9/15 F&P wedding

photo taken by: Jethro Lam

My great friends Florrie and Patrick tied the knot! Their wedding was beautiful and touching. Wish them all the best!!







Photo taken by: Tommy So

I partnered with Victor to mc the wedding reception. Victor is a great partner. It was a fun experience!

6/27 7am Hong Kong

I still remember the feeling. I was on the bus going home from the Hong Kong airport, after almost half a year (and 24 hrs on the road!).

That was a nice day. The sky was blue, air was crisp, sunlight was mellow. I sat on the bus, anticipating home and the trip to Europe. The air was filled with a delightful mood -- I am in Hong Kong!

.

I am back!

After two months, I am finally here again -- back to my blog. Many things happened and I do feel that I have changed.

First, my perspective to my study has changed. I must say that responding to friends and relatives asking "how many more years?" forced me to think. Grad school is like a time capsule. From time to time when you need to "come out," you feel like nothing really happened to you while everybody is moving on. Friends ask "what's up?" You would answer "Not much, same thing."

Seriously, how many more years do I take? Three, crisp and clear.

In order to meet this target, i have to plan carefully. I have to recognize the critical skills that I have to master before I graduate. And I have to seek the opportunity to learn them.

Here are something I have to master: teaching, writing, presenting.

Teaching
I am TA'ing a class this semester -- nervous! It is not my first time to teach but first time to teach American students. Jessie (my sister) told me that she does not feel nervous after teaching the 3rd semester. It is comforting because (1) it is normal to feel nervous, and (2) i will get better after a few semesters.

Writing and Presenting
Last semester I started to write a book chapter with CY. It was challenging! I felt quite frustrated that I just could not communicate clearly. On the other hand, i felt glad that, after writing that book chapter, CY has a relatively accurate assessment of where I am in terms of writing skills. We have set a goal for this semester: improve writing skills. I hope that I will be able to communicate my research effectively through writing and oral communication.

------
p/s I am planning to write about my Europe trip and the various things in this summer. It may take a loooooooong time. Stay tuned.

Almost Ready!

My bag is packed, flight is confirmed, and i just sent emails to confirm all the hotel bookings. Almost ready!

Every time leaving my Champaign home for longer trips, i feel nervous. Nervous that something will go wrong... so I always unplug all the home appliances, pay all the bills, check all the windows. Sounds like Monk.

But this time is a bit strang. It is the first time I feel that i will come back different. I am going on a trip to Europe. Then I will go to Hong Kong to help in my sisters' wedding preparations. Also, my family (including mom, sisters & their boyfriends) will have our first-ever family camp. Who knows how these experiences will work on me?

At this end, the world is changing too. Some friends are leaving. I may not see them again. Two friends will be married when i see them again. Church situation might have changed, or not.

Maybe these are something really get to my sentiments. Or maybe it is just spillover (or mis-attribution) of the normal pre-trip anxiety. I don't know. I just know that it is time to sleep. Hopefully I will have enough strength to survive the long trip ahead.

Packing

To prepare for the trip, i have read 3 guide books. I would never have thought that planning a trip could be that educational. These books talked about how to plan an itinerary, what to see, where to stay etc etc. But one thing these guide books really enlightened me is TRAVEL LIGHT.

With the advices from Rick Steve's guidebooks and the travelite website, I am trying to just bring a carry-on bag for my trip. My top three challenges to travel light (as you may guess) are clothing, toiletries, and books.

Clothing. I allow myself to bring 4 shirts, 1 cardigan and 1 skirt (for occasions like concerts), 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of pants. Against all the advise, I will be wearing jeans. The black fleece jacket is my security blanket that I always travel with, even in the Summer :P

Toiletries. It is actually a problem that has been solved, not by me, but by the latest flight regulations. Bringing liquid in carry-on luggage is strictly limited. So my boyfriend and i decided to bring little and buy most of what we need when we get to Europe. I guess that would be another European experience. (Or a globlization experience, i.e., P&G everywhere.)

Books. Hm... it is the biggest problem. I developed this habit of reading during travels about 2 trips back. It is amazingly rewarding for two reasons. One, you just don't notice time when you read, so waiting is much bearable. Two, reading during vacation is a license to break away from reading for works. I usually bring a book of a totally new area, adding a little spice to the trip.

For this trip (including my stay in Hong Kong), here they are:
The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Thanks Dustin for suggesting this book. I never have any special interests in any novel (including the famous Jinyong). But after hearing so much about this one, I decided to give it a try.



Present Pasts: Urban Palimpsests and the Politics of Memory. I don't know much about this book yet, but was attracted its topic: collective memory of three urban cities.




The Pig That Wants To Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher. This is a book of small stories. Each story is a never-have-a-good-solution thought experiment. Seems fun.



So here comes the problem. Although these three books are small paperbacks, they add up quickly. Plus the guidebooks and maps, they can be really heavy. Hm... with the goal of traveling light, i need to work harder on this area...

Crazy itinerary

Okay... the Summer is half-way through. Which half? The work-half, definitely. The remaining weeks will be my vacation time. The highlight of this year is a 20-day trip to EUROPE!

My boyfriend and I decided to hit the European road again. This time, we will go to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Exciting, huh? See if I am tough enough to survive a crazy flight plan like this (translated to Champaign time):

6/25 (mon) Champaign to San Francisco
6/26 (tue) San Francisco to Hong Kong, arriving at 6PM
6/27 (wed) Hong Kong
6/28 (thu) Leaving Hong Kong at 11AM (midnight in HK)
6/29 (fri) Arriving Frankfurt at 3AM (10AM in Frankfurt)

Hope that I am still young and strong enough... I don't want to be fuzzy and sick when I am in Europe...

執著

~臉~
在秋天遇上　山巒起伏分明的輪廓
清風是溫暖的微笑

我望向澄明的湖　那是個無底的
穩定的湖
含蓄地閃亮　帶著
月亮的光

圓圓的又像神秘的星宿
發出邀請　請你進到那無法測度的
深沈的藍

我在那柔軟的草原上遊走
四周只有呼吸聲　壓抑那
心動的不安

忽然　一行白鷺帶著過往的春與秋
悠悠地飛過這一片天地
掀起了漣漪

深邃的湖　
染上了一片紅…

湖面使勁地回復平靜
但漣漪卻蔓延　定居在
眉宇之間

我的呼吸更深　更沈　
縱身跳入那一個神秘的湖

也許能化成一朵
有刺的紅玫瑰　徜徉在水中
不凋謝　也不用成為白鷺
背上的過客

或者
化成溫暖的空氣　飄浮在陽光中
擁抱那一片天地　輕吻停留在眉宇間
令人心痛的
漣漪

You and I have memories

longer than the road that stretches out ahead




It is very touching to have a friend who shares memories longer than what's ahead. They established an industry. And they have each others in the memories.

Keeping Chickens in Your Backyard?!

http://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Chickens-in-a-City

It is amazing that some Americans are actually keeping /encouraging others to keep chickens in their backyards! They seem never worry about bird flu...

詩與詞

如果心底話
不可言喻
便訴諸詩詞…

寫星月玫瑰
寫顏色氣味
寫青春深秋
寫聲音輪廓

…千篇萬遍
只想你明白
我的心底話