Journey to the Past

I think I was bitten by the craft bugs. Here's my next creation: the single pea (because making 3 of them in solid green is just too much for my eyes) and the deadly but cute ninja. Chris called them Peany and Ninji. Peany, Dora, Ninji, and Mushy posing together It's hard to see from this photo, but Ninji actually has a sling (in a slightly different color) around his body, and a mini ninja star. And talk about proportion... the vegetables are larger than the cat and the person. Makes you wonder, isn't it?

I found out that I had a stash of acrylic yarns left (in the storage), and so I was looking around for patterns/stuff I can use them for. I ended up finding Amigurumi , and of course the pattern I wanted uses the colors of yarns I did not already have. I ended up buying another stash of acrylic yarns in different colors. Thankfully, Zellers had it on sale. In any case, my first Amigurumi project was the Mario Bros Mushroom. I found out (too late), that I was doing the red part wrong. I crocheted from the back loop only, instead of from both loop. Hence, the "head" is taller than it's supposed to be. But since I didn't realize it until after the head was completed, I decided to leave it as it was. Mushy I gave this one to Chris, just because he wanted one. This became another addition to his "work buddies", as you can see below. Chris's "Work Buddies" But bad Chris! He made Mushy to be the bad guy (I think). Chris called this scene "Revenge...

I admit it.. I am one of those short-attention-span people. I like doing lots of things and I enjoy variety. Lately, I found out that my brain and my eyes work faster than my TV, and so I have several seconds every now and then to fill, while waiting for the actors to finish their sentences (not a very good habit, because after all, who knows what they are going to say). In any case, I (asked my dear husband to) dug out a box of crafts material from the storage, and started learning how to knit. Several years back, I have bought knitting needles and the book on how to knit. I gave up learning when I couldn't even do a cast off. Learning from books was tricky. This time around, I was more prepared. I googled the video instead of buying books. Ha! With the help of online videos and my dear friend, Vincy, I finally managed to finish my first knitting project, ever! It's a hand towel. Chris chose the colors, and I found the pattern online (yeay to open source projects!). My projec...

If you can save your family about by killing another innocent soul, what would you do? Whose life is more precious? What if you can save your family by inflicting permanent damage to a bystandar? Will you do it? What price will you pay to protect your family? BoneMan's Daughter follows the footsteps of a father whose daughter is held captive by a serial killer who is looking for the Perfect Daughter. When all the world believes him to be the kidnapper, whan can a father do to save his daughter from this serial killer? What price is he to pay to get her back? A brilliant thriller/horror/adventure novel by Ted Dekker, this one is decidedly "darker" than his other writings. Following the minds of a tortured father and of a serial killer, this book takes your breath away with every turn of page, in pure Dekker's style. Until you can't help but think, "That's how much HE loves me!"

This last weekend, I made a trip to open an account in a credit union close to my place. Technically, credit union is not a bank, I guess. But since I will only use their chequing/saving/money transfer services, the two places are very closely related in my mind. Btw, the money transfer service charged the least, hence the reason I wanted to do business here. Anyway, the experience started well enough. The weather was sunny and I was wearing my sunglasses. Upon entering the premise, there was a sign to take off hats & sunglasses for safety precaution. Fair enough. I took off my sunglasses, and tried to put on my regular prescription glasses. While I was in the state of half-blind with my hands full, a woman came to me and asked me what I wanted to do there. I explained and she asked me for my documents right away. I asked her for a moment to put on my glasses and store my car key etc in my bag first. "Of course," she said with a smile, and then kept shuffling her feet as ...

The weekend of Mother's Day 2009 was definitely one (fun and) overbooked weekend. Planning for this weekend was started a couple months back, when we thought there were only the Youth Retreat to go to. We were part of the Youth Group for a long time, and even though we are past university age, we still would like to support their program. The place for the retreat was 3 hours away No problem, it was only from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Plenty of time to sleep off the tiredness, and be fresh for Monday morning works. So we signed up without second thoughts. Pemberton - our destination for Spring Fellowship 2009 Then my mom came and decided to stay until just after Mother's Day. Which meant that her flight was leaving on early hours of the Monday after. Which meant that we needed to get her to the airport around Sunday midnight. Okay, going to the Retreat would mean leaving my mom without us for the whole weekend. But then my mom encouraged us to go. Yuli wasn't p...

For all coffee lovers (or Tim Hortons' Iced Coffee lovers), go and get your coffee shot of the day at Tim Hortons tomorrow! On May 21, between 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm, get a FREE small Tim Hortons Iced Coffee! Hmm... now I need to find out the nearest Tim Hortons around my office. By the by, I am so glad this time the offer is for Canada, instead of the usual "USA Only" promotions.

As the rumor suggested , the new Kindle DX was announced this morning. I am drooling over the big screen (still in the middle of reading a manga). It's also a good thing that they finally support PDF files. But the almost-USD-500 tag price is working against it. I knew I wouldn't buy it before, but now I know with deeper conviction. On another note, the Spring Fellowship is coming. I am so looking forward to it. And of course, Vina's wedding is up next after that. Do.. mi.. so... I need to make sure I hit the right notes when it matters. In the meantime, Sony, hurry up and release a bigger screen e-reader, please!

Since yesterday morning, the internet has been buzzing with the rumored new Kindle DX that supposedly will have a 9.7 inch screen among other things. Engadget even has the leaked pictures (shown here). I am not a big fan of Kindle, BUT a 9.7-inch-screen sounds wonderful. I wish Sony would release one that size as well. Why would I want a 9.7-inch screen? Well, for one, think about all those mangas I have downloaded (and printed on to PDF for reading on my Sony PRS-505). On 6-inch screen, it is a bit small to read especially when I am sleepy. I need to change the display to display only half a page at a time to read comfortably. A regular manga has 4-12 volumes, at 130-190 pages per volume. That's a lot of page turns, especially at half-a-page a turn. The waiting time to turn sometimes exceed the reading time. A 9.7-inch screen will enable me to read my mangas comfortably again. I have also started to collect technical books for my work and other managerial books. On a bigger scr...

