Tag Archives: today

Inspiration by artist Dai Li

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I find inspiration in the art work by artist Dai Li.

The Exhibit at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery is called “Games We Play,” and seeks to set up metaphorical connections between the games we play and deeper experiences in life. Moments of contemplation, when we are unguarded, or when no one is watching, are moments when people can reveal their true nature. Dai Li is a ceramicist and watercolorist from Sichuan, China and educated in Jiangxi province. Her work, petite in nature yet strong in commentary shows clay sculptures depicting a slice of life. Her humor is wonderfully candid!

Inspiration makes me happy! Check out her work and get a few smiles yourself.

http://www.daili.com.au/daili.com.au/Home.html

Happy Birthday Andy

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Today March 24th, Andy Zorn would be 32… Happy Birthday, son.

A few images that are great memories of him. Love you kiddo.

He was the life of the party, red headed, green eyed and always into something. A fabulous fisherman, he could out fish the lot. He was a wonderful son and a great friend. Missing you on your day.

You are gone, never forgotten.
Life goes on, so live it well, it could end at any time.
Go for the gusto, travel, meet new people, listen and help others.
Be KIND.

Wish you were here I’d take you out to the Great Barrier Reef and let you snorkel and eat a lobster.

Snow Mountain Mediation on a frosty day

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This is the actual Snow Mountain in China.

It snowed today and I rode my bike to work in the falling flakes, actually delightful.  Therefore, I am writing about snow inspirations.  Jon gave me a book to read called The Secret of the Golden Flower by Thomas Cleary.  It is a Chinese Taoist book about mediation.  After reading it, I did some research on some of the terms and found an interesting Taoist meditation called Snow Mountain Meditation.

It’s simple to do.  Sit upright in a chair.  Take a couple nice cleansing breaths, release the tension from your head, neck and shoulders.  Smile and relax.  Put your attention in the area in front of your tailbone maybe a half inch from the pelvic floor.  This is the Snow Mountain area or sometimes called the Golden Urn.  In this space, deep in your belly, visualize a mountain of snow with a very warm sun shinning down from above, as though there were a sun in your lower belly, shining down on the snow mountain.  Continue to visualize, as the sun warms and melts the snow.  The snow melts and flows down the mountain to create a lake.  Steam rises and nourishes your entire body.  Repeat this visualization, warming sun melting snow, creating a lake and steam rising.  In a couple minutes you should feel renewed and refreshed.

I thought this was a lovely meditation and a nice visual to practice on a snowy day.  Let me know the outcome of your snow mediation.   Just hit reply, I am curious what you visualized and felt.

Happiness, it is a state of mind. You can create it.

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How happy are you?  Think about this a moment.  If you could rate your happiness on a scale of 1 to 10 and 10 being no problems, no regrets only pure happiness, like when you were a child and nothing bothered you, total bliss, and happiness. Try remembering that moment?  Do you have your number?  Is it a 10?  Ok how about a 9?  Maybe you’re not real happy and it is a 5 or 6.  Did you know happiness is just a “state of mind?”  And you can be happy by thinking happy thoughts?  Believe me it is possible.  I should know I am one who has had many heartaches and had to live through quite a lot of sadness.  So today I am going to teach you how to be happy.  What do you think about that? An art teacher, teaching happiness?

So what have you been thinking about in the last few minutes? Are you thinking about work, other people, colleagues, spouses, children or are you just stressed from the daily grind?  Why in the world did you click my blog?  I’ll tell you, you want a break from reality.  Today I am explaining happiness and how to achieve it.  So lets start with removing these draining thoughts from our heads and thinking about something uplifting and happy.   This can be hard to do but first I want you to think about what really makes you happy.  Can you visualize it, create a picture in your head?  Do this now.  Ok you have a happy thought, a place, a thing  or an event that is absolutely fabulous?  Now, what you have to do is remember this one thought and when you find yourself in the muck of misery just return to this happy thought.  If you can concentrate on a happy thought and hold it long enough it will actually pull you out of those miserable places your mind takes you.  It is all in your mind.  Quit being sad and miserable, it is only a thought away and that simple.  You just have to believe it.  So if you need some happy visuals here are some I like.  Use mine and attract happiness to you.

John Mayer! and no Houston Hair.

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John Mayer

October 3, 2010

How do you spell John Mayer?   I bought a CD by him today.  I realize it is pirated because my dyslexic mind saw the title John Marter and never realized it was misspelled.  The picture was of John Mayer but it is a Chinese copy.  I am laughing at this minute looking at the CD cover and listening to the CD.  It’s fabulous, with a DVD of him as well…. And I paid 10 Yuan for it.  I have a feeling I will be in the disc store more than anywhere now.  John Marter, wonder if the John Lennon was Jon Lemon?

