Parade Float Builder Episode #37

Do you know San Francisco Chinese New Year parade is one of the top ten parades in the world? I was so exited to go behind the scenes to find out the production work it took to build these magnificent floats. It’s truly amazing.

It takes many months, from design to put it all together. The main material of the giant statue was styrofoam. It’s light, easy to cut into different shapes and, most importantly, it's water proof.

The owner of the East West Float Company is David. He has a very interesting background, from military officer, martial arts instructor to real estate investor etc…David found his passion in float building and he’s been doing it for more than 10 years.

Despite months of hard work for David to prepare for the parade, the real challenging was what to do with the float after the parade. The float had to be taken apart right after and models thrown away. David already rent a huge storage at the pier but it wasn’t enough. He would love to keep all the models he made but the storage fee would be too expensive.

If you have space to display any of those beautifully designed models in the parade, contact David. He would be happy to lend it or even give it to you. This way we are saving time, cost and protect the environment from too much waste. David’s number is (408) 621-6405,

Peppermill Casino/Resort in Reno

This is truly a jewel in Reno. They just spent 400 million renovated and expanded it with a brand new tower with Italian theme.

My family just went skiing in Tahoe and we stayed at this place for two nights. The room rate is affordable and there are all kinds of cuisine that you can enjoy while staying there. You can find entertainment for everyone there. It’s comfortable, warm and convenient.

There are twelve restaurants, ten bars, a beautiful fitness center, night club, arcade, outdoor swimming pools, wedding chapel, convention room and the newly opened luxurious Tuscana Spa.

I took a quick tour in the spa, it’s just amazing. Didn’t have enough time to experience but I heard people have been enjoying themselves in the spa for six hours. Wow, gotta be good.

My room was spacious with two king size beds, two LCD TVs, shower and Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. Just the right size for the family. After returning from skiing, we all went to the outdoor heated pool. It’s an unusual experience because your body is submerging in the warm water but your face is surrounded by cold, crisp air. We had so much fun but getting up from the pool was hard, because it was freezing at night.

If you have kids, they will like the arcade because mine certainly did. It has many newer and entertaining video and exercise games.

If you want to ski, Mount Rose ski resort was just 30 minutes easy driving from here. Also a favorite ski resort for the locals.

The Nice Shop in Millbrae

Owner Betsy Liu is really friendly and nice. It’s got a great selection of clothes, shoes, handbags, and accessories in this spacious and clean store. Everyone can find something to your own taste.

I actually bought a beautiful cocktail dress here for a wedding party. Everyone asked me where I got it. Now you know…

If you find something you like but think the price was not in your range, try asking for a better price. Betsy probably will give you a discount.

After the show, many friends asked me where it is in Millbrae?

The address is 210 El Camino Real. Between Hong Kong Hollywood Hair Salon and Fook Yuen (馥苑) Seafood Restaurant

The Nice Shop in Millbrae contact number is (650) 692-9300. Betsy has another boutique shop in Oakland, so she doesn’t get to Millbrae after noon.

Episode #4 6/21/2008

The interview with Diamond Wizard was actually my first interview. Let me tell you how I spent my day for a thirty minute television episode. I was nervous the night before and had a hard time falling asleep. I woke up early morning and took one hour to put on make up. Rushing out of the door and hit traffic heading south on highway 101. Can’t afford to loose my hair appointment, I had to call the hair stylist to delay my appointment several times. Finally I made it and there’s only 10 minutes left to get my hair done. Sounds strenuous already. We haven’t even started the real work.

After straitening my hair, I drove to CH Premier to meet up with the production crew. At this point, I was feeling a lot better and we all made it on time.

You may not know that for a 15 minutes segment, it could take us two to three hours to shoot it. To make the visual look interesting for our viewers, the camera person had to shoot from different angles and different distance. At the same time, the crew had to move the lighting equipments around the subjects. For my opening statement, it probably took me five tries until I didn’t forget any lines and look good. I had to say big thanks to my producer and camera person for being patient with me. The good news is I am getting better as we move alone, sometimes one shot is enough for me.

Episode #3 6/14/2008

Hi, I was out of town so it’s a bit late but here is the scoop. We drove to Michaan’s Auctions by the Bay at Alameda. It was hard to find it but thanks to my GPS, we finally made it. I moved to the Bay area seven years ago and never had a chance to go to Alameda. The store is next to the old naval base close to the Bay, the view was gorgeous with a nice breeze. I got to put on my shinning traditional Chinese Mien Ou (jacket) to match up with today’s topic “Chinese antiques”. The store was huge and full of antiques from all over the world.

After the shooting, Sarah invited us to have lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant. We had lobster noodle and it’s delicious and we were all starving because it’s 3:00 in the afternoon. Actually it was our lucky day because we never had time to eat lunch. Usually we barely had enough time to get to the next interview, so it was a treat for me and the production crew.

許氏人蔘&科學博物館之採訪心得

平常人都只知道人蔘是中藥進補中的極品,沒想到極品的背後有不為人知辛苦的一面. 在我採訪完許先生之後,除了了解人蔘的秘密,許先生還贈送了我一包新鮮的花旗蔘. 在我猶豫不知如何烹煮這一包人蔘時,我姪子跟我講說看看背面的說明,於是我決定用熱水熬煮,放入冰箱中使它變成冰的蔘湯. 喝起來乾澀中帶點甜味,很特別!

看到這些年輕的孩子所發明的取水裝置,真是令我佩服! 每一個團隊都非常認真,有的作品非常巨大要六七個人扛著才能進入比賽會場. 還好我不是裁判,因為每件都不分軒輊. 相信這些年輕人裡面有人會在工程這個這個行業有傑出的表現!

May 31, 2008 Premiere

Welcome to my blog. I am thrilled to be your host of the Business and Lifestyle. Working with great production crew, we are bringing you unique business stories around the Bay Area.

Realtor Juliana Lee and Turning Leaf Financial Planner were featured in our first show, and I hope you enjoyed it. Coming up, we’ll be talking about health products, education, jewelry, and fitness spa. If you have any comments or suggestions, I would love to hear from you.

From doing the research and interviewing our guests, I was touched by their devotion, knowledge and professionalism. “No mill, no meal.”…is what I have seen.

I will post more as the production moving forward about what we encounter and behind the scenes information.