We visited the Aquarium yesterday. M has a holiday on Monday and despite our itch to go somewhere out-of-town, we decided to stay in Chiang Mai.  Traveling out-of-town means extra expenses for us. With our plan to return to the US this summer we will inevitably increase our spending- eeeek- in dollars.  Therefore, we have to be careful with our spending NOW.

We still wanted to do something fun with M and since she’s keen on going there and so, we went.  We skipped the zoo though. Didn’t want to do that again.

Luckily for us, since we have lived here for 2 years, at the ticket counter, J showed his Thai driver’s license to the young lady when she asked how long we’ve lived there and if we have any proof of documentation.

We did get local prices which were 290 for adults and 190 for child total of 770b or $25.66; NOT 1430b or $47.66. We saved $22. Yaaay!

It was a nice get away from a hot afternoon.  M was entertained, we learned about some of the sea creatures we’ve not  heard of or seen, we were in an air-conditioned building and most importantly, we were spending time together -  not connected to any devices.

Anyone care to guess what these are?

M’s Favorite Part?  The tunnel!  For more photos from this excursion, please visit here.

I got back on the motorbike today for the first time in a long time since I got sick back in February.  Great to have the wind blowing in my face (much easier to tolerate than being in a car in the middle of  this heat),  getting to places quickly and finding parking easily.  Despite my hesitancy in getting back on one, I miss being on the back of the motorbike. One of the experiences that make our life in Chiang Mai so freeing.  For that I’m grateful.

Thanks to J for being so patient with me and being gentle where the roads are bumpy.

Chiang Mai 2009 with our rental bike

May we all  be blessed.

May Buddha protect all of us.

May all living beings be happy.

May there be peace, generosity and kindness in our hearts.

For more colorful images from the Songkran festival 2012 from morning alms, to the madness of the water war, to the costumes and dances from the parade here in Chiang Mai, please follow the link HERE.

Images from Thingyan 2011 in Chiang Mai can be found here.

To everyone who celebrates it from our family’s heart  to yours,  Happy New Year!

Wow. Twelve years. Can you believe we’ve been married for 12 years? Happy anniversary, honey, I think we deserve a prize… Oh, we already got the prize, and she’s nine years old.

A., today is also your birthday, so Happy Birthday to you!!

I am grateful that you are feeling better, when at times you may have felt that your pain might last forever. I hope we can encourage each other not to take our health for granted, and really take charge of it.

I am grateful that you convinced me that living abroad in Asia was possible, as I can’t imagine a more fulfilling adventure for the three of us. It’s no longer just your dream, but our dream.

Life has not been easy for us by any means, as we have had our share of struggles over the years. But we have survived them, like we’ll survive the next ones to come.

You are an inspiring life partner, a terrific mother to our M., and truly the most selfless person I know. My life is so much richer with you in it.
We know how fragile life can be, and that we truly need to cherish what time we have, and each other.

So, happy birthday, happy anniversary, and I wish for us a happy long life together.

Love you,
J

We enjoyed Shan food and watched the community come together to celebrate a Buddhist Novice Ceremony of close to 100 Shan boys, their family and their community at Wat Ku Tao in Chiang Mai. Colorful and festive for sure.

1st April turned out to be a good start of the month with the success of by-elections in Burma  and as a family we attended something festive together with my mom.  And top of that I’m feeling better and I’m grateful.

One of the videos and a few pictures of the so many pictures and videos we collected.

So glad we had this day and M had the opportunity to witness this celebration together as a family.

boys between the age of 7 & 14 dressed like a prince (following Buddha's foot steps) before taking novice monastic vows to become the sons of Buddha.

Dear J, My Love:

First, let me apologize for I won’t be able to type for very long. It is important to me that I record this post for our family and for you, the first love of my life.

Thank you for an amazing loving 12 years of marriage through which we gained a gifted child full of life and enthusiasms much like us.

I love you for your amazing ability to find patience in every situation including sitting at the hospital waiting with me. You never complain about walking to the parking lot to fetch the car in this heat so I don’t have to walk so far.

I love you for being a thoughtful husband to me and a loving daddy to M.

I love your wittiness, your humor and your geekiness. I’m your biggest fan!

Know that I LOVE YOU. I always will!

Thanks for standing by me in sickness and in health.

Happy 45th birthday and 12th anniversary, my handsome Taiwanese-Canadian-American Prince!

Here’s to growing old together.

~A

;

;

32 years ago on 27 March, A’s family left home (Burma) & arrived on 29 March in Houston, Texas, one of the United States of America, with only $35 to the family’s name.

It’s been a long while since I’ve written here on our blog.  Last post I wrote was in December 2011 on Disconnect to Connect in 2012.  A lot has happened since then.   A more updated summarized version of those months to be written later, but today is Valentine’s Day (well at least it is still in other parts of the world) and I wanted to record a bit about how we spent it.

