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Oct 4

3 Days at North Lake Tahoe

by ccue

The pandemic has grounded us mostly for air travel. After ruling out international travel, we researched for a fall foliage trip to the East Coast, or a trip to Hawaii.  We have our own doubts about travel safety for ourselves and for others, so we started with small short trips that are within driving distance.  We went to North Lake Tahoe to celebrate a birthday and mid-Autumn festival. 

Pandemic reminds us how we  miss  the treasure in our lives.  Lake Tahoe is such an illustration that we miss beauty right in front of us.  We occasionally go there skiing in winter.  Yet in spite of its natural beauty, and its offering of many summer lakeside activities, we used to have too many choices in summer to consider Lake Tahoe.  

Incline Village, a small community of around 9,000, is located north of Lake Tahoe.   It offers plenty of outdoor activities from hiking, to biking to skiing; and it has a slight feel of Hawaii, but not quite as touristy.  The mansion, facing the Lake with its private dock, can still cost close to ten millions. Yet compared to the Bay Area, it is still much cheaper to own a home and stay during summer months.

Day 1

We got concerned with the unpredictable air quality due to the wildfire throughout California, it was too late to change plans. We got our rental car in the morning and packed up to go.  On our way, we stopped for lunch at Hanami Sushi in Auburn, we enjoyed the food, the warmth of the sun and the outdoor setting.  

Shortly after crossing  the California-Nevada state line, we arrived and were pleased to find that the weather was great with blue sky, the air quality was moderate, and good enough for outdoor activities. The airbnb is a 765 sq. ft 1 bedroom 1 bathroom, built in 1982.  I like its room layout and can imagine living in a compatible home during my retirement years.   It  has nice touches and thoughtful designs such as the high ceilings above the dinner table, and the space-efficient fully equipped kitchen. 

After settling down, we  went to explore Lake Tahoe.  Hidden Beach is 2.3 miles from our airbnb.  We got tricked by the Google Map ,which first stated we were 7 minutes away, then it changed its mind and claimed we were 30 minutes away.  We got lost with Google Map.  With  the technology, we were so used to following step-by-step instructions, and  no longer had that big map in our mind.   In hindsight, it was simply Google Map could not guide us to make an unusual (and possibly illegal) U-turn. Once we missed the destination, we had to drive another 20+ miles for a big loop on the highway to get back to the beach.   Hidden Beach is beautiful, we dipped our feet in the cold-but-not-freezing water, it was refreshing, there were only a handful of swimmers, while a few others relaxed at the beach, quietly enjoying themselves, without wearing masks.  We took some pictures and watched a very beautiful sunset over Lake Tahoe.  The sunset happened quickly, from the full sun to its disappearing, it only took 2 minutes. 

We bought some food from a nearby grocery market, and had dinner at the airbnb while whatsapping with our children on the birthday of my husband.

Day 2
We planned to do some hiking and picked the 7-mile moderate Tunnel Creek Trail.  After parking at the Bullwheel Parking Lot, there was no sign of the trail head, and we asked and got in the wrong direction.  After 30 minutes or so of walking, we finally asked another person, and discovered that we were on a different trail.  We were reluctant to backtrack, and decided to continue on this easy and flat East Shore Trail.  The trail is paved with concrete, and offers plenty of picture moments along Lake Tahoe.  We passed by Hidden Beach, the Emerald cove, the Sunset cove and to the Sand Harbour.  The East Shore Trail is a 5-miles round trip from the Bullwheel parking lot. It is one of the most scenic trails, with beautiful views of the piers, beaches and the lake.  If you only have time for one hike in North Lake Tahoe, this probably should be the one. 

After the hike, we had burgers and some delicious garlic fries at the nearby Burgers and Brews.  After some rest, we went to the nearby Inclined Beach, a private beach, to do nothing.  The lake water is super clear and cool.  It is a bit rocky at the waterline, the sand becomes silky smooth just a few feet into the water.  My husband did a short swim and I told a picture of him sharing the lake with a paddling of ducks.  We were tired after the hike and the beach outings, we barely finished a movie before retiring to bed early. 

Day 3
We gave another try to the Tunnel Creek Trail for a panoramic view of Lake Tahoe.  The weather and the air quality both cooperated.  The air outside was cold and refreshing, the streets were quiet with one or two athletic looking joggers.  

There were hardly any cars in the Bullwheel Parking Lot and it almost felt too quiet.   At the trailhead, we saw and heard some California blue jays happily chirping with each other.    The trail is well paved, just like walking on fine and hard sand, and easy for the feet.  It shapes like many consecutive S-letters, sloping upwards.  We were rewarded with the gorgeous Lake Tahoe views among the clusters of Jeffery Pines. 

