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Tag Archives: family
Ching Ming 2010
The Qingming Festival (清明节, 清明節, Qīngmíngjié, or Ching Ming Festival in Hong Kong), Clear Bright Festival, Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese festival on the 104th day after the winter solstice (or the 15th day from the Spring Equinox), usually occurring around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar. The Qingming festival falls on the first day of the fifth solar term, named Qingming. The Qingming Festival is an opportunity for celebrants to remember and honor their ancestors at grave sites.
The image above is of my great-great-grandmother’s headstone, taken this year during Ching Ming. She wasn’t that much older than my grandparents, but she’s the one who took care of my grandfather. He called her “grandmother” so we followed suit. I never met my great-great-grandfather.
The 2 columns of Chinese writing on the sides are of their names. The column in the middle tells where they’re from: Toisan city, White Water Village, 8 Family area/section.
I visited the village with my grandparents in 2001. I only have prints from my film camera. (i bought my first digicam in 2002). Perhaps I’ll scan the pictures from that trip some day.
BtwI, think it’s funny that my great-great-grandfather’s first/middle name was Harry Blair. Harry was also my grandfather’s English name.
Another Year, Another Goodbye
It’s been exactly one year since my grandmother passed away. They finally carved the date into the headstone (shown in the photo above). This weekend, we had to say goodbye to my Uncle Larry, who died at 52, leaving behind a wife, and 2 daughters (ages 11 and 9). He and my mom were pretty tight.
A good reminder to all: spend quality time with your loved ones and take more pictures of them.
Rock guitar pioneer Les Paul dies
Rock guitar pioneer Les Paul dies at age 94. I only know who he is because my dad has one of his guitars.
Hi Auntie Jennifer
Got this email today…
huhlo auntie jennifer!
i’m growing up so fast, you’re missing so much! my cheeks blew up, my hair’s standing up like mama’s when she was a baby.
Not sure why my sister likes writing for Abby like that. She’s weird like that. But I LOVE the pictures she’s been sending me…like this one:
ur dad’s hecka cool
From Joey: ur dad’s hecka cool, he taught me more guitar yesterday.
April 4th, 40 Years Ago
Update (April 5, 2008): Everyone’s knows of his “I Have a Dream” speech, but check out his very last speech in Memphis, the night before he was killed. Part one and part two, which is especially powerful and moving.
Photo Credit: Trikosko/Library of Congress
April 4, 1968- Dr. Martin Luther King was shot dead at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee. I was listening to NPR on the way to work this morning and heard a story of Robert Kennedy delivering news of MLK’s death:
It was supposed to be a routine campaign stop. In a poor section of Indianapolis, 40 years ago Friday, a largely black crowd had waited an hour to hear the presidential candidate speak. The candidate, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, had been warned not to go by the city’s police chief.
As his car entered the neighborhood, his police escort left him. Once there, he stood in the back of a flatbed truck. He turned to an aide and asked, “Do they know about Martin Luther King?”
They didn’t, and it was left to Kennedy to tell them that King had been shot and killed that night in Memphis, Tenn. The crowd gasped in horror.
“For those of you who are black and are tempted to … be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling,” he said. “I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.”
Many other American cities burned after King was killed. But there was no fire in Indianapolis, which heard the words of Robert Kennedy.
“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.”
Two months later, Robert Kennedy himself was felled by an assassin’s bullet.
Remember history and learn.
Fry Day
We bought a turkey fryer for Chris, my brother-in-law, for Christmas. We thought it was a good gift for him because he used to bring the turkey over to a friend’s house in El Cerrito, use their fryer, and then bring it back to his house 45 minutes away in San Ramon for dinner. I didn’t want him to have to wait until Thanksgiving to use his present, so I suggested that we use it now. Here’s some excerpts from our family email thread:
my sister: fry day on sun day then?
