Ive added a few new pictures on my website lately, plus i gave it slightly updated look on many pages to reflect the nature of the site and that is its about photography.

Ive been working on my photo retouching skills.

If you want a sample of my work compare these.

Information: I had a few wrong settings on my camera (the very blue hue), plus I was shooting it with a strong side wind and my biggest zoom set all the way out at 300mm and handheld. So the fact it is clear and in focus is about all I got right.

So i used this as a test of my retouching skills so far, plus my creative photoshop skills for the framing and plaque.


You can get a bigger version of the finished one here.



Start image:






Finished image:
Let me know what you think.

There is a couple of new pictures I took yesterday.

Enjoy.

So Im back from another Hong kong trip. Awesome. A real Mennonite shoppers paradise. Deals galore and people waiting to rip you off at every corner. Its true. Its all about shopper knowledge. You gotta figure out the bottom line of these people.

My tactic is to ask the price. If they say 100 dollars, hmm how about 25! They look at me and say 60! wow nice cut,so i say ok 30. they say 55, I say to high and start to walk away. If the price they buy for is 30 o higher, they leave me alone, if not they will run after and try to bargain some more. I wil go up maybe another 5 dollars, and be done. If they have left me alone I know i really was too low, so next time i'm willing to do the same thing but end up a little higher. Good thing there is always more than one shop with the same thing.

It feels a little stupid to offer a quarter of the price, but i usually buy for a third of the price, so it works out.

I bought a bunch of new ties for work adn ome nick nacks at the night markets. I bought a new camera lens, and tripod system at a camera store. Really gotta know which ones are good and which ones are not. Most that are well lit with neon lights are no good.

A few named Wing Shuing and Man Shuing (brothers) are the ceapest places around, but be ready for a lack of customer service. These guys want you in, your money, and you out ready for the next guy. The products are good and the prices are the best. But I require some customer service. so i researched 4 years of online comments about one store, Tin Cheung Camera Store in Tsim Tsa Shuei district. It turned out really good. I was a little it like a kid in a candy store, well it was candy to me and it was my birthday, so i had the right to be like that. They were supposed to open at 11 am s i was there at 10:55, and then at 11 they 1/2 opened they only let in deliveries and their lunch was delivered, and i am standing in the street trying to look patient but doing a horrible job. finally 1120 they open and let me in. And i rounded up my stuff. Then they usually dont negotiate, but my tripod was the display model, so they did, and i got a very good deal. The difference was worth the plane tickets to hong kong compare to Taiwan, and compared to canada it as even cheaper.

So we spent the rest of the day walking and shopping. It was super.

Hey all,

I added a few new pics on the www.dealboyrandy.com, and one that can be used as a wallpaper. Maybe I should put a freebie section and make some wallpapers in my spare time. Lemme know whatcha think.
Have a good one.

Its early afternoon, and I've had one very interesting day.

I didn't have to work today so I planned a short trip. I went to Yelieu. ( click on the name to see where). Its a small town on the north coast of Taiwan. I got up early to beat the heat and the traffic rush.
I left my house at 4:45 am. I must say Taiwan and Taipei is a nice place to drive through at that hour, although a little eerie without the hordes of people.

I got through Taipei and into Keelung, around 6 am. A lot faster than I had anticipated. So I stopped for some breakfast and checked my maps.

After my breakfast via the 'Golden Arches' I hopped back onto my trusty steed and roared up the coast.

A few stops along the way to take some pics, and I arrived around 7 am.

As I round a bend just before the town I knew I was close because the rocks change from normal sharp and jagged to this...
Very odd to say the least.

So I get to the entrance of the Yelieu Geological Park, and I'm waiting because I figure I'm early, there are big revolving bars for a door to get in, but its locked to go only one way... out. They clearly marked as one entrance and one exit so I start to wait.

I'm slowly walking around in the parking lot when I hear a 'Hey!', I look around and see a woman in the distance slowly waving her hand. She was on the wrong side of the edge of this ...stuck down on a wave breaker...

She is waving her arm and was thinking you shouldn't be playing around in there if you cant get out. I kinda figured she was fishing from there because in the distance i could see others fishing from the top of them.
But as I get closer I notice a very different look in her eye. Her face was swollen, her jaw looked broken, and many old and new cuts and scrapes. Her left arm was scraped and bloody and in general she looked absolutely exhausted.

