Wishing U Gong Xi Fa Chai
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Feel Good And Smile
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..."
"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me. After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up..
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day.You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."
She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose" She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the
wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.
These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.
We make a Living by what we get,
We make a Life by what we give.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..."
"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me. After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up..
At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."
As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day.You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it! There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.
Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."
She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose" She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the
wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.
These words have been passed along in loving memory of ROSE.
REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.
We make a Living by what we get,
We make a Life by what we give.
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.
If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Shell Citibank Credit Card - A Cash Draining Card
UPDATED
Table information show when Citibank card first launched:
Latest tiered table displayed on Citibank site
From the new updated table, can I say that we can now enjoy the 1st tier rebate even if we have 0 outstanding balance?
Got this info from lokenyin site:
Are you fancy of getting a credit card that offers 5% rebate on shell
petrol and 1.5% rebate on other purchases?
If your answer is yes, then you are draining your money away!
The newly launched Shell Citibank credit card is not as good as its sounds
- to enjoy the rebate, you must have a carry forward balance. Yes, a carry
forward balance that you have to pay Citibank 18% interest per annum. But
that's is not all, your so called 'rebate' is based on your current month
spending. That means if you have a carry forward of RM10,000 but did not
use the card at all for the current month, you get 'zero' rebate.
To be precise, this 'rebate' card is an old card - it has been around for
about 2 years. But now taking advantage of the fuel cost concern, Citibank
co-branded it with Shell.
This is how the rebate scheme works:
First, you need to have a carry forward balance. The amount of that
carry forward determines the rebate rate (%) that the card holder is
getting.
Shell Citibank
Then based on your current month spend, you will get the rebate (as
shown by the rebate table above) - your rebate is not based on your
total carry forward balance. Repeat: your rebate is not based on your
total carry forward balance, but current month spending
In short, to get your 'rebate' you must have at least of RM2,000
outstanding balance in you card AND continue use the card. The outstanding
balance is the net of previous month balance minus current month payment.
If you do that, every month you will be paying RM30.00, or RM360 a year for
the minimum RM2,000 outstanding balance.
Let's do a simple math here:
If you spend RM500/mth on shell petrol and your classic card has a RM2,000
outstanding balance, at 1.5%, you are getting RM7.50 as 'rebate', while at
the same time, paying RM30.00 for the interest. The 'nett' profit for
Citibank is RMRM22.50. Your are essentially "over paying" 4 times the price
(30/7.5)
To 'break even' (so that your RM30.00 interest payment = rebate value), you
need to pump RM2,000 shell petrol a month, or charge RM6,000 a month for
non-shell related purchases.
The USD100.00 per barrel of crude oil won't kills you, but the Citi-Shell
card will.
Sources: http://smartconsumerbanking.com/
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Taiwan Trip - Day 3
Date: 5/10/2007
Places: Taroko (太鲁阁峡谷), Tienh Siang(天祥), Cisingtan Beach (七星潭海滩), Yu Bao Shop (御宝), Plaza International Hotel (通豪大飯店聳)
Today, we woke up at 7am; as usual have breakfast and then gather up to continue our journey with the rest of the group.
This is our tour guide, Yao Mummy giving us information on the places we are visiting.
The whole day, the rain and wind gushing non stop and one of our destination was closed due to the typhoon.
First stop was in Taroko (太鲁阁峡谷). The gorge was formed by rushing river waters which have cut straight through the marble and surrounded by subtropical forests. There are several notable scenic spots in and near the gorge. Due to raining, we just walk down and took some photographs before rushing back into the bus.
Raining season… but still must say cheese..
View from the bus.. raining
The gorge
We stop at Tienh Siang(天祥) to rest for some photo shooting, resting and drinking coffee.
Tienh Siang features a suspension bridge over the gorge, with a Buddhist temple and pagoda perched on the opposite side of the mountain. The Bridge of Motherly devotion is a popular spot of picnic, with a little bowed bridge across a small tributary.
Me with boy boy
The road…
The coffee shop
The next stop, we went to Cisingtan Beach (七星潭海滩) in Hualien to see the strong waves along the beach and also to feel the strong wind
See how strong the wind blows the trees…
Can you see the strong waves in the background?
