first ever father & daughter photo

i've taken tons of pictures of olivia the past couple days but then i just realized i haven't taken a photo together with her yet

with the wifey sleeping and no one around i had to do it myself and take a self-portrait

check it out...



my very own mini-me

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hello baby!

today our lives changed forever

a new chapter has began in our lives on this world

lives and world which are now better because of her

born on november 26th at 12:35am, weighing in at 3280 grams (7 lbs, 5 oz)

our baby

our daughter

Olivia Yu


"hi everyone. my name is olivia yu. nice to you meet you!"


"my dad is a big bruce lee fan, so here's a bruce lee pose just for dad... wooooohhh"


mother & daughter... both doing great. the wifey still looking fabulous.


stamped and approved.






all cleaned up and getting some rest.




"happy feet"




that's my baby pic on the left. did we come out of the same mold or what?!?!

i'm actually posting this from the hospital

we got an awesome private room which looks just like a fancy luxury hotel room with internet connection and all


this is the hallway outside our hospital room. fancy, huh?








our room. not too shabby, not at all

got lots more pics and videos but i'm just too exhausted right now so i'll post more in the coming days

this is the most wonderful experience and exciting time in our lives

we are enjoying every second of it!

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still pregnant

we've received a few messages and emails asking if baby arrived yet

nope

the wifey's still pregnant

the estimated due date is next tuesday 11/27, so no worries as we've still got a few days, but damn... am i anxious!

i don't think i've ever felt so anxious and eager in my life

these past couple weeks, i get really nervous and my heart picks up a couple extra beats every time the wifey calls me when i'm not home

we're thinking it'll happen in the next couple days because her belly has dropped quite a bit and she's having contractions a couple times a day

patiently (and anxiously... and eagerly) awaiting

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shameless self-promotion

hey, it was bound to happen sooner or later, so might as we get it over with

go check out this week's featured blog at bloggers in taiwan...



a little self-promotion never hurt anyone

ok, i do feel some shame

i'm gonna go hide now

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a walk in the park - chang gung university in linkou

a couple months ago we drove up to linkou to go swimming at the pool located in the chang gung university campus

they were closed for renovations but since we were out there already, we decided to take a stroll at the park located right inside the campus

surprisingly, there were a lot of people out there

mainly family with kids playing games and having picnics

it was very nice to see since outdoor activities are a rarity amongst the local city and suburban families out here


this is a pan shot of the pond which sits in the middle of the park. click on pic to see large version.


the wifey. she's about 28 weeks in this pic.






these are some of the ducks and drakes that live in the pond. people were feeding them bread, cookies and fish pellets.


there were also a lot of turtles and fish in the pond but this little fella caught my eye. at first, i thought to myself that's gotta be some kind of taiwanese turtle because it sure has a big head but then it didn't look like a turtle. it sure didn't look like a fish either.....


after getting a closer look and zooming in with my cam, i realized it was a rat! it had jumped into the water to get some of the food people were throwing into the pond to feed the ducks, fish and turtles. after paying more attention and taking a good look around, i saw a bunch of rats running around in the outskirts of the pond. not just a small bunch, a lot! easily at least over 30 running around. can you imagine how many more were hiding in their burrows and lairs??? that's pretty disgusting, especially considering how many kids were out there playing around. i am not taking my kids there in future!

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new cloverfield trailer in hd

lost has been one of my favorite tv shows these past couple years

the creator and producer of the show, jj abrams, has been working on a new film called cloverfield

the film has created a lot of buzz and a huge following on the internet, altho' not much is known about the film yet except that it's a monster movie and shot in the style of the blair witch project

well, a new hd tralier has just been released

check it out here: http://www.cloverfieldmovie.com

here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/11808

or ...



that was monstrous

still not much is known, but i hope it doesn't suck like the blair witch project

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inside the taiwan high speed rail

enjoy...

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a free ride on the taiwan high speed rail

ever since the taiwan high speed rail inaugurated in january, i've been wanting to take a ride

i finally got the opportunity to do so a couple weeks ago and best of all it was free!

my company paid for the trip because i had to take a customer to ching fong located in changhua in central taiwan

chin fong is one of the largest stamping press manufacturers in the world and probably in all of taiwan

the other taiwanese brand for presses that gives chin fong a run for their money is seyi

i'd say these are on par with each other

just think of coca-cola and pepsi

the reason we had to visit chin fong is because my customer bought a 400 ton press, so since he was in town, he wanted to check on the progress of the machine and at the same time tie up some lose ends regarding logistics

as usual, lots of pictures to get to, so let's get it on...


we met at the lobby of the caesar park hotel which is right across from the taipei station. our meeting time was 7am, but i got there a little earlier than expected. i took the bus out there from my home in xinzhuang and since i never take the bus i had no idea how long it would take, so i gave myself a little extra time. a little too much extra as i got there by 6:40am. also, i can't believe how many people are out there at 6am. most of them are students too. i really feel bad for them since i see students all the time late at night (10pm-ish) carrying their books and school bags, and then they are up on the bus by 6am!?!? kids just don't get to be kids out here. that's why i plan and hope my kids do not go to school here in taiwan. anyways, that's another post for another day.


