Life In Philadelphia

Hello ALL!
I know, I know. I have been the absolute WORST with updating our family blog (with maybe the exception of Roy *ahem*). Our Places is a wonderful opportunity to keep our family close and updated and I hope to take advantage of this convenient tool more often. I myself have thoroughly enjoyed reading about the lives and interests of everyone and I want to thank Shiou-Rieh again for putting forth the effort that I could not.

For now, I'd like to start with a photo post. I figure this may be a clearer, more effective method of sharing my life in Philly (as some people have requested that I fill them in on how life is these days). And for the record, life is good.

MY ROOMMATES

I live with three roommates who are all close friends of mine. This is my good friend Emma. She studies film at Temple University.

This is my other roommate Carlos. He is a very talented artist who studied metal and glass work at one of the best art schools in Philadelphia.


This is Martin who is our forth roommate, a foreign exchange student from Germany! This is his girlfriend who was visiting from Munich.

MY FRIENDS

I have a wonderful group of eclectic friends. They are all warm, honest, fun and talented individuals. I feel lucky to know such people. Here are just a few of them.

Alice and I outside my favorite music store



Morgan


Me, Emma and Alicia at a mustache party


Mavis, Rachel and Ashley


Jerry and his Elvis bowling ball


Most of my friends are very silly.


Swimming during summertime


Nicole caught this fish with her hands!



My stylish friend Amy


HALLOWEEN!!!! (one of my favorite holidays)

Many of my friends had great costumes.

Kasie- Mey and Carlos.




Me and Larson being goofy

My New House
This next set of photos is really for my mom and dad since they haven't yet had a chance to see the new house I recently moved into. I apologize if these are boring for the rest of the family... feel free to skip ahead!

My very messy but wonderful desk/work area.

I made these window curtains myself and I found this like-new chair on the street! haha


I've alway wanted to paint my room blue. I was very nervous about how it would turn out at first but I think it turned out alright.



This is my bathroom where Emma and I wall-papered the wall ourselves (with old bull fighting prints from Mexico)!

Our living room.


This is a picture of a lamp/table that Carlos made at school. Very cool. In front is his drum.


This is our dining area.


Which is right next to another sitting space.

Our very small but cozy kitchen.


We all LOVE to cook!


And of course, saving the best for last... this is our wonderful, fantastic one year old dog PHILLY!!!!!!

She is half lab, half pit and we saved her from the pound. She is the cutest, most wonderful dog to ever walk this planet. I love her very, very much!

Okay. Those are a few bits and pieces of my life in Philly. Next time I will post more about my trip to Taiwan and China this summer. That should be much more relevant since I had the rare opportunity to spend time with family in Asia. I miss Taiwan. But I'll save that for later. I hope everyone is doing well!!

-Eva

My letter got published!

Taipei Times, Oct. 14

It's neat to know that people in Taiwan are reading it in the newspaper.
I wonder if anyone can get their hands on a hardcopy.

Eric

Stupid Engineers!

I wrote a letter to the Taipei Times in response to this silly reader's comments:
Suhua Freeway:safe and ecological

In response to Lin Tzu-chiang's letter ('Suhua Freeway: safe and
ecological', Oct. 11):

As a Taiwanese person and a fellow engineer, I was galled when I read
Lin Tzu-chiang's letter espousing the virtues of the Suhua Freeway
expansion as safe and ecological. True, by itself as an isolated
system, the Freeway may be safe and ecological. However, therein
lies the problem. Mr. Lin makes the same mistake that has has always
plagued the engineering profession--a narrow, non-holistic point of
view that sees the world as a machine-like system, whose parts may be
properly observed in isolation from the rest of the system. The
greater danger posed by this freeway is that it will open the
floodgates to unregulated development along the coast, and the
environmental destruction that would inevitably follow, given the
current regulatory climate. Damage has already been done, as
evidenced by the destruction of the once pristine beaches just south
of Hualien City.

