Believe It or Not …

I recalled it was in the winter and my father had just passed away. It was kind of a hazy morning. As usual I was running late that morning. Someone was with me but somehow I couldn’t seem to visualize her face clearly. And she was waiting for me as we were supposed to catch a bus to take us somewhere. Somewhere that was promised by this old man. As we were running to the bus stop, the bus just left without us.

All of the sudden, I was awoken. Oh my gosh, what has just happened … I thought to myself. Apparently it was just a dream. I dreamt about a very peculiar old man asking me if I wanted to meet my father. I nodded in contentment ‘cause he left us to another world but I never got to see him go. I didn’t know what this meant, but I was wide awake. I supposed it was just a dream after all.

That morning, after I've gotten ready, I arrived at our small kitchen in our apartment where my roommate and I shared. I started to cook something. I think it was an omelet or some sort. I wasn’t quite myself after that weird dream. All of the sudden, instead of pouring the oil out, I put the hot pan into the water with the hot oil. And fire alighted from the hot pan. My roommate saw the pan was in blazing fire and before I could process everything. She shouted, “Angela. Run!”

Guess what I did?! I ran alright. I did run for my life but I carried the hot pan that was on fire with me. Now thinking back it must have been a very funny scene, but it wasn’t. It was such a chaotic experience. And the worst of all… the whole ceiling was filled with blackened smoke. And I still don’t get how the whole apartment wasn’t on fire.

According to the somewhat ‘Believe It or Not,’ explanation, the old man in the dream was supposed to take me with him to meet my dad. I was supposed to be in the bus that would carry the living to the land of the death. Do you think if I was not late and left with the bus, the apartment would have caught on fire? And the girl on the dream, was she my ex-roommate? Do you think that I may not be here talking to you now if everything were to happen? The mystery remains. Believe or Not!

Hope you enjoy this journey with me revisiting my unusual experience and my odd dream. It is up to you to believe or not ...but the mystery remains.

Have you encountered any mystery in your life that you can't explain?

If you enjoy my blogs, would you come 'Like' me on my FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/AngelJourneyofLife --Thank you!


Until next stop,
Journey of Life

Being featured @Blogher

Dear my loyal and beloved readers,

Today, I am being featured @BlogHer. BlogHer is a community for bloggers. "BlogHer is the largest community of women who blog: 39 million unique visitors per month (March 2012, Nielsen Site Census). Engaged, influential and info-savvy, these women come to BlogHer to seek and share advice, opinions and recommendations. BlogHer’s team works hard to bring you the best and brightest conversations, writers and speakers – online and in person. That’s what we do best." --cited from http://www.blogher.com/about-this-network

Which piece of writing you ask? 
http://www.blogher.com/my-unusual-date?page=1#new

While I am taking the credit for the glory that came with being featured. I know deep down in my heart that I wouldn't have reached this point, if not for your supports. Your continuous and assiduous reading my writings have given me utmost strength to sustain. Without them, I would have long given up and would never reach this point.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart.

If you enjoy my blogs, would you come 'Like' me on my FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/AngelJourneyofLife --Thank you!


Like it!
Journey of Life

And Here is the snapshot of my blog being featured. 

 

A moment of fun …

“Live and work but do not forget to play, to have fun in life and really enjoy it.” --Eileen Caddy quotes. Liking her quote so much, I have decide to take you all with me to have some fun, a moment of fun! And we are going to California to visit its coastline. As Neil Morgan once said, “California is where you can't run any farther without getting wet.” Precisely!

Are you having fun yet? Not yet? Come and sit here with me! Can you imagine sitting here while watching the coastline and dreaming away? --Tho I am too busy looking at you!

"California is a queer place - in a way, it has turned its back on the world, and looks into the void Pacific. It is absolutely selfish, very empty, but not false, and at least, not full of false effort." --D H Lawrence

 

 

And Mort Sahl once said, “You haven't lived until you've died in California” --But, it is sure good to be alive here in California!

Yay! I am alive!

 

Hope you had some moments of fun with me.Happy Friday!

If you enjoy my blogs, would you come 'Like' me on my FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/AngelJourneyofLife --Thank you!


Until next stop,
Journey of Life

Our Toastmaster, you are a family!