My messy hair blown by the wind…
We saw reporter coming to this beach and the police told us to stay away from there as it is very dangerous. So we have no choice but to leave that spot and proceed to next stop.
Our next stop is Yu Bao Shop (御宝).
This is the shop where you can purchase Ling Zhi and other nutritional products.
Look at this guy who tells us the information on products sold.
See how big the real Ling Zhi is…
We bought Ling Zhi for TWD13000.
Name card of the shop
The lady who assist us in the shop.
Sooo big…
Helping him to shade from the sun… Haha…
After that we went for lunch. The place where we had our lunch is nearby the Marble Factory and there’s lots of marble craving statue around.
Some photos with the statue:
Haha, I’m Wong Fei Hong… (just kidding)
Places: Taroko (太鲁阁峡谷), Tienh Siang(天祥), Cisingtan Beach (七星潭海滩), Yu Bao Shop (御宝), Plaza International Hotel (通豪大飯店聳)
Today, we woke up at 7am; as usual have breakfast and then gather up to continue our journey with the rest of the group.
This is our tour guide, Yao Mummy giving us information on the places we are visiting.
The whole day, the rain and wind gushing non stop and one of our destination was closed due to the typhoon.
First stop was in Taroko (太鲁阁峡谷). The gorge was formed by rushing river waters which have cut straight through the marble and surrounded by subtropical forests. There are several notable scenic spots in and near the gorge. Due to raining, we just walk down and took some photographs before rushing back into the bus.
Raining season… but still must say cheese..
View from the bus.. raining
The gorge
We stop at Tienh Siang(天祥) to rest for some photo shooting, resting and drinking coffee.
Tienh Siang features a suspension bridge over the gorge, with a Buddhist temple and pagoda perched on the opposite side of the mountain. The Bridge of Motherly devotion is a popular spot of picnic, with a little bowed bridge across a small tributary.
Me with boy boy
The road…
The coffee shop
The next stop, we went to Cisingtan Beach (七星潭海滩) in Hualien to see the strong waves along the beach and also to feel the strong wind
See how strong the wind blows the trees…
Can you see the strong waves in the background?
My messy hair blown by the wind…
We saw reporter coming to this beach and the police told us to stay away from there as it is very dangerous. So we have no choice but to leave that spot and proceed to next stop.Our next stop is Yu Bao Shop (御宝).
This is the shop where you can purchase Ling Zhi and other nutritional products.
Look at this guy who tells us the information on products sold.
See how big the real Ling Zhi is…
We bought Ling Zhi for TWD13000.
Name card of the shop
The lady who assist us in the shop.
Sooo big…
Helping him to shade from the sun… Haha…
After that we went for lunch. The place where we had our lunch is nearby the Marble Factory and there’s lots of marble craving statue around.
Some photos with the statue:
Haha, I’m Wong Fei Hong… (just kidding)
I like this statue…
Dragon Ball… 
Next we visit Marble Factory and Marble House.
Precious…
With Mickey…
The 12 chinese zodiac
1. Rat, 2. Ox, 3. Tiger, 4. Rabbit
5. Dragon, 6. Snake, 7.Horse, 8.Goat
9. Monkey, 10. Rooster, 11. Dog, 12. Boar
Dinner served at 6.30pm.
Can you see a man here?
Next we visit Marble Factory and Marble House.
Precious…
With Mickey…
The 12 chinese zodiac
1. Rat, 2. Ox, 3. Tiger, 4. Rabbit
5. Dragon, 6. Snake, 7.Horse, 8.Goat
9. Monkey, 10. Rooster, 11. Dog, 12. Boar
Dinner served at 6.30pm.
Then we went back to Plaza International Hotel (通豪大飯店聳) for spa. We stayed in Room 320.
Entrace to the spa.
Entrace to the spa.
