A Love Story

"I had a crash on a monk. I couldn't let go of him. I stalked him crossing the river and turned into a snake. When he hid himself under the bronze bell of a temple, I seized the bell with all my energy, spit the fire to burn him to death. It is because of love and I just can't help it!" It's the love story of the famous Japanese dance Doujouji, I'm going to perform in 2010.

I was ready to pay a visit to the monk under the old bronze bell of Hanshan Temple. I put on my favorite Japanese costume. The Yukata is a gift from Toastmaster Takao of Osaka Toastmasters Club and the handbag is a gift from Toastmaster Shimada of Kyoto Toastmasters Club. I bought the Obi and Geta in Okazaki, Nagoya, when I was a student at a local language school in 1996.

To my big surprise, there was a golden monk under the bronze bell when I climbed on the attic. I was the lucky one to be alone with the monk for a while till someone climbed up the attic. I exerted all my energy to strike the bell three times to express my love and gratitude with a group of witness. The monk reminded me of my dear husband at home. He just sat there quietly to watch over me with all his love and support.

After Two Decades

I read "Shanghai Refuge: A Memoir of the World War II Jewish Ghetto" by Ernest G. Heppner, I read "Emily Hahn in Shanghai" by Wang-pu, I read books of Eileen Chang and Lu Xun, I saw movies, "Empire of the Sun" 1987, "Suzhou River" 2000, I was eager to see the old Shanghai in the past. But what I saw was a modern Shanghai spiked with thousands of skyscrapers at high density, to my dismay. Shanghai is a huge international city, adorned with signs of KFC, McDonald, Starbucks. I miss the old Shanghai, the Shanghai in "Lust, Caution" directed by Ang Lee in 2007.

Shanghai in the 21st century is woven with overpasses, highways, and subways. The old turn-of-the-century shikumen (stone gate) housing complex blended features of east and west was obsolete. Xintiandi of renovated shikumen lanes was like an empty shell designated for tourists only. When the old residents of shikumen were forced to move to a new skyscraper apartment afar, they took away with them the old memories.

I walked into a Starbucks Cafe' in Xintiandi by myself. After ordering my favorite cup of Frappuccino topped with chocolate chips, I went up the steps, fetched a chair to sit by the window on the second floor, sipped a mouthful morning nectar, jotted down a few lines on my postcard. I began my first morning in Shanghai, but I could as well be at any Starbucks Cafe' in the world, same menu, same interior designs (except the photos on the walls), same international customers. We are in a global village.

I joined the golden ladies to walk into my second Starbucks Cafe' in a row in Yu Garden downtown Shanghai, this time I didn't order anything, firstly, the waiting queue was too long, secondly, I was in a hurry to have myself measured by Chi-pao Master right at the coffeehouse. I was thrilled to have two chi-paos and one jacket made in Shanghai.

After a good Shanghai style lunch, we stopped by St. Ignatius Cathedral for ten minutes to have photos taken before we hit the freeway to Suzhou. I rushed to get into the Cathedral to offer my humble pray for the world peace, even I am not a catholic (有拜有保佑). When I knew that St. Ignatius Cathedral was destroyed during the cultural revolution, I thought of the Urakami Cathedral in Nagasaki destroyed by the atomic bomb during the World War II.

Garden of lions was the first place we visited in Suzhou, it was the old home to I. M. Pei, international renown architecture. At age of 90, Master Pei gave Suzhou his master piece "Suzhou Museum" which he treasured as his little daughter. He held a birthday party for her little daughter at Garden of Lions on October the 7th, 2006. Just imagine I.M. Pei held his lovely petit wife's hands to entertain guests from all over the world at his old home. That would be the greatest honor for any Chinese to return to the old home.

The hefty and sophisticated Suzhou Industrial Park aside, I like Suzhou the best among five major cities in Jiang-nan. The serenity and tranquility of Suzhou reminded me of Kyoto in Japan. Like Venice, Suzhou was also built on water. At night, the boat ride on the ancient water routes meandering through the quiet old small town was cool. It would be a plus if the punter could sing a piece of Suzhou serenade.

Su-zhou is not only an old town of 2500 years, there are also many romantic and heroic stories to cherish. People in Suzhou enjoy Ping-tang, a entertainment form of the story-telling by two musicians, the woman plays Pi-pa and the man plays Shamisen.