Yesterday was the best day for me to experience the warmest of our Toastmaster group.  I volunteered to present that day and little did I know that the traffic on my way there have eaten all of the buffer that I have prepared for my speech groundwork. I had a choice to wink it out by using my laptop to present or forced my way to use the projector. –But guess what! I did try to force my way in …

The preparation took longer than we have anticipated. But, the team was so supportive. A lot of people lent their hands to make it worked. But the disruption took over most of us. So lessons learned:

1. Always have plan A when plan B doesn’t work
2. Projector is good but setup time needed prior

Despite all of the commotions, the meeting went on as usual. We did lose some time and didn’t get to do the Table Topic but we have ended the meeting with a good note on lessons learned. The best of all, a birthday cake for Olga, our most animated story teller! –She was so poised up there in the front and she won the Best Speaker of the night. Well deserved!

What so amazing about of all of these was, no one even try to make me feel bad about the whole thing. They gently gave me their feedbacks in the hope of sharing the lesson learned with the rest of the group. Sal even tried to leave me a positive note by saying, despite all of the distractions, I did good for not giving up! Where can you find a place like this? Like Matt said in the meeting, where could be the better place to learn that than in Toastmaster?

This reminded me when we were younger or with our children. We want them to fall down and learn how to pick up themselves while they are at home, the most secure and friendly place. At the same time, we give them the encouragement, assurance and the up most positive feedback there are.

Imagine this, if I were to do it at my work place or business place, I would have probably tainted my professional image. But here at Toastmaster, we are allowed for fall down and pick up ourselves and the most we would hear is the constructive feedbacks.  This is another reason why I love Toastmaster, not just any Toastmaster, but like Hassan has said, “It was more like a family!”

I would like to end this note with a quote from Marianne E. Neifert, “The family is both the fundamental unit of society as well as the root of culture. It ... is a perpetual source of encouragement, advocacy, assurance, and emotional refueling that empowers a child to venture with confidence into the greater world and to become all that he can be.” –That is how our Toastmaster is to all of us, the members!

If you enjoy my blogs, would you come 'Like' me on my FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/AngelJourneyofLife --Thank you!

I hope you enjoy this journey of mine visiting our very own Toastmaster!

Until next stop,
Journey of Life

Ladies, what do you have in your purse?

My younger sister couldn’t stand it whenever she looked at my bag. I am always a fan of bigger hand bag. My argument? I can carry a lot of stuff. Why not! If I could fit in a cow. I would. Okay not quite!
I can’t seem to recall when I started to need a purse. And by the time I have realized it, it was this big purse.

Courtesy of tn-requin-pas-chere.net

My sister, on the other hand, always have one of those smaller hand bag that looks so cute. But, yet the bag is big enough for her stuff. --Similar size to the following image

Courtesy of allhandbagfashion.com

One day, my daughter, Pepper, picked up my bag and said, “Mom, your bag is so heavy!” I know. I know.. I probably had a lot of stuff there that I didn't need. So, I decided to clean it up and to my surprise, I still need most of them. Then I decided to weigh it … FIVE lb! OMG. No wonder!

Courtesy of colourbox.com

Here is the stuff I have (after I have reduced to bare minimum)

1. wallet (with all the necessary cards, coins) 
2. additional cards (library, gift card, etc)
3. Sunglasses in its heavy hard case
4. pen
5. hand sanitizer
6. tissues
7. Checkbook
8. Makeup case
9. tic-tac
10. iPhone
11. notepad (small)
12. car key (when I am out and about)
13. ibuprofen (couple of them)

I once saw a woman pulled out an umbrella from her purse. –I guess what  Benjamin Franklin  once said still stands true, “Light Gains heavy Purses.”

Another thing I just don't get it, how come men can get away with those tiny wallets?

What do you have in your purse, ladies? or What do your lady have in her purse?

If you enjoy my blogs, would you come 'Like' me on my FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/AngelJourneyofLife --Thank you!

