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讀笑傲江湖
好久沒有看金庸的小說﹐禮拜天拜感冒所賜﹐床上躺了一天﹐
也看完笑傲江湖﹐好 痛快!
也好久沒有用中文表達了﹐今天異想天開﹐用中文寫部落格。
最近因為接觸了中醫﹐對生活的一些事有了新的體會。
一﹐很感恩的﹐有緣份認識李醫生及經方派的中醫理論。
二﹐很惜福的﹐對現有的一切持著感謝的心。
三﹐好滿足的﹐努力珍惜當下每一刻，因為現在，每天都是完美的一天。
希望每一個人在新的一年﹐能開心﹐健康﹐快樂。
- Mood:
good
Standing at the Yosemite Valley in the middle of the giant monoliths, I have this sense of bewilderment. It's an amazing feeling seeing that the wonder of nature can create such a beautiful and stunning art.
Tunnel View - my favorite at Yosemite
It took millions and millions of years to create what Yosemite looks like today - and without sounding cliche, but, I truly got the feeling of the smallness of human in terms of history. Yosemite monoliths have been standing before me for millions of years, and will be there for a long time long after, too. Those monoliths and giant granite mountains make you wonder, what can I do in my life that can stand as tall, as strong, and as long-lasting as them?
Yosemite Fall (hardly captured by the camera-but it's there!)
Half Dome
Also, looking at the natural wonder of Yosemite, I got this sense of the power of nature. No matter what happens in life, the sun rises in the East and sets in the West. It is a very calming thought - in life, we all try to "control" by planning excessively sometimes, and when things do not go our way, we stress out and get anxious and upset. Sometimes, we forget to live the present, and enjoy the moment, because when this MOMENT is gone to worrying, it is not coming back.
(After we climbed the rocks to get to lower Yosemite Fall, it was near sunset, and we looked up to the sky, it was this gorgeous light red reflection of the sun off the walls of the Valley...)
(This was at sunset, at altitude of some 5000 feet)
Another beauty of Yosemite is that you get physically active, and by doing so, I start to appreciate nature in a different way. With the famous monoliths (El Capitan and Half Dome), you know that it's only a matter of time before climbers start their conquest. Half Dome standing at 8842 ft can be "conquered" in one-day, 12-hours push or as a two-day backpack now days. But, back in the 1950s, it took Royal Robbins FIVE days to conquer the Northwest sheer face of the Dome. The other imposing granite monolith, El Capitan, rising 3593 above the Valley Floor is arguably the most famous rock climb in the world. In any case, Vlad and I were not as ambitious as the rock climbers... and arguably, not as fit to hike/climb either monoliths. Instead, we went up to the lower Yosemite fall, climb few rocks... and enjoyed the nature the way we could. And it was really fun!
Endless natural beauty to appreciate and to love... Yosemite is a destination worthy visiting several times, and in different season!
Merced River that winds through the Yosemite Valley
Bridalveil Fall
Grissly Giant - Giant Sequoia
Safe to say: We're coming back to Yosemite for another week in another trip!
And here is two videos of the Valley Floor. First one is the East End of the Valley Floor that features Half Dome, and the second one is the West End, featuring El Capitan and Vlad. ^_^
- Mood: cheerful
The idea was for Brian to come up with some excuse to "lure" Vilen to his place, and everyone would be hiding at Brian's for the big surprise. Brian, being a avid car lover, asked Vilen to come that night, because he has bunch of guys coming over with their cars for a photo-op. It MUST be the same night as his birthday. Vilen resisted a little bit, but he conceded because Vlad and I, working on the other end, had told him that we would be "busy" on his birthday, but we would celebrate it over the weekend. Having no better choices, Vilen decided to do the car photos. So, all seemed easy, except on the night of his birthday... unexpectedly, he forgot his key to the house!
In the midst of picking up Roy and Vlad from San Francisco, being stuck in the traffic, and running late to set up the part at Brian's, we had to come up with some solution to get Vilen inside of the house to get his photo camera for the fake "photo-op" Finally, we came up with the story that Roy "coincidentally" was coming to the house to pick up his car to drive to San Diego for Thanksgiving. This way, Roy could let Vilen in, and still made it to Brian's place for the surprise! At one point, Vilen had called EVERYONE in the same car to try to figure out how to get inside the house. We all had to make up stories as to WHY we could not help him... it was really fun to see who was able to make up stories faster, and more believable. Roy was pretty good.. and so was Vlad.
