CRON yogitect

seated pictures day

2012-02-14T14:23:00.000-08:00

yesterday was a good day for yoga, calorie restriction and work. resumed on the seated poses of VK. the next set of pictures will be of my trip to Qingdao and on my friend's trip to Nepal. i took interior pictures of the apartment; now i'm waiting for good weather to take exterior ones.

bury talking bla bla

2012-02-12T20:59:00.000-08:00

now i'd like to bury the previous post by moving on. i wanted my apartment blessed by my meditation teacher, but he did not understand what that meant. in fact, he does not consider himself my teacher. a simple prayer would have sufficed. a group of people meditating would have sufficed as well. V. thinks that talking about Buddhism is not as important as practicing it. there is some truth to that. there is also truth that the Buddha dharma, the teachings, is the manifestation of the Buddha himself. talking about the teachings is a way to transmit the knowledge. bla bla. practice tomorrow.

charlatans understand Zen

2012-02-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

i'm chronicling my life here. otherwise i might not write about this. should this be titled, "about charlatans"? there is a person i consider my meditation teacher, because three years ago introduced me to the root teacher, who taught us meditation sutras. he had been for a year and a half saying he wanted to introduce me to his friend who studied in Singapore, who could translate well into English Buddhist concepts. i mainly relied on intuition to understand the concepts that where thrown at me, because the teacher translated poorly. last year i did not join him or the root teacher because of my busy work schedule. this year, i'm clearly more busy and the teacher wants me to join him on Sundays, when i have my intensive day of studying Chinese. actually what he wants me to join him on Sundays is to buy live fish in the market, then throw them into the river to free them. it's supposed to be a Buddhist blessing. he asked me if i could join him during the week an evening, but i said i work until 9:00pm. he complained about my schedule, which surprises me because he surrounds himself with architects and knows our work schedule. only Saturdays is an option for me.

i asked him to come to my new apartment to give a blessing, and asked him to bring his friend, referring to the friend that he has been talking about for a year and a half that can translate well. this is where i think communication with this teacher just does not get through. he invited a mystery friend who brought a girlfriend. the girlfriend is Buddhist and is studying at the university, majoring in Japanese. lost in translation: i thought he was bringing his friend educated in Singapore and his Japanese girlfriend, who practiced Zen. but these where other people.

Violetta being Buddhist wanted to join us. i could see she was growing frustrated because all we were doing is chitchatting about Buddhism, and arguing as well. at one point she asked the teacher why there where different vehicles in Buddhism, different ways to practice. the teacher said the Buddha was pure, that there were practices that where false. that you had to believe in the Chinese way of practicing. i explained there where four ways, manifested differently across countries. i learned the Zen way, which came to America via Japan, and to Japan from China. we did not rely on sutra recitations. to me, i'm in China and if most of the practices available are Mahayanan, with the recitation of sutras, then that is what i would practice publicly, and do Zen privately at home.

after two hours of rambling discussions and chit chat, Violetta asked me what was going to be happening that afternoon. i said i did not know. maybe the teacher could lead us in a meditation. it seemed the two other guests would be interested in doing so. but the teacher said we could do it next time, going to the house of the root teacher and practicing there. he and his guests left.

Violetta said, when the teacher and his guests had gone, that i should be careful that this man was too hard headed and forceful of his ideas. i said he was probably passionate about his ideas because he believed them to be true. she warned me that this teacher will waste my time. the teacher had said that all other Buddhist ways were false and that seemed incorrect to her. i said to me they are just ways to get to the same result; the method chosen does not matter. i don't take the pronouncements of this teacher too seriously. i also feel he won't have the opportunity to waste my time, because i have little time to give.

but now i'm reflecting that the teacher wasted my time yesterday. he behaved not so unlike in the first year we met. it took four meetings with the root teacher before we actually learned techniques for meditation. he had been telling me for a year and a half that he wanted to introduce me to a friend of his who could translate. i gave him the opportunity and he wasted it, bringing a mystery friend that was not able to translate, whom he never introduced. in sum, i don't think the person i refer to as my teacher considers himself my teacher. he will protest if i refer to him as such. he considers the root teacher, an older, retired former structural engineer who is a devout Buddhist to be the teacher. but that man is very stern and rigid, actually quite strange. he possesses the character of being scary and kind at the same time.

not all time was lost. Violetta and i watched a movie, then went to dinner at a Taiwanese restaurant and later went dancing. from the point of dating, it was a perfect rest of the day. from the point of doing a blessing of the apartment, the blessing was effected by the presence of Buddhists, but it was too vague to be that. the blessing of my apartment is to occur by my daily practice. i must continue practicing Zen and yoga on my own.

Chinese stomach speaking

2012-02-10T16:20:00.000-08:00

when i don't post it's because i didn't get to practice. yesterday it was because as they say in Chinese, my stomach was pulled. the word for the runs is laduzi, which means pulling the belly. something i ate last Sunday at a restaurant must not have been fresh. my colleague gave me the names of natural medications, and i went to the pharmacy. the stuff restored my stomach inner flora and today i feel good. my meditation teacher is coming today to bless the new apartment. he's bringing a friend from Singapore who can translate Buddhist philosophical ideas. speaking of Singapore, here is a picture of a mosque.

asymetric cold glutes

2012-02-08T21:33:00.000-08:00

today started on the asymmetric sequence of VK, a long sequence. will be on them a few days. i'm getting cramps on my upper thighs. this is probably because 1) it's very cold here, 2) my practice has not been consistently recently, 3) tadasana sequence stretches the glutes and 4) i am missing Magnesium in my diet and need to supplement.

needing small poses

2012-02-08T04:57:00.001-08:00

i'm needing more sleep lately. having breakfast before practice leaves not enough time for digestion. i woke up and had coffee and a small fruit, then started to practice. it gave me more time. i feel a little nausea, my usual problem when practicing on an empty stomach. but practicing after breakfast needs a wait of 2 hours, which i don't have. i continued with Tadasana poses from VK.

visit to Keifan, Henan

2012-02-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

last May i visited Keifang, a city in Henan province with a lot of history. i arrived by train. there where no seats available, so i crouched on a stool i brought for the purpose for most of the six hour trip.

these are new buildings built in a historic style, across from the city's main attraction, the Dragon Pavilion in Longting Park

the Dragon Pavilion dates from 1200 years ago. It was once the residence of a military governor of the Tang Dynasty and later a royal palace of the Song Dynasty.

the pavilion is bordered by two lakes.

actors donning period costumes

architectural models of ancient cities, on display in the grounds

detail of stone carving at the steps

glazed tiles at the roof

our next visit was to the adjacent Millenium City themed park. a former colleague who is from Keifeng said the night show is worth watching. we visited around noon on a Saturday.

new buildings are made to look like Tang dynasty era buildings

we saw a puppet show in a stage by the water.

next we went to see the Prefecture of Keifeng, originally built around 907AD. Keifeng was the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty for 168 years, during which time it was one of the biggest cities in the world, with a population of 1.5million.

map of the prefecture below. at night, we danced cha-cha and Chinese ballads along with others in front of the prefecture walls.

scale models depicting ancient life

traditional clothing of the Song Dynasty era

The complex includes a large lake. Inside the historic building are waxworks depicting life in those days.

cultural performances are held in an outdoor stage

a magnificent 1000 arm Guanyin statue

statues awaiting restoration

a final site was the Iron Pagoda

it is not really made of iron, but the materials have a patina glaze that makes the material resemble iron.

