In memoriam... FHM

Please click image for larger view.

Obituary published on the August 10 issue of Baguio Midland Courier.

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Career change

Yup, after some time of thinking over it, I have finally took the step to change my career from being a project manager to becoming a full time homemaker :)

I left my job on the third week of March to take care of Jade. It was something I wished for since last year but I had to convince both myself and hubby that pursuing SAWM/SAHW-hood is for the benefit of the family. Of course, we had to study the pros and cons especially the financial side of it. It's not that easy to live on a single income basis thus financial management is one thing I got to learn better.

I'm currently working on my visa change (from economic to dependent type) and that entailed me needing to come home to process my papers here in Manila. I brought along Jade with me and hubby will be fetching us once I get my new visa. I'm lucky to have been given a free return ticket by my former employee while hubby got a free PAL return ticket (he got it by chance last year when he volunteered to take the afternoon flight since the planned trip got full packed - well, that's another story now)

I don't have regular access to internet, no connection at home and the summer heat is not conducive for me and Jade to go to town. I happened to pass by a shop here in Ayala MRT station on my way from the Taiwan Consular Office :) I'll be posting more stories about my new career soon.

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My Precious

What: Waterford Crystal Lismore Carafe and Wine Set
Where: (it came from) Ireland (Waterford Crystal is originated from Waterford, Ireland)
When: (was it given) February 2004
Who: (gave it) ADLK colleagues (ADI Limerick TSM team - design, design evaluation and test development engineers)
Why: (was it given) Wedding gift (given few weeks earlier than the wedding date)
How: Handcarried by my (former) offshore boss

I've been assigned (years ago - while I was still working for ADI) for few months offshore "work" in ADI Ireland (which we also call ADLK) for three consecutive years but I never had the courage to buy even a small piece of artwork from Waterford Crystal because of it's "for your eyes only" price tags. Few of my Filipino colleagues who have earned their target savings from our per diem allowances have bought themselves a small piece or two while what most of us, who visited the main outlet in Waterford county, only did "window shopping" and of course, picture taking.

I must be very lucky to have worked with the entire TSM-LK team who were so generous to buy me (and my soon to be hubby at that time), not just a small piece from the crystal store, but a big item - not one piece - but a set of three.

On February 2004, few weeks before our wedding set on March 6 of the same year, my Irish boss went to visit the Philippines plant (ADGT) for business meetings with the management, and with our local team as well. On the day he went to Cavite, he went down to our workplace carrying a huge paper bag. Some of my colleagues started to look as he headed to my seat, said his hello, offered me a handshake, gave me a hug and a kiss, and finally handed me that huge paper bag.

At the glance of it, all I can do is smile (and I think my smile was from ear to ear). The package inside was triangular with the mark "Waterford Crystal". Actually, the huge paper bag itself was marked with the said brandname. He said it's from the whole of TSM-LK team. Inside the bag was also a huge greeting card which I opened right after he left my seat. I was so happy to see the familiar names from those I've worked with and those that I just knew by name and face.

When he left, one of my friends approached me and said "I bet that costs __K Php". On the other hand, my local boss uttered "Lucky you!" followed by "Maybe I should get married again so I can receive the same gift package as yours." One friend, who just heard from others about the present, came to me asking, "hey, can you open it now for everyone to see?" Other colleagues from different work area also came to curiously ask what's inside the huge paper bag.

Since the set was given before our wedding, my housemate and friend (who was also trying to quote the set) suggested (or actually insisted) that we should use it on our wedding day for the wine toasting part of the wedding (reception) ceremony.

We then brought the set, handled with all loving care, along with us when we went up to Baguio a week before our wedding date. I had to instruct the hotel wedding attendant several times to ensure that the set will be used during our reception and that it should be brought back to us after the reception. Oh well, I didn't have to tell them what to do after the wedding party as I made sure myself that the set is carried back to our room while the reception area was being cleaned up.