Chris: just make sure it isn’t raining on sunday. i’d hate to have oil splatter all over us and get burnt
me: ok, maybe this isn’t a good season to deep fry things outside. (it’s been raining a lot these past couple weeks)
my brother: nonsense thats what umbrellas are for
My family makes me laugh. Good times.
What means birthday?
birthday n.
1. The day of one’s birth.
2. The anniversary of one’s birth.
Wikipedia mentions several things about birthdays.
- The celebration of birthdays is not universal. I remember working with family who were Jehovah’s Witnesses and they didn’t celebrate birthdays.
- Some adults loathe celebrating it as it reminds them that they are getting progressively older–which means, closer to death.
- It is also customary to treat people specially on their birthday. Why not treat them special ALL the time? Wouldn’t people rather celebrate their unbirthdays because those can occur so much more often?
I always have mixed feelings at this time of the year. I love Christmas, but I’m not sure if I like what’s coming up before that. I imagine it’d be neat to have a special day in June, but maybe I just have to settle for a half-birthday. According to wikipedia, “most half-birthdays go unremarked, but they may still be celebrated as a special day. Perhaps the most common use is by people whose birthday falls near Christmas, a holiday so widely celebrated that it can overwhelm private anniversaries.”
A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman’s birthday but never remembers her age. — Robert Frost
After Saturday, I might have to join Facebook for old people.
Load up the family moped
Phuket, Thailand.
Thailand is still definitely a scooter culture. Look at the row of them in the background. Oh, and I love how the man is the only one with a helmet. What’s up with that?
You Know You’re in Asia When…
I’m still here waiting on standby at the airport. Check it, I received an email from Dianne and family today:
Hey Jen,
Okay, what’s his name. When do we get to meet him? Is he coming back with you in October?
Have you got an earlier flight yet?
Anyways, we miss you. Hope you can get back to SF soon.
I “heart” HK, but I can’t wait to get home.
Too Much Chinese Food Already…
…and I’m not even in China yet!
I’m leaving for HK tonight. Guess what my last meal is…yep, Chinese food. I guess that’s what I get for eating with my family. I really wanted Red Robin or Mexican food because I know I won’t be eating burgers or tacos anytime in the next 5 weeks.
Ok, blessings to all on the home front!
Prison vs. Work
I think my friend Stan would get a kick outta this:
IN PRISON: You spend the majority of your time in a 10X10 cell.
AT WORK: You spend the majority of your time in an 8X8 cubicle.
IN PRISON: You get three meals a day.
AT WORK: You get a break for one meal and you have to pay for it.
IN PRISON: You get time off for good behavior.
AT WORK: You get more work for good behavior.
IN PRISON: The guard locks and unlocks all the doors for you.
AT WORK: You must often carry a security card and open all the doors for yourself.
IN PRISON: You can watch TV and play games.
AT WORK: You could get fired for watching TV and playing games.
IN PRISON: You get your own toilet.
AT WORK: You have to share the toilet with some people who pee on the seat.
IN PRISON: They allow your family and friends to visit.
AT WORK: You aren’t even supposed to speak to your family.
IN PRISON: All expenses are paid by the taxpayers with no work required.
AT WORK: you get to pay all your expenses to go to work, and they deduct taxes from your salary to pay for prisoners.
IN PRISON: You spend most of your life inside bars wanting to get out.
AT WORK: You spend most of your time wanting to get out and go inside bars.
IN PRISON: You must deal with sadistic wardens.
AT WORK: They are called managers.
View of St. Louis
Here’s a shot of the view from my hotel room:
It’s not the best picture, but it will have to do for now. I feel very blessed to be here. I pray that I can be a blessing to others as I talk with students. I do feel a bit sad that I will not be able to ring in the new year with my family and friends at home.
Geek gifts and Bond
Hmm, my page had a breakdown yesterday. The only thing that would load was the background. I contacted Dreamhost and they fixed it. Apparently there’s some trouble with wp-cache turned on when you upgrade to PHP 5.1.2. Now if only I can get my page to load faster…WordPress plays kinda slow with Dreamhost.
