Hello to Good Old Times

Those pictures and e-mails forwarded from my daughter who visits Tokyo for an educational program at a national institute of Japan have reminded me of the great moments in my honeymoon trip to Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Nagoya, Fuji, Tokyo, and Nikko, the north to Tokyo, with taking Shinkansen (bullet train) from East to West and enjoying light food in those cities. We were so delighted by walking on the country roads while touring shrines, gardens, and traditional ceremonies in Kyoto and Nara area, and by having thinly sliced sashimi and sukiyaki, a dish in the nabemono (Japanese steamboat) style. Also, her real-time messages have refreshed my memory for the time with Japanese colleagues who shared local food with sake, whiskey, and jokes at nights of Shinjuku, a typical place of nightlife style of Tokyo, and at small restaurants in the large buildings above the subway.


I am still using the earbud (Sony) that I bought 25 years ago at Akihabara, the famous electronics retail city. The Sony earbud was very expensive at a price of some US$50 as it was the newest premium model that performed extremely well with high resolution, even well as of today. I also bought my first CD player, the entry model of Yamaha, at Akihabara, to pair with my first high-end British amplifier (Naim Audio) and French speakers (3a) that my three children had experienced and learned the music with... for so many years. I deeply love those stories centered on kids' birth, their escalated growth as well as son's flattering voice added to the young family. And I believe the music, mostly classical, has enriched the lives of all three; indeed, I spent years studying all the historic composers of classical music, starting Vivaldi on "The Four Seasons", as well as listening to the related CDs rent from a few stores in Taipei. Some nice CDs I purchased many years ago still rest on my bookshelf, and yet I enjoy listening to those I like most with my new BalckBerry and the old Sony earbud. Time flies!


The Real-Time data traffic stimulates and inspires us so intelligently. Her journey for cultural context simultaneously touches my heart with renewal... streaming for more joyful times to come.



Written on July 21, 2009

A Real-Time Lifestyle

If you know "Twitter", then you know it is getting hot and MySpace is getting weak. Why?

The "Real-Time" technology boosts communications globally, swiftly, and interactively. We will fall behind if we do not catch up or, at least, know some.

My second daughter has been so blessed since she believed in Christ at her age of 12 with Taipei Ling Leung Church near where we lived. When she started worship, I did not meet our God yet. In fact, she has taken a lead in some vital aspects.


My story is:
With technological innovation and tool development, my daughter appears to be fairly popular to her friends and friends of friends on communications and updates. Why is that?

You may be surprised how the young generations use new technologies; they, in a large number, can effectively communicate "on the move" and "on real-time". She is now in Tokyo for a nine-week educational program funded by UC San Diego. Her web links (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blog) explore all things on real-time. She's kept updating activities by using her expensive Japanese-operated cell phone with a free texting service that enables e-mail traffic for free.

My wife and I do not worry about our daughter's activities. In reality, we have to learn to adopt the new paradigm shift and the new norm of value; literally, it is a new lifestyle!


The extension of my story is:
Many jobs that have lost will not come back... Are we inspired on a real-time encounter?



Written on July 1, 2009