Actually, it was just another ordinary day for us.

M made some Valentine’s Day cards for some of her friends. She’s always doing something thoughtful for her friends like a note or a homemade card,or  something!!   J made lunch for M and took her to school.  J and I both spent a few hours on-line  in the morning each doing our own things. I actually taught a Burmese lesson this morning.   Yaay,  after almost two months of not teaching!

We were instructed by M’s teacher that we needed to bring oranges for M’s sport’s day tomorrow so we made our way to one of the markets here in Chiang Mai, in search of oranges (and coconuts).  We stopped at our friend’s restaurant, Free Style for a bite to eat as it was already lunch time.

My Mom and I had Shan yellow noodle salad and J had pork and garlic (a new dish we tried there).  We took pictures of our food, which is something we do often.   After lunch and a chat with Nong, the Chef at Free Style,  we headed toward Maung Mai market to find oranges and coconuts.  We not only came home with oranges and coconuts, we also came home with a load of veggies.

After returning home from the market, we rested at home (I especially needed to rest my right arm since I was in a motorbike accident recently, all by myself,  that banged-me up real good.  I was practicing. Sigh….).  Then we realised we needed to run to Tesco Lotus to withdraw some cash and pay the internet bill.

While at Tesco Lotus walking around looking for oatmeal, muesli and such J surprised me with these flowers and hearts for Valentine’s Day (I couldn’t keep them, I was only allowed to take pictures with them).  See?

Lovely, I said, and agreed for a picture for keepsakes like this post.

Then J insisted that I share ice cream with him, because, well,  it’s Valentines’ Day!  Really I wasn’t craving for ice cream but being the dutiful wife that I am, agreed, as it is after all, Valentine’s Day. And so, we went to.. wait for it.. Dairy Queen possibly for ice cream because I had to check out my options- it’s a Valentine’s Day treat after all.   We looked up on the menu board and  found this—–!  Trust me, tis not something  I would find anywhere else in the world!

Green tea and red beans shake! YUM!

It wasn’t so bad actually.  I really liked it.  Thanks honey for the adventurous trip out to  Tesco Lotus for this tasty drink.  Oh and for the record,  it’s our first time going to a Dairy Queen here in Thailand. On the way out of Tesco Lotus, I joked with J that I too have found Jeremy Lin–  in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

We head back home on our motorbike and got ready to head out for dinner a couple of hours later.   M wanted Japanese food so we  went to one of our favorite places close to where we used to live.   Nice filling dinner for the four of us where we enjoyed salmon teri yaki, tempura,  spider rolls, a pizza sushi for the price of 456b = $15.20. We splurged because we don’t eat out all the time. We could, but we don’t.

Sooo well, NO, we didn’t spend extravagant amount of money on each other.   I didn’t get any overpriced flowers or chocolates.  Who wants all that when I can have green tea and rad beans?  We also spent a nice evening together at dinner, even walked off our dinner at the nearby mall – Kad Suan Kaew.

It was another ordinary day!  Why? Because I spent the morning  promoting to the world and anyone who would “listen or read” about the non-profit organizations I work with here in Chaing Mai, their projects and their efforts, their needs via social media tools including our blog.  J and I discussed possible and potential projects we might consider in the future.  J told me something about phones, particularly Nokia, I’m pretty sure.  He tells me something about phones and stuff everyday. I responded to emails to individuals interested in volunteering.  I sent emails to our realtor in Houston regarding the set-up to put our house back on the market.  We spent time talking to our friend about how we can help her promote her new cozy restaurant (true humble beginnings, but a proud one).  And I read up on news about Burma (that new e-visa thing sounds good but prob not for us- go figure) and dreaming of the next trip home with my little family while J read up about more phones and did podcast tech review on Jeremy Lin.  I cleaned the house (a little),  did laundry,  talked to M about homework, reading, keeping her room cleaned, getting her hair trimmed, etc. while I made plans with my Mom about what we’re going to eat tomorrow for lunch!  And somehow, everyday, J manages to teach classes from our 2nd floor room with good internet access (thank goodness)  to a bunch of college students in US cities like Washington and soon, San Antonio.   So yes, it was another ordinary day in our household.

And in a nutshell, today was a good day like many of our other days.  I’ve had my share of bad days and I’ve had my share of woes and foes.   But I feel at ease and at peace that we are able to help and support others succeed in their journeys. We are grateful that there is a sense and a presence of generosity and kindness in our daily lives.   And we  are always in gratitude for what we do have in our lives – each other.

On that note, I wish you generosity and kindness not just on Valentine’s Day but everyday!

Video from KarmaTube