Clean up time or Play time

Merry Christmas! 聖誕節

This is the first time I celebrate Christmas with Aunt Aimée, Uncle Eddy and Anson GeGe. Also the first time we celebrate Christmas the Chinese way (in a Chinese restaurant). ^_^

色，香，味俱全！emmm... yum!!

Yummy cookies...

Have you seen a cookie almost the size of your face? I've gotten one from daddy.

Want a bite?

p.s. Yes? Please stop by your nearest Starbucks store. =)

Snow Storm

Have been watching the snow storm from my office window the whole day today, it was beautiful! Everything is white, even the wind...

But come down to the road, it's another story, do you think so?

Completely different story!

Does this look like the scene from a movie? But it is for real, no problem with camera or the photographer, and there is no wind blower.

Oh, do you think that wind screen wiper is working? I don't think so, but it hasn't stop moving. =)

Beautiful Sunset

Look at the sky, is it beautiful? Too bad you can't see the sun here, because mommy's phone is too slow... =(

** what a great shot! Baby took this from her car seat at the back, and she was not happy that she couldn't capture the half setting sun. =)

School Work Dec 18th, 2008

Why is snow white?

Visible sunlight is white. Most natural materials absorb some sunlight which gives them their color. Snow, however, reflects most of the sunlight. The complex structure of snow crystals results in countless tiny surfaces from which visible light is efficiently reflected. What little sunlight is absorbed by snow is absorbed uniformly over the wavelengths of visible light thus giving snow its white appearance.

Snow is a type of precipitation in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. The process of precipitation is called snowfall. Freshly fallen snow is maybe the finest material in the world.

School Work Dec 16th

Figure Skating Lesson1

Getting Ready... Patiently waiting for mommy and daddy changing their shoes.

 On the ice... Getting comfortable with mommy's help

Break... Having fun with daddy as always.

Successfully finish my skate lesson 101... Able to stand on ice without holding anyone or anything. Horay!!!

恋上孟小冬, 人生如戏的孟小冬

随着电影《梅兰芳》的宣傳，孟小冬与梅兰芳当年的婚恋往事再度浮出水面，孟小冬到底是何许人？当年，她与梅兰芳经历了怎样一段惊天动地的美妙而悲怆的婚姻？是什麼原因讓她到死都坚决避免与梅兰芳相见。

这两位京剧界的泰山北斗那一段惊天动地的美妙而悲怆的婚姻不再有人提起，时而有人问起，人们也是三缄其口。但是1933年9月5、6、7日三天，天津《大公报》头版连续登载了“孟小冬紧要启事”，给我们提供了第一手资料。启事称:……窃冬甫届八龄，先严即抱重病，迫于环境，始学皮黄。粗窥皮毛，便出台演唱，藉维生计，历走津沪汉粤、菲律宾各埠。忽忽十年，正事修养。旋经人介绍，与梅兰芳结婚。冬当时年岁幼稚，世故不熟，一切皆听介绍人主持。名定兼祧，尽人皆知。乃兰芳含糊其事，于祧母去世之日，不能实践前言，致名分顿失保障。虽经友人劝导，本人辩论，兰芳概置不理，足见毫无情义可言。冬自叹身世苦恼，复遭打击，遂毅然与兰芳脱离家庭关系。是我负人？抑人负我？世间自有公论，不待冬之赘言。抑冬更有重要声明者:数年前，九条胡同有李某，威迫兰芳，致生剧变。有人以为冬与李某颇有关系，当日举动，疑系因冬而发。并有好事者，未经访察，遽编说部，含沙射影，希图敲诈，实属侮辱太甚……

孟小冬，被称作“冬皇”的女子。在网页上翻天覆地的找她的资料，却发现她的命运与導演筆下的相距甚远。她出身名伶，18岁名声鹊起，一代坤角，被誉为“冬皇”，风头不再梅兰芳之下。与梅一起演出，四郎探母，游龙戏凤，好评如潮，用电影里的话来说，座儿特别好。

错位的灵魂，他，美艳如斯，她，俊朗无比。台上台下，也许彼此看到了自己。我不能肯定两人的爱情是否和影片中一样一见钟情，却猜测当年也是爱的至情至性。

六年的婚姻，孟小冬始终住在梅园外。当年的承诺，不复实现，最后始终不能成为梅家的人，不能光明正大的进梅家。不是斗气，不是矫情，只怨六年了，自己深爱的，可以为他放弃舞台了的那个男子竟不能实现当初诺言，不能在另一个女人面前保护她。分开的细节，我们只能猜测，也许是她的决绝。先分手的那个，不一定是薄情的，而是爱的太深，再也不能承受丁点伤害。走的也决绝，那句“我今后，要么不唱戏，唱戏也不会比你差，要么不嫁人，嫁人也不会比你差”，这个女子，太孤傲，太决绝，用力的伤害爱人同样来伤害自己。回去后，不思茶饭，一心求死。后来的日子，吃斋念佛，只求解脱，从哪里解脱，也许只是希望从这段情里解脱吧。

多年后，成为“余派”唯一嫡传弟子，果然唱戏就不比他差，那首“搜孤救孤”被她唱的前无古人，后无来者。别人质疑为何她当初嫁梅需要名分，嫁杜月笙就不要正房名分，众人不懂，只是因为爱梅太深，对杜月笙就不会那么在意。很多年后，她和他为杜月笙庆生，两人挑大梁，却岔开日子，分别不见。

他不知道，她卧室里只摆放两张照片，一是恩师余叔岩，一是旧爱梅兰芳。她也不知道，据梅兰芳的管事姚玉芙说，孟小冬演了两场《搜孤救孤》，梅先生在家听了两次电台转播…

风流过往，旧时烟花，都已不再。抑或是我太过敏感,为别人的感情流泪.

