Malka and Shaindle are sisters. Although they live an hour's drive from each other and don't see each other often, they are in touch. Malka has a large family. Shaindle, however, has had difficulty having children.

    Malka had just given birth to another son. Shaindle , married three years and still childless, was receiving fertility(生育) treatments. Involved with work, doctor's visits, and medical treats, she was unable to make the trip to visit her sister after she had given birth.

    Malka knew her sister's problem and was quite understanding. Shaindle and her husband Feivel would be at the haptismal (洗礼) ceremony，of course.

    On the day of the haptism, Shaindle and Feivel arrived early, earlier than Malka and her family. Malka's mother-in-law, Yehudit, was already at the hall. “Hello,” said Shaindle cheerfully, never thinking what was about to happen.

    Yehudit turned to her angrily and said, “What a selfish sister you are! Never once did you see fit to visit Makla this entire week! No wonder you have no children!”

    Shaindle went into shock at her words. She turned away, her eyes filled with tears. The accusation（控诉） had cut Shaindle like a knife. She was psychologically bleeding. Poor Shaindle couldn't calm down. It took a while before she could regain her calmness. She couldn't look at Yehudit; it was just too painful for her to do so.

    The minute the words had escaped Yehudit's mouth, she knew she had crossed a red line. She had stepped on very raw toes and felt regretted for her words –but it was too late. Her attempts to apologize were ineffective. The celebration had suddenly turned sour in just a matter of seconds. After all these years, the memory of that happening lingers on …

    Last April, on a Sunday, we took one of our “nowhere” drives. My husband was quietly driving along a back road. I was occupied in the front passenger seat watching the scenery.

    I noticed out of the corner of my eye that my husband was struggling to look out of my window. This frightened me, since his eyes should be on the road in front of him. I asked him what he was looking at out of the windows, and he quietly replied, “Nothing.”

    After a few minutes, I looked over at my husband and noticed a tear running down his cheek. I asked him what was wrong. This time he told me, “I was just thinking about Pop and a story he had once told me.” It had something to do with Pop, his friend from childhood, and I wanted to know the story, so I asked him to share it with me.

    He said, “When I was 8 years old, Pop and I were out fishing and he told me that the pine trees know when it is Easter.”

    I have no idea what he meant by that, so I pressed him for more information.

    He continued on… “The pine trees start their new growth in the weeks before Easter because spring is drawing near. If you look at the tops of the pine trees, you will see the yellow shoots. As the days get closer to Easter Sunday, the tallest shoot will branch off and form a cross. By the time Easter Sunday comes around, you will see that most of the pine trees will have small yellow crosses on all of the tallest shoots.”

    I turned to look out of the window and I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a week before Easter, and you could see all of the trees with the tall yellow shoots stretching to the sky.

    The tallest ones shone in the sunlight like rows of tiny golden crosses. May you find your Easter season filled with beautiful golden crosses!

    A famous magazine, Amusement Today, does a survey among parks lovers every year both in the US and overseas, based on which, “Top 5 List of the Best Amusement Parks in the World” has come out as follows:

    Disneyland, California

    Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California, the US. More than 515 million guests have traveled to this American landmark from around the world since the park first opened to guests on July 17, 1955. The park consists of many world-famous sections, such as Main Street, Adventure land, New Orleans Square, and so on.

    Magic Kingdom, Disney World, Florida

    Magic Kingdom is a theme park within the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, near Orlando opened on October 1, 1971. It is the most famous theme park in Florida. The park's design and attractions don't make much difference from Disneyland Park in Anaheim.

    EPCOT, Disney World, Florida

    EPCOT is the second theme park built at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. The park opened on October 1, 1982, and was named EPCOT Center from 1982 to 1993. It was the largest Disney theme park in the world until 1998, when Disney's Animal Kingdom opened.

    Disney­MGM Studios, Florida

    MGM's streets are the home for some great movie­themed attractions with a history of less than 30 years. With the addition of the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock and Roller Coaster, the park is now home to Disney World's most thrilling rides.

    Universal Studios, Florida

    Go behind the scenes, beyond the screen and jump right into the action of your favorite movies at Universal Studios, the number one movie and TV theme park in the world.

Some Popular RestaurantsParsley &Thyme Restaurant

    Daryl Cheong is a young chef who has recently taken over the running of Parsley&Thyme Restaurant. Since his graduation from At Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, Daryl has worked in a couple of leading European restaurants before taking over Parsley & Thyme Restaurant. Daryl serves popular dishes such as French Onion Soup, Braised Beef Cheek and 100% Grass-Fed New Zealand Tenderloin.

