國大陸) 或羅馬拼音(台灣以前的拼法)。

因為大陸人口的優勢,全世界的趨勢是用漢語拼音法。例如 “張”是拼 Zhang。在臺灣以前是拼 Chang。漢語拼音是有一定的拼法。每個字有個統一的拚法及念法。學過中文的老外看了這種拼法也一定念得出來。

利: 本來就是自己中文名字的音譯。

弊: 怕拼出來,沒學過中文的老外根本念不出來 (尤其是ㄓ、ㄔ、ㄕ、ㄩ的音)。而且報上名字時, 還要順便報上怎麼拼。會很煩喔!

2. 用中文名字直接音譯成英文,可是採用了類似中文名字的正統英文名字來做為翻譯的基礎。所以是中文名字英文化 (anglicize)。

利: 外國人看了都會念,也比較會拼得出來,然後又跟自己中文名字的音很像。

弊: 會被人批評說不需要取英美式的名字,用自己中文名字的音譯就可以了。太矯情了!

3. 取個跟自己中文名字完全不一樣的英文正統名字。

利: 外國人看了都會念,也比較會拼得出來。自己喜歡啊!

弊: 會被人批評說不需要取英美式的名字,用自己中文名字的音譯就可以了。太崇洋了!

4. 取跟自己中文名字同意思的英文正統名字。例如: 中文名字裏有愉、悅、樂的女孩都可以用 Joy 做為她的英文名字。

利: 外國人看了都會念,也比較會拼得出來。有意義!

弊: 大概沒有吧!

如果要音譯, 千萬不要自己亂拼,寫出來的英文字母可能念出來的跟當初想的不太一樣。有時候還會因為文化不一樣而鬧出笑話。

在英美國家, 家長幫小孩取名字都不會無原無故的取名。基本上, 英美國家的父母親會採用下列幾個命名原則:

1. 先人的名字。有紀念性。家族要求。(跟父母、祖父母、親朋好友同名)
2. 地源、時事關係 ( Paris 、April 、June 、 Dawn、Hamilton、Diego)
3. 父母喜歡什麼名字就取什麼名字 (畢竟小孩子長大後,家長說得出來小孩為什麼會叫這個名字。)

取英文名字沒有對錯。只要不要鬧出笑話或在二十年後造成兒女的困擾就好。大家做個參考吧!

膳魔師保溫瓶 Thermos Funtainer Bottle

2009-07-27T17:41:00.000-07:00

I have been looking to buy another Thermos Funtainer bottle (http://www.thermos.com) for my daughter. She has only one and I bought that 2 years ago. I missed the Toys R Us sale last week when it was selling for $11.24. I think Target sells it for $15.99 this year. If memory serves me correctly, the cheapest Target ever sold it for was $13. So when my friend told me that Big Lots is selling them for $9 this week, I rushed over! They only had the Flower pattern left. Another friend went to a different Big Lots and they had more varieties for both the boys and the girls. The price tags on the bottles said $10, but the Big Lots flyer said $9, so they honored the $9 advertising and charged me $9 per bottle.

This $9 Funtainer bottle is the old model (with a thin, rectangular lid opener), but it includes an extra set of spout and straw which the newer Funtainers do not have.

If you have any kids in school, this is the perfect companion for lunch or snacks. It keeps drinks really cold! So run to your nearest Big Lots as soon as you can.

昨天我妹告訴我說她想要買罐 Thermos Funtainer Bottle 膳魔師兒童保溫瓶(http://www.thermos.com) 給她的女兒。我就罵她不早說, 因為上上星期玩具翻斗城 (Toys R Us) 有減價, 才 $11.24。當初我有去看,可是店裏只有賣男孩子的樣式,女兒不喜歡我就沒買。我妹說她女兒男孩子樣式的保溫瓶她也能接受, 所以我一早就趕到 Toys R Us 。結果店裏恢復原價, 又是 $14.99 了。我知道 Target 的價錢是 $15.99 , 所以我決定打電話問一個朋友看她在 Toys R Us 減價時有沒有多買。她說沒有多買可是 Big Lots 在減價,一個才賣 $9! 天大的好消息, 我馬上趕到 Big Lots 買了店裏剩下的三個兒童保溫瓶。這個膳魔師兒童保溫瓶是二、三年前的樣型, 打開蓋子的按紐是長方形,平平的。新的樣型的開蓋按紐是圓形的。舊型的保溫瓶內有多送一套吸管, 新型的保溫瓶內就沒有多給一套吸管了。

比較奇怪的是, 在 Big Lots店裏, 這商品的標價是 $10, 電腦也掃描到 $10,不過我告訴店員說妳們的報紙廣告寫的價錢是$9, 所以她只好收我 $9。我買了三罐, 花了$29.63 (含稅)。女兒高興,我妹也高興!

女兒的保溫便當盒 Zojirushi's Mr. Bento

2009-07-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

I have decided to buy Zojirushi Mr. Bento Stainless-Steel lined Lunch Jar, Silver for my daughter. It's selling on www.Amazon.com for $36. We have Amazon Prime, so shipping is free. Since Amazon doesn't have a store in California, there is no sales tax applied to all sales originated in California. I saved 9.75% in sales tax. I have been looking for a similar Bento jar when we visited Taiwan and Japan last December, but similar models were selling around $60 (or more in Japan) in Taiwan. $60 is a lot of money for a child's lunch container. Thermos' Funtainers are selling at Target for $15.99, so in comparison, anything over $20 is pricey. I have been browsing Amazon lately for larger Thermos containers, so Amazon knew I was looking for a lunch container. So when I logged in today, I saw this Mr. Bento product right in my Amazon front page.

At $36, it's still pricey, but with our school lunches costing $2.75 per lunch, we'll break even at about 30 lunches. Not a bad deal considering I know my daughter will be eating well in the coming school year. After reading the reviews of this product, the only drawback is the smell and odor that potentially can persist in the container and the fact that it's not machine washable. I'll have to be more diligent in washing the containers as soon as my daughter comes home from school. If anyone knows of any effective detergent (or substance) that will wash off the grease and odor in these plastic containers easily, please let me know!

我剛剛上網時,我的 www.Amazon.com 的首頁出現了象印牌 (ZOJIRUSHI) 不鏽鋼保溫便當盒SL-JAE14 的圖案。上面寫說 $36 (55折, 省了$29)。我當機立斷, 馬上決定買兩個,一個給女兒用,一個兒子跟老公可以合用。其實這類型的保溫便當盒我已經看了很久。去年十二月回台北和去日本玩時也有去找 (但是沒有很積極的在找)。看到的都在 NT$1,500 (US$50) 以上。日本更是貴。後來就擱著沒買, 想說請住在台北的朋友幫我注意,有促銷時再幫我買。這事一隔就半年多了,眼看著再六個星期就要開學了。學校的事、務又要開始準備了!

雖然一個不鏽鋼保溫便當盒要 $36 是有點貴了些,但是女兒學校的午餐費是 $2.75。女兒正當發育期,吃得比我還多。想說沒有個大點的便當盒裝食物也不行, 所以一看到 Amazon 有在賣這象印牌的不鏽鋼保溫便當盒,我馬上下訂單。我們有加入 Amazon Prime, 所以二天內的運費可以免付了, 再加上加州人從 Amazon 買東西免加稅, 所以我又省了9.75% 的稅金。還真的不買不行。只要女兒在這學年帶超過三十次的便當牛餐,我買這保溫便當盒的本錢就回來了!

現在比較讓我擔心的是--我聽說這款保溫便當盒裏面的內碗是塑膠做的, 所以污垢及氣味常常殘留在碗裏, 很難清洗。看樣子我這個做媽的要勤勞一點! 女兒一回家就要馬上把保溫便當盒洗乾淨! 如果大家有什麼清洗塑膠碗的祕訣 -- 任何可以除油及除臭的秘方或清潔劑, 請各位不妨留言告訴我! 先謝謝大家喽!

FEDEX 終於把貨送到了! FEDEX delivered!

2009-07-25T11:11:00.000-07:00

FEDEX finally delivered my husband's Dell Laptop today at 11:05 am. I didn't hear the door bell ring at all. I asked my husband how he knew the FEDEX man was here. He said he just happened to be outside. Oh sure! I'll bet he was standing outside the door waiting for the FEDEX truck!

老公寶貝的 Dell 筆記型電腦終於寄到了。可是我並沒有聽到我們的門鈴響。

我就問老公: “你怎麼知道要開門?”
老公: “我剛好站在門口!”

哪有那麼剛好的!

拜託, FEDEX! Come on, FEDEX!

2009-07-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

My husband ordered a refurbished laptop from Dell on-line last week. It is scheduled to arrive today. My husband called many times this morning asking whether his laptop has arrived. I volunteered to stay home and wait for the delivery. I really don't like the idea of these FEDEX drivers leaving shipped items right at our front door. I would prefer to be home to sign for the shipment.

Anyways, I waited until my husband got home at 4 pm, then I had to take my son to his violin lesson. It's hard to tell when FEDEX will get to my house. It can be any time. The tracking of the shipment said the laptop is already in the truck ready for delivery. So we waited. When I got home at 6:30pm, still no delivery. That's when we decided to call FEDEX and find out what happened to our shipment. The customer service rep looked into it and informed us that their driver told them that he came by our house at 6 pm, but no one was home. Oh come on, FEDEX! Both my husband and my daughter were home. No one rang our door bell. Later, my husband even went outside to test out our door bell. There is nothing wrong with our door bell.

I don't think the FEDEX driver ever rang our door bell. It's possible that he didn't even come by. I am guessing that because he couldn't finish the delivery, he just said that no one was home. It's annoying when we waited the entire day and the delivery was never made. We were able to reschedule the delivery of the laptop for tomorrow morning between 9 and 10. Hopefully we'll get it as scheduled.

When a courier says the package will be delivered on a certain day, they should deliver it as promised. Mind you, FEDEX is not the only company who doesn't like to ring door bells. Our UPS delivery man and our post man simply knock and then leave the packages in front of our house. So my advice to these delivery services is...please ring the door bell!!!

上星期老公從 Dell 訂了一部翻新過的 (refurbished) 筆記型電腦。一早網路查詢時知道今天會送到, 所以我和小孩就在家等貨。我們不想錯過送貨時間,就怕有時候送貨員找不到人,就直接把貨放在門口。老公在公司惦記著他的新電腦, 所以我就告訴他說我可以在家等快遞。我本來是想去買菜的,結果什麼地方都不敢去。

我在家等了一天, 四點半才跟兒子出門, 陪他去上小提琴課。老公及女兒則繼續在家等。結果等到晚上七點多才再打電話去 Fedex問。 Fedex 說它們的司機登記六點曾經到過我家,可是沒人在家。真是睜眼說瞎話! 老公及女兒都一直在家啊! 根本沒人按過電鈴! 可是 Fedex 的客服說它們相信自己司機所說的話。

我想一定是 Fedex 司機送貨送不完隨便說說。哪有人送運不按門鈴的?!?! 明明就有人在家啊! 重點是跟 Fedex 爭這個沒有用。最後還是重新安排了送貨時間。 Fedex 說明天早上九點至十點會再送一次。我想到時候老公得搬個椅子到門口坐著等那 Fedex 的貨車。今天其實我有好多事情要辦喔! 真的是浪費我的時間!

膳魔師保溫午餐袋 Thermos Lunch Bags

2009-07-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

Last September, my daughter decided that her Princess lunch bag was too girly. She was too embarrassed to carry it, so I rushed to Target and bought her a grown-up looking lunch bag. The one I bought was a pink Thermos Raya Lunch Cooler (see photo on the left). She loved it and we used it to the max. It is designed to fit 6 cans. I would fill it with 2 Ziploc containers and 2 juice pouches as well as various snack bags. I think my daughter grew quite a bit this year thanks to the amount of food I can pack in this Thermos lunch cooler. However, by May, the seam right below the handle (and above the zipper) became loose. Soon, a ripped hole developed along the seam. We still used it until the end of the school year. So I was going to throw it out when the school year was over. But the more I thought about it, I decided the lunch cooler should have lasted more than 1 year because I have never packed anything that was heavier than 6 cans in that bag. So I went on-line and emailed Thermos. Within a week, a customer service representative from Thermos emailed me back and asked me to send our Thermos lunch cooler back for repairs. In mid-June, I sent the lunch cooler back to Thermos (I spent $4 in postage). I had totally forgotten about it until I got a package from Thermos this morning.

When we opened the box, a nice surprise was sitting in the bag. It was a brand new blue Raya Sling Pack Lunch Cooler (see photo on the right) that can fit 12 cans!!! My daughter was so happy. We have been searching for a larger Thermos lunch cooler for September. My daughter has been progressively eating much more these days and the old 6-can lunch cooler just would not fit all the food I pack for her school day. We have been going to different Target stores looking for the perfect lunch bag. We found a Thermos Raya Lunch Duffle bag that was perfect for her. It's a 9-can bag. Unfortunately, we weren't able to find the pattern she liked, so we haven't bought it yet. So that blue Sling Pack Lunch Cooler arrived at the perfect time.

The moral of this story is that if a product becomes un-usable, we should first check the warranty of the product (or if there are any recalls on the product) before we throw it out. If it is manufactured by a reputable company and it can be sent back for repairs, please do so. This is not the first time I call a company and inquired about a product's warranty status, but Thermos proves to be a noteworthy company. It's customer service is efficient and friendly. They get things done and we will continue to be Thermos' loyal customer.

去年九月,女兒上四年級。開學不久後,女兒向我要個新的午餐袋。問題是她的午餐袋很新又漂亮(有三位迪斯尼公主在上面), 我就告訴她目前不會買給她, 因為她的午餐袋還新新的, 可是 Target 九月底通常會來個清倉大賣 (75% off ), 我說到時候我再買個新的給她。這件事就到個段落, 女兒也沒再說什麼。直到第二天我載她上學,她下車時大包小包的,可是我看到她刻意的把她的午餐包藏在她的大腿及書包中間。那時我才恍然大悟, 原來她是不好意思再帶那公主包包了。她也沒講清楚。這輩子我最防的是不要我小孩為了某種原因被其他小朋友取笑。我竟然為了省二、三塊錢有可能讓我女兒被同學取笑。我二話不說就殺到 Target 幫女兒買了個新的午餐袋。我選中膳魔師保溫杯袋 (Thermos Raya Lunch Cooler), 才$6.99 。粉紅色的袋子(如圖一), 我一看就知道女兒會喜歡。再加上這袋子可以容下六個汽水罐, 我覺得這樣才裝得下二個便當盒。女兒看到她新的午餐袋時, 高興得不得了。我就捨不得罵她了 (我要她學會爭取自己想要的東西,而不要輕意放棄爭取)。

這一天來,女兒天天帶這午餐帶。每天裝滿食物去學校, 回家時袋子裏也都空空的了。所以呢....她在學校吃得多, 這學年也長高不少。到了五月時,我發現這袋子在手把下方有個裂痕,而且越來洞就越大。心裏想說反正只要能用到學期末就可以把這袋子扔了, 八月時再買個更大的午餐袋給女兒。放暑假後,我看了那午餐袋,想了一下, 決定寫 email 給膳魔師公司 (Thermos) 詢問補修這袋子的費用 (雖然女兒上學不用了,可是我們去野餐時帶著還蠻好用的)。我想說好歹也有一年的保修吧! 結果膳魔師公司的客服回答我, 要我把袋子寄回去給它們。如果能修就免費幫我們修,不能修補的話,它們會再寄一個新的午餐袋給我們。我是有告訴膳魔師公司的客服說我這袋子才用了八個月就壞了。
結果在六月中旬, 我花了四塊把袋子用郵寄回去給膳魔師公司 (Thermos) 修補。很快的,我也把這件事給忘了。

這幾天趁著有很多 back-to-school sale, 忙著幫兒女添購上學要用的文具用品, 順便看了膳魔師公司 (Thermos) 所推出的 Raya 午餐袋新系列。我和女兒看中了 Raya Lunch Duffle (如圖三), 大概 $10.99,可以容下九個汽水罐。可是架上都沒有女兒喜歡的圖樣, 所以就擱著也沒買。結果今天一早收到一箱從膳魔師公司 (Thermos) 寄來的包裹。箱子一開, 裏面竟然是一個全新的藍色午餐背包 Raya Sling Pack Lunch Cooler (如圖二)。女兒高興, 媽媽也高興。這新的背包午餐袋可以容下十二個汽水罐, 所以夠長,可以放整罐的膳魔師保溫瓶在裏面。這下子女兒以後上學的午餐有可能是三菜一湯了!

從這次經驗可以學到美國公司對於產品的認知及客服的要求甚高。平常東西壞了,一定要查查這產品公司的保修計劃 (warranty)。膳魔師公司 (Thermos) 的產品信譽這麼好, 我們繼續會是它的忠實顧客!

小約翰肯尼迪 John F. Kennedy Jr.

2009-07-16T22:39:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been 10 years since John F. Kennedy, Jr.'s plane crashed into the water off the coast of Martha's Vineyard! He was from my generation. He graced the cover of People magazines numerous times and girls like me followed his adventures and mis-adventures (not very many) whenever possible. I read stories of his prep school days, his time at Brown, his several attempts at passing the bar, and finally his marriage to Carolyn Bessette. I always knew people who knew people who knew him. There is always that 6 degrees of separation. But he seemed friendly and unattainable at the same time.

I still remembered the day he died. I was 7 months pregnant with my first baby and the 11 o' clock late night news was filled with the stories of his disappearance (or rather the disappearance of his plane). It was shocking to see a man at his peak ended his life this way. Two years before, it was Princess Diana.

It's hard to explain what role John Kennedy, Jr. played in our generation's psyche, but for those of us who grew up in the 1980s, he symbolizes youth and privilege. The Kennedy family is American royalty. The public's fascination with the Kennedy family did end with John Jr.'s death, but the myth continues. I feel compelled to write something about him on the 10th anniversary of his death. He would have been 49 this year.

十年前的今天, 小約翰肯尼迪所駕駛的小型飛機在大西洋墬毀。機上同行的有他結婚三年的太太及太太的姊姊。小約翰肯尼迪是要飛到瑪莎的葡萄園 (Martha's Vineyard) 去參加堂妹的婚禮。至今,記憶猶新,我還記得小約翰肯尼迪出事的那天晚上, 電視新聞不斷的播出小約翰肯尼迪飛機失蹤的消息。雖然沒有人說出口,可是大家心裏有數, 只是不太願意面對事實。我那時懷孕七個多月, 第一胎, 正在享受美好愉快的夏天。當小約翰肯尼迪的死訊被證實之後, 我的心情真的是很複雜。

我從小到大, 小約翰肯尼迪的故事一直是家喻戶曉的故事。在他成年之前, 因為有媽媽的保護,他鮮少出現在媒體中。可是我總是會從朋友那裏聽到有關他的故事。我的朋友的朋友認識他的朋友的朋友--所謂的第六度分離。所以我們是同個年代的人。出社會後, 小約翰肯尼迪常常出現在人物雜誌的封面。他的故事充滿了精彩的內容, 高潮迭起,不是一般人能過的生活。只是他這一路走來, 適應得很好, 眼看著就要到達他人生的巔峰。可是在那一瞬間,他永遠消失了! 人生的無常真讓人不勝稀噓。

今天是小約翰肯尼迪逝世十週年的記念日, 可是並沒有任何報章雜誌報導了有關他的故事。我想如果他能多活個十年, 創造出他個人的政治生涯或事業, 或許他就不會那麼快就被世人遺忘了。如果小約翰肯尼迪還活著, 他今年49歲!

