Dragon Boat Festival 2025

Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. I got up early and went to DaAn Sports Center to exercise for one and a half hours. On my way back to HsinDian, I stopped by the street vendor on JiangGuo Road, and  bought three chayotes, one for NT$ 5 dollars. I feel good living in XingDian because of the reasonable price of vegetables and fruits.

At noon, we had zongzi for lunch. I didn't wrap any zongzi, and I don't know how. I had four zongzi as gifts, three from my farmer friend, one from Wheatland Care Center.

For Taiwanese, there is a ongoing battle between “North vs. South zongzi”. As I was brought up in the south, I am used to the southern zongzi wrapped with green bamboo leaves. The rice is raw before the zongzi is boiled in water. It’s stickier and keeps the natural flavors of the fillings. The Northern zongzi uses yellow bamboo shoot shells. The rice is fried first before the zongzi is steamed. It’s more seasoned and chewy.

Both Northern and Southern Taiwanese zongzi are delicious, but I like Chinese HuZhou zongzi better, because my mother used to wrap many of them on the Dragon Boat Festival, salty ones with meat and sweet ones with redbean paste. I also like Vietnamese zongzi wrapped with banana leaves.

After lunch, I took a nap for 45 minutes, then I rode my bike to the Yes Life shopping mall, walked across the street to the Carrefour to buy three bottles of caffè latte for NT$72 dollar, I didn't spend money, because I had more than a thousand points in my carrefour card. I need to use up all the points before it is expired in August.

I returned to the Yes Life shopping mall, took the escalator to the Eslite Bookstore on the 4th floor, and found nobody at my favorite cozy corner. I read a few books on the sheft and studied Korean till four o'clock. I enjoyed the atmosphere at Yes Life where I visit once a week. I usually don't buy anything, as I grow older, I become less materialistic and I believe less is more. 

On my way home, I bought a bag of dried shrimps for NT$100 dollars to cook with three chayotes I bought this morning. That's how my mother used to cook the chayotes. I shall try to make chilled chayote salad and chayote pancake in the future. I once had delicious chayote salad at the famous Ren He Yuan Yunnan Restaurant on ZhongShan North Road in Taipei.

11th Pair of Teeth Invisalignment

I put on the 11th pair of teeth invisalignment after I took a shower last night. It has been almost four months since I had my teeth aligned. I am pleased with the progress of my teeth alignment, so is my dentist. I followed his order to wear the teeth alignment 24-7, except the time to clean the teeth and the alignment after each meal.

Since I clean my teeth and alignment thoroughly after each meal, my oral hygience is well kept. When I heard of the link between oral health & cardiovascular disease, I am happy that I decided to have my teeth alighed four months ago. My teeth are well cleaned and I have fewer chance to have heart failure or stroke caused by the bacteria infection in the gum.

The weather of the dragon boat festival long weekend is sunny, according to the weather broadcast. I visited Brother Jimmy at WuGu this morning. I helped Jimmy clean his room and we had lunch together. I had a ZhongZi wrapped by the mother of a resident. I enjoyed the friendly family atmosphere at Wugu.

After lunch, Brother Jimmy and I rode the indoor bikes for 30 minutes. Then we went to Hi Life convenience store in the neighborhood for coffee with other four residents from 1:30 till 4:00. Six of us had nice chitchatting while drinking coffee. Everyone had something to say and to share.

I thought I have spent too much time reading the Japanese Manga. The more I read the Demon Slayer, the more I enjoy reading it. Actually with a manga in my hands, I don't mind waiting for the bus for a long time at the bus station. I don't mind riding the bus to WuGu, because reading Manga story is fun. And I learn many valuable lessons from reading the story of Demon Slayer, the family, the friendship, and the power of will.

A Surprise Phone Call

I got up early, because I had an online Japanese class from 8:15 till 9:00. Today we practiced basic conversation in Japanese. The members took turns reading simple dialogues in the textbook. All I had to do is listen to the right pronunication.

In the rain, I put on the raincoat to buy some fruits and vegetables from the streetside ventor on JiangGuo Road near my place. I bought winter melon for NT $6 dollars a catty, tiny Irwin mango for NT $40 a catty, pumpkin for NT $10 a catty.

