Ten things to be read for your thoughts with humor

1. Ice lettuce shares a name with what collided with the Titanic. I eat lettuce everyday to recall such historical disaster.

2. Hebe was the goddess of youth and spring in Greek mythology. In Pin Yin,Hebe sounds like Xi pi for "xi pi xiao lian" (grin cheekily) as a mark for youth. What coincidence!

3. If you are a "free-lance person," a new opportunity may open up for you with serendipity.

4. I retreat from the noisy world for a while, and spending some quiet time alone to relax and rejuvenate. Solitary reflection may be favored with taciturn and uncommunicative mood for holy spirituality.

5. I hope to meet someone who complements my personality and value my individuality with luck of the New Year of the Tiger effective February 14, 2010.

6. An Ad in the Washington Post,Dec.13,09 on page A16: 80% of voters nation-wide rank growing budget deficit and national debt a high priority. Folks talk about it but the leaders are trying to do something during the course of time. Patience will be required and patience is a virtue! That is Sino-American Economics.

7. An emotional encounter could be heart-warming and offer valuable insights in my private and professional life.

8. When the Portuguese sent folks to colonize the New World in the mid-1500s, they sent them to Brazil to develop sugar cane plantations to provide sugar to half the world's population. I was aware of such when I visited Brazil in 1997.

9. Amusement to an observing mind is to study all things daily for fun.

10. Exaggeration is a trillion times better or worse than understatement? The reader knows?!

Francis Shieh aka Xie Shihao on Sunday, December 13, 2009 at 2 p.m.