2009 has been a difficult year for many people. Facing the biggest economic crash in the American history, companies were forced to close; People lost their jobs; Elderly lost their retirement funds; Family lost their homes … And I, am still struggling for a basic human need, a stable job. The economic climate remain uncertain as the year of 2010 comes. Am I able to survive? Just wish that the battle will come to an end soon.

The Climb by Miley Cyrus

I can also see it

That dream I am dreaming

But there’s a voice inside my head saying

“You’ll never reach it”

Every step I’m taking

Every move I make feels

Lost with no direction

My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying

Gotta keep my head held high

There’s always gonna be another mountain

I’m always gonna wanna take it move

Always gonna be a uphill battle

Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose

Ain’t about how fast I get there

Aint’t about what’s waiting on the other side

It’s the climb

The struggles I’m facing

The chances I’m taking

Sometimes might knock me down

But no, I’m not breaking

I may not know it

But these are the moments that

I’m gonna remember most, yeah

Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong

Just keep pushing on and on......

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Edith Chan

Today I decided to open a new category for the lovely gifts that I received from my dearest friends and family, for these gifts, regardless of their size or value, have warmed my heart, made me smile, and lightened my days.

An adorable Hello Kitty mechanical pencil from Mason, my best study companion ever.

Pair of Stitch mobile phone slings from lovely Eli. Aren’t they cute?

Hello Kitty grand birthday presents from Jenny and Lori. I felt like winning a grand price from a lucky draw when I got the present.

Professional drawing tablet, a birthday present, from Mason. With this, I am going to experiment more on digital painting next quarter. Stay tuned for my new pieces. I am going to open another category about drawing. I promise. 

A Music, light-up and pop-up birthday card from Redmoon via airmail. When you press the button at the top right corner, the card will light up in red and yellow at the candles, in time to an English and Japanese birthday music, as if those adorable animals were throwing a birthday party for you. It is the cutest card I have ever received.

A Rilak Kuma tissue box and a mobile phone holder. If you look at it carefully, you will see it is a berries cake ( including blue berries, red berries, and strawberries). I found them during my China trip in Macau last summer. Somehow I couldn’t get my eyes off them when I saw them in the display window, so it ended up being a birthday present for myself ;P 

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Edith Chan

Before moving to the States, I used to ask for advice from people who are more experienced and knowledgeable than I am, like my parents, teachers, friends, or even friends of friends. Back in the old days, word of mouth was the most popular method of getting information and advice, which implies that the most efficient way of getting information is to know the right person or the right circle of people. For instance, you want to buy a new computer, but your computer knowledge is basically next to zero. What will you do to make sure you will make the best choice? Before internet came to the earth, people would either ask around for advice, or choose to take the salesmen’s recommendation. Fortunately, today you don’t have to be a computer freak or a friend of a computer genius in order to make an informed decision, because you can always do research and get advice online. My first experience in asking advice online happened when I was preparing to buy a laptop for my graphic design classes half a year ago. Given a limited budget, I struggled between buying a Mac book, which is reliable yet extremely costly, and a PC, which is more affordable but less popular in the design industry. I had always preferred getting advice from people I know, but at that moment I decided to give getting advice online a shot because nobody I knew was able to help me. Surprisingly, in just one day, I got over 50 responses from professional graphic designers in Washington State through Creative Profession Online Community. The responses were very helpful, some of which even outlined in detail about the pros and cons of a Mac and a PC. That is the beauty of an online community. Simply by connecting to the internet, you can get advice from people all over the world 24/7.

“It is not what you know, but whom you know.” Joining a community can be difficult if you don’t meet specific requirements or don’t know somebody already in the group. However, everybody is equal when it comes to an online community. You don’t need to be an executive of a big company, a professional, or a stunning young single girl in order to join an online community. Of course there are always exceptions out there, but most cases, everybody is welcome to participate and get advice. People always say that law is only for rich people who can afford a lawyer. In reality, I have no way to afford legal advice because I don’t have the money and I don’t know any lawyer either. However, through an online community, I am benefit from getting free legal advice from professional lawyers who are charging $300 per hour for a consultation.

Another reason I like getting advice from online communities is that the advice is always less subjective. The people I have met online don’t know me in person, hence there is no conflict of interest involved and their advice is always honest and straight forward. A conflict of interest can affect what advice you are going to get from somebody you know. I experienced a situation where my friend recommended me to visit a horrible dentist just for a 25-dollar referral gift card. Isn’t it sad?