The online English class with Taipei Medical University classmates started from 10:30 till 11:00 this morning. Only one classmate showed up. I didn't expect his participation. Two of us enjoyed talking about our past weekend excursion to southern Taiwan. He was most impressed with the Octagon Pavilion in YanShui. 

The Octagon Pavilion is a wooden building built by craftsmen brought in from China by the Ye family who had made their wealth in the sugar industry. The pivilion was completed in 1841. At the time, Yanshui’s Yuejin Harbor was busy with cargo ships and merchants filled the streets. The building materials were mainly Chinese Fir and bricks transported from China. During Japanese occupation period, Prince Fushimi Sadanaru took over the building as his residence and command post. The Octagon Building was returned to the Ye family after the war.

While making the winter melon pork soup for lunch, I received a long distance call from Beijin, informing me of the ongoing legal procedures of the inheritance of the old property in downtown Beijing. After I received the email in the afternoon, I replied that we gave up our share of the inheritance immediately.

In the afternoon, I went to WheatLand Center to organize activities for the elderlies from 1:30 till 3:30. We played blackjack for 30 minutes, theater acting for 30 minutes, singing for 30 minutes, video presentation of weekend excursion in Tainan for 15 minutes, slow jogging for 15 minutes. We had only a few participants due to the heavy rain today. I received a zongzi as a gift when I left the center.

A Weekly Visit to WuGu

I took Bus 918 to visit Brother Jimmy at WuGu this morning. As soon as I got off Bus 899, I heard Jimmy call my nickname at the bus station. He was chatting with several WuGu residents there. What a coincidence! We took a group photo together!

Returning to WuGu Center, Jimmy and I padled the indoor cycling bikes together for 30 minutes. It reminded me of our daily appointment at XinDian Sports Center last year. Jimmy agreed to pedal the indoor bike twice a day, each time for 30 minutes, in the morning and in the afternoon. I think he realized how important exercise is for his physical strength.

I told the Director that I don't mind visiting Jimmy once a week and exercise with him. The Director invited me to join WuGu Dragon Boat Festival Party Sunday noon. How lucky I am to be able to go to a luncheon party with Jimmy and twenty some residents.

On my way back to XinDian, I saw a young boy accompanied by his parents. He looked tired and unhappy because he just had his teeth alighed. Me, on the contrary, am pleased with my teeth alignment. It is all about the ownership of life. The boy didn't make the decision for himself, he was forced by his parents. He looked painful. I am happy with the progress of my teeth alignment, because I made the decision for myself.

After lunch, I took Bus 909 to DaAn Sports Center. At DaFeng Road Bus Station, I saw the empty nest of swallows. I saw them practicing flying Monday afternoon, four baby swallows. Today they were all gone.

In front of DaAn Sports Center, I saw many foreign well-built athletes. Being a curious cat, I took the opportunity to see the basketball tournament of World Masters Games 2025 on the third floor. I only stayed for a few minutes, because it was not very interesting to see two weak teams playing.

I found an empty treadmill when I walked in the fitness center. I used it for 25 minutes, then I used a couple of weigh lifting facilities. To my surprise I experienced the power failure at the DaAn Fitness Center for the first time. I continued doing weight lifting for a while till all were required to leave the center. I took the stairs down from the 3rd floor to the 1st.

I got on Bus 650 to JingXin Library to fetch the requested books and borrowed a new arrival book. I took a nap for 30 minutes after I got home. Then I watch the 3rd DVD of 3 episodes of Demon Slayer. Since my curiosity about the famous Manga of Demon Slayer has been satisfied, I guess I won't finish watching 12 DVDs. It is very time consuming. I'd better spend more time studying the Korean language.

In the evening, I attended the online Toastmaster Magazine reading from 9:15 till 10:00. Tonight's topic was about "Craft a Winning Social Media Strategy, Grow your club—and your skills—by boosting your internet presence". Six participants showed up, including two having a vacation in Viet-nam. https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2025/april/craft-a-winning-social-media-strategy

Blue Tiger Butterflies on YuanGuang Trail

Brother Jimmy was discharged from the Taipei Hospital this morning. I didn't go to the hospital to help him discharge for the first time, because he asked me not to. His inmates at WuGu Rehabilitation Center were assigned to take care of his dischargement by the WuGu Director. I sent the Director a Thank You card timely and accordingly.

