周六(2/2)1.最幸運的人 2.新年派對 下午4:00-6:00

新春愉快!
  2/14  星期四 新年第一次聚會

板橋區文化路一段421巷11弄1號 (陽光甜味咖啡館)

新捷運埔站1號出口 旁邊7-11巷子進入20公尺 看到夏朵美髮星期六 聚會時間為下午4:00-6:00

最幸運的人

'World's luckiest man': Dubai air crash survivor wins one million dollars on lottery six days later

telegraph.co.uk

A survivor of the Dubai plane crash has been called the "world's luckiest man" after he won $1 million on a lottery six days later.

Mohammad Basheer Abdul Khada was a passenger when the Emirates  aeroplane crashed and burst into flames on the runway of Dubai’s airport last Wednesday. 

The 62-year-old grandfather walked away unscathed from the crash landing with the 300 other people on board, moments before the plane exploded in a fireball.

Mr Khada, from India, then had another stroke of luck when his winning  lottery ticket turned him into a millionaire.

Mr Khadar, who works in a Dubai car dealership, bought the ticket in the airport on his way to Thiruvananthapuram in the south Indian state of Kerala.

On his return trip, he was seated on the plane which crash landed and caught fire.

He collected his prize on Tuesday, which came just four months before he was due to retire.

He told Gulf News: "I have been working in Dubai for 37 years, and I have always felt like this is my country.

"I live a simple life, and now that it’s my time to retire, I feel like God gave me a second life when I survived the plane crash, and blessed me with this money to follow all this up by doing good things".

Mr Khadar plans to move back to India and try to find a job where he can help people in need.

He said: "I am blessed to have finally won with Dubai Duty Free and can’t wait to share the news with my family.

"If you ask me about my plans, I obviously want to help the children in Kerala who are less fortunate than others and need some financial help and medical support

“I don’t want to give it to a charity or build a business, I want to go out and find people who really need help and give them money. I was poor, and I know what people go through".

 

新年派對

How to Plan a Chinese New Year Party     tripsavvy

Putting together a Chinese New Year party is fun, cultural, and unique. Consider it a great excuse to get friends together in January or February for something educational and enjoyable!

Nearly everyone has heard of Chinese New Year, more correctly termed as the Lunar New Year. The holiday is the most widely celebrated in the world, but not many Westerners are sure of how to go about planning a party.

What to Wear for Chinese New Year

Buying a new outfit or wearing one that hasn’t been previously worn is the usual custom for Chinese New Year.

Avoid wearing black or white clothing on Chinese New Year; both are colors traditionally worn for mourning in Chinese culture. Gray, ashen, and charcoal colors also fall into this category. Instead, opt for red, gold, or vibrant colors when possible.

If you don't have a suitable outfit, you can still give a nod to tradition by wearing a red accessory; red scarves are a popular choice.

Wearing red has nothing to do with China’s current political inclinations. The custom dates back for centuries. Mythology maintains Nian, the beast that comes out on Chinese New Year to attack people, is afraid of the color red and loud noises — that’s why firecrackers are thrown and symbols are crashed during celebrations. Another theory suggests red is an auspicious color because the word for red (hóng) sounds similar to one of the words used for prosperous.

Any cutting done during Chinese New Year is viewed as unlucky. You should trim your nails, shave, and get a haircut before the holiday if necessary.

If you really want to follow superstition, washing your hair on the Lunar New Year is considered risky as you could wash away new good luck that is accumulating.

Exchanging Chinese New Year Gifts

Guests may not be in too big of a hurry to buy and exchange gifts again in the wake of Christmas, although etiquette dictates that they bring something small to the party.

You can reciprocate with witty door gifts or personalized items for each friend. Gifts can be small trinkets, red envelopes with small amounts of money or gift cards inside (hong bao), candies, or even healthy snacks.

Although doing so requires more effort, each gift should be catered to a specific guest and represent some wish you have for their health or prosperity in the new lunar year. For this reason, thoughtfulness is more important than the monetary value of the gift. A quick, inexpensive way to customize gifts is to print favorite photos of the two of you.

Chinese New Year gift ideas are usually simple but thoughtful:

    Medicinal tea to help your friend through flu season

    A small piggy bank already primed with a few coins

    Candles with their favorite scent or aromatherapy benefits

    A small bottle of essential oil

    Lip gloss to protect their lips in winter

    Fruit (mandarin oranges are best / pears are worst)

   

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週四 (1/31)1.什麼是時間銀行?2.新年禁忌!

