Watching “New in Town” on Amazon Prime, which is a romantic comedy about a Miami city girl coming to New Ulm, Minnesota, and the shock she initially had, especially regarding Minnesota’s winter. 🥶 She later came to love this place and decided to settle down here, with her newfound love.
Race You ~ Elizabeth & the Catapult
My husband and I were fortunate that we arrived in Minnesota in fall, which to me, is the most beautiful time of the year to be in Minnesota. This is when the leaves change colors and the entire state turns into gorgeous shades of pink, orange, yellow, and pretty much any color you can think of. The weather is mild and temperate and this is when you don’t need to turn on the heater or the A/C.
This movie portrays Minnesotans as very down-to-earth, humble, kind, and generous people, which is how I feel as well, after living here for almost 7 years now.
Love the song that was played in this movie – “Race You” by Elizabeth and the Catapult.
It does bring on some feelings of nostalgia, of going Home, to Taiwan, to be with my family again…….
Race You
~ Elizabeth & the Catapult
I’m gonna race you race you race you race you back home The sun’s going down now And I’m ready to go, I’m ready to go
‘Cause there’s dirt on my skirt and pebbles stuck in my Toes Oh which way should we go down Nobody knows, nobody knows I’m gonna race you back home Ba ba ba ba ba ba ooh I’m gonna race you back home Ba ba ba ba ba ba oooh
‘Cause there’s a shortcut down the beaten path One step to the right, three to the left The moon’s so high The wind’s so fast Makes us feel like goddesses
1 2 3 set, ready set go May heaven help you if you’re slow We’re gonna run like bandits While the flames are chasin’ Racin’ racin’ racin’ racin’ back home
Ooh I’m gonna race you race you race you race you back Home Everyone’s waitin’ And your supper’s gone cold, your supper’s gone cold
Yeah the table’s ready, your sisters all in a row They’re all waitin’ to kiss you And tell me you’ve grown, my how you’ve grown I’m gonna race you back home Ba ba ba ba ba ba oooh I’m gonna race you back home Ba ba ba ba ba ba oooh
Roll roll roll Run run run Meet me at the bottom After I have won
Roll roll roll Run run run Meet me at the bottom After I have won I have won
‘Cause there’s a shortcut down the beaten path One step to the right, three to the left The moon’s so high The wind’s so fast Makes us feel like goddesses
1 2 3 set, ready set go May heaven help you if you’re slow We’re gonna run like bandits While the flames are chasin’ Racin’ racin’ racin’ racin’ Oh I’m gonna race you back home Home home Home.
My Facebook account was hacked a few years ago. In fact, our home wifi, all of our accounts and all of our devices were hacked. We have since moved, changed all of our devices and account passwords. However, we still can not retrieve many of our accounts.
I finally decided this week to reconnect with my friends via a new Facebook account. I know that I will not be able to find many of them, but will just have to try my best.
I reconnected with one of my sister’s high school classmates in South Africa, who is also my friend. We had a small Asian community back then, and especially with my dad being a diplomat, we all knew each other well.
I had a short romantic affair with her brother-in-law, who at the time, was engaged to another friend of mine. We knew that it was forbidden love and could not last for long.
Our family got to know him from a long time ago, when we used to go to a temple in South Africa every weekend. He was a very spiritual person. I remember back then that he was so “pretty”, so handsome, with a great physical physique. He also had a charming and intriguing personality. But we just knew each other on a superficial level back then, and just chatted briefly, whenever we met at the temple.
Fast-forward years later. After feeling totally unfulfilled and miserable with being a dentist in the UK, I came back to South Africa, to my old university, and decided to become a pharmacist instead.
One day, by chance, I met him at a shopping mall. We felt this instant magnetic attraction and had lunch together. Then, started our crazy whirlwind romance. I don’t remember the exact details, but I was in his car and he was driving me somewhere. He suddenly said to me that he didn’t want me to leave and suggested that we head down to the beach, which is like a 14 hour drive. And I agreed! So there we were, heading towards Cape Town, with nothing but my purse and his wallet!
He was a kind, generous and caring man. Throughout the whole trip, I just felt taken care of completely. He bought me all the necessary essentials, bought food, and got us booked into a hotel room. We ate, took a shower together, had passionate, kinky sex, and just chatted and had a lot of fun! We stopped by different scenic areas along the way and just enjoyed each other’s company a lot. It almost felt like a honeymoon!
After we headed back home, we still met up and I stayed at his house for a while. We took romantic showers together, made love, listened to music, and had deep emotional conversations. He took me out to eat, and bought me things as well. We were just like a romantic couple in love. Even though we were only together for a short time, I felt a deep connection with him, but we knew that it could not last for long. At one point, he broke down emotionally and told me his deepest, darkest secrets. I felt really sorry for him. I could feel him being torn apart and deeply affected by it.
After a short while studying pharmacology, I realized that I don’t really want to become a pharmacist. I didn’t know what I wanted be, but I just knew that I no longer wanted to be a dentist. I left South Africa for good, and then came to California and studied MBA at a Buddhist-founded university, which was where I met my ex.