Anyway, the surprise turned out to be really a BIG SURPRISE for Vilen, and we all had a great time!!
Thanks Brian for his place (working it with the streamers!)
Thanks Christine for being here (she came from Seattle!)
Thanks Roy for thinking quick, and stalling Vilen while we set up the place.
Thanks Babe - for the great idea!
This is when wine, beer, and cake (sugar) kicked in...
Vlad, Madana impersonation, with help from Roy&Brian Helium balloon fight, anyone?
Everyone actually looked sober here...
- Mood:
accomplished
Alla, Yana, and Vasya
Lydia, Alla, and IlyaThe belly dancing was pretty impressive - the woman must have like extra dozen sets of joints in her hip because she could MOVE! At one point, she was able to balance a big knife on top of her head WHILE moving along with the music!
But the most interesting part of the night, about the restaurant, was that we had to "negotiate" our way into our food, drinks, and entertainment. Apparently, by the time we got to the restaurant, it was sometime between 9-9:30pm, and the chef had stopped cooking the main courses?! So we had only two choices left - two samplers. And in the midst of trying to understand the server, and to decide if we wanted to stay (the samplers were the most expensive items on the menu, each were about $50), we had to negotiate with the server as to how many "samplers" we should order so that we could "fulfill" the minimum order per person. In the end, we finally settled the amount (we did not end up ordering a sampler per person because it was too much!) with the manager/server. It was very interesting, because we had a sneaking suspicion that we were being taken slight advantage of, with our first visit in a "foreign restaurant" where everyone else could speak Arabic and seemed to have been a regular there.
We laughed it off as the negotiation as part of the "middle eastern"/Moroccan experience that was part of the restaurant was trying to "offer"! In the end, none of it matters, as I got to see and hang out with my good friends from Boston! In life, you lose a little, and you gain a little, what is important is that you enjoy the ride!
- Mood:
amused
In real estate, it's almost inevitable that I feel the pain of this financial crisis, especially, by now, everyone knows real estate is where it ALL started. The pain gets more real as I come face-to-face to some of these homeowners who are losing their homes. But, this is not the point of this blog, because I don't want to be doom and gloom. In fact, one client of mine, who has an immigrant background (from a South American nation), gave me the light of the day. To protect his privacy, I will not reveal his name and any details of his stories. Let's call him, Mr.Hardworking. I have been working with him and his family to find a house for some time now, and Mr. Hardworking has been in this country for over 20 years. He now works for the government. Our challenge is that he has limited financial resources, but the recent drop in home prices have finally enabled him to look for a house in the first time in his life. Because he works for the government, part of his retirement benefit was that the government could loan the money for down payment.
After few home tours, and few offers written, they realized that it may be a bit more challenging than we had originally thought. Even with the government assistance, they're still priced out of the neighborhood they desired. After we met two days ago to write an offer, he told me that he really appreciated all the help because he understood that this is a challenging case. But what brought light to me was that he revealed the he has taken ANOTHER part-time job on Sundays to earn more income, so that he could qualify for more capital to buy. He will be working everyday, and possibly only have half Saturday off now. I was so impressed because most people in his situation would have given up, or in most cases, start to blame everything from the economy, the weather, the government, the lender, to the real estate agent. WOW. The way he was taking PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY and RESPONSIBILI
So, that was a truly inspirational moment for me, I felt so moved by his actions to achieve his dream of home ownership; I had to give him a hug because I was so so so so touched. How many of us take personal responsibility to our lives? And how many of us, when facing difficulties, react to the obstacles by finding excuses?
In the end of the blog, I truly hope that Mr. & Mrs Hardworking will be able to buy a home in the near future. And in my heart, I know good things will happen to them for the wonderful people that they are. They deserve it.
- Mood: hopeful
I'm fortunate enough to be in on-going training at work, which is one of the reason I love real estate. On a daily basis, I am almost guaranteed to be learning something new. One of the session last week, the trainer draw this figure on the board:
And she asks: "in one continuous stroke, make this figure into a number 6." (For those of you who LOVE puzzles, take a pause here, before you scroll down to see the hints & answer. I know some people hate to find the answer without contemplating about it for few minutes)
Few people in the room got it almost right the way - and here I was, sitting, and thinking "what?" And I remembered wondering "does she a roman numeral 6 or what?" and I asked her this question. But, she just kept repeating her question, "in one continuous stroke, make this figure into a number 6". She refused to tell us more instructions.
And I remembered that I kept drawing straight lines left, right, top, and bottom. I did not even think to perhaps turn the page to another direction...