Until next stop,
Journey of Life

Internal Control Freak…

I think, I could have been a control freak. I was making my own decisions since I was at the age of fourteen. I managed my own allowance as I was away from home for high school then College. Plus I was in charge of my siblings when they were in College. My mom used to call and discussed family matters with me as well since my father passed away when I was nineteen. I used to hold a Senior Management role and that didn’t help either. Then there is my hubby who would let me run the world if he could. –I do discuss things with him. Just that he gave me so much power, if you know what I mean …

Then I have my children. Of course! I have power over them. You kidding me. I am their mom :-) Wrong! They taught me through their negotiation skills. So the good news is, I am NOT a control freak. –Whew! Besides it is not a fun character to have. Or is it? 

Courtesy of zazzle.co.uk

I don’t like being controlled by anyone. (Period.) nor do I want to be a control freak! But, I do want to take control of my life, my emotions before it started to control me. Well … they did already. Now, I am planning to empower myself to take over. 

You see … For the past 2-3 years now. I was being controlled by this ‘desire.’ Desire to watch drama, even if it meant losing more sleeps. Then I was being controlled by this ‘laziness.’ I just didn’t feel like doing anything. The more I was being controlled, the more I have turned myself into ‘coach potato.’ I was totally being controlled by my negative ‘desire.’ Desire to do things that are not relevant to my life. Before I knew it, I have placed my higher priority items lower and lower into the list and they aresomewhat suffering some consequences.--Sometimes it is okay to take a break or being lazy, but not being totally controlled by them tho. In another words, doing them in moderation is fine. The key here is to take control what we are doing and not being controlled.

I guess being a control freak is okay as long as what we are trying to control is ourselves not others. I hope you enjoy this journey with me visiting the Internal Control Freak. I would like to know what your thoughts on this topic...

If you enjoy my blogs, would you come 'Like' me on my FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/AngelJourneyofLife --Thank you!

Until next stop,
Journey of Life

My unusual date

Last Wednesday, I skipped the usual Toastmaster meetings, instead I went on a date. Not the usual dates that I have with hubby where I would first visit a salon for hairdo and dressed in black. Instead, I was in Jeans (not even in my usual working dress code.)  We drove in one car that day and later that afternoon, he picked me up from work and off we went. Not to any restaurant, in fact, I had hot dog for a meal with garlic fries and lemonade. –Unusual for a date huh? Not when we bought it from the Stadium. That's it! He took me on a date to watch his favorite team, Lakers! 

Speaking of Lakers, my hubby is always a fan of Lakers for as long as I can remember. He himself is a basketball player since middle school. I remember the time when he would come by and woke my brother up for early morning practices. –We are talking about 5:00 am in the morning and his voice would echo thru our house and ultimately woke the whole family up.  That how excited he was!

As the game started, we couldn’t take eyes off the players. The beginning was quite intense then it slowly fade away as my hubby said, both players were not equally balance. Lakers was no doubt a bit ahead of the game since the other team had four of their strong players were out for different reasons, partially because of the injury. It was a bit bummer to see Kobe Bryant was not on the game as he got injured just a week before the game. I guess we were lucked out that night but still given our seats were only 20 feet away, we could see the players pretty clearly. That was a plus.  In fact let me give you the glimpse of the games … 

I have to digress here for a bit. Um ...Aside for being so left out in the sport world for years now,  for the whole night, I was thinking about “Nachos!” I saw someone eating Nachos and I wanted them but my tummy was so full. So I couldn’t eat more but my mouth and mind kept on convincing me. So, it was quite a distraction to the games., I say! 

Fine. Back to the game! The sound of the fan was echoed in my ears but somehow my mind went off tangent and arrived at my college years, where my hubby took me on the first date. As you can guess by now, it was the basketball court, his favorite place. He decided to share it with me. It was definitely our fond memories. Every time, when we had some moments, we would visit the court and played one-on-one game.  

Time had definitely passed and it has been years that I haven’t touched the basketball instead we are now into golf which we are not quite there yet … Someday, we would have our dates again but this time it would be in the golf course! --And I didn't buy the Nachos BTW.! 

I hope you enjoy a peek into my date night with me as much as I enjoyed the nite. Now it is your turn to tell me about your unusual date(s) ...

If you enjoy my blogs, would you come 'Like' me on my FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/AngelJourneyofLife --Thank you!