There are occasional signposts on the tree species and the effort to return the environment to how it has been; and how fires are sometimes planned to burn down some trees to create better forest spacing. There were pine cones almost everywhere. It was early in the morning, so we saw just  a few hikers.  We listened to the radio stations of Hong Kong and Spotify music along the way.  The lake looks peaceful and calm from afar.  We stopped often to take pictures, or called on Google Assistant to take our selfies.  We could only afford two hours on the hike to be back at the airbnb to checkout. 

We stopped for lunch near Donner Lake, had deep fried pickles, salad and smoky meat.  The fried pickle was good and reminded us of the movie “An American Pickle” The smoky meat was too salty.  Next to the restaurant is a Boba Tea shop, I could not have imagined a Boba Tea shop in this location, and spent $6 to get a Lavender Boba Tea.   

I just booked another trip to South Lake Tahoe next May, and would look forward to visiting Lake Tahoe in the upcoming summer season. 

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Hooked – how to build habit-forming products
By Nir Eyal

I recently joined a product development group for a high tech product. After several years in the  market, the product still faces significant headwinds to find product  market fit.   Amassing millions of users is no longer good enough, the economic value of a product  is a function of the strength of the habits it creates. Increasing addiction to a product is key to drive sustained value.  This  book covers a recursive framework from trigger, to user action, to variable reward, to investment of users, and back to trigger.  It is simple to understand and is a great read.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
By Gail Honeyman.

My children’s pediatrician is retiring from her practice and will go volunteer in Kenya.  A friend, recently retired from various NGOs, suggested a book would make a good gift.  This book has great Amazon reviews.  I bought two copies, one for her and one  for myself.  I really enjoyed reading it.  The genius of the author is to pick a seemingly vulnerable and unappealing woman as its main character.  Eleanor is competent but lonely and antisocial with a childhood trauma that has left a scar on her face as well as her mind.  After she gets off work on Friday, she spends her weekends drinking vodka until she is back to work on Monday.  Everything changes as she and Raymond, her IT office support, save this kind old man Sammy .  Through the kindness of Raymond and Sammy, Eleanor is able to get out of her isolation and face her past.  The author weaves together a funny and charming story while  portraying the loneliness and mental vulnerability of many living in a city.  


十二週,練出慢跑肌力
12 weeks of Muscle Training Stretching

I did it without missing a day in the last 12 weeks.  The daily exercise only takes a few minutes.   I am ready to restart again soon.

Book Review - English Book Review - English, Chinese, Computer, Literature... Dear Diary Literature... Misc. Travel

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Sep 5

The adaptable Homo Sapiens

by ccue

Restaurants, salons, gym in Bay Area continue to be mostly shut down from spring to fall. We are back to times without all these conveniences.  

We do not need an office, I work from home.  We do not need a gym, I can do stretching at home and jog in the neighbourhood.  

We prepare our own meals.  Lunch is often a choice of instant noodles, dumplings sandwiches, cereal that I can prepare quickly.  Dinner time, my husband cooks a complete meal as I finish up my work from home. On weekends, we try some new dishes to cook.  My son has made ratatouille and pancakes from wheat; my daughter has made Dutch baby pancake with spiced plum, baked curry buns and pineapple buns; I have made paella rice, oyakodon, soy sauce chicken, my husband has created the sous vide duck leg and bbq pork .  Cooking is a habit forming and is rewarding.  Our kitchen pantry is all stocked up with tens of ingredients and seasonings; home cooking becomes more convenient than ordering take outs (bad for restaurant owners).  We also have done gardening and harvested carrots, kale, rosemary mint as well as beet.  I have used mint to make tea with honey, interesting but not gourmet.  Carrots are so fresh to eat right after harvest.  Most of the time, the harvests are used to cook or make soup.  

We made our mask from bandana at the beginning when masks are nowhere to be brought.  It was functional but not comfortable and we stopped making ours once the masks are available for sale.  When the tissue paper was in high demand, we learned that the lamb’s ear that grows quickly in our garden could be a substitute, we never get to use that.  

My hair used to be a low maintenance activity, still we need to cut it  once in a while. With the salon shutdown stretching from weeks to months , the hair becomes more of a concern, so we also learn to help each other to do each other haircuts at home.  That brought back memories of a haircutting class I took long long time ago. That class took place in a rather untidy studio inside an unassuming  building in an average neighborhood.  Every student was given a head with a full  body of hair, every lesson we would trim it and practice different techniques.  My fingers were clumsy, often I could not hold on to the hair, and ended up with a head that looks quite disastrous.  It was humbling as I observed the better looking heads in the hands of my classmates.  Fortunately the head was not for a real person, I could not remember if I finished the class or it looked so bad that I just could not continue with it, probably the latter. I concluded that I did not have the talent, that was in the years that we believed talents, not passions,  are needed  to be successful.  With the pandemic, I just did a haircut for my husband using the modern multi grooming trimmers.  The result looks reasonably tidy and neat , he can go meet friends though it is better to have no one looking closely.  And what is the difference between a good haircut and a bad one ? Two weeks (hahahaha).

