My Cantonese Grandmother
My essay titled “My Cantonese Grandmother”, won second place in the Pasadena Literary Alliance Open Book Essay Contest. Check it out, click on link below. https://pasadenaliteraryalliance.org/open-book/essay-contest/
Looking for a New Year’s Resolution?
Plant a tree. What type of tree? Start with what grows locally and grows fast. Young trees absorb CO2 as they grow. If this is not practical for you then contact your mayor’s office to plant some trees in parks, empty lots, or to line streets. If they say they don’t have the money then…
Zero-Waste Holiday Gift
Happy holidays my friends. This year’s gift-giving intention is pro-environment and zero-waste. These gifts are focused on reducing our plastic consumption. Instead of wrapping paper, tape and ribbon, I used Furoshiki wraps. These are square-shaped Japanese traditional wrapping cloths. To stay with the eco-friendly theme, I used 100% cotton fabric, purchased at JoAnne Fabric and…
Easy Reusable Drinking Straws Cleaning
Happy that many municipalities are banning plastic straws. These straws are not recycled and end up in landfills and or sea animals’ noses or stomachs. Not using plastic straws is a small thing that we each contribute. Collectively, it will end up being a big thing. It will benefit the environment and our health. The…
Water Saving Holiday Gift Idea
Conserving water is paramount. If everyone made even one or two water-wise changes, it would help. Here are some examples of what you can do: 1. Bucket, pot or plastic garbage bin to collect shower water especially when you are waiting for it to warm up. This water can be used water plants or mop…
Qi Gong Infinity Breath
The Dao that can be named is not the Dao This vlog is a simple guided Qi Gong breathing exercise that helps relax and calm the mind. You can do this by standing, sitting, or lying down. Use the position that is most comfortable for you. If sitting on a chair – make sure your…
Living with Fear: I am No Superhero
The other day, I witnessed a noninjury hit-and-run car accident in a grocery store parking lot. While backing up his car, an older black man hit a parked car. He paused, looked at the car he had hit, then drove off. I should have shouted, “Hey you, stop,” But I was silent. I hesitated to…
What To Do With Privilege
Do you feel privileged? Should there be privileged? Being privileged implies you were born with societal advantage(s). Some examples of privilege in America are skin color, race, gender, intelligence, athleticism, and the amount of money your parents have. Which culture you are born in makes a difference too. For instance, Warren Buffet said, if he…
Rejection and Hope
These two commercial buildings inspired this blog. While traveling in Australia, I saw “The Reject Shop”. It made me laugh in the way that when you say, “you are kidding”, in unbelief. It is possible, that, that was the marketing plan – to shock. Imagine a retail store with a name like this America. Our…
Happy Feet
Eons ago, men were the first to wear high heels. Hooking the heels into the stirrups provided stability while saddled on a horse. Much like our cowboy boots or our bicycle clips and pedals. Today, the purpose of high heels is mainly sexual. Men claim to be more attracted to a woman in high heels.…
Anti-Bullying and Discrimination Survival
Image is of the author performing a one hande cartwheel on beam many years ago.
Toxic People Survival Tips: Be Empowered by Facing your Fears
Part 2 of: Dealing with Toxic People Over the Holidays Encounters with toxic people, especially relatives, is a complicated topic. You are invited to a party you want to attend, but the toxic person who is also going will provoke unnecessary anxiety. Social norms use to be to tolerate the abuse from them. Thanks to…
Dealing with Toxic People Over the Holidays
Part 1. There comes a time when you realize you should not have to put up with toxic people in your life anymore. Life is too short to waste your time on people who make you feel worse during or after your interaction. The toxicity can come in the form of angry tantrums, direct insults…
What to consider before posting a negative online review
A dentist cannot have a successful practice without a great hygienist. Several years ago, my dentist, an older man with a large-sized abdomen and cigarette breath, came in to perform his biannual routine examination during a dental hygiene appointment. He never spoke much, but the few words he did say were in a falsetto-like tone…
Planned Acts of Kindness
“Do something outside yourself… something that makes life a little better for people less fortunate than you.” — RBG 2012 In tribute to RBG: Planned Acts of Kindness Everyday I make it a point to let someone pass in front of me in traffic (especially at the on ramp between 405 and 101). It makes me feel…
Potential Causes of Trauma
DISCLAIMER: THIS INFORMATION IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR CLINICAL CARE. PLEASE CONSULT A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER FOR GUIDANCE SPECIFIC TO YOUR CASE. If this is a clinical emergency please contact emergency services.