板區橋文化路一段421巷11弄1號 (陽光甜味咖啡館)

埔捷運站1號出口 旁邊7-11巷子進入20公尺 看到夏朵美髮左轉    PM 7:00-9:30

什麼是時間銀行?

What is Timebanking? | TimeBanks USA

Timebanking is a kind of money. Give one hour of service to another, and receive one time credit.

For one person to earn a time credit, however, someone else has to agree to give it. Timebanking happens when a network or circle of members have agreed that they will give and receive credits for services that other members provide. Those networks are called “timebanks.”

That’s almost it.

To be successful, timebanks need leadership – or perhaps the better word is “governance.” They need agreements around what’s OK and what’s not OK in relation to earning and spending. To guide those, one additional and most important aspect of timebanking is the core values.

The Five Core Values of TimeBanking

Edgar Cahn is the founder of modern timebanking. He noticed that successful timebanks almost always work with some specific core values in place. In his book No More Throw-Away People, he listed four values.  Later, he added a fifth. These have come to be widely shared as the five core values of timebanking – and most timebanks strive to follow them. They are a strong starting point for successful timebanking.

Asset
 Every one of us has something of value to share with someone else.

Redefining Work There are some forms of work that money will not easily pay for, like building strong families, revitalizing neighborhoods, making democracy work, advancing social justice. Time credits were designed to reward, recognize and honor that work.

Reciprocity Helping that works as a two-way street empowers everyone involved – the receiver as well as the giver.
The question: “How can I help you?” needs to change so we ask: “Will you help someone too?”  Paying it forward ensures that, together, we help each other build the world we all will live in.

Social Networks Helping each other, we reweave communities of support, strength & trust. Community is built by sinking roots, building trust, creating networks. By using timebanking, we can strengthen and support these activities.

TimeBank Giving and Receiving – Four Kinds

It’s helpful to think of four main kinds of timebank exchanges:

 – One person gives another person a ride to the doctor.

 –  A yoga teacher earns credits teaching a yoga class to four other members.

  –  Four members earn credits doing a garden clean-up for a senior.

  — A whole lot of people earn credits organizing and participating in a community pet-parade.

 

新年禁忌!

Chinese New Year Taboos – Chinese New Year 2019          chinesenewyear.net

The Spring Festival is a time of celebration. It’s to welcome the new year with a smile and let the fortune and happiness continue on. At the same time, the Spring Festival involves somber ceremonies to wish for a good harvest. Strict rules and restrictions go without saying.

To help you with that, here are the top 10 taboos during the Chinese New Year. Follow these and fortune will smile on you.

    1. Do not say negative words

    All words with negative connotations are forbidden! These include: death, sick, empty, pain, ghost, poor, break, kill and more.

    The reason behind this should be obvious. You wouldn’t want to jinx yourself or bring those misfortunes onto you and your loved ones.

   

2. Do not break ceramics or glass

    Breaking things will break your connection to prosperity and fortune. If a plate or bowl is dropped, immediately wrap it with red paper while murmuring auspicious phrases. Some would say 岁岁平安 (suì suì píng ān). This asks for peace and security every year. 岁 (suì) is also a homophone of 碎, which means “broken” or “shattered.” After the New Year, throw the wrapped up shards into a lake or river.

  

 3. Do not clean or sweep

    Before the Spring Festival, there is a day of cleaning. That is to sweep away the bad luck. But during the actual celebration, it becomes a taboo. Cleaning or throwing out garbage may sweep away good luck instead.

    If you must, make sure to start at the outer edge of a room and sweep inwards. Bag up any garbage and throw it away after the 5th day. Similarly, you shouldn’t take a shower on Chinese New Year’s Day.

  

 4. Do not use scissors, knives or other sharp objects

    There are 2 reasons behind this rule. Scissors and needles shouldn’t be used. In olden times, this was to give women a well-deserved break.

    Sharp objects in general will cut your stream of wealth and success. This is why 99% of hair salons are closed during the holidays. Hair cutting is taboo and forbidden until Lunar February 2, when all festivities are over.

  

    5. Do not demand debt repayment

    This custom is a show of understanding. It allows everyone a chance to celebrate without worry. If you knock on someone’s door, demanding repayment, you’ll bring bad luck to both parties. However, it’s fair game after the 5th day. Borrowing money is also taboo. You could end up having to borrow the entire year.

  

 6. Avoid fighting and crying

    Unless there is a special circumstance, try not to cry. But if a child cries, do not reprimand them. All issues should be solved peacefully. In the past, neighbors would come over to play peacemaker for any arguments that occurred. This is all to ensure a smooth path in the new year.