Until next stop,
Journey of Life

Meet our furry animal …

On February 5^th 2007, we went to the airport to greet our little fella. He came in a cage and was shipped from another state. He came from far away to be with us. It all started with a simple promise to Pepper when she was four years old. She told us she wanted a dog and I casually mentioned, "Let’s wait until you are 10 years old." Little did we knew … she came back to claim it and here he was her 10^th year old birthday present all the way from Arizona. That poor fella was crying for nights as probably missing his mommy. I couldn’t imagine parting with my girls at that young age. He was only few months old

Now at the age of five, this guy has his personality. Do you believe that dogs' personalities were defined based on the environment they grew up? Well I do!

Each time when I came home and hugged my girls. He would whimper on the side as he wanted to be hugged as well. He would sit down waiting for his turn to be pet. Isn’t he adorable? if time passed and he didn’t get his turn yet, he would whimper again as of reminding me that he was waiting.

The most funny thing that I noticed about our ‘doogy,’ as the girl may say, is he likes to sit down. I means he would sit on the sofa watching TV with us or he would sit on the bed with the girls. (I mean literally sitting down.) –That was just too funny sight to pass. Perhaps he thinks he is the girls' friend, a little human.

But, among all, that he often cracked people up was his action when we took him to the beach. I believe it was part of the habit he picked up when he was little as the girls would play on the sand. Check this out!

Isn't he amazing? 

Then he would place his chin on the sand and get ready to pose. Oh … I must tell you, he loves posing for pictures. He is so used to us taking pictures of him and he kind of enjoys it. Do you think he knows that he has a cute face? I think he does! Sometimes when we are busy, he would place his chin on our laps until we couldn’t resist but to pet him. Meet our little furry animal who loves playing with stuffed animals as my girls do! –Their personalities have a lot of to do with the family they grow up with.Yes?

Tell me about your furry animal(s) and their cuteness!

If you enjoy my blogs, would you come 'Like' me on my FB fan page: https://www.facebook.com/AngelJourneyofLife --Thank you!

Until next stop,
Journey of Life

Journey into the Capri island

"Caesar Augustus was the first to discover the charm of Capri when he visited the island in 29 BC. So taken was he with the island's beauty that he traded the nearby fertile Ischia for it with the city of Naples." --Cited from http://www.capri.net/en/history

As we followed his footsteps, we found ourselves in Naples. The hotel that we stayed on is located across from the train station. It seemed so close but in fact, it was quite a walk, but somehow we managed just fine. After we checked in, we called taxi and took us to the port where we could catch a ferry to the Capri island. 

As we arrived, my jaw was dropped. Somehow my little mind has decided, "You may have the universe if I may have Italy." --Giuseppe Verdi

 
Tho our minds were full, our little tummies were calling us wildly. So, we had quick bites before we caught a boat ride to see the Faragloni Rocks.--The Faraglioni are three blocks of rock which have survived coastal landslides, erosion by the sea and all manner of atmospheric corrosion.  As we reached the pier for a boat ride, there was a surge of excitement, feeling like the butterflies in our tummies :-), but the wind decided to play a joke on us, not a very funny one tho. Sadly, we had to say bye bye to the Blue Grotto. I felt so bump. Blue Grotto is THE place to be. 

Blue Grotto- Courtesy of jetsetzero.tv

Even though, our hearts wanting so much, our longing eyes can only travel this far ... 

As we disembarked from our boat ride, we rode on Funicular to Capri town, situated on a verdant little plateau - like a saddle - high above the sea. There are no seats but it has about 6 'cars,' and each car can hold up to 6-8 normal sized adults comfortably. And when we arrived, we were awestruck.

No wonder William Somerset Maugham chose Capri Island to be his setting for his The Lotus Eater, "a short story in which the Bostonian protagonist arrives in Capri on holiday, wherein he is so enchanted by the place that he abandons his job and decides to spend the rest of his life in leisure on the island."--Cited from http://wikitravel.org/en/Capri

Now you know why ...
Journey of Life

Humans: Why They Triumphed

"The process of cumulative innovation that has doubled life span, cut child mortality by three-quarters and multiplied per capita income ninefold—world-wide—in little more than a century is driven by ideas having sex." --courtesy of http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703691804575254533386933138.html

courtesy of http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/PT-AO773_EVOLUT_F_20100521192057.jpg

This article suggests that all of the glorious innovation seemed to evolve radically since 45,000 years ago. And the most fascinating mystery was it all started from Africa.