This is my third speech on the ToastMaster club. More information about the topic can be found here . Cleaning with Vinegar Some things in life are unavoidable. Tax is one of them. Cleaning is another one. If we neglect to file our tax, the government will come knocking on our door. If we don’t do cleaning, our house will be messy and full of bacteria and viruses. When it comes to cleaning, a lot of cleaning products are available out there. But believe it or not, the title “The Perfect Household Cleaners” is hold by vinegar. This is the same vinegar that we use for cooking. Households around the country have proven the effectiveness of vinegar. Vinegar is surprisingly effective, when compared to other cleaners . It is an 'all-in-one cleaner,' so there is no need to buy specific cleaners for different purposes. Vinegar is good for cleaning kitchen surfaces, sink, bathtubs, toilet, ceramic tiles, appliances, painted walls, floors, messy microwave, top of the fridge, and other so...

Thanks to the AudioBook library on BC Online Libraries, I started borrowing audiobooks more often. I found it very handy, especially since my commute takes about 45 minutes one-way every day. The audiobook I recently listened to was Dr. Blair's Japanese in No Time: The Revolutionary New Language Instruction Method That's Proven to Work! . As the name implies, this book teaches Japanese for total beginners. The tape runs for 3 hours in 3 CD's. It begins with a story where the listener is a tourist in a Japan amusement park. As it turns out, the park is taken over by a group of Flower Ranger fans, that are angry because their favorite show is canceled. The listener's mission is to find out these fans' plan and prevent it from happening. The story is quite amusing, and each "to be continued" section stirs the curiosity to know more about the story. The Japanese lessons themselves are arranged to suit English speakers best. With stories to accompany vocabulari...

I joined the Toastmaster Club at my work, and here is my speech number 2. The purpose of the speech is to have a good speech organization, with an opening, a body, and a conclusion. Since it took me a long time to organize this speech, I might as well post it on my blog. Note that this is a trimmed down version of the legend, with some parts edited out to avoid cultural confusion (and to fit the speech into a 5-7 minute window). The Origin of the Temple of Prambanan (also known as "The Legend of Bandung Bondowoso") When you look on any of the wonderful architecture, have you ever wondered who built them, for what purpose they were built, and the stories behind the construction? Indonesia has a lot of lakes, temples, mountains, and beaches, and each of them has its own story. Each of these stories teaches its audiences a lesson in life. Today, I am going to tell you the story about controlling your temper, and of a temple called Prambanan. Once upon a time, there was a kingdom...

I recently found the site for British Columbia Online Library , where members of BC library can borrow the electronic versions of books. These do not include CD or DVD, but includes a sizable selection of ebooks (in DRM'ed PDF format) and audiobooks (in DRM'ed mp3/wma). The DRM is there to ensure that the files "expire" after the checkout duration (21 days for ebooks; 14 days for audiobooks). Because the e-books and audiobooks are DRM-ladden, special softwares are needed before enjoying them. The e-books require Adobe Reader version 6 or 7 with Adobe Digital Editions. This is quite troublesome, since my computer has the latest version of Adobe Reader (version 9), and it wouldn't work with version 9. I cannot install previous version without removing version 9. So I need to take these steps: 1. Uninstall Reader 9 2. Install Reader 7 3. Install Adobe Digital Editions 4. Authorizing my computer to read the DRM books (by registering and logging in with Adobe username...

Growing up reading Enid Blyton's books, I am really pleased to find this series again. I set down to read them and was transported back to my childhood times. I knew these books are geared toward young readers, and I was prepared to capture only a portion of the magic I remembered. To my surprise, I still found them very entertaining. The story is set in England on early 20th century. However, the thrill of these adventures does not lessen, even if I am reading them in the 21st century. The first book in the series is The Secret Island , which tells of the first adventure the children had. Mike, Nora, and Peggy are treated badly by their aunt and uncle after their parents went missing for 2 years. Their friend, Jack, is not better off, with his parents both passed away. Jack finds a secret island, and the children then plan their escape from the home life they cannot stand. The second book, The Secret of Spiggy Holes tells of the children's vacation on a coast where smugglers ...

I know intellectually that worry solves nothing. But I am worried. About the things that are out of my hands. And I am sad, because it involves people, and I can't do anything about it. I am starting to believe that helplessness is the root of all worries. Hhhh...

I just found shortcuts for PRS-505: Hold down the “size” button for five seconds to rotate the screen. Duh! I should have known there will be shortcut for this one. This makes reading mangas a lot easier, with much less clicks. Hold the “Page Forward” or “Back” button for five seconds and the page will jump 10 pages in the direction of the button. This is something useful to browse through the book looking for that section that is stuck in my mind. I am not sure if these shortcuts would work on PRS-500 or PRS-700, but I would assume so. If you have one of those models, give it a try and drop me a line. Related links: - E-book Reader: Sony PRS-505 - Another E-book Reader: Sony PRS-700

For more than 20 years, my church has used our parent organization symbol as our logo. But finally, we have our own logo, by the design talent of cik Dhania. The yellow part is the Bible, upon which God's will is revealed. The blue part is fire as well as the dove, a representation of the Holy Spirit, symbolizes our zeal in the work for Him, and the ever-presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Cik Ling-Ling, our seamstress made a pulpit banner based on this logo. Doesn't it look cool?