Thursday 26 May 2011

Off day, me day, sketching day


Had a fantastic Me day. Slept until noon, stayed home and sketched. How do I put color into this? Help!

I have 9+14+14 days of off/vacation days. Let's see if I can clean them all out by January. Hopefully this means lots of time to sketch and do art.

Excited~~~

2010 Euro green building assignment reunion at Pinknic

http://youtu.be/1eW2g_mzY0s?hd=1



Restaurant was Sarah's pick:
Pinknic
#9, Alley 27, Lane 216, Section 4, Zhongxiao E. Road, Taipei
台北市忠孝東路4段216巷27弄9號
+886 2 2711 0820
http://www.facebook.com/hi.pinknic

The asparagus poached egg ciabatta sandwich was good~~

Looking back, (and having this year's to compare to now) last year's Euro green building assignment was one of the most grueling ones I've ever been on. But it was also one of the most rewarding and fun times I've had. I feel lucky to have gotten to go, to see the things that I did, and made the new friends I met.

See you guys again in July!

Tuesday 17 May 2011

Ziplock bags - great for travel 拉鍊袋 也是旅行的好夥伴



Great for non-food items! Mama taught me this.

This is my on-the-go medicine cabinet. Works great. I cut up the packaging, leaving the important information, and put that along with the medicine and instructions inside a sandwich sized zip bag. I have Rx for allergies, mild/severe colds, mild/severe stomach irritations, general pain killers, indigestion. I also have masks, cough drops and pocket warmers in there. All of these things go in one giant zip which goes in my suitcase. It takes up very little space. The zip bags are low friction, so they're real easy to sort through when taken out and put on a bed or table.

I get to travel here and there sometimes, so I have lots of loose change and things of the sort from different countries. Everything goes in its own marked zip bag. Since I am in Japan quite often, I have an old wallet I use just for Japan. All of these things, including passport and other travel documents go in an old iBook neoprene bag with my name (designed by Mama) on it.


Thursday 12 May 2011

Little Mermaid in Copenhagen



Today was not exactly highly successful or rewarding. Tomorrow will be better. We left Copenhagen in the afternoon and are now in Stockholm.

Wednesday 11 May 2011

Hello Sweden!


Hello from Sweden! Well, writing from Denmark, but we were mostly in Sweden today. We're doing a series on urban redevelopment and green buildings in Denmark and Sweden. As usual, the itinerary is crazy and we were so busy filming that we didn't really have time to take other pictures.



Exhausted, but happy.

:D

Monday 9 May 2011

Happy mother's day!

It was a busy Mother's day weekend with Mom's family, then Dad's. Mama and Grandma's parties, flowers and presents were...long distance.

Happy Mother's day!

http://youtu.be/4gmGqQw5xRE

http://youtu.be/iy2O74iFlFU




Friday 6 May 2011

Happy birthday, FTV! 民視生日快樂!


http://youtu.be/CZl6jEAVXCk

The first of several versions of the commercial for our 14th anniversary. I'm in it for half a second, so try not to blink. ;)

Thursday 5 May 2011

Bring your own cup and get a discount 自備環保杯 店家給優惠


http://youtu.be/OSlrhQBgDG4

Starting from 1 May 2010, fast food and beverage chains in Taiwan are required to give discounts to customers who bring their own beverage containers, or give cash back to customers who recycle cups from the establishment.

Tuesday 3 May 2011

Thank you, Lucky

http://youtu.be/v__j3TB6nN0?hd=1




This was Lucky's last summer with us. She passed away 27 March at 16 years of age. She was our first four-legged family member. Sixteen summers ago when we were in Taiwan for holiday, she appeared on our street in Tianmu. She was about three months old, according to the vet. She was a stray, purebred mutt and Mom allowed us to bring her home, and then back to the States with us. Where we used to live, there was really tall grass, and she loved running (more like frolicking) through it. To keep her head above the grass line, she'd have to jump very high, and boy could she bounce. Her movement looked that of something between a squirrel and a deer and a dog. She was very graceful and a lot of fun to look at, especially when she had her ears tucked back.

