Up until the age of 6 when my mom left for the U.S, I played with barbies and dollhouses. No, I’m not ashamed to admit it. I enjoyed it actually. It was what girls my age played at the time. Continue reading “Evolution of my Childhood Toys”
Tag: inspiration
What is Father’s Day?
Just a short interpretation post I published last Father’s Day. Enjoy and Happy Father’s Day, everyone! 🙂
What is Father’s Day? What is this day about?
Honestly, to me, it’s just another ordinary Sunday. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a proper Father’s Day even with my step-father. I guess we just never been the traditional type but then what’s true definition of traditional?
In the past 15 years or so, even when my step-dad was in our lives, my mom was constantly on double-duty. Then after my parents separated, my mom’s double-duty as dad became more prominent than ever before. She cooks, cleans, mows the lawns, plucks the weeds, and even joins the army, doing activities people at her age should not be doing like climbing ropes and going through rugged training.
So what is Father’s Day, really? Other than the obvious answer that it’s a day all about dad, traditional barbecue, and the great sales at home improvement stores and department stores, what is it all…
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Great News: Done and Finished
Today’s prompt asks: Explain why you chose your blog’s title and what it means to you. Continue reading “Great News: Done and Finished”
Red Roses
Orange Pumpkin Pie
Yellow Tulip
Green leaves with pink elephant ear roses
Yellowstone Lake
I guess this can be classify as violet, right?
I can’t tell, violet or indigo
Rainbow and More…
Last night, I sat in my new basement bedroom and looked around. I see a variety of things that fit the criteria of Roy G. Biv. But under this bright florescent lighting, the photos do not turn out so good. Therefore, I have decided to again, go to my archive and dig. I’ll show more later, if I have time. Enjoy. Continue reading “Rainbow and More…”
Reflection: A Little Update
Happy Dragon Boat Festival! Continue reading “Reflection: A Little Update”
Share Your World – 2015 Week #24
What’s your favorite charitable cause and why? Continue reading “Share Your World – 2015 Week #24”
Photo101: Warmth
It’s quite hard to capture something using the sun as the source of light, I think. I’ve tried in the past as you can see in the picture below. It is a picture of the sun on a cloudy day. I was pulling the camera to its maximum zoom (3-times). That’s why everything else look like it’s taken with a cheap phone camera. Continue reading “Photo101: Warmth”
Definitely Out of Season
This year has been undoubtedly wet and warm. However, it’s not just here. Looking at other people’s posts, it looks like it’s happening around the world as well. Yesterday evening, when my mom and I went for a walk in the park, she pointed out the mountains are not snow-capped anymore because normally, a tiny bit of snow would stay remain on the mountains in June or July but this year, there’s none.
Meanwhile, it’s been raining almost everyday. There has hardly been a day where the dark clouds don’t roll in, where we just have blue cloudless skies and plenty of sunshine. Ugh, this weather is killing my mood and inspiration. Please make it STOP!!!
Unfortunately, I’ve already jinxed it. This post was written approximately four days ago and since then, the clouds had cleared up and it’s been one word, HOT! Guess summer has arrived.
Anyway, enough complaining, I want to show you this picture which is definitely out-of-season, trudging in snow in short-sleeves and sandal. This was Yellowstone in July 2011, by the way, and that is NOT my brother (only-child), it’s my friend’s.
Photo101: Natural Worlds
Talk about an easy task. Even though I don’t interact with nature much especially these days, when I step out of the house and something immediately bites me all over but that doesn’t mean I have to be stuck in the house all day long. Therefore, early morning yesterday, while my mom ran to the post office, I took the opportunity and went out to the garden to take some close-up pictures, hoping I can use them for the POV assignment but this is better.
I tweaked this picture just a little bit with Pixlr, a photo-editing app I use but it is a macro picture. Does anyone want to hazard a guess as to what you’re looking at? Hint: it’s a vegetable you eat almost every day, that is, if you eat vegetable.
It looks like the apples from the combination apple tree is coming in nicely. We are going to have lots of apples this year. This is just the Golden Delicious branch. We’ve got Granny Smith, Fuji, and Honeycrisp. All in one tree!
Lastly, blackberries! Last summer, I remember I was harvesting them like I had just harvested snow peas. I think this year will be more or less the same.
Of the three pictures, I am most in love with the blackberry picture. I think the effect I’ve chosen really suits the picture well. Without this effect, the color would look way too bright and the picture would be missing that, oh I can describe it, element.
3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge – Day 3
So it’s day 3 and the last day of my 3 Days 3 Quotes challenge. I want to once again thank all my nominators (A Storyteller’s Abode, It’s PH, and Yarnspinerr). It’s been a fun challenge and I’ve enjoyed it very much. Once again, because I’m just being lazy, I will leave the nominations open to all want to join. Just link your post back to mine is all I ask if you choose to participate. Continue reading “3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge – Day 3”
Photo101: Connect and Tags
For some of you, this picture is not new while for most, it probably is. Yes, this is the same staircase picture I used for my post a few weeks ago. And I’ve decided to use it again for this assignment.
This rickety staircase happens to connect the lower and upper deck of the yard at the rental property. Without it, I probably will not have enough guts to get on the upper level to clear the weeds and distribute the mulch. So thanks to these stairs, I am able to complete that job without my mom throwing a fit about how I’m a scaredy-cat.