i bought the tickets online a couple days ahead of time to make sure we had seats. didn't really have to as the train was pretty empty but hey, better be safe than sorry i say. here's a look at the ticket. since the train doesn't stop in changhua, we had to stop at the taichung station, which only turned out to be about 15 ~ 20 minutes drive from the chinfong factory. look at the ticket... 49 minutes from taipei to taichung. nice! it takes at least 2 hours to drive there... on a good day without much traffic on the highway. nice!


our train.


a look inside our cabin. hmm... the inside of a plane is called the cabin. is the inside of a train called the cabin too? or is it called wagon? cart? car? anyone? anyways, i'm very impressed at how clean it was and surprised at how roomy. man, i wish economy class on an airplane was that spacious.


here's a "map" of the train detailing the amenities and facilities. click on picture to see larger version.


me and my traveling companion aldo from chile.


a few minutes into the ride, this girl came through with her shopping cart selling snacks and drinks. i'm not even sure what she was selling exactly. i remember seeing some bags of chips, cookies and her saying coffee, but that's it. she came from the back so we didn't even know she was coming through until she passed us. i really think they should come from the front so people can get a heads up. now i wonder if she had beer?










above are few shots out the window.




and we arrive at our destination. look at the time of arrival on the ticket i showed you above... now look at the time showing on this last picture. impressive! yup, same deal when we departed too. as soon as that clock on the platform turned 8:00am, we were off. that was some smooth sailing. that was nice, considering sometimes it takes just as long to drive into taipei city. i really enjoyed the ride. the one thing i'd like to complain about is how loud the trains are. i don't mean the people, i mean the train itself. i was expecting something quieter.


the view from the train platform.


inside the taichung station.


outside the station awaiting our driver.


our driver picked us up and a short 15 minutes later we arrive at our final destination. the factory is big, but not as big as i expected.


after spending the rest of the morning meeting and discussing this and that, we were given a tour of the factory after lunch. here's part of a press frame one a cnc machine.


side view of an 800 ton press going through final assembly.


a crank and shaft awaiting to be assembled.


a couple frames for straight sided presses. these are most likely for 300 or 400 ton presses. for what its worth, these are about 2 stories high.


a few more frames just sitting around waiting to get worked on then on to assembly. those to the right are some gap frame presses. most likely 110 or 160 ton presses.

are you bored yet???

here, have a laugh...


i think my head is too big for that helmet! since it's my blog, i'm just gonna go ahead and say the helmet was too small. yup, that's it. the helmet was too small!


after our tour of the factory, it was time to go. back to the station to buy tickets.


a chart showing all the stations.


awaiting for the train.


here it is...


all aboard!

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a day in macau

a couple weekends ago, i had to do a "visa run"

i do have a taiwanese passport, but i'm only allowed to stay in the country for 4 months

why?

because i have not served the mandatory military term that every male born in taiwan has to do

i'm exempt from it because i immigrated out of taiwan before i was 16

i was 6 when we left

you will not be able to immigrate or leave the country after you turned 16 until you have served the mandatory term

if i exceed my 4 months stay, i'll get drafted and pulled into the military

no fun

i decided to fly to macau for the great escape this time around

with the wifey pregnant, i intended to land at the airport, not even exit customs and just hop on the next flight back

yes, you can do that

done it before many times

as long as you have departure stamp out of the taiwan airport, you are good

one funny thing about taking the next flight back, is that the returning flight to taiwan have the same flight attendants as the flight that just arrived

if you end up sitting around the same area as your flight there then the flight attendants kinda give you a "wtf?" look on their faces if they recognize you

i didn't take the next flight back this time tho'

my good friend and colleague jim from our chicago office was in zhuhai for business, which is just across the border from macau, so we decided to meet up and hang out in macau for the day

lots of pictures to get to, so let's get it on...


crossing the bridge from the airport to go into macau, the city skyline comes into sight. you can see the macau tower to the left, which is home to the world's highest bungee jump. no thanks. also, you can see some of the new mega casino / hotel / resort that are being erected throughout the city. this is a city on the rise! a lot of money in this town.


the sands hotel and casino. formerly asia's largest casino.


sign at the ferry terminal. jim was advised to take the ferry across instead of walking to avoid the huge lineups at the border, especially since it was sunday. good idea because i've crossed that border countless times and yes, it gets pretty crazy. you know, especially since the chinese are so courteous and always politely lineup waiting their turn.


after meeting with jim, we headed out to the venetian, the newest casino and resort in macau and the current largest casino in asia. it was large alright. in the famous words of deuce bigalow, "that's a huge bitch". the place was enormous. this is a shot of the main hall adjacent to the lobby which leads to the casino and other areas of the hotel. packed with tourists.


the dome ceiling directly above the statue you see in the previous pic.


the main hall's ceiling. the pic doesn't really do justice. it was really even more stunning to see in person.








the first area you get to from the main hall is the casino. again, the place was enormous. the casino goes 360 around the floor, and it's a huge floor. the above 4 pics only covers about 1/4 of the entire floor. a bit overwhelming at first sight. oh, for those wondering... no, i didn't gamble at all. i hate gambling. jim played a few dollars on the slot machines, but it was all gone real quick. now you know why i don't like gambling?