little sweet nights

2012-02-05T05:23:00.000-08:00

this weekend i did a little yoga. found that the sweet spot for the yoga space is to have two, not one heater, one for the front of the mat and another for the back. I cooked for V.; we watched a movie together, danced two nights together. handed the key to the previous apartment; uploaded pictures from a trip last may, soon to post and describe.

today little cameo

2012-02-01T16:11:00.001-08:00

today my practice time went to finishing organizing the apartment. it's ready and organized now, except for a few small boxes with little things to arrange. those little things are maddening. at least the apartment is ready for a cameo.

tadasana tea hols

2012-01-31T03:08:00.000-08:00

did vinyasa krama's tadasana sequence today.

enjoyed the black tea my friend XuYe brought from Nepal, where she trekked for a week with her work colleagues. (she may be sharing pictures and i might be posting them soon!) my colleague N., who visited Nepal with his wife J., says this is the typical breakfast of the Nepalese - they drink this tea and eat nothing the first two hours after waking up.

the tea came encased in a fragrant wood box. N. remarked that the tea had, "nice flavors of a strong team and none of the bitterness our sourness that comes from commercial tea". it's so cool to be able to talk about the aspects of tea, as if it where wine. my tea supplier often uses similar words when describing the oolong teas i buy from him, giving names to aromas and tasting experiences.

yesterday i enjoyed green tea from Fujian Province, Guanyin tea, which my colleague S. shared. i had tried Guanyin tea once before. it's fragrant and mild. most of the teas i buy are from Fujian, a big tea growing area.

do guys get men's hols? the emotional part for sure. kidding. i feel blue about something and it gets my emotions out of kilter a bit.

classic bait swindle

2012-01-29T00:39:00.000-08:00

i went to my old neighborhood to pick up laundry, check my old room was clean and buy produce at my previous hangouts - small family-owned stores. among me where many other foreigners stocking up on food. when i reached my new neighborhood, i realized i forgot to buy tofu. i went to one of the two areas with small markets. at a stand, i chose some tofu items. the saleslady said it was 5 kuai. i handed her 10 kuai. her husband said i did not understand. i told him i did. the woman looked at me and said i owed her 5 kuai, after i had given her 10 kuai. she said the price was 5. i told her i gave her 10. she emptied her pockets and said she did not have a 10 kuai bill. i realized i was being swindled. i left the items and told her i gave her 10. after a few minutes i returned and said, this kind of behavior is not right. i live in Shanghai; i know i'm a foreigner; to do this swindle of money is not right. from now on, i told her, i will not buy there. the owners of the other stands laughed. i went to the apartment and picked up the camera. the husband jeered at me, clucking, saying the laoweis was back, what was he going to do?

it's only 10 kuai i lost, and i lost more on tuesday when i lost my watch. a policeman told me which station i should go report the incident, but i don't see the point of waisting more time. those two are spreading bad karma. they will reap what they sowed. i look gullible. they probably don't get many foreigners buying at their stand. at my old neighborhood, we're treated well. i proceeded to the other place with vegetable and tofu stands and was treated fairly. i bought the items in the top picture for 17 kuai. 5 kuai, the first person was overcharging me. she is probably not licensed to be selling at that location.

marichyasanas opening time

2012-01-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

i practiced poses from primary today around the marichyasanas, in between opening and closing poses. today sunday is a day of work, but i took is as holiday. the country gives one long holidays here, then asks one to work on the weekend before and after the holiday to make up the time. i'm using the time to continue unpacking and organizing the new space.

background practice sightseeing

2012-01-26T07:16:00.000-08:00

last night visiting the Singapore Esplanade, the CBD in the background. i'm posting from my friend's computer.

lately, when i travel, practice is on my mind. i carry a mat in the suitcase. but seeing architecture takes over, so i practice meditation when i wake up, then go see places. as i waited for a bus, i saw this advertisement of a local teacher. my practice back in Shanghai at home is more settled.

we visited Little India, where we ate at a vegetarian restaurant. these where the sweets on display. i need to learn to settle my mind when planning trips. when i planned this one, my mind was racing with thoughts about my pending move to a new apartment. when i thought i booked a return flight at 12:55 pm on Saturday, arriving in Shanghai at 5:55pm, i really booked a 12:55am departure Saturday. in other words, i leave half a day earlier. it won't affect my sightseeing too much, but it was a surprise that was too costly to correct.

to Singapore exemptions

2012-01-24T17:12:00.000-08:00

on the way to Singpore. V. appeared at my apartment at 6:00 to accompany me to the airport. it was a hot date with transportation involved. traveling conjured up discussions of how long am I staying here in China, 7 years more, forever? is forever possible? the problem of being a permanent resident here are several. the status is rarely granted, unlike in Hong Kong, and one would be subject to double taxation, both in the US and here. there are tax exemptions for earned income but not for passive income from retirement financial instruments.

celebration incense spectacle

2012-01-23T02:07:00.000-08:00

yesterday was the Chinese New Year celebration, which i spent at V's, whose sister cooked a meal for us. the older brother came to visit as well. both V's parents had passed away and it is the Chinese tradition to honor the memory of the parents by lighting some incense, playing a recording of chants and making an offering in front of their pictures. V asked me if we have similar traditions in our culture. i mentioned that there is the Dia de los Muertos, which is just like the Chinese tomb sweeping day, when relatives clean the tombs of their ancestors. we don't have the same tradition of honoring our deceased relatives. when we get together we relate stories of their lives. when i visit my family i go to my father's tomb and honor him. last night it was snowing and cold, but my heart felt warm. we drank Chinese merlot wine. when i tried it i winced and V explained it's supposed to be a little bitter. we watched the live entertainment spectacle on TV broadcast from Beijing. it brings me comfort that V and her family practice Buddhism, which I practice as well.

internet starts deco

2012-01-19T22:20:00.000-08:00

internet will be installed in the apartment today. during Chinese New Year holiday, which starts this weekend, i will be visiting Violetta three days, then going to Singapore for four. my apartment is in one the six buildings designed in the Bund in the 1930s by George "Tug" Wilson of Palmer and Turner, who also designed the Peace Hotel. there is some information about art deco buildings in Shanghai from that era here. the building is the twin of the Metropole Hotel, developed by magnate Victor Sassoon.

tent architects essential

2012-01-17T04:52:00.000-08:00

my friends Tangliang and XuYe, who traveled to Tibet by bicycle, came Sunday and helped me build my yoga practice tent. Three of us architects quickly did an aesthetic and stable structure. the practice area felt warm on monday morning. today it was toasty, when i added an electric blanket on the floor. this time i may skip placing a roof over the tent, which i did in the previous place. i decided to use the orange-red side of the blanket inside, blue on the outside. blue matches the peach color of the walls. red is energizing. since my practice suffered lately, red will add rajaic energy. on monday i did warm up poses, the five essential poses and closing asanas. today i continued with the standing poses during an hour and a quarter.

internet will be installed this week. i'm blogging after hours from the office. the connection i ordered, offered through the phone line, will be faster than the typical one offered through the cable.

yesterday new cinderfella

2012-01-14T18:52:00.000-08:00

i moved apartments. Violetta helped me pack three hours Saturday morning. i was ready for the movers. how much crap i accumulated! it's the word that feels appropriate. i could live without this stuff but life would not be as convenient. it took a mid-sized truck to move it, and there was little furniture. at the new apartment, the kind landlords where placing the new bedroom furniture. with new Chinese red curtains, the place wowed. i'm unpacked, with boxes and suitcases everywhere. when i'm settled, there will be a yoga tent inside my bedroom, so it will look different. i should take before and after pictures. in the evening i went to dance with V. i was cold and disoriented when getting dressed to go dancing. i put my underwear back to front, which i did not notice until i woke up this morning. heh. this morning i returned to the old apartment as cinderfella to mop the floor, lest my flatmates curse me out for leaving it dirty.

