November is...

when dry becomes wet,
when darkness takes over sun instead,
when animals hide away,
when leaves refuse to stay,
when report cards make students shiver,
when writing them make teachers quiver,
when friends rarely gather,
when parties are few and farther,
when I grow a year older,
when war we suddenly remember.

a.c.

Dreams

i dreamt a dream yesterday,
when all worries were at bay.
it was as if we were on holiday,
at ease day after day.

alas! 'twas just a dream!
our problems still a team,
they run us down like a stream.
to solve them, i again dream.

-a.c.

Work Routine

Another sleepless morning.
My body is in mourning.
Grab my keys and go, go.
No time for makeup, no time to be slow.

Streets are filled with turtles on strike;
I'm the rabbit passing in the speed of light.
Parking is a nightmare;
there just ain't enough space to share.

Down the hall, my heels click, clock.
Out of my way, letter tray-hoggers moving like rock.
I will sign-in; I will beat the clock.
Shoot--I'm on clean-up AND duty,
no wonder I'm moody.

Into the classroom;
pack away my magic broom.
A sign of horror--
my books are on the floor!
Chinese school...
messes up my teaching tools.
Clean it up!
Suck it up!
Then, a mad dash to the copier.
Lesson plan without materials is like a knight without his rapier.

Day plan--check, materials--check,
hair--check, lipstick--check!
In rushes the mob.
Here comes lazy Suzy, curious George, and bully Bob.
Don't forget to give them a smile,
'cause 3 o'clock is many a mile.

When I breathe a sigh of relief,
I'll know I've survived--or so I believe...
'Cause I never know which parent is lurking around my room,
stopping me from flying my broom.

*Some parts are fictional and/or exaggerated but it's all a reflection of reality.

melting in Alaska

It's been a month since P and I travelled to Alaska spontaneously. You see, we never really travel spontaneously but since we had a little unexpected accident in July, we've had to cancel our August travelling plans as well. Yet, I really wanted P to be able to cruise since he couldn't fly to make up for his missing out on Europe altogether---hence, Alaska!

We embarked in Seattle on a beautiful, sunny day in August....in fact, it was P's birthday! As a result, there was also a mini-celebration held for him at dinner. He was happy and I was happy to see him happy.

We tried Celebrity Cruiselines this time around and we were happy with literally everything. I would choose Celebrity again anyday, especially after somewhat disappointing services through Royal Caribbean back in July...I can't understand the difference since they're sister companies. The cruise ship was luxurious though not the newest and even our window view room gave us plenty of light and scenery during the cruise.

Ketchikan was our first stop. I've been here many years ago with my family and it was pretty much the same...small. I think we walked through most of town in 30 minutes. P was even more funny...as we walked around, he claims, "oh shoot...I didn't bring any Canadian money, so I can't buy anything."

"But they use US dollars here, honey."

"Really?!? How's the exchange rate?"

"What exchange rate? Alaska is part of the US and they use American."

"Oh...we're in Alaska?!?"

"Yes, dear. It is an Alaska cruise..." (chuckle, chuckle)

We didn't end up buying anything...but we had a few good laughs wondering where P thought he was....

Since we returned to the ship early while others were busy buying jewelry and salmon, we decided to play this "shuffleboard" game on the cruise...I think that's what it's called...we both sucked at this game reallllly badly. The score was 0 vs. -2. Needless to say, I was the winner! Ha!

Our favourite place to hang out on the ship was Cova cafe...it brings us great memories of the prestigious Cova cafe in Hong Kong. We enjoyed free snacks here daily with varying live music. This was our favourite group of musicians in the photo, all from Ukraine and Russia. We felt so happy and peaceful here each evening.

We had to wake up early one morning to catch a 360 degree view of the Tracy Arm Fjord. It was pretty but it seemed that I recall Alaska to be more icy with much more glacier when I came over 10 years ago. So needless to say...it was also a bit surprising and almost sad to see the lack of ice and glacier. Would there still be ANY given another 10 years or so?

We also paid a bit extra when we arrived in Juneau, Alaska to travel to the well-known Mendenhall Glacier. We thought it was well worth the $14 US or so for each person vs. the $62 US you had to pay if you joined the tour on the ship. But again...not cold....and rapidly melting glacier. Our bus driver/tour guide also told us interesting stories about Juneau and Alaska in general and basically she said there are 3 favourite hobbies worshipped by Alaskans...do you know what they are? Find the answer below the following picture.

Answer: Reading, Drugs, Alcohol

Isn't it a bit sad? But when you think about it....if they only have the 30 or so nice weather days in the summer and the rest dismal...there isn't much to do.

Our last Alaska port was Skagway. We found it the most interesting, with lots of free mini-museums to go into just like shops. It was a very windy city here and we literally got blown away as we walked into town. It was so windy that it was funny! But we enjoyed it nonetheless. And, again, not a whole lot of change since I last visited over 10 years ago.