So finally, she revealed the answer, and you could hear the ENTIRE ROOM go "AHHH!!
Did you go like "ahh!!" or "duhhh!"?? I knew I did.
Most of us are taught since a young age that a line is usually a straight line, and as a result, most of us have limited imagination and are limited to a "box". I fell into the same trap.
This exercise also illustrated that there are many perspectives to the same issue. We all see, hear, or understand different things when it comes to communication. The figure drawn by the trainer is the same, but some people were able to see "six" right the way, and some people were not. Applying this to real estate or even your daily life with friends, family, and colleagues, never assume that you understood what other person is telling you, unless YOU ASK! So many conflicts arise because we assumed that we understood what the other party is saying, when in reality, it's the opposite!
Lastly, when I learned of this exercise, I thought of Steve Jobs of Apple, because I thought "he must be one of those few people who was able to see a continuous stroke could mean a curve that can be in any direction, and not just A STRAIGHT line" Jobs has a goal in mind, and what's special about him was that he has the IMAGINATION to accomplish his goal.
Do you have the imagination? And next time, when you hear something or someone, be sure to ask - Did you mean "x"? You may be surprised.
- Mood:
thoughtful
With the change of the season, and with such a wonderful event in my career, I changed the color of my hair. It's almost like a "thing" I do - changing hair color and/or style is a mental way to be ready for the next "big thing". My next big thing is to move to the next level of my career, by closing more transactions, and be able to help more people. On my personal life, I also planned a wonderful trip to Ecuador with Vlad, and one of the trip we're making is to the Galapagos - the islands that inspired Darwin's Theory of Evolution. We're going to live on the yacht for 5 days, visiting each islands, including hiking, and snorkeling! You will not see water more BLUE than that of Galapagos; and you will see animals that are UNIQUE to the islands! I can't wait!
- Mood: cheerful
THE CREW: Roy, Vilen, Myself, Vlad, and Brian And, who is the best racer in SYTLE?
The "beanie"? We had to hear the "head sock" before wearing the helmet, for sanitary reason.
"Darth Vader, in Helmet"? Yeah, those helmets were pretty heavy duty.
"Pro"?Vilen is a BMX-er, look at how he holds the helmet, in pro-style.
"Killer" Brian means business - let's race!
"You Fill In the Blank here" Alex was the photographer of the day, so he practiced one round of racing.
"Poser"? Seriously, my shot looks like I'm posing for photo, and NOT there to race.
And can you guess who is who on the track?
Hint:
Brian - wore sunglasses; Me - had wedding rings on; Roy - Victory pose; Vilen - pro in five; and Vlad going another way, ahead of everyone.
So you ask... who is Number 1...
ME! Well, of course, I was number one if you counted from behind... It turned out, Vilen was first on the qualifying round, and Vlad was the first at the actual race. But if you asked me, I don't think it mattered, because it was fun!- Mood: accomplished
In August, one of my closest friend from High School visited me from Ecuador. Javier and I have known each other since 1996, the year I moved to Guayaquil. We went to the same high school in Guayaquil, and he's definitely one of my dearest friend. He was on his way to Korea, and he stopped by San Francisco for few days. We hung out at Fisherman's Wharf and Union Sqare. It was really fun to catch up and spend time together.
Alcatraz Island, view from Fisherman's Wharf. Javier wanted to visit the Island, known for its old glory day as a state prison that housed Al Capone. BUT, the ticket was sold out through the week!
I think the highlight of the day was definitely the non-stop eating: we had some great seafood at the fisherman's wharf, and much more! With the crab, we had two coronas, just like the old times. Friends are the key to a fulfilling life, and if any of you wonderful people in the east coast or anywhere else in the world, COME AND VISIT!
The other wonderful "Event" of August was when Roy moved up here and started attending college at San Francisco State. He moved in to the dorms on August 20, and I spent half a day with him. It also brought back some wonderful memeories for me - took me back to the time when I STARTED college.
Roy and his yellow bin to move his stuff... we waited like 30 minutes for the bin because it seemed like the entire CAMPUS was moving in that DAY.
Roy lives in a suit with 3 other freshmen, and let me just say, wow, what a nice "1st-year-dorm"! He has a living room, a small dining area, and a kitchenette. And best of all, a bathroom, that he ONLY has to share with 3 other people. When I was a freshman, I lived in a room (with a bed, a desk, and a semi-closet) and shared a communal bathroom with 40 other girls. It was a great experience, even though it could seem chaotic. But, I do miss those fun times.