(image via Google/SFGate)

Before Miffy came along, she loved playing with Megan, the black pointer mutt with a white tipped tail that lived up the street. Every time we asked her, "where's Megan," she'd tip her head and turn her ears this way and that. If we ask her again, "where's your friend Meggie?" she'd tip her head the other way and then start running in circles, knowing it was time go for a visit. After Miffy came along, we went hiking a lot. There were no sidewalks where we lived, but there were trails for people and horses on which to walk and trot. Miffy would chase after deer, but since Lucky would stay close and keep me company. Sometimes we would walk to Megan's house, and sometimes we would go to Westwind Barn to look at horses or venture into the nearby Byrne Preserve, which had a hidden valley that was a cool escape from the hot summer sun.

 (image via Google/Western City/)

At home, there was a space on the second floor of the house that had only three things - a sofa, an end table and a window that was about three meters wide. It was for made for looking down the hill, across San Francisco Bay and over to Fremont after the morning fog lifted. Lucky sometimes spent entire afternoons on that sofa, staring out that window. I always wondered what she was thinking about. She was a really smart dog. She was the mastermind between every fight and shouting match with other dogs. She used to bark and Miffy would come running, hurling down our front lawn hill like a big black blob of something best not messed with. Then Lucky would step back and let Miffy scare off whoever was walking by. Lucky was like the mafia boss and Miffy was her henchman. But one time, Miffy was not around when Lucky barked. The intruding dog then chased Lucky all the way home. Usually, the garage door was open and the girls often came in through there. But that time it was closed. Dad happened to be by the window and saw Lucky running for her life, looking like she was thinking, "where is Miffy my bodyguard?!!!" Up the hill she came, and when she realized the garage door was closed and that other dog was not slowing down, her expression (according to Dad) was "oh, sh*t."


Time flies. That was at least 13 years ago, before I went away to university.

After Mom and Dad moved back to Taipei 11 years ago, they decided to bring Lucky and Miffy with them. What a life these two had. They've been on planes, were driven around in Jaguars, BMWs and Mercedes Benzs. My goodness. It makes me want to reincarnate into one of Mom's dogs in my next life.

Lucky was our first dog and first four-legged family member. But more than a pet and something to play with, I think she was sent to look after us. We never really had to worry about her, and it was her that taught us how to care for and give love to someone who needed it.

Lucky, thank you for 16 years of love and lessons.









Monday 2 May 2011

Taking part in FTV News' new commercial







Here are Paul and I struggling to stay awake. We were there for about an hour, and I think we'll get 2 seconds of screen time each. Can't wait to see the final cut!




Thanks Jiayang for the pictures! Pictures taken on an HTC Desire HD.

New dieting/sculpting treatment at Wanfang Hospital 萬芳醫院新塑身減肥法 中頻電療

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrayJLfvvnw


懶人塑身減肥新突破 ─ 中頻電刺激儀

2個月療程1萬8千元
1個禮拜電3次,上1次營養課,吃代餐

萬芳醫院
http://www.wanfang.gov.tw/

Sunday 1 May 2011

5.7 Yilan earthquake - no damage/injury reported

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5qb5IO6Urs


Spicy flan at Beer Yakiniku 米魯的辣椒布丁

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUuuvyXvugI


米魯燒肉店
Beer Yakiniku
ビール焼き肉
台北市延吉街131巷1弄50號
#50, Alley 1, Lane 131, Yanji Street, Taipei
+886 2 2721 5772
http://www.ibeer.com.tw/


試食後感想:
可能比較適合整人用

Not terrible, but perhaps good for a prank...

まずくないですが、いたずらとしてはちょうどいいかもしれません。。。



彭老闆,如果需要幫忙想些實際點的點子,I'd be happy to help ~