Zen

Caveat: Although the following post discusses Buddhist concepts, it should not be construed as a post to convert anyone to this religion.

While at the Asian Art Museum, I listened to an audio description of Zen. I agree with one of the main characteristics of this school of Buddhism, which is to be mindful in all of your activities, even when carrying out seemingly mundane activities like washing dishes or sweeping the floor. Per the Wiki, a life of Zen is a "life of humility; a life of labor; a life of service; a life of prayer and gratitude; and a life of meditation." I try to practice the mindfulness aspect in my day to day life because it helps me to appreciate the moment, instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.

While in college I took a class on Asian civilization and philosophy. One of the main messages that has stayed with me today is the Buddhist statement that the root of all suffering is desire. I agree with this statement because it seems so true just by examining our personal lives and the going-ons in the broader world. By freeing yourself from desire, you are one step closer to reducing your suffering. I also wanted to share this site I found on the BBC that covers the main concepts of Buddhism. In my opinion, this philosophy sounds much more peaceful than some of the other mainstream religions which tend to focus on conversion and evangelism.

Magical powers

Sky Walker

This thing, which looks look a demon, is actually a positive creature that helps humans remove barriers in their lives. What a great power to have! This sounds similar to a guardian angel, except this thing is fierce looking! The following is an excerpt from "The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco" guide.

"Simhavaktra Dakini - Sino-Tibetan; 18th century; lacquered wood.

Simhavaktra Dakini, the ferocious lion-faced guardian of Vajrayana Buddhism, is a female "sky-walker" who guides human beings along the right path. This powerful spirit can remove physical hindrances and spiritual obstacles such as pride and ego. When she is portrayed alone, she dances gracefully; her right leg is raised and bent, and her left leg would usually be planted on a prostrate human figure (now lost)."

Smile

The theme of today's post is Asia. I went to the Asian Art museum today, where I took this picture of a smiling old man. Then recently I read an article about how in China there is a fake iPhone that they call a "HiPhone." This is hilarious! I understand this is tantamount to stealing someone's property when you create counterfeit versions of things, however, I find the names funny. One time I saw a knock-off of the Banana Republic brand and it had a funny name as well that I don't remember.

Then on the NY Times I found an article on the boom of mixed babies in South Korea and how the country is having a hard time coping with them. By mixed the article means one of the parents is Chinese, Vietnamese or another type of Asian. Interesting stuff.

Catching Up

Catching up yesterday with extended family, I got to hear the latest news from everyone. Some people were buying houses, others changed jobs and still others went on exotic vacations. Today I'm eating leftovers like California rolls, turkey and ham and working from home.

About the photo: Juxtaposition of Old St. Mary's church and an office building

Being Thankful

Thanksgiving Corner

There's much to be thankful for in our lives. Sometimes we tend to focus on the negative - stuff we don't have, instead of being grateful for what we have.

Thanksgiving Eve

View from LuLu Petite

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Tomorrow is the big day for the big bird and the big meal.

Family tradition is to go over to my grand-aunts' place to see the extended family on my mother's side. There are also certain foods that are must haves such as turkey, stuffed shells, mutli-layered Jello, butter cookies and carrot soup. I try not to overstuff myself, but it's difficult when you want to try a bit of each dish. Tomorrow I will surely struggle to explain what type of work I do. It's difficult to articulate because I work on such diverse topics that are all somehow related to fraud in the banking industry. The day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday will be a normal work day for me since I currently have no vacation hours and my company does not give that day as a holiday. I get to work from home.

I've got plenty of entertainment to keep me busy tomorrow because I somehow managed to borrow both Season One and Two of Mad Men from the San Francisco Public Library. These DVDs are in high demand, so I'm glad I didn't have to wait too long for them. I love the SF public library. I can reserve my books, DVDs online and they will be delivered to the branch closest to my home. My tax dollars at work!

All Dolled Up

Red Twinkles

San Francisco's Financial District is getting into the holiday spirit. See this red Christmas tree out in front of Bank of America's old headquarters at 555 California Street. It looks even better in the evening when the red tree really stands out.

My office building has no decoration whatsoever. How boring!

Picture Perfect

Fire Dancer

I'm of the opinion that you can't fully appreciate a picture unless it's printed, matted and framed or at least put into an album. I ordered an 8x10" print of the purple SF skyline picture I took Saturday and framed it. Starting tomorrow it will grace my office desk and remind me of the true reason I work - to earn money for my interests.

About the Picture: I like this picture because it looks like the performer somehow has fire emanating from her hands like some sort of super hero. Plus, the flash belonging to one of the other photographers outlines her, drawing further attention to the subject.

