Seattle museums allow free admission on the 1st Thursday of each month. Eric & I decided to make the most of it, and went on an all-you-can-eat cultural buffet. We saw a LOT of stuff that afternoon. If you want to do the same, bring along a good pair of sneakers, because you’d be doing a LOT of running. The following lists from my most favorite to least.
- Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum – Has some very cool exhibits with a Cha Cha live performance. It feels more like Planet Hollywood/Universal Studio than the typical stuffy museums.
- Seattle Art Museum – New building opened about a year ago. Ultra Modern Building. I especially like the new Impressionist exhibit.
- Museum of History & Industry – Surprisingly big interior that illuminates Seattle’s past ~150 years
- Seattle Asian Art Museum – Decent exhibit on Chinese & Japanese art. The Buddhism section needs an update. Been the same for the past couple of years.
- Burke Museum – This place seems to be frozen in time! Nothing changed since I first went there 10 years ago!! Granted it’s by UW, but still, add something new exhibit already!!!
- Wing Luke Asian Museum – This place sucks big time. It was closed when we got there @ ~3:30pm. There was no warning at all when I went to its website earlier that day. We saw more cool stuff on the opposite side of the block in a Tea Gallery where the hospitable manager, Mr. Dafe Chen provided us with free samples of $100/lb Oolong Tea. If you ever go to Seattle International district, I highly recommend it.
The downside of seeing all of the stuff is not having the time to digest and appreciate some of the fine art. But at least now I know which one is worth my time for a more in depth visit. Here’re the photos.
Like a Winter Wonderland all year around, people are still skiing and snowboarding there in July. The scenery is beautiful, but the cost expensive. The Canadian Government is doing a lot of constructions to improve the infrastructure ahead of the 2010 Olympics. The new Olympics Park is especially nice. Can picture all the ski jumpers performing some spectacular moves in a couple of years. Not sure about me and bears, but I see them everywhere. Find it hilarious to see all the “DO NOT FEED THE BEAR” signs. My take is that if people want to feed themselves to the bears, more power to them. Plus they’d eliminate their carbon footprints, and be eligible for the Darwin Award. 
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It’s a duality that seems to contradict. But it’s actually kind of a cool philosophy to balance your life. Nobody wants to be in their old age regretting the what could have been. Then again, no one wants to be destitute, lonely, an in poor health. Best thing is to live as though today might be your last day, but plan as though you’ll still be around 100 years from now.
Here’s a picture of my last 3 phones in the last ~5 years from oldest to the latest going from left to right:
They’re definitely getting more stylish. Though so far, I’ve only find only one other person who has the same Razor Dragon phone. Who knows, in another 10 years, maybe we’ll be using phones like ones from the Minority Report. Of course they kind of look like today’s Bluetooth headsets.
Bad things sometime happen in life. It’s unpleasant and often beyond our control. But I believe what we can control is our attitude. If we simply respond, then our attitude will likely be negative and repel the people around us. Instead, having a positive attitude especially in the time of adversity is one of the hallmark of being a winner and leader. Here’s a story that illustrates the point:
There is an old legend about a King that handled problems in a unique way. Whenever a serious situation arose the King would open his hand and quietly gaze at something written on his ring.
His distress and fears would quickly disappear as the king was again filled with renewed confidence and enthusiasm.
Eventually the King succumbed to old age and passed away. As mourners gathered to remember him, they found an inscription on the King’s ring. The secret words that inspired a noble King were read aloud: “It Will Pass.”
Have been consistently working out each morning, and definitely seeing some results, not to mention some pains. Guess that’s my body telling me to cut back a bit. Otherwise I feel and look great. Guess anybody would after doing the following routines for a couple of months:
- 2 minutes of stretching
- 35 Pushups – Could do up to 50, buy elbow tends to inflame after a few days
- 200 Sit Ups – Love them and could probably do a lot of more. It’s a big contributor for my 6 packs
- 60 seconds Yoga Bridge Pose – It’s kind of a rush afterwards when the blood flows back to the brain.
For my conditioning, I usually dance Salsa for a few hours a night. But cutting that down a bit, and often just go for long walks, and occasional jogs and hikes. Also massage my eyes. I find that it helps to improve my vision, and helps to invigorate.
We know it’s good for us. But often we put it off. I think the key is to make it part of your routine so that you don’t even have to think about them. Start slow. For example, do 1 pushup every morning as the first activity out of bed. Then slowly expend. Make it a habit. And it will pay great dividend in health, energy, and looks.
Like many things in life, having a positive attitude while dancing definitely enhance the experience. I used to focus on a lot of the technical aspects that sometimes I forgot to enjoy myself and connect with my partner. But last night at Halo, I was on fire. Girls were lined up to dance with me because I was having a blast, and I made them look great!
I believe in constant learning and reading to understand the world better. Besides Internet, magazines, and books, I’ve found listening to Books is a great use of my time. I can learn a lot of stuff just from doing normal activities like driving, exercising, or even laying in bed. Pick something that you like, and just learn as much as you can about. And pretty you’ll be expert in that area.