we went outside for a walk around the perimeter of the resort, where they had a manmade pond with gondola rides. well, the place is called the venetian.


that's my good buddy jim. behind jim is the construction site for the new sands casino and resort, which supposedly will rival the venetian in size. i believe that is a joint venture between sands and the venetian; or are they already owned by the same group?


yours truly.


gotta park your gondolas somewhere.


the structures and building around the resort all had that european flavour to it.


this is the ceiling above the driveway in front of the hotel. at this point we had eaten lunch and were waiting for a taxi to go into town and do some sightseeing.


first stop, senado square






st. dominic's church.


making our way through the narrow alleys filled with shops after shops selling everything from the latest fashion to curry fishballs. i felt like i was at a night market in taiwan during the weekend. just packed with people.


and more people.


after navigating through what seemed never ending alleys packed with people, our destination finally came into sight. the ruin's of st. paul.


and what a sight it was.


looking down the grand staircase and onto the plaza. did i tell you it was packed with people?


i really like this particular shot because it shows the old portuguese style buiding in the foreground, which is the essence of the old and present macau, with the new modern casino resort (to be the home of the new lisboa) being built in the background, which has come to symbolize the new and future macau.


the church facade from the back or "inside". here again, same as the last pic. ancient vs. modern.


underground sanctuary directly under the ruins


bones dug up at the sanctuary site.


we then moved on and climbed up the fortress of st. paul of monte (monte fort for short), which had cannons all around its fort walls...


including this one pointing right at the new lisboa casino and hotel. hmm... would have been a lot of fun.


a look at the city below


we stayed a few extra minutes at the fort looking down at the city below. it was a rare serene and tranquil place within a city that never seems to stop hustling and buzzling.








afterwards went over to the new wynn casino / hotel to find a watering hole to grab a beer and wind down the day. they had a nice outdoor patio bar...


with nice surroundings.


after our beers, it was time to say good bye. i had to get to the airport to catch my flight back to taiwan and jim had to get back into china. here's a look back at the wynn as my taxi drives away...


then driving by the "old" lisboa. the original mega casino in macau.

it was a great fun day

long and tiring, but fun

wish the wifey could have been there with me

it'all good

4 months goes by really quick

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birthday dinner

so, a couple weekends ago was my birthday (11/2)

turned 31

and so starts the decline down the hill

really tho'... physically and mentally, i feel like i'm turning 41

if it had been a few years ago, i would've gathered a bunch of my friends and drink myself studpid until i pass out

those were fun days but it's one of the reasons i feel 41

the past few years i've kept it really low-key in terms of my birthday celebration

what can i say?

i am getting old

so, kept things low-key i did and just had dinner with the wifey at ikki's

the food, service, ambiance and decor were all very good

a bit pricey but acceptable considering it would've probably cost double had it been in taipei city

i would go back






the view out the window from our table


the appetizer... very fresh


the salad... very refreshing


deep fried chicken fillet with tartar sauce... very flavorful


hot pot... before


the hot pot... after


stone grilled steak... my favorite dish of the night. the meat was very tender. oh so good, but the portion was a bit too small


the wifey... enjoying all the food


the pork teriyaki rice... very filling


fruit for dessert. there were a couple other dishes in between that i forgot to take photos of. we were so stuffed




karen had to stand up for a bit because well she's pregnant and because of all the food. by the way, doesn't she look fabulous??? love ya pumpkin!


yours truly. oh, what a poser! by the way, i need to shave


another sign that i'm getting old? tea instead of alcohol at dinner!

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a very busy and tiring week

i'm tired

that's an understatement

this week has been one of the busiest i've ever had in recent memory

it all started last sunday where i went to macau for the day

got up at 6am that day to get on an 8am flight; then spent the entire day in macau with some friends from the usa

by the time i got back to taiwan and my house, it was almost midnight

next day i had some customers from chile; whom were staying in taiwan for a few days

had to run around with them to several factories everyday from morning to night; including a trip down to central taiwan on the high speed rail

my last day with the chilean customers was thursday but on friday i had some more customers from the usa

they were only here for one day on friday but that night we also had our company dinner which we invited them to attend too

needless to say, a lot of alcohol was comsumed

the list included beer, red wine, scotch whiskey, cognac, vodka, 58 kaoliang and a few cans of red bull





i called the guys saturday morning before they caught their plane back to the usa and to say the least, they felt like shit

i guess at least they were able to sleep good on the plane

yes, i was up saturday morning despite the already long working week and drinking the previous night because i had a business meeting with some other customers from the usa at the agora garden hotel

since i had been running around all week, i haven't be able to take care of other stuff at work so i went to work after the meeting and spend the rest of the afternoon there working

and that's that

i'm tired

how tired?

i slept for 14 hours today

oh, for those wondering the wifey's still pregnant

i received a couple messages from people asking if our baby had arrived because they haven't heard from me all week

it's just been a busy week

did i say tell you i was tired?

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