Jimmy is a generous and kind person, he is admired by several lady residents, they fought to visit him when he was hospitalized in the past month. I am happy for Jimmy that he likes his extended family at WuGu. As one of the oldest residents, Jimmy lives like a big brother to everyone around him at WuGu. So long as Jimmy is happy to stay at WuGu where he has resided for more than 12 years, I wish him all the best to enjoy his remaining years as he wishes.

The weather was pleasant this morning. At 10:30 I took the New Taipei Free Bus to the YuanGuang Trail by the river. It was a refreshing walk. I saw many Blue Tigers（Tirumala limniace）flying in the air. Suddenly I heard a loud voice from the trees, I found a big monkey family of 10. I looked at them on the tree branches for at least ten minutes, and they stared at me in return. It was easy to tell the small monkeys from the big ones, but I found it hard to tell who the monkey king was.

 

When I found a dying by the road side, I couldn't help but picking it up. Luckily one of my friends living in the neighborhood just passing by on his motorbike and gave me a lift to my lady friend's farm house. I put the dying butterfly on the cover of Manga "Demon Slayer", took a photo, and buried it in the garden. After a big lunch, my friend and I took turns singing karaoke for one hour while drinking coffee and have pineapples for dessert. Before leaving, she gave me 3 handmade ZongZi to celebrate the coming Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday. 

At 2 o'clock I took the free bus back to Qizhang MRT station, and rode my bike back home. I watched the second DVD of 3 episodes of Demon Slayer in the afternoon. At night, I finished writing today's journal and the travelogue of weekend excursion this past weekend. From Thursday, I shall start an English online gathering group with my 1977 pharmacy classmates of Taipei Medical University.

******************************************

Dear 623 Classmates,

The weekly 623 online gathering in English will be put to experiment from 10:30 till 11:00 every Thursday morning. Loud speakers as well as silent listeners are all welcome. Let's share ideas and thoughts about our past, present, and future. Let's add varieties and colors to our lives.

Audio only, no visual, therefore no need to worry about the proper attire. We are not native Egnlish speakers. Therefore no need to worry about the correct usage of the English grammar. We brainstorm together in a foreign language for fun.

Just tune in, and enjoy the chitchatting among us for 30 minutes. Let's get connected in the cyber space to know more about ourselves and the world.

The tentative ten episodes are scheduled as follows:

1. Travel 5/29; 2. Hobby 6/5; 3. Health 6/12; 4. Exercise 6/19; 5. Food 6/26; 6. Entertainment 7/3; 8. Transportation 7/17; 9. Communication 7/24; 10. Community 7/31

Rainy Monday

I got up at 8 o'clock to get ready for the online reading class of NHK Easy Japanese news from 8:30 till 9:30. We talked about a recent Unicef's survey on Children's happiness among 36 OECD and EU countries. Japan ranked No.1 in physical health, but ranked 32 in mental health. For the second half of the class, we practiced singing two Japanese songs together. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/ne2025051512144/ne2025051512144.html

I wrote the weekend excursion to the south till 12 noon. I bought 6 meat buns for NT$90 at a newly opened shop on DaFeng Road, and ate one of them for lunch with slice cucumber. After lunch, I had a cup of coffee and a piece of cake I received from the organizer of the class reunion before we got off the chartered bus at the Chia-yi High Speed Rail Station.

At 2 o'clock, I took Bus 909 to DaAn Fitness Center to exercise for one and a half hours. Then I took Bus 650 to JingXin Library to collect the one Manga and 3 DVDs of Demon Slayer. I took an one hour nap before dinner.

We had flat rice noodles for dinner. I added the flat rice noodles to the leftover soup from YingBing Restaurant yesterday evening. YingBing is located in BuDai close to my parents-in-law's house in PuZi. We used to go there when my parents-in-law were still alive. My huband made me a glass of Papaya milk for dessert after dinner.

At 10 o'clock I felt so sleepy, I had an urge to go to bed. But I watched one DVD of Demon Slayer to keep me awake. I found the story interesting, and I watched the animation in Japanese without subtitles. As I already knew the storyline, the conversation among the protagonists was easy to understand. It is a good training for listening comprehension in Japanese.