One might also consider that part of the danger of the current route
is partially due to the reckless way in which people drive this
stretch of highway, particularly truck drivers, who seem to have no
regard for safety or law. Yet Mr. Lin insists upon the flawed view of
technology as panacea, that wider is better, and that convenience
above all else should trump all other considerations. I had hoped
that in light of the environmental problems we as engineers have
helped create, this "build it because we can" attitude would change.
Instead, I have been severely disappointed.

Eric Wu (Electrical Engineer, Researcher, University of Tokyo)

Slim chance, but I hope it gets published. I don't write to newspapers much I can't stand ignorance from other engineers!

Italy

Greetings to everyone from your cousin Harvey. Or perhaps, I should say: ciao ragazzi!

I decided to steal some time from a busy work day (and an even busier work week) to contribute to this blog launched by our ever resourceful shou-yueh. To sustain the theme of familiar faces in far off places, that the name of the blog so exquisitely captures, I have posted a few images from our trip to Italy from 2006. Most of these photographs were taken in the city of Firenze, where Lori and I were wed (of course), immersed in the works of Alberti, Brunelleschi, and Vasari.

The photograph at the top of this post was taken at the Villa d'Este in Tivoli, a lavish and decadent sixteenth century estate designed by Pirro Ligorio featuring a terraced garden with hundreds of gravity-fed water fountains.

Well, it has been less than a year since we returned to our routine, non-Mediterranean lives in Toronto, but already I feel long overdue for another holiday. And do our lives, in the 21st century, ever truly become "routine?"



I certainly hope not. The amount space in a blog makes this a less than ideal place to ponder that thought at any length. I can say with confidence that both Lori and I are working hard to save a little money to travel again soon. We have not yet decided on our next destination. However, I don't think an ordinary vacation will, soon, surpass those glorious days of exploring Italy together with friends and family as we did last June. So I would like to send you all a heart-felt thanks for those great memories! I will never forget them. And I encourage all of our other cousins, wherever you may be, to contribute to our collection of virtual places.


Harvey

Mexico

I had a wonderful time in Mexico. The weather was sunny and warm every day, the people I met were friendly and kind, and the food was delicious! I spent 15 days there, mostly training in Thai Boxing at my friend Carlos's gym. When we had time, he took me sightseeing, particularly in the old, downtown area, where there are buildings more than 300 years old. I also saw Tlaquepaque, which is a town where handicrafts are sold. One night, I got to see famous Mexican boxing. The Mexicans are great fighters. I didn't visit Tequila, where the famous drink is made, but I tried some--too strong for me!

how to post words and pictues on this blogger

hi everyone,happy Chinese New year.
i'm shou-yueh.Happy to see a letter from Eric.
Rose A-yi and My dad had both wrote to me and said they don't knoe how to use this,so here I put some information to those who need it.
it's not very complicated, hope u can enjoy it,and welcome to ask me about more details.

First u have to log in. follow the steps below:

step 1. link to http://ourplaces2006.blogspot.com/
step 2. see the left top the of web page, and click this logo
step 3. find the button below, it's on top right of the web page

step 4. click the word“New Blogger”
step 5. use the account below to sign in.
username:feizgiu@yahoo.com.tw
password:ourplaces2006


And then you can start to post words and pictues. See the steps below:

step 1. find this word "Manage Your Blogs ",and click the buttom "+ new post"

step 2. start wirting. and if u want to add pictues, press the buttom,and follow the guide.
step 3. after finising writing,click the bottom"PUBLISH",then everyone can see your lecture.

Hola (from Eric)

Greetings from Mexico, everyone!

I'm staying at my friend Carlos's house right now. It's really nice here--pleasant weather, delicious food, friendly people, beautiful women, good training. Carlos and his wife are taking really good care of me. They're house is very very nice, and stylishly decorated.

Guadalajara is very pleasant, and for the most part, seems quite safe. The city is very middle class, and there are nice shops, houses and plazas everywhere. I was quite surprised at how well developed it is here. I think the media doesn't show people enough about the normal side of Mexico, only the very poor aspects or the touristy places. I hear Mexico city is very dangerous though, even for Mexican--Carlos doesn't like it there either. Still everything is so new and different for me--a little bit of culture shock, totally different from Asia, which I am so used to.

