1. ATM at the Post Office here in Taiwan only allows you to transfer 30,000NT$ per day.
2. ATM machines take a "short 10 minute break" at 3:30 as they are "summarizing" the day's transactions.
3. Prices listed on the internet for purchasing a flight ticket changes constantly. If you see something at a good price, you should buy it right away. Most likely the price will go up.
4. Scanning a document and then emailing it to someone is quite easy as the "machine" tells you what to do and what button to push. Amazing!
5. Running in the cold is actually quite refreshing. I ran faster tonight -- 10km in 50 minutes. But then maybe I was just wanting to go home faster so that I can get warm and eat something and drink a cup of hot cocoa! Ha, ha, ha...
6. 7/11 has a fax service that costs 15NT$ per page.
7. Napping in the car can be quite comfortable when you are exhausted.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Opportunities Missed
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- U.S. west coast exclusive fast-food burger chain “In-N-Out” set up shop in Taipei for a mere four hours during a flash marketing campaign yesterday, selling a limited amount of 300 burgers to lucky fans who received wind of the event on popular social network Facebook.
Releasing the news on their Facebook, the restaurant began a viral campaign on the social network, which gave some fans the false impression that the restaurant is opening a store locally and is giving out 300 burgers for free. Though not so, the 300 burgers were sold within 2 hours, forcing the successful operation to foreclose two hours before its time.
Lucky fans who had the opportunity left with smiles on their faces and t-shirts in their hands, not forgetting to encourage the company to open shop in Taiwan. The only fly in the ointment said some customers are the famous fries, milkshake and featured secret items not accompanying the burgers and t-shirts to Taiwan.
This was the article in the news about In N Out "flash mob" campaign and I totally missed it. It would have been so nice to have gotten a double double burger and a t-shirt. But I can't imagine how long the line must have been... and they didn't have their famous French fries or the milk shake!!!
I also missed the opportunity of getting a year's worth of Krispy Kreme when they first opened up here in Taiwan, which was about a month ago. You had to be the first person in line! They also gave away a free dozen for the first 200 customers plus a free t-shirt. I just don't hear about these opportunities. But then I don't know if I would be willing to stand in line for four hours just for a free t-shirt.
All this food is making me hungry!
Seek Him First!
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
School Selection
Tonight I spent two plus hours sitting next to Isaiah to go through his selection of high schools. He could select up to 30 schools in the Taipei City and County area. It was a very long process. We had our top four, but we had to go through all the schools in order to complete the list. Whatever you select as your top choices does not mean you will get into those schools as there is the huddle of the big tests on May 17-18. In fact, this Saturday, I will take Isaiah to a High School Expo so that we can find out more information about the school which is his first choice. The selection process took so long as we wanted to find out where each school was located and what their specialty was. We wanted schools that had a focus on basketball and English and not be too far from our house or at least easy to get to. Well, we have finished. Isaiah will have one more practice test in early May. He is gearing up for these tests as he decided to go one more night to cram school for the month of March. In April, he will attend cram school four nights a week. And in May, he might be going to cram school four nights a week plus on Saturday or Sunday morning!
Seek Him First!
Seek Him First!
Monday, March 10, 2014
My Heavenly Father Loves Me
I have never thought of my relationship with God as a religion. It has always been so simple. From the moment Jesus came into my life, I have felt the reality of His constant presence. So, in these past almost 40 years, I know His love for me and so I talk to Him about everything. My Heavenly Father seems to constantly bless me in such amazing ways. Here are just two examples from this past weekend.
Alan was helping to judge a series of debate and speech contests. On Saturday, he brought home loads of leftovers. Two items were pepperoni pizzas and bagels. These two things are my favorites. But being in Taiwan, they are quite a splurge, so I rarely buy them. I was so surprised when Alan unpacked and started to take out slices after slices of pepperoni pizza and then the bagels. I went to the local supermarket and bought cream cheese.
I feel so loved as I have been enjoying the food.
In my opinion, God hears my spoken and unspoken prayers. And for Him, there are no small or big prayers. He cares about all... and He encourages us to bring all to Him.
We finished the pepperoni pizza today... tomorrow morning, we still have some bagels. Even when the food is gone, the sense of His amazing love will never end.
Seek Him First!
Alan was helping to judge a series of debate and speech contests. On Saturday, he brought home loads of leftovers. Two items were pepperoni pizzas and bagels. These two things are my favorites. But being in Taiwan, they are quite a splurge, so I rarely buy them. I was so surprised when Alan unpacked and started to take out slices after slices of pepperoni pizza and then the bagels. I went to the local supermarket and bought cream cheese.
I feel so loved as I have been enjoying the food.
In my opinion, God hears my spoken and unspoken prayers. And for Him, there are no small or big prayers. He cares about all... and He encourages us to bring all to Him.
We finished the pepperoni pizza today... tomorrow morning, we still have some bagels. Even when the food is gone, the sense of His amazing love will never end.
Seek Him First!
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Things I'm Reading
In the news, I read about a plane from Malaysia heading to Beijing has disappeared. No one knows what happened. It is quite a mystery with so many unanswered questions.