Weekend Excursion to Southern Taiwan

Feeling excited, I didn't fall asleep in bed immediately Friday night. I felt like an elementary school student, so looking forward to the weekend excursion with 623 classmates of Taipei Medical University! It's been almost a year since I joined the class renion at Taipei Mayor's Resident Cafe last summer. 

Day One, May 24, Saturday

I got up at 6:30 and left home at 7:00. It's been almost five months since the last vacation with my Korean teacher in Tainan and Kaohsiung in January. It felt good to step out of the comfort zone for a change in everyday routine life. 

Cart 7 of Taiwan High Speed Rail is mainly reserved for senior citizens, including 4 roomy seats reserved for passengers on wheel chairs. I used one of them today as none of them were occupied. It was comfortable, and close to the toilettes. Sometimes being disabled can enjoy more advantages and privileges. Hopefully people on wheel charis are not discouraged to go out to enjoy the nature and life. 

After arriving in Tainan Station in GuiRen at 10:10, a luxury Volvo Bus was waiting at Gate 2. I sat on the front row with a great panoramic view. May is an ideal month for travelling in Tainan, Golden Shower flowers in yellow and Phoenix Flowers in red are in bloom magnificently everywhere. The bus took Taiwan Route 3 to Nanxi. We had lunch at the Fruit Garden Restaurant. As soon as we arrived at the restaurant, we were offered two big bottles of mixed fresh fruit juice of lemon, guawa, passion fruit, and oriental melon. 

We were a group of 21 people, not including two tour guides and the driver. Three classmates including myself, sitting at the same table were on kitogenic diet. We all looked slim and avoided eating as much as carbohydrate as possible. One classmate is a devout religious vegetarian. She is conscious of diabetes, because her mother died of diabetes at age of 63. I contain the intake of  carbohydrate because too much glucose is not good for neurons in the brain.

The bus continued driving on Taiwan Route 3, the long and winding small road, all the way to TsengWen Dam via YuJing mountain area full of Mango and Lychee trees. It started raining when we got off the bus at one o'clock. Fortunately there were many umbrellas available on the bus. We took the elevator to the Observation deck and enjoyed the beautiful view of the dam.

The cruise boat departed at 1:30. It was a two hours boat ride to various places. Many activities were organized, including fishing, eagle feeding, and wild boar feeding. While cruising on the boat, I stood by the boat side close to the bow, it reminded me of the memorable moments on the city boat in Venice with my cousin last May. At TsengWen Dam, it is permitted to go fishing. Every participant was excited to catch the fish. The small ones were thrown in the air for eagles to catch to display a splendid acrobatic show, the big ones were set free to the dam.

When the cruise boat approaching the Wild Boars Island, I heard the loud music of Puccini: Nessun dorma (none shall sleep) from Turandot from the speaker on board. The wild boars were greeting us at the port eagerly and waiting for us to feed them with oats offered to us in small polystyrene cups when we got on board. I was amazed to see a real scene of Pavlov’s classical conditioning experiments with dogs on Wild Boar Island. 

At 5:30 we had a gorgerous roast chicken dinner at ZhuXiang Garden. At 7:00 We got on a big gondora to tour the AnPing Canal for one hour. The sunset was beautiful and charming, the breeze was nice and blissful. Just imagine if we had a glass of Aperol in hand, it would be like in the heaven. The boat guide was a friendly and funny young man. We had a lovely evening. Everytime the gondora went under a bridge, we all shouted loudly to hear the echo. We also saw many swallows greeting us under the bridge.

After checking in the Hua Hotel, I didn't join othe classmates for a karaoke party. I walked by myself in the neighborhood to enjoy the city like a solo traveler. After seeing the magnificent artistic display "Double 52000" with more than 100 thousand pink balls floating on the wishing wells at the Spring, I took a walk along the canal. The first night in Tainan was of peace and serenity.

I didn't get back to the hotel until 9:30 and stayed at the lobby to study the Tainan City map till 10 o'clock. I returned to Room 213 and turned on TV, and watched several programs. At home I seldom watch TV, I watch youtube more often. Once a while I watch Japanese satellite TV programs. After taking a shower, I went to bed feeling happy. I fell asleep with the lights on till my roomate came back from the karaoke party. I had a good night sleep.