    Liquids Cafe Pte LId

    Having a decade of experience, we let our customers experience an explosion of American and Italian cuisine in a cafe atmosphere with affordable prices. Having both indoor and outdoor dining area, we are known for our welcoming atmosphere of romance. Customers simply bathe themselves in a range of magazines over a cup of caffeine. Our kitchen offers pastes, baked rice and main courses.

    The Rotisserie

    Sitting in the center of the downtown, the Rotisserie brings you a casual and affordable dining experience that is simply satisfying, We offer numbers of specialties on the menu that have been perfected to arouse your taste desires. From the award-winning coffee to our signature roasted chicken and mouth watering salads, we are committed to bringing you the best ingredients for a truly memorable affair.

    The Mind Cafe

    There can be no good fun without good food. The cafe aims to provide our customers with a pleasant session with something to fill their appetite. Light snacks, a warm coffee or hot chocolate serve the customers' needs just well. With over 2, 000 games on shelf across our outlets, the cafe eaters to people from all walks of life. You will never get bored from a lack of choice. It is suitable for a family outing, company gathering, or simple friends' get-together. We provide the games suitable for almost all ages to play together.

    Sparrow is a fast－food chain with 200 restaurants. Some years ago，the group to which Sparrow belonged was taken over by another company. Although Sparrow showed no sign of declining，the chain was generally in an unhealthy state. With more and more fast－food concepts reaching the market，the Sparrow menu had to struggle for attention. And to make matters worse，its new owner had no plans to give it the funds it required.

    Sparrow failed to grow for another two years until a new CEO，Carl Pearson，decided to build up its market share. He did a survey，which showed that consumers who already used Sparrow restaurants were extremely positive about the chain，while customers of other fast－food chains were unwilling to turn away from them. Sparrow had to develop a new promotional campaign.

    Pearson faced a battle over the future of the Sparrow brand. The chain's owner now favored rebranding Sparrow as Marcy's restaurants. Pearson resisted，arguing for an advertising campaign designed to convince customers that visits to Sparrow restaurants were fun. Such an attempt to establish a positive relationship between a company and the general public was unusual for that time. Pearson strongly believed that numbers were the key to success，rather than customers' spending power. Finally, the owner accepted his idea.

    The campaign itself changed the traditional advertising style of the fast－food industry. The TV ads of Sparrow focused on entertainment and featured original songs performed by a variety of stars. Instead of showing the superiority of a specific product，the intention was to put Sparrow in the hearts of potential customers.

    Pearson also made other decisions which he believed would contribute to the new Sparrow image. For example，he offered to lower the rent of any restaurants which achieved a certain increase in their turnover(营业额).

    These efforts paid off，and Sparrow soon became one of the most successful fast－food chains in the regions where it operated.

When we are kids, we are constantly being compared to others. Our parents may compare us to our siblings (兄弟姐妹). Our teachers probably compared us to other students. Kids compared us to other kids.

Those comparisons created either a sense of humiliation or a sense of pride. Either way, it has become second-nature. Everything we'd done has been followed by looking around and seeking validation (确认感).

Midway through my psychology PhD program at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, I felt that I lacked whatever magical ability is required to finish and publish a project. It seemed as though other graduate students were authoring several papers in the time it took me to complete a single experiment. I worked as hard as I could, but my progress seemed to be incremental (渐进式增加的) compared with theirs. When I shared these concerns with my adviser, she had a different take on the situation. "You're not doing anything wrong," she assured me, "you're just pursuing a different kind of research."

Comparing yourself to others is not necessarily a bad thing.

When you catch yourself comparing yourself to others, get curious about the feeling that is being triggered (引起). Is it jealousy? Is it obsession? Is it admiration? Is it love? Is it inspiration? Your triggered feelings will give you a clue as to what is going on within you.

Most likely, you are jealous because you wish you had what it takes to achieve what the other has achieved or to have what they have. Get curious and figure out why you still don't have it and what would it take to get there. It is never a good idea to make yourself wrong for comparing yourself to others or to make yourself wrong for not getting where you wish to be.

But if all this comparison mounts to is bitter jealousy, then your problem is bigger than a simple comparison. Always bear in mind that your only competition is the one in the mirror and—believe me—it is the toughest competition of all.