The spa pool
**Additional Info:
Taroko
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taroko
Plaza International Hotel (Hualien)
- http://www.taichung-plaza.com/eng/home.htm
More photos here: http://sherlynchew.multiply.com/photos/album/106
Taiwan Trip - Day 2
Date: 4/10/2007
Places: Yehliu (野柳), Chiufen (九份), Nantien Temple (南天宫), Cultural VillagAmi Aboriginale (阿美文化村)
Today’s my boy boy’s birthday. =) Wishing him a happy birthday o!!!
On the 2nd day, we met our tour guide Yao Xiao Jie. She is also known as "Yao Yao Mommy" as she is like a mommy to us who will always take care of all of us in the tour. There's another tour guide (also her assistant), Fern Jie. Both of them are very helpful and knowledgable.
Today is the day which we met with typhoon. We were quite lucky today because when we arrive in every place, the rain stops and we are able to walk around freely without using umbrella. The rain falls when we were inside the bus.
Our first stop was at Yehliu (野柳).
Yehliu is a peninsula on the north coast ofTaiwan, between Taipei and Keelung. The natural rock formations at Yehliu (wild willows) are an amazing array of artistic shapes created by erosion and other natural forces.
It is famous for the natural formations of wonder rocks, sculptured throughout agest by the wind and sea erosion caused a chemical change hardened the top layer of earth. This top layer protects the layers below from erosion, leaving fascinating pillar formations, including the famous Queen's Head.
According to Chinese geography Magazine 2006 annual special report, Yehliu is the 2nd beautiful peninsula in China.
Entrance ticket:
We were given 1 hour to visit this place and to photograph the famous Queen’s head.
This is the mushroom head.
After that, on the way out, we went to buy “ChiChai” (Seaweed). The tour guide advised us to buy the one round in shape because it is better and no sand inside compare to the one in square shape.
Advice from my experience is not to buy directly from the first store as the next store will be selling cheaper than the first. =)
The next stop is Chiufen (九份).
It is is a mountain town in the Rueifang Township of Taipei County near Keelung, Taiwan. Chiufen features the old traditional lifestyle that still exists, with the aura of an old mining that still apparent. Here you can also try some famous local snacks like Taro and Sweet Potato Ball etc.
We tasted out the famous Drunken Chicken and the fish/meat ball.
We also bought the localities here.
Umbrella was sold for TWD100. I also bought my favorite bag here. It was said to be handmade. J
We walked all the way up until the end (without making any right/end turning) and took these photographs.
After the show, we were sent back to hotel for rest and prepare for next day’s activity. We were given room 336.
In this hotel, the owner likes antique very much and displays these antiques all around his hotel. We took some of the photos with these unique antiques.
**Additional Info:
Yehliu
- Address: 10KM north-est of Keelung No 167-1, Kantung Road, Taipei, Taiwan.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehliu
Chiufen
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiufen
Gold Coast Union Hotel (Hualien)
- 50 Chien-Chang Road, Pei-Chang Village, Chi-An Hsiang.
- Tel: (03) 8581-006
- http://www.union-hotel.com.tw/
More photos here: http://sherlynchew.multiply.com/photos/album/105
Places: Yehliu (野柳), Chiufen (九份), Nantien Temple (南天宫), Cultural VillagAmi Aboriginale (阿美文化村)
Today’s my boy boy’s birthday. =) Wishing him a happy birthday o!!!
On the 2nd day, we met our tour guide Yao Xiao Jie. She is also known as "Yao Yao Mommy" as she is like a mommy to us who will always take care of all of us in the tour. There's another tour guide (also her assistant), Fern Jie. Both of them are very helpful and knowledgable.
Today is the day which we met with typhoon. We were quite lucky today because when we arrive in every place, the rain stops and we are able to walk around freely without using umbrella. The rain falls when we were inside the bus.
Our first stop was at Yehliu (野柳).
Yehliu is a peninsula on the north coast of
It is famous for the natural formations of wonder rocks, sculptured throughout agest by the wind and sea erosion caused a chemical change hardened the top layer of earth. This top layer protects the layers below from erosion, leaving fascinating pillar formations, including the famous Queen's Head.
According to Chinese geography Magazine 2006 annual special report, Yehliu is the 2nd beautiful peninsula in China.