Filo and Colina which they pronounce Fin-o and Cole-leah-a accompanied me shopping today.  Does anyone understand the way Chinese spell in English?  We went to Aqua City and had a great time looking at clothes and shoes.  H&M is my favorite shop.  Sam got me hooked on this place when I was in Boston.  Sam I found some really cute skinny legged jeans that bunch up at the ankles for 149 Yuan ($22.50) OMG they are so cute, even the girls liked them.  Shoes, well that was another thing, they are so different than in the US, much more fashionable and unique, but cost more than in the US.  So no shoes today!  Can’t pay $50-80 yet…..  I like DSW in the states and $25 shoes.  Got a toaster oven, yeah now I can “sort of” bake!  Found Kenya coffee in the Starbucks and it is the same price world wide, but you know me and a good cup of java!  KENYA is best, I could thank Kyle for that lesson.  Patti, I found this little gadget at IKEA to frappe warm milk into froth.  I can now make a real latte without a coffee maker.  I found coffee filters and use them to drip my African coffee.  I am getting milk from the milk lady on a daily basis at 6:30 am for 59 Yuan a month.  Someone tell me how cool is it to have milk delivered to your door?

The sun was out all day, with a nice cool breeze.  It was lovely.  I mentioned to the girls I was having a good hair day, because my curls were still curly at 3pm.  It is so humid and damp here or hot and sweaty that my hair ends up damp and sticking to my head like when I lived in Houston.  (Remember “Houston Hair?”)  I told the girls we need to curl their hair, cause no one has curly hair here.  Little did I know that it is unacceptable to have curly hair in China!  They told me that Chinese only have straight hair and if they curled it that would be against the rules at school.  So am I going against the rules?  Yes I guess I am, but I am a teacher and they said that was ok.  Would they look too much like a western girl?  Interesting, so I guess I need my “Free Tibet” shirt and curly hair and I would be a real rebel!  Someone make me a Free Tibet shirt, I am feeling like I need to be a hellion today!

During this beautiful clear afternoon I took pictures out my penthouse balcony windows and realized I could see the furthest point of the Yangtze Bridge.  Wow, it is really far, there are many mountains way off in the distance and countless high rise buildings, and apartments.  It’s amazing how much you can see out my windows, just miles and miles of skyscrapers with people in every window.  China has a huge population and I just never realized what a large place this is.  You can see it all from my window.  I love my view, it is amazing and fascinating.  Fireworks go off almost every hour all over the city and they are spectacular from my view.  I love it here.  China and Chinese people are fantastic.  Americans thought this was a black hole, but I have news for you it is really a red nation of lovely warm friends. Red, yes the color is everywhere and on everything.   I actually feel tall here!  Sarah how do you like that, I can call people here “little ones” like you call me.  Wait till you get here, they will really stare at you, probably more than me!  That makes me laugh, “tall one!”

Jenny and Lynn are thinking I need to date!  Lynn thinks he has some professor friends at Nanjing University that he might set me up with!  OMG!  Dating again, I don’t know!  All my American friends said I would come back with a Chinese guy, I don’t know!  I just don’t think so!  Do you think there is anyone out there that can actually care for me?  I am such a hand full. Jenny is so cute, she says husbands should take care of their wife’s, why would you marry one if he didn’t?  Duh, I did!  Let me count three times I believe!  Women here presume not only should men take care of you, but they should provide a home for you as well.  Like purchase land and a house for you.  Well somewhere I went wrong, and did not get this message in America!  What was I doing working three jobs and paying for it all?  Hello!  I am in China and learning my lessons!

Eating, praying, shopping!

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Saturday I spent the day with Alice and Sawyer.  We started our day eating, what else would you do?  Eating is so much fun here.  Maybe shopping is as fun, but will save that for later.  My new favorite place is the JiMing Temple, today we light three incense sticks, put them in the sand table and said prayers.  We prayed for each other.  It’s raining so we scurry up the steps to the top of the temple where the restaurant is and order our vegetarian meal.  Today we have dumplings (like a bread ball with veggies inside) fake duck and beef, fried rice and their delicious plum juice.  Another wonderful meal with my new Chinese adopted grown children.

