Category Archives: Witness to my life

A Beijing Traffic Experiment

Posted on April 8, 2015 by sinyaw

When T3 came alive before the 2008 Olympics, going to Beijing International Airport was a breeze. Hop onto the Airport Expressway, zip through sparsely occupied lanes, and you arrive at the majestic Terminal 3 in about 30 minutes. The most … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Witness to my life | Leave a comment

SiMaTai: the Sequel

Posted on March 24, 2015 by sinyaw

Edit on Mar 16, 2015. Original post on Oct 2nd, 2008. Must be due to the popularity of my original post :-), this section of the Great Wall has become more popular. For unknown reasons, the official has blocked the … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Tour guides, Witness to my life | Leave a comment

Man Salad

Posted on March 19, 2015 by sinyaw

A salad feast that fill an 8″ bowl and satisfying as a meal. (Insert animalistic, Tim “the tool man” Taylor grunt.) Of course, man prepares man salads for men. First get one of those Costco sorted mixed green box. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Witness to my life | 2 Comments

A moment of panic

Posted on March 14, 2015 by sinyaw

I stood on the curb side cursing myself. “You moron!” Thirty minutes earlier, I got into the taxi and noticed the driver is a woman, a rare event in Beijing. My phone chirped. I replied to several WeChat messages and … Continue reading →

Posted in Witness to my life | Leave a comment

Stepper’s Foot

Posted on February 28, 2015 by sinyaw

That’s when your foot goes numb while using a stepper, stair master, elliptical machine, or even stationary bicycle. I paid no attention to that about a month ago, thinking I pinched a nerve sitting too long on the stationary bike. … Continue reading →

Posted in Witness to my life | Leave a comment

My 2014

Posted on December 31, 2014 by sinyaw

Facebook has “my year” automatic services. This is the same 2014 retrospective, the hard (manual) way. This year saw many new babies and firmly established my “grand uncle” status. I tried to train every grand nephews/nieces to call me “Xiao … Continue reading →

Posted in Witness to my life | Leave a comment

A Highly Effective Holiday Diet

Posted on December 20, 2014 by sinyaw

I lost nearly 5% of my body weight with this diet. It was not an easy diet for me. Good thing that I have a good partner ♥♥♥. It worked at the end. Book a long-distance trip to an destination … Continue reading →

Posted in Witness to my life | Leave a comment

Detox from Laptop Addiction

Posted on November 12, 2014 by sinyaw

I relish the offline time on the plane (to an extent). I would write programs, clear out my inbox, do presentations, or compose my thoughts into words. The epiphany is that those are transient works. Things really get “done” when … Continue reading →

Posted in Books & Reviews, Peek into my mind, Witness to my life | Leave a comment

The Paella Experiment

Posted on October 26, 2014 by sinyaw

I am frequently in awe of Wife’s palate, much to her annoyance. She would literally whip something together and it just taste great. When I plastered her with questions on the theme of “how did you know it will come … Continue reading →

Posted in Witness to my life | Leave a comment

小楊生煎

Posted on August 2, 2014 by sinyaw

從蘇州去香港,路過上海,住南京東路的酒店. 旅途近盡頭了,沒什麼興致. 只想填個肚子,然後回房宅著. 登記入住的小女孩,挺熱絡的,就問她隨便的話,吃什麼? 她看看旁邊的同事,異口同聲,”小楊生煎”. 上海的七月天,站著都流汗. 回房間換成T恤短褲夾腳,踢踢拖拖找去. 就幾百米路,居然三次被問,”先生要按摩嗎? 漂亮的!”第三個還來”高壓推銷”,蒼蠅樣跟著. 問個不停. 看來這南京東路,有百般生意. 只是納悶,為什麼我會碰到三回呢? 難道我看來就像嗎? 不解. 店在”第一食品商城”的三樓. 六元一兩,四個煎包. 生意好得很,一鍋出爐,客人一個接一個. 我買一兩是最基本的. 大多買好幾兩,現吃再帶走. 這家煎包皮薄底厚,煎的剛好焦.面上灑些青蔥頭提升香氣. 一口咬下, 湯汁燙舌. 鮮美味濃, 香氣撲鼻. 好吃! 三下兩下, 四個結束,意猶未盡. 只是這是個平價食堂的環境, 要去先買票,再上攤位領東西,然後自己找個位子坐, 餐巾紙自備. 桌面的一點油漬,也就將就點得唄. 走出食堂,看到”南翔鰻頭”,買個甜蟹殼黃. 邊走邊吃的下樓. 這頓飯,十元有找. 滿意度特高. 待會的咖啡癮,大概要花三四倍的銀子. 我這是什麼中國式消費? 對著自己搖搖頭. 回房沖沖涼宅著嘍. 不然在街上晃著,流汗又惹蒼蠅.

Posted in Tour guides, Witness to my life | Leave a comment