crowds queueing for iPhone 4S

2012-01-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

the crowd queueing up this morning at 9:00am at the new Apple store on Nanjing East road in Shanghai, in order to purchase an iPhone 4S. see the Shanghaiist report on how enterprising people hired hundreds of others to stand in line and buy the allowed two units.

mouse at workstation

2012-01-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

a mouse has been busy nightly in our office, subsisting on fruits, peanut butter and cookies. it chomped on half a banana last night at one workstation, then ambered to another and relieved himself. i love mice. they participate in longevity and calorie restriction studies. however, some people are anxious to help this one find a happy home. up to now, he has been ignoring the glue trap next to an electric sonar device. now it's daytime, so he must be sleeping. photo credit.

packing busy floor

2012-01-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

i'm slightly congested and at the beginning of packing. my responsibilities keep me busy. yesterday my kind new landlords and i went about the new apartment to understand how things work. the place is a microcosm of old Shanghai, in the old British concession. the place is really unusual. there are floors within which individual rooms serve as the home for a family, with shared kitchens and restrooms outside. some floors have four apartments and others two. the floor plate in my floor is the smallest, so it accomodates only one apartment.

balance landing down

2012-01-09T15:24:00.000-08:00

symmetry, balance, detail and classicism in a stair on a shopping street in Hong Kong. the same applies to the handstand, from an ad for Pure Yoga. it requires strength, guts and poise to do that pose at that location and not topple down. reblogged from yogadudes.

meditation creativity giggle

2012-01-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

pranayama and meditation this morning. recreating my yoga and creativity tent in the new place. it's apartment packing time. enjoyed dancing with Violetta last night; she makes my heart giggle. sunset at mom's place in Fajardo on New Years Eve.

methodologies moving fabrication

2012-01-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

In their book, Refabricating Architecture: How Manufacturing Methodologies are Poised to Transform Building Construction, architects Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake talked about moving architecture to an integrated aproach that uses technologies from fabrication industries, saving time and money. Some of these principles must be used in the fabrication of a 30 story hotel tower built in China in the record speed of 15 days.

morning current plugs

2012-01-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

i did a short practice this morning. counting down to being in my own apartment. current flatmates are themselves moving. they were noisy past 11:00pm last night, waking me up from my sleep. i didn't complain of their noise. i turned fans on and used ear plugs. the last two mornings i prepared breakfast at 4:45am so i could do yoga. they peered out of the door to complain about noise. they don't use ear plugs. hope the next person i live with will be compatible with my habits.

unpack digs solitude

2012-01-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

my practice today was to unpack from my recent trip, taking deep uyahi breaths in a meditative state. the room is ready for asana movement tomorrow. a friend invited me to Singapore for Chinese New Year. i have yet to buy the ticket. the time coincides with my move to new digs, but i should go on a trip because it is the longest holiday of the year. if i don't go, i should practice yoga in solitude in my new home.

yesterday a young man in the metro collapsed on the floor. he might suffer from occasional epileptic attacks. concerned that no one might help him, since good Samaritans get in trouble here, i asked people that a doctor should be called. some people agreed that guards should be alerted at the next stop. everyone was stepping away from the man. luckily in 10 minutes he regained consciousness and eventually steadied himself up.

re-institute regular practice

2012-01-03T15:04:00.000-08:00

soon i'm planning to re-institute things that helped my regular yoga practice in the past:

1) waking up early
2) eating a full breakfast
3) showering
3) waiting 2 hours before practicing
4) practicing 1 1/2 hours
5) showering again
6) preparing for work
7) walk to work.
8) lunch at home
9) maintain my CRON calorie restriction practices throughout the day.

this is what worked during many years during which i did self practice and maintained my busy work schedule. i was able to have a good practice and maintain the CRON way. in the last few months my routine has suffered.

the Christmas log our cousins give us each year.

Monjas Carmelitas de la Antigua Observancia, enTrujillo Alto

2012-01-02T19:59:00.000-08:00

la semana pasada tuve la oportunidad de visitar el monasterio de las monjas Carmelitas de la Antingua Observancia de Trujillo Alto, al cual mi sobrina intenta entrar. me acordo de mi experiencia a su misma edad cuando considere entrar en el monasterio de los Cartujos en Vermont.

el diseno del monasterio es por el arquitecto Tomas Marvel. Marvel me aconsejo cuando yo estaba planeando solicitar a escuelas de arquitectura y mi cunado trabajo en su bufete. tengo unas ilustraciones de los planos de este monasterio, al momento en mi almazen con el resto de mis cosas. cuando los encuentre a lo mejor puedo editar este blog y anadir los dibujos.

la estructura es de concreto expuesto, muy sobria, con formas elegantes, sencillas y sin adornos.

pudimos conocer a las monjitas durante nuestra visita. son muy alegres y llenas de espiritu. toman la oportunidad, cuando hablan con uno, de pasar las ensenanzas del cristianismo.

pueden ver dos videos interesantes sobre sus vidas. el primero toca temas generales sobre sus vidas diarias:

el segundo es sobre una celebracion de una novicia recibiendo sus votos de vocacion.

mas tarde en la semana, cuando mi sobrina averiguo que yo pensaba subir a la cima del Yunque, me pidio acompanarme, ya que nunca habia caminado hasta arriba.

el tiempo estaba nublado y lluvioso

comentamos que el Espiritu Santo estaba presente y se manifesto en esta foto, sobre mi sobrina, en forma de paloma.

Jazz Pianist Carli Munoz

2011-12-30T18:37:00.000-08:00

my sister and brother in law are fans of Carli Munoz, jazz pianist and owner of Carli's Cafe in Old San Juan. every holiday i heard, "let's go to Carli's Cafe" and the visit had not materialized. until last night.

earlier in the day i went hiking with my niece in the rain forest. it was, well, raining. my camera acquired moisture which infused each picture at the Cafe with a mysterious aura.

those are my two sisters and I. my brother in law had a cold and could not join us. he missed listening to the great jazz pianist and enjoying the fabulous food.

if you read his bio, you'll find out how accomplished Carli is. his experience includes being a keyboardist with the Beach Boys for 11 years.

Old San Juan

2011-12-30T09:46:00.000-08:00

i walked around Old San Juan on Monday, snapping pictures of some of its historic buildings.

this house consistently looks well kept, year after year.

Capilla del Cristo, at the end of Cristo Street, a local icon.

Instituto de Cultura Puertorriquena

Casa Bared, a jewelry store, the front of the building and its details

a Moorish style house

a window on the side of Tapia Theatre

an art deco building from 1912

i wish Puerto Ricans would follow through with plans of closing Old San Juan to automobile traffic. it does not help tourism to have cars. removing cars will help its main industry, tourism from the large cruise ships that dock here, such as this giant one. it would require creating effective public transportation in the old town. they are planning public transportation in the university of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras. they could do the same in Old San Juan.

Claudia's book arrived

2011-12-29T06:54:00.000-08:00

Claudia's book arrived.

Thanks Claudia, I will enjoy reading it on the flight back home.

yoga beach towel

2011-12-27T18:19:00.000-08:00

yoga posing at the beach today

with the towel as a cape

it was a beautiful day

quiet capita graft

2011-12-27T05:13:00.000-08:00

i'm not usually this quiet when expressing myself in the blog. i'm concerned about morbid obesity. while waiting to pick up my luggage at the airport upon arrival, two obese teenagers flailed their arms to stretch their tired bodies, looking like big bird flapping his wings. their parents, twice their size, approved. at the grocery store a woman with a lower body shaped like a sofa pushed a cartful of groceries, the cart to her was like a walker. during the church service a baptism could not start because the godfather was delayed parking the car. the priest asked the godmother, a woman the size of three, to "run" to him and tell him to hurry. she glided over.

