I got a Facebook page!
Why? I’m not quite sure, but my web hosting company said I should… Now there’s an added component of confusion. Before, I had to think of what to post on here. With the added page on FB, should I just double post everything?? I kind of wish I talked to someone who’s more tech savvy first. But it’s awesome to know that there are people who Likes my site 
Anything that gets me motivated to press more coins and include more update is a good thing. I should have set that as a New Year resolution: introduce a dozen new pennies by post each week.
Here are the contributions of the day - New ECs from Smithsonian National Museum of American History Washington DC
I’ve lived near the District for a few years now, but the American History Museum was closed for renovation when I fist moved here. Last year, I finally visited to see the Julia Child exhibit after reading Julie and Julia (her kitchen was larger than mine…)
New ECs from Union Station Washington DC
Nobody would believe me, but I’m honestly working really really hard at reducing the backlog and adding more coins into the database.
I’m still receiving coins from friends and family. Just today, Wendy gave me one from Washington DC. I also have a bag full of ECs from my trip to Japan a few months ago. Originally I was going to scan in the coins as soon as I get back and post the extras for trade. That definitely took a turn for the slower.
Alright, all this talk… Getting down to the updates:
New ECs from Smithsonian Information Center Washington DC
New EC from National Postal Museum Washington DC (thanks Wendy!)
There seems to be coins piling up everywhere… In my purse, my wallet, my car compartments, and of course in the box where I normally put unsorted coins.
Last week, my parents came to visit and brought with them a bag of ECs from Nanjing. They weren’t too happy when they saw the offering just lying around. That’s the problem with receiving the gift and the giver at the same time.
Towards the end of their visit, we went to the Baltimore National Aquarium. These were pressed at $1.01 each. Hopefully I’ll be able to work backwards and get the coins from China entered in next. One of these days, I’ll have to write longer posts and actually talk about the trips. But it’s already such work just entering in 25 coins within one setting…
New ECs from National Aquarium Baltimore, MD
Yay! Database is working again. Resetting is definitely the best method to deal with login problems.
So, here you go! (What meerkat looks like in Australia)
New ECs from Adelaide Zoo Adelaide, Australia (traded with Travis)
I found out that these coins were from Travis after searching through my email. While digging through the catch-all box, I also found an entire package, unopened, from Oded. This one dated January of this year. Gosh… how long have I been away?
Some of the photos are now restored. Truthfully, I sometimes don’t remember which picture I originally planned to put where. For example, out of the fifty+ photos we took from Thailand, at least a dozen fits the description of “Wat Pho,” which was all the clues I left behind. Lesson learned: Never grab photos from another site, even if those are legitimately your own…
Wendy gave me these around Christmas last year. I think Kurt was the one who actually pressed them when he was in New Orleans. In return, I gave her this quilting book I picked up when I was in Taiwan. Quilting, believe it or not, is pretty much the same there as in the US…
New ECs from Audubon Aquarium of the Americas New Orleans, LA
I also scanned in the only EC I pressed in Las Vegas, last time I visited with Suhail and Yucif.
New EC from Riviera Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, NV
Austin got me this coin from Puerto Rico!
I have no idea how people get to travel so much. Or how they can still remember my absurd hobby on these trips.
Not that I’m complaining, but there are a lot of problems trying to incorporate Puerto Rico into the system… Do I categorize it as a US state? It obviously isn’t… Let’s say it’s a country of its own, but it’s too small to have any meaningful administrative division… My SQL database just isn’t very PC.
In the end, I made a country called “US Territories” and a state within that’s called “Puerto Rico.” I’m hoping someone would travel to the Virgin Islands to press me a coin, just so the whole arrangement doesn’t seem so forced.
New EC from Mi Casa Coqui Gift Shop Ponce, Puerto Rico
New Year Resolution: Post more often… (Also, learn to delegate to my manager at work.)
So, I was changing my password on this site when I realized that there are subscribers… Wow~ How is it possible that I never learn this before? If I knew people were reading this, I would have sorted material for my autobiography here. Well, it’s never too late - Chapter 1: I Am Born… just kidding
I’m looking over my desk, trying to remember where all these coins come from. I have the last batch of ECs Jason, Jessica, and Derek pressed for me on their trip to Monterey, CA. There are a couple of coins from New Orleans, a gift from my quilting buddy, Wendy’s, husband. Suhail, Yucif, and I also went on a trip to Vegas a few months ago and there were some coins from that trip. One of my trades landed me coins from Korea, Germany, and Australia. I still haven’t figure out whether these coins from Taiwan, marked as “Bubble Electric Company” is from an actual electric company… And, last but not least, there is a bag of dirty zincs that I need to sort through (don’t drink and bid, otherwise you may end up with a bag of these as well.)
The place where Jason, Jessica, and Derek visited was called Mackerel Jack’s (not Monterey Jack’s).
I’ve also added the last two coins from the National Museum of Natural Science in Taichung, Taiwan
More later…
All over Taipei, there are advertisement for the 2010 International Flora Exposition.
My trip coincide with the opening day and I got some ECs from the shows. There are some characters developed for the Expo, but I can’t tell apart from the other on the coins.
New ECs from Yuan Shan Expo Showroom Taipei, Taiwan
I know I’m missing coins from this set. Not surprising since I sent everyone in every direction, pressing whatever they can find. Hopefully I’ll be able to get more details later.
I also got a key chain that holds a single EC, designed as the Expo logo.
The material is made of soft rubber and there is a groove inside the oval opening so the coin easily fits inside the key chain, covering the boarder.
Normally, I don’t like the zodiac EC designs the Taiwan manufacturers make. However, this new set from the Taipei Zoo is adorable! Extras are available, but unfortunately not for the full set…
New ECs from Taipei Zoo Taipei, Taiwan
I started mentioning the Thailand trip a couple of weeks ago. Now I’m finally putting up the scans of the bounty 
Jason’s been pressing coins for me all over for months now, from Seattle to Monterey. Before I landed in Bangkok, he’s already got this set of Museum Siam coins ready for me!
New ECs from Museum Siam Bangkok, Thailand
I didn’t crack the spine of a single tour book before landing in Bangkok, so it was a bit of a miracle that I saw anything other than the landing strip in Thailand.
Jason arranged for us to stay at Arun Residence during the first couple of days.
It’s a small inn with around half a dozen rooms, a few restaurants/bars, and a gift shop that never seems to be open… We had a great view of Wat Arun though. Museum Siam is close by the hotel.
I arrived around midnight, therefore missed the first evening’s event where Jason went to see a game of Thai boxing. The next morning, we set out to see the Grand Temple. Our visit was at the tail end of the rainy season. I purchased an umbrella on my first day but, luckily, never had a chance to use it.
This is also where the Emerald Buddha is housed.
Next we visited Wat Pho
One place Jason was really keen on was the Oriental. It’s the second hotel we stayed at and it’s absolutely amazing. Upon check in, we were shown into a suite fancier than any model home I’ve visited. A man introduced himself as the floor’s head butler, presented his card, and asked us not to hesitate to call on him or his staff for any needs. I must say we abused this privilege quite often (from peeling exotic fruits to taking group photos… I pressed the butler call button for a lot of things…)
If you’re interested, I can forward you our itinerary, which includes a lot of other places and night activities we went through on this trip.
I also have an extra EC from the Museum Siam for trade. Please take a look at the trade list, newly improved with shorter run time by Joey!
