Day 330 - Hot Tub

Thought of the day: A friend pointed me to an online enneagram test today. The test identified my dominant personality type. It was pretty fascinating for me as I had never given much thought to personality types and how much impact they might have on our behaviors, actions and emotions. With enneagram, some things that didn’t make much sense to me before started to make sense. In many ways, we ended up where we are, doing what we are doing because of who we are and our personalities have a lot to do with it. Enneagram can be an invaluable tool for one to understand his elusive self and subsequently to rise beyond himself.  There are also some neat theories on how personalities evolve over time and through experiences in life. Another interesting aspect is the compatibility and interactions between people of different personality types. It’s a tool employed by therapists to work out issues in relationships. In any case, I am excited to learn something new - new for me at least - and is eager to learn more about it.

Photo of the day:

Lila in the hot tub while I took a photo from the top.  I am sure enneagram has something to do with me being here at this particular time and taking this particular photo at this particular spot. If I had a different type of personality, I don't know what my life history would have been but I'm pretty sure that this photo would not have been on this blog - in fact, this blog probably wouldn't have existed in the first place.

Day 290 - Spider Web

Thought of the day: We visited the Los Altos Library this morning. The library had a nice children's section and both Jasmine and Lila found some books to take home.  My parents and I also found some books for ourselves in the collection of Chinese language books - it's a decent size collection especially compared with the tiny collection in the Boulder Main Library. We ended up walking out of the library with a tall stack of books. There was no limit to the number of books we could check out and that really saved our day.

Photo of the day:

Other than reading books and playing with friends, a favorite thing for Jasmine to do was to use her spray bottle in the yard.  She found a new target today - a spider web!  The poor spider must be shocked at the amount of water she and her web received in such a perfectly sunny day.

Day 262 - Water Play

Thought of the day: It was a summer day spent near water under the sun.  Too much sun, perhaps, as Jasmine ended the day a shade darker than when she started it.  She had her first swim meet in the afternoon.  It was more fun than competitive and she didn't care a bit what kind of ribbon she got as long as she got one. Whether it was a first place ribbon or a 5th place ribbon, she would accept them with equal giddiness and delight. I wonder when the spirit of competitiveness will eventually kick in.  I hope it won't be for a long, long time so she can enjoy the sport for the beauty and joy of the sport itself and won't be tormented by a singular desire to win.

Photo of the day:

Lila played with water in Lafayette's YMCA when Jasmine had her first swim meet this afternoon.

Day 257 - Watermelon Game

Thought of the day: Our neighborhood has a tradition of July 4th bike parade and pool party.  Jasmine and her friend decorated their bikes with red/white/blue ribbons and flowers, dressed in matching outfits and were excited to take part in the parade.  Lila rode Jasmine's old bike with the training wheels on.  It was her first day on a "big girl's bike" and daddy served as her reliable manual brake along the way.  The best part for the kids was, of course, the pool party that followed.  They played games in the pool - coin dive, watermelon game, among others. It was a big reunion for all the neighborhood kids who had grown to know each other over the years. Water, friends, games, what else do they need?  For adults, it was a good opportunity to see each other again and catch up over some food and drink in a festive air. I wish there were something like this every month! It could just be some informal gatherings over simple potlucks. We would feel more grounded in this borderless and ever-shifting global village if we are more connected to each other at a personal level and feel a sense of belonging in the small village that we call home.

Photo of the day: 

Watermelon game: try as you may, but I am determined to hold on to this thing!

Day 244 - Ascona

Thought of the day: Today we took trains for about an hour to Lucarno and then walked for another good hour to the lakefront town of Ascona.  Instead of walking along the lake, we walked through a shortcut in the valley.  With the warm but comfortable summer air, weathered houses, rows and rows of vineyards and olive orchards, and sounds of birds bouncing among the tall trees, this valley recalled the image of Tuscany in my mind. We had lunch in a restaurant facing the lake.  The food was as perfect as the setting.  We hope to stay at Ascona some day, perhaps for the Jazz Festival in the summer.  The view and the food alone are already enough reasons for a return visit, the music would just make it mandatory.

Photo of the day:

Jasmine and Lila playing at the lakeshore of Ascona.