She reached out for me to grab her hand as she was too far down to get out, and these things are big so there was no way she could do this on her own. I grabbed her hand and tried to pull her up but I was dangerously on the edge too and I didn't want to be the next victim.
I looked around and didn't see anyone to help.

So I had to try again, this time with 2 hands, and I felt I could pull her up, but I would probably hurt her more as I would have to drag her over the embankment, with me falling back to the other side. She was too exhausted to get a leg up and help herself. Not the best option.

So I lower her back down slowly so she wouldn't fall down. The wdge was about 6 feet, and I told her in Chinese to hold on I will get help and return quickly.

She says 'hao' (ok), not like she really had another choice.


I headed off to find help and in the distance I find another guy and I try my best to explain the situation, so he gets on his cell phone and calls the police. I persuade him to come and look, he hops on his scooter and we go back I show him where she is and with the both of us we are able to eventually get her onto the edge and back over, about 10 minutes later the police slowly drive up and take her to the hospital.

The guy stopped to tell me she was going to the hospital and he went to give a statement to the police. Everyone was very thankful. So I became a Good Samaritan for the day. WooHoo

She looked like she had been beaten before with the old wounds and possibly slipped or was dumped, and woke up there?? I'm not sure of how she got there.

So after feeling good about my deed, I went back to waiting for the place to open, I was a little frustrated because it was getting warmer now and I left early for a reason...to beat the heat, and so I asked one shop owner and she pointed to another entrance that was open the whole time, and because I was early it was free. YipYipYipee!

I trot in and get my camera out and start being amazed at the strange rockscapes.

Here is the classic Queen's Head all natural and photographed by yours truly.
There will be more pics on http://www.dealboyrandy.com soon.

The rest of the trip was relaxing as i took the #2 highway back through Yanmingshan National Park one of the less active volcano's in Asia. It was scenic, cool and peaceful.

I was out and about yesterday, and i came across a new subdivision, and i thought people might like to see the new styles of houses that are coming up. Quite different from North America.

Rather thin for my tastes.Not bad looking from the front.
I was mainly out looking for small country temples. I found some and one in particular stuck out to me. The dragons looked especially fierce. It should be up soon on www.dealboyrandy.com in the temples section.

Healing only to face pain.
Pained to the point of numbness.
Feeling void of life
Lethargic movements in a dark space.

Small light behind
Speck of hope in the distance
Blurred circles
Nystagmus

Gravity, leaden sky
Slumber, pulling to black
Look behind
Pin light

Color of life
twinkle and tinkle
Rumbling
Roaring
Deafening Thunderous Crack

Light, White is Dark
Bright, Blind are blinded by the light.
Uplifting free
Heart pushed back

Up to the surface
Back to be free
Freedom to choose
Life returned, black fades
Always remembered.

For as much as I am missing home and kinda tired of the antics that go on in Taiwan, I am also very happy about the small things .

Yesterday I went to have my signal lights fixed on my scooter.

I was sure i needed new ones and that my old one was faulty, but when i went there, they WD-40'd them and after working the oil in it started to let go and now they are good as new.
Charge = Free. So I was thinking would i ever get a free fix back home ???

I went to renew my drivers license today, as it was a month overdue. So i readied myself for a hassle and a runaround in with the administrative minions that generally work in any government office so much that I was astonished, flabbergasted, and in utter dismay when I walked out I had to triple check my license.

Why ??
1) Government Office (usually 1 hour wait)
2) Got everything I wanted right the first time. (still oddly doubting)
3) NO CHARGE for renewing my drivers license for another year!

How does that work? I keep asking myself, a government office not charging for drivers renewal?? In a timely manner, shortly before it closes, and with immediate understanding.

Anyways I drove away in a flash to make sure no one would chase me to collect money from any mistake.

I next had to change the front brake on my scooter, i knew it had to be done, so i pressed my luck again, and again BINGO! 10 minutes, and 9 Canadian dollars later my bike was washed, lubed, and fixed.

I thought a car back home would have cost in the neighborhood of $100+.

So today I'm a happy camper.

Im a little worried about tomorrow :-(

Here are some new pictures.

Stuff i bought in Kinmen:
Kinmen Gaoliang (Koaliang) Liquor made from rice.


old weigh scale
Ceramic goblet replica of a past emperors. Apparently rare, and difficult to make due to the three legs being thin and difficult to make them equal level, and not move while drying.