Puerto Rico, per capita, has a crime rate as high as Mexico's. if you're attacked, we are advised, the best defense is to kick and scream and not be passive. if you comply with requests you might not come out alive after the encounter. thieves often know the victims. they may be relatives of people who in the past worked in the home, and know the owner's habits.

we experienced graft. as my cousin settled in for the holidays, my 93 year old uncle received a call from a frantic man saying that he had found his son, my cousin, in an accident and the ambulance needed his social security number to take him to the hospital. my cousin took the phone and told him her son was right next to him. these scam calls by criminals who are good actors are popular in San Juan right now.

a member of one of the most prominent families in the Island worked many years in investment banking. when the market went through turbulence, the value of his portfolio disappeared. he committed suicide. how unfortunate the loss of a brilliant man, father and husband, whose family was associated with the rum industry. he should have reevaluated his life. during that turbulence, similar things hapenned to money our father had invested. the valuation of the portfolio went to practically nothing. two years later, it rebounded to half its original value. if only the banker would have waited.

happy beach appearance

2011-12-25T05:33:00.000-08:00

happy holidays from Fajardo, Puerto Rico,

where i walked on Seven Seas beach yesterday.

these familiar sites make their annual appearance in the blog...

i've been doing yin yoga self practice while here.

line soap fabulous

2011-12-22T17:17:00.000-08:00

today was an unusual action packed day. i did a lot of architectural sightseeing, including walking the High Line park with two families from Australia whom i met along the way. i told them stories about the design of various buildings.

near the Standard hotel, a concert cellist took advantage of good weather and excellent acousticcs to play a concerto for cello solo. i stayed and listened, my heart transported.

next i went to a pop-up shop on the west side that sells fellow yogi R.'s wonderful organic personal product creations - Soapwalla. i bought a lavender and eucalyptus hand and body wash, and two soaps: lemongrass and green tea, and eucalyptus. their aroma is awsome. i missed seeing R. because i could not tell her when i would be there - my 3G iPhone was not working because it was unlocked in Hong Kong and does not work in the States. i could have put the SIM card in an older phone, but i forgot to bring one.

after a visit to Ground Zero, i made a way to the Village, where i enjoyed a visit over coffee with Boodie, a fabulous yogini. listening to her stories makes me enthusiastic about ashtanga. we took a picture with a police officer, whom we referred to as our ashtanga police.

sandalwood cologne at Bloomies

2011-12-22T01:53:00.000-08:00

shout out to Esther: found the sandalwood cologne Tam Dao at Bloomies in Manhattan.

Antartica, South Pole, part II - peninsula and penguins

2011-12-19T21:20:00.000-08:00

these are the second set of pictures of my colleague Flow Zhan from his time spent in Antarctica. during the summer there are about 60 people working there. the temperature in the summer can be from minus 10 degrees Celsius to minus 30 degrees. during the winter the temperature can dip to minus 40 degrees Celsius.

these birds are called squas.

once on a walk, Flow became separated from his colleague for twenty minutes. that can be dangerous in the middle of a frozen ground. he was found because of his GPS.

view of the station from afar.

"jack tell me, did you get that girl pregnant? c'mon tell the truth."

an emperor penguin

the scenery is stunning.

Antartica, South Pole, part 1 - arrival, penguins and seals

2011-12-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

various countries have research stations in Antartica in the South Pole. my colleague Flow Zhan shares his pictures from two summers spent living and working there, at China's Zhong Shan Antartic Research Station. you can read about these stations here and here.

an Uruguayan military plane took the group there.

view of the peninsula from the air

Flow's apartment building

a library

a dock

a station

penguins in King George Island

seals

"nyaaaah"

penguins with unusual caps on their heads

"what you lookin' at?"

"hey Stanley, did you bring da beer?"

important time way

2011-12-18T14:53:00.000-08:00

practice has been reduced to meditation. a new apartment i may move to may have a space dedicated to yoga. it's been important lately for me to know the time right now, because of deadlines.

so i bought a bigger watch. now i know what time it is.

i'm headed to Puerto Rico by way of New York city this week.

rainbow bridge spring

2011-12-16T15:56:00.000-08:00

the rainbow bridge in Wuyuan, Qinghua 清华 is from the Song Dynasty in the 12th century. what remains of the original structure is the stone-based piers; the wooden superstructure has been rebuilt. this was the last historical site in Wuyuan, Jianxi provice that we visited last spring.

a little altar in the middle of the bridge.

people who already crossed the bridge return by a stone footpath.

looking at the bridge from a nearby hill

crossing this path on the way back made me dizzzy.

one last look back at the structure.

triple A phonologist

2011-12-15T15:51:00.000-08:00

this is my 2000th post. what to say for this ocassion? i don't know, just keep going and say something meaningful. i have two remaining sets of pictures of the trip to Wuyuan last spring. here is the first one, about a town that has recently attained a triple A rating for historic areas by China. but it is a new designation for the village and people are not yet flocking in masses, at least not when we went. at sundown, the main street was eerily quiet.

a new town hall.

a well

the Zijing tree is a kind of sheepberry, which blossoms in March and April in red color. during flowering time, fallen blossoms create a colorful carpet on the streets as you walk.

memorial hall of Jiangyong. Jiangyong lived from 1681 to 1762. he was a famous economist, phonologist and founder of a study of Confucian writing in Anhui province. here is a description of what phonology is about. he wrote 27 books. his home is in Hui style and served as a private school. these are a group of pictures i took of various rooms in his house.

a small, cat-shaped window in a thick wall.

happy christmas, chinese style

2011-12-13T20:57:00.000-08:00

i saw this in Shanghaiist and i'm reposting it here.

village motorcycles places

2011-12-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

we moved from village to village while visiting Wuyuan county and repeated our adventure diaries. we jumped on the back of motorcycles, helmet-less, to see the agricultural terraces planted with grape plants, which flowered at that time of the year. such sacrifices to see beautiful places.

way focused flatmates

2011-12-12T16:12:00.000-08:00

i need to find my way back to a consistent yoga practice, like the person who has fallen off a diet and needs to pick himself up and practice correctly again.

recently, i have focused on dancing, because it has social benefits of connecting with local people, which yoga does not help with.

i should move closer to the office. that's my viewpoint. if i walk or bycicle to the office i will be able to have more time in the morning for practice. if in my next situation i have my own apartment, i could shower before and after practice. right now my bathroom time in the shared flat is 5:30am. the flatmates are abandoning the apartment, upset about the mold problems, which is being addressed now. new ones will take their place shortly. i have started to look in the internet for new digs. maybe after Xmas i can look more earnestly.

shopping and agricultural village in Wuyuan

2011-12-11T16:15:00.000-08:00

in the afternoon of the third day of our visit in Wuyuan, we visited a duet of villages, Xiaoqi 晓起. i referred to the first one as a shopping village, since it is a guided path with an immense number of shops with crafts, teas and art. the other one, an agricultural one, is reached by a walk across a field. the place was historic. it contained Ligeng Hall, a house with an open plan around a courtyard, with exquisite wood carvings and stone engravings depicting strong meanings. it was built by tea dealer. we also visited Jinshi Mansion, was established by an honorable officer during the Qing dynasty whose hobby was reading. he had a book collection of over 160 thousand volumes. The house had a stately tablet bestowed by the government. here are some of the details i photographed.