 "Why it happened in Africa remains a puzzle, but Steve Kuhn and Mary Stiner of the University of Arizona have argued that for some reason only Africans had invented a sexual division of labor between male hunters and female gatherers—the most basic of all trades."

Going with this theory that human interactions have spurred the modernization.  The author also mentioned that, “An auspicious mutation so that people could speak, thinks or plan better, setting the human race on the path to continuous and exponential innovation.”

The author compares the ideology of having sex in human with trade in culture. –“Trade is to culture as sex is to biology.” Without mating, the best genes won’t be here today. From trade and exchanges, human have advanced to the unimaginable level. I wonder if the most advanced innovation from the most notably place in the world, Silicon Valley, has anything to do with the diversity we have.  –Best human mutations? Perhaps?

The author uses the example that “Nobody—literally nobody—knows how to make the pencil on my desk.” –True! It takes more than one person to make it. In some cases, it requires thousands and thousands of people to make one thing. And another case could be millions, according to the author.

Do you know before iPhone, there was one from GO, then another one from General Magic and last but not the least from Palm. So, innovation is indeed collective “enterprise that relies on exchange.”

I hope you enjoy our little visit to “Innovation.” It is our privilege to live in this era where innovation has been its best. I came across this quote from Margaret J. Wheatley,

"Innovation is fostered by information gathered from new connections; from insights gained by journeys into other disciplines or places; from active, collegial networks and fluid, open boundaries. Innovation arises from ongoing circles of exchange, where information is not just accumulated or stored, but created. Knowledge is generated anew from connections that weren't there before.”

Now the question is, have you exchange your ideas lately? In another words, Have you done your trade lately?

Until next stop,
Journey of Life

Second Acts --What do you do for an encore?

Many of us have been doing our jobs years after years. And one day, some of us would wake up and wonder if this is what we want to do? –We need a change! This is where the second acts, what you do for an encore came in. 

“Second Acts looks at the many paths people are taking in their 50s and beyond.” –cited from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203833004577251524178931452.html

The article in the Wall Street Journal talked about several figures. A retired cardiologist who found his passion in, after he retired, running a biz of repairing and bookbinding for antique books.–Simply fascinating!

Another former executive from Starbuck, who finds herself enjoying the business of buying and selling stones and handmade jewelry from all over the world and returning 25% of her profits to nonprofit groups. –Simply admirable

Courtesy of Suzie Ivy Author

I also know one author of books, Bad luck Cadet and Bad Luck Officer, who has finally discovered her passion in her forties She joined police academy and now she is living as a police detective. In her own words,

“I became a police officer while suffering a midlife crisis in my forties. I became a detective two years later. My name is Suzie Ivy, a.k.a. “The Bad Luck Detective.” The stories are true and the people real. The names have been changed to protect the GUILTY. Did I mention that my name isn’t really Suzie? “ -- http://badluckdetective.wordpress.com/ --Simply unthinkable!

The key to be able to succeed in second acts lie on the spirit of learning and the courage to take on new challenges. Just like what Alan Alda had once said, "You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself."

What are you going to do for an encore?
Journey of Life

Open Your Home to Strangers—And See the World

Never invite strangers to your house. That what our mothers would say! Not anymore!

Have you heard about home exchange programs? Exchanging your own nests with someone’s  half way across the world. Interesting idea and perhaps a little bit unusual to some of us. –Unthinkable! I say.

courtesy of http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/NX-AA252_EXCHAN_G_20120404122448.jpg

But, it is being done and in fact according to the author of the article in the Wall Street Journal, there are “… two networks, homeexchange.com and homelink.org. The former has 39,000 members in 146 countries; the latter has 13,000 members. We have done about half of our exchanges with each site.”  --cited from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204276304577263621466315472.html

The author has done it for thirty-two times since 2006. Here is how it works, you list your house up for exchange. Then find the right people in the right location to exchange. If you want to stay in London, and the people who live in London want to come to your location for vacation. Then you are in luck.

There are few detailed to be work out, according to the author:

Negotiable Demands

You would list your preference such as no pets, no children or perhaps limiting number of people and such. The stricter you are, the less chance you would find your criteria to be met.

A Month Is Good

The author preference is one month. I suppose you could put however long you want to be. But, the longer you let same strangers live the house. It is probably not desirable. But then, this is all about your preference and how you work out the details.