The last one is a Kinmen Wind God with a Calabash, (i think) (a kind of Squash) commonly used in cooking as well as made into musical instruments.

Woo Hoo!!

Back From Kinmen Island. For those of you who don't know, I went on a little sightseeing trip. I was gone for 3 days, and I went to Kinmen Island. It's a Taiwanese Island, but its about 200km from Taiwan and about 2 km from China. So nonetheless it has history....a ton of it, especially war history.
The first thing I found is that it is still very much a military island. From the moment I stepped off the plane until I landed back in Taipei, I was constantly reminded this is a military zone.

So I got to Kinmen around 11 am Sunday morning. My plan of attack was to find a
better map than the one i printed off the Internet. They happen to have a very7 nice Tourist information place in the small airport. I asked if they had a map, and they did, a nice clear one.in English and Chinese. Perfect.
Next I want to rent a scooter. I asked about that , and she said sure and gave me about 6 Chinese papers, all p[laces that will rent scooters. But none near the airport. So I need to take a taxi.

I asked how much it should cost to get there by taxi, she says, you need to negotiate with the driver...but normal is around 100 to 200 NT(CAD $3-7). Hmm OK kind of a big range....

I hop into a taxi and show him the ad for a place to rent a scooter he said OK. I ask how much , he says NT200. I try to negotiate like i was told, and he says, no but he will put on the meter. OK no problem...

We start to drive and he tries to talk to me, but I don't understand a lick of what he's saying...thinking man I thought my Chinese was a little better than that. He motions to look at the paper, And points to the scooter. I say yes, he says this place is no good,. This is where I start to understand what he's saying, I am pretty sure he was speaking Kinmenese...Like Taiwanese, but different. Gees I barely know Chinese, I don't know every dialect ever spoken in Asia....anyways, he switched to Chinese, and we got along. He says the place is no good he will take to his friends place... Sure no problem, It will either be a good deal, or a complete rip off...hopefully I can tell.

So He takes me into the small town of 金城鎮 (Jīnchéng) Or Golden City in English. He brings me to the very centre, and motions for me to get out. Hmm He pops into a building, and rambles off something, and motions for me to come in. I look around and notice the only English I can see on the street is on this building, and luckily it says "Kinmen Hotel".

OK well that's not so bad, English sign and a hotel, but that's not what I was asking for....Fortunately they also rent scooters. So what the heck i ask for the price of a room, also cheap and a scooter is delivered to the Hotel. Nice almost new 125cc. Nice. So for CAD 48 dollars I got a scooter and a hotel for a night. (NT400 or CAD13 scooter, and NT1080 or CAD 35)

So I drop my main pack in the hotel, grab my camera and head out.

I forgot about lunch, and kept going until supper time. I whizzed up the coast and down the coast.
Above the old look out tower is now in the middle of the river due to erosion.

Below: Notice the old anti-landing craft barriers in the water.


I continues along into the hills and came across an old bunker.




I peeked inside,it was small and eerie but the passages inside were blocked beyond the first room. I think it was a work in progress.

On my way back I stopped and admired some of the architecture. They are known for the old Fukien (Fujian) style houses. With the saddle style roofs, and the reddish-pink colored brick walls, they are truly a relic from the past.




Just to add these houses are being used. They are being lived in as normal houses. People were puttering around some kids playing, and some people hanging laundry etc. I tried not to disrupt their lives by intruding too much.

I took a new road and it led me to an artillery museum, and some tunnels.

and finally to some tunnels. This is pure granite, and it was dug out to give cover to troops and supplies that arrive under fire. It was very wide, not humid, but eerie.




Afterwards i traveled back to the beaches further along the island. I thought it was quite considerate that the government add the odd English sign, just to let me know not to go swimming, or poking around too much.




And i couldn't go very far without seeing various bunkers, fortresses, and etc around.


I went back to my Hotel for a nap. Later i went back out to some statues i had seen earlier and thought i might get some pictures at night.



I went back to the hotel with some local food from a bakery, ate it and went to sleep.


DAY 2

I was dreaming that a school of children were let into a giant kitchen and they had taken every pot and pan out of the cupboards, and were making one heck of a racket. Then I woke up to notice i was obviously very close to a temple and it was time for morning celebrations. Still sounded just like the dream but it wasn't school children....and it was only 6 am.