Playing with Fire

Figure 8

"Dolores Park is like a circus. There is always a show going on" said a bystander on the street yesterday. I agree. San Francisco in general is a little like a circus. Yesterday we had some folks on the street who were playing with fire. This is a picture of one of them doing their thing at twilight.

Dolores Park

Purple Wash

"Dolor" means pain in Spanish. I'm not sure why anyone would want to name their daughter Dolores. Anyhow, I'm went to Dolores Park in SF this afternoon to find some fodder for this blog. This park has phenomenal views of the San Francisco skyline as you can see from the picture above, perfect for tourists who want a great shot. Most of the tourists don't come to this corner of the city though.

It took me nearly 30 minutes to find a parking space near Dolores Park. I saw a couple spots between cars, but I am a poor parallel parker, so that's why it took 30 minutes. I eventually found a parking space at 16th Street and Guerrero. If I get a new car, it would have to be small to help make finding a parking space easier.

This can be considered my 3rd artist date because I've never been to Dolores Park before. I've heard a lot about it though. If you're wondering where all the alternative youngsters in San Francisco live, you've found your answer in the neighborhood around Dolores Park.

Slick

Fruit

San Francisco's Mayor Newsom wanted to run for governor of California, but he dropped out because he couldn't raise enough money. I personally dislike the guy and don't think he's trustworthy. He's too slick for his own good. SFgate has a video of an interview with him.

Office Tales

Drama

I was Ms. Productive today because I had no annoying meetings interrupting my flow. Plus, my office mate is the silent type so there's no time wasted on chitchat, which can be unfortunate because even I sometimes enjoy chatting about non work topics.

Yesterday I viewed the movie "Elf", which had some laugh out loud parts. It stars Will Ferrell as a human elf. He essentially plays a cheerful, silly man-boy to the foil of his father who is on Santa's naughty list. Hilarious in certain parts like the one in which he gets demoted to toy tester in Santa's workshop. He sits down and needs to test jack in the boxes. It's funny, trust me. I definitely recommend it for some escapist fare after a serious day of work.

Piracy

Holidays

All my questions about modern day pirates were answered at today's World Affairs Council discussion about pirates. I learned some interesting facts as well.

I was wondering why countries couldn't just arrest the pirates and put them to trial. - It costs too much time & money.

Also, why don't these merchant boats just take another route to avoid East Africa? - It would take too long to transport the goods, making products more expensive as well.

Apparently the best way to combat pirates is to place armed guards on the boats. It's not a good idea to arm the sailors.

Finally, I was surprised to find out that the crew on a merchant ship usually only numbers around 20 for a huge ship! That's one reason why merchant ships are so vulnerable.

Bowing Rituals

People Watchers

I don't claim to be an expert on how to bow, but I do find the brouhaha over President Obama's bow to the Japanese emperor fascinating. Read about it here. Personally, I appreciate that Obama is being sensitive to different cultural greetings. However, I don't think he needed to bow 90 degrees. A slight bending of the upper body should have been sufficient. I'm surprised his cultural consultants did not advise him properly. But then again, you can't please everyone. If he had not bowed enough people would be complaining that he disrespected the Japanese, and so on and so forth. You just can't win.

About the Picture: This is one of my favorite places to walk by because there's always interesting people sitting on the stairs people watching. I like the way the people are placed in this photo. The guy sitting by himself looks like he's looking at the girl diagonal from him, but actually he's staring at the gaggle of guys in the left side of the picture. They look like a bunch of brainacs to me. I'm on a roll with alliteration aren't I?

Kaputt

My home wireless network is kaputt! My world revolves around having Internet access 24/7 sadly enough.
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Empty

Walking fast for long distances is a great way to relax. I did my usual Conservatory to Bison paddock power walking session today through the park. Generally I don't like to run because it causes knee pain, but today my feet felt lighter than usual. I even jogged for some spurts, which is good for inducing deep breathing. Afterward I always feel better than when I started.

Flashbacks

I inspired my mother to do some much needed cleaning of the closet this Saturday. She dug up this old school Samsonite suitcase that probably dates back to the 1960's or 70's. No one uses suitcases like this these days. It's a vintage piece that looks like it would fit into the set of Mad Men. I can picture Don Draper using this suitcase to move into a hotel since his wife Betty kicked him out of their home.

I'm currently listening to SWR3 webradio with someone speaking German live. I picked up the habit when I was spending time in Stuttgart.

Today I was pretty lazy and did not go out. The $2 MUNI fare feels like a rip off anyhow. I don't think the ride is worth $2 because often we're crammed in the bus like a can of sardines. The conditions on MUNI can be pretty poor.

What did I accomplish today and what's still on my to-do list? I studied Spanish, took a photo and now I'm blogging. What's still on my to-do list? I need to decide if I'm going to a photography excursion next Saturday to Dolores Park. I'm leaning towards going. Then, I probably should study for the Certified Anti-Money Laundering exam. I'd also like to prepare mentally for the Spain trip next April 2010.