Entrance ticket:
We were given 1 hour to visit this place and to photograph the famous Queen’s head.
This is the mushroom head.
After that, on the way out, we went to buy “ChiChai” (Seaweed). The tour guide advised us to buy the one round in shape because it is better and no sand inside compare to the one in square shape.
Advice from my experience is not to buy directly from the first store as the next store will be selling cheaper than the first. =)
The next stop is Chiufen (九份).
It is is a mountain town in the Rueifang Township of Taipei County near Keelung, Taiwan. Chiufen features the old traditional lifestyle that still exists, with the aura of an old mining that still apparent. Here you can also try some famous local snacks like Taro and Sweet Potato Ball etc.
We tasted out the famous Drunken Chicken and the fish/meat ball.
We also bought the localities here.
Umbrella was sold for TWD100. I also bought my favorite bag here. It was said to be handmade. J
We walked all the way up until the end (without making any right/end turning) and took these photographs.
After tired of walking up and down, we rest at the shop that sells Yam dessert, which is called “Oh Ee”.
It costs us TWD35.
While waiting for our tour bus to come, we went into the magic shop located at the front of Chiufen and was amazed by the trick he perform using cards. So in the end, we end up buying the magic cards for TWD300.
Third destination is Nantien Temple (南天宫). It is the landmark of Nanfanau, and also the center of traditional religion of the local citizen. We went there to pray for good things and get a charm from that temple.
We also tasted the peanut ice cream selling on the street beside this temple.
Then we went for dinner.
Around 7.40pm, we visited Cultural VillagAmi Aboriginale (阿美文化村).
A-Mei is an aboriginal tribe in Hualien. The Ami are the native people of the Hualien area. There are a number of tribes of native peoples around Taiwan or as the Chinese of Taiwan call them, The Mountain People. In this cultural center, you can see A-Mei people unique life style and enjoy delicious A-Mei cuisines. We saw performances and dances from this tribe.
There’s also one of our tourist volunteer to help out in carrying the bride in the “Bride and Groom show”. In their traditional wedding ceremony, the groom will carry the bride on the back. We were full with laughter and entertainment when we say this volunteer carrying the bride on his back. (Of course with the help of other people).
One of the members of Amei Tribe
Amei tribe wannabe
It costs us TWD35.
While waiting for our tour bus to come, we went into the magic shop located at the front of Chiufen and was amazed by the trick he perform using cards. So in the end, we end up buying the magic cards for TWD300.
Third destination is Nantien Temple (南天宫). It is the landmark of Nanfanau, and also the center of traditional religion of the local citizen. We went there to pray for good things and get a charm from that temple.
We also tasted the peanut ice cream selling on the street beside this temple.
Then we went for dinner.
Around 7.40pm, we visited Cultural VillagAmi Aboriginale (阿美文化村).
A-Mei is an aboriginal tribe in Hualien. The Ami are the native people of the Hualien area. There are a number of tribes of native peoples around Taiwan or as the Chinese of Taiwan call them, The Mountain People. In this cultural center, you can see A-Mei people unique life style and enjoy delicious A-Mei cuisines. We saw performances and dances from this tribe.
There’s also one of our tourist volunteer to help out in carrying the bride in the “Bride and Groom show”. In their traditional wedding ceremony, the groom will carry the bride on the back. We were full with laughter and entertainment when we say this volunteer carrying the bride on his back. (Of course with the help of other people).
One of the members of Amei Tribe
Amei tribe wannabe
Statue in front
After the show, we were sent back to hotel for rest and prepare for next day’s activity. We were given room 336.
In this hotel, the owner likes antique very much and displays these antiques all around his hotel. We took some of the photos with these unique antiques.
**Additional Info:
Yehliu
- Address: 10KM north-est of Keelung No 167-1, Kantung Road, Taipei, Taiwan.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yehliu
Chiufen
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiufen
Gold Coast Union Hotel (Hualien)
- 50 Chien-Chang Road, Pei-Chang Village, Chi-An Hsiang.
- Tel: (03) 8581-006
- http://www.union-hotel.com.tw/
More photos here: http://sherlynchew.multiply.com/photos/album/105
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