The triangular packaging is still intact up to now, that huge paper bag has been crumpled though. After our recent vacation, I surfed the net if the item is still available (partly checking on the price as well) and I found out that the current packaging is not as how we received it. The wine glasses also looked different but I found the same design sold separately.

By the way, it's not that I am after the materiality of the present that I consider this item a precious. (well, I could say it's part of it - call me hyprocrite if I don't admit that, right?) It's more of its representation of a country I hold dear in my heart - Ireland. A place I wish my family could visit someday.

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The kIsS

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The ToUcH

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A Bit of Sunrise From One of Acop's hills

I have long wanted to take sunrise photos especially after the “Show me your Sunrise/Sunset” photo tag from Lovelyn. As I mentioned when I did “My Sundown”, one of the reasons I just can’t is the difficulty of waking up early to catch the break of dawn. Another reason is that I don’t know where to shoot.

While vacationing in Acop, I had opportunities to get up early and watch the sunrise right at our room’s window but the bed’s gravity is strong enough to keep me in bed. Lol! But there’s this one morning that I had no choice but to wake up early because of the clothes waiting to be dried. I woke up ahead of my sister, who did the night washing with me, and while hanging the clothes, I thought I can grab my camera after my chore. So up to the room I went, took the camera and tried to find a good place to take pictures. Alas, only few turned out pretty acceptable for posting. I might just give it another try next time I get the chance.

Every sunrise is a present, a gift from God above,
Gift-wrapped with scarlet ribbons and tied with bows of love.

Each day's a new beginning, a time to start anew,
While all the stars are sleeping, and the rose is fresh with dew.

Every day's a new creation, too lovely to ignore,
And we may find a blessing, just outside our door.

We cannot keep the past, like fireflies in a jar
Nor journey to the future by wishing on a star.

Every sunrise is a blessing, a gift for just today.
Rejoice, my friend, embrace it before it fades away!

~ Author Unknown ~






The reason behind the shots...


One of nature's alarm clock...

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tHe IcEdRoP sErIeS

I haven’t posted personal stories for a while but I have a number of them kept in my draft folder. Before I go offline again, it’s time to publish them else they’ll end up staying in the D folder forever. “D” is either for “draft” or “delete” – I’d better put them in “P” as in “published post” now. :p

I owe you stories about our CNY vacation back home but I don’t think you’ll have it as a whole. Bits and pieces they’ll come. Posting the pictures was an easier task, and Hannah re-emphasized that to me :) I sticked to “pictures speak louder than words” in that case, hahaha. I’ll still do that with this post. I think the facial expressions of my daughter in every picture speak for them, lol.

As an introduction though, let me tell you that she never got the chance to eat icecream here in Taiwan not until last Saturday. It was the cold weather that deprived us of that. During one of the warm days we were vacationing in Cavite, a familiar bell sounded from afar. I asked hubby to call the pedicab vendor and got ourselves chocolate icedrop and pinipig. Jade excitedly watched us open them as she willingly obeyed my word when I asked her to sit down on the kitchen door floor. And the rest of the story lies in the following pictures…

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Do mothers really lie to their kids?

Before I had my daughter, I was already a cry-baby when it comes to talking about mothers – the more I became when I turned out a mom myself. I vividly remember how my aunt and I shed buckets of tears after watching the movie “Nasaan ka Inay?” eons ago in Maricel Theatre. I would cry too even if I’m just reading articles or stories about mothers that once again, I couldn’t help but cry, unmindful of the passersby, while I was reading an article forwarded to me via email.

Did my mom ever lie to us? If yes, how many lies did she tell us? Why did she lie? Did she really have to lie? Then I asked myself, did I ever lie to my daughter? Or would I ever lie to my daughter? I don’t have the answers now…

EIGHT LIES OF A MOTHER

This story begins when I was a child: I was born poor.

Often we hadn't enough to eat.Whenever we had some food, Mother often gave me her portion of rice.While she was transferring her rice into my bowl, she would say .."Eat this rice, son! I'm not hungry."This was Mother's First Lie.