Today, word of mouth is no longer my first choice of getting advice. Whenever I encounter a new problem that is out of my knowledge, I will do research online and make sure I get all the necessary information to make the most appropriate decision. Thanks to the evolution of online community, a girl like me who is starting a new life in a foreign country will not feel helpless and panic when facing new problems.

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Edith Chan

“You may have a task to complete, a plan to fulfill, or a dream to pursue, whatever it is, start doing it today!” An American, who has lost a lot of weight,  said that on a NBS TV morning show when she was asked about the secret of successfully losing half of her body weight quickly. She continued to explain that people always procrastinate in taking the first step, and eventually, it never happens

Like many other people, procrastination is my greatest enemy. I have made many resolutions and good plans about my life and career, but I always find myself having difficulties in taking the first step to do them. I am either too lazy or the task needs too much dedication. Eventually, those good plans become my mind’s burden by piling up in my schedule and nagging in my mind. As I got to know myself better, I realized that procrastinating was eating up my energy. I didn’t feel good about myself and I always worried about those incomplete tasks and unfulfilled plans.

What the weight the American said on the TV show has greatly inspired me. Therefore, on 09/09/2009, which was a very special day, I decided that I should stop procrastinating and starting doing things today. So far I have done quite well in moving from procrastination to action. I have started working out with Sushi in the morning, reviewing designing computer programs, applying for jobs, and studying English. Actually, I found that I enjoy doing those things after I started doing them. I feel good about myself and I am more energetic now.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Edith Chan

August 29, 2009

Before fall officially comes, Mason and I took a short trip to Canada to enjoy the nice weather on  August 29. Early in the morning, we took Sushi to a boarding clinic and then hit the road. We drove three hours to get to the Canadian border from where I live. It was the longest road trip I have ever had. Surprisingly, it was not as boring and tiring as I expected, maybe because I was not the driver. Mason and I ate McDonald, listened rock music, chatted and enjoyed the scenery along the drive. The ride was actually fun. 

We visited two cities, Richmond and Vancouver, during this trip. I like Richmond better because it felt like being home. Before the trip I had already heard that the majority of residences in Richmond are Chinese, but I was still surprised to see how many Chinese were around when I arrived in the city. If you are a Chinese person who wants to live in a western country but doesn’t  want to give up your language and custom, Richmond is definitely the city for you to move to. In Richmond, I felt like I was in Hong Kong. Chinese people were everywhere. I couldn’t tell how many people were speaking Chinese around me. Banners on the stores, road signs, and even menus in the restaurants were written in Chinese. The rhythms of the city was just like that of Hong Kong too. Stores and roads were always busy. Parking lots were always full and free parking was only available for three hours. Drivers were impatient and very rude. You will feel the pressure when parking on the street in Richmond.

Asian food is another thing that made me feel Richmond was like home. Mason and I ate a lot of delicious Asian food during the trip, like Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice, traditional Dragon Candies, Japanese Car wheel Bread with Red Bean, Korean Deep Fried Twist-Potato, Mongolian Sheep Grill, Thai Sweet Soup etc. If you are a fan of Asian food, you should go to Richmond in summer, because the night market, which is famous for Asian street foods, only opens during summer. Even though we arrived to the night market quite late, the market was super crowded. Every stall had a long line of people waiting. Everyone was holding food in their hands. People couldn’t wait to eat; they were eating before they could find a seat. You will see everybody was eating while waiting in line or walking to another stall. We filled our stomachs with a lot of special street foods, some of which can’t even be founded in Hong Kong anymore.

Mason and I have gained a few pounds after the trip, but both of us think that gaining weight for such delicious food is worth it. Why did I find this city so late? I wouldn’t have been so homesick if I had travelled to the city earlier.

Read More 3 comments | Posted by Edith Chan

People make good decisions and horrible decisions. Making a terrible decision can affect your whole life badly. That’s why old Chinese people always say that a decision shouldn’t be made until the situation has been contemplated seriously three times.

I don’t know how people move on after making a terrible decision, but I am still making up for mine to this day. I have to admit that studying Advertising in China is one of the biggest mistakes in my life. Many people asked me why I got my degree in Advertising. Actually, it was a compromise between the different desires of my parents and mine. I grew up drawing and knew that I wanted to be a designer since I was a little girl. My dream was to study graphic design in Taiwan. However, my parents didn’t want me to study in Taiwan and thought that being a designer wouldn’t make any money. Then they found the nearest university in China that carried a major called Advertising, and thought that it would be the best fit for me. Advertising was a pretty new major in China back then. My dad thought that the major would fulfill both of our wishes because it combines arts and business. I didn’t insist on studying graphic design in Taiwan, and I agreed with my parents thoughtlessly. Back in those days, I was young and a push-over, so I didn’t know that that compromise was going to make a big impact on my life.