孟小冬的晚景让人心疼.杜月笙对她到真的好，爱她怜惜她。她伺候杜月笙晚年后，终老在台湾，之前教戏，希望她有传人。

不知道为什么，竟如此不舍这个女子，看到她的孤傲，决绝，优秀，贵为伶界皇帝，却还是败给了那个台上万千风情的男子。败了她的心。怜惜不已。也希望如果她有来生，可以快乐。

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

孟小冬（1907～1977），1907年生于上海，著名京剧女老生演员，有老生皇帝（冬皇）之誉。

艺术特色.. 孟扮相英俊，嗓音苍劲醇厚，高低宽窄咸宜，衷气充沛，满宫满调，且无雌音，被公认为“余派”主要传人。

一、走红艺坛, 出身梨园世家... 祖父孟七出身徽班，擅演文武老生兼武净，她的父亲、伯、叔都是京剧演员，在这样的家庭氛围下，孟小冬别无选择地走上了从艺的道路。

二、师事余叔岩... 在一九三八年十月二十一日正式拜余叔岩为师，成为余叔岩的关门弟子，也是惟一的女弟子。

三、剧坛佳偶... 那时, 最红的旦角是有“伶王”之称的梅兰芳，以男性扮女人；最红的生角是孟小冬，以女性扮男人。乾旦坤生，颠倒阴阳。有好事者大力促成他们合作演出了《四郎探母》、《游龙戏凤》，男女角色颠鸾倒凤，演来精彩而又富于罗曼蒂克。进而更撮合他们成了一对佳偶，成为轰动剧坛的佳话。但命运之神没有永远眷顾他们。孟小冬的天生丽质、不以色相事人的铮铮傲骨曾引来不少追求者，一个单相思孟小冬而不得的狂徒竟到梅家制造了一起骇人听闻的血案，引得社会舆论沸沸扬扬，对孟、梅造成了极大的困扰，两人终告仳离。深受打击的孟小冬曾一度皈依佛门.

四、床畔侍疾杜月笙... 杜月笙对孟小冬的情分早在1925年就开始了。1929年他虽然娶了名须生姚玉兰，但对孟小冬依旧念念不忘，希图找机会接近她。1949年，上海解放前夕，孟小冬随杜一家迁居香港。1950年, 与杜月笙成婚。孟小冬的脸上也现出了笑容。毕竟他们有了女儿杜美娟，杜月笙有责任承担起了孟小冬的义务，给她一个名分。一生傲岸的孟小冬，最终也只能屈从于命运的摆布了。

五、“广陵绝响”幸可存... 1967年，孟小冬因亲友均在台湾，为避免孤寂，便由香港转迁到台北定居，闭门静养，由绚烂归于平淡，终其余年。光阴荏苒，转眼间10年风逝，孟小冬已近古稀之年。1977年5月25日，一阵剧烈的哮喘之后，便突然昏迷过去，送至医院抢救无效，延至26日午夜，终因肺气肿和心脏病并发症于1977年5月27日去世。

First Optometry Visit

After about 30 minutes of negotiation, this is the closest we get to the exam machines, forget about the dialect with drop or blow air in the eyes, that will open happen in your dreams, mommy.

Oh, did I mention even on this chair, we refuse to look into that machine in front of us, and as soon as our bum touches the exam chair, tear comes, it's like a well operated ON/OFF switch.

Sigh, first eye exam is a total failure. Look at that sad face... =(

Chinese Tradition...

This is the most Chinese moment of me... =) Getting my practice done, so I will be ready to pour Nana and Papa a cup of tea whenever they visit.

getting ready to go home.

"I always having trouble with the zipper on my snow jacket. Ms. Kim helps me every time."

Getting Ready for Christmas!!!

Yap, it's that time of the year again. Daddy, Mommy and I just set up our beautiful Christmas tree. Because the restriction of the apartment building, we could not have a real tree this year, so no waking up with the fresh Pine tree smell, but thinking of the bright side, mommy won't be picking up the loose tree leafs from the floor ALL day long... =)

** Did you notice my super special InterCity Express delivery train??? Another one of my favorite, and I sat in a real ICE driver seat after my ride from Köln last Christmas, will add that set of pictures later.

Everitt's tradition, the yummy Starbucks calendar. By yummy, I mean the chocolate hidden in it, =) I look forward to it every morning.

Christmas calendar by Playmobile, my very first discovery of the day since Dec 1st, one item each box, one box per day. Sigh, it takes 24 days to get the whole picture... TOO long.. =(

*** Comment by the typer... yucky creatures in those little boxes.... Shh...=X

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a very safe, happy and wonderful Thanksgiving, hope you have an enjoyable day.

School Work Nov 25th

Economic Recession?

Every government is trying to comfort their residents and citizens by denying about the economic recession that is happening around the world.

When was the last time you see these kind of numbers??

Symbol	Time	Trade	Change
GOOG	12:34PM ET	288.55	6.50	2.30%
SBUX	12:34PM ET	8.49	0.28	3.41%
EBAY	12:34PM ET	13.26	0.38	2.95%
YHOO	12:34PM ET	10.07	0.00	0.00%
MSFT	12:34PM ET	20.25	0.26	1.30%
NT	12:34PM ET	0.41	0.04	10.81%
ORCL	12:34PM ET	15.96	0.02	0.13%
AAPL	12:34PM ET	94.01	3.21	3.54%

Chocolat... yum!!

Have you seen a 5 lbs Hershey's chocolate bar before? I thought it's only for display, but no, it's for real!!! Chocolate lovers, you've got to get this!!!

So tired, but still fashionable!

What an exhausting day at school! I fell asleep on my way to pick mommy up from work. =) That's never happened before! =O