Small Worries

Last minutes cancellation due to financial difficulty, or medical conditions are often the reasons of things don’t work out the way it should be.  Another worry according to the author is the cleanliness of the house that you are exchanging with and the way they left your house behind. –Something to consider.

Another advantage of house exchange is you are saving your lodging fees which can be a lot.

Hope you enjoy this journey visiting the exchanging your very own nest to see the world. Now the question is, Are you ready to let strangers into your house? Living there like your own family? –I am not sure how I personally feel at this moment. Nevertheless, something to think about!

Until next stop,
Journey of Life

He Wants to Retire…but She Doesn't

“Let's say you have managed to stay married—or even remarried—by the time you hit middle age. Get ready for one more marital hurdle. The odds are your spouse won't feel the same way you do about when to retire. A recent study by Fidelity Investments found that well over half of couples—62%—disagree on the timing of their respective retirements.” –cited from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204571404577255662010466038.html

Interesting! I know that my hubby wants to retire early. Once the girls are done with college, he wants to retire from working in the computer field. He wants to do something he likes; he wants to teach instead. For me, I never thought about retirement, just yet. I love working though once the girls are done with college. I suppose I could take my career a little lighter. I can do whatever what I want. But, still I would miss the income.

courtesy of Lou Brooks

That is exactly what article is saying. Some women couldn’t let their husbands retire before their kids’ colleges are paid off. Another case, for staying home wives, the wives worry that when their husbands retire, they would sit around and interfere with their own activities. The wives love their own space.

Some women couldn’t wait for their spouses to join them and share their times together. Growing old together! But their spouses are not ready just yet.  Still can’t leave the workforce world.

Another thing to think about, now that both are staying home, dividing the chores could be another topic to discuss.--What's for dinner, honey? (The question is which honey :-) )

Those are interesting things to think about. Retirement requires thorough planning and a lot of agreements between the couples. When the empty nest hit and the work are no longer the divider barrier, a lot of time in hands could be good or bad :-) -You tell me!

Interesting journey I say. I hope you really enjoy this visit of thinking about the retirement. Even though, retirement is still a distant away. But, having this thought in mind could ease the road of retirement.

What is your plan for your retirement?

Until next stop,
Journey of Life

Journey into the Fashion Land--Milan

Close your eyes for a moment and imagining yourself on a journey, not just any journey but journey into the Land of Fashion, Milan, Italy. Somehow, this journey reminds me of this very quote "In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock." --Orson Welles

Let me take you back in time where we were on our plane flying into Milan,Italy. We arrived very late that night. We then took a bus from Milan airport to the downtown, where our hotel was. The bus took quite awhile to move its behind, as if it was waiting to be kicked.The bus driver wanted to leave with full bus, intending to pocket as much profit as possible. I guess! --But still, what a wait!  

After we arrived at the downtown, we wanted to take a taxi, but instead we were met by this guy with his trolley. Apparently, he helped people hauling their luggage. Silly me! I made a mistake of asking him whether he was the taxi driver. --Little did I know it spelled trouble! 

When I headed back to meet with my hubby after asking my way around to a policeman, the guy with the hauler insisted to take one of my luggage. After repeatedly telling him, "No. Thanks," I found myself shouting out loud ”No!” --He wouldn't budge when I told him nicely that I didn't need his help.I guess that shout did scare him away. Finally!  

We managed to find a taxi, but somehow the driver was not so happy after knowing the location of our hotel.. Something about the greater distance that translated to more euros. He was hoping to earn more if he were met with customers that needed him to driver further. --But we found the the ultimate answer: TIPS :-)

The very next day, we took a train ride to the meeting place for our tour. Unfortunately, we miscalculated our time and found ourselves late. I knew then that it was against the odd that we would make it to the most notable tour to the Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last supper painting. The tickets were sold-out and I have paid for the tour in advance as well. Quite devastating, but my hubby was calm and managed to get us there in time. --Proud of him!

I guess my lucky charm was working that day! The tour group was just around the corner. We missed first part of the tour where they visited the palace. We only managed to visit the outside of the palace. Oh .. well.. it was better than missing the whole tour especially the “Last Supper” painting. Whatever!

