This was the bus we took for the city tour. (My daughter and I were both wearing pink that day, hehe.)

This is the front entrance of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

The Memorial Hall. Such a majestic view!

Our next stop - Jiufen (九份). We actually have to hop onto another smaller bus to get to this place because it is a mountain town and the routes are narrow and there are slopes. This is the view we took from the top.

You will be suprised to see there are lots of shops in this little town. It is one of the tourist attractions but it was too bad that we were only given an hour to shop at this place. I bought a few souvenirs and some local products (i.e. mango jelly & some local pastries).

After lunch, our next stop was Martyrs Shrine (忠烈祠) where we learnt more about its history, and the heroes who sacrificed their lives to the revolution before the establishment of the Republic of China and who fell during the Sino-Japanese war and the Chinese Civil war are worshipped here. As a respect, hats and/or sandals are not allowed to be worn here.

I was impressed with these military police officers. A few of them could be seen guarding the gate and they were like expressionless statues. They were 'oblivious' to their surroundings and no matter how the tourists teased them, they remained stonelike.

Our next stop was the National Palace Museum (国立故宫博物院). Over here we got to see collections of Chinese artifacts and artworks.

An overview of the National Palace Museum.

Rows of banners with Chinese characters are hung from the glass ceilings. I view them as another form of art. ;-) After this visit, it was our free time. We visited Ximending again and had our dinner before we returned to the hotel.

End of Day 2. To be continued...

Word for 3 October: recidivism

Definition:
A tendency to lapse into a previous condition or pattern of behavior; especially, a falling back or relapse into prior criminal habits.

Noun, Adjective: recidivist
Adjective: recidivistic, recidivous

This was taken in the coach on a highway to our hotel. The tall building is Taipei 101.

Rows of shophouses and buildings as we bypassed the street. Motorbikes can be seen almost everywhere. Just look at the signs on their buildings... what an interesting sight!

This is the front entrance of the Longshan Temple (龙山寺). It was walking distance (about 15 mins walk) from our hotel to get here. Even at this hour (it was around 7pm) there were still people visiting the temple to offer their prayers; most of our local temples close around 6pm.

This is the token for travelling with Metro Taipei (just like our MRT system except we use value cards instead of tokens).

Waiting for the train at the station.

This is Ximending (西门町) - one of their busiest shopping areas. There are lots of things to see here, and most of the crowd are youngsters/teenagers.

Ditto. We didn't shop much as it was getting late. Moreover, we had made plans to visit this place another day.

End of Day 1. To be continued...

But life wasn't a bed of roses for Jacqueline after she moved into his family. Bahrin appears to be a different person back in his own country, and he no longer romances her the way he did back when they were in Australia. He wanted her to be an obedient Muslim wife, and she wasn't allowed to do this or that without his approval or permission. Princess Yasmin (as Jacqueline was now known) began to wonder about this 'stranger' whom she called her husband. And her nightmares began when he began to hurt her, even when she was pregnant with child.

After giving birth to their two children, she decided she had enough after knowing that her husband had secretly married another woman. Feeling cold and distraught, she left for Australia with her children. But things don't end just there, her husband abducted their children and this is where her real nightmares begin.

I love fruits! I have several pictures of various fruits saved in my hard drive just for my desktop wallpaper. A few coworkers commented they like looking at my wallpapers because the pictures makes them go hungry, hehe.

Here's how you play:

(A) Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop. It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun. You can do a screen capture by going to your desktop and pressing the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key). Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and do a Paste (CTRL + V). If you wish, you can “edit” the image, before saving it.

(B) Post the picture in your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop just below it if you want. You can explain why you preferred such look or why is it full of icons. Things like that.

(C) Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktop as well.

(D) Add your name to this list of Free Viewers with a link pointing directly to your Desktop Free View post to promote it to succeeding participants.

I'm tagging:

1. Jennifer - Just My Life
2. Wendy - Musings of a Bookish Kitty
3. Debi - Nothing of Importance
4. Kathy - *RittyRats*
5. Library Girl - Musings of Library Girl

iRonnie - I Set No Corner
Thess - Thesserie
Rebecca - Skippy Heart
Knoizki - A Dialogue With K
Beng - Kauderwelch
Tina - My Good Finds
Rachel - Heart of Rachel
Alice - Hello, My Name Is Alice
Julia - Julia's Books Corner
Melody - Melody's Reading Corner

Booking Through Thursday

Suggested by Marsha:

Buy a Friend a Book Week is October 1-7 (as well as the first weeks of January, April, and July). During this week, you’re encouraged to buy a friend a book for no good reason. Not for their birthday, not because it’s a holiday, not to cheer them up–just because it’s a book.

What book would you choose to give to a friend and why?

And, if you’re feeling generous enough–head on over to Amazon and actually send one on its way!