PS: By the Golden Rooster Lake in the Suzhou Industrial Park, I ran into a young lady fortune teller. I sat on the rickshaw listening to my fortune told by a young woman. She told me her master taught her the skills to read the face and palm. I believe in her about my fortune. I have a dream and I shall have it realized in this life. Then I shall head for the nirvana!

Make It Happen

"Make it Happen"—The slogan of RBS (the Royal Bank of Scotland Group) in Hong Kong, was tailor-made for us. When we saw the eye-catching slogan everywhere at the airport of Hong Kong, we simply couldn't miss this meaningful group photo of four. Four golden ladies toastmasters finally took the initiatives to venture out of Taiwan to join Pamela in Shanghai.

But our excitement was extinguished as soon as we buckled our seatbelts on the airplane. "Due to the bad weather in Shanghai, we are requested to stay on board for at least two and half hours before we could take off", announced the pilot. No sooner than later, the aircraft was filled with complaints in all kinds of languages and dialects, simply chaotic and noisy. I was quiet and patient because I had needlework with me.

I contained my temper and ignored the criticism, but at last I raised my voice to solicit the tranquility and peace on board. "Nobody wants to waste time on board, no movies, no music, no magazines, nobody wants to be late for home or office, but safety is No. 1, isn't it," I shouted. The timely dinner service stopped every passenger's mouth efficiently and effectively. After dinner, I walked to the end of the plane to stretch myself and met an Italian Professor of Management who just couldn't stop complaining. And, I had the opportunity to chat with him in Italian for two and half hours.

We were requested to stay on board when we landed at Pu-dong Airport at a quarter passed ten. A team of 5 HINI inspectors fully gowned in white jumpsuits checked each passenger's temperature with a huge gun-shape thermometer of nine laser points. We were like livestock ready to be shipped to the meat market in Shanghai after the quarantine by the Shanghai City Government.

Right before the clock struck twelve, we checked in the hotel. I was exhausted, but I didn't want my first night in Shanghai empty handed, no chance to go to the pubs downtown, no chance to sip a glass of Martini on Cloud Nine at the Hyatt Hotel. What a waste! I wanted to spend RMB, that's what I was here for!

Five golden ladies chartered a taxi to see the night of Pu-dong for one hour upon my request. When I stood by the Huang-pu River on Bing-jiang Boulevard looking at the Bund across, my tears poured（禁不住兩行老淚撲簌簌掉個不停）the first night day I was in Shanghai. At 2:30, I sat in my hotel room making a postcard for my brother Jimmy who accompanied me to visit Shanghai in 1991. I didn't hit the sack till 3 in the morning wearing a big contented smile!

All's Well End's Well! Shanghai, I am back after two decades. I brought my dear golden ladies toastmasters friends along with me. We made it to Shanghai!

Eyes on Me at Taipei Eye

Gosh, I had never thought that I could have learned so much in the past week escorting Toastmaster Norton Moise sightseeing in Taipei. Norton arrived in Taipei on the 4th of June, flew to Tokyo on the 9th, during his five days in town, I listened to his touching stories one after another. I finally got to unveil this passionate gentleman who sent me a colorful oil painting before his arrival.

Being a smart old Professor of Physics at Caltech and Otago University, Norton certainly had a lot to share. I was lucky to be all ears when Norton told me about his life experiences when he had to rest here and there because of his back pain. Norton broke his back parachuting in Germany during the World War II.

Imagine if you once fought on the battlefield in Europe against Nazi when you were a young solider, what you would like to see if you were given a chance to visit Taiwan! It isn't a wild guess if your answer is paying homage to late President Chiang Kai-shek at CKS Memorial Hall in Taipei and CKS Mausoleum in Cihu. That was what Norton did to fly from Dunedin to Taiwan. Norton was happy and lucky that he made the pilgrimage with success, joy, and gratitude.

Norton is not only a lucky American kiwi, he also brings lucks to those around him. When Norton took me to see Chinese opera at Taipei Eye Saturday evening, June 6th, two big lions danced auspiciously right in front of us. During the acrobatic performance, I was even invited to get on stage to be part of the performance. Wow, it was thrilling to be lifted up by two muscular young men in the air and joined the big acrobat team of 20 on stage. What a once-in-a-lifetime experience it was! I was on cloud nine.