Happy Box
During this Covid19 shelter in place pandemic, I had the time to clean up my house. I found 3 boxes of things I kept from my childhood. While going thru my memorabilia, it occurred to me there is a real possibility that I could die from Covid19. Looking at all my stuff, I asked “What…
Covid19 Ceilings and Video Conferences
During this time of Covid19, like many of you, I have been making use of Zoom, FaceTime, and other video conferencing services. Until now, many people have not had the need to prop up their smart devices with a stand. Without a stand, during the video conference, their phone slips and I end up talking…
Toxic Shopping Cart Cleaner Alternatives and Homemade Hand Sanitizer (Updated 07/05/2020)
At my local Trader Joe’s and Sprouts the Cart Cleaning Wipes contain “Quats”. I see people using these toxic wipes to wipe themselves down too! What if it is a pregnant woman using this? What if a baby touches this and then puts his or hands in their mouths? What if you are the next person…
Why It Takes 20 Second to Wash Your Hands
It takes at least 20 seconds to wash your hands because you have 23 areas to wash! I went as fast as I could in this video. Remember faucets are contaminated so turn water off with your towel and throw it away. In this situation, we use cotton hand towels that we reuse after they…
Hepa vs Double Layer Tea Towel Filter Comparison
PART 4 My Hepa filters finally arrived. They are vacuum bags that I cut into 3.5 x 4.5 inch pieces. There are 3 thin layers so I put a tiny amount of glue in the corners to secure the pieces together. After wearing it all day today in my pocket mask, I really like it,…
How to Sanitize and care for Your Homemade Reusable Mask (updated 04/30/2020)
PART 3 Cleaning your reusable mask properly will be important. You want to retains its effectiveness for as long as possible. Having the removable insert will definitely help the mask’s longevity. Covid19 virus is much more stable in the environment than other viruses which makes it highly contagious. Aerosolized Covid is detectable in the air…
How to Make an Effective Reusable Face Mask
PART 2 The goal of this article is to show you how to create a mask that is effective against respiratory viruses using materials found in most households. No mask is 100%, as seen by the study in part 1 comparing N95 to surgical masks. My other criteria are that, not only must it meet…
N95 and Surgical Face Masks Effectiveness Against Viral Infections
During this COVID19 pandemic, proper face masks are difficult to find or outrageously expensive. So why not make your own? As I embarked on my journey to make face masks to donate to health care providers, I wanted to know how much protection face masks actually provide against respiratory viral infections, (part 1), which videos…
Reduce Flu, Cough, Cold and Covid19 Transmission
JUST GOOD IDEAS Social Distancing Stay at least 6 feet away from someone who is sick with a (potential) respiratory infection. No more hand shaking. Many cultures don’t hand shake anyway. No more cheek kissing. Proper Hand Washing Good to wash or sanitize your hands after after you come into contact with anything potentially contaminated…
Part 4: A Must See
National Museum of African American History and Culture For 3 years, I tried to see the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). First attempt, while in DC I tried to get same day tickets but my hotel wifi too slow and weekend tickets were in high demand, tickets were literally gone in…
Part 3 – Why do Blacks Run from the Police?
Two common questions I hear from non black people are: “If a black person is innocent why do they run from the police?” And this statement, “I am not responsible for what happened during slavery. That happened before my time.” To answer the latter, Black oppression is still exists today in American society. Since we…
Part 2. My Family’s Experience with Racism
Near the turn of the 20th century, my grandfather immigrated to Canada. United States was not an option for him because of the Chinese Exclusion Act, formally known as Immigration Act of 1882-1943. The Chinese are the only race ever to be excluded from USA. Below is a cartoon from 1870 which depicts the “Chinese Wall”…
Part 1: An Immigrant’s Introduction to American Black Culture
-You can never walk in another person’s shoes- Part one of four parts – Arrival in the USA April 1992, I moved from Canada to Los Angeles, landing in LAX during the week of the Rodney King Riot. Welcome to America. Afraid, I stayed up all night glued to the television. The police had warned…
Finding the Perfect Gift
A Holiday Inspiration: Expanding Your Happiness What is a gift? A gift can be a natural talent, an emotion like joy, an object or a service. By discovering your own gifts you are better able to give a gift to another. I was inspired to write this because of the holiday season and at the…
Olive Oil Secrets
World’s oldest Olive trees are found in Greece with estimated age between 2000-3000 years old. Drought tolerance, disease and fire resistance has contributed to their longevity. We toured the The Governor Olive Mill on Corfu, Greece. This particular farm grew the olive variety Lianolia, native to Corfu. It has the reputation of producing an exceptional…
Fabulous Greece
Our summer trip to Greece was fabulous. We saw the country from the comfort of a 7 day Princess Mediterranean and Aegean cruise ( I know purists will criticize a cruise is not really visiting Greece. But it is what it is). We started in Rome and ended in Athens. The ship was clean and…
Medicare for All: Been There
With all this talk about Medicare for All going on, I thought now is a good time present this. It is a myth that “Medicare For All (MFA)”, will cost more. If you do the math, it would actually cost less. Gone will be high paycheck deductions and employer contributions to private insurance companies. Any…
Comparing 3 Brands of Beeswax Food Wraps Video
3 brands Savourio Homvalor Trader Joe’s All 3 were equally warmed in sun before this video was made.
