Poppies blooming ... or not

Some weeks ago I mentioned that some flowers bloom when the sun shines and close when the sun sets. Here are photos of poppies I took in the same day, one around noon time when the sun was shining and the other before sun set.

Lavender plant grew

Bees around lavender plant. You may not see them but they are there. :)

Not that again

Like many people, when it comes to movies, I have a pretty strong opinion and can be quite stubborn. So don't be alarmed if I raise my voice or speak bluntly.

Today's topic is the movie: Inception. I only watched the movie once in the theater, and it was very complicated, so my memory and understanding could be quite misguided. Please forgive me if I misinterpreted parts of the story.

First, I applaud the film makers' attempt in making a movie about dreams, because everyone has very personal and intimate experiences with dreams that can be abstract and dynamic. I can also understand the needs to add exciting actions and state of the art special effects with complex plots to sell tickets.

To me the movie was unnecessarily over complicated. Someone seemed to have mixed challenging the audience with confusing the audience, and that's not funny.

What I am irritated about is the plot. It is flawed. This guy taking a team of people to take up this impossible task: going into someone's deep conscious to find the root of his psychological barrier and trying to temper it and his future decision making. They go into the dream within a dream within a dream... But at the end, he compromised the whole operation, and his team mates got shot, because he couldn't shake the memory and guilt of his dead wife, who kept destroying his operations by showing up in these dreams.

Huh? Really? And they expect people to buy it because they are entertained by the special effects and some pretty faces? So it's OK that they are totally confused?! Til now, I wonder if the film makers themselves knows what's going on in the movie.

Here's a more entertaining and simplified alternative, the South Park version. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeg5zIUSvGU

Knife that is not sharp

One of my aunts in China told me a couple of interesting stories when I visited them a few years back.

One day she went to a store to shop for a kitchen knife. She looked at different knives but couldn't decide what to buy.

She pointed at one of them and asked the sales lady: "Is this a sharp knife?"

The lady said: "No, it's not very sharp." My aunt felt kind of weird, and left without buying anything.

Another day, she passed by a vendor who sold bread. She had some money in her pocket and wanted to spend it, so she asked the shop girl: "Is this bread fresh?"

The girl said: "It's not very fresh."

Irked

I usually don't wear any clothing with lace. Jack used to say: "Lace doesn't do anything to me."

This one day, I put on a pink lace blouse and I asked Jack what he thought. He took a look and said: "What's the function and purpose of lace?"

I smiled, and continued for him: "It irks me, I'm irked!"

We both laughed.

I forgot which movie I quoted this from, and Jack reminded me it was the man with one green eye in Bolt.

Gadgets and multitasking

This one night I went to the HK bistro close to the airport for dinner on my own after Yoga. I sat next the window on the single table, took off my glasses, so I could be just relaxed and enjoyed being there.

When my food came, this guy came in and sat at the single table in front of me. Since he had his back to me, I couldn't really see what he looked like, but it didn't matter. We each had our privacy and distance.

From what I could see and hear though, he had a wireless headset on and had not stopped talking on the phone all through his dinner. He was talking and eating at the same time. When I left, and as I walked by him, I also saw him playing games on his cellphone while talking at the same time.

I was quite amazed how gadgets took multitasking to a new level in peoples lives.

Bottle half full and cup nearly empty

Since college, I have been carrying bottled water with me to school or everywhere else I go. Back then I drink a lot of water in the attempt of curbing my appetite and keeping a good weight. The last few years, I've been carrying canteen bottles or traveling coffee mug to make less environmental impact. Nowadays I only drink as much water as I need.

Initially I fill the bottle full of water, but then ending up just drinking a few sips here and there, then leave the rest of the water in the bottle, and after a few days, I would throw it out to refill with fresh water, because "stale water is not good for you". Over the years I learned to finish the water in the bottle before refilling or refilling only half a bottle, so that I don't have the need to throw away water.

Recently we have added fresh coffee, tea and snack in the office as a pilot program for just this year. The office serves Peet's coffee, which is too strong for me. But fresh coffee is no doubt better than instant coffee, which to me, has some kind of sour taste. I learned from experience that usually just a little bit of Peet's coffee would be enough to wake me up. So instead of getting a full cup of coffee, then just drinking a couple of sips and leaving the rest to cold and eventually throwing it away, I learned to only take a little bit of coffee, like taking a shot of espresso, and enjoy the hot and fresh coffee as it is available.

It's good to remember the importance of consuming only what we need and be appreciative of what is available to us.

Distance and speed

When I drive, sometimes it's a good opportunity for observing and soul searching. Why do people tend to get in front of you when you are driving with the traffic speed? Why do some have the impulsive need to get into the healthy distance between you and another car, then slam the break? What is the point of compromising that safe buffer space, and then ending up in a line of cars at the light anyway?

On the road, sometimes the reason that other cars are in front of you is not because they are driven by better and faster drivers, but they just happen to be in that part of the road. So take it easy and be safe to yourself and everyone else around you.

Why did I get certified?

Everyone asks me: "Do you want to teach?"
And I'm like: "I can teach if being asked to." Usually it accompanies with a polite and almost apologetic smile, because I know this is not a very assertive answer that people expect.