The last night Norton was in town, he told me that he had a great time in Taiwan. I took his words when he commented that we were right briners, because we were helplessly emotional. Norton always had tears in his eyes when he talked about his childhood stories. I always had tears in mine when I listened to his moving stories. Norton, I'm going to miss you! Have a safe trip to Japan, Alaska, California and back to Dunedin. Hope to see you again!

Toastmasters Leadership Village in Hsin-Tien

Linda, Trini, Amy, and I joined the demo meeting of Leadership Village Hsien Tien Advanced Toastmasters Club this evening. Marian Hsiao, the Incumbent D67 Governor complimented the foursome of us for dressing up and adding colors to the demo meeting. No one could be happier than Marian, because a new advanced Toastmasters club was born this evening. Many senior toastmasters signed up as the dual members on the spot. D67 will advance in the world ranking consequently.

The demo meeting was cool and fun without designated assignment takers on the agenda. Senior toastmasters volunteered to take the challenge to play various impromptu roles. Trini was the general evaluator and I was the individual evaluator of guest speaker Norton Moise. Tabletopics session was replaced with Everybody Speaks Session, a debate on what is more important between heart vs love, tie vs water, pen vs apple, book vs mobile phone, hand vs TV. Everyone was given 30 seconds to state their point of view with the wildest imagination possible. The meeting room was full of glee and laughter.

Toastmaster Norman Moise from New Zealand was the guest speaker of honor. He told a story about two boys, his encounter with Ricky, a baby boy who was born on the same day as his, December the 3rd. Norton and Ricky were both delivered by their fathers, Norton in a taxi in Chicago in a snowstorm, Ricky in a car in Dunedin. When Norton read the news about Ricky in the newspaper, he called Ricky's family immediately. He invited Ricky's family for sumptuous breakfast to celebrate Ricky's one month birthday at a fancy restaurant in Dunedin. Two strangers met, and they were connected afterwards.

I was very impressed with Norton's meaningful story at the demo meeting. Norton is a great story-teller indeed. At age of 82, he certainly has a lot to tell. But Norton does not just tell old stories, he makes new stories everyday. The more I get to know him, the more I admire his courage to take the challenge to travel on his own with a pacemaker in his heart.

"Life is about meeting people NOW", says Norton. Thank you, Norton for the valuable lesson in life. "When people buy, you sell. When people sell, you buy", says Norton. Thank you, Norton, for the valuable know-how in the stock markets which will make me and toastmasters who attended the leadership village (LV) demo meeting this evening rich people for the rest of our lives. How about you invite your bridge partner Warren Buffett to a toastmaster meeting in Taipei, Norton?

An Octogenarian Toastmaster from New Zealand

An octogenarian Toastmaster from Dunedin came visit me in Taipei this afternoon. It took him 28 hours to fly from Dunedin to Auckland, Singapore, Taipei. At age of 82, Norton Moise set his foot on Formosa for the first time. He was excited about his two months journey in northern hemisphere, with Taiwan the first stop, followed by Japan, Alaska, California. Norton is an American Kiwi, a retired professor in Physics, a well-known artist, and a veteran toastmaster in New Zealand.

When Norton Moise showed up at the exit of the CKS International Airport at 2PM, Toastmasters Alex Hsiao (another octogenarian) and Gina Lin of Success Toastmasters Club and I were much relieved. Norton smiled at us, took out his newly brought digital camera and took a shoot of us three immediately. When I asked for the sand Norton promised to bring to Gina, Norton realized that he forgot to put the sand in his luggage. Being a collector of sand of the world, Gina was not disappointed because Norton promised her to send the South Pacific Ocean sand as soon as he finished his extensive journey at a cost of US$15,000 dollars.

After picking up Norton at the airport, we gave up the original plan to show Norton Cihu Mausoleum where the late Presient Chiang Kai-shek's remains were placed, because of the heavy rain. In stead, we drove all the way to Taipei to visit CKS Memorial Hall and saw the change of the gurads at 4PM.