vegetables hung to dry

a short walk across a flowered field one reached the next village, another crossed by a river.

there we found the ancestral hall for the Jiang family. Above the door there was an inscription by Lin Zexu, an officer who fought during the opium wars. The Jiang descendants where literary figures.

after crossing the river, we returned to the shopping village, once again walking through the field full off grape flower.

agricultural and riverbend villages in Jiangxi

2011-12-10T02:04:00.000-08:00

during the third day of our trip to Wuyuan, we visited the most villages in one day. we started the day from the family inn at the historic agricultural town in which we stayed, a duet of agricultural villages called Sixi Yancun 思溪延村. following pictures are from visist occuring before 10 am that day.

three of us piled into one motorcycle to reach the second part of the town, built along the bend of a river and set against mountains. it had a small ancient bridge. the village was established as early as 787AD. the houses that exist now may be about 600 years old. these were elegant folk houses where lined with stone roads and lush camphor trees. the homes were established by senior government officers and wealthy merchants, designed in a bold manner with details that survived for later generations.

one crossed an ancient bridge to get to the village...

then crossed a footbridge, seen at right, to get back to the fields.

shoe magical throwback

2011-12-07T16:17:00.000-08:00

the flatmate's shoe kicked the plug that knocked off the modem that cut the internet off this morning. the maid, mopping, does the same, resulting in no internet. when you depend on the internet for communication, it's a bad feeling. i practiced a little nevertheless.

last night there was a holiday party of the American Institute of Architects, which is seeking to establish a Shanghai chapter. it was held at the Kee club, a magical location of an abandoned mansion restored to it's former grandeur. since it's in the middle of the city, it is fronted and surrounded by new buildings. Shanghai is full of these hidden gems. the manager of the place offered a private tour at another time to whoever is interested, so i may take her up on it. these pictures are from the club's website. it's a throwback to another era.

there i met a Puerto Rican architect who lived in Miami, Houston, San Francisco, and now Shanghai. i lived in all of those places, except that in Texas i was in San Antonio. a close friend and former colleague of mine is also a close friend and former colleague his. that is a parallel life if i ever experienced one. i also met another architect who worked in the same firm i did in San Francisco, so we traded stories.

parties

2011-12-06T16:14:00.000-08:00

holiday season parties happening

resumed needing yoga

2011-12-05T16:09:00.000-08:00

i resumed practice with a legs behind the back pose, durvasana,modified, followed by natarajasana or dancer's pose.

i will be going to NYC for two days in two weeks, on the way to PR for the holidays. with 13 hours time difference, i will be jetlagged, needing to see new architecture in NY and doing hotel room yoga.

a colleague says westerners initially want to live in alley homes in Shanghai, then evenually make their way to new highrises, tired of congestion and old-building problems. my apartment is leaky and moldy, not healthy, despite that it was entirely renovated in the interior. the work did not resolve the problems of the structure. if there was something closer to work, at a reasonable price, i would have a shorter commute and be able to do yoga, showering before and after practice. i can't do that now because i'm sharing with flatmates. we'll see what i can uncover.

prepare adventures marathon

2011-12-03T16:37:00.000-08:00

yesterday i waked up at 3:30 to prepare to take a train to Hangzhou and visit the MixC mall. the flatmates have been returning home at my wake up time. when i lived in Miami i also used to return home that late on weekends. increased responsibilities in work, and yoga changed that. lately yoga practice has been pushed to a weekday schedule since Sundays is all day Chinese study marathon. the picture is of the IMAX theatre ceiling where i watched the Adventures of Tintin in 3D. it was on a break from photographing amazing spaces of the mall such as the one below, with architectural photographer Peter Dixie. the architecture is by Callison.

negotiating village garden

2011-12-01T16:00:00.000-08:00

the next day we moved to a different village. negotiating moving around was tricky. one taxi driver offered to take us to a far away village and return us for 400 rmb. the trip would include stopping to see beautiful scenery along the way. i suggested to my friend that it sounded expensive. the price seemed high because the village we wanted to get to was remote, so the driver did not have assurance of meeting people there who would need a return trip. another driver suggested we do not visit the remote village if we did not have accomodations arranged prior to going. that sounded fishy, since the place was so remote, which meant there were less tourists and more accomodations available. then we spotted a taxi who offered to take us for 100 rmb. that was good, although to make money, the driver crammed as many passengers as the car could hold.

the remote village also was crossed by a river and had art students doing homework. we paid a new small inn to leave our bags. the owner asked us to recommend her place, which she had just opened.

the Yunxi Villa is a 180 years old garden style villa, built by Yu Qiguan, a senior officer, businessman and Confucianism practitioner.

the Chongde house is 190 years old, built during the Qing dynasty by an official and Confucian scholar. it has a magnificent gate tower.

at the place where we left our bags we ordered lunch. below are a plate of mung beans, tomato and eggs, rice, stir fryed greens and a soup. all the vegetables were grown locally.

getting from village to village was an adventure. as days progressed, transportation became more daring. we went from long distance buses, to local buses, to taxis, to motorized carryalls such as the one below, to hopping on the back of a motorcycle.

towards the end of the second day traveling through Wuyuan, we walked past a water wheel and through a field to arrive at the village we would stay that night.

this trip happened nine months ago. i have since become extremely busy so it took me a long time to process the photos and i don't have time to sequence these photos correctly, so you are viewing a slightly disorganized array of pictures.

a historic house with large inner patio

construction at one of the towns

if you were buying a historic house, this is what it would look like when restored.

in front of this alley, an artist drew the alley in the wall.

the ancestral temple of the Yu family, where on Tomb-sweeping day descendants make offerings, burn incense and bring paper lanterns to recognize their ancestors. it was built in the Qing dynasty and rebuilt in 1940.

mold problem consuming

2011-11-29T15:59:00.000-08:00

there is a serious mold problem in my apartment. we are on the top floor of a three story building, in an alley with housing that in the past served as housing for factory workers. it is nice because it is centrally located, quiet and with good light. the problem is that during cold rainy seasons, the roof leaks near the entrance. repairs to the roof are the responsibility of the management of the buildings, not the individual apartment landlord. we have reported this in the past, but the problem persists and now the mold has spread to the rest of the public areas of the apartment, and to a corner of my bedroom. if repairs are made inside the apartment, they may not be effective if the roof is not repaired first. two of us are experiencing breathing problems. last year i changed apartments three times, so moving is something i avoid. two holidays are approaching, Christmas and Chinese New Year. it's expensive to move, and looking for a place time consuming and distracting from our very busy work schedules.