Amidst the adaptation and making the best out of the situation, I miss my hairdresser a bit more than the salon .  I miss the coworkers at work more than work. I miss meeting friends in restaurants more than the restaurants. I miss going to places more than the hotels or airports.  Nature once again reminds us of its prowess, and I miss nature and the outdoors so very badly.

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From Toni Morrison : its examination of the hazards and hopes of black male life is as profound as it is revelatory.  This is a required reading to more deeply understand “Black Lives Matter”, a phrase so frequently heard in recent months. The book is a long letter from a father to his son, depicting what life has been like and will be like for the black people in the States. From the author’s perspective, race is the child of racism and the American dream is reserved for the white people.  Black people have been intentionally excluded from the dream.  In his first hand depiction, the author learns to live in fear, learns how to disguise his fear with what we come to know as typical black people behavior in the inner city, how he finds camaraderie in Howard university and a new sense of freedom  in Paris.   Many names, events and places references are unknown to me.  As I Google them up, I am shocked at how many of these dark sides have been buried.  If you are affected by the recent social events on the brutality towards the black people and want a deeper understanding of their history and their struggle, this is a must read.  

I have always wanted to join a book club.  I finally joined one and facilitated some discussion.  It has been fun and educational.  This first book we read is about how to make your already successful career to be more successful.  It is full of the author’s coaching experiences, with many CEO-to-be clients. My book club discussed the 20 habits that the very successful business people may need to let go for further successes.  My book club members are not CEO-to-be yet, and we feel many of these habits are the reasons to be successful, we need to be successful first before thinking of more successes.  I had a chance to ask the author this same question and his response has been, at the beginning, we need to care about those habits such as winning, adding value; as our career progresses, we start letting go of some of these habits.   Because of the book club, I enjoy the book more and feel that it helps to retain the learning. 

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Jun 28

Father’s Day during Coronavirus Pandemic

by ccue

On Father’s Day last week,  my son cooked mom and dad a brunch, then we went hiking at the Slacker SCA trail in San Francisco.  It was so beautiful to spend a few hours in nature and to give the body the much needed fitness challenge.  

Who would have thought that the year would turn out this way?  Who would have predicted a global pandemic?  Who would  have known the death of George Floyd triggering deep reflection and realization of social inequity?  Who would have guessed that the United States, as the only world superpower, would be so flawed in managing public health and so flawed in its society?

New York and California are among the first states to have shelter-in-place (similar to a lockdown). Since the shelter-in-place started mid March, my family, spanning from NYC to California Bay Area, has stayed at home. On workday, I literally spend my day at home sitting in front of my computer for over ten hours with hardly any break at work. In the beginning weeks,  my eyes hurt so much in the evening. It still feels unreal that we are in this world war against pandemic while my day mirrors a working day full of meetings similar to before.  My coworkers and I work as hard as before, if not harder.  Life is very hard with the pandemic (and even harder later with the social unrest after the death of George Floyd).  In these usual times, I have stayed at home for weeks without leaving home. The weekend has become very long, the time has flown very slowly and there has not been much change of landscape between weekdays and weekends. 

When I finally went out to the neighbourhood park or did some grocery shopping, it felt like the body needed adjustment to the outdoors, to the brightness of the sun and to the open.  It was a great feeling though. If freedom of movement has a smell and a taste, maybe this would be it.  With restaurants still close for any sitdown meals, we cook and eat most meals at home with a couple of takeouts every week.   As the country opens up more, I go out for grocery or bakery shopping once every week.  After the grocery, it takes time to wash hands, wipe the groceries, put them in the fridge, and then wash hands again.  Some mornings I would do a 13-laps jog around the driveway, that is only a few hundreds meters in total distances, then write some journal before beginning my ten hours of work in front of the laptop and the monitor.

It was a special Father’s Day in this unusual time.  The hike of moderate intensity turned out to be a stretch of body fitness to say the least.  While San Francisco is a 45-minutes drive, it has  been the furthest we have gone since mid March.   The hike had some uphill climb and downhill moments, with over three months of shelter-in-place, it turned out to be quite exhausting.  It is a scenic hike with gorgeous views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco skyline, the Angel Island and the Alcatraz.  The sky was a clear blue with no cloud on the horizon, and the weather was perfect for hiking.  Along the 5-mile trail, we saw quite a few fellow hikers, and every time some fellow hikers were within our eyesight, we would put on our masks; for the trail, I put on and off my mask about forty times.   It felt more like a training on father’s day than celebrating father’s day!  The muscle pain has lasted for a few days indeed. 

In this unusual time, it is a great feeling to be out in nature, to be under the beautiful sky, to feel the warmth  of the sunlight and to appreciate the magnificent Golden Gate Bridge from different angles.  It has been a memorable and beautiful hike on this Father’s Day.

More time reading during the shelter-in-place. For a while, libraries have been closed, bookstores have been open. A book on AI and its commercialisation. Read more like AI for the beginners.