3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge – Day 2
Since yesterday, I have been nominated by two more people (A Storyteller’s Abode and It’s PH) for this challenge. Wow, thank you! Today is day two of the three days challenge which I was first nominated by Yarnspinerr to participate. Continue reading “3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge – Day 2”
Allergic to “E” Challenge
I knew it! I knew this would happen to me, just didn’t know when and who. I woke up yesterday morning and saw a notification on my tablet, Alka Girdhar from Magnanimous Word had nominated me to participate in the Allergic to “E” Challenge. Continue reading “Allergic to “E” Challenge”
3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge – Day 1
I will be out most of the day. So I will be back later to write other posts. Therefore, I will start the day with the 3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge which I was nominated by Yarnspinerr to participate. Continue reading “3 Days 3 Quotes Challenge – Day 1”
Photo101: Solitude
The latest assignment from photo101 is solitude which in my view means a picture of someone looking out into the distance, sad, alone, and may I add, looking completely lost. This kind of photo is quite hard to take and even find because one, I don’t like taking pictures of people because I feel like it’s an invasion of someone privacy to take their pictures without telling them first and two, I’ve never actually seen anyone looking sad, alone, and completely lost. Even when I was in the city today, I didn’t see anything or anyone that fit the description.
So once again, I have dig into my archive and fortunately I found what I needed but first I want to show you this picture:
This is from last May when we went house hunting down by Utah Lake, a large fresh water lake by Provo, Utah. Mom wanted to buy a second house so she wouldn’t have to commute 100 miles daily for work. What you’re looking at is the land. Unfortunately, after we saw the model, we were convinced that it was way too small. It felt smaller than our current home. So we bailed.
That’s me, looking alone. I guess that looks like solitude. I didn’t mean to look like that. I was just standing there when Mom snapped the picture. Honestly though, I felt kind of tired and frustrated because it was all Mom could talk about at the time.
Why is it both black and white and color?
When I messed with the picture just now, I wanted the picture to show that solitude feeling, that loneliness. I guess I failed, huh?
The Singer
She glanced out into the crowd Continue reading “The Singer”
Reflection: Fate, Destiny, Curse
Have you ever heard the saying: you will learn more about a person after they die than you will ever learn when they were alive. Continue reading “Reflection: Fate, Destiny, Curse”
Photo101: Bliss
When I saw day four’s assignment, I was a little stumped. Bliss? I mean I’m not a big gesture kind of person, I mean I don’t do big poses when taking a picture. Where can I find a picture of bliss? Continue reading “Photo101: Bliss”
Photo101: Water
Have I ever show you pictures of that time I went to Great Salt Lake? No? Continue reading “Photo101: Water”
Share Your World – 2015 Week #23
For your blog do you basically use Mac or Windows applications. What type of device laptop, desktop,tablet, phone or pad? Continue reading “Share Your World – 2015 Week #23”
Photo101: Street and Established Shots
Yes, I have joined Photo101 but unfortunately, I couldn’t find a picture of home, well, unless, I went on pinterest and just find a picture but that wouldn’t be Photo101, would it. Then Day 2, I could’ve just gone outside and taken a photo of my street but everyone’s already seen that and it wouldn’t be fun to see it again and again. So I chose one from my archive. Continue reading “Photo101: Street and Established Shots”
Late Night and Awkward Morning
Last night, right before I went to bed, mom burst into my room, tablet in her hand, and told me sadly my grandfather had passed away. Continue reading “Late Night and Awkward Morning”
I Just Had to Write About This
Today’s prompt: What’s the strangest place from which you’ve posted to your blog? When was the last time you were out and about, and suddenly thought, “I need to write about this!”?
Strangest Places? I’m not sure what you mean by strange. There are a lot of things in the world that can be classified as “strange” like that tower to the left. Posting in a strange place, no, I don’t think I’ve written posts in strange places yet.
In the meantime, I can answer the second question. I have encountered several circumstances when I just have to write about it. When was the last time? That is a good question. Let’s think.
Still thinking…
Ugh, I can’t think of anything with my work in the way. I’m hoping to complete my translation work today so I don’t have to have it hanging over my head for the rest of the month but I don’t think that is likely to happen since I have to seize the opportunity and go work for my other job today.
Still thinking…
Ha, here we go, I can think of two circumstances.
The first “couldn’t wait” post is called, “The Unwinnable War“.
It was written and publish about 13 months ago. So basically, last summer. Now that I reflect on this post, last summer was probably the worst summer in the history of all the summers I’ve had counting the ones as a kid in China. When I wrote this, I felt like I was literally about to blow.
Two weeks after graduating college, mom was making me go back to school. Every conversation we had led to a fight because it’s always about me not finding a job, don’t want to go back to school, not wanting to work, not wanting to study etc. You get my point.
I remember my hands were literally slamming the keyboard when I typed that post. Mom was still bursting into my room every 5 minutes telling me how useless and worthless I was while occasionally throwing something at the back of my head. 2014 had really been a dark and miserable year for me but it’s behind me now and it looks like 2015 is getting better already.
The second “couldn’t wait” post is called, “Is this a Library or a Freezer?“
I don’t know, why don’t you click and find out?
I was literally freezing my ass off in there. When I worked as an ESL tutor, every week, there was one or two days when I couldn’t be in the classroom. The classroom was shared between me, mom (Chinese teacher), and the Spanish teacher. I couldn’t leave the school’s premises and so I had to find another place to go.
Anyway, there’s no thermostat in there and as I sat there trying to do my homework, it would get colder and colder. Even with a t-shirt underneath plus a sweatshirt plus a light jacket plus a large ski jacket (I’m not joking), I still felt cold in there. That room was colder than outside. I couldn’t do much homework in there so I decided to write.
Anyway, I hope you will click the links to the posts and check them out. Although they’re more than a year old, I’m sure they’re still quite relate-able to some people. Looking forward to your likes and feedback on those old posts. 🙂
This is Another Story 