I got up and went down for some free breakfast that was included with the room. It was a torpedo shaped bun but the texture like a croissant with some sweet paste inside. It was fresh, but add to that some warm soy milk scooped from a big ol bag and I was eating local delights.

I left the hotel and decided to find Maestro Wu's shop. Its real name is the Chin Ho Li Steel Knife Factory, but the trademark name is Maestro Wu. I heard about his shop a few years back. He makes high quality knives from old bombs. So after some quick searching I found one shop.



But alas it was his old shop.

But I was told his new shop is nearby. So given directions I went and found it.

His family has been making knives since the Ching Dynasty. During WW2 there was a shortage of steel, so Mr. Wu began collecting artillery shells that had been dropped by the US and allied forces. Later after the August 23, 1958 Artillery Battle with China. The bombing left millions of shells, and abundant source of metal for his trade.

Since I showed up and was alone (no tour bus) and he saw i was eager to take some pictures, he invited me into the shop for a closer look.

He cut a piece of metal out of a bomb, and heated it up in the furnace.
Then he hammered it flat into a shape. Cut a slit on one side and bent it open for a tang.

Then he used the big press to pound it thin and shape the knife.

After forging the steel for a while it began to take shape, and then he moved over to the grinders, to clean and shape the blade.



And showing the basic finished blade. He said from start to finish one blade takes about 2 hours.

Here is his inventory to choose from for raw material.
The best shells to be used are the propaganda ones, which kept coming until 1989. Every so often they would send a shell over from China and it would explode 500 feet up, and rain food stuffs, propaganda, cigarettes, candy etc, kind of just to say we like you come to our side, but we can still shoot you. This game was played for many years.
Ive bought 3. One for in the kitchen, one for a keepsake and a small lock blade for my key chain.

Next i traveled to the far side of the island to the nearest point to China. There is an observation post there where you can checkout the view.

Long underground tunnels to it.


Then eventually you come to the area to spy on China.


With the binoculars it was amazing to be able to see as much detail as you could. Basically you can watch each other watch one another.

This post is still in use. Also close by is an old wall of megaphones used to scream messages at the other side. Big signs saying "One China, Two Systems" was lit up for a number of years. The Chinese government actually complained when Taiwan finally turned it off, because it was drawing tourists to the area in China.

Just in case your wondering how close I was, my cell phone sent me a message saying "WELCOME TO CHINA, PLEASE USE CHINA TELECOM FOR ALL YOUR NEEDS" It automatically switched my carrier to China. Kinda neat I thought.
You know your close to China when.....

Back through the low dark tunnels to the scooter and continue on.

Nearly all of the fields I saw still had anti-landing posts/ barriers up so that you couldn't land a glider or airplane on them.

Bunkers were adapted into peoples homes as an added room. Here is one as part of a barn.




Not all areas were scary and war like. Some places like Tai Lake were very peaceful, with lotus flowers blooming, and birds chirping.

My eyes saw war but my body and mind felt at peace and comfort in this place. It was a very strange experience, but one where I was very aware of everything. The people were very relaxed and laid back. The sights were a mixture of beauty and past wars.

I will never regret that trip.

Wow... ok so its been a while.

I've added a shop to my site.

Ive also added a bunch of new features, and new pictures to it as well.

Above is the latest one.

Ive been working hard on the website, and pictures, and going on scooter trips.

I went with a friend from work to Gwanwu National forest area. Its near Hsinchu. Anyways it was a full day trip. We left in the morning, and it took about 40 minutes to get out of the city traffic.

It was smooth sailing from there on in. The roads became narrow and wet, the trees blocked out the sunlight the road was being repaired in a few spots from previous typhoons causing landslides.

We came across a crazy tunnel, I mean not that it was hard to see the tunnel, but once we entered it it was pitch black. Even my headlights on high beam didn't help anything, because my eyes were used to sunlight. Then to make matters worse, there were no lights and you couldnt see the exit, add to that the tunnel first went on an incline, then a decline...the road was uneven, and just to make interesting....the tunnel narrows to one lane right in the middle. I could tell because right then a car was coming at me and i couyld see both sides and thought to my self, either im gonna be part of a mountain-car sandwich, or he will slow down. Luckily the other car slowed down and i was able to pass before he entered the narrow area. What an intelligent design for a tunnel.