I think studying Advertising in China was a bad move because of several reasons:

First of all, my major led me nowhere after I graduated from the university. The advertising industry in Macau totally sucks because of the fierce competition from Hong Kong and China. In Macau, clients either do advertisement through Hong Kong agencies for high-end products or China agencies for low-end products. Therefore, I had to shift my career to other fields. I thought I could apply for marketing jobs because there were some overlapping classes between marketing and advertising, but then I found employers always prefer Marketing major candidates over me. I was totally lost about my career path. I have been a news reporter, hotel receptionist, hotel reservation agent, hostess, and finally, settled down as an office administrator, a position that doesn’t even require a bachelor degree. Isn’t that ironic?

Secondly, it has never been easy for me to look for a job because I lacked the networking in Macau after being away for four years. According to the statistics roughly done by my classmates, because of networking, students who graduated from the University of Macau are more likely to get a job faster than students who graduated in China.

And lastly, I was significantly lacking in the English language after studying in China. Believe it or not, I didn’t have any English education at the university in China for 3 years. Even though I attempted to keep up by studying English myself, there was no way I was able to compete with the students who graduated in Macau when it comes to English level.

Even though I did quite well in my last job as an administrator, I was not happy because it was not what I love and what I am good at. After struggling in the job market for 6 years, I walked away with diverse yet unprofessional experiences and some cash for me to remedy my wrong decision by going back to school to study graphic design. Perhaps it was not a wrong decision and I blame my failure to my parents. But at least I learned that I should never let other people make life decisions for me.

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Edith Chan

Today I found this old funny video of Sushi when I was backing up my computer. This video was taken when Sushi was a puppy. Back in the day Sushi was very small, even smaller than a pillow. Sushi liked hiding herself behind my pillow because she was not allowed to get on my bed. However she is too big to hide from me now.

How cute and naughty was Sushi? A video says it all. Enjoy!

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Edith Chan

June 26, 2009

Early in the morning on June 26, 2009, we left Wuhan to Shanghai by high-speed train and it took us 5 hours to arrive at Shanghai. I was extremely excited because I have been wanting to travel to Shanghai for a very long time now. Shanghai is a must-go city when you travel to China, because it is the center of economics, culture, and design of the country. In case you are not familiar with this city, here is a brief introduction:  Shanghai is the largest city and trading center of China. It is also the center of commerce between the East and the West starting from early 19th century. During the First Opium War, the British forced China to open Shanghai for international trade, leading the start of foreign concessions, and most of which, like the French Concession, still exist as a popular attraction to this day.

 There was a count down for the Shanghai EXPO 2010 in the subway station

We arrived at Shanghai at 2PM and it took us sometime to figure out which MTR to take at the subway station to our hotel, which was near the famous Nanjing Road. I couldn’t wait to dump my baggage at the hotel and go check out the famous Nanjing Road.

Nanjing Road at night

  A “giant” dummy of N97 at Nokia’s store window; The Fancl House building was “huge”; Cartier’s store at the Bund

Nike store owns a whole building at Nanjng Road

Nike has  a huge advertising banner hung on the roof a building in Nanjing Rd. Kobe Bryant became Nike’s spokesman right after Lakers won the NBA payoffs 2009.The slogan was “determination will never die, determination will never die, determination will never die, determination will never die...”

Nanjing Road has been a landmark for Shanghai for a long time. It is also known as the  “Number 1 Commercial Street in China.” On the street, you will see hundreds of stores sitting along both sides of the road, ranging from little local souvenir stores to world famous stores. My eyes were on the appealing store windows and showcases as we continued to make our way to  the Bund (外灘) through crowds of people.

It was just 20-minute-walk to go to the Bund from Nanjing Road

We arrived at the Bund after a refreshing rain shower. In front of us were dozens of historical buildings lined along the Huangpu River, and on the other side of the river were the famous Podong skyline.  I was amazed by the artistic architecture of the historical buildings in the Bund. Unfortunately the area was under construction, so we were unable to get a perfect view of the Bund and the Pudong skyline.   The  street was all wet and packed with people. I was a bit disappointed but still managed to take as many pictures as I could.  By the time we were prepared to leave,  the buildings in front of us magically lit up one by one. We didn’t realized that we it was already seven o’clock at night. All of the buildings in the Bund and Pudong shimmered on the river and the wet floor with their neon. I was speechless watching the buildings turned into a crystal palace. It was an enchanting moment that I will never forget.

