I had a Groupon awhile ago that included this ionic footbath. I was just interested in the jade stone massage, but since it came in a package I used the service and it was very interesting. Whether or not it does what it claims, something turned the water orange and made my feet tingle! My joints would need detoxing.
The water slowly turned orange in my ionic footbath.
Apparently orange means I was detoxing from the joints.
I find there’s something fascinating about watching planes land at an airport. Whether it’s from underneath them, at the terminal, or inside them, there’s always an interesting perspective to be had. In fact, one of these days I wouldn’t mind sitting somewhere near the airport, watching the planes come in. The ones coming into the Hong Kong airport were filing in at a steady rate and it was cool to watch as they appeared in the distance, just a little speck, and slowly got larger and closer.
plane landing from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
It was quite the day at work today as people were let go and we learned more of the restructuring and changes to come. There’s a lot of potential for growth in the coming weeks and months as we transition to a new version of this company. I’m glad to see that things will be picking up momentum, but for now I’m too tired to really write much. It was a long, busy day! My head started to feel foggy late in the afternoon and I’m glad to have the weekend to recuperate so I can go back on Monday with a fresh mind.
Things seem to move really fast in this industry! In the months I’ve been around, there have been seven changes between hiring and people leaving. And with many of the affiliates I deal with, my contacts have changed. I think it’s good to keep things fresh, but I hope to stay with this job for at least a couple of years. We’ll go with the flow and see where things develop, but I can definitely see myself still here this time next year.
Adorable, isn't it? Apparently it's a new trend, but cute eraser shapes don't seem that new to me.
The dolphins st Sentosa wave hi and do some jumping tricks!
dolphin waving from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
jumping hoops from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
ball touch from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Gives a whole new meaning to lemon-lime… my lime turned “lemon” due to the hot soup!
Going under the earthquake tunnel one night, capturing some of the honking in action. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Read about it here.
earthquake tunnel from Mary Qin on Vimeo.
Comfortable enough in America, Chinatown, and even Hong Kong or Taiwan, we seem to belong everywhere. And because of this, we might also belong nowhere. “Home,” it seems, ends up being a mixed-up notion that must be redefined if it is to have meaning for many of us.
~Phoebe Eng, Warrior Lessons
When I was in Chinese school in New York, author Phoebe Eng came by for a book signing at my school. My parents bought me her book, Warrior Lessons, while I was in class and had her sign it for me. When I received the book, I read through it to learn more about the Asian-American woman’s experience. I remember reading through it every couple of years since then, and now it’s time to read it again. She speaks of a variety of experiences by Asian-American women from around the country, much of which we can relate to.
The quote above is particularly pertinent to my life. Not only did I grow up between the US and China, I also moved from the East Coast to the Midwest and ended up on the West Coast. I can fit in and live comfortably just about anywhere, yet not belong anywhere. It’s the story of my life. And so, whenever people ask me where I’m from, my answer varies each time.
Where am I from? A little bit of everywhere, I’d sometimes reply, then explain the moves I’ve made. When I’m not in the mood to delve too deeply, I’ll just simply say the current place I am living. In China, I’m from America. In America, I’m from Asia. In Europe, I choose. This can sometimes be beneficial and I can choose sides as needed, but of course much of the time I just end up being an outsider. But I’ve never really had a problem with that. In fact, I quite enjoying being “the other” – Eastern to the Westerners, Western to the Easterners, and just plain foreign to foreign countrymen.
The idea of home is also distorted by my multiple moves, which leaves me with no single hometown, no single childhood home, and no single concept of home. Home is sometimes a house, or a town, or wherever my parents are. Home is sometimes where I have been living as of late and home is sometimes the place I am currently most fond of staying at. In a broad sense, home is the United States, where I am most comfortable culturally and linguistically. Yet in a deeper sense, home is China, where my roots are and all of my family still resides. As I like to tell people, it’s complicated. That’s ok though, I don’t mind!
I am perfectly content going to a foreign country like Hong Kong and having people speak to me in Cantonese, assuming I would understand (unfortunately, I only know Mandarin). I am also very happy to be able to hop between my two countries of origin without any major language barriers. And while my notion of home changes almost as much as my physical addresses have changed, I understand that the way we see life and our lives will change over time. So what’s so wrong about having a fluid definition of what makes a home?
The final installation of the gallery of pictures from the Huntington Gardens. See Part 1 and Part 2. Click pictures for original size.