Monday i had the day off so I went to Danshuei, near Taipei. Everyone said don't scooter there, just take the train.....I don't know why. It took me an hour to drive there....but I'm sure it would have been much more than that if I would have taken the train, plus its a big area, so I wouldn't have been able to get around much after that. I was glad I didn't take the train. Except that ojn my way back my back tire blew. So i coasted into a mechanic shop, and 20 minutes later a new tire was on and away i went. No problem.


Otherwise all is normal.

Raining. Raining.
I have a good long 4 day weekend, and no where to go, nothing I need to do. What a perfect time to get out and do my hobby......RAIN! AH! and at that just a drizzle. Just enough for me to be worried about getting the camera wet, or having a small accident ...oops in the puddle, resulting in one very non-worthwhile photo op.

So my time will be spent indoors. Creating and muddling in different things, tweaking the blog, my site. By the way check out the photo art pages. Ive been doing a bunch of work on them. both in layout, and in adding content.

How disgusted do you get when you see mold. green mold growing on everything. Looked at my wooden cabinets, the whole back side was moldy. Eww. And on all of them. That took a whole evening to clean up. Now yesterday took out a pot that was washed couple days earlier, spots of mold all over it, with a big one in the middle.. ewwwwwww I looked at my ties the other day....over half were getting mold spots......on my ties!! huh? since when does mold grow on ties i wear everyday. What a humid place

Feel free to grab the coin at the side and scratch to see one of my picture.

Lots of updates coming to the website. It seems to be coming along nicely. My web skills are slowly improving, as are my photography skills. I need some more ideas on what to add to my website.

Otherwise life is going along well, but it looks like it will be a while before we go home again :-(

I just resigned on for another year at my school...Hopefully all works out well.

Nothing too much new here so thats all for now.

NEWS:

I have my own dot com.

www.dealboyrandy.com

This will replace various other websites I have had. I got sick of the trouble of creating a site, then being limited with what i could do with it. This was esp frustrating with the googlepages one.. I had to have 4 then 5 different pages because they would freeze whenever i wanted to modify add or whatever.

Obviously you get what you pay for. Free is good to a point, but...

SO! this will be ongoing and ever changing, both because i am learning a bunch of new things, and because new content is added. Especially with the eneRGy art areas.

Its not very flashy....yet, so if you know how to do something cool...let me know. Always looking for ideas.

Also if you want to be added into the links section lemme know.

A little boy goes to his father and asks "Daddy, how was I born?"

The father answers: "Well son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a little Pop-Up appeared that said:

"You got Male."

We made it to the white sandy beaches of Borocay in the Phillipines.....just barely!!

We got onto our early flight, leaving the house at 4 am. We go onto our flight no problem and into Hong kong just fine. Then we had to go to a counter to get our next boarding pass for the next flight. Well we found the counter, and they said I'm sorry the flight is overbooked and you will have to take a later one.
We said thats impossible because all of our connecting flights were full and the last ones for the day. So if we dont go now we may miss all oppertunity to get to the island....plus we had people meeeting us at the next airport to take us to the island, and we had already paid for the hotel, so we would need money back... etc etc.

Nonetheless we weren't the only ones this was happening to. There was a group of 4 in front of us, and a group of 6 behind us. All in the same situation. The group in front of us was very angry and yelling and mad, so I said to Nicole lets play the opposite roll, calm, but firm.

What they did was ask anyone who would be willing to take a later flight to give up their seats and Cathay would give them something as compensation. So eventually 2 seats came available, and later another 2 so the group of 4 was on their way, so we were next. The group of 6 behind us got impatient, and started pushing ahead, angry aswell. So it turns out that 2 of their 6 seats were confirmed, but they were very angry because they wanted to travel as a group. No matter what they wouldn't decide what to do, and the plane was full and had been waiting for 20 minutes already. The counter person gave us 2 gift certificates to go grab a coffee and come back, so we did, got a drink and went right back. About 2 minutes. The group of 6 were still very angry, so they counter person types sopme stuff into the computer after talking quietly with the supervisor and quickly took away the 2 seats the group of 6 had confirmed, and gave them to us and rushed us through security, and onto the plane. Then she had to go back and tell the other people "sorry the plane has already left."