The Bund became a crystal palace at night 

Shanghai is a dynamic city and it is well-known for its nightlife.  Nanjing Road was still crowded with people at night. Stores and subways lit up and were opened until midnight. We didn’t want to go back to the hotel even though we were already exhausted. After recharging ourselves through a delicious dinner at a fancy restaurant, we made our way to Xintiandi, the most  fashionable place for nightlife in Shanghai.

Nanjing Rd was still packed with people at night 

We spent the following two days exploring the underground(subway) malls and the famous Shanghai Old Streets, and then flew back to Macau from Shanghai on June 29. I wish I could have spent some more days visiting different parts of the city, like the Shanghai Museum, Water Town, Qibao Ancient Town, and Shanghai History Museum. Shanghai is definitely a city I will travel to again.

Below are some pictures of Shanghai Old Streets

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June 22, 2009

Wuhan is the capital and in the central part of Hubei province of China

After arriving in Macau for only two days, my parents and I went to Zhuhai and then flew over to Wuhan on June 22nd. Bobo, Elizabeth’s friend, picked us up at the airport in Wuhan and took us to an apartment that has been arranged for us.

The apartment was only a few blocks away from downtown, which saved us a lot of timewhen we went out for shopping and dining, because there was a lot of traffic. We left the apartment and started checking out the city right after unpacking our luggage.

The city contained a mixture of old and new buildings. Construction and renovation were everywhere. As the fifth most populous city in China, Wuhan’s streets and roads were always crowded with people, bikes, and cars all hours of the day. However, people never follow the rules of the road, so crossing the streets in the city was extremely terrifying. If you are going to Wuhan, never ever assume that you are safe to cross the road, even when the green pedestrian light is on!

Wuhan is known as one of the Three Furnaces of China because of its oppressively humid and hot weather. In the summer, its temperature always exceeds 40°C , which is 104°F . During noon time, I could barely walk on the street without wearing my lightest outfit and using a sun umbrella. I even had to put my favorite sport shoes aside and wear sandals during the whole trip, because the weather was so hot.

The good news is that the cost of living in Wuhan is very inexpensive. We ate like a celebrity, went shopping and had foot massages almost every day. Transportation is very low in price too. In order to hide from the heat, we took a taxi to everywhere we went. The taxi ride was usually RMB 3.00 – 12.00, which is around USD 0.38 – 1.50, depending on the duration of each trip. But cab drivers don’t like dealing with short rides; a few of them gave us a bad attitude.

On the second day, we headed off to the Wuhan University to take graduation pictures for Elizabeth. I was impressed by how big and beautiful the university was. The campus was featured with hills, lakes, trees, flowers and historical buildings, which date back to the 80’s.

Student residential building

Doggie glyphs on the roof

The university’s famous blue roof tiles

The university’s library

We spent another two days exploring the Wuhan city and then headed to Shanghai via high-speed railway.

Stay tuned for our next stop - Shanghai.

Seattle – Honolulu – Hong Kong – Macau – Zhuhai – Wuhan

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Edith Chan

July 18, 2009

Above are the stuffs in my backpack when I go to school. Other than books and stationary, I also bring Ginger Candies, which keeps me awake in the morning classes, Hello Kitty water bottle, and Winnie the Pooh mini tablewear, "No, they are not for kids", I need to have something cute to eat with when I eat alone at school, especially on Saturdays.

My long holiday is finally over and I am already back to school. This quarter I take 2 classes, InDesign and Photoshop CS4. Debiruth is the instructor of both of the classes. “I love going to school,” she introduced herself during the first class,” as you can see from my background.” Apparently she does love going to school. If you search her name on the Internet, you will see that she has a very board range of professional backgrounds, such as Technical Education, Sociology, Applied Behavioral, Law, Software Development, and Psychotherapy.

I am impressed by her introduction and her passion for acquiring knowledge. I have always enjoyed going to school but I had doubts that that is the way life should be, because the culture in my home country is very different. In Macau, people see education as an investment. I remember how the parents of my friend convinced her not to go to a university by weighting the prospective income she could make after graduation to the income she could be making right out of high school. In Macau, the average income of high school students is almost the same or even higher than that of undergraduate students. Therefore, many people think that spending money on going to school is not worth it.