Day 2, May 25, Sunday 

At 6:30 I got up and dressed myself in red. Today is the Day of Atonement, a day when the Jade Emperor bestows special pardons and blessings. The heavenly lord forgives calamities. I was advised to wear something in red for the good fortune, according to the Chinese Almanac.

I took a walk to the Spring again, it doesn't till 9 o'clock. I went back to the hotel and stayed in the cafeteria till 8 o'clock studying Korean for a while. I felt at ease staying in the cafeteria by myself, watching other tourists chatting with one another while having breakfast. As we didn't book the hotel breakfast, the coffee is free and available for hotel residents.   

The bus took us to the famous Wang's Fishskin Restaurant near the Fishbone Bridge for a sumptuous breakfast at 8:30. Then we went to the TaiJiang National Park in QiGu. We started the ecological tour with an all you can eat oyster grill. Then we explored the QiGu by a fishing raft. The young lady interpreter on the raft was funny and informative. She asked the passengers to wave to the officiers stationed at the XiaShan Harbor Station on the way to the WangZiLiao. It was a 3 kilometer route, we saw the scenery of oyster farming. We also saw the GuoSheng lighthouse afar.

QiGu Lagoon is the largest lagoon in Taiwan, became a part of TaiJiang National Park in 2009. WangZiLiao has three sandbars in the Taiwan Strait, with an area of 1,100 hectares. The scenery on WangZuLiao was breathtaking like 

Maldives. We walked on the trail and saw the current eroding the sandbar rapidly. We also saw many egrets nesting on the trees.  

When I was in YenShui, I seized the opportunity to visit Moon Harbor Guangji Temple（月港廣濟宮王爺廟）on the Day of Atonement, I casted the moon blocks twice to get a Fortune peom 53. Many thanks to the young Head master who helped me find the right fortune peom, because is there is no arabic number on the fortune board. I used to rember the arabic number of the fortune in stead of the Chinese numbering system. Maybe from now on I can learn to rember the Chinese one, in stead of the Arabic one. There are not many people interested in fortune poems these days, mine is an very old one, I wonder who was the last one with forune poem 53, and where the holder is now. 

Being a curious person, I have experienced many first times in my life.

1. the heart beat of an oyster

2. the sea grape freshly from the ocean

3. 

What do I dream to do in the future?

1. To charter a boat to cruise the AnPing Canal with a band on board to provide music, food and drinks

2. To see the sunset on the sandbank of WangTzuLiao, and migratory birds watching in the winter

3. 

Remarks:

Sea grape is a species of green algae from coastal regions in the Asia-Pacific, edible due to its soft and succulent texture as green caviar. Sea grape a giant single cell with multiple nuclei, and can grow to 30 cm in length. Instead of leaves, the algae has bubbles that burst in the mouth, releasing an umami taste "like the ocean.", known to be rich in iodine.  Sea grapes are almost always eaten raw on their own or in salads. After they are washed in clean water, it is usually eaten raw in salad, with chopped raw shallots and fresh tomatoes, and dressed with a blend of fish sauce and vinegar.

In conclusion, it was such a meaningful gathering. All participants have been changed by experience, the familiarity and electricity reconnected us in two days. 

Say Yes to Life

What is it like living with a boring person, my husband loves being at home. His life is very simple. He listens to a lot of radio. He rides the bike in the afternoon. Yeah, he's boring. Yesterday I ran into him on the street in front of my apartment, I ignored him just like a stranger. We haven't spoken any words recently, he is nobody but a stranger to me!

I went to Cathay United Bank in the morning to withdraw NT$75,000, It didn't take me long, because there weren't many customers Friday morning. I ran into an old woman on the street, her face looked familiar, but I couldn't recall her name. She recognized me and introduced herself to me. She lives on YuanGuang Road where I had lunch at her restaurant once and left my umbrella there.

Then I went to the post office to wire my tenant NT$49,500. I am grateful to him for taking care of my penthouse. All I have to do is just pay the repair fees.

After lunch, I took a nap for 30 minutes, I tried to remember what I dreamt of. It was about an performance on stage, I couldn't recall the details.

Visiting Yes Life Shopping Mall is blissful on Friday afternoons. It took less than five minutes to ride my bike there. I went up to the Eslite Bookstore directly. I finished reading and recording a basic Korean from lesson 16 till 30. Then I went to the National Taiwan Musem in Taipei New Park by Bus. With my husband's full points in the traffic card, I felt I could go anywhere as I wish. Maybe I can really become a Taipei City bus expert with 480 extra points a month.