Likeng village in Wuyuan

2011-11-28T16:09:00.000-08:00

our first visit was to Likeng village, a picturesque town crossed by a river. we stayed in a family inn next to this house.

as in ancient times, villagers still go to the river to wash clothes and the foods they are going to prepare for meals.

the family inn where we stayed had a mantel with a clock and vase, usual symbols of prosperity in historical homes.

because we stayed in the village, we enjoyed the town in the quiet moments before large tour groups arrived with loudspeakers.

dafu mansion was the local government post built during the reign of Qing Emperor Xianfeng (1851 to 1861).

these towns' buildings are well preserved. they derive a lot of income from local tourism.

the Shenming pavilion, above, was the place in Likeng village where on the 1st and 15th day of the month the villagers gathered to punish anyone who had broken the regulations of the village. the pavilion below was used as a stage in an ampitheater for town hall meetings.

the Patina house (Copper house) belonged to Li Pinru, a copper industry merchant. it features a zhongtang gate behind the entrance gate.

residence of Li Rincai, a wealthy lumber merchant. it has stone carvings at the entrance, wooden carvings in the house windows and doors.

we ate at a restaurant with a good location, but the food took 45 minutes to arrive. service was so slow that patrons where getting up to get things for their tables, such as water, bowls, chopsticks and the like. my friend described the place as the restaurant of go get it yourself. when the food arrived you had to get up and beg for rice to be brought. every table experienced the same.

the yellow grape flowers in bloom

the river in the morning, as we prepared to travel to the next village.

visited Wuyuan in spring

2011-11-28T05:22:00.000-08:00

last spring i visited Wuyuan county with my architect friend T., at the time when the area is famous for the blooming of the yellow grape flowers everywhere. we were going to visit many historic towns built in the Ming era. this is going to be a visual recount of the sights. being that it's a blog, it will be posted in reverse.

although it's possible to take a bus from Shanghai directly to Wuyuan, T. suggested i fly there to save time. in Shanghai that meant going to Hongqiao airport. that's a pleasant experience because every time one visits it seems like there is a new area of the brand new airport open.

the airport in Jiujiang serves the military, as do many others in small cities in China. as public aviation opens up, these increase commercial aviation traffic. our flight from Shanghai was aboard a small jet, similar to an executive jet. it was the only flight that arrived that afternoon. a taxi driver wanted 120rmb (about $18) to take me into town. i told him the price was too high. later i would learn that the price was reasonable for the driver because there were very few travelers to and from the airport, so a driver has to make up for driving only one way from the airport. i asked an airport employee if there was a public bus into town. there was a mini bus. there was one seat left. the trip into town was only 16rmb (about $4). there, one of those situations when a kind Chinese helps a foreigner happened. someone official looking aboard the bus decided to help me get to my hotel. it turns out he was one of the air traffic controllers. our flight was the last one. i called the hotel and gave him my phone to get the directions. we got off the bus and he got in a taxi with me to the hotel. i paid for the taxi ride and then the man told the taxi driver to wait for him. he accompanied me to the registration desk and made sure they found my reservation. then he waved goodbye and continued home on the taxi. he was amazingly kind, taking time from his own journey home to help me. sometimes you are floored by the kindness you find in China.

i had selected the least expensive hotel online, but it was a nice room. there were a lot of signs with offers to call girls for company. i guess that was because it was affiliated with a KTV, where you sing along in karaoke. you could have company for an evening or an hour. i felt it would be the most luxurious i would experience in the following days, because we were going to be staying in small family inns at the historical towns.

i looked for a restaurant. it was difficult to eat alone, since people ate at restaurants in big groups. the plates of food were sized for groups of people. so i found it difficult to finish two plates of vegetables and rice, my usual order in these situations. this problem happens to me almost every time i eat out by myself.

the next day i waited for my friend T. at the new, attractive Jiujiang long distance bus station. as happens in other cities, the government replaces the various small bus stations across town and builds a new, large one in a central location to accommodate travels to most locations.

the gate through which one had to pass to get to the bus was extremely crowded. there was a lot of pushing to get into a bus, despite having assigned seats. no one dared put their luggage in the luggage compartment of the bus for fear of losing it. the bus ride felt crowded.

to see the historic sites, we would be going to a hub within Wuyuan county, and from there going by public buses or taxis to different historic towns, always coming back to the hub as the point of departure to visit a different location.

the bus ride took three hours, passing through beautiful countryside and passing many tunnels. at the destination, i had to use the restroom. the ones on the first floor of the long distance bus station were broken. after asking, i was told it was in an upper floor. after climbing four floors and not finding one, i went into an office and ask some employees for a bathroom. they all looked stupefied that a foreigner would be asking them a question. no matter how many different ways i asked for the bathroom they complained that they didn't understand and needed a translator, screaming to each other, 'fanyie, fanyie' - translate, translate. i told them they did not need translation, i just needed the WC. whenever someone does not understand a request for a bathroom, i say WC and simulate writing the letters in the air. then they get it. i had pronounced the various words for bathroom perfectly, but the first reaction from Chinese often is nervousness and cultural shock that they have to pay attention to someone with an accent. it was an annoying interchange when i really had to go to the bathroom, and in particular when i had to climb five floors to find one. toilet tales are always a feature of my travel stories.

spinning Chanel better

2011-11-26T17:16:00.000-08:00

yesterday i took my colleagues to the famous Dongjiadu cloth spinning market where they could get custom clothes made - suits, shirts, dresses, coats. then we visited the Hongqiao Pearl market. i learned a lot about pearls from J. following the clothing theme, when i got home, my flatmates where duded up to go see a play. F. was dressed in a style one would call Coco Chanel re-interpreted, with an outfit she bought in Miami.

lately my life has hijacked my sunday yoga practice. i find no time to study for my Sunday Chinese lessons, which take all day, except on Sunday mornings. speaking of which, i have to go study. by the way, Daisy Difficult alighted from her far away province and invited me to dance friday at the place we met. i went and it was awkward. i danced with many others to avoid being ensnared. at least someone i want to know better gave me her phone on the dance floor that evening. hehe.

yoga and architecture

2011-11-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

the body does the arch. from yogadudes. i did warrior poses and standing splits today. today i will tour a new boutique hotel that just opened in Shanghai. the body does a beam (samakonasana), from the same site. Grimmly's doing it. how did they do the lens effect, with photoshop or special lens? it's like the closeup of a flower, where the flower if sharp and the surroundings blurry.

skin crunching expat

2011-11-23T16:16:00.000-08:00

i'm maintaining the practice; the temperature has dropped considerably. when i stick out the hand outside the yoga tent the temperature difference feels cutting to the skin. i did modified crunching poses with extended legs.

i'm preparing to go to the US for Christmas so i have been purchasing things in advance for delivery to my family's home. a vendor's account was hacked and so my debit cards was compromised. the bank won't tell me the name of the vendor and it cancelled the card. it's a hassle. the debit card is my access to that bank account in the US. i am half a world away and to get a replacement card is difficult. the challenges of being an expat. at some point i should write Claudia style, ~~ten~~ twenty things you should anticipate if you plan on being an expat.

increase the cozy

2011-11-22T16:11:00.000-08:00

practiced a little but would like to see my yoga practice time increase. hatched a plan to improve on the warmth of my yoga tent. clue - more blankets! after Xmas. it's not the InterContinental, but it's cozy. that word is so overused here in Shanghai.

remainder Kuma floor

2011-11-22T05:09:00.000-08:00

these are the remainder of pictures i took when visiting Kengo Kuma's building in Shanghai, Z58, with photographer Peter Dixie. i wrote about it here.

from the endless pool you overlook a historic mansion

the acrylic chairs add to the lightness of the meeting room

there are two VIP suites. the ceiling has glass with louvers

the style is Japanese modern with clean lines

water from the shower falls directly on wooden slats, where there is a drain underneath

a glass bridge to one of the suites

the stair enables a person to walk from the entrance in one direction to every floor in the building

a library next to offices. beyond is the lobby, which is undergoing some repairs

the south side has floor to ceiling fins; they control the light and make the building energy efficient

a floor where periodically exhibits are held

four corners of a bathroom

light fixtures by famous designers are on display. they are by manufacturers with whom the company collaborates

this one by Phillipe Stark

this half moon light fixture pivots; you push the cover and the lit moon shape moves to different quadrants

mastered financial haircut

2011-11-22T04:16:00.000-08:00

this morning i dreamt i mastered dancing the Chinese waltz. waltz was the first dance i learned at age 12 so i could attend my cousin's wedding. Chinese waltz is anything like it. the first three steps are traditional; from there you twirl in circles until you pass out from dizziness. my dance partner in the dream was the president of the country. maybe it's a holdover from those shocking Benneton ads. i'm glad i only own one of their sweaters. today was a day of rest, after working seven days nonstop. i woke up so late yoga was not an option; meditation was. i spent the day in a half daze, cooking soup and absentmindedly throwing the vegetable refuse in with the soup vegetables. i met with the financial planner, who will cook up a new plan. the secretary there gave me expresso, to make sure i was awake. i went to the hair salon wanting my hair cut by the last hair cutter, who finally understood my style. i looked for his card but could not find it. went back home where i realized i had it in the wallet all the time. returned to the salon and got the haircut. if someone ran a word analyzis of the frequency the word "haircut" appears in one of my blog titles since i moved to China, i think it would rank among the most used.