The bus took us to the next destination, the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Inside the church we saw the "The Last Supper", the world-famous painting of Leonardo da Vinci. It was no doubt the best painting ever! The painting was so detailed and it was such a vivid description of The Last Supper from the final days of Jesus as narrated in the Gospel of John 13:21. --I called it, The wonder of Leonardo da Vinci.

courtesy of dailygalaxy.com

 Afterward, the bus took us to viist the La Scala. La Scala is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. --My goodness, speaking of elaborate opera house!

Courtesy of operaandme.com

Later, we passed by a shopping area that has Louis Vuitton, Prada and ... MacDonald! Yes! Probably the most expensive rent MacDonald would ever paid. :-) One thing that we noticed about Milan, they have 
magnificent architectures. Their buildings are so artistic. Very remarkable! One of its kind!

Last but not the least, we visited the breathtaking Duomo. It is one of the world's largest, most striking Gothic cathedrals. Outside the cathedral, we found many pigeons! The girls love pigeons, so we spent a bit of time feeding and taking photos with them. After that, we went inside of the cathedral. OMG., it was indescribable! Amazing is probably an understatement. 

In one of the rooms, we saw many fresco paintings by one artist that is very famous. Gosh! I just couldn't recall the name. Oh...well! Pardon my tiny brain! We also found some paintings by Michelangelo. Awe strikingly beautiful! Did we have to leave? I guess...Our tummies were calling us. After filling up our bellies, we rode on a fast elevator all the way up to visit an astonishing side, the Duomo’s roof! --READ roof!

That was an interesting experience. Never thought in my life that I would have a chance to step on a roof. It was like a childhood dream came true.. Yes. It was quite a bizarre trip!

Our days in Milan was not long unfortunately, soon we needed to head to Venice for our next trip. We boarded on a train ride to Venice. It was the girls and ours first train ride in Europe. It was definitely fun. Before we know it .. we were in Venice, the world’s most romantic city! --http://journeyofmylifendestiny.blogspot.com/2012/03/our-journey-to-land-of-romance.html

I hope you enjoy this journey with me visiting Milan, the fashion town as much as I enjoy writing it.  Before you go, let me leave you with one thought, "Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life." --Anna Akhmatova 


When are you returning to Italy?

Until next stop,
Journey of Life

True Freedom

Bitterness, heart-aches and misfortunes to name a few are common causes of what I called, ‘Self-imprisoned feelings.’ The more we feel bitter, heart-ached and dwell on misfortunes that we encountered, the more we experienced suffering. In my life, I also have been through some bitterness and chose to dwell on them. Perhaps chose the road of staying in bitterness.

The birth of my first daughter had somehow shed some lights in my life. The light was so radiant and lighted the path which led me to the road of forgiveness. I felt as if a huge rock had been lifted up from my heart and the road I am on, spell freedom, is definitely much pleasant one.

It doesn’t matter what happened in our lives. We will experience some grievances, sorrows and bad lucks. It is okay to mull over them for awhile, and some even choose to curse on them –if you will. But we should aim for the next destination, acceptance. --
“Acceptance of one's life has nothing to do with resignation; it does not mean running away from the struggle. On the contrary, it means accepting it as it comes, with all the handicaps of heredity, of suffering, of psychological complexes and injustices.” --  Dr. Paul Tournier quotes

Without acceptance, we can’t move on. –I think this is the hardest part. Even if we choose to accept, we would  go back in circle to ponder on the issues again and again. But trust me, we will arrive at acceptance at some point. 

--courtesy of 121lml.wordpress.com

By accepting the fact, it will lead us straight into forgiveness and once we forgive. We will remove ourselves from being imprisoned by the heartrending and some sorts. And Ultimately we will reach the true freedom and move on.

This journey is a bit rough IMHO, but good news is the rougher the road is the greater the payoff. And if we haven't reached to this end yet, there is always a hope. Just like each day when we are awake, sunshine always welcomes us, the road to the true freedom is always wide open and awaiting for us to step on. The question is are we up to challenge to reach, the true freedom?

“I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind.”
 Antoine de Saint-Exupery quotes (French Pilot, Writer and Author of 'The Little Prince', 1900-1944)

I hope you are with me on this journey visiting the True Freedom. And hope our paths will cross someday!

Journey of Life