It was the first time I went to the basement of Taiwan Museum, and I saw many different tribal costumes. Maybe one day I can invite friends to have a group photo taken there.

I went to bed at 6:50, in less than a minute, I fell asleep with the rapid eye movement, and dreamt of myself playing pokers, Black Jack so to speak, which I'm going to teach the senior citizens how to play next Thursday afternoon.

I packed my luggage for the weekend trip with college classmates.

The Last Toastmasters Meeting 2024~2025

The online Japanese class began at 8:15, and I didn't do much talking until the end. I thought of quitting the class last week, then I found it interesting and inspiring just by listening to people share the opinions about Japanese grammar on line. The brainstorming is stimulating collectively.

I went to the JingXin Library to return 3 books about decision making I borrowed last week. I didn't read through all three of them, because I had no big decision at the moment. I requested for 3 Manga books and 3 DVDs of the Demon Slayer, hopefully I could understand the story a little better before I see the theater vesion at the YesLife shopping mall in August. I was happy that I found the Outlaws of the Marsh from Children books section on the 6th floor.

At noon, I talked with the tenants about the cost of the renovation of roof top, and I would wire him NT$49,500 first thing tomorrow morning.

From Facebook reels, I learned the term Neuromania. The contents are too complicated for me to understand. In the end, I watched the Korean podcase for a while, becuase it is easy to comprehend.

I left home late and had my dinner at Bus Green 13. I found it enjoyable to have meal during the 30 minutes ride from XinDian to Gungguan. I arrived at Gungguan at 6:40. Bus 74 won't arrive in 15 minutes, then I rushed to take Bus 0 South for the first time, it turned out to be faster than Bus 74, another new discovery for today.

I didn't know that I wore my shirt inside out until I got in the elevator. I went to the restroom to change and clean the teeth. While waiting for the president, I took the time to explain the story of The outlaws of the marsh. I served as the timer this evening, and I learned how to use the handphone as a stopwatch for the first time. 

It's the last meeting of Shida Mandarin speaking Toastmasters Club. There will be a long summer vacation recess before the new semester begins in September. It is good to join a campus Toastmasters club to enjoy a long break for the summer.

Writing a blog is good, I don't have to rush to report my daily activities on FB. I can always take it easy to fill up what's been done later. I turned on BS1 and watched Korean drama after I took a shower, I couldn't understand much, but I learned to get used to the language.

Seven Ways to Listen Better

I felt insomia last night, woke up several times, at one, at two, at five, at six, I felt itchy all over my body, maybe I had allergy due to the stress I had accumulated recently. 

I got up at 8 o'clock, not knowing what to do next, maybe I should go to the library, or I should go to the mountains, or just staying at home reading a few books till I could visit the sports center in the afternoon.

It is indeed frustrating to know many new vocabulary while learning a foreign language. Being able to speak Mandarin, Japanese, English, I should feel lucky that I have already known many Korean words comparing with other Korean learners. Still, everytime I encounter a new word, I have the tendency to stop studying. I went to bed to take a recess while listening to the interview from Taipei radio station till 11:15.

I thought I could do without ChatGPT, but I contacted two friends to help me with the story lines of  the popular Manga "Demon Slayer" for the NTNU Mandarin Toastmasters Club meeting tomorrow evening. ChatGPT has helped many people save a lot of time drafting the contents. No wonder many language teachers and script writers are out of job. As AI advance, more people will be out of job in the future.

The DaAn Fitness Center is less crowded this afternoon. I used a couple of weight lifting facilities before I got on the treadmill to run for only 25 minutes, because it was extremely hot today, and I sweated a lot and I didn't run as much as I used to. Then I trained myself weight lifting using other facities before I left the fitness center at 3:30.

I rode my bike with a bag and a box 12 bottles of diabetics drinks to the Bus 918 station across the street from Ciji Hospital. The bag is for Jimmy to pack before discharging from the Acute Ward of Psychiatric Department of New Taipei City Hospital. I arrived at the ward at 5:30 and saw a son bringing food for his mother. He looked sad. And I saw his mother in the ward. I stayed with my brother for 30 minutes and took Bus 918 home. On my way home, I saw the beautiful night scenery outside the bus window.

