Typhoon Fanapi

9/17
Calm before the storm. Typhoon Fanapi should land in Hualien in 24 hours and we took the break to have a BBQ party......

9/19

Fanapi landed here at 8:40am local time, and the wind speed was 220km an hour. That is the takeoff speed of a 747!

Wind and rain died down considerably after the landing, but continues to be unstable for at least a day or two.........

9/20 The day after

Fanapi has left the island and currently landing at the China southcoast. I took my usual morning jog up to Meilun mountain but the debris was everywhere......quite a destruction. I guess this is the nature's way of recycling.....

Hualien being on the east coast had the strongest wind but little damage overall as the storm moves inland quickly. Most damages occur in the central and southern part of Taiwan as always, as the mountains trap the moisture and produce heavy heavy rainfall even after the storm has passed. I'm looking to play tennis today if the courts are not littered with fallen debris.....

Taiwan's president has mobilized its troops, over 20000 of them to aid during and after the storm. Most of them are in the south where mass flooding is taking place. Here in Hualien, the soldiers have been out cleaning up debris all day, and by late afternoon, it is hardly noticeable that a major storm landed 24 hours ago. My hat off to President Ma..........

Mission impossible: a new challenge

Friend of a friend has heard about my weight loss success, and has asked if he could get some help for his daughter. Ya Ping is 25 years old, and has been fighting obesity most of her life. She currently weighs a whopping 180 lbs, and wants to lose 60 lbs.

Whew!

That is a challenge for sure.

She is a very pretty girl, and upon losing 60 lbs, she could be a model. I hope that prospect is enough to drive her to reach her goal. I am glad to help, offering support along the way....

The fact that she had the courage to wear a bathing suit for our "before" and "after" file, shows great determination and committment. Lets wish her success......

A funeral

Feng Yi's grandma passed away last week, and we are attending her funeral in Chiayi today.
Due to traffic congestion, a normally six hour trip lasted nine hours......

Her grandma is 88 years old, prediseased by Feng Yi's mom and dad a few years ago. In this video, you will see the funeral possession from the chapel to the crematorium......

This is the first time for me to attend a traditional Chinese funeral, very different indeed. This next video shows the chambers of the crematoriums, there were six in total. Each corpse inside the coffin has a number, and must wait in line for the chambers. There were about ten waiting when we got there. It was a hot day, not the best day to be next to the incinerators. The smoke and fumes were just too much, so we left early. Her offsprings went back later in the afternoon to receive the ashes kept inside an urn, and the urn is placed at the memorial tower within the property which is government owned. This next video shows the chambers....

There was a lunch after the funeral, and we stayed an extra night so that we didn't have to rush home. Next day on the way home, we stopped in Lugang, an old harbor town which is very quaint and has historical values. The old town in this video was built during the Ching dynasty over 130 years ago, and has been preserved under government designation. It was a time capsule.....

An old European style mansion is now a museum, and we spent two hours inside. It was awesome. It is similar to Victoria's Craigdarroch castle. It housed a local baron and his family. He was one of the early Chinese settlers here in Taiwan, arriving from mainland China 150 years ago.

It was an excellent side trip. We arrived home six hours later.

To sir with love

Teacher Pan invited us to a summer feast at his home. He had a mini banquet with three tables set up on his front lawn. This is a common event in Taiwan due to the nice warm evenings. Some wedding banquets take place on the streets with full catering, amazing.
Anyways, we met some of his students from the past, who keep in touch with him and come to dinner often, now with their own children. Many stories of course, much like our get togethers in HK with old school chums. Very special indeed.

Another teacher, my brother in law Robert, became a Christian this weekend, being baptized at his church. We were invited to attend....

Here is another day in paradise........

Weigh a minute......

With over two months of eating and drinking in indulgence, my weight was 170 when I arrived home in Taiwan one week ago, gaining 10 lbs during my vacation in Canada. However, that did not cause a panic as I am now quite confident of managing my weight, given the favorable conditions around me. In Canada, conditions are not favorable for effective weight management as the generally cool climate does not allow enough sweating. A thoroughly good sweat daily requires constant hydration, which is an effective method of elevating the level of metabolism.

Although I was confident that I could lose the 10 lbs I gained while I was abroad, what I did not expect was how I could so so quickly, and not only losing what I gained, but more than I gained. Yes, 14 lbs in one week. Amazing but true. I am now at my lightest since I started my weight loss program early this year, from 201 lbs to 156 lbs, a total loss of 45 lbs. Ideally, I would like to be around 150 before year end.......

With that out of the way, its time to go shopping and stock up the fridge......

Although we eat mostly vegetarian, we do enjoy having varieties, particularly fresh local seafood. Veggies and fruits are abundant here, and dirt cheap. Hualien is not for everyone, but for folks like myself who loves eating and yet be able to manage our weight and stay healthy, this is truly paradise..........