As I grew, Mother gave up her spare time to fish in a river near our house; she hoped that from the fish she caught, she could give me a little bit more nutritious food for my growth. Once she had caught just two fish,she would make fish soup. While I was eating the soup, mother would sit beside me and eat the what was still left on the bone of the fish I had eaten. My heart was touched when I saw it. Once I gave the other fish to her on my chopstick but she immediately refused it and said,"Eat this fish, son! I don't really like fish."This was Mother's Second Lie.

Then, in order to fund my education, Mother went to a Match Factory to bring home some used matchboxes which she filled with fresh matchsticks.This helped her get some money to cover our needs. One wintry night Iawoke to find Mother filling the matchboxes by candlelight. So I said,"Mother, go to sleep; it's late: you can continue working tomorrow morning." Mother smiled and said"Go to sleep, son! I'm not tired"This was Mother's Third Lie.

When I had to sit my Final Examination, Mother accompanied me. After dawn,Mother waited for me for hours in the heat of the sun. When the bellr ang, I ran to meet her. Mother embraced me and poured me a glass of teathat she had prepared in a thermos. The tea was not as strong as my Mother's love, Seeing Mother covered with perspiration, I at once gave her my glass and asked her to drink too. Mother said .."Drink, son! I'm not thirsty!".This was Mother's Fourth Lie.

After Father's death, Mother had to play the role of a single parent. She held on to her former job; she had to fund our needs alone. Our family's life was more complicated. We suffered from starvation. Seeing our family's condition worsening, my kind Uncle who lived near my house cameto help us solve our problems big and small. Our other neighbors saw that we were poverty stricken so they often advised my mother to marry again. But Mother refused to remarry saying .."I don't need love!"This was Mother's Fifth Lie.

After I had finished my studies and gotten a job, it was time for my old Mother to retire but she carried on going to the market every morningjust to sell a few vegetables. I kept sending her money but she was steadfast and even sent the money back to me. She said,"I have enough money!"That was Mother's Sixth Lie.

I continued my part-time studies for my Master's Degree. Funded by theAmerican Corporation for which I worked, I succeeded in my studies. With a big jump in my salary, I decided to bring Mother to enjoy life in America but Mother didn't want to bother her son; she said to me .."I'm not used to high living!"That was Mother's Seventh Lie.

In her dotage, Mother was attacked by cancer and had to be hospitalized. Now living far across the ocean, I went home to visit Mother who was bedridden after an operation. Mother tried to smile but I was heartbroken because she was so thin and feeble but Mother said,"Don't cry, son! I'm not in pain!"That was Mother's Eighth Lie.

Telling me this, her eighth lie, she died ...YES, MOTHER WAS AN ANGEL! M - O - T - H - E - R "M" is for the Million things she gave me"O" means Only that she's growing old"T" is for the Tears she shed to save me"H" is for her Heart of gold"E" is for her Eyes with love-light shining in them"R" means Right, and right she'll always be, Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER" a word that means the world to me.

For those of you who are lucky to be still blessed with your Mom's presence on Earth, this story is beautiful. For those who aren't so blessed, this is even more beautiful.

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If kids were blogging...

It won't be a surprise, if it's not happening already.

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Pahina Isang Daan at Isa

I ran into somebody's blog and figured that blogger has added an option to view one's blog site in Filipino. I never explored into that until today when I cleaned my cache and had to change the default language setting (Chinese) in my computer. While looking for "English" in the list, I saw "Filipino" and I thought of choosing it to see how it works. I was thrilled at the thought of it yet upon seeing the seemingly unfitting translations, I asked myself if there's really a need to do that. Sorry, I don't mean to agitate, just my personal thought. Maybe you can see by yourself and share your thoughts about it. On the other side, having Filipino included in the language option means there are millions of Filipino bloggers out there!

Here, see how my post list looks like in Filipino...

And my blogsite in Filipino...



BTW, please note that my subtitle is really in Filipino and is not a direct translation :)

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What will (or do) you work for?

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The Magic Pig

Small circle, small circle, big circle,
Small circle, small circle, big circle,
Mama’s ear, papa’s ear and a big big smile,
Six times six, six times six, thirty six,
Six times six, six times six, like a magic pig!