After dinner, I studied the article again before the on-line english reading from 9:15. All seven members showed up this evening to prove the importance of active listening in communication.

1 

Maintain eye contact

2 

Nod when you agree or understand

3 

Use listening time to listen

4 

Reflect questions back

5 

Don’t interrupt

6 

Respect the speaker’s point of view

7 

Ask probing questions

https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2025/may/7-ways-to-listen-better

Swallow Nests on JingGuo Road

A sound sleep is recuperating, both physically and mentally. I took at my lower teeth alighment in the mirror after I got up at a quarter past eight. The diastema is closing nicely after the dentist removed one of my teeth three months ago. I am satisfied with the healing process, and I felt good about my making the decision timely to have my teeth aligned after my sister gave me the advice. I even learned a new medical term "diastema"! 

Listening to a Korean podcast for a couple of hours in the morning, I found my listening comprehension in Korean improved day by day. It really takes time to learn a new language, easy reading and writing can be achieved in a short time, but speaking and listening takes much longer time.

I decided to take a nap after lunch to recuperate. In less than a minute, I dreamt of myself walking with a man under an umbrella in the same direction. He said that he would accompany me, but he might live in the opposite direction. I woke and I remember the dream. I had a second dream immediately, but I forgot it all. In the end, I took a nap for 15 minutes, the shortest nap I've taken in recent years.

While waiting for Bus 909, I looked at a nest on the ceiling with four little swallows opening their mouths widely for their parents to feed them. Before Bus 909 came, I couldn't find my senior citizen's monthy traffic card in my wallet, I left it in the pocket of my blue trousers. 

I decided to visit the local library and found another swallow nest on my way. I studied at the library for one hour and a half and then came home. I went to the DaFeng Elementary School for a walk after six o'clock, went to Jimmy's place to collect Val's trash, in time to throw them to the Garbage truck.

At dinner, I borrowed the senior citizen's monthy traffic from my husband. 

Crimson Monday

I woke up twice last night to go to the toilette, because of the tapioca milk tea I drank yesterday afternoon. I didn't know that the tapioca milk tea could be so powerful that I stayed wild awake till midnight.

Monday morning is a great start of the week. I was in charge of the NHK easy Japanese news this monring, we learned about the popular Manga "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba" staged in Osaka in May in Traditional Japanese Noh and Kyogen won a lot of popularity among young people in Japan. The theme song "Crimson Lotus Flower" by Lisa also went viral in the world.

As there were only a few points left in my monthy senior traffic card, I decided to ride my bike to visit my Korean teacher. We had soybean paste noodles for lunch. We chatted a great deal in Korean and everybody was impressed with my progress in the Korean language. We played two kinds of table games after lunch. Trying new games was a great experience.

I rode the bike to Wenshan Sports Center to do exercise for one and a half hours, and rode the bike home, took a quick cold shower before I layed in bed for one hour.  

After dinner, I put on the 10th tooth alignments for Orthodantic treatment. It felt good to have a set schedule in life to achieve something in the end.

Finally I started packing for the weekend vacation with college classmates. The desk floor was covered with used papers and dust. I just keep procrastinating the cleaning work.

After shower, I watched women squash competition in New York on BS1 for 10 minutes before I went to bed. It turned out to be the only 10 minutes I watched the satellite everyday because I found it disturbing, the BBC world news my husband enjoyed listening to at night.  

A Blissful Sunday

I woke up before seven, decided to go to DaAn Sports Center by Bus 909. According to the weather broadcast, it would rain today, but it was sunny at 7:40. The weather should be pretty much the same as  yesterday, sunny in the morning, but rainy in the afternoon.

I arrived at DaAn at 8:20, just to find all eight treadmills were occupied. I tried a few weight lifting facilities before I caught a vacant treadmill, I ran one and a half kilometers with the last five minutes at the speed of 5.0, while watching the final between Crystal Palace and Manchester City. Then I took a break to put on some essence on my face, because I believed the essence penetrated better when I perspired. Back to the fitness center, I tried a couple of weight lifting facilties before I got on another treadmill and ran for another one and a half kilometers. Running on the treadmill helped me build grit to stay healthy and live to 120. I felt good and refreshing after I shampooed my hair in the cold shower.

