Making Decisions

If I’d listened to the medium at the temple and decided against going for that operation I’d either have killed myself to stop the pain, or lose the use of my right arm due to the nerve root compression (if I could somehow stop the pain from killing me). Between the devil and the deep sea I’d take a jump. It’s a risk but at least I knew I could swim and pray for help.

The doctor advised not to go hiking because I asked. If I’d ask him if I could climb ladders he’d have said no. By the 3rd month, after I’d removed the neck brace I was already getting on the step ladder going around the house cleaning ceiling fans and air condition filters. Of course I took extra precautions, (like saying a prayer before I stepped on it).

If I’d asked the doctor for medical leave, he’d probably have given me 3 months off from work. But I didn’t. I went back to work after one month with my neck in a brace. (Everyone who saw me the first time did a double-take and asked me ‘what happened’?) And I had to keep reminding myself not to lift anything heavy.

Life is all about living and taking certain calculated risks. Life is all about making your own decisions based on advice. Advice is only as good as how well it helps you come to a decision, nothing more.

2015 Taiwan Trip

Taipei, Taiwan.

I was up early because it's already bright at 6 in the morning. While waiting for the rest of the family to get up, I sat in front of the large window and looked down at this rooftop view & decided I might as well do something with the time, while my eldest girl made me a cup of coffee. Aaahhh.... this is the life I always dreamed about. Doing something according to the mood.

Taiwan city folks prefer to move around on these scooters.

Everybody was reading books... I got bored (very rare few English books to be found in Taiwan's book stores) so I got out my sketch book. This was my 1st sketch at Eslite's.

We sat inside the cool interior of this coffee joint. While waiting for our drinks to arrive I looked out the window at this young maple tree and the scooter parked beneath it.

We went for some pineapple drinks. I spied a father & son sitting outside together having ice-cream. They obviously pretended not to notice while I was sketching them. After they finished their ice-cream, both ambled over to find out what I was doing... We chatted (the father & I) and then they went on their way...

This motorbike accessories shop also doubles as a rubber stamp and duplicate key supplier.

An abandoned stainless steel joss burner standing beside the entrance to the narrow lane to our "Fun Apartment"... where we stayed for 2 days while in Tainan.

I was fascinated by some of these scooters. I started sketching the 1st one in the row of them. While I was moving on to the next one, the owner came out and rode it away.... I used the 3rd one as my model until the owner came and got on it. He then noticed I was sketching. He apologized & parked it back in place and told me to continue. I said, 'It's ok. I'm done.'

While the girls shopped I sat outside and made a sketch of this ladies' clothing & accessories store.

Tainan, Taiwan:
We were waiting for a bus. I took out my sketch pad and started working on this. Just then the bus came. In my haste, I forgot to take a snapshot of the scene. When I finally got home, I went into Google Map's Street View and finished the job...

2015 sketches from here & there

2014 Sketches