In Runner's World, I read about Junyong Pak, a young man who quit his job to train for insane endurance races, such as the Toughest Mudder and the Spartan Death Race. Both consist of a series of very difficult obstacles which competitors have to overcome in a 24 or 48 hour period. The winner is someone who has the highest pain tolerance. Junyong Pak sounds like someone my brother Eddie would enjoy getting to know.
In Women's Running, a magazine which I found on the internet, I read this quote -- "The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely."- Louisa May Alcott The magazine also has lots of great tips to help runners stay focused and motivated.
These are some of the things that I've been reading.
Seek Him First!
In Runner's World, I read about Junyong Pak, a young man who quit his job to train for insane endurance races, such as the Toughest Mudder and the Spartan Death Race. Both consist of a series of very difficult obstacles which competitors have to overcome in a 24 or 48 hour period. The winner is someone who has the highest pain tolerance. Junyong Pak sounds like someone my brother Eddie would enjoy getting to know.
In Women's Running, a magazine which I found on the internet, I read this quote -- "The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely."- Louisa May Alcott The magazine also has lots of great tips to help runners stay focused and motivated.
These are some of the things that I've been reading.
Seek Him First!
Saturday, March 8, 2014
A Birthday Tribute to My Sister, Annie
For today I thought I'd pen a tribute to my wonderful sister in honor of her 55th birthday.
She was born on March 8, a very special day indeed as it is "Women's Day" here in Taiwan. But 3-8 has another fun meaning... It refers to someone who is very flashy.
I have known her all my life... ha, ha, ha...
Here are a few pictures of my sister and me --
I would say my sister and I are very different. She is brave and I am a scaredy cat. She drives well whereas I strongly dislike driving. She is disorganized but I love things neat and orderly.
Even at a very young age, she was known to be mischievous. If my mom did not hear her for even a few minutes, she knew Annie was "up to something". I think she was hyperactive attention deficit. But back then, they didn't have these kinds of labels. So, my mom just made sure that Annie was kept busy all the time. She was extremely talented. She danced and sang and played so many different instruments. And she was brilliant! She could look over a lesson in just a few minutes and score high on every test!
Now, how about my experiences with my sister, Annie?
The year that I turned 10 we moved to America. Being two years older and gifted, she attended Luther Burbank Junior High School. She noticed that most of the girls had their ears pierced. Having just arrived from Taiwan, we did not have our ears pierced. She had a brilliant idea. She found out how to do this and experimented on me. Even now, to put on my earrings, I have to wiggle my ear lobe as the hole was not pierced completely in one quick stroke. In fact, my ear lobe got easily infected for quite a long time afterwards. I also have a scar on my left knee as another reminder of the strange things I let my sister talk me into. In our neighborhood, there was a steep hill called Suicide Hill. We had two bikes -- a 10 speed bike which had breaks but was too big for me to ride and a smaller bike without breaks that had a banana-style handlebar. Looking at the hill, I wanted to walk the bike down. My sister, on the other hand, thought that would be way too slow as she would have to be at the bottom of the hill waiting for me. So, she told me to go down and if it got too fast, I only had to put my feet down and the bike would slow down. Needless to say, I took her word for it that this tactic would work. But half way down the hill, no matter how hard I put my feet down, the bike did not seem to slow down. I saw smoke coming from my shoes and I lost control. The bike flew and crashed into the sidewalk and I flipped and tumbled. I do not know how I survived the crash. My jeans were bloody. My left knee cap had a hole and I could see the white of my bone. I don't remember what we did next, but I do remember her running towards me, yelling, "What happened?"
Many people don't understand my sister. With all her "wild ways" or her "grouchiness", the truth is -- she is a softie! She rescues cats and dogs. She feels very deeply for those in need. She cries easily and she loves deeply. I don't think her kids appreciate her or see her this way, which is very unfortunate. My kids love their Aunty Annie. They love all her chickens and cats and dogs. Aunty Annie even feeds the opossums that come around their backyard, not to mention the birds and raccoons. They love going over to Aunty Annie's house.
I can write so much more about my dearest sister, who I love so much and pray so often for.
So, in closing, I write these words of blessing to wish her the happiest birthday ever --
May God surround you with joy.
May your ears hear His voice as He leads you each day.
May your heart sense Him singing over you.
May your chickens lay eggs all year round and many with double yokes.
May your aching knees and back pains be strengthened so that you can run and bike many more miles.
May the dumpsters always hold more treasures than you can ever imagine.
May the road ahead be filled with more cherished memories, like the ones I have of you!
Happy Birthday -- I love you LOTS!!!!
She was born on March 8, a very special day indeed as it is "Women's Day" here in Taiwan. But 3-8 has another fun meaning... It refers to someone who is very flashy.
I have known her all my life... ha, ha, ha...
Here are a few pictures of my sister and me --
I would say my sister and I are very different. She is brave and I am a scaredy cat. She drives well whereas I strongly dislike driving. She is disorganized but I love things neat and orderly.
