MTA - Public Transportation.

Well, I bought a MTA pass for the week to try it out. So far, I went to China Town to see my friend Willard. Worked out well. Willard is always fun.
Today I took the Orange line bus to Tampa and then caught a bus to Josh's for workout.
All in all... It's not a bad system. I am planning to go to Disneyland on Friday on the MTA Rail.
It is not as convenient as driving. But, you don't have to deal with traffic as much and you are free to do other things. I may go to Pasadena tomorrow. We'll see.

My brother in law Don in Japan!!

My brother-in-law Don is in Japan now. He is studying Japanese and obviously having a good time.
Clip... I had to remove the naked picture because Zoe said it was not right.

last year's Taiwan trip.

I never got around to posting these pics and stories.
So, this is from 2005.

This was during Mid-Autumn Festival. BBQ is a must in Taiwan during this time of year.








This is Eric Mah and his GF Hsin Shao (who went to college with us in Oregon). Eric lives in Taipei and Hsin Shao lives in Taichung.





This is David Witty at the Frog. David was my room mate for quite a while and the only friend I keep in touch with in Taiwan. David is a great friend. I hope to see him again soon.












This is a tea field I caught in the mountains. We were coming back from a mountain top Buddhist temple where they farm their own food and make noodles for free. People leave noodles at the temple as offerings and when the Buddhas are done with them, the monks cook them up with fresh veggies for the guests. This tea field was on the road back down the mountain.. I need to ask Zoe where that place was again.

This cat was enjoying life at it's fullest.

Buddha Relic Exhibit.

Yesterday I went to see an exhibit of Buddha Relics.
Basically, Buddhist teachers (Lamas and such) are cremated when they pass away. Some of them leave behind remnants other than just ash.. Each teacher's remnants look different. Some are like jade and some like black pearl, etc. etc..
Anyway, it was very interesting. You could definitely feel the energy of the people there and the qi from the stones (relics) was almost palatable.
Also, something really cute happened. We were seated, waiting for the line to shrink, and a little girl about 2-3 years old started pointing toward the display area and pulling on her mom's arm and yelled: "Mommy, Buddha is here!! Buddha... Here is Buddha mommy!!!".
So cute. I went with my Qi Gong teacher. We had a good day.
-----
Too bad, Zoe left that morning for France and was not able to join us. I bought some post cards with photos of the relics for her.
I will send them out soon.

Saw the doctor today.

Yep, that time of year folks. Got my once a year, insurance paid, full physicall. Just waiting on some blood tests to find out if I am in good health.
Zoe is coming in on Saturday for 7 whole days. Can't wait to see her. Long distance relationships suck just as much at 40 as they do at 30. Maybe even worse.
But, that's life. She is learning tons at school and I just love that she still has a chance to have this kind of adventure.
Tomorrow, Tang lao shi and I will head to UCLA for chi gong with the cancer patients, as long as it does not rain.
Oh yeah. The doctor's scale shows I gained a couple of pounds. Darn. No more deserts for a couple weeks.
Or, start working out harder... I have been slacking off lately.