Written by his friend and personal assistant, the book gives a glimpse of how the very charismatic Jack Ma journeyed from being an English teacher to become the founder of Alibaba and how he cultivated a very unique company culture and group of followers.

Book Review - English Book Review - English, Chinese, Computer, Literature... Dear Diary Literature... Travel

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Feb 23

Gratitude, Nature and Goodreads

by ccue

Since  Chinese New Year,  I have spent a few minutes daily jotting down three things I am thankful for.  In days when I am not in the best mood, it takes more effort. Habit shapes our character.  These few minutes almost always pivot my mind onto something positive, and has the effect of a more positive outlook in spite of challenging moments like difficult work, fake news or bad news. 

 

My husband and I visited Yosemite National Park on Valentine’s day.  We hoped to watch the firefall at the Horsetail Fall.  Yosemite is a 4-hour drive from home, and we stayed at the well maintained and cozy Yosemite Valley Lodge.  The reception forewarned us this year, there was no water, and therefore no chance of any glowing waterfall at sunset.  We were already there, might as well do some walking. From the lodge, it was a 45 minutes easy walk to the Horsetail Fall. To avoid damaging nature with too many human footprints, the rangers have set up  a driving lane to be a pedestrian-only path. It was a bit cold, we were there around 5pm, and waited for the sunset. There were about a dozen photographers setting up their cameras in the area. Without the water,  it was still beautiful to see the turn of color on the rock from granite color to shining yellow to golden then to red, before the sun was down. We joked about seeing “firerock” rather than “firefall”, we took pictures to capture the changes of colors on the El Capitan .  

The next morning, we had a delicious breakfast at the cafeteria, and it was pleasing to see the many visitors in full hiking gear, looking happy for whatever they have planned for the day. It reminded me about school trips, though these are mostly strangers. We took an easy hour-long hike to the Mirror Lake.   The perfect reflections and the absolute calmness of the lake have been healing, calming and just pleasing. 

On our drive back, we stopped at almost every pharmacy, to look for earloop face masks. Along that 180+ miles, there was only one pharmacy shop that had 3 boxes of masks, I grabbed one, leaving the other two on the shelf.   

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Do No Harm by Henry Marsh
Do No harmWritten with candor and compassion, neurosurgeon Henry Marsh shares first insights into the joy of brain operating, the successes and failures of his surgeries, the delicate balance of being emotionally detached from patients and being compassionate, and  how he faces approaching his patient with no hope of getting better.  

Do No Harm provides unforgettable human dramas  that take place in a busy modern hospital, with black humor in how the medical system has created more challenges for the doctors who want to focus on just saving patients.  

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Billions and Billions by Carl SaganBillions and Billions
Last book written by Carl Sagan, before he died a  few months later in 1996.  

“Billions and Billions” is a term that he has been quoted saying, but he has never actually said because it was scientifically ambiguous.    This is a beautiful collection of stories where Carl Sagan unpacks many interesting subjects that touch our lives. Beautifully written, he applies scientific thinking to weave together the causes and remedy of ozone depletion, the path towards climate control, pro-choice vs pro-life, the self-inflicted military race, and his own personal life and death ordeal.   

Here is how he sums up the last century: “The twentieth century will be remembered for three board innovations: unprecedented means to save, prolong, and enhance life; unprecedented means to destroy life,… and unprecedented insights into the nature of  ourselves and the Universe”. 

On his ordeal over his terminal illness, he writes  “Six times now have I looked Death in the face. And six times Death has averted his gaze and let me pass. Eventually, of course, Death will claim me…. I’ve learned much from our confrontations – especially about the beauty and poignancy of life, about the preciousness of friends and family, and about the transforming power of love.  In fact, almost dying is such a positive, character-building experience that I’d recommend it to everybody…. I would love to believe that when I die I will live again… I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking”.

The epilogue  by his wife is so very touching.   Carl Sagan stays true to his belief in scientific thinking and he experiences the fullness of life till the very end.

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Jan 26

Happy Chinese New Year of Rat

by ccue

On the first day of many years, I write down a few annual goals on a piece of paper. On the last day of the year,  I was often surprised to discover that some goals have either started or achieved. 

My top goal for 2020 is to stay healthy and to live with a high level of well being.  Just because I enjoy learning, for things that are challenging and less enjoyable, I want to translate the hardship into a journey of learning. 

After reading the book “The Gratitude Diaries”, I have wanted to start my own gratitude journey to write things to be thankful for everyday.  And what better day to start this habit than Chinese New Year day, and that was exactly what I did.

The Gratitude Diaries
By Janice Kaplan

Gratitude DiariesJanice made a New Year resolution to live the year with a gratitude mindset.  From marriage, family, money, career to health, caring and connections, Janice narrated how her year of gratitude has transformed her life. The mindset shift not only has added to her own happiness, but also deepened her connections with family and friends. With a journalist background, Janice is a great story teller.  She brought in a range of experts, and adds their stories to her own gratitude experiments from winter to autumn.