value practicing yoga

2011-11-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

when i don't practice yoga i remember why i value practicing it. if i don't do it, i experience feelings of anger, frustration and jealousy. that's what yoga shields me from, besides keeping my waist trim and my nutrition in check. i haven't been able to practice in four days.

probably today work

2011-11-19T16:47:00.000-08:00

i worked 12 hours yesterday on a Saturday and probably will work as many today Sunday. in situations like this i can only meditate in the morning.

wait, here comes my client. see ya, i have to go work.

hasta like cameo

2011-11-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

today i did utthita hasta padangustasana, standing like a building.

this one in Nanjing, cameo appearance photoshopped, since the light was not in its favor that morning.

message permission irreplaceable

2011-11-16T16:10:00.000-08:00

part of my meditation was to write in Chinese a message to a new friend to return a hat he took without my permission. if he ignores the message i will send another message explaining that he should know that taking things without other's permission is wrong.

two people have taken clothes from me without permission, as if they did not have concerns about my feelings. as a foreigner in China, as they say, you are considered rich until proven otherwise. so why would you miss some things? - that seems to be the feeling.

what carries more moral weight? that one should not be attached to personal articles and be tolerant of people's foibles, or that taking things without permission is a form of stealing and therefore wrong? if i don't address the problem, i could lose some things that hold sentimental value or are irreplaceable. pictures of treasures from ancient China, from the Nanjing museum of art.

yoga Kengo masterpiece

2011-11-15T18:23:00.000-08:00

today in yoga i did the standing marichyasanas.

yesterday i was invited to visit the Kengo Kuma building in Shanghai, Z58. i accompanied architectural photographer Peter Dixie.

i had posted pictures of former colleagues in this blog two years ago.

this was my first chance to visit the building, the offices of the Zhongtai Lighting Group.

it is a masterpiece. i wrote earlier about Kengo Kuma's talk in Shanghai two weeks ago.

yoga building photoshop

2011-11-14T16:07:00.000-08:00

a good yoga practice surprised me this morning.

this is the tallest building in Nanjing, designed by SOM.

it's very elegant, with an interesting building skin.

the sky was hazy, so i adjusted the photo in photoshop, otherwise it would look like this.

foot dance saint

2011-11-13T16:14:00.000-08:00

i practiced a little from vinyasa krama, now at on one foot asanas.

a guy in the dance group is disinguished by wearing a hat. you cannot his eyes because the brim covers them. someone on a dare took it off his head. a near fight ensued.

this is a reconstruction of a Buddhist temple in Nanjing, completed in 2005, in imitation of Tang Dynasty architecture. it was built in honor of Master Xuan Zang, a Tang-era saint.

prepare gift pattern

2011-11-12T17:22:00.000-08:00

meditated today; have to prepare for classes

a friend gave me a buddhist bracelet, then gave me an expensive book on historical architecture in Shanghai. i suggested that in return, i bring some clothes from my upcoming trip. it was not necessary. someone gave him the book and he passed it on. when we were shopping, he tried some shoes on. he asked to borrow money to pay for them. i felt this was in exchange for the book.

i had chocolate powder in the house for protein shakes. he was interested in it. the container disappeared. i thought the maid threw it away so i replaced it. on his next visit, my friend saw the new container and asked me where i had bought it. i answered nervously. it is imported, expensive and available at a far away store. he fixed himself a cuppa. i had already consumed some in my breakfast shake. the container did not disappear.

there was a black felt hat in my room. he tried it on. it was for a party where we dressed in old Shanghai style. it's formal wear. when the weather is cold, i prefer caps. the other day i would have used it to guard against the rain but wore a cap instead. it's been missing this week. i looked for valuables elsewhere in the room. they are not missing. i asked my friend in a text message if he had borrowed the hat. he ignored the message. he needs to borrow things, not take them without asking.

i have seen this before. another friend tried on a polo shirt and "borrowed" it. i said it was a gift from my parents. he said it was soft, unlike any he had seen, and took it, along with other clothes i gave him because he arrived with few. when i asked close colleagues about these behaviors, i was told some people are unusual. this is not common. why then the pattern? socio-economic cultural differences, i guess. time, daisy in the peach fields.

yoga famous parties

2011-11-10T16:07:00.000-08:00

in yoga i practiced samakonasana and badakonasana today, as much as my legs allowed.

flatmate is dating someone famous.

other flatmate, social butterfly, returns today.

parties follow. why is everyone around me is 26?

yoga planner profession

2011-11-09T16:11:00.000-08:00

i practiced yoga this morning.

my financial planner announced he is not working in the field any longer. will look after my investement one additional year. that investment is a managed plan. he would just be passing on information passed to him by the administrators.

should i pay the fee-only financial planner i met last year a big chunk of my monthly salary to devise a new plan? should i use my limited knowledge of investments to do a plan myself? bull or bear?

i work long hours at my profession; i have limited time to manage investments. me thinks i should pay the fee only advisor and follow his plan.

trends redecorated up

2011-11-08T16:22:00.000-08:00

trends. the hairstyling salon redecorated. prices went up.

the laundry redecorated. prices went up.

progress. prices went up.

struggling intentions count

2011-11-07T16:00:00.000-08:00

again struggling to find my yoga footing. read somewhere intentions count as practice. uhmm, yeah, i intend to practice.

architects make dishes

2011-11-06T15:57:00.000-08:00

how many architects does it take to make a Jenga structure that won't fall?

four. three to build it and one to photograph the results.

architects understand that for a tall structure it's best to have a strong base and light upper part.

at the party Saturday; i prepared a Texan-Mexican dish and various Chinese vegetable dishes

while some played the Chinese version of Monopoly, V. and I played Scrabble.

acrobats trycicles dancing

2011-11-06T15:53:00.000-08:00

they call these the acrobats of trycicles

i spotted one on the way home from dancing last night.

Architect Kengo Kuma in Shanghai

2011-11-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

Japanese architect Kengo Kuma spoke yesterday at the 100% Design Shanghai conference and exhibition at the Shanghai Exhibition Center.

His talk was entitled, "Anti-Object", and the architect wrote: "I would like to subvert the system invented in the 20th century. This is the objective of my architectural designs. A house is not just for sale; it is for people to live in. If your intention is not to stay in, and grow old with, the house, then you cannot really say that you live there. This applies to all architectural buildings. A building has a close relationship with the earth and its ownership should not be casually transferred. It is tightly connected to the philosophy and lifestyle of the people who live in it. This is the basis of architecture – the concept of being one with the earth.
I want architectural design to go back to the basics. I want it to rediscover the link between buildings and the earth. My aim is to subvert the dissociative approach of the European architecture inherited from the Greco-Roman period. By effecting these subversions, I want to let people know that we do have a choice. "

He first presented several projects of his early career that have been widely publicized.

The crowd spilled to the aisles.

A famous project by Kengo Kuma.

He discussed materials and sustainability in his talk.

