Shoe Box

Shoe Box

I have been thinking about doing this for a couple years, and am very happy that I finally did it. I didn't want to post the link here until I did it. I feel very happy and thankful that at least 2 kids will have a surprised Christmas gift. And hope there will be more friends joining this meaningful activity!
(In Nov. first ~ third week each year)

兩三年前就接觸到這個 ShoeBox 的網站, 只是一直沒有把網站跟親朋好友們分享, 是因為自己一直都無法身體力行. 今天終於把兩個聖誕節鞋盒送出去了. 那將會讓兩位小朋友有個驚喜的聖誕節. 內心無比愉悅, 希望明年有更多的朋友一起做.
我不知是否有中文版, 這兒的是英文版.
(每年11月的第一到第三個星期會代收鞋盒)

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/

這是我的鞋盒 (My Shoe Boxes)

Sorry

Sorry

Sorry, I didn’t pay attention to you due to my arrogance.

Sorry, I didn’t realize your needs due to my carelessness.

Sorry, I didn’t catch the last moment due to my insensibility.

Sorry, I couldn’t save her due to my short of capability.

Sorry, I couldn’t save you as I had to let you go.

Sorry, I am really sorry for whatever I couldn’t have done for you.

Sorry and sorry.

By Yuki 06/30/2010

Determination of Future

Determination of Future

      I believe that everyone has been assigned to write his/her hopes or dreams since elementary school. It happens often that a teacher could push you down from the bridge to the bottom of the river just with a pen. Only a few people will have the confidence to keep pursuing their goals.

      I have read a small story that describes how regretful an old American teacher was. It’s about 30 years ago, a teacher gave students an assignment “My Dreams.” Nick, one of the students, loved this topic as he could write down a lot about his big dream. He wrote about hoping to own a ranch where he will build a small resort, a barbeque area, plant a lot of trees, and beautiful flowers, so that he can share the nature with people. After reviewing their homework, the teacher gave Nick “E” grade because he thought it’s a daydream and unreal, and asked him to rewrite. The kid didn’t agree with him and tried to rebut, but it didn’t work.

       30 years later, when the teacher took the students for a picnic, he was shocked by the calling from the owner of the ranch. Yes, he was the kid with the teacher’s “E” grade. The teacher sighed and said regretfully, “In the past 30 years, I have changed so many kids’ lives by the grade, but you are the only one who was not changed and kept your dream.”

      Definitely, teachers play an important role in our life and they often influence our decisions, especially in my country, Taiwan. If Nick’s case happened in Taiwan, the result might be completely different. In our culture, we were taught to listen to the teachers and accept or follow teachers’ instructions/comments without doubts mostly. Thus, Nick’s life would have been changed by rewriting his dreams and being a “good student”. There wouldn’t be a ranch in his life.

      Yes, there will be some important people or factors inducing our determination in our life time, but we ought to remember that we, ourselves, are the one who will make the final decisions.

By Yuki 05/21/2009

      

Mood

Mood

Showering is such a relaxing thing to do, as it makes me feel re-lived. When the shower water drops on my face, I wish it’s my tears; washing away my pain and confusion.

Rain upsets me a lot, yet it shows me a clearer road to somewhere.

Fog brings me beautiful and sweet dreams, but it gets me lost.

Sunshine gives the earth hopes, however, it drains my energy to exhaust.

Everything has both side – Black and White; the difference depends on the changes of our mood. When I am in a bad mood, even my favorite sweet is in front of me, I still feel bitter. On the other hand, when I am in a good mood, I taste the medication like honey. I wish I had a “Good Mood” every single moment.

I pray to God and ask Him to give me, us, and the earth the positive energy; today, tomorrow, and forever. 

Amen!

God bless you all!

By Yuki   06/20/2015

Love Bug

Love Bug

Long time ago, someone said that I am a Love bug. What’s Love bug? Well, my definition is that a person who is full of Love and also needs lots of love. Yes, that’s Love bug.

I love animals, such as cats & dogs, so I give them lots of love. I pack all the products in my store carefully & nicely with my love, as I hope my customers will be happy when opening the packages. I water my garden regularly, as I love the beautiful flowers.

I appreciate my parents very much, as they worked so hard to raise me and gave me a safe place to reside. I am grateful for the friendship, as the true friends always are there for me when I need them. I am thankful for your strong shoulders while I am in deep sadness.

You could be a Love Bug, too. When you sit down on the couch after the long-hours work, close your eyes and you will find out that you have got so much love today. On the other hand, you also have given out your love every single day, but you normally don’t realize or feel it. In our daily life, we give and receive a lot from/to our family, friends, or even people we never know. That’s Love. Love is everywhere, no color, no smell; it only depends on how you classify it.

Sharing is giving. Yes, let’s be Love Bugs; you will see a tremendous power that the “little love” will be. Let the Love Bugs fly to every corner in the world; let’s make a difference in our life, a better life.