Whew, ....so crammed into our seats we went got to Manila, had 3 hours to get to our next plane. took almost an hour and a half to get through immigration....Sooo many poeple. Rushed, we got into a taxi and got to the next domestic airport. Took them a long time to get our boarding passes....couldn't find that we had already paid, and bla bla bla....but eventually got em. Then security again, one to get into the airport, one to get into the waiting area, and about 5 checkpoints for checking boarding passs, terminal fees, weapons, and a couple extra to get into the waiting area. What a tight security place... then with about 20 minutes left until take off we finally were ready to relax for another flight.

We get into our seats.... I should say honestly we squeeeezed into them, I'm sure the seats were screaming in agony as we were getting into them...too small....then another hour flight.

Then once we landed things started to smooth out....all is good now.

Its a week later since the accident. Its been a week of questions and emotions.

Life moves on.

Im so ready for Chinese New Year. I can't wait to relax and begin anew.

We are returning to the place of our engagment. The little island in the Phillipines. Boracay.

A couple of flights and boat rides and we will return to the little paradise.

Warm sand and sunshine, crystal clear waters, and little white fish that tickle your feet.

Lost a good friend two days ago.
He as at my house for the evening and we had a great time talking about everything under the sun.

We were drinking some but not a lot. He probably would have been over the legal limit, but not by much. It really didn't matter since he was on holidays for the week, and lived 2 floors above us in the same building.
At the end of the evening I said good bye and he got into the elevator and went home.

Two hours latter my cell phone rings with his name as the caller. I answered and listened as the but the hospital never tried to talk to me. Two minutes later his wife calls and tells us he is in the hospital. 2 minutes later we call back to hear his wife crying saying they are doing CPR on him.

A few minutes later he was pronounced dead.

Apparently decided he wanted to continue to have fun, and made the poor choice of driving his scooter. After a considerably more alcohol. He ended up as a mess on the road. No one else involved.

He was married to a wonderful local girl. They had just recently found out she was pregnant.

My first REAL friend in Taiwan.

My heart keeps aching, my mind questioning, and emotions from anger to despair.

Ever notice how good simple good ol' toast can be. Especially when you get just the right bread mmmmm.
Or what about a simple banana when its just right. Or finally a nice cup of lemon tea on a cold rainy day.
I had all three today, and made me content.
But when you get a crazy overloaded garbage pizza like the one I had earlier today I used to think even a crappy pizza isn't bad. But lemme tell about this one today.

First part its my bad for eating a small 6" pizza in a Japanese coffee house in Taiwan. I mean this last sentence just smacks of stupidity on my part. BUT it was a burnt crust soggy in the middle. The sauce was minced carrots n green goo. Toppings included a piece of squid, 4 shrimp tails (does anyone normal eat these?), 3 shrimp, a couple of bits of corn, and a couple of clumps burnt Parmesan cheese that tasted like it was burnt with the little blowtorches they have.

All in all i think it must be an art to be able to do 2 things, one to make a thing taste that bad period, and two to be able to put it on a menu and sell it as food.

I'm sure its that i just done understand Taiwanese culture yet.

It was the queen's birthday here...so Nico had a cake.


Yup the old 26, all down hill now. As some of you know my philosophy with birthdays, once you hit 25 its down hill until 30 then up to 35 and down...the something *5 is a high note. So its down hill for 4 years. Does this make sense...maybe.... is it rational...who cares this is RANDYLAND, not "Icarewhatyouthinkland"
So enjoy.

Had a great evening with some friends , we had spicy hotpot that was SUPER spicy, kinda like burn your mouth off spicy....and thats before you swallow.....

So we ate slow but got full anyways. It was also one friends little boys birthday so we got some on my website.

Take a look.

A couple of pictures of Christmas lights from my site.

enjoy

ok so rant/(on)

Small rant. I sent Xmas cards home this year to over 50 friends and family. Thats fine I know you don't always get cards in return. And i don't give to get. In fact I got 2 cards and 1 gift, from friends and extended family Not including Moms and Dads.

The rant comes in a few people who you should be able to expect something from. (I can hear people sucking air in now getting irate), ...relax because I will define something before people get in a huff. Something in my mind is a small gift OR a card OR EVEN just a SIMPLE EMAIL saying 'Merry Christmas'.

I prepared over 3 months in advance, thinking about what to get the nieces and nephews, as we traveled to Hong Kong. We planned our parents (who have been very generous and grateful) gifts. And worked on a Christmas newsletter for my friends and family. All this took time and preparation and money... especially since we sent all these cards internationally! Of course the easier and free way out would be to send a simple email, saying 'Merry Christmas' and click send.

