January25
Back when I was visiting Panda in DC in the summer, I came across some random interesting sights. Behold.
In case you forget what a crosswalk is for?
I never knew they had branded three-wheelers! This guy's riding in style, isn't he?
A building under renovation.
Up, up and away!
January16
My wisdom teeth started to bother me today and now the back of my mouth is sore. I think it was because I decided I wasn’t brushing well enough back there so I gave them a good scrub. They definitely weren’t used to all that action and I think my gums got inflamed. I’ve been holding off getting them pulled because it’ll cost a pretty penny, but I’m really getting tired of the crowded feeling I have in my mouth.
Back in China, I was going to have them removed, but then I changed my mind when I realized I might not get to enjoy the food there if I went through with it. I thought it’d take a week or so to recover, but as I later found out from my parents, it could have been fine after a day or two. Oh well, it’s too late for that now! Unfortunately they’re bothering me these days, so I really want to get them out. I’ll have to review my coverage and see if it’s worth it right now.
I’m very tempted to find something to prop my jaw to help ease the tension, but what is there? I tried using gum for awhile and also putting food on that side of my mouth to chew so I couldn’t accidentally bite my cheek. Those solutions proved too temporary for my needs. Maybe a night’s sleep will reduce the swelling and make me forgetting about those annoying buggers. Why didn’t I have them removed long ago?? I’m regretting that now. :(
January8
Here’s a look at what I’ve been up to while I was gone! Click to enlarge and view more details.
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Off I went, heading first to Portland in the early hours of Christmas.
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Came across a colorful piece of art by James Dupree at the Portland Airport.
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A cute napkin on the plane from Portland to Tokyo.
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Looking down at the vastness of the ocean just before reaching Japan.
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The smallest crane is just a dot to the eye and was made with tweezers under a microscope.
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Yum, I just had to try the ramen in the airport! I tasted very rich and fatty, perfect for my starving belly.
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The captain brought our attention to the lights of Seoul, South Korea, and the blackness beyond that is North Korea.
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I saw a bunch of bird nests in the trees now that they are bare in winter.
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I arrive in Shenyang and enjoy a feast of a dinner at a hot pot place with great service.
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I celebrated my 26th birthday with some relatives and the cake came with a cute cutter. The candles originally said 28 because they thought they’d get 28 candles to use, but we fixed it!
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That night, we stayed at this nice hotel right across the street from my aunt’s.
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This is looking up at the auditorium in Lingshan where the Buddha is. Each petal is actually the same size and each row has 48 petals! Apparently they got this from one of the sites where the 2008 Olympics was held.
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The front statue moves as the story of Siddhartha’s birth is told and nine dragons bathe it. Back on the mountainside, grownup Sidd overlooks Taihu Lake.
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The seats on Juneyao Airline are pretty cool! They offer good service too, even gave my cousin a kid’s book to read (which she loved).
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We finally arrive at our new place on Hainan Island and enjoy a wonderful view.
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The golf course down the street, called The Dunes.
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It’s a very scenic golf course with this cool rock formation.
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From one of the courses, you get a great view back at the clubhouse.
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Now I had no idea what a muesli was, so I didn’t try it, but the rest of breakfast at the Four Points was good.
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A pretty hibiscus flower sat just outside our deck at the Four Points.
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Apparently a popular Chinese movie was shot in this area, particularly at Le Meridien, off screen to the right.
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If you fancy lounging, this is the spot.
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There was a new housing development being built (Shimei Bay Nine Mile), so we checked it out. Here’s the master bedroom.
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Outside, you can’t see much, but the insides are nice and each has a small pool in the yard.
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The parents went across the street to get some fruit and came back with all kinds of weird tropical stuff.
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A Chinese police car parked behind us so I decided to get a shot.
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The golden coconut on the left is special to Hainan Island, but its water doesn’t taste as good as the normal coconut.
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A beautiful white sofa at our new place!
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What a fun circular tub! We fit us three cousins in easily for a silly photo shoot.
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Only on the last night did I realize I could use the alarm clock as speakers for my music! Not that I really listen to any, but I had to try it out.
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Even the moths are prettier in the tropics.
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It was a beautiful sunny day down at Sanya, the southernmost part of China.
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These elephants were sprouting flowers.
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Looking out across the South China Sea.
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We’ve got to talk a ways to get to the big Tianya stone.
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I spotted a couple of teeny little fish!
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Someone was out enjoying the day in that parasail.
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My first time witnessing coconuts being picked. The guy had special hook shoes to climb with and the guy below is holding the wire to let down the coconut bundle slowly.
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Well, they may not want pictures taken of their products, but I’m pretty sure they won’t mind me documenting their strange translation…
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Chunyuan Seafood Square was recommended to us for dinner. You pick and buy your own groceries in the back, then pay a fee to get it cooked by one of the many restaurants, each with a couple of tables.