Gratitude has no end.  If we choose to look for it, gratitude is everywhere. 

Range
by John Epstein

The rangeThe world is not lacking experts for every topic and specialization is happening earlier.  This book unveils a refreshing theory that in the modern world, the environment is complex and unique (aka wicked); challenges are no longer repeating itself and they cannot be overcome  by the same specialized solutions. The author debates the wicked world need the range of generalists to bring in the breadth, the creativity, the leverage from different domains to tackle super complex problems  that remain unresolved by specialists for decades. While hyper-specialization works in a repetitive “kind” environment, it argues, with plenty of real-life stories, that the current world problems require the range of generalists as much as the narrow depth of specialists.

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Dec 29

2019 in review

by ccue

2019 is a year of many events and a few  life moments. I hope everyone has a chance to take a moment to review the year from a personal perspective.  Here is my list of top events. 

I am saddened to watch the months of unrest in Hong Kong from afar.  If 2019 is the ultimate outburst of deep-rooted resentment for HongKongers, let’s hope 2020 will be a year of resolution and reconciliation.

My body has been noisy this year. My  gastroenterologist considered me as a challenging patient after year-long stomach issue and multiple antibiotics. A procedure, followed by a surgery to remove gallbladder stones, may have addressed the root cause, or at least I hope.  Unfortunately, a number of friends have run into various kinds of health issues, confirming “when it rains, it pours”.

I took a different job within the company for a change, working on ambient/voice computing.  It is a mixed feeling of excitement, anxiety, uncertainty, challenges and of course, tons of learning.  On the other hand, my spouse took a break from employment after all these years. It is a year of changes for us in our career.

We travelled to five countries Netherland (Amsterdam), Belgium (Ghent, Brussels, Bruges), UK (Wimbledon, London), Portugal (Lisbon, Madeira) plus a few places in the US (Indian Wells, LA, NYC).  We had scores of wonderful moments including the fairy tale like city of Bruges, the best snack @Pastei De Belem (Portuguese Egg Tart), the mind-clearing  hike @Madeira PR11.

Home improvements have been on a  fast track. Within the year, our home had a new furnace, a new air conditioner, a new set of recessed lights, a new 300 sq. ft plus sunroom, and soon a new Tesla.  This is how much extra time empty-nesters can have.

As tennis fans, my husband and I attended the Indian Well TennisIMG_20190705_125726.  I vividly remembered seeing the ultimate champion Dominique Thiem outside of the hotel before the final, and he beat Federer in the final :(.   For a tennis fan, attending Wimbledon is the pinnacle experience.  We checked off this bucket list item and experienced the unforgettable 2-day Queue, and the surreal experience of watching Federer/Serena from the second row in the Center Court. IMG_20190504_084639

As a parent, we had the proud moments of seeing our daughter graduating from college.  She decided to move to NYC, and she got a job in Manhattan!  We visited her in NYC and took the opportunity to watch US open.

We feel blessed that our family of four are all home during Christmas and New Year.  We went to gym, and we have some relaxing moments together.   Children are cooking dishes like Risotto, Katsu, Okonomiyaki for us. We had some meet up with family and friends. 

As the year approaches its conclusion, I am immensely thankful for these moments in 2019.     

It is almost time to check how many 2019 goals have been achieved, and set goals for 2020.  

Career Management Dear Diary Misc. Tennis Travel

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Dec 8

Portugal impressions

by ccue

My co-workers chose Madeira, Portugal as a destination to celebrate a project success and chose Thanksgiving week to travel. There was the element of surprise  and excitement in going to new places. Madeira is an archipelago, situated in the north Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Africa. From San Francisco to Madeira,  we took the non-stop TAP AIR Portugal flight to Lisbon (Lisboa), stop over Lisbon for two days, then took a short flight to Funchal, the capital of Madeira, and joined the co-workers for two and a half days on the island.  

port-MMAP-md

My impression with Portugal went way back to the high school years, when I studied in History the Portugal explorers and their colonization.  Then there is Macau which is the neighboring city of Hong Kong which I grew up in. Macau has a historical role for Portugal, with its handover to China in 1999 concluding the arguably longest-lived Porguese empire.  And I enjoy Portuguese pork chop bun (bifanas) served In Maxim’s fast food, the Portuguese egg tart (Pasteis De Nata) that has almost grown to the same popularity as the Hong Kong style egg tart.

Waiting for the departure from SFO, I alternately learned about the century-long political struggles of Portugal; and read the current news on Hong Kong political unrest; and unexpectedly, I find the Portugal history can be of good reference to the HongKongers. 