I connected with the guy in South Africa via Facebook messenger about 6 years ago. I was already in Minnesota and he was still in South Africa, but traveling around a lot. I think he was either in his third marriage, or had just ended it. I remember one time seeing a Facebook post of him ranting and raving about how his ex-wife burned all of his photos, and I still remember how handsome he used to look.
After getting back on the social media grid this week, I thought of reconnecting with him, just to see how he’s doing. I asked the high school friend (his sister-in-law) of his Facebook username and she told me that sadly, he passed away last year. I think he’s only one or two years older than me. :(….
I feel devastated, but since no one knows of the love affair we had in the past, I can not let anyone know how sad I feel. I thought of the deep dark secrets he told me, which I think affected his life a lot. I miss the short, yet unforgettable time we had together from such a long time ago. I miss him…
I pray that he is a much better place now; constantly surrounded by love, light, joy, happiness and health.
Rest in Peace my dear friend, your secret is safe with me.
If you stare at a computer screen for hours every day, then you might develop a condition called “Computer Vision Syndrome“, which is characterized by several signs and symptoms – squinting, blurred vision, dry and red eyes, itchy eyes, watery eyes, double vision, headaches, neck pain and back pain.
It will be very helpful to do some yoga for your eyes every day to strengthen your eyes
a. Practice Palming:
Rub your palms together to create some heat in your hands, then gently set them over your eyes in a “cupping” position. Allow your eyes to rest in the darkness.
Relax and breathe here for a few minutes, enjoying the peace and solitude this brings.
b. Blink Rapidly:
Blinking helps to nourish the eyes while relaxing the muscles and preventing dryness. Ideally, we would all blink 25 times per minute.
Loosen your jaw, separate you lips from one another, release any tension in your face or forehead.
Find a point of focus, then blink rapidly 10 times in a row. Close your eyes for 20 seconds, then repeat this exercise three more times.
c. Gaze Up and Down:
Now that your eyes are warmed up, imagine a clock in front of you.
Shift your gaze up towards 12pm then down towards 6pm.
Make sure you are relaxed and breathing deeply. Do not move your neck. Do this up and down eye stretch 10 times, slowly back and forth.
After you’re done, try the same exercise looking left and right.
d. Do Eye Circles in Both Directions:
Think of this as flexibility training for your beautiful eyes.
Move your eye gaze around in as big a circle as possible, without using any help from your neck or spine. Breath deeply.
Send your eye gaze up towards the ceiling, and slowly work your way around in a clockwise circle – at least three deep breaths per circle.
When you’ve reached the top, rest your eyes with the “Palming Method”.
Try the same sequence again, moving counter clockwise this time.
e. Shift Your Focus:
This will help to retrain your eyes to see detail at different perspectives.
Hold your right arm out one full length in front of you and stick the thumb straight up. Focus your eye gaze on your thumb.
Slowly move your thumb towards your face until it appears blurrly.
Pause, then slowly move your thumb away from you back to the starting position.
Repeat this a few more times, being mindful of your pace and breathing.
f. Try “Trataka” – Fixed Gazing at a Candle
This will help sharpen the focus of your eyes and send energy to your third eye – the point between the eyes on the forehead that guides intuition. It also enhances concentration, improve memory and quiets the restless mind.
Trataka – set up a candle three feet away from you. Find a comfortable seated position, where you can keep your spine erect and the flame is level with the eyes.
Next, using a fixed gaze, stare into the flame and focus only on your breathing. Listen to the thoughts that enter your mind, without judgment. Simply let them float by like clouds.
When your eyes begin to water, close them and rest in the darkness.
You can practice this exercise for up to 40 minutes.
Always Give Your Eyes a Break
a. Follow the 20-20-20 rule – every 20 minutes look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.
b. Reduce the glare on your screen by angling your computer away from the window or adding a glare filter to your monitor.
c. Rearrange your monitor so that it is 20 – 28 inches from your face and 15 – 20 degrees below eye level. You shouldn’t have to stretch your neck or squint your eyes to see what’s on the screen.
d. Adjust the brightness on your monitor away from factor settings especially if you’re working after dark.
The root chakra represents SAFETY and SECURITY, the “sacred energy of presence and manifestation”, the consciousness of your physical body, and all the physical things in your life.
When this chakra is blocked, it’s difficult to stand up for yourself, “own your power”, and ask for what you really want.
When it’s cleared, you feel more balanced, grounded, and present for others… as well as clear, focused, and inspired to take action.
1st Chakra Assessment
The sacral chakra represents CREATIVITY and the “sacred energy of receiving”. It’s your primary source of “Empowerment Energy”.
When this chakra is blocked, it’s difficult to overcome your doubt and the fear of the unknown to achieve something greater in your life.
When it’s cleared, it gives you the power, courage, and certainty to set boundaries, take risks, right wrongs, push through doubt, and receive freely.
2nd Chakra Assessment
The solar plexus chakra represents SELF-ESTEEM and WILLPOWER and the “sacred energy of empowered action”… it provides the fuel you need to make things happen in the world.
When this chakra is blocked, you’re more likely to sabotage yourself, feel afraid, guilty, or selfish… and avoid taking action.