Sawyer says now we must have Coffee, so off to “Sculpting in Time” the western Coffee shop.  We order our Cappuccino and Lattes.  I notice a John Lennon paperback for sale and bring it to the table to ponder over.  It is philosophical sayings by John in Chinese.  Alice opens the book and translates to English for me.  It is about Communism and how John didn’t really believe that there was Communism.  The three of us have a long discussion on the Beatles and politics.  Off we go to a mall called MUJI, somewhat like the Galleria in Dallas.  So many cute and very fashionable outfits and hundreds of shoes.  At this time I realize sizes run small – if not tiny and many won’t fit my size 9 body.  I need to be thin as a pencil to wear Chinese fashion.  Shoes are hard to fit, Chinese feet are thin, I can find the right size but not wide enough.  Later Alice shows me a shoe shop by the University that carries Merrell’s’ and Timberline, American walking/hiking brands. (John Garrott you would be proud!  You trained me well about good walking shoes, thank you.)

Take the subway to a bus stop. Not so bad, but then I have translators with me.  The University street has many cute shops and I find a  jacket and sweater to layer with my T-shirts.  Then on the bus we go to Alice’s mom’s home.  Jump off and walk into a bakery.  Alice wants to order a birthday cake for her mom, will be ready in 15 minutes, so we walk up a back street and eye food while we wait.  I find a woman selling live frogs to eat.  We see all kinds of cooked meat to purchase, including feet,stomachs, colons, duck heads, gizzards and livers.  There were other  parts I couldn’t even guess where they came from.  Sawyer wants meat, so he gets a sampling of things boxed to go.  Up four flights of stairs to Alice’s mom home.  Mrs. Wong  is simply daring with chopped short hair and teeny tiny reader glasses half way down her nose.  She has lived in this home twenty years, where Alice grew up.  The kitchen is small but she has every space utilized, chopping all shorts of vegetables.  Sawyer’s favorite is a bitter gourd, which is bright grass green in color, long like a cucumber but has warty bumps all over it.  Xiao Wong slices it in half and then in thin pieces.  She pours boiling water on top and lets it soak, drains, adds salt and vinegar and that magic powered spice I saw Sarah use last night.  She stir fries snap green beans with a bit of chilies.  A second dish of sliced carrots mixed in a variety of mushrooms including a fungus mushroom is fried.   The last stir fried dish is a fresh chive like plant with long thin sliced mushrooms.  All of these were tasty except Sawyer’s favorite dish the bitter gourd.  I just couldn’t enjoy the taste like he did and he proceeded to eat the entire bowl.   We had a lovely bottle of 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon to toast to Xiao Wong’s birthday and new friends.

Time to cut the cutest birthday ever, with fresh fruit on top and in the filling.  I so enjoy the family style atmosphere the Chinese continue to cultivate in their homes and during their meals out.   This is something we as Americans have given up for fast food and always on the go lifestyles.

Designed by Tim Sainburg from Brambling Design

High School

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August 28, 2010 I like the school, even though it was raining when I arrived. The Taxi cost about $1.50 to take about 4 mile, can you believe? And I thought I would walk, not! Gated and two or three guards at the entrance, very secure. There are many buildings, including a fine arts performance hall and sculpture in the garden. The IB area is housed with one of the public school buildings. I have an office overlooking a grassed roof, go figure. The Art room greeted me with really bad graffiti on the walls, needs a mural to cover it. (Thinking of you Keleigh Brill) The art teacher that left, forgot to clean up! What a mess, looks like I will be pitching stuff on Tuesday and setting up the room for Wednesday first day. The room will be cool when it is straightened, only problem, no AC! (That was an oxy-moron) They are getting me a secondary art room with AC for those sultry days. There is a couple computer labs and a lecture hall. Quite up to snuff, I would say. Some of the hall ways, ours happens to be on the 5th floor, are open air. It is lovely, after you have puffed up the five flights.

I met my western colleagues, an American, Brit and Aussie! We all have such accents. I answered someone in Spanish and that was funny, they thought it was a dialect of English. My Chinese is just 2 words at this point. Have much to learn and it is mind boggling. I am going for latte with the western teachers today and looking forward to chatting.

My back is really sore, could use my inversion table or a good massage! (Where is Susan Cline when you need her?) Casey said to buy an egg crate, hope they have those here.

My space bags worked great but now that I am opening them, everything is so wrinkled, need to buy an iron next. And I need about 100 hangers, I have 6 in my closet.

For those of you interested in my bathroom findings…. The high school facilities are a lovely Prussian blue tiled hole in the floor, at least each hole has a door. I inquired about faculty restrooms and a regular toilet, and since I am the only female western teacher they may accommodate me with something. Maybe a five gallon bucket with a lid! Culture Update #1: Always carry toilet paper on you, as there is none in any of the bathrooms!

Need to take some pictures today. The university has historical architecture and some being renovated. They are using scaffolding made of bamboo that goes up maybe ten stories. It looks like an accident waiting to happen. I was told there is a Buddhist Temple behind the campus, that might be my first photo excursion.