This is one song I remember learning from my early childhood. The lyrics and the drawing activity that come with it stucked in my mind but from where I learned it slipped from my memory. I started to sing and teach it to Jade when I saw her holding a pen trying to write on a paper after Tita Rosie taught her how to hold a pen and draw lines. I also taught this to her cousin Ate Alex during our vacation. I was surprised to know that my younger sisters don’t know it. I thought they knew it, afterall we came from the same elementary school.

Last week, I heard her mumbling something like bicycle but no! It turned out that she’s starting to sing the song while drawing. The “cicle” word she was uttering is meant to be circle. Then few days after, I hear her singing more lines, now with “mama’s ears, papa’s ears” then “thirty six”. I look forward to hearing her sing the whole song and watching her able to come up with her own magic pig soon.

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MEME: Linky Love/Viral Linking

I've got several memes to work on but let me start with the easiest one. Fortunately, tags from three of my online friends are basically the same though the list seemed different in one of the three. Anyhow, I'm posting them all here. The idea of this meme is to pass the links around which means that, if we keep the link train going, all of us will have more links. Thanks to Mari of Life Together Starts, Bill of From the Boondocks and Lovelyn of A Raconteur's Attempt for tagging me.

I have randomly selected 5 of you below to be tagged and I hope that you will similarly publish this post in your blog. You will have to tag 5 other bloggers and just keep adding on to the list. (Do not replace, just keep on adding! Yes we hope it will be a long list!)It’s real easy! Tag others and see your Technorati Authority increase exponentially!

The benefits of Viral Linking:

1.One of the fastest ways to see your technorati authority explode!
2.Increase your Google PageRank fast
3.Attract large volume of new traffic to your site
4.Build your community
5.Make new friends!

I'm tagging Andi's Mommy, Life is like a Box of Chocolates, Our Niche, and Skraekja


The rules from Bill's Linky Love Train Meme are as follows:
1. Write a short paragraph at the beginning of your post and link back to the blog that put you on the list in the paragraph. This isn’t a suggestion. You need to break up the duplicate content. Someone took the time to add you so the least you can do is give them an extra link back.
2. Copy the list of originals below COMPLETELY and add it to your blog. If you would like a different keyword for your blog then change it when you do your post and it should pass to most blogs with that keyword.
3. Take the adds from the blog that added you and place them in the “Originals” list.
4. Add at least 1 new blog that you KNOW is using the DO FOLLOW plugin to the list in the “My Adds” section.
5. Let the people you’ve added know, so that they can keep the list going!

And these are the people who already took part on this tag:*The Strategist Notebook *Link Addiction *Ardour of the Heart *When Life Becomes a Book *The Malaysian Life *Yogatta.com *What goes under the sun *Roshidan’s Cyber Station *Sasha says *Arts of Physics *Dagboek *Dutch converted Asian *Enjoy Your Meal *And the legend lives *My View, My Life! *Pusang Maganda *Spontaneity *Maruism *Wapita *Unforeseen Existence *Ako ay Tamad *The Balmy Zephyr *bhabypau *KiCHi *Mae-Mae *Gayle *Karen Dayle *http://phinkness.com/ * Karen -AP- * pinkyish *Kritz *Ninah * Laine * Youngmaze* Homeworked *A Raconteur's AttemptA Simple Life Juliana RW The Callalily SpacePetra Summer in Blue Confessions of an Army Wife Bless’ Sanctuary Happy Life http://bless519.bravejournal.com/ La Place de Cherie, Chez Francine, Le bric a brac de Cherie, Little Peanut, Pea in a Pod, The Creative In Me, Me and Mine , Me and my Two Boys, My Life is Peachy , http://bless519.bravejournal.com/ Memories Frozen in Time My Joys My Charmed Life, The Working Mom, Online Raket, Practical Tips and More, Food Drink Atbp, A Housewife's Journal, Life Together Starts *Page 101