阿公級的男人 May-December marriages

2009-07-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

The hottest news in Taiwan's tabloid media this week is the marriage of the Chairman and President of Taiwan's Pacific Electric Wire & Cable Co. Ltd., Tao-Tsun Sun, and his 28 year-old bride. There is a 32-year age gap between the newlywed couple. This is Mr. Sun's third marriage and he also had several long-term relationships with women during his marriage. At first look, there is really nothing wrong with Mr. Sun enjoying a May-December marriage, but it's hard to imagine a man who owes his shareholders millions of dollar for running his company to the ground, would have the time and money to wine and dine young women.

Still, it's rather unfair that only men with reasonable financial means can afford to remarry after the demise of the previous marriage, either via divorce or death. So marrying a woman 32 younger is still a sign of wealth and/or power.

This news clip is rather funny. It's about a satirical comedy show in Taiwan. The actors made fun of Mr. Sun and his new bride.

最近臺灣最夯的新聞就是台灣大哥大創辦人孫道存先生的再婚消息。他娶了一位小他三十二歲的吳小姐。媒體喜歡這種新聞, 再加上孫先生本身的情史非常輝煌, 所以這星期的新聞焦點都在講這件事。其實如果孫先生不是個有錢的人, 那麼老了, 怎麼會有人要嫁他呢? 我不是不相信有黃昏之戀這種事,可是老男人如果沒錢, 要談個戀愛, 談何容易?

我有個親戚前幾年喪偶, 所有親朋好友都希望他能續玄,找個人來做伴。說難聽一點是找個人來照顧他。雖然我這親戚身體很硬朗, 又有學識,可是錢不多, 他一個月大概有五萬台幣的收入。有房子住,免貸款 (可是房子是在兒女名下,當初是太太遺留給小孩的), 所以生活得很好。每年還能出國旅遊二次以上。他當然也很想找個伴陪他到處遊玩,可是只有五萬塊一個月的收入,又已經七十五歲了, 誰要嫁他啊?! 其實我這位親戚也清楚他的積蓄只夠他一個人出國玩,而不夠二個人一起出國玩。所以他也覺得要交到一位知心的女朋友是件非常難的事,更不用說結婚了!

所以喽, 阿公級的男人要談戀愛、結婚還真是沒點錢不行呢!

往事只能回憶 Catching up to past blog entries

2009-07-14T06:53:00.000-07:00

I was going over the entries I had published in this blog and, to my surprise, I had started, but never published, 49 entries! I had every intention of going back to finish up what I was writing and publish every entry. But as time passes, I wonder if anyone would bother reading my old blog entries from months ago?!

這兩天在整理這個部落格的時候,才發現我還有四十九篇尚未發表的文章。都是我過去寫了一半的文章。不是只寫了英文就是只寫了中文。反正還要花很多時間,才有可能把那些文章全補上。可是我在想...看我部落格的讀者們會再回去看我以前寫的文章嗎? 有些文章有可能已經不即時了。我會盡快完成補日記的動作!

大雪拼/大血拼! Stefan Kaelin 75% off sale!

2009-07-11T23:31:00.000-07:00

My brother-in-law called yesterday and said their favorite ski equipment store in Aspen, Stefan Kaelin, has a store in Newport Beach and it is having a closing sale. Everything at the store is 75% off. I was reluctant to go at first because I know my in-laws frequent high-priced boutique stores and the things sold in that store are likely out of our price range. But since my husband is eager to outfit himself and the kids for the next skiing season (and what better time to do it than the off-season?!), I figure the trip will give us an excuse to drive down to Orange County for an overdue visit to the South Coast Plaza.

We made a pit stop at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant Pho 79 (http://www.pho79.com/) in Westminster for lunch.

We got to Stefan Kaelin (http://www.stefankaelin.com/) at 3pm and proceeded to spend the next 3 hours there browsing through the entire store for bargains. At our last ski trip in April, we had bought some ski goggles for the kids already, so they don't really need any other skiing equipment. What they need are ski jackets and pants that they can grow into. I was surprised to see all the kids' ski/snowboard jackets at the store selling between $25 and $35. The store is also giving an extra 10% off if we pay cash. I found this beautiful Lavender Burton Element Jacket (Girl, size L) for $25! I figure with another 10% off for paying by cash, the jacket will be an amazing deal. I also found some Hot Chilies (thermal underwear for winter sports) for $9 (children) and $19 (adults) and ski/snowboard socks for $5. My husband bought a set of skis, poles, ski boots, and a ski bag with wheels for $250 total!!! Anyways, I ended up buying 6 ski/snowboard jackets for the kids (and my sister's kids) and 1 pair of ski pants for my daughter, as well as a pair of winter boots for myself. The total came to about $550, including my husband's loot, but the lady gave us another 25% discount as well as the 10% off for paying everything in cash. We paid a total of $480 for 8 large bags of skiing outfits and equipment. So my daughter's lavender Burton jacket came to about $18 (regular price: $120) and the matching skiing/snowboarding pants was only $16. I don't think I can find any winter outfit for that price anywhere else. I am psyched; we are ready for skiing this winter and the next winter!! For those that are interested, the Stefan Kaelin store in Newport Beach is located at the corner of Coast Highway and Tustin in downtown Newport Beach (2700 W. Coast Highway, Newport Beach, CA).

昨天我小姑的先生告訴我老公在 Newport Beach 有一家有名的滑雪專賣店正在舉辦清倉大減價! 這家店(Stefan Kaelin, http://www.stefankaelin.com/) 的本店在 Aspen, Colorado。Newport Beach 的店是分店。因為老闆要把 Newport Beach 的店關起來, 所有店內的商品將要廉價出售。我本來也懶得開那麼遠的車子去逛一家價錢不凡的滑雪專賣店。可是想想我已經好久沒有去 Costa Mesa 的 South Coast Plaza 購物中心。我們順道去看看也無妨。

我們每次去 South Coast Plaza 購物中心時都會路過越南城,就會順便去吃碗越南麵 (Pho79, http://www.pho79.com/) 再繼續開往 Costa Mesa。我的兒子喜歡吃的東西不多,可是他就偏偏很愛吃越南麵, 也不知道為什麼。

我們大概三點多到達 Newport Beach。一進 Stefan Kaelin 的店, 就看到一箱一箱的滑雪用的配件放在地上。我想我得花點時間一箱一箱的找看看有沒有什麼便宜的東西可以買。結果發現真正便宜的東西是掛在衣架上一件件的滑雪衣物。小孩子穿的滑雪外套及褲子都好像沒人在買。一看標籤才發現一件外套才 US$25 (原價 $90-$120)。太棒了, 連在 TJ Maxx 或 outlet 店也不可能找到這麼便宜的雪衣或冬天穿的外套。大小孩的服裝只分 Sizes XS, S, M, L 及 XL 。我看到只剩下一兩件 size S 及 size M 的外套,其它都是大號的外套。這下子女兒賺到了她選了一件淺紫色的滑雪外套 (US$25, 如圖) 及同系列的滑雪褲 (US$20)。我總共拿了六件小孩外套、一件女兒穿的滑雪褲、十雙滑雪襪 (一雙US$5)、二雙靴子 (US$39) 及四件滑雪時穿的內衣( Hot Chilies)。只可惜大人的滑雪外套還是賣得太貴。我看到一件原價 US$2,000 的雪衣, 店家要賣 US$500! 大貴了, 根本下不了手, 也買不起。反正我也不滑雪, 買滑雪外套做什麼?! 我老公自己跑到樓上選了一套滑雪板及滑雪桿, 外加一雙滑雪鞋及二個裝這些滑雪裝備的袋子。他的總額是大概 US$280 左右,我選的東西加起來大概也要 US$250。結帳的時候, 老闆娘再便宜我們七五折, 然後因為我們付現, 她又算我們九折。我們連稅總供付了 US$480, 搬了九大包的東西上車。我們挑選的東西足夠我們用二、三年! 常去滑雪的朋友應該知道我們賺到了, 真的買到不少便宜的東西。

之後,我們又到 South Coast Plaza 邊的 Nordstrom Rack 去逛了一下。老公買了兩雙上班時可以穿的鞋子, 然後也幫女兒買了一雙夾腳拖鞋。逛完 Nordstrom Rack,小孩就喊肚子 (奇怪,我怎麼還飽得很?!), 只好放棄去 South Coast Plaza 購物中心血拼, 直接到 Nordstrom Rack 旁的 Karl Strauss (http://www.karlstrauss.com/) 啤酒釀酒公司吃晚餐。兒童餐份量很多(US$6.25,包含飲料), 兒子根本吃不完,只好打包回家。我叫了一杯 Pin Tail Pale Ale 啤酒 (US$5), 淡淡的還有柑橘類水果的味道,還真不錯喝!

喝了點酒,就不想讓老公開車上高速公路。我就建議先到附近的 Target 逛逛。我想買幾個塑膠箱子回家。我想開始整理房間,把冬天的衣服收起來。這星期 Target 56-quarts 的塑膠箱子只要 US$4,還算便宜。我也順便買了些文具用品回家。

今天真的是滿載而歸!

阿公阿嫲從歐州回美國 My Parents

2009-07-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

My parents returned from Europe after 2 cruises to Northern Europe. I had forgotten which flight my parents were flying in, so I had to wait at home all day yesterday. My dad finally called at 11:30pm and I rushed to the airport to pick them up.

Cruising is my father's favorite pastime and because of this hobby, I had become an expert on cruises because of all the research I had to do for him. On June 12, 2009, my parents boarded Holland America's MS Eurodam for a 10-day roundtrip cruise to Russia via Copenhagen with 4 friends. Then on June 22, 2009, they flew from Copenhagen to London. They had an overnight stay at a London Heathrow airport hotel, booked via Priceline. Then on June 23, 2009, they took a shuttle bus from London to Southampton and boarded Cunard's Queen Victoria for a 14-day cruise through northern Europe with 6 other friends. This would sound like a once-in-a-lifetime vacation for anyone, but my parents have been on these two cruise itineraries before. They just haven't tried the Eurodam (which they raved!) and Queen Victoria (which they said was a waste of money!) before, so they were eager to try out the new ships.

Anyways, as it turned out, my parents flew back to LA from London via Air New Zealand. I would never have guessed, but in April, my dad had found these inexpensive fares on-line and booked them. I think he did tell me about it, but the information completely escaped my mind.

My parents will be visiting us until Thursday, so it'll only be a 2-day visit. They will leave for Vancouver tomorrow afternoon. My sister lives in Vancouver. My parents split their time between Taipei, Vancouver, and traveling, using my house as intermittent stopover between their travels. So I actually see my parents quite often, but just never for a long period of time. Even though my parents' visit is short, my kids are always excited to see their Taiwan Grandpa and Grandma.

昨天阿公和阿嫲從倫敦飛回洛杉磯,可是我卻不知道他們什麼時候到? 找遍所有 email 資料及詢問了所有的相關人士, 都沒有人知道他們會坐哪一班飛機回洛杉磯。我只是覺得他們會晚上到(感覺好像阿公有告訴過我),可是還是不敢大意,整天在家等阿公的電話,哪裏都不敢去。最後阿公是在晚上十一點半來電話說已經出關了。我在二十五分鐘內火速的趕到機場,好在路上都沒車,一下子就到了,沒讓阿公阿嫲等太久! 阿公也好厲害,竟然是買 Air New Zealand 從倫敦飛回洛杉磯。現在回想起來,才記得阿公在四月份有提起他買到 Air New Zealand 的便宜票。是我自己忘記的。

阿公喜歡坐船旅遊。七十三歲的他自己會上網找便宜的票,然後再叫我幫他訂購。我還上網幫他找別人的郵輪旅遊報告。阿公都自己看 (英文的喔!),自己決定到了停靠港站之後,是要用自助方式還是要花點錢透過船公司出遊。他玩出心得來,我也變成郵輪旅遊專家了!

阿公阿嫲明天下午就飛回溫哥華。我妹她住溫哥華,如果阿公阿嫲他們沒事都會回溫哥華去幫我妹看看小孩。溫哥華的生活機能對退休的台灣人來講非常的好! 阿公阿嫲整年就這樣的飛來飛去,不是回臺北就是去旅遊。有空就去溫哥華小住一番。三不五十就一定會經過洛杉磯來我這兒住上幾天 (轉機嘛!), 所以阿公阿嫲他們是常來洛杉磯的, 只是停留的時間都不會很長。這一次, 阿公阿嫲他們只待了二天二夜就回溫哥華去了!

這就是美國人! Happy Birthday, America!

2009-07-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

July 4th is a big day for my family. It's my father's birthday. Currently, he is somewhere in Europe on a cruise, so I can't wish him a Happy Birthday even if I want to. I am glad that he is enjoying life and doing what he loves the most--traveling. Happy Birthday, Grandpa, from your family in Los Angeles!

July 4th is also America's birthday. My family celebrates it every year by going to the beach to see the fireworks. It's a tradition that I started when I was a graduate student in Philadelphia. In 1988, I went down to Washington, D. C. with my friends to see the fireworks in front of the Washington Monument. I parked myself on a hill at the National Mall and waited until the darkness came. It was spectacular seeing the marvelous display of fireworks at our nation's capital. Then it just so happened that my first trip with my husband was to New York City on July 4, 1997 and we were able to see the Macy's fireworks over the Hudson River. Over the years, we would make an effort to see fireworks every July 4th, no matter where we are. Even when my kids were babies, we would bundle them up (yes, it would still be cold and windy on July 4 in Los Angeles), put them in strollers and took them to the beach to see July 4th fireworks. Most of the time, my kids would have fallen asleep in the strollers before the fireworks began. This year, we had another family joining us at the beach. The kids sat together and waited patiently for the fireworks to start. The grownups sat in folding chairs and chatted.

My kids were really excited about July 4th. After all, today is their country's birthday. They are proud to be Americans. They say the Pledge of Allegiance at school every morning, and they mean it. It makes people like me, who pledge allegiance to a country that doesn't exist, think about what it means to have a country that they can be proud of. When they woke up this morning, they put on outfits that they had already picked out yesterday. They wore red, white, and blue!

美國國慶日是我父親的生日。我們通常會用這做籍口,全家會聚在一塊兒一起去玩。可是今年不一樣,在六月中旬,我爸媽就已經從台灣飛到歐州去坐遊輪了。所以今年我們全家無法一起慶祝阿公的生日。到目前為止,阿公阿嫲還在船上。雖然無法親口祝福我父親生日快樂,不過我知道他現在過得很愉快,正在做他最愛的事....那就是坐船環遊四海。快樂也不過是如此--做自己愛做的事!

我家有二個土生土長的美國人。今天對他們來講是個重要的日子, 是美國獨立的日子。他們在學校的每一天早上都要朗誦對美國的效忠誓約 (Pledge of Allegiance)。了不起的是, 美國小孩對於自己國家的效忠熱情不會因為總統是誰而改變或減少。愛國就是愛自己的國家。我的小孩生長在美國,他們愛美國也是無法改變的事實。真是讓做為臺灣人的我有所省思。

在美國國慶日看煙火是我家的傳統。1988年的美國國慶日,我正在東岸讀研究所,那天我與同學做火車到華盛頓,去到 National Mall 前,坐在山坡上等看煙火。白天野餐、下午聽 PBS (美國公共電視台) 的露天演奏會、晚上看煙火--真是終身難忘。畢業後, 我也曾經到費城碼頭邊看煙火。結婚前跟老公去了一趟紐約。剛好是美國國慶日,兩個人就順著38街,往河邊方向走。在 Hudson River 旁,我們看到 Macy's 的煙火秀。那時真的是非常開心。那種場面也是前所未有的。

現在做媽媽了,我和老公在每年的美國國慶日都帶著小孩到 Redondo Beach 的海邊看煙火秀。那裏的煙火秀都晚上九點半才開始。年年都要早點到海邊 “站/佔” 位子。洛杉磯沿海一帶的城巿都有放煙火的習慣。所以站在 Redondo Beach 的海邊,往左望,可以看到 Palos Verdes 市所舉辦的煙火會。往右望,可以看到 Manhattan Beach 市一直到 Santa Monica 巿 (甚至於 Malibu 巿) 所舉辦的煙火會。真的會讓人嘆為觀止!

我的兩個小孩其實已經是蠻大了,他們有他們自己慶祝美國國慶日的方法。姊弟倆在昨天就選好今天要穿的衣服。一早起床就穿上一身的紅、藍、白! 笑死我這個做媽的!

台灣情! Giving Birth to American Citizens

2009-07-02T15:23:00.000-07:00

In 1972, right after Nixon went to China, many wealthy Taiwanese immigrated overseas. Back in those martial law-enforced days, it was difficult to get exit visa to leave Taiwan, but people still immigrated. In the 1980s and 1990s, immigration to the U.S. became more difficult, so Taiwanese people found other countries to immigrate to--Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

As more wealth is accumulated in Taiwan, immigration is no longer restricted to the top echelon of the society. More and more upper-middle class have begin to find ways to get foreign passports without having to live there for the duration of obtaining the citizenship. It was no longer desirable to spend 3-5 years living in another country just so the family can obtain a foreign passport, risking family separation and loss of income. People began to look for short cuts which will enable them to obtain foreign passports without actually immigrating to the foreign country. One of those ways was to give birth in a foreign country. Once a baby is born in the United States, he/she automatically becomes an U. S. citizen.

The number one destination for giving birth in a foreign country is Los Angeles. It's a booming business sector which combined travel, health care, insurance, post-partum doula care, and bureaucratic services (application of SSN and passports for the newborn). Most of these facilities (birthing hostels) are situated in eastern part of Los Angeles where a substantial Chinese population is concentrated.

There is a lot of things a pregnant Taiwanese woman need to overcome to give birth in the United States:

1. She needs to fly before she is 24-weeks into her pregnancy. If an airline detects her advanced pregnancy, they can refuse to let her board the plane. This means she would have to leave her family/husband behind in Taiwan to wait in a birthing hostel in the United States until she gives birth.

2. She pays full amount for OB/GYN pre-natal care. Usually the birthing hostels would have already contracted a list of Chinese/Taiwanese-speaking obstetricians in their area who would do pre-natal care and delivery for a set amount of fees. The pregnant woman would have contractual obligation to pay for every medical expenses she incurs while awaiting the birth of her baby.

3. She must pray and hope that her baby will be born healthy. But in some cases, if the baby arrives early or complication developed from the birth, it would be a financial disaster for the new parents.