We stayed at Norton's room for an hour to chitchat after we accompanied Norton to check in his hotel. Norton's eyes were flooded with tears when he talked about two important persons in his life, Ms. Beulah Shoesmith, who taught him math in high school and his grandfather who taught him to play chess. At six, we had dinner at a Japanese restaurant in the neighborhood. I taught Norton how to say "I love you" and "You are beautiful and sexy" in Mandarin, so that he can flirt around when there is an opportunity. It has been a lovely day with an octogenarian Toastmaster from New Zealand, enthusiastic in science, arts, and flirtation.

Norton will be the guest speaker at the first gathering of Hsin-Tien Advanced Toastmasters Club. He is going to talk about his encounter with a little boy who was also born on the taxi on the way to the hospital. Norton has an IQ of 180, is a genius in Mathematics. He shook hands with Albert Einstein in person when he was 16 and made up his mind to study Physics from then. Being a certifed stock broker, Norton knows the stock game well. While everybody is losing money form stock market during the financial crisis early this year, Norton made a fortune on the contrary. Come ask him how to get rich tomorrow evening.

Trvelling Down the Memory Lane

Travelling down the memory lane is not all black 'n white.
Travelling down the memory lane is not all lacking light.
Travelling down the memory lane is not eye filled with tears.
Travelling down the memory lane brings fresh and soothing air.
Travelling down the memory lane is college, fun and friend.
Travelling down the memory lane is full of curves and bends.
Travelling down the memory lane is a test of time and mind
Travelling down the memory lane is a joy of it's kind.
~~Spandan Bhattacharyya~~

When Incoming Division J Governor Tu Shih-jun walked out of the famous Hot Spring House 瀧乃湯 in Beitou, I was taking photos of Mei, Monica, and Shinako. What a coincidence that a group of Japanese speaking people should meet. How happy I was to introduce Toastmaster Tu san immediately to my dear old friends of Ritsumeikan University. Toastmaster Tu, being a regular visitor of 瀧乃湯, showed us the monument of Crown Prince Hirohito's visit to the hot spring house in April 1923.

Dragon Boat Festival 2009 was indeed memorable. Monica from Hong Kong, Shinako from Tokyo, Mei from Taichung came visit me in Taipei for four days, from May 28th till May 31st. We traveled all over Taipei, chitchatted from early in the morning till late at night about love and life, to catch up what we missed in the past 8 years after we left Ristumeikan University in 2001.

Sunday morning, on my way to see Shinako off at the MRT Dapingling Station, Shinako told me how much she sensed the same chemistry among four of us. Indeed, we all had seasonal allergy during the four days holiday. We sneezed everywhere we went and asked for tissue all the time. Birds of a feature flock together. We are a flock of birds migrating between Japan and Taiwan. We chirp in Japanese, English, and Mandarin. While Mei, Monica, and Shinako are seeking for Bird Right to build the lovely nests with them, I wish them all the best.

Mei, Monica, and Shinako are three angels coming afar to inform me of their latest news. The two big nomikai dinners at my brother Jimmy's place lasted long hours. It was like the replay of good old days at I (International) House nine years ago. We might be older, but our spirits remain just as young and energetic. Now I pray we could have another big reunion at I House soon. Sayonara, Mei, Monica, and Shinako! Take care till we meet again in Kyoto for our tenth anniversary in 2011.

Just clog it—Golden Ladies Toastmasters in China

It is the first time five golden ladies venture out of Taiwan, Linda, Lydia, Pamela, Sherry, and Trini, to meet up with Toastmasters in Southern China from June 20th till June 25th. We are lucky that all four major cities we are about to visit have toastmasters clubs.

Matt Harding's cheerful dancing spirit arouses the world. He spends 14 months in the making of viral video smash in 42 countries. Golden ladies have a dream of smaller scale to put on our colorful clogging shoes to clog in Shanghai, Su-zhou, Wu-xi, and Hang-zhou. It is only the beginning, just to clog!