While these are from the Linky Love Train...Originals:This is a Miracle Mariuca Revellian d bImBo Secret of Mind A Great Pleasure Little world of thoughts Renisphere mott's island Kev's Walkabout iBubbs woof Down Memory Lanes Woof & Arf Lovely Mummy Bubba Stuff Mommibee Moments in My Life Rambling Moo All about Zara & Zaria Hip n cool momma Random Thoughts of a Blur Mommy Mylittleanelqianyi Bits & Pieces De’moments chinneeq Giddy Tiger Huei Rabbit Rinnah Simple America Niceheart Ethel Sanna The Queer Chef Shoshana Leahgina> Haze GheeNeng aka Sirena Angelo Ju aka The Border aka Juana of Femjo Tina Keep the Faith jsonvlog Suncoast Scribe Blogging Kenneth My 2 Centavos Worth Manila Mom 3 Dogs, 3 Pigs and A Family Cafe Romanza Earn Global Credit Ability Macuha Flee the Cube Smart Wealthy Rich MomReviews.net Fellow Eskimo Pajama Mommy Amanita.net WebStyle Meredith’s Weight Loss Blog Pink Blog Tricia’s Musings Ugh!!’s Greymatter Honeypot Famewatch Midlife Musings Utterly Geek Whatever I Feel Like My Dandelion Patch Surviving NJ GeekySpeaky Simple Kind Of Life 3DayMom BuyMeBlog The Hockey Dad Twist & Skewer The Hip Mommy's Place Mommyness Is Happiness Listening..Learning..Living First Time Dad In Our House Life is what we make it Igorot Blogger*Page 101

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Dalikan/Anidoan...

During cold days when most, if not all, family members leave the house for work and/or an early day appointment, heating water in the gas range or bathing with a pail of icy cold water come as options. When the former is opted, one can't be spared from the morning nags of a mother who worries about the increasing price of LPG while when the latter is chosen, one may come home with flu at the end of the day. To be spared from either consequences, the younger ones resort to heating as much water that the whole family can use, with some refills in between.

Even with an oven gas range in the kitchen, the "dalikan" outside the family house is still used especially when cooking "pinikpikan" (native delicacy) and "inangir" (boiled for a long time). And while cooking, one can also warm up from the heat that emits from the "dalikan" thus we also call it our "anidoan" (fireplace). In the early morning, it somehow becomes our father's "tambayan" or comfort zone with him sipping a hot cup of coffee. At times when he cooks there during the day,he would bring his "apos" (grandchildren) and teach them how to make "anido" their hands and even their feet. Our Jade of course, had her own initation during our stay, lol.

I believe that even if in the future, the family house is decided to be renovated, we will still opt to keep that kind of dirty kitchen as it does not only serve as a backup when we run out of LPG, but also because the dishes cooked from wooden fire tastes better than that cooked from the gas range.

Firewoods being dried in the backyard...

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She's now one of them...

After few months of waiting, my youngest sister finally shouted out that she's now an RN. The results came out yesterday and it somehow came as my sister's birthday presence to our father who told her he'll look for an elephant for the celebration, lol!

She left me a message in YM yesterday but I was not able to catch her. I called her today but I guess she's all to excited sharing the news of joy to her friends in town that she wasn't able to pick up her phone. I then had to pass my message through my other sister who sounded so happy too with the news.

We'll let her enjoy her moment for now and then ask her later what's the next step. We definitely wouldn't want her added in the list of unemployed :)

Congratulations Bok! We're all proud of you!

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Here comes the rat

Everyone here is looking forward to the Chinese new year holidays starting middle of next week. As for us, we're taking our holidays earlier as in we're heading back home few hours from now. Baggages are ready and Jade's now sleeping with her travelling clothes on such that we'll just put on her thick jacket and carry her to the cab where she can continue to sleep. I'll be offline for few weeks so I thought of posting yet another holiday greeting in celebration of the lunar new year. According to Chinese astrology, 2008 is the year of the rat. But saying happy year of the rat seems so unlikely so to all, Happy Lunar New Year!