Lisboa, a taste of Portugal

After 12 hours of flight, we arrived in Lisbon in the early afternoon, with still time to do some sight-seeing.   30 minutes of Uber ride got us to Belem and Pasteis de Belem, the origin of Portuguese egg tart.  There was a queue inside and a queue outside, we decided to go with the inside and shorter queue so we could sit down to enjoy the tart with a drink. The inside is a look-alike of the many local cafes in Hong Kong. Its setting is plain, with some blue tiles reminding us that we are in Portugal, and the servers are busy.  I like its local feel, obviously both locals and tourists come here for the gourmet pastry. The tart crust is so crisp that it is like eating crispy chips, with rich, warm and delicious cream custard on top. We finished three tarts in no time. I could be eating this tart everyday and still love them. As the recipe is said to be from the nearby Jerónimos Monastery, may be the monastery scholars used to eat this tart everyday.  Inside the monastery is a large open space surrounded by corridors with spider vault ceiling atop.   We strolled around in the open space and the two levels overlooking the open space, reminiscing how life was a few hundred years ago.  We braved the strong wind as we strolled to the monument of Discovery and Tower of Belem, situated right next to the ocean front.

Lisbon reminds me much of San Francisco.  The April 25 bridge is an obscure version of Golden Gate Bridge; and the TRAM 28 is a look-alike of the cable car, the ferry ride to Cacilhas are not that different from the ferry ride to Sausalito, not to mention the steep streets that make driving a challenge.  Aside from the similarity, Lisbon is quite a charming city on its own. I enjoyed its Fado show and of course the Portuguese gourmets.  Besides the Pasteis De Nata, we also went to Casa Das Bifanas for its pork chop bun, its taste was good but could not beat my memory of the Pork Chop Bun in Hong Kong.   We tried the grilled sardines and ray fish soup in a nice oceanfront restaurant on Cacilhas overlooking April 25 bridge. We drank wine often in Portugal, in its pairing with Pasteis De Nata, or pairing with cod croquettes.  

Lisbon is a modest city with little fashion nor luxury in the air.  As a tourist, Lisbon feels more homely and relaxed, more affordable, is less touristy,  has less of the hustle and bustle of a big city, has none of the snobbishness of some top cities.   

If there is one thing I remember the most about Lisbon, it maybe the Pasteis De Belem (Pasteis De Nata) but Lisbon has so much more charm to offer.

Madeira, what a beautiful island

Less than two hours of flight from Lisbon, Madeira is beautiful and is a paradise for hikers.  Our Uber driver from airport gave us a quick overview of things-to-do on the island. Weeks after surgery, I could not join my co-workers for the strenuous hiking activities up the mountain.  That gave us a day with no scheduled activities. Few things can beat the satisfaction of a delicious hotel buffet breakfast overlooking the Atlantic ocean. After breakfast, my husband and I took an 2-hour easy stroll at levada (PR11) Vereda dos Balcoes.  With the wet weather, the altitude and the fog, the supposingly magnificent view turned into mostly obscured view; at the same time, the greenery was even more lush, and offered a different beauty of nature.  The trail is a loop and at the end, we were back to the start. As we waited for the bus, we treated ourselves with a Poncha, a local cocktail of strong wine, honey and lemon. We spared the afternoon In Funchal, enjoyed more shopping and the local gourmet including the caco bread, and the fresh-off-the-wok chestnut.  

I did not join the co-workers for the short 4-hour hike the next day.  After a beautiful sunrise, and another hearty buffet breakfast, my husband and I strolled to the nearby CR7 (Ronaldo) museum. Madeira is the birthplace of the famous soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.  The museum visit was quite enjoyable, certainly a good place to get souvenirs for soccer fans, I got a bottle of wine and a kids’ T shirt for my grand-nephew. I rejoined my co-workers in a nice multi-course Portuguese lunch before a guided city tours to the local church and local markets.   The afternoon ended with the highlight of a long cable car ride up the hill followed by a thrilling tobogganing down the sloppy roads. 

Next day, we had to meet up at 2am to catch an early flight to Lisbon, before the long 12-hour flight back to San Francisco.   Even though it was somewhat painful to wait up at this ungodly hour, our Warsaw tourist guide made arrangements with the hotel to serve us an off-the-hour breakfast.

Madeira gave us an amazing time, and I long to be back to the island for its levada, its food & wine, and its beauty. 

For more of this trip, please also read  a taste of Portugal charm. 

 

Dear Diary Travel

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Dec 4

Hong Kong : a time to show respect and vision

by ccue

This article has been published on South China Morning Post SCMP as “after the Hong Kong elections, a time to show respect and vision”.  SCMP is a Hong Kong English-language newspaper founded in 1903, with a daily circulation of around 100,000.  SCMP has made some minor publishing edits to refine some sentences for grammatical correctness and add some related pictures/links. 

Here is the original version.

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The beauty of growing old is living to witness the change of times. 