Once the baby is born, the birthing hostel would arrange for the new mom to “do-the-month” (special 30-day post-partum care and diet) for a month while they apply for the baby’s Social Security Number and the new United States passport for their trip back to Taiwan. Needless to say, to give birth overseas does not come cheap. Luckily, there are many services and packages that women can choose from so they can give birth to an American baby. There are fervent discussions over many portals regarding the pros and cons of giving birth aboard and why people want to do that. The most popular reasoning behind it all is that these parents want to give their babies more choices in life.

很多到美國生小孩的台灣媽咪都強調是要給自己的小孩多一種選擇。天下父母心,我絕對瞭解也讚同。可是這是什麼樣的一種選擇呢?

1. 可以到美國讀書。沒有拿美國護照的小孩長大後有好成績還是可以到美國讀研究所、深造。
2. 可以到美國居住。這個對沒有拿美國護照的小孩就比較麻煩了。可是在美國還是有很多臺灣人用盡各種辦法在美國住下來。最主要的是要有份不錯的工作才能在美國居住。有拿美國護照的小孩也一樣。他長大後還是要有能力跟美國人競爭,才有辦法在美國定居。
3. 可以到美國工作。沒有拿美國護照的小孩長大後有機會還是可以到美國工作。只是過程要靠公司及老板的賞識。
4. 可以到美國旅遊。這個沒有拿美國護照的小孩也照常可以到全世界旅遊。
5. 可以不用永遠住在臺灣。這就是重點!!!!!
6. 拿美國護照的小孩機會比較多。家裡有錢的小孩本來的生活機能及未來的機會都會比低收入的小孩高很多。
7. 拿美國護照的小孩比較好命。不一定,不過他們的機會肯定比別人多。
8. 拿美國護照的小孩也要同時拿一本臺灣護照才能免於三個月就要出國一次的命運。
9. 拿美國護照的小孩永遠當不了臺灣總統也無法擔任台灣的公職。也就是說這些趕著到美國生產的媽媽斷了自己小孩走政治的路!

三十幾年前,我父母親帶我們移民加拿大。媽媽留下來照顧我們,爸爸繼續留在臺灣賺錢,有空才飛到加拿大跟我們團聚。那時候(甚至於現在)不知羨慕死多少臺灣人。媽媽在五年後(三年的移民監就讓我們拿到加籍,除了我老爸),毅然的搬回台灣,留下十一年級的我和十年級的妹妹在加拿大自己生活。媽媽不那麼做不行, 畢竟老公真的是比小孩子重要。也就是這樣,才保住他們的婚姻。我和妹妹也順利上了加拿大的大學。這一切聽起來都很美好,可是妹妹和我在這整個過程中受了很多不必要的苦。如果我們當初沒有出國移民,我相信我倆也是有辦法就讀台灣頂尖的大學,畢業後繼續到國外深造。

學業完畢後,就業也沒問題。可是讓父母最擔心的還是我和妹妹的婚姻問題。受外國教育以及在外國長大的台灣女孩子基本上擇偶的範圍就很小,不是嫁外國人,就是嫁ABC(其實是跟嫁給外國人沒兩樣)。可是因為我不是ABC,又有點不中不西,根本就無法跟外國人談戀愛,總覺得文化背景不一樣,很難溝通。不知不覺的就只好回臺灣,希望能認識些台灣人。到最後也不行,緣份把我帶回美國,嫁給一個跟我有一模一樣背景的台裔美國人。那是我的好運氣。我差一點就因為我的成長背景而嫁不出去。我結婚時已經是三十三歲了! 我妹妹也拖到三十四歲才結婚。她嫁給一個跟她同行業的越南人(雖然兩人的收入高,可是畢竟文化及生長過程的不同,我妹這條婚姻路走得比我辛苦。)

妳說這是我們的選擇還是我父母親的選擇而造成我們後半輩子的命運?

話又說回來,在美國我有兩位好友,剛好都是從臺灣來的。一位是到美國讀研究所而認識了先生(先生是197O年代移民到美國的臺灣人)另一位是從台灣嫁來美國的(先生也是197O年代移民到美國的臺灣人,可是他在十幾年前回台灣相親把她娶回美國的)。我想說的是我們三個台灣女人過得差不多一樣的生活,可是我是唯一當年父母親想盡辦法讓我們移民到國外的人。至少我的朋友可以說她們的生活很多是他們自己的選擇,可是我總覺得我會淪流在國外是我父母親三十幾年前所做的決定而造成我後半生的命運。不管是移民到國外或跑到美國生小孩都是時代造成的悲劇。自己的國家不被其它國家認同及尊重(而且處處遭到某鄰國的威脅及牽制,所以台灣國民才需要想盡辦法找退路)。萬一臺灣不在是我們想要住的地方了,我們的下一代才有另一個自由民主的國家可以落地生根。我只替我的父母親婉惜,因為他們為了下一代的著想,而導至他們的子孫永遠不再是臺灣人了。我可以教我在美國出生的子女愛臺灣,可是這段對臺灣的情不可能再延續到他們的下一代了!

兒孫自有兒孫福。人算不如天算。搞不好將來臺灣會有一天不用讓台灣人這麼大費周章的想辦法弄一本外國護照來保護下一代的自由生活。

薑還是老的辣! Taiwanese Pop Music of the 70s

2009-07-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

I was going over the playlist of TV programs from Taiwan when I came across a show talking about Feng Fei-Fei, who is a Taiwanese pop music icon from the 1970s. Her husband recently died and the discussion was on her meteoric rise from obscurity to her abrupt departure from the music industry when she married her husband 25 years ago and moved to Hong Kong. I grew up listening to her music and saw her TV variety show every weekend when I was living in Taiwan. The show had on another singer (Lin Su-Rong) who was famous for imitating Ms. Feng because she sounded so much like her. Ms. Lin sang many songs that were made famous by Feng Fei-Fei on the show. Later, another famous variety show host (Kang Hong) who worked with Ms. Feng at the height of her popularity talked about those good old days. He also sang a song that was very popular when I was in elementary school. Gosh, that was a song I haven’t heard for over 30 years and it sure brought back fond memories of my childhood.

今天例行的觀看了 Taiwantalks 所上傳的台灣節目。我一眼就看到國民大會的 “鳳飛飛為愛堅強”,我馬上點閱。雖然我不是鳳飛飛的歌迷,可是她的歌我都非常的熟悉。我從小就愛看電視。星期六及星期天也一定會看鳳飛飛所主持的綜藝節目。 1976年移民到加拿大之後,我們每年暑假也都還會回台灣。那時候的台灣是戒嚴時期,只有三台的節目可以看(根本還沒有第四台),所以能做任何綜藝節目的主持人都是當紅的藝人。那時候大家都非常的愛看鳳飛飛所主持的綜藝節目。雖然這集國民大會的主題是在討論鳳飛飛在最頂峰的時候嫁給了住在香港的商人,而放棄當紅的歌唱生涯。最近她的先生過世,大家都很期待鳳飛飛能再復出。

于美人找了林淑容及康弘上節目談鳳飛飛。這兩位來賓都和鳳飛飛同台過。林淑容因為唱聲很像鳳飛飛,她都一直以模仿鳳飛飛為名。她在國民大會的節目中也唱了很多鳳飛飛的老歌。真讓人回味無窮。更妙的是聽康弘唱 "美麗的星期天" (Beautiful Sunday)。康弘雖然有把年紀了,可是他真的應證了薑還是老的辣!

Wii Spit! 任天堂的 Wii Sports

2009-06-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to my sister-in-law's (my husband's sister) house yesterday. They bought a Wii system in May. Everyone is eager to try it out. They have a Wii Sport game and a Wii Fit game. The kids' uncle asked the kids which one they want to play. My 5YO nephew blurted out, "I want to play Wii Spit!!!" (sport + fit = spit) You had to be there. It was very funny and cute.

The kids ended up choosing to play the Wii Sports games. Wii Sport is a lot of fun. We tried tennis, bowling, and baseball. The kids had more fun playing tennis and bowling; the baseball game was more unrealistic. The Wii system made these sports feel so easy. The kids actually worked up a sweat playing these games. It's understandable why the Wii system is so popular with families. It's a game that the whole family can get involved in. While the children play, the parents cheer them on, and vice versa.

My sister who lives in Vancouver has a Wii system at home too. My kids played with it last summer. It was torturous seeing them taking turns playing Super Mario Brothers. My sister had 2 controllers and there were 4 kids. It was too much work just trying to figure out whose turn it was to handle the controllers. But playing with Wii Sports is different. In real life, when you play bowling with friends, you would have to wait for your turns to play. So waiting to take turns in sports comes more naturally to kids.

My kids had so much fun yesterday that they are going back to their auntie's house again today to play Wii. My husband and I don't plan to buy the Wii system for our kids. My kids already have their own Nintendo DS, so they have plenty of games to play with. If they want to play Wii, they can always visit friends or relatives who have Wii. Wii is more fun when played with many people.

昨天帶小孩到我小姑家玩。他們買了一套任天堂的 Wii 系統。大家後來決定一起來玩 Wii Sport (體育)。結果我發現真的是超好玩! Wii Sport 包括保齡球 bowling, 網球 tennis, 高爾夫球 golf, 和拳擊 boxing。玩起還蠻傳真的。小孩大人都玩得滿身大汗! 小孩玩得太高興, 決定明天再去姑姑家玩 Wii。雖然我的小孩很喜歡玩 Wii, 但是我不打算買 Wii 給他們。他們已經一人一台 Nintendo DS 了,所以再買 Wii 給他們也是多餘的。買 Wii 給他們只是滿足他們一時的慾望而已(況且慾望是無止境的)。想玩 Wii 再去親朋好友家玩就行。

減肥計劃 The Eat-Less Plan

2009-06-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

The kids have been off school for over 2 weeks now and they have been getting up later and later. But no matter what time they get up, they still ask for a breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus 2 snacks in between the main meals. When they are in school, I would combine breakfast and lunch and simply eat a light dinner. It's not hard to eat light at night because I rarely feel like eating anything after cooking a full meal for my family. Now that the kids are home all day long, I eat with them and this has not been good for me. My kids are growing. My daughter grew 1 cm. in 2 weeks. I have already gained 5 pounds in 2 week's time. Warning bells are going off in my head!

I have always been slightly on the "chubby" side. I use the word chubby cautiously because it's how I feel, and not necessarily what others perceived of me. At 5'4" (165 cm) tall, I fluctuate between 128 lbs. and 132 lbs. I would like to be 120 lbs., but many friends have advised me that I shouldn't loose too much weight because women over 40 have a tendency to have skinny face. It's true, my face is the first place to loose the fat when I loose weight. I look gaunt if I go under 125 lbs. So I have been happily controlling my weight to hover around 128 lbs.

I know about dieting. I have been doing (or thinking about diets) as far back as 13. These diet thoughts don't stay too far back in my mind. With age, I realized that no matter how much I weigh, I have a certain body image of myself. I will never be satisfied with how heavy my body weighed. If I am not happy with myself, even if I weigh 110 lbs., I am not going to be happy. I also realized that the only great thing about being skinny is that clothes look great on the body. With time, I dealt with my weight issues and I resolved it by making one important decision--I won't date anyone who doesn't weigh at least 40 lbs heavier than me. I ended up marrying someone who weighed 50 lbs. more than me at the wedding. Consequently, even when I was pregnant, my husband still weighed more than me! That being said, I am still a bit envious of my own daughter, who at age 9, looks tall and slender. She looks great in every single piece of clothing I buy for her. I am hoping she doesn't inherit my body-type genes, so that she'll stay tall and slender all her life.

Getting back to my diet plan for this month. Since I don't like to exercise, the only way I can loose a bit of weight is to eat less. Less carbohydrate to be precise. No more cheesecakes, bread, and ice cream. Stick with the principles of "eat only when I am hungry" and "don't eat kids' leftovers".

小孩已經放假兩個禮拜了。不管他們睡到幾點,都會要求照常吃三餐,外加兩次點心。我也跟著兩個正在發育的小孩吃。這下好了,我不但不會發育,我發胖了。兩個禮拜胖了五磅(二公斤)! 應該是開始減肥的時候了。其實我對減肥這東西並不陌生。從我十三歲開始,我腦子裏時常想著要如何減肥。其實我不算胖,只是有點肥肥、肉肉的感覺。我大概是 165 公分高, 五十八至六十公斤左右。我一直是希望瘦到五十公斤左右,但是我成人後,最瘦時也只達到五十四公斤而已,所以我的目標都訂在五十四公斤左右。可是四十歲過後,很多朋友都叫我不能太瘦,因為都只瘦到臉,看起來蒼老。我真是太為難了,不知道要選看起來老,還是要選看起來胖。最後也因為無法瘦到五十四公斤而放棄。看起來年輕還是比較重要!

我三十歲左右時,一直無法克服這體重的問題。後來我想通了。對於擇偶的條件我又多加了一項:那就是我的男朋友或未來的老公一定要比我高和至少比我胖二十公斤以上。在我結婚那天,我的老公比我胖二十五公斤! 後來我懷孕變胖了,我的老公還是比我胖! 我再也不用煩惱這體重的問題了。話又說回來。我看到我又高又瘦的九歲女兒,我還是有點羨慕。她不管穿什麼衣服都好看。我幫她買衣服也很簡單。只要價錢可以、尺寸對、款式好看,女兒就能穿得漂亮。這是我從小都沒有的經驗。我最討厭買衣服, 因為每次都要試穿一堆衣服, 而且都還不一定穿起來好看! 不過女兒現在還沒有發育完畢。我希望她沒有遺傳到我胖胖的身材。現在我想控制體重完全是為了自己的健康著想。家族有糖尿病及心臟病的病史,所以我不能過胖。我的小孩子還小,我的健康就是他們的幸福。

我的減肥計劃很簡單,有兩個部份。因為我不喜歡運動,唯一的辦法就是少吃。我不能跟著小孩吃三餐外加兩頓點心,更不能吃含有高澱粉質及碳水化合物的食物。像我愛吃的奶酪蛋糕、冰淇淋及日式土司都不能再吃了。因為我沒有胖很多,大概禁口個兩星期就可以瘦下來了。減肥計劃的另一部份就是不吃小孩吃剩的食物!

笑話 Joke of the week

2009-06-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

My son told me a joke this morning, right after he woke up.

Son: "Mommy, how cheap is Mr. Krabs?"
I: "How cheap?"
Son: "He is so cheap he can't even pay attention!"

早上起床時,我七歲的兒子講了個笑話給我聽。

兒子: “媽, 妳知道螃蟹先生 (海綿寶寶的老板) 有多小氣嗎?"
我: “不知道!”
兒子: “他小氣到他都沒有注意力了!” (英文比較好笑, 因為 pay 是付錢的意思,可是 pay attention 兩個字合起來是注意的意思)。

聽說這笑話是兒子從書上看到的。他說電視上也曾演過這一段。

星媽的心聲! Being a Stage Mom!

2009-06-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

My daughter's dance school will hold its annual dance recital at the local theater this weekend. The recital will showcase all the dance classes that this dance school teaches. This dance school is located in our school district, so it follows the schedule of the school district. Our school let out last week, so this week, the dance school holds its dance rehearsals at the theater and the real shows will begin Friday and ends Sunday. Since this dance school has 2 locations, dance students from one location will dance 2 shows on Friday and the early show on Sunday and the students from the other location will dance 2 shows on Saturday and the late show on Sunday.

My daughter will perform both Saturday shows as well as Sunday's finale show. She will perform 4 numbers -- ballet, jazz, tap, and hip hop. It's a grueling dance routine that's more stressful for the moms than the dancers.Yesterday afternoon, my daughter had her dance rehearsal for her hip hop number. Later on tonight, she'll have her rehearsal for her jazz number. Tomorrow, she will do the rehearsals for her tap and ballet numbers. That sounds simple enough, but they are doing full dress rehearsals which means they have to be in full costume and full hair and makeup.

For her hip hop number, she will wear a high pony tail, with a blue t-shirt, grey baggy sweat pants, and her Converse sneakers. For her jazz number, she still wears a high pony tail, with a spandex top, jazz pants, and jazz shoes. For her ballet number, she'll wear her hair up in a classic ballet bun with a rented costume and ballet slippers. For her tap number, she will wear her hair half up and half down, with a white t-shirt and a flowy spaghetti strap dress which goes over her t-shirt, and of course, her tap shoes. All these costume and hair changes don't sound too bad until I saw the order of the dances. Her tap dance is act 5, but her ballet is act 16, jazz is act 17, and hip hop is act 19. There is 2 acts in between my daughter's ballet and jazz numbers, and only 1 act between her jazz and hip hop numbers. This means she'll have to change right on the side of the stage between acts. Needless to say, I will have to be there to help her change in and out of the costumes and re-do her hair, if necessary. And...we would have to do this for 3 shows!

We live in Los Angeles where many auditions take place. I have heard parents ushering their kids to various auditions just so their kids will have an opportunity to get into a TV show or movie. I truly believe that it takes a special parent to be able to do this line of work--fostering a child into stardom. I don't enjoy being a stage mom because I see hours of preparation prior to a 2-minute glory. It really is a lot of work for nothing. But I believe it is an invaluable experience for kids to learn to perform in front of a large audience. Inevitably, my daughter has learned to appreciate what goes on behind each performance, whether it's dance or music. So in the end, the harrowing experience of me being a stage mom is all worth it.

我的女兒的課餘活動, 除了女童子軍之外, 就是學舞蹈和鋼琴。現在是我逼著她繼續學鋼琴,可是她對舞蹈還是存有某種程度的熱衷。這學年,她每星朝一、二、三及五下課後都有舞蹈課。我們是在自家附近的舞蹈學院學舞。這家舞蹈學院 (http://www.pspadance.com/) 已經有二十多年的歷史,培育了無數的舞者。小女生通常是四、五歲開始習舞, 然後到了七、八歲才會自行決定要不要繼續學舞。

這幾天都在忙著準備女兒的舞蹈公演。這星期二、三、四都得到戲院排演。雖然不是整天都要待在戲院, 但是只要是輪到她的作品, 她就得在場排練。今年我女兒有四樣舞蹈作品要演出: 芭蕾舞, 爵士舞, 踢踏舞及嘻哈舞。昨天排演完還陪她到 Target 買跳嘻哈舞用的球鞋, 也順便買了上髮髻的髮夾。等一下還得去戲院二、三個小時。今天晚上要排演爵士舞。明天還得排練踢踏舞及芭蕾舞,所以這星期真的是以舞為生。

做媽媽的我除了要開車接送女兒,我還得陪在身邊做女兒的貼身助理,幫忙她換舞蹈服裝及髮型。女兒出場的時段己經排好。先跳踢踏舞(dance #5), 再跳芭蕾舞(dance #16), 接著跳嘻哈舞(dance #19), 最後是跳爵士舞(dance #21), 所以跳完芭蕾舞就馬上要在舞台邊換嘻哈舞的衣服及髮型,然後跳完嘻哈舞就要緊接著換爵士舞的衣服及髮型。我這做 ”星媽” 的就必需守在舞台邊待命,女兒一跳完舞,就要馬上幫她換衣改裝。

這已經是我們第二次參加舞蹈學院的公演了, 所以戲院場地及排演程序我和女兒都蠻清楚的。我們住在洛杉磯, 所以常常可以接觸到演藝界表演方面的機會。說真的, 如果要我做職業星媽, 我可能就無法勝任了。這種陪在表演人的身旁, 永無止境的等候, 絕對不是我想過的生活。我很佩服好萊塢的這些星媽為小孩子所做的付出,她們可能要經歷過無數次的試鏡,才會有一次的演出機會。還好舞蹈對我的女兒來講是純粹玩票性質。其實能上舞台表演真的可以帶給一個小女孩無限的自信與自我。

兒子的小提琴演奏會! Violin Recital!

