-16 october 2010-

we actually had to stop for the cows.
Somewhere outside Shuhe, Yunnan, China

-13 october 2010-

rained out within the first hour of setting foot in China - thank goodness i brought the hood.
Shuhe Old Town Gate, Yunnan, China

bx

Climbing the Wall

I was getting my shoes ready for dance class today when I heard some noises coming from the back door (we live on the ground floor). I walk out, only to see a couple trying to climb the grill outside my parents' bedroom - apparently they locked themselves out of their apartment on the 2nd floor, and were desperately trying to find a way back in. We have a stepstool ladder that reaches about five feet - which is great and all when you're storing luggage, but is way too short for climbing up a storey!

But the couple managed to use it anyway - the guy climbed the ladder, while the girl climbed the grill, and together, they somehow managed to boost the lady up onto the tiled roof where she pulled herself to her window.

After all that effort, I didn't know how to tell them that I could have gotten them the number for the local locksmith.

Eleven Roses

My new favourite romantic fact (from my new fav drama, "Smiling Pasta", which has kicked Meteor Garden off my top drama list :P):

When a guy gives a girl 11 roses, it means that he will only love 1 person in this 1 lifetime.

Mushy, but I hope that when I get engaged, my loved one will give me 11 roses :P

Now discover your strengths...

The other day, my aunt recommended that I try this book, "Now Discover Your Strengths," by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton. It's premise is that people spend too much time trying to minimizing their weaknesses when they should instead be finding time to maximize their strengths. People don't spend enough time nurturing their talents and abilities, which is silly, because these are the things that will push us onto bigger and better things. Rather we waste a lot of effort forcing ourselves into uncomfortable situations so that we can feel less deficient. While I don't completely agree - I think that if you see a weakness in an area and you want to get better at it, there's nothing wrong with that. At the same time however, we should spend more time being aware of our strengths - our familiarity with them will help us make better decisions.

The book discusses 34 potential strengths or themes that each person could have, and provides a password for an online test so that you can discover your five dominant themes. After the test, I found out that my themes are:

• Arranger: I'm an organizer.
  
• Individualization: It's all about the individual and why they're unique
  
• Responsibility: Well that speaks for itself.
  
• Harmony: "In your view we are all in the same boat, and we need this boat to get where we are going. It is a good boat (lol). There is no need to rock it to just to show that you can."
  
• Significance: It's all about me! me! me!
  

Isn't that kind of interesting? I recognize each of these elements in myself, but I never thought that these five traits would be my dominant five. Arranger - well, that makes sense, I like to plan things and I adapt easily, because I can rearrange things as I see fit. Individualization - totally didn't see that one coming, I always thought I was more of a generalist. Responsibility - I am an older sister lol! Harmony - always has been important to me, but I've learnt the value of confrontation and arguing at Columbia. Significance - surprises me actually. Now I just have to see how the pieces all fit together...

Palin is McCain's running mate

McCain has finally chosen his running mate - the governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. She's pretty conservative - pro-life, pro-Christianity, and I think pro-guns as well (not sure) - and will probably help McCain's case with the conservatives of his party. Surprisingly, Palin is also known to be a reformer - someone bold who can help McCain make the changes he wants in the US government. Not to mention - she's a she. It's kind of mindblowing, this choice of McCain's. Think about it - if Obama wins, the US will have its first black president, and if McCain wins, the US will have its first female vice-president. We've returned to the battle of the firsts started by the face-off between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama all over again.

At the same time, I can't help but feel that both presidential candidates are hedging their bets, so to speak. Obama's choice for vp, senator Joe Biden from Delaware, has been around Washington for quite a while - someone with experience that can balance Obama's youth. Similarly, McCain's pick is young on the political scene...Hm. This race is going to be interesting.