For lunch, we had the leftover lunchbox from yesterday. I took a one hour nap and rode my bike to the Eslite Bookstore, just to find my secret corner was occupied by a mother and a daughter. I read a Korean textbook for one hour, and went downstairs to find a quiet corner near the front gate area to read the book about Korean culture I brought with me for another hour before I rode bike back home. Nothing could be better to have have a great shopping mall in the neighborhood.

On my way back home, I stopped by a tea shop to buy a cup of Tapioca milk tea for NT$55. In Taiwan, it is blissful to indulge oneself by drinking a cup of tapioca milk tea, even though I know the sugary drink is linked with high risk of cardiovascular disease. I watched FB reels, including videos about English language learning and TED talks. It is fun to watch entertaining and educational reels at home when it rained outside with thuners from time to time.

At 6:30 I turned on the satellite TV BS1 to watch the Enka of the Day to get myself entertained before dinner. Gosh, it feels good to be able to comprehend a few foreign languages, so that I don't get bored watching various video in many different langages.

Before going to bed, I need to make some preparation for the Monday morning on-line Japanese class.   

The Big Data

Suddenly I started receiving a lot of reels from FB about the English language learning yesterday, the day I wrote again on this blog. In the past, I received mostly reels about Japanese language learning. The big data was impressive, affecting our daily routines. I spent at least three hours watching reels yesterday, and to my amazement, I did not get bored. So, thanks to the big data, for feeding me the contents I am fond of.

I felt the urge to go to Fu-Ho Flea Market to buy myself a pair of sneakers after I woke up at 9 this morning, then I gave up the idea, as I didn't really need an extra pair of running shoes. I went to the 7-11 to reschedule my high speed railway ticket with the aim to arrive earlier, but all tickets arriving in Taiwan around 10 were sold out, and I didn't want to pay a fortune for a business class ticket on my own. So I sticked to the original high speed railway ticket I bought yesterday.

After lunch, I studied a bit in front of the desktop. I rode my bike to JingXin Library to return two books and borrow 4 books. It didn't rain till I got to Bus 643 fortunately. I arrived at the Taipei Fish Market ten to 3, Val was already there. We went shopping at the Addiction Aquatic Development, I bought a lunch box with 5 selections for 150 NT dollars. Val must be hungry she spent 400+ buying several dishes. Then we had a garden picnic in the rain for an hour and half. I took Bus 643 back to JinMei, surprisingly the passenger sitting next to me was using google translate to study Italian. The rain stopped in time, and I rode my bike back home.     

A New Journey was just embarked upon!

I woke up feeling blissful, decided to live with a more passive than active attitude towards others from Today, expecting less from people around me, and thinking more for myself, and feeling good about myself. 

It's Friday, the last sunny day for this week, hopefully, the roof top fortification project of my penthouse in central Taipei could be completed in time before the Plum rain season begins this weekend. Being a person of Financial Freedom, I still can't help but being concerned about how much to pay for the renovation. 

I booked the high speed railway ticket to Tainan for the coming Saturday, the 24th, at the 7-11 in my neighborhood this morning, just to know that I was late for the railway my roomate reserved, because all tickets on her railway were sold out. In the end, I booked an eariler train, but arrived later, hopefully I won't keep my classmates waiting for too long.

I found a new way to entertain myself by watching youtube to practice karaoke at home with the lyrics and yomigana (読み仮名). Maybe I could try the karaoke with the Korean songs, too. 

It feels free with no routines on the daily agenda, except visiting the fitness center in the afternoon. I took Bus 909 to Daan and exercised for one and half hours, and returned to XinDian by Bus 909 before 4:30. I didn't waste much time when I got home to lay in bed for 30 minutes.

The lady owner of a stationery shop where I used to buy papers and pens greeted me by calling my name on my way home, it was the first time she called my name. She knew my name from her daughter, my tattooist. We became a little closer. And it feels good to have the sense of community bond between us.

I watched short videos on FB for almost two hours, learning English and Japanese languages. I don't know when the short videos in Korean will pop up in my computer.  

For dinner, we had steam dumplings. My husband made me a glass of Papaya Milk for dessert. It was delicious!