Last, but not least, OC!! In August, Vlad and I visited OC (Orange County). I was there for a weekend seminar, and Vlad came to enjoy some time away. WOW - OC was beautiful, with its beach and the relax atmosphere. I wouldn't mind moving there and raise my family there. Everything seems perfect in the sun, with the ocean.
WOW - what a view of Newport Beach.
On the Ferry to Balboa Island
One ot those Balboa Bars - or cheescake dipped in Chocalate and Peanut Butter...
And ELY!
Ely lives in Pasadena, Los Angeles County, which is about 45 minutes from Newport Beach, OC. We went to a "all-you-can-eat" Korean BBQ place in K-town. YUMMM! Oh, and the pomagrante wine was GOOODD...
- Mood: cheerful
So, since February, either myself or my family (husband and father-in-law) have been consistently seeing the Chinese Doctor in Oakland, and there were some results. For instance with my father-in-law, he has suffered from stomach ulcer in the past, and as a result, he has had some stomach pain for some time. With Chinese medicine, this problem was resolved in few weeks. With myself, I only visited the doctor when I caught a cold. And the result was always satisfying.
As I mentioned in the last blog, my father got me into trying Chinese medicine because he was treated by Dr. Ni in Florida. My parents are die-hard fans of Dr. Ni, and read his website religiously. So, in June, my mom told me that Dr. Ni has a student opening doors in Fremont! I was more than eager to give her a call because my father-in-law's insomnia was a persistent problem despite the nightly herbs. I want to make it clear that the Chinese Doctor in Oakland has been a good experience and he was able to help with some health issues. However, when the insomnia problem was not cured, I was glad to learn that there was another alternative solution: Dr. Shan Shan Lee in the Mission District of Fremont, CA.
To make the story short, she is a wonderful doctor who cares about the patients, and her herbs have worked wonder for everyone in my family. For my father-in-law, because of his older age, he has several issues. But after 2-3 weeks, his insomnia problem was cured. And his kidney stone pain was disappearing with each week's treatment. He still sees Dr. Lee because he wants to return to healthy state. We joked about how he'd like to feel ten years younger! I'm sure it's just a matter of time for this to happen. Recently, when we were watching the Olymipic games, the Tylenol commercial came up to advertise as pain reliever and to perform better, he said : "to feel better, take Chinese medicine"
As for me, I was in for real surprise, too. The goal of Chinese medicine, simply put, is to make you feel better. And no matter what anyone says, YOU know when YOU FEEL GOOD. You don't need an x-ray, a CT-scan, or a blood test to tell you. So, when I first walked into Dr. Lee's office, I decided to see her so that my father-in-law can gain the confidence. And again, what a surprise! Dr. Lee immediately diagonsed me with "weakness in my kidney" before I even told her that I had a serious kidney infection in the past. And to sum up the last two months, I lost few pounds, quit coffee successfully, and still have lots of energy to go around. Make no mistake, I experienced some up's and down's with the herbs. It's like the herbs are trying to put you on the right path, and in that course of correction, your body is bound to feel some "temporary turbulence" But, believe me, the turbulence is worth it once you reach the destination "HEALTHY LAND".
And with my husband, his hands are now WARM, which was never the case the entire 7 years that I've known him. And if you ask him, I can assure you that he will say: "I feel much better than before" And to share another incidence from last month, my husband had a mild case of food poisoning, and he was actually willing to go to Dr. Lee's office for acupuncture to ease the stomach pain and for treatment to get rid of the toxins. First of all, luckily, by the time we got to Dr. Lee's, the pain has subsided that acupuncture was not necessary. Secondly, with ONE bag of herb, my husband woke up the next day, and was ready for work. The food poisoning was like a non-incident!
So, I'm sure some of you have already SKIPPED to this part, where I share Dr. Lee's contact info:
Dr. Shan Shan Lee
LC ACUPUNCTURE CENTER
510-490-0180
43195 Mission Blvd, Ste A-1, Fremont, CA 94539
She speaks Mandarin Chinese and English well, and please call her to make an appointment. And I know inevitably, someone will e-mail me to ask about the pricing info. Personally, I believe health is priceless, and do YOURSELF a favor, if you are reading this blog and are intrigued by my blog, just at least call her to find out the price and decide if it is worth your time and money.
One last thing I asked of you - if you ever become a convert of Chinese herbs like I am, please SHARE YOUR STORIES so more people can benefit!
- Mood: grateful