The Lotus home, with stone panels hanging in a screen on the facade.

The bamboo house.

A house in Beijing in the vicinity of the Great Wall.

My favorite design of his, a space within the Beijing house.

A museum.

He presented many of his projects in Europe.

A design for a theatre in Granada, Spain.

The forms are inspired by the pomegranate fruit, called granada in Spanish.

A museum in the UK.

His apartment building in Shanghai, with plants growing down a mirrored facade.

A Beijing complex of towers.

A museum in China.

Furniture design.

The conference took place in the cavernous Shanghai Exhibit Center.

practices joints sky

2011-11-02T17:09:00.000-07:00

with the pace less harried this week my practices have been an hour long, not 45 minutes. did navasana and urdva paschimattanasana. Ramaswami wrote to keep joints loose, from feet to arms; that helped. strength and softness in the practice. the photo is enhanced - eastern China site, western China sky.

mausoleum table enjoy

2011-11-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

visiting the Sun Yat-sen mausoleum in Nanjing was touching. felt respect for the current country's founder.

Nanjing in the distance

today in yoga i did anterior stretching poses such as purvotanasana and table pose. speaking of table, i am planning on setting one for friends soon. it would be the first time in China for me cooking for a group. i bought table games like Scrabble and Monopoly, and Jenga, a game even adult architects could enjoy. (toy picture source).

yoga stressed younger

2011-10-31T17:09:00.000-07:00

back to practicing yoga. pace less stressed this week. gone on a few dates with someone 29 years younger. can relationships with this much age difference work, i wonder.

huangshan hunchback pictures

2011-10-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

this past weekend our company treated our studio to a trip to Huangshan. the weather was foggy and occasionally rainy

when i put on a poncho my colleagues burst out laughing saying i looked like a hunchback. it was Halloween. i didn't have to work so hard to get into costume, eh?

they in turn looked like little red riding hoods.

this is all we could see at this view point

on a clear day, this is what you see.

at Aouyu Bei or Carp's backbone, an exposed 9 meter arch with sheer drops on both sides, this is what we could see.

on a clear day one would experience this. the weather protected us from vertigo since we could not see the precipices.

i angled for my shot of Huan Ke Song, Welcoming Guest Pine, said to be 1000 years old. to take the picture, i pushed by many Chinese tourists who wanted their individual pictures taken in front of it.

on a clear day, this is what one would see. the pictures with blue sky where taken by my former colleague Leo, and are posted in this blog. he went last October, but experienced different weather. i want to return to Huangshan and experience its beauty. one could do without the tour guides' ear-piercing loudspeakers, and people telling each other, "zuo, zuo, zuo" - "keep moving, let's go." the way we did our trip we avoided big lines. after descending the mountain in a cable car, a queue that required a 3 hour wait was forming at the entrance to the station. Huangshan is best to visit in low travel times. but it's hard to find that time.

mountain raining tourists

2011-10-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

i'm at a mountain hotel in Huangshan. last year i posted pictures of the mountain and a historic village nearby, taken NY a former colleague, Leo. you can search the blog for it. this weekend it is raining so not good for photography. i did inversion poses in yoga in my room to relieve legs tired from hiking four hours to the hotel. i thought we were going to be at a base camp were we could leave our backpacks, but no. i would have brought less things had i known. this is a place I will revisit. it inspired poets and artists for centuries. it now inspires tourists.

skelter colleagues style

2011-10-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

yoga helter skelter these past few days. i completed a deadline, so i only have to work 2 hours today. tomorrow we go with our colleagues to Huangshan, Yellow Mountain for 2 days to enjoy hiking. the architecture in the villages around the mountain is like this one, Anhui style.

worked slept deadline

2011-10-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

worked till 1:00 slept 6 hours returned to work. colleagues slept less or not at all to meet a deadline. it's hard to pull an allnighter.

late early writings

2011-10-24T16:56:00.000-07:00

late to bed, early to rise. go to work early.

would Franklin revise his writings if he lived in 2020?

while outside closer

2011-10-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

practiced forward bending asanas of VK this morning. had not done headstand in a while and there is a sore knot in the upper back.

sculpture outside a school in Qingdao.

if the real estate in my room keeps being occupied, will need new digs a few months hence. don't really want to move, though, since my apartment is quiet and conveniently located. maybe i could trade my room for my flatmate's boyfriend's little apartment nearby. she might like to have him closer.

Nanjing Steve sphere

2011-10-22T18:34:00.000-07:00

practice of one hour was good today. Nanjing in the distance through the trees.

while dancing last night with me, Miss Piggie introduced me to Steve, a Brit, who smiled and replied, "my name is not Steve but it's the only name she remembers."

this is an armillary sphere, used to measure the equatorial and horizontal coordinates of celestial objects without interference with each other. the instrument was simplified by Guo Shou-jing (1231-1316) and this one was created in 1437.

lunch asana richness

2011-10-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

colleagues are in from the States. meetings through lunch yesterday. caught last metro home. forgot to put the alarm clock. getting ready for work was my practice. may have one of those revelations today of, "aha, i feel that way because i missed my asana practice."

paraphrasing a colleague, some architects use expensive materials to create an over the top environment. other architects use interesting forms with simple materials to elicit the same. dynamic form yields richness.

turtles practiced feelings

2011-10-19T17:09:00.000-07:00

turtles live long. maybe it's why they are a frequent symbol in temples.
i practiced a little. slowly like a turtle.

i'm not a plant. i have feelings.

recited sutras distracted

2011-10-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

recited sutras

distracted by the Yueyue story.

standing talking incident

2011-10-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

i did standing poses today.

i hope they enact laws against talking on a mobile phone while driving.

it might help avoid incidents such as that of a truck driver running over a child while talking on the phone.

seated figures looked

2011-10-16T17:11:00.000-07:00

i practiced seated poses of yin yoga this morning, after walking and dancing excessively yesterday.

wax figures depicting the founding of the northern Song Dynasty in 960 ad in Keifeng

what a city during that dynasty would have looked like

unusual period nowhere

2011-10-15T17:14:00.000-07:00

yesterday was unusual. i met an architectural photographer for coffee and enjoyed an interesting conversation about architecture.

the period key (.) in my computer that i waited weeks to get fixed took five seconds to fix. the technician at the store where i bought it pressed it in and said they are designed to be taken off and on. doh.

i was in a daze from tiredness after a busy week when a friend called to go dancing. somehow energy came out of nowhere.

point priority mat

2011-10-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

the time went to organizing. if i don't organize, i can't find things. i found three unmatched socks.

it takes me a week to recover from a trip. work comes first. organizing later.

laid out the yoga mat. found receipts was looking for. unmatched socks remained a mystery.

meditated emote Miami

2011-10-12T17:12:00.000-07:00

practice was distracted this morning; i meditated. my writing says, "practice is challenging; look at pictures."

flatmate is on her way to Miami. sent pastries to my closest friends Lucas' mom and Ana.

earlier asymmetric story

2011-10-11T17:05:00.000-07:00

i woke up earlier and started yoga practice earlier, getting more asanas done, despite working later yesterday. i'm at the asymmetric poses of VK on the left side. i finished editing the pictures from Wuyuan of last march. that means that, given time, i could tell that story. this picture is from a subsequent trip to Kaifeng, an ancient village in Henan.

enough sleep business

2011-10-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

i am doing yoga again, but not enough of it. one way to do more would be to get up earlier.

that might require less sleep, or going to bed earlier, which is difficult when working longer hours and living with flatmates that eat dinner at 10pm.

i'm thinking of creating a personal card with my address, phone number and email. i often give my business card in social situations to people and don't hear from them.