We also had some pleasurable sea days when we enjoyed some onboard celebrations, such as one of ice sculptures filled with midnight desserts and champagne to enjoy. The ship also stopped by Victoria, where we had a chance to visit P's dad before returning. Wonderful trip, great cruise line, enjoyable food and entertainment but a disappearing Alaska.

September stress

September was never my favourite month...in fact I would have to say it's my least favourite. When I was young, I hated it simply because it meant end of holidays and beginning of a long school year of exams, homework, studying, etc. As I grew older, I thought I can finally get rid of this reasoning...well, well....who would've thought I was cursed?!? It's even worse now on the other side of the fence! Trust me, teachers dislike September even more than students...

Waking up early, meetings after meetings, workshops after school, planning, scheduling, writing plans after plans, reports after reports, phone calls and emails, new systems, millions of requests, tons of forms to fill out, assessments = I need a pay raise + a vacation

It's got to get better...right?

Mediterranean Part IV

Sailing away from Italy, our cruise arrived in Dubrovnik, Croatia. This country is not part of the European Union yet but it's hoping to in the next 2 years. I actually really like this town. We also joined a boat tour in Dubrovnik and actually sat in one of those wooden ships you see in the above picture. It was perfect.

Dubrovnik is unique due to its beauty from rocky cliffs. Can you see the tiny boat trying to sail into the small cave in the above picture?

This city was able to keep its fort from way back when and everything about the town speaks history. I love walking through the shops and towns with all the structure kept as is: the cobbled stone streets, the narrow alleys, the stone buildings. I mean I wouldn't want to live here seeing the amount of steps I'll have to take each day to and from home but it's certainly wonderful to visit!

Leaving Croatia, we also visited Corfu, Greece. It is also our last port city on the cruise. This was the only day I rose early enough to see sun rise. We only did this because our tour had to meet at 7am. Everybody looked half dead as we met.

The main highlight of our tour was to visit the Achillion Palace. It was very pretty inside filled with statues that remind you of when you once learned Greek mythology at school.

Of course, visiting its old town and shopping were also part of the tour! There were lots of narrow streets filled with shops such as the one below. Greece is known for its olive oil and all the souvenirs were hand-crafted with care. However, most of what they sold was...you'd never guess...brand name bags and accessories! Well...of course not the 'real' thing but just like it. I almost thought we arrived in China if they weren't speaking Greek!

Back on the ship, as we sailed back to Barcelona to return home, there were many fun-filled celebrations, such as a Venetian Masqurade Ball, a midnight gala buffet with ice sculptures as well as a 70s disco night. It was a fun ship alright...I beg to differ on the guest services though...but that's another story.

When I returned to my stateroom each night, a cute animal would be waiting for me at various places in various forms. This particular night was a monkey wearing a mask left from the masqurade ball the previous night! The creativity one needs to be a stateroom attendant these days!

Another memorable night was when we had a professional couple from Argentina come and tango for us. They were beyond awesome.

And then, the last sunrise we saw the morning we disembarked...

Mediterranean Part III

Our 3rd Italy stop was Naples. We walked around town in the morning. It's daunting trying to cross the street here...there is no official crosswalk and cars never want to stop for you. When one eventually has to stop because you are right in front of it...the cars behind will automatically honk. I don't know how wheelchairs or the elderly cross the streets here. This seems to be a more commercialized district, which is a drastic difference compared to nearby Sorrenti and Capri. This time we decided to visit the historic city of Pompeii.

We joined a tour and arrived in Pompeii in the afternoon. It was beating hot the whole day, we were all drenched wet from sweat before we even entered the city! Needless to say, it would've been much more enjoyable given some shade or breeze. When I came back and looked at the photos, I realize they all looked similar of stone and it's difficult to appreciate its historical value unless you've been there to see the scale of such a discovery yourself. Above shows the entrance to the city and below shows a seemingly never-ending road in the city. It was so clever of the people back then to put marble stones along the roads equivalent to our present day streetlamps to see in the dark.

Upon returning to the ship in the evening, I thoroughly enjoyed pianist John Bressler's lively performance. As you can see, he was very interactive with the piano as well as the audience. Performances such as this one happened nightly and gave us something to look forward to besides dinner each evening.

The following day came to our last Italy stop -- Venice. This was the only city on this trip I've visited before; yet, I didn't mind it at all that we were revisiting. Venice is such a romantic place and it was extra special that we got to sail in and out of the narrow canal to fully capture the stunning views. Below is actually evidence of, unfortunately, flooding in Venice. This is why you can park your boat and get off to walk and swim in the middle of the sea at the same time. According to the cruise ship captain, Venetian government is suppose to have a plan to stop this flooding, but nobody knows the plan yet.