When did HongKongers change to fight for freedom and democracy? In the 70s,  the fight was to “make a living” (Chinese: 為兩餐乜都肯制前世) and “fight for money” (Chinese: 一生一世為錢幣做奴隸).    In the 80s, the fight is to retain capitalism, ensure that “horses will still run, dances will still dance” (Chinese: 馬照跑 舞照跳).  These fights have now drifted to fight for freedom and democracy, with the hard-core activists asserting that “Hong Kong government is the source of all problems” and “every Hong Kong governor should have stepped down”. HongKongers have transitioned from a city of positive energy to heaps of resentment and rumbles of rages.

To the city leadership and its people, it is time to fight for respect: respect each other, respect our opportunities, and respect China.

HongKongers have to respect each other with different opinions.  Let’s think hard on the “landslide” political victory in the recent election.  Among the 7.5M of population, 4.1M (58%) are registered voters of which 2.9M voters (71%) have voted on November 24. Among the actual voters,  1.7M (57%) have voted in favour of the party which fights for more democracy and freedom. Let’s respect the choices of the winning voters, let’s also respect the remaining 5.8M who may or may not care about politics, let’s also respect the government.

Hong Kong is the most free city in China and probably in the world.  The city could showcase more freedom is a path “to prosperity without compromising the sovereignty”.  The HongKongers are at risk of missing out this bigger opportunity with the unrest and challenge to the sovereignty.  Hong Kong also has the opportunity to create a prosperous society for every citizen. Building a moderately prosperous society (Chinese: 小康) remains a top priority for the Chinese leadership and its 1.4 billions of people.   What bigger opportunity than having the HongKongers (0.5% of Chinese population) to add to the well being of 1.4B? HongKongers have to respect the opportunity.

HongKongers are predominantly Chinese with our hair, our eyes, our skin. We enjoy Chinese cuisine. The Chinese traditions are thousands of years deep.  Every country has flaws, HongKongers must respect China to have established (again) as a world power, to evolve together than to destroy.

HongKongers must fight for these respects for our own good,  for the greater good before fighting for other things.

Dear Diary Hong Kong

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Oct 6

Toastmaster speech on financial tips

by ccue

ToastmasterPublic speaking is hard.  Motivating others is powerful but few has this natural gift.  Speaking on a topic that you are interested in, but not as a recognised expert, is scary.  I challenged myself a bit, it has been a good experience in preparing for it, and presenting it last month. 

The transcript of my recent Toastmaster speech on financial tips.
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I have yet to hear someone say “ I want to be poor in my life”.   More people seem to be saying “I want to be rich and richer”.   

I grew up in a poor family in Hong Kong, my parents worked hard  At that era, Hong Kong still had a lot of factories, and they subcontracted simple chores that we could complete at home.   I started helping out when I was like 3 years old, we barely made enough and we could not afford toys, snacks or ice creams.   

I want to be richer.   Shortly after I arrived in the US,  I enrolled in a 2-year personal financial planning program.    

To my dear Toastmasters,  I am excited to share a few ideas that could go a long way to your financial well being.

Well, life is not just about how much money you have, but your financial position could help or hinder you towards your life goals.  Only you know your life goal, you may want to “see the world”, “spend more time with your loved ones”, “make the world better”, “maximize happiness”, “relax or have fun”.   Your life goal influences your standard of living which then influences how much money you need.   

When is the right time to start?  It is N-O-W, now. Very simple. The younger you start, the more you have at the end.   Can you save an extra $50 each pay check? If you do this for the next 30 years, you would earn $58,000 with a meager 3% return, and a $100,000 with a 6% return.   And if you save $500 each pay check, you would be a millionaire with the same 6% return. Anyone knows about the rule of 72? If you divide 72 by your annual rate of return, what you get is the number of years that your money will double.   Over the long run, the stock market has had an annualized return rate of between six and seven percent, with this rate,  your money doubles every 12 years.     

How much are you going to save?  The tip would be set aside saving prior to spending; and not the other way round.  It is a mindset change. If I enjoy buying things, I would mostly likely spend more, if I don’t set aside savings.

How to make it happen?  It is far better to automate the saving so you never even have the money in your pocket.   Set up an investment account, set up the payroll so your savings would automatically be transferred to this account from each paycheck.   

If you are already doing everything I have said and more,  congratulations. You may still be able to do more! Investing the money is a topic by itself,   I would share my thoughts on investment that is not often mentioned. 

Be aware of your risk tolerance, but also remember the biggest risk is probably not invest your money, just like if you don’t invest yourself in learning.   What many financial books do not say is that your risk tolerance can change and sometimes, you may be able to push yourself a bit especially when you are young.    

Very few of us can claim discipline is their strength.   As such, automate the schedule of your investment, such as investing on the 1st Monday of every month or after every 2 pay checks.

When I started in California years ago, I have worked eight years already in Hong Kong, yet I had a very old car, I did not have a house, I did not have a 401k , I didn’t have much savings.  Over the years, I have earned my house, my car, my investment portfolio and my retirement account.