Yesterday, we had some very delicious meat with tortillas, and lots of guacamole and salsa, and "rice milk". I also had a chance to try some of the interesting fruits of Mexico. It's a lot like Taiwan, and there is a lot of delicious, cheap fruit. I had Mame, which is a mix of papaya and pumpkin taste, and I also had it in fresh, home-made icecream and in a shake. And the guava here also tastes different--it's small, yellow and soft. Today, we had lunch at Carlos's mother-in-law's house, and I got to eat a home-cooked meal. The most interesting dish was a salad made with a sort of cactus, and we had strawberry juice too, fried fish, rice, and a sort of potato.

So far, everyone here has been very kind, and even shop staff are fairly friendly. I am very happy to be here, and we are planning to go to Puerto Vallarta on the weekend. I hear you can go surfing! I think it's very fortunate that I have the chance to stay here with local people too. So far, so good.

Talk to you later!

Eric

To dear all

Hi!dear cousins.

I'm Shou-Yueh.
I set up this blogger for that i sometimes have much to share with u,
but my blog is in Chinese.
And I also often wonder how u've been far away,
since back from Europe last summer, i've been thinking about this.

so,this is an open blogger, you can put anything on it if you like.
After started to work last October,i spend little time on the internet,
that's why hardly any update since I set it up~haha.
but i think u won't mind it, i still check it at least once a week.
I remember there's a function in bloger that they can send new post
to group email or something.

Eager to know ur stories,I'm lucky to have cousins in different countries,
also a little pity that i don't know how many times i can see u in my life.

it's almost Chinese New Year now, the most important holiday in Taiwan.
Wish you a happy new year!

And, plz forgive my poor english.
still have So much to say but hard to express!
if anyone help me correct it i'll be grateful.

shou-Yueh.

Eric is now in Taipei

Eric accidently flew here from Japan two days ago.He stays in A-Po's house,they sounds happy to see him,so as everyone here.I heard that he's going back Canada and then return to Japan to continue studying.I plan to take him to Wulai today to see a friend,who lives on the mountain top. And then we'll have dinner with Gu Ming-Shi.

Without updating this blogger since setting up, I really forgot the username and password.fortunately smart Eric helped me refind it, haha~


Shou-yueh

Matsu Archipelago

The map is from http://www.matzu-nsa.gov.tw/english/index.asp

Matsu is a small archipelago located in the northwest side of Taiwan,very close to China, contains Donyin, chukuang, Beigan, and Nangan. I came to Nangan for working yesterday, and the bad weather made all the flights and ships cancelled, so I got to have a 2-3 day layover here and don't have to go back office working, what a wonderful day.

Matsu is an interesting place,it now belongs to Taiwan, but the local goverment here which called "Lienchiang County" is one of the China province "Fujian" actually.It shows the common possessive problems of those off-shore islands near Taiwan that still remain after World War II, just like many other problems between Taiwan and China. It full of army cause it was(or still is) an important garrison that protected Taiwan from China in the past, just as the southern island Kimen.Taiwan men who should go to the army often prey not to be assigned to Matsu and Kimen otherwise they have to wait for long long time between two holidays for home.

here is a tourism website of Matzu
http://www.matzu-nsa.gov.tw/english/index.asp

and Lienchiang County Govermment
http://www.matsu.gov.tw/onweb.jsp?webno=3333333505

My main job this time was to held a small activity about water resource and water pollution,there was 40 bobbery junior high school students joining in it. Compare Taiwan to its off-shore islands like Matsu,those islands normally lack water because they are too small and steep to have rivers to reserve the rain. The government keeps building reservoirs on them,just as in Taiwan island, this is often been criticized by some Taiwan people,they think there should be a better and more sustainable idea. But judging is always easier than changing the present situation. The problem of water reservation still remain, I think it contains complicated problems of people, civil engineering technique and money management.

very sleepy, good night.

shou-yueh