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Those red dots with white outlines may look fake, but these crabs actually grow them!
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And so it was time to go, after being the first island people to stay overnight at this new development!
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We saw a bunch of Buddhist nuns and as it turns out, they were on my flight.
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We got sandwiched between two layers of clouds for a bit and got a peek at a gorgeous blue sky.
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What a pretty box they served lunch in on Hainan Airlines!
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As we got ready to land in Fuzhou for a break before continuing to Hefei, I spotted the waterline.
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We approached Hefei and I caught a glimpse of a temple. I don’t usually see them from above!
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Want an Apple Store? Oh yeah, we’ve got them in spades! Want a real one? Umm…
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The lake outside our place in Beijing was frozen over, but people were still out walking.
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Since it’s a manmade lake, the fish need holes drilled so they can get to the surface. They had frozen over, but were opened up again.
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Snow in Beijing! It was my lucky day to get to see snow in a city that rarely gets it anymore.
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Awesome, my Delta flight had USB ports so we could charge our devices!
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No longer were there buttons on the side of your chair for these commands. Now it’s all on the TV screen.
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Our takeoff was a bit delayed while we got de-iced to ensure a safe flight.
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The mountains below only barely peek out here and there. Is it fog or pollution?
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You can see a whole bunch of sailboats sitting in the harbor as we take off from Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport.
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That is a lot of water way up high in those mountains!
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A view of the marina at Marina del Rey.
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I could see a lot of other aircraft making their descent into Los Angeles International.
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Hey, that’s my suitcase!
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It’s a tradition to stop by Sam Woo’s after coming in from LAX, and I couldn’t resist a delicious bowl of my favorite, the wonton hefen noodle soup.
December27
Happy holidays! I’m busy traveling around so I won’t be posting much. Took a 25-hour trip from LA to Portland to Tokyo to Beijing and then the next day, a 5-hour train ride brought me to Shenyang. My poor feet have been sitting around too much and I’ve napped so much I don’t know when to be tired. It’s all good though, I get to see quite a bit of family in the next couple of days and hopefully get some relaxation too. 
December5
I woke this morning to find this wonderful scene outside my window. The night before it was too dark to tell what was out there, so this was completely unexpected. Click to see the full size!
I woke up to a beautiful clear morning and discovered we could see the Golden Gate Bridge from our room!
Here are things more to the south.
There's a closeup of the famous bridge.
November19
Check out some of the previous videos too.
November18
These were pretty cool rings at a store in the Keys, but were way too big for actual wear (at least on my fingers).
November14
Flying into DC for Halloween weekend and I realized it was raining when I looked out at the wing. With each flash, a bunch of drops were illuminated as if frozen in time. At first I thought it was really dusty out but then I realized it was actually raining. Pretty cool!
November12
I’m not sure why, but I have had an aversion to following seasonal trends in the past couple of years. I guess it’s because after reading so many articles about Christmas, New Year’s, or the like, I don’t want to be contributing to all that. After all, how original could you get with that stuff? Instead I prefer to enjoy the season, where people are hopefully making positive changes in their life as they look to family and re-evaluate their priorities.
This year I’ll be vacationing in China with my parents, which is a great way to spend the holidays. It’s too bad Panda couldn’t be with me too, but we can do plenty of trips in future years. I’m really looking forward to going back to China; it’s been 3 1/2 years and it will be nice to visit again. You can be sure that around that time I won’t be writing about a tree and presents! I’m sure I’ll have plenty of other wonderful things to write about and thank goodness for that! If you want the same old holiday stuff, go watch some TV. :-P
October30
I went out to the east coast for the weekend and on Saturday, it was raining or sleeting all day. At times, it almost got cold enough for us to get some snow down in the DC/VA area. Almost. I hear that more northern parts did get snow, and quite a bit, and I’ve got to say I’m a bit jealous. I was hoping for some snow to enjoy here as well. While I’d all but forgotten the experience of getting into a cold car and trying to defrost the windows while warming up, I do miss snow. Nobody said I had to miss all the unpleasant experiences that come with it, right?
My selective memory allowed me to remember a brisk walk with snow crunching under my feet. Pretty positive memory. It allowed me to remember building snowthings and catching snowflakes with my tongue. Very positive memory. It did not, however, allow me to remember the bitterness of a freezing cold car. Not so positive memory. Well, that’s how it goes I guess. After so many years removed from this kind of life, I chose to focus on the things I did like about it rather than that which was less desirable. Nevertheless, with all the pros and cons trying to weigh each other out, I still wouldn’t mind moving back to more volatile climates for awhile. It’d make me appreciate LA even more when I returned, right?