2009-06-14T21:35:00.000-07:00

Every year in mid-June, my son's violin teacher always gets her students together and do a violin recital at the local music store where we go for violin and piano lessons. Last year, my son was in the pre-Twinkle group and this year, he will graduate from the Twinkle group and go on to Book 1 of the Suzuki Method. For those of you not familiar with violin's Suzuki method, Wikipedia has a good write up on the subject (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_method). My own uncle is a Suzuki violin teacher in Taipei and I was one of his earliest students 40 years ago. My understanding of the Suzuki method was that kids have amazing auditory ability. If a young child hears a song many times, the child will remember the music. And once techniques are taught to the kids, they will be able to play the instrument and that piece of repetitive music. So with that in mind, the first piece of music that all Suzuki violin student will learn is Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Most 4 or 5 year old kids know this song very well, so it was a matter of time that they will learn to play the song on a violin, if taught systematically.

After almost 2 1/2 years of violin lessons, my son has mastered the Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star song and will move on to learn other songs soon. Both my husband and I play the violin. I was a terrible music student and hated to practice, so it's unfathomable that I am forcing my children to take on a musical instrument. My son will practice, reluctantly, if I cajole him nicely. He has a love-hate relationship with his violin. I think at this point, he is only doing violin to please me. Because I want him to continue with violin, I enroll him in a semi-private lesson with another boy his age. Not only is it much cheaper than a private lesson, it's more like a playdate for my son. At least, he has incentive to want to go to his violin lessons--so he can play with his violin buddy after their lessons. This is the reason why his progress is so slow. Normally, violin students will graduate from the Twinkle song within 2 years of starting violin and my son took 2 1/2 years.

My husband kept telling me to put my son in a private lesson because he thinks our son has the ability to progress faster. I don't think private lessons would be as fun for him. Although playing and practicing violin is hard work, I want my son to have fun in the process. In hindsight, I wished I could have continued with my violin playing. I quit violin because we had immigrated to Canada, so naturally, I didn't have the good fortune to find another violin teacher as good as my uncle. My violin career ended at age 11. I did pick up piano at age 13, but I was not motivated and I did not like practicing. Eventually in Grade 11, my mother gave up on me and said I could quit. I was liberated!!! I vowed I would not make my kids go through what I went through!

Nowadays, I not only make my son do violin (in my daughter's case, piano), I have the good "fortune" of sitting with them during their practices. It's like re-living the practice nightmares I had when I was a teenager. Now, I have to sit through 2 practice sessions, instead of the one I used to endure when I had to practice! Funny how life goes around in circles!

學校放暑假後的第一個星期天, 兒子的小提琴老師在她教琴的音樂店 (http://www.amusemusic.com/) 舉行了一場音樂會。她邀請了她所有的學生上台表演。當然也少不了家長在台下加油。表演結束後,大家一起享受家長帶來的飲料及食物。兒子的小提琴老師是用鈴木音樂教學法 (http://www.suzukimethod.org.tw/) 教小朋友小提琴。兒子的進度很慢,最主要的原因是他跟另一位同年紀的小男孩一起學琴,而不是個別指導。二人同時分一個教學時段本來就比個別教學來得便宜。但是兩人在一起的進度相對之下就比個別指導的小朋友慢很多。不過因為兒子學琴有伴,他去學琴時也很樂意去,因為上完課後,還能跟另一位小朋友玩。我覺得學琴本來就得花錢、花時間。重點是要讓小朋友學得開心、沒有壓力。

話又說回今年的小提琴演奏會。我們去年就曾經參加過一次,所以今年兒子就比較有經驗。我覺得在美國長大的小孩都比較不會怯場, 因為他們在學校常常有演出的機會。兒子說他會緊張, 不過他還是很樂意上台表演。問題是雖然兒子喜歡上台表演, 他不喜歡練琴。可是要上台表演, 不練琴也不行, 所以我這個做媽的就想盡辦法逼兒子多練琴。雖然兒子不願意練琴, 他到最後為了要讓我高興, 他還是會免為其難的加緊練琴。我從小也非常討厭我媽叫我練琴。當時就立志決對不逼我的小孩練琴。沒想到三十年後的今天我還是忍不住的逼兒子練琴。真的是風水輪流轉。現在終於瞭解學琴這種東西真的是勉強不得。我相信不久的將來, 我也需要面對現實。如果小孩子對音樂沒興趣或者是也沒有玩樂器的天份,強迫小孩子繼續學琴只會破壞親子關係。我想現階段我只想要讓小孩有點音樂基礎和瞭解習琴的辛苦。這樣子,他們以後才會對音樂藝術和音樂家有相當程度的尊重。

這學年的最後一天! Last Day of School!

2009-06-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

Finally! It's the last day of school. Summer vacation officially began at 12:47 PM today. I was at my kids' school all day, distributing the raffle prizes from the Box Tops raffles. The grade 5 students had their graduation ceremony today and everyone was all dressed up for their special event. My daughter will be graduating next year, so I paid extra attention to what the girls were wearing. I know grade 5 is an awkward age (between a girl and a teenager), so it's hard for the girls to "dress up" for this special event. But with all the merchandise available in the stores, I fail to understand why I did not see a pretty dress on anyone. Some dresses are pretty, but looked wrong on 10- or 11-year old girls. A lot of the girls wore dresses with spaghetti straps, but those dresses typically do not look good on chubby bodies. At some point, I think, parents should exert their parental guidance/control and tell these girls to wear something more appropriate. Most of the families in our school can afford to buy their girls a special dress for this occasion, so there is no excuse if the girls look like miniature drag-queens. OK. I have to stop being a fashion police!

All the room moms are busy today. They have to prepare a special year-end party for the kids which included games and food. Room moms also have to prepare the end-of-the-year gift for the teacher. Usually, parents pay the room mom a class fee at the beginning of the school year which should cover all the parties (basically Christmas and End-of-the-Year parties, but there could be more parties) and the teacher's Christmas and the year-end gift. Besides planning and executing parties, a room mom has to coordinate volunteer schedule with the teacher. When other moms don't have the time to help out in class, usually the room mom would have to step in to help the teacher. It's a thankless job that I would never want to do. My son's grade 1 room mom is a very nice lady. She had just moved into the area, but she's enthusiastic and volunteered to be the room mom when no one wanted the job. She did a fabulous job this year.

The plan for today was, before recess, all the grade 1 kids would be together and do different relay races in the field. Of course, we needed parent volunteers to come in and run the games. 3 of our dads volunteered for the job.

After I distributed all the Box Tops raffle prizes, I decided to stay on campus (I didn't want to loose my parking spot in front of the school) and help out in my son's grade 1 class. After recess, the room mom came with all the food and snacks for the party. Our grade 1 teacher suggested a hot-dog party. She took out an electric grill and one of the parents started to grill the hot dogs. While we got the food ready, the kids in our class were watching a Little Rascal movie while the class next door was doing a bingo game.

The room mom for the class next door is the same room mom for my daughter's grade 4 class. She had to do my daughter's class party (her son is in my daughter's class) yesterday so she can focus on her daughter's grade 1 class. Last year, she had 3 kids in this school. I had no idea how she managed to be the room mom for all 3 classes. Some moms can do it all!

The kids brought home all their class work -- the school supplies, drawings, art projects, and writings. The smart thing would be to sort all this out in the next few days, otherwise, it would not get done and these things will pile up.

My kids got their report cards today. My daughter who struggled through grade 4 got a stellar report card. My son who sailed through grade 1 easily got a mediocre report card. I am not sure what it was--He knew all his subjects and was good at doing his homework. His report card showed that there were several areas that he was still "developing". I guess we will continue to work over the summer in those areas that the teacher thought he was weak in. But in all honesty, I think he's doing pretty good. Am I so blind that I don't see how he's lacking in certain areas?! I guess I am baffled that when he can do 3-digit addition (with carryovers) on the worksheets I make him do, why does the teacher assessed him as being insecure with number manipulations (addition and subtraction) for numbers under 20?! Maybe he's weak in subtractions? I don't like report card that doesn't tell the true picture of how a child is doing in school.

As for my daughter, she's strong in math and weak in reading and writing. She got an "O" (for outstanding) effort grade for reading and writing and a "S" (for satisfactory) for math. She said she worked harder in math and not so hard in reading and writing (she hates writing assignments). She doesn't understand her report card, she thought the grades should be the other way around. It's possible that the teacher had a different perception of her work. In any case, I told my kids that the assessments they received in their report cards don't really matter. What mattered is that they worked hard and tried to improve to their best ability. I told them, as long as they tried their best, they both received an "A" from me!

今天是這學期的最後一天。明天開始就放暑假了。我昨晚又搞到整晚沒睡。一開始是在準備摸彩後的獎品, 總供有六十七個獎項。今天一早就要把獎品發完。接著我又花了兩個小時的時間彙集所有 “台美小筆友” 的信件。不知不覺的就已經天亮了, 乾脆就不去睡了。

到了學校後, 趕緊把獎品分發完畢三後,我趕到兒子的教室幫忙。幾天前, 兒子班上的班媽 (class mom) 就用 email 事先通知我們今天的行程表。從8:45 AM 至10:15 AM, 一年級的老師要辦個小型的接力比賽。其實都是家長到學校幫忙看場, 其實老師都在教室裏整理東西,也沒到操場上跟小朋友同樂。十點半, 我們的班媽帶了一大堆吃的東西到學校來。在場的家長就幫忙把食物擺好。有個爸爸就開始烤熱狗。老師放了一部電影給小朋友看。貼心的班媽準備了爆米花給小朋友做看電影的點心。中午每個小朋友一人一條熱狗, 一包薯片, 一包果汁及一串葡萄。吃完熱狗後, 還有兩種餅乾可以吃。好豐盛的午餐。看得我的肚子好餓喔! 好在我那兒子咬了兩口熱狗就不吃了。他把整盤的食物都交給我。如是我不在的話,他是肯定把整盤的食物都丟進垃圾桶裏的! 其實, 我的肚子再餓, 我也捨不得吃那盤食物。我知道我的女兒下課後肚子會很餓, 剛好可以吃這盤食物。反正我也不會有精神帶他們外食。

女兒的班派對昨天就舉行了。因為她的班媽也有一個女兒在一年級, 所以這班媽無法負責在同時辦兩個班派對, 只好在昨天就辦好她四年級兒子的班派對。做班媽是件吃力不討好的事情。班媽(或班爸)要幫老師找其他家長到教室服務。最難的事可能就是收班費了。開學後不久做班媽的就要收班費。這班費是要用來辦派對及買老師的聖誕節及學期末的禮物,可是有的家長還是會不願意付這筆錢給班媽。有些家長就是怪。她們認為我們讀的是公立小學, 所以經該是免費用的。真的是讓班媽很難做事。某些事情還是合群比較好!

忙! 忙! 忙! Busy! Busy! Busy!

2009-06-09T20:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't been sleeping much lately. I guess all the procrastinating had caught up with me. Our school had its annual International Day Festival last Friday and I was responsible for the Taiwan booth. More on that later. Then in planning for the International Day, I stumbled upon the idea that the students from our school should have a pen pal program with Taiwanese students. So I started on that and the responses exceeded my expectation. Then, as I am the Box Tops Coordinator of my children's school, I had to count up all the Box Tops that our students had collected since October for mailing before June 1. Many Box Tops expired on June 1, so I was trying to beat that deadline. The final Box Tops event I had planned for our school was the classroom competition. The winning classroom from the 2 grade groups (kindergarten to grade 2 AND grade 3 to grade 5) will win a pizza party, popsicle party, or a donut party. The competition got fierce the last few days. Last night around 2AM, I finally counted all the Box Tops and declared a kindergarten class and a grade 3 class winners. These classes average more than 50 Box Tops collected per student.

Today, I went around to different chain restaurants in my neighborhood to solicit for free kids' meals as prizes for my Box Tops raffles. Tomorrow, our principal will pick out the winners to the last 3 raffle events (Holidays, Valentine's Day, and May Day). I am absolutely terrible to actually do the Holidays raffle in June!!! I have to distribute all the prizes to the winning students before Thursday noon! I have about 36 hours to do it all. Should I have left everything to the last minute?! Of course not! And I tell myself each year to do everything ahead of time, but a procrastinator will always be a procrastinator.

Anyways, it had been a very difficult school year for me academically--I had to "guide" my daughter through grade 4 and there were numerous projects and assignments that meant many late nights for me and my daughter. Over the course of the past school year, I have learned to step back and let my daughter do her own thing. I am hoping that my daughter also learned something in the process--to utilize the methods I have shown her, so she'll be able to work on her assignments and projects by herself in the future.

這一個禮拜來, 我每晚的睡眠不會超過四小時。上星期四晚上我還 “玩” 通宵呢! 為了趕做兩個海報,我整晚都沒睡! 然後星期五我又得到學校站一整天, 因為我負責我們學校國際節的臺灣攤位。為了能讓我們的臺灣攤位不遜色於日本、韓國及中國, 我攪盡腦汁, 想盡辦法凸顯臺灣的特色。因為我已經做了五年臺灣攤位, 差一點就想不出什麼新點子出來。改天再來 po 有關我們學校的國際節活動。

這星期讓我最忙的事情就是處理 Box Tops 的收集活動比賽。全校的每一班都可以參與。哪一個班級收集最多的 Box Tops 就可以贏得一個班派對。我數了一個星期的 Box Tops, 今年的贏家終於揭曉--低年級的贏家是大甲班, 高年級的贏家是三乙班。這兩班的小朋友平均每個人收集了六十個 Box Tops。大甲班的小朋友決定要開個冰棒派對。三乙班的小朋友要辦個甜甜圈派對。老師說要辦派對就明天辦。剛剛下課後,我趕快跑到 Von's 去訂了二打甜甜圈。明天下午我再去買冰棒送去學校!

後天就是這學期的最後一天。小孩子放假, 我也放假! 至少我有二個月的時間可以睡到自然醒! Yay!

第一夫人與穿衣服的藝術 Clothes make a woman!

2009-05-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this video:

Geez, what is she wearing?! She is doing a lot of movement in this video, but her top is too short and her neckline is too low. What's with the puffy sleeves?! While I was watching the video, I was worried that her midriff would be showing any minute...I am sure it did at some point because her shirt is so short!

What she is wearing is not very appealing! Even the wife of Belize's prime minister looked better and she was wearing only a simple flowery summer dress). Mrs. Ma can go shopping at Episode in Taipei and anything there will look better than what she wore. Apparently, she didn't spend any money buying new clothes for this overseas trip. Everything she wore abroad came out of her closet. She said she didn't need a stylist and she didn't need to borrow clothes from designers. I don't condone over-spending either, but even I (the spendthrift) go shopping for new clothes when I have to go away on vacation or to attend an official function.

It's not a good sign when the President looks better than the First Lady. But you know Taiwan media, they try to suck up to the presidential couple and said she looks so "princessy" in the puffy sleeves and the outfit showed a feminine side that no one had seen before. [cringe!] Then in another news story, President Ma said everything his wife did for him proved that he married the right woman 32 years ago!

This kind of stuff should be said behind clothes doors, in the privacy of their bedroom. I think most wives would do the same for their husbands under the same circumstances. But it made good headlines.

Some says clothes make a woman, but in Carla Bruni's case, no clothes makes a woman. Carla Bruni is the First Lady of France. I won't post any nude photos of her here (I'm trying to operate a family-oriented blog here), but for anyone interested in Carla Bruni's nude photos, she can be Googled. Her husband is equally proud of his wife. Carla Bruni looks great in those nude photos.

Mrs. Ma wearing clothes looked worse than Carla Bruni without clothes!

周美青 (馬英九夫人) 陪同馬英九總統出國拚外交，在友邦貝里斯的活動上，上台與朱宗慶打擊樂團一同表演。可驚的事是她所穿著的服裝。台灣媒體還說她的姿勢優美! 拜托...馬夫人的上衣太短了, 隨時都有露肚的可能。她的荷葉領、公主袖的上衣, 理論上是 OK 的,但是只能適合穿在五、六歲的身上吧! 五、六十歲的人穿不太好吧! 連我九歲的女兒也覺得那上衣不美觀。而中國時報的標題是 "魅力四射”。請問她到底射到誰了?! 太讓人爆笑了吧! 馬屁也不用這樣拍!

總之,我覺得懂得節省是臺灣人的美德。可是當總統出國做外交時,如果總統穿得比第一夫人好看(況且總統只是穿西裝、打領帶時), 那夫人就得反省。台灣有很多有名的服裝設計師及品牌, 連美國的第一夫人就懂得穿臺灣設計師的服裝, 為什麼馬夫人不懂呢?! 她並不是沒錢,我們的政府也不可能不給她置裝費, 那她為什麼不好好利用出國的機會介紹台灣的服裝業呢? 她寧願穿舊的三宅一生(也要好幾萬), 也不願意再花錢支持台灣設計師。她穿的漂亮、得體也能帶動整個台灣及台灣人對於時尚、穿著的認知。

此外,馬總統也表達出他對太太的謝意,說出周美青為他所做的一切證明了他三十二年前所做的決定(他娶了她)是正確的。我真不知道應該怎樣解讀這句話(真的是有點肉麻!)。我總覺得這句話留著私底下跟老婆講比較恰當。我想每個老婆如果做到第一夫人的位子,都會跟周美青一樣的支持先生。先生對老婆的深情及謝意是用行動表現,而不是用嘴巴講講。其實夫妻之間的互動關係不是外人可以瞭解的。可是如果一個公眾人物把它拿出來講,那這件事就變成公共領域 (public domain),得經得起公眾輿論的考驗。

這幾天,法國總理夫人(Carla Bruni)又上了新聞。她美美的裸體相片又要被拍賣了。我不會在這裏 po 上她的裸體相片。要看的人上 Google 找既可。法國總理聽到這消息對自己的老婆還是很滿意,反而向告知的人要這些照片的拷貝,因為老婆的美體靚影他也想保留一份。相比之下, 穿上衣服的周美青還比不上脫光衣服的 Carla Bruni!

小學科學博覽會 ( 學後心得) Aftermath of the Science Fair

2009-05-23T17:22:00.000-07:00

On the way home from school on Friday, I asked my son what he had learned from the science fair at school. He thought about it for a minute and say, "Mom, I think you should stop drinking Coke from now on." I knew he must have learned something about the "shortcomings" of Coke drinking. I said, "why?". "Because it ruins your teeth. It also stains your teeth." was his answer. I thanked him for letting me know. Apparently, he saw a poster on the effects of Coke on teeth (or rather the tooth enamel). Of over 100 posters exhibited at the Science Fair, this particular poster made him take notice. I should be glad that my son immediately thought of me when he saw the Coke/teeth poster.