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Look, gifts under $77, courtesy of Core77.
Speaking of gifts, I like this guide for buying gifts for geeks.
- If a brand is listed and/or mentioned – name means everything. There’s a big difference between “any DVD burner” and “any Sony DVD burner.” Chances are, the geeks have done their homework – and they typically know what’s good and what’s not.
- Removable media was not created equal. Find out ahead of time what kind of removable media your geek wants, needs, and loves – because a Memory Stick port simply was not designed to accomodate an SD card.
- Anything less than a gig isn’t all that great these days. Sure, the corner store may be selling 32 megabyte CompactFlash cards, but that’s not going to do your geek much good. If you can’t score a geek.
- Unless otherwise noted, accounts and gift certificates are the suck. Here’s the prime problem with gift certificates: the only one who gets the gift is the store from which you purchased the certificate. Trust me, even if your geek hasn’t told you what s/he wants or needs, you simply need to dig deeper and listen longer.
- Form a gift guild. If many items on a geek’s wish list are too pricey for your pocketbook, instead of settling on a stack of CDs you can talk to other friends and family members and consider combining funds to get a single gift. One “awesome” thing is 100x better than three “okay” things.
Hehe…I like #5. I seem to always buy “big” gifts for myself. I don’t buy a lot of little things.
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Oh, I’ve been meaning to post about the latest Bond film.
I saw it right before Thanksgiving. The film is a little long, but definitely worth watching, even if I had paid full price. I must say that Daniel Craig is one buff bond. Haha. Not as smooth as Pierce Brosnan, but I guess that’s the image they were after–the beginning of bond. I did get a chance to do read up about the opening chase sequence. It contains a lot of moves from a French discipline called Parkour, a sort of extreme urban sport, similar to the techniques of Jackie Chan.
The Holidays are Here
Anyone buy anything on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
My family watched a lot of football over Thanksgiving. Out of all the sports, I think football is the only one I don't mind watching, no matter what team is playing. Then I came across the weirdest high school football game.
Too bad we didn't have time for a Turkey Bowl this year at our church. We could have used the Jones Soda Holiday and Desser Pack 2006 for punishment. It includes Turkey and Gravy soda, Sweet Potato Soda, Dinner Roll Soda, Pea Soda, Antacid Flavored Soda and dessert flavors like Cherry Pie, Banana Cream Pie, Key Lime Pie, Apple Pie, Blueberry Pie. My friend Stan would want some, if he doesn't have it already.
So at work, we've been trying to put together some promotional materials for our programs. We were looking for pictures that showed diversity. So my coworker sent me a picture of what he called "White people in China."
I can't believe it's almost December. JVC is coming out with some new dual-mode noise canceling headphones. Apparently, they have two different modes for filtering out ambient sound. The short of it is that there's a "wide" and "low" mode, with the former being better suited to getting rid of a larger range of frequencies (such as those found in an airplane). The "low" mode, however, is best suited for a narrower and lower frequency ranger, such as bouncing around in that city bus on your way to work. Should be good for my plane rides. They're going on my wish list.
Are you?
For all my geeky friends (and much of my family)…
How to determine if you are an engineer:
- The only jokes you receive are through email (OUCH)
- At Christmas, it goes without saying that you will be the one to find the burnt-out bulb in the string of Christmas lights.
- Buying flowers for your girlfriend/boyfriend or spending the money to upgrade your RAM is a moral dilemma
- If you find that you have to often explain how to use the gifts you have given other people.
- Everyone else on the Alaskan Cruise is on deck peering at the scenery, and you are still on a personal tour of the engine room
- In college, you thought Spring Break was metal fatigue failure
- The Salespeople at Circuit City can't answer any of your questions
- You are always late to meetings
- You are at an air show and know how fast the skydivers are falling
- You are next in line on death row in a French Prison and you find that the guillotine is not working properly, so you offer to fix it.