Be Present

Wind Chimes

I often need to remind myself to be in the present because my mind sometimes gets crowded with too many other thoughts that are useless. When I find myself in these situations, I just take a deep breath and tell myself to let go of that useless thought or worry. This technique helps me to relax. Just let go, release. It's ok. I'm glad I picked up some of these tricks from my sister's holistic health classes during university that covered topics like meditation. My philosophy in life is that you can't dwell on the past too long because the past is just that. It's gone, done, finito and you can't change a thing about it. Regret is a waste of time. Definitely learn from the past, but it's much more productive to face forward and think about actions that you can affect and change about your behavior.

About the Photo: I snapped this on Grant Ave in Chinatown. Some of the stores make interesting photos because they are so cluttered and sell weird stuff. You have to be discreet and quick when taking pictures though because the shop owners will sometimes shoo you away and say "No photos!! No photos!!" That's one of my problems - I'm a slow photographer because I need to frame things and reframe them, fix the exposure, change the ISO, etc.

San Francisco's Park Dwellers

Yes, San Francisco has a homeless problem. I've mentioned it so often that I feel like a broken record. However, it's still good to know that others share my opinion. SF Gate journalist C.W. Nevius reports on homeless who refuse to go into shelters, but rather prefer to camp out in Golden Gate Park. It makes certain parts of the park unsafe and unsavory for visitors.

Mission Dolores

Today is Veteran's Day in the US, so banks, some companies and government offices are closed. Having a free day, I decided to check off one of my photography to-do's by visiting Mission Dolores, San Francisco's oldest intact building. The mission is part of the chain of missions spanning California known as El Camino Real. The Wiki about the mission is quite informative. The picture above is of the adobe mission. Next to this is the basilica. It's somewhat confusing if you ask me.

One of reasons I wanted to visit the mission is that it's featured in Hitchcock's film "Vertigo". There's a scene where Kim Novak visits the cemetery at the mission and places flowers on the grave of a fictional "Carlota Valdes". Vertigo is a great film if you want to see San Francisco at its best. I wish I had Jimmy Stewart's apartment in the film 900 Lombard Street at Jones. He had a view of Coit Tower from his living room! Click here for a list of filming locations for Vertigo.

The Experiment

I have a big announcement to make. Drum roll please ....
I've given it a lot of thought and have decided to stop this blog by the end of this year. My last blog entry will be 12/31/2009.

Sometimes you just need to make hard decisions and shake things up. I started this blog as an experiment when I returned from Germany. It seemed like a daunting task when I first started, but now it's become part of my daily routine. Now that I've carried on this experiment for nearly 2 years, it's time to move on to other ventures. I especially want to devote more of my time to the website that I pay to maintain. It feels neglected right now and needs more of my attention and care. I won't rule out starting a brand new blog, but it's still too early to say at this point. Hopefully you've enjoyed the ride and will continue to follow this blog regularly until the year end.

Lundi, Lunes, Montag, Monday

I went to Trader Joe's yesterday to stock up on snacks. I'm pretty adventurous when it comes to snack foods. Some of my new treasures include almond windmill cookies, Blue Diamond brand almond milk and pita crackers. I must be going through an almond phase for some reason. One of my previous food phases was carrots. For a while, I had carrot sticks almost every day at work.

News update on the infamous Bay Bridge S-Curve - read here. A trucker plunged to his death early this morning because he was going above the speed limit and probably did not expect the curves. This is the first fatality related to the S-Curve. I don't think they have enough signage warning people of the approaching curve. The authorities really need to install a huge red flashing sign saying "S-Curve ahead" in bold letters.

Sunday Dalliance

Three Faces of a Pear

I solved my potluck dilemma - I'll be making a pear, walnut gorgonzola salad for the Thanksgiving potluck on 11/20.

Yesterday as I was waiting for my haircut, I read a Q&A article in the New York Times featuring a 26-year old travel photographer called Robert Caplin. I had to read that twice to make sure I read his age correctly. 26 it was. That's young and already he's a travel photographer. Amazing. I'd like to learn how he got into this field. I bet it's his connections. I want to be a travel photographer too and be paid to travel and take pictures. That sounds like a dream job to me.

Hair

I'm sitting at Tasha's hair design in San Francisco's Chinatown waiting for my turn. Since it's the weekend, it's busy. There is a guy ahead of me in line. There are no appointments at this place.

I really wish I had brought a magazine to pass the time. Luckily I have my trusty Blackberry with me so that I can multitask by blogging. One less thing to do when I get home.

I'm not getting a drastically different haircut. Over the years, I've come to realize that I can't do really short haircuts because I end up being mistaken for a guy. My name doesn't help clear up the ambiguity either. I'm just going to get a bob.