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

I love this week's topic. Well, I can't possibly give a certain book to anyone because everyone have their own reading preferences. If I know that person well, I will give the book according to the genre he/she likes. And of course, another easiest way is getting a book voucher so they can buy whatever they prefer.

In honor of this meme and as well as Buy A Friend A Book Week, I will give out a few books to some lucky readers but since I'm currently at work, I'm not able to list out the titles as I need to check them at home. I will post the list next week (probably Monday), so stay tuned if you are interested in the draw!

Earlier on, I have signed up for this reading challenge but just haven't posted my list yet. Anyway, here is the list of books I will be reading for the challenge:

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Bride Island by Alexandra Enders
• School's Out by Christophe Dufosse
• Marley & Me by John Grogan
• Yakuza Moon by Shoko Tendo

(A postcard I bought in Taipei. Here is a night scene of Taipei 101 and landscape.)

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What is your favorite type of art?
I love all kinds of art, seriously. Each has its own beauty and it's hard to pinpoint just one.

Soup
When was the last time you got a free lunch (or breakfast or dinner)? Who paid for it?
A few weeks ago. Our company's staff recreation committee had organized a dinner and dance last month and the Chairman of the committee decided to give every committee member a lunch treat after the event as a recognition of all our hard work. We had a sumptious lunch buffet under the company's expense. Hehe.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how emotional are you?
Probably a 8, but it has to depend on the situation and how serious it is.

Main Course
Approximately how long do you spend each day responding to emails?
I usually check my emails in the office. I can't tell you the specific time I spend on responding to emails because I'll check them whenever I'm not that busy.

Dessert
To what temperature do you usually set your home’s thermostat?
We don't have a thermostat (By the way, we don't have four seasons here.) but we do have a air-conditioner. Usually we will set the temperature between 22C to 24C if it gets too hot.

Booking Through Thursday

The reverse of last week’s question:

Imagine that everything is going just swimmingly. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all’s right with the world. You’re practically bouncing from health and have money in your pocket. The kids are playing and laughing, the puppy is chewing in the cutest possible manner on an officially-sanctioned chew toy, and in between moments of laughter for pure joy, you pick up a book to read . . .

What is it?

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

Well, if I'm in a happy mood, I can absolutely read anything. I don't care if the story has a happy ending or a sad ending, but then again if has to depend a lot on my reading mood. But the variety of books to read is definitely much wider as compared to my down moments as I won't want to read a book with a sad ending.

• Lying on the back, or with the face upward.
• Indolent; listless; inactive; mentally or morally lethargic.

Randomness

Week of Sept 16: Random Questions

1. what's your favorite color? Blue
2. how many languages do you speak? 3
3. who is your best friend? Jennifer T.
4. are you married? Yes
5. what's your favorite song? Too many to list
6. what is your greatest fear? Losing someone who is close to me
7. who is your hero? It has to be the hubs

till next time...

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
When was the last time you visited a hospital?
Last month. My grandmother was admitted because her leg is swollen and apparently there is blood clot in her arteries. She's in pain, but the doctor cannot do a surgery on her because of her old age. She's 95.

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how ambitious are you?
6. I'm not that ambitious. I'm happy as long as I have a stable job and I enjoy what I'm doing.

Salad
Make a sentence using the letters of a body part. (Example: (mouth) My other ukelele tings healthily.)
Hamburger and nuts don't sag.

Main Course
If you were to start a club, what would the subject matter be, and what would you name it?
It would be a bookclub since I love to read. I shall name it Book Haven.

Dessert
What color is the carpet/flooring in your home?
We don't have any carpet at home. It's white tiles for our living room and brown parquet flooring for all the rooms.

Love Is in the Earth: A Kaleidoscope of Crystals (Love is in the Earth)
by Melody (Author), Julianne Guilbault (Illustrator)

A great reference book for crystal lovers.

Booking Through Thursday

Okay . . . picture this (really) worst-case scenario: It’s cold and raining, your boyfriend/girlfriend has just dumped you, you’ve just been fired, the pile of unpaid bills is sky-high, your beloved pet has recently died, and you think you’re coming down with a cold. All you want to do (other than hiding under the covers) is to curl up with a good book, something warm and comforting that will make you feel better.

What do you read?

(Any bets on how quickly somebody says the Bible or some other religious text? A good choice, to be sure, but to be honest, I was thinking more along the lines of fiction…. Unless I laid it on a little strong in the string of catastrophes? Maybe I should have just stuck to catching a cold on a rainy day….)

Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

Great topic this week! Let's see... I'll pick Life's Golden Ticket by Brendon Burchard. This is an inspirational book that will definitely set you thinking about life. I understand some readers might find inspirational books to be somewhat boring, but this is not so in this book. It is written in story form wrapped with a fantasy theme. What's more, the bookcover looks bright and cheerful, and not to mention it's an easy read (which is what I need under this circumstances!). This will be the book that I won't mind reading it all over again and again.

(You may wish to read my review here.)