There are many reasons why I wanted to certify as a Yoga teacher. One of the reasons is I love my teacher, Jean, and her style. I like to learn more Yoga techniques and philosophies with her. If you read some of my previous postings, you may find some references on how happy I was after her Thursday evening classes. I really like to learn how and why certain poses and practices can make such a transformation in people after only 90 minutes. I think if I can learn it and help others, it would be really nice.

Another very important factor was because of my mother. See, my mother has been pretty skeptical about whatever I did in my life and for that matter, whatever I told her ... haha ... isn't this classic? I found that since I got certified, when I told her something about a stretch that would be good for her, she actually took me seriously. To experience this makes the whole process totally worth it!

Isn't this what our lives are all about, to get the approval from our parents once in a while?

Updates wanted ... given

Today when I turned on the computer to work at home, I got at least 5 emails along the line of: "please give me an update as soon as possible, and if you need some help, please let me know." Amongst other emails.

I licked my right index finger, raised it in the air, and said: "The wind is due west." I don't know what it means, but that's the first update I can give to anyone at the time.

The hierarchy of relaxation

In a busy working at home day, the house can be cold and unforgiving, heater, hot tea or warm toast can not keep the body temperature up. At that time, taking a quick break to have a warm shower can bring immense rejuvenation and relaxation. It is not much, but it makes me feel human again.

The next level of  relaxation is getting a massage then hot tub and shower.

The next level is a mini spa day with massage, facial combo.

The next level is of course taking a few days off, just relax. Or try something new.

My needs can be so simple and inexpensive though. The key is knowing the right time to do what to bring the appreciative aha moment. This is for each of us to find out.

I don't get it

This morning one of our conversation topics, after cocktail shrimp recipe and salsa ice cream, was the movie Cloud Atlas.

The movie involves the same set of people, playing different roles in different planets, eras, ethnicities and genders, in different stories. The story telling is intertwined, and they are directed by different directors with distinct styles. There are very serious morals from stealing gold on a ship to futuristic killing scenes to cannibolism. You would think, ok eventually, they will tie everything back together, right? They do, but something about watching the one-eyed Tom Hanks telling stories to his dozen grand-children on another planet is not quite satisfying, despite the presence of his geogeous wife, Halle Barry.

At the end of the 3 hour long saga, I feel relieved and learn to admit that I don't get it, and be ok with it. We determine that this has been one big theatrical experiement that is not quite working out yet. Jack will watch it again and try to make sense of it, but I will avoid it if it's possible.

Puppy love

Jake is four and a half years old now, and we have been observing some changes in his behaviors and finding some new habbits.

Observation 1:
The dogs loves to lie right next to the kitchen door so that they can hear whatever is going on in the kitchen. Whenever I walk into the kitchen, I can hear the dog door in the garage flips open, flap, flap, flap 3 times, and after a few seconds Jake shows up in the patio looking into the kitchen window. He gives me the most inquisitive look for a moment, then he goes away, and the dog door flap, flap, flap 3 time. If I open the kitchen door, I can find him waiting for me right there at the door. Sometimes I am busy working in the kitchen and I ignore him, he would run back and forth from the garage to the patio four or five times, until I open the door to pet them or give them some treats. Of course there are times I don't open the kitchen door at all, and eventually he stops running back and forth. I usually feel guilty when I ignore the pup this way.

The milk bones are given away way too fast since Jake starts this routine. I wonder if Jake tells Amy: "I do all the leg work and you reap the benefits." I don't think dogs think this way, and that's why they can stay happy.

Observation 2:
Jake is a perfect retriever and he really likes to retrieve his orange ball. If I'm watering the lawn, he would put the ball right on the lawn in front of me and wait there until I throw it. If I am doing laundry, he would drop the ball in the laundry basket. One time when I was collecting cloths from the dryer, I found one of his many balls in there.  If I am sitting at my desk, he would put the slobbery orange ball on my lap, and when it rolled off of me and fell on the floor, he would pick it up and put it back on my lap. He could do this until the cows come home, or I give in and throw the ball for him. If he can't find a ball or a toy, he would just randomly bring us shoes or socks he found around the house. When I'm scratching Amy on her belly, he would put the ball on Amy.

Observation 3:
Usually we don't let the dogs in the bedroom at night for multiple reasons. First it is too hot for these fury dogs and secondly Jake can't stay off the bed, and he would be moving around the bed every so often to reposition himself. He really takes up a third of the bed. Sometimes I would wake up to feel the warm tongue of the dog or a wet toy in my face.

On the eve of this Fourth Of July, people were playing fireworks at their homes. Amy got scared and she was pushing the garage door to escape. Jack woke up to let the dogs in the bedroom. Amy hides her head under the bed to find shelter and comfort while Jake surprisingly obeys his order to stay off the bed. Though he was panting and moving around throughout the night. He walks around the bed and nudges us. If we have an arm out at the edge of the bed, he comes over and puts his nose right there for us to scratch him.

Consult the weather

Historically weather plays an important part in human's lives. Good weather enables crops to grow and it leads to harvests, while poor weather brings misfortune, disasters or famine.

In ancient times, the military who could predict the weather was likely to use it to diverse tactics to win battles.

Making ice cream takes 5 to 6 hours. Jack needs to consult the weather forecast ahead of time to find a day with wind condition that is not desirable for kiteboarding, so that he can stay home all day to make 8 gallons of ice cream.