Chance to put your name on Mars. Sponsored by NASA
This is too cool to pass up. Here is the link https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/mars2020/
How Much Protein Do You Really Need?
Fact or Myth? “There is not enough protein in a vegan diet.” Let’s analyze this comment by doing some calculations on a vegan/plant based diet. To get a complete protein with all your essential amino acids when eating only a plant based diet, it is best you eat two of the three of the following…
Vegan Shaming 😦
I recently hosted a 12 person dinner party with the following Vegan Menu: Appetizers- Tomato salsa, guacamole, organic blue corn chips, olives, crackers w vegan cream cheese topped with Seaweed Roe and Habanero salsa, grapes strawberries, popcorn, dark chocolate almonds Main Dish – Homemade vegan burgers with these side dishes: Eggplant Moju, Pumpkin Curry and…
Step by step guide for Successful Dinner Party for 8-12 people
This blog is a step by step guide to hosting a successful 4 hour dinner party. Make everyone feel special by considering your guests’ dietary needs like food allergies, intolerances, pescatarian, vegetarian, vegan, Kosher, lactose free, gluten free, etc. You can ask this question in the invitation. You want to be inclusive of everyone’s needs…
Iodine in our Diets and Cancer Risk
Unfortunately, most Americans are not getting enough Iodine. It is important to get the correct amount because it affects your thyroid function therefore your metabolism. Plus Iodine may help reduce the risk of our most frequent cancers: breast and prostate. (1) Prior to 1920’s, around the Great Lakes, Appalachians and Northwest were known as the…
On Bringing Flight Attendants Gifts
It is a very tough job being a flight attendant. They really do work hard with very little thanks or appreciation. Some passenger behave like they are entitled to the service (and this behavior is in public…wonder home they behave at home..). I recommend we all bring them something. Everyone loves a gift. Luggage limitations…
Using Reusable Straws
Headline: Los Angeles County to ban Plastic Straws. About time. These images of plastic straws polluting our earth’s water ways and hurting wild life are disturbing. Since I last wrote about using metal reusable straws, I discovered silicone and bamboo straws. Straws are useful if you have sensitive teeth, want to keep your teeth from…
Natural face mask for cleaning and refining pores
I bought the clay from Amazon and organic Apple Cider vinegar is sold in most grocery stores. I use a large stainless tablespoon to mix the ingredients. Scoop some clay onto spoon and add some apple cider vinegar about 1:1 (the vinegar has healthy probiotics and the acidity exfoliates). It will start to bubble. Mix…
Best face mask for cleaning and refining pores
I bought the clay from Amazon and organic Apple Cider vinegar is sold in most grocery stores. I use a large stainless tablespoon to mix the ingredients. Scoop some clay onto spoon and add some apple cider vinegar about 1:1 (the vinegar has healthy probiotics and the acidity exfoliates). It will start to bubble. Mix…
New Name for my Blog
Hi Everyone: The direct link to my blog is http://www.elainechuMD.wordpress.com. You can also get there from my website http://www.elaineMD.com. My new Twitter handle is elaine@elainechumd. Thank you for following me. I really appreciate it 🙂 See my latest blog about the best facial you can do at home. Happy New Year!
Forest Bathing In Your Own Home this Holiday
The concept of Forest Bathing derives from Japan. The Japanese call it Shinrin-yoku. They have discovered that by breathing in alpha-pinene, an essential oil from Pine trees, there is an increase in human Natural Killer (NK) Cells, NK activity and anticancer activity in lymphocytes. To achieve this, it is recommended that you slowly walk in…
Vacation in Tibet: See Mount Everest
I would like to share with you my journey into Tibet and some of the wisdom I gained from this experience. Tibetan culture is very spiritual. Tibetans believe that there are 3 evils in society: Anger, Greed, and Ignorance. Throughout their life time it is a person’s responsibility to overcome these 3 evils. Tibetans pray…
Veterans Day: We Remember
In Flanders fields the poppies grow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. This is part of a poem that I grew up reciting every year at school in Remembrance of our fallen soldiers. https://www.history.com/news/world-war-i-poppy-remembrance-symbol-veterans-day I…
Chinese “I Will Crazy”
Saw this on vacation. Couldn’t stop laughing. Sometimes in the chaos, I feel like “I will crazy” too.