Even at a very young age, she was known to be mischievous. If my mom did not hear her for even a few minutes, she knew Annie was "up to something". I think she was hyperactive attention deficit. But back then, they didn't have these kinds of labels. So, my mom just made sure that Annie was kept busy all the time. She was extremely talented. She danced and sang and played so many different instruments. And she was brilliant! She could look over a lesson in just a few minutes and score high on every test!
Now, how about my experiences with my sister, Annie?
The year that I turned 10 we moved to America. Being two years older and gifted, she attended Luther Burbank Junior High School. She noticed that most of the girls had their ears pierced. Having just arrived from Taiwan, we did not have our ears pierced. She had a brilliant idea. She found out how to do this and experimented on me. Even now, to put on my earrings, I have to wiggle my ear lobe as the hole was not pierced completely in one quick stroke. In fact, my ear lobe got easily infected for quite a long time afterwards. I also have a scar on my left knee as another reminder of the strange things I let my sister talk me into. In our neighborhood, there was a steep hill called Suicide Hill. We had two bikes -- a 10 speed bike which had breaks but was too big for me to ride and a smaller bike without breaks that had a banana-style handlebar. Looking at the hill, I wanted to walk the bike down. My sister, on the other hand, thought that would be way too slow as she would have to be at the bottom of the hill waiting for me. So, she told me to go down and if it got too fast, I only had to put my feet down and the bike would slow down. Needless to say, I took her word for it that this tactic would work. But half way down the hill, no matter how hard I put my feet down, the bike did not seem to slow down. I saw smoke coming from my shoes and I lost control. The bike flew and crashed into the sidewalk and I flipped and tumbled. I do not know how I survived the crash. My jeans were bloody. My left knee cap had a hole and I could see the white of my bone. I don't remember what we did next, but I do remember her running towards me, yelling, "What happened?"
Many people don't understand my sister. With all her "wild ways" or her "grouchiness", the truth is -- she is a softie! She rescues cats and dogs. She feels very deeply for those in need. She cries easily and she loves deeply. I don't think her kids appreciate her or see her this way, which is very unfortunate. My kids love their Aunty Annie. They love all her chickens and cats and dogs. Aunty Annie even feeds the opossums that come around their backyard, not to mention the birds and raccoons. They love going over to Aunty Annie's house.
I can write so much more about my dearest sister, who I love so much and pray so often for.
So, in closing, I write these words of blessing to wish her the happiest birthday ever --
May God surround you with joy.
May your ears hear His voice as He leads you each day.
May your heart sense Him singing over you.
May your chickens lay eggs all year round and many with double yokes.
May your aching knees and back pains be strengthened so that you can run and bike many more miles.
May the dumpsters always hold more treasures than you can ever imagine.
May the road ahead be filled with more cherished memories, like the ones I have of you!
Happy Birthday -- I love you LOTS!!!!
Seek Him First!
Friday, March 7, 2014
A Rainy Day
The skies were gray all day...
It made me think -- when Noah was in that ark and it just kept on raining... Having never seen rain, it must have been quite a shock, wondering if the water would ever stop coming down from the sky.
I had a day of running... ERRANDS. I even drove all the way out to Danhsui with Isaiah. It was only 20.5 kilometers in distance, but it took one hour of my time. I could run that distance in two! Isaiah worked on his homeschool LIFEPAC test and I fixed things up a bit as I had to repaint parts of a wall among other things. The Northern Prayer Tower looks really nice -- very comfy and cozy. All the curtains are up, furniture in place, and things put away nicely on the shelves. I am going to buy some drinks for the refrigerator and then three more items will be delivered by the end of March -- the washer, the dryer and one more cabinet.
I hope to finally have time to go there and PRAY.
So, back to the rain -- I didn't run today because there were too many things to get done... not because of the rain. I enjoy running in the rain...
Here is one fun quote I found about a rainy day --
If it is still raining tomorrow, I will go out and have a longer run... maybe I'll run all the way to Danhsui. Why not???
Seek Him First!
It made me think -- when Noah was in that ark and it just kept on raining... Having never seen rain, it must have been quite a shock, wondering if the water would ever stop coming down from the sky.
I had a day of running... ERRANDS. I even drove all the way out to Danhsui with Isaiah. It was only 20.5 kilometers in distance, but it took one hour of my time. I could run that distance in two! Isaiah worked on his homeschool LIFEPAC test and I fixed things up a bit as I had to repaint parts of a wall among other things. The Northern Prayer Tower looks really nice -- very comfy and cozy. All the curtains are up, furniture in place, and things put away nicely on the shelves. I am going to buy some drinks for the refrigerator and then three more items will be delivered by the end of March -- the washer, the dryer and one more cabinet.
I hope to finally have time to go there and PRAY.
So, back to the rain -- I didn't run today because there were too many things to get done... not because of the rain. I enjoy running in the rain...
Here is one fun quote I found about a rainy day --
If it is still raining tomorrow, I will go out and have a longer run... maybe I'll run all the way to Danhsui. Why not???
Seek Him First!
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