By Yuki 08/25/2015

FYI: The Love Bug does exist in the world. You may take reference to the Wikipedia website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovebug

Tiny Life

Tiny life   

      The other day, I read a Chinese journal which tells a story about a boy trying to save fishes’ lives on the beach. After a storm, the little boy tried to pick the tiny fish that were washed up to the shore by the waves and helped them return to their home. At the moment, an old man walked by and asked him doubtfully, “You can’t save them. Nobody cares. What the on earth made you do this?” “The fishes know, I know and my heart cares,” the boy replied innocently with a sincere looking and kept moving. Then, suddenly, the old man felt ashamed since he found he couldn’t think with a simple kind heart as the boy did.

      Kindness is a lofty morality and I personally believe that we were born with it. However, unfortunately, not many people can do as much as the boy did in the story. I think an important factor that has led people to different directions is our thinking was polluted. While we were growing up, we followed the rights and wrongs which we were taught. Besides, we also added our own experiences and judgments, so that we became complicated individuals. While looking at the boy, there is only the purity in his mind and his thinking hasn’t influenced by the pollution yet. Hence, in his eyes, even the tiny fish is so precious. It’s a beauty when we can treasure any kind of life in the world.

      In our life journey, we all face some difficulties now and then, and I am sure that we eager for kind people who will reach out their hands for us. If that happens, we would be very grateful because the person has a kind heart and cares about the world. Kindness is like the beautiful and fresh dewdrop we can find on the leaves at dawn. Although it’s small, it can help the thirsty flowers bloom and offer the water source to the insects. If we all will carry a kind heart, then the peaceful world will come soon!

By Yuki 05/14/2009

The older the ginger, the hotter the spice.

以前在 E.T. Po 過這篇笑話, 看了看還是很喜歡, 再與大家分享囉.

I read this article from a forwarded e-mail and I guess many of you have read it before. I tried my best to translate it to English and hope you will like the joke. If you have better version, please share with us. Thanks.

The older the ginger, the hotter the spice.

To run a business well, you will need to watch your budget; the owner of a ranch in the wide plains of western America can’t be the exception.

The owner usually keeps 100 hens but only one rooster for reproduction. Well, as you know that roosters can’t lay eggs, so keeping more than one is not necessary for financial reason.

One day, the owner got a new cockerel, as he thought that the older rooster is getting old so the new young cockerel might be helpful.

The old rooster shouted at the cockerel with anger when seeing him: “What are you doing here? I am still strong and I don’t need your help.” The young cockerel replied innocently: “I .. I…” “Shut up.” The rooster said: “I don’t believe that I can’t compete with you young kids. Well, then, let’s make a match. You come to catch me; if you lose, then you have to leave right away. But if you can beat me, I will zip my lips and leave the 100 hens to you.”

Then the cockerel started chasing the old rooster on the plains.

“Bam..” Suddenly, the owner shot the cockerel and scolded: “Shit! This is the 10^th homosexual cockerel I have got.”

Well, how sneaky the rooster is!

雞還是老的辣

在寬廣的美西草原上，牧場主人為省一分是一分。

通常養一百隻母雞，只會養一隻公雞以用於繁殖，畢竟公的又不會生蛋，買多了也沒用。

一天，牧場主人買了一隻新的年輕的公雞回來。

因為覺得原本養的老公雞也老了，所以找個年輕的來幫忙。

老公雞看到這隻年輕的公雞就氣呼呼的說：『你來幹什麼！我還強壯的很！不需要你的幫忙！』

年輕的公雞很無辜的說：『我我....』

『不用說了！』老公雞叫道：『我就不信我比不上你們這些年輕人，這樣吧！我們來做個比賽，你就試著追我吧，如果跑不過我，你就給我乖乖離開；如果我跑輸你，我就閉嘴，這一百隻母雞都交給你。』

於是這隻年輕的公雞開始追著老公雞在草原上奔跑。

『砰！』突然牧場主人拿起槍來把年輕的公雞殺了。

並且罵道：『媽的！這已經是第十次買到同性戀的公雞了！』

原來咯咯雞的心機也這麼重。

** 網路轉載.

Lady Tonya

Lady Tonya

In my memory, I had a couple of dogs when I was a little girl. Yet I didn’t have any special feelings with animals; I meant they were just dogs and I played with them. That’s it. One day, my view has been changed because I met Lady Tonya. She was such a beauty and an intelligent animal.

I met Lady when she was 7. The same situation as Smoky had and even worse, as it took her almost 6 months to adopt me. I didn’t know the reason until my husband told me. He said: “She is jealous.” Wow! I have never thought that animals would be jealous as human beings do. She had this reaction because she grew up with my husband and she didn’t need/want to share the love with anyone else – even Smoky. However, everything has changed due to the appearance of the newcomer.

Since I came to the family, I took charge of the care for the animals. I fed her, brushed her, gave her shower and so on. Guess what? She was the first dog I have ever hugged. I was not used to it but I loved to hug her. When we went for a walk, I even didn’t need the leash as she wouldn’t do anything when I said “NO”. She even didn’t bother the cats in neighborhood when she was not allowed. However, she killed a cat accidentally. That’s not her fault as she was provoked too many times, and then she couldn’t tolerate anymore. I wouldn’t blame on her though.

Lady was very friendly and all the neighbors loved her very much, especially children. She would sit or lie down to let kids pat her. I never heard any noise she made towards kids. Actually, she barked at human beings very rarely, unless she sensed something wrong.