Soda drinking is my one vice in life. I cannot live without that bubbly sensation of the first sip. To maintain a decent weight, I have resorted to drinking diet sodas. I also like that caffeine buzz cola sodas give me, but I'm not brand specific. I'll drink Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Pepsi, and Pepsi One, depending on whichever brand is on sale the week I run out of sodas.

I have been warned about the adverse effects of soda-drinking, including calcium depletion and the ruination Coke causes one's teeth. But like anyone who has an addiction, until one is faced with an impending death sentence, one will not give up on one's addictive vice. In that regard, I am no different.

學校辦的科學博覽會星期五結束。放學回家時,我問了兒子,“你看到那麼多的科學海報,你學到什麼沒有?” 他想了一下就說,“媽媽,妳不要再喝可樂了!” 我心裏跳了一下,也知道大概他看到什麼樣的科學海報了。不過我還是繼續問他,”為什麼不能再喝呢?” 他說,“喝了可樂之後,牙齒很容易變黃,也很容易蛀牙。” 我趕快告訴他,“謝謝你的提醒,不過媽媽早就知道了。謝謝你,可是你不用擔心媽媽,我只要常常刷牙就不會有問題的。” 小孩這時才鬆了口氣。我也鬆了一口氣。我最怕人家叫我不要喝太多汽水。

我當然知道喝汽水對身體不好。汽水能讓身體少吸收很多鈣質,對於家有骨質疏鬆症病歷的我以及牙齒不好的我,汽水的確是要少碰為妙。但是這個癮很難戒得掉。每當喝下汽水的那第一口時....那種超過癮的感覺,我可能要到面臨生死存亡的決擇時,才會放棄喝汽水!

洛杉磯又地震了!!! Earthquake!!!

2009-05-17T21:38:00.000-07:00

My husband and the kids had just finished working on the science project involving boiling some soda cans and were moving on to the next science project when we heard a huge rumble. I was sitting on the sofa getting ready to talk to my dad on Skype. Once I ascertained that it was earthquake, I screamed to the kids to go outside. But my son was so fast, he ran past me and hid under our kitchen table! My daughter had her shoes on, so she managed to get out the door. We heard a loud thump, like something fell. Then all of a sudden, it was quiet. Earthquake no more.

In hindsight, my son did the right thing going under the table. He is only in Grade 1 and he must had only 2 earthquake drills since he started elementary school. But I must say, all the training exercises helped. He knew exactly what to do. In a split second, disaster can strike and often times, there just wasn't enough time to react. Trying to get outside might be the thing to do, but often times, it's not possible to do, especially if you are in bed, on the second floor of a house. I have to work out a disaster plan with my husband so we all know where to go (i.e. the escape routes) if we are in different parts of the house.

Tonight's earthquake lasted maybe 10 seconds. According to U. S. Geological Survey (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/), it was a magnitude 4.7 earthquake, centered around Lennox, CA, which is less than 4 miles east of the LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). We are about 12 miles south of Lennox. We saw the local news and many people had china and glassware broken. We later found out that the loud thump in our house was the ladder falling down. Nothing got broken, thank goodness. Even though it wasn't a big earthquake, it still shook us up!

剛剛洛杉磯又地震了!!! 這一回的震央是在 Lennox市, 大概在洛杉磯國際機場往東走五公里的地區。我老公正在跟小孩做項科學實驗。他們才剛完成第一個實驗, 正在準備下一個實驗時, 聽到一陣陣的隆隆聲,好像大卡車要衝進來似的。我正坐在沙發上要跟我爸通 Skype。我話都還沒開始講就大聲叫“地震了,趕快出去!〞兒子馬上跑到餐桌下面躲。女兒則跟我要開後門出去。就在這時候,地震就停了。根本就來不及反應! 還是兒子做得對, 只有他跑對地方, 躲到桌子底下去。平常學校就有辦災難演習, 這一回真的有用到, 派上用場了! 兒子才一年級就知道該怎麼做, 讓我們大人覺得很慚愧。我得和老公好好的想想我們自家的災難計劃。我們應該事就先想好逃生路線--人在一樓時要往哪走, 人在二樓時要往哪逃。這些都應該事先要跟小孩子講好, 出事時, 大家就會知道該怎麼做了。

這次地震的威力只有4.7, 不至於造成任何嚴重的傷害。但是小孩、大人都嚇了一跳。小孩子還真的是上了一堂重要的人生課程--如何逃難!

很糟糕的新聞標題 Terrible headline!

2009-05-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Whenever I have time during the day, I would browse through all the headlines of my two favorite Taiwanese on-line news source: The Apple Daily and China Times. Today, one such headline on www.chinatimes.com grabbed my attention (it served its purpose). "水牛城墜機報告正副機長打情罵俏奪五十命" (http://news.chinatimes.com/2007Cti/2007Cti-News/2007Cti-News-Content/0,4521,5040654+112009051500172,00.html). It was one of those news that captured the hearts and minds of the audience when it happened. Seeing the inferno that ensued after the crash really tugged at my heart strings at the time. The Chinatimes headline indicated that the Buffalo NY crash of a Colgan Air jet a few months ago was caused by the intimate conversation of the pilot and copilot (implying that there might be some hanky panky going on). I was shocked to see the headline, so I went on to read the article. But nothing in the article supported the headline. I went on to read the readers' comments and realized that I wasn't the only one who felt that the headline was either badly translated or badly written. In any case, I went to cnn.com (http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/05/14/buffalo.crash/index.html#cnnSTCText) and Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124212789938210353.html) to get the actual news story. Apparently, the real cause of the crash was the pilot and the co-pilot's inexperience. It really makes me wonder who are flying the planes these days!?!?

我每天有到網上看報的習慣。因為台灣的報社大概會在美西時間下午一、二點時刷新版, 所以我晚上一有時間就會上網看台灣新聞。今天在中時電子報看到一篇很聳動的標題: "水牛城墜機報告看正副機長打情罵俏奪五十命" , 看起來這正、副駕駛還真的有來一腿。但是文章內卻沒有提到那正、副駕駛有多曖昧。看到很多人留的言都在批評那記者寫錯標題。我也覺得是這樣, 所以我再上網找一些美國來源的文章來看。看完後才知道這次飛機失事的主要原因是因為正、副駕駛的飛行經歷不夠多, 一旦發現緊急狀況, 他們無法隨機應變, 導致墬機。

看樣子, 中時電子報的記者(或主編)可要多加學習英文了, 才不會把新聞標題翻譯錯誤。

大家的母親節是怎麼過的? How was your Mother's Day?

2009-05-10T23:37:00.000-07:00

I had a very relaxing Mother's Day. Neither of my kids have any projects due in the coming week, so I didn't have to nag them about their assignments. I don't know why I still have to worry about school assignments. It's like my recurring high school nightmares never ended--forgetting about an exam or assignment. Maybe it's more about me than about them. Perhaps, I'm the one who stresses out too much about their school experience.

Anyways, this morning my dad woke me up via Skype. He wanted to chat, but I wanted to sleep. Then I realized I had family coming over for lunch, so I got out of bed and started to clean the house. My dad had forgotten about Mother's Day. At least I got to wish my own mother a Happy Mother's Day via Skype. I told him I would call him back later on tonight and began my "special" day.

My husband decided to have a barbeque at home and invited his parents and his sister's family over for lunch. This is no different than what we normally do on a Sunday. The only difference is that my son doesn't have baseball practice today. His coach canceled the practice so all the boys can spend their afternoons with their moms. All the kids were playing in the backyard while my husband fired up the charcoal and made some fabulous ribeye steaks for lunch.

Before my husband went out to Costco this morning to buy the steaks, I told him not to waste any money buying jewelry for me. What's the point of a gift when I can basically buy anything I want the other 364 days?! He said OK and off he went.

I believe that everyday should be Mother's Day, not just one Sunday in May. Mothers should be appreciated everyday of the year, not just one Sunday in May. But the American culture promotes Mother's Day and all the kids in schools will make a card and a small gift for their mothers or grandmothers. I got a pair of earrings from my daughter. She made them at her last Girl Scout meeting. My son made me a pen holder which looks like a potted plant.

But the best gift I got today was the gift I asked my son to give me. I told him that for Mother's Day, I want him to practice his violin. So without any complaints (which he normally does), he went to pick up his violin and played everything once. He did mumbled under his breath "I am only doing this for you because it's Mother's Day!" Whatever, I got what I wanted!!!

In the end, my husband did buy me something for Mother's Day. He bought me an orchid plant from Trader Joe's. His explanation: "You are so good at raising orchids." There is some truth to that because orchids are the only plants that hadn't died in my care.

我先說我自己的母親節好了!

今天的天氣不錯,我老公在家烤肉,請了公婆和小姑一家到家裏吃飯。其實這跟我們平常星期天的作息沒有兩樣,只是兒子下午的棒球練習被教練取消了(通常是每星期天下午四點到五點半)。教練說這樣才能讓小孩在家多陪陪媽媽。

兩個小孩和表弟玩到五點才散會。

我叫老公不用買什麼東西送我。我該有的都有了。母親節本來就不需要存在。大家應該天天都要對媽媽好,不是等到母親節才對媽媽獻殷勤。不過話又說回來, 我倒是利用母親節給我的特權, 叫我兒子練小提琴給我聽。今天是唯一的一次他沒有跟我討價還價, 而自動的把小提琴拿出來練。雖然他的嘴不斷的碎碎念, 我還是很感動!

女兒送了我一副耳環, 是她在上個女童子軍聚會時做的。兒子則在上課時做了一個花盆式的筆架給我。老公最後還是有買東西送我---他到 Trader Joe's 買了一盆蘭花給我, 因為蘭花是我唯一養不死的盆栽!

祝所有媽咪母親節快樂!

母親節的禮物 Mother's Day Gift

2009-05-08T00:35:00.000-07:00

Time flies. It's almost Mother's Day! I wasn't fully aware of how close we are to Mother's Day until I got an email from my son's class mom telling all the parents that volunteering in his class has been canceled today because the kids are making Mother's Day gift in class this morning. So, of course, no moms are allowed in class. I was suppose to go in to help today, but since I didn't have to go, I decided to go to Sam's Club to look into a Mother's Day gift for my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law is very frugal. She doesn't want any of her children to spend money on her. Even with that in mind, I still want to buy a small present for her. She has done so much for her family. It's such a cliche, but she really treats me like her own daughter.

I thought of making a photo mug for her. I can upload photos onto Sam's Club digital photo center and order special gifts using those photos. I was going to get my sister-in-law and brother-in-law to email me photos of their kids, so I can present a mug to my mother-in-law with all her grandkids' photos on the mug. Unfortunately, the order would have taken at least a week and there just wasn't enough time to get this gift made before Mother's Day.

Since the photo gift idea didn't work out, I had to find another gift for my mother-in-law. I ended up buying her a burgundy velor jacket, a beaded top, a huge bag of Hershey's Nuggets, and a pot of roses for my mother-in-law. As I'm typing this, I've decided to return the pot of roses. In showing the roses to my husband, I got pricked twice by the rose bush. As my mother-in-law has poor eyesight, I am sure she would prick herself if she had to take care of those roses. I will find another potted plant from Trader Joe's to give to my mother-in-law.

My husband asked me what I want for Mother's Day. I told him not to bother. It really is meaningless to buy me a gift. What kind of gift will show me that I am appreciated as a mother?! Nothing can compared to a simple statement from my 7-year old son, "Mommy, you are so cute!"

母親節快到了。事先我完全無警覺, 真的沒想到這星期天就是母親節。好快喔! 又一年了! 昨天兒子班上的班媽寫了一封電子郵件給班上所有的家長告知這星期四(今天) 我們不用進教室服務(volunteer),原因是小朋友要在課堂上做母親節的禮物給自己的媽媽, 所以媽媽不能到教室幫忙。

也好,我可以去做別的事情。當然, 最緊迫的事情就是得準備個母親節禮物給我的婆婆。我本來想利用小孩子的生活照 (我也向小姑和小叔索取他們小孩的照片), 把它印在馬克杯上送給婆婆。把所有婆婆的孫子孫女的影像印在馬克杯子上是一過不錯的 idea, 只可惜 Sam's Club 需要七天以上的工作天才能製作完畢。那時候母親節也就過了。算了, 買別的東西送婆婆好了。

我在Sam's Club 逛了逛, 挑了一件葡萄酒色的絲絨夾克及一件同色的長袖上衣給我的婆婆。我的婆婆非常節儉(台灣人的美德!), 通常是不希望晚輩為她花任何的錢。但是我還是想買個小禮物送她, 因為她真的是一位好婆婆! 反正我知道我不能花太多錢在她的禮物上面, 要不然她是會不收禮物, 叫我直接拿回去退。我正是怕她不喜歡我送她的衣服, 所以我又另外買了一大包的巧克力糖 (Hershey's Nuggets) 給她。這巧克力我知道她一定會收的, 因為我兒子也喜歡吃。所以我的婆婆不只是位好太太、好媽媽、好婆婆,她更是一位好阿嬤!

笑話 Joke of the week

2009-05-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

I just saw something funny on NBC. It was a commercial trailer advertising Jay Leno's Tonight Show. Jay Leno, the host of the Tonight Show, was doing an on-the-street interview, asking pedestrians some questions.

Jay Leno: Who lives in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?
Woman on the street: I don't know.
Jay Leno: Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Woman on the street: (big smile because she knows the answer) SpongeBob Squarepants!

剛剛在電視上看到一則笑話,是個節目宣傳廣告。美國國家廣播公司(NBC)的深夜談話性節目主持人Jay Leno 在做街頭訪問。

Jay說: 誰住在 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? (答案是美國總統因為 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue 是白宮的地址)
街頭女人說: 不知道耶!
Jay說: 誰的家是海底裏的一個鳳梨?
街頭女人說: (開心的笑,因為她終於知道答案了) 海綿寶寶!

Toberman House visit

2009-04-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

Toberman Neighborhood Center (http://www.toberman.org/) is a non-profit, multi-purpose neighborhood center that provides various social service programs to low-income individuals and families living in the South Bay, moving them from poverty to self-sufficiency. One day last December, my daughter's girl scout troop provided and served dinners to 120 kids and adults who were at the Toberman House at the time. Most kids were there for after school activities. My daughter didn't get a chance to go because we were in Taiwan at the time. A month ago, our troop leader informed us that we were invited back to the Toberman House, as part of a Grade 7 Girl Scout troop who will be there serving food at the House. We are in charge of providing side dishes (vegetables, breads, salads, potatoes). As the theme was Italian night, I tried to figure out what would be the appropriate side dish for my daughter to bring to the Toberman House today. I thought Garlic Bread can be a good side dish to Italian food, so I went to www.allrecipes.com and found a great Garlic Bread recipe (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roasted-Garlic-Bread/Detail.aspx).

So I went to Sam's Club this morning and got all the ingredients I need to make enough Garlic Bread for 120 people. As I was browsing down the aisles for the ingredients I need (Italian loafs, garlic, butter, grated Parmesan cheese, and parsley flakes), I saw Pepperidge Farm's Texas Garlic Toasts. I thought to myself, this would be far easier than to make the garlic bread from scratch, and not necessarily more expensive either. At 32 slices, each box sells for $7.06. I immediately bought 4 boxes and we are all set for today.

今天女兒的女童子軍團要去 Toberman House (http://www.toberman.org/) 的餐廳服務。每一位女童子軍要負責帶一道菜和幫忙端菜。去年十二月中旬, 女兒的女童子軍團已經去過一次, 但是我們剛好回臺灣, 所以沒能跟著去, 只有買了幾盤冷凍的義大利寬麵請同團的媽媽烘烤後帶去。這一次女兒的女童子軍團是要跟著兩團七年級的女童子軍一起去 Toberman House 的餐廳服務。我們要負責帶附菜(青菜、沙拉、馬鈴薯)之類的菜。我想了好久, 決定帶蒜蓉麵包。還上網 (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Roasted-Garlic-Bread/Detail.aspx) 查看了蒜蓉麵包的做法。今天一早送了小孩上學之後, 馬上開車到 Sam's Club 買做蒜蓉麵包的材料 (義式麵包、蒜頭、帕瑪森奶酪、奶油及歐芹粉)。逛著逛著卻看到了Pepperidge Farm 的德州蒜頭土司 Texas Garlic Toasts . 一小箱三十二片才 $7.06, 比自己買麵包來做還便宜。所以當下就買了四盒回家,省了我不少時間!

The American Girl Store 美國女孩娃娃專賣店

2009-04-25T22:46:00.001-07:00

My friend Kristin and her family is spending their spring break holiday in southern California. She lives in Hawaii, but her extended family still live in Taiwan. Anyways, last week, we met them at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and my kids had a great time playing with her kids. So as they are going home tomorrow, we decided to meet again. This time, we decided to meet at the Grove (http://www.thegrovela.com/). It's an outdoor mall with many one-and-only stores in Los Angeles. Since Kristin and I have daughters, we decided that the American Girl Store is a must visit. I took my daughter to the American Girl Store in New York City last summer and the impact on her then wasn't as much as this visit. It was visible that during our visit today that all three girls had a look of envy and desire on their faces because every girl at the store had a American Girl doll in their arms. Our girls were the only ones without a doll.

The American Girl enterprise (http://americangirl.com/) and the American Girl stores (http://www.americangirl.com/stores/) are a quintessential American experience for American girls. Wikipedia has a good writeup on the American Girl company [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Girl_(company)]. I think the key to the company's success is their series of American Girls books that are well-written and are based on pre-teen girl characters from various periods of American history.

Kaya, a native American girl (1764)
Felicity, a colonial girl (1774)
Josefina, a Mexican girl living in the States (1824)
Kirsten, a Swedish immigrant (1854)
Addy Walker, a fugitive slave (1864)
Samantha, an Edwardian/Victorian girl (1904)
Kit, a depression-era girl (1934)
Molly, a girl who lived through World War II (1944)

There are many more character dolls who are friends of these history-based American Girl dolls, as well as a new Julie doll for 1974. On top of the dolls from the American Girl book series, Mattel also introduced the Girl of the Year dolls and "Just Like You" dolls.

The reading levels of these books are for 8 year olds (grade 2 or grade 3). When the girls read these books, they will get a sense of what girls their age experienced at different points in time that are important in American history. When Mattel bought the American Girl franchise in 1998, it expanded it's product line and established its flagship store in Chicago. With Mattel's huge marketing machine behind the American Girl brand, the American Girl doll has become the most "desirable" doll for the well-to-do segment of our society. At $95 plus tax for each doll, the price tag is staggering!
Although we left the American Girl Store without buying anything (to the chagrin of our daughters), it hasn't stopped the other patrons from shopping and enjoying the amenities at the store. There is a theater, a dining room (for the public as well as for private birthday parties), and a hair salon for your American Girl doll. Despite our reluctance to part with our money at the store, I must say that "shopping" at the American Girl Store is a pleasant one. The store is clean, bright, spacious, and colorful.

