Do you find it hard saying I'm sorry to a person you offended or hurt or to whom you have done a great injustice? I do and I know I am not one of the few who do find asking for forgiveness hard. There are millions out there who do too. Oh it's easy enough to say sorry for petty little things like: bumping into someone, being late for an appointment, losing your friend's ballpoint pen, stepping into somebody else's feet...

What is hard is saying sorry that is parallel with I made a mistake in my judgment or opinion of you and now I am admitting my mistake- or - Sorry I made a bad investment and I lost all your money. Yes! It is so hard to say I am sorry for it is a sure sign that almost-perfect you are a human who is capable of creating errors. Being egoists, humans do not want to admit that they do commit mistakes and apologizing is part of the small cycle.Having said that, and hopefully convinced you that it is indeed hard to say I am sorry like you mean it, how do you say you're sorry?

Next time try whooops!!

Graffiti : (used with a plural verb) markings, as initials, slogans, or drawings, written, spray-painted, or sketched on a sidewalk, wall of a building or public restroom, or the like.







Graffitist caught in action at Gram's Diner.

Ethan and my three daughters are back from their vacation. I was late in picking them up at the airport. It was way past lunch time and the boy was mighty hungry and cranky.I was expecting him to greet me with much gusto like mom! i missed you or something.


All the fat boy said was Can we go to McDonald's now? I'm so hungry!

Here are some more pictures of Ethan.

The two-part Battle of the two Davids will take place next Tuesday. I have written in my April 17 post that American Idol 7 will be a final showdown between David Archueta and David Cook.

The top three sang three songs each: a song chosen by the one of the judges, a song chosen by the contestant and a song chosen by the producer. David Archuleta was just just okay for me as I did not like this personal choice of With You.. Cook was superb as attested by Simon who commented that David Cook won the round. Syesha sang fine but I can see that she is not cut to be a pop nor R&B nor country singer. She belongs on the stage. Broadway perhaps?

There's just too much to say and express for me to stop blogging. My only regret is I wish I got in early into the world of blogosphere. My blog is the place where I pour my heart out: my joys and anxiety; my insights and anecdotes. If I earn money on the side, well then, that is more than fine.

I recently joined SocialSpark.com . It is the newest social network for both blogger and advertisers. Aside from offering sponsored posts it also offers blog sponsorship from advertisers. What SocialSpark and its blogger members need are more advertisers to take part in this highly original concept of product endorsement.

Would it not be great if I can have popular products advertise in my blog? Levi's Jeans is in my wishlist of sponsors. I am a huge fan of their Levi's 501. How about diet coke for a blog sponsor? It is the only pop that I prefer. These companies are huge and most likely not 'sponsor' a humble blog like mine.

What I would really like to see are more small companies and entrepreneurs joining SocialSpark.com as advertisers. At present, blogs have become major players in online advertising. There is just so much that blog sponsorship can offer in terms of product exposure. Calling all companies retailing in clothes, cosmetics, accessories and skin products. Get your products seen.

I read that bloodletting can actually save a stroke victim. We are quite aware that bloodletting, referred to in modern medicine as phlebotomy, was a popular medical practice since time immemorial up until the late 19th century. Bloodletting involves the withdrawal of often considerable quantities of blood from a patient in the belief that this would cure or prevent a great many illnesses and diseases.

A Mr. Liu of Fung-Gaap College in Tai-Chung is endorsing bloodletting for stroke victims. He said pricking the 10 fingers and letting out blood (pea-sized amount) will actually reduce the risk of burst capillaries due to pressure of the blood. He also said, that if the victim's mouth is crooked, pinching the ears till they turn red then pricking the lobes to let out blood will actually do good. He claims that this is 100% reliable since he has tried it. Here is his story:

I learned about letting blood to save life from Chinese traditional doctor Ha Bu-Ting who lives in Sun-Juke. Furthermore, I had practical experience with it. Therefore I can say this method is 100% effective.

In 1979, I was teaching in Fung-Gaap College in Tai-Chung. One afternoon I was teaching class when another teacher came running to my class room and said in panting, "Mr. Liu, come quick, our supervisor has had a stroke!" I immediately went to the 3rd floor. When I saw our supervisor, Mr.Chen Fu-Tien, his color was off, his speech was slurred, his mouth was crooked-all the symptoms of a stroke.

I immediately asked one of the practicum students to go to the pharmacy outside the school to buy a syringe, which I used to prick Mr. Chen's 10 fingers tips. When all 10 fingers were bleeding (each with a pea-sized drop of blood), after a few minutes, Mr. Chen's face regained its color and his eyes' spirit returned, too. But his mouth was still crooked. So I pulled on his ears to fill them with blood. When his ears became red, I pricked his right earlobe twice to let out 2 drops of blood. When both earlobes had two drops of blood each, a miracle happened. Within 3-5 minutes the shape of his mouth returned to normal and his speech became clear. We let him rest for a while and have a cup of hot tea, then we helped him go down the stairs, drove him to Wei-Wah Hospital. He rested one night and was released the next day to return to school to teach. Everything worked normally. There were no ill after-effects. On the other hand, the usual stroke victim usually suffers irreparable bursting of the brain capillaries on the way to the hospital. As a result, these victims never recover.

According to a medical magazine I read, bloodletting, historically speaking, may have been used to reduce the pressure of blood by reducing the volume of blood due to an absence of any form of treatment. I could liken it to letting off air from an over-pumped tire so as to prevent it from bursting. The medical article said that the historical use of bloodletting has been harmful to the patient. If you ask me, I think there is no harm in pricking the 10 digits of a suspected stoke victim. Just make sure that the needle is sterilized for wouldn't it be of great irony if the victim survives a stroke but is diagnosed with tetanus instead?