Day 1 June/20 (Saturday) Arrival at Shanghai at 6 PM, Meet with Toastmasters in Shanghai after dinner

Day 2 June/21 (Sunday) Visit Chien-Huan Temple after breakfast with toastmasters in Shanghai, Clog in Shanghai, Visit Su-zhou gardens with toastmasters in Su-zhou after lunch

Day 3 June/22 (Monday) Visit HanShan Temple after breakfast, Clog in Su-zhou, Meet with Toastmasters in Wu-xi after dinner

Day 4 June/23 (Tuesday) Enjoy boating on Tai Lake after breakfast, Clog in Wu-xi, Meet with Toastmasters in Hang-zhou after dinner

Day 5 June/24 (Wednesday) Enjoy boating on West Lake after breakfast, Clog in Hang-zhou, Meet with toastmasters in Shanghai after dinner

Day 6 June/25 (Thursday) Shanghai City Tour with toastmasters in Shanghai,　Departure for Taipei after lunch

After Trini and I signed up our China tour package at the travel agency this afternoon, we were so excited that we decided to drive to Lydia's lounge for afternoon tea. While waiting for Lydia to come home, Trini and I kept talking nonstop about our exciting joint adventure in China, clogging and toastmastering. Life is indeed promising for golden ladies, we are grateful!

Monument Cafe

Toastmaster Linda Tseng invited golden ladies for afternoon tea at Mr. Brown Cafe (Taipei Institute of Technology) to share her travel album in Western America Sunday afternoon, May 24th. I proposed we changed the place to the newly opened and renovated Monument Cafe near Taipei Train Station. But when I got there at 2PM, I only saw the sign, the coffee shop was closed, to my disappointment. In the end, I walked in Mr. Brown Cafe next door.

When Linda arrived, I saw her in time. Before she showed me her photo album, we couldn't help wondering why Monument Cafe was closed on holidays. If we were the owners, how we would run the coffee shop and do our best to promote it by inviting local and foreigners to come visit Monument for a cozy and relaxing afternoon coffee.

When Amy arrived, Linda saw her in time. Amy joined golden ladies a couple months ago. She was the most eager lady among us to learn and to exchange and she always puts on her best shoes along with her fancy hat to our gatherings. Amy wore a red straw hat today. She gave it to me as a gift immediately when she saw me. She complimented me that the red hat looked prettier on me. Thank you, Amy!

It was a pleasant afternoon at Mr. Brown with Linda and Amy. Linda showed us two big photo albums of her exciting trips in the US ten years apart, one was in April 2009, the other was in April 1999 (when Linda was still single and slim). The decade evolution of Linda was astonishing, Linda was still Linda alright, but with more confidence and charm in running her life as a mother of four and an owner of a big molding company. Her growth could be witnessed by how she compiled her resourceful and memorable travelogue with lots of photos and witty and amusing remarks. Thank you, Linda!

As always, our topics switched from time to time. Linda was interested in the book I brought along, "The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell. I told Linda I'd been reading extensively Greek, Roman, Indian, Chinese Mythology recently. I spent a lot of time memorizing the names of gods and goddesses, I found a lot of inspiration and stimulation from the stories of gods and goddesses in the east and west. When Linda told us she was reading "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy at the time, Amy started sharing her perspective about the heroine's overwhelming density and irreconcilable contradictions of existence. I think every woman is a mythology, so is a man. Piece by piece we put together the jigsaw puzzle of our ephemeral lives and blend into one story of human beings in the universe.

At 5PM, Linda needed to join her family gathering. Amy invited me to have dinner at Ogawa Japanese Cuisine where Amy proposed to have the Toastmasters Magazine reading gathering in June. Ogawa is a newly opened in Ten-mu, owned by a dear friend of Amy. Believe it or not, we even ran into a toastmaster member of China Toastmasters Club, Amy and Trini's home club, at Ogawa. What a small Toastmasters world it is in Taipei!

PS: I didn't give up, did I? I called Monument Cafe first thing Monday morning to know their open hours and invited Lydia and Sophia for afternoon tea Wednesday, May 27th. Being an early bird and the only customer on the second floor, I sat by the window, looked out at the heavy and swift traffic on the Chung-shan North Road, like a video on forward 4X speed, time flew just as fast. It's 2009 now. A century ago, women in kimono on rickshaws meandered under the same tree shades perhaps.