  

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週二(1/29)1.賺錢的目的? 2.迪化年貨大街

板橋區文化路一段421巷11弄1號 (陽光甜味咖啡館)

埔捷運站1號出口 旁邊7-11巷子進入20公尺 看到夏朵美髮左轉    PM 7:00-9:30

賺錢的目的?

What is the purpose of living and earning money?  quora

This is a very deep question but also an exciting question, as the answer is completely up to you; you can craft the narrative of your own life to develop the answer to this.

I’ll start with the latter half of the question “what is the point in earning money”; my personal belief is that money is a facilitator to living the life you want to. Obviously you need to use this money to pay bills, feed, water and house yourself (and maybe a family), but the rest is up to you. I personally do not spend a lot of money on “things” such as clothes, shoes, fancy dinners, cars, soft furnishings for the house etc, as I don’t believe they add much enjoyment or value to life. They appear more to create a materialistic world consumed by short term pleasure. Instead I spend money on experiences that make me happy; travel, spending time with friends and family and writing. The point is though, these things make me happy which is why I invest time and my earnings into them. Other people strive for financial independence, and so place the majority of their earnings into investments which will earn them more money in the future and allow them to retire early. You need to find your own balance; putting money into investments and savings creates a strong emergency fund and future nest egg, but may detract from experiences you could enjoy now.

The above is coming from the point of view that you don’t sound like or enjoy your job; if you enjoy your job, then earning money is merely a by product for doing something you love day in and day out.

An alternative approach is that you don’t need to “earn money”; earning suggests that it’s an activity you have to do. Instead you can read up on passive income sources such as “compound interest” where interest is passively applied to your bank account year on year, dependent on the original capital in there. Additionally, investments in stocks and shares *tend* to perform best if left in there for the long term. Again this can create a passive income.

The former half of the question is “what is the purpose of living”; if you haven’t read Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor E Frankl, please please please do! He describes how there are three ways to find meaning in life: 1) through another human being, 2) through a piece of work, or 3) through suffering. These three quests for meaning all change throughout ones life but are the basis for our search for meaning. For me, they interchange as well, and I’m lucky enough to have never endured suffering, so they focus around the first two points. Please do buy the book on Amazon here, if you are confused as to the meaning of life.

Finally, I’d like to address the two parts of the question together: “what is the purpose of living and earning money”. We live in a capitalist society where money is the fundamental “token” used to compensate work, time, opinions, skills, items etc. This token is given a different weighted value dependent on what society deems a necessity or requirement in life. It's fundamentally important that find a way to make these tokens to meet your basic life requirements “food, water and shelter”; in term you also need to make sure that you are meeting your "meaning and requirements for life".

 

迪化年貨大街

Dihua Street Offers Tradition and a Touch of ... | Taiwan News

Taipei (Taiwan News) — Cutting through Datong District is one of Taipei’s historic neighborhoods, Dihua Street offers visitors a glimpse of mid-19th century Taipei as well as the city’s thriving artistic side.

Running between Nanjing West Road and Minquan West Road, the street is known as being the heart of Dadaocheng, the oldest still-surviving neighborhood in Taipei, and for its traditional medicinal tea, sundries, and fabric and tailor shops. But there is still more to explore along Dihua Street with its historic architecture, art galleries and contemporary craft shops.

The government began promoting the redevelopment of the neighborhood in 1984, but there has been more progress in renovating over the last several years with new businesses moving in, particularly on the northern section of the street.

Of course, during the run up to Chinese New Year, even more visitors than usual flock to the area for the New Year Market, which shuts the street to vehicle traffic between Guisui Street and Nanjing West Road. The market attracts nearly 1 million visitors each year, according to government estimates.

This year Taipei launched free tours of Dihua Street and the New Year Market—one each in English, Japanese and Korean—that attracted a total of 150 people (the limit for each tour was set at 50). With vendors setting up shop in the street, the road is narrower for the large crowds perusing the goods that include street food, dried meats and produce, and new year decorations.

If you’d prefer to avoid the crowd of the New Year Market, there’s always plenty to see and do along Dihua Street year-round.

Shopping at traditional sundry and medicinal tea shops

Start your journey through the history of Taiwan with a glimpse at the shops offering local sundries, including local nuts and dried fruits and vegetables. Depending on the shop and variety of products, some of the dried produce are made with little-to-no sugar and salt. These shops also offer customers free samples, so you can more easily decide what to purchase.

There are also numerous medicinal tea shops. While some customers might not welcome the sight of dried shark and whale fin in the shops, the products have been a part of Dihua Street since the late 1800s. These shops also offer daily remedies such as ginseng, bird’s nest and dried wood-ear mushrooms.

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