I am sure it was hard for our daughters to walk out of the store without buying a thing. Kristin and I have daughters who don't really play with dolls, so it's hard to justify spending US$95 for a doll and US$25 for each additional outfit when they will only spend a little time playing with it. It's more a status symbol than anything else to own an American Girl doll. The key is how to say no to those cute little face without ruining their self-esteem (and that's a subject for another day)! The photo above has the Julie doll (1974) and her best friend, Ivy.

好友 Kristin 帶小孩從夏威夷到南加州來度假。 Kristin 是我在臺灣工作時認識的朋友。想當年我們都是單身貴族, 而如今我們卻是兒女成群的媽媽。難得有機會再見面,所以大家都很開心。再加上兩家的小孩子都相處得不錯, 所以我們決定這星期再見一次面。上星期天我們跑到 Costa Mesa 的 South Coast Plaza 見面。只可惜我們太早離開那個購物中心, 要不然搞不好就能看到賈靜雯一家在那裏逛街。這星期我們決定到 Beverly Hills 比佛利山莊附近的一個購物中心 The Grove (http://www.thegrovela.com/) 見面, 最主要是這個購物中心有幾家別的購物中心沒有的店, 例如美國女孩娃娃專賣店 (The American Girl Store)。

去年暑假我們到紐約玩時, 就曾經去過那裏的美國女孩娃娃專賣店 (The American Girl Store)。那時候我女兒還沒有表現出她很想要個美國女孩娃娃的樣子。這一回來到了自家附近的美國女孩娃娃專賣店 (The American Girl Store), 她則向我告白說她很想要個美國女孩娃娃。我告訴她說她是可以買, 不過得用自己的錢買。但是因為 Kristin 阿姨不準備買美國女孩娃娃給她的兩個女兒, 女兒今天也不能買。我順便告訴女兒, Kristin 阿姨很有錢,可是她也不會亂花錢。我是要女兒瞭解花一、二百元買個大陸做的娃娃是個不明之舉。說真的, 她也沒啥時間可以玩娃娃。再加上也沒人可以陪她玩。我說家裏已經買了不少洋娃娃給她了, 其實她可以學著做漂亮的衣服給娃娃穿。這樣會比較好玩。她乖乖的聽我把話說完, 也沒表示什麼意見, 不知道她聽進去沒有。八成是沒有, 但是家長該給阻力時還是要給。到年底, 女兒如果還是堅持要用自己的錢買美國女孩娃娃的話,再說喽。

回到美國女孩娃娃專賣店 (The American Girl Store), 店裏的裝潢非常雅致, 以紅白色係為主。明尼蘇達州 Javabn 的部落格就有明尼蘇達分店裏的照片 (http://blog.yam.com/scoopy/article/18582245)。每家分店的內部裝飾都很類似。人在裏面就會有衝動想買個娃娃回家做紀念。要不是一個基本十八吋的娃娃要美金九十五元(稅外加), 然後一套娃娃衣服也要美金二十五元, 我真的就會買個娃娃回家做傳家之寶。店裏賣的東西實在是太貴了。

我們在店裏看到許多小女孩到那裏開派對。派對的最低消費一人要 US$32 (稅和小費外加) 至 US$65不等。不要在那裏開派對, 也可以在那裏用餐 (一人費用: 中餐 US$22 、下午茶 US$20 、晚餐 US$24, 外加稅和小費)。真的是高檔消費! 除了在店裏買東西、開生日派對及用餐之外, 小女孩也可以在店裏拍照,然後就可以擁有一本由自己做封面女孩的 American Girl Magazine。女兒七歲生日時, 她姑姑特別訂了兩年的 American Girl Magazine 給她做生日禮物。女兒很喜歡。她其實會很想上 American Girl Magazine 的封面。說真的, 我也不知道怎樣才能讓她有機會上 American Girl Magazine 的封面。至少要等她的牙齒都矯正完畢吧! 小女孩的明星夢真的是久無止盡的! 這店裏最好玩的部門是娃娃美容院。如果小女孩的美國女孩娃娃有一頭亂髮, 她可以送娃娃去娃娃美容院做頭髮。做一種髮型要 US$10 至 US$20 。娃娃如果要穿耳洞, 要花 US$14 (包括三副耳環)。這一切都是虛擬的娃娃世界,可是好逼真喔!

其實美國女孩娃娃的產品包括一係列的叢書。美國女孩娃娃的書都有歷史背景。
Kaya (1764) 印地安女孩
Felicity (1774) 美國革命/美國殖民時代
Josefina (1824) 墨西哥人在德州
Kirsten (1854) 十九世紀移民潮
Addy Walker (1864) 奴隸制度時代
Samantha (1904) 英王愛德華時代
Kit (1934) 1929 年開始於美國的大蕭條
Molly (1944) 第二次世界大戰
Julie (1974) 越戰

每一位美國女孩娃娃都有基本的六本書:

Meet the [美國女孩娃娃的名字] “認識她”
[美國女孩娃娃的名字] Learns the Lesson “從經驗中獲取教訓”
[美國女孩娃娃的名字]'s Surprise “她的驚奇”
Happy Birthday, [美國女孩娃娃的名字]! “生日快樂!”
[美國女孩娃娃的名字] Saves the Day “最後關頭取得勝利[成功]”
Changes for [美國女孩娃娃的名字] “變化”

最快的早餐 The quickest breakfast

2009-04-17T10:27:00.001-07:00

I usually wake up at 7:30 am in the morning. I have 45 minutes to pack lunches for 2 kids, prepare their breakfasts, and get them dressed and out the door before 8:20 am. But if I stay in bed a bit longer, I won't have time to make their lunches. If that's the case, I would make their lunches after I come home from dropping them off and then drive back to the school again before 10:15 am to deposit their lunches bags. This way, they would have things to eat as well during their recess break, which normally starts at 10:15 am for lower grades.

I was happy to find Jimmy Dean's Pancakes & Sausage on a Stick ($7.88) at Sam's Club a few weeks ago. All I have to do to make this is to wrap the pancake & sausage stick (from frozen) in a paper towel, then put it in the microwave and zap it for 1 minute (I can do two sticks at a time). I was elated when I found out that my kids are willing to eat it for breakfast. It would have been nice if they could eat this everyday, but my kids don't like to repeat food items, so I'm lucky if I can serve this once a week.

I have even packed this item for lunch once. The Pancake & Sausage stick stays soft and moist even after being microwaved for 1 minute and cools down later. I did wrap it in a paper towel to prevent drying out in the lunch bag.

Although I bought this at a Sam's Club, I'm sure other grocery stores carry this item, probably with lower counts per box. I would recommend this Pancake & Sausage stick as a regular freezer item.

婚姻與網際網路 Marriage and Internet

2009-04-16T11:29:00.000-07:00

My favorite TV show is a Taiwanese Show called News Wa Wa Wah. I watch it everyday on Youtube thanks to Frank, who uploads many Taiwanese shows on his "fengshuimaster0" channel. Two days ago, Frank posted that his father had gotten ill suddenly, so he wouldn't be able to upload more videos until his father gets better, probably in a week or two. All the subscribers wished his father well and waited patiently for Frank's return. Then a day ago, Frank posted another message saying that he will no longer upload anymore videos on his Youtube channel and we should email him for the new channel name. We were all stunned, not sure what happened there. Will I have to look for other sources for my favorite show now?! 6 hours later, Frank posted another message saying his new Youtube channel is called "TaiwanTalks". So I immediately looked up TaiwanTalks and it seemed legitimate, so I am a bit relieved and decided to wait until Frank uploads new shows in a week or so. Then today, Frank posted a message on TaiwanTalks and explained what happened. Apparently, he got a divorce and "fengshuimaster0" was his ex-wife's account and she was the one posted a message telling everyone that Frank will no longer be uploading videos onto this account.

Apparently, Frank's ex-wife is Master Lin's (the fengshuimaster) relative. Although Frank cared a lot about this Youtube channel, he had no choice but to switch to another channel. In his blog, he even hinted that this channel may have something to do with his divorce. In the end, a divorce, because of the nature of the cyber world today, actually affected the lives (viewing habits) of thousands of people around the world.

Although I don't know who Frank is, I wish him well in his new life as a single person and that his father recovers soon from his illness. Thank you, Frank!

我最愛看的電視節目是台灣的新聞挖挖哇。自從美國東森在一年前取消了新聞挖挖哇的播出,我都是上 Youtube 看 fengshuimaster0 版主 Frank 所上傳的台灣節目,包括新聞挖挖哇。每天晚上我都很期待小孩子睡覺後,可以輕鬆的觀看 Frank 所上傳(好看又即時)的新聞挖挖哇。久而久之,習慣就成自然了。直到兩天前,Frank 告知大家:

“各位同學們, 昨夜家父急病住院, 可能要待一到兩周, 小弟只能盡量先錄好節目存檔, 等我回來再上! 事發突然, 特此向大家致歉.“

頓時覺得生活少了個什麼,不過我相信版主有空一定會在上傳新的節目,所以準備耐心的等待。可是一天前,在大家的祝福聲中,突然又出現 Frank 的一個留言:

"★ 本頻道版主將轉址(不再以林正義老師專欄服務大家，會再上傳更多不同類型節目)！若想要知道新網址請來信!或是搜尋以下信箱！ＭＡＩＬ：frank.yow@gmail.com 此頻道將不會再上傳節目！感謝大家多年來的支持！"

天啊!發生了什麼事?!大家頓時錯愕! 不確定以後是否還能看到自己喜歡的節目。好在六小時之後,Frank 再留了一段話:

"大家好, 我是Frank. 在此先向大家報告新頻道username為TalwanTalks. http://www.youtube.com/TaiwanTalks 請先加入訂閱, 好友, 並請密切期待新片上映! p.s. 謝謝大家的祝福, 家父復原狀況良好, 預計一周內應可出院, 再次謝謝大家, 想念各位! "

我趕快跳到 TaiwanTalks 去看看。雖然還沒有上傳任何節目,但是至少還有希望看到 Frank 上傳的節目,也就於心不少。今天在上 TaiwanTalks 的時候,竟然看到 Frank 所寫的自我介紹:

" 版主Frank原建置林正義老師youtube頻道, 因為該頻道的帳號信箱屬於前妻所有, 在前妻的堅持下, 版主只好另闢此一新youtube頻道 TaiwanTalks, 相信在不久的未來, 即將與舊雨新知重新見面!

版主的第一篇網誌文章已經發表, 僅獻給所有關心與支持我的朋友!
Name: Frank
Country: Taiwan
Website: http://franktheyoutuber.blogspot.com/ "

原來這一切的變化都是因為 Frank 離婚的關係,也因為 Frank 的前妻是林正義大師的親戚,她不希望 Frank 繼續使用“fengshuimaster0”這帳號。最近,台灣的新聞是充滿了很多名人的負面離婚消息,苦主爭的不都是為了錢或小孩的監護權。再看看大家的朋友 Frank。他因離婚而必需離開他所經營已久的 Youtube 頻道,另闢新的頻道,從新開始,讓人婉惜。真沒想到在二十一世紀的網際網路虛擬世界裏,一個台灣男人的離婚,竟然會直接影響到國外數千人(可能更多人)的起居生活。在此,祝福 Frank 的父親早日康復,也希望 Frank 在不久的將來創造出新的人生方向! 感謝他!

放春假 Spring Break

2009-04-02T12:36:00.001-07:00

Every year, around Easter time, schools will be let out a week to 10 days so the kids can enjoy their Spring Break. To me, Spring Break means that we only have 2 months of school left before summer break begins. Younger kids depend on their parents for their Spring Break vacation, but older kids (college and older) plan their own Spring Break vacations. In some areas of the United States and Canada, snow doesn't fully melt until end of April, so Spring Break is an excuse for these winter birds to travel south for sunshine and warmer temperature. But what about those of us who live in the sunny (and warmer) states? Well, we go to colder places for some spring skiing.

Of course, the travel industry is fully aware of the spring break dates, so it's hard to find travel bargains for spring break. If I have my way, I would go on a cruise, but my husband can't take a full week off from work in April, so I have to find alternative spring break plans for my family. The criteria for our spring break travel are as follows:

1) Limited to car travel. Plane fares for 4 people cost too much if the vacation is a short one.
2) Limited to Friday to Sunday.
3) Must be fun for the husband.
4) Look for conference opportunities (at least the hotel will be free).

It's not that we HAVE to go somewhere for spring break, but the kids talk about where they go for spring break when they go back to school, so I always find somewhere interesting to take them. It doesn't have to be an expensive trip as long as it gives my kids the bragging rights before and after their spring break.

在美國, 春假是一個重要的假期。雖然上班族不放春假, 但是全國的每所學校都會放一星期到兩星期不等的春假。春假的放假日期、時間的長短,都由各個學校、學區做決定, 所以大家放春假的日期都不太一樣。通常春假可以從三月底開始放,放到最晚四月中旬左右結束。今年我們小孩的春假是從四月三日下午開始放假,一直放到四月十三日才再開學。照道理講很多家長都還是要上班,所以小孩放春假也是件頭痛的事情。當然是可以把小孩送去 spring camp, 但是有更多的家長乾脆請假帶小孩出去玩。我想大部份的家長還是沒有那麼多假可以請,只有另想辦法。

我們是一定會帶小朋友出去玩的,可是因為老公要上班, 我只能找一些比較近的地方,利用星期五到星期日的時間去玩。那其它四天呢(星期一至星期四)? 我會帶小孩出去吃中飯, 去一些我老公不喜歡去的餐廳,像 Souplantation, TGI Friday 及麥當勞。我還會帶他們去 Chuck E Cheese's。我的小孩很喜歡去那裏玩,去年我兒子的生日派對還是在那裏辦的。如果還有時間, 我會帶他們到附近的mall (購物中心) 和 Target 去逛逛。雖然我超級討厭帶小孩去逛街, 因為他們會(尤其是我那小的)要求買東買西。那時候我就要一直說 “NO”, 因為小孩子根本就不需要更多的玩具,那是永無止盡的慾望, 永遠無法滿足的慾望。反正可以順便機會教育, 需要讓小孩子知道就算有錢也不能看到什麼就買什麼。我常常告訴我的小孩, 省錢也是生財方法之一。

講到省錢, 因為現在的景氣不如從前, 就算要出去玩, 也要看看有沒有這項預算。我在計畫春假的旅遊時, 我有幾個原則:

1) 去開車就能到的地方。因為春假比較短,花錢坐飛機去玩就比較划不來。一家四口的飛機票價也是一筆可觀的開銷。
2) 盡量利用星期五到星期日的時間去玩,因為老公要上班, 請假不方便。
3) 一定要去老公也覺得好玩的地方。
4) 看看有沒有參加外地會議開會的機會 (至少旅館就不用錢)。

今年我老公要去聖地牙哥(San Diego) 開會, 全家準備跟他一起去玩。雖然小孩子星期五下午才開始放春假, 我們星期四下午就要出發, 開2.5 小時的車到聖地牙哥。

愚人節 April Fool's Day

2009-04-01T11:00:00.001-07:00

Did anyone play an April Fool's Day joke on you this year?

妳們今年有跟親朋好友開愚人節的玩笑嗎?

從美國看台灣 Watching Taiwan television shows from the States

2009-03-31T16:40:00.001-07:00

Ever since I discovered that I can watch Taiwanese shows on Youtube, my own spectrum of entertainment has expanded even more. I am partial to talk shows and variety shows that involve lots of talking, especially talking about current entertainment gossip and political events. My favorite show is News Wa Wa Wah! ETTV America used to broadcast it on our local television channel, but since January 2008, they have not aired it citing copyright issues. I think it was more a political decision than anything else (that was right before the
Presidential election). In any case, the program was sorely missed by myself and many of my friends. ETTV used to air News Wa Wa Wah at 10pm and it was the perfect time to watch this show because my kids would be asleep and I can relax and unwind by watching this show. With its cancellation, my daily routine was a bit off-kiltered, that is until I discovered that some kind soul had uploaded News Wa Wa Wah on Youtube.

There are other Taiwanese variety/talk show that I enjoy. As my TV watching time is limited, I have began to watch less American and Korean shows, so I can watch more Taiwanese shows. Whenever I read about a show on the Taiwanese newspapers, I would search for it on Youtube. More than half of the time, the show would be uploaded already. I will provide a list of the shows and its Youtube links below.

Happy watching!

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Youtube link of Taiwanese shows (remember to use the Playlist function so you can watch a show continuously as most episodes are divided up into many segments. Just click on "Play all"):

http://www.youtube.com/user/TaiwanTalks
新聞挖挖哇
國民大會
WTO姐妹會

*************************************************************************************
在美國住久了, 對臺灣的很多時事都很陌生。不過偶爾看看台灣的電視節目還蠻有趣的。在 2008 年之前,東森北美台在每晚十點就會播出新聞挖挖哇。那個時段很受我們這些熟媽的歡迎, 最主要是因為晚上十點時, 小孩子都入睡了, 熟媽們可以趁看新聞挖挖哇的時間來放鬆心情。在睡覺前可以輕鬆開懷而笑實在是件不錯的事情。在東森北美台取消新聞挖挖哇的播出之後, 還真的亂了我們這群熟媽的生活步調。有一陣子我還覺得有點失落感。直到有一天我發現有人把所有我愛看的台灣節目PO 到 Youtube上。現在的生活真的活得蠻充實的。生活忙碌, 但是我知道在夜深人靜時, 我還有好多好看的節目在等著我去看。對於一位從小就愛看電視的我, 這真是一項福旨。在此介紹給大家收看。

簡單的義大利麵 Tomato Basil Pasta

2009-03-30T00:33:00.001-07:00

This is my daughter's favorite pasta dish. It's simple to make and it's particularly good during the summer months because of the fresh ingredients available.

TOMATO BASIL PASTA
(Cook Time: 10 min., Yield: 6 to 8 servings)

Ingredients:

1 pound farfalle/bow-tie pasta OR any pasta
1 lb. cherry tomatoes, cut in half OR 4 plum tomatoes, cut into 1 inch dice
8 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt (add more salt if needed)
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish

Directions:
1. In a large pasta bowl, combine halved cherry tomatoes (squeeze the tomatoes with a spoon), basil, olive oil, and salt.

2. Fill a large pot 3/4 of the way with water and place over high heat. Add plenty of salt and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook 8 to 10 minutes (or according to package directions), until al dente.

3. Spoon the pasta out of the pot with slotted spoon and put the pasta on top of the tomato mixture. Toss well and garnish with fresh basil leaves.