Dogs are not as smart as cats, in a way. Lady liked to go to the creek as Smoky did, but she sometimes came back with a gift for me that Smoky never did – the special gift from skunk. Oh, my goodness! It took me a lot of time to wash her with tomato juice; otherwise, I couldn’t stay in the house for one more second. I am always wondering why dogs become a little stupid when they meet skunks?  

Our relationship was built up day after day. When she started following me going outside at night, that’s the time she had adopted me. When I laughed, she made happy noise; while I cried, she cried with me. I remembered that she was so anxious and made lots of noise outside the exam door when I was in a clinic to get a shot. That’s why I loved her so much.

Unfortunately, 3 years later, she became weaker and weaker. I took her to a couple of vets, but they couldn’t figure out what happened until a vet saw her bleeding nose. The vet told us that she was poisoned and couldn’t stay much longer. Well, I hate to say that she was right. Lady died two days later in an animal hospital. She was so young and I wish I had met her a few years earlier. We cried a lot for her death. That’s the first time I cry for an animal.

Anyway, I appreciated that we had the chance to share our lives together. If I will have another dog, I would love to have the similar breed (I guess she was belong to Border Collie), and name her Lady Tonya Jr.

By Yuki 12/15/2010

Smoky

Smoky

Smoky is my cat’s name. She is 11 years old but still looks very young, skinny, and active. Smoky has beautiful black coat and a pair of bright eyes. I have never been so close to any animals until I came to the U.S. The first time, in my whole life, I heard someone said that “animals have their own rights and freedom.” I was shocked while hearing it because it is very impossible to be happened in the country where I come from.

When I had her, she was only 4 years old. She did not adopt me right away; actually, it took some time for her to get to know me. Before I came to her life, she was completely independent. Now, she is still independent; however she has been being pampered and given too much attention, so she has become a little spoiled. Hunting is her main hobby and exercise. She has a cat’s door that is specially designed for her, so she can go in and out of the house without bothering me. There is a small creek running through our big backyard and it is also Smoky’s amusement park. She is so intelligent that she won’t say hello to skunk’s family. She loves to catch the mice or birds alive and shares her “war trophy” with me. This is the time that you will see the glory and pride on her face. She is so arrogant when she does it. And then, she will perform her own special ritual to complete the hunting procedure. Even though it is a little cruel, I am still proud of her very much.

We are good friends and companies. She is my wake-up call in the morning. She usually sits beside my bed and sings the “morning song” to me. If it doesn’t work, then she will “gently” touch my hand with her “wild paw”. Yes, you can imagine how it feels. It hurts! That’s the only time that I would like to get her disappeared from the earth. Other than that, she is such an amazing companion. Over the years, I realized that she has been playing an important role in my life. I dare not to picture if she really disappears from my life. I do love her and appreciate that we have the chance to live under the same roof. 

By Yuki 04/22/2009

Tranquility             

I love silent nights, because it gives me a peaceful space. It’s quiet, very quiet. I even can hear my cat’s heart beats. It’s a good time to sit back and empty your mind; it’s time to relax ourselves and enjoy the invisible music.

In my hometown, the last time I remember that I heard the conversation of two frogs was 20 years ago. Actually, I grew up in countryside, so I should have a lot of chances to be involved with the insects’ world. However, unfortunately, due to the new century development, the silent world has been changed and become a modern concrete world year after year. There are no more butterflies in the day time, nor are lightning bugs at night. What has occupied your life is noise, steel, and bricks. Surprisingly, when I came to the US seven years ago, I found an insects’ heaven. You don’t need to go to the hills or mountains; you can find this peaceful happy land just right in your backyard. Not only you can hear the birds’ singing in the day time, but also at tranquil night. The difference is that they have different melodies; the day music is like Rock & Roll, and when it’s dark, it is like the orchestra. It’s very mild and soft, yet it’s also powerful. You won’t experience the hustle and bustle and you may fly with the lightning bugs over your block and the others.

The tranquility of night is a natural treasure. It is a good tranquilizer for our mentality. When our mind is calm, you will see some miracles coming. Don’t let the best part of the day blow away like the Epiphyllum blooming.

By Yuki,  04/15/2009

Being Alone

I do enjoy being alone; no disturbances no distractions. That’s the time I can concentrate on my work or doing something that I may not be able to do when I am surrounded with even just one person.

Being alone is the best way to give myself a space to think. There are so many things I want to and/or I need to think about. But a lot of times I just think about “nonsense”. Am I crazy? No. I am pretty normal. By watching a movie or TV soap opera, it will give me so many ideas to think about; the plot, the characters, the music, the scenes, and so on. A lot of screenwriters surprise me very much and I appreciate their talent in creating these stories.

I like to be alone; it gives me freedom, complete freedom. Sitting in a coffee shop with a cup of my favorite Soy Latte; what a wonderful moment! No one can steal the joy from you. I am the Queen in my small world. Sipping the tasty coffee while watching people walking by, isn’t it a pleasant thing to do? You are lucky when you can be alone for a moment.

By Yuki,  07/16/2015