California Recycling Pays
Getting kids involved with recycling has so many positives. Environmental awareness. The future of the planet is in their hands. The responsibility of a job. Appreciate the value of money. Interacting with the public as a business person. It’s equivalent to a “paper route”. Years ago, kids would go door to door delivering newspapers to their…
Reusable Straws Help Keep Your Teeth White
Another super great benefit of reusable straws (bamboo, metal, silicone) is they can help keep you teeth white. You can use them with hot or cold drinks. You want to especially use a straw with drinks like tea, coffee, colorful juices, smoothies and sodas. This will reduce teeth staining as the drink bypasses your teeth.…
Auto-Brewery Syndrome: Your Gut Making Its Own Booze
This has got to be the most amazing phenomena. Tell me if you think it could be true or not…. I can think for 3 recorded cases of the happening and likely many more unrecorded. So here is the story: this guy in Texas was pulled over and found to have a blood alcohol level…
Stephen Hawking 1942-2018
That quote says it all. Despite living with crippling ALS his whole adult life, he never gave up. He was a brilliant scientist, achieving such greatness. Let him be an inspiration for us all. Be back in April with more recipes. Busy studying for some exams this month…
Take care of Dry Winter Hands
Remember my rule of don’t put anything on your skin that you would not eat. Ultimately anything you put on your skin is absorbed into your body. These natural Lip Balms with organic ingredients make great finger and hand moisturizers. They go on thick. Easy to carry around because they are compact. Good for chapped…
Test your level of Empathy
The original title of this blog entry was “Happy Holidays Everyone: Please watch this inspirational video”. But now that the holidays are over, I am going to recycle it. You can use this video to test your level of empathy. Even though I have watched this video multiple times, I still get teary eyes every…
How to plan your own tour: my experience for our Australia and New Zealand vacation July 2017
Every year, we try to visit a new place on the planet. We get to appreciate a different culture, learn about history and geography. The whole process is extremely educational which can be meditative in itself. This year we decided to see the Aussie Great Barrier Reef and the Kiwi Glow Worms. We wanted to…
On Life and Death – Dr Pattanaik
I have always been fascinated by Indian culture. It reminds me why we need to always keep an open mind. Who is to say what is right and what is wrong? Everything is relative. We can learn so much. And we still have so much more to learn. Netflix has some great documentaries on India…
My Friend the Black Widow
Just found this Black Widow living right in the middle of my pantry about knee height. When ever I go in, she retreats (thank goodness). She will take care of the Meal Moths which are a nuisance . Spiders live where they can find bugs. No bugs no spiders. She is a blessing ’cause those…
I love this mindfulness video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeblJdB2-Vo Makes me wonder if the opposite is also true..if someone “practices” anger, hate, discrimination, racism etc, does that becomes stronger too? How do we put a stop the latter to become a happier society?
365 Give to be Happy
I saw this inspiring Youtube video. I am going to do this with my kids and challenge you all to do it too. It’s just what our community and country needs right now. Love it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78nsxRxbf4w
Coping with anxiety
Anxiety can stem from feeling things are out of your control, events happening around you that you have no influence to make it better….you know stuff like that. One way to cope is to reframe it. Make it something funny like SNL. It’s like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It’s like training for a sport. Practice positive…
New thoughts about Depression
I like how Marianne Williamson views depression. Depressed people are society’s bellwether. Like the canary in the coal mine. They tell us that something is wrong. We need to support them. See the link to Marie TV interview with her below- This is a powerful prayer that she wrote: Dear God, I surrender to you…
Garbage in Garbage out
Two reasons to eat properly. To avoid excess Calories and maintain ideal your weight. Recognize what is a normal portion size for height and ideal weight. Majority of people eat way too much. I don’t think people think about portions, they just eat until they can’t eat anymore (more about this later). Over weight/ obesity results…
Why be Plant Based (Vegan)?
Some people say its so unnatural to be vegan. They look at me if I am crazy or something. Here are my top 3 reasons to be vegan … Health, Humanity and Compassion Health – It reduces inflammation which in turn reduces many of our modern day chronic diseases Humanity – It reduces global warming…
Couldn’t Blog tonight, school problems
I had to compose a letter to my son’s middle school principal. I am always like a mother bear defending her cubs when someone messes with my kids. Here is the letter. Dear…. What I am about to present to you is of course difficult to bring up to Mr D (Science teacher) directly because…
Afraid of Heights
The photo is definitely not me but it looks impressive. I am afraid of heights. To those of us who are afraid of heights, we are sensitive people. When I am standing high and looking down, I feel the potential energy pull at me, like it wants me to fall. It’s quite a visceral feeling,…
Introduction
I recently became vegan or AKA “plant based diet”. Vegan, I guess is too hippie-ish and could turn some people off??? Anyway, it has been life changing. I wanted to share how and why I made this transition with you because it is so healthful. When I talk about this to people, many are doubtful…
Blogging about What It Takes to be Healthy 
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