我女兒很喜歡吃這道菜。基本上喜歡吃番茄的人也應該會喜歡這道菜的。我是從 Food TV 學到這道菜的,好像是 Jamie Oliver 的食譜。可是不知道怎麼回事,我在網路上卻找不到他原版的食譜,所以我就憑記憶,用我的方法把烹調方式記錄起來。通常我都會從 Trdaer Joe's 買這道菜需要的食材, 像是 olive oil (橄欖油), basil (新鮮的九層塔), cherry tomatoes (櫻桃小蕃茄) 及 bow-tie pasta (蝶形領結義大利麵)。除了橄欖油以外,全部食材加起來不會超過七元。買不到櫻桃小蕃茄的話,用普通蕃茄也可以,只要蕃茄的水份多就行了。

義大利蕃茄簡易麵
(烹飪時間: 10 分鐘, 六到八人份)

材料:
1 磅蝶形領結義大利麵或任何義大利麵
1 磅櫻桃小蕃茄 (切半) 或 4 顆大粒蕃茄 (切成一寸丁塊。)
8 片新鮮的九層塔,(切細絲)
1/4 杯橄欖油
2 茶匙鹽 (不夠鹹再加鹽)
新鮮的九層塔切碎、留著做裝飾

作法:
1. 在大碗中加入櫻桃小蕃茄, 新鮮的細絲九層塔, 橄欖油及鹽。用湯匙把櫻桃小蕃茄的湯汁給壓出來。
2. 燒開水, 用包裝上說明的煮麵方法把蝶形領結義大利麵煮熟。
3. 直接把煮好的義大利麵放在(1)料上, 然後再把麵和湯汁攪拌均勻即可。
4. 把切碎的九層塔灑在麵上做裝飾。

購買小孩滑雪用的眼鏡 Shopping for Children's Ski Goggles

2009-03-29T23:43:00.000-07:00

We are taking the kids skiing over the spring break. I called a friend last week and asked whether she had any old ski pants that her kids had outgrown. I was lucky to outfit both kids with hand-me-down ski pants. I bought ski gloves for them last year at Costco. Since the kids can rent ski equipments and helmets at the ski school, the only things left to buy are ski goggles and socks. I have already asked our family ski expert, my sister, for some advise on how to shop for ski goggles and socks. She gave me some links for me to check them out before we head out to the stores. So we did our homework before we went shopping. What we didn't count on was that the store wouldn't have the merchandise we wanted.

We walked into REI and the whole first floor was filled with camping-related things. We went to the second floor hoping to find some ski stuff, but we didn't see anything related to snow. My husband went up to a REI staff and was told that the store shipped all their ski stuff back to their warehouse, but we can still buy ski stuff on-line. That was unfortunate and a total waste of time. We had to give another store a try. We went to Sports Chalet. They did have snow equipments on display--lots of skis, snow boards, socks, goggles, helmets, etc... We found everything but nothing in children's sizes. So again, we went to speak to a staff. The guy told us that they sold out of children's ski goggles a long time ago, usually right after Christmas. Another waste of an hour. We should have just done the shopping on-line, instead of wasting gas, driving around town looking for ski stuff.

Although we didn't accomplish the task we set out to do today, I did discover something. I had no idea that with a down turn in our economy, sporting goods stores are still doing brisk business.

我們春假要帶小孩子去滑雪。上星期我已經把小孩子的滑雪褲搞定。我打了通電話問朋友看她有沒有她小孩子不能穿的滑雪褲。她的小女兒比我女兒大一歲, 所以我這幾年來一直都很樂意接收她女兒不能穿的衣服。滑雪夾克本來就有了。滑雪用的手套去年在 Costco 就買到了。只剩下滑雪用的眼鏡及襪子還沒買, 其它滑雪用的東西可以用租的。我妹常帶她的小孩去滑雪, 所以她這方面經驗豐富。我問她小孩滑雪用的眼鏡及襪子要買那一種比較好,她也給了我有少這方面的資訊,所以我去買東西之前是有準備的。結果沒想到今天去了兩家店都沒有在賣小孩子用的滑雪用品。

第一家店REI是連滑雪的用品都沒在賣了。店員說要上REI家的網站才買得到滑雪用品。第二家店 Sports Chalet 只有在賣大人用的滑雪用品。找不到小孩子用的滑雪用品。店員說很多小孩子用的滑雪用品在聖誕節之後不久就賣完了。看樣子得上網路買或上山再買小孩子需要的滑雪眼鏡及襪子。

今天是浪費了不少時間逛運動休閒用品店。雖然沒買到我們想買的東西, 但是我悟到一件事--就是原來在景氣不好的時候, 運動休閒用品店的生意可真好!

TGIF! 終於是星期五!

2009-03-27T04:28:00.000-07:00

I stayed up most of the night yesterday because I had to wake up my husband at 4am so he can edit my daughter's video that she filmed with her brother the night before. I was afraid I would overslept, so I ended up staying up all night. We couldn't find the connector that will allow us to download video from our video camera to the computer so we were not able to edit my daughter's 2-minute video commercial of the cereal she made for her Fairy Tale project. We all know we shouldn't leave things to the last minute because whatever can go wrong will. My husband will probably go to Fry's on Saturday to get that connector so we can edit the cereal video over the weekend. I ended up going to bed at 5:30am and whole day today I was tired.

My daughter happily brought her newly-created cereal (and the cereal box) to school so she can share the cereal with her friends. She had a substitute teacher today, so no one got to do their fairy tale presentation today. We are going to teach her how to edit a video on Sunday because on Saturday, she's going to an overnight campout organized by an upper grade Girl Scout Troop in our school district.

Since I was so tired all morning, I didn't want to drive around too much. I decided to wait after all their lessons are done in the afternoon before going shopping again. By then, my husband would be home and he can do all the driving. My daughter has her Hip Hop dance class at 4:45pm and my son has his violin class at 5pm. My husband usually picks up my daughter after her dance class at 5:45pm and I would stay with my son until he finishes his violin lesson. Today, our plans was to meet back at home and then go together to shop for my daughter's camping things.

There were several things on my daughter's camping packing list that we didn't have at home. She had to get a mesh bag (a bit like a laundry bag) to function as a dunk bag for her mess kit. She has plastic plate, bowl, fork, spoon, and knife, but she doesn't have a plastic cup with a lid. So before dinner, we all went to Target first and found a Coleman's Dunk Mesh Bag. On the shelf, it said $2.49, but when I was paying, the register said $4.49! That's too expensive for a mesh bag. I decided to go to the Dollar Tree because I know they have laundry bags for $1. Then we went to Marukai's M store to find a plastic cup with a lid and handle. I did find a pink one for $1.68 and it's actually made in Japan. But the lid has a strong plastic small, I hope it'll go away after I wash it.

Before I dropped everyone at the Korean BBQ (where we went for dinner), I had to make a pit stop at a market and bought a potato and an onion. My daughter will need them for the
Friendship Soup that she and her friends will make at the camp tomorrow. My final stop was the Dollar Tree. My goal was to find a mess dunk bag for $1. I saw several laundry bags for $1, but they were either too big or has a zipper. I looked around and saw these tidy totes that were the perfect size and it came in 4 bags per pack. I couldn't believe my luck. I am not sure if it'll stand the test of soaking in water, but even if it doesn't fare well in water, I think it'll survive my daughter's camping trip. I think this is a great deal, compared to Coleman's Dunk Mesh Bag! After I paid for it, I quickly went back to the Korean BBQ restaurant to join the family dinner with my in-laws. Although there were 2 more things on the camping list (a bungee cord and a Thermarest) that we didn't buy, but my in-law have them, so we can pick them up later at my in-law's house. I can finally relax and enjoy my dinner.

明天我女兒又要去露營。是高年級的女童子軍主辦的活動。雖然只有一天一夜,需要帶去的東西還真不少。我和我老公是住休閒度假旅館型的夫妻, 根本對露營是一竅不通的, 所以我家也不可能有任何露營要用的東西。但是就算我不喜歡露營, 我也要我的小孩子有瞭解露營的機會。參加美國童子軍就有這種機會, 因為露營是美國童子軍的重要活動之一, 也是美國人旅遊的方式的一種。在美國生活就要會露營, 因為這種休閒方法可以讓小孩看到更多的大自然景觀, 讓他們更能體會到環境保育的重要了。

昨晚沒睡好,所以我一整天的精神都不好,也更懶的出門買女兒露營需要的東西。後來決定等小孩上完舞蹈課及小提琴課, 全家再一起去辦採購, 順便去吃韓國烤肉。女兒需要的東西還蠻多的:

1. Mesh bag 網狀袋子, 可放碗盤, 方便洗滌 (洗衣袋也可)。
2. 有蓋子和有手把的塑膠杯子。
3. 一個洋蔥或一個馬鈴薯。
4. Bungee cord 彈性繩索。
5. Thermarest 露營用的薄床墊。

家裏的洗衣袋太大了, 所以得去買一個小一點的袋子。我們先去Target, 但是看到露營專用的袋子竟然要 $4.49! 當下就決定要去 Dollar Tree 走一趟, 因為我知道 Dollar Tree 有賣洗衣袋。在去Dollar Tree之前, 我先去 Marukai M Store 買了一個有蓋子和有手把的粉紅色塑膠杯 (日本製但是塑膠味很重)。然後再去韓國超市買了一個洋蔥和一個馬鈴薯 (剛好都在同一條街上)。最後再把老公、小孩放下車, 讓他們先去餐廳佔位子。我自己再去 Dollar Tree. 到了Dollar Tree, 我只看到比較大的洗衣袋,找不到剛好大小的。正要離開時, 看到旁邊架子上有個綠色的網狀袋子, 四個一包! 總共一元! 太棒了, 尺寸又剛好。買完後我趕到餐廳跟小姑一家會合吃韓國烤肉。小姑說她家有彈性繩索及做瑜珈用的薄墊, 所以就不用再去買了, 飯後去她家拿就是了。我終於可以放下心, 好好的吃一頓飯。

女兒的閱讀報告 (1) My daughter's book report on fairy tales

2009-03-25T01:06:00.001-07:00

We had a 2-week notice to do this book report. But of course my daughter didn't start writing this report until last Sunday. So we have exactly 2 more days to finish this book report/project as it's due on Friday (if you count today as a day). The title of this project is "A New Cereal on the Shelf". I am dumbfounded that this is a 4th grade project. My daughter and I brain-stormed for a couple of days to figure out what kind of cereal she wants to create and ideas for the cereal box. I suppose my daughter can make it as easy or as complicated as she wanted to. But being her mom, I had to make a special trip to Michael's just to buy the supplies she needed to do this project. I will post a photo of her final product when she is done with the project.

Here are the instructions given to the students in order for them to complete the fairy tales book report/project.

A New Cereal on the Shelf
If you could invent a cereal based on the fictional book you read, what would it be? After you think of a name and shape for your cereal, you'll design a cereal box for it.

MATERIAL:
Empty cereal Box, white or light-colored paper, scissors, markers or crayons, construction paper, glue tape.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Find a fairy tale book that interest you and is at an appropriate reading level for you. The book must be approved by your teacher.

2. Think about what you will name your cereal. Choose a name that sounds enticing and that relates to the story in some way. Then choose a shape for the cereal, as well as colors and ingredients that also relate to the book. For example, for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, you might invent a cereal called Wizard Wands, a toasted oat cereal in the shape of a miniature lightning bolts.

3. Cover an empty cereal box with white or light-colored paper. Or you might want to write and draw on appropriate-sized sheets of paper and then glue them onto the box. Write a rough draft and draw sketches before moving on to your final copy. Here are the guidelines for each side of the box:

Front: Write the name of your cereal and draw a picture to go with it. You might draw characters or other pictures to help sell your products. Make your cereal box look appealing and fun. Look at actual cereal boxes for ideas.
Back: Design a game that is based on the story. It can be a puzzle, a word game, or any other fun activity that might be found on the back of a cereal box. Make sure it includes information from the book.
Right Side: Under the heading "Ingredients," list the main characters and write a sentence about each one. Then describe the setting (place and time).
Left Side: Write a summary of the book. Describe the main conflict and the resolution. Minimum and Maximum 20 sentences, either typed OR written in cursive or printing.
Top: Write the title and the author of the book and your name.

4. Plan a 2-minute commercial for your cereal, and present it to the class.

That last one is a doozie. It's not enough trying to invent a cereal from scratch AND creating a box for the cereal, the kids need to plan a 2-minute video?! Doesn't the teacher know most TV commercials are only 30 seconds?! I don't know how my daughter can get all that done in 1 day, on top of her other regular homework. My daughter wants to film a video of her brother and herself doing the commercial. Once the commercial is filmed, her daddy would have to transfer the video to the computer and copy it onto a DVD. It sounds easy enough except that the last time my husband did that was at least 5 years ago. Good luck to all involved!!!

What ever happened to the good ol' fashion book report?!

中文[待續]

兒子的鞋子 My son's shoes

2009-03-24T05:43:00.001-07:00

My son was in need of a pair of shoes. His old pair had holes on the side and his new pair is 2 sizes too big. I finally went out and earnestly looked for a new pair of shoes for him. I started at Payless Shoesource and bought a pair of brown shoes on clearance for $9.99. I had a feeling that he may not like it, but I bought it anyway because it was the only pair of boys' shoes on clearance that was his size at the store. Of course, when I showed the shoes to him after school, he took one look and shook his head and said, "Mom, it's brown!" I felt a little discouraged, so the search continued. In the afternoon, I had a chance to go to Target. I had to run some errands for my mom and she was able to watch the kids for me so I can leave the house without them.

As soon as I got to Target, I went to the shoes department. I was looking for boys' shoes on clearance. I found these Garren shoes at 50% off for $12.48 each. It was more than the $10 that I had wanted to pay, but since it was 50% off (and I have a feeling that my son would like them), I went ahead and bought them. I wasn't sure what my son's shoe size was and I didn't want to take the chance of not getting the right size, so I bought a pair of size 13.5 and a pair of size 1. As soon as my son saw the shoes, he said "COOL"! He put them on immediately and ran down the hall to prove to me that they fit. He was wearing the size 13.5. Now I'm left with the dilemma of whether to return that size 1 pair. Should I save them for my son?!

兒子最常穿的那雙鞋在下雨時就不能穿了, 因為鞋邊磨出了個缝。只要是沒下雨,兒子繼續穿他的破鞋。一個月前在Payless 買了一雙 $9.99 全黑的新鞋給兒子。穿了一陣子之後, 他才告訴我說那雙鞋太大了! 真是煩死人, 又要開始找鞋子了。雖然一直都在找他能穿的鞋子,但是沒減價的我還是買不下去。今天早上有個空檔,我決定把兒子的鞋子搞定! 我先去 Payless (http://www.payless.com/) 找鞋。這星期Payless 沒減價, 但是我還是找到一雙咖啡色的男童鞋,才$9.99 ,有減價。在十元以下的童鞋我都能接受, 所以就買了。只是無法確定兒子會不會喜歡。

一下課回到家我就把新鞋拿給兒子看。他看了一眼就跑掉了。基本上他不喜歡咖啡色的鞋子。他連試穿都懶得穿。我只好繼續再找兒子能穿的鞋子。下午我剛好要幫我媽去買點東西,她明天一早就要回温哥華了。她說她能幫我看小孩, 好讓我快去快回。我介著這個機會去了趟 Target。一進 Target 就往鞋區走。我想看看有沒有被削價銷售的男童鞋, 果然有一款式正在削價削到五折 ($12.48)。雖然比我十元以下的預算還多出一點, 我還是買了,而且買了兩雙: 一雙 size 13.5 另一雙 size 1。好在兒子一看到這雙鞋,說了一聲“酷!”, 就馬上穿上新鞋跑來跑去, 想證明這雙鞋是他的尺寸, 不準備讓我把這雙鞋給還掉。這下子好了, 我兒子能穿的那雙是size 13.5, 所以我正在發愁, 不知道應不應該把那雙size 1 的鞋子給還掉?!

反正我終於可以鬆一口氣了, 不用再為一雙鞋而煩惱了!

蔥爆牛肉 What to do with leftover BBQ steak?

2009-03-23T01:22:00.000-07:00

My husband barbecues steaks quite often. The whole family (in-laws) gets together once a week at the house and we would barbecue up a storm. Unless the grocery stores (Albertson's, Ralph's, and/or Von's) have steaks on sale that particular week, we would just buy our steaks at Costco. One of the disadvantages of shopping at Costco is that you would need to buy the steaks in bulk. It's not usually that we would end up barbecue-ing 8-10 pieces of big steaks at one sitting. I like ribeye steaks and others like New York steaks, either way it's super tasty when the steaks are barbecued. My husband would cut off the excess fat on the ribeye (to avoid fire flareups) and just simply salt and pepper the steaks prior to grilling.

As most families, we have leftover steaks after a big meal. Instead of microwaving the steaks (and thus toughing it), I cut them up into strips and stir-fry them with garlic and green onions. We like our steaks medium rare, so there are still some red in the meat when I cut them into strips, which are perfect for stir-frying.

Stir-fry Beef with Green Onions (Scallions)
1 large piece of BBQ steak (about 8 oz.)
6 sticks of green onions/scallions (add more if you like green onions)
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of oil
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of soy sauce (or to taste)
1 tablespoon of rice wine/vodka/cognac (optional, but do not add red or white wines instead if you don't have the right alcohol)
1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon of sesame seed oil (optional)

1. Halve the green onions along its length, then cut them up into 2-inch segments.
2. Crush and dice garlic.
3. Cut up the steaks into 2-inch strips (1/4" x 1/4" x 2")
4. Heat the oil in high heat. Once the pan is hot, put in garlic. Stir-fry and before the garlic pieces turn brown (try not to burn the garlic), put in the green onions, stir-fry, then ADD salt.
5. Stir-fry until the green onions wilt, then ADD beef strips, stir-fry a bit, then ADD soy sauce and wine. Stir-fry some more and ADD sugar. ADD sesame seed oil when the color of beef turns from red (remember it was a medium rare steak) to brown. Stir-fry one more minute until most liquids evaporate and serve. It's perfect on steamed rice.