In summary, now is the time to start, automate savings to an investment account, automate the investment schedule, and you can do more.  If you take action now, at some stage, the return of your investment account would exceed your pay check. And you have more financial freedom towards your life goals.

Thank you .

Financial Freedom Road Sign

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Sep 7

Hong Kong : path to rationality?

by ccue

Deng-Xiaoping-1978The great Chinese leader and visionary Deng XiaoPing  (邓小平) famously used the phrase “ “it doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, if it catches mice it is a good cat” (“不管黑猫白猫，能捉老鼠的就是好猫”) to push China into the economic reform that lift tens of millions out of poverty and the country into an economic super-power.  And many said that one of his regrets has been not living long enough to witness Hong Kong to be returned to China.

To apply this wisdom to the political unrest in Hong Kong, “it doesn’t matter whether a person is in black or in white, if they live their proper role, they are good citizens”.  

Hong Kong is a relatively homogeneous society, inhabited by smart, intelligent, efficient and often charitable citizens. Its prosperity and international status sometimes hide its darker side that it does not always embrace diversity and inclusion in its soul.  In Cantonese, there are nicknames for caucasian, black, mainland Chinese, and other races. In the early 90s, there are nicknames for mainland Chinese which belittle them quite a bit.   Decades of world-renowned economic successes in this small city create some deep-rooted but subtle sense of pride, superiority and entitlement. Pursuit of capitalism and colonial elitism come with a chasm between the poor and the rich, the have and have-not, the will-have and the will-not-have;  without artful colonial maneuver, it creates a dangerous level of resentment among the have-not, will-not-have and the righteous.   Quick-thinking, short-cuts, pragmatism and efficiency, at times, are more highly valued in this city than critical thinking and Socrates discussion or Aristotle thinking.  These sentiments can be hijacked in current challenging situations.

I was born and raised in Hong Kong; and love the city.  For a moment, let’s try to use the Aristotelians’ first principle  and applies them to the five core demands. 

First principles

  1. A rational and calm mind is better than an irrational and angry mind. 
    If your emotions take over the reasoning, you become the victim of emotional hijacking, it is time to pause discussion and delay action.  E.g. You get outraged after watching some YT videos, and in that moment, you translate a few specific incidents into anger against all protestors, or all police or all establishments.
  2. A government needs to be diligent and care about the citizens. (勤政愛民)
    Even if we discount the organizers’ reported protestors participation, there are still thousands or tens of protestors that are disgruntled,  the government has responsibilities.
  3. A citizen needs to follow the law and order. 
    Asking for “I burn with you” is not fulfilling the role of basic citizenship.  Bullying law enforcement officers are not following the law and order. Obstructing and vandalizing LegCo, the set up to scrutinize bills, are not following the law and order.
  4. A citizen needs to accept consequence in acts against the law.
    Regardless of the situation, attacking police is against the law; obstructing police is against the law; vandalizing is against the law.
  5. People in Hong Kong love Hong Kong. 
    Call out those who may use Hong Kong for their political agenda; and those who may love other countries instead.
  6. Ad hominem behaviour is not acceptable.
    Ad hominem is when you start to attack others’ character and motive rather than their behaviours.  E.g. Rather than condemning specific violence of some individuals, it turns to attack the character of the whole class of protestors, police and their families to be shameless, and flawed in character.  

 

Seeing the five demands through the lens of first principles:

  1. Full withdrawal of the extradition bill. 
    Demand met.  Demand does not compromise any first principles.  It has been suspended and now withdrawn.
  2. A commission of inquiry into alleged police brutality.
    Partially met with adding top officers to CAPO.  Demand for commission, outside of existing system, compromises first principle 1: are the police brutality a few cases or systematic pattern that warrants a total overhaul of the system to inquiry police complaint? Are there evidences that HKPD is using more force than NYPD or police in other places in handling unrest? Demand also compromises first principle 3 & 6:  are the citizens behaving as good citizens to bully the law enforcing officers with labels, expose their family, surround their police stations?
  3. Retracting the classification of protesters as “rioters”
    Demand not met.  Demand compromises first principles 3 and 4.  If burning the cities, throwing petrol bombs, vandalizing and obstructing subways, police stations, airport and more are not the behaviours of rioters, what are?
  4. Amnesty for arrested protesters
    Demand not met.  Demand compromises first principles 3 and 4.
  5. Dual universal suffrage
    Demand not met.  This is emotional hijacking to take advantage the outrage and other resentments for something else.Demand compromises first principle 1 and 5.  Do these people, with political agenda seeking support from foreign countries,  love Hong Kong or love foreign countries? The result of last LegCo direct elections do not show clear evidence that Hong Kong people value democratic movement higher than other things they want for the city.

These first principles are of course debatable.  The point is that such an approach, to think through the first principles and stack them against the demands, can give a boost to your rational mind, and avoid your emotions to take over your intelligence without your knowing.

More rational minds are needed in my beloved city to return back to safety and beauty.

 

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