Despite the fact that the tuition in Washington State is eight times more expensive than that of Macau, going to school is quite popular in Seattle. In my Graphic Design class, many of my classmates are learning fine arts and different computer programs just for personal enrichment. For instance, my classmate, who sits next to me, retired 2 years ago after working as a Creative Director for over 20 years. She told me that she was taking the design classes because she wanted to know more about how graphic designers work nowadays.

Even though going to school is very tiring and my schedule is especially challenging after starting my internship this quarter, I still love going to school. I really do. In fact, I think that I should design a logo for “I love going to school”.

Read More 5 comments | Posted by Edith Chan

June 17, 2009

Seattle - Honolulu

On the early morning of June 17, 2009, I went to the Renton Airport to kick off my 19-day China Trip. I was full of happiness and excitement, because literally it was the first time I have ever travelled alone. Unfortunately, Northwest Airline tore out the joy in my soul as soon as I checked in my baggage. I waited 20 minutes just to learn that the agent was actually not literate enough to handle their computer system, and another 15 minutes to learn that the flight path had been altered because of the volcano eruption in the North Pacific Ocean. Worst of all, I was eventually forced to stay one night at Honolulu, which added an extra day to the trip and caused me to lose a day in Asia.

My flight was originally from Seattle to Hong Kong, flying over Toronto. However, because of volcanic activities on a mountain between East Asia and North America, my flight was rerouted to fly over Hawaii instead. I tried to figure out the flight hours immediately, but nobody from Northwest Airline was able to answer any of my questions. So I boarded the plane, then I was informed that the plane wouldn’t be able to take off before some operational problems were settled. Then, all the passengers were held in the aircraft with very bad ventilation for one hour before the plane eventually took off, when the caption of the aircraft promised that it would only take 15 minutes. This delay added another hour to the trip, which made my flight exceed the legal daily flight6 hours for pilots, hence my plane was not allowed to connect to Toronto from Honolulu. Therefore, all the passengers ended up staying at Honolulu for one night.

“Are you kidding me? I flew five hours and then you tell me that I am not going to Hong Kong today? I don’t want to sleep at Honolulu. I want to go home and fly tomorrow if you have some operational issues today.” I wondered why Northwest Airline didn’t simply delay the flight to the following day after knowing that they were not able to bring the passengers any closer to the destination. Who would want to take a five-hour flight to another city within the same country just for a sleep? And why did Northwest Airline still ask their passengers to board the plane while they had operational issues?

I was extremely upset even though Northwest Airline was willing to provide hotel accommodation and meal vouchers at Honolulu, because the delay and the rerouting means it is going to take me 24 hours to arrive at Hong Kong, when it would have only taken 14 hours. To a passenger, time is the most valuable thing, not to mention the inconvenience in claiming, loading, transferring and re-checking in baggage at the airports, buses and hotel.

I have always wanted to go to Hawaii, but I never expected to go there under this kind of circumstances. I closed my eyes, exhaled deeply and thought, “Well, staying one night at Hawaii for free could be a good thing.” I convinced myself that this trip is supposed to be fun. I couldn’t let the flight delay spoil my trip.

I finally landed. I could tell the hot and humid weather of Hawaii as soon as I stepped out of the airport. An airline agent was already standing there waiting for us. She showed us the way to a bus, which was painted all over with tropical flowers, and took us to the Ala Moana Hotel. Honolulu is more urban than I expected. Aside from harbors, yachts, beaches and palm trees, you will also see high buildings and shopping malls all over the city.

The sun was setting by the time I checked in the hotel. I made a snap decision to walk to the beach while there was still a little sun light. Palm trees were sitting along the beach. The sun in the pink sky descended into the sea and sparkled on the water. I took a deep breath as I felt the breeze. It was so beautiful and peaceful. Maybe my first trip on my own meant to be unusual and unforgettable.

An hour passed and the nighttime finally came. So, I walked back to the hotel, had a quick bite to eat and went back to my room. “Good night and sleep tight, Edith” I started telling myself, “there is another 12-hour flight to come tomorrow.”

  Buses on the street were painted all over with tropical flowers

The sun was setting by the time I arrived at the hotel

My room was kind of neat, only that I didn’t have much time to enjoy it. I have kept a business card of the hotel and decided to go back there next time when I visit Honolulu.

The night view from balcony

Stay tuned for my next stop to Wuhan.

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Edith Chan