Ribeye Steak

我們大概每星期天都會跟公婆及小姑一家一起吃飯。最簡單的方式就是在家裏烤肉(BBQ)。我們通常都到 Costco 買牛排, 除非剛好那星期超巿有牛排在減價。我愛吃 ribeye steak ,可是也有家人喜歡 New York steak。在 Costco 買牛排有個缺點, 就是一次要買很多片牛排(八到十片), 所以常常飯後剩下很多片烤好的牛排。我老公很會烤牛排。他都會先把多餘的肥肉除去, 免得在烤肉時, 火焰會因為肥肉過多而突然燃燒起來。我不喜歡我的肉片烤得太熟,肉要帶點紅才會嫩 (大約五分熟), 要不然烤過頭的肉都會變得太硬。要烤牛排之前,我們在牛排的雙面都灑上鹽巴及胡椒。因此烤出來的牛排真的是片片鮮美! 可是我今天要講的是吃剩的牛排要如何處理? 我會把它拿來做蔥爆牛肉。

蔥爆牛肉

材料:
一片烤過的牛排 (大概 10 oz 左右)
青蔥六枝(愛吃蔥就多加幾枝)
蒜頭兩瓣
二湯匙沙拉油
1/2 茶匙 (teaspoon) 鹽
一湯匙醬油
一湯匙米酒 (沒有米酒可用 Cognac 或 Vodka 代替, 但不要加白酒或紅酒,因為那樣菜會有酸味)。
1/2 茶匙 (teaspoon) 糖
麻油少許 (大概 1/2 茶匙 teaspoon)

作法:
1. 蒜頭拍扁，去薄膜。
2. 蔥去頭去尾洗淨，蔥斜切粗絲。
3. 牛肉逆紋切條。
4. 把沙拉油加入鍋內，爆香蒜頭,大火爆炒幾下，再放入蔥絲一樣大火爆炒，加鹽巴。
5. 再炒一下, 加入切好的牛肉絲。再炒一下, 加入醬油、米酒、糖及麻油。
6. 快炒之後, 水份也減少了, 肉絲也從紅肉(記得我們的牛排都是烤五分熟的)變熟了, 馬上裝盤盛起。記住蔥絲不能炒太久，不然會變軟就不清脆了。

到女童子軍團的攤位賣餅乾 Booth Sale of Girl Scout Cookies

2009-03-22T09:05:00.001-07:00

Today was our Girl Scout Troop's second (and final) Cookies Booth Sale in front of a grocery store. Last week, we went to Ralph's. This week, we were assigned to go to Bristol Farm. Although it was sunny, it was still very windy and cold. My daughter was wearing 4 layers of clothing (turtle neck, t-shirt, sweater, and a heavy hoodie) and she was still cold. Luckily we didn't have many cookies to sell as our Troop ordered cookies conservatively for our booth sale. I brought from home the 11 boxes I still had left, hoping to sell them at the booth. When we got there, the Troop only had 3 flavors of cookies left--Thin Mints, Tagalongs, and the Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips. I added a box of Dulce de Leche and 4 boxes of Samoas to the mix. We quickly sold those. Around 4:30, we had 2 boxes of Tagalongs left on the table and everyone just decided to call it the day. There wasn't a lot of foot traffic at Bristol Farm, not sure if it was the windy weather. Last week at Ralph's, we sold 57 boxes of cookies. I think we sold less than 20 boxes today. I guess location mattered. The girls had a lot of fun selling the cookies together, despite the cold and windy condition.

今天又輪到我女兒到她的女童子軍團的攤位賣餅乾。上星期天已經到過 Ralph's 擺攤位賣餅乾了。這星期我們到了Bristol Farm 擺餅乾攤位。可能是因為到 Bristol Farm 買菜的人少,再加上又冷、風又大的天氣,今天的賣氣不佳。不過一群小女生在一起不管在做什麼都可以玩得很開心。我和女兒大概三點到場,一直賣到剩下兩盒餅乾才跟其他媽媽決定不要再賣了。實在是在外面站得太冷了,大概四點半就收攤了。今年賣女童子軍餅乾的活動就到此為止,要再等到明年二月才又會開始此活動。 ()

再過幾天,在市面上可能就要看不到女童子軍的餅乾了。如果妳們想嚐一嚐這些餅乾的滋味,大家可能要等到明年三月了。順便在此介紹女童子軍餅乾的八種口味:

THIN MINTS (Top-Selling Girl Scout Cookies)

Thin, mint-flavored chocolate wafers dipped in a chocolate coating.
巧克力漬薄荷味的巧克力薄片。

SAMOAS
Also known as Caramel deLites: Vanilla cookies coated in caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut and laced with chocolate swirls.
巧克力醬漬住香草餅乾的底部,餅乾上頭灑著香脆的椰子肉及可口的焦糖和旋轉式的巧克力醬。

TAGALONGS
Also known as Peanut Butter Patties: Crispy vanilla cookies layered with peanut butter and covered with a chocolate coating.
巧克力醬漬滿二片香脆的香草餅乾夾加花生醬。
今年所有含有花生原料的餅乾銷售成績都不甚理想。原因出自於前些日子美國最大的花生廠所製造的花生產品被查出含有沙門氏菌。所以很多人都不敢買有花生成份的餅乾。

DO-SI-DOS
Also known as Peanut Butter Sandwiches: Peanut butter filling sandwiched between crunchy oatmeal cookies.
二片香脆的麥片餅乾,中間夾著花生醬。

TREFOILS
Also known as Shortbread: A traditional shortbread cookie made in the shape of the Girl Scout trefoil logo.
傳統的酥油餅乾。餅乾上面印著女童子軍的 "Trefoil" 標誌

LEMON CHALET CREMES

Cinnamon sandwich cookies with lemon creme filling.
桂皮香料三明治餅乾,檸檬夾心。

DULCE DE LECHE

Introduced in 2009, these are Latin caramel cookies.
拉丁奶油焦糖餅乾。

SUGAR-FREE CHOCOLATE CHIPS COOKIES

Introduced in 2008, they are small sugar-free cookies.
無糖巧克力曲奇餅乾。

洛杉磯芭蕾舞團 Going to the ballet

2009-03-21T23:55:00.001-07:00

My husband got 4 complimentary tickets to the Los Angeles Ballet yesterday afternoon. Because it was such a short notice, I was reluctant to take the kids to a ballet that would last two and a half hours. I warned my husband that our 7-year old son may not be able to sit through the entire show, but my husband insisted that it will be a good experience for the kids. My daughter had quit ballet classes several times over the years. She has decided to pick it up again because her Jazz dance teacher told her to take ballet to improve on her basic dance movements.

I made sure we left the house early enough so we'll have time before the show to get something to eat. We had to drive over an hour to Glendale, which is northeast of Pasadena. I was surprised with the new-ness of downtown Glendale. Looks like business is booming in Glendale. We drove down Brand Blvd. to get to the Alex Theatre. The block near the Alex Theatre had that old Broadway feel, but minus the hoards of people that are ever-present in the real Broadway. We picked up our tickets at 7 pm and walked down the street to get a bite to eat at a sushi place about a block down the road. Both kids were dressed up because I told them people usually dress up to go see ballet. I didn't know what to expect and how the kids would react to this show. The kids were excited nevertheless because it was something they haven't done before. We got back to the theater at 7:30 pm and promptly found our seats which were center orchestra. We had great seats!

This show was broken up into 3 acts: The Prodigal Son, a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine in 1929; World Premiere, a jazzy, 50s-ish tribute to Ballet with songs by Eartha Kitt and Ella Fitzgerald; and a modern interpretation of Igor Stravinsky's Violin Concerto choreographed by George Balanchine. My son really enjoyed the first act while my daughter enjoyed the second act. Both kids were really bored by the third act. My son actually fell asleep during the third act. It wasn't surprising since it was already 9:30pm when he fell asleep. I was glad that the show had two intermissions. I had packed some snacks and juice for the kids so they can eat something during the intermissions. The kids and I survived the long, and late show.

I was pleased that this ballet gave my children another aspect of ballet that they don't normally see. They are used to the classical ballet--Swan Lake and Nutcracker. Now they see how ballet can be applied to different music and thus modernizing it.

My own ballet senses were shocked during the first act because there were more than 10 male ballet dancers and only 1 ballerina on stage. Whereas in majority of classical ballet, we see more ballerinas than male ballet dancers. I can imagine the whole program must be extremely avant-garde for 1929 when Balanchine choreographed it. In any case, it's still amazing to see the amount of physical strength needed to do a ballet program well. At least my son now sees that ballet is not just for girls.

昨天下午公司有人送給我老公四張洛杉磯芭蕾舞團的票。我本來懶得去,最主要是因為戲院在Glendale, 從我家開車到那裏至少要一個小時。再加上表演時間是兩個半小時,我覺得小孩子一定會不耐煩或者是太累。反正不管怎樣,小孩子肯定會鬧,所以就不想去。後來老公說那票不能退了, 所以只好硬著頭皮,帶著兩個小孩,全家一起去看芭蕾舞。

我們大概七點左右到達戲院,領了票以後,找了一家壽司店買壽司給小孩子吃。七點半準時入場。我們的位子不錯在正中央。兩個小鬼蠻興奮的,很期待表演的開始。[待續]

言論自由 Making fun of classmates and teachers=suspension?!

2009-03-20T00:51:00.001-07:00

I heard a story today from a friend who told me about something that happened at her son's elementary school. Apparently 2 girls were suspended for uploading videos which made fun of 3 of her classmates and teachers onto Youtube. Needless to say I was shocked and amazed! First of all, how can grade 4 kids know how to produce a skit making fun of someone, videotape it, and post the videos on Youtube. Secondly, what happened to the freedom of speech?! Thirdly, does making fun of people constitute a school suspension?

As we all know, kids make fun of each other all the time--sometimes the comments are hurtful (bullying) and sometimes less sinister; and yet, I haven't heard of anyone getting suspended for making fun of their friends. Now I have, with this case. The principal of that school also gave a speech to fourth graders about the dangers of internet and how predators are everywhere on the internet and that kids should be careful. What the principal said is very true, but it really doesn't explain why their peers would get suspended for posting a video on Youtube.

I am guessing that there must be a rule in that school's by-laws which prohibited bullying (or lack of respect), otherwise, the principal really don't have any grounds to suspend any student, especially when the right to the freedom of speech is so valued in the United States. However, if I am the parents of those students targeted as the butt of their jokes, then I may not have been so lenient on the 2 students who have been suspended.

It's obvious that the kids involved in this "prank" didn't try to hide their "actions" by using pseudonyms when they posted the videos on Youtube. They just did it without realizing that what they did would warrant a school suspension. These are regular kids, just like my kids. They are not even precocious. I do think the kids need to be held responsible for their hurtful actions, but I also think school suspension is a rather harsh punishment. In any case, I'm sure the kids have learned their lesson, but most likely not the kind of lesson we want them to learn. I'm sure they will learn to disguise themselves better the next time they want to make fun of someone else, especially on-line.

今天下午一位朋友來電聊了一下大家的近況也順便聊了小孩子。她告訴我一件讓我蠻震驚的事。她說她兒子班上(國小四年級)有兩位同學被停學,因為這兩位同學自拍了四個短片然後 po 到 Youtube 上給同學們觀賞。當然不是每位同學都看了這些短片,只是有同學在討論這些影片時被老師聽到。那老師立既上網點閱。不看還好,這一看就不得了。這兩位同學 po 的短片都在取笑別人。有三位同學及數名老師都是片中被取笑的對相。校長知道後,確認了這兩名同學的參與,當天就請這兩位同學回家,然後再下了停學的指示。

我一直覺得這校長對此案學生的處份有點太嚴厲了。但是言論自由畢竟還是這個案件的主軸。不管怎樣,學校一定要保持中立,決對不能忘記言論自由的重要性。但是話又說回來,如果我的女兒是短片批評、嘲笑的對象,我恐怕不能理解這兩位同學的作為,而要求她們一定要登門道歉。

Trip to Walmart

2009-03-19T10:14:00.001-07:00

I went to Walmart today right before lunch to return the sleeping bag and a baseball helmet that I bought a few weeks ago. I had known that the line up at the Customer Service Counter might be long because I have seen it before, but I didn't expect to line up for 35 minutes just to return things. There were 3 girls working at the counter and they weren't in a rush to move the line along. Granted, they weren't just doing simple returns because one can also do check-cashing and money wiring at the same Customer Service Counter. Still, 35 minutes to wait to return something! That's unheard of on a regular business day. Seriously, it's not like Walmart prices are so much lower than other retail stores that I should even shop there. Anyways, I'm just a little peeved by my Walmart's shopping experience, so I need to vent a bit.

快中午時我去了趟 Walmart。最主要是想把數週前買的睡袋及棒球頭盔給還掉。剛好我爸也想要到Walmart 買他在加拿大使用過的Walmart牌去頭皮洗髮精,所以我就介這機會去了趟Walmart 。其實去之前我就想有可能排隊還東西時會排很久 (因為以前常常看到別人在排隊),只是沒想到我竟然也排了三十五分鐘才把東西還掉!! 真的是浪費時間,況且Walmart 離我家至少有半個小時的車程,所以下次沒事還是不要去Walmart, 因為Walmart 的整個血拼環境真的很差,價錢普通。雖然東西不算太貴,但是也沒有便宜到哪裏去。我看我還是乖乖的繼續到 Target 買東西,至少省油錢!

嬌生的沐浴用品竟然驗出有致癌物質?! Johnson and Johnson Baby Shampoo is carcinogenic?!

2009-03-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

It was very shocking to hear that many top-selling children’s bath products were found to be contaminated with the cancer-causing chemicals formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane. This news was released to the media by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetic (CSC) in their March 2009 report, "No More Toxic Tub." http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=414

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics commissioned an independent laboratory to test 48 products for 1,4-dioxane and 28 of those products were also tested for formaldehyde. The lab found that 61% of all the products tested contained both formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, 82% of those tested contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from 54 to 610 parts per million (ppm) and 67% of those tested contained 1,4-dioxane at levels ranging from 0.27 to 35 ppm.

The list of the products tested were well-known brands such as Johnson and Johnson (J&J), Aveeno, Baby Magic, Pampers, and Huggies. (See http://www.safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=426 for a complete list of the products CSC tested). The most recognizable baby product in the mix is Johnson and Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Although I never liked J&J's Baby Shampoo because of its claim "no more tears" which inevitable caused me eye irritation, we do use J&J's Head to Toe Baby Wash. In fact, we have been using it since my daughter was born, almost 9.5 years ago. It was surprisingly one of the few soaps that did not cause her sensitive skin to itch. We have been using this product because it worked for her, but we are not too sure what to do now.

Although CSC may have good intentions when they put out this report, they failed to address whether ALL Johnson & Johnson products contain formaldehyde and/or 1,4-dioxane. CSC puts this ball straight back in J&J's court. Now, it's up to J&J to come up with proof showing which of their products are free from these carcinogenic chemicals.

Another issue CSC failed to address is the fact that the existence of formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane is a well-known fact and many people in the baby toiletry industry know about these substances already. So what CSC said is not news. J&J has yet to release a statement regarding this matter. Interestingly, these carcinogenic substances are not included as the baby product's ingredients because they are the by-products of some of the chemicals added to baby products. No one has addressed the long term effects of kids using products laden with formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane.

It is frustrating to try to figure this one out on your own--do you let your children use the products in question or not? On one hand, you have a proven product that works for your child, on the other hand, is it safe? Will it cause harm to your child?

嬌生這件事情也讓我很煩腦,最主要是我們家的9歲女兒有過敏性皮膚(Atopic dermatitis ),所以我給她用過很多種 lotion 及shampoos,也淘汰了很多品牌,最後我選用了她沒有過敏反應的籃罐裝 Aveeno lotion (menthol) 及 Johnson's Head To Toe Body Wash。其實任何市面上賣的乳液及洗髮精都可能有被加入防腐劑,因為東西放久了就一定會壞掉,何況是放在浴室裏的東西。這些產品如果要有更長的 shelf life,那麼防腐劑也一定會有加入在產品裏頭。那份CSC報告只有測試了四十八種產品,但是造成無數家長的恐慌,實在是不應該。更糟糕的是嬌生根本沒有出面解釋這份報告及保證其公司產品的安全性,讓使用嬌生產品的消費者不知所措!

不管怎樣,再還未找到更合適我家女兒的沐浴乳及洗髮精之前,我們還會繼續使用Johnson's Head to Toe Body Wash,反正已經用了九年多,就辜且繼續相信嬌生。

今天晚上要吃什麼呢? What's for dinner?

2009-03-09T09:27:00.000-07:00

I went to Trader Joe's again this morning for my cup of coffee. I love shopping at Trader Joe's first thing in the morning simply because there aren't many shoppers there at that hour. I ran out of hash brown yesterday, so I needed to do a Trader Joe's run today. While I was there, I found a brand new product. It's a chocolate ice cream cake for $7.99. I haven't tried it yet, but I will definitely get it for my husband's birthday next week. We have already bought most of our birthday cakes at Trader Joe's because it's inexpensive, it's the right size, and it's yummy!

I also got some steamed clams and tri-color egg pasta. I haven't decided what to serve for dinner yet. It's either steamed clams with tricolor pasta OR fettuccine Alfredo with chicken. I am leaning towards the latter since my son doesn't like clams and I don't feel like making a separate dinner just for him. It's very easy to make chicken fettuccine Alfredo.

Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo
1. Prepare a package of frozen fettuccine Alfredo (Trader Joe's, $3.99) according to direction.
2. Add Tyson's grilled chicken stripes (Sam's Club, 32oz., $9.88) that have been heated in the microwave into the fettuccine Alfredo.
3. Mix and serve.
4. OPTIONAL: You can add heated broccoli (Trader Joe's, $1.99) into the mix if you want to add some color to the chicken fettuccine Alfredo.

NOTE: I usually cook extra fettuccine (or other pasta) on the side because Trader Joe's fettuccine Alfredo always have more sauce leftover, so by adding the extra fettuccine, the extra sauce won't go to waste.

The greatest part about this meal is that it usually takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and cook AND it costs less than $10 to feed a family of 4.

今天一早我又去了趟 Trader Joe's。昨天兒子還要再吃炸洋芋塊 (hash brown) 時,我發現冰庫裏己經沒有存貨了。一到 Trader Joe's 我就發現 Trader Joe's 又推出新的產品--巧克力冰淇淋蛋糕 (chocolate ice cream cake)! 才 $7.99! 下星期是老公的生日,剛好可以把這巧克力冰淇淋蛋糕買回家試一試。

我一直覺得有了小孩子以後最困難的一件事就是要找時間煮好吃又有營養的晚餐。我的老公是個老饕,可是有小孩之後,我們去餐廳吃飯的機會就減少很多。好在我家老公不挑食,我煮什麼,他就吃什麼。所以我會盡量找一些餐廳點得到的名菜來煮給老公吃(也順便訓練二個小孩吃一些新的菜餚)。在 Trader Joe's 就可以找到一些世界名菜餚。通常是冷凍食品,所以煮起來又快又方便。

今天晚上想煮的菜是雞片奶油乳酪義大利寬麵 (chicken fettuccine Alfredo)。在台灣,有人把 Fettuccine Alfredo 翻譯成"阿爾費雷多寬麵條"。這道菜非常營養,給小孩子吃很好。我知道 Costco 也有在賣 chicken fettuccine Alfredo,不過必需要花半小時在烤箱裏烤。況且量太大了,二餐也吃不完,所以我都到 Trader Joe's 買冷凍的 fettuccine Alfredo,再加入自己的料,又方便又實惠。從頭到尾只要花十分鐘的時間煮這道料理。

雞片奶油乳酪義大利寬麵 (Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo)

1. 依照包裝上的指示把冷凍的“奶油乳酪義大利寬麵"(fettuccine Alfredo)煮好。 (Trader Joe's, 一包四人份 $3.99).
2. 加入微波溫熱後的雞肉條塊一起煮。 Tyson's grilled chicken strips (Sam's Club, 32oz., $9.88)
3. 可以加入一些微波溫熱後的花椰菜 (Trader Joe's, 一包免洗有機 Broccoli $1.99)

註: 我通常會另外煮一些義大利寬麵,因為 Trader Joe's 買的冷凍“奶油乳酪義大利寬麵"(fettuccine Alfredo)煮好後會殘留很多醬汁,所以多加一點麵下去,才不會覺得醬汁太多、太水。