Once again, I've been inactive for a long time... well, hopefully (again) I'll start uploading to dA again soon. I just settled into a new flat in Auckland, New Zealand! I'm pretty excited to be here as I really love outdoor activities, and I know New Zealand has a lot to offer in that department. Anyway, I've started work teaching games programming at Media Design School in downtown Auckland on Queen Street. It'll be a pretty challenging job, getting used to dealing with students, but I think it'll be fun. Besides, it'll be the first time I'll actually have a 9-5 job with no real expectation of overtime!

I haven't been around for a long time... I've been busy taking a series of vacations recently. Had a weekend camping and hiking adventure 8 weeks ago, spent a week in Australia 7 weeks ago, had a two-week adventure in Japan and South Korea 4 weeks ago, and visited my parents back home for a week last week as they are selling the house and moving as my dad lost his job in the economic downturn. I just got back this weekend, and now that I'm out of vacation time, I'll be around for a while.

I feel very out of touch for not really seeing my dA account or updating my travelogue for 8 weeks, but on the other hand, I got some really cool new photos and new experiences I can share with all of you (not that I don't already have thousands of photos to upload and weeks of adventures still to write about in my backlog).

Anyway, I hope I'll feel a bit more back in touch in the upcoming weeks. I already miss travelling and the amazing food I've been having (now that I have a job, I can afford to eat lots of delicious food while travelling instead of whatever is cheapest), but I'm also glad that I'll have some time to myself now... and I'm looking forward to my first real weekend in six weeks coming up in a few days!

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Check out my travelogue:

http://mandarinmanmarktravel.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

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Clubs I am a part of:

I started a blog to record my travels. If you have the time, please give it a visit! I had a wonderful time travelling, and I would like to share all of the wonderful things I have seen in our beautiful world with all of you. I've just started it, so it does not have too much content yet, and I am still trying to settle into a writing style. If you like what I have so far, please tell me, as well as any recommendations on how to improve it. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I will try to find the time to write about all of my travels. There is so much to write about, I really feel overwhelmed, so if you don't see an update in a while, give me a shout to keep me motivated! I hope my stories are entertaining, and I hope you will also consider going on a life changing adventure!

Here it is!

http://mandarinmanmarktravel.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

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Clubs I am a part of:

Hey everyone! Haven't submitted anything to dA for a while. I just moved into the Mission District in San Francisco, and my new apartment is really small... only 380 square feet for two people! My new desk is a folding TV tray that doesn't have room for both my computer and mouse, so I haven't been very motivated to go through my photos. I got a setup I think that will work with my tray desk crammed between my bed and dresser, so hopefully I'll start making more pictures now.

I've also been very busy with the police report of my bike accident. The end result is that they found me at fault for "entering an intersection in the wrong direction," even though I was riding my bike on a two way off-road bike path across a private driveway and not into an intersection. When I questioned the police on this, they bounced me around different city departments then refused to answer me, and now appear to be ignoring me. When I asked lawyers using their online free consultation things, they all told me that it is common practise for police (at least in San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay Area) to make reports that are clearly contradictory to the laws. I have also learnt from the lawyers that San Mateo County has a very strong bias against cyclists. I'm still shocked after finding out that police often do not heed the laws they are supposed to uphold, but I suppose that is the situation of today's society. I think I will try contacting the media on this as I feel we should all be working for a better society, but if it's common practise, I'm not sure if anyone will listen. I don't know what else to do about having a police report that lists me at fault when it was not. I'd be glad to hear any suggestions. Hopefully after tracking down the officers so that I can add my final addendum to the report that they previously told me they will accept, I will be able to put all of this behind me. Although I am sure the bitter things I have learnt about society will follow me forward, hopefully I will not dwell on it and it will just be another lesson in the reality of life.

So, onto happier times, and hopefully I will get back to my passion of sharing my photographs from around the world!

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Check out this great photography club that lets everyone share their work. If you haven't joined it, you should!

I'm tired of receiving worse and worse news about my injuries from the accident two weeks ago. I am also more and more surprised and upset that the doctors in the ER did not find any of these injuries when they treated me, possibly making my injuries worse by letting me walk around for four days before someone figured out that something was wrong. Although I suppose the ER is a stressful place, so perhaps it wasn't their fault directly. I have been very depressed since Wednesday when the true extent of the injuries were explained to me. At first, I was in some sort of denial, not believing that I was injured so badly since I had always thought I just had some sore muscles that will go away in a few days. But I'm starting to get over the shock of the news now, and I'm starting to accept that I will have to deal with the permanent consequences of the accident.

It turns out I have a pretty badly torn MCL ligament on the inside of my left knee. But this is the least of my worries. I also ended up with a tibial plateau fracture in the same knee, apparently one of the worst kinds of fractures one could get. My knee joint has a crack and a dent on the weight bearing surface. I think I will be on crutches for a few months, which means I will completely miss out on summer activities this year. Still, this is not what worries me. The doctor says that because the injury is inside my knee joint, I have an extremely high risk of developing arthritis in my left knee within 10 to 15 years. This worries me very much. I do not want to get arthritis starting from my 30's. This would mean the end of what defines me. My two greatest passions are being outdoors and travelling. If I get arthritis and have trouble walking, I will lose much enjoyment from these two passions. The MCL tear will also result in a weaker and less stable knee. The next time I'm climbing up a steep rock surface with a cliff under me, I will be very afraid of my knee giving out on me on a vital step. That would be disastrous. This same instability and arthritis risk might also make it difficult for me to pull off some of the more intense kung fu moves when I practise, and I know I will never be able to strain my joint as much as I have been able to before, putting a hard limit on what I can do. If I develop arthritis, I will also not be able to travel the way I have been, walking, and sometimes, running all day with heavy packs on my back to catch trains, find food, and find a place to sleep for the night.

All in all, disastrous news to me as it means I will be less and less able to do the two things that I love most and define who I am.

But, I guess that's life. I will try to keep active and my knee healthy and hope for the best. It just shows how everything is transitive in life and you need to appreciate every moment for what you have. Things can change at any time, and one needs to learn how to let go of things that were previously important and adapt to new circumstances. Things are only as important as you let them become.