My Spring 2010 Trip to Taiwan- Part I

Ahhh, how I miss the hot springs in Taiwan. The ones that are close to my in-law's home is in Beitou which is near the Mt. Yang-ming in Taipei.

Here shows one of the traditional public hot spring bathrooms. Now there are so many trendy spas in the area.

The natural hot spring in Beitou. In some of the public part, you can actually boil eggs in the hot springs. I did it when I was a kid.

I almost ordered one of those wooden tubs and had it shipped to US when I was in Taiwan. The shipping is too expensive. I think there is a maker in Berkeley that sells this kind of wooden tub. I like how the tub is small but deep so you can soak your whole body and that's the whole point.

Summer adventure giveaway

I am hosting my first ever giveaway on this blog. I would like to hear about the adventure that you are planning for this summer or just dreaming... (it doesn't hurt to have a dream). The winner (randomly picked by me) will receive a working spyglass necklace to bring along to his/her next adventure! The last day to share your adventure and be eligible for the giveaway is June 30.

I will share my adventure that had taken place this March in Southern Taiwan. I grew up in Taipei and had rarely visited southern part of Taiwan. This time during my short 3 weeks stay, I visited Tainan twice where this photo was taken.

I will be sharing more photos we took during our stay soon. For now, I can only tell you that the weather was warm and the foods were hot and delicious. I am secretly planning our next trip. It's to visit Paris and a countryside near Bern this November when there are less tourists and no craft fairs here for me to vend.

see the improvement: 2010 Spring Pool Trade Show

If you saw my booth display last August then you will find this one a greater improvement. In order to carry my vintage dress form I drove this time to Vegas. It's 575 miles one way. But it's worth it. Driving there this summer will be a challenge though. Let's see if I can handle it.

Last peek of my cubcle before packing.....

ADSC09451, originally uploaded by tomi&tree.

It's been one month since I quit my day job as a researcher at the Judicial Council of California. I finally get a chance to unpack and reflect on my experience now that the holiday sales and wholesale orders are winding down in January. I have been in the academic and research agency and government for the past 14 years ( I was in school for 8 years getting 2 masters and one doctorate degrees). I am entering a new field without any formal training. It feels safer to have proper "school education" for what you do. That's my upbrining in Taiwan. You study hard and you get good scores at every entrance exams and then you get a good job. What we have never been taught is to explore our interests and passions in life. It's never too late though so I am "re-educating" myself, street style this time. I will be the jewelry desiger, marketing reseracher, account, public relations agent, crafter and entrepreneur all at the same time with the help from the internet, from local community college, from artist forum, and from those wonderful peers at Etsy community. I feel so alive now. That's how I feel.