When I want to treat myself, I go to Oxenrose. Since it's a lot more expensive, I only occasionally go there.

About the picture - This is one of the hair stylists at work.
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Anniversary

Mystery Man

I've been back in the United States for almost 2 years now. The end of November will be my anniversary date. It's gone by relatively quickly.

There were several reasons for my decision to return to the U.S. Firstly, my 2 year transfer was over. When I first signed my contract with the German firm, it was for two years. Secondly, I felt that my time was well spent and that I had accomplished a lot during those two years. A part of me felt that I should leave while I was still ahead and things were looking up. (This is similar to TV shows. Some should really stop while they're still good.) Another consideration for me in returning to the States was that my chances for promotion or at least earning more were higher in my native country than in a foreign country. After all, it was not always easy communicating with clients in a foreign language. I had to make a much greater effort. Why set myself for such an uphill battle and make things so hard for myself? Finally, I also considered getting more involved in artistic pursuits.

Now that two years have passed, where am I now? I look back to interesting project at my old firm that took me to many unusual corners of the U.S. Now, in my new position, I am finally in a place that I think will give me more time for other pursuits aside from work. I'm really trying to nourish this neglected side of my life. Although I haven't really broken into the art scene here either, I can dream, no?

Oh yes, I will also be able to apply for the return of the funds I contributed to the German retirement system now that I've been back 2 years. I hope it will be a large windfall.

Sunrise

Beautiful sunrise this morning made the sky all pink, purple and dramatic. It inspired me to pull out my "big boys" as I call my heavy Dslr to capture the moment.

Deutschrunde

Fachwerkhaeuser

Zur Abwechselung schreibe ich den heutigen Beitrag auf Deutsch. Ich habe seit fast 2 Jahren kein Deutsch mehr geschrieben! Unglaublich wie schnell die Zeit vergeht. Klar schreibe ich ab und zu kurze Mails, aber es ist nicht das Gleiche.

Warum schreibe heute auf Deutsch? Weil ich mich von meiner Deutschrunde heute Nachmittag inspiriert wurde. Jeden Mittwoch von 12:30 - 1:15 findet ihr mich im Goethe Institut, das sich prakitscherweise in der Naehe vom Financial Viertel befindet. Eine kleine Gruppe von Deutsprachigen hat sich in den letzten Wochen gebildet. Ich gehoere schon zu den "Stammgaesten" an. Die Gespraeche werden von einer Muttersprachlerin moderiert.

Das heutige Thema war Merkels Rede im US-Kongress. Irgendwie habe ich nichts davon mitbekommen, obwohl ich mich in meinem Freundes- und Bekanntenkreis als Deutschland Kenner vorgebe. (Nur ein Scherz!)

Das Thema der vorhigen Woche war Politik, insbesondere die neue FDP-CDU Koalition. Ehrlich gesagt, interessiere ich mich fuer die politischen Themen nicht sehr. Aber das ist angeblich das Lieblingsthema von einer einzigen Person in der Gruppe. Er ist Zahnarzt, also nennen wir ihn Herr Zahnarzt. Herr Zahnarzt spricht Deutsch ganz gut, aber er dominiert die Gespraeche fast zum Ausschluss der anderen. Zum Glueck wird er die naechsten 2 Wochen nicht da sein, denn er reist nach Deutschland fuer irgendwelche Zahnarztmessen. Vielleicht dann haben die anderen Teilnehmer endlich eine Chance das Thema zu wechseln.

Apropros Deutsch, ich freue mich ab 16. November die Deutsche Welle im Fernsehen hier in SF sehen zu koennen. Es wird wohl nur die deutschen Nachrichten gesendet werden, aber es waere trotzdem interessant.

Potluck dilemma

Pots

I have to participate in two work related potluck events this holiday season - one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas. I'm not sure if I should just ask my mom to help me prep something tasty like fried noodles or if I should attempt to make something myself. Since I have two potlucks, maybe I could do one of each.

It's always good to have some special dish in your culinary repertoire because of these potluck things.

The Corner Office

Both of the coworkers, with whom I share an office were out today and will be out tomorrow as well. That means good news for me because I'll have a corner office all to myself!

I try to be productive at work, but things always seem to pop up unexpectedly and put a monkey wrench in my plans. Meetings and conference calls have a notorious reputation for this. Also, my boss' to-do items often land in my inbox because he's out of town kicking off a project. Guess who gets to do his work? Yep, it's me.

Back on Track

Victoriana

I'd like to get back into photography. I haven't gone on a "shoot" in a while.

I have some ideas of what I want to photograph. They're mainly areas of SF I haven't visited yet like Twin Peaks and Mission Dolores.