Delays, Delays, Always Delays...

I keep hoping each month that this is the month that things will start to "speed up" only to have my dreams dashed yet again. The CCAA is officially on holiday. They are out of the office October 1-8, 2009 due to the National Day and the Mid Autumn Festival. The CCAA did not mail matches prior to leaving for their holiday. So, here's to hoping that upon their return they will finish off the March 2006 matches and move us ever so much closer to our daughter. Please continue your prayers.

Chinese National Holiday

Today marks the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, a parade of military troops and equipment followed by tens of thousands of civilians streamed through Tiananmen Square as the entire country watched on television.

Here's a grouping of the front pages from some of the country's newspapers:

My 15 Seconds of Fame

Well, it's always nice to be recognized for doing good work. I've had Cafe Press stores for probably 1.5 years now and they've all raised money where 100% of the proceeds goes towards the Chinese adoption charities - Love Without Boundaries, Half the Sky and CCAI's charitable arm. It was really cool when I got this e-mail from Cafe Press that prominently used one of my designs (the alphabet poster) in their mass e-mail that went out. I was shocked and elated. It was just so nice to be recognized this way. A list of all of my CafePress stores are in the far right purple column. To date, I think I've raised around $500 that has been donated to these wonderful charities. Thanks to those who have purchased and in doing so, have supported these wonderful charities and children awaiting a family.

America's Coolest College Towns

Well, it looks like we live in one of this country's coolest college towns. Who knew?? (all this according to Travel & Leisure magazine) It is our alma mater...

Madison, WI (University of Wisconsin)

Like oases in deserts, college towns in the Midwest can be refreshing splashes of hustle and bustle amid the plains. The Wisconsin capital squeezes cafés, art galleries, and the César Pelli–designed Madison Museum of Contemporary Art onto an invigorating pedestrian-only thoroughfare. In warm weather, the museum’s roof is the setting for concerts and films. Elsewhere are found lively neighborhood block parties, like the Atwood Summerfest, which annually offers rock bands on multiple stages. And there’s no shortage of aquatic fun: the city is located on an isthmus between a pair of glittering lakes.

Local Taste: L’Etoile Restaurant is the region’s slow-food mecca.

San Francisco

We just got back from a lovely 5-day trip to San Francisco. This was so we could meet our new beautiful 3-month old twin nieces and to have a little mini-vacation for ourselves. We also got to see Robert's cousin and his best friend Matt who flew in for 5 hours just to see him. It was so nice to get away for a few days.

Here are a few photos from our trip.

Posing at the Golden Gate Bridge. There was some serious fog when we were there (and wind!)Here we are in Napa ValleyHere I am tasting and buying a lovely bottle of wine from Clos du Val winery. YUM!Our fun little convertible we traversed about town in. (I made them upgrade us as we had to wait 2 hours in line for our rental car. I felt it was the least they could do! Note to self: NEVER rent from Budget at SFO again!)
Sunset view from Robert's cousin's house in Oakland - amazing view of the Golden Gate BridgeHaving fun in Chinatown. This is a Chinese apothecary. Not sure what's she's mixing those for??Taking a walk in Muir woods to look at the Redwoods.Filoli Gardens
The "painted ladies" - beautiful Victorian homes
San Francisco trolley cars
Lombard Street - the crookedest street in the USA
Fisherman's Wharf - nothing beats a stinky seal!

Our New Neighbor

We seem to have acquired a new neighbor - not sure if it's Chip or Dale. He is in our backyard landscaping. Poor little guy is all scared.

August Referrals are in...

Well, it's another 2-day referral month. I try not to get too down on the number of days they referred this month as they were huge in terms of number of babies being matched, but it does get to you after a while. It sometimes seems like it's never going to happen. As soon as March referrals are over with I will hope for more days being matched. We shall see...

Here's the official notice:

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before August 31, 2007.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before March 24, 2006.

Thought for the Day

Well, as the years have passed, I've tried to stay positive on this whole adoption, which hasn't been easy by any stretch of the imagination. I'd like to share this wonderful quote from one of the Harry Potter movies, said by the character Albus Dumbledore.

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.
Albus Dumbledore

If we could always find that light switch - even when we're at our deepest and darkest days, we'll always be able to find that glimmer of happiness. I just need to continue to find my "light" each and every day and remember that there is a wonderful little girl who is going to be my daughter one day.

Significance of 8s in Chinese Culture

Since today is 8/8, I thought I would do a little research into the significance of 8s in Chinese culture. This is what I've found on Wikipedia.

In Chinese culture, certain numbers are believed by some to be auspicious (吉利) or inauspicious (不利) based on the Chinese word that the number name sounds similar to. However some Chinese people regard these beliefs to be superstitions. Since the pronunciation and the vocabulary may be different in different Chinese dialects, the rules are generally not applicable for all cases.

Because of the supposed auspiciousness of certain numbers, some people will often choose, attempt to obtain, or pay large sums for numbers that are considered to be lucky for their phone numbers, street addresses, residence floor (in a multi-story building), driver's license number, vehicle license plate number, bank account number, etc.

Lucky numbers are based on Chinese words that sound similar to other Chinese words. The numbers 6, 8, and 9 are believed to have auspicious meanings because their names sound similar to words that have positive meanings.

Eight

The word for "eight" (八 Pinyin: bā) sounds similar to the word which means "prosper" or "wealth" (发 - short for "发财", Pinyin: fā). In regional dialects the words for "eight" and "fortune" are also similar, eg Cantonese "baat³" and "faat³".

There is also a visual resemblance between two digits, "88", and 囍, the "shuāng xĭ" ('double joy'), a popular decorative design composed of two stylized characters 喜 ("xĭ" meaning 'joy' or 'happiness').

A telephone number with all digits being eights was sold for USD$270,723 in Chengdu, China.

The opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Beijing began on 8/8/08 at 8 seconds and 8 minutes past 8 pm (local time)

A man in Hangzhou offered to sell his license plate reading A88888 for RMB 1.12 million (roughly $164,000 USD).

Dragon Fish Industry in Singapore, a breeder of rare Asian Arowanas (which are "lucky fish" themselves, and, being a rare species, are required to be microchipped), makes sure to use numbers with plenty of eights in their microchip tag numbers, and appears to reserve particular numbers especially rich in eights and sixes (e.g. 702088880006688) for particularly valuable specimens.

The value of eight could also be linked with buddhism and the meaning of Lotus flower (eight petals)

Bird in our backyard

If you saw this bird, what kind would you think he is?

We thought that what we had was some sort of an unusual and exotic bird. Turns out, after much research on Robert's part, that it's just an ordinary cardinal in the process of molting. Who knew?! He certainly looks odd, doesn't he.