Toastmaster Magazine Reading Gathering in May

On this special evening in May, Incumbent D67 Governor Marian Hsiao came join the Toastmaster magazine reading gathering for the first time at a chic Shanghai restaurant in downtown Taipei. When Marian walked in the restaurant on time in her tailor-made blue chipao, how honored we felt to have such an outstanding leader to support our reading group. Marian took charge to order seven delicious Shanghai dishes without ado, presided our reading gathering cheerfully, led us to transcend to a Greek Forum to meet with Aristotle two thousand years ago.

Why did we choose a Shanghai restaurant in the first place? Simply because golden ladies plan to venture to Shanghai via the direct flight between Shanghai and Tapei in the middle of June to visit Pamela who divides her time between Shanghai and Taipei. Some golden ladies want to see the movie scenes of Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution"; some want to collect a few beautifully handmade chi-paos; some want eat the mouthwatering local delicacies; some want to visit the emerging toastmasters clubs in Shanghai to bridge the gap between Taiwan and China. No matter what kind of reasons each golden has in mind, if time and budget allows, no Chinese would want to miss Shanghai—the most extravagant city in modern Chinese society!

Irene selected three feature articles in April issue for us to read at home in advance, "The Equation for Persuasion" by John Coleman, page 8; "Disarm Them With Debate Skills" by Dave Zielinski, page 14; "Lessons from the Ancient Greeks" by Rover Oliver, page 22. To my disappointment, I didn't receive my copy till the last minute. Fortunately Irene sent me the pdf file a couple of days before and I went fetch Michelle's copy on my way to the reading gathering. It has been annoying not being able to receive my toastmaster monthly on time for the past several months. I don't know what happened to the postal services in Taiwan.

When it comes to rhetoric, we must hear what ancient Greeks had to say. Like it or not, we toastmasters must comprehend at least three words in Greek in order to master the art of persuasion, logos, pathos and ethos. They were the three great Greek words we learned this evening. We were enthusiastic to learn from the ancient Greeks how to deliver a persuasive speech with well constructed structures, isolate the problem(s), identify the cause(s)and formulate workable solutions.

But we were more enthusiastic to discuss about the essence of ideal love of Plato, the mentor of Aristotle. What is platonic love? Is there the existence of platonic love, between men and women, gays, lesbians? When we continued our discussion, we were prompted to study more Greek words about love, eros, philia, agape. With the understanding of love and rhetoric in Greek, nothing is Greek to me from this evening.

Toastmasters Service to the Community

A neighbor that is near is better than a brother far off.

Having being a full-time housewife for more than five years, I have lots of free time at home. After my husband goes to work every morning, I have at least 10 hours at my disposable. I get engaged in community affairs and I feel good greeting familiar faces and strangers in the neighborhood.

I like my community and I wish I could do something for my community to make it a better place for the residents. It is not hard to imagine how great it would be if there were a toastmasters club in my community! When friendly neighbors become supportive Toastmasters brothers and vice versa.

This morning, Mike Yang, DTM, D67LGM 08-09, came to Hsin-tien to help me realize the dream to charter a Toastmasters club in the neighborhood. Giving birth to an idea of chartering a Toastmasters Club is one thing, having it realized is another. I am grateful to Mike for spending two and half hours exploring all possibilities to make it happen—the first community toastmasters club in Hsin-tien.

Mike and I met with each other at 10, shared a big cup of latte at Starbucks Cafe to begin our investigation of the possible meeting location for the new club. Starbucks cafe offers the best convenient place, right next to Dapingling MRT Station Exit 1, but the space is less formal, and it could accommodate at most 20 people. After coffee, Mike and I continued to examine another three restaurants with the ambience and cost, then we walked to Hsin-tien Cultural Center and Ta-fong Social Welfare Center to explore the availability of public venues to give birth to a new club.

After the grand walking tour of big Dapingling area, Mike was excited to announce his moving to his new house in Hsin-tien after it is completed before the end of 2009. Mike was enthusiastic about his term as Lieutenant Governor Marketing of District 67 to charter new clubs on the island. After a light lunch, he moved on to continue his passion about toastmasters.

With the spread of the good news of a new club in Hsin-tien, more and more toastmasters in Hsin-tien area are offering their helping hands to support the new club. I say thank you to all of you. If there is anything I could to do to reciprocate what I learned from the Toastmasters International in the past two decades, is by paying forward to whose who shall grow and develop themselves like you and me in Toastmasters.