- You bought your wife/husband a new CD ROM drive for her birthday
- You forget to get a haircut (for 6 months!)
- You can quote scenes from any Monty Python movie
- You can type 70 words per minute but can't read your own handwriting
- You can't write unless the paper has both horizontal and vertical lines
- You comment to your wife/husband that her straight hair is nice and parallel
- You go on the rides at Disneyland and sit backwards in the chairs to see how they do the special effects
- You have Dilbert comics/paphanelia displayed anywhere in your work area
- You have ever saved the power cord from a broken appliance
- You have more friends on the internet than in real life
- You have backed up your hard drive
- You have never bought any new underwear or socks for yourself since you got married.
- You have used coat hangers and duct tape for something other than hanging coats and taping ducts
- You know what http:// stands for
- You look forward to Christmas only to put together the kids' toys
- You own one or more white short-sleeve dress shirts
- You see a good design and still have to change it
- You spent more on your calculator than you did on your wedding ring
- You still own a slide rule and you know how to use it
- You think a pocket protector is a fashion accessory
- You think that when people around you yawn, it's because they didn't get enough sleep
- You wear black socks with white tennis shoes (or vice versa)
- You window shop at Radio Shack
- You're in the backseat of your car, she/he is looking wistfully at the moon, and you're trying to locate a geosynchronous satellite
- Your checkbook always balances
- Your laptop computer costs more than your car
- Your wife/husband hasn't the foggiest idea of what you do at work
- You've already calculated how much you make per second
- You've ever tried to repair a $5 radio
- Your four basic food groups are: 1. Caffeine 2. Fat 3. Sugar 4.Chocolate
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving should be spent with family at home, not at the ER. That's where my dad went for a few hours today because of heart palpitations. Things are fine now, but I'm glad he's ok and that my mom's ok as well. I always say you can tell how she's doing, healthwise, by how much she cooks. She made dinner for my dad's side today, so I'd say it was a good day overall. Thanks God.
Bathroom and Laundry
As requested, a picture of the hotel bathroom. Why are we staying at a hotel? Well, the school where we’re at is a commuter school with few dorm facilities, so we’re here at the hotel across the street. No squatty pottie, so I’m quite fortunate. I have to handwash all my clothes, so you see my khakis hanging there to dry. I’ll have everyone know that behind the wall on the right are some ai-fu’s! We watched an acrobat show tonight and we’re done planning for Monday, so I’m just hanging out this Saturday night in my room with some teammates. Going to a “company” tomorrow morning. It’s neat to be able to worship with family members from around the world.
The Day the Earth Shook
Today is the 100th anniversary of the great quake (check out the old-fashioned design on that site).
The earthquake hit San Francisco at 5:12:05 a.m. There were two shocks. The second one was stronger. It lasted 40 seconds, but in those seconds, energy equivalent to several nuclear bombs was released.
Some scientists say that the quake was about 30 times the energy released in the Loma Prieta quake of 1989. Wow. And I remember that one.
I keep saying I need to get my emergency kit together. If a quake happened and phones and computers were down. I wonder how I would get a hold of my family. I wonder where we would meet. At church? Our church building has gone through seismic retrofitting, so the 4 stories should still be standing, right? I hope it won’t end up as a pile of rubble on top of the social hall.
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If anyone happens to be shopping at the Embarcadero Center , check out the Peet’s Coffee there. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to leave my mark. If for some sad, unfortunate reason you don’t live in this great city, here are some pictures:
A close up…
Yeah, I’m a coffee-lover.
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On a more healthy note, I was able to play some tennis today. No, I didn’t see my buddy Peter out there today. Maybe he just plays on the weekends. The sun was out and the weather was warm enough for shorts. Too bad my legs were as white as the snow I was sliding on last weekend. Hey now, they’re coming out of hibernation so gimme a break. My new favorite line: Love means nothing to me. I’m a tennis player. Ha! Someone should make a sticker with that.