i forgot to mention that i started my chinese
brush painting classes in 2001. a very frustrated,
impatient why can’t i paint beautifully right NOW
right AWAY brush art student. =)

we visited san francisco on my 30th birthday
in august 2003, when i was around seven months pregnant
with sweet pea. fotos were taken, me with my
rotund belly, but i can’t be bothered to resurrect
them. and in november 2003…

…sweet pea arrived!

i was fortunate enough to take an entire year
off from work, and much to my surprise, found
out we were expecting munchkin when sweet pea
was just seven months old. i cried.
i felt very sorry for myself. haha! to this day, i call
munchkin “my favorite mistake”. =p

we traveled to london at least once a year all
these years. in 2004, we went twice, once
in the spring and once over christmas. (again, fotos
not readily available.)

in march of 2005, munchkin arrived!

the love and i began discussing perhaps
moving to a bigger home, which was a three
bedroom bungalow. but we loved this area so
much, instead, we decided to add a new master
and bath toward the back of our house and gut
the kitchen and dark tiny dining area to the studs
and open it up to our living room. (the one public
living space.)

from january 2006 through june, my only living
space was three bedrooms and two bathrooms. the
guest bath was converted into a place i could do the
dishes. i tried cooking soup udon noodles on a bunsen
burner in the bathroom once. i didn’t do it again!
we ordered take out a lot!
at the time, both bubs were at home with me full time.
honestly, i’m not sure how i survived.
i chose almost everything for the remodel, from cabinet
doorknobs to lights to dining room table and chairs,
doing all my research (and much of the shopping) online.

i was an hgtv fiend during that time. and
tho i still enjoy many of the shows, i don’t watch
the home redecorating so much any more.
my decor tastes are pretty eclectic, tho i think
ideally, beach cottage is what i would love best.
bright, clean, cheery. that reading nook in the
master overlooking the garden was meant to be
a walk in closet. (what a waste of the views!) and
originally, the claw foot tub was a monstrosity of
a giant square jacuzzi thing stuck in the corner in
the original designs. i requested all the changes,
including over sized windows where the tub sits.

and a blog post from that year.

23 July 2006
..long drawn..

i spent over five hours this
weekend writing and editing
my story. i am nearly at 10k
words now. it is a painstaking
process. and lonely business
at that. i am too close to it
to know whether it is good
or interesting.

i am meeting with my monthly
read and critique group this
tuesday night. a writer
cannot ask for anything more
than good honest criticism.

that and thousands of
adoring fans.

(ha! and yes, this is my rough
drafting of Silver Phoenix.)

in september 06, we had professional
family portraits taken on the beach.

in spring 2007, i somehow convinced
my mom to look after the bubs while the
love and i escaped to fiji for ten days for our
ten year anniversary. my mom flew my aunt
from china to help. when i returned. she said
it was the hardest days of her life. (i am her only
child, and she’s not at all used to little boys, hee!)
i pretty much knew i wouldn’t be asking her for
the same favor again for another ten years. =p

we were in northern fiji, at the yasawa islands.
the blue lagoon was filmed in this area of fiji.
the resort we stayed at (very small with private bungalows)
was steps from the private beach and a few feet beyond
there was an amazing reef full of sea life and coral.
(all the underwater fotos were taken by me while snorkeling!)
i would often poke my head above water and look back onto
the beach, marveling the beauty just ten feet from the sand,
completely hidden from view if you were just glancing seaward.

at night, i saw the most stars i’d ever seen my entire
life. the experience was written into Silver Phoenix, when
ai ling takes a bath in a certain river.

in january 2008, i began querying for an agent for
Silver Phoenix. another blog entry…

27 March 2008
..numbers game..

nine weeks into my agent querying

total queries sent : 109

rejections :38

rejections assumed : 8

partials requested : 18

partials rejected : 9

fulls requested : 4

fulls rejected : 1

rejection with inviation to submit new project : 3

rejection with invitation to submit revised beginning : 1

have yet to respond : 41

that same month, we took another trip to taiwan,
the bubs’ first to my birthplace. i’m so glad that we
did, as that summer, my uncle fell ill suddenly
and died. =( he was always our tour guide and a very
gracious host for all our visits, and
a wonderful father to both my girl cousins. they and
my aunt were devastated. i was so happy that we took
this trip and was able to spend some time together as
a family that year.

*the 101 building. was the tallest building
in the world for a short time.

*how is it that i can smell them and am
now actually salivating?

*i love LOVE LOVE taiwanese street food.

*the market on a typical day.

*the asian food courts at the department stores put
the american ones to shame. this meal cost me $4. yeah,
good thing i don’t live in taiwan!!

*the taiwanese dessert chua bing (crushed ice).
i love mine with tapioca balls, taro, barley and
condensed milk. damn. i’m drooling even more now. ha!

within a week after my query stats post, in early april
2008, agent bill contardi offered to represent me. about
six weeks later, my novel sold in mid-may.

which brings us to 2009, the most wonderful, amazing,
stressful and exhausting unforgettable year yet. but i don’t
think i need to document 2009? you can just click on my
archives. =)