you are here

I had a wonderful day today.  Did not do a single thing related to my classes, because it was my day to relax.  Got up to have McD's breakfast with Beth and Chris, then came back home and had a nice long Skype session with Cat and Alison, two of my favorite people in California.  After that I walked to the laundromat, made myself some lunch and sat down to read the first chapter of the Thich Nhat Hanh book I got in Hong Kong, titled "you are here".  Thich Nhat Hanh is a Tibetan Buddhist monk from Vietnam and I totally love him.  He's written many books and I read a couple of them in Berkeley.  I really feel a connection with the way he explains things and that's especially good right now because although the Catholic church I've been attending is nice, it's not really cutting it for me spiritually.  So in the first chapter he talks about mindfulness and how to be aware of what's going on in and around you right now.  From that simple idea he expands to compassion and gratitude and fulfillment.  The way he explains his ideas is very natural for me and easy to follow.  I can't recommend his work highly enough.

After I finished reading I decided to go out and experience life, even though it was raining.  I wandered down past St. Paul's ruins and caught this picturesque group of umbrellas.  There were activities going on there today for the holiday and it was super crowded.  It's always pretty crowded in that zone because it's a tourist hot spot, but with the added obstacle of umbrellas, it was more chaotic than usual.

 These guys were getting ready to practice a dragon dance.

And these were fabric figures representing all signs in the Chinese zodiac.

Mine was totally the coolest.  :) 

I just recently read the description of the Dragon traits online and had to laugh at how totally "me" it all sounds.  Here's a link if you are interested in that kind of thing.  (And I thought the Virgo thing was right on!  Double whammy!)

http://www.chinesezodiac.com/dragon.php

My favorite line is "Dragons symbolize such character traits as dominance and ambition."  Ya think?  :)

This store makes me laugh every time I walk past it.  I did some shopping while I was downtown.  I was shopping for me, since I still have birthday money to use up, and also for my nephew Oscar who has a birthday coming in a couple weeks.  I found what I was looking for to give him, and also got some nice things for myself.  The best thing was a very Asian looking red hoodie.  When I first noticed it I immediately thought of Michael Jackson and figured that was a good thing.  It was way too expensive for a hoodie, so I won't list the price because I don't want Angie to hassle me.  But it's cool.  I'll try to get a photo when the ensemble is complete.  The missing part is the shoes.  I was reserving part of my birthday funds to get a pair of wild Doc Martins.  I'm on my third black pair since college, but I couldn't bring them with me because I ran out of space.  So my solution is to buy another pair here, and might as well get something fun, right?  So I checked out a raspberry colored pair that I think I'd like to get, but they were out of my size.  I'll keep checking over the next month and hope they come in
before it gets too cold for sandals.

I noticed this building from afar - probably because of the red windows - and thought it was striking.  Don't you agree?

I also took some video footage on the part of the street where they give out free samples of cookies and other goodies, so there's always a throng of people there.  Just wanted to show you how crowded Macau can really be.

On my way home I passed a performance in progress and shot a little of that too.  Then I came home, tried on my new clothes, Skyped again with my family and that brings me to the present moment.  Writing my blog.  A great day.