We had our year end company party last week and look what I got...

A TS1GPF710 Transcend T.photo 710 Digital Photo Frame. I gave it a first hand try on my desk when I got it on Wednesday. It's cute! It's still boxed until now and we'll explore it when we get back from vacation. Product features and specifications are as follows:

Features
-Bright 7 high-resolution widescreen color TFT LCD panel- Built-in stereo speakers and headphone jack- Supports USB flash drives and SD/SDHC/MMC/MS/CF memory cards- Fully compliant with Hi-Speed USB 2.0 and backwards compatible with USB 1.1- Direct USB connection to your PC for easy file transfer- Built-in 1GB memory works even without a memory card- Auto power on/off- Slideshow, thumbnail, still picture, and zoom-in viewing options- View photos with background music- Attractive Frame Themes to accent your pictures with- Important date/event reminder - Clock, alarm and calendar functions- Warranty period is two years, one-year screen warranty(Transcend will replace or repair screens with four or more dehective pixels).

Specifications:
-Size : 219mm x 156mm x 28mm (Stand excluded)-Op. Voltage : 5V DC 2A : -Op. Temperature : 0C(32F) to 70C(158F)-Music Formats : MP3, WMA, WAV (PCM,ADPCM)-Video Format : Motion-JPEG ( .avi / .mov ) ; Resolution : 15fps @ 320*240-Photo Formats : BMP (Max. 800x600), JPEG-baseline-Weight : 430g-Storage : 1GB NAND

Hubby and I are happy about it. But we're happier to know we can escape from the colder weather come holidays.

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Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall - a nice place to visit in Taipei

Don’t be surprised to know that our visit to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei two weekends ago is our first step on the place after almost three years of living in Taiwan. Sadly, our 1st year of stay here was devoted to work that sleeping late on weekends was of higher priority than going to places back then. Good thing, we were able to visit the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall two times before it has been renamed to National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall.

The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

Sky was vividly blue at that time

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is located at the middle of Taipei City and is accessible to tourist commuters, local or not, via MRT. From our place in Tamsui, we had to take the red line until the main MRT station in Taipei, transfer to the blue line and get out at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall station. We had around five minutes walk to get to the place. At first, we thought it was just the hall that was there, and then came a small garden on the side where Jade headed right away and took the grass path, instead of the side walk. To our surprise, the view of the Taipei 101 building was very vivid from the place and infront of the memorial hall was a wide playground and a huge water fountain. To us, the place provided a child-friendly environment that adults are tempted to be child-like seeing the kids running around here and there. More so, hubby figured that there were a number of people kite-flying to which he followed suit after we had a quick snack-picnic for Jade to have her late lunch meal.

Taipei 101 is clearly seen from the hall's ground

Which among the two is hubby's kite?

Dennis had to buy a ball for her because she appeared very envious of the kids around playing balls and bubbles. While her dad went kite-flying, Jade and I played on the grounds with her chasing her ball and me chasing her. She seemed so tireless and unmindful of the people around her not even caring if mom is following her or not. She would stare at people when she couldn’t run any further and look around for mommy. On the other side, hubby was enjoying his kite even if it fell down three times because of sudden change of wind strength and direction. He said he didn’t feel bad because all of the kites fell at the same time anyway.

Man-made lake park within the memorial hall's compound

This is where Jade saw the turtles and duck...

We exchanged roles of playing with Jade when the wind suppressed with the little girl enjoying every moment spent in the grounds. Later, we left the grounds and went around the place where she got the chance to see real turtles and a duck in the man-made like on one part of the hall’s park. With the sun about to set, we decided to leave the place exchanging ideas that we should go there more often on spring and summer.

Here are some of the hundred pictures we took. More of which can be found in this album.

Sun Yat-sen's statue

A statue that depicts a father telling stories to his children

That should be tea they're drinking...


Another statue depicting an elderly narrating to two children

The girl looks so interested in the man's story

A Chinese philosopher's statue around SYMH

Sorry, I can't figure out who he is...

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