First Saturday in 2013

How was your first Saturday in 2013? I had to rewrite my new year resolutions I made on New Year Eve, because many interesting people changed the course of my life journey on the first Saturday of 2013.

1. To join a Hakka Beiguan Band in Hsin-tien in 2013  Upon the invitation of the Conductor of Hakka Beiguan Band at Hakka singers and Dancers year-end luncheon at noon, I shall join Hakka Beiguan Band to practice three hours every Thursday morning in 2013.


2. To join Anatolia Formosa Association in 2013 When I saw a post of Turkish Coffee Day by Toastmaster LJ Lamb on Facebook, I was eager to join the first session of Coffee Day Series by
Anatolia Formosa Association from 2PM to 4PM. The moment I walked into the meeting room, I was warmly greeted by three lovely young Turkish ladies. I fell immediately at ease in a cozy environment on the 21st floor with a panoramic view of Taipei 101 at far. The delicious Turkish coffee with mouth-watering Turkish pastry was unforgettable. What a delightful time it is  to exchanging ideas among women of different cultures in a super friendly Turkish atmosphere. I shall learn the Turkish language in 2013!


3. To join Golden Ladies Movie & Dinner gatherings chez Joy's Upon the warm invitation of Joy Chyr and Linda Chu, I'm obliged to to take charge of the weekly movie and dinner gatherings among Golden Ladies Toastmasters and friends on Saturdays.

I was late from the Coffee Day to watch the Japanese film "The South Pole Story" of 1983 directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara and starring Ken Takakura. The story was about on the Japanese scientific expedition to the South Pole in 1958 (the year Toastmaster Joy Chyr was born, oops!). The relationship between the scientists and their loyal and hard-working Karafuto Dogs left behind to fend for themselves. "Eight Below" was produced in 2006, based upon the same story.

While watching "The South Pole Story", Linda walked in and out of kitchen several times to watch for the soup on the stove. At dinner, we enjoyed the soup while listening to the CD of Patti Page who passed away on the New Year Day of 2013. And we discussed about "The South Pole Story" with the movie critics Mr. Hung. We talked about the sakura spirit of Japanese, the relationship between human beings and their canine partners, the breeds of Karafuto Dogs, and the Loyal Dog of Akita Hachikou of Professor Ueno Eizaburou. Coincidently, I'm reading "The Empire of Dogs" written by Aaron Herald Skabelund about canines, Japan, and the making of the modern imperial world.

In the evening, we watched Director and Writer Mike Leigh's "Another Year" of 2010. I love Mike's marvelous story telling skills. The movie is about the lives of a happily married couple in London and their relationships with their family and friends in four acts, four seasons of a year, starting in Spring and ending in Winter.

The happily married couple Tom and Gerri Hepple, both in their golden age, have a loving relationship. They entertain family and friends at home generously and grow vegetables together in their garden allotment on weekends. After seeing the movies, I think I'm a happily married woman. My husband grows vegetables on the roof of his office. From time to time, we savor the fresh vegetables he brings home. We appreciate the nature, we save our pockets, we keep our relationship!