Another interesting but perhaps dangerous observation we noticed while sailing through Venice is that many of their church bell towers are not straight! We think it's due to old age and perhaps acid rain and water below eating away the foundation of each tower?

The amount of people gathered in Venice, especially at St. Marc's Square is never to be underestimated. Perhaps it's the people causing the rapid detioration of the town?

I was especially happy that we got to enjoy Venice at night this time around. Last time it was just so rushed with a tour group that I missed out a lot of the architecture and details. Turns out there are also tons of things to shop for in Venice. We got some great deals! And then, of course, back to the ship.

Mediterranean Part II

For our Mediterranean cruise, the port city was Barcelona, so naturally that's where we embarked. Our first port city was Cannes, France. Beautiful it was. I think I've never seen so many beautiful people all in one city in my life. It appears as if people look amazing here in body, style and everything else without effort. It's no wonder the red carpet Cannes festival happens here every year.

We then sailed away to Italy. Livorno and Civitecchia were the first 2 stops. These are literally port cities meaning I don't think they'll exist if cruise ships didn't stop there simply because they had no room to 'park' in Rome nor Florence. There's literally nothing but 3 bigger churches at Livorno, a simple 1 hour walk can almost cover the whole town.

Unlike Livorno, I surprisingly discovered that Civitivecchia is mini shopping heaven. Everything is so cheap here we simply didn't buy more because our suitcases would be too heavy nor would they hold. We can even bargain here like in China. However, like many European cities, all the cheap bargains at the markets here are only available from 10am-1pm. Literally everything disappears beginning at 12:30pm sharp and nothing is left at 1pm. That's all the business they do for the day! I want that working life too!

Of course, after shopping much, the body needs to be replenished. What better to do each day after shopping than eat? It's certainly lovely to eat to our heart's content on the ship. But as I soon discovered, all the savoury foods became culprits to my current extra 6 lbs.

During my down times, I simply sit out in my veranda to suck in the view. It is priceless when you see it. You have to be there to recognize the true value of a balcony. For those without one, the pool deck is also great with tanning being a priority for many on our ship. The centre of the ship lobby is also very grand like many cruise ships. And then there are the beautiful sunrises and sunsets...

Mediterranean Part I

This was suppose to be our "trip of a lifetime," since P and I can rarely afford to travel together for 3 weeks to the Mediterranean plus have holidays together this long. But as it turns out, life is filled with surprises and we didn't end up going together. It was a good trip nonetheless, certainly memorable in my lifetime.


The first stop was Barcelona, Spain. I've never been but I fell in love with this place as days passed. The view is stunning; it's not surprising that there are tons of sun worshippers at the beach 24/7. And then there is the architecture. Gaudi is of course a heavy influence in Barcelona and he did a great job.

I was mesmorized by both Sagrada Familia as well as Park Guell. Really, who takes 200+ years to build a church and make what was originally planned to be a housing complex so fancy that it becomes a national park?

Of course, there's also the Spanish/European culture to work late, nap, and eat late. I mean we fit right in with our jet lag. The daily schedule is to wake up to eat, shop, and then return to the holiday to shower and nap. And then dinner at 8:30ish 9 before enjoying a bit more nightlife. This is the life. I have to say I especially enjoyed Spain's "specialty" beer...forgot its name. But it's essentially beer plus soda...refreshing.

I had a dream...

It wasn't the meaningful and important kind like those of Martin Luther King but it was one of those good old dreams nonetheless. It brought me back to university years, when I went to class and chat up with friends. It was when there was a lot more fun beyond work and school topics. A bunch of us would get into one car and we were dropped off from one side of the campus to the other to go to class. My friends would wait with me after class as I waited for my ride...in my dream a BMW 1 series came...but well...reality was another kind. =p Our priorities dealt with what to do on the weekend, where we bought that coat, what movie to watch...and then that dreadful assignment or exam. It was when I felt young. I'm not old by any means but I think I'm beginning the ages when one is no longer considered young. Nice to see old pals...even just in a dream.

Osoyoos

What better to do on a May long weekend then to drive to Osoyoos with your relatives and family? It was pleasant weather with good company, great food , and an excellent resort. Watermark was the new resort we stayed at facing the water; it was spacious, clean, well-designed and best of all, new. The view, as what you see below, is what we see from our balcony as we wake up every morning.

Osoyoos and Oliver are well-known for their wineries and so of course we couldn't give up the chance for wine tasting. P and I were very happy to get free alcohol! Plus, I was extra ecstatic when the lady asked to check my ID...to think I was ONLY 10 years over the drinking age....ha!

Before we left on the last day, we paid a visit to the local Desert Model Railroad ran by an elderly couple. We were so proud of their dedication to the store and their excellent masterpiece that took many years to complete. All the scenes of places around the world were so detailed and realistic. I admire their passion and achievement.