I know some people cant afford much, and in fact I don't care how much money people spend on me/us. But as the saying goes 'its the thought that counts.' So reading from that, my brothers couldn't care less, Christmas box was canceled and we didn't receive anything.

• NO gift, oh sorry that costs too much money,

• A small gift from the dollar store, oh still too much money...and um too much for shipping. (fine can be true.)
• No card, Cost too much
• Have your kids make one.....oh ya the buck it may cost for a stamp is still too much money.
• How about a phone call....oh jeez cant spend a penny.
• How about talking on Skype, as I have taught them all how to talk on skype for FREE. As we were online waiting for them to come online. Nope cant be bothered.
• How about an after-the-fact email....also free....nope nada

So with all possible excuses exhausted, I can only determine one thing....THEY DON'T CARE.

So much for a good reason to come home.

My religious brothers who care so much about family values, and being a good Christian. How could you go through the whole Christmas season come and go with the big dinner at the parents house and you didn't even think enough to send a simple email. I know you wont read this because you cant be bothered, so I may as well vent my frustrations.

Perhaps I sound like a person who always wants something but if your reading this for real....All i wanted was not to be forgotten about.

Merry Christmas!

ps. middle brother I've just finished waiting for a simple card for my wedding (since you told me you forgot our gift at your home or something) ...hope you enjoyed the $150 meal you ate.


This will be the end of this discussion, and when I see any of you in person, I won't bring it up.

rant/(end)

I put some new pictures up today. Added a new page to my site. Almost Christmas again, wooooo eagerly waiting for the big day. Mind you I already got my gift early.......I bought it, didn't wrap it and used it right away.... But you have to wait until Christmas to find out what it is.

I always used to be a little offended when i seen people use the word Xmas, I believed the the saying its no good because it was just another way to secularize the special time and take Christ out of Christmas. But I feel better about it now, as...

Wiki says,

Christmas is sometimes shortened to Xmas, an abbreviation that has a long history.^[4] In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ (Χριστός). Since the mid-sixteenth century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ.

Ok so I have no kids yet, I have a little (scrap that.. ) HAD a little spare money so I found a vent for my artistic frustration.

I admit Ive been stuck by the photography bug.
It has taken me a couple of months to fully admit it, just to make sure its not a fad or anything.

Ive been studying...yes studying Photoshop CS, and numerous books on photography. Ive been taking an average of 300-500 pictures a week. sounds like a lot i know but with my new camera i can shoot off 5 pictures int the time I used to get one. I'm also learning about the camera in a more serious way.

You wont see a dump-truck load of pictures anytime soon, as i am learning, but some make their way here.

feel free to give me constructive criticism.

A Touching Moment

I came across this scene yesterday, that gave me a warm feeling inside. A father, his 2 sons were out for a bike ride. The street is wide enough for one car to pass between the others parked on either side. The 8yr old and his 5 yr old brother were following dad.

Father in the lead with the older son following and the little guy with training wheels trailing closely behind. The older brother loses his balance and begins to weave. Wobbling but misses the cars closely parked on either side of the street. He has a nasty spill and starts crying. Father ahead stops his bike on the side and rushes back. I watch the 5 yr old brother. He rushes ahead. I think what is this kid doing is he gonna rush ahead to play??
But no he puts his bicycle on the side and rushes back to the situation. Because he knows these streets his instincts kick in. He stands with his back to his brother and father and .........directs traffic!!!
The young boy know his brother is a little hurt, but dad is there. What important now is traffic. As i drive by he he stands with iron determination and with his best police man face and arm gestures he directs all traffic with military precision.

This was a true story on 11/11 06, one block from home.

Another day another dollar, or so the saying goes. Whats new with us? Hmm not sure, got a laptop, been working a few extra hours and been learning about photography. WInter is coming and summer is finaly over. In Canada, everone lives for summer, in Taiwan its spring and fall. Fall more so simply because its not as rainy and humid, and the temp goes into the unbearable numbers.

Beginning to plan for Chinese New year, and Christmas. No gonna let any secrets out on here yet, so stay tuned.

Had a hoot in Hong Kong

So we went to Hong Kong and had a blast. Awesome scenery, shopping, food, everything was good. The air was typical HK air...which is basicly 90% pollution with some oxygen to let the people live for a short while. But all in all not that much worse than Taiwan.