When it’s cleared, you feel confident, enthusiastic, and empowered to take bold, inspired action toward your dreams.
3rd Chakra Assessment
The heart chakra represents the “sacred energy of pure deserving” – and the wisdom to know and understand yourself and others with love, patience and compassion.
When this chakra is blocked, you tend to be too hard on yourself. You may feel like you’re flawed or undeserving of love.
When it’s cleared, you feel your heart has expanded and you’re able to see the beauty in yourself, others, and all of creation.
My ex owns an online business and has been delivering a part to me, and asking me to help him mail it whenever someone orders it from his online store. For some reason, the vendor that sell the parts won’t deliver it to California, so my ex asked if I could help him out and I said “Yes”. So whenever someone orders the part from his online store, he emails me the shipping label. I then print out the shipping label, pack the part, and drop it off at the post office nearby.
Let Her Go – Passenger
My printer has been having connection problems since a few months ago and after a few times of working and then not working again, I just kind of gave up and didn’t want to deal with it anymore (at least for now…). So, whenever I need something to be scanned or printed out, I would ask my husband to please help me do that from his workplace.
A few weeks ago, I asked my husband to help me print out my ex’s shipping label, so that I can drop it off at the post office the next day. I honestly felt (from the way he spoke) that he intentionally ‘forgot’ to do it. Since it was already a few days after the customer had placed the order, I asked my husband if he could just help me drop it off the next morning after printing out the shipping label?
I felt like he had a bone to pick with me and decided to conveniently use this as an excuse. He first asked me “Is ________ paying you to do this?”. I told him “No”. I was just starting to explain to him that the reason my ex is asking for my help is because the vendor won’t ship the part to California, but before I could even get two words in, my husband started to take off with me. The argument turned bad and I walked downstairs in order to stop engaging with him. After my husband went to sleep, I called my ex and told him to just mail me the shipping labels from now on so that I won’t have to “beg” my husband to print them out, and then have him use it as an excuse to get into an argument with me over something else.
My ex asked if my husband had a problem with me helping him out, and I said “No”. I’m not sure if my husband does have a slight problem with it, but I didn’t want my ex to feel bad about it. So my ex said “Sure”, and has started to mail me the shipping labels whenever someone places an order.
I received two shipping labels from him this afternoon, and this was the first time he enclosed the receipt for the customers as well. I found out that he only charges them around $15 for the part. This means that even if he managed to buy it from the vendor at 50% off, he probably only ends up profiting at $5/order at the most, since he still has to mail the shipping labels to me as well.
I’ve been feeling kind of down after finding out about this. I didn’t realize that his profit margin was so low. I have always felt like my ex is so money-hungry; always wanting to profit from every single cent, and save money whenever he can (including asking me to help him out with various things for free all these years). He seems to be pretty financially sound, but I don’t know to what extent?
I just feel this compassion and sympathy for him for having to work so hard in order to earn such a small profit. It’s not like I don’t think that my husband works hard. My husband works very hard. I actually think that my husband works a lot harder than my ex. But I feel that my husband’s “return on investment” for his hard work seems to be a lot more compared to my ex. I can’t even tell my husband about this, because I don’t think he’d be too pleased to hear about me feeling sorry for my ex… My husband and my ex know each other, but it’s not exactly like they’re the best of friends either.
I also don’t tell my parents much about my ex because they feel like he delayed the best years of my life to get married and to start a family. Even my mom, who has almost saint-like qualities, still has some resentment towards my ex (and I know that she only feels this way because she loves me very much, and is standing up for me), and I often end up having to tell my mom that it’s time to let this go…
Mom doesn’t like it too much when she hears that my ex and I still talk on the phone even though I’ve been telling her that we’re just friends, and have just been friends for such a long time now. Mom says that my ex regrets letting me go…
After we were no longer a couple, my ex said to me one day, “Don’t ever treat your man too well. Don’t do everything for him. Otherwise, he will take you for granted”. I think this is my ex’s way of thanking me for all that I have done for him, and to apologize to me for taking me for granted… I still didn’t learn my lesson though, and once again, I feel that I’m being taken for granted (and not taken care of) in my marriage….
I went for a pleasant walk in the park this afternoon. It was sunny, but quite chilly though, 43F, Brrrrr! Had my winter layers on but didn’t wear my gloves. Was thinking of wearing my mask to warm up my face (and for protection, in case there’s a lot of people walking past), but that kind of defeats the purpose of being in nature (to smell the fresh air)… Ended up with cold hands and a runny nose for a while, but back in my warm, cozy home now. 😀
Focus on what people WANT, not what they need – Chocolate-covered broccoli.
Headlines to swipe:
How to “What they want” without “What they don’t want”.
7 simple steps to “What they want”, e.g. 7 Simple Steps to become a better golfer [2 minute Free video].
Little-known method to “What they want” that they don’t want you to know. e.g. Little-known way to get more holes in one, that the expensive golf coaches don’t want you to know.
The easiest and fastest way to “What they want” (Hint: It’s not what you think).
The definitive guide on how to “What they want”.
Free Traffic Masterclass 2:
04/01/21 (Thurs)
Deliver value – easiest way is to deliver valuable content.