Day 240 - Harbor

Thought of the day: David's aunt and uncle have a boat on the lake of Lucerne and they invited us to spend the day with them on the lake. With the sunny sky, emerald water, towering mountains, and little villages dotting the shore, the view on the boat was blissfully beautiful. The alpine water was a bit chilly but David, Jasmine and Lila were all brave enough to jump into the water at some point. This is probably one of the most beautiful places on earth to own a boat. The Swiss are truly blessed to have such abundance of natural beauty at their doorstep. And they take good care of it and enhance it with picturesque villages, delicious cuisine and colorful traditions.

Photo of the day:

Boats in a peaceful harbor on the lake of Lucerne.

Day 238 - Drink

Thought of the day: I can't believe that the Greek trip is over and we are already back in Switzerland. If life is but a dream, the Greek trip is a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream. It's a lot of layering but we'll eventually wake up from all our dreams, layer by layer, and return to eternity. Thankfully, in the same way that a bright moment makes a day special, a trip like this makes the dream of life worthwhile.

Photo of the day:

We had a late flight but had to check out at noon.  Luckily, we were able to spend the rest of the day at the hotel pool.  It was another warm day - perfect for a frozen strawberry daiquiri at the pool!

Day 237 - Moonlight

Thought of the day: Today we took a tour of the caldera on a catamaran.  We swam in the hot springs and a few beaches, took in the view of cliffs of various colors, and set sail on the ocean for a while with a silent motor. It was interesting to spend some time on a boat, as the experience on the water was completely different from the experience on the land. When the boat was sailing smoothly and the wind was blowing on my face, it felt as if I had wings and all other thoughts drained out of the mind.  I can see why some people love, or are even addicted to, sailing. I was happy on the boat for a couple of hours but I was even happier when I got back on the land. Perhaps I need the solid ground under my feet more than the exhilaration and unpredictability of flying.

Photo of the day:

If the day time in Oia seems unreal already, the night time is simply out of this world.  With the cooler summer air at night, people come into the street for dinner only after it's dark - often after 9pm. Tonight is our last night in Greece. The lights are already on everywhere. From our veranda, we can see a full moon casting an elongated strip of silky, golden light on the ocean and touching the boats docked in the harbor ever so lightly. The image is unforgettable and we're going to miss it. In fact, I already am.

Day 225 - Zurich

Thought of the day: We spent the day in Zurich.  After a laid back morning, we took the train and visited the Swiss National Museum in Zurich.  The indoor displays of Swiss historical artifacts were pretty uninteresting for the girls, however, the play room, cafe, and the outdoor exhibitions kept them occupied and entertained. After the museum visit, we walked up the Lindenhof - a little hill in the old town - and found two playgrounds with great views, a very uniquely European combination of kids and adults' favorites that made everybody in the party happy. Afterward, we spent a nice evening in a restaurant in the train station with some American friends.  It was a good day for all!

Photo of the day:

View of Zurich and Limmat river from the top of Lindenhof.

Day 217 - Swimming

Thought of the day: A friend was asking for book recommendations on Facebook the other day.  I followed up with her and ended up exchanging physical books with her today.  The experience demonstrated to me how easy and fun it could be to exchange book recommendations, and maybe even books, in a local community.  So tonight I set up a prototype "book swap club" for the neighborhood using a bunch of Google tools including spreadsheets, forms, and groups.  If this was a serious venture, it should probably have been a dedicated service or a specialized app.  Of course, the idea of book swap is nothing new and there are applications out there that help you do just that and plus some.  College book swap seems to be most popular because a textbook can be ridiculous expensive and its useful lifespan tends to be short.  However, I'm not seeing applications that promote book sharing within a local, non-college community.  To me, sharing with friends locally makes more sense than sharing with strangers globally - it saves the unnecessary overhead and hurdle of shipping, it takes advantage of common tastes and local interests and promotes a better sense of community.  If something is good for the self, the community, and the environment, it's certainly a good thing that is worth doing.

Photo of the day:

Finally a sunny day - Jasmine swam in the outdoor pool in the afternoon.  Jasmine is a